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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea,
+the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c., by Xavier Hommaire de Hell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c.
+
+Author: Xavier Hommaire de Hell
+
+Release Date: June 24, 2011 [EBook #36505]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN STEPPES OF CASPIAN SEA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Barbara Kosker and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+    |             Transcriber's Note:                     |
+    |                                                     |
+    | Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the        |
+    | original document have been preserved.              |
+    |                                                     |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+  TRAVELS
+
+  IN THE
+
+  STEPPES OF THE CASPIAN SEA,
+
+  THE CRIMEA, THE CAUCASUS, &c.
+
+
+
+
+  BY
+
+  XAVIER HOMMAIRE DE HELL,
+
+  CIVIL ENGINEER,
+  MEMBER OF THE SOCIETE GEOLOGIQUE OF FRANCE, AND KNIGHT OF THE ORDER
+  OF ST. VLADIMIR OF RUSSIA.
+
+
+
+
+  WITH ADDITIONS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.
+
+
+
+
+  LONDON:
+  CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186, STRAND.
+  MDCCCXLVII.
+
+
+
+
+C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
+
+When I left Constantinople for Odessa my principal object was to
+investigate the geology of the Crimea and of New Russia, and to arrive
+by positive observations at the solution of the great question of the
+rupture of the Bosphorus. Having once entered on this pursuit, I was
+soon led beyond the limits of the plan I had marked out for myself, and
+found it incumbent on me to examine all the vast regions that extend
+between the Danube and the Caspian Sea to the foot of the northern slope
+of the Caucasus. I spent, therefore, nearly five years in Southern
+Russia, traversing the country in all directions, exploring the course
+of rivers and streams on foot or on horseback, and visiting all the
+Russian coasts of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azof and the Caspian. Twice
+I was intrusted by the Russian government with important scientific and
+industrial missions; I enjoyed special protection and assistance during
+all my travels, and I am happy to be able to testify in this place my
+gratitude to Count Voronzof, and to all those who so amply seconded me
+in my laborious investigations.
+
+Thus protected by the local authorities, I was enabled to collect the
+most authentic information respecting the state of men and things. Hence
+I was naturally led to superadd to my scientific pursuits considerations
+of all kinds connected with the history, statistics, and actual
+condition of the various races inhabiting Southern Russia. I was,
+moreover, strongly encouraged in my new task by the desire to make known
+in their true light all those southern regions of the empire which have
+played so important a part in the history of Russia since the days of
+Peter the Great.
+
+My wife, who braved all hardships to accompany me in most of my
+journeys, has also been the partner of my literary labours in France. To
+her belongs all the descriptive part of this book of travels.
+
+Our work is published under no man's patronage; we have kept ourselves
+independent of all extraneous influence; and in frankly pointing out
+what struck us as faulty in the social institutions of the Muscovite
+empire, we think we evince our gratitude for the hospitable treatment we
+received in Russia, better than some travellers of our day, whose pages
+are only filled with exaggerated and ridiculous flatteries.
+
+  XAVIER HOMMAIRE DE HELL.
+
+
+
+
+DEFINITIONS.
+
+
+_Geographic miles_ are of 15 to a degree of the equator.
+
+A Russian Verst (104-3/10 to a degree), is 1/7 of a geographical mile,
+1/4 of a French league of 25 to a degree. It is equal to 3484.9 English
+feet, or nearly 2/3 of a statute mile. It is divided into 500
+_sazhenes_, and each of these into 3 _arshines_.
+
+A _deciatine_ (superficial measure) is equivalent to 2 acres, 2 roods,
+32 perches, English.
+
+A _pood_ is equal to 40 Russian or 36 English pounds.
+
+100 _tchetverts_ (corn measure) are equal to about 74-1/2 English
+quarters.
+
+A _vedro_ (liquid measure) contains 3-1/4 English gallons, or 12-1/4
+Litres.
+
+Since 1839 the paper ruble has been suppressed, and has given place to
+the silver ruble. But the former is always to be understood wherever the
+word ruble occurs in the following pages. The paper ruble is worth from
+1 fr. 10c. to 1 fr. 18c. according to the course of exchange; the silver
+ruble is equal to 3-1/2 paper rubles.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A French _hectare_ is equal to 2 acres, 1 rood, 33 perches, English.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+  Departure from Constantinople--Arrival in Odessa--Quarantine         1
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+  Streets of Odessa--Jews--Hotels--Partiality of the Russians for
+    Odessa--Hurricane, Dust, Mud, Climate, &c.--Public Buildings       5
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+  The Imperial Family in Odessa--Church Music--Society of the
+    Place, Count and Countess Voronzof--Anecdote of the Countess
+    Braniska--The Theatre--Theatrical Row                             10
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+  Commerce of the Black Sea--Prohibitive System and its Pernicious
+  Results--Depressed State of Agriculture--Trade of Odessa--Its
+  Bank                                                                14
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+  Navigation, Charge for Freight, &c. in the Black Sea                26
+
+
+  CHAPTER VI.
+
+  Agriculture and Manufactures of Southern Russia--Mineral
+  Productions--Russian Workmen                                        28
+
+
+  CHAPTER VII.
+
+  Departure from Odessa--Travelling in Russia--Nikolaïef, Olvia,
+  Otshakof--Kherson--The Dniepr--General Potier--Ancient
+  Tumuli--Steppes of the Black Sea--A Russian Village--Snow
+  Storm--Narrow Escape from Suffocation--A Russian Family--
+  Appendix                                                            32
+
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.
+
+  An Earthquake--Ludicrous Anecdote--Sledging--Sporting--Dangerous
+  Passage of the Dniepr--Thaw; Spring-Time--Manners and Customs
+  of the Little Russians--Easter Holidays--The Clergy                 45
+
+
+  CHAPTER IX.
+
+  Excursion on the Banks of the Dniepr--Doutchina--Election of
+  the Marshals and Judges of the Nobility at Kherson--Horse-Racing
+  --Strange Story in the "Journal des Débats"--A Country House and
+  its Visiters--Traits of Russian Manners--The Wife of Two Husbands
+  --Servants--Murder of a Courier--Appendix                           55
+
+
+  CHAPTER X.
+
+  Departure for the Caspian--Iekaterinoslav--Potemkin's Ruined
+  Palace--Paskevitch's Caucasian Guard--Sham Fight--Intolerable
+  Heat--Cataracts of the Dniepr--German Colonies--The Setcha of the
+  Zaporogues--A French Steward--Night Adventure--Colonies of the
+  Moloshnia Vodi--Mr. Cornies--The Doukoboren, a Religious Sect       69
+
+
+  CHAPTER XI.
+
+  Marioupol--Berdiansk--Knavish Jew Postmaster--Taganrok--Memorials
+  of Peter the Great and Alexander--Great Fair--The General with
+  Two Wives--Morality in Russia--Adventures of a Philhellene--A
+  French Doctor--The English Consul--Horse Races--A First Sight of
+  the Kalmucks                                                        82
+
+
+  CHAPTER XII.
+
+  Departure from Taganrok--Sunset in the Steppes--A Gipsy Camp
+  --Rostof; a Town unparalleled in the Empire--Navigation of the
+  Don--Azof; St. Dimitri--Aspect of the Don--Nakitchevane, and
+  its Armenian Colony                                                 89
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIII.
+
+  General Remarks on New Russia--Antipathy between the Muscovites
+  and Malorossians--Foreign Colonies--General aspect of the
+  Country, Cattle, &c.--Want of Means of Communication--River
+  Navigation; Bridges--Character of the Minister of Finance--
+  History of the Steamboat on the Dniestr--The Board of Roads
+  and Ways--Anecdote--Appendix                                        96
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIV.
+
+  The different Conditions of Men in Russia--The Nobles--Discontent
+  of the Old Aristocracy--The Merchant Class--Serfdom--Constitution
+  of the Empire; Governments--Consequences of Centralisation;
+  Dissimulation of Public Functionaries--Tribunals--The Colonel
+  of the Gendarmerie--Corruption--Pedantry of Forms--Contempt of
+  the Decrees of the Emperor and the Senate--Singular Anecdote;
+  Interpretation of a Will--Radical Evils in the Judicial
+  Organisation--History and present State of Russian Law             102
+
+
+  CHAPTER XV.
+
+  Public Instruction--Corps of Cadets--Universities and
+  Elementary Schools; Anecdote--Plan of Education--Motives for
+  attending the Universities--Statistics--Professors; their
+  Ignorance--Exclusion of Foreign Professors--Engineering--
+  Obstacles to Intellectual Improvement--Characteristics of the
+  Sclavonic Race                                                     127
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVI.
+
+  Entry into the Country of the Don Cossacks--Female Pilgrims of
+  Kiev; Religious Fervour of the Cossacks--Novo Tcherkask, Capital
+  of the Don--Street-lamps guarded by Sentinels--The Streets on
+  Sunday--Cossack Hospitality and Good Nature--Their Veneration
+  for Napoleon's Memory                                              134
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVII.
+
+  Origin of the Don Cossacks--Meaning of the Name--The Khirghis
+  Cossacks--Races anterior to the Cossacks--Sclavonic Emigrations
+  towards the East                                                   137
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+  Journey from Novo Tcherkask along the Don--Another Knavish
+  Postmaster--Muscovite Merchants--Cossack Stanitzas                 154
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIX.
+
+  First Kalmuck Encampments--The Volga--Astrakhan--Visit to a
+  Kalmuck Princess--Music, Dancing, Costume, &c.--Equestrian
+  Feats--Religious Ceremony--Poetry                                  162
+
+
+  CHAPTER XX.
+
+  Historical Notice of Astrakhan--Mixed Population; Armenians,
+  Tatars--Singular Result of a Mixture of Races--Description of
+  the Town--Hindu Religious Ceremonies--Society                      178
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXI.
+
+  Commercial Position of Astrakhan--Its Importance in the Middle
+  Ages--Its Loss of the Overland Trade from India--Commercial
+  Statistics--Fisheries of the Caspian--Change of the Monetary
+  System in Russia--Bad State of the Finances--Russian Political
+  Economy                                                            187
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXII.
+
+  Departure from Astrakhan--Coast of the Caspian--Hawking--
+  Houidouk--Three Stormy Days passed in a Post-house--Armenian
+  Merchants--Robbery committed by Kalmucks--Camels--Kouskaia--
+  Another Tempest--Tarakans--A reported Gold Mine                    202
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+  Another Robbery at Houidouk--Our Nomade Life--Camels--Kalmuck
+  Camp--Quarrel with a Turcoman Convoy, and Reconciliation--Love
+  of the Kalmucks for their Steppes; Anecdote--A Satza--Selenoi
+  Sastava--Fleeced by a Lieutenant-Colonel--Camel-drivers beaten
+  by the Kalmucks--Alarm of a Circassian Incursion--Sources of
+  the Manitch--The Journey arrested--Visit to a Kalmuck Lady--
+  Hospitality of a Russian Officer                                   208
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+  Review of the History of the Kalmucks                              229
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXV.
+
+  The Kalmucks after the Departure of Oubacha--Division of the
+  Hordes, Limits of their Territory--The Turcoman and Tatar
+  Tribes in the Governments of Astrakhan and the Caucasus--
+  Christian Kalmucks--Agricultural Attempts--Physical, Social,
+  and Moral Characteristics of the Kalmucks                          235
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+  Buddhism--Kalmuck Cosmogony--Kalmuck Clergy--Rites and
+  Ceremonies--Polygamy--The Kirghis                                  247
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+  The Tatars and Mongols--The Kaptshak--History and Traditions
+  of the Nogais                                                      264
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+  Banks of the Kouma; Vladimirofka--M. Rebrof's Repulse of a
+  Circassian Foray--Bourgon Madjar--Journey along the Kouma--
+  View of the Caucasian Mountains--Critical Situation--Georgief
+  --Adventure with a Russian Colonel--Story of a Circassian Chief    276
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+  Road from Georgief to the Waters of the Caucasus--A Polish Lady
+  carried off by Circassians--Piatigorsk--Kislovodsk--History
+  of the Mineral Waters of the Caucasus                              285
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXX.
+
+  SITUATION OF THE RUSSIANS AS TO THE CAUCASUS.
+
+  History of their Acquisition of the Trans-Caucasian Provinces
+  --General Topography of the Caucasus--Armed Line of the Kouban
+  and the Terek--Blockade of the Coasts--Character and Usages of
+  the Mountaineers--Anecdote--Visit to a Circassian Prince           293
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+  Retrospective View of the War in the Caucasus--Vital Importance
+  of the Caucasus to Russia--Designs on India, Central Asia,
+  Bokhara, Khiva, &c.--Russian and English Commerce in Persia        309
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+  A Storm in the Caucasus--Night Journey; Dangers and Difficulties
+  --Stavropol--Historical Sketch of the Government of the Caucasus
+  and the Black Sea Cossacks                                         334
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+  Rapid Journey from Stavropol--Russian Wedding--Perilous Passage
+  of the Don; all sorts of Disasters by Night--Taganrok;
+  Commencement of the Cold Season--The German Colonies revisited     343
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+  Departure for the Crimea--Balaclava--Visit to the Monastery of
+  St. George--Sevastopol--The Imperial Fleet                         349
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+  Bagtche Serai--Historical Revolutions of the Crimea--The Palace
+  of the Khans--Countess Potocki                                     358
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+  Simpheropol--Karolez--Visit to Princess Adel Bey--Excursion to
+  Mangoup Kaleh                                                      366
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+  Road to Baidar--The Southern Coast; Grand Scenery--Miskhor and
+  Aloupka--Predilection of the Great Russian Nobles for the Crimea   371
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+  Three Celebrated Women                                             375
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+  Ialta--Koutchouk Lampat--Parthenit--The Prince de Ligne's Hazel
+  --Oulou Ouzen; a Garden converted into an Aviary--Tatar Young
+  Women--Excursion to Soudagh--Mademoiselle Jacquemart               387
+
+
+  CHAPTER XL.
+
+  Ruins of Soldaya--Road to Theodosia--Caffa--Muscovite Vandalism
+  --Peninsula of Kertch--Panticapea and its Tombs                    391
+
+
+  CHAPTER XLI.
+
+  POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA.
+
+  Extent and Character of Surface--Milesian and Heraclean Colonies
+  --Kingdom of the Bosphorus--Export and Import Trade in the Times
+  of the Greek Republics--Mithridates--The Kingdom of the Bosphorus
+  under the Romans--The Alans and Goths--Situation of the Republic
+  of Kherson--The Huns; Destruction of the Kingdom of the Bosphorus
+  --The Khersonites put themselves under the Protection of the
+  Byzantine Empire--Dominion of the Khazars--The Petchenegues and
+  Romans--The Kingdom of Little Tatary--Rise and Fall of the
+  Genoese Colonies--The Crimea under the Tatars--Its Conquest by
+  the Russians                                                       402
+
+
+  CHAPTER XLII.
+
+  Commercial Polity of Russia in the Crimea--Caffa sacrificed in
+  Favour of Kertch--These two Ports compared--The Quarantine at
+  the Entrance of the Sea of Azof, and its Consequences--Commerce
+  of Kertch--Vineyards of the Crimea; the Valley of Soudak--
+  Agriculture--Cattle--Horticulture--Manufactures; Morocco Leather
+  --Destruction of the Goats--Decay of the Forests--Salt Works--
+  General Table of the Commerce of the Crimea--Prospects of the
+  Tatar Population                                                   410
+
+
+  CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+  HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BESSARABIA.
+
+  Topology--Ancient Fortresses--The Russian Policy in Bessarabia
+  --Emancipation of the Serfs--Colonies--Cattle--Exports and
+  Imports--Mixed Population of the Province                          424
+
+  Note                                                               435
+
+
+
+
+  THE
+  STEPPES OF THE CASPIAN SEA, &c.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM CONSTANTINOPLE--ARRIVAL, IN ODESSA--
+      QUARANTINE.
+
+
+On the 15th of May, 1838, we bade adieu to Constantinople, and standing
+on the deck of the Odessa steamer, as it entered the Bosphorus, we could
+not withdraw our eyes from the magnificent panorama we were leaving
+behind us.
+
+Constantinople then appeared to us in all its grandeur and beauty.
+Seated like Rome on its seven hills, exercising its sovereignty like
+Corinth over two seas, the vast city presented to our eyes a superb
+amphitheatre of palaces, mosques, white minarets and green plane-trees
+glistening in an Asiatic sunshine. What description could adequately
+depict this marvellous spectacle, or even give an idea of it? Would it
+not be wronging creation, as Lamartine has said, to compare
+Constantinople with any thing else in this world?
+
+Meanwhile, we were advancing up the Bosphorus, and the two shores,
+fringed all along to the Black Sea with cypress groves, and half hidden
+beneath their sombre shade, invited a share of that attentive gaze we
+had hitherto bestowed only on the great city that was vanishing in our
+wake. The Bosphorus itself presented a very animated scene. A thousand
+white-sailed caïques glided lightly over the waves, coming and going
+incessantly from shore to shore. As we advanced, the Bosphorus widened
+more and more, and we soon entered that Black Sea, whose ominous name so
+well accords with the storms that perpetually convulse it. A multitude
+of vessels of all kinds and dimensions, were anchored at the entrance of
+the channel, waiting for a favourable wind to take them out of the
+straits, which alone present more dangers than the whole navigation of
+the Black Sea. The difficulties of this passage are further augmented in
+the beginning of spring and the end of autumn by dense fogs, which have
+caused an incalculable number of vessels to be wrecked on the steep
+rocks of these iron-bound coasts.
+
+The passage from Constantinople to Odessa is effected in fifty hours in
+the Russian steamers, which ply twice a month from each of these ports.
+Those who are accustomed to the comfort, elegance, and scrupulous
+cleanliness of the Mediterranean and Atlantic steamers, must be
+horrified at finding themselves on board a Russian vessel. It is
+impossible to express the filth and disorder of that in which we were
+embarked. The deck, which was already heaped from end to end with goods
+and provisions, was crowded besides with a disgusting mob of pilgrims,
+mendicant monks, Jews, and Russian or Cossack women, all squatting and
+lying about at their ease without regard to the convenience of the other
+passengers. Most of them were returning from Jerusalem. The Russian
+people are possessed in the highest degree with the mania for
+pilgrimages. All these beggars set off barefooted, with their wallets on
+their backs, and their rosaries in their hands, to seek Heaven's pardon
+for their sins; appealing on their way to the charity of men, to enable
+them to continue that vagabond and miserable life which they prefer to
+the fulfilment of homely duties.
+
+It was a sorry specimen of the people we were going to visit that we had
+thus before our eyes, and our repugnance to these Muscovites was all the
+stronger from our recollections of the Turks, whose noble presence and
+beauty had so lately engaged our admiration.
+
+On the morning of the second day, we saw on our left a little island
+called by the sailors the Island of Serpents. The Russians have retained
+its Greek name of Fidonisi. It was anciently called Leucaia, or Makaron
+Nesos (Island of the Blest), was sacred to Achilles, and contained a
+temple, in which mariners used to deposit offerings. It is a calcareous
+rock, about thirty yards high and not more than 600 in its greatest
+diameter, and has long been uninhabited. Some ruins still visible upon
+it would probably be worth exploring, if we may judge from an
+inscription already discovered.
+
+Soon afterwards we were made aware of our approach to Odessa, our place
+of destination, by the appearance of the Russian coast with its cliffs
+striated horizontally in red and white. Nothing can be more dreary than
+these low, deserted, and monotonous coasts, stretching away as far as
+the eye can reach, until they are lost in the hazy horizon. There is no
+vegetation, no variety in the scene, no trace of human habitation; but
+everywhere a calcareous and argillaceous wall thirty or forty yards
+high, with an arid sandy beach at its foot, continually swept bare by
+the waves. But as we approached nearer to Odessa, the shore assumed a
+more varied appearance. Huge masses of limestone and earth, separated
+ages ago from the line of the cliffs, form a range of hills all along
+the sea border, planted with trees and studded with charming
+country-houses.
+
+A lighthouse, at some distance from the walls of Odessa, is the first
+landmark noted by mariners. An hour after it came in sight, we were in
+front of the town. Europe was once more before our eyes, and the aspect
+of the straight lines of street, the wide fronted houses, and the sober
+aspect of the buildings awoke many dear recollections in our minds.
+Every object appeared to us in old familiar hues and forms, which time
+and absence had for a while effaced from our memories. Even
+Constantinople, which so lately had filled our imaginations, was now
+thought of but as a brilliant mirage which had met our view by chance,
+and soon vanished with all its illusive splendours.
+
+Odessa looks to great advantage from the quarantine harbour, where the
+steamer moored. The eye takes in at one view the boulevard, the
+Exchange, Count Voronzof's palace, the _pratique_ harbour, and the
+Custom-house; and, in the background, some churches with green roofs and
+gilded domes, the theatre, Count de Witt's pretty Gothic house, and some
+large barracks, which from their Grecian architecture, one would be
+disposed to take for ancient monuments.
+
+Behind the Custom-house, on some steep calcareous rocks, sixty or
+seventy feet high, stands the quarantine establishment, looking proudly
+down on all Odessa. A fortress and bastions crowning the height, protect
+the town. All the remarkable buildings are thus within view of the port,
+and give the town at first sight an appearance of grandeur that is very
+striking.
+
+The day of our arrival was a Sunday; and when we entered the harbour, it
+was about four in the afternoon, the hour of the promenade, and all that
+portion of the town adjoining the port presented the most picturesque
+appearance imaginable. We had no difficulty in distinguishing the
+numerous promenaders that filled the alleys of the boulevard, and we
+heard the noise of the droshkys and four-horse equipages that rolled in
+every direction. The music, too, of a military band stationed in the
+middle of the promenade, distinctly reached our ears, and heightened the
+charms of the scene. It was, indeed, a European town we beheld, full of
+affluence, movement, and gaiety. But, alas! our curiosity and our
+longings, thus strongly excited, were not for a long while to be
+satisfied. The dreaded quarantine looked down on us, as if to notify
+that its rights were paramount, and assuredly it was not disposed to
+abrogate them in our favour. One of the officers belonging to it had
+already come down to receive the letters, journals, and passports, and
+to order us into a large wooden house, placed like a watchful sentinel
+on the verge of the sea. So we were forced to quit the brilliant
+spectacle on which we had been gazing, and go and pass through certain
+preliminary formalities in a smoky room, filled with sailors and
+passengers, waiting their turn with the usual apathy of Russians.
+
+We had no sooner entered the quarantine, than we were separated from
+each other, and every one made as much haste to avoid us, as if we were
+unfortunate pariahs whose touch was uncleanness. All our baggage was put
+aside for four-and-twenty hours, and we were accommodated in the
+meantime with the loan of garments, so grotesque and ridiculous, that
+after we had got into them, we could not look at each other without
+bursting into laughter. We made haste to inspect our chambers, which we
+found miraculously furnished with the most indispensable things. But
+what rejoiced us above all, was a court-yard adorned with two beautiful
+acacias, the flowery branches of which threw their shade upon our
+windows. Our guardian, who had been unable to preserve the usual gravity
+of a Russian soldier at the sight of our ludicrous _travestissement_,
+surprised us greatly by a few words of French which he addressed to us.
+By dint of mangling our mother tongue, he managed to inform us that he
+had made the campaign of 1815, and that he was never so happy as when he
+met Frenchmen. On our part we had every reason to be satisfied with his
+attentive services.
+
+The first hours we passed in quarantine, were extremely tedious and
+unpleasant, in consequence of the want of our baggage. Our books, our
+papers, and every thing we had most urgent need of, were carried off to
+undergo two whole days' fumigation. But afterwards the time passed away
+glibly enough, and I should never have supposed it possible to be so
+contented in prison. But for the iron bars and the treble locks which
+had to be opened every time we had occasion to leave our rooms, we might
+have fancied we were rusticating for our pleasure. A handsome garden, a
+capital cook, books, a view of the sea--what more could any one desire?
+We were allowed to walk about the whole establishment, on condition only
+that we kept at a respectful distance from all who came in our way, and
+that we were constantly accompanied by our guardian. On one of the
+angles of the rock there is a little platform, with seats and trees,
+looking down on the sea, the harbour, and part of the town. In this
+delightful lounging-place we often passed hours together, in
+contemplating the beautiful spectacle before us.
+
+What a lively source of endless enjoyment does the imagination find in a
+broad extent of sea animated by numerous vessels! The bustle of the
+harbour, the boats plying with provisions and passengers; the various
+flags flying from the mast-heads; the brig preparing to sail, with
+canvass unfurled, and the crew singing out as they tramp round the
+capstan; a sail suddenly appearing on the horizon, like a bird on the
+wing, gleaming in the sun, and gradually enlarging on the sight; the
+zones of light and shade, that scud athwart the sea's surface, and give
+it a thousand varying aspects; the coast, with its headlands, its
+lighthouse, its sinuous and indented lines, its broad beach and belt of
+rocks; all these things form a panorama, that completely absorbs the
+faculties. You envy the good fortune of those who are outward bound, and
+whose course lies over yon smooth expanse of water, limited only by the
+sky, in search of other shores and other scenes. You bid them farewell
+with voice and gesture as familiar friends, and wish them fair winds and
+good speed, as though they could hear you.
+
+We were then in the beautiful month of June; the placid sea was as
+limpid and bright as the sky; the acacia was coming into full bloom, and
+embalmed the air far over sea and shore with its delicious perfume.
+Odessa is full of these trees, and when they are covered with their
+odorous blossoms, the streets, the squares, and even the meanest
+quarters, put on a charming gala aspect; the whole town is metamorphosed
+into a smiling garden.
+
+We feel bound to testify to the excellent arrangements of the quarantine
+establishment, and to the ready, obliging disposition of its officers.
+Though placed in such propinquity to Constantinople, the Odessa lazaret
+may serve as a model of its kind, and the excellence of the system
+observed in it is proved by the happy results obtained. Travellers are
+subjected to a quarantine of a fortnight only, and merchandise, after
+undergoing forty-eight hours' fumigation with preparations of chlorine,
+is immediately set free; yet since the existence of this establishment,
+there has not occurred in Odessa a single case of plague which could be
+ascribed to any defect in the sanatory regulations of the place. There
+is no denying the fact that in matters of quarantine, France remains in
+the extreme background. The lazaret of Marseilles, is at this day
+exactly what it was at the beginning of the last century. All our
+discoveries in chemistry and medicine have been of no avail against the
+inveterate force of old habits; and up to the present time,
+notwithstanding all the remonstrances of commercial men, it has been
+impossible to modify the sanatory regulations enforced in our
+Mediterranean ports. Marseilles is 600 leagues away from the countries
+ravaged by the plague, and yet vessels are subjected there, after
+five-and-twenty days' navigation, to a quarantine of forty-five days,
+and their cargoes are exposed in the open air for the same period. It
+has been frequently proposed to establish a new system, more in
+accordance with the advanced state of our knowledge; but it seems that
+the efforts of the government have always been defeated by the
+prejudices of the inhabitants of the south.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+      STREETS OF ODESSA--JEWS--HOTELS--PARTIALITY OF THE RUSSIANS
+      FOR ODESSA--HURRICANE, DUST, MUD, CLIMATE, &C.--PUBLIC
+      BUILDINGS.
+
+
+The day of our release from quarantine, was as full of bustle and
+annoyances as that of our arrival, the _spolio_ alone excepted. How we
+regretted the freedom of the East! There the traveller's movements are
+shackled by no formalities, but he is free from the moment he quits his
+vessel, to roam about the town as he pleases, without being pestered
+with the custom-house and police officers, and the _employés_ of all
+sorts that assail him in lands calling themselves civilised. But it is
+in Russia especially that he has most reason to pour out his wrathful
+imprecations on that army of birds of prey that pounce on him with an
+avidity truly intolerable. I can't tell how many formalities we had to
+go through from the hour appointed for our leaving the lazaret, until we
+finally got out of the clutches of the Custom-house, and could breathe
+freely. But our feelings of vexation, strong as they were, gave way to
+downright stupefaction, when we entered the town. Was this really that
+Odessa which had seemed so brilliant when we saw it from the lazaret,
+and which now presented itself to our eyes under so mean and wretched an
+aspect? Could we even grace with the name of town the place where we
+then were and the streets we beheld? It was a great open space without
+houses, filled with carts, and oxen rolling in the dust, in company with
+a mob of Russian and Polish peasants, all sleeping together in the sun,
+in a temperature of more than 90°.
+
+Whirlwinds of dust exactly like waterspouts in all but the material
+composing them, darkened the air every moment, and swept the ground with
+incredible fury. Further on, we entered a street wider than our highways
+in France, and flanked with little houses, one story high, and separated
+from each other by uncultivated gardens. The population consisting of
+Jews, whose filth is become proverbial in Russia, completed our disgust,
+and we knew not which way to turn our eyes to escape the sight of such
+loathsome objects. However, as we approached the heart of the town the
+streets began to show shops and houses, and the appearance of the
+inhabitants grew more diversified. But notwithstanding the carriages and
+droshkys that passed us rapidly, notwithstanding the footways of cut
+stone, and the Grecian architecture of the corn stores, we reached the
+Hotel de la Nouvelle Russie without having been able to reconcile
+ourselves to the aspect of the town; and there again we encountered
+fresh disappointments. We had been told by many of our acquaintances in
+Constantinople that the hotels of Odessa were among the best in Europe;
+great, therefore, was our surprise at not finding any one of the
+commonest requisites for travellers in the one at which we stopped. No
+linen, no bells, no servants to wait on us; it was with difficulty we
+could get a carafe of water after waiting for it half an hour. Our
+single apartment looked due south, and all the furniture in it consisted
+of a bedstead, a chest of drawers, and a few chairs, without a scrap of
+curtain to mitigate the blazing sunshine that scorched our eyes. And for
+such accommodation as this we had to pay eight rubles a day. But our
+amazement reached the highest pitch, when, after giving orders to fit up
+the bedstead which made so piteous a figure in this agreeable lodging,
+we were informed by the hotel keeper that every article was charged for
+separately. "What!" I exclaimed, in great indignation, "do we not pay
+eight rubles a day?" "Certainly, madame, but accessories are never
+included in the charge for the room. But if madame don't like, there is
+no need to have a bed furnished completely. We have generals and
+countesses that are satisfied with a plain mattress." We had no desire
+to follow the example of their Excellencies, so we were obliged to
+submit to our host's terms. It is fair to add, however, that
+circumstances to a certain extent justified some exorbitance of charge,
+for the Emperor Nicholas and his family were hourly expected, and the
+hotels were of course thronged with military men and strangers.
+
+Odessa now lays claim to a respectable rank among the towns of Europe.
+Its position on the Black Sea, the rapid increase of its population, its
+commercial wealth, and its brilliant society, all concur to place it
+next in Russia after the two capitals of the empire. Though but forty
+years have elapsed since its foundation, it has far outstripped those
+half-Sclavonic, half-Tartar cities, Kiev the holy, the great Novgorod,
+and Vladimir, all celebrated in the bloody annals of the tzars, and
+already old before Moscow and St. Petersburg were yet in existence.
+
+Odessa is not at all like any of the other towns in the empire. In it
+you hear every language and see all kinds of usages except those of the
+country. Nevertheless, the Russians prefer it even to St. Petersburg,
+for they enjoy greater liberty in it, and are relieved from the rigorous
+etiquette that engrosses three-fourths of their time in the capital.
+Besides this, Odessa possesses one grand attraction for the Russian and
+Polish ladies in the freedom of its port, which enables them to indulge
+their taste for dress and other luxuries without the ruinous expense
+these entail on them in St. Petersburg. Odessa is their Paris, which
+they are all bent on visiting at least once in their lives, whatever be
+the distance they have to travel. The reputation of the town has even
+passed the Russian frontiers, and people have been so obliging as to
+bestow on it the flattering name of the _Russian Florence_; but for what
+reason I really cannot tell. Odessa possesses neither arts nor artists;
+even the dilettante class is scarcely known there; the predominant
+spirit of trade leaves little room for a love of the beautiful, and the
+commercial men care very little about art. It is true that M. Vital, a
+distinguished French painter, has endeavoured to establish a
+drawing-academy under the patronage of Count Voronzof, but the success
+of his efforts may be doubted.
+
+The infatuated admiration of the Russians for Odessa is carried to the
+utmost extreme, and they cannot understand how a stranger can fail to
+share in it. How indeed can any one refuse to be enraptured with a town
+that possesses an Italian opera, fashionable shops, wide footways, an
+English club, a boulevard, a statue, two or three paved streets, &c.?
+Barbarian taste or envy could alone behold all this without admiration.
+After all, this enthusiasm of the Russians may be easily accounted for:
+accustomed as they are to their wildernesses of snow and mud, Odessa is
+for them a real Eldorado comprising all the seductions and pleasures of
+the world.
+
+If you will believe the Russians, snow is a thing of rare occurrence
+there, and every winter they wonder in all sincerity at the reappearance
+of sledges in the streets. But this does not hinder the thermometer from
+remaining steadily for several months at 25° or 26° R. below zero, and
+the whole sea from becoming one polished sheet of ice; nor does it
+dispense with the necessity of having double windows, stoves, and
+pelisses, just as in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Great, therefore, is the
+surprise of the traveller, who, on the strength of its flattering
+_sobriquet_, expects to find an Italian sun in Odessa, and who meets at
+every step nothing but frost-bitten faces and sledges. Besides these
+wintry rigours, there are the hurricanes that continually desolate the
+whole region, during what is elsewhere called the fine season. And these
+vicissitudes of the atmosphere are aggravated by another evil still more
+distressing, the dust, namely, which makes the town almost uninhabitable
+during a part of the year. Dust is here a real calamity, a fiend-like
+persecutor, that allows you not a moment's rest. It spreads out in seas
+and billows that rise with the least breath of wind, and envelop you
+with increasing fury, until you are stifled and blinded, and incapable
+of a single movement. The gusts of wind are so violent and sudden as to
+baffle every precaution. It is only at sunset that one can venture out
+at last to breathe the sea air on the boulevard, or to walk in the Rue
+Richelieu, the wide footways of which are then thronged by all the
+fashion of the place.
+
+Many natural causes combine to keep up this terrible plague. First, the
+argillaceous soil, the dryness of the air, the force of the wind, and
+the width of the streets; then the bad paving, the great extent of
+uncultivated ground still within the town, and the prodigious number of
+carriages. The local administration has tried all imaginable systems,
+with the hope of getting rid of the dust, and has even had stones
+brought from Italy to pave certain streets, but all its efforts have
+been ineffectual. At last, in a fit of despair, it fell upon the notable
+device of macadamising the well-paved Rue Italienne and Rue Richelieu.
+The only result of this operation was, of course, prodigiously to
+increase the evil. A wood paving, to be laid down by a Frenchman, is now
+talked of, and it appears that his first attempts have been quite
+successful.
+
+In order to give some idea of the violence of the hurricanes to which
+the country is subject, I will mention a phenomenon of which I was
+myself a witness. After a very hot day in 1840, the air of Odessa
+gradually darkened about four in the afternoon, until it was impossible
+to see twenty paces before one. The oppressive feel of the atmosphere,
+the dead calm, and the portentous colour of the sky, filled every one
+with deep consternation, and seemed to betoken some fearful catastrophe.
+For an hour and a half the spectator could watch the progress of this
+novel eclipse, which as yet was without a precedent in those parts. The
+thermometer attained the enormous height of 104° F. The obscurity was
+then complete; presently the most furious tempest imagination can
+conceive, burst forth, and when the darkness cleared off, there was seen
+over the sea, what looked like a waterspout of prodigious depth and
+breadth, suspended at a height of several feet above the water, and
+moving slowly away until it dispersed at last at a distance of many
+miles from the shore. The eclipse and the waterspout were nothing else
+than dust, and that day Odessa was swept cleaner than it will probably
+ever be again.
+
+During the winter the dust is changed into liquid mud, in which the
+pedestrian sinks up to mid-leg, and in which he might soon drown
+himself, if his humour so disposed him. A long pole to take soundings
+with, would not come amiss to one who had to steer his course between
+the slimy abysses with which some streets are filled. Formerly, that is
+to say some fifteen years ago, ladies used to repair to the ball-room in
+carts, drawn each by a numerous team of oxen. At present the principal
+streets are paved and lighted, and one may proceed to an evening party
+in a rather more elegant equipage; but the poor pedestrian,
+nevertheless, finds it a most difficult task to drag his feet out of the
+adhesive mud that meets him whichever way he turns; those, therefore,
+who have no carriages in Odessa, are obliged to live in absolute
+solitude. The distances are as great as in Paris, and the only vehicle
+for hire is what is called in Russia a droshky; that is to say, a sort
+of saddle mounted on four wheels, on which men sit astride, and ladies
+find it very difficult to seat themselves with decorum. The droshky
+affords you no protection from either mud, dust, or rain, and at most is
+only suitable to men of business and Russians, who never go out of doors
+without their cloaks, even in the height of summer.
+
+Odessa contains no remarkable building. In many private houses and in
+most of the corn warehouses, a lavish use has been made of the Greek
+style of architecture, which accords neither with the climate, nor above
+all with the materials employed. All those columns, pediments, and
+regular façades, with which the eye is so soon satiated, are in plaster,
+and they begin to spoil even before the building is finished. The
+mouldings must be renewed every year, and notwithstanding this care,
+most of the houses and churches have an air of dilapidation, that makes
+them resemble ruins rather than palaces and temples. The cathedral
+itself has nothing to distinguish it but its bulk. One must not look for
+the rules of architecture, or for elegance of form, or pleasing details
+in the religious edifices. They are monotonous in character, and shabby
+in structure and fittings. Their interiors are glaring with pictures and
+gilding, but all in the spurious taste of the Lower Empire. The
+oddly-accoutred saints, the biblical scenes so grotesquely travestied,
+the profusion of tinsel, and the reds, greens, and blues, laid one upon
+the other, in the coarsest discordance, far too disagreeably shock the
+sight to inspire any serious and pious thoughts.
+
+Odessa has also some synagogues, a Catholic church, and one or two
+Protestant places of worship, which from their humble appearance might
+rather be taken for private houses. It has but one promenade, the
+Boulevard, which overlooks the whole harbour, and is exposed, from its
+situation, to frequent landslips. The vicinity of this promenade is the
+most fashionable quarter. The theatre, the exchange, the mansions of
+Count Voronzof and the Princess Narishkin; a line of very elegant
+houses, and the throng of carriages, all bespeak the presence of the
+aristocracy. Workmen have been employed for the last two or three years
+in constructing a gigantic staircase, to lead by a very gentle descent
+from the Boulevard to the sea-beach. This expensive and useless toy, is
+likely to cost nearly forty-thousand pounds. It is intended to be
+ornamented with vases and statues; but some considerable fissures
+already give reason to fear the speedy destruction of this great
+staircase, which after all can never be of any use, except to the
+promenaders on the Boulevard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+      THE IMPERIAL FAMILY IN ODESSA--CHURCH MUSIC--SOCIETY OF THE
+      PLACE, COUNT AND COUNTESS VORONZOF--ANECDOTE OF THE COUNTESS
+      BRANISKA--THE THEATRE--THEATRICAL ROW.
+
+
+The brilliant fêtes that took place on the arrival of the imperial
+family, happened most opportunely for us, and enabled us to see many
+celebrated personages. All the foreigners of distinction who had been
+present at the famous review of Vosnecensk, followed the emperor to
+Odessa, and prolonged their stay there after his departure. The whole
+town was in revolution. The houses of dubious colour were most carefully
+re-coated, and even old tumbling walls were plastered and coloured. Te
+Deum was chanted in the cathedral the day their majesties arrived; the
+emperor and his eldest son attended, and were met at the great doors by
+the whole Russian clergy dressed in their richest robes, and headed by
+the archbishop. The emperor was accompanied by a long-train of courtiers
+and officers, whose golden embroideries and glittering decorations vied
+in splendour with the magnificent costumes of the popes and choristers.
+The Te Deum appeared to me incomparably beautiful. Whoever would know
+the full power of harmony, should hear the religious music of the
+Russians. The notes are so full, so grave, of such thrilling sweetness,
+and such extraordinary volume, and all the voices, seeming as though
+they issued from the depths of the building, accord so admirably with
+each other, that no language can express the effect of that mighty music
+and the profound emotion it excites. I had often heard enthusiastic
+accounts of the Russian church-singing, but all fell far short of what I
+then heard. After the Te Deum the archbishop presented his episcopal
+ring to the tzar and the grand duke, who kissed it respectfully. The
+imperial party then left the cathedral, which was filled with clouds of
+incense. The vast throng, assembled in front of the building, dispersed
+in silence, without pressure or confusion; and the interference of the
+Cossacks, appointed to maintain order, was not for a moment requisite.
+
+In the evening there was a grand illumination, the empress held a
+drawing-room, and there was an extraordinary representation at the
+theatre, at which the whole imperial family was present. It was noticed
+that during the whole evening, the emperor sat behind the empress and
+did not once advance to the front of the box. There was therefore not a
+single hurrah, but every one seemed to affect ignorance of his majesty's
+presence. Next day the merchants gave a grand ball to the imperial
+family. It was a very brilliant assemblage: the exchange-rooms were all
+full of Highnesses and Excellencies, and the poor merchants cut but a
+sorry figure amongst all the embroidered uniforms, the wearers of which
+elbowed and pushed them aside contemptuously. With an excessive devotion
+to etiquette, they had adopted knee-breeches, cocked-hats, and a
+_soi-disant_ uniform, with swords at their sides; but this costume was
+far less becoming than the black dress which they would certainly have
+done better in retaining. A boudoir all lined with vines had been
+constructed for the empress, and the fine clusters of grapes hung from
+the branches as if to invite her royal hand to pluck them.
+
+The imperial family remained but five or six days in Odessa, and then
+proceeded in a steamer to the Crimea. Their presence in the town
+produced on the whole a very favourable impression.
+
+It remains for us to say a few words respecting the society to be met
+with in Odessa. It consists of so many heterogeneous elements, that it
+possesses no distinctive character of its own; French, Germans,
+Russians, English, Greeks, and Italians, all bring to it their
+respective opinions, habits, language, interests, and prejudices. The
+Countess Voronzof's drawing-rooms are the general rendezvous of that
+aristocratic, commercial, and travelling world, which is to be found in
+similar admixture only in some of the towns of Italy. The same confusion
+prevails among the women; the noble and proud Narishkin may be seen
+there side by side with a broker's wife: pure blood, mixed blood, all
+shades, all tones, all possible physiognomies are there assembled
+together.
+
+Count Voronzof is a veritable _grand seigneur_, and spends more than
+£6000 a year in pomps and entertainments. His name, his immense fortune,
+and his influence at court give him the predominance over most of the
+emperor's favourites. Brought up in England, where his father was
+ambassador for more than forty years, he seems more an Englishman than a
+Russian, and has retained nothing of his nationality except his devoted
+loyalty to the emperor, and the exquisite politeness that distinguishes
+the Russian nobles. His talents, his affability, and great facility of
+character, secure him numerous admirers amongst the Odessians and
+foreigners. Nicholas could not have made a better choice than in
+selecting him for governor of New Russia. His sumptuous tastes and vast
+wealth give great _éclat_ to the rank he fills, and put him on a par
+with the most magnificent lords of Europe. His wife is the daughter of
+the celebrated Countess Braniska, whose gigantic fortune was long an
+object of astonishment to the Russians themselves. She died but recently
+at the age of ninety-five, leaving her immense fortune to her only son,
+with the exception only of a fourteenth part, which was all that
+devolved, according to the laws of Russia, on her two daughters. Her
+avarice was as notorious as her wealth, and stories are told of her,
+that far out-do all that is related of the most famous misers. I will
+mention but one of them, the authenticity of which was warranted to me
+by an eye-witness.
+
+Mr. Dantz, one of our friends, having had occasion to call on the
+countess, on matters of business, left his britchka in a court-yard of
+her house, in which there was some cattle. A large bundle of hay,
+intended for his horses, was hung behind the carriage, according to the
+usual custom in Russia. Being shown into a room that looked out into the
+court-yard, he became engaged in a brisk discussion with the countess,
+who would not yield to any of his arguments, and soon losing patience
+rose, as if to put an end to the interview, and walked to a window. But
+no sooner had she looked down into the court-yard than she again took up
+all the points of the discussion, one after the other, seeming
+half-disposed to yield, and keeping Mr. Dantz in suspense for more than
+a half an hour. Exceedingly puzzled by this sudden change in the lady's
+temper, which he knew not how to account for, he narrowly watched all
+her movements, and observed that from time to time she cast a rapid
+glance into the court-yard; whereupon he went with affected carelessness
+to the window, and what did he see? Two or three horribly lean cows
+busily devouring the hay behind his carriage. The countess had prolonged
+the interview in order to gain time for her cows to feed at her
+visitor's expense; and, accordingly, as soon as the last blade of hay
+was eaten up, she resumed all her stateliness, cut short the discussion
+with a word, and gave Mr. Dantz his congé.
+
+Odessa is a town of pleasure and luxury, where the ladies, it is said,
+ruin their husbands by their profusion and extravagant love of dress. In
+addition to the balls, concerts, and soirées of all sorts, performances
+for the benefit of the poor are given every year in the great theatre,
+by the _court_, as the Countess Voronzof's establishment is called. All
+the _élite_ of Odessa, take part in these amusements, which bring in
+considerable sums. The countess at first set the example, by herself
+performing a part; but an order from the emperor forbade her thus
+exhibiting in public, and since that time she confines herself to the
+business of managing behind the curtain. The house is always well
+filled, and each performance brings in four or five thousand rubles. The
+skill displayed by these noble actors is not to be surpassed by any
+professional company; but this is not surprising, for every one knows in
+how high a degree the Russians possess the talent for imitation;
+whatever they see they mimic with ease, and without preparation. It is
+needless to add that the performances are in French, and that the
+pieces are taken from our stock. M. Scribe is almost the sole
+contributor. Nowhere, perhaps, is our witty vaudevillist so much prized
+as in Russia.
+
+Odessa possesses the only Italian theatre in Russia. The company is
+generally well composed, and gives, during the whole year, performances,
+which are but scantily attended, notwithstanding the passionate
+admiration which the Odessians affect for Italian music. It is only in
+the bathing season, when the Poles fill the town, that the house
+presents a somewhat more animated appearance. All the rest of the year
+the boxes are almost deserted, and the Jews alone frequent the pit. In
+1840, Mademoiselle Georges entered into a six months' engagement with
+the manager of the Odessa theatre, and arrived with a numerous company,
+including some really superior actors. Yet, notwithstanding her European
+celebrity and her ample _repertoire_, she would scarcely have covered
+her expenses, but for the strenuous exertions of her quondam admirer,
+General N., who welcomed her as though fifteen years had not interrupted
+their liaison, and placed his mansion, his equipages, his purse, and his
+credit, at her disposal, with all the chivalric gallantry of a Russian
+magnifico.
+
+But all his efforts were unable to reverse the very unfavourable
+sentence which public opinion had, from the first, pronounced upon his
+protégé. Notwithstanding the superior talent with which she still plays
+certain parts, she was appreciated but by a very small number of
+persons; and she left Odessa with sentiments of deep disdain for a
+public that so much preferred the paltriest vaudeville to all her bursts
+of passion as to make almost open war upon her. A thing till then almost
+unheard-of in Russia took place at the last performance of the French
+company: a regular cabal was formed, attended with an explosion of very
+stormy passions. The whole town was divided into two factions, the one
+for Mademoiselle Georges, the other for M. Montdidier, one of her best
+actors. Our tragedy queen, it is said, was exceedingly jealous of this
+preference, and lost no opportunity of mortifying her rival.
+Accordingly, she purposely selected for the last performance, two pieces
+in which he had no part. The public, greatly dissatisfied at not seeing
+the name of their favourite actor in the bills, repaired to the theatre
+in an ill-humour, of which they soon gave very intelligible symptoms.
+Things passed off, however, tolerably well until the end of the last
+piece; but then there was a call for Montdidier, which was taken up, and
+vehemently sustained by the whole pit, notwithstanding all the efforts
+of the police, General N's coterie, and the presence of the
+governor-general. This incident which had been altogether unforeseen by
+the managers, caused them extreme perplexity; no one knew where
+Montdidier was to be found. At last, seeing the row increase, Count
+Voronzof himself ordered the commissioner of police to go to
+Montdidier's hotel, and fetch him alive or dead. The commissioner found
+him fast asleep, and quite unconscious of all the agitation he was
+causing in the theatre. He hurried thither, and was proceeding to show
+himself on the stage, but was stopped by the whole company with
+Mademoiselle Georges at their head, under pretext that such a course
+would be an infraction of all the rules of the theatre. In short, there
+was, for a while, an indescribable tumult. The whole pit stood up and
+never ceased shouting until they saw Montdidier rush on the stage, with
+his dress in a state of disorder that showed what a hard battle he had
+sustained behind the scenes. The angry shouts were now succeeded by an
+explosion of applause; the boxes rang with prolonged bravos, and even
+Count Voronzof himself was seen clapping his hands and laughing with all
+his might. The whole audience seemed to have lost their wits. General
+N., quite disconcerted, slunk back into the rear of his box, and said to
+one of his friends as he pointed to the stage, "Look at those Frenchmen;
+they have only to show themselves to upset all established usages and
+principles. They bring with them disorder, rebellion, and the spirit of
+revolution; and the contagion soon spreads even among the most sensible
+people." In truth nothing of the kind had ever before been seen in
+Odessa; and all the jealousies of the _primissime donne_ had never
+caused the twentieth part of the confusion that marked that memorable
+night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+      COMMERCE OF THE BLACK SEA--PROHIBITIVE SYSTEM AND ITS
+      PERNICIOUS RESULTS--DEPRESSED STATE OF AGRICULTURE--TRADE
+      OF ODESSA--ITS BANK.
+
+
+From the destruction of the Genoese colonies in the Crimea, in 1476,
+down to the treaty of Kainardji, a period of 300 years, the Black Sea
+remained closed against the nations of the West, and was the privileged
+domain of Turkey. Its whole coast belonged to the sultans of
+Constantinople, and the khans of the Crimea. The Turks, and the Greeks
+of the Archipelago, subjects of the Ottoman Porte, had the sole right of
+navigating those waters, and all the commerce of Europe with that
+portion of the East was exclusively in the hands of the latter people.
+The conquests of Peter the Great, and subsequently those of the
+celebrated Catherine II., changed this state of things. The Russians
+advanced towards the south, and soon made themselves masters of the Sea
+of Azof, the Crimea, and all the northern coasts of the Black Sea.
+Nevertheless, it was not until July 21, 1774, after six consecutive
+campaigns, and many victories achieved by the Russians, by sea and land,
+that the treaty of Kainardji was signed, which by throwing open the
+Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, effected a real revolution in the
+commercial relations of Europe, and definitively secured to Russia that
+immense influence which it exercises to this day over the destinies of
+the East. The treaty of Kainardji ere long received a more ample
+extension. Austria, France, and successively all the other powers,
+partook in the advantages of the Black Sea navigation. Russia was,
+therefore, justly entitled to the gratitude of Europe, for the new
+channels she had opened to its commerce.
+
+Once mistress of the Black Sea, and free to communicate with the
+Mediterranean, Catherine earnestly applied herself to the foundation of
+a port, which should be at once military and commercial. The mouth of
+the Dniepr, one of the largest rivers of Russia, at first attracted her
+attention. General Hannibal founded the town of Kherson upon it, in
+1788, by her orders; and in 1783, a Frenchman, afterwards ennobled by
+Louis XVI., established the first foreign commercial house there, and
+contracted to supply the arsenals of Toulon with the hemp and timber
+conveyed down the Dniepr. Kherson, however, did not prosper as might
+have been expected. The empress's intentions were defeated by the
+exigencies of the system of customs prevailing in the empire, and it was
+impossible to obtain for the port of Kherson the franchises so necessary
+for a new town, and for the extension of its commerce.
+
+The dismemberment of Poland gave a new turn to Catherine's commercial
+ideas. The port of Kherson was abandoned, or nearly so, in 1796, and the
+preference was given to Odessa, which, by its more western position,
+considerably facilitated the exportation of agricultural produce,
+wherein consisted the chief wealth of the palatinates of Podolia,
+Volhynia, and the other provinces newly incorporated with the Russian
+possessions. No change, however, was made in the system of customs, and
+it was not until 1803, in the reign of Alexander, that a reduction of
+one-fourth was made in the duties imposed by the general tariff on all
+exports and imports in the harbours of the Black Sea. In 1804, Odessa
+was made an entrepôt for sea-borne goods, the entrance of which was
+permitted into Russia. They might remain there in bond for eighteen
+months; a favour which was the more important at that period, because,
+as the import duties were considerable, the merchants would have been
+obliged to draw heavily on their capital, had they been obliged to
+defray them at once. An ukase of the 5th of March, in the same year,
+allowed transit, free of duty, to all foreign goods which were not
+prohibited in Odessa, or which arrived there from other towns of Russia;
+such goods if destined for Moldavia and Wallachia, were to pass through
+the custom-houses of Mohelef and Dubassar; for Austria, through those of
+Radzivilof; for Prussia, through those of Kezinsky; and foreign goods
+sent through these four establishments to Odessa, were allowed free
+transit there by sea. These liberal and very enlightened arrangements
+vastly augmented the prosperity of Odessa, and soon attracted the
+attention of all speculators to that port.
+
+About the year 1817 an increased duty was laid on all foreign goods in
+the Black Sea; but at the same period Odessa was definitively declared
+to be a free port, without restriction. Things continued thus until
+1822; and it was during this interval that all those great foreign
+houses were established in Odessa, some of which exist to this day. The
+commerce of Southern Russia had then reached its apogee. After the long
+wars of the French empire the agriculture of Europe was in a very
+depressed condition, and it was necessary to have recourse to Russia for
+the corn which other countries could not raise in sufficient quantity
+for their own subsistence. Odessa thus became, under the wise
+administration of the Duc de Richelieu, one of the most active
+commercial cities of eastern Europe; its population increased
+prodigiously; the habits induced by prosperity gave a new stimulus to
+its import trade, and every year hundreds of vessels entered its port to
+take in agricultural freights of all kinds.
+
+Dazzled by this commercial prosperity, till then unexampled in Russia,
+and, doubtless believing it unalterably established, the government then
+chose to return to its prohibitive system, and, whether through
+ignorance or incapacity, the ministry deliberately ruined with their own
+hands the commercial wealth of Southern Russia. In 1822, at the moment
+when it was least expected, an ukase suppressed the freedom of the port
+of Odessa, and made it obligatory on the merchants to pay the duties on
+all goods then in the warehouses. This excited intense alarm, and as it
+was totally impossible to pay immediately such enormous duties as those
+imposed by the general tariff of the empire, the merchants remonstrated
+earnestly and threatened, all of them, to commit bankruptcy. The
+governor of the town, dismayed at the disasters which the enforcement of
+the law would occasion, took it on his own responsibility to delay; and
+commissioners were sent to St. Petersburg to acquaint the emperor with
+the state of commerce in Odessa. Alexander, whose intentions were always
+excellent, and who had no doubt been deceived by false reports, promptly
+annulled the ukase. The freedom of the port of Odessa was therefore
+re-established, but not to the same extent as before. Concessions were
+made to the board of customs, a fifth of the duties exacted in other
+Russian ports was imposed on goods entering Odessa, and the other
+four-fifths were to be paid on their departure for the interior. The
+limits of the free port were also considerably reduced, and two lines of
+custom-houses were formed, the one round the port, the other round the
+town. These lines still subsist.
+
+The victories of the board of customs did not stop here, and new
+measures, suggested and supported no doubt by fraud, were put in force.
+We have spoken of the free transit traffic through the towns of
+Doubassar, Radzivilov, and Odessa. This traffic was increasing rapidly;
+all the merchants of western Asia were beginning to take the Odessa
+route to make their purchases in the great fairs of Germany. There was
+every probability that Odessa would be one of the principal points of
+arrival and exchange for all the produce of Europe and Asia. The
+Transcaucasian provinces enjoyed very extensive commercial freedom at
+this period by virtue of an ukase promulgated, October 20, 1821.
+Redoutkalé, at the mouth of the Phasis, on the shores of Mingrelia, was
+then the port to which all the goods from Leipsic were conveyed by sea;
+from thence they passed to Tiflis and Erivan, and were then distributed
+over all the adjacent countries, through Turkey, Armenia, and even as
+far as Persia. The Armenians had secured this traffic almost exclusively
+to themselves. They appeared for the first time in Odessa in 1823. The
+next year they advanced as far as Leipsic, where they bought European
+manufactures to the amount of more than 600,000 francs; in 1825 their
+purchases rose to 1,200,000 francs, and in 1826 to 2,800,000. All these
+goods were conveyed by land to Odessa, and there embarked on the Black
+Sea for Redoutkaleh. It may easily be conceived what a happy influence
+such a traffic would have exercised over the agriculture and cattle
+rearing of Southern Russia, and eventually on the prosperity of the
+population engaged in this carrying trade. But all these promising
+elements of prosperity were to be annihilated by the narrow views of the
+minister of finance. The commercial franchise of the Caucasian
+provinces, after having lasted for ten years, was suddenly suppressed on
+the first of January, 1832. The most rigorous prohibitive system was put
+in force; Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, more than 220 miles from the
+Black Sea, was made the centre of the customs administration, and all
+goods destined for that part of Asia had to pass through that town to be
+examined there and pay duty.
+
+By these arbitrary and exclusive measures, the government thought to
+encourage native manufactures; and by prohibiting the goods of Germany,
+France, and England, it hoped to force the productions of Russia on the
+trans-Caucasian provinces. The transit trade was, of course, proscribed
+at the same period. By a first ukase, the merchants were forced to
+deposit at the frontier in Radzivilof, double the value of their goods,
+and the money was only to be returned to them at Odessa, upon
+verification of their bales. It is obviously not to be thought of that
+merchants, however wealthy, should carry with them, in addition to the
+capital to be expended on their purchases, double the value of their
+goods _in transitu_. This new measure, therefore, was sufficient of
+itself alone to put an entire stop to the transit trade. The Persians
+and Armenians forsook this route, and chose another, to the great
+detriment of Russia. At present the value of the transit is from 180,000
+to 200,000 francs, the goods being chiefly yellow amber, sent from
+Prussia to Turkey. For a charge of fifteen francs per twenty
+kilogrammes, the Jews undertake to give security to the customs in
+title-deeds, which they hire at the rate of five or six per cent., and
+they despatch the goods directly to Odessa.
+
+England, always so prompt to seize opportunities, took advantage of the
+blunders of Russia. She secured a position in Trebizond, and her
+merchants, recoiling from no sacrifice, formed there an immense
+entrepôt, from which they soon sent out the manufactures of their
+country into all the provinces of Asia. Business to the amount of more
+than 2,000,000_l._ sterling, is now carried on in Trebizond, and two
+sets of steamboats ply between it and Constantinople.
+
+Thus Russia lost one of the most important commercial lines in the
+world, and by her extravagant increase of duties she completely
+extinguished the lawful import trade of the Caucasian provinces. But
+English and other foreign goods still find their way there by
+contraband, and the government officers are themselves the first to
+profit by this system; for they are still more desirous than the native
+inhabitants to procure manufactured goods, and, above all, at a moderate
+price. The prohibitive measures of Russia have, therefore, really
+recoiled on the government itself, and the treasury loses considerably
+by them, not only in the Caucasus, but also on the European frontiers.
+Owing to the freedom of its port, the town of Odessa, of course, suffers
+less from the disastrous effects of this prohibitive system, and finds
+some commercial resources in its own consumption, and in that of its
+environs. Nevertheless, as this consumption, (which notwithstanding the
+contraband trade is kept in full vigour by the Jews, and even by the
+highest classes,) is out of all proportion to the exportation, and as
+there is very little exchange traffic, foreign vessels are gradually
+deserting the Black Sea; and, besides this, their charges for freight
+are necessarily too high, in consequence of their being obliged in
+almost every instance to repair in ballast to the harbours of South
+Russia. Then we must take into account the remoteness of the Black Sea;
+the dread, not yet quite effaced, with which it is regarded; the
+impossibility of finding freights anywhere except in Odessa; the
+excessive severity of the winter, and the usual obstructions of the
+harbours by ice during three or four months every year. All these things
+combine to repel mariners; so that nothing, except extraordinary
+cheapness and great profits, could induce merchants to send their
+vessels for freight to the ports of Southern Russia.
+
+Thus driven away by the prohibitive system of Russia, many nations are
+seeking to establish markets for their productions elsewhere. It is also
+to be remarked that agriculture has made very great progress in Europe
+since the re-establishment of peace; and consequently the exportation of
+corn from Russia has considerably diminished. Nevertheless, we are of
+opinion that Southern Russia would have lost little of its agricultural
+importance, notwithstanding its system of customs, if the government,
+instead of remaining stationary, had sincerely entered on a course of
+improvement.
+
+All circumstances seem to combine in New Russia to make the productions
+of the soil as economical as possible, and to enable them to compete
+successfully with those of all other countries. The soil is virgin and
+very abundant; labour is cheap and the price of cattle extraordinarily
+low; whilst serfdom, by obliging thousands of men to employ at least
+half their time for the benefit of their lords, ought naturally to tend
+to diminish the price of bread stuffs. Unfortunately the means of
+communication have been totally neglected, and the government has taken
+no steps to facilitate transport; in consequence of this the price of
+grain, instead of falling is constantly increasing, and merchants are no
+longer willing to purchase except in seasons of scarcity. The wheat
+sent to Odessa from Khivia, Volhynia, Podolia, and Bessarabia, arrives
+in carts drawn by oxen. The journeys are tedious, the extreme rate of
+travelling being not more than fifteen miles a day; and they are costly,
+for the carriage of a tchetvert or seven bushels of corn varies from
+four to six rubles; moreover, the transport can only be effected between
+May and September in consequence of the deplorable state of the roads
+during the other seven months of the year. The result of all this is
+that wheat, though very cheap in the provinces we have mentioned, is
+quoted at very high prices comparatively at Odessa, so as not to leave
+foreign speculators a sufficient profit to compensate for the length of
+the voyage to the Black Sea, the outlay of capital, and the enormous
+expenses caused by the quarantines to which many goods are subject.
+Besides this, Odessa is the only port that offers any facilities for
+commerce; Kherson situated in the midst of a fertile and productive
+region, is only a harbour of export, and its commerce cannot possibly
+extend; for the ships destined to take in freight at that port must
+previously perform quarantine in Odessa. All the landowners are
+therefore forced to send their produce to Odessa, if they would have any
+chance of sale. But, as we have already observed, the means of
+communication are everywhere wanting. It must, indeed, be owned that the
+construction of stone-faced roads is attended with great difficulty, for
+throughout all the plains of Southern Russia the materials, are scarce
+and for the most part of bad quality, being limestone of a friable
+character. But might not the produce of a great part of Poland, and of
+all new Russia, be conveyed to Odessa by the Pruth, the Dniestr, and the
+Dniepr?
+
+The only goods conveyed down the Dniestr consist at present of some
+rafts of timber and firewood from the mountains of Austrian Gallicia.
+The Russian government has repeatedly been desirous of improving the
+navigation of the river in compliance with the desire of the inhabitants
+of its banks. A survey was made in 1827, and again in 1840.
+Unfortunately all these investigations being made by men of no capacity
+led to nothing. An engineer was commissioned in 1829 to make a report on
+the works necessary for rendering the river practicable at Jampol, where
+it is obstructed by a small chain of granite. He estimated the expense
+at 185,000 francs, whereas it was secretly ascertained that 10,000 would
+be more than enough. The project was then abandoned. Thus with the best
+and most laudable intentions, the government is constantly crippled in
+its plans of amelioration whether by the incapacity or by the bad faith
+and cupidity of its functionaries. Last year the subject of the
+navigation of the Dniestr was again taken up, and it is even alleged
+that the Russian government has given orders for two steam-vessels
+destined to ply on that river.
+
+The works on the Dniepr are scarcely in a more forward state than those
+of the Dniestr. It is known that below Iekaterinoslaf the course of the
+river is traversed by a granite chain, which extends between that town
+and Alexandrof, a distance of more than fifteen leagues. At the time of
+the conquest of the Crimea and the shores of the Black Sea, it was
+proposed to render navigable the thirteen rapids that form what has been
+improperly denominated the cataracts of the Dniepr. Works were begun at
+various times, but always abandoned. They were resumed under Nicholas
+with new ardour, but the government was soon discouraged by the enormous
+cost, and, above all, by the peculations of its servants. The whole
+amount of work done up to the present time is a wretched canal 300 yards
+long, more dangerous for barges to pass through than the rapids
+themselves. This canal was finished in 1838. The works had not yet been
+resumed when we left Russia in 1841. The rapids of the Dniepr are
+therefore still as impracticable as ever, and it is only during the
+spring floods, a period of a month or six weeks, that barges venture to
+pass them; and even then it rarely happens that they escape without
+accident. More than eighty men were lost in them in 1839, and a
+multitude of barges and rafts were knocked to pieces on the rocks. The
+goods that thus descend the Dniepr consist almost exclusively of timber
+and firewood, and Siberian iron. Corn never makes any part of the cargo,
+because in case of accident it would be lost beyond recovery. But what
+will really seem incredible is, that the German colonists settled below
+the rapids, are obliged to convey their produce to the Sea of Azov in
+order to find any market for it; hence the greater part of the
+government of Iekaterinoslaf, and those of Poltava and Tchernikof,
+watered by the Dniepr, are in a perpetual state of distress, though they
+have wheat in abundance; and the peasants sunk into the deepest
+wretchedness, are compelled every year to make journeys of 300 miles,
+and often more, to earn from six to seven francs a month in the service
+of the landowners on the borders of the Black Sea. The eastern part of
+the government of Iekaterinoslaf profits by the vicinity of the Sea of
+Azov, and tries to dispose of its corn in Taganrok, Marioupol, and
+Berdiansk, a port newly established by Count Voronzof.
+
+This general survey of the means of transport possessed by Russia, is
+enough to show that the corn-trade of these regions owes its vast
+development in a great measure to fortuitous circumstances; and that the
+absence of easy communication, and the prohibitive system, both tend to
+bring it down lower and lower every year. Here follows a statement of
+the price of corn at Tulzin, one of the least remote points of Volhynia,
+and the cost of carriage to Odessa, during the years 1828-30, and 1839,
+40, 41.
+
+                    1828-30.                Rubles.      1839-40-41.
+
+  Price of 100 kilogrammes of wheat
+    on the spot                              15.30          63.70
+  Cost of carriage to Odessa                  1.56           2.50
+  Export Duties                               0.39           0.39
+                                            -------        --------
+                          Total              17.25          66.59
+                          Or               _15s. 9d._     _61s. 3d._
+
+From this table we see that prices rose remarkably during the latter
+years. We must remark, however, that the years 1828-29-30, were
+unusually productive, and the prices prevailing in them are by no means
+an average. But it is altogether obvious that with such prices, and an
+absolute blank in importation, the commerce of Southern Russia must
+necessarily perish. In 1841, the merchants could only offer the masters
+of merchant vessels two-and-a-half francs per sack for freight to
+Marseilles, while the latter can hardly realise any profit even at the
+rate of four francs. For Trieste they offered only twenty, and even
+eighteen kreutzers, whereas not less than sixty will yield any
+remuneration. Ship owners will not henceforth be tempted to visit Odessa
+in quest of gain. The English alone have obtained tolerable freights.
+
+To all these causes of ruin are to be added the enormous charges to
+which merchants are subject; those of the first class pay 300 rubles for
+their licence, always in advance; the postage charges for letters are
+exorbitant; there are persons whose yearly correspondence costs 10,000,
+15,000, 20,000 rubles. An ordinary letter to London pays seven and even
+eight rubles. Again, the great merchants not choosing to sit idle, keep
+up the high prices by their purchases: they may no doubt gain
+occasionally by these speculations, but they generally lose. Witness the
+disasters and failures of the year 1841. What chance of prosperity can
+there be for a trade that at the moment of the departure of the goods,
+hardly ever promises any profit at the current prices in the place of
+destination, and which consequently lives only on the hope of an
+eventual rise? How will it be with it in a few years, when the canals
+and railroads projected in Germany, shall have been finished? At this
+day the wheat of Nuremberg and Bamberg, reaches England by way of
+Amsterdam.
+
+But without going so far, Southern Russia now sees growing up against it
+in the Black Sea a competition, which is daily becoming more formidable.
+The principalities of the Danube, have made immense progress in ten
+years, in consequence of the franchises and privileges bestowed on them
+by the treaty of Adrianople. Galatz and Ibraïla, now furnish a
+considerable quantity of corn to the foreigner; and in spite of the
+disadvantages of having to ascend the Danube, masters of vessels now
+prefer repairing to those ports on account of their administrative
+facilities, and above all by reason of the commercial resources which
+importation offers there. In 1839, Marseilles bought more than 4000
+hectolitres of wheat in the markets of Galatz and Ibraïla, whilst the
+port of Odessa hardly supplied it with twice that quantity. We will
+return by and by to the question of the Danube, when we come to speak of
+Bessarabia.
+
+Another measure fatal to the corn-trade, was the decision of the
+government with respect to the confiscated lands of the Poles. After the
+revolution of 1831, more than 423,000 peasants were sequestrated to the
+crown. These peasants occupied extremely fertile regions lying very near
+Odessa: Ouman, the property of Alexander Potocki, made part of them. The
+government committed the management of these lands to public servants,
+selected chiefly from among the retired veteran officers, or those who
+had been incapacitated for service by their wounds. Under such
+management, pillage and the most utter neglect were the order of the
+day, and the consequence was, that the lands produced literally nothing
+to the crown, and served only to enrich their administrators. Weary of
+this disorder, the government determined in 1836 to detach nearly 93,000
+peasants from these lands, and incorporate them with the military
+colonies. Nor did it stop there, but under pretext of removing all
+opportunity for extortion on the part of its servants, it issued an
+order in 1840, confining the new colonists to the cultivation of oats
+and barley, and forbidding them to sow wheat for exportation. These
+regulations, occasioned by the general corruption of the public
+servants, which the imperial will is powerless to check, produced
+melancholy results for the trade of Odessa, and that town was suddenly
+deprived of the agricultural produce it used to draw from the fertile
+soil of Ouman.
+
+We must now enter into some considerations, bearing more immediately on
+Odessa itself. The credit that town enjoys abroad is extremely limited
+by the inordinate privileges of the imperial bank. In cases of
+bankruptcy, that establishment is entitled to disregard all competing
+claims, and to pay itself immediately by the sale of the real and
+personal property of its debtor, without reference to his other
+creditors; it is entitled to pay itself: 1st. the capital lent; 2nd. A
+surcharge of eight per cent., called re-exchange, arising out of the
+cost of brokerage and renewal of bills every three months; and, 3rd.
+Interest on the capital and surcharge, at the rate of 1-1/2 per cent,
+per month, until the whole debt is liquidated. The fatal effects of such
+a system may easily be conceived; the merchants of Odessa can seldom
+establish a credit with foreign houses.
+
+As for the uses of the bank, they consist: 1st. In discounting town
+bills that have not more than four months to run; 2nd. In making
+advances on goods; 3rd. In serving as a bank of deposit for the
+mercantile houses; 4th. In giving drafts on the other banks of the
+empire, and paying their drafts on itself; 5th. In receiving deposits on
+interest.
+
+The drafts were of great use in commerce, particularly for the payments
+between St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa: the charge upon them was a
+quarter per cent., whilst the conveyance of money through the post costs
+one per cent., besides postage. This convenient system was unfortunately
+put an end to in 1841. The charge on drafts now amounting to five per
+cent., operations of this kind have consequently become impossible. It
+was, probably, with a view to the revenues of the post-office, that this
+sage measure was adopted by the minister of finance.
+
+Every one knows, that in order that a bank of discount should carry on
+business profitably for itself and for the commerce it is intended to
+assist, it must deal only in genuine commercial bills. Merchants
+recognise as genuine and discountable bills, only those drawn by other
+places for banking operations, and home bills drawn in consideration of
+goods sold for payment at a determinate future date. Now the Odessa bank
+not being a bank of issue, does not practise acceptance properly so
+called; Constantinople is almost the only town that draws on Odessa, and
+that but for small amounts, and as these acceptances are at twenty-one
+days' date, they are rarely discounted. Sales of goods for bills are
+also seldom practised, and from all we could learn, we believe they make
+but a very small part of the business of the Odessa bank. Goods are
+generally bought in that town on trust and without bills.
+
+On what bases then have the operations of the Odessa bank hitherto
+rested? Rather, we are disposed to think, on fictitious than on real
+commerce. From its first establishment, the bank, strong in its
+privileges, thought to serve trade by encouraging discounts; and the
+facilities it afforded, induced many persons to avail themselves of this
+means of credit. Every one in Odessa knows how many disasters have been
+the consequence. Suppose a merchant wished to make a speculation, to buy
+for instance, a ship-load of wheat, amounting to 12,000_l._; if he had
+only 80,000 or 100,000 rubles capital, he obtained the indorsement of
+one or more of his friends, and the bank immediately advanced him the
+whole sum necessary, at three months. The merchant was, therefore,
+forced to dispose of his goods as fast as possible, in order to meet his
+engagements with the bank: clogged and disturbed in his operations, and
+fearing lest he should involve his friends, he must often have incurred
+great losses, and after a few similar speculations, his ruin, and that
+of his friends were inevitable. Such has been the fate of many a
+merchant, in consequence of the unfortunate facility they found in
+obtaining money. The bank ought to have been aware, that instead of
+genuine commercial bills, it was discounting mere accommodation paper,
+and that there is an immense difference between discount for the
+realisation of business actually done, and discount for the realisation
+of business yet to be done. Unquestionably, the bank ought to have
+modified its system, after seeing the mischiefs it led to; but it has
+persisted in its original course, and were it to desist from it without
+a radical change of institutions, the operations of an establishment
+constructed on so vast a scale would become quite insignificant.
+
+Hitherto, then, the bank of Odessa has completely failed to answer the
+purpose for which it was founded; it has done infinitely more harm than
+good to trade, and its enormous privileges have, moreover discredited
+Odessa abroad. The abolition of these privileges could repair the errors
+and mischiefs of the first establishment. The bank would thereby be
+compelled to discount only genuine commercial paper, and to do business
+on a much smaller scale; but its operations, though restricted, would be
+but the more advantageous for itself and for commerce; every one would
+then conduct his business with, reasonable regard to the extent of his
+means; failures would no longer be so ruinous to creditors; and this new
+bank, in correspondence with those of St. Petersburg and Moscow, by
+continuing to make transfers as in the beginning, and by accepting
+deposits at four per cent., would suffice for all the wants of the
+place. Unfortunately, judging from the last measure adopted with respect
+to transfers, there is no hope whatever that a new bank will be
+established, or that the existing one will undergo the requisite
+reforms. Yet if the Russian government, which persists in its
+prohibitive system, wishes to avoid the complete destruction of the
+commerce of Southern Russia, it must absolutely change its line of
+conduct, it must devote its strenuous attention to the means of internal
+communication, and render the commercial transactions of Odessa as easy
+and economical as possible. What is most deplorable in Russia is, that
+the truth never finds its way to the head of the state, and that a
+public functionary would think himself undone if he disclosed the real
+state of things; hence in the memoirs, reports, and tables laid before
+the emperor, the good only is acknowledged, and the evil is always
+disguised. Once committed to this course of dissimulation and lying, the
+public functionaries render all improvements impossible; and by always
+sacrificing the future to the present, do incalculable mischief to the
+country. The question is now entertained, of depriving Odessa of its
+last franchises, and putting its port on the same footing with the other
+commercial places of the empire. If Count Cancrine has not yet succeeded
+in doing this, the town has to thank the protection and the influence of
+Count Voronzof.
+
+The following table shows the exports and imports at the different ports
+and custom-houses of Southern Russia, during the years 1838 and 1839,
+the value being set down in paper rubles.
+
+                                   EXPORTS.
+  --------------------------+---------------------+----------------------
+             PORTS.         |        1838.        |        1839.
+  --------------------------+----------+----------+----------+-----------
+                            |  Goods.  |  Specie. |  Goods.  |   Specie.
+                            |          |          |          |
+  Odessa                    |38,300,872|     3,730|48,551,077|    56,406
+  Ismael (on the Danube)    | 3,913,494|     9,915| 2,793,244|
+  Reny (on the Danube)      |   718,040|    50,773|   609,541|    77,745
+                {Novoselitza| 1,978,172|   163,868| 3,277,660|    81,868
+  In Bessarabia {Skouliany  |   829,602|   525,638|   737,462|   540,618
+                {Leovo      |    96,832|    60,537|    59,906|    36,709
+  Taganrok                  | 7,666,943|      "   | 8,219,648|
+  Marioupol                 | 4,152,710|      "   | 6,808,526|
+  Berdiansk                 | 2,971,426|      "   | 4,107,638|
+  Kertsch                   |   226,999|      "   |   123,082|
+  Theodosia                 | 1,281,244|      "   |   955,108|
+  Eupatoria                 | 9,299,365|      "   | 2,394,867|
+  Balouclava                |          |          |          |
+                            |----------+----------+----------+-----------
+                Total       |64,435,699|   814,461|78,637,759|   793,346
+
+                                   IMPORTS.
+
+  --------------------------+---------------------+----------------------
+            PORTS.          |         1838.       |        1839.
+  --------------------------+----------+----------|----------+-----------
+                            |  Goods.  |  Specie. |  Goods.  |  Specie.
+                            |          |          |          |
+  Odessa                    |17,483,635| 3,825,258|19,297,201| 3,994,799
+  Ismael (on the Danube)    |   253,697| 1,632,996|   238,996|   820,035
+  Reny (on the Danube)      |    50,193|   797,497|    85,429|   553,174
+                {Novoselitza|   221,324| 1,939,604|   245,198| 3,048,064
+  In Bessarabia {Skouliany  |   222,507|   497,200|   195,088|   721,015
+                {Leovo      |    52,336|    29,932|    55,664|    26,291
+  Taganrok                  | 5,887,901| 1,415,596| 5,334,369| 2,885,279
+  Marioupol                 |       300|   640,660|       987| 1,515,525
+  Berdiansk                 |     "    |   768,722|     "    |   825,113
+  Kertsch                   | { 175,321|          | { 250,887|
+  Theodosia                 | { 673,535| 1,678,658| { 695,130| 1,891,947
+  Eupatoria                 | { 185,480|          | { 131,222|
+  Balouclava                |     6,605|          |          |
+                            +----------+----------+----------+----------
+             Total          |25,212,834|13,226,132|26,520,171|16,281,242
+             Total of Duties|     "    | 8,492,074|     "    | 8,215,426
+  --------------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------
+
+The foreign goods that entered the interior of the empire in 1839, by
+way of Odessa, amounted in value to 9,130,148 paper rubles, which,
+curiously enough, was not even half the total importation of that port.
+From this we may judge of the consumption of Odessa, and at the same
+time of the extent of the contraband trade.
+
+From these tables we see that there is no equilibrium in the trade of
+Odessa. Southern Russia absorbs every year more than 15,000,000 of
+foreign specie, and its exports are treble its imports. It is evident
+that such a trade rests on no solid basis; that its prosperity is due
+only to accidental circumstances, and that ships will gradually abandon
+the Black Sea, and seek some other destination, wherever agriculture
+flourishes, and is accompanied by a less exclusive system of customs. In
+the present state of things, the cultivation of corn in Egypt would be
+enough to ruin immediately all the ports of Southern Russia. With such
+contingencies before it, the government of Russia ought to ponder well
+before obstinately persevering in its present system. Mariners do not
+like the northern parts of the Black Sea, and once they shall have left
+them, they will return to them no more.
+
+The year 1839 was most memorable in the commercial history of Odessa.
+The exports, consisting almost entirely of corn, amounted to 48,000,000
+paper rubles. The harvests in the country had been very abundant, and as
+those of the rest of Europe were very unpromising, the demand was at
+first so encouraging that the merchants launched out into the boldest
+speculations. These were successful for a while, but disasters soon
+followed, and the houses which were supposed to have realised profits to
+the amount of millions, failed a year or eighteen months afterwards.
+Since that time trade has always been in a perilous state. In 1840,
+under the still subsisting influence of the movement of the preceding
+year, there was a diminution of 7,184,021 rubles; and in 1841 the first
+quarter alone presented a decrease of 6,891,332 rubles in comparison
+with the corresponding quarter in 1840.
+
+On examining a general table of the exportation of Odessa, we see that
+during Napoleon's wars its commerce, completely stationary, did not
+exceed five or six millions of rubles. After the events of 1815, during
+the horrible dearth that afflicted all western Europe, the exports rose
+in 1817 to more than 38,000,000. In 1818 they fell without any
+transition to 20,000,000. During the war of 1828-29 they sank to
+1,673,000. After the treaty of Adrianople, Southern Russia, being
+encumbered with an excess of produce, the exports again rose to
+27,000,000. After this they varied from twenty to thirty, until 1839
+when they reached the highest point they ever attained, namely,
+48,000,000. We have already explained the causes of this factitious
+augmentation. From these data we see that the activity of the trade of
+Odessa has always arisen out of fortuitous circumstances, which are
+becoming more and more rare, and that it is by no means the result of
+the progressive development of agricultural resources: the country is,
+therefore, completely stationary.
+
+It is also easy to convince ourselves, by simple comparison, that the
+commerce of Southern Russia is far from prosperous. In 1839, the most
+productive year, the custom-houses yield but 8,215,426 rubles; and ten
+seaports distributed over more than 400 leagues of coast, together with
+three land custom-houses, show on an average but from forty-five to
+fifty-five millions of exports, and hardly a third of that amount of
+imports; whilst Trebizond alone annually sends out more than 50,000,000
+worth of English goods into the various adjoining countries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+      NAVIGATION, CHARGE FOR FREIGHT, &C. IN THE BLACK SEA.
+
+
+Of all the seaboard of the East, the coasts of the Black Sea are those
+from which the expense of freight are the greatest. Different
+circumstances combine in producing this effect. 1. The amount of
+importation being inconsiderable, most of the vessels must arrive in
+ballast, or with a very scanty cargo. 2. The vessels are exposed to long
+delays in the Archipelago, and still more so in the Dardanelles and the
+Bosphorus. Fifty days may be taken as the average duration of the voyage
+from Marseilles, Genoa, Leghorn, or Trieste, to Odessa. It does not take
+longer to reach America from the same ports, by a voyage at once less
+difficult and more lucrative. 3. The Black Sea is situated at the
+extremity of the inland seas of Europe, and its coasts, which have
+little traffic, especially with each other, offer few resources to
+merchant vessels; so that if there is nothing profitable to be done at
+Odessa or Taganrok, a ship has no alternative but to take freight at
+ruinously low prices, or to return in ballast, and retrace some hundred
+miles of a route on which it has already incurred such delays. Certain
+merchants often take advantage of the distressing position of the
+masters, and for many years past, a part of the profits on some goods
+sent to the Mediterranean, has regularly consisted in the sacrifices to
+which the shipowner has been compelled. 4. The passage through the
+Straits of Constantinople subjects vessels freighted in the Russian
+ports for those of the Mediterranean, to a quarantine which, besides
+consuming from thirty-five to forty days, always entails considerable
+expense. It is generally reckoned that it takes a vessel fully six
+months to accomplish the voyage both ways between a Mediterranean port
+and Odessa, and to get _pratique_ again, even supposing it to have
+tolerably favourable winds, and to obtain cargo almost immediately in
+the Black Sea, a thing which unhappily occurs very seldom. Now a
+Mediterranean brig of 275 tons, or 200,000 tchetverts' burden, has a
+crew that costs at least 800 rubles a month for wages and keep. If we
+add to this, for wear of rigging, insurance, and harbour-dues 400
+rubles, we shall have more than 1200 rubles a month for ordinary
+expenses, without reckoning what storms and other casualties may
+occasion. Thus the cost of a six months' voyage will amount to 7200
+rubles.
+
+Before 1838, the average price of freight in paper rubles was as
+follows:
+
+                          Per          Per 2000 Tchetverts,
+                       Tchetvert.           or 275 Tons.
+
+  For Constantinople      1.40                 2,800
+      Trieste             2.33                 4,666
+      Leghorn             2.66                 5,332
+      Genoa               4.25                 8,500
+      Marseilles          2.40                 4,800
+      Holland             5.75                11,500
+      England             7.00                14,000
+
+From this table it appears that the freights did not pay the ordinary
+expenses of the vessels, with the exception of those bound for England,
+Holland, and Genoa, under the Sardinian flag.
+
+Odessa has hardly any intercourse with the portion of the Black Sea
+coast subject to the Sultan, but it often furnishes cargoes for the
+banks of the Danube, to vessels of not more than twelve feet draught.
+These vessels usually proceed to Galatz and Ibraïla. Those which have no
+return cargo, touch at Toultcha and Isacktcha, to take in firewood;
+others ship a cargo at Galatz and Ibraïla, for Constantinople and the
+Mediterranean. Good prices for freight are generally procured in the
+Danube, particularly of late years. The progress of agriculture in the
+principalities, and the facilities met with in their ports, attract
+foreign captains, and many of them have entirely forsaken Odessa for
+Galatz.
+
+The government supplies, the war in the Caucasus, and private
+speculations likewise afford employment to a certain number of vessels
+between Odessa and the Russian provinces of the Black Sea, and the Sea
+of Azov. The prices of freight in these cases depend on the greater or
+less demand, but they are always kept very low by the competition of
+Kherson _lodkas_ (large coasting vessels). These lodkas ply at a very
+cheap rate, but they are exposed to risks which ought to make them less
+sought after than better built and better commanded vessels. The passage
+from Odessa to Taganrok, is tedious and expensive, above all for vessels
+which are obliged to be accompanied with lighters, in order to pass the
+Straits of Kertch where the waters are low, and must then anchor in the
+Taganrok-roads, at a distance of ten from the shore. We may confidently
+estimate the voyage between Taganrok and Odessa both ways, as of two
+months' duration.
+
+Thus navigation is hardly more prosperous than trade itself. If it Has
+hitherto maintained a part of its activity, this must be attributed to
+the great number of vessels belonging to the Mediterranean, to the
+influence of a past period, fertile in profit, and to commercial
+routine. Nevertheless, a revolution is gradually taking place, and
+already many vessels that formerly frequented the Russian ports, have
+found means to employ themselves advantageously on the Ocean. We find
+their names mentioned in foreign journals, in the shipping intelligence
+from America and India, and it is probable they are quite as successful
+there as others that have not yet chosen to visit the coasts of Southern
+Russia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+      AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA--MINERAL
+      PRODUCTIONS--RUSSIAN WORKMEN.
+
+
+In justification of its prohibitive system, the government alleges the
+protection and encouragement it owes to native industry. Now it is
+evident that absolute exclusion cannot favour industry. The high tariff,
+it is true, seems to secure a certain market for Russian manufactures;
+but it results from it that those manufactures, being kept clear of all
+competition, are worse than stationary; for the manufacturers, whose
+number is very limited, agree among themselves to turn out exactly the
+same sort of workmanship, and in the same proportion. Moscow is now the
+centre of all the manufactures of silk, cotton, and woollen stuffs,
+shawls, &c.; yet, in spite of all the privileges secured to those
+establishments by the tariff, a great number of them have failed of late
+years. Their goods have become so bad that they could no longer compete
+in sale with smuggled articles. In 1840, or 1841, the emperor made a
+journey to Moscow, on purpose to preside over the meeting of
+manufacturers; but unfortunately ukases and proclamations are
+inefficient to create a body of manufacturers; the imperial desires in
+nowise altered the face of things.
+
+There are at this day, in Russia, two great branches of manufacturing
+industry, one of which, employing the raw materials furnished by the
+soil, such as iron, copper, and other metals, belongs properly to
+Russia, and has no need to fear foreign competition. It is true we
+cannot speak very highly of the Russian hardware and cutlery, but they
+find a sure sale, the inhabitants caring more for cheapness than
+quality. The most important manufactures of this sort are established at
+Toula, and in the government of Nijni Novgorod; the materials are
+furnished by Siberia.
+
+The Ural is one of the most remarkable mountain chains on the globe, for
+the extent and variety of its mineral wealth. I say nothing of its gold,
+silver, and platina ores; they add too little to the real prosperity of
+the country to call for mention here. The iron ores of Siberia are
+generally of superior quality; but as the processes to which they are
+subjected, are somewhat injudicious, the iron produced from them is
+seldom as good as it might be. The working of the iron mines has been a
+good deal neglected of late years, landowners having turned their
+attention chiefly to the precious metals; hence the prices of wrought
+and cast iron have risen considerably in Southern Russia, which employs
+those of Siberia exclusively. The carriage is effected for this part of
+the empire by land; in one direction by the Volga, the Don, and the Sea
+of Azov, in another by the Dniepr. The journeys are long and expensive,
+and often they cannot be effected at all in consequence of
+irregularities either in the arrivals, or in the river floods. The
+present price of pig-iron is from eighteen to twenty francs for the 100
+kilogrammes, and of bar-iron from forty-four to forty-five francs, in
+Kherson and Odessa. I do not know the prices at the places where the
+iron is produced, but whatever they may be, these figures show how much
+Russia has yet to do towards facilitating the means of internal
+communication. Of copper, lead, &c., notwithstanding the cost of
+carriage, Russia exports a considerable quantity to foreign countries.
+
+Not content with these valuable sources of wealth, which alone would
+suffice for the support of a vast and truly national industry, Russia
+has thought it desirable to create for herself a manufacturing industry
+such as exists in other countries of Europe, and to arrive at this end
+she has devised a system of the most absolute prohibition. How far has
+she been successful? Of all European countries Russia is unquestionably
+placed in the most unfavourable circumstances for contending with
+foreign manufactures. Situated as she is at the extremity of Europe, she
+can only be reached by long, difficult, and expensive routes; and as her
+manufactures of stuffs, silks, &c., are all concentrated in Moscow, the
+expenses of carriage are enormous. Thus the cottons landed in Odessa
+are first carried to Moscow, and then return, after being wrought, to
+the governments of the Black Sea. The want of capable and intelligent
+workmen is also one of the most serious obstacles to the establishment
+of manufactures; the Russian peasant is essentially agricultural, and
+knows nothing of handicraft trades, except so far as they are of service
+to him in his daily labours; and then, by constitution and by the
+effects of that long slavery that has weighed and still weighs upon him,
+his ideas are naturally contracted and can never apply themselves to
+more than a single object. The sole talent he possesses in a really
+remarkable degree is that of imitation. The black enamelled work of the
+Caucasus is admirably imitated at Toula; and at Lughan, in the
+government of Iekaterinoslaf, they make very pretty things in Berlin
+iron, copied from Prussian models. This talent for imitation is no doubt
+valuable in the workshops where they are constantly making the same set
+of things, and in the same way; but it becomes completely inefficient in
+the manufactories for piece-goods, in which there must be incessant
+innovation and improvement: hence we find all the great manufactories,
+after being at first managed by foreign superintendents and workmen,
+fall gradually into decay from the moment they are transferred to native
+hands. The Russians are essentially destitute of imagination and the
+spirit of invention; and then the proneness of the workmen to laziness
+and drunkenness cannot but be fatal to industry. The workman is always
+seeking some pretext to escape from labour; he has his own calendar, in
+which the number of holidays is doubled; these he employs in getting
+drunk, and the days following them in sleeping off his liquor. The
+result is, that he passes half the year in doing nothing, that he
+strives to sell his day's work at the dearest possible rate, and that
+the working time being thus indefinite, it is impossible to fix
+punctually the time of production. This unhappy moral condition of the
+labouring classes is the same throughout all Russia, and may be regarded
+as one of the worst evils incidental to the native industry. To these
+obstacles, proceeding from the very nature of the people, are superadded
+physical difficulties no less imperious. In France, England, and
+Germany, when any new manufacture is established, it always rests on
+other branches already in existence, and about which it has no need to
+employ itself. In Russia, on the contrary, in order to succeed in any
+branch of manufactures, it is necessary at the same time to create all
+the accessories connected with it. Every one knows what a vast quantity
+of merino and other wools Southern Russia supplies, and it would seem at
+first sight that of all manufactures that of woollen cloths ought to
+offer the fairest chances of success in that country. But it is not so:
+I have visited two or three cloth factories on the banks of the Dniepr
+belonging to foreigners, and managed by them with an ability beyond all
+praise; yet it was with the utmost difficulty and through the personal
+labour of their proprietors that they were able to subsist. The
+government itself, some years ago, erected at Iekaterinoslaf one of the
+largest cloth manufactories I am acquainted with; the looms were set in
+motion by two steam-engines, and several hundred workmen were employed.
+The establishment, nevertheless, was closed after three years'
+existence, and I myself saw all the materials sold at a great
+depreciation.
+
+The number of manufacturing establishments of all sorts in Russia
+amounted in 1839 to 6855, and that of the workmen employed to 412,931,
+not including those engaged in the mines and in the smelting-houses,
+forges, &c., belonging to them. We will enumerate as the most important
+branches of Russian industry:--
+
+                                                Establishments.
+
+  Manufactories of Cloth and Woollen Stuffs          606
+                   Silks                             227
+                   Cottons                           467
+                   Canvass and other Linen Goods     216
+  Tan Yards                                         1918
+  Tallow-melting Houses                              554
+  Manufactories of Candles                           444
+                   Soap                              270
+                   Metal Ware                        486
+
+In this table the manufactories of woollen cloths, silks, and cottons,
+together figure but as 1300; and yet it is in a great measure to the
+supposed encouragement which the government desires to afford these
+branches of industry, that Russia owes her system of customs; for
+setting aside a few objects of luxury, Russia has no need to fear
+foreign competition with regard to any other articles. Certainly, if the
+silk and cotton manufactures could exercise a beneficial influence upon
+the prosperity of the country, if they were necessary to supply the
+wants of the whole population, in that case we could to a certain extent
+understand the sentence of exclusion pronounced on foreign goods; but
+the productions of the Moscow factories are destined only for the
+aristocracy and the trading classes, and the 40,000,000 of slaves that
+constitute the European population of Russia, consume but an
+insignificant portion of them, all their clothes being wrought by their
+own hands.
+
+It is not surprising then that all the manufacturing establishments are
+concentrated in Moscow, that being the place where the aristocratic and
+trading part of the community exist in most considerable numbers, and
+where there is most certainty of finding customers. Everywhere else the
+chances of success would be few or none: witness Southern Russia where
+all manufacturing attempts have hitherto failed, notwithstanding the
+advantages it derives from its seaports. The three governments composing
+it reckon at this day but 2000 workmen, even including those who work in
+the rope walks and the tallow houses.
+
+According to authentic documents the numbers of the nobility and
+tradespeople do not exceed 3,000,000. Without a complete alteration,
+therefore, in the manners and habits of the peasants, it is impossible
+to hope that the manufacture of piece-goods can ever attain a great
+development, and it would have been infinitely better to have left the
+supply of these articles to importation; the imperial treasury would
+thereby have been a gainer, and more active relations with the foreigner
+would have afforded valuable guarantees for the prosperity of the
+country. But Russia suffered herself to be seduced by the most brilliant
+branch of industry of our times; she, too, wished to have her cachemires
+and her silks; and not considering that agriculture is for her the most
+lucrative, the most positive of all branches of industry, she recoiled
+from no prohibitive measure in order to favour some indigenous
+manufactures. I say again, Russia is before all things a country for the
+production of raw materials. Agriculture, including therein the breeding
+of cattle, evidently forms the basis of the national prosperity, and it
+is only by facilitating its extension and its outlets that Russia can
+hope to secure the future welfare of its people.
+
+If at this day the establishment of new villages in Southern Russia is
+becoming so difficult, it is not for want of land, but because the
+peasants have no means of ready transport for their produce, and because
+also the want of importation, naturally exercising a great influence
+upon the price of corn, signally restricts the demand from abroad. Is it
+not indeed deplorable to see the most fertile and productive governments
+of New Russia sunk in extreme penury by the want of roads, and by the
+culpable neglect of the administration which deprives them of the
+navigation of the rivers! Will the government at last open its eyes to
+the mischiefs of the course it is pursuing? We can scarcely hope so. All
+the commercial reports of the empire dress up things in so fair a light,
+and the public functionaries agree so well together in falsifying public
+opinion, that the emperor, beguiled by the brilliant picture incessantly
+laid before his eyes, cannot but persevere in the fatal course adopted
+by his predecessors.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM ODESSA--TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA--NIKOLAÏEF,
+      OLVIA, OTSHAKOF--KHERSON--THE DNIEPR--GENERAL POTIER--
+      ANCIENT TUMULI--STEPPES OF THE BLACK SEA--A RUSSIAN
+      VILLAGE--SNOW STORM--NARROW ESCAPE FROM SUFFOCATION--A
+      RUSSIAN FAMILY--APPENDIX.
+
+
+After some months' stay in Odessa, we left it in company with General
+Potier, a Frenchman by birth, to pass the winter at his country-house.
+Travelling would nowhere be more rapid than in Russia, if the
+posting-houses were a little better conducted and more punctual in
+supplying horses. The country is perfectly flat, and you may traverse
+several hundred leagues without meeting a single hill. Besides this, the
+Russian driver has no mercy on his horses; they must gallop
+continually, though they should drop dead under the whip. Another reason
+that contributes to the rapidity of posting, is, that there are never
+less than three or four horses yoked to the lightest vehicle. The
+general's carriage being rather heavy, we had six horses, that carried
+us along at the rate of fifteen versts (ten miles) an hour. We found the
+rooms in the posting-stations much more elegant than we had expected;
+but this was owing to the journey of the imperial family, for whom they
+had been completely metamorphosed. The walls and ceilings were fresh
+painted with the greatest care, and we found everywhere handsome
+mirrors, divans, and portraits of the emperor and empress. Thanks,
+therefore, to the transit of their majesties, our journey was effected
+in the most agreeable manner, though on ordinary occasions, one must
+make up his mind to encounter all sorts of privations and annoyances in
+a long excursion through Russia. The towns are so few, and the villages
+are so destitute of all requisites, that one is in sore danger of being
+starved to death by the way, unless he has had the precaution to lay in
+a stock of provisions at starting. The post-houses afford you literally
+nothing more than hot water for tea, and a bench to rest on. The Russian
+and Polish grandees never omit to carry with them on their journeys a
+bed with all its appurtenances, a whole range of cooking implements, and
+plenty of provisions. In this way they pass from town to town, without
+ever suspecting the unfortunate position in which the foreigner is
+placed who traverses their vast wildernesses. The latter, it may be
+said, is free to follow their example; but the thing is not so easy.
+Supposing even that he was possessed of all this travelling apparatus,
+still the expense of carriage would imperatively forbid his taking it
+with him, whereas the Russians, who generally travel with their own
+horses, may have a dozen without adding to their expenses. As for those
+who have recourse to the post, they care very little about economy, and
+provided they have a good dinner prepared by their own cooks, a soft bed
+and all other physical comforts, they never trouble themselves to
+calculate the cost. But as for the foreigner who travels in this
+country, the inconvenience I have just mentioned is nothing in
+comparison with the countless vexations he must endure, simply because
+he is a foreigner. Having no legal right to lay his cane over the
+shoulders of the clerks of the post, he must make up his mind to endure
+the most scandalous impositions and annoyances at their hands, and very
+often he will be obliged to pass forty-eight hours in a station, because
+he cannot submit to the conditions imposed on him. Neither threats nor
+entreaties can prevail on the clerk to make him furnish horses if it
+does not suit his humour. The epithet _particularnii tcheloviek_ which
+is applied in Russia to all who do not wear epaulettes, and which
+signifies something less than a nobody, is a categorical reply to the
+traveller's utmost eloquence.
+
+Before we reached Kherson, we stopped at Nicolaïef, a pretty town, which
+has been for some years the seat of the Admiralty formerly established
+in Kherson, and which is daily increasing at its rival's expense. Its
+vast dockyards attract a whole population of workmen, whose presence
+swells its wealth and importance. Its position on the Bug, its new
+houses and pretty walks planted with poplars, make it the most agreeable
+town in the government. When we passed through it, a splendid ship of
+the line of three decks had just been completed, and was waiting only
+for the ceremony of being christened to take its place in the Black Sea
+fleet.
+
+Four or five leagues below Nicolaïef, on the right bank of the Bug, near
+its embouchure in the liman[1] of the Dniepr, are the ruins of Olvia or
+Olviopolis, a Milesian colony founded about 500 B.C. There have
+been found inscriptions and medals which put the origin of these remains
+beyond all doubt. Lower down on the liman of the Dniepr, not far from
+the sea, is the fortress of Otchakov, which formerly belonged to the
+Turks, and then formed a considerable town, known by the name of Ozou.
+It was twice taken by the Russian troops on the 13th of June, 1737,
+under the command of Marshal Munich, and on the 6th of December, 1788,
+under Potemkin. At present, not a trace of the Turkish sway remains in
+the village. All the Mussulman buildings have been pulled down to give
+place to a steppe, on which some Russian cabins and about fifty
+miserable shops have been set up. The environs of Otchakov also present
+traces of the abode of the ancient Greeks. In 1833 there were found here
+a fragment of a bas-relief in tolerable preservation, a male torso, and
+an offering with an inscription from certain Greek military chiefs to
+Achilles, ruler of the Pontus.
+
+Otchakof was founded at the close of the fifteenth century, by Mengli
+Chereï, khan of the Crimea, on the ruins of Alektor, a little town
+belonging to a queen of the Sauromatians, and which was destroyed
+probably by the Getæ at the same time as Olvia, 100 B.C.
+Alektor must have possessed specimens of Greek workmanship, but they
+disappeared under the hands of the Turks, who employed them in building
+Otchakov.
+
+Kherson, where we arrived in the evening, retains no relics of its
+ancient opulence, or of the importance it derived scarcely fifty years
+ago from its commerce, its port, and its admiralty; at present, it
+exhibits the melancholy spectacle of a town entirely ruined; its
+population does not exceed 6000 or 8000 souls. Odessa and Nicolaïef have
+dealt it mortal blows, and it now subsists only by its entrepôt for the
+various productions of the empire, which are conveyed to it by the
+Dniepr, and forwarded by lighters to Odessa. It has even lost its
+custom-house for imports, retaining only the privilege of exporting; and
+beside this, the vessels which take in cargo at Kherson, must first
+perform quarantine in Odessa. Fevers and the Jews are likewise
+formidable foes to its prosperity. Expelled from Nicolaïef and
+Sevastopol, the Israelites swarm like locusts in Kherson, and form
+almost its whole population. Nothing can be more hideous than the
+appearance of the Russian Jews. Dressed in a uniform garb, consisting of
+a long robe of black calico, fastened with a woollen girdle, canvass
+drawers, and a broad-brimmed black hat, they all present so degraded a
+type of humanity, that the eye turns from them with deep disgust. Their
+filthiness is indescribable; the entrance of a single Jew into an
+apartment is enough suddenly to vitiate the atmosphere.
+
+We had already had occasion in Odessa to see into what an abject state
+this people is fallen in Russia; but it was not until we came to Kherson
+that we beheld them in all their vileness. What a contrast between their
+sallow faces, disgusting beards, and straggling locks, plastered flat on
+the skin, their brutified air, and crawling humility, and the easy,
+dignified bearing, the noble features, and the elegant costume of the
+Jews of Constantinople! It is impossible to bring oneself to believe
+there is any thing in common between them, that they belong to the same
+race, and have the same rules and usages, the same language and
+religion. But the cause which has produced such a difference between two
+branches of one people, is a question involving political and
+philosophical considerations of too high an order, to be discussed here;
+all we can say, is that, in seeing the Jews of Kherson, and comparing
+them with their brethren of the East, we had evidence before us of the
+depth to which governments and institutions can debase mankind.
+
+The streets of Kherson are thronged with these miserable Israelites, who
+carry on every kind of trade, and recoil from no species of occupation,
+provided it be lucrative. Their penury is so great, that they will run
+from one end of the town to the other for a few kopeks, and in this
+respect they are of much use to the stranger, who would be greatly
+embarrassed if they were not at hand, ready to render him every possible
+service. The moment a traveller arrives at an inn, in New Russia, he is
+beset and persecuted without ceasing by these officious agents, who
+place at his disposal their goods, their persons, all they have and all
+they have not. It is to no purpose he threatens them and turns them out
+a hundred times; they care little for abuse; and do what you will, they
+sit themselves down on the ground opposite your door, and remain there
+with imperturbable phlegm, waiting their opportunity to walk in again,
+and renew their offer. Many a time have we seen Jews thus spend four or
+five hours consecutively, without evincing the least impatience, or
+seeming to regret the waste of time they might have employed more
+profitably, and go away at last satisfied with having gained a few
+kopeks.
+
+It was in the government of Kherson that the plan of forming Jewish
+colonies was first tried. Several were established in the districts of
+Kherson and Bobrinetz, and in 1824 these contained nine villages, with a
+population of 8000 souls, settled on 55,333 _hectares_ of land. All the
+new colonists are wholly exempt from taxation for ten years; but after
+the lapse of that time, they are placed on the same footing as the other
+crown peasants, except that they remain free from military service for
+fifty years.
+
+The colonisation of these Jews was no easy matter; at first, it was
+necessary to keep the most rigorous watch over them, to prevent them
+from leaving their villages. The colonists are all dependent on the
+governor-general of New Russia, and each of their villages is under the
+control of a non-commissioned officer of the army. I have not the least
+idea of the object for which the government founded these colonies,
+which, as far as agriculture is concerned, can be of no use to the
+country. Was its motive one of a philanthropic kind? I do not think so.
+I should rather suspect that the prospective advantages in a military
+point of view may have been the inducement, an opinion, which seems
+justified by the fact, that the Russian government has found it
+necessary, for some years past, to enrol the Jews by force in the naval
+service. The unfortunate men are chiefly employed as workmen, and I have
+seen great numbers of them in the arsenals of Sevastopol and Nicolaïef.
+
+The aspect of Kherson is as dismal as that of Nicolaïef is brilliant and
+lively. Nothing is to be seen but dilapidated houses and abandoned
+sites, which give it the appearance of a town devastated by war. But
+viewing it from a distance, as it rises in an amphitheatre on the banks
+of the Dniepr, with its numerous belfries, its barracks, and its
+gardens, one would be far from suspecting the sort of spectacle its
+interior presents. Above all, one cannot conceive why a town in such a
+position, with a river close at hand, navigable for ships of war, should
+have been thus abandoned; but such has been the imperial will, and
+Kherson, completely sacrificed to Odessa, now shows scarcely any signs
+of life, excepting its great wool washing establishments, which employ
+hundreds of workmen, and its retail trade, which the Jews monopolise.
+The only remains of its past greatness the town has preserved, are its
+title as capital of the government, and its tribunals. The governor
+resides in it, no doubt much against his will; but many great families
+have forsaken it on account of the fevers prevailing in it during a part
+of the year, with more fatal violence than in any other region. They are
+occasioned by the wide sheets of water left behind by the inundations of
+the Dniepr, and which, finding no issue when the river returns to its
+bed, stagnate among the reeds, until the rays of the sun are strong
+enough to make them evaporate. Fetid and pestilential exhalations then
+rise, and produce malignant and typhoid fevers that almost always prove
+mortal.
+
+The population of Kherson, like that of all the other towns in Southern
+Russia, is a medley of Jews, Armenians, Russians, Greeks, Italians, &c.;
+a few French have been long settled there, and have acquired some
+wealth; some deal in wood, others are at the head of the wool-washing
+establishments I have already mentioned. Among the latter, there is a
+Parisian, who, by dint of washing and rewashing wool, and that too on
+another's account, has managed to amass nearly 12,000_l._ in less than
+eight years. The _lavoirs_ of MM. Vassal and Potier are the most
+considerable in Kherson, giving daily employment to more than 600 men.
+
+The Dniepr seen from Kherson, resembles a vast lake studded with
+islands; the views it presents are very beautiful, and partake very much
+of the character of maritime scenery. The estate we were going to lay on
+the other side of the river, and we had the pleasure of travelling about
+fifteen versts by water, through the labyrinth of islands, and a
+constant succession of the most enchanting views. We found horses
+waiting for us on the opposite bank, and in less than four hours we were
+at Clarofka, our journey's end.
+
+M. Potier, the proprietor of Clarofka, is an ex-pupil of the Polytechnic
+School, who was sent to St. Petersburg by Napoleon, with three
+colleagues, to establish a school of civil engineering. In 1812, the
+government fearing lest they should join the French, sent them away to
+the confines of China, where they were detained more than two years.
+When our troops had evacuated Russia, and the presence of these young
+men was no longer to be feared, the Emperor Alexander recalled them, and
+gave them each a pension of 6000 rubles, to indemnify them for their
+exile. From that time forth, they all made rapid progress in fortune and
+in honours. M. Potier was for a long while director of the civil
+engineering institution. He is highly esteemed by the Emperor Nicholas,
+who wished to attach him completely to his court, by conferring on him a
+post of the highest importance, but M. Potier always refused, and at
+last succeeded in obtaining permission to retire. He is the son-in-law
+of M. Rouvier, who made himself popular in Russia and even in France, by
+being the first to introduce the breed of Merino sheep into Southern
+Russia. M. Potier followed his father-in-law's example, and has more
+than 20,000 sheep on his estate.
+
+The estate of M. Vassal, another son-in-law and successor of M. Rouvier,
+is but a dozen versts from Clarofka. It is larger than many a German
+duchy; but instead of the fertile fields and thriving villages that
+adorn Germany, it presents to view only a vast desert with numerous
+tumuli, salt lakes, and a few sheep folds. These tumuli exact models of
+mole-hills, from ten to fifteen yards high, are the only hills in the
+country, and appear to be the burial-places of its old masters, the
+Scythians. Several of them have been opened, and nothing found in them
+but some bones, copper coins of the kings of Bosphorus, and coarse
+earthen utensils. Similar tombs in the Crimea have been found to contain
+objects of more value, both as regards material and workmanship. This
+difference is easily accounted for; the Milesian colonies that occupied
+part of the Crimea 200 years ago, spread a taste for opulence and the
+fine arts all through the peninsula; their tombs would, therefore, bear
+token of the degree of civilisation they had reached. They had a regular
+government, princes, and all the elements and accessories of a kingdom;
+whilst our poor Scythians, divided into nomade tribes like the Kirghises
+and Kalmucks of the present day, led a rude life in the midst of the
+herds of cattle that constituted their sole wealth.
+
+Agriculture could never have yielded much in these steppes, where rain
+is extremely rare in summer, where there are neither brooks nor wells
+for irrigation, and where hot winds scorch up every thing during the
+greater part of the fine season. It is only on the banks of the rivers
+that vegetation makes its appearance and the eye rests on cultivated
+fields and green pastures. There are indeed here and there a few
+depressions, where the grass retains its verdure during a part of the
+year, and some stunted trees spread their meagre branches over a less
+unkindly soil than that of the steppe; but these are unusual
+circumstances, and one must often travel hundreds of versts to find a
+single shrub. Such being the general configuration of the country, it
+may easily be imagined how cheerless is the aspect of those vast plains
+with nothing to vary their surface except the tumuli, and with no other
+boundaries than the sea. No one who is unaccustomed to that monotonous
+nature can long endure its influence. Those dreary wastes seem to him a
+boundless prison in which he vainly exerts himself without a hope of
+escape. And yet that flat and barren soil from which the eye turns away
+so contemptuously, has become a source of wealth to its present
+proprietors by the great success of the first experiments in Merino
+sheep-breeding. It was M. Rouvier, who first conceived the happy idea of
+turning the unproductive steppes into pasture. The Emperor Alexander,
+always ready to encourage liberal ideas, not only advanced the projector
+a sum of a hundred thousand rubles, but gave him even a man-of-war to go
+and make his first purchases in Spain, and on his return, granted him an
+immense extent of land, where the flocks, increasing rapidly, brought in
+a considerable fortune to M. Rouvier in a few years. His sons-in-law,
+General Potier and M. Vassal inherited it, and formed those great
+establishments of which we have spoken. Thenceforth the stock of merinos
+increased with incredible rapidity in New Russia; but an enormous fall
+in the price of wool soon occurred, and many proprietors have now reason
+to regret their outlay in that branch of rural economy, and are
+endeavouring to get rid of their flocks. The rams which fetched 500 or
+600 francs in 1834 and 1835, were not worth more than 250 or 300 in
+1841. In 1842, a landowner of our acquaintance had made up his mind to
+part with his best thorough-bred rams for 140 and even 100 francs a
+head. The exportation of wool increased, nevertheless, during the last
+years of our stay in Russia; but this was only because the landowners,
+after holding out a long while, found themselves at last constrained to
+accept prices one-half lower than those current a few years before, and
+to dispose of the wools they had long kept in their warehouses. Here was
+another instance of the disastrous consequences of the Russian
+prohibitive system; it has been as fatal to the wool-trade as to that in
+corn.
+
+Clarofka is a village consisting of fifteen or twenty houses, each
+containing two families of peasants. It is some distance from the farm,
+which alone contains more dwellings and inmates than the whole village.
+
+The steward resides in a very long, low house, with small windows in the
+Russian fashion, and an earthen roof, and standing at the edge of a
+large pond, the fetid exhalations from which are very unwholesome during
+the hot season. A few weeping-willows wave their branches over the
+stagnant water, and increase still more the melancholy appearance of the
+spot. The pond is frequented by a multitude of water-fowl, such as teal,
+gulls, ducks, pelicans, and kourlis, that make their nests in the thick
+reeds on the margin. Beside the house, according to the Russian custom,
+stand the kitchens and other offices, the icehouse, poultry-yard,
+wash-house, cellar for fruit and vegetables, &c. A little further on are
+the stables and coach-houses, containing a great number of carriages,
+caleches, droshkies, and a dozen horses; other buildings, including the
+workmen's barracks, the forge, the gardener's and the miller's dwellings
+are scattered irregularly here and there. Two great wind-mills lift
+their huge wings above the road leading to the village. All this is not
+very handsome; but there is one thing indicative of princely
+sumptuousness, namely, an immense garden that spreads out behind the
+house, and almost makes one forget the steppes, so thick is the foliage
+of its beautiful alleys. One is at a loss to conceive by what miracle
+this park, with its large trees, its fine fruit, and its charming walks,
+can have thus sprung up out of the scorched and arid soil, that waits
+whole months for a few drops of water to clothe it in transient verdure.
+And indeed to create such an oasis in the heart of so barren a land,
+there needed not one miracle, but a series of miracles of perseverance,
+toil, and resolution, seconded by all the means at the disposal of a
+Russian lord. All kinds of fruit are here collected together; we counted
+more than fifty varieties of the pear in one alley. Grapes of all kinds,
+strawberries, beds of asparagus of incomparable flavour, every thing in
+short that the most capricious taste can desire, grows there in such
+abundance, that seeing all these things one really feels transported
+into the midst of regions the most favoured by nature.
+
+No one but a Russian lord could have effected such metamorphoses. Master
+of a whole population of slaves, he has never to pay for labour; and
+whims which would be ruinous to others, cost him only the trouble of
+conceiving them. In the dry season, which often lasts for more than five
+months, chain pumps worked by horses supply water to every part of this
+extensive garden, and thus afford what the unkind skies deny it. The
+work to be done in the spring season generally requires the labour of
+more than 200 pair of hands daily, and during the rest of the year
+three-score peasants are constantly employed in pruning the trees,
+plucking up the weeds that rapidly spring up in the walks, training the
+vines, and attending to the flowers. In return for all this expenditure
+the general has the satisfaction of seeing his table covered with the
+finest fruits and most exquisite preserves; and for one who inhabits a
+desert these things unquestionably have their value. On the whole
+Clarofka is a real _pays de cocagne_ for good cheer: the steppes abound
+with game of every kind, from grouse to the majestic bustard. A hunter
+is attached to the farm, and daily supplies the table with all the
+delicacies of this sort which the country affords. The sea also
+contributes abundance of excellent fish. It is evident, therefore, that
+in a gastronomic point of view it would be difficult to find a more
+advantageous residence; but this merit, important as it is, fails to
+make amends for the intolerable ennui one labours under in Clarofka.
+Thanks to the garden, one may forget the steppe during the fine season;
+and then there is the amusement of fishing, and of picking up shells on
+the sea-shore, so that one may contrive to kill time passably well. But
+what are you to do in winter, when the snow falls so thickly that you
+cannot see the houses, particularly when the _metel_ turns the whole
+country topsy-turvy? No language can give an idea of these _metels_ or
+hurricanes. They come down on the land with such whirling and driving
+gusts, such furious and continuous tempests, such whistlings and
+groanings of the wind, and a sky so murky and threatening, that no
+hurricane at sea can be more alarming. The snow is now piled up like a
+mountain, now hollowed into deep valleys, and now spread out into
+rushing and heaving billows; or else it is driven through the air like a
+long white veil expanding and folding on itself until the wind has
+scattered its last shreds before it. In order to pass from one house to
+another, people are obliged to dig paths through the snow often two
+yards deep. Whole flocks of sheep, surprised by the tempest not far from
+their folds, and even herds of horses, have been driven into the sea and
+drowned. When beset by such dangers their instinct usually prompts them
+to cluster together in a circle and form a compact mass, so as to
+present less surface to the _metel_. But the force of the wind gradually
+compelling them forwards, they approach the shore, the ground fails
+them, and finally they all disappear beneath the waves. These tempests
+are generally succeeded by a dead calm, and an intense cold that soon
+changes the surface of the Dniepr and the sea-shore into a vast mirror.
+This is the most agreeable part of the winter. The communications
+between neighbours are renewed; sporting expeditions on a great scale,
+excursions in sledges, and entertainments within doors follow each other
+almost without interruption. Despite the intensity of the cold, the
+Russians infinitely prefer it to a milder temperature, which would put a
+stop to their business as well as to their pleasures. The great fairs of
+the empire generally take place in winter; for then the frozen lakes and
+rivers serve the inhabitants as a safe and rapid means of communication.
+In this way they traverse immense distances without quitting their
+sledges, and even without perceiving whether they are on land or water.
+Wrapped up in their furs they encounter with impunity a temperature of
+35° for several consecutive days, without any other auxiliaries than
+brandy and tea, which they consume in fearful quantities. During our
+winter residence in Clarofka, we had an opportunity of convincing
+ourselves that people suffer much less from cold in northern than in
+southern countries.
+
+In Constantinople, where we had passed the preceding winter, the cold
+and the snow appeared to us insupportable in the light wooden houses,
+open to every wind, and furnished with no other resource against the
+inclemency of the weather than a manghal, which served at best only to
+roast the feet and hands, whilst it left the rest of the body to freeze.
+But in Russia even the mujik has constantly a temperature of nearly 77°
+in his cabin in the very height of winter, which he obtains in a very
+simple and economical manner. A large brickwork stove or oven is formed
+in the wall, consisting of a fireplace and a long series of quadrangular
+flues ending in the chimney and giving passage to the smoke. The fire is
+made either of _kirbitch_[2] or of reeds. When these materials are
+completely consumed, the pipe by which the flues communicate with the
+chimney is hermetically closed, and the hot air passes into the room by
+two openings made for that purpose. Exactly the same apparatus is used
+in the houses of the wealthy. The stoves are so contrived that one of
+them serves to heat two or three rooms. The halls, staircases, and
+servants' rooms, are all kept at the same temperature. But great caution
+is necessary to avoid the dangers to which this method of warming may
+give rise. I myself was saved only by a providential chance from falling
+a victim to them. I had been asleep for some hours one night, when I was
+suddenly awakened by my son, who was calling to me for drink. I got up
+instantly, and without waiting to light a candle I was proceeding to
+pour out a glass of water, but I had scarcely moved a few steps when the
+glass dropped from my hand and I fell, as if struck with lightning, and
+in a state of total insensibility. I had afterwards a confused
+recollection of cries that seemed to me to have come from a great
+distance; but for two minutes I remained completely inanimate, and only
+recovered consciousness after my husband had carried me into an icy room
+and laid me on the floor. My son suffered still more than myself, but it
+happened most strangely that my husband was not in the smallest degree
+affected, and this it was that saved us. The cause of this nocturnal
+alarm was the imprudence of a servant who had closed the stove before
+all the kirbitch was consumed; this was quite enough to make the
+atmosphere deadly. All the inmates of the house were more or less
+indisposed.
+
+The hothouse temperature kept up in all the apartments cannot fail to
+act injuriously on the health. For more than ten months the outer air
+is never admitted into the house, and foreigners are affected in
+consequence with an uneasy sense of oppression and a sort of torpor that
+almost incapacitates them for thinking. As for the Russians, who are
+habituated to the thing from their childhood, they suffer little
+inconvenience from it; nevertheless many maladies probably owe their
+origin to this artificial warmth, which is equally enervating for body
+and mind. To this cause, no doubt, we must attribute the utter absence
+of blooming freshness from the cheeks of the Russian ladies. Incapable
+of enduring the slightest change of temperature, they have not the least
+idea of the pleasure derived from inhaling the fresh air, and braving
+the cold by means of brisk exercise. But for dancing, of which they are
+passionately fond, their lives would pass away in almost absolute
+immobility, for lolling in a carriage is not what I call putting oneself
+in motion. There is scarcely any country where women walk less than in
+Russia, and nowhere do they lead more artificial lives. We had a Russian
+family for two months at Clarofka, returning from the waters of the
+Caucasus, and waiting until the sledging season was fully set in, to get
+back to Moscow. This family, consisting of a husband and wife and the
+sister of the latter, was a great godsend for us during part of the
+winter. Madame Bougainsky is a very clever young woman, equally well
+acquainted with our literary works as with our Parisian frivolities. But
+dress and play are for her the two grand concerns of life, and all the
+rest are but accessories. I do not think she went out of doors three
+times during her two months' stay in Clarofka. The habit of living in
+the world of fashion and in a perpetual state of parade had taken such
+inveterate hold on her, that, without thinking of it, she used to dress
+three or four times a day, just as if she were among the salons of
+Moscow. I learned from her that the Russian ladies are as fond of play
+as of dancing, and that many ruin themselves thereby. On the whole,
+there is little poetry or romance in the existence of Russian women of
+fashion. The men, though treating them with exquisite politeness and
+gallantry, in reality think little about them, and find more pleasure in
+hunting, smoking, gaming, and drinking, than in lavishing on them those
+attentions to which they have many just claims. The Russian ladies have
+generally little beauty; their bloom, as I have said, is gone at twenty;
+but if they can boast neither perfect features nor dazzlingly fair
+complexions, there is, on the other hand, in all their manners
+remarkable elegance, and an indescribable fascination that sometimes
+makes them irresistible. With a pale face, a somewhat frail figure,
+careless attitudes, and a haughty cast of countenance, they succeed in
+making more impression in a drawing-room than many women of greater
+beauty.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Liman_, a Tartar word signifying harbour, is the name given to the
+gulfs formed by the principal rivers of Southern Russia before their
+entrance into the sea.
+
+[2] Kirbitch consists of dung kneaded into little bricks, and dried in
+summer. Along with straw and reeds, it forms the only firing used for
+domestic purposes. At Odessa, however, they procure firewood from
+Bessarabia, but it costs as much as ninety francs the cube fathom.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+A propensity to sedentary habits is not peculiarly a female failing in
+Russia, as will appear from the following extract: "The Russian has as
+little taste for promenading on foot as any Oriental. Hence, with the
+exception of the two capitals, and the north-west provinces, in which
+German usages prevail, there are no public walks or gardens for
+recreation. True enjoyment, according to the notions of the genuine
+Muscovite, consists in sitting down to a well-furnished table, either in
+his own house or a neighbour's, and indulging after the repast in some
+game which requires the least possible exertion of body. Soon after my
+arrival in Kasan, I was glad to employ the early days of summer, which
+there begins at the end of May, in making pedestrian excursions in the
+neighbourhood, to the great and general surprise of my new friends, who
+could not conceive why I thus roamed like an idiot about the country, in
+which I had no business, as they very well knew. It was conjectured that
+I was ill, and had adopted this laborious discipline as a mode of cure;
+but even under this interpretation my proceedings seemed very strange to
+them, for their own invariable practice when they feel unwell, is to go
+to bed immediately. In one of my walks I fell in with an acquaintance,
+who asked me what took me to the village, to which he supposed I was
+going. On my replying, that I had nothing whatever to do there, and that
+as yet I had neither seen the village nor any of its inhabitants, he
+said then of course I was going to look at it. No, I told him, that was
+not my intention, for I knew very well I should see nothing there
+different from any of the other villages in the vicinity. 'Well, then,
+Daddy (_batiushka_),' said my puzzled and curious friend, 'do tell me,
+what is it you are afoot for?' 'I am afoot, simply for the sake of being
+afoot,' was my answer, 'for the pleasure of a little exercise in the
+open air.' My friend burst into a loud fit of laughter at this
+explanation of my rambling habits, which had so long been an enigma to
+himself and every body else. To walk for walking sake! He had never
+heard any thing like that in all his life, and it was not long before
+this most novel and extraordinary phrase ran the round of the whole
+town, so that even to the following year it remained a standing joke
+against me in every company I entered."--_Von Littrow._
+
+_Suffocating vapours._--Accidents like that which befel Madame Hommaire,
+are unavoidably frequent under such a system of warming, and with
+servants so negligent as those in Russia; but happily they do not often
+end fatally. The worst result of them is generally a violent headache,
+all trace of which disappears the following day. Incredible as it may
+appear, the common people take pleasure in the sort of intoxication
+produced by the inhalation of diluted carbonic acid, and purposely
+procure themselves that strange enjoyment on leisure days. "They close
+the stoves before the usual time, and lie down on them; for in the
+peasants' houses the stoves are so constructed as to present a platform,
+on which the family sleep in winter. On entering a cabin on these
+occasions, you see the inmates lying close together on their bellies,
+chatting pleasantly with one another. Their faces are tumid and of a
+deep red hue, from the effects of the noxious gas. There is an unusual
+lustre in their protruding eyeballs, and in short, they have all the
+outward appearance of intoxication, though the intellectual functions
+are not affected by the gas. The headache they suffer may, indeed, be a
+drawback to their pleasure, but the increased warmth thus obtained, is
+so delightful to them, that they are content to purchase it even at that
+price. There is no mistaking their evident enjoyment and satisfaction,
+though one may not be tempted to partake in their joy."
+
+Another mode of obtaining artificial heat is practised in what the
+Russian peasants call their smoke-rooms. These rooms have but a few very
+small windows, just large enough to pass the head through, and seldom
+glazed, except with talc, where that mineral is abundant and cheap.
+Where this is not the case they are stopped up, in winter only, with
+moss and rags. When the fire is lighted, the chimney is closed, and the
+smoke escapes through the stove-door into the room. Being lighter than
+the cold air, it ascends at first, and hangs overhead in a thick cloud.
+But as its mass increases, it gradually descends, until there is no
+standing upright in the room without danger of suffocation. As the smoke
+approaches the floor, so too do the inmates, first stooping, then
+kneeling, sitting, and at last lying prone. If the smoke threatens quite
+to reach the ground, they open the windows or air-holes, which are not
+quite level with a man's head, and the black vapour rushes out. The
+under part of the room is thus left free, the prostrate inmates
+gradually rise, and set about their occupations in the clear warm space
+below. The first time I entered one of these dark sooty dens, I was so
+disgusted with it, that I should not have hesitated in my choice between
+a prison and so horrible an abode. I was, therefore, not a little
+surprised when I saw the inmates lying on the floor, gossiping quite at
+their ease, and bandying about jokes that will hardly bear repeating,
+but which manifested a degree of mirthfulness in these people I had,
+until then, thought quite impossible."--_Idem._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+      AN EARTHQUAKE--LUDICROUS ANECDOTE--SLEDGING--SPORTING--
+      DANGEROUS PASSAGE OF THE DNIEPR--THAW; SPRING-TIME--MANNERS
+      AND CUSTOMS OF THE LITTLE RUSSIANS--EASTER HOLIDAYS--THE
+      CLERGY.
+
+
+That same winter at 10 P.M. on the 11th of January, we had a
+smart shock of earthquake, but which happily did no mischief in that
+part of the steppes. We were seated at the whist table, when we were
+suddenly startled by a loud rolling noise, that seemed rapidly
+approaching us, and the cards dropped from our hands. The sound was like
+that of a large heavily-laden waggon rattling over the pavement.
+Scarcely two seconds after our first surprise the whole house received a
+sudden shock, that set all the furniture in motion, before the idea of
+an earthquake had occurred to our minds. This first shock was followed
+by another of longer duration, but less alarming character; it was like
+the undulation of the waves when they are seeking to recover their
+equilibrium. The whole house was filled with dismay, except the party in
+the drawing-room; with us surprise prevailed over fear, and we remained
+motionless as statues, whilst every one else was running out of doors.
+The earthquake, of which mention has been made in several journals, gave
+occasion to a ludicrous story that was related to us some days after.
+
+One of the general's peasants, an old fellow whose conscience was no
+doubt burthened with some weighty sin, imagined when he felt his house
+dancing like a boat on the waves, that the devil in person was come to
+bid him prepare to accompany him to the bottomless pit. Tearing out his
+hair by the roots, bawling, roaring, and crossing himself, he begins to
+confess his sins aloud, and gives himself up to the most violent terror
+and despair. His wife, who was no less alarmed, accused her husband of
+all sorts of wickedness; the husband retorted on the wife, and the whole
+night was passed in unspeakable confusion. The day dawned, but brought
+no comfort to the unfortunate sinner, whose spirits were all in a
+ferment, like new wine. Fully assured that the devil would soon come and
+lay his claws on him, he had no thought of going to his daily work. His
+wife was equally regardless of her household cares; what was the use of
+her preparing the porridge, when she and her husband were sure of
+breakfasting with Lucifer? So there they sat, waiting the fatal moment,
+with an anxiety that would have petrified them at last, but for an
+unexpected incident. All the other peasants, probably having less on
+their consciences, had been a-field since dawn. The head man of the
+village missed Petrovitch and his wife; he waited for them some hours,
+and at last bent his steps towards their cabin, calculating as he went
+how many stripes of the knout he should administer to them for their
+unpardonable neglect of duty. He steps in, but no one seems to notice
+his presence. Petrovitch sits huddled together in a corner, staring
+before him with glassy eyes; whilst his wife, on her knees before a
+picture of St. Nicholas, never for a moment interrupts her crossings and
+lamentations. "Hallo! what's all this?" cries the overseer, "have you
+lost your wits, and don't you know that you ought to have been at work
+hours ago?" "Oh Ivan Ivanovitch, it's all over; I shall never work
+again." "Not work again, wont you? we shall see. Come, start, booby!"
+And down comes the knout on the back of the peasant, who receives the
+blows with the most stoical composure. "O beat me if you like; it's all
+the same. What signify a few blows more or less, when a body is going to
+be roasted with the fiends?" "What on earth do you mean?" said the
+puzzled overseer; "what has happened to you to make you talk such
+nonsense?" "Nonsense here, or nonsense there, I have had a warning in
+the night." Ivan now recollected the earthquake, and suspecting he had
+found a clue to the mystery, burst into a hearty fit of laughter. "Oh,
+you may laugh; but you don't know that I am a great sinner, and that the
+devil came last night to claim my soul." After amusing himself
+sufficiently with the man's terrors, the overseer had the utmost
+difficulty in convincing him that all the other houses had been shaken
+like his own, and that the devil had nothing to do with the matter.
+
+Sledge driving is one of the greatest amusements of the Russian winter.
+The horses, stimulated by the cold, sweep with you over the plain with
+the most mettlesome impetuosity. In the twinkling of an eye, you have
+left behind you the whole surface of a frozen lake, measuring several
+versts in length. It is a downright steeplechase: the keenness of the
+air, the rapid motion, the shouts of the driver urging the willing
+steeds, the vast plain that seems to enlarge as you advance, all produce
+an intense excitement, and pleasurably dispel the torpor caused by the
+indolent life of the steppes. We frequently crossed the Dniepr in this
+manner, to drive about the streets of Kherson, where all the fashion of
+the neighbourhood rendezvous from noon to two o'clock. It is an exercise
+which has as much charm for the Russians as for foreigners; the smallest
+landowner, or the lowest clerk in a public office, though he earns but a
+few rubles a year, must have his sledge and his two horses, if he
+starves for it half the year. At the usual hour you may reckon more than
+a hundred sledges of every form, most of them covered with rich rugs and
+furs, chasing each other through the streets, and each containing a
+gentleman and lady, and a driver furred from head to foot. This sort of
+amusement is an admirable aid to coquetry. Nothing can be more
+fascinating than those female figures wrapped up in pelisses, and with
+their faces dimly seen through their blonde veils; appearing for an
+instant, and then vanishing into the vaporous atmosphere, followed by
+many a tender glance.
+
+I must say a few words as to the field sports of the steppes. Shooting
+parties use a very long low carriage called a _dolgushka_, and
+accommodating more than fifteen persons seated back to back. The feet
+rest on a board on each side about a foot from the ground. Behind the
+driver is a large box for holding provisions and all the accoutrements
+of the sportsmen; and the game is received in another box fixed at the
+end of the carriage. Nothing can be more convenient for country parties.
+The _dolgushka_ is drawn by four horses yoked abreast; birds are much
+less afraid of it than of a man on foot, and come near enough to allow
+the sportsman to shoot without alighting. Parties often amounting to
+many hundreds, both nobles and peasants, assemble for the pursuit of
+wolves, foxes, and hares. The usual scene of these hunts is a desert
+island belonging to General Potier. They begin by a general beating of
+the steppes, whereupon the wild animals cross the ice to the little
+island, thinking to be safe there from the balls of their pursuers; but
+their retreat is soon invaded. The hunters form a circle round the
+island, and then begins a slaughter that for some time clears the
+country of those sheep devourers. Two or three battues of this kind take
+place every year, chiefly for the purpose of destroying the wolves that
+come in flocks and carry dismay into the sheep-folds.
+
+Among the peculiarities presented by the plains of the Black Sea, I must
+not omit to mention the extensive conflagrations that regularly take
+place in winter, and remind one of the scenes witnessed by many
+travellers in the prairies of America. In Russia, it is the inhabitants
+themselves who set fire to the steppes, thinking that by thus clearing
+away the withered herbage from the surface, they favour the growth of
+the new grass. But the flames being often driven by the winds in all
+directions, and over immense surfaces, now and then occasion great
+disasters; and there have been instances in which sheep-folds and whole
+flocks have been consumed.
+
+The thaw begins on the Dniepr, about the end of March. It is preceded by
+dull cracklings and muffled sounds, giving token that the river is
+awakening from its long icy sleep, and is about to burst its prison. All
+communication between the farms and Kherson is interrupted for more than
+six weeks; posts of Cossacks stationed along the banks, give notice of
+the danger of crossing; but as the temperature is continually changing
+at that season, the final break-up does not take place for a long while.
+
+At the beginning of the thaw we persisted in going to Kherson, in
+opposition to all advice. When we came to the banks of the Dniepr and
+manifested our intention of crossing, all the boatmen stared at us in
+amazement, and not one of them would let us hire his sledge. We were
+therefore about to give up our project, when we saw two or three
+gentlemen coming towards us on foot across the Dniepr, followed by an
+empty sledge. They told us that the river was partially clear of ice
+opposite Kherson, and that it would be extremely dangerous to attempt
+crossing in a sledge. They had left Kherson at six in the morning, (it
+was then ten) and had been all that time engaged in effecting their
+passage. They united with the boatmen in dissuading us from undertaking
+such a journey, the danger of which was now the greater, inasmuch as
+the sun had acquired much power since the morning; but all was of no
+avail; their sledge which they placed at our disposal decided the
+business, and we embarked gaily, preceded by a boatman, whom our example
+had encouraged, and who was to sound the ice before us. A glowing sun
+streamed over the vast sheet of ice, raising from it a bluish vapour,
+which the driver and the guide watched with lively anxiety.
+Notwithstanding their looks of uneasiness we pushed on rapidly, and the
+boatman was oftener on the sledge than in advance of it. By and by,
+however, the sounds of cracking ice growing more and more frequent,
+rather cast a gloom over our imaginations, and made us begin to fear
+that we should meet with more serious obstacles further on. We saw the
+ice melting in some degree beneath the rays of the sun, and gradually
+parting from the shores of the islands we were coasting; and what still
+more augmented our uneasiness, was the elasticity of the ice, which bent
+very visibly under the motion of our sledge. Its gradual rise and fall
+seemed like the breathing of the river, becoming more and more distinct
+as the ice diminished in thickness. As our guide still continued to
+advance, we had no other course than to follow him, and so we came to an
+arm of the Dniepr, which is much dreaded on account of its current, the
+rapidity of which does not allow the ice to acquire much solidity even
+in the most intense frosts. We all proceeded to cross it on foot, each
+maneuvering as best he could on a surface as smooth as a mirror. At
+last, notwithstanding our zigzags, our tumbles, and the splitting of the
+ice, we found ourselves safe over the perilous passage, very much
+delighted at having escaped so well, and at feeling solid ground under
+our feet. We had then more than two versts to travel over an island,
+before we came to the branch of the river opposite Kherson. With the
+utmost confidence, then, we seated ourselves once more in the sledge,
+and bounded away at full speed over a soft surface of snow melting
+rapidly in the sun. But it is always when the mind is most at ease, that
+accidents seem to take a malicious pleasure in surprising us. A wide
+crevice, which the driver had not time to avoid, suddenly yawned athwart
+our course; the sledge was immediately upset, and we were all pitched
+out. My husband, who was seated on the top of the baggage, was quite
+stunned by the blow; the driver and the guide, who were thrown a
+considerable distance from the sledge, remained motionless likewise; and
+as for me, I found myself rolled up in my pelisse in the middle of a
+bush. When I cast a look on my companions in misfortune, they were
+beginning to stir and to feel themselves all over. They seemed in no
+hurry to get up, and they cut such piteous figures, that I could not
+help laughing most heartily. Notwithstanding our bruises we were soon on
+our legs, with the certainty that none of our bones were broken. The
+driver limped back to his seat, in great amazement at not receiving a
+severe castigation for his awkwardness. Had this mishap occurred to
+Russians, the poor fellow would not have escaped with less than a sound
+drubbing. We were more magnanimous, and imputed wholly to fortune an
+accident which, indeed, could not easily have been avoided.
+
+Our journey continued without much to alarm us, until we were just about
+to commit ourselves to the wide arm of the Dniepr, that still lay
+between us and the town. Its surface presented an appearance that was
+really frightful. Enormous banks of ice were beginning to move, and had
+already left a great part of the river exposed. Besides this, the ice
+that still remained fixed, was so intersected with clefts, that we could
+not advance without serious danger. Our position was becoming more and
+more critical, and we were thinking of returning to the island we had
+just left, and waiting until a boat could take us across to Kherson; but
+as there would probably have been as much risk in returning as in
+proceeding, we continued our route but with the utmost caution. The
+first glow of exulting boldness was over, and we sorely regretted our
+temerity. The floor that separated us from the waters seemed so
+treacherous, that we every moment despaired of escape. This state of
+perplexity lasted more than an hour; but at last we reached the vessels
+that were ice-locked at some distance from the harbour. We were now in
+safety, and we finished our perilous expedition in a boat.
+
+Two days afterwards a southerly wind had almost completely swept away
+the immense sheet of ice that for so many months had imprisoned the
+waters of the Dniepr. The thaw took place so rapidly, that the river was
+free before any one could have noted the progress of its deliverance. In
+eight days there was not a vestige of ice, and we returned to Clarofka,
+without experiencing any of the emotions we had felt on our first rash
+and picturesque expedition. But this mild weather, very unusual in the
+month of March, soon gave place to sharp frosts, which renewed the
+winter mantle of the Dniepr, and did not entirely cease until the
+beginning of April. At this season the steppes begin to be clothed with
+a magnificent vegetation, and in a few days they have the appearance of
+a boundless meadow, full of thyme, hyacinths, tulips, pinks, and an
+infinity of other wild flowers of great sweetness and beauty. Thousands
+of larks nestle in the grass, and carol everywhere over the traveller's
+head. The sea, too, partakes in the common gladness of the general
+season. Its shells are more beautiful and more numerous; its hues are
+more varied, and its murmurs gentler. Plants and animals seem all in
+haste to live and reproduce their kind, as if they foresaw the brief
+duration of these pleasant days. Elsewhere, summer is often but a
+continuation of spring; fresh blossoms come forth, and nature retains
+her vital power for a long period; but here a fortnight or three weeks
+are enough to change the vernal freshness of the landscape into a
+sun-burnt waste. In all these countries there are really but two
+seasons; you pass from intense cold to a Senegal heat; without the body
+having time to accustom itself to this sudden change of temperature. The
+sea-breezes alone make it possible to endure the heat which in July and
+August almost always amounts to 94° or 95°.
+
+The thing to which the stranger finds it most difficult to accustom his
+eyes in Russia, is the horrible sheep-skins in which men, women, and
+children are muffled at all times of the year. These half-tanned skins,
+which are worn with the wool inwards, give them a savage appearance,
+which is increased in the men by the long beard and moustaches they
+invariably wear. Yet there are handsome faces to be seen among the
+Russian peasants, and in this respect Nature has been much more liberal
+to the men than to the women, who are generally very ugly. The dress of
+the latter consists in a shift with wide sleeves, fitting tight round
+the throat, and trimmed with coloured cotton, and a petticoat fastened
+below the bosom. Instead of a petticoat, girls commonly wear a piece of
+woollen stuff, which laps across in front, without forming a single
+plait, and is fastened by a long, narrow scarf, embroidered at the ends.
+Their legs are quite bare, and any rather sudden movement may open their
+singular garment more than is consistent with decorum. On holidays they
+add to their ordinary attire a large muslin cap, and an apron of the
+same material, adorned with a wide flounce. Their hair is tied up with
+ribands, into two tresses, that fall on their shoulders, or are twisted
+into a crown on the top of the head. When they marry, they cease to wear
+their hair uncovered; a handkerchief of a glaring colour is then their
+usual head-dress. We are now speaking only of the women of Little
+Russia; but those of Great Russia retain the national costume called
+_serafine_, which is very picturesque, and is still worn at court on
+special occasions.
+
+The women of Little Russia, accustomed to field labour from their
+childhood, and usually marrying at the age of fifteen or sixteen, are
+old before they have reached their thirtieth year; indeed, one can
+hardly say when they cease to be young, since they never exhibit the
+bloom of youth. Whether a Russian woman's age be fifteen, twenty, or
+thirty, it is all one in the end. Immediately after childhood, her limbs
+are as masculine, her features as hard, her skin as tanned, and her
+voice as rough as at a more advanced age. So much has been written about
+the relaxed morals and the drunkenness of the Russian peasants, that we
+need not dwell on the subject. We shall only say that their deplorable
+passion for strong liquors, is continually on the increase, and that
+most of the young women are as much addicted to them as the old. It
+frequently happens that a peasant and his wife go on Sunday to a
+_kabak_, drench themselves with brandy, and on their way back fall dead
+drunk into some gully, where they pass the whole night without being
+aware of their change of domicile.
+
+A fondness for dancing is another distinguishing characteristic of this
+people. You often see a party of both sexes assemble after work, and
+continue dancing all the evening. The Ruthenians are remarkable for
+their gaiety and extreme indifference to worldly cares. Leaving to
+their masters the whole trouble of providing for their lodging and
+maintenance, they never concern themselves about the future. Their tasks
+once ended, they think only of repose, and seldom entertain any idea of
+working for themselves. When you pass through their villages, you never
+see the peasants busy in repairing their hedges, cultivating their
+gardens, mending their implements, or doing any thing else that bespeaks
+any regard for domestic comforts. No--the Russian works only because he
+is forced to do so; when he returns from his labour, he stretches
+himself out to sleep on his stove, or goes and gets drunk at the next
+_kabak_. A curious custom I have noticed in Southern Russia, and which
+is common to all classes, is that of chewing the seeds of the melon or
+the sunflower, from morning till night. In order to indulge this taste,
+every one dries in the sun the seeds of all the melons he eats during
+the summer, and puts by his stock for the winter. I have seen many wives
+of _pometchiks_ (landowners) pass their whole day in indulging this
+queer appetite.
+
+In Russia, as in all imperfectly civilised countries, religious
+ceremonies still retain all their ancient influence. They afford the
+peasant a season of pleasure and emancipation, that makes him for a
+moment forget his thraldom, to revel in intoxication. Full of
+superstition, and indolent to an extreme degree, he longs impatiently
+for the interval of relaxation that allows him to indulge his favourite
+propensities. For him the whole sum and substance of every religious
+festival consists in cessation from toil, and in outward practices of
+devotion that bear a strong impress of gross idolatry. The Russian
+thinks he perfectly understands and fulfils his religion, if he makes
+innumerable signs of the cross and genuflections before the smoky
+picture that adorns his isbas, and scrupulously observes those two
+commandments of the Church, to fast and make lenten fare. His conscience
+is then quite at ease, even though it should be burdened with the most
+atrocious crimes. Theft, drunkenness, and even murder, excite in him
+much less horror than the mere idea of breaking fast or eating animal
+food on Friday.
+
+Nothing can exceed the depravity of the Russian clergy; and their
+ignorance is on a par with their vicious propensities. Most of the monks
+and priests pass their lives in disgraceful intoxication, that renders
+them incapable of decently discharging their religious duties. The
+priestly office is regarded in Russia, not as a sacred calling, but as a
+means of escaping from slavery and attaining nobility. The monks,
+deacons, and priests, that swarm in the churches and monasteries, are
+almost all sons of peasants who have entered the Church, that they may
+no longer be liable to the knout, and above all to the misfortune of
+being made soldiers. But though thereby acquiring the right to plunder
+the serfs, and catechise them after their own fashion, they cannot
+efface the stain of their birth, and they continue to be regarded by the
+nobility with that sovereign disdain which the latter profess for all
+who are not sprung from their own caste. The great and the petty nobles
+are perfectly agreed in this respect, and it is not uncommon to see a
+pometshik raise his hand to strike a pope, whilst the latter humbly bows
+his head to receive the chastisement. This resignation, which would be
+exemplary if it were to be ascribed to evangelical humility, is here but
+the result of the base and crouching character of the slave, of which
+the Russian priest cannot divest himself, even in the midst of the
+highest functions of his spiritual life.
+
+The appearance of the popes provokes equal disgust and astonishment. To
+see those men, whose neglected beards, besotted faces, and filthy dress,
+indicate a total want of all decent self-respect, it is impossible to
+persuade oneself that such persons can be apostles of the divine word.
+As usual in the Greek Church, they are all married and have large
+families. You may look in vain in their dwellings for any indication of
+their sacred character. A few coarsely-coloured pictures of saints, and
+a few books flung into a corner of the room, in which the whole family
+are huddled together, are the only marks of the profession exercised by
+the master of the house. As they receive nothing from the state, it is
+the unfortunate serfs who must support their establishments, and even
+supply them with the means of indulging their gluttony and drunkenness.
+It is particularly on the eve of a great Church festival, that the
+Russian priest is sure of an abundant harvest of poultry, eggs, and
+meal. Easter is the most remarkable of these festivals, and lasts a
+whole week. During the preceding seven weeks of Lent, the Russian must
+not eat either eggs, meat, fish, oil, butter, or cheese. His diet
+consists only of salted cucumbers, boiled vegetables, and different
+kinds of porridge. The fortitude with which he endures so long a
+penance, proves the mighty influence which religious ideas possess over
+such rude minds. During the last few days that precede the festival, he
+is not allowed to take any food before sunset, and then it may be fairly
+admitted that brandy is a real blessing for him.
+
+It is impossible to imagine all the discussions that take place between
+the popes and the peasants on these occasions. As the Russian must then
+fulfil his religious duties, whether he will or not, he is at the mercy
+of the priest, who of course makes him pay as dearly as he can for
+absolution, and keeps a regular tariff, in which offences and
+punishments are set down with minute precision. Thus for a theft, so
+many dozens of eggs; for breach of a fast, so many chickens, &c. If the
+serf is refractory, the punishment is doubled, and nothing can save him
+from it. The thought of complaining to his lord of the pope's
+extortionate cupidity never enters his head; for assuredly, if he were
+to adopt such a course, he would think himself damned to all eternity.
+
+As long as the holidays last, the lords keep open table, and every one
+is free to enter and take part in the banquet. Such was the practice of
+the _knias_ (princes) and boyards of old, who lived as sovereigns in
+their feudal mansions, and extended their hospitality to all strangers,
+without distinction of country or lineage. Many travellers allege that
+this patriarchal custom still prevails in some families of Great Russia.
+But here, except on gala days, most of the pometshiks live in such a
+shabby style, as gives but a poor idea of their means or of their
+dispositions.
+
+To return to our Easter holidays: the last week of Lent is employed in
+making an immense quantity of cakes, buns, and Easter bread, and in
+staining eggs with all sorts of colours. A painter was brought expressly
+from Kherson to our entertainer's mansion for this purpose, and he
+painted more than 1000 eggs, most of them adorned with cherubims,
+fat-cheeked angels, virgins, and all the saints in paradise. The whole
+farm was turned topsy-turvy, the work was interrupted, and the steward's
+authority suspended. Every one was eager to assist in the preparations
+for merry making; some put up the swings, others arranged the ball-room;
+some were intent on their devotions, others half-smothered themselves in
+the vapour baths, which are one of the most favourite indulgences of the
+Russian people: all in short were busy in one way or other. A man with a
+barrel organ had been engaged for a long while beforehand, and when he
+arrived every face beamed with joy. The Russians are passionately fond
+of music. Often in the long summer evenings, after their tasks are
+ended, they sit in a circle and sing with a precision and harmony that
+evince a great natural aptitude for music. Their tunes are very simple
+and full of melancholy; and as their plaintive strains are heard rising
+at evening from some lonely spot in the midst of the desert plain, they
+often produce emotions, such as more scientific compositions do not
+always awaken.
+
+At last Easter day was come. In the morning we were greatly surprised to
+find our sitting-room filled with men who were waiting for us, and were
+meanwhile refreshing themselves with copious potations of brandy. The
+evening before we had been sent two bottles of that liquor, and a large
+basket of cakes and painted eggs, but without any intimation of the use
+they were to be put to; but we at once understood the meaning of this
+measure, when we saw all these peasants in their Sunday trim, and a
+domestic serving out drink to them, by way I suppose of beguiling the
+time until we made our appearance.
+
+The moment my husband entered the room, all those red-bearded fellows
+surrounded him, and each with great gravity presented him with a painted
+egg, accompanying the gift with three stout kisses. In compliance with
+the custom of the country my husband had to give each of them an egg in
+return, and a glass of brandy, after first putting it to his own lips.
+But the ceremony did not end there: _Kooda barinya? kooda barinya?_
+(where is madame), _nadlegit_ (it must be so), and so I was forced to
+come among them and receive my share of the eggs and embraces. During
+all Easter week the peasant has a right to embrace whomsoever he
+pleases, not even excepting the emperor and the empress. This is a relic
+of the old patriarchal manners which prevailed so long unaltered all
+over northern Europe. In Russia, particularly, where extremes meet, the
+peasant to this day addresses the czar with _thou_ and _thee_, and calls
+him father in speaking to him.
+
+When we had got rid of these queer visitors we repaired to the parlour,
+where the morning repast was served up with a profusion worthy of the
+times of Pantagruel. In the centre of the table stood a sucking pig
+flanked with small hams, German sausages, chitterlings, black puddings,
+and large dishes of game. A magnificent pie containing at least a dozen
+hares, towered like a fortress at one end of the table, and seemed quite
+capable of sustaining the most vehement onslaught of the assailants. The
+sondag and the sterlet, those choice fish of Southern Russia, garnished
+with aromatic herbs, betokened the vicinity of the sea. Imagine, in
+addition to all these things, all sorts of cordial waters, glass vases
+filled with preserves, and a multitude of sponge cake castles, with
+their platforms frosted and heaped with bonbons, and the reader will
+have an idea of the profuse good cheer displayed by the Russian lords on
+such occasions.
+
+General Potier, surrounded by all his household retinue, and by some
+other guests, impatiently awaited the arrival of the pope, whose
+benediction was an indispensable preliminary to the banquet. He arrived
+at ten o'clock precisely, accompanied by a monk, and began to chant a
+hallelujah, walking two or three times round the table; then blessing
+each dish separately, he concluded by bravely attacking the sucking pig,
+to the best part of which he helped himself. This was the signal to
+begin; every one laid hold on what he liked without ceremony; the pie,
+the hams, and the fish, all vanished. For more than a quarter of an hour
+nothing was to be heard but a continual noise of knives and forks, jaws
+munching, and glasses hobnobbing. The pope set a bright example, and his
+rubicund face fully declared the pleasure he took in fulfilling such
+functions of his office.
+
+The Russians in general are remarkable for gluttony, such as perhaps is
+without a parallel elsewhere. The rudeness of their climate and their
+strong digestive powers would account for this. They make five meals
+daily, and those so copious and substantial that one of them would alone
+be amply sufficient for an inhabitant of the south.
+
+During the repast a choir of girls stood before the windows and sang
+several national airs in a very pleasing style; after which they
+received the usual gratuity of nuts with tokens of the liveliest glee.
+The Russians are strict observers of all ancestral customs, and Easter
+would be no Easter for them if it came without eggs or nuts.
+
+On leaving the breakfast table we proceeded to the place where the
+sports were held; but there I saw nothing of that hearty merriment that
+elsewhere accompanies a popular holiday. The women, in their best
+attire, clung to the swings, I will not say gracefully, but very bodily,
+and in a manner to shame the men, who found less pleasure in looking at
+them than in gorging themselves with brandy in their smoky _kabaks_.
+Others danced to the sound of the organ with cavaliers, whose zigzag
+movements told of plenteous libations. Some old women nearly dead drunk
+went from one group to another singing obscene songs, and falling here
+and there in the middle of the road, without any one thinking of picking
+them up.
+
+We noticed on this occasion an essential characteristic of the Russian
+people. In this scene of universal drunkenness there was no quarrelling;
+not a blow was struck. Nothing can rouse the Russians from their apathy;
+nothing can quicken the dull current of their blood; they are slaves
+even in drink.
+
+Next day we went to dine with one of the general's neighbours, who gave
+us a most sumptuous reception. Before we sat down to table, we were
+shown into a small room with a side-board loaded with cold meat, caviar,
+salted cucumbers, and liqueurs, all intended to whet our appetites. This
+collation, which the Russians call _sagouska_, always precedes their
+meals; they are not content with their natural appetite, but have
+recourse to stimulants that they may the better perform their parts at
+table.
+
+All the time of dinner we were entertained by a choir of forty young men
+who sang some fine harmonised pieces, and some Cossack airs that pleased
+us much. Our entertainer was one of the richest landowners in New
+Russia, and his manner of living partakes of many of the old national
+usages. His musicians are slaves taught by an Italian long attached to
+the establishment in the capacity of chapel master.
+
+Such are the Easter festivities. As the reader will perceive, they
+consist on the whole in eating and drinking inordinately. The whole week
+is spent in this way, and during all that time the authority of the
+master is almost in abeyance; the coachman deserts the stables, the cook
+the kitchen, the housekeeper her store-room; all are drunk, all are
+merry-making, all are intent on enjoying a season of liberty so long
+anticipated with impatience.
+
+The rejoicings in the town are of the same character. The _katchellni_,
+a sort of fair lasting three days, brings together all classes of
+society. The nobles and the government servants ride about in carriages,
+but the populace amuse themselves just as they do in the country, only
+they have the pleasure of getting drunk in better company.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+      EXCURSION ON THE BANKS OF THE DNIEPR--DOUTCHINA--ELECTION OF
+      THE MARSHALS AND JUDGES OF THE NOBILITY AT KHERSON--HORSE-RACING
+      --STRANGE STORY IN THE "JOURNAL DES DÉBATS"--A COUNTRY HOUSE
+      AND ITS VISITERS--TRAITS OF RUSSIAN MANNERS--THE WIFE OF TWO
+      HUSBANDS--SERVANTS--MURDER OF A COURIER--APPENDIX.
+
+
+We left Clarofka in May, to explore the banks of the Dniepr, and the
+shores of the Sea of Azov. The object we had in view was purely
+scientific, but the journey became doubly interesting by affording us a
+closer insight into the habits of Russian society, and the manner in
+which noble families live on their estates. I had intended to visit
+Taganrok, but on this occasion I proceeded no further than Doutchina,
+the property of a Baroness de Bervick, who most hospitably insisted on
+my remaining with her whilst my husband was continuing his geological
+researches in the country of the Cossacks.
+
+Doutchina is situated on the post-road from Kherson to Iekaterinoslav,
+in a broad ravine formed by a brook that falls into the Dniepr a little
+way from the village. From the high ground over which the road passes,
+the eye suddenly looks down on a beautiful landscape--a most welcome
+surprise for the traveller who has just passed over some hundred versts
+of uncultivated plains.
+
+In Russia, travelling is not, as elsewhere, synonymous with seeing new
+sights. In vain your _troïka_ bears you along with dizzy speed; in vain
+you pass hours, days, and nights in posting; still you have before your
+eyes the same steppe that seems to lengthen out before you as you
+advance, the same horizon, the same cold stern lines, the same snow or
+sunshine; and nothing either in the temperature or the aspect of the
+ground indicates that you have accomplished any change of place.
+
+It is only in the vicinity of the great rivers that the country assumes
+a different aspect, and the wearied eye at last enjoys the pleasure of
+encountering more limited horizons, a more verdant vegetation, and a
+landscape more varied in its outlines. Among these rivers, the Dniepr
+claims one of the foremost places, from the length of its course, the
+volume of its waters, and the deep bed it has excavated for itself
+athwart the plains of Southern Russia. But nowhere does it present more
+charming views than from the height I have just mentioned and its
+vicinity. After having spread out to the breadth of nearly a league, it
+parts into a multitude of channels, that wind through forests of oaks,
+alders, poplars, and aspens, whose vigorous growth bespeaks the richness
+of a virgin soil. The groups of islands capriciously breaking the
+surface of the waters, have a melancholy beauty and a primitive
+character scarcely to be seen except in those vast wildernesses where
+man has left no traces of his presence. Nothing in our country at all
+resembles this kind of landscape. With us, the creature has everywhere
+refashioned the work of the Creator; the mark of his hand appears even
+on the most inaccessible mountains; whereas, in Russia, where the nobles
+are the sole proprietors, nature still remains, in many places, just as
+God created it. Thus these plavniks[3] of the Dniepr, seldom touched by
+the woodman's axe, have all the wild majesty of the forests of the new
+world. For some time after my arrival at Doutchina, I found an endless
+source of delight in contemplating those majestic scenes, lighted by a
+pale sky, and veiled in light mists, that gave them a tinge of sadness,
+sometimes more pleasing than the glare of noon.
+
+Doutchina, situated, as I have said, on a ledge of a ravine that ends in
+the plavniks, is altogether unlike the other villages of Russia. Its
+pretty cottages, separated by gardens and groups of fruit-trees, its
+picturesque site and magnificent environs, strikingly remind one of the
+Danube, near Vienna. The whole country, as far as one can see from the
+highest point of the road, belongs to the Baroness of Bervick, and forms
+one of the most valuable estates in the neighbourhood. But her residence
+is strangely unsuited to her fortune, being a mere cabin, open to every
+wind, and fit, at most, for a sporting lodge. As we looked on this
+shabby abode, we were amazed that a wealthy lady, still young and
+handsome, should be content to inhabit it, and to endure a multitude of
+privations, which we should have thought intolerable to a person of her
+station. At the time we became this lady's guest, she had left France
+about eighteen months, to reside on this property, bequeathed to her by
+her late husband.
+
+Some days after my husband's departure we set out for Kherson, where the
+elections of the marshals and judges of the nobility were soon to take
+place. All the great families of the government of Kherson were already
+assembled in the town, and gave it an appearance of animation to which
+it had long been a stranger. These elections, which take place only
+every three years, are occasions for balls and parties, to which the
+pometchiks and their wives look forward with eager anticipation. For
+more than a fortnight the town is thronged with officers of all ranks,
+and elegant equipages with four horses, that give the streets and
+promenades an unusually gay appearance. The Russians spare no expense on
+these occasions of display. Many a petty proprietor's wife, who lives
+all the year on _kash_[4] and dried fish, contrives at this period to
+out-do the ladies of the town in costly finery.
+
+The amusements began with a horse-race, which made some noise in the
+world in consequence of an article in the _Journal des Débats_. Those
+who have any curiosity to know how one may mystify a newspaper, and
+amuse oneself at the expense of a credulous public, have but to read a
+certain number of the year 1838, which positively alleges, that forty
+ladies, headed by the young and beautiful Narishkin, appeared on the
+course as jockeys, rode their own horses, &c., and a thousand other
+things still more absurd and incredible. All I can say of this race, at
+which I was present, is, that it was like every other affair of the
+kind, and was not distinguished by any remarkable incident or romantic
+adventure. Eight horses started, one of which belonged to the Countess
+Voronzof and another to General Narishkin, and the riders were not
+lovely ladies, but rather clumsy grooms. The first prize, a large
+silver cup worth 1500 rubles, was won by the Countess Voronzof's
+Atalanta: the second was carried off by the general's horse. Such is the
+way in which these things always end, and the consequence may very
+likely be, that the races will cease altogether. The landowners know
+very well that their horses stand no chance against those belonging to
+great people, and as they are sure of being beaten they will at last
+grow tired of the mock contest. The Countess Voronzof ought to consider
+that these races are not merely an amusement, but that they were
+instituted for the purpose of encouraging the improvement of the breed
+of horses.
+
+After the race there was a grand dinner at the general commandant's,
+which was attended by all the rank and fashion then assembled in
+Kherson. It was at this dinner I first remarked the custom observed by
+the Russians of placing the gentlemen on one side of the table and the
+ladies on the other, a custom both unsightly and injurious to
+conversation. It has almost fallen into disuse in Odessa, like all the
+other national practices; but in the provincial towns it would still be
+thought a deadly insult to a lady to help her after a gentleman, and no
+doubt it is in order to avoid such a breach of politeness that the
+ladies are all ranged together in one row.
+
+The nobility of the district gave a grand ball that evening in one of
+the club-rooms, and there I noticed all the contrasts that form the
+ground-work of Russian manners. The mixture of refinement and barbarism,
+of gallantry and grossness, which this people exhibits on all occasions,
+shows how young it still is in civilisation. Here were officers in
+splendid uniforms and ladies blazing with diamonds, dancing and playing
+cards in a very ugly room with old patched and plastered walls, dimly
+lighted by a few shabby lamps, and they were as intent on their
+pleasures as if they were in a court drawing-room, and never seemed to
+think that there was any thing at all offensive to the sight in the
+accommodations around them. The refreshments, consisting of dried fruits
+and _eau sucrée_, were in as much demand as the best ices and sherbets
+could have been. The same inconsistency was displayed in the behaviour
+of the gentlemen towards the ladies. Though ready, like the Poles, to
+drink every man of them to his fancy's queen out of the heel of her
+shoe, they did not think it unbecoming to take their places alone in the
+quadrilles, neither troubling themselves to go in search of their
+partners nor escorting them back to their seats after the dance. Setting
+aside, however, this total want of tact, they perfectly imitate all the
+outward shows and forms of politeness.
+
+A final ball, given by the governor at the conclusion of the election,
+was much more brilliant than those of the noblesse, and satisfied my
+critical eye in every respect. Every thing testified the taste and
+opulence of our entertainer. A splendid supper was served up at
+midnight, and a chorus of young lads sang some national airs, full of
+that grave and melancholy sweetness that constitutes the charm of
+Russian music. When the champagne was sent round the governor rose and
+made a speech in Russian, which was responded to by a general hurrah:
+the healths of the emperor, the empress, and the rest of the imperial
+family, were then drunk with shouts of joy; the married ladies were next
+toasted, then the unmarried, who were cheered with frantic acclamations.
+These duties being accomplished, the company returned to the ball-room,
+where dancing was kept up until morning. This entertainment was perfect
+in its kind; but, in accordance with the national habits, it was
+destined to end in an orgy. We learned the next day that the dawn had
+found the gentlemen eating, drinking, and fighting lustily. It was
+reckoned that 150 bottles of champagne were emptied on this occasion,
+and as the price of each bottle is eighteen francs, the reader may hence
+form some idea of Russian profusion.
+
+Two days afterwards we left Kherson for the country seat of the marshal
+of the nobles, where a large party was already assembled. The manner in
+which hospitality is exercised in Russia is very convenient, and entails
+no great outlay in the matter of upholstery. Those who receive visiters
+give themselves very little concern as to whether their guests are well
+or ill lodged, provided they can offer them a good table; it never
+occurs to them that a good bed, and a room provided with some articles
+of furniture, are to some persons quite as acceptable as a good dinner.
+Whatever has no reference to the comfort of the stomach, lies beyond the
+range of Russian politeness, and the stranger must make up his account
+accordingly. As we were the last comers, we fared very queerly in point
+of lodging, being thrust four or five of us into one room, with no other
+furniture than two miserable bedsteads; and there we were left to shift
+for ourselves as we could. The house is very handsome in appearance; but
+for all its portico, its terrace, and its grand halls, it only contains
+two or three rooms for reception, and a few garrets, graced with the
+name of bed-rooms. Ostentation is inherent in the Russian character, but
+it abounds especially among the petty nobles, who lavish away their
+whole income in outward show. They must have equipages with four horses,
+billiard-rooms, grand drawing-rooms, pianos, &c. And if they can procure
+all these superfluities, they are quite content to live on mujik's fare,
+and to sleep in beds without any thing in the shape of sheets.
+
+Articles of furniture, the most indispensable, are totally unknown in
+the dwellings of most of the second-rate nobles. Notwithstanding the
+vaunted progress of Russian civilisation, it is almost impossible to
+find a basin and ewer in a bed-room. Bedsteads are almost as great
+rarities, and almost invariably you have nothing but a divan on which
+you may pass the night. You may deem yourself singularly fortunate if
+the mistress of the mansion thinks of sending you a blanket and a
+pillow; but this is so unusual a piece of good luck that you must never
+reckon upon it. In their own persons the Russians set an example of
+truly Spartan habits, as I had many opportunities of perceiving during
+my stay in the marshal's house. No one, the marshal himself not
+excepted, had a private chamber; his eldest daughter, though a very
+elegant and charming young lady, lay on the floor, wrapped up in a cloak
+like an old veteran. His wife, with three or four young children, passed
+the night in a closet that served as boudoir by day, and he himself made
+his bed on one of the divans of the grand saloon. As for the visiters,
+some slept on the billiard-table; others, like ourselves, scrambled for
+a few paltry stump bedsteads, whilst the most philosophical wore away
+the night in drinking and gambling.
+
+I say nothing as to the manner in which the domestic servants are
+lodged; a good guess as to this matter may be easily made from what I
+have just said of their masters. Besides, it is a settled point in
+Russia never to take any heed for servants; they eat, drink, and sleep,
+how and where they can, and their masters never think of asking a word
+about the matter. The family whose guests we were was very large, and
+furnished us with themes for many a remark on the national usages, and
+the notions respecting education that are in vogue in the empire. A
+Swiss governess is an indispensable piece of furniture in every house in
+which there are many children. She must teach them to read, write, and
+speak French, and play a few mazurkas on the piano. No more is required
+of her; for solid instruction is a thing almost unknown among the petty
+nobles. A girl of fifteen has completed her education if she can do the
+honours of the drawing-room, and warble a few French romances. Yet I
+have met with several exceptions to this rule, foremost among which I
+must note our host's pretty daughter Loubinka, who, thanks to a sound
+understanding and quick apprehension, has acquired such a stock of
+information as very few Russian ladies possess.
+
+It is only among those families that constantly reside on their estates
+that we still find in full vigour all those prejudices, superstitions,
+and usages of old Russia, that are handed down as heir-looms from
+generation to generation, and keep strong hold on all the rustic
+nobility. No people are more superstitious than the Russians; the sight
+of two crossed forks, or of a salt-cellar upset, will make them turn
+pale and tremble with terror. There are unlucky days on which nothing
+could induce them to set out on a journey or begin any business. Monday
+especially is marked with a red cross in their calendar, and woe to the
+man who would dare to brave its malign influence.
+
+Among the Russian customs most sedulously preserved is that of mutual
+salutations after meals. Nothing can be more amusing than to see all the
+persons round the table bowing right and left with a gravity that proves
+the importance they attach to a formality so singular in our eyes. The
+children set the example by respectfully kissing the hands of their
+parents. In all social meetings etiquette peremptorily requires that the
+young ladies, instead of sitting in the drawing-room, shall remain by
+themselves in an adjoining apartment, and not allow any young man to
+approach them. If there is dancing the gravest matron in the company
+goes and brings them almost by force into the ball-room. Once there they
+may indulge their youthful vivacity without restraint; but on no pretext
+are they to withdraw from beneath the eyes of their mothers or
+chaperons. It would be ruinous to a young lady's reputation to be caught
+in a _tête-á-tête_ with a young man within two steps of the ball-room.
+But all this prudery extends no further than outward forms, and it would
+be a grand mistake to suppose that there is more morality in Russia than
+elsewhere. Genuine virtue, such as is based on sound principles and an
+enlightened education is not very common there. Young girls are
+jealously guarded, because the practice is in accordance with the
+general habits and feelings of the country, and little reliance is
+placed in their own sense of propriety. But once married, they acquire
+the right of conducting themselves as they please, and the husband would
+find it a hard matter to control their actions. Though divorces are
+almost impossible to obtain, it does not follow that all wives remain
+with their husbands; on the contrary, nothing is more common than
+amicable arrangements between married people to wink at each other's
+peccadilloes; such conventions excite no scandal, and do not exclude the
+wife from society. One of these divorces I will mention, which is
+perhaps without a parallel in the annals of the civilised world.
+
+A very pretty and sprightly young Polish lady was married to a man of
+great wealth, but much older than herself, and a thorough Muscovite in
+coarseness of character and habits. After two or three years spent in
+wrangling and plaguing each other, the ill-assorted pair resolved to
+travel, in the hopes of escaping the intolerable sort of life they led
+at home. A residence in Italy, the chosen land of intrigues and illicit
+amours, soon settled the case. The young wife eloped with an Italian
+nobleman, whose passion ere long grew so intense that nothing would
+satisfy him short of a legal sanction of their union. Divorces, as every
+one knows, are easily obtained in the pope's dominions. Madame de K. had
+therefore no difficulty in causing her marriage to be annulled,
+especially with the help of her lord and master, who, for the first time
+since they had come together, agreed with her, heart and soul. Every
+thing was promptly arranged, and _Monsieur_ carried his complaisance so
+far as to be present as an official witness at _Madame's_ wedding,
+doubtless for the purpose of thoroughly making sure of its validity.
+Three or four children were the fruit of this new union; but the lady's
+happiness was of short duration. Her domestic peace was destroyed by the
+intrigues of her second husband's family; perhaps, too, the Italian's
+love had cooled; be this as it may, after some months of miserable
+struggles and humiliations, sentence of separation was finally
+pronounced against her, and she found herself suddenly without fortune
+or protector, burdened with a young family, and weighed down with
+fearful anticipations of the future. Her first step was to leave a
+country where such cruel calamities had befallen her, and to return to
+Podolia, the land of her birth. Hitherto her story is like hundreds of
+others, and I should not have thought of narrating it had it ended
+there; but what almost surpasses belief, and gives it a stamp of
+originality altogether out of the common line, is the conduct of her
+first husband when he heard of her return. That brutal, inconstant man,
+who had trampled on all social decencies in attending at the marriage of
+his wife with another, did all in his power to induce her to return to
+his house. By dint of unwearied efforts and entreaties he succeeded in
+overcoming her scruples, and bore her home in triumph along with her
+children by the Italian, on whom he settled part of his fortune. From
+that time forth the most perfect harmony subsists between the pair, and
+seems likely long to continue. I saw a letter written by the lady two or
+three months after her return beneath the conjugal roof; it breathed the
+liveliest gratitude and the fondest affection for him whom she called
+_her beloved husband_.
+
+The Russians pique themselves greatly on having a large retinue of
+servants; the smallest proprietor never keeps fewer than five or six;
+yet this does not prevent their houses from being, without exception,
+disgustingly dirty. Except the state-rooms, which the servants make a
+show of cleaning, all the rest of the house is left in a state of filth
+beyond description. The condition of these domestic servants is much
+less pitiable than one would suppose; they are so numerous that they
+have hardly any thing to do, and spend half the day in sleeping. The
+canings they receive from time to time do not at all ruffle their good
+humour. It is true they fare horribly as to victuals, and have no other
+bed than the bare ground; but their robust constitutions enable them
+easily to endure the greatest privations, and if they have salted
+cucumbers, arbutus berries, and _kash_, they scarcely envy their masters
+their more nutritious viands.
+
+After some ten days spent very agreeably in the house of the marshal of
+the nobles, we at last set out on our return for Doutchina, where my
+husband was soon to meet us again. On arriving at the third
+post-station, we were surprised to find the house filled with Cossacks
+and police-officers. Neither postmaster, horses, nor coachmen, were to
+be seen, and it was plain some extraordinary event had taken place. We
+were presently informed that a murder had been committed two days
+before, at a very short distance from the station, on the person of a
+courier, who had a sum of 40,000 rubles in his charge. The following are
+the details communicated to us on the subject. A courier arrived at the
+post-station in the evening, having with him a small valise containing a
+considerable amount of property. He drank a few glasses of brandy with
+the postmaster before he resumed his journey, and told him he was not
+going further than Kherson, and would return that way next day.
+
+That same night some peasants found a deserted carriage on the highway,
+near Kherson, and were soon satisfied on examining it, that a crime had
+been committed in it. Several pieces of silver coin were scattered in
+the straw, as if some one had forgotten them there in his haste, and
+copious marks of blood were discernible on the ground and in the
+carriage. These facts were communicated to the police, inquiries were
+instituted, and the courier's body, with a deep gash in the head, was
+found in a ditch two or three versts from the station. The driver had
+disappeared, and the postmaster, an unfortunate Jew, who was perhaps
+innocent of all participation in the crime, was immediately taken to
+prison. Such was the state of the case when we arrived at the station
+and found it all in confusion, and filled with Cossacks.
+
+This tragic event threw the whole country into agitation, but it was not
+until six weeks afterwards that the police at last succeeded in
+arresting the perpetrator of the deed, in consequence of quite new
+information, which gave a still stranger complexion to the whole story.
+By the murderer's own statement, it appeared that he belonged to a
+family of shopkeepers, and that he had given up his business only to
+execute a long cherished project. Some months before the murder he had
+gone into the Crimea, where he had taken pains to conceal his identity
+and baffle any attempt to track his steps, by letting his beard grow,
+adopting the habits and appearance of a mujik, and frequently changing
+his place of abode. When he thought his measures complete in this
+respect, he went and hired himself as postillion to the Jew, who kept
+the post-station before mentioned. He had been waiting more than a month
+for a favourable opportunity, when the unfortunate courier, who was his
+victim, arrived. He confessed he had hesitated for some moments before
+committing the murder, not from horror of the deed itself, but because
+he recognised in the courier an old companion of his boyhood. Twice,
+perceiving that the man was asleep, he had left his seat and got up
+behind the carriage with the intention of knocking him on the head; but
+twice his courage failed him; the third time, however, he drew the
+courier's own sabre and cleft his skull with it at a blow. Having
+secured the valise, he threw the corpse into a ditch, and continued his
+journey to within a short distance of Kherson, where he left the
+kibitka, changed his dress, cut off his beard, and then entered the city
+on foot. His family received him without the least suspicion, never
+doubting but that he came straight from the Crimea, and for more than
+six weeks he lived quite at his ease, making like every body else
+numberless conjectures respecting the event which was the constant theme
+of conversation. Meanwhile, several persons having been struck by the
+resemblance of his features to those of the postillion who had
+disappeared, they put the police on the alert, and he was arrested just
+as he was setting out for Bessarabia. He was condemned to a hundred
+strokes of the knout, and the postmaster was sent to Siberia. The
+children of the latter were enrolled as soldiers, and all he was worth
+became the booty of the police.
+
+With such penal laws, Russia has little to fear from malefactors.
+Notwithstanding its vast extent and its thinly scattered population,
+the traveller is safer there than in any other country. But this state
+of things is to be ascribed rather to the political situation of the
+people, than to the strict administration of the police, and it is easy
+to conceive that in a country, in which there are none but slaves bound
+to the soil, highway robberies, generally speaking, are morally
+impossible, because they can scarcely ever yield any gain to their
+authors. There existed, nevertheless, in Bessarabia, from 1832 to 1836,
+a very formidable gang of robbers, of which the police found it
+extremely difficult to rid the country. The captain, of whom a thousand
+extraordinary tales are told, was a revolted slave, unconsciously
+playing the part of Fra Diavolo, in a corner of Russia. He waged war not
+against individuals, but against society. It is alleged, that he never
+killed any one, and that many a peasant found with him an asylum and
+protection. He was a daring fellow, beloved by his gang, and a merciless
+plunderer of landlords, and above all of Jews. It was not until the
+close of 1836 that he was taken, through the treachery of a girl he was
+attached to, who betrayed him to the officers of justice. He died under
+the knout; the death of their leader dispersed his gang, and they fell
+one by one into the hands of the police.
+
+Some days after my husband's return, we took our leave of the baroness
+to return to Clarofka. Our main journey through the Kalmuck steppes and
+to the Caucasus, being fixed for the following spring, part of the
+winter was spent in making preparations for our departure. Count
+Voronzof most obligingly furnished us with letters for the governors and
+authorities of the countries we were to pass through.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] The name applied collectively to the islands and channels formed by
+all the great rivers of Southern Russia.
+
+[4] A favourite Russian dish, a sort of porridge of buckwheat or Indian
+corn.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO CHAPTER IX.
+
+_Petty Larceny._--"Highway robbery and burglary, with violence, are
+things wholly unknown in the greater part of Russia. The peasants laugh
+when they see foreigners travelling about with swords, pistols, and a
+whole arsenal of weapons. The Russian trader journeys from one end of
+the empire to the other, often with all he is worth in the world, and
+does not think it necessary even to carry a knife in his pocket; yet one
+never hears of their being robbed by force on the highways, at least in
+the parts of the country with which I was more intimately acquainted.
+Cases of the kind do indeed occur in the southern provinces, adjoining
+the Turkish dominions, and in Siberia, where so many malefactors are
+settled, and where there is often extreme distress. Some may be disposed
+to ascribe this unfrequency of highway robbery to the great remoteness
+of the villages from each other, and to the severity of the climate,
+which must deter rogues from remaining much in the open air, especially
+at night. But even in summer, and in the more populous regions, where
+the villages are tolerably close together, highway robbery is equally
+rare, and the absence of this crime seems to me attributable rather to
+the character of the people themselves, to whom the practice seems
+repugnant and unnatural. It were to be wished that they had the same
+instinctive aversion to robbery without violence, but this unfortunately
+is not the case. As I was a frequent sufferer from the nimbleness of
+their fingers, I had occasion enough to ponder on the causes of this
+striking propensity of theirs, and I came to the conclusion, paradoxical
+as it may perhaps seem, that it arises not so much from want of moral
+feeling as from want of intellectual cultivation. Most of the common
+folk who are given to this vice (for among educated persons it is as
+rare and is reputed as infamous as in any other country) see no harm at
+all in pilfering, and are, therefore, prone to practise it whenever they
+have an opportunity. I am fully persuaded that these people, who are
+often the most good-natured and even honest-hearted fellows, would
+desist from the practice if they were once taught to regard it in a
+different light, and were made conscious of its impropriety. This is a
+case as to which primary instruction, village schools, and church
+sermons, in the vernacular tongue, would deal most happily and
+beneficially for the morals of the nation. But village schools are rare,
+and sermons or religious instruction of any kind, are rarer still; books
+there are none, and if there were any the populace could not read them.
+What means then have they of becoming enlightened as to themselves and
+the things around them, and of correcting the views and notions handed
+down to them from generation to generation? Centuries ago they worked
+out for themselves their own system of ethics, if I may so speak, and
+they now make the best they can of it. Certain things, for instance,
+such as household furniture and the like, are regarded as sacred; the
+owners may leave them all night in the street, and be sure of finding
+them again in the morning, whereas there are a thousand other things
+which they cannot watch too carefully, though far less serviceable, and
+consequently less tempting. On the former there is a sort of interdict
+laid by tacit consent, whereas the latter are looked upon as common
+property. The same man who will not hesitate to pick another's pocket,
+or to filch something from his table, will never, even though quite safe
+from detection, open a closed door, or put his hand in at an open window
+to take any thing out of a room. He would call this 'stealing'
+(_vorit_,) and that has an ugly sound even in Russian ears, and is
+considered a great sin. But the first-mentioned little matters he looks
+on as allowed, or at least not forbidden, and he applies to them the
+endearing diminutive _vorovat_, a pretty, harmless word, not at all
+associated with the odious idea of thieving properly so called. To put
+this matter in a clearer light I will relate two little incidents that
+came under my own personal observation.
+
+"I was once in the house of a common chapman on an affair of business,
+in which he behaved like an upright worthy man. We had finished the
+transaction between us, and were sipping our tea, when an old man with
+an open, honest-looking countenance, but very poorly clad, came in and
+offered the chapman a silver spoon for sale. After some chaffering the
+latter bought the spoon at a price much below its worth, and said,
+banteringly, as he paid over the money: '_Sukin tu sin, tu vorovat_.'
+'You pilfered it, you son of a b----.' (This last phrase, as I have
+elsewhere remarked, is practically equivalent to 'my good friend,' or
+the like.) The old man looked at him with a roguish twinkle of the eye,
+laid his hand on his breast, and said very gravely: '_Niet sudar, Bog
+podal_,' 'No, sir, God bestowed it,' and then went quietly about his
+business. I often took pains to come at the special meaning of this
+'_Bog podal_,' by a series of indirect questions, and every time I
+became more and more assured that by many persons the phrase was
+understood as signifying a sort of divine permission to steal.
+
+"The second anecdote is perhaps still more characteristic. In the year
+1816 I was on my way with a German friend to the country-seat of Count
+S. We thought we were the only persons in our little open carriage who
+understood the German language, in which we conversed, when, to our
+surprise, our long-bearded _ishvorshtik_ (coachman) joined in the
+discourse with great fluency, though his German was somewhat broken.
+Observing our astonishment, he told us that he had been in Germany, and
+had served in a detached corps of the army, which had been organised in
+the form of a _landwehr_, or local militia: he had passed a summer in
+Saxony, and seen Leipsig, Dresden, Wittenberg, &c. All this he told us
+with an air of no small self-complacency. 'And how did you like
+Germany?' said I. 'Why, pretty well,' he answered, 'only for one thing
+that I could not abide at all.' He might have settled there
+advantageously, and his colonel would have given him his discharge, as
+the corps was to be disbanded; but this _one thing_ he talked of was not
+to be got over, and so he had preferred to return home. 'And what was
+this thing that stuck so in your stomach?' 'Sir,' said he, turning to us
+with one eye half shut, and speaking almost in a whisper, '_Sudar,
+vorovat ne velat_,' 'Sir, they won't allow a body to do a wee bit of
+pilfering.' We were not a little confounded by this unexpected reply,
+and my friend, who had not been long in Russia, was beginning to lecture
+him on the enormity of such principles, when the coachman, who had no
+mind to hear a long sermon, laughingly cut short the preacher's
+harangue, and gave him to understand that he was wandering wide of the
+mark. 'O, you don't understand me, _sudar_, I don't mean stealing; of
+course not; I know very well it is a bad thing; I only mean _vorovat_,
+which surely ought to be allowed everywhere; leastways it ought to be
+allowed to a poor soldier.'
+
+"The world is ruled by opinion: we should therefore try to set this
+governing power right, where we can, and where that may not be one, we
+should at least make the best use we can of it in the state in which we
+find it. Russia affords one striking exemplification of this wise system
+of compromise with reference to the subject we have been discussing. It
+is a received opinion among the populace, as I have said, that a man may
+filch a little from a stranger without being guilty of downright
+dishonesty, but to rob one's own master, is a grievous and unpardonable
+sin. Hence, the surest way of protecting yourself against a house-thief,
+when you once know him, is to take him into your service. From that
+moment you are not only safe from any larceny on his part, but you have
+secured besides the best watch against all other thieves, since it is a
+point of honour with him to prevent all acts of peculation that might
+entail suspicion on himself; and he knows practically all the tricks and
+stratagems against which he must be on his guard. An officer of high
+rank in the Russian army, a German by birth, told me, that once when his
+battalion had to encamp for several weeks together along with a Cossack
+pult, he and his men had like to be stripped of all they had by a
+continual course of thieving. Every morning brought a disastrous list of
+clothes missing, horse trappings carried off, &c. &c. More sentinels
+were placed, strict vigilance was observed, but every precaution failed.
+Almost at his wit's end, the officer complained to the hetman of the
+pult, and was advised by him to withdraw all his own sentries, and to
+make one of the Cossacks mount guard in his own quarters, and in every
+division of those occupied by his men. The German could not help
+thinking the proposed measure very like committing the fold to the
+custody of the wolf, but as he knew nothing better he could do, he
+adopted it, and from that moment all the thieving was at an end. The
+Cossacks always laid themselves down at nightfall right before the doors
+of the quarters and stables, and the officer never again heard even of
+any attempt to annoy him or his men. Such is the force of opinion, and
+of the manner in which these people (and all of us, too, if we will but
+own it) are in the habit of seeing things."--_Von Littrow._
+
+Von Littrow remarks that we ought not to be too hasty in laying to the
+account of moral depravity the nimbleness of finger of the Russian
+peasant, but consider whether even among the most civilised people there
+are not some relics of the olden barbarism, some striking deviations
+from moral propriety, which OPINION is pleased to look on with
+indulgence. Books change owners in the German universities by a
+surreptitious process, for which a slang word has been adopted. This
+kind of _vorovat_ is called "shooting" (_schiessen_) and some very
+learned professors we are told, plume themselves on the skill with which
+they contrive to "shoot" rare specimens of natural history, &c. There
+are men otherwise of great probity and worth, who we fear are not always
+scrupulously careful to return a borrowed umbrella.
+
+_Russian Servants._--"Where a German would think himself very well off
+with the attendance of one woman servant, a Russian tradesman, in like
+pecuniary circumstances, keeps at least four; but the German's one
+servant does quite as much as the Russian's four put together. In the
+houses of the wealthy, the number of menservants amounts to fifty,
+sixty, and even a hundred or more. There is an intendant and a
+_maître-d'hôtel_, a couple of dozen of pages and footmen, the master of
+the house's own men, the lady's own men, and again own men for the young
+gentlemen and for the young ladies; then come the butlers, caterers,
+hunters, doorkeepers, porters, couriers, coachmen, and stable-boys,
+grooms and outriders, cooks and under-cooks, confectioners,
+stove-lighters, and chamber-cleaners, &c. &c., not to mention the female
+servants of all sorts. But the worst of the thing is the continual
+increase of this numerous body; for it is a matter of course in Russia
+that every married man who enters service takes his wife with him; his
+children, too, belong to the house and remain in it; nay, his kith and
+kin, if not actually domesticated in the establishment, take up their
+abode in it for days and weeks together, without demur; besides which,
+the friends and acquaintances of the servants may drop in when they
+please, and partake of bed and board. 'When I married,' said a wealthy
+Russian to me, 'I made up my mind to have no more of these
+good-for-nothing people in my house than were unavoidably necessary for
+myself and my wife, and I therefore restricted myself to forty, but
+after the lapse of three or four years, I remarked, to my great
+astonishment, that this number was already almost doubled.' In any other
+country, some three or four of these fellows would be thought enough to
+wait at table even in the best appointed houses; but in Russia, where
+dinner parties often consist of forty or fifty persons, there must be a
+servant behind every chair, or the whole set out would be considered
+extremely shabby. It was formerly the custom generally, and it is so
+still in the country-houses of the great, to have a footman constantly
+stationed in each of the rooms of the numerous suite of apartments, and
+one or two lads outside, their business being to do the office now
+performed by bells. An order given by the lord of the mansion in the
+innermost apartment, was transmitted from room to room, and from door to
+door, until it reached the last of the train, who fetched the article
+called for, and so it was passed from hand to hand until it reached the
+_gosudar_ (the lord).
+
+"A Polish countess told me, that she once called on Count Orloff on
+business, and while they were conversing, the count desired the servant
+who stood by the door, to call for a glass of water. The man disappeared
+for a moment to speak to his next neighbour, and immediately returned to
+his post; half-an-hour elapsed, and no water came. The thirsty count had
+to repeat the order, and turning to the countess, he said, 'See what a
+poor man I am; I have more than a hundred and twenty servants in this
+house alone, and if I want a glass of water, I cannot have it.' The
+countess smiled at the poor man, and told him that if he was a good deal
+poorer, and had but one servant, he would be better attended on. The
+Countess Orloff, his daughter, who inherited his whole fortune, is said
+to have upwards of 800 servants of both sexes in her palace at Moscow,
+and to maintain a special hospital for them."--_Von Littrow._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+      DEPARTURE FOR THE CASPIAN--IEKATERINOSLAV--POTEMKIN'S RUINED
+      PALACE--PASKEVITCH'S CAUCASIAN GUARD--SHAM FIGHT--INTOLERABLE
+      HEAT--CATARACTS OF THE DNIEPR--GERMAN COLONIES--THE SETCHA OF
+      THE ZAPOROGUES--A FRENCH STEWARD--NIGHT ADVENTURE--COLONIES
+      OF THE MOLOSHNIA VODI--MR. CORNIES--THE DOUKOBOREN, A RELIGIOUS
+      SECT.
+
+
+About the middle of May, 1839, we left the shores of the Black Sea,
+accompanied by a Cossack and an excellent dragoman, who spoke all the
+dialects current in Southern Russia. After we had travelled more than
+100 leagues upwards along the banks of the Dniepr, we reached
+Iekaterinoslav, a new town, which about fifty years ago consisted only
+of some wretched fishermen's cabins, scattered along the margin of the
+river.
+
+Iekaterinoslav, founded in 1784 by the great Catherine, who laid the
+first stone in the presence of the Emperor Joseph II., is built on such
+a gigantic plan as makes it a perfect wilderness, in which the sparse
+houses and scanty population seem lost, as it were. Its wide and regular
+streets, marked out only by a few dwellings at long intervals, seem to
+have been planned for a million of souls; a whole government would have
+to be unpeopled to fill them, and give them that life and movement so
+necessary to a capital. But there seems no likelihood that time will
+fill up the void spaces of this desert, for the number of its
+inhabitants has not much increased within forty years; it is a
+stationary town, which will probably never realise the expectations
+formed by the empress when she gave it her name. It contains, however,
+some large buildings, numerous churches, bazaars, and charming gardens.
+But for the absurd mania of the Russians for planning their towns on an
+enormous scale, it would be a delightful abode, rich in its beautiful
+Dniepr and the fertile hills around it.
+
+But Iekaterinoslav possesses one thing that distinguishes it from all
+the towns with which Russian civilisation is beginning to cover the
+south of the empire; and that is Potemkin's palace and garden. The
+palace is in ruins though it was built for Catherine II., barely sixty
+years ago. The indifference of the Russians for their historical
+monuments is so great, that they hasten to destroy them, merely to clear
+the ground of things that have ceased to be of use.
+
+The government, despotic as it is, unfortunately has not the power to
+stay the instinctive vandalism of its people. We will give melancholy
+proofs of this by and by, when we come to speak of the ancient tombs of
+the Crimea, so rich in objects of art, and so precious for their
+antiquity, yet which, in spite of the pretended care of the police, are
+day by day disappearing before the barbarous cupidity of the peasants,
+and still more of the _employés_.
+
+To judge from its remains, Potemkin's palace appears to have been one of
+truly royal magnificence; on each side are still standing wings which
+must have contained a great number of apartments. There is a profusion
+of colonnades, porticoes, capitals, and beautiful cornices in the
+Italian style of the period; but all is at the mercy of the first
+peasant who wants stones or wood to repair his cabin. The ground is all
+strewed over with shapeless fragments, blocks of stone, and broken
+shafts. Nothing can look more sad than such skeletons of monuments which
+no accumulated ages have hallowed, and which have not even a veil of ivy
+to hide their decrepitude, nor any thing to throw a cast of dignity over
+their blank disorder. The feeling they impart is like that produced by
+the effects of an earthquake: no lesson given by the past, nothing for
+the imagination to feed on: no chronicles, no poetry.
+
+The haughty Catherine little suspected that one day the serfs would
+carry away piecemeal that magnificent edifice planned by the inventive
+genius of her favourite, at the most brilliant period of her life. It
+was there she rested from the fatigues of her fantastic journey, and
+prepared herself for the new wonders that awaited her in the Crimea.
+
+The amorous sovereign of the largest empire in the world, left the ices
+of St. Petersburg, and performed a journey of 1800 versts, to visit the
+richest jewel added to her imperial crown, that enchanting Tauris which
+Potemkin laid at her feet.
+
+At intervals all along the route from Iekaterinoslav to Kherson, stand
+little pyramids surrounded by a balustrade, to mark the spots where the
+empress halted, changed horses, &c. In many places are still to be seen
+palaces that suddenly sprang up on her way, as if at the touch of an
+enchanter's wand. The whole tract of country is stamped with
+reminiscences of her grandeur, though she but passed rapidly through
+these deserts, which were metamorphosed beneath her glance into smiling
+and populous plains.
+
+Of all these ephemeral palaces, that of Iekaterinoslav was the most
+worthy to harbour the imperial beauty. It stands on a gentle slope
+descending to the Dniepr, and is still surrounded with a magnificent
+park, presenting an admirable variety of sites and views: forests,
+labyrinths, and granite rocks, clothed with rich vegetation, with paths
+so capricious, thickets so dense, and resting-places so mysterious, that
+every step reveals some token of the genius of a courtier, and the power
+of an empress.
+
+Opposite the palace a little granite island lifts itself above the
+waters of the Dniepr like a Nereid. Its sole inhabitants are some white
+albatrosses and an old forest-keeper, whose cabin is hidden among trees.
+He leads a true hermit life. His gun and his fishing-tackle supply his
+food; the bushes and briars yield him firing, and thus he finds every
+thing requisite for his wants within the limits of his retreat. He has a
+nutshell of a boat, in which he can visit every nook of the island
+shore, which he shares with the fowls of the air. Except a few
+fishermen, no one ventures to thread that labyrinth of rocks and
+whirlpools that render the Dniepr so dangerous hereabouts.
+
+Besides Potemkin's Park, the town has another of great beauty, which
+serves as a public promenade. It is crowded twice a week, when a
+military band performs. Its extent, its broad sheets of water, its shady
+alleys and fine expanse of lawn, make it one of the handsomest gardens I
+have seen in Russia.
+
+We spent a week in Iekaterinoslav under the roof of an excellent French
+family long settled in the country. The cloth factory of Messrs. Neumann
+is the only industrial establishment in the town. Their machines,
+imported from France and England, and their thorough knowledge of their
+business, enable them to give the utmost perfection to their goods,
+notwithstanding which M. Neumann assured us that he should certainly be
+obliged to shut up his establishment before the lapse of two years. We
+have already set forth the causes that obstruct the progress of
+manufactures in Russia, and completely paralyse the industrial efforts
+of the ablest men.
+
+During our stay in Iekaterinoslav, we had all the pleasure of an
+excursion into the mountains of Asia, without the trouble of changing
+our place. It is only in Russia one can encounter such lucky chances.
+Three hundred mountaineers of the Caucasus arrived in the town, and by
+the governor's desire entertained the inhabitants with a display of
+their warlike games and exercises. They were on their way to Warsaw, to
+serve as a guard of honour for Paskevitch, the hero of the day. This
+whim of a man spoiled by fortune and the emperor, is tolerably
+characteristic of the Russians: merely to satisfy it, some hundreds of
+mountaineers had to quit their families, and traverse vast distances to
+go and parade on the great square of a capital.
+
+The sight of those half-barbarians arriving like a torrent, and taking
+possession of the town as of a conquered place, was well calculated to
+excite our curiosity. We forgot time and place as we gazed on this
+unwonted spectacle, and seemed carried back among the gigantic invasions
+of Tamerlane, and his exterminating hordes of Asia, with their wild
+cries and picturesque costumes, swooping down with long lances and fiery
+steeds on old Europe, just as they appeared some centuries before, when
+they subjected all the wide domains of Russia to their sway.
+
+These mountaineers are small, agile, and muscular. There is no saying
+how they walk, for their life is passed on horseback. There is in the
+expression of their countenances, an inconceivable mixture of boldness,
+frankness, and fierce rapacity. Their bronzed complexion, dazzlingly
+white teeth, black eyes, every glance of which is a flash of lightning,
+and regular features, compose a physiognomy that terrifies more than
+great ugliness.
+
+Their manoeuvres surpass every thing an European can imagine. How
+cold, prim, and faded seem our civilised ways compared with those
+impassioned countenances, those picturesque costumes, those furious
+gallops, that grace and impetuosity of movement, that belong only to
+them. They discharge their carbines on horseback at full speed, and
+display inimitable address in the exercise of the djereed. Every rider
+decks his steed with a care he does not always bestow on his own
+adornment, covering it with carpets, strips of purple stuffs, cashmere
+shawls, and all the costly things with which the plunder of the caravans
+can supply him.
+
+The manoeuvres lasted more than two hours, and afforded us an exact
+image of Asiatic warfare. They concluded with a general _mêlée_, which
+really terrified not a few spectators, so much did the smoke, the
+shouts, the ardour of the combatants, the discharges of musketry, and
+the neighings of the horses complete the vivid illusion of the scene. It
+was at last impossible to distinguish any thing through the clouds of
+dust and smoke that whirled round the impetuous riders.
+
+Paskevitch will perhaps be more embarrassed with them than he expects.
+From the moment these lions of the desert arrived, the town was in a
+state of revolution. The shopkeepers complained of their numerous
+thefts, and husbands and fathers were shocked at their cavalier manners
+towards the fair sex.
+
+Though it was but the beginning of June, the heat had attained an
+intensity that made it literally a public calamity. The hospitals were
+crowded with patients, most of them labouring under cerebral fevers, a
+class of affections exceedingly dangerous in this country. The dust lay
+so thick in the street, that the foot sank in it as in snow, and for
+more than a fortnight the thermometer had remained invariably at 84° R.
+You have but to visit Russia to know what is the heat of the tropics. We
+nevertheless carried away not a few agreeable recollections of
+Iekaterinoslav, thanks to its charming position, and some distinguished
+_salons_ of which it has reason to be proud.
+
+On leaving Iekaterinoslav we proceeded to the famous cataracts of the
+Dniepr, on which attempts have been ineffectually made for more than a
+hundred years to render them navigable, and in the vicinity of which
+there are several German colonies.
+
+My husband having in the preceding year discovered a rich iron mine in
+this locality, we had to stop some time to make fresh investigations. I
+have already spoken so much of the Dniepr, that I am almost afraid to
+return to the subject. In this part of its course, however, there is
+nothing like the maritime views of Kherson, the plavnicks of the
+Doutchina, or the cheerful bold aspect of the vicinity of
+Iekaterinoslav. Near the cataracts, the river has all the depth and
+calmness of a beautiful lake; not a ripple breaks its dark azure
+surface. Its bed is flanked by huge blocks of granite, that seem as
+though they had been piled up at random by the hands of giants. Every
+thing is grand and majestic in these scenes of primeval nature; nothing
+in them reminds us of the flight and the ravages of time. There are no
+trees shedding their leaves on the river's margin, no turf that withers,
+no soil worn away by the flood: the scene is an image of eternal
+changelessness.
+
+The Dniepr has deeps here which no plummet has ever fathomed, and the
+inhabitants allege that it harbours real marine monsters in its abysses.
+All the fishermen have seen the silurus, a sort of fresh water shark,
+capable of swallowing a man or a horse at a mouthful, and they relate
+anecdotes on this head, that transport you to the Nile or the Ganges,
+the peculiar homes of the voracious crocodile and alligator. One of
+these stories is of very recent date, and there are many boatmen who
+pretend to speak of the fact from personal knowledge. They positively
+aver, that a young girl, who was washing linen on the margin of the
+water, was carried down to the bottom of the Dniepr, and that her body
+never again rose to the surface.
+
+A German village is visible on the other side of the river, at some
+distance from the house of Mr. Masure, the proprietor of the mine. Its
+pretty red factories with their green window-shutters, the surrounding
+forest, and a neighbouring island with cliffs glistening in the sun,
+fill the mind with thoughts of tranquil happiness. On the distant
+horizon the eye discerns the rent and pointed rocks, and the fleecy
+spray of the cataracts. Here and there some rocks just rising above the
+water, one of which, surnamed the Brigand, is the terror of boatmen, are
+the haunts of countless water-fowl, whose riotous screams long pursue
+the traveller as he ferries across from bank to bank. All this scene is
+cheerful and pastoral, like one of Greuze's landscapes; but the bare
+hills that follow the undulations of the left bank show only dreariness
+and aridity.
+
+The Germans settled below the cataracts of the Dniepr are the oldest
+colonists of Southern Russia: their colony was founded by Catherine II.,
+in 1784, after the expulsion of the Zaporogue Cossacks, who were removed
+to the banks of the Kouban. It is composed solely of Prussian
+Mennonites, and comprises sixteen villages, numbering 4251 inhabitants,
+very industrious people, generally in the enjoyment of an ample
+competence. Corn and cattle form the staple of their wealth, but they
+are also manufacturers, and have two establishments for making cotton
+goods, and one for cloth. These Mennonites, however, have remained
+stationary since their arrival in Russia: full of prejudices, and
+intensely self-willed, they have set their faces against all innovation
+and all intellectual development. One of their villages stands on the
+island of Cortetz, in the Dniepr, once the seat of the celebrated Setcha
+of the Zaporogue Cossacks. The Setcha, as the reader is perhaps aware,
+was at first only a fortified spot, where the young men were trained to
+arms, and where the public deliberations and the elections of the chiefs
+were held. Afterwards it became the fixed abode of warriors who lived in
+celibacy; and all who aspired to a reputation for valour were bound to
+pass at least three years there. I went over the island of Cortetz, and
+saw everywhere numerous traces of fortifications and entrenched camps.
+It would not have been easy to select a position more suited to the
+purpose the Cossacks had in view. The island is a natural fortress,
+rising more than 150 feet above the water, and defended on all sides by
+masses of granite, that leave scarcely any thing for art to do to render
+it impregnable.
+
+We made our first halt, after our departure from the cataracts, at the
+house of a village superintendent, in whom we discovered, with surprise,
+a young Frenchman, with the most Parisian accent I ever heard. He is
+married to a woman of the country, and has been two years _prigatchik_
+(superintendent) in one of General Markof's villages. He placed his
+whole cabin at our disposal, with an alacrity that proved how delighted
+he was to entertain people from his native land. We had excellent honey,
+cream, and water-melons, set before us in profusion; but in spite of all
+our urgent entreaties, we could not prevail on him to partake with us.
+This made a painful impression on us. Is the air of slavery so
+contagious that no one can breathe it without losing his personal
+dignity? This man, born in a land where social distinctions are almost
+effaced, voluntarily degraded himself in our eyes, by esteeming himself
+unworthy to sit by our side, just as though he were a born serf, and had
+been used from his childhood to servility.
+
+He gave us a brief history of his life, a melancholy tissue of
+disappointments and wretchedness, the narration of which deeply affected
+us. His ardour and his Parisian wilfulness, his efforts and his hopes,
+all the exuberance of his twenty years, were cast into a withering
+atmosphere of disgusts and humiliations, which at last destroyed in him
+all feeling of nationality: he is become a slave through his intercourse
+alike with the masters and with the serfs; and what completely proves
+this, is the cold-blooded cruelty with which he chastises the peasants
+under him. The whole village is struck with consternation at the
+punishments he daily inflicts for the most trivial offences. While he
+was conversing with us, word was brought him that two women and three
+men had arrived at the place of punishment in pursuance to his orders.
+Notwithstanding our entreaties, and the repugnance we felt at being so
+near such a scene, he ordered that they should each receive fifty blows
+of the stick, and double the number if they made any resistance. The
+wretched man thus avenges himself on the mujiks, for what he has
+himself endured at the hands of the Russian aristocracy, and it is at
+best a hazardous revenge; even for his own sake he ought not to
+exasperate the peasants, who sometimes make fearful reprisals; frequent
+attempts have already been made to assassinate him, and although the
+criminals have paid dearly for their temerity, he may one day fall a
+victim to some more cunning or more fortunate aggressor. Only the week
+before our visit, as his wife told us, a more daring attempt than any
+preceding one, had been made by a peasant who from the first had
+declared himself his enemy.
+
+After a long walk in the fields, the superintendent sat down under the
+shade of some trees in a ravine. Overcome with heat and fatigue, he at
+last fell asleep, after placing his two pistols by his side. An
+instinctive fear possessed him even in sleep, and kept him sensible of
+the least noise around him. The body slept, but not the mind. Suddenly
+his ear catches a suspicious sound; he opens his eyes, and sees a mujik
+stooping down softly in the act of picking up one of his pistols. There
+was so much ferocity in the man's looks, and such a stealthiness in his
+movements, that there could be no doubt of his intentions. The
+superintendent, with admirable presence of mind, raised himself on his
+elbow, and asked, with a yawn, what he was going to do with the pistol;
+to which the mujik, instantly putting on an air of affected stolidity
+peculiar to the Russian serf, answered, that he was curious to see how a
+pistol was made. So saying, he handed the weapon to his master, without
+appearing in the least disconcerted. The unfortunate man nearly died
+under the knout, and the superintendent's wife remarked, with a
+_naïveté_, thoroughly Russian, that he would have done much better to
+die outright.
+
+We had further opportunities in this village for remarking how little
+compassion the Russian peasants have for each other. They look on at the
+beating of a comrade without evincing the least sympathy, or being moved
+by so degrading a sight to any reflection on their unhappy condition; it
+seems as though humanity has lost all claim on their hearts, so
+completely has servitude destroyed in them all capability of feeling,
+and all human dignity.
+
+We left this station about six in the evening, having still some twenty
+versts to travel before arriving at the first village of the German
+colonies of the Moloshnia, where we intended to pass the night. Thanks
+to the bad horses and the stupid driver our countryman had given us, we
+had scarcely got over a quarter of the ground when we were in total
+darkness.
+
+The coachman was all black and blue from the brutal treatment of his
+master, who had given him half a dozen blows in our presence. The fellow
+was every moment changing his road at random, without regard to the
+fresh corrections of the same sort, which Antoine showered thickly upon
+him by way of admonition. He made us lose a great deal of time on the
+way, besides wearing out the strength of his cattle to no purpose.
+
+Nothing can be more wearisome and monotonous than travelling in the
+steppes; but it is, above all, by night that the uniformity of the
+country is truly discouraging, for then you are every moment in danger
+of turning your back on the point you want to reach: you have an
+immensity like that of the sea around you, and a compass would be of
+real service. Such, however, is the instinct of the peasants, that they
+find their way with ease, in the darkest night or the most violent
+snow-storm, through tracks crossing each other in every direction.
+
+Our driver was an exception to the general rule, but sulkiness had more
+to do than inability with his apparent embarrassment. Our perplexity
+increased considerably when we found that the horses at last refused to
+move. The night was very gloomy; there was not a twinkling of light, nor
+any sound or sign of human habitations; every fresh question we put to
+our driver only elicited the laconic answer, "_nesnai_" (I don't know);
+and when a Russian has said _he does not know_, no power of tongue or
+stick can make him say _he knows_. Of this we had a proof that night.
+Our Cossack, tired of vainly questioning the unlucky driver, began to
+tickle his shoulders with a long whip he carried at his girdle; but it
+was all to no purpose; and but one course remained to us, if we would
+not pass the night in the open air. The Cossack unharnessed one of the
+horses, and set off to reconnoitre. After an absence of two hours, he
+came back and told us we were not very far from a German village, and
+that we might reach it in two hours; that is to say, provided our horses
+would move; but they were dead beat.
+
+Here, again, the Cossack relieved us from our difficulty, by yoking to
+the carriage a poor little colt that had followed its mother, without
+suspecting that it was that night to begin its hard apprenticeship. Weak
+as was this reinforcement, it enabled us to advance, though very slowly;
+but at last the barking of dogs revived the mettle of our horses, and
+they broke into a trot for the first time.
+
+A forest of handsome trees and distant lights gave indubitable assurance
+of a village. It was not like the ordinary villages, collections of
+mean-looking _kates_ rising like mushrooms out of the arid ground,
+without a shrub to screen them; we were entering the German colonies,
+and the odours from the blossoming fruit-trees, and the sight of the
+pretty little red houses of which we caught glimpses through the trees,
+soon carried us in imagination far away from the Russian steppes.
+
+With as keen delight as ever oasis caused the desert wanderer, we
+entered this pretty village, the name of which (_Rosenthal_, Rosedale)
+gives token of the poetic feeling of the Germans. Its extensive gardens
+obliged us to make a long _détour_. The people were all in bed when we
+arrived, and we had much difficulty in finding the house of the
+_schultz_ (the headborough). At last we discovered it, and the
+hospitable reception we met with soon made us forget the events of this
+memorable night.
+
+The region occupied by these colonies is unlike the steppes, though the
+form of the ground is the same. The villages are very close to each
+other, are all built on the same plan, and are for the most part
+sheltered in ravines. The houses have only a ground-floor, and are built
+with wood or with red and blue bricks, and have very projecting roofs.
+Their parti-coloured walls, their carved wooden chimneys, and pretty
+straw roofs, that seem as neatly finished as the finest Egyptian mats,
+produce a charming effect as seen through the green trees of the gardens
+that surround them. They are almost all exactly similar, even to the
+most minute details: a few only are distinguished from the rest by a
+little more colouring or carving, and a more elegant balustrade next the
+garden.
+
+The fields are in excellent cultivation; the pastures are stocked with
+fine cattle; and sheep-folds and wells placed here and there enliven the
+landscape, and break the fatiguing monotony of the plain; the whole face
+of the country tells of the thriving labours of the colonists. But one
+must enter their houses to appreciate the habits of order and industry
+to which they owe not only an ample supply for the necessaries of life,
+but almost always a degree of comfort rarely to be found in the
+dwellings of the Russian nobles. One might even accuse the good
+housewives of a little sensuality, to see their eider-down beds and
+pillows heaped almost up to the ceiling. You may be certain of finding
+in every house a handsome porcelain stove, a glazed cupboard, containing
+crockery, and often plate, furniture carefully scrubbed and polished,
+curtains to the windows, and flowers in every direction.
+
+We passed two days in Orlof with the wealthiest and most philanthropic
+proprietor in all the German villages. M. Cornies came into the country
+about forty years ago, and started without capital, having like the
+others only a patch of land and some farming implements. After the lapse
+of a few years every one already envied his fortune, but all
+acknowledged his kindly solicitude for those who had been less
+prosperous than himself. Endowed with an active and intelligent
+character, and strongly interested in the cause of human improvement, he
+afterwards became the leader in the work of civilising the Nogai
+Tartars, and he now continues with very great success the work so ably
+begun by one of our own countrymen, Count Maison. M. Cornies is a
+corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy, and has contributed
+to its Transactions several papers of learned research, and remarkable
+for the comprehensive scope of their ideas; hence he enjoys a great
+reputation not only among his countrymen, but likewise throughout all
+Southern Russia. His flocks, his nurseries, and his wools, are objects
+of interest to all persons engaged in trade, and his plans for the
+improvement of agriculture and cattle rearing, are generally adopted as
+models.
+
+Though M. Cornies is worth more than 40,000_l._, his way of life is in
+strict conformity with the rigorism and simplicity of the Mennonites, to
+which sect he belongs. The habits of these sectarians are of an extreme
+austerity that strips domestic life of all its ordinary charms. The wife
+and daughters of a Mennonite, whatever be his fortune, are the only
+female servants in his house, and Madame Cornies and her daughters
+waited humbly on us at table, as though they had no right to sit at it
+with the head of the family. Notwithstanding this apparent inequality of
+the sexes, there is a great deal of happiness in the married life of the
+Mennonites; nor should it be forgotten that in judging of all matters
+appertaining to foreigners, we should endeavour to behold things in the
+peculiar light in which education and custom invest them for native
+eyes.
+
+The dress of the women is like their habits of life, plain and simple.
+It consists invariably of a gown of blue printed cotton, the bodice of
+which ends just below the bosom, an apron of the same material, and a
+white collar with a flat hem; the hair is combed back _à la Chinoise_,
+and on it sits a little black cap without trimming, tied under the chin.
+This head-dress, which has some resemblance to that of the Alsatian
+women, sets off a young and pretty face to advantage, but increases the
+ugliness of an ugly one. The dress of the men is the same as that of the
+German peasants, with the exception of some slight modifications.
+
+One dish of meat and two of vegetables, compose the whole dinner of a
+Mennonite; each person at table has a large goblet of milk set before
+him instead of wine, the use of which is altogether prohibited in their
+sect.
+
+There are no regular priests in these colonies; the oldest and most
+esteemed members of each community, are elected to fulfil the office of
+the ministry. These elders read the Bible every Sunday, preach, and give
+out the hymns, which are sung by the whole congregation.
+
+The Mennonites are generally well educated; but their information has no
+more than their wealth the effect of impairing the patriarchal
+simplicity of their habits. We happened to see a young man, belonging to
+one of the wealthiest families, on his return from a long foreign tour;
+he had visited France, Switzerland, and Germany, and yet it was with a
+most cordial alacrity he returned to share in the agricultural labours
+of his father and his brothers.
+
+All these German colonies are divided into two distinct groups: the one
+established on the right bank of the Moloshnia Vodi[5] is composed of
+people from Baden and Swabia, and comprises twenty-three villages, with
+6649 inhabitants; the other seated on the left coast of the Black Sea,
+and along the little rivulet Joushendli, contains forty-three Mennonite
+villages. As the latter is unquestionably the most important and
+thriving colony in Southern Russia, we will direct our attention to it
+almost exclusively.
+
+The Mennonites, so called after the name of the founder of their sect,
+profess nearly the same religious principles as the Anabaptists of
+France. They first arose in Holland, the language of which country they
+still speak, and settled towards the close of the last century in
+Northern Prussia, in the vicinity of Dantzig. Attempts having been made
+about that time, to force them into military service, contrary to their
+tenets, a first migration took place, and the colony of Cortetz, below
+the cataract of the Dniepr, was founded under the auspices of Catherine
+II. That of Moloshnia Vodi, was founded in 1804, by a fresh body of
+emigrants; it was greatly enlarged in 1820, and at the end of the year
+1837, it covered 100,000 hectares of land, and contained forty-three
+villages, with 9561 inhabitants, including 984 families of proprietors.
+
+The non-agricultural population is composed of handicraftsmen of all
+sorts, some of whom are very skilful. Alpstadt, the chief place of the
+colony, has a cloth manufactory, in which seven looms are at work. Wages
+are very high; for almost all the workmen as soon as they have saved any
+money, give up their trade and addict themselves to agriculture.
+
+Each village is under the control of a headborough, called the
+_schultz_, and two assistants. They are elected every three years, but
+one of them remains in office a year after the two others, that he may
+afford their successors the necessary current information. An
+_oberschultz_ (mayor), who likewise has two assistants, resides in the
+chief place of the colony. These magistrates decide without appeal, in
+all the little differences that may arise between the colonists.
+Important cases are carried before the central committee. As for
+criminal cases, of which there has yet been no example, they fall under
+the jurisdiction of the Russian tribunals. Laziness is punished by fine
+and forced labour for the benefit of the community.
+
+The inspector, who represents the government, resides in the Swabian
+colony, on the right bank of the Moloshnia. Odessa is the seat of the
+administrative council, which consists of a president and three judges,
+all Russians, nominated by the emperor. The committee exercises a
+general control over all the colonies, and ratifies the elections of the
+schultzes and their assistants. Its last president was the infantry
+general Inzof, a man remarkable for his personal character and the deep
+interest he took in the establishments under his direction.
+
+Every proprietor has sixty-five hectares of land, for which he pays an
+annual quit-rent to the crown of fifteen kopeks per hectare; besides
+which he pays four rubles a year towards defraying the general expenses
+of the colony, the salaries of the committee, the inspector, the
+schoolmasters, &c. Each village has a granary for reserve against
+seasons of dearth; it must always contain two tchetverts of wheat for
+every male head.
+
+The cattle is all under the management of one chief herdsman, at whose
+call they leave their stalls in the morning, and return in the evening
+to the village.
+
+Every five or six years one or more new villages are established. A
+newly-established family does not at once receive its sixty-five
+hectares of land; if the young couple do not choose to reside with their
+parents, they generally build themselves a little house beyond the
+precincts of the village. But when the young families are become so
+numerous that their united allotments shall form a space sufficient for
+the pasture of their flocks in common, and for the execution of the
+agricultural works enjoined by the regulations, then, and not till then,
+the new colonists obtain permission to establish themselves on the
+uncultivated lands. At present the Mennonite colony possesses nearly
+30,000 hectares of land not yet brought under the plough. Thus these
+Germans, transplanted to the extremity of Southern Russia, have
+successfully realised some of the ideas of the celebrated economist,
+Fourrier.
+
+It will readily be conceived that under such a system of administration,
+and, above all, with their simple habits, their sobriety and industry,
+these Mennonites must naturally have outstripped the other colonists in
+prosperity. Those from Swabia and Baden, though subjected to precisely
+the same regulations, will never attain to the same degree of wealth.
+They are generally fond of good cheer, and addicted to drink; but they
+have, perhaps, the merit of understanding life better than their
+Puritanical neighbours, and of making the most of the gifts Providence
+has bestowed on them.
+
+The Mennonite colony possessed at the close of 1837:--
+
+  Horned cattle                      7,719
+  Horses                             6,029
+  Merino sheep                     412,274
+  Fruit-trees in the gardens       316,011
+  Forest trees                     609,096
+
+These last have since perished for the most part. The sale of wheat in
+1838, amounted to 600,000 rubles. The provisions for public instruction
+are highly satisfactory. The colony numbers forty schools, attended by
+2390 pupils of both sexes, who are taught the German language,
+arithmetic, history, and geography. Russian is also taught in two of the
+schools.
+
+The Mennonites, as well as the other German colonists of Southern
+Russia, for a long while enjoyed a very special protection on the part
+of the government; and both the present sovereign and his predecessor
+have on several occasions given them signal proofs of their favour. But
+unhappily their committee was suppressed eighteen months ago, and this
+measure will be fatal to them. They had long looked forward with alarm
+to a change in their affairs, and sent many deputations to St.
+Petersburg, to solicit a continuance of the original system: their
+efforts were ineffectual; the work of centralization and unity has
+involved them in their turn, and they are now in immediate dependence on
+the newly-constituted ministry of the domains of the crown. No doubt the
+government had a full right to act in this manner; and after having
+allowed the colonists to enjoy their peculiar privileges for such a long
+series of years, it may now, without incurring any obloquy, subject them
+to the ordinary system of administration prevalent in the empire. But it
+is not the less certain, seeing the corruption and venality of the
+Russian functionaries, that this change of system will lead to the ruin
+of the colonists, and that, notwithstanding all the efforts and the good
+intentions of the government, when once the Germans are put under the
+same management as the crown serfs, they will be unable to save their
+property from the rapacity of their new controlers. The colonies have
+been but a few months under the direction of the ministry of the
+domains, and already several hundred families have abandoned their
+dwellings and their lands, and retired to Germany. I saw a great number
+of them arrive in 1842, in Moldavia, where they thought to form some
+settlements; but they did not succeed.
+
+Besides the German colonies of which we have been speaking, there are
+others in the environs of Nicolaïef and Odessa, in Bessarabia and the
+Crimea, and about the coasts of the sea of Azov. Altogether these
+foreign colonies in New Russia, number upwards of 160 villages,
+containing more than 46,000 souls. In the midst of them are several
+villages inhabited by Russian dissenters, entertaining nearly the same
+religious views as the Mennonites and Anabaptists. These are the
+Douckoboren and Molokaner, who separated from the national church about
+160 years ago, at which time they were resident in several of the
+central provinces; but the government being alarmed at the spread of
+their doctrines, transported them forcibly to New Russia, where it
+placed them under military supervision. Here they admirably availed
+themselves of the examples set them by the Germans, and soon attained a
+high degree of prosperity. In 1839, they amounted to a population of
+6617 souls, occupying thirteen villages. Most of their houses were in
+the German style, and every thing about them was indicative of plenty.
+Two years after this first visit to them, I met on the road from
+Taganrok to Rostof, two large detachments of exiles escorted by two
+battalions of infantry. They were the unfortunate dissenters of the
+Moloshnia, who had been expelled from their villages, and were on their
+way to the military lines of the Caucasus. The most perfect decorum and
+the most touching resignation appeared in the whole body. The women
+alone showed signs of anger, whilst the men sang hymns in chorus. I
+asked several of them whither they were going; their answer was "God
+only knows."
+
+After leaving the German colonies, we passed through several villages of
+Nogaï Tatars. We shall reserve what we have to say of these people for
+another place.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] The Moloshnia Vodi (Milk River) is a little stream emptying itself
+between Berdiansk and Guenitshky into the liman of a lake which no
+longer communicates with the Sea of Azov.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+      MARIOUPOL--BERDIANSK--KNAVISH JEW POSTMASTER--TAGANROK--
+      MEMORIALS OF PETER THE GREAT AND ALEXANDER--GREAT FAIR--THE
+      GENERAL WITH TWO WIVES--MORALITY IN RUSSIA--ADVENTURES OF A
+      PHILHELLENE--A FRENCH DOCTOR--THE ENGLISH CONSUL--HORSE
+      RACES--A FIRST SIGHT OF THE KALMUCKS.
+
+
+Our arrival in Marioupol unpleasantly reminded us that we were no longer
+in the German colonies. A dirty inn-room, horses not forthcoming, bread
+not to be had, nor even fresh water, rude _employés_--every thing in
+short was in painful contrast with the comfort and facilities to which
+we became accustomed in our progress through the thriving villages of
+the Mennonites.
+
+Marioupol is the chief place of an important colony founded on the
+shores of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmious, by the Greeks
+whom Catherine II. removed thither from the Crimea in 1784. It now
+reckons eighty villages, a population of about 30,000, occupying 450,000
+_hectares_[6] of land. The taxes paid by these colonists amount to ten
+kopeks per _hectare_; in addition to which, each family contributes one
+ruble fifty kopeks towards the salary of the government officers in
+their district. They enjoy several privileges, have their own
+magistrates and subordinate judges, elected by themselves, and are
+exempt from military service. Criminal cases and suits not terminated
+before their own tribunals, come under the general laws and regulations
+of the empire.
+
+Agriculture and commerce are the chief resources of the colony, but I
+have seen no trace of the mulberry plantations attributed to it.
+
+Having been for a long series of ages subject to the khans of the
+Crimea, all these Greeks speak a corrupt Tatar dialect among themselves.
+They are on the whole a degenerate and thoroughly unprincipled race,
+particularly in Marioupol, the traders of which enrich themselves by
+robbing the agriculturists, who are forced to sell them their produce.
+
+Marioupol is a large dirty village, and its port, which has only a
+custom-house of exit, is nothing but a paltry roadstead of little depth,
+in which vessels are sheltered from none but western winds. With the
+exception of a solitary brig, there were only some small coasting
+vessels in it when we visited the place. Its export trade is
+considerable notwithstanding, amounting to the annual value of four or
+five millions of francs.
+
+Marioupol is infallibly destined to lose all its commercial importance
+since the foundation of the new and more advantageously-situated harbour
+of Berdiansk, to which the greater part of the produce of the
+surrounding country already takes its way. As a general rule, one town
+of Southern Russia can prosper only at the expense and by the
+abandonment of another; thus Kherson has been sacrificed to Odessa,
+Theodosia to Kertch, &c. It must, however, be owned that the preference
+given to Berdiansk is well grounded. Placed at the mouth of the Berda,
+that town is unquestionably the best port on the Sea of Azov. Its
+population in 1840 was 1258, and during the year 1839 it exported
+187,761 tchetverts of wheat; its importation is a blank as yet.
+
+After waiting several hours we at last procured horses that conveyed us
+rapidly to the next post; but there we had another stoppage. The clerk
+had a fancy to squeeze our purses, and knew no better way of doing so
+than by refusing us horses. Commands, threats, and abuse, never for a
+moment ruffled his dogged composure. Unfortunately our Cossack had been
+seized with a violent fever, and remained behind at Marioupol; had he
+been with us the clerk would hardly have ventured on his tricks, for he
+would have been sure of a sound drubbing. But this manner of enforcing
+compliance was not in our way, and as we had written authority to hire
+horses from the peasants wherever we found them, we sent Anthony to the
+next village, and thought no more about being supplied by the
+postmaster. Our unconcern began to alarm the clerk; gangs of horses were
+every moment returning from pasture, and he saw plainly that his
+position was becoming critical. After an hour's absence Anthony appeared
+in the distance with three stout horses and a driver. I will not attempt
+to depict the consternation of the Jew when he was assured that the team
+was really for us. He threw himself at our feet, knocked his head
+against the ground, and in short, evinced such a passion of grovelling
+fear, that disgusted and wearied with his importunities, we at last
+promised not to make any complaint against him. We made all haste to
+quit the spot, and in five hours afterwards we were in Taganrok.
+
+The town, situated on the bay of the same name at the northern extremity
+of the Sea of Azov, is the chief place of a distinct administrative
+district, dependent on Iekaterinoslav only as regards the courts of law,
+and comprising within its limits, Rostof, Marioupol, Nakitchevane, and a
+little territory lying round the northern end of the sea, and
+encompassed by the country of the Don. Its boundaries are, on one side,
+the Mious, which falls into the Sea of Azov, and on the other side, the
+Government of the Cossacks of the Black Sea.
+
+Taganrok was founded in 1706, by Peter the Great, after the taking of
+Azov, and was demolished in pursuance of the treaty of the Pruth. War
+with Turkey having been renewed, it was rebuilt in 1709, and fortified;
+and a harbour was constructed, surrounded with a mole, the remains of
+which are still seen just level with the surface of the water.
+
+This harbour is a long rectangle, with a single entrance towards the
+west. There is some idea of renovating it, by reconstructing its mole,
+and clearing it of the sand with which it has been long choked; but
+this project, if carried into effect, will not remove the natural
+defects of the Taganrok roadstead. The water is so low, that vessels are
+obliged to lie from four to six leagues off the shore, and to load and
+unload their cargoes in a curious round-about, and very expensive
+manner. Waggons surmounted with platforms loaded with grain, perform the
+first part of the process, and advance in files, often to a distance of
+half a league into the sea. There they are unloaded into large barges,
+and these almost always require the aid of a third auxiliary, before
+their freight is finally shipped.
+
+On approaching Taganrok, one almost fancies the town before him is
+Odessa. Its position on the Sea of Azov, the character of the landscape,
+its churches, its great extent, and every feature of the place, even to
+the fortress commanding it, combine to favour the illusion.
+
+Taganrok has thriven rapidly, as Peter the Great foresaw it would do,
+and has become one of the most commercial towns of Southern Russia. Its
+trade, however, has considerably diminished since the suppression of its
+lazaret, and the closure of the Sea of Azov, in consequence of a fifty
+days' quarantine established at Kertch. The town now contains 16,000
+inhabitants.
+
+Peter the Great's sojourn in Taganrok, is commemorated by an oak wood of
+his own planting. Such a memorial of a great prince is certainly better
+than a pompous monument; more durable, and more philanthropic,
+particularly in a country destitute of forests.
+
+It was at Taganrok that the Emperor Alexander died, far away from the
+splendours of St. Petersburg. As we visited the modest dwelling that
+served him for his last abode, all the events of the great epoch in
+which he was one of the most illustrious actors crowded on our memories.
+The bed-room where he died has been converted into a _chapelle ardente_,
+but in every other respect the house has been preserved with religious
+care, just as he left it.
+
+There was a fair in the town when we arrived. The suffocating heat, the
+clouds of dust, and the crowded state of all the hotels, at first made
+us look unfavourably on the place, but the diversions of the fair soon
+reconciled us to the inconveniences of our lodgings.
+
+In Russia, fairs still retain an importance they scarcely any longer
+possess in our more civilised countries. Every town has its own, which
+is more or less frequented; that of Nijni Novgorod is reputed the most
+considerable on the European continent; all the nations of Europe and
+Asia, send their representatives to it. Next after it, the fair of
+Karkhof, is in high esteem among merchants for its rich furs. These
+fairs often last more than a month, and they are impatiently looked
+forward to by all the country nobles, whom they enable for a while to
+breathe as it were the odour of fashionable town life. Balls, theatres,
+shopping, music, horse races--what a world of pleasures in the compass
+of a few days! And every one sets about enjoying them with feverish
+ardour. Every thing else is interrupted; the fair to-day, all other
+concerns to-morrow. At some little distance from Taganrok, there are
+huge bazaars filled with oriental merchandise, and the covered alleys
+are crowded with fashionable loungers in the evening. A very curious
+spectacle indeed is this labyrinth of Persian cloths, slippers, furs,
+Parisian bonnets and caps, shawls from Kashmir, and a thousand other
+articles too numerous to detail. Every thing is arranged to the best
+advantage, and the eye is delighted with the picturesque and fantastic
+medley of colours and forms.
+
+Europe and Asia are matched against each other, and exert all their arts
+of fascination to allure purchasers. In spite of all the elegance of the
+French fashions, it must be owned that our little bonnets and our scanty
+mantillas cut but a sorry figure beside the muslins interwoven with gold
+and silver, the rich termalamas and the furs that adorn the shops of the
+country. And yet all eyes, all desires, all purses turn towards the
+productions of France. Some faded ribands and trumpery bonnets attract a
+greater number of pretty customers than all the gorgeous wares of Asia.
+
+During our stay at Taganrok, we were invited to a ball at the mansion of
+General Khersanof, son-in-law of the celebrated Hetman Platof. The
+general possesses the handsomest residence in the town, and keeps his
+state like a real prince, amidst the motley society of a commercial
+town. All his apartments are stuccoed and decorated with equal taste and
+magnificence. The windows consist of single panes of plate glass more
+than three yards high. The furniture, lustres, ceilings, and pictures,
+all display a feeling for the fine arts, and a sumptuosity governed by
+good taste, which may well surprise us in a Cossack.
+
+In front of the mansion lies a handsome garden, which was lighted up
+with coloured lamps for the occasion. The whole front of the dwelling
+was brilliantly illuminated. It was a magic _coup d'oeil_,
+particularly as it was aided by the transparent atmosphere of a
+beautiful summer night, that vied in purity with the clearest of those
+of the south.
+
+On entering the first _salon_, we were met by the general, who
+immediately presented us to his two wives. But the reader will say, is
+bigamy allowed among the Cossacks? Not exactly so; but if the laws and
+public opinion are against it, still a man of high station may easily
+evade both; and General Khersanof has been living for many years in
+open, avowed bigamy, without finding that his _salons_ are the less
+frequented on account of such a trifle. In Russia, wealth covers every
+thing with its glittering veil, and sanctions every kind of
+eccentricity, however opposed to the usages of the land, provided it
+redeem them by plenty of balls and entertainments. Public opinion, such
+as exists in France, is here altogether unknown. The majority leave
+scruples of conscience to timorous souls, without even so much as
+acknowledging their merit.
+
+A man the slave of his word, and a woman of her reputation, could not be
+understood in a country where caprice reigns as absolute sovereign. A
+Russian lady, to whom I made some remarks on this subject, answered
+_naïvely_, that none but low people could be affected by scandal,
+inasmuch as censure can only proceed from superiors. She was perfectly
+right, for, situated as the nobility are, who would dare to criticise
+and condemn their faults? In order that public opinion should exist,
+there must be an independent class, capable of uttering its judgments
+without fearing the vengeance of those it calls before its bar; there
+must be a free country in which the acts of every individual may be
+impartially appreciated; in short, the words justice, honour, honesty,
+and delicacy of feeling must have a real meaning, instead of being the
+sport of an elegant and corrupt caste, that systematically makes a mock
+of every thing not subservient to its caprices and passions.
+
+Notwithstanding their opulence, and the society that frequents their
+_salons_, Mesdames Khersanof retain a simplicity of manners and costume
+in curious contrast with every thing around them. An embarrassed air,
+vulgar features, an absence of all dignity in bearing and in
+conversation, and an ungainly style of dress--this was all that struck
+us as most remarkable about them. The younger wore a silk gown of a
+sombre colour, with a short body and straight sleeves, and so narrow
+that it might be taken for a bag. A silk kerchief covered her shoulders
+and part of her neck, and her little cap put me strongly in mind of the
+head-gear of our master-cooks. The whole costume was mean, awkward, and
+insipid. Except a few brilliants in her girdle and her cap, she showed
+no other trace of that Asiatic splendour which is still affected by many
+other women of this country.
+
+It is said that the two co-wives live on the best possible terms with
+each other. The general seems quite at his ease with respect to them,
+and goes from the one to the other with the same marks of attention and
+affection. His first wife is very old, and might be taken for the mother
+of the second. We were assured that being greatly distressed at having
+no children, she had herself advised her husband to make a new choice.
+The general fixed on a very pretty young peasant working on his own
+property. In order to diminish the great disparity of rank between them,
+he married her to one of his officers, who, on coming out of church,
+received orders to depart instantly on a distant mission, from which he
+never returned. Some time afterwards the young woman was installed in
+the general's brilliant mansion, and presented to all his acquaintance
+as Madame Khersanof.
+
+Two charming daughters are the fruit of this not very orthodox union.
+Dressed in seraphines of blue silk, they performed the Russian and the
+Cossack dances with exquisite grace, and enchanted us during the whole
+continuance of the ball. The Russian dance fascinates by its simplicity
+and poetry, and differs entirely from all other national dances: it
+consists not so much in the steps, as in a pensive, natural pantomime,
+in which northern calmness and gravity are tempered by a charming grace
+and timidity. Less impassioned than the dances of Spain, it affects the
+senses with a gentle langour which it is not easy to resist.
+
+We met with a Frenchman at Taganrok, a real hero of romance. At eighteen
+his adventurous temper impelled him to quit the service to go and play a
+part in the Greek revolution. He participated in all the chances and
+dangers of the struggle against the Turks; and battling sometimes as a
+guerrillero, sometimes as a seaman, and sometimes as a diplomatist, he
+was thrown into more or less immediate contact with all those who shed
+such a lustre on the war of independence. In one of his campaigns he
+chanced to save the life of a young and pretty Smyrniote, whom he lost
+no time in marrying and bearing far away from the scenes of massacre
+with which the whole archipelago then abounded. A Russian nobleman
+advised him to repair to Moscow, and furnished him with the means. His
+wife's magnificent Greek costume, her youth and beauty, produced an
+intense sensation in that capital. The whole court, which was then in
+Moscow, was full of interest for the young Smyrniote, and the empress
+even sought to attach her to her person by the most tempting offers.
+Madame de V. refused them, preferring to remain with her husband, whose
+conduct, however, was far from irreproachable. Being young, very
+handsome, and of an enterprising character, his successes among the
+Muscovite ladies were very numerous; and he was everywhere known by the
+name of the handsome Frenchman.
+
+An adventure that made a great deal of noise, and in which a lady of the
+court had completely compromised her reputation for his sake, obliged
+him to quit Moscow in the midst of his triumphs. He then led his wife
+from one capital to another, presenting her everywhere as an interesting
+victim of the Greek revolution. After this European tour, he returned to
+Paris, where he passed some years. Many eminent artists of that city
+painted the portrait of his wife, who is still very beautiful. In 1838
+he left Paris and settled in Taganrok as a teacher of the French
+language; and there this poet, traveller, man of the world, and _beau
+cavalier_ is throwing away almost all his advantages, which are of
+little service to him in the walk he has chosen, and in a town where
+there are so few persons capable of appreciating him.
+
+Our whole colony in Taganrok consists of Doctor Meunier, who acts as
+consul; M. de V., and a Provençal lady, who keeps a boarding-school.
+
+This Doctor Meunier is another original. He passed I know not how many
+years in the service of the Shah of Persia, who had a great regard for
+him, and invested him on his departure with the order of the sun, a
+magnificent decoration, more brilliant than that of a grand cordon.
+
+Having shrewdly availed himself of his extensive opportunities for
+observation, his acquaintance is highly to be prized by all who love to
+give their imagination free scope: his graphic and marvellous stories
+are like pages from the Arabian Nights. In an instant, he sets before
+his hearers palaces of gold and azure, bewitching almehs, towns ruined
+to their foundations, towers of human heads, a French milliner
+superintending the education of Persian ladies, princes, beggars,
+dervishes, unbounded luxury side by side with the most hideous poverty,
+and all that the East can show to move, allure, or terrify the soul.
+
+One of the houses that offer most attractions for foreigners, is that of
+Mr. Yeams, brother of the English consul-general of Odessa. We found him
+possessed of all his brother's amiable qualities and perfect tact. When
+the English can shake off the stiffness with which they are so justly
+reproached, and their immoderate pride, they are perhaps the most
+agreeable of all acquaintances. They generally possess strong powers of
+observation and analysis, large and sound information, genuine dignity
+of conduct, and above all, a good-humoured kindliness, that is more
+winning for the pains they take to conceal it.
+
+While looking over Mr. Yeams' English, French, and German library, and
+the journals of all nations that lie on the tables, it is not easy to
+believe oneself on the shores of the Sea of Azov, and on the outskirts
+of Europe. The "Journal des Débats," the "Times," and the "Augsburg
+Gazette," put you _au courant_ of the affairs of Europe, as though Paris
+and London were not a thousand leagues away from you.
+
+It is not to be conceived into what a confusion of ideas one is cast at
+first, by the sight of a room filled with books, maps, journals,
+familiar articles of furniture, and people talking French: you ask
+yourself what is become of the days and nights you have spent in
+galloping post, the vast extent of sea you have crossed, the leagues of
+land and water, the regions and the climes you have left between you and
+your native country.
+
+With the advances civilisation is daily making, distances will soon be
+annulled; for distance to my thinking, consists not in difference of
+longitude, but in diversity of manners and ideas. I certainly felt
+myself nearer to France in Taganrok than I should have been in certain
+cantons of Switzerland or Germany.
+
+On the eve of our departure we attended some horse-races, that
+interested us only by the number and the variety of the spectators.
+There we began to make acquaintance with the Kalmucks, some of whom had
+come to the fair to sell their horses, the breed of which is in great
+request throughout the south of Russia. There was nothing very
+captivating in the Mongol features and savage appearance of these
+worshippers of the Grand Lama; and when I saw the jealous and disdainful
+looks they cast on those around them, and heard their loud yells
+whenever a horse passed at full speed before them, I could not help
+feeling some apprehension at the thought that I should soon have to
+throw myself on their hospitality.
+
+Taganrok has the strongest resemblance to a Levantine town, so much are
+its Greek and Italian inhabitants in a majority over the rest of the
+population. Such was the perpetual hubbub, that we could hardly persuade
+ourselves we were in Russia, where the people usually make as little
+noise as possible, lest the echo of their voices should reach St.
+Petersburg. The Greeks, though subjected to the imperial _régime_, are
+less circumspect, and retain under the northern sky the vivacity and
+restless temperament that characterise their race. We particularly
+admired that day, a number of young Greek women, whose black eyes and
+elegant figures attracted every gaze. A string of carriages was drawn up
+round part of the race-course, and enabled us to review all the
+aristocratic families of the town and neighbourhood. The ladies were
+dressed as for a ball, with short sleeves, their heads uncovered and
+decked with flowers.
+
+A blazing sun and whirlwinds of dust, such as would be thought fabulous
+in any other country, soon dimmed all this finery, and drove away most
+of the spectators: we were not the last to seek refuge in the covered
+alleys of a neighbouring bazaar, where we had ices and delicious
+water-melons set before us in the Armenian café for a few kopeks.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] A _hectare_ is a little more than two acres.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM TAGANROK--SUNSET IN THE STEPPES--A GIPSY CAMP
+      --ROSTOF; A TOWN UNPARALLELED IN THE EMPIRE--NAVIGATION OF
+      THE DON--AZOV; ST. DIMITRI--ASPECT OF THE DON--NAKITCHEVANE,
+      AND ITS ARMENIAN COLONY.
+
+
+As we turned our backs on Taganrok, we could easily foresee what we
+should have to suffer during our journey. A long drought and a
+temperature of 99° had already changed the verdant plains of the Don
+into an arid desert. At times the wind raised such billows of dust
+around us, that the sky was completely veiled from our eyes; our breath
+failed us, and the blood boiled in our ears; our sufferings for the
+moment were horrible. The hot air of a conflagration does not cause a
+more painful sense of suffocation than that produced by the wind of the
+desert. The horses could not stand against it, but stopped and hung down
+their heads, seeming as much distressed as ourselves.
+
+As we approached the Don the country was not quite such a dead, unbroken
+flat as before; a few Cossack stanitzas began to show themselves among
+the clumps of trees on the banks of the river. Deep gullies lined with
+foliage, and the traces of several streams, show how agreeable this part
+of the steppes must be in spring; but at the period of our journey every
+thing had been dried up and almost calcined by the rays of a sun which
+no cloud had obscured for two months.
+
+Before reaching Rostof, we passed through a large Armenian village. Its
+picturesque position, in the midst of a ravine, and the oriental fashion
+of its houses, give some interest and variety to these lonely regions,
+and transiently busy the imagination. The evening promised to be very
+beautiful; something serene, calm, and melancholy, had succeeded to the
+enervating heat of the day.
+
+Sunset in the steppes is like sunset nowhere else. In a country of
+varied surface, the gradually lengthening shadows give warning long
+beforehand that the sun is approaching the horizon. But here there is
+nothing to intercept its rays until the moment it sinks below the line
+of the steppe; then the night falls with unequalled rapidity; in a few
+moments all trace is gone of that brilliant luminary that just before
+was making the whole west ablaze. It is a magnificent transformation, a
+sudden transition to which the grandeur of the scene adds almost
+supernatural majesty and strangeness.
+
+Fatigued by the rapidity with which we had been travelling since we left
+Taganrok, I took advantage of our halt at a post station, not far from
+the village, to ascend the rising ground that concealed the road from my
+view.
+
+As I have said, the night had come down suddenly, and there remained in
+the west but a few pale red stripes that were fading away with every
+second. At the opposite point of the horizon the broad red glowing moon,
+such as it appears when it issues from the sea, was climbing
+majestically towards the zenith, and already filled that region of the
+heavens with a soft and mysterious radiance. The greater part of the
+steppe was still in gloom, whilst a golden fringe marked the limits of
+earth and sky: the effect was very singular and splendid.
+
+When I reached the summit of the hill an involuntary cry of surprise and
+alarm escaped me. I remained motionless before the unexpected scene that
+presented itself to my eyes--a whole gipsy camp, realising one of Sir
+Walter Scott's most striking fictions. Dispersed over the whole surface
+of the globe, and placed at the bottom of the social scale, this vagrant
+people forms in Russia, as elsewhere, a real tribe of pariahs, whose
+presence is regarded with disgust, even by the peasants. The government
+has attempted to settle a colony of these Bedouins of Europe in
+Bessarabia, but with little success hitherto. True to the traditional
+usages of their race, the Tsigans abhor every thing belonging to
+agriculture and regular habits. No bond has ever been found strong
+enough to check that nomade humour they inherit from their forefathers,
+and which has resisted the rude climate of Russia and the despotism of
+its government. Just as in Italy and Spain, they roam from village to
+village, plying various trades, stealing horses, poultry, and fruit,
+telling fortunes, procuring by fraud or entreaty the means of barely
+keeping themselves alive, and infinitely preferring such a vagabond and
+lazy existence to the comfort they might easily secure with a moderate
+amount of labour.
+
+Their manner of travelling reminds one of the emigrations of barbarous
+tribes. Marching always in numerous bodies, they pass from place to
+place with all they possess. The women, children, and aged persons, are
+huddled together in a sort of cart called _pavoshk_, drawn each by one
+or two small horses with long manes. All their wealth consists of a few
+coarse brown blankets, which form their tents by night, and in some
+tools employed in their chief trade, that of farriery.
+
+All travellers who have visited Russia, speak with enthusiasm of the
+gipsy singing heard in the Moscow _salons_. No race perhaps possesses an
+aptitude for music in a higher degree than these gipsies. In many other
+respects too, their intelligence appeared to us remarkable. A long abode
+in Moldavia, where there are said to be more than 100,000 Tsigans,
+enabled us to study with facility the curious habits of this people, and
+to collect a great number of facts, which would not perhaps be without
+interest for the majority of readers.[7]
+
+The Tsigans pass the fine season in travelling from fair to fair,
+encamping for some weeks in the neighbourhood of the towns, and living,
+heedless of the future, in thorough Asiatic indolence; but when the
+snows set in, and the northern blasts sweep those vast plains as level
+as the sea, the condition of these wretched creatures is such, as may
+well excite the strongest pity. But half clad, cowling in huts sunk
+below the surface of the ground, and destitute of the commonest
+necessaries, it is inconceivable how they live through the winter.
+Horrible as such a state of existence must be, they never give it a
+thought from the moment the breath of the south enables them to resume
+their vagrant career. Recklessness is the predominant feature in their
+character, and the most frightful sufferings cannot force them to bestow
+a moment's consideration on the future.
+
+The singular apparition that had suddenly arrested my steps by the road
+side, was that of a troop of gipsies encamped for the night in that
+lonely spot, about thirty yards from the road, near a field of
+water-melons. Their _pavoshks_ were arranged in a circle, with the
+shafts turned upwards, and support the cloths of their tents, which
+could only be entered by creeping on all fours. Two large fires burned
+at a little distance from the tents, and round them sat about fifty
+persons of the most frightful appearance. Their sooty colour, matted
+hair, wild features, and the rags that scarcely covered them, seen by
+the capricious light of the flames, that sometimes glared up strongly,
+and at other moments suddenly sank down and left every thing in
+darkness, produced a sort of demoniacal spectacle, that recalled to the
+imagination those sinister scenes of which they have so long been made
+the heroes.
+
+The history of all that is most repulsive in penury and the habits of a
+vagrant life, was legible in their haggard faces, in the restless
+expression of their large black eyes, and the sort of voluptuousness
+with which they grovelled in the dust; one would have said it was their
+native element, and that they felt themselves born for the mire with all
+swarming creatures of uncleanness. The women especially appeared hideous
+to me. Covered only with a tattered petticoat, their breasts, arms, and
+part of their legs bare, their eyes haggard, and their faces almost
+hidden under their straggling locks, they retained no semblance of their
+sex, or even of humanity.
+
+The faces of some old men struck me, however, by their perfect
+regularity of features, and by the contrast between their white hair and
+the olive hue of their skins. All were smoking, men, women, and
+children. It is a pleasure they esteem almost as much as drinking
+spirits. What painter's imagination ever conceived a wilder or more
+fantastic picture!
+
+Hitherto they had not perceived me, but the noise of our carriage, which
+was rapidly advancing, and my husband's voice, put them on the alert.
+The whole gang instantly started to their feet, and I found myself, not
+without some degree of dread, surrounded by a dozen of perfectly naked
+children, all bawling to me for alms. Some young girls seeing the fright
+I was in began to sing in so sweet and melodious a manner, that even our
+Cossack seemed affected. We remained a long while listening to them, and
+admiring the picturesque effect of their encampment in the steppes,
+under the beautiful and lucid night sky. No thought of serious danger
+crossed our minds, and, indeed, it would have been quite absurd; but in
+any other country than Russia such an encounter would have been far from
+agreeable.
+
+In the course of the following day we reached Rostof, a pretty little
+town on the Don, entirely different in appearance from the other Russian
+towns. You have here none of the cold, monotonous straight lines that
+afflict the traveller's sight from one end of the empire to the other;
+but the inequality of the ground, and the wish to keep near the harbour,
+have obliged the inhabitants to build their houses in an irregular
+manner, which has a very picturesque effect.
+
+The population, too, a mixture of Russians, Greeks, and Cossacks, have
+in their ways and habits nothing at all analogous to the systematic
+stiffness and military drill that seem to regulate all the actions of
+the Russians. The influence of a people long free has changed even the
+character of the chancery _employés_, who are here exempt from that
+arrogance and self-sufficiency that distinguish the petty nobles of
+Russia. Hence society is much more agreeable in Rostof than in most of
+the continental towns. The ridiculous pretensions of _tchin_ (rank) do
+not there assail you at every step; there is a complete fusion of
+nationality, tastes, and ideas, to the great advantage of all parties.
+
+This secret influence exercised by the Cossacks on the Russians, is
+worthy of note, and seems to prove that the defects of the latter are
+attributable rather to their political system, than to the inherent
+character of the nation.
+
+Their natural gaiety, kept down by the secret inquisition of a sovereign
+power, readily gets the upper hand when opportunity offers. The public
+functionaries associate freely in Rostof, with the Cossacks and the
+Greek merchants, without any appearance of the haughty exclusiveness
+elsewhere conspicuous in their class.
+
+One thing that greatly surprised us, and that shows how much liberal
+ideas are in favour in this town, is the establishment of a sort of
+casino, where all grades of society assemble on Sunday, to dance and
+hold parties of pleasure. This is without a parallel elsewhere.
+
+This casino contains a large ball-room, handsome gardens, billiard and
+refreshment-rooms, and every thing else that can be desired in an
+establishment of the sort. Though all persons are at liberty to enter
+without payment, it is nevertheless frequented by the best society, who
+dance there as heartily as in the most aristocratic _salons_. All
+distinctions vanish in the casino: public functionaries, shopkeepers,
+officers' wives, work-girls, foreigners, persons, in short, of all ranks
+and conditions mingle together, forming an amusing pell-mell, that
+reminds one, by its unceremonious gaiety, of the _bals champêtres_ of
+the environs of Paris. Every thing is a matter of surprise to the
+traveller in this little town, so remote from all civilisation: the
+hotels are provided with good restaurants, clean chambers, each
+furnished with a bed, and all appurtenances complete (a thing unheard of
+everywhere else in the interior of Russia), besides many other things
+that are hardly to be found even in Odessa.
+
+Rostof is the centre of all the commerce of the interior of the empire,
+with the Sea of Azov, and with a large portion of the Russian coasts of
+the Black Sea. Through this town pass all the productions of Siberia,
+and the manufactured goods intended for consumption throughout the
+greater part of Southern Russia. These goods are floated down the Volga
+as far as Doubofka, in the vicinity of Saritzin. They are then carried
+by land, a distance of about thirty-eight miles to Kahilnitzkaia, where
+they are embarked on the Don, and conveyed to Rostof, their general
+_entrepôt_. The barges on the Don and the Volga are flat; 112 feet long,
+from twenty to twenty-six wide, and about six feet deep. They draw only
+two feet of water, and cost from 300 to 500 rubles. They are freighted
+with timber and firewood, mats, bark, pitch, tar, hemp, cables, and
+cordage, pig and wrought iron, pieces of artillery, anchors, lead,
+copper, butter, &c. The whole traffic and navigation of the Don, down
+stream, from Kahalnitzkaia, depends on the arrivals from the Volga. The
+barges employed on the latter river, being put together with wooden
+bolts, are taken asunder at Doubofka, and laid with their cargoes in
+carts, on which they are conveyed to the banks of the Don.[8] Seven or
+eight days are sufficient for this operation, the expense of which
+amounts nearly to a quarter of the capital employed. Thus every year the
+crown and the merchants spend from 850,000 to 1,000,000 rubles at
+Doubofka. It is reckoned that 10,000 pairs of oxen, on an average, are
+employed on the road connecting the two rivers. The charge for heavy
+goods is from sixty to sixty-five kopeks the 100 kilogrammes. The
+vessels that ascend the Upper Don convey the goods above-named to the
+government of Voronege and the adjoining ones; besides which, some are
+freighted with the fruits and wines of the Don. Scarcely any traffic
+ascends the lower part of the river.
+
+The coasting trade of Rostof is, therefore, brisk, and particularly so
+since the establishment of the quarantine at Kertch. There were exported
+from the town, in 1840, for Russian ports, more than 3,500,000 rubles'
+worth of domestic goods of various kinds, and about 700,000 rubles'
+worth of provisions, chiefly intended for the armies. Flax-seed and
+common wool have also become, within the last three years, rather
+important articles of export to foreign countries. The population of
+Rostof is about 8000.
+
+Azov, on the other side of the Don, a little below Rostof, is now only a
+large village. Its long celebrated fortress has been abandoned, and is
+falling into ruin. It is said to occupy the site of the ancient Tana,
+built by the Greeks of the Bosphorus.
+
+The fort of Saint Dimitri, built by Peter the Great, between Rostof and
+Nakhitchevane, has had the same fate as Azov. It was formerly destined
+to protect the country against the incursions of the Turks, who were
+then masters of the opposite bank. The post-road traverses its whole
+length, and then continues all the way to Nakhitchevane, along a raised
+causeway, and overlooks the whole basin of the river. Nothing can be
+more varied than the wide landscapes through which one travels along
+this extended ridge. Behind lies Rostof, with its harbour full of
+vessels, and its houses rising in terrace rows, one above the other, its
+Greek churches, and its hanging gardens. On the right is the calm and
+limpid mirror of the river, spreading out into a broad basin, with banks
+shaded with handsome poplars. Fishing-boats, rafts, and barges diversify
+its surface, and give the most picturesque appearance to this part of
+the landscape. Then in front, Nakhitchevane, the elegant Armenian town,
+towers before you, the glazed windows of its great bazaars glittering in
+the sun. Enter the town, and you are surprised by a vision of the East,
+as you behold the capricious architecture of the buildings, and the
+handsome Asiatic figures that pass before you.
+
+Impelled by our recollections of Constantinople, we visited every
+quarter of the town without delay. At the sight of the veiled women,
+trailing their yellow slippers along the ground with inimitable
+_nonchalance_, the Oriental costumes, the long white beards, the
+merchants sitting on their heels before their shops, and the bazaars
+filled with the productions of Asia, we fancied ourselves really
+transported to one of the trading quarters of Stamboul; the illusion was
+complete. The shops abound with articles, many of which appeared to us
+very curious. The Armenians are excellent workers in silver. We were
+shown some remarkably beautiful saddles, intended for Caucasian chiefs.
+One of them covered with blue velvet, adorned with black enamelled
+silver plates, and with stirrups of massive silver, and a brilliantly
+adorned bridle, had been ordered for a young Circassian princess. Here,
+as in Constantinople, each description of goods has its separate bazaar,
+and the shops are kept by men only.
+
+This Armenian town, seated on the banks of the Don, in the heart of a
+country occupied by the Cossacks, is still one of those singularities
+which are only to be met with in Russia. One cannot help asking what can
+have been the cause why these children of the East have transplanted
+themselves into a region, where nothing is in harmony with their manner
+of being; where the language, habits, and wants of the inhabitants are
+diametrically opposite to their own, and where nature herself reminds
+them, by stern tokens, that their presence there is but an accident. It
+is true that the Armenians are essentially cosmopolitan, and accommodate
+themselves to all climates and governments, when their pecuniary
+interests require it. Industrious, intelligent, and frugal, they thrive
+everywhere, and commerce springs up with their presence, in every place
+where they settle. Thus it was that Nakhitchevane, the town of traffic
+_par excellence_, to which purchasers resort from the distance of
+twenty-five leagues all round it, arose amidst the wilderness of the
+Don. It was only Armenians who could have effected such a prodigy, and
+found the means of prosperity in a retail trade. But nothing has escaped
+their keen sagacity; every source of profit is largely employed by them.
+They do not confine themselves to the local trade; on the contrary,
+there is not a fair in all Southern Russia that is not attended by
+dealers from Nakhitchevane. The supply of dress and arms to the
+inhabitants of the Caucasus, still forms one of the principal branches
+of commerce for these Armenians. They maintain a pretty close
+correspondence with the mountaineers, and are even accused of serving
+them as spies. As to their social habits, the Armenians are in
+Nakhitchevane what they are everywhere else; they may change their
+country and their garb, but their manners and their usages never undergo
+any alteration. Their race is like a tree whose trunk is almost
+destroyed, but which throws up at every point new shoots, invariable in
+their nature, and differing from each other only in some outward
+particulars.
+
+The colony of Nakhitchevane dates from the year 1780, when Catherine II.
+had the greater part of the Armenians of the Crimea transported to the
+banks of the Don. The colonists are divided into agriculturists and
+shopkeepers. The former inhabit five villages, containing a population
+of 4600; the others reside exclusively in the town, which is the chief
+place of their establishment, and contains about 6000 souls. These
+Armenians enjoy the same privileges as the Greeks of Marioupol, already
+mentioned. They are under the control of functionaries chosen by
+themselves, and it happens very rarely that they are obliged to have
+recourse to the Russian tribunals.
+
+The following was the decision adopted by the Council of the Empire, in
+1841, relatively to the Armenians of New Russia. "The descendants of the
+Armenians settled at the invitation of the government, in the towns of
+Karasson Bazar, Starikrim in the Crimea, Nakhitchevane, and
+Gregorioupol, in the government of Kherson, will continue to pay, not
+the poll-tax, but the land-tax, and that on houses, according to the
+privileges granted to their fathers by an ukase of October 28, 1799;
+whilst those who have settled since that time, as well as all Armenians
+generally, shall be liable to the poll-tax, in pursuance of an ukase of
+May 21, 1836; in addition to which they shall pay from January 1, 1841;
+viz., townspeople and artisans, seven rubles per house, and
+agriculturists seventeen and a half kopeks per deciatine of land."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] As the plan of the present work does not allow of our entering on
+the subject in this place, we reserve it for our "Travels in the
+Principalities of the Danube," to be hereafter published.
+
+[8] The construction of a canal or a railroad between the Don and the
+Volga has long been talked of. Peter I. began a canal, but the works
+were soon abandoned. A new project was laid before the government in
+1820, the expense of which was estimated at 7,500,000., but it remains
+still to be realised.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+      GENERAL REMARKS ON NEW RUSSIA--ANTIPATHY BETWEEN THE
+      MUSCOVITES AND MALOROSSIANS--FOREIGN COLONIES--GENERAL ASPECT
+      OF THE COUNTRY, CATTLE, &C.--WANT OF MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
+      --RIVER NAVIGATION; BRIDGES--CHARACTER OF THE MINISTER OF
+      FINANCE--HISTORY OF THE STEAMBOAT ON THE DNIESTR--THE BOARD
+      OF ROADS AND WAYS--ANECDOTE.
+
+
+New Russia, which we have now traversed in its whole length, from west
+to east, consists of the three governments of Kherson, Taurid, and
+Iekaterinoslav. It is bounded on the north by the governments of
+Podolia, Kiev, Poltava, and Kharkov; on the east by the country of the
+Don Cossacks, the Sea of Azov, and the Straits of Kertch; on the south
+by the Black Sea, and on the west by the Dniestr, which divides it from
+Bessarabia. Its surface may be estimated at 1882 square myriamètres. It
+contains a population of 1,346,515, which makes about 715 inhabitants to
+a square myriamètre.
+
+The existing organisation of the three governments dates from the year
+1802. Their territory was successively annexed to the empire, by the
+treaty of Koutchouk Kainardji, the conquest of the Crimea, and the
+convention concluded at Jassy, in 1791.
+
+The population of these regions is extremely mixed. The Malorossians
+(Little Russians) formerly known by the appellation of Cossacks of the
+Ukraine, form its principal nucleus; then come numerous villages of
+Muscovites (Great Russians) belonging to the crown and to individuals;
+colonies of Germans, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Bulgarians; the
+military establishments of Vosnecensk, formed with the Cossacks of the
+Boug and fugitives from all the neighbouring nations; and lastly the
+Tatars, who occupy the greater part of the Crimea and the western shores
+of the Sea of Azov.
+
+Here are certainly very various and heterogeneous elements; nor can
+there exist between them any religious or political sympathy. The
+Muscovites and the Malorossians are even very hostile to each other,
+though professing the same creed and subject to the same laws. In spite
+of all the efforts of the government, and notwithstanding all the
+Muscovite colonies disseminated through the country, no blending of the
+two races has yet been effected. The old ideas of independence of the
+Cossacks of the Ukraine, are very far from being entirely extinguished,
+and the Malorossians, who have not forgotten the liberty and the
+privileges they enjoyed down to the end of the last century, always bear
+in mind that serfdom was established amongst them only by an imperial
+ukase of Catherine II. When the Emperor Alexander travelled through the
+Crimea, in 1820, it is said that he received more than 60,000 petitions
+from peasants claiming their freedom. Two years afterwards an
+insurrection broke out at Martinofka, in the environs of Taganrok; but
+it was speedily put down, and led to nothing but the transportation of
+some hundreds of unhappy serfs to Siberia.
+
+As for the foreign colonies established in New Russia, the government
+adapted its regulations at first in strict accordance with their wants.
+Each of them possessed a constitution in harmony with its manners, its
+usages, and its state of civilisation, and nothing had been neglected
+that could prompt the development of their prosperity.
+
+But within the last few years, the principles of political unity have
+been gaining the upper hand, and all the government measures are tending
+to assimilate the foreign populations to the free peasants of the crown.
+It is with this view that the special administrative committees have
+been suppressed, and the ministry of the domains of the crown has been
+created. Undoubtedly, as we have already said, when speaking of the
+German colonies, Russia has an incontestible right to strive to render
+herself homogeneous; the interests of her policy and her nationality
+require that she should neglect no means of arriving at a uniform
+administrative system. Unfortunately, generalisations are still
+impossible in the empire. Where there are so many conflicting forms of
+civilisation, the attempt to impose one unvarying system of rule upon so
+many dissimilar peoples, cannot be unattended with danger, particularly
+when that system is an exclusive one, and belongs only to one of the
+least enlightened portions of the population. It is, at this day, quite
+as impolitic to apply to the German colonists the administrative system
+practised with the Russian peasants, as it would be absurd to govern the
+latter like the Germans.
+
+The government would act more wisely if it tried, in the first place, to
+raise its native subjects to the level of the foreigners, instead of
+depressing the latter by subjecting them to the same conditions as its
+40,000,000 of serfs. The difficulties would no doubt be great; but
+obstinately to persist in establishing a forced administrative unity by
+dint of ukases, is nothing short of ruin to those thriving and
+industrious foreign colonies, which for more than half a century have
+done so much for the prosperity of the country, by bringing the soil of
+Southern Russia into productive cultivation; and it is well known, that
+already, several hundred families have abandoned their settlements and
+returned to Germany.
+
+The whole of Southern Russia from the banks of the Dniestr to the Sea of
+Azov, and to the foot of the mountains of the Crimea, consists
+exclusively of vast plains called steppes, elevated from forty to fifty
+yards above the level of the sea. The soil is completely bare of
+forests; it is only in some sheltered localities along the banks of the
+Dniepr and the other rivers, and in their islands, that we find a few
+woods of oak, birch, aspen, and willow. The inhabitants of the country
+are obliged to use for firing, reeds, straw, and the dung of cattle
+kneaded into little masses like bricks. In Odessa, they import wood from
+Bessarabia, the Crimea, and the banks of the Danube; but it costs as
+much as eighty rubles the fathom. English coal is also consumed, and as
+the merchant vessels carry it as ballast, its cost is very moderate.
+Within the last few years the native coal from the government of
+Iekaterinoslav and the Don country, is also beginning to be used
+throughout Southern Russia.
+
+The growth of wheat and the rearing of cattle, chiefly Merino sheep, are
+the main sources of wealth in these regions. The best cultivated tracts
+are, in the first place, those occupied by the German colonies, and
+next, the environs of Podolia and Khivia. But the most productive soil
+is, unquestionably, that of the north-east of the government of
+Iekaterinoslav, where the surface of the country is more varied and
+better irrigated. Unfortunately, the inhabitants have scarcely any
+markets for their produce.
+
+The grand want of this part of the empire is, the means of transport.
+Within the sixty years or thereabouts, during which the Russians have
+been in possession of these regions, they have founded many towns and
+erected many edifices to accommodate the public functionaries; but they
+have completely forgotten the most important thing, the thing without
+which agriculture and trade can make no progress worth speaking of.
+There are no causeways anywhere; the roads are mere tracks marked out by
+two ditches a few inches deep, and a line of posts set up from verst to
+verst to mark the distance. But usually no account is made of the
+imperial track, and the wheel-ruts vary laterally over a space of half a
+league and more. With every fall of rain the course of the road is
+changed. In winter, when snow-storms and fogs prevail, travelling in New
+Russia is beset with serious perils. It is then so easy to wander from
+the route, that travellers are often in danger of losing themselves in
+the steppes, and dying of cold.
+
+Bridges over the streams and rivers are as rare as causeways, and where
+any exist they are so defective, that drivers always try to avoid them,
+and so save their vehicles from the chance of being broken. Whenever the
+traveller is suddenly roused up from a sound sleep by a violent shock,
+he may be certain he is passing over a bridge or a fragment of a
+causeway. Spring and autumn are the seasons when he has most reason to
+curse the bad management of the Board of Bridges and Roads, for then the
+roads are impracticable: the smallest gully becomes the bed of a
+torrent, and communications are often totally interrupted. The
+consequence is that the transport of goods can only be effected in
+winter and during four months of summer. Nor must we allow ourselves to
+imagine that sledging is a very safe mode of carriage; the snow-storms
+cause great disasters, and if the winter be at all rigorous, an enormous
+number of draught oxen are lost.
+
+Every one knows what fine rivers nature has bestowed on New Russia. The
+Dniestr and the Dniepr are two admirable canals, which, after having
+traversed the central parts of the empire and its most fertile regions,
+terminate in the Black Sea. Their navigation, if well managed, would
+certainly compensate largely for the difficulties in the way of
+constructing roads, and might amply suffice for the wants of the
+population. But, as we have said in our chapter on the commerce of the
+Black Sea, every thing in Russia bears deplorable proof of the
+supineness of the government. It must, however, be owned that it is not
+to be reproached in every case with want of the will to do better; for
+recently, upon the enlightened solicitation of Count Voronzof, it was
+determined to establish on the Donetz, one of the confluents of the Don,
+a steam-tug to take in tow the coal-barges of the government of
+Iekaterinoslav.
+
+The two grand obstacles which, in our opinion, impede the accomplishment
+of useful works in Russia, consist in the self-sufficient incapacity of
+the ministry of finance, and in the peculation of the functionaries.
+Count Cancrine[9] may be an excellent bookkeeper; we grant that he
+possesses no ordinary talent in matters of account; but we believe, and
+facts demonstrate it, that his administration has greatly diminished the
+financial resources of the empire. The man possesses not one enlarged
+idea, no forecast; he sacrifices every thing to the present moment.
+Every item of expenditure must bring in an immediate profit, or he looks
+on it as money mis-spent; he can never be brought to understand that all
+capital expended in promoting agriculture and trade, returns sooner or
+later to the exchequer with large interest.
+
+In 1840, a landowner, deeply interested in the navigation of the liman
+of the Dniestr, after many fruitless efforts, at last succeeded by
+stratagem in inducing him to establish a small steamer on those waters,
+in order to facilitate the commercial intercourse between Akermann and
+Ovidiopol. The salt works of Touzla, situated in the vicinity, were to
+advance the necessary funds to the directory of the steamer, and
+although that directory was entirely dependent on the government, it
+was, nevertheless, obliged to enter into an engagement for the repayment
+of the small sum advanced, within a specified time. The steamboat was
+set plying; but whether from mismanagement or from other causes, no
+profit was realised in the first few years; on the contrary, there was
+some loss. Angry expostulations on the part of the ministry soon
+followed; and for a while there was an intention of suppressing the new
+means of communication, though so highly important to both banks. Such
+is the behaviour of the ministry on all industrial or commercial
+questions. We shall have many other facts of the same kind to mention,
+when we come to speak of Bessarabia and the Crimea.
+
+Now for an anecdote exemplifying the proceedings of the Board of Roads
+and Ways.[10] It was proposed by Count Voronzof in 1838, to have a
+bridge constructed over a brook that crosses the road from Ovidiopol to
+Odessa, and which is twice every year converted into a torrent. The
+chief engineer of the district having estimated the expense at 36,750
+rubles, the scheme was discountenanced by the ministry, and the bridge
+remained unbuilt for four years. In 1841, Count Voronzof visited
+Bessarabia, and his carriage was near being overturned on the little old
+bridge by which the brook is crossed. "It is very much to be regretted,"
+said he to M----i, who accompanied him, "that there is not a suitable
+bridge here; the ministry would not, perhaps, have refused to sanction
+it, if the engineers had been more moderate in their demands."
+
+Some days afterwards M----i sent for an Italian engineer, and put into
+his hands a statement of all the measurements on which the government
+engineers had founded their estimate. The Italian asked at first 8400
+rubles, and finally reduced his demand to 6475. M----i hastened to lay
+his proposal before Count Voronzof, who was amazed, and instantly
+accepted the terms. The bridge was to be forthwith constructed. It was
+not long before the chief engineer visited M----i, and beset him with
+reproaches and remonstrances, to which the former replied thus: "My good
+sir, I have not slandered you, nor do I bear you the least enmity. I
+wanted a bridge that I might visit my estate without danger. It is not
+enough to have a steamer on the liman of the Dniestr, unless one has
+also the means of making use of it. Your demand for the execution of the
+works was 36,750 rubles; another person, who has no desire to lose by
+the job, is content to perform it for 6475. I am sorry you think he has
+asked too little. Be that as it may, I shall have the bridge, and that
+was a thing I had set my mind on. Excuse me this once."
+
+We see by this, with what difficulty useful improvements are effected in
+Russia. The most earnest and laudable purposes are constantly frustrated
+by the vices of the administrative system. Unhappily there never can be
+an end to the fatal influence and the tyranny everywhere exercised by
+the public functionaries, until a radical reform shall have taken place
+in the social institutions of the empire; but nothing indicates as yet
+that there is any serious intention of effecting such a system.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[9] See Appendix, p. 101.
+
+[10] It is needless to say that our remarks do not apply to all the
+Russian engineers without exception, for we ourselves have known many
+upright and worthy men amongst them; and these men were the more
+deserving of esteem, as they always ended by being the victims of their
+own integrity.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+"Count Cancrine was the only statesman in Russia who possessed some
+share of learning and general information, though somewhat deficient in
+the knowledge specially applicable to his own department. He was a very
+good bookkeeper; but chemistry, mechanics, and technology were quite
+unknown to him. His sense of duty overbore all feelings of German
+nationality; he really desired the good of Russia, while at the same
+time he did not neglect his own affairs, for the care of which his post
+afforded him peculiar facilities. Colbert's fortune was made matter of
+reproach to him; a similar reproach may be fairly made against M.
+Cancrine, even though he leaves to his children the care of expending
+his wealth. He has amassed a yearly income of 400,000 rubles. 'It will
+all go,' he says, 'my children will take care of that.'
+
+"He was the most ardent partisan both of the prohibitive and of the
+industrial system; and the feverish development he gave to manufactures
+does not redeem the distress of agriculture to which he denied his
+solicitude. A true Russian would never have fallen into this error, but
+would have comprehended that Russia is pre-eminently an agricultural
+country. The question of serfdom found this minister's knowledge at
+fault. His monetary measures were but gropings in the dark, with many an
+awkward fall, and sometimes a lucky hit. He deserves credit, however,
+for having opposed the emperor's wasteful profusion, with a perseverance
+which the tsar called wrongheadedness, though he did not venture to
+break with him. It was Mazarine's merit that he gave Colbert to Louis
+XIV. In appointing M. Vrontshenko as his successor, Count Cancrine has
+rendered a very ill service to Russia."--_Ivan Golovine, Russia under
+Nicholas I._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+      THE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS OF MEN IN RUSSIA--THE NOBLES--
+      DISCONTENT OF THE OLD ARISTOCRACY--THE MERCHANT CLASS--
+      SERFDOM.
+
+
+The Russian nation is divided into two classes: the aristocracy, who
+enjoy all the privileges; and the people who bear all the burdens of the
+state.
+
+We must not, however, form to ourselves an idea of the Russian nobility
+at all similar to those we entertain of the aristocracies of Germany, or
+of ante-revolutionary France. In Russia, nobility is not exclusively
+conferred by birth, as in the other countries of Europe. There every
+freeman may become noble by serving the state either in a military or a
+civil capacity; with this difference only, that the son of a nobleman is
+advanced one step shortly after he enters the service, whilst the son of
+a commoner must wait twelve years for his first promotion, unless he
+have an opportunity of distinguishing himself in the meanwhile. Such
+opportunities indeed are easily found by all who have the inclination
+and the means to purchase them.
+
+The first important modifications in the constitution of the noblesse
+were anterior to Peter the Great; and Feodor Alexievitch, by burning the
+charters of the aristocracy, made the first attempt towards destroying
+the distinction which the boyars wanted to establish between the great
+and the petty nobles. It is a curious fact, that at the accession of the
+latter monarch to the throne, most offices of state were hereditary in
+Russia, and it was not an uncommon thing to forego the services of a man
+who would have made an excellent general, merely because his ancestors
+had not filled that high post, which men of no military talent obtained
+by right of birth. Frequent mention has of late been made of the
+celebrated phrase, _The boyars have been of opinion and the tzar has
+ordained_, and it has been made the theme of violent accusations against
+the usurpation of the Muscovite sovereigns. But historical facts
+demonstrate that the supposed power of the nobility was always illusory,
+and that the so much vaunted and regretted institution served, in
+reality, only to relieve the tzars from all personal responsibility. The
+spirit of resistance, whatever may be said to the contrary, was never a
+characteristic of the Russian nobility. No doubt there have been
+frequent conspiracies in Russia; but they have always been directed
+against the life of the reigning sovereign, and never in any respect
+against existing institutions. The facility with which Christianity was
+introduced into the country, affords a striking proof of the blind
+servility of the Russian people. Vladimir caused proclamation to be made
+one day in the town of Kiev, that all the inhabitants were to repair
+next day to the banks of the Dniepr and receive baptism; and
+accordingly at the appointed hour on the morrow, without the least
+tumult or show of force, all the inhabitants of Kiev were Christians.
+
+The existing institutions of the Russian noblesse date from the reign of
+Peter the Great. The innovation of that sovereign excited violent
+dissatisfaction, and the nobles, not yet broken into the yoke they now
+bear, caused their monarch much serious uneasiness. The means which
+appeared to Peter I. best adapted for cramping the old aristocracy, was
+to throw open the field of honours to all his subjects who were not
+serfs. But in order to avoid too rudely shocking established prejudices,
+he made a difference between nobles and commoners as to the period of
+service, entitling them respectively to obtain that first step which was
+to place them both on the same level. Having then established the
+gradations of rank and the conditions of promotion, and desirous of
+ratifying his institutions by his example, he feigned submission to them
+in his own person, and passed successively through all the steps of the
+scale he had appointed.
+
+The rank of officer in the military service makes the holder a gentleman
+in blood, that is, confers hereditary nobility; but in the civil
+service, this quality is only personal up to the rank of college
+assessor, which corresponds to that of major.
+
+The individual once admitted into the fourteenth or lowest class,
+becomes noble, and enjoys all the privileges of nobility as much as a
+count of the empire, with this exception only, that he cannot have
+slaves of his own before he has attained the grade of college assessor,
+unless he be noble born.
+
+It results from this system that consideration is attached in Russia,
+not to birth, but merely to the grade occupied. As promotion from one
+rank to another is obtained after a period of service, specified by the
+statutes, or sooner through private interest, there is no college
+registrar (fourteenth class) whatever be his parentage, but may aspire
+to attain precedence over the first families in the empire; and the
+examples of these elevations are not rare. It must be owned, however,
+that the old families have more chance of advancement than the others:
+but they owe this advantage to their wealth rather than to their
+personal influence.
+
+With all the apparent liberality of this scheme of nobility, it has,
+nevertheless, proved admirably subservient to the policy of the
+Muscovite sovereigns. The old aristocracy has lost every kind of
+influence, and its great families, most of them resident in Moscow, can
+now only protest by their inaction and their absence from court, against
+the state of insignificance to which they have been reduced, and from
+which they have no chance of recovery.
+
+Had it been necessary for all aspirants to nobility to pass through the
+wretched condition of the common soldier, it is evident that the empire
+would not possess one-tenth of its present number of nobles.
+Notwithstanding their abject and servile condition, very few commoners
+would have the courage to ennoble themselves by undergoing such a
+novitiate, with the stick hanging over them for many years. But they
+have the alternative of the civil service, which leads to the same
+result by a less thorny path, and offers even comparatively many more
+advantages to them than to the nobles by blood. Whereas the latter, on
+entering the military service, only appear for a brief while for form's
+sake in the ranks, become non-commissioned officers immediately, and
+officers in a few months; they are compelled in the civil service to act
+for two or three years as supernumeraries in some public office before
+being promoted to the first grade. It is true, the preliminary term of
+service is fixed for commoners at twelve years, but we have already
+spoken of the facilities they possess for abridging this apprenticeship.
+
+But this excessive facility for obtaining the privileges of nobility has
+given rise to a subaltern aristocracy, the most insupportable and
+oppressive imaginable; and has enormously multiplied the number of
+_employés_ in the various departments. Every Russian, not a serf, takes
+service as a matter of course, were it only to obtain rank in the
+fourteenth class; for otherwise he would fall back almost into the
+condition of the slaves, would be virtually unprotected, and would be
+exposed to the continual vexations of the nobility and the public
+functionaries. Hence, many individuals gladly accept a salary of sixty
+francs a year, for the permission of acting as clerks in some
+department; and so it comes to pass that the subaltern _employés_ are
+obliged to rob for the means of subsistence. This is one of the chief
+causes of the venality and of the defective condition of the Russian
+administrative departments.
+
+Peter the Great's regulations were excellent no doubt in the beginning,
+and hardly could that sovereign have devised a more efficacious means of
+mastering the nobility, and prostrating them at his feet. But now that
+the intended result has been amply obtained, these institutions require
+to be modified; for, under the greatly altered circumstances of the
+country, they only serve to augment beyond measure the numbers of a
+pernicious bureaucracy, and to impede the development of the middle
+class. To obtain admission into the fourteenth class, and become a
+noble, is the sole ambition of a priest's or merchant's son, an ambition
+fully justified by the unhappy condition of all but the privileged
+orders. There is no country in which persons engaged in trade are held
+in lower esteem than in Russia. They are daily subjected to the insults
+of the lowest clerks, and it is only by dint of bribery they can obtain
+the smallest act of justice. How often have I seen in the post stations,
+unfortunate merchants, who had been waiting for forty-eight hours and
+more, for the good pleasure of the clerk, without daring to complain. It
+mattered nothing that their papers were quite regular, the noble of the
+fourteenth class did not care for that, nor would he give them horses
+until he had squeezed a good sum out of the _particularnii tchelovieks_,
+as he called them in his aristocratic pride. The same annoyances await
+the foreigner, who, on the strength of his passport, undertakes a
+journey without a decoration at his buttonhole, or any title to give
+him importance. I speak from experience: for more than two years spent
+in traversing Russia as a private individual, enabled me fully to
+appreciate the obliging disposition of the fourteenth class nobles. At a
+later period, being employed on a scientific mission by the government,
+I held successively the rank of major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel;
+and then I had nothing to complain of; the posting-clerks, and the other
+_employés_ received me with all the politeness imaginable. I never had
+to wait for horses, and as the title with which I was decked authorised
+me to distribute a few cuts of the whip with impunity, my orders were
+fulfilled with quite magical promptitude.
+
+Under such a system, the aristocracy would increase without end in a
+free country. But it is not so in Russia, where the number of those who
+can arrive at a grade is extremely limited, the vast majority of the
+population being slaves. Thus the hereditary and personal nobility
+comprise no more than 563,653 males; though all free-born Russians enter
+the military or civil service, and remain at their posts as long as
+possible; for once they have returned into private life they sink into
+mere oblivion. From the moment he has put on plain clothes, the most
+deserving functionary is exposed to the vexations of the lowest
+subalterns, who then omit no opportunity of lording over their former
+superior.
+
+Such social institutions have fatally contributed to excite a most
+decided antipathy between the old and the new aristocracy; and the
+emperor naturally accords his preference and his favours to those who
+owe him every thing, and from whom he has nothing to fear. In this way
+the new nobles have insensibly supplanted the old boyars. But their
+places and pecuniary gains naturally attach them to the established
+government, and consequently they are quite devoid of all revolutionary
+tendencies. Equally disliked by the old aristocracy whom they have
+supplanted, and by the peasants whom they oppress, they are, moreover,
+too few in numbers to be able to act by themselves; and, in addition to
+this, the high importance attached to the distinctions of rank, prevent
+all real union or sympathy between the members of this branch of Russian
+society. The tzar, who perfectly understands the character of this body,
+is fully aware of its venality and corruption; and if he honours it with
+his special favour, this is only because he finds in it a more absolute
+and blind submission than in the old aristocracy, whose ambitious
+yearnings after their ancient prerogatives cannot but be at variance
+with the imperial will. As for any revolutions which could possibly
+arise out of the discontent of this latter order, we may be assured they
+will never be directed against the political and moral system of the
+country; they will always be, as they have always been, aimed solely
+against the individual at the head of the government. Conspiracies of
+this kind are the only ones now possible in Russia; and what proves this
+fact is, the impotence of that resentment the tzars have provoked on the
+part of the old aristocracy, whenever they have touched on the question
+of emancipating the serfs.
+
+The tzars have shown no less dexterity than the kings of France in their
+struggles against the aristocracy, and they have been much more favoured
+by circumstances. We see the Russian sovereigns bent, like Louis XI., on
+prostrating the great feudatories of the realm; but there was this
+difference between their respective tasks, that the French nobles could
+bring armies into the field, and often did so, whereas the Russian
+nobles can only counteract the power of their ruler by secret
+conspiracies, and will never succeed in stirring up their peasants
+against the imperial authority.
+
+What may we conclude are the destinies in store for the Russian
+nobility, and what part will it play in the future history of the
+country? It seems to us to possess little inherent vigour and vitality,
+and we doubt that a radical regeneration of the empire is ever to be
+expected at its hands. The influence of Europe has been fatal to it. It
+has sought to assimilate itself too rapidly with our modern
+civilisation, and to place itself too suddenly on a level with the
+nations of the west. Its efforts have necessarily produced only
+corruption and demoralisation, which, by bastardising the country, have
+deprived it of whatever natural strength it once possessed.
+
+No doubt there are in Russia as elsewhere, men of noble and patriotic
+sentiments, who feel a lively interest in the greatness and the future
+destinies of their native land; but they are, perhaps, committed to an
+erroneous course; and it is to be feared that by adopting our liberal
+principles in their full extent, and seeking to apply them at home, they
+will do still more mischief than the obstinate conservatives who suffer
+themselves to be borne along passively by the current of time and
+circumstances.
+
+Hence, after having studied the influence of European civilisation on
+Russia, we are fully prepared to understand the efforts which the
+Emperor Nicholas is making to isolate his empire as much as possible,
+and to restore its primitive nationality. Despairing of the destinies of
+his aristocracy, he, no doubt, wishes to preserve the middle class
+(whose development will infallibly be effected sooner or later) from the
+rock on which the former class have made shipwreck of their hopes. And
+certainly it is not among a few thousand nobles he can hope to find
+sufficient elements of greatness and prosperity for the present and for
+future times.
+
+After the nobles come the merchants and burghers, about a million and a
+half in number, and now constituting the first nucleus of a middle
+class. They are wholly engrossed with commerce and their pecuniary
+interests. Among them there are some very wealthy men, and they are
+allowed to discharge the inoffensive functions of mayors in the towns.
+The nobility profess almost as much contempt for this class as for the
+slaves, and are not sparing towards it of injustice and extortion. But
+the Russian merchant is the calmest and most patient being imaginable,
+and in comparison with slavery and the sad condition of the soldier, he
+regards his own lot as the very ideal of good fortune. Down to the reign
+of Ivan IV., merchants enjoyed tolerably extensive privileges in Russia.
+They were, it is true, placed below the lowest class of the nobility,
+just as in our days; but they were considered as a constituent part of
+the government, were summoned to the great assemblies of the nation, and
+voted in them like the boyars.
+
+The Emperor Nicholas has sought of late years to raise their body in
+public estimation, by granting them many prerogatives of nobility; but
+his efforts have hitherto not been very successful. The only means of
+giving outward respectability to this important class, would be to
+afford it admission into the body of the nobles without compelling it to
+enter the government service. And surely an individual who contributes
+to develop the trade and commerce of the land, has as strong claims to
+honorary distinctions as a petty clerk, whose whole life is passed in
+cheating his superiors, and robbing those who are so unfortunate as to
+have any dealings with him. Should the emperor ever adopt such a course,
+there would follow from it another advantage still more important,
+namely, that it would gradually extinguish the abuses of the present
+nobiliary system, and would immediately rid the public departments of
+all those useless underlings, who now encumber the various offices
+solely with a view to acquire a footing among the privileged orders.
+
+The Russian and foreign merchants, established in the country, are
+divided into three classes, or guilds. Those of the first guild must
+give proof of possessing a capital of 50,000 rubles. They have a right
+to own manufactories, town and country houses, and gardens. They may
+trade with the interior of the empire, and with foreign countries; they
+are exempt from corporal punishments, and are privileged like the
+hereditary nobility to drive four horses in their carriages; but they
+must pay 3000 rubles for their licence.
+
+Those of the second guild are required to prove only a capital of 20,000
+rubles, and their trade is confined to the interior of the empire. They
+may be proprietors of factories, hotels and boats; but they are not
+allowed to have more than two horses to their carriages.
+
+The third guild merchants, whose capital needs not exceed 8000 rubles,
+are the retail dealers of the towns and villages, they keep inns and
+workshops, and hold booths in the fairs.
+
+The peasants who engage in trade, are not required to prove any capital.
+The statistics of these several classes, in 1839, were as follows:--
+
+  First guild merchants                      889
+  Second        "                          1,874
+  Third         "                         33,808
+  Peasants having permission to trade      5,299
+  Clerks                                   8,345
+                                          ------
+                               Total      50,215
+
+The slaves form by far the most considerable part of the population;
+their numbers, exclusive of those belonging to the crown and to private
+proprietors, exceed 45,000,000; an enormous amount in comparison with
+the numbers of the nobles.
+
+We will not enter into any historical details respecting the origin of
+serfdom in Russia; every one knows that the institution is one of
+somewhat modern date, and that servitude, though long existing
+virtually, was established legally in the empire only by an ukase of
+Boris Godounof. We will confine our remarks to the institution as it
+exists at the present day.
+
+The slaves are divided into two classes, those belonging respectively to
+the crown, and to private individuals. The former are under the control
+of the ministry of the domains of the crown, a special board created
+January 1st, 1838, and presided over by General Count Kizelev. By law
+they are required to pay to the crown a capitation tax of fifteen rubles
+yearly for every male, but this tax is almost always raised to thirty or
+thirty-five rubles by the rapacity of the government servants. Besides
+these money contributions, they are subjected to _corvées_ for the
+repair of the roads and public works, and they may also be required to
+furnish means of conveyance and food for the troops. For these latter
+services, it is true, they receive a nominal compensation in the shape
+of orders payable by treasury, but these are never cashed. Lastly, they
+are liable to military recruitment, which of late years has annually
+taken off six out of every 1000 male inhabitants in the governments of
+New Russia.
+
+In exchange for all these burdens, the peasant receives from the crown
+the land necessary for his subsistence, the quantity of which varies
+from ten or eleven deciatines, to one or two, according to the density
+of the population. Whatever may have been said on the subject, the
+condition of the crown serf is neither miserable nor destitute, and his
+slavery cannot but be favourable to physical and animal life, the only
+life as yet understood by the bulk of the Russian people. Except in
+years of great dearth, such as often desolate the country, the peasant
+has his means of existence secured; his dwelling, his cattle, and his
+little field of buckwheat; and as far as freedom from moral and physical
+sufferings constitute happiness, he may be considered much better off
+than the free peasants of the other European states. With plenty of
+food, his dwelling well warmed in winter, his mind disencumbered of all
+those anxieties for the future that harass our labouring poor; and
+endowed by nature with a vigorous constitution, he possesses all the
+elements of that negative happiness which is founded on ignorance and
+the want of all awakened sense of man's dignity. The slave besides is so
+frugal, he needs so little to live, his wants and desires are so
+circumscribed, that poverty, as it exists in our civilised lands, is one
+of the rarest exceptions in Russia. But all these conditions of
+existence constitute a life essentially brutish; and the most wretched
+being in France would certainly not exchange his lot for that of the
+Muscovite peasant.
+
+It cannot, however, be questioned that the crown serfs enjoy almost
+complete liberty. Simply attached to the soil, they are masters of
+their own time, and may even obtain permission to go and seek employment
+in the towns, or on the estates of private landowners. Hence, were it
+not for the difficulties connected with the emancipation of the private
+serfs, the crown peasants might be declared independent to-morrow,
+without any sort of danger to the empire. Their physical condition is in
+perfect harmony with the present state of civilisation, and in this
+respect the system established by the crown, does not deserve the outcry
+raised against it. The penury and distress in which the imperial serfs
+are plunged in some districts, are ascribable solely to the cupidity and
+corruption of the public functionaries, or to the want of outlets for
+the produce of the soil, and not to the laws regulating serfdom.
+
+The condition of the slaves on seignorial lands is both morally and
+physically less satisfactory than that of the crown serfs. They are
+subject to arbitrary caprice, and to countless vexations, particularly
+when they belong to small proprietors, or are immediately dependant on
+stewards. There exist, indeed, very strict regulations for their
+protection against the undue exactions of their lords; but the latter
+are, nevertheless, all-powerful through their social position and the
+posts they fill, and however they may abuse their authority, they are
+always sure of impunity. Thanks to judicial venality, they know that all
+appeals to justice against them are futile. There is only one case in
+which the peasant can hope for a favourable hearing, namely, where there
+is any ill-will between his master and the higher powers; but his wrongs
+must be very cruel indeed if they goad him to seek legal redress, for he
+well knows that sooner or later he will be made to pay dearly for his
+rebellion. We are bound, however, to acknowledge that the lords often
+act with the greatest humanity towards the serfs, and they have at last
+come to understand that in caring for the welfare of their peasants,
+they are taking the best means to augment their own fortunes. It is only
+to be regretted that their benevolent efforts are almost constantly
+paralysed by the rapine and insatiable cupidity of their stewards and
+agents.
+
+The private slaves, who number about 23,000,000, pay a poll tax of eight
+rubles for every male to the crown, and must give half their time to
+their masters. They usually work three days in the week for the latter,
+and the other three for themselves. Their lord grants them five or six
+hectares of land, and often more, and all the produce they raise from
+them is their own. They are required furthermore to supply out of their
+numbers all the domestic servants requisite for their master's
+establishment, and to do extra duty labour of various kinds, dependent
+solely on the caprice of the latter. A peasant cannot quit his village
+without his master's permission, and if he exercises any handicraft
+trade whatever, he is bound to pay an annual sum proportioned to his
+presumed profits. This sum is called his _obrok_, and is often very
+considerable; in the case of agricultural and other peasants, it
+averages fifty rubles. But whatever be the position the serf may have
+attained to by his talents and his skill, he never shakes off his
+absolute dependence on his master, one word from whom may compel him to
+abandon all his business and his prospects, and return to his village.
+Many of the wealthiest merchants of Moscow have been named to me, who
+are slaves by birth, and who have in vain offered hundreds of thousands
+of rubles for their freedom. It flatters the pride of the great
+patrician families to have men of merit among their serfs, and many of
+them send young slaves into the towns, and supply them with all the
+means necessary for pursuing a creditable and lucrative calling.
+
+All the hawkers and pedlars that go from village to village, and from
+mansion to mansion, from the banks of the Neva to the extremity of
+Siberia, are slaves, who bring in large profits to their masters; it
+frequently happens that a _pometchik_ has no other income than that
+which he thus derives from his peasants.
+
+Marriages between serfs can only take place with the consent of the
+lord. They are usually consummated at a very early age, and are arranged
+by the steward, who never consults the parties, and whose sole object is
+to effect a rapid increase in the population of his village. The average
+price of a whole family is estimated as ranging from 25_l._ to 40_l._
+
+A great deal has been often said of the boundless attachment of the
+serfs to their lords; I doubt that it ever existed; at any rate, it
+exists no longer. The slaves no longer regard with the same resignation
+and apathy the low estate which Providence has assigned them in this
+world; the more liberal treatment enjoyed by the imperial serfs, has
+inoculated them with ideas of independence, and they are all now
+ambitious of passing into the domain of the crown--a good fortune, which
+in their eyes is equivalent to emancipation. This tendency of the serfs
+to detach themselves from the aristocracy is a most important fact, and
+if the emperor succeeds in regulating this great social movement so that
+it may be effected without turbulence, he will have rendered a signal
+service to Russia, and have mightily contributed to the regeneration and
+future welfare of her people.
+
+Every village has its mayor, called _golova_, and its _starosts_, whose
+number depends on that of the population, there being usually one for
+every ten families. They are all elected by the community, and to them
+it belongs to regulate the various labours performed by it, and to
+apportion and collect the taxes. Whatever petty differences may arise
+between the peasants, are settled before the _starosts_ or council of
+elders, whose decisions are always received with blind submission.
+
+Military service is the only _corvée_ which the Russian peasants regard
+with real horror. Their antipathy to it is universal, and the regiments
+can only be recruited by main force. There is no conscription in Russia,
+but whenever men are wanted, an imperial ukase is issued, commanding a
+certain number to be raised in such or such a government. In the crown
+lands, it is the head man of the village aided by the district
+authorities, who selects the future heroes, and this is usually done in
+secret, in order to prevent desertion. The young men chosen are
+forthwith arrested, generally in the middle of the night, and remain
+fettered until they have been inspected by the surgeon, after which they
+are sent off in small detachments to the regiments, under the guard of
+armed soldiers. In the seignorial villages, the selection is made by the
+steward. But the business is here of more difficult execution than in
+the domains of the crown, and the unfortunate recruit is often chained
+to an aged peasant, who acts as his keeper, and cannot quit him day or
+night. I saw two young peasants thus chained to two old men, in a
+village belonging to General Papof; they spent their time quietly in
+drinking in the dram-shops, without exciting any surprise in the
+spectators. When we reflect on the privations and sufferings that await
+the Muscovite soldier, we cannot wonder at the intense repugnance the
+peasants entertain for the service.
+
+The military spirit, so potent elsewhere, scarcely exists in the empire.
+Glory and honour are things for which the Russian serfs care very
+little, nor have they any conception of the magic that lies in the words
+"Our country," "Our native land." The only country they know is their
+village, their stove, their _kasha_, the patch of ground they daily
+cultivate, and that mud which a French grenadier lifted up with his
+foot, exclaiming, "And this they call a country!" "_ils appellent cela
+une patrie!_" At the same time, it is evident that this antipathy of the
+Russians for military service, is to be attributed as much to the
+political constitution of the empire, as to the character of the
+inhabitants; and as that constitution has hitherto been a national
+necessity, it would be unjust to charge as a crime upon the government,
+the unhappy moral condition of its armies. We shall speak at more length
+in another place, on the subject of the Russian soldiery.
+
+Moral and intellectual instruction have hitherto made very little way
+among the slave population. Attempts indeed have been made to found
+schools in some of the crown villages, but these attempts have been
+always ill-directed, and necessarily unsuccessful. Religion which
+everywhere else constitutes the most potent instrument of civilisation,
+can have in Russia no favourable effect on the improvement of the
+people. Consisting solely in fasts, crossings, and outward ceremonies,
+it leaves the mind totally uninfluenced, and in no respect acts as a bar
+to the demoralisation which is gradually pervading the immense class of
+the serfs. The peculiar circumstances of the Russian towns and villages
+are also perhaps among the greatest obstacles to intellectual progress.
+The advance of civilisation depends in a great measure on facility of
+intercourse. When a population is compact, and its several members are
+continually in presence of each other, each man's knowledge is
+propagated among his compatriots, facts and opinions are discussed, and
+men become mutually enlightened as to what is thought and done around
+them. From this continual interchange of mental wealth, there naturally
+arises an amount of enlightenment and capacity that tends greatly to
+extend the domain of thought. But let any one cast his eyes on Russia,
+and he will be struck by the unfavourable manner in which its population
+is distributed. Not only are the great centres of population very thinly
+scattered over the surface, but the several dwellings too in the towns
+are placed very wide apart, and those of the villages still more so.
+Every man is isolated, every man lives by and for himself, or at least
+within a very contracted sphere. Social meetings are rare, and in winter
+almost impossible; in a word, it is not at all unusual for people not to
+know their neighbours on the opposite side of the street; hence the
+invariable _nesnai_ (I do not know) with which the Russian replies to
+every question the traveller puts to him, ought not to astonish or
+incense the latter. At first I was disposed to think this ignorance was
+pretended, and to attribute it to sulkiness and indolence; but I
+afterwards perceived that it was occasioned in much greater measure by
+the absurd style of building adopted in the country.
+
+Another thing that tends to enervate the Russians and keep them in their
+brutified condition, is the immoderate use of brandy, to which both men
+and women are addicted. It is truly deplorable that the government feels
+constrained to favour the sale of that pernicious liquor which forms its
+most important source of revenue. How often have I seen the dram-shops
+full of women dead drunk, who had left their poultry yards tenantless,
+and sold their household furniture to gratify their fatal passion.
+
+A thing by which I have always been much struck in Russia, is the
+stationary uniformity which prevails over the whole surface of the
+empire, both in ideas and in physical productions. You see everywhere
+the same plans and arrangements of the buildings, the same implements,
+and the same agricultural practices and modes of carriage. Contact with
+foreigners has as yet had no influence on the Sclavonic population, and
+the prosperity generally enjoyed for sixty years by the German colonies
+has done little in the way of example. Is this intellectual
+insensibility the result of servitude exclusively? I think not.
+Servitude may indeed repress, but it cannot extinguish, the various
+qualities with which nature has endowed us; and if the Russians are
+still so backward, and give so little promise of improvement, we must
+explain the fact by the nature of their race, by their still infant
+state as a nation, and their want of precedents in civilisation. At the
+same time there is no reason to despair of them. In our opinion, the
+future civilisation of Russia rests in a great measure on the
+contingency of a religious reformation; but as that reformation could
+not but be hazardous to absolute power by awakening ideas of
+independence and resistance to oppression, the government impedes it by
+every means in its power, and labours unceasingly to reduce all the
+inhabitants of the empire to religious uniformity, as is proved by its
+conduct towards the United Greeks of Poland, and towards the
+Douckoboren and the Molokaner. I had opportunities of observing among
+the members of the two latter communities, how great an influence a
+change of religion may have on the character and intellect of the
+Russians. The Douckoboren and the Molokaner differ essentially in this
+respect from the other subjects of the empire. Activity, probity,
+intelligence, desire of improvement, all these qualities are developed
+among them to the highest degree, and after having consorted with the
+Germans for fifteen years, they have completely appropriated all the
+agricultural ameliorations, and even the social habits of those foreign
+colonists. Among the Russian peasants on the contrary, whether slave or
+free, a complete immobility prevails, and nothing can force them out of
+the old inevitable rut. All the efforts and all the encouragements of
+the government have hitherto been of no avail.
+
+The emancipation of the slaves seems earnestly to occupy the Emperor
+Nicholas; and the measures adopted of late years testify in favour of
+his generous intentions. Unfortunately, the task is beset with
+difficulties for the legislator, and an abrupt attempt to make the
+Russian people independent, would infallibly expose the empire to the
+greatest dangers.
+
+There are in the Russian slave two natures, essentially distinct: the
+one, destitute of all energy, of all vitality, is the result of the
+servitude under which the nation has bent for ages; the other, a bequest
+of barbarism, starting into action at the breath of liberty, is prompt
+to the most alarming excesses, and inspires the revolted serf with the
+desire, above all things, to massacre his master. Emancipation,
+therefore, is not so easy as certain philanthropists would believe it to
+be, and the details we have just given may enable one to conceive all
+the mischiefs that might ensue from it.
+
+The greatest obstacle to this social metamorphosis is presented by the
+private slaves, the majority of whom belong to the hereditary
+aristocracy; it is especially on the part of this class that premature
+liberty might occasion fatal and bloody reactions, which would endanger
+the empire itself, though immediately directed against the lords only.
+Accordingly the tzar, who is not ignorant of these facts, does all in
+his power to withdraw the serfs from their proprietors, and bring them
+into the crown domain: hence the position of the serfs has been
+considerably altered within the last few years. Slaves can now no longer
+be purchased without the lands to which they are attached. Formerly
+owners often hired out their slaves: they can now only grant them
+passports for three years, and the serf himself chooses the master he
+will serve, and the kind of labour to which he will apply himself.
+
+It was evidently with a view to the same end that a bank was created
+some years ago in St. Petersburg, for the purpose of rendering pecuniary
+assistance to the aristocracy. Every proprietor can borrow from the bank
+at eight per cent., on a mortgage of his lands. But by the rules of the
+institution, when the term of payment is past, the property of a
+defaulting creditor may be immediately sequestrated to the crown. What
+the government foresaw has happened, and does happen daily, and it has
+acquired numerous private estates, and incorporated them with the
+imperial domains.
+
+A new ukase respecting the emancipation of the slaves which was issued
+in 1842, fixed the relative position of freedmen and their former lords.
+The measure was shaped so as to give the government a direct influence
+conducive to the gradual emancipation of the population. The owners were
+left, as before, the power of emancipating their serfs; but by the terms
+of the ukase, they could only do so in accordance with certain rules,
+and with the express sanction of the emperor. This ukase excited so much
+dissatisfaction among the old _noblesse_, that the tzar was induced
+subsequently to neutralise its effect by a police enactment. The primary
+end was, nevertheless, obtained, and the ukase dealt a heavy blow to the
+subsisting relations between lord and serf.[11] We believe,
+nevertheless, that the course adopted by the Emperor Nicholas (by the
+advice, no doubt, of Count Kizilev) is erroneous, and that the last
+ukases are impolitic. Do what it will, the government will never succeed
+in liberating the private slaves without the co-operation of their
+owners. It is impossible to think of making all the peasants exclusively
+serfs of the crown; such a means of emancipation is impracticable, for
+it implies that the government should remain, in the last result, sole
+possessor of all the lands in the empire, and that the nobility, great
+and small, should be infallibly ruined. In our opinion, the last ukases
+have only served to make emancipation more difficult, by exciting hatred
+between masters and slaves, and fostering the germs of a dangerous
+rebellious spirit. The Russians are still so backward in civilisation,
+that ideas of independence, abruptly and incautiously introduced amongst
+them, would be very likely to cause disastrous convulsions. Liberty must
+reach them gradually; and above all, it is absolutely necessary that
+they should be prepared, by instruction, to exchange their slavery for a
+better state of things. Otherwise, with their present character,
+liberty, after being first summed up by them in the privilege of doing
+nothing, in pillage and massacre, would inevitably end in wretchedness
+and destitution. In the treatment of this great social question, it is
+before all things necessary that the government should come to a fair
+understanding with the nobles, and labour conjointly with them for the
+regeneration of the slave population: it is only by earnest mutual aid
+that those two powers will ever succeed in advancing the cause of
+emancipation without imminent peril to the empire. But in any case,
+there is no denying the many difficulties of this enterprise, no
+answering for all future contingencies. Considerations connected with
+landed property will probably long defeat all efforts in this direction,
+unless the peasants be freely permitted to become landowners, on payment
+of a certain sum for the redemption of their persons, and the purchase
+of the land requisite for their subsistence. This seems to us the only
+rational, nay, the only possible means, of arriving at complete
+emancipation without violence. No doubt if such a privilege be granted
+to the peasants, the present improvident and prodigal race of nobles
+will be rapidly dispossessed; but this will not occasion the country any
+serious inconvenience, and the new order of things will but favour the
+development of the middle class, in which really reside, in our day, all
+the strength and prosperity of a nation.
+
+As for the clergy, whose numbers amount to about 500,000, both males and
+females, we mention them here only to repeat our declaration of their
+nullity and immorality. Utterly unacquainted with any thing pertaining
+to polity and administration, having nothing to do with public
+instruction, and being in their own persons ignorant to excess, the
+priests enjoy no sort of influence or consideration, and are occupied
+solely with corporeal things. We will not enter further into this
+subject. We are loath to unveil completely the vices and ignoble habits
+that distinguish the priests of the orthodox Russian church.
+
+The following is a general table of the Russian population as published
+by the ministry in 1836:
+
+                   _Clergy._                  |   Males.    |  Females.
+                                              |             |
+  Orthodox Greek clergy of all grades,        |             |
+    including the families of ecclesiastics   |   254,057   |   240,748
+  United Greek                                |     7,823   |     7,318
+  Catholic                                    |     2,497   |
+  Armenian                                    |       474   |       343
+  Lutheran                                    |     1,003   |       955
+  Reformed                                    |        51   |        37
+  Mahommedan Mollahs                          |     7,850   |     6,701[A]
+  Buddhist Lamas                              |       150[B]|
+                                              |             |
+                  _Nobility._                 |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Hereditary nobles                           |   284,731   |   253,429
+  Personal nobles, including the children     |             |
+    of officers                               |    78,922   |    74,273
+  Subaltern functionaries, retired soldiers,  |             |
+    and their families                        |   187,047   |   237,443
+                                              |             |
+        _Populations bound to military_       |             |
+           _service in time of war._          |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Cossacks of the Don, the Black Sea, the     |             |
+    Caucasus, Astrakhan, Azov, and the        |             |
+    Danube, Orenburg and the Ural, and of     |             |
+    Siberia, Bashkirs, and Mestcheriaks       |   950,698   |   981,467
+                                              |             |
+       _Inhabiting towns, or included_        |             |
+          _in the municipalities._            |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Merchants of the three guilds, including    |             |
+    notable _bourgeois_.                      |   131,347   |   120,714
+  Bourgeois and artisans                      | 1,339,434   | 1,433,982
+  Bourgeois in the towns of the               |             |
+    western provinces                         |     7,522   |     6,966
+  Greeks of Nejine, armourers of Toula,       |             |
+    apprentices in the pharmacies, and        |             |
+    others, brokers in the towns, and         |             |
+    functionaries in the service of the       |             |
+    municipalities                            |    10,882   |    10,940
+  Inhabitants of the towns of Bessarabia      |    57,905   |    56,176
+                                              |             |
+       _Inhabiting the rural districts._      |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Serfs of the crown and the apanages         |10,441,399   |11,022,595
+  Serfs of the seignorial lands               |11,403,722   |11,958,873
+                                              |             |
+            _Nomade races, such as_           |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Kalmucks, Khirghis, Turkmans, Tatars        |   254,715   |   261,982
+  Inhabitants of the Transcaucasian Provinces |   689,147   |   689,150
+  Kingdom of Poland                           | 2,077,311   | 2,110,911
+  Grand Duchy of Finland                      |   663,658   |   708,464
+  Russian colonies in America                 |    30,761   |    30,292
+                                              +-------------+----------
+                            Total             |28,883,106   |30,213,759
+
+  [A: These figures are evidently misplaced. Ought they to stand for
+  Catholic nuns?--_Translator._]
+
+  [B: This number is quite erroneous, for we ourselves found several
+  hundred priests among the Kalmucks of the Volga. The encampment of
+  Prince Tumene, which we visited, alone possesses more than 200.]
+
+Soldiers and sailors in actual service, their wives and families, not
+having been included in this total, the gross amount of the population
+of the empire appears to be about 61,000,000,--at least if we may judge
+from the ministerial table, the correctness of which we by no means
+guarantee.
+
+According to the report of the ministry of the interior, the part of the
+population of European Russia not belonging to the orthodox Greek
+church, was, in 1839, as follows:
+
+  Catholics              2,235,586
+  Gregorian Armenians       39,927
+  Catholic Armenians        28,145
+  Protestants            1,500,000
+  Mohammedans            1,530,726
+  Jews                   1,069,440
+  Buddhists                 65,000
+                         ---------
+              Total      6,868,824
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[11] We have not the honour of being acquainted with the Emperor of
+Russia's secret thoughts, and we willingly ascribe to a certain
+liberalism all the ukases concerning the emancipation of the slaves; it
+is possible, however, that the tzar's measures may have been prompted,
+in a great degree, by the fears with which he regards an aristocracy
+still possessing more than 20,000,000 of slaves.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+      CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE; GOVERNMENTS--CONSEQUENCES OF
+      CENTRALISATION; DISSIMULATION OF PUBLIC FUNCTIONARIES--
+      TRIBUNALS--THE COLONEL OF THE GENDARMERIE--CORRUPTION--
+      PEDANTRY OF FORMS--CONTEMPT OF THE DECREES OF THE EMPEROR
+      AND THE SENATE--SINGULAR ANECDOTE; INTERPRETATION OF A WILL
+      --RADICAL EVILS IN THE JUDICIAL ORGANISATION--HISTORY AND
+      PRESENT STATE OF RUSSIAN LAW.
+
+
+The existing division of the Russian empire into fifty-six governments
+dates from the reign of the Emperor Paul. A nearly similar organisation
+existed indeed in the time of Catherine II., but the functions of the
+governors had a much wider range at that period than in our days, and
+those administrators, called by the empress her stewards, enjoyed nearly
+sovereign power.
+
+The Russian governments correspond to the French departments, the
+districts to sub-prefectures; each government has its chief town, which
+is the seat of the different civil and military administrations.
+
+The governor, who has the exclusive charge of the civil administration,
+nominates to various secondary places, is the head of the college of
+_prévoyance_, and ex-officio inspector of the schools, can demand an
+account of their proceedings of all the provincial authorities except
+the high court, and determines administrative questions with the aid of
+a council of regency composed of two councillors and a secretary,
+nominated by the emperor.
+
+At first sight the governor's power seems unlimited; and indeed he has
+all the authority requisite to do mischief, but very little to do good.
+In Russia the most laudable intentions and the most brilliant
+capabilities are completely paralysed, and the chief administrators
+must, whether they will or not, undergo the disastrous consequences of
+the venality and corruption of their subordinates. Distrust and
+suspicion have been made the essential basis of the organisation of the
+bureaucracy. By surrounding the high functionaries with a multitude of
+_employés_, and subjecting them to countless formalities, it was thought
+the abuses of power would be hindered; and all that is come of it is the
+creation of an odious class, who use the weapons put into their hands to
+cheat the government, rob individuals, and prevent honest men from
+labouring for the prosperity of their country. The governors have not
+even the right of inquest in judicial questions, and the judges may, by
+entrenching themselves behind the text of the rules, pronounce the most
+iniquitous sentences with impunity. I have known some true-hearted and
+generous administrators, but all after struggling for long years to
+arrive at some sage reforms, at last gave up their efforts in despair,
+and most of them fell into disgrace through the multiplied intrigues of
+their subordinates. In each chief town it is the secretary, the head of
+the chancery, who is the real wielder of the power of government. He
+alone is regarded as knowing the text of the Russian laws; so that, in
+order to oppose any measure of the governor's, he has but to cite a few
+phrases, more or less obscure, from the code of regulations, and it very
+rarely happens that his principal ventures, without his approbation, to
+take on himself the responsibility of any administrative act. There have
+been instances in which governors, disregarding bureaucratic
+formalities, and acting for themselves, have impeded the execution of a
+decree of the tribunals; but they have never failed to expiate their
+audacity by dismissal, unless they were supported by a high social
+position and potent protectors.
+
+Furthermore, the representatives of government are so cramped in their
+powers, that a governor-general, who often rules over several millions
+of men, cannot dispose of 200_l._ without the sanction of the ministry.
+
+Centralisation, no doubt, has its advantages; but in a country so vast,
+and of such varied wants as Russia, it is impossible that a minister, be
+his talents what they may, can ever satisfy the reasonable demands of
+all parts of the empire. The consequence is that the most useful
+projects are almost always neglected or rejected in the provinces remote
+from the capital.
+
+Another evil, not less deplorable, is the necessity of practising mutual
+deception, under which the public functionaries labour. A public servant
+never thinks of making known to his superior the real situation of the
+country he governs: either he ridiculously exaggerates the good, or he
+is absolutely silent as to what is bad. In the latter case, he acts only
+in accordance with the imperative dictates of prudence, for if he
+declared the truth he would infallibly incur disgrace, and would even
+run the risk of being dismissed. So whenever a public calamity happens,
+it is only at the last extremity, and when the mischief is become
+irremediable, that he makes up his mind to call for an aid that usually
+comes not at all, or else is sure to come too late.
+
+This profound dissimulation, joined with the jealousy which the
+distinctions of rank excite among the _employés_, does incalculable
+damage to the empire by impeding every useful reform. However, of all
+the sovereigns of the empire, the Tzar Nicholas is, perhaps, the one to
+whom truth and plain dealing are most welcome, and with whom
+well-grounded censure finds most acceptance. Unfortunately, since
+Potemkin's mystifications, falsehood has become a normal thing with the
+Russian _employés_, and the basis of all their proceedings, and hitherto
+the imperial will has been incapable of eradicating this fatal evil.
+
+The superior court of justice sitting in the chief place of each
+government, and comprising a civil and a criminal section, consists of
+two presidents, two councillors, two secretaries, and eight assessors,
+four of whom are burghers. The emperor endeavoured in 1835 to extend the
+rights of the nobility, by making the offices of president and judge in
+these tribunals elective, but this change appears to have produced but
+very unfavourable results. As all the great proprietors had very little
+inclination to fill such offices, the electors had no opportunity of
+making a good choice, and at last it was found necessary to return to
+the old institutions.
+
+The superior court of justice decides finally in all civil cases, in
+which the sum in dispute does not exceed 500 rubles. Over it are the
+various departments of the senate and the general assembly, resident
+partly in St. Petersburg, and partly in Moscow, and constituting two
+courts to which appeals lie from the governmental courts. There is no
+appeal from the decisions of the general assembly of the senate, or from
+those of the council of the empire approved by the emperor, except on
+the ground of misrepresentations in the evidence.
+
+In the district courts (corresponding to the French _tribunaux de
+première instance_) there are also two sections, civil and criminal,
+consisting each of a president, a secretary, having under him several
+_employés_ who constitute the chancery, and four assessors, two of whom
+are chosen from among the inhabitants of the rural district. These
+latter sit only in cases where peasants are concerned.
+
+There is likewise in each governmental chief town, and in each district
+town, an inferior court, specially charged with the affairs of the rural
+police, the taking of informations in criminal affairs, summary
+jurisdiction as to minor offences, and the execution of sentences. This
+court consists of a president, called _ispravnik_, and four assessors,
+two of them nobles, two peasants. These judges, who are all elected by
+the nobles, are assisted by a secretary, the only _employé_ directly
+dependent on the government.
+
+The chief towns and the district towns have also a sort of municipal
+council, consisting of a mayor (_golova_), and four assistants, elected
+by the municipality, and afterwards approved of by the government. This
+council acts also as a tribunal, and takes cognizance of all the petty
+cases of litigation that may arise among the townsfolk. A nearly similar
+institution exists among the peasants of the empire.
+
+We will not speak of the colleges of wards, the committees of the nobles
+presided over by the marshals of the nobles, the courts of conscience
+which try cases between parents and children, &c. The members of all
+these institutions are elected, but their functions are too
+insignificant to demand mention here.
+
+One of the most influential personages in each government, is the
+colonel of the gendarmerie, who is completely independent of the
+governor. He is the head of the secret police, corresponds directly with
+the minister, and has it in his power, if he is an honest man, to do
+much good by the rigorous control he can exercise over all the
+_employés_ of a province.
+
+This justiciary scheme is in itself very liberal, and ought, one would
+suppose, to satisfy the wants of the population; but like the governors,
+the judges of the different tribunals are in fact but puppets, moved at
+the discretion of the subordinate clerks, who alone are masters of the
+tricks and quibbles of Russian jurisprudence, and legal practice. The
+lowest clerk in a chancery has often more influence than the president
+himself, and the suitor who refuses to be squeezed by him may be quite
+certain that he will never see the termination of his cause. It is
+impossible to imagine with what adroitness all these fellows, many of
+whom receive for salary only sixty or a hundred rubles a year, manage to
+sweat the purses of those who require their assistance. Justice is
+continually violated in favour of the highest bidder, and thanks to the
+number of contradictory ukases which pass for laws, the most audacious
+robberies are unblushingly committed without the possibility of redress.
+It may be asserted with truth, that the jurisdictional authority in
+Russia resides in the offices of court rather than in the persons of the
+judges. The secretary is the omnipotent arbiter of sentences, and
+dictates them under the influence of money and the bureaucracy.
+
+Nothing can give an idea of the arts of knavery and chicane put in
+practice to fleece the unfortunates who have to do with the underlings
+of justice. The rigorous stickling for forms, and the multitude of
+papers, are a curse to the country; no business is done by word of mouth
+in Russia.[12] All law proceedings are carried on in writing; the
+slightest question and the most trivial explanation must be put down on
+stamped paper according to the appointed forms. Hence it may be
+conceived that with the horrible spirit of chicanery that characterises
+the _employés_, and the readiness with which they can find a flaw (a
+_krutchuk_ as they call it), in every paper, legal proceedings are spun
+out to an indefinite length, and scarcely end until both parties are
+ruined, or until the one prevails over the other by dint of money and
+corruption. I have often known a document to be sent back from St.
+Petersburg after a lapse of six months, merely because this or that
+phrase was not written according to rule. The government of Bessarabia
+alone paid 63,000_l._ for stamps, in the course of four years, and the
+population of that province does not exceed 500,000. The want of
+publicity, moreover, has the most pernicious influence on the
+administration of justice. All judgments are made up in secret; there
+are no open pleadings; law processes consist from first to last in piles
+of paper, which enrich the judges and their subordinates, but in no-wise
+affect their opinions, which are always based on the most advantageous
+offers.
+
+This woful state of things is further aggravated by the fact that the
+judges are secure from all responsibility; in whatever manner they
+decide a cause, they always do so in accordance with the laws, provided
+they observe the due forms; but what is really incredible, is the
+impudence with which the lowest tribunal of a district town presumes to
+annul both the decrees of the emperor and those of the general assembly
+of the senate. I will mention in illustration a certain suit brought
+against the heirs of a rich landowner in Podolia, who was deeply
+indebted at his death to the imperial bank of St. Petersburg and to
+several foreign bankers. These latter having become creditors before the
+bank, naturally claimed to be paid in the first instance. The
+consequence was a suit, which had been going on for twelve years when I
+arrived in Russia. The foreigners were defeated in the district court,
+but they gained their cause successively in the governmental court and
+the general assembly of the senate, and finally they obtained a decree
+in their favour from the emperor himself; but the district tribunal,
+under pretext that certain regulations had been violated, took upon
+itself to annul all the decisions of the senate, and to make the whole
+suit be begun over again.
+
+It sometimes happens, however, that the imperial will is declared in so
+positive a manner, that all the tricks and subterfuges of judges and
+secretaries must give way to it. Here is an anecdote that conveys a
+perfect notion of what law means in Russia. In Alexander's reign the
+Jesuits had made themselves all-powerful in some parts of Poland. A rich
+landowner and possessor of 6000 peasants at Poltzk, the Jesuit
+head-quarters, was so wrought on by the artful assiduities of the
+society that he bequeathed his whole fortune to it at his death, with
+this stipulation, that the Jesuits should bring up his only son, and
+afterwards give him whatever portion of the inheritance _they should
+choose_. When the young man had reached the age of twenty, the Jesuits
+bestowed on him 300 peasants. He protested vehemently against their
+usurpation, and began a suit against the society; but his father's will
+seemed clear and explicit, and after having consumed all his little
+fortune, he found his claims disowned by every tribunal in the empire,
+including even the general assembly of the senate. In this seemingly
+hopeless extremity he applied to a certain attorney in St. Petersburg,
+famous for his inexhaustible fertility of mind in matters of cunning and
+chicanery. After having perused the will and the documents connected
+with the suit, the lawyer said to his client, "Your business is done; if
+you will promise me 10,000 rubles I will undertake to procure an
+imperial ukase reinstating you in possession of all your father's
+property." The young man readily agreed to the bargain, and in eight
+days afterwards he was master of his patrimony. The decision which led
+to this singular result rested solely on the interpretation of the
+phrase _they shall give him whatever portion they shall choose_, which
+plainly meant, as the lawyer maintained, that the young man was entitled
+exclusively to such portion as the Jesuits _chose_, _i. e._, to that
+which they chose and retained for themselves. The emperor admitted this
+curious explanation; the son became proprietor of 5700 peasants, and the
+Jesuits were obliged to content themselves with the 300 they had
+bestowed on their ward in the first instance. Assuredly the most adroit
+cadi in Turkey could not have decided the case better.
+
+We have already seen that litigants can appeal to the governmental
+court, and again to the general assembly of the senate, in all suits for
+more than five hundred rubles. This privilege instead of being
+advantageous, appears to us to be highly the reverse. In France, where
+distances are short, and where justice is administered with a
+promptitude and impartiality elsewhere unexampled, the appeal to the
+court of cassation affords the most precious guarantee for the equitable
+application of the laws. Besides this, it only gives occasions to a
+revision of the documents in the case, and to a new trial before another
+tribunal if there have been any error of form; but in Russia, where
+distances are immense, and where all things conspire to render suits
+interminable, litigants from the provinces can only ruin themselves by
+using their right of recourse to the tribunals of St. Petersburg. I have
+known landowners who spent twenty years of their lives in prosecuting a
+suit in the capital, and who died without having obtained judgment. It
+must be acknowledged, however, that appeals to St. Petersburg are
+justified to a certain extent by the deplorable nature of governmental
+justice.
+
+The last radical vice we have to mention has its origin in the nobiliary
+system of Peter the Great, in inadequate salaries and the want of a
+special body of magistrates. We have seen the necessity entailed on all
+freemen of entering the service of the state and acquiring a more or
+less elevated rank, the consequence is, that all the public departments
+are overburdened with _employés_; and as most of them have no patrimony
+and are very scantily paid, sometimes not paid at all, they are of
+course driven to dishonest shifts for their livelihood. Even the heads
+of departments are not sufficiently remunerated to be safe from the many
+temptations that beset them. The government has indeed augmented their
+salaries at various times, but never in a sufficient degree to produce
+any desirable reform in their conduct. The office of judge, too, is not
+regarded with sufficient respect and consideration to make it an object
+of ambition to the high nobility; it is filled in all instances by the
+lowest privileged class in the empire, or bestowed as a recompense on
+retired military men. This will no doubt appear extraordinary; but it
+must be remembered that there exists as yet in Russia no distinct corps
+of magistrates, nor any official class of lawyers; the members of the
+several tribunals, whether elected by the nobles, or nominated by the
+emperor, are by no means expected to be acquainted with jurisprudence
+and the laws, and if any among them have studied law in the universities
+this is a mere accident. Those of them who are honest, judge according
+to their conscience and their common sense; the others give their voices
+for those who have bought them.
+
+It is the same with the senate, the supreme judicial court in the
+empire. It consists only of military veterans, and superannuated
+servants of the state; in a word, of men who know nothing whatever of
+law. Hence it is easy to conceive the unlimited power exercised in all
+these courts by the government secretaries, who, when they know by heart
+the some thousands of ukases that form what is called the imperial code,
+pass for eminent lawyers in the eyes of the Russians.
+
+The same evil affects, to an equal degree, all the administrative
+departments. In Russia, no calling or profession has its limits strictly
+defined; a man passes indifferently from one service to another. A
+cavalry officer, for instance, will be nominated as director of a high
+school, an old colonel as head of a custom-house, and so forth.
+
+In addition to the laws which are peculiar to it, Russian legislation
+evidently comprises two foreign elements, the German and the Roman.
+Germanic law was introduced into Russia by the Varengians, a branch of
+the Northman stock. To the leaders of those warriors the country owes
+the origin of its feudal system. Subsequently, when the Russians were
+converted to Christianity, Vladimir adopted certain parts of the Roman
+law as modified by the Byzantines. But if we may judge from the
+documents furnished by the Nestorian chronicle, it would appear, that
+previously to that epoch, the Russians had already borrowed some
+particulars from the Roman code, and blended them with their customary
+law of indigenous and German origin.
+
+The first written code mentioned in Russian history, is that of
+Jaroslav, who reigned in the beginning of the thirteenth century; from
+that period the country remained quite stationary, in consequence of the
+continual wars and troubles occasioned by its territorial division; and
+more than a century of suffering and anarchy prepared the nation to
+submit without resistance to a foreign yoke.
+
+It was in 1218 that the Tatars crossed the Volga and seized the
+dominions of the tzars; and whilst Europe, under the energetic influence
+of the crusades and of the lights of the Lower Empire, was sapping the
+edifice of feudalism, and labouring towards its future glorious
+emancipation, Russia remained for more than 300 years in ignominious
+thraldom, taking no part in the great intellectual movement of the
+fifteenth century, retrograding rather than advancing, debasing its
+national character day by day, and thus heaping up against the progress
+of civilisation, obstacles which the genius of its modern sovereigns has
+not yet been able to annihilate.
+
+In the ever memorable reign of Ivan III. the Tatars were expelled from
+the greater part of Russia, the dissensions caused by the parcelling out
+of the empire were extinguished, the several principalities were united
+into a single body, and legislative labours were resumed after four
+hundred years of inaction.
+
+Ivan III. had a collection made of all the old judicial constitutions,
+and published, with the assistance of the metropolitan Jerome, a
+collection of laws, which is not without merit, considering the period
+when it was made. But this code allowed wager of battle; and murder,
+arson, and highway robbery, continued to be judged in the lists.
+
+About 1550, Ivan IV. surnamed the Terrible, completed the code of laws
+promulgated by his grandfather, Ivan III. and put a check upon the
+territorial aggrandisements of the clergy. The new code, known by the
+name of _Sudebnick_, remained in force almost without any change, until
+the accession of the tzar Alexis Michaelovitz (father of Peter the
+Great), who, having collected the laws of the several provinces of the
+empire, published them in 1649, under the title of _Ulogeniè_. This
+collection, the first printed in Russia, was begun and completed within
+the space of two months and a half; but notwithstanding its
+imperfection, it has nevertheless, served as the foundation on which all
+subsequent improvements have been based.
+
+Since the reign of Peter the Great, ten commissions have been
+successively employed in the codification of the Russian laws. We will
+not enter into the details of the changes introduced by them: on this
+subject, the work published by M. Victor Foucher, and the "Coup d'oeil
+sur la législation Russe," by M. Tolstoi, may be consulted with
+advantage. The tenth commission was appointed in 1804, and sat until
+1826. It applied itself earnestly to the construction of the civil,
+penal, and criminal codes; but numerous difficulties prevented it from
+completing its task.
+
+On his accession to the throne, the Emperor Nicholas promised at first a
+new code which should correct and complete its predecessors. But the
+difficulties were too great, and he ended by adopting a digest, which
+merely classified according to their subjects all the existing laws
+promulgated since the general regulation of 1649, effected by Alexis
+Michaelovitz. In 1826, he laid down the following rules for this
+revision.
+
+1. Enactments fallen into desuetude to be excluded.
+
+2. All repetitions to be suppressed, by choosing among statutes to the
+same effect that one which is most complete.
+
+3. The spirit of the law to be preserved by expressing in a single rule
+the substance of all those that treat of the same matter.
+
+4. The acts from which each law is drawn are to be exactly set forth.
+
+5. Between two contradictory laws, the preference to be given to the
+more recent.
+
+The design of the Emperor Nicholas was speedily carried into effect. The
+complete collection of the laws of the empire was published in 1830; and
+on the 31st of January, the tzar announced in a manifesto that the
+classification of the law as a systematic body was terminated. The
+matter was then spoken of in the Russian journals in 1830:
+
+"The second section of the private chancery of his majesty the emperor
+has just finished printing the first collection of the laws of the
+Russian empire from 1649 to December 12, 1825 in forty-five volumes,
+4to.
+
+"This collection consists of four principal parts: 1, the text of the
+laws from the general regulation of 1649 to the first manifesto of the
+Emperor Nicholas (December 12, 1825), in forty volumes. This part
+comprises 30,920 laws, rules, treaties, and acts of various kinds; 2, a
+general index containing a chronological table, which is in some sort a
+juridical dictionary for Russia; 3, a book of the appointments of civil
+functionaries and of the administrative expenditure and the tariffs from
+1711 to 1825, to the number of 1351; 4, a book of the plans and designs
+pertaining to the several laws.
+
+"The laws and acts belonging to the reign of his majesty the Emperor
+Nicholas, will form the second collection beginning on the 12th of
+December, 1825. The printing is already begun, and it will appear in the
+course of the year. A supplement to it will afterwards be published
+every year.
+
+"The laws anterior to the year of 1649, which are generally considered
+as obsolete, but which are nevertheless of high importance as regards,
+history, will form a separate collection under the name of the ancient
+laws.
+
+"This first collection was begun in 1826, and finished on the 1st of
+March, 1830. The printing began on the 21st of May, 1828, and ended on
+the 1st of April last, at the press of the second section of his
+majesty's chancery. For the composition of this collection, it has been
+necessary to collate and extract from 3396 books of laws. The forty
+volumes of the text, and the volume of the chronological index, contain
+5284 printed sheets.
+
+"This book will be ready for sale on the 1st of June at the
+printing-office. The price of the forty-five volumes is 500 paper
+rubles.
+
+"By a rescript of the 5th of April last, addressed to the
+privy-councillor Dashkof, adjunct of the minister of justice and
+director of that ministry, his majesty the emperor notifies to him the
+order he has given to furnish copies of the collection to all the
+departments of the senate, and to all the tribunals and administrations
+of the government, and directs him to concert with the ministers of
+finance and of the interior for the prompt delivery of these books in
+all the governments, so that they may be kept and employed in due
+manner."
+
+Thus the code of the Emperor Nicholas is, in fact, but a systematic
+collection of all the laws promulgated within the last 200 years, or
+thereabouts. It contains not one new idea, not one modification required
+by the actual situation of the empire, not one thought for the future.
+Now if we reflect that the study of 3396 books of laws, and the revision
+of 50,000 laws or ukases, have taken place within the short period of
+two years, and that the men who had to perform this task, were far from
+being jurisconsults, we shall perceive that such a work must be very
+imperfect, and that it must have been totally impossible to fulfil the
+intentions of the tzar, as expressed in the instructions above cited.
+The empire, indeed, possesses fifty-five bulky volumes of laws, but the
+inconveniences resulting from the multiplicity of contradictory ukases,
+and from others ill adapted to the necessities of the country, have been
+retained in them to a great extent; and the experience of thirteen years
+has shown the insufficiency of this collection, and its little influence
+on the course and conduct of lawsuits. Another defective point in this
+improvisated legislation, is its pretension to satisfy the requirements
+of the future by admitting, as a complement to the body of the statutes,
+all the ukases issued, or to be issued by the emperor. If to these
+30,920 laws already existing, this palladium of justice already so
+formidable, there be added every year a supplementary volume equal in
+capacity to the average legislative contributions of the last 180 years,
+every year will then supply its battalion of 172 new laws; and I am at a
+loss to conceive where there will be found by-and-by a lawyer
+sufficiently patient to study this new levy of justice, when with all
+the good will imaginable the most indefatigable reader can hardly once
+in his life pass in review the body of the veterans.
+
+In the space of five years since the emperor's manifesto (January 31,
+1833), five new volumes have been already added to the collection.
+
+Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the emperor's performance is
+extremely meritorious. To him belongs the honour of having been the
+first to bestow a regular body of laws on his country. Before his time
+Russia had but a confused and fluctuating legislation, encumbered with
+an infinity of statutes, the study of which was the more difficult, as
+no printed collection of them existed. At present it possesses at least
+a complete digest, within reach of all, and which all may consult and
+appeal to. Surely a man of the emperor's perseverance and great capacity
+would not have shrunk from accomplishing a more perfect work, could he
+have indulged the hope of being seconded by abler and better instructed
+jurisconsults. But he was compelled of necessity to take the
+consequences of the want of any thing like a corps of magistrature, and
+finding he could not do any thing better, he resolved to make no change
+in the spirit of the laws promulgated during the preceding 200 years,
+and to follow exactly the course marked out in 1700 by Peter the Great.
+In this way the codification of the laws became a mere effort of
+compilation and arrangement, and setting aside the collation of the
+ukases, the clerks of the second section of the imperial chancery were
+quite competent to the task.
+
+It will not be altogether uninteresting to place here a detailed table
+of the population in a governmental chief town. An examination of such
+documents may lead to very curious comparisons and reflections. The town
+we have chosen is Kichinev, the capital of Bessarabia, and the figures
+we give have been extracted directly from the books of the provincial
+governor's chancery.
+
+                                                  |   Men. | Women.
+                                                  |        |
+  Monks                                           |    16  |
+  Priests                                         |    89  |    126
+  Servants                                        |   114  |     59
+  Military officers[A] in active service          |   139  |     53
+  Superior officers in the civil service, ditto   |   339  |    236
+  Officers of the fourteenth class, ditto         |   419  |    163
+                                                  |        |
+         _Military officers on leave._            |        |
+  Generals                                        |     1  |      1
+  Staff-officers of every grade                   |    42  |     31
+                                                  |        |
+            _Civil officers on leave._            |        |
+  Generals                                        |     2  |      2
+  Superior officers and others                    |   107  |    104
+
+                  ~~~~~~~~~~
+                                                  |        |
+  Persons employed in the theatre                 |    15  |      9
+  First guild merchants                           |     6  |     10
+  Second ditto                                    |    35  |     31
+  Third ditto                                     |   736  |    623
+  Foreigners                                      |    194 |    144
+  Burghers                                        | 18,092 | 15,973
+  Government employés of all kinds                |  2,121 |    237
+  Young people reared at the expense of the crown |     32 |
+  Soldiers on furlough                            |     31 |     12
+  Workpeople                                      |    415 |    511
+  Gipsy slaves                                    |     54 |     63
+  German colonists                                |     37 |     24
+  Pupils of all kinds                             |    996 |     17
+                                                  |--------|--------
+                                 Total            | 24,032 | 18,429
+
+  [A: Neither the officers nor the soldiers of the garrison are included
+  in this list.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[12] The official correspondence of the ministers, and of the civil and
+military authorities, amounts annually to nearly 15,000,000 of letters,
+whilst that of all private Russians does not exceed 7,000,000.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+      PUBLIC INSTRUCTION--CORPS OF CADETS--UNIVERSITIES AND
+      ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS; ANECDOTE--PLAN OF EDUCATION--MOTIVES FOR
+      ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITIES--STATISTICS--PROFESSORS; THEIR
+      IGNORANCE--EXCLUSION OF FOREIGN PROFESSORS--ENGINEERING--
+      OBSTACLES TO INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT--CHARACTERISTICS OF
+      THE SCLAVONIC RACE.
+
+
+In contemplating the development and organisation of public instruction
+in Russia from the time of Peter the Great to these days, one cannot
+help thinking that the Russians attach infinitely more value to the
+appearance of progress, than to its real existence. One would say they
+care very little about scientific and intellectual results, provided
+their universities and schools be complete in all physical details, and
+provided they have numerous educational halls graced with the names of
+all the sciences professed in Europe.
+
+Nevertheless, the sovereigns of Russia have all laboured more or less
+actively for the propagation of public instruction. Unfortunately they
+would never suffer themselves to admit that civilisation is a long and
+difficult work; and incapable of forgetting, even amidst the liberal
+ideas on which they based their projects, that they were before all
+things absolute princes, they fancied they could civilise their nation
+as they had disciplined their soldiers; and then, swayed by vanity and
+self-conceit, they graciously suffered themselves to be deceived by all
+the brilliant reports laid before them by the administrative
+departments.
+
+It was in the reign of Feodor Alexievitz that the first academy was
+founded in Moscow. The Sclavonic, Greek, and Latin languages were taught
+there. A university was afterwards established in the same city, and in
+the reign of Catherine II. St. Petersburg possessed an academy of
+sciences and the fine arts, and a society of rural economy. But even at
+that period the spirit of ostentation, which forms the substratum of the
+Russian character, already revealed itself; and while forming those
+grand institutions, not a thought had been given to the opening of a
+single elementary school in either capital. Some writers indeed allege
+that Peter I. left behind him, at his death, fifty-one schools for the
+people, and fifty-six for the military; but I have always been disposed
+to think that those establishments existed but in name, and my
+researches have but confirmed that opinion.
+
+The first elementary institution of any importance founded in the new
+capital, dates only from the beginning of the eighteenth century: it is
+the school of the cadet corps, exclusively reserved for the young
+nobility, and intended to form officers for the land and sea service,
+and for the engineers. In order to judge of the instruction afforded in
+it, one ought to be able at least to mention some of its pupils who have
+been distinguished for their talents, and who have acquired a certain
+degree of celebrity; but it is as difficult to name any such, as to
+discover men of learning and science among the members of the various
+academies mentioned above. Be this as it may, we cannot help
+entertaining a very mean opinion of the spirit and organisation of all
+these establishments founded by Peter the Great, and by the sovereigns
+who succeeded him during the latter part of the eighteenth century.
+
+The first institution in favour of the people was created in St.
+Petersburg in 1764: it was an educational establishment for the
+daughters of burghers and gentlemen of scanty fortune. It was founded by
+Catherine II., who in taking measures by preference for the education of
+women, seems to have intended to prepare them for usurping in their
+domestic circle the same absolute sway which she was herself about to
+exercise over the whole empire.
+
+Elementary schools were not actually opened to the public until 1783,
+and that only in some of the great towns of the empire. As all these
+ill-contrived early institutions possess little interest, I will pass on
+to the consideration of the present state of public instruction. The
+existing system dates from Alexander's reign. The course adopted in the
+beginning was on all points similar to that pursued by Peter the Great
+and Catherine II. The first thing thought of was the establishment of
+universities; those of Dorpat and Vilna were re-established; that of
+Moscow was reformed, and new ones were founded in Kasan and Kharkof. As
+for elementary schools, they were completely overlooked. The following
+anecdote will give an idea of the primitive state of the great colleges
+of the empire.
+
+A German gentleman in the Russian service travelled in the Crimea, in
+1803. On passing through Kharkof, curiosity induced him to visit the
+university, which had been opened in the town about a year before. While
+looking over the cabinet of natural philosophy, he perceived with
+amazement that the professor of that branch of science did not even know
+the names of the few instruments at his command. Unable to conceal his
+surprise, he asked his guide where he had been professor before he
+became attached to the university. "I never was a professor before," was
+the reply. "Where did you study?" "I learned to read and write in
+Moscow." "How did you obtain the rank of professor of natural
+philosophy?" "I was an officer of police; my age no longer allowed me to
+support the fatigues of my duty; so hearing that a place which would
+suit me better was vacant in the academy, I applied for it. Thirty
+years' service, good certificates, and the influence of a patron,
+enabled me to obtain it." "And what are the duties belonging to your
+place?" "I have to inspect the instruments, and keep them in order, and
+I am directed to show them to such persons of distinction as may please
+to visit the university."
+
+This happened, it is true, in 1803, and I only mention the fact to show
+the spirit that prevailed in the establishment of these learned
+institutions. The university of Kharkof is now in a better condition,
+and I know many professors there of real merit, distinguished among whom
+are Doctor Vancetti, equally remarkable for his acquirements and his
+philanthropy, and Professor Kalenitchikov, who devotes himself with
+success to all branches of natural history.
+
+At last, however, it was felt that universities were insufficient, and
+could not exist without elementary schools. Some years after the
+accession of Alexander, gymnasiums were therefore established in all the
+governmental chief towns; and the district towns had their primary
+institutions, in which were to be taught reading and writing, the
+elements of grammar and arithmetic, the history of Russia, sacred
+history, geography, geometry, and the rudiments of Latin.
+
+The course of instruction in the gymnasia was more extensive, and
+embraced special mathematics, logic, rhetoric, and physics. Lastly, the
+pupil was advanced to the university, where he went through a complete
+course of study, comprising the sciences, the liberal arts, literature.
+
+At first sight it would appear that this well conceived plan of studies
+ought to have had the most satisfactory results; but this was not
+altogether the case. The nobiliary system of the empire, and certain
+regulations of detail and discipline combined to destroy the reasonable
+hopes founded on such liberal institutions.
+
+The Russian universities unquestionably number among their professors
+some distinguished men, equally devoted to science and to the duties of
+their calling; but the social ideas prevalent in the country render
+their efforts almost always unavailing, and they find themselves
+compelled to restrict their course of instruction within the narrow
+routine prescribed to them.
+
+Now and always the universities and gymnasia are and have been for the
+most part attended only by pupils of the class of petty nobles, or of
+those of the priests and burghers. As for the sons of the aristocratic
+families, they are generally educated at home by private tutors, and as
+they are almost all intended for the army, they enter at once into the
+corps of cadets established in St. Petersburg.
+
+According to a table published by the ministry of the interior, all the
+first class establishments for public instruction, that is to say the
+universities, the two medico-chirurgical academies, the pedagogic
+institute and the three lycea, contained in 1840 only 612 functionaries
+and professors, and 3809 pupils, the numbers being thus made up:
+
+                                         | Functionaries |
+                                         | and Teachers. | Students.
+                                         |               |
+  St. Petersburg                         |      59       |    433
+  Moscow                                 |      82       |    932
+  Dorpat                                 |      66       |    530
+  Kharkof                                |      79       |    468
+  Kasan                                  |      74       |    237
+  St. Vladimir (Kiev)                    |      55       |    140
+  Richelieu Lyceum (Odessa)              |      25       |     52
+  Demidof ditto                          |      20       |     33
+  Bezborodko ditto                       |      15       |     19
+  Medico-chirurgical academies of        |               |
+    Moscow and Vilna                     |      94       |    797
+  Pedagogic institute of St. Petersburg  |      43       |     68
+
+According to the same report the Russian empire possessed at the close
+of the year 1840, 3230 establishments under the superior direction of
+the ministry of public instruction, and containing 103,450 pupils.
+
+The young men who attend the university courses, have all but one single
+object in view, that of acquiring a grade of nobility; and the
+examinations are too slight to make industry and proficiency in their
+studies really requisite to the attainment of their purpose. Besides,
+they are most of them educated at the cost of the government, and as the
+latter does not like to lose its money, they must all enter the imperial
+service, whether well taught or not. In this manner are formed all the
+physicians, surgeons, and subordinate professors of gymnasia.
+
+As for the civil departments the sole condition required for admission
+into them, is the knowledge of writing and arithmetic; accordingly the
+common class Russian thinks he has completed his education when he can
+read, write, and cypher; and he is indeed sufficiently erudite to get a
+footing in some chancery office, a common clerkship in which admits him
+to the first grade as a civil officer, and from thence he may arrive at
+the highest rank in the service.
+
+Many young men on leaving the universities, are of course employed in
+the public offices; but then, whatever talents they may possess, and
+whatever fruit they may have gathered from their studies become utterly
+useless to them. From the moment they enter any office whatever, they
+perceive with astonishment that they know nothing of what it is
+essential they should know. They have stepped into a new world of which
+they do not even know the language. They hear nothing talked of around
+them but forms, rules, tricks for evading the laws and ordinances,
+artifices for giving a legal colouring to abuses and extortions, and all
+sorts of inventions for squeezing money out of those who have the
+misfortune to need the help of the _employés_.
+
+They soon see that the greatest adepts in those frauds which are
+conveniently styled office usages, the least scrupulous, or, in plain
+terms, the greatest rogues, are considered clever fellows, and make
+their way rapidly; whilst those who still retain some sense of honesty
+and a lingering respect for the principles of morality, are laughed at
+as fools. What then does the novice, who has perhaps carried off the
+prize of eloquence at the university? Finding himself obliged to defer
+to the lowest pupil of an elementary school, who has already gained some
+knowledge of office practice, he tries to forget all he has learned, and
+applies himself to a new course of study. His conscientious scruples are
+soon silenced; prompted by emulation he gradually becomes as
+accomplished as his mates, and by dint of this second education the
+clever fellow at last quite effaces the honest man.
+
+It is also from the universities that the young men are taken who are
+designed for the business of public instruction; and as we have already
+stated, they are for the most part educated at the expense of the state.
+When their studies are completed they are appointed professors in the
+gymnasia and other schools. The government has neglected no means of
+making their calling as advantageous as possible, both as to salary and
+honorary advancement. These encouragements would have the happiest
+effect anywhere else than in Russia, but there they have quite the
+contrary result. It follows from the existing system of nobility with
+its graduated scale, the privileges it confers, and the means of fortune
+its offers, that a man's whole status in life resolves itself into a
+question of official rank. Now, as no calling presents a greater chance
+of rapid advancement than that of the public instructor, in which
+capacity a young man rarely fails to obtain the rank of major
+(hereditary nobility) after five or six years' service, the consequence
+is that all the sons of the petty nobles, burghers, and priests, eagerly
+rush into this thriving profession. This, however, is not the real
+mischief; on the contrary, the great number of competitors might produce
+a very salutary rivalry; but unfortunately the little power and
+influence exercised by the professors, who after all, can only command
+boys, and still more than this, their want of opportunity to enrich
+themselves under cover of their office, strip the business of public
+instruction of all prestige, and cause it to be considered,
+notwithstanding its high pay, as much less advantageous than many other
+posts the fixed salary of which is almost nothing, but which enable the
+holders to levy almost unlimited contributions on those who come under
+their hands. What follows? As soon as the professors have obtained the
+rank of major, they quit the universities and enter the civil
+administrations, where they can fatten on law suits, chicanery, and
+exactions, and all the countless means by which the law enables them to
+make fraudulent fortunes. And here we may remark that this state of
+things is another consequence of the want of definite callings and
+professions in Russia. The career of official rank is the only one known
+to the Russian; for him there exists none other.
+
+We must not wonder, therefore, if the instruction given in the
+elementary schools, and the gymnasia is incomplete and almost barren of
+good effect. The teachers are almost always mere boys without experience
+or sound knowledge. They content themselves with going through their
+routine of business according to the letter of the rules, and the
+military discipline imposed on them; but once escaped from their
+classes, they think of nothing but enjoying themselves, eating,
+drinking, and playing cards. I have visited many gymnasia in Russia, and
+I have always seen in them the same effects flowing from the same
+causes.
+
+Besides the great universities and high schools, all the leading towns
+of the empire formerly contained numerous boarding schools, most of them
+kept by strangers; but these were suppressed by ukase in the year 1842.
+The means of instruction are at present confined to the imperial
+establishments, from which all foreigners not naturalised in Russia are
+excluded. These new regulations dictated by false vanity, will
+infallibly have a disastrous influence, and render the progress of
+education more and more difficult.
+
+There still exist in Russia several establishments for the education of
+officers and civil and military engineers. The Institute of Ways and
+Communications was established in the reign of Alexander, under the
+superintendence of four pupils of the Ecole Polytechnique of France, MM.
+Potier, Fabre, Destrême, and Bazain, who entered the service of Russia,
+at the request to that effect preferred by the tzar to Napoleon. This
+school (which I have not visited) might have rendered great service to
+the empire, had the government been discreet enough to leave it its
+foreign professors, and not subject it to the absurd interference of the
+Russian military drill. Very few able men have issued from this
+institution, and the profound ignorance I have seen exhibited in all the
+great works executed at a distance from the capital, attests the decay
+of a school which at first promised so fairly. Again, it must be owned,
+that from the time when engineers enter on active service, they have no
+leisure to complete their studies; as soon as they receive an
+appointment, their whole time is taken up with reports, accounts,
+writings without end, and all the countless formalities devised by the
+quibbling and captious spirit of the Russians. I have known several
+engineers at the head of important works; they had not a moment to
+themselves, their whole day being spent in writing and signing heaps of
+paper. The same observations apply to the military, for whom secondary
+manoeuvres and minute costume observances form a never relaxing and
+stultifying slavery. Under such a system, all the germs of instruction
+implanted in the schools, soon disappear in service.
+
+Besides, it must be admitted that the generality of Russians have a
+natural indifference to the sciences and the arts, which will long
+defeat the efforts of sovereigns desirous of effecting an intellectual
+regeneration. Though I have gone over a large portion of the empire, I
+have found very few persons, young or old, who were really studious and
+well-informed, and too often I have met with nothing but the most utter
+apathy, where I had a right to expect interest and enthusiasm. It
+matters not that the emperor showers tokens of favour and respect on his
+_savans_, the Russians themselves continue, notwithstanding, to treat
+them with great disdain. The reason is, that the arts and sciences do
+not lead to fortune in Russia, and as they fall exclusively to the lot
+either of foreigners, or of the petty nobles, they cannot enjoy high
+consideration in a form of society which respects only might and
+authority, and consequently recognises but two vocations worthy of
+ambition, viz., the military profession and the civil service.
+
+But independently of the influence of a bad social organisation, the
+Russians seem to me to be at this day the least apt by nature of all the
+nations of Europe to receive solid instruction. The Sclavonic race may
+be divided into two great branches: the first of these, which contains
+the Poles among others, has felt the influence of the west, with which
+it has been in long and immediate contact, and so enabled to adopt its
+civilisation more or less closely; the second, on the contrary, has
+acknowledged the paramount influence of Asia, and the Russians who
+compose it, are still in our day under the action of the Mongol hordes,
+to which they were enslaved for more than three centuries. Again, Russia
+is absolutely and entirely a novice in civilisation; go over her whole
+history, and you will not find a single page which gives proof of a
+really progressive tendency. It is a very remarkable fact that her
+political and commercial relations with the Lower Empire were entirely
+barren of result upon her civilisation, which remained completely
+stationary, even in circumstances most favourable to its development: it
+is therefore by no means surprising, that despite all the efforts of her
+sovereigns, she has been unable to place herself on the level of the
+other nations of Europe within the space of a hundred years.
+
+The results of our civilisation, more than twenty centuries old, are not
+to be inculcated so rapidly: there needs we think, a long series of
+progressive initiations, so that the moral constitution reacting on the
+physical, may render the perceptions and the organs of the latter more
+delicate, and more suited to intellectual development: and this period
+of transition must necessarily be very long for a nation to which the
+past has bequeathed only reminiscences of slavery and destruction. Look,
+on the other hand, at Greece, Moldavia, and Wallachia, countries which
+have all had glorious periods in history; they have made great strides
+within ten years, and have in that short space of time established their
+claim to rank as members of the European family of nations. To their
+past history belongs in part the honour of their present advancement.
+That thirst for instruction, that incredible aptitude to seize and
+understand every thing, which is characteristic above all of the Greeks,
+are evidently but old faculties long sunk in torpor under the pressure
+of slavery, and which waited but for a little freedom to break forth
+with new energy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+      ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY OF THE DON COSSACKS--FEMALE PILGRIMS
+      OF KIEV; RELIGIOUS FERVOUR OF THE COSSACKS--NOVO TCHERKASK,
+      CAPITAL OF THE DON--STREET-LAMPS GUARDED BY SENTINELS--THE
+      STREETS ON SUNDAY--COSSACK HOSPITALITY AND GOOD
+      NATURE--THEIR VENERATION FOR NAPOLEON'S MEMORY.
+
+
+Beyond Nakhitchevane, several valleys abutting on the basin of the Don,
+isolated hamlets, and a few stanitzas, diversify the country, and make
+one forget the sterility of the steppes, that spread out their gray and
+scarcely undulating surface to the westward. The banks of the Don which
+are seldom out of sight, are enlivened by clumps of trees, fishermen's
+huts, and herds of horses that seek there a fresher pasture than the
+desert affords. But except these animals, we saw not a single living
+creature; the heat was so intense, and the country is still so little
+inhabited, that most of the fields appeared to us in a state of wild
+nature. Nothing around us indicated the presence of man. In the country
+of the Don Cossacks, as elsewhere throughout Russia, the post road is
+barely marked out by two ditches so called, which you often drive over
+without perceiving them, and by distance posts two or three yards high.
+This is all the outlay the government chooses to incur for the imperial
+post roads leading to the principal towns of the empire.
+
+Before arriving in Novo Tcherkask, the capital of the Cossacks, we
+encountered another wandering party at least as curious as our gipsies.
+
+Imagine our surprise when having passed through a wide ravine, which for
+a long while shut in the road, we saw defiling over the steppes a
+countless string of small cars, escorted by I know not how many hundreds
+of women. We advanced, puzzled and curious to the last degree; and the
+more we gazed the more the numbers of these women seemed to multiply.
+They were everywhere, in the cars, on the road, and over the steppes; it
+was like a swarm of locusts suddenly dropped from the sky. Most of them
+walked barefoot, holding their shoes in one hand, and with the other
+picking up fragments of wood and straw, for what purpose we could not
+conceive. Their carts were just like barrels with two openings, and were
+driven by themselves, for there was not the shadow of a beard among
+them. They were all returning, as they told us, from the catacombs of
+Kiev, to which they had been making a pilgrimage. Among them I remarked
+some old women who had scarcely a breath of life remaining. They seemed
+dreadfully fatigued, but at the same time very well pleased with their
+pious expedition.
+
+Further on we met another procession of the same kind, which had already
+arranged its encampment for the night. Two fires, fed with those little
+chips of wood that had so much perplexed us, served to prepare the
+evening meal. All the pilgrims were busy, and formed the most varied
+groups. Some were fetching water in earthen pitchers, which they
+carried on their heads; others were kneeling devoutly, making the sign
+of the cross; and the genuflexions so frequent among the Russians and
+Cossacks; the oldest were feeding the fire and telling stories. It was
+an indescribable scene of bustle and noise, displaying a variety of the
+most picturesque attitudes and physiognomies.
+
+All the women were of Cossack race. There is much more of pious fervour
+in this nation than in the Muscovites. A slight difference of text
+between the Bibles of the two people has occasioned a very great one in
+their religious sentiments. The Cossacks call themselves the true
+believers, and abstain on religious grounds from the pipe, and from many
+other things which the Muscovites allow themselves without scruple. The
+natural integrity of their character is rarely sullied by hypocrisy.
+They love and believe with equal ardour and sincerity.
+
+At the extremity of a plateau, on the verge of a wide and deep valley,
+the town of Novo Tcherkask suddenly appeared to us, rising in an
+amphitheatre, and embracing in its huge extent several hills, the broad
+slopes of which descend to the bottom of the valley. All the towns we
+had previously seen, and which had shocked us by the extravagant breadth
+of their streets and their dearth of houses, were nothing in comparison
+with what now met our eyes. Seen from the point where we then stood, the
+whole town was like an enormous chess board, with the lines formed by
+avenues broader than the Place du Carousel in Paris. These lines,
+bordered at intervals by a few shabby dwellings, and separated from each
+other by open spaces in which whole regiments might manoeuvre quite at
+their ease, some churches, and a triumphal arch erected in 1815 in
+honour of Alexander, are the only salient points of this desert which
+they call a capital, and the superficial dimensions of which are,
+without exaggeration, as great as those of Paris.
+
+Novo Tcherkask, now the seat of all the public offices of the Don
+country, was founded in 1806 by Count Platof, who became so celebrated
+through the unfortunate French campaign of Moscow. Its very ill-chosen
+position forbids all chance of future prosperity. It is situated nearly
+eight miles from the Don, on a hill surrounded on all sides by the Axai
+and the Touzlof, small confluents of the river from which it is so
+fatally remote. Platof is said to have selected this site for the
+purpose of building a fortress; but his intentions have not been
+realised. Another most serious inconvenience for the town is the
+absolute want of good water. Wealthy persons use melted ice to make tea.
+
+In the great square there are two very large bazaars with wooden roofs,
+in which are found all sorts of goods, and especially an abundant
+collection of military equipments for the use of the Cossacks. There is
+also a great arsenal, but quite destitute of arms. As for the other
+edifices, they are not worth mentioning, notwithstanding all the fine
+descriptions given of them by geographers.
+
+But Novo Tcherkask has one precious thing to boast of--a thing unique in
+Russia--and that is an excellent hotel kept by a Frenchman, in which the
+traveller finds all the comforts he can desire. The nobility who have
+strongly encouraged this establishment, have formed in it a casino, in
+which many balls are given in the winter.
+
+The Emperor Nicholas visited the Don Cossacks in 1837, and to this
+auspicious event the capital owed the good fortune of being supplied
+with lamps in the streets. But the lights went out when his majesty
+departed; and it is said, that in order to save the lamps from being
+stolen, the authorities had been obliged to make an armed Cossack stand
+sentry over each of them.
+
+The population of Novo Tcherkask, formed by the union of four stanitzas,
+amounts to about 10,000. Staro Tcherkask, the old capital, now
+abandoned, has nothing to attract the traveller's attention, though Dr.
+Clarke has bestowed on it the pompous title of the Russian Venice.
+
+Our arrival in the Cossack capital fell on a Sunday. As the windows of
+our hotel looked full on the only promenade in the town, the greater
+part of the population passed in review before us. Every thing here
+bespeaks the nomade and warlike temper of the Cossacks. There is no
+copying of European fashion, no Frank costumes, no mixed population;
+every thing is Cossack, except a few Kalmuck figures, telling us of the
+vicinity of the Volga.
+
+The Cossacks we had seen at Taganrok, had given us but a poor opinion of
+the beauty of the women of the country; we were, therefore, agreeably
+surprised at the sight of all the pretty girls that passed continually
+before our windows. Even their costume, which we had thought ugly, now
+seemed not wanting in originality, and even in a certain piquancy. The
+young girls let their braided hair fall on their shoulders, and usually
+tie the braids with bright ribbons, that hang down to their heels. Some
+of them confine their tresses in a long bag made of a silk handkerchief,
+a style of head-dress by no means unbecoming.
+
+It was really a very pretty sight to see the crowd of elegant officers
+and young women in gala attire that filled the footways, exchanging
+looks, smiles, and even soft discourse, as if they were in a ball-room.
+The men are tall and handsome, and look remarkably well in uniform.
+Bravery and noble pride are legible in their features and their eyes, as
+if they were still those fiery children of the steppes, who, before the
+days of Catherine II. acknowledged no other power than that of their
+ataman, freely chosen by themselves. Arms are at this day their sole
+occupation, just as they were a hundred years ago, and their
+organisation is still altogether military, as we shall see by and by.
+
+What erroneous notions are entertained in France, of these good-natured,
+inoffensive, and hospitable Cossacks! The events of 1814 and 1815, have
+left a deep repugnance towards them in all French minds, and indeed it
+could hardly be expected it should be otherwise. But speaking of them as
+we found them in their own land, they do not deserve the aversion with
+which our countrymen regard them. There is no part of Russia where the
+traveller is more safe than in their country, nor does he anywhere meet
+with a more kindly welcome. The name of Frenchman, especially, is an
+excellent recommendation there. The portrait of Napoleon is found in
+every house, and sometimes it is placed above that of the great St.
+Nicholas himself. All the old veterans who have survived the great wars
+of the empire, profess the greatest veneration for the French emperor,
+and these sentiments are fully shared by the present generation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+      ORIGIN OF THE DON COSSACKS--MEANING OF THE NAME--THE
+      KHIRGHIS COSSACKS--RACES ANTERIOR TO THE COSSACKS--SCLAVONIC
+      EMIGRATIONS TOWARDS THE EAST.
+
+
+The origin of the Don Cossacks has, like that of the Tatars of Southern
+Russia, given rise to interminable discussions. Some have represented
+this people as an offshoot of the great Sclavonic stock; others consider
+it as only a medley of Turks, Tatars, and Circassians. Vsevolojsky
+adopts the former of these opinions, in his Geographical and Historical
+Dictionary of the Russian Empire. M. Schnitzler boldly decides the
+question, in his Statistics of Russia, by declaring that the Cossacks of
+the Don have proceeded from the Caucasus, and belong for the most part
+to the Tcherkess or Circassian nation.
+
+Constantino Porphyrogenitus, a writer of the ninth century, mentions a
+country called _Kasachia_. "On the other side of the Papagian country,"
+he says, "is Kasachia, and immediately afterwards are discovered the
+tops of the Caucasus." The Russian chronicles likewise mention a
+Circassian people subjugated in 1021 by Prince Mstizlav, of Tmoutarakan.
+These, it must be owned, are very vague data, and the resemblance
+between two names is not warrant for our concluding that the Cossacks of
+our day and the Kasachians of the ninth century, are one and the same
+nation. Except the few words we have just cited, we have no other
+information respecting the latter people, and all the historical
+researches hitherto made, have failed to determine the real situation of
+Tmoutarakan. This town has been placed sometimes at Riazan, sometimes at
+the mouth of the Volga, on the site of Astrakhan, sometimes on the
+Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus. A stone, with a Sclavonic inscription,
+discovered at Taman, seemed for a while to have solved the problem. But
+it was afterwards fully demonstrated, that this grand historical
+discovery was only a hoax practised on the credulous antiquarians.
+
+The Kasachia of the ninth century is thus but very imperfectly known to
+us; even with the help of Constantino Porphyrogenitus, it would be
+difficult to determine its position with any real precision; and when
+the Cossacks, now known to us, appear for the first time, 600 years
+afterwards, it would be rash and arbitrary in the extreme to declare
+them the descendants of a people so briefly mentioned by the Byzantine
+writer. This opinion will appear the less admissible, when it is
+considered that the country of the Cossacks, situated around the Sea of
+Azov, lay directly in the route of all those conquering hordes that
+issued from Asia to overrun and ravage Europe, and afterwards
+disappeared successively, without leaving any other trace of their
+existence than their name in the pages of history.
+
+Is it likely that Kasachia was more fortunate? Is there any probability
+that its people, after 600 years of absolute obscurity, again arose out
+of the chaos of all those revolutions, to produce the Cossacks of our
+day? We cannot think so. Historical inquiries, and above all a knowledge
+of the regions extending between the Sea of Azov and the Caspian, prove
+beyond question that all those countries were never occupied by a nation
+having fixed habitations. We have ourselves traversed those Russian
+deserts, up to the northern foot of the Caucasus; and except the
+somewhat modern remains of Madjar, on the borders of the Kouma, we
+nowhere found any vestige of human occupancy, or any trace of
+civilisation. It is, therefore, by no means likely, that amidst all the
+convulsions of the Asiatic invasions, from the ninth to the fifteenth
+century, whilst so many races were disappearing completely, that a
+little remote nomade people shall have preserved for 600 years its
+nationality and its territory, without being swept away and absorbed by
+all those warlike hordes that must have passed over it in torrents. This
+would be an historical fact perfectly unique in that part of the world;
+to us it appears in flagrant contradiction with historical experience.
+We are of opinion then, that the Cossacks of our day have nothing in
+common with the Kasachia of Constantino Porphyrogenitus, and that we
+must look elsewhere for their origin and for the reason of their
+appellation.
+
+Let us in the first place examine this word _Cossack_. According to the
+use in which it was formerly and is still employed, it seems evidently
+not to belong to a special people, but simply to express the generic
+character of every nation, having certain distinct manners and customs.
+Thus in Russia, at this day, the name of Cossacks is given to all those
+persons who are under military organisation: there are Turcomans,
+Kalmuks, and Tatars so called in the steppes of the Caspian; and in
+Bessarabia, some gipsies and a medley of nondescript people constitute
+the Cossacks of the Dniestr. The Don Cossacks, themselves, attach no
+historical significance to their designation, which they seem to regard
+merely as a by-name given to them in former times, and they readily
+share it with the nomade tribes around them, whose organisation is the
+same as their own. The only appellation they assume among themselves, is
+that of true believers.
+
+The existence of the Khirghis Kaissacks of our day, can be traced back
+to more remote times; but there is certainly no analogy between this
+Mussulman people and our Cossacks. Furthermore, it seems proved that the
+Tatars before their invasions of Europe, used to give the appellation of
+Cossacks to all those individuals of their own race, who, having no
+property, were obliged to subsist by pillage, or to sell their services
+to some military leader. _Cossack_ then, according to our apprehension,
+signifies only a nomade and a vagabond people, and it is likely that the
+Tatars on their arrival in Europe, gave that name to all the wandering
+tribes they found in the steppes of Azov and of the Don. What tends
+still more to confirm this opinion is, that no mention of Cossacks is
+made by Rubruquis and Du Plan de Carpin, who traversed all the regions
+of Southern Russia, on their embassy to the grand khan, in the beginning
+of the thirteenth century.
+
+And now let us ask whence came those nomade people that preceded the
+modern Cossacks in the steppes of the Don and the Sea of Azov? Here
+again we must dissent from the views of Dr. Edmund Clarke and Lesur
+which have been generally adopted in Schnitzler's statistics.
+
+According to the testimony of all historians the Slaves already occupied
+various parts of Southern Russia, during the first period of the
+decadence of the Lower Empire: every one knows indeed that the
+descendants of Rurik often carried their attacks on the emperors of the
+East up to the very gates of their capital. The annals of Russia also
+demonstrate the existence of the Slaves at the same period, in all
+Little Russia, and even in the country of the Don. This region was then
+called Severa. Its inhabitants, after a long contest with the
+Petchenegues, emigrated in part, and we now find their name attached to
+one of the principalities of the Danube, viz., Servia.
+
+Again, it is universally admitted even by the adversaries of our
+opinions that the Don country was occupied previously to the Tatar
+invasions by a nomade and warlike people, the Polovtzis, who, there is
+every reason to think, were no other than Slaves.[13]
+
+It may well be conceived that the dissensions and continual wars between
+the numerous chieftains, among whom the Russian soil was formerly
+parceled out, must naturally have produced numerous emigrations; and
+these partial emigrations being too weak to act against the west, must
+of course have turned eastward towards those remote regions of the
+steppes where the fugitives might find freedom and independence. It
+would be difficult then to disprove that a Slavic people existed on the
+banks of the Don when the Tatars arrived; and that people was apparently
+the Polovtzis, an agglomeration of fugitives and malcontents, who,
+during the convulsions of the Russian empire, under Vladimir the Great's
+successors, seem to have laid the first foundations of the Cossack power
+in the steppes of the Sea of Azov and the Don.[14]
+
+The name of the Polovtzis disappeared completely under the Tatar sway;
+but it would be illogical thence to infer that the people itself utterly
+perished, and did not share the destiny of the other Sclavonic tribes of
+Russia. We agree, therefore, with some historians in thinking that the
+Polovtzis merely exchanged their appellation for that of Cossacks,
+imposed on them by the Tatars, and made permanent by a servitude of more
+than three centuries. We have besides already remarked that the Tatars
+used among themselves to call all adventurers and vagabonds Cossacks: it
+is not, therefore, surprising that they should on their arrival in
+Russia, have given this designation to the nomade hordes of the
+Polovtzis. This historical version seems far more rational than the
+supposition that the Polovtzis completely disappeared, and were entirely
+supplanted by a Caucasian race, which had taken part in the expeditions
+of Batou Khan.
+
+The traveller, who has studied the Cossacks and the mountaineers of the
+Caucasus, can never admit the doctrine that would make but one nation of
+these two. Our notions on this subject are corroborated in every point
+by physiological observations. In the first place, considerations
+founded on religion and language, are not so lightly to be rejected as
+Clarke and Lesur assert. The conversion of the Cossacks would not
+certainly have been passed over unnoticed in the history of the Lower
+Empire; the Byzantine writers would have been sure to record such a
+triumph of their creed; but they say not a word about it; and every one
+knows perfectly well in what manner Christianity was categorically
+introduced into Russia. Moreover, if the Cossacks had been nothing but
+Circassians at the beginning of the thirteenth century, it would be hard
+to account for their ready adoption of a foreign language and religion,
+at a time when that language and that religion were, if not proscribed,
+at least much discredited under the Tatar sway. The last Russian
+expeditions into the Caucasus, towards the sources of the Kouban, have,
+it is true, given birth to new historical ideas as to that part of Asia.
+Thus, there have been discovered two churches in a perfect state of
+preservation, the origin of which is evidently Genoese or Venetian, and
+we can scarcely fail to recognise in the Circassians some traces of
+Christianity in the profound respect they bear to the cross. But, on the
+other hand, nothing indicates that this people was ever Christian; on
+the contrary, every thing proves that its primitive religion, if its
+religious notions may be so called, has undergone no alteration. Those
+Christian edifices, too, which we have alluded to, belong to a later
+period than the inroads of the Tatar hordes, consequently they can only
+testify in favour of our views.
+
+No chronicle speaks of the emigration of a Tcherkess people in the
+middle ages. The only tradition relating to any thing of the kind, is
+that of a strong tribe from the Caucasus, which, after occupying the
+plains of the Danube, is said to have settled at last in Pannonia. Every
+one is aware that mountain tribes are the least migratory of all, and
+the most attached to their native soil; it is, therefore, natural to
+suppose that the Circassians, so proud of their independence and so
+often ineffectually attacked, did not receive the warriors of Genghis
+Khan as friends, or take part in their sanguinary expeditions.[15] Hence
+M. Schnitzler appears to me to propound a more than questionable fact
+when he alleges, following Karamsin, that the Circassians entered Russia
+with Batou Khan, and so formed by degrees that new people, which, to
+borrow the language of this statician, _on the breaking up of the Tatar
+rule and the dispersion of the clouds, which till then had hung over
+their country, appears to us as Russian and Christian, but with
+Circassian features, with Tatar manners and customs, and hating the
+Muscovites_.
+
+How can we assign such an origin to the Don Cossacks when there exists
+neither among them, nor among their supposed brethren, any tradition of
+so modern a fact? Besides, if the Cossacks had really come from the
+Caucasus, would they not have retained some neighbourly relations with
+the mountaineers? Is it not a singular notion to take Circassians, the
+most indomitable of all men, and the most attached to their hereditary
+usages and manners, to subject them to the Tatars for more than 300
+years, and then to transform them at once, and without transition, into
+a people speaking pure unmixed Sclavonic, and professing the Greek
+religion? This is certainly one of the most curious of metamorphoses;
+before it could happen there must have been a combination of
+circumstances exactly the reverse of those which have really existed.
+The Circassians, one would think, would have been much more disposed to
+adopt the religion of the victors, than of the vanquished, the more so
+as islamism having already at that period made considerable progress in
+Eastern Caucasus, would give them a much stronger bias towards the
+Tatars, than towards the wandering hordes of the Polovtzis, from which
+we derive the Cossacks.
+
+Notwithstanding the assertions of Dr. Clarke, it is not easy to trace
+much resemblance between the Circassians and the Cossacks. At present we
+see all the people who dwell at the foot of the Caucasus, generally
+adopting the habits of the mountain tribes. A great number of Nogai
+Tatars have become completely blended with them. The Cossacks of the
+Black Sea have borrowed from them their costume and their arms. The
+Muscovites and the German colonists themselves have not escaped the
+energetic influence of the Caucasian tribes; and yet some would have us
+believe that the Don Cossacks, a Tcherkess tribe, separated from the
+parent stock not more than 400 years, have undergone a contrary impulse
+during all that time, and now present, in a manner, no resemblance to
+their ancestors. The two peoples differ in costume, arms, industry, and
+every other particular. The Circassians are extremely apt in
+manufactures, and excel in all sorts of handicraft productions, to which
+they give a very marked and original character. The Cossacks, on the
+contrary, have little or no turn for manufactures; in this respect they
+exhibit no trace of what characterises the Caucasian tribes in so high a
+degree. As for the Tatar habits, of which M. Schnitzler speaks, I know
+not where to look for them, unless they consist in the trousers
+generally worn by the Cossack women. After all, the Tatars must
+necessarily have left some traces of their habits in the countries over
+which they ruled for so many centuries.
+
+The real point of contact between the Cossacks and the Circassians,
+consists in their love of freedom, and their intense hatred for every
+thing Russian. But these sentiments evidently flow from their ancient
+and primitive constitution; and if they detest the Russians, it is
+because the Muscovite sovereigns, who have never ceased to attack their
+privileges, have at last succeeded in annihilating their whole political
+existence.
+
+Undoubtedly the Cossacks are not pure Sclavonians, like the people of
+Great Russia, but are mixed up with many other races. The Don country
+long remained a soil of freedom, a real land of asylum for all refugees.
+The Circassians have probably not been strangers to their past history,
+and the adventurous life of the Cossack must have fascinated many a
+mountain chief. History, too, informs us that the Sclavons of Poland
+have mingled their blood with that of the inhabitants of the Don
+country. It is this medley of races, and the combination of all these
+various influences, added to the thoroughly republican character of
+their primitive constitution, that give the Cossacks their intellectual
+superiority, and make them a nation apart. But the principle stock is
+nevertheless Sclavonic.
+
+The partisans of the Circassian origin have also dwelt on the
+resemblance between the name of the capital of the Don country, and
+that of a Caucasian tribe. But really when a historical question of this
+importance is under discussion, such a resemblance cannot be of much
+weight. We know that some fugitives from the Boristhenes, about the
+year 1569, fell in with Cossacks on the Don, and joined with them in an
+attack on Azov, which then belonged to the Turks. It was just about this
+period, 1570, that Staro Tcherkask was founded. We should hence be
+disposed to believe that the fugitives from the Ukraine had a great
+share in the creation of that town, and that they called it Tcherkask,
+in memory of the name of the old capital of their native land.
+
+The Don Cossacks appear to us for the first time in the thirteenth
+century, on the ruins of the Tatar empire. Not till then did they begin
+to make a certain figure in the history of the Muscovite empire. In the
+reign of Ivan IV. the Terrible, they put themselves under the protection
+of Russia. From that time until near the end of the last century, we see
+them sometimes marching under the banners of the Muscovite sovereigns,
+sometimes rising against them, and often bringing the empire to the very
+verge of ruin. Their political condition was in those days a real
+republic, founded on a basis of absolute equality. The head of the
+government, styled ataman, was selected by the whole assembled nation,
+and retained his office but for five years; but his power was
+dictatorial, and no one could call him to account for his acts, even
+after the expiration of his office. All the subaltern leaders were
+likewise elected, and retained their posts for a greater or less time,
+according to circumstances. Equality, however, resumed its sway at the
+end of each military campaign; each officer, on returning into private
+life, enjoyed only the rights common to all; and the colonel or
+starshine often made the ensuing campaign as a private soldier.
+Aristocracy was totally unknown to the Don Cossacks in those days; if
+some families were distinguished from the rest by their greater
+influence, they owed this solely to their courage and their exploits. So
+strong was then the sense of independence, that the Cossacks despised as
+vile mercenaries those who took permanent service under the Russian
+sovereigns. As for the imperial suzerainty, it was limited to the right
+of calling for a military contingent in case of war, and of disposing of
+a small body of troops to defend the frontiers against the nomades of
+the steppes.
+
+Cossack freedom was doomed to perish when brought into collision with
+the principles of absolutism and servitude which rule in the Russian
+empire; accordingly, as soon as the Empress Catherine II. felt strong
+enough to make the attempt, she decided on a radical change in the
+political constitution of the Don country.
+
+The first of her ukases to this effect enacted that all the Cossack
+officers in the service of Russia should retain their rank and
+privileges on their return to their own country; a regulation directly
+opposed to the habits and usages of that republican people. How,
+indeed, could that haughty soldiery have endured that slave-officers,
+as it called them, should be put on the same footing with its own,
+elected by the acclamations of the nation? A revolt ensued, but it was
+promptly put down. The illustrious Potemkin could not understand that
+insurrection, for it seemed to him incredible that the Cossacks should
+rebel because they were granted almost all the privileges of Russian
+officers. After these unhappy troubles, their elections were abolished,
+and their political system was gradually changed, until it came to
+resemble that of a Russian government. Count Platof was the last ataman
+of the Cossacks, and he owed the authority he was allowed to enjoy, in a
+great measure to the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed by
+the wars of the empire.
+
+The Don country continued through the last century as before, to be a
+land of asylum and freedom for all refugees. This led to the settlement
+of a great number of Russians among the Cossacks. The Emperor Paul took
+advantage of this circumstance to secure the attachment of the principal
+families by publishing an ukase, in which he at once, and without
+warning, declared all the Russian fugitives slaves of the landowners,
+whose patronage they had accepted. This first partition of the people
+was not the last; another ukase of the same sovereign completed the work
+of Catherine II., abolished equality, and constituted an aristocracy by
+ennobling all the officers and _employés_ of the government. The
+nobility at present amount to a considerable number, and all the
+officers are taken from that body. The young Cossacks, like the
+Russians, enter the St. Petersburg corps as cadets, at ten or twelve
+years of age; after some years they join a regiment as _junker_, and two
+or three months afterwards they become officers.
+
+The political power of the Cossacks being annihilated, active means were
+taken to deprive them of all military strength, by dispersing them all
+over the empire, and stationing them wherever there were quarantines,
+custom-house lines, and hostile frontiers to guard. Cossack posts were
+simultaneously established on the frontiers of Poland, and at the foot
+of the Caucasus. Lastly, every means of enfeeblement was largely
+employed, and after the death of Platof, under pretext of rewarding the
+nation for its devotedness during the campaign of Moscow, the functions
+of ataman-in-chief were suppressed, and the title was conferred on the
+heir-apparent.
+
+All these arbitrary measures, which, after all cannot be blamed, have
+naturally excited the most violent discontent in the country of the Don,
+and the Cossacks would undoubtedly cause the empire serious uneasiness
+in case of war. The government is not ignorant of this hostile temper.
+In recent times it did not dare to trust the Cossacks with real pieces
+of artillery, and the regiments were compelled to exercise with wooden
+cannons. It is certain that the campaign of 1812 would not have been so
+disastrous for France, if Napoleon had taken care to send emissaries
+among the inhabitants of the Don with promises to re-establish their
+ancient political constitution. I have questioned a great number of
+military men on this subject, and all were unanimous in assuring me of
+the alacrity with which the Cossacks would then have joined the French
+army. Nothing can give an idea of the antipathy they cherish to their
+masters; the feeling pervades all classes, in spite of every effort of
+the government. The Russians affect so much disdain for the Cossack
+nobles, that the latter, notwithstanding their epaulettes and their
+decorations, cannot but bitterly regret the old republican constitution.
+Furthermore, the military service is so onerous, that it checks all
+agricultural and industrial activity; for be it observed, that the
+Cossacks of the present day are far from being the plunderers they were
+in former times. The service is to them but a profitless task, and they
+all long eagerly for a sedentary life, which would allow them to attend
+to rural occupations, and to trade.
+
+The country of the Don Cossacks is now definitively a Russian
+government. All the laws of the empire are there in full force, and the
+administrative forms are the same, under other names. Nevertheless, the
+still free attitude of the Cossacks has not hitherto permitted the
+installation of the Russian _employés_ among them. Within the last three
+years only, the government has succeeded in having itself represented at
+Novo Tcherkask, by a general placed at the head of the military staff of
+the country. The Cossacks regard this innovation with dislike, and spare
+their new military superior no annoyance. The following is the present
+organisation of the Don Cossacks:--
+
+The ataman (_locum tenens_) holding the grade of lieutenant-general, is
+the military and civil head of the government, and at the same time the
+president of the various tribunals of the capital. The functions of
+vice-president having been conferred since 1841 on the general of the
+staff before mentioned, the latter is in fact the sole influential
+authority in the country.
+
+The province of the Don Cossacks is divided into seven civil and four
+military districts; the courts are similar to those of the other
+governments.
+
+The army amounts at present, to fifty-four regiments, of 850 men each
+(not including the two regiments of the emperor and the grand duke) and
+nine companies of artillery, having each eight pieces of cannon. In
+1840, there were twenty-eight regiments in active service, fifteen of
+them in the Caucasus, with three companies of artillery. At the same
+time, nine other regiments were under orders to march for the lines of
+the Kouban.
+
+All the Cossacks are soldiers born: their legal term of service is
+twenty years abroad, or twenty-five at home. But no regard is paid to
+this regulation, for most of them remain in active service for thirty or
+even forty years. They pay no taxes, but are obliged to equip themselves
+at their own expense, and receive the ordinary pay of Russian troops
+only from the day they cross their native frontiers.[16]
+
+The organisation of the regiments is effected in rather a curious
+manner. When a regiment is to be sent to the Caucasus, each district
+receives notice how many soldiers and officers it is to supply, and then
+the first names on the military books are taken without distinction. The
+place of muster is usually near the frontier, and every one arrives
+there as he pleases, without concerning himself about others. When all
+the men are assembled, they are classed by squadrons, the requisite
+officers are set over them, and the detachment begins its march. Hence
+we see there is nothing fixed in the composition of the regiments. The
+Cossacks are subjected nevertheless to the European discipline, and
+formed into regular corps; but this innovation seems likely to be fatal
+to them, by completely destroying their valuable aptitude for acting as
+skirmishers. The Emperor Nicholas visited the Don country in 1837, and
+reviewed the Cossack troops at Novo Tcherkask, but it appears that he
+was exceedingly displeased with the condition of the regulars.
+Accordingly, that he might not expose them to the criticism of
+foreigners, he took care not to be accompanied by the brilliant cortège
+of European officers who had been present at the grand military parades
+of Vosnecensk.
+
+The population of the Don Cossacks amounts to about 600,000, occupying
+14,000,000 hectares of land, and divided into four very distinct
+classes: 1. The aristocracy founded by the Emperor Paul; 2. The free
+Cossacks; 3. The merchants; 4. The slaves. The free Cossacks form the
+mass of the population, and furnish the horse soldiers; they have
+however the opportunity of acquiring nobility by military service, but
+to this end, they must serve for twelve years as non-commissioned
+officers.
+
+The merchants form a peculiar class, which can hardly exceed 500 in
+number. They are not bound to do military service, but in lieu of this,
+they pay taxes to the government. The slaves, whose origin we have
+described, amount to about 85,000 souls.
+
+The revenues of the government of the Cossacks, are about 2,000,000
+rubles, more than sufficient for the expenditure, that is to say, for
+the payment of the _employés_. The spirit duties produce 1,500,000
+rubles, the rest is made up by the salt works of the Manitch, and the
+pasturage dues.
+
+The country of the Don Cossacks is bounded on the north by the two
+governments of Voroneje and Saratof; on the east by the latter, and that
+of Astrakhan; on the south by the government of the Caucasus, the
+country of the Cossacks of the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov; on the
+west, by the governments of Voroneje and Iekaterinoslav and the Ukraine
+slobodes. All this territory forms a vast extent, no part of which is
+detached as M. Schnitzler asserts; on the contrary, the regency of
+Taganrok is completely encompassed by it.
+
+The country of the Cossacks may be divided into two very distinct parts:
+that situated to the north and west, presenting lofty plains intersected
+by many rivers and ravines, is admirably adapted for agriculture, and
+possesses excellent pastures. Among its numerous rivers, are the Donetz,
+the Mious, and the Kalmious, which marks its frontier on the west, and
+the Khoper and the Medveditza on the north-east. It is principally along
+the two latter streams, that the Cossacks have established their most
+celebrated studs, among the foremost of which, are those of Count
+Platof. The second division of the country, consists of all the steppes
+that extend along the left bank of the Don, to the confines of the
+government of the Caucasus, and along the Manitch to the frontier of
+Astrakhan. The soil is here unvaried; it is the Russian desert in all
+its uniformity, and the basin of the muddy and brackish Manitch, is
+perfectly in harmony with the regions it traverses. But those monotonous
+plains are a source of wealth to the Cossacks, who rear vast herds of
+horses and other cattle; several thousands of Kalmucks too find
+subsistence in them.
+
+Until 1841, the government of the Cossacks exhibited one very singular
+peculiarity. Its whole territory formed but one vast communal domain,
+without any individual owners or ownership. After several fruitless
+attempts, the Russian government finally determined on dividing the
+lands, and the work must by this time have been completed. Besides the
+new arrangements adopted, there have been granted to each family thirty
+hectares of land for each male, and fifteen additional for each slave.
+After this distribution, there will remain to the government, 2,000,000
+hectares of land, on which it will no doubt establish Muscovite
+colonies. This division of the land is a final blow to the old Cossack
+institutions, and ere long the population will consist only of nobles
+and peasants, just as in the rest of Russia. The peasants are free it is
+true, but their properties will soon be absorbed by the wealthier and
+more powerful: and then an ukase will do the work of establishing
+slavery in the country. The community of landed property was hitherto
+the only obstacle to a complete severance between the new nobles and the
+other Cossacks. It was another remnant of the old republican equality,
+and was naturally doomed to fall before the principles of unity and
+centralisation of the Russian government. When we see Russia laying her
+hand on all the free populations of the southern part of the empire, and
+bringing them gradually under the yoke of serfdom, we cannot but be
+struck with astonishment, and compare the revolution it is now effecting
+before our eyes, with that which so deplorably signalised the Roman
+sway.
+
+It may easily be conceived how fatal the military organisation of the
+Cossacks must be to their prosperity and well-being. Never sure of what
+the morrow may bring forth, and liable at any moment to be called to
+arms, they have of necessity fallen into indifference and sloth. Their
+domestic ties are broken, for they are often many years without seeing
+their wives and children. Under such a system, all intellectual
+improvement becomes impossible; and there has also resulted from it an
+incipient demoralisation, compressed as yet by the force of primitive
+manners, but which will not fail at last to spread over the whole
+population. Yet the Cossacks are eminently intelligent. I saw thirty
+young men at Novo Tcherkask execute topographical plans extremely well,
+after a few weeks' study. The Russian generals themselves could not
+refrain from expressing their surprise to me at so rapid a progress. Let
+Russia renounce the oppressive system she is forcing on the Cossacks;
+let the latter, on their part, make up their mind to admit that their
+ancient constitution is in our day become an utopia; and the Don country
+will soon make rapid advances in colonisation, and exhibit all that
+constitutes the prosperity and wealth of a nation.
+
+The means of instruction enjoyed by the Cossacks are still extremely
+limited. In the whole country there is but one gymnasium, very recently
+established in Novo Tcherkask; but the wealthier Cossacks have long been
+used to have their children educated in the neighbouring governments,
+particularly in Taganrok, where the private schools kept by foreigners
+afford them great advantages.
+
+The rearing of cattle, especially of horses, is now the chief source of
+gain to the Cossacks. Count Platof's studs, as we have already said, are
+reputed the best: they are descended from the trans-Kouban races,
+crossed by Persian and Khivian stallions, procured by the late count
+during the war of 1796 with Persia. Very good cavalry horses are also
+produced by Platof's stallions out of Tatar and Kalmuck mares. Count
+Platof's horses fetch from 250 to 350 rubles; but in the steppes of the
+Manitch, where there are very extensive herds, the price seldom exceeds
+150. The care of the herds is chiefly committed to Kalmucks; usually 100
+horses are kept by one family, five hundred by three, a thousand by
+five, and from 1500 to 2000 by six. Except a few proprietors, who are
+careful about the improvement of the breed, the Cossacks allow their
+vast herds to wander about the steppes without any care or
+superintendence. The horses of the Don never enter a stable; summer and
+winter they are in the open air, and must procure their own food, for
+which they have often to strive against the snow; hence they become
+extremely vigorous, and support the most trying campaigns with
+remarkable hardiness. Nothing can be more simple and expeditious than
+the way in which they are broken in. The horse selected is caught with a
+noose; he is saddled and bridled; the rider mounts him, and he is
+allowed to gallop over the steppe until he falls exhausted. From that
+moment he is almost always perfectly tamed, and may be used without
+danger. I rode a mare thus broken, in one of my longest journeys on
+horseback. Six days before my departure she was completely free; yet I
+never rode a more docile animal.
+
+The Cossacks have three sorts of horned cattle, the Kalmuck, the
+Hungarian, and the Dutch breeds. The first is generally preferred
+because it does not require to be stalled either winter or summer, or to
+receive any particular care, and always can pick up its feed in the
+steppes. At the same time the loss of cattle is enormous in long and
+severe winters, for the proprietors can never procure hay for more than
+six weeks' consumption, on account of the great numbers of their herds.
+At the end of the year 1839, the Don country possessed in cattle:
+
+  Horned cattle               1,013,106
+  Sheep                       2,310,445
+  Goats                          53,221
+  Camels                          1,692
+  Horses                        326,788
+                              ---------
+                  Total       3,705,252
+
+In that year the sheep produced 5,698,000 kilogrammes of wool, which was
+exported. Of the above number of sheep, only 308,652 are merinos. The
+wool of the latter fetched 156 rubles the 100 kilogrammes, whilst that
+of the native sheep did not sell for more than 58 to 62. But the merinos
+require too much care, and I much doubt that they will ever be reared on
+a large scale by the Cossacks. Besides, as we have already seen, the
+breeding of merinos is far from being as profitable at this day as it
+was formerly.
+
+Agriculture, properly so called, must naturally be in a depressed
+condition in a country of which the tenth part of the population is
+continually either in active service, or in readiness to be called out.
+No more corn is cultivated than is sufficient for the subsistence of the
+inhabitants. The crop of 1839 was 6,953,814 hectolitres, a quantity
+considerably too small for seed, and for the consumption of a nation
+that annually consumes 6.18 hectolitres per head. The Cossacks were,
+therefore, obliged to draw on the reserved stores and on the
+neighbouring governments. In general, whatever M. Schnitzler may say to
+the contrary, their agriculture produces no more than is barely
+necessary; notwithstanding the advantages of a great navigable river,
+and its position on the Sea of Azov, the Don country has not yet been
+able to export any corn.
+
+The cultivation of the vine is the only one that has prospered in any
+remarkable degree among the Cossacks; it prevails in the southern
+regions on the banks of the Don and of the Axai. They now reckon 4514
+vineyards, yielding annually, on an average, from 20,000 to 25,000
+hectolitres of wine, and 300 to 400 of brandy. In 1841, the production
+amounted to nearly 62,500; and when I was in Novo Tcherkask, grapes were
+selling there for three rubles the 100 kilogrammes. Sparkling wines are
+made, of which the Don country now exports more than a million of
+bottles yearly. The best wine of a certain Abrahamof is usually charged
+for at the rate of six rubles in the inns of Novo Tcherkask. The reader
+will, no doubt, be surprised to hear of such quantities of sparkling
+wines; but Russia is unquestionably the country in which that sort of
+beverage is most esteemed; and as the petty nobles and the _employés_
+cannot afford to drink champagne, they have recourse to the Cossack
+vintage. The latter is consumed in incredible quantity, principally in
+the fairs, where no bargain can be concluded without a case of Don wine.
+It is very agreeable, and is much liked, even by foreigners. It is to
+Frenchmen the Cossacks owe this branch of industry.
+
+Fishing also forms an important source of income for the Cossacks. It is
+carried on chiefly at the mouths of the Don. In 1838, it produced
+304,000 kilogrammes of sturgeons yielding caviare, and more than
+20,000,000 of fish of different kinds, which they salt and send to the
+neighbouring governments. Bees must also be enumerated among the sources
+of wealth in the country. The Mious district, which possesses nearly
+31,000 hives, produced in 1839, 124,336 kilogrammes of honey, and 21,056
+kilogrammes of wax.
+
+From these hints it will be seen how rich is the country of the
+Cossacks, and how high a degree of prosperity it might reach under an
+enlightened and liberal administration. Manufacturing industry is the
+only one that, as yet, has made no progress in it. It is said not to
+possess a single manufactory, which is natural enough, considering the
+military organisation of the nation. There is an extreme want of
+workmen; the few found in the country, who come from the neighbouring
+governments, demand very high pay, as much as two rubles and a half a
+day, which is exorbitant in Russia. As for mineral wealth, the Don
+country possesses abundance of coal and anthracite, the latter of which
+is worked in the neighbourhood of Novo Tcherkask.
+
+Among the tribes incorporated with the Don Cossacks, the Kalmucks demand
+especial mention. In the reign of the Emperor Paul, an ukase was issued,
+commanding a census to be taken of all the nomade tribes subject to
+Russia. This certain presage of some tax or other, spread consternation
+among the Kalmucks; their hordes began to break up, and great numbers of
+them took refuge with the Cossacks. But the fatal ukase soon pursued
+them to their new asylum, whereupon some returned to the steppes of the
+Caspian, whilst the rest being retained by the Cossacks, were put under
+the same military and civil system of administration as the inhabitants
+of the Don. These Kalmucks now form a population of about 15,000, and
+encamp on both banks of the Manitch, about 100 miles from the confluence
+with the Don. In order to give some notion of the manners and customs of
+this people, I will here copy some fragments from an account of a
+scientific journey I made along the Manitch, to determine the difference
+of level between the Black Sea and the Caspian.
+
+It was towards the end of May, 1841, I set out from Novo Tcherkask, to
+explore the Manitch, a paltry stream, but which, nevertheless, had for a
+long while the honour of marking the boundary between Europe and Asia. I
+was accompanied by my friend, Baron Kloch, a German by birth, and a most
+agreeable man, lately arrived for the first time in Russia. His
+intelligent conversation was a great source of enjoyment to me. Six
+hours' travel brought us to Axai, a charming stanitza, built like an
+amphitheatre on the right bank of the Don. It is the great trading place
+of the Cossacks, and but for the vicinity of Rostof, a Russian, and of
+course a privileged town, it would have been made the capital of the Don
+country, and the general entrepôt of all the traffic from the north of
+the empire. The project was even entertained at first, but it was
+defeated partly by intrigue, and partly I believe by the obstinacy of
+Count Platof. Axai is, nevertheless, the handsomest stanitza in the
+country. Its balconied houses, painted in different colours, its port,
+the activity prevailing in it, its lively and bustling population, all
+excite the traveller's attention and curiosity. When I arrived in the
+town the inundations of the Don were at their height, and as far as the
+eye could reach the waters covered the low plain that stretches along
+its left bank. We were soon furnished with a boat having on board a
+pilot and four excellent rowers, and at nine in the evening, we embarked
+to cross the river. The evening was perfectly calm and beautiful; and I
+shall never forget the lodkas with bellied sails, gliding down with the
+current, the melancholy songs of the Russian boatmen, the sounds from
+Axai gradually dying away in the distance, and our boat skimming across
+the smooth surface of the water, which broke in thousands of sparks from
+the oars. At midnight we landed before Makinskaia, where we passed the
+remainder of the night on heaps of hay, in the court-yard of a paltry
+inn.
+
+At daybreak next morning, the saddle horses were ready, and we started
+for Manitchkaia on the confluence of the Manitch with the Don. After
+some hours' riding we were brought to a halt by the overflow of the
+latter river; and for want of a better road to reach the stanitza, we
+were obliged to betake ourselves to wading through the temporary lake.
+This was the most unpleasant part of our journey. For a distance of more
+than four leagues our horses plodded on through thick mud with the water
+up to their bellies; and sometimes they were forced to swim. Besides
+this, we were tormented by clouds of gnats. At last our situation became
+quite intolerable; for in the very middle of this passage we were
+assailed by a violent hurricane, the rain came down in torrents; our
+baggage waggon broke down, and we very nearly lost all its contents. The
+whole day was consumed in making the six leagues to Manitchkaia. Our
+Kalmucks only succeeded in extricating the waggon from the hole in which
+it was stuck fast, by yoking one of their horses to it by the tail. This
+is an infallible means as we often found by experience; nothing can
+resist the violent efforts of the unfortunate horse when he finds
+himself in that predicament.
+
+Leaving Manitchkaia, we skirted along the basin of the Manitch. The
+first dwellings we descried were some miserable Tatar cabins, surrounded
+with brambles and thistles. We found in them an old Tatar captain, a
+relic of the French campaign. He amused us a good deal by his pompous
+encomiums on the valour and tall stature of the Prussians. A Frenchman,
+said he, does not fear ten Russians, but a Prussian would settle at
+least ten Frenchmen.
+
+For three days our journey was without interest. No traces of buildings
+were to be seen; at intervals there appeared in the middle of the
+steppes, a Kalmuck tent, the inhabitants of which kept a large herd of
+horses; then here and there some strayed camels, and these were the only
+objects that broke the dreary monotony of the wilderness. But on the
+fourth day, we reached the vicinity of the great Khouroul of the
+Kalmucks, the residence of their high priest. One of our Cossacks was
+sent forward to announce our visit, and an hour after his departure two
+priests came galloping up to us. After complimenting us in the name of
+the grand Lama, they presented us with brandy distilled from mare's
+milk, in token of welcome, and fell in to line with our party. Some
+minutes afterwards we descried the white tents of the Khouroul. Our
+party was every moment swelled by fresh reinforcements, and we had soon
+fifty horsemen caracoling by our sides. Having reached the centre of the
+Khouroul, we alighted, and then walking between two lines of priests
+dressed in garments of the most glaring colours, we were conducted to
+the high priest's tent. This venerable representative of the great Dalai
+Lama, was an old man upwards of seventy, entirely bald, and with
+features of a much less Kalmuck cast than his countrymen. He was wrapped
+in a wide tunic of yellow brocade, lined with cherry red silk, and his
+fingers were busy with the beads of his chaplet. After many salutations
+on both sides we sat down on a sofa, and then, according to the
+invariable Kalmuck usage, we were helped to brandy and koumis, a
+beverage at which my friend Kloch made very queer faces. Next, I
+presented the high priest with two pounds of bad tobacco, purchased at
+Novo Tcherkask, which I passed off as genuine Latakieh. He was so
+delighted with my present that he did honour to it on the spot, with
+every mark of extreme satisfaction. This high priest will have the
+honour to be burned after his death, and his ashes, formed into a paste
+with a certain ingredient, will be worked into a little statue, which
+will adorn the temple to be erected to his memory. His successor is
+already nominated; he looks like a stupid fanatic, puffed up with the
+importance of his future dignity; we afterwards saw him acquit himself
+of his religious duties, with a conscientiousness quite rare among the
+Cossack Kalmucks. All the priests of this khouroul, appeared to us
+incomparably less devout than those of the Volga and the Caspian. They
+have very little reverence for their spiritual chief; they seem fully
+aware of the absurdities of their religious notions and ceremonies, and
+if they set any value by their functions, it is because they enable them
+to lead a life of indolence and sensuality, and exempt them from
+military service. The laity seems to be very indifferent as to religious
+matters. The women alone seem attached to their ancient principles; one
+of them burst into a fury because her husband allowed us to see and
+touch the leaves of her prayer-book. It is to their intercourse with the
+Cossacks that we must attribute the lapse of these Kalmucks from the
+strictness of the primitive rule, which has been preserved almost
+unimpaired among the Kalmucks of the Caspian.
+
+After leaving the high priest's tent we attended the religious
+ceremonies, in which there was nothing very striking. A sheep was
+afterwards killed in honour of our visit, and was served up, cut into
+small pieces, in a huge cast-iron pan. The ragout was black and
+detestable, but hunger made it seem delicious.
+
+The women of the vicinity arrived in the evening, and began to sing in
+chorus, parading round the khouroul. Their strains were profoundly
+melancholy; nothing like them had ever yet struck my ears. Their voices
+were so sonorous and vibrating, that the sound was like that of brazen
+instruments; and heard in that vast solemn wilderness, it produced the
+most singular impression. After walking half-a-dozen times round the
+khouroul the singers halted, and forming line with their faces towards
+the temple, they stretched out their arms and prostrated themselves
+repeatedly. The women having ended, next came the mandjis or musicians,
+who made the air resound with the braying of their trumpets at the
+moment when the sun was descending below the horizon.
+
+Next day we left the khouroul to return to the banks of the Manitch; I
+then continued my levelling along the course of that stream up to the
+point, where eighteen months before, on my way back from the Caspian, I
+had been stopped by want of water and pasture. In our return journey we
+passed through numerous Kalmuck camps on the right bank of the Manitch,
+and were everywhere received with the liveliest delight. As all these
+nomades are exclusively engaged in rearing cattle, our curiosity was
+greatly excited by the prodigious herds of camels, horses, and oxen that
+covered the plain.
+
+Before we reached the Don we spent the last two nights in the lonely
+steppe, under the open sky. But six hours afterwards we were in
+Taganrok, in the drawing-room of the amiable English consul, surrounded
+by all the comforts of civilised life.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[13] We are quite convinced that the Comans mentioned by the Byzantine
+writers, are identical with the Kaptschaks of the Oriental historians.
+Rubruck's narrative supplies proof of this; moreover both peoples spoke
+Turkish. But in spite of all Klaproth's assertions, we do not believe
+that the Polovtzis of the Slavic chroniclers were Comans; for it seems
+to us far more rational to look for the descendants of the Comans among
+the Mussulman inhabitants of the south of the empire, who, as we learn
+from historic records, were already established in the same regions
+under the name of Kaptschak, at the arrival of Genghis Khan's Mongols.
+
+[14] Note that in our day the Cossack population though augmented during
+a succession of ages, by numerous emigrations, does not exceed 600,000
+souls; it must, therefore, in all probability, have been much less
+considerable in the fifteenth century, a supposition which further
+confirms our opinion that the Cossacks never formed a distinct nation.
+
+[15] According to Du Plan de Carpin, the Circassians do not appear to
+have escaped unscathed from the attacks of the Mongols; but there seems
+no reason to think that they were really subjugated.
+
+[16] Since we left Russia it has been proposed to equip the Cossack
+regiments at the cost of the government. The country would, of course,
+in that case be taxed, and would cease to differ in any respect from the
+other provinces.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+      JOURNEY FROM NOVO TCHERKASK ALONG THE DON--ANOTHER KNAVISH
+      POSTMASTER--MUSCOVITE MERCHANTS--COSSACK STANITZAS.
+
+
+Beyond Novo Tcherkask the road to Astrakhan runs northward along the
+right bank of the Don; the country still continuing the same naked and
+monotonous appearance; it is only in the neighbourhood of the river that
+its desolation is here and there relieved by a few clumps of trees in
+the ravines.
+
+It is certainly not without reason that the Russians boast of the rapid
+travelling in their country; its posts would be unrivalled in Europe
+were it not for the vexations practised by the _employés_ at the
+stations. On the whole we had hitherto had no great reason to complain;
+the official papers with which we were furnished smoothed many
+difficulties; but at the first station beyond Novo Tcherkask we endured
+the common fate of all who travel without titular grade or decoration,
+and were mercilessly fleeced. We arrived towards evening followed by
+another carriage of which we were but a few minutes in advance. A
+caleche without horses seemed a bad omen to us as we entered the
+court-yard; and the first answer given to our Cossack was, that we could
+not have horses until the next morning. The prospect of passing the
+night in a miserable hovel was disagreeable enough; but what remedy had
+we with a postmaster, who opening all his stables, showed that he had no
+horses? After waiting a full half hour to no purpose our interpreter
+explored the vicinity of the station, and on his return, some rubles
+bestowed on the head of the establishment procured us all the horses we
+wanted. We put to and started immediately, leaving our companions behind
+us; but they overtook us an hour afterwards, having done like ourselves;
+and so it appeared at last, that there were horses enough for us all.
+
+The travellers who followed us were young Muscovite merchants returning
+from some fair in the Caucasus. They amused themselves all night with
+letting off rockets and all kinds of fireworks, the sudden flash of
+which, lighting up the deep darkness of the steppes, produced a most
+striking effect.
+
+We passed on the following day through several stanitzas. These Cossack
+hamlets have a far more pleasing appearance than the Russian villages.
+The houses of which they consist are small, almost all of them built of
+painted wood, with green window-shutters. They have only a ground-floor,
+surrounded by a miniature gallery, and look as if they were merely
+intended for pretty toys. The interiors are extremely neat, and show an
+appreciation of domestic comfort of which the Russians betray no trace.
+You find in them table-linen, delf plates, forks, and all the most
+necessary utensils. The Cossacks have usually two dwellings adjoining
+each other. One of these, that which we have been speaking of, is
+occupied in summer, and almost always contains one handsome apartment,
+adorned with stained paper, images, flowers, and groups of arms; it is
+the room used on grand occasions, and for the accommodation of
+strangers. The other dwelling is built of earth, and resembles the
+_kates_ of the Muscovite peasants; it contains but one room, in which
+the whole family huddle themselves together in winter for the more
+warmth.
+
+In general, only women and children are to be seen in the stanitzas. The
+whole male population is under arms, with the exception of some veterans
+who have purchased, by forty years' service, the right of returning home
+to die. All the burden of labour falls on the women; it is they who must
+repair the houses, whitewash them, dress the furs, take care of the
+children, and tend the cattle. It is really inconceivable how they can
+accomplish so many laborious tasks.
+
+At Piatisbanskaia, a charming stanitza, shaded by handsome trees, and
+rising in an amphitheatre on the banks of the Don, we turned off from
+the post-road, and after crossing the river, entered on a sea of sand,
+through which we worked our way with immense difficulty. The peasants'
+horses are less used than those of the post to such toilsome marches,
+and it was really piteous to see their panting distress. The reflected
+glare of the sun, and the absence of any breath of wind, made this day's
+journey one of the most oppressive we encountered. It took us four hours
+to get over nine versts (less than six English miles). Though I wore a
+thick veil and blue spectacles, my eyelids were so swollen I could
+scarcely open them. Towards noon we at last reached a poor lonely
+village, where we rested until nightfall.
+
+The country from Piatisbanskaia is dreary, and void of vegetation. The
+stanitzas are few and far between, the land lies waste, and the
+sand-hills and hot winds betoken the approach to the deserts of the
+Caspian. Nothing is more saddening to the imagination, than the lifeless
+aspect and uniform hues of these endless plains. One is surprised to
+meet in them, from time to time, some miserable Cossack villages, and
+cannot tell how the inhabitants can exist amidst such desolation. This
+sad sterility is the work of men, rather than of nature. The present
+system of government of the Don Cossacks is an insuperable bar to
+agricultural improvement; and so long as it exists, the land must remain
+uncultivated.
+
+But, as we have already remarked, all is contrast in Russia. Extremes of
+all kinds meet there without any transition: from a desert you pass into
+a populous town, from a cabin to a palace, from a Tatar mosque into an
+ancient Christian cathedral, from an arid plain into the cheerful German
+colonies. Surprises follow one upon the other without end, and give a
+peculiar zest to travelling, scarcely to be experienced in any other
+part of Europe.
+
+It is particularly in approaching Sarepta that one feels the force of
+these reflections: the novel impressions that there await the traveller
+who arrives benumbed in soul from the dreary wilderness, come upon him
+with the bewildering effect of a marvellous dream. Even were Sarepta
+whisked away, and set down in the middle of Switzerland, one could not
+fail to be delighted with so charming a place; but to feel all its real
+excellence, one should come to it weary and worn as we were, one should
+have known what it was to long for a little shade and water, as for
+manna from the skies, and have plodded on for many days through a
+country like that we have described, under the unmitigating rays of a
+roasting sun.
+
+Picture to yourself a pretty little German town, with its high gabled
+houses, its fruit trees, fountains, and promenades, its scrupulous
+neatness, and its comfortable and happy people, and you will have an
+idea of Sarepta: industry, the fine arts, morality, sociability,
+commerce, are all combined in that favoured spot.
+
+The Moravian colony, shut in within a bend of the Volga, in the midst of
+the Kalmuck hordes, eloquently demonstrates what miracles decision and
+perseverance can effect. It is the first shoot planted by Europe in that
+remote region, amidst those pastoral tribes so jealous of their
+independence; and the changes wrought by the Moravian brethren on the
+rude soil they have fertilised, and on the still ruder character of the
+inhabitants, give striking evidence of the benefits of our civilisation.
+
+Every thing breathes of peace and contentment in this little town, on
+which rests the blessing of God. It is the only place I know in Russia
+in which the eye is never saddened by the sight of miserable penury. No
+bitter thought mingles there with the interesting observations gleaned
+by curiosity. Every house is a workshop, every individual a workman.
+During the day every one is busy; but in the evening the thriving and
+cheerful population throng the walks and the square, and give a most
+pleasing air of animation to the town.
+
+Like most Germans, the Moravian brethren are passionately fond of music.
+The piano, heard at evening in almost every house, reminds them of their
+fatherland, and consoles them for the vicinity of the Kalmucks.
+
+We visited the establishments of the Moravian sisters, where, by a
+fortunate chance, we met a German lady who spoke French very well. The
+life of the sisters is tranquil, humble, and accordant with the purest
+principles of morality and religion. They are forty in number, and
+appear happy, as much so at least as it is possible to be in a perfectly
+monastic state of existence. Consummate order, commodious apartments,
+and a handsome garden, make the current of their lives flow with
+unruffled smoothness, as far as outward things are concerned. Music,
+too, is a great resource for them. We observed in the prayer-room three
+pianos, with which they accompany the hymns they sing in chorus. They
+execute very pretty work in pearls and tapestry, which they sell for the
+benefit of the community. There would be nothing very extraordinary in
+these details, if any other country were in question; we are afraid
+they will even be thought too commonplace; but if the reader will only
+reflect for a moment on the position of this oasis of civilisation on
+the far verge of Europe, in the midst of the Kalmucks and on the
+confines of the country of the Khirghis, he will think our enthusiasm
+very natural and excusable.
+
+The only thing that rather offended our eyes was the would-be finery of
+the women's dress. Would any one imagine that in this remote little
+corner of the earth they should be ridiculous enough to ape French
+fashions and wear bonnets with flowers? How preferable are the simple
+demure costume of the Mennonite women and their little Alsacian caps, to
+the mingled elegance and shabbiness of the Moravian sisters. Their dress
+is quite out of character, and makes them look like street
+ballad-singers.
+
+To give an idea of it, here follows an exact description of the costume
+of a fashionably-dressed young lady of Sarepta (our host's
+daughter.):--A flowered muslin gown, short and narrow; a black apron; a
+large Madras handkerchief on the neck; a patch-work ridicule carried in
+the hand; thick-soled shoes, bare arms, and a pink bonnet with flowers.
+To complete the portrait, we must add a very pretty face, and plump,
+well-rounded arms. The women here are much handsomer than in any other
+part of Russia; many of them are remarkable specimens of the North
+German style of beauty.
+
+On the evening of our arrival we were advised to attend the funeral
+music performed as a last honour to one of the principal inhabitants of
+Sarepta. The body was laid out in a mortuary chapel, with the family and
+numerous friends around it, and was not to be removed to the cemetery
+until the fourth day; an excellent custom, which may prevent horrible
+accidents.
+
+It would be difficult to imagine any thing more melancholy than the
+harmony produced by the voices and the brass instruments that
+alternately answered each other, and seemed the echoes of the saddest
+and most profound emotions of the heart. A great number of persons were
+present, and all the solemnity of the occasion did not hinder those
+worthy Germans from gathering round us with the liveliest curiosity, and
+putting a thousand questions to us about the purport of our travels.
+
+The association of the Moravian brethren dates from the celebrated John
+Huss, who was burnt at Constance, in 1419. Their history is but a long
+series of persecutions. The issue of the Thirty Years' War, so
+disastrous for Frederick, the elector palatine, and king of Bohemia, was
+particularly fatal to them. At that period most of the Protestants of
+Bohemia fled their country, and spread themselves through Saxony,
+Brandenburg, Poland, and Hungary. The vengeance of the Emperor Frederick
+II. pursued them without ceasing, and great numbers of them perished in
+want and wretchedness. In 1722, Christian David, a carpenter, and some
+others of the proscribed, obtained permission from the Count of
+Zinzendorf, in Lusace, to settle on his lands. They reached their place
+of refuge in secret, with their wives and children, and David struck his
+axe into a tree, exclaiming: "Here shall the bird find a dwelling, and
+the swallow a nest." His hopes were not disappointed. The new
+establishment assumed the name of _Herrenhut_ (The Lord's Keeping), and
+its members were soon known in Germany only by that appellation. Such
+was the beginning of the new evangelical society of the Brethren of the
+Unity of the Confession of Augsburg. Herrenhut, the central
+establishment, throve rapidly, and became known all over Europe for its
+industry and its manufactures; and by and by, when the proselytising
+spirit had possessed the brethren, they extended their relations over
+all parts of the world.
+
+Shortly after the Empress Catherine II. had made known to Europe that
+Russia was open to foreigners, and that she would bestow lands the
+immigrants, a deputation from Herrenhut to St. Petersburg decided on the
+formation of a Moravian colony in the government of Astrakhan. Five of
+the brethren visited the banks of the Volga in 1769, and on the 3rd of
+September of the same year, the colony was settled at the confluence of
+the Sarpa with the Volga, and consisted at that time of thirty persons
+of both sexes. Its name was borrowed from the Bible, and an olive and a
+wheatsheaf were chosen for its arms.
+
+It was only by dint of courage and perseverance that these first
+colonists succeeded in their enterprise, surrounded as they were on all
+sides by the savage hordes of the Kalmucks, having no knowledge of the
+language of the country, and situated at more than 120 versts from any
+Russian town. But after the first difficulties were surmounted, their
+prosperity was rapid. As we have already said, the Moravian brethren
+form a vast society, spread throughout all parts of the world for the
+propagation of the Gospel; but, moreover, for the better fulfilment of
+their mission they are all required by the rules of their order to know
+some trade, so as to be able to support themselves by the work of their
+own hands. Hence Sarepta soon became a seat of manufactures of all
+sorts, and an industrial school for the surrounding country, and
+Catherine's intentions were realised.
+
+As for the brethren themselves, the establishment of an industrial town
+in a land so remote and so destitute of resources and markets, was for
+them but a secondary object. Their chief aim was the conversion of the
+Kalmucks, to accomplish which they thought rightly that it was
+indispensable to have a permanent settlement among those people. All
+their proselytising efforts, however, remained fruitless; the Kalmucks
+were deaf to their instruction. It was not till 1820 that they succeeded
+in converting a few families, and inducing them to receive baptism. But
+now the Russian clergy interposed, and insisted on the converts being
+baptised according to the Greek rite, and finally, all the Moravian
+missions were suppressed. Ever since then Sarepta has been a purely
+manufacturing town.
+
+The colony of Sarepta endured great calamities in the beginning. In
+1771, the period of the famous emigration of the Kalmucks, the brethren
+had a narrow escape of being carried into captivity, and were saved only
+by the mildness of the winter, which prevented their enemies from
+crossing the Volga and joining the great horde. The Cossack Pougatchef
+ravaged the whole country in 1773, and the colonists, 200 in number,
+including women, were obliged to retreat to Astrakhan. The defeat of the
+rebel shortly afterwards enabled them to return home. Their town had
+been destroyed, but they were not disheartened, and it soon rose again
+from its ruins. A whole street was burned down in Sarepta in 1812, and
+in the same year they lost their warehouses in Moscow, containing an
+immense stock of goods, in the great conflagration. But the most
+terrible disaster was that of 1823, when two-thirds of the colony and
+the largest establishments were reduced to ashes; the loss was estimated
+at upwards of 40,000_l._ The Emperor Alexander and the Moravian
+Association afforded the poor colonists generous aid, but they could
+never restore the old prosperity of Sarepta.
+
+All these heavy blows falling successively on the unfortunate community,
+did not, however, prevent the development of its industry. Great
+activity prevailed in its very various manufactories down to the
+beginning of the present century, and their productions continued to be
+in request in all parts of Russia. Some of the brethren established in
+the great towns of the empire were the active and honest correspondents
+of the Volga colonists. The silks and cottons of Sarepta were so
+successful that the weavers of that town formed establishments at their
+own cost among the German colonies of the government of Saratof.[17] But
+all these elements of wealth were annihilated by the new customs'
+regulations; most of the manufactories were closed; as for the rest,
+with one or two exceptions, being obliged to confine themselves to the
+production of a small number of articles, they can only subsist by dint
+of great economy and skill. The difficulty, too, of procuring workmen
+makes labour extremely dear in Sarepta; and besides this the colonists
+instead of importing the raw materials direct from the foreigner, are
+obliged to purchase them in the markets of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
+The decrease in the waters of the Sarpa has also been disastrous to the
+trade of Sarepta. The brethren had set up a great number of saw and
+other mills on the banks, and these brought them large profits; but the
+want of water caused them all to be abandoned in 1800. In noticing this
+continual struggle of man against nature and events, we cannot but pay
+the tribute of our admiration to those intrepid colonists, who, on the
+furthest verge of Europe, in the arid steppes of the Volga, have never
+suffered themselves to be overcome by their mischances, but have always
+found fresh resources in their own energy and perseverance.
+
+The manufacture of mustard is at present the most important branch of
+business in Sarepta, producing nearly 16,000 kilogrammes yearly, besides
+4800 kilogrammes of oil. This trade is not unimportant to the
+neighbouring villages, since it uses upon an average every year 160,000
+kilogrammes of mustard seed, for which the manufacturer pays the peasant
+at the rate of 1.60 rubles the poud or thirty-three pounds.
+
+The other trades that are still carried on with some degree of success
+are the manufactures of silk and cotton tissues, stockings and caps,
+tobacco and tanned leather, but these are all upon a greatly reduced
+scale and at a greatly diminished rate of profit. There is also a very
+clever optician in Sarepta, and there are several confectioners who
+travel to Moscow. The colony possesses also warehouses of manufactured
+goods, and offers almost all the resources and conveniences of a good
+European town.
+
+Agriculture can only be a secondary matter in the colony; of the 17,000
+deciatines of land possessed by it 2000 are quite unfit for cultivation,
+10,000 are salt, and only 4000 are really good. There is, however, a
+little village named Schönbrunn, not far from the town, in which there
+are some families engaged in agriculture and cattle rearing. Merino
+sheep have not done well with them hitherto. They had a large stock some
+years ago, but it dwindled away either from mismanagement, or from the
+severity of the climate, and at present does not exceed 1000 head.
+
+The brethren possess also numerous gardens along the Sarpa, irrigated by
+water wheels, and producing all sorts of fruits and plants, but chiefly
+tobacco, and latterly indigo, which will no doubt become of great
+importance to the colony.
+
+The little town of Sarepta has not changed much within the last eighty
+years: its buildings still present the same appearance as they did some
+years after the foundation of the colony; but the great industrial
+movements of former times have deserted it, and its streets are become
+lonely and silent. The fountain still flows on the same spot, and is
+still shaded by the same trees; but the blackened walls of the two
+finest manufactories, burnt down in the terrible fire of 1823, and which
+the colonists have never been able to rebuild, make a singularly painful
+impression on the beholder, and tell too plainly that in spite of their
+courage and industry, events have been too strong for the Moravians. All
+travellers who visit Sarepta, and have an opportunity of appreciating
+the worth of its inhabitants, will certainly desire from their hearts a
+return of prosperity to this interesting colony: unhappily it is not
+probable that these wishes will be very speedily realised.
+
+The Moravian community has augmented but little since 1769; for in 1837
+it comprised but 380 souls, viz., 160 men and 220 women; and even of
+these, only one half were natives of Sarepta, the remainder being
+immigrants from abroad. Many causes combine to keep down the population.
+In the first place, no colonist is allowed to marry, until he can prove
+the sufficiency of his means; both men and women, therefore, marry late
+in life, and large families are extremely rare. Again, no brother can
+marry, if his doing so would cause any detriment to another; and all
+those who, by their misconduct, in any degree disturb the order and
+tranquillity of the colony, are banished and put out of the association.
+A sort of passport is given them for the government of Saratof, and then
+they are at liberty either to enrol themselves as government colonists,
+or to enjoy their privileges as foreigners. Lastly, after the great fire
+of 1823, many of the brethren, discouraged by the loss of their all,
+left Sarepta, and went to reside elsewhere. All these reasons,
+sufficiently account for the stationary condition of the population. Of
+strangers to the association, there are in Sarepta, thirty families of
+work people from the German colonies of Saratof, forty Russians, and
+twenty Tatars; some fifty Kalmuck kibitkas (tents) supply labourers for
+the gardens and for other works.
+
+There are now fifty-six stone and 136 wooden houses in Sarepta, and
+outside it, one stone and forty-nine wooden. Its public buildings, are a
+church, with an organ and a belfry, and three large workhouses for
+bachelors, widows, and girls. These serve at the same time as asylums
+for orphans, and for all persons who have no families. There are also
+schools for the young of both sexes, in which the course of instruction
+is rather extensive, and includes the German, Russian, and French
+languages, history, geography, and elementary mathematics.
+
+At first, Sarepta was surrounded with ditches and ramparts, supplied
+with artillery and defended by a detachment of Cossacks; but these
+military displays have long disappeared, and the worthy Moravians are
+left alone to their own peaceful pursuits. In describing this
+interesting colony, we must not forget its numerous and delicious
+fountains. Every street, every house has its own, the water being
+conveyed by wooden pipes underground into a common reservoir, whence it
+is distributed to all parts. Nor will it be without a keen feeling of
+satisfaction that the weary traveller will stop at the Sarepta hotel,
+where he will find a good bed and a good table, excellent wine, and all
+the comforts he can desire.
+
+The Moravian brethren of Sarepta justly enjoy much more extensive
+privileges than all the other colonists of Russia: they pay to the crown
+but a slight tax per deciatine of land; and they have the right of
+trading in all parts of the empire and to foreign parts, as first guild
+merchants without paying any dues. They have their own perfectly
+separate administration, and all litigated affairs among them are
+settled by themselves, without the interference of any Russian tribunal:
+if any disputes arise between them and their neighbours, they have
+recourse to the general committee of the German colonies of Saratof, or
+in matters of weight, to the ministry in St. Petersburg, through one of
+their brethren, who resides there as their agent. In cases of murder
+alone, they deliver over the criminal to the Russian authorities.
+Banishment is usually the sentence pronounced for other offences by the
+tribunal of the association, which consists of a mayor and two
+assistants, elected by the community, and who act also as administrators
+of the colony, and have under their orders an officer, who is
+responsible for all things pertaining to the town and country police.
+The public revenue is 20,000 rubles, produced by the rent of the
+fisheries and by special taxes; this money is spent in keeping up the
+public buildings, the schools, workhouses, &c.
+
+The habits of these colonists, their amount of education, and their
+religious principles, make a marked distinction between them and all the
+other Germans in Russia. We have seen few sectarians whose religious
+views are characterised by so much sound sense. While discharging their
+duties with the most scrupulous exactness, they avail themselves of the
+good things granted them by Providence, live in a liberal and commodious
+manner, and surround themselves with all that can render life easy and
+agreeable. What struck us most of all, was to find invariably in the
+mere workman as well as in the wealthy manufacturer, a well-bred,
+well-informed man, of elegant manners and appearance, and engaging
+conversation. We spent but a few days in the colony, but our knowledge
+of the German language, enabled us quickly to acquire the friendship of
+the principal inhabitants; and when we left the town, our carriage was
+surrounded by a great number of those worthy people who came to bid us a
+last farewell, and to wish us a pleasant journey through the wild
+steppes of the Kalmucks.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[17] The German colonies of the government of Saratof consist of 102
+villages, with a population of 81,271; in 1820 they produced 242,830
+hectolitres of wheat, worth 555,263 paper rubles, and tobacco to the
+value of 260,485.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+      FIRST KALMUCK ENCAMPMENTS--THE VOLGA--ASTRAKHAN--VISIT TO A
+      KALMUCK PRINCE--MUSIC, DANCING, COSTUME, &c.--EQUESTRIAN
+      FEATS--RELIGIOUS CEREMONY--POETRY.
+
+
+At eight in the evening we left Sarepta, delighted in the highest degree
+with the good Moravian brethren, and the cordial hospitality they had
+shown us.
+
+At some distance from the colony, a dull white line, scarcely
+distinguishable through the gloom, announced the presence of the Volga.
+We followed its course all night, catching a glimpse of it from time to
+time by the faint glimmering of the stars, and by numerous lights along
+its banks; these were fishermen's lanterns. There was an originality in
+the whole region that strongly impressed our imaginations. Those
+numerous lights, flitting every moment from place to place, were like
+the will o' the wisp that beguiles the benighted traveller; and then the
+Kalmuck encampments with their black masses that seemed to glide over
+the surface of the steppe; the darkness of the night; the speed with
+which our troïka bore us over the boundless plain; the shrill tinklings
+of the horse bells, and above all, the thought that we were in the land
+of the Kalmucks, wrought us up to a state of nervous excitement that
+made us see every thing in the hues of fancy.
+
+At daybreak, our eyes were bent eagerly on the Volga, that gleamed in
+the colours of the morning sky. From the plateau where we were, we could
+see the whole country, and it may easily be conceived with what
+admiration we gazed on the calm majestic stream, and its multitude of
+islands clothed with alders and aspens. On the other side of the river,
+the steppes where the Khirgises and Kalmucks encamp, stretched away as
+far as the eye could reach, till bounded by a horizon as even as that of
+the ocean. It would have been difficult to conceive a more majestic
+spectacle, or one more in harmony with the ideas evoked by the Volga, to
+which its course of more than six hundred leagues assigns the foremost
+rank among the great rivers of Europe.
+
+The post-road, which skirts the river as far as Astrakhan, is difficult,
+and often dangerous. Our driver was constantly turning his horses into
+the water, to prevent their sinking in a soil that undulates like the
+sea with every breath of wind. At intervals we encountered Cossack
+villages almost buried under sandy billows, and many cabins entirely
+abandoned. This encroachment of the sands, which increases every year in
+extent, will soon change the already dreary banks of the Volga into a
+real desert. No one can behold the sterility and desolation of these
+regions, without marvelling at the patience with which the Cossacks
+endure a visitation that from year to year drives them from their
+cabins, and compels them to build new ones. For a length of more than
+sixty versts, the traveller finds his route shut in between the bed of
+the river, and moving hills of sand, whose dead monotony has a most
+depressing effect on the spirits. It is still worse at night, for then
+he seems surrounded with perils. No wonder if fear possesses him when he
+thinks that a plundering nomade horde may be lying in ambush behind
+those defiles which the darkness renders still more menacing; the
+Cossack posts, however, which he meets from time to time along his road,
+contribute greatly to quiet his apprehensions.
+
+These Cossacks were originally from the Don, and were sent by the
+government to defend the frontiers of the Volga against the incursions
+of the nomades. Settling with their families, they founded several
+villages, and afterwards peopled Samara, Saratof, and other towns. There
+remains of these colonists only a military population, whose duty is
+limited to watching the movements of the Khirgises from a distance, and
+protecting travellers. The soil affords them no means of practising
+agriculture, but they supply their wants by fishing.
+
+Since our departure from Sarepta, we were much surprised to find on this
+little frequented route much better horses than are met with on the main
+post-roads; the stations too seemed larger, more commodious and
+elegant, and every thing about them betokened attentive care on the part
+of the government.
+
+As we approached Astrakhan, the sand-hills diminished insensibly in
+height, until they no longer confined the view. All this part of the
+steppe is bare of wood, and the salt sandy waste is only spotted here
+and there with pools of water and patches of wormwood. No sound is heard
+but the shrill cries of the petrels and wild geese that haunt the edges
+of the pools. Here and there only we encountered numerous herds of
+camels going to drink the clear water of the Volga, or wandering among
+the Kalmuck kibitkas scattered over the steppes.
+
+At the last station but one, we were startled from our breakfast by the
+sound of military music, which for a moment threw the whole house into a
+state of revolution. We were ourselves very much puzzled to know what it
+meant, and jumping up from table we ran and saw--what? A steamer, no
+less, puffing and smoking, and lashing the astonished waters of the calm
+Volga into foam. Gay flags flaunted over its deck, which was crowded
+with passengers, and whence proceeded the sounds that had so surprised
+us. It passed before us, I will not say proudly, but very clumsily, by
+no means skimming along the water like a swallow.
+
+When we saw the crowded state of the deck, a thought struck us that the
+matter in some degree concerned ourselves, for as the steamer was from
+Astrakhan, it was to be presumed that it carried several persons we had
+expected to see there. But our conjectures fell short of the reality,
+and our consternation was extreme, when the postmaster told us that the
+boat was conveying all the good society of Astrakhan on a visit to a
+Kalmuck prince, whose custom it was to give splendid entertainments at
+that season of the year. What made the thing still more vexatious, was,
+that many persons had already talked to us about the said prince, and
+strongly recommended us to go and see him.
+
+There could not have been a more favourable opportunity for indulging
+our curiosity; but we were compelled to forego it for want of a
+_podoroshni_[18] entitling us to have horses on our way back. The
+Russians are such rigid sticklers for forms, that nothing but strong
+motives of interest can make them swerve from the letter of their
+instructions. Now it happened by a singular piece of ill-luck that our
+postmaster was an honest man after his fashion; that is to say, he would
+not depart a hair's breadth from his regulations to please any one. His
+stupid obstinacy was proof against all solicitations and bribes, and we
+gave up the tempting project of visiting the prince, whose palace we had
+passed a few hours before, about forty versts from the station.
+
+Our best course under the circumstances would have been to hail the
+steamer, and go on board of it, but we did not think of this until we
+had lost much time with the postmaster, and then it was too late to
+overtake the steamer, notwithstanding its slow rate of moving. When we
+afterwards related our mischances to the governor of Astrakhan, he
+blamed us much for not having at once thought of so simple an expedient.
+
+About four o'clock P.M. the same day, we came in sight of
+Astrakhan. I cannot describe our sensations when from a large boat in
+which we embarked, we beheld the fine panorama of the city, its
+churches, cupolas, and ruined forts gradually coming forth to the view.
+Situated in an island of the Volga, its environs are not covered like
+those of most great cities, with villages and cultivated fields: no, it
+stands alone, surrounded by water and sand, proud of its sovereignty
+over the noble river, and of the name of Star of the Desert, with which
+the poetic imagination of the Orientals has graced it.
+
+We had great difficulty in finding a lodging after we had landed, and
+though assisted by a police officer, we spent more than two hours in
+wandering from place to place, everywhere meeting with refusals. We were
+about cutting short our perplexities by taking refuge in a Persian
+caravanserai, when chance came to our aid. A Polish lady whom we fell in
+with, offered us the accommodation of her house, and with such good
+grace, that we could not hesitate to accept her civility. Besides, our
+travels in Russia had accustomed us to the sympathy with which every
+thing French is greeted by the Poles. The last political events have not
+yet been able to weaken their good will towards us; they regard us as
+brethren, and are ready to prove it on all occasions.
+
+Except some crown buildings occupied by the _employés_, there is nothing
+in Astrakhan to remind us of its being under foreign sway. The town has
+completely preserved the Asiatic physiognomy it owes to its climate, its
+past history, and its diversified population. It is built partly on a
+hill, partly on the plain, and several of its oldest portions stand on
+low spots intersected with marshes, and are exposed to very unwholesome
+exhalations during the summer, after the river floods. A canal with
+quays runs through its whole length.
+
+My husband's first proceeding after a hurried installation in our new
+quarters, was to call on M. Fadier, the curator-general of the Kalmucks,
+and try to obtain a _podoroshni_ as quickly as possible. He came back in
+an hour, and told me that we were to start that evening in a boat
+belonging to the admiralty, which was placed at our disposal. The
+governor, M. Fadier, the port-admiral, and all the superior society of
+the place were visiting the prince, as we had before been told; but
+Madame Fadier had been kept at home by indisposition, and that lady,
+whose name will frequently appear in our reminiscences of Astrakhan,
+obligingly removed all our difficulties.
+
+We embarked in the evening in the boat, with a crew of six stout Kalmuck
+rowers and a Tatta pilot. We expected to arrive at the prince's in the
+morning; but by some unaccountable chance I was seized all at once with
+a dread that obliged us to halt, in spite of our eager desire to reach
+our journey's end. The night was very dark, and the river, the waves of
+which made our boat reel, seemed to me boundless; yet all this was not
+enough to account for the insurmountable terror that took hold of me so
+capriciously. Many sea-voyages and long excursions on the Bosphorus in
+those light caïques that threaten to upset with the slightest movement,
+ought to have seasoned me against such emotions; but fear is a sentiment
+that cannot reason, and that comes upon us unawares, without any real
+danger to justify it. I must add, however, in palliation of my conduct,
+that the frequent lightning and the heaviness of the atmosphere foretold
+a storm; and no doubt had something to do with the nervous state in
+which I found myself.
+
+Be this as it may, I could not rest until I had heard my husband give
+orders to put back into port, and the sequel proved that this was really
+the best thing we could do. The night was horrible: one of those
+terrific squalls that are so frequent and so dangerous on the Volga,
+came on soon after we landed, and made me bless that terror of which I
+was at first ashamed, and which I was now tempted to regard as a secret
+presentiment of the danger that threatened us.
+
+At sunrise next day we set out by the post, and travelled till evening
+along that river on which I had been so much agitated. Its appearance in
+the fresh, calm morning was little in accordance with my terror on the
+preceding day. The weather showed that brilliancy that always follows a
+storm in southern lands, and our spirits were such as to make our little
+trip exceedingly agreeable. The postmaster who had annoyed us so much
+the preceding day, could not help showing great surprise at our
+reappearance. He examined our new _podoroshni_ with scrupulous care, and
+having satisfied himself that it was quite as it ought to be, he was
+suddenly seized with great respect for us. The quickness with which we
+had obtained the paper, was plain proof to him that we were persons of
+importance.
+
+We left our post-carriage in the evening, and embarked; for we had still
+a dozen versts to travel on the river before reaching the prince's; but
+all the phantoms of the previous night had fled before the bright sun,
+and I stepped gaily into the boat thinking only of the pleasure of a
+long row over the limpid waves of the Volga. But now a last vexation
+befel us; one would have fancied some evil genius was amusing himself
+with baffling all our arrangements, merely for the purpose of preventing
+our paying that visit on which we were so eagerly bent.
+
+Our whole desire was to arrive at the prince's before the departure of
+the steamer; for as for the fêtes, we had already given up all thought
+of them. From what Madame Fadier had told us we were quite at ease, and
+never doubted but that we should find the whole company assembled in the
+Kalmuck palace. Fancy our dismay then, when our boatman suddenly called
+out 'the steamer!' pointing at the same time to a light smoke that rose
+above the trees. I am not very prone to superstition, but this obvious
+fatality was too much for my philosophy. Here was the best part of the
+pleasure we had anticipated from this unlucky trip, struck from us at
+one blow, and that at the very moment when we flattered ourselves we had
+overcome all obstacles! the steamer passed proudly and triumphantly at a
+little distance from us, with its joyous music that seemed to insult our
+disappointment, and our poor little boat, tossed about like a nutshell
+by the surge of the confounded vessel, had not even the honour of being
+seen at first. Some one at last condescended to notice us; a telescope
+was pointed in our direction, and we afterwards learned that our
+appearance gave rise to a multitude of conjectures, which, of course,
+were solved only in Astrakhan.
+
+Nothing remained for us but to bear our fate with philosophical
+composure; and we did so with the confident belief that luck, which had
+hitherto run so decidedly against us, must soon take a turn in our
+favour. Forgetting, therefore, the steamboat, its music, and its
+brilliant company, we applied all our attention to the spectacle before
+us, which was certainly much better worth seeing than the prosaic
+steamer.
+
+The little island belonging to Prince Tumene stands alone in the middle
+of the river. From a distance it looks like a nest of verdure resting on
+the waves, and waiting only a breath of wind to send it floating down
+the rapid course of the Volga; but, as you advance, the land unfolds
+before you, the trees form themselves into groups, and the prince's
+palace displays a portion of its white façade, and the open galleries of
+its turrets. Every object assumes a more decided and more picturesque
+form, and stands out in clear relief, from the cupola of the mysterious
+pagoda which you see towering above the trees, to the humble kibitka
+glittering in the magic tints of sunset. The landscape, as it presented
+itself successively to our eyes, with the unruffled mirror of the Volga
+for its framework, wore a calm, but strange and profoundly melancholy
+character. It was like nothing we had ever seen before; it was a new
+world which fancy might people as it pleased; one of those mysterious
+isles one dreams of at fifteen after reading the "Arabian Nights;" a
+thing, in short, such as crosses the traveller's path but once in all
+his wanderings, and which we enjoyed with all the zest of unexpected
+pleasure. But we were soon called back from all these charming phantoms
+of the imagination to the realities of life? we were arrived. Our
+boatman moored his little craft in a clump of thornbroom; and whilst my
+husband proceeded to the palace with his interpreter, I remained in the
+boat, divided between the pleasure I anticipated from the extraordinary
+things to be seen in a Kalmuck palace, and the involuntary apprehension
+awakened in me by all the incidents of this visit.
+
+The latter feeling did not last long. Not many minutes had elapsed after
+the departure of my companions, when I saw them returning with a young
+man, who was presented to me as one of the princes Tumene. It was with
+equal elegance and good breeding he introduced me to the palace, where
+every step brought me some new surprise. I was quite unprepared for what
+I saw; and really in passing through two salons which united the most
+finished display of European taste with the gorgeousness of Asia, on
+being suddenly accosted by a young lady who welcomed me in excellent
+French, I felt such a thrill of delight, that I could only answer by
+embracing her heartily! In this manner an acquaintance is quickly made.
+
+The room where we took tea was soon filled with Russian and Cossack
+officers, guests of the prince's, and thus assumed a European aspect
+which we had not at all expected after the departure of the steamer. But
+was this what we had come to see? was it to look at Russian officers,
+and articles of furniture of well known fashion, to take caravan tea off
+a silver tray, and talk French, that we had left Astrakhan? These
+reflections soon yielded to the secret pleasure of meeting the image of
+Europe even among the Kalmucks, and being able without the aid of a
+dragoman to testify to the charming Polish lady who did the honours of
+the drawing-room, the gratification her presence afforded us. The old
+Prince Tumene, the head of the family, joined us by and by, and thanked
+us with the most exquisite politeness for our obliging visit.
+
+After the first civilities were over, I was conducted to a very handsome
+chamber, with windows opening on a large verandah. I found in it a
+toilette apparatus in silver, very elegant furniture, and many objects
+both rare and precious. My surprise augmented continually as I beheld
+this aristocratic sumptuousness. In vain I looked for any thing that
+could remind me of the Kalmucks; nothing around me had a tinge of
+_couleur locale_; all seemed rather to bespeak the abode of a rich
+Asiatic nabob; and with a little effort of imagination, I might easily
+have fancied myself transported into the marvellous world of the
+fairies, as I beheld that magnificent palace encircled with water, with
+its exterior fretted all over with balconies and fantastic ornaments,
+and its interior all filled with velvets, tapestries, and crystals, as
+though the touch of a wand had made all these wonders start from the
+bosom of the Volga! And what completed the illusion was the thought that
+the author of these prodigies was a Kalmuck prince, a chief of those
+half-savage tribes that wander over the sandy plains of the Caspian Sea,
+a worshipper of the Grand Lama, a believer in the metempsychosis; in
+short, one of those beings whose existence seems to us almost fabulous,
+such a host of mysterious legends do their names awaken in the mind.
+
+Madame Zakarevitch soon made me acquainted with all I wished to know
+respecting the princes Tumene and herself. Her husband, who had long
+been curator of the Kalmucks, died some years ago, a victim to the
+integrity with which he discharged his office. The employés, enraged at
+not being able to rob at their ease, combined together to have him
+brought to trial and persecuted him to his last moment with their base
+intrigues. His wife, who has all the impassioned character of the Poles,
+has ever since been actively engaged in vindication of his memory,
+devoting time, money, and toilsome journeys, with admirable perseverance
+to that sacred task. A friendship of long standing subsists between her
+and Prince Tumene, with whose daughter and a lady companion she usually
+passes part of the summer.
+
+Prince Tumene is the wealthiest and most influential of all the Kalmuck
+chiefs. In 1815 he raised a regiment at his own expense, and led it to
+Paris, for which meritorious service he was rewarded with numerous
+decorations. He has now the rank of colonel, and he was the first of
+this nomade people who exchanged his kibitka for an European dwelling.
+Absolute master in his own family (among the Kalmucks the same respect
+is paid to the eldest brother as to the father), he employs his
+authority only for the good of those around him. He possesses about a
+million deciatines of land, and several hundred families, from which he
+derives a considerable revenue. His race, which belongs to the tribe of
+the Koshots, is one of the most ancient and respected among the
+Kalmucks. Repeatedly tried by severe afflictions, his mind has taken an
+exclusively religious bent, and the superstitious practices to which he
+devotes himself give him a great reputation for sanctity among his
+countrymen. An isolated pavilion at some distance from the palace is his
+habitual abode, where he passes his life in prayer and religious
+conference with the most celebrated priests of the country. No one but
+these latter is allowed admission into his mysterious sanctuary; even
+his brothers have never entered it. This is assuredly a singular mode of
+existence, especially if we compare it with that which he might lead
+amidst the splendour and conveniences with which he has embellished his
+palace, and which betoken a cast of thought far superior to what we
+should expect to find in a Kalmuck. This voluntary sacrifice of earthly
+delights, this asceticism caused by moral sufferings, strikingly reminds
+us of Christianity and the origin of our religious orders. Like the most
+fervent Catholics, this votary of Lama seeks in solitude, prayer,
+austerity, and the hope of another life, consolations which all his
+fortune is powerless to afford him! Is not this the history of many a
+Trappist or Carthusian?
+
+The position of the palace is exquisitely chosen, and shows a sense of
+the beautiful as developed as that of the most civilised nations. It is
+built in the Chinese style, and is prettily seated on the gentle slope
+of a hill about a hundred feet from the Volga. Its numerous galleries
+afford views over every part of the isle, and the imposing surface of
+the river. From one of the angles the eye looks down on a mass of
+foliage, through which glitter the cupola and golden ball of the pagoda.
+Beautiful meadows, dotted over with clumps of trees, and fields in high
+cultivation, unfold their carpets of verdure on the left of the palace,
+and form different landscapes which the eye can take in at once. The
+whole is enlivened by the presence of Kalmuck horsemen, camels wandering
+here and there through the rich pastures, and officers conveying the
+chief's orders from tent to tent. It is a beautiful spectacle, various
+in its details, and no less harmonious in its assemblage.
+
+After learning the reasons why we had not arrived two days sooner,
+Madame Zakarevitch very agreeably surprised us with the assurance that
+it was the prince's intention to have the _fêtes_ repeated for us.
+Couriers had already been despatched to bring back the priests who had
+been engaged in the solemnities of the occasion, in order that we might
+have an opportunity of seeing their religious ceremonies. The day being
+now far advanced, we spent the remainder of it in visiting the palace in
+detail, and resting from the fatigues of our journey.
+
+At an early hour next day, Madame Zakarevitch came to accompany us to
+the prince's sister-in-law, who, during the fine season, resides in the
+kibitka in preference to the palace. Nothing could be more agreeable to
+us than this proposal. At last then I was about to see Kalmuck manners
+and customs without any foreign admixture. On the way I learned that the
+princess was renowned among her people for extreme beauty and
+accomplishments, besides many other details which contributed further to
+augment my curiosity. We formed a tolerably large party when we reached
+her tent, and as she had been informed of our intended visit, we
+enjoyed, on entering, a spectacle that far surpassed our anticipations.
+When the curtain at the doorway of the kibitka was raised, we found
+ourselves in a rather spacious room, lighted from above, and hung with
+red damask, the reflection from which shed a glowing tint on every
+object; the floor was covered with a rich Turkey carpet, and the air was
+loaded with perfumes. In this balmy atmosphere and crimson light we
+perceived the princess seated on a low platform at the further end of
+the tent, dressed in glistening robes, and as motionless as an idol.
+Some twenty women in full dress, sitting on their heels, formed a
+strange and parti-coloured circle round her. It was like nothing I could
+compare it to but an opera scene suddenly got up on the banks of the
+Volga. When the princess had allowed us time enough to admire her, she
+slowly descended the steps of the platform, approached us with dignity,
+took me by the hand, embraced me affectionately, and led me to the place
+she had just left. She did the same by Madame Zakarevitch and her
+daughter, and then graciously saluting the persons who accompanied us,
+she motioned them to be seated on a large divan opposite the platform.
+No mistress of a house in Paris could have done better. When every one
+had found a place, she sat down beside me, and through the medium of an
+Armenian, who spoke Russian and Kalmuck extremely well, she made me a
+thousand compliments, that gave me a very high opinion of her capacity.
+With the Armenian's assistance we were able to put many questions to
+each other, and notwithstanding the awkwardness of being obliged to have
+recourse to an interpreter, the conversation was far from growing
+languid, so eager was the princess for information of every kind. The
+Armenian, who was a merry soul, constituted himself, of his own
+authority, grand master of the ceremonies, and commenced his functions
+by advising the princess to give orders for the opening of the ball.
+Immediately upon a sign from the latter, one of the ladies of honour
+rose and performed a few steps, turning slowly upon herself; whilst
+another, who remained seated, drew forth from a balalaika (an Oriental
+guitar) some melancholy sounds, by no means appropriate to the occasion.
+Nor were the attitudes and movements of her companion more accordant
+with our notions of dancing. They formed a pantomime, the meaning of
+which I could not ascertain, but which, by its languishing monotony,
+expressed any thing but pleasure or gaiety. The young _figurante_
+frequently stretched out her arms and knelt down as if to invoke some
+invisible being. The performance lasted a considerable time, during
+which I had full opportunity to scrutinise the princess, and saw good
+reason to justify the high renown in which her beauty was held among her
+own people. Her figure is imposing, and extremely well-proportioned, as
+far as her numerous garments allowed me to judge. Her mouth, finely
+arched and adorned with beautiful teeth, her countenance, expressive of
+great sweetness, her skin, somewhat brown, but remarkably delicate,
+would entitle her to be thought a very handsome woman, even in France,
+if the outline of her face and the arrangement of her features were only
+a trifle less Kalmuck. Nevertheless, in spite of the obliquity of her
+eyes and the prominence of her cheek-bones, she would still find many an
+admirer, not in Kalmuckia alone, but all the world over. Her looks
+convey an expression of the utmost gentleness and good-nature, and like
+all the women of her race, she has an air of caressing humility, which
+makes her appearance still more winning.
+
+Now for her costume. Over a very rich robe of Persian stuff, laced all
+over with silver, she wore a light silk tunic, reaching only to the knee
+and open in front. The high corsage was quite flat, and glittered with
+silver embroidery and fine pearls that covered all the seams. Round her
+neck she had a white cambric habit shirt, the shape of which seemed to
+me like that of a man's shirt collar. It was fastened in front by a
+diamond button. Her very thick, deep black hair fell over her bosom in
+two magnificent tresses of remarkable length. A yellow cap, edged with
+rich fur, and resembling in shape the square cap of a French judge, was
+set jauntily on the crown of her head. But what surprised me most in her
+costume was an embroidered cambric handkerchief and a pair of black
+mittens. Thus, it appears, the productions of our workshops find their
+way even to the toilette of a great Kalmuck lady. Among the princess's
+ornaments I must not forget to enumerate a large gold chain, which,
+after being wound round her beautiful tresses, fell over her bosom,
+passing on its way through her gold earrings. Her whole attire, such as
+I have described it, looked much less barbarous than I had expected. The
+ladies of honour, though less richly clad, wore robes and caps of the
+same form; only they had not advanced so far as to wear mittens.
+
+The dancing lady, after figuring for half an hour, went and touched the
+shoulder of one of her companions, who took her place, and began the
+same figures over again. When she had done, the Armenian urged the
+princess that her daughter, who until then had kept herself concealed
+behind a curtain, should also give a specimen of her skill; but there
+was a difficulty in the case. No lady of honour had a right to touch
+her, and this formality was indispensable according to established
+usage. Not to be baffled by this obstacle, the Armenian sprang gaily
+into the middle of the circle, and began to dance in so original a
+manner, that every one enthusiastically applauded. Having thus satisfied
+the exigency of Kalmuck etiquette, he stepped up to the curtain and laid
+his finger lightly on the shoulder of the young lady, who could not
+refuse an invitation thus made in all due form. Her dancing appeared to
+us less wearisome than that of the ladies of honour, thanks to her
+pretty face and her timid and languishing attitudes. She in her turn
+touched her brother, a handsome lad of fifteen, dressed in the Cossack
+costume, who appeared exceedingly mortified at being obliged to put a
+Kalmuck cap on his head, in order to exhibit the dance in all its
+nationality. Twice he dashed his cap on the ground with a most comical
+air of vexation; but his mother rigidly insisted on his putting it on
+again.
+
+The dancing of the men is as imperious and animated as that of the women
+is tame and monotonous; the spirit of domination displays itself in all
+their gestures, in the bold expression of their looks and their noble
+bearing. It would be impossible for me to describe all the evolutions
+the young prince went through with equal grace and rapidity. The
+elasticity of his limbs was as remarkable as the perfect measure
+observed in his complicated steps.
+
+After the ball came the concert. The women played one after the other on
+the balalaika, and then sang in chorus. But there is as little variety
+in their music as in their dancing. At last we were presented with
+different kinds of koumis and sweetmeats on large silver trays.
+
+When we came out from the kibitka, the princess's brother-in-law took us
+to a herd of wild horses, where one of the most extraordinary scenes
+awaited us. The moment we were perceived, five or six mounted men, armed
+with long lassoes, rushed into the middle of the _taboun_ (herd of
+horses), keeping their eyes constantly fixed on the young prince, who
+was to point out the animal they should seize. The signal being given,
+they instantly galloped forward and noosed a young horse with a long
+dishevelled mane, whose dilated eyes and smoking nostrils betokened
+inexpressible terror. A lightly-clad Kalmuck, who followed them on foot,
+immediately sprang upon the stallion, cut the thongs that were
+throttling him, and engaged with him in an incredible contest of daring
+and agility. It would be impossible, I think, for any spectacle more
+vividly to affect the mind than that which now met our eyes. Sometimes
+the rider and his horse rolled together on the grass; sometimes they
+shot through the air with the speed of an arrow, and then stopped
+abruptly, as if a wall had all at once risen up before them. On a sudden
+the furious animal would crawl on its belly, or rear in a manner that
+made us shriek with terror, then plunging forward again in his mad
+gallop he would dash through the taboun, and endeavour in every possible
+way to shake off his novel burden.
+
+But this exercise, violent and dangerous as it appeared to us, seemed
+but sport to the Kalmuck, whose body followed all the movements of the
+animal with so much suppleness, that one would have fancied that the
+same thought possessed both bodies. The sweat poured in foaming streams
+from the stallion's flanks, and he trembled in every limb. As for the
+rider, his coolness would have put to shame the most accomplished
+horsemen in Europe. In the most critical moments he still found himself
+at liberty to wave his arms in token of triumph; and in spite of the
+indomitable humour of his steed, he had sufficient command over it to
+keep it almost always within the circle of our vision. At a signal from
+the prince, two horsemen, who had kept as close as possible to the
+daring centaur, seized him with amazing quickness, and galloped away
+with him before we had time to comprehend this new manoeuvre. The
+horse, for a moment stupefied, soon made off at full speed, and was lost
+in the midst of the herd. These performances were repeated several times
+without a single rider suffering himself to be thrown.
+
+But what was our amazement when we saw a boy of ten years come forward
+to undertake the same exploit! They selected for him a young white
+stallion of great size, whose fiery bounds and desperate efforts to
+break his bonds, indicated a most violent temper.
+
+I will not attempt to depict our intense emotions during this new
+conflict. This child, who, like the other riders, had only the horse's
+mane to cling to, afforded an example of the power of reasoning over
+instinct and brute force. For some minutes he maintained his difficult
+position with heroic intrepidity. At last, to our great relief, a
+horseman rode up to him, caught him up in his outstretched arm, and
+threw him on the croup behind him.
+
+The Kalmucks, as the reader will perceive, are excellent horsemen, and
+are accustomed from their childhood to subdue the wildest horses. The
+exercise we had witnessed is one of their greatest amusements: it is
+even practised by the women, and we have frequently seen them vying
+with each other in feats of equestrian daring.
+
+The lateness of the hour recalled us to the palace where a splendid
+dinner was prepared for us. Two large tables were laid in two adjoining
+rooms, and at the head of each sat one of the princes. We took our
+places at that of the elder brother, who did the honours in the most
+finished style.
+
+The cookery, which was half Russian, half French, left us nothing to
+desire as regarded the choice or the savour of the dishes. Every thing
+was served up in silver, and the wines of France and Spain, champagne
+especially, were supplied in princely profusion. Many toasts were given,
+foremost among which were those in honour of the Emperor of Russia and
+the King of the French.
+
+I remarked with much surprise, that during the whole dinner, the
+princess seemed very ill at ease in presence of her brother-in-law; she
+did not sit down until he had desired her to do so, and her whole
+demeanour manifested her profound respect for the head of her family.
+Her husband, the prince's younger brother, had been absent upwards of
+two months. The repast was very lengthened and great animation
+prevailed; whilst for our parts, we could hardly reconcile to our minds
+the idea that the giver of so sumptuous and so well-appointed an
+entertainment was a Kalmuck. The prince put many questions to us about
+France, and talked with enthusiasm of his residence in our country, and
+the agreeable acquaintances he had made there. Though he did not much
+make our current politics his study, he was not ignorant of our last
+revolution, and he expressed great admiration for Louis Philippe.
+
+After dinner we went in his carriage to visit the mysterious pagoda
+which had so much excited our curiosity.
+
+The moment we set foot on the threshold of the temple, our ears were
+assailed with a _charivari_, compared with which a score or two of great
+bells set in motion promiscuously, would have been harmony itself. It
+almost deprived us of the power of perceiving what was going on around
+us. The noise was so piercing, discordant, and savage that we were
+completely stupified, and there was no possibility of exchanging a word.
+
+The perpetrators of this terrible uproar, in other words the musicians,
+were arranged in two parallel lines facing each other; at their head, in
+the direction of the altar, the high-priest knelt quite motionless on a
+rich Persian carpet, and behind them towards the entrance stood the
+_ghepki_, or master of the ceremonies, dressed in a scarlet robe and a
+deep yellow hood, and having in his hand a long staff, the emblem, no
+doubt, of his dignity. The other priests, all kneeling as well as the
+musicians, and looking like grotesque Chinese in their features and
+attitudes, wore dresses of glaring colours, loaded with gold and silver
+brocade, consisting of wide tunics, with open sleeves, and a sort of
+mitre with several broad points. Their head-dress somewhat resembled
+that of the ancient Peruvians, except that instead of feathers they had
+plates covered with religious paintings, besides which there rose from
+the centre a long straight tuft of black silk, tied up so as to form a
+series of little balls, diminishing from the base to the summit. Below,
+this tuft spread out into several tresses which fell down on the
+shoulders. But what surprised us most of all were the musical
+instruments. Besides enormous timbrels and the Chinese tamtam, there
+were large sea-shells used as horns, and two huge tubes, three or four
+yards long, and each supported on two props. My husband ineffectually
+endeavoured to sound these trumpets; none but the stentorian lungs of
+the vigorous Mandschis could give them breath. If there is neither tune,
+nor harmony, nor method in the religious music of the Kalmucks, by way
+of amends for this every one makes as much noise as he can in his own
+way and according to the strength of his lungs. The concert began by a
+jingling of little bells, then the timbrels and tamtams struck up, and
+lastly, after the shrill squeakings of the shells, the two great
+trumpets began to bellow, and made all the windows of the temple shake.
+It would be impossible for me to depict all the oddity of this ceremony.
+Now indeed we felt that we were thousands of leagues away from Europe,
+in the heart of Asia, in a pagoda of the Grand Dalai Lama of Thibet.
+
+The temple, lighted by a row of large windows, is adorned with slender
+columns of stuccoed brickwork, the lightness of which reminds one of the
+graceful Moorish architecture. A gallery runs all round the dome, which
+is also remarkable for the extreme delicacy of its workmanship.
+Tapestries, representing a multitude of good and evil genii, monstrous
+idols and fabulous animals, cover all parts of the pagoda, and give it
+an aspect much more grotesque than religious. The veneration of the
+worshippers of Lama for their images is so great, that we could not
+approach these mis-shapen gods without covering our mouths with a
+handkerchief, lest we should profane them with an unhallowed breath.
+
+The priests showed how much they disliked our minute examination of
+every thing, by the uneasiness with which they continually watched all
+our movements. Their fear as we afterwards learned, was lest we should
+take a fancy to purloin some of those mystic images we scrutinised so
+narrowly; certainly they had good reason to be alarmed, for the will was
+not wanting on our part. But we were obliged to content ourselves with
+gazing at them with looks of the most profound respect, consoling
+ourselves with the hope of having our revenge on a more favourable
+occasion.
+
+When we returned to the palace, we found the old prince in a little
+room, of which he is particularly fond, and where he has collected a
+great quantity of arms and curiosities. Among other things, we admired
+some Circassian chaskas (sabres), richly adorned with black enamelled
+silver; Damascus swords, no less valuable for the temper of the blades,
+than for the rich incrustations of the hilts and scabbards; Florentine
+pistols of the fifteenth century; a jaspar cup of antique form,
+purchased for 4000 rubles of a Persian nobleman; Circassian coats of
+mail, like those of our knights of old, and a thousand other rarities,
+the artistic worth of which testify the good taste of a prince, whom
+many persons might consider a barbarian. He also keeps in this cabinet,
+as a thing of great price, the book in which are inscribed the names of
+those travellers who visit him. Among the names, most of them
+aristocratic, we observed those of Baron Humboldt, some English lords,
+and sundry Russian and German savans.
+
+We finished our _soirée_ with an extemporaneous ball that lasted all
+night. The Armenian, who first proposed the scheme, had to undertake the
+business of getting up an orchestra. I know not how he set about it, but
+in a few minutes he brought us triumphantly a violin, a guitar, and a
+flageolet. Such instruments among the Kalmucks--is it not really
+prodigious? We had quickly arranged a _soirée dansante_, as complete as
+any drawing-room could exhibit; and the merriment soon became so
+contagious, that the princess and her daughter, after much hesitation,
+at last overcame all bashfulness, and bravely threw themselves into a
+heady gallop, in which, by the by, one of them lost her cap. The
+wondering and delighted princess, stuck to me for the rest of the night,
+like my shadow, and incessantly assured me, through the Armenian, that
+she had never in her life passed so pleasant an evening, and that she
+would never forget it. She expressed a strong desire to hear me sing,
+and found the French _romances_ so much to her taste, that I had to
+promise I would copy out some of them for her. On her part, she gave me
+two Kalmuck songs of her own composition, and transcribed with her own
+hand.[19] According to Russian custom, the officers did full justice to
+the champagne, which was sent round all night at a fearful rate.
+
+We spent the next day in promenades about the island, and in hawking.
+This sport is a great favourite with the Kalmucks, and they practise it
+in as grand a style as the châtelains of the middle ages. Prince Tumene
+has a very well appointed falconry, and his hawks are trained by the
+same methods as were adopted by our ancestors. The hawk we had that day
+was a small one, of astonishing spirit. The Kalmuck who held it
+hoodwinked on his fist had the utmost difficulty in restraining it when
+its head was uncovered. He let it fly at a magnificent grey heron, which
+it struck down in less than a minute. Several wild ducks were also
+killed by it with incredible rapidity.
+
+The succeeding days were filled up with varied and novel amusements; nor
+can I describe the assiduous efforts of our entertainers, to let us see
+every particular of their manners and customs that might be interesting
+to us. Every day some new surprise was adroitly brought forward to delay
+our departure. But, alas! every thing must have an end in this world,
+and we felt at last constrained to bid adieu to those brilliant and
+varied scenes which we found so much to our taste.
+
+On the day fixed for our departure we all breakfasted together, while
+the final preparations were going on. The party was a sad one, for all
+were occupied with the same thought. Our host's elegant four-in-hand
+equipage, lined with white satin, was drawn up before the door, with an
+escort of fifteen horsemen. There was a large crowd assembled, who
+looked up eagerly to the large balcony, where we were receiving the
+stirrup-cup from the old prince. The whole formed a striking and
+splendid picture. The refinements of western luxury, mixed up with
+Kalmuck faces and costumes, the officers in brilliant uniforms, the
+handsome horses champing the bit, and, above all, the noble figure of
+the old prince waving a last farewell to us from the balcony, left an
+indelible impression on our memories. Young Tumene put himself at the
+head of the cavalcade, and continued during all the while he was with us
+to astonish us with his feats of horsemanship. The day was splendid, and
+every thing concurred to awaken in us a throng of sensations, such as we
+shall never, perhaps, experience again.
+
+Madame Zakarevitch and her daughter, whom we had carried off from Prince
+Tumene, embarked with us, opposite the posting station, in the boat
+provided for us. On the shore, too, we found our carriages ready to
+receive us, horses having been ordered by an express sent forward the
+day before by the prince.
+
+On finding ourselves again on that route which we had twice already
+traversed within less than twenty-four hours, the recollection of our
+past annoyances after recurred to us, and we could not help thinking how
+unwisely many travellers allow themselves to be swayed by what they call
+inauspicious omens; a person, for instance, with a slight leaning to
+superstition, would have given up all thoughts of a visit which seemed
+forbidden by such a run of unlucky accidents, and would have lost the
+opportunity of seeing the extraordinary things I have endeavoured to
+describe, and which so much exceeded our expectations.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[18] A sort of passport licensing you to hire post-horses. You pay a sum
+for it proportioned to the distance you wish to travel, and the number
+of horses to your carriage.
+
+[19] Here is a translation of one of these songs, which will certainly
+not give a high idea of the poetic talents of a Kalmuck princess:--
+
+"Mon cheval roux qui dispute le prix de la course au chameau, bronte
+l'herbe des champs du Don. Dieu notre seigneur, tu nous feras la grace
+de nous retrouver dans une autre contrée. Et toi charmante herbette
+agitée par le vent, tu t'étends sur la terre. Et toi, o coeur le plus
+tendre volant vers ma mère, dis lui: qu'entre deux montagnes et des
+vallées, dans un vallon uni demeurent cinquante braves qui s'approchent
+avec courage pour tuer une outarde bien grasse. Et toi, tendre mère
+nature, sois nous propice."
+
+[It is with much hesitation and doubt, that I venture to translate this
+incomprehensible translation:--_Tr._]
+
+"My bright bay horse, which vies in swiftness with the camel, browses on
+the grass of the Don. God, our Lord, thou wilt grant us of thy grace to
+meet in another country. And thou charming little grass shaken by the
+wind, thou stretchest thyself out on the ground. And thou, O fondest
+heart, flying to my mother, tell her that between two mountains and
+valleys, in an even strath, dwell fifty braves, who draw together
+courageously to kill a very fat bustard. And thou, fond Mother Nature be
+propitious to us."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+      HISTORICAL NOTICE OF ASTRAKHAN--MIXED POPULATION; ARMENIANS,
+      TATARS--SINGULAR RESULT OF A MIXTURE OF RACES--DESCRIPTION
+      OF THE TOWN--HINDU RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES--SOCIETY.
+
+
+The history of Astrakhan is so well known that the reader will no doubt
+thank us for not recapitulating the various political revolutions that
+have taken place in the regions of which this town has been for so many
+ages the brilliant metropolis. After having made part of the empire of
+the Kaptshak, founded by Batou Khan, and after a long series of
+intestine commotions, Astrakhan at last became an independent state in
+the beginning of the fifteenth century. One hundred and fifty years
+later there broke out between the Russians and the Tatars that obstinate
+strife which was to end by delivering the country of the tsars from the
+yoke of its oppressors. In 1554, Ivan the Terrible, partly by treachery,
+and partly by force of arms, possessed himself of the khanat of the
+Caspian, and was the first to assume the title of King of Casan and
+Astrakhan. This valuable conquest was incorporated with the empire, and
+led to the submission or emigration of all the adjacent tribes.
+Astrakhan has ever since belonged to Russia; but it soon lost the
+prosperity that had rendered it so celebrated of yore under the Tatars
+of the Golden Horde. Fifteen years after the Russian conquest, the Turks
+directed an expedition against Astrakhan, in concert with the Tatars of
+the Crimea; but the effort was abortive, and the bulk of the Ottoman
+army perished in the deserts of the Manitch. Towards the end of the
+seventeenth century, Astrakhan again underwent a brief but bloody
+revolution: the rebel Stenko Razin, made himself master of the town,
+gave it up to horrible massacres, and for a while caused serious alarm
+to Russia. At present the ancient capital of the Tatar kingdom is merely
+the chief town of a government, which though presenting a surface of
+more than 4000 geographical square miles, yet possesses only 285,000
+inhabitants, of whom 200,000 are nomades. It contains a great number of
+squares, churches, and mosques. Its old embattled towers and its walls,
+which still include a considerable space of ground, remind the traveller
+of its ancient warlike renown. Its population, a medley of all the races
+of Asia, amounts in number to 45,703, the bulk of whom are Russians,
+Kalmucks, and Tatars. The Armenians are shopkeepers here, just as they
+are in all countries in the world; notwithstanding their religion, which
+should make them coalesce with the Westerns, they retain in their
+manners and customs every thing belonging to the East. The Armenian
+carries everywhere with him that spirit of traffic which is common to
+him with the Jew; always at work on some stroke of business, always
+ready to seize a flying opportunity; discounting, computing, figuring,
+with indefatigable patience. Meet him where you will, in the fertile
+valleys of Armenia, in the snowy North, or beneath a southern sky,
+everywhere he exhibits that intense selfishness which stands him in
+lieu of the patriotic feelings so potent in most other branches of the
+human family. This nation, dispersed over the whole world like the Jews,
+presents one of those distinctive types of feature characteristic of an
+unmixed race, which are to be found in full preservation only among
+Eastern nations. The brown mantle in which the Armenian women wrap
+themselves at Constantinople, is here replaced by long black veils that
+cover them from head to foot. This garment, which displays the shape
+very well, and falls in graceful folds to the feet, when well put on,
+reminds one of the elegant lines of certain Grecian statues; and what
+makes the resemblance the more striking, is that the Armenian women are
+particularly remarkable for their stately carriage and the severe
+dignity of their features.
+
+The Tatars, upwards of 5000 in number, are engaged in trade, and chiefly
+in that of cattle. The numerous mosques and the cupolas of their baths
+contribute to give Astrakhan quite an oriental appearance.
+
+The Indians who were formerly rather numerous in this city, have long
+since abandoned the trade for which they frequented it, and none of them
+remain but a few priests who are detained by interminable lawsuits. But
+from the old intercourse between the Hindus and the Kalmucks has sprung
+a half-breed now numbering several hundred individuals, improperly
+designated Tatars. The mixed blood of these two essentially Asiatic
+races has produced a type closely resembling that of European nations.
+It exhibits neither the oblique eyes of the Kalmucks, nor the bronzed
+skin of the Indians; and nothing in the character or habits of the
+descendants of these two races indicates a relationship with either
+stock. In striking contrast with the apathy and indolence of the
+population among which they live, these half-breeds exhibit in all they
+do, the activity and perseverance of the men of the north. They serve as
+porters, waggoners, or sailors, as occasion may require, and shrink from
+no kind of employment however laborious. Their white felt hats, with
+broad brims and pointed conical crowns, their tall figures, and bold,
+cheerful countenances, give them a considerable degree of resemblance to
+the Spanish muleteers.
+
+This result of the crossing of two races both so sharply defined is
+extremely remarkable, and cannot but interest ethnologists. The Mongol
+is perhaps above all others the type that perpetuates itself with most
+energy, and most obstinately resists the influence of foreign admixture
+continued through a long series of generations. We have found it in all
+its originality among the Cossacks, the Tatars, and every other people
+dwelling in the vicinity of the Kalmucks. Is it not then a most curious
+fact to see it vanish immediately under the influence of the Hindu
+blood, and produce instead of itself a thoroughly Caucasian type? Might
+we not then conclude that the Caucasian is not a primitive type, as
+hitherto supposed, but that it is simply the result of a mixture, the
+two elements of which we must seek for in Central Asia, in those
+mysterious regions of the great Tibetan chain which have so much
+occupied the inventive genius of ancient and modern writers?
+
+The Persians, like the Indians, are gradually deserting Astrakhan. The
+prohibitive system of Russia has destroyed all their commercial
+resources, and now only some hundreds of them, for the most part
+detained by penury, are to be found in their adopted country, employed
+in petty retail dealings. We went over the vast Persian khans of
+Astrakhan, but saw none of those gorgeous stuffs for which they were
+formerly so celebrated. The ware rooms are empty, and it is but with
+great difficulty the traveller can now and then obtain cashmeres, silky
+termalamas, or any other of those productions of Asia which so much
+excite our curiosity, and which were formerly a source of prosperity to
+the town.
+
+Astrakhan has for some years had a lazaret on the mouths of the Volga at
+seventy-five versts from its walls. The history of this establishment is
+curious enough. Before it was built on the site it now occupies,
+building had been carried on to a considerable extent at two other spots
+which were successively abandoned as unsuitable. It was not until much
+time and money had been spent, that an engineer took notice of a little
+island exceedingly well adapted to the purpose, and on which the lazaret
+was finally erected. Some years afterwards there was found in the town
+archives a manuscript note left by Peter the Great at his departure from
+Astrakhan, and in which he mentioned that very island as well suited for
+the site of a lazaret. A glance had enabled the tsar to perceive the
+importance of a locality which many engineering commissions discovered
+only after repeated search.
+
+Paving is a luxury quite unknown in Astrakhan, and the streets are as
+sandy as the soil of the environs. Though they are almost deserted
+during the day, on account of the intense heat, few spectacles are more
+lively and picturesque than that which they present in the evening, when
+the whole town awakes from the somnolency into which it had been cast by
+a temperature of 100. Every one then hastens to enjoy the refreshing air
+of the twilight; people sit at the doors amusing themselves with the
+sight of whatever passes; business is resumed, and the shops are in a
+bustle; a numerous population of all races and tongues spreads rapidly
+along the bridges and the quays bordered with trees; the canal is
+covered with caïques laden with fruit and arbutus berries; elegant
+droshkies, caleches, and horsemen rush about in all directions, and the
+whole town wears a gala aspect that astonishes and captivates the
+traveller. He finds there collected into a focus all the picturesque
+items that have struck him singly elsewhere. Alongside of a Tatar
+dwelling stretches a great building blackened by time, and by its
+architecture and carvings carrying you back to the middle ages. A
+European shop displays its fashionable haberdashery opposite a
+caravanserai; the magnificent cathedral overshadows a pretty mosque with
+its fountain; a Moorish balcony contains a group of young European
+ladies who set you thinking of Paris, whilst a graceful white shadow
+glides mysteriously under the gallery of an old palace. All contrasts
+are here met together; and so it happens that in passing from one
+quarter to another you think you have but made a short promenade, and
+you have picked up a stock of observations and reminiscences belonging
+to all times and places. The Russians ought to be proud of a town which
+did not spring up yesterday, like all the others in their country, and
+where one is not plagued with the cold, monotonous regularity that meets
+you without end in every part of the empire.
+
+The churches in Astrakhan are not built in the invariable Greek style of
+all the other religious buildings of Russia: they have carvings, spires,
+and balustrades, something to attract the gaze, and details to fix it.
+The cathedral, built towards the end of the seventeenth century, is a
+large square edifice, surmounted by five cupolas, gilded and starred
+with azure, and presenting a style midway between those of Asia and
+Europe. The interior is hung with pictures of no value in point of art,
+but attractive to the eye from the richness of their frames, most of
+which are of massive silver curiously chased. The most interesting
+monument in Astrakhan is a small church concealed in Peter the Great's
+fort. It is attributed to Ivan IV. Its architecture is purely Moorish,
+and it is fretted all over with details exceedingly interesting to an
+artist. Unfortunately, it has long been abandoned, and is now used as a
+warehouse.
+
+The climate of Astrakhan is dry, and very hot. For three months the
+thermometer seldom falls in the day below 95. This great heat enervates
+both mind and body, and sufficiently accounts for the extreme sloth of
+the inhabitants. But in consequence of its dryness the atmosphere
+possesses a transparent purity that would enchant a painter, giving as
+it does to every object a warmth and lucidity worthy of Italy.
+
+A very serious source of annoyance to the Astrakhaners, and still more
+to the foreigner, is the swarm of gnats and other insects that fill the
+air at certain seasons. Their pertinacious attacks baffle all
+precautions; it is in vain you surround yourself with gauze at night,
+and resign yourself to total darkness during the day, you are not the
+less persecuted by them, and you exhaust yourself with ineffectual
+efforts against an invisible enemy.
+
+They are sinking an artesian well in the upper part of the town. They
+had reached, when we were there, a depth of 166 yards; but instead of
+water there escaped a jet of carburretted hydrogen, which had been
+burning for three weeks with great brilliancy.
+
+Astrakhan now contains 146 streets, 46 squares, 8 market-places, a
+public garden, 11 wooden and 9 earthen bridges, 37 churches (34 of
+stone, 3 wooden), 2 of which are cathedrals; 15 mosques, 2 of them of
+stone; 3883 houses, 288 of which are of stone, the rest of wood. All
+narratives of travels tell of the gardens of Astrakhan, and the
+magnificent fruit produced in them. Unfortunately, these are pure
+fictions, for there are but 75 gardens or vineyards around the town, and
+it is only by means of irrigation with Persian wheels that they are
+rendered productive. All the fruit of the place, moreover, is very poor,
+if not decidedly bad. The grapes alone are tolerable and of very various
+kinds, suitable for the table, but none of them fit for making wine. As
+for the celebrated water-melons, they are held in very low esteem in the
+country, and the people of the town talk only of those of Kherson and
+the Crimea. It is very possible, however, that the fruit of Astrakhan
+may have deserved its high reputation previously to the Muscovite
+domination. Here, as everywhere else, the Russian population, in taking
+the place of the Tatars, can only have destroyed the agricultural
+resources of the country. The Russian townspeople being exclusively
+traders and shopkeepers, and never engaging in rural pursuits, the
+gardens almost all belong to Tatars and Armenians.
+
+As for the government of Astrakhan, its territory is one of the most
+sterile in the empire. Agriculture is there wholly unproductive; in
+general nothing is sowed but a little maize and barley, provisions of
+all kinds being procured from Saratof, by way of the Volga. It is this
+that gives some little briskness to the navigation of that river; for
+besides the corn consumed by Astrakhan, and the towns dependent on its
+jurisdiction, Saratof and the adjoining regions send supplies also to
+Gourief, on the mouth of the Ural, to the army cantoned on the Terek,
+and even to the Transcaucasian countries. Nevertheless, there are no
+boats plying regularly on the Volga; it is only at the period of the
+fair of Nijni Novgorod, that the clumsy steamer we saw proceeding to
+Prince Tumene's condescends to dawdle up the stream.
+
+The day after our arrival in Astrakhan we were taken to the house of
+some Hindu brahmins, where we were to be present at the evening prayers.
+We were received by the chief among them in the most courteous and
+obliging manner. The room into which he led us looked to the west, and
+had no other furniture than large Turkish divans, and the only thing
+capable of attracting our attention was a little chapel let into the
+wall, and which two priests were in the act of arranging for the
+ceremony. One of them kept his eyes constantly turned towards the west,
+watching with religious attention the descent of the sun's disc to the
+horizon. These brahmins were dressed in long brown robes, crossed in
+front by a white scarf, the two ends of which swept the ground. Their
+bronzed and antiquely moulded visages were surmounted by white muslin
+turbans with large folds. The leader, who was much less absorbed in his
+devotions than the rest, was continually smiling upon us, and waving a
+monstrous Persian fan that had the effect of a smart breeze. Meanwhile
+the sun was fast declining; at last its total disappearance was
+announced by the harsh sound of a conch-shell, whereupon one of the
+priests lighted several tapers and placed them before an image in the
+chapel. Another began to wash curiously-shaped vessels, filled them
+with water of lustration, and prostrated himself before them with great
+unction. A large grey stone set in the wall, appeared to be the
+principal object of their adorations. According to the explanation given
+to us by the chief priest, the soul of a celebrated saint, grown weary
+of the world and of men, had retired within that mystical covering;
+hence the stone is sacred in the eyes of the Hindus, and the mere sight
+of it, as they declare, is capable of working miracles. After
+worshipping in silence for some minutes, the chief priest began to burn
+perfumes, and the room was soon filled with a cloud of smoke, seen
+through which every object assumed a vaguer and more mysterious form,
+the pungent aromatic odour, combined with the heat and the strangeness
+of the scene before our eyes, acted so strongly upon us that we were
+soon unable to distinguish what was real from what was fantastic. In
+fact, our semi-ecstatic condition was in remarkable accordance with the
+moral state of our brahmins. Their religious enthusiasm soon ceased to
+content itself with mere prostrations. Hitherto every thing had passed
+in complete silence, but at a given signal two priests knelt down before
+the holy stone and recited a prayer, in slow and guttural accents.
+Another with his arms crossed on his breast, stood a few steps off from
+the chapel, and now and then blew upon a shrill whistle. The fourth,
+armed with a conch-shell, stood upon one of the divans, and added his
+voice to the sounds which his companions gave out with increasing
+loudness. Presently their eyes kindled, the muscles of their frames grew
+tense, the conch vibrated, a bell was rapidly agitated by the leader,
+and then began so strange and infernal a din, a scene so grotesque and
+wild, that one would really have thought the brahmins were all possessed
+by devils. Their attitudes and frantic gestures conveyed the idea of
+exorcism rather than of prayer. What we felt it would be impossible to
+describe; it was a mixture of surprise, curiosity, disgust, and fright.
+Had not fatigue compelled the actors in this sabbat to stop after ten
+minutes' exertion, I doubt that we should have been able to support a
+longer continuance of such a spectacle. One would almost be disposed to
+say that men take pains to worship God in the least religious manner
+possible. I have seen the whirling and howling dervishes at
+Constantinople, whose strange and frightful performances can be compared
+only to those of the medieval convulsionaries. The religious music of
+the Kalmucks is not behind-hand with these aberrations of the human
+mind; and here is the Hindu, worship, which seems to vie with whatever
+is most demented and extravagant in other religions.
+
+When the abominable concert was ended, the leader took a handful of
+yellow flowers, like marigolds, dipped them in Ganges water, and
+presented one to each of us. Then he kneaded a piece of dough in his
+hands, and gave it a symbolic form, stuck seven small tapers in it,
+waved it in every direction before the chapel, and then turning towards
+us, repeated the same ceremony. Lastly, he took a small white shell,
+which had been lying until then on the sacred stone, filled it with
+sacred water from the Ganges, and sprinkled us with it very devoutly.
+Meanwhile, his companions were setting out a table with a collation of
+fine fruit and pastry, of which the leader did the honours to us with
+much politeness and gallantry. So ended a scene as difficult to describe
+well as to forget.
+
+Now let us leave the Indians and their odd ceremonies, and recur to the
+European usages, which, to our great surprise we found in many _salons_
+of Astrakhan.
+
+A singular thing, and one which must strike the traveller strongly, is
+the moral influence which France exercises in all countries of the
+world. Wherever you find any trace of civilisation, you are sure to
+discern the effect of that influence, whether in manners, dress, or
+political opinions, and that, even among rulers the most distant.
+
+Most of our romance-writers are probably not aware that their works are
+read with avidity even on the banks of the Caspian, and are criticised
+there with as much acuteness as in the great capitals of Europe. All who
+call themselves Russians, in Astrakhan, speak French, and receive every
+month our newest publications from Brussels. In many of the libraries I
+found Lamartine, Balzac, Alexandra Dumas, Eugène Sue, George Sand, De
+Musset, &c., and many other names less known perhaps in Paris than in
+Astrakhan.
+
+The Russian ladies read a great deal; they are generally gifted with
+natural talent, and converse with tact and to the purpose. Their only
+fault in this respect is, that they confine their reading to romances
+and novels, which almost always warp their judgment, and give them quite
+erroneous notions of our habits and our literature. Paul de Kock and
+Pigault Lebrun are especial favourites throughout the empire, and their
+pictures of low life are read much more eagerly than the elegant and
+chastened pages of our best writers. I must acknowledge, however, that
+many Russian ladies are capable of appreciating the gravest works. I saw
+on many a table in Astrakhan, "Les Ducs de Bourgogne," "L'Histoire du
+Bas Empire," "La Conquête des Normands," and even treatises on geology.
+It is needless to add, that our fashions and the prodigies of our
+civilisation are adopted with the same avidity as our literature.
+
+I had some difficulty in believing myself on the verge of the Caspian,
+when listening to conversation on the fine arts, and on industrial
+economy, just as in Vienna or Paris. Music, too, is in high vogue in
+Astrakhan, and many of Donizetti's pieces are sung there by brilliant
+and cultivated voices. Our quadrilles, too, are all the rage there, and
+so are the charming melodies of Loïza Puget.
+
+On the faith of some travellers who have been, or are reported to have
+been in Astrakhan, we expected to find a good many English, Italians,
+and even French in the town; but the fact is, it does not even contain a
+single individual of those nations, and its society consists solely of
+Russians and Germans, sent thither as _employés_. I could hear of but
+one Belgian, formerly a prisoner of war, who became a tailor, and now
+enjoys a very handsome fortune. Astrakhan pretends to have a theatre,
+but I have little to say for it. Imagine a very ugly and very black hall
+furnished with some thirty niches in double row; a pit adorned with a
+few dirty caftans; an orchestra composed of a paltry violin and
+half-a-dozen trumpets, the whole lighted up by a row of candles on the
+proscenium, and you have an idea of what presumes to call itself a
+theatre on the Caspian shores. As for the pieces and the actors, they
+are altogether beneath criticism.
+
+The governor gave a grand ball and some soirées during our stay in
+Astrakhan. Though the heat was intolerable, the rooms were every time
+filled with a fashionable throng, always eager for pleasure. The Russian
+governors of provinces play the part of petty kings, and exercise over
+all classes an influence, which has its source in the very constitution
+of the country. Under an absolute government, every superior employé
+exercises unbounded authority in his own sphere. He has his courtiers,
+his favourites, his numerous chancery, his orderly officers, and his
+etiquette modelled on that of St. Petersburg, in short all that
+constitutes the outward tokens of power. But all these appearances of
+grandeur and might are but relative, for above these petty kings stands
+a sovereign will, that can by one word strip them of their privileges,
+and send them to Siberia. We must not imagine that slavery exists in
+Russia only for the people; whether you go east or west, into the
+brilliant salons of St. Petersburg, or into the isbas of the Muscovite
+peasant, you find it everywhere; only it is commonly disguised under
+forms that deceive many travellers, whose judgments are beguiled by the
+glittering varnish with which the Russian contrives to invest himself,
+by his numerous staff, his princely abode, and the pomp of his official
+life. And yet what is all this in reality? Something like the soap
+bubbles that glisten with all the colours of the rainbow, but vanish
+with the least breath.
+
+The magnificence of the governor's palace astonished us. On our arrival
+for the ball, after passing through several rooms sumptuously furnished,
+we were led into a boudoir, where we found Madame Timirasif, the
+governor's lady, surrounded by all the _élite_ of the place. She
+introduced me to several ladies who spoke French very well, and with
+whom I was soon engaged in a conversation as frivolous and varied as the
+chit-chat of the Parisian world of fashion. But the music soon began,
+and we repaired to a very large ball-room, most splendidly lighted, and
+already thronged with officers. The orchestra, placed on a raised
+platform, played French quadrilles in excellent style. I took advantage
+of an interminable mazurka, to learn the names of various personages:
+General Brigon, a Livonian, hetman of all the Cossacks; Count Pushkin,
+curator of the university of Casan; Admiral Lazaref; the Kalmuck prince,
+Tondoudof; the Princess Dolgoruky; and a young Persian, who occupied the
+attention of all the ladies during the ball. His handsome Oriental
+countenance, his rich costume, the grace with which he danced French
+quadrilles and mazurkas, and above all, his title of traveller, gave him
+an extraordinary éclat, which seemed in no wise to astonish him. I will
+say nothing of a collection of colonels and aides-de-camp, an inevitable
+and always profuse element of every Russian party, nor of a battalion of
+excellencies loaded with more stars and decorations than are commonly
+seen in the court balls of France or England.
+
+The governor's wife is a specimen of the Russian lady in the highest
+perfection of the class. Elegant, lively, fascinating, and _pleine de
+distinction_, she possesses all the qualities requisite in the queen of
+a drawing-room. She did the honours of that remarkable _soirée_ with
+charming grace. The ball ended with a grand supper, which was prolonged
+until morning.
+
+We passed fifteen well-spent days in Astrakhan. Notwithstanding the
+heat, we were running about from morning till night, escorted by an
+aide-de-camp, whom his excellency had assigned to us as cicerone. This
+very obliging officer being perfectly well acquainted with the country,
+and being incessantly on the look-out for any thing that could interest
+us, it came to pass that in eight days we had a much better knowledge of
+the town than the governor himself. One thing alone escaped our search,
+namely, one or two families of Parsees, who still inhabit Astrakhan, but
+whom our guide could not succeed in ferreting out. It was in vain he
+hunted about and questioned every body; no one could give him any
+precise information on the subject. _Soirées_, cavalcades, numerous
+dinners, and above all, a pleasing intimacy with many agreeable
+families, filled up our tourist existence in the most charming manner,
+and made us postpone as long as possible a departure, which was to snap
+asunder such pleasing social ties.
+
+It would be impossible to surpass the active kindness shown us by the
+governor and all the best society of Astrakhan. During our whole stay
+the governor put his caleche at our disposal, and was imitated in this
+by many other persons. But notwithstanding all these temptations to
+prolong our abode, we were obliged at last to set in earnest about
+arrangements for our journey across the Kalmuck steppes. Our first care
+was to provide all that was indispensable to prevent our dying of hunger
+on the way. An expedition of this kind is like a long sea voyage; the
+previous cares are the same; one must enter into the same sort of
+details as the sailor who is bound for a distant shore.
+
+We laid in a great stock of biscuits, rice, oil, candles, dry fruit,
+tea, coffee, and sugar, and sent them forward with our escort to
+Houidouk, a post station near the Caspian, where my husband was to begin
+his series of levels.
+
+This escort, consisting of ten camels with their drivers and some
+Cossacks fully armed, had been selected by the governor and M. Fadiew,
+with a carefulness that proved how much they were both concerned for our
+safety. I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude for all the kindness
+they showed us on this occasion; their anxiety about the result of so
+hazardous a journey betrayed itself by numberless precautions and
+recommendations, which might have had some influence on our
+determination if it had not been irrevocably fixed.
+
+The governor chose from among his best officers, a Tatar prince to
+command our escort. This young man, who was an excellent sportsman, had
+a hawk, from which he was inseparable, and to this circumstance was
+owing the orders he received to accompany us. General Timirasif, always
+mindful of the privations that awaited us, thought he could not do
+better than furnish us with so clever a purveyor; who, indeed, proved to
+be of immense assistance to us. When he presented the officer to us,
+with his hawk on his fist, his face beamed with satisfaction. "Now," he
+said, laughing, "my conscience is at ease; here I give you a brave
+soldier for your champion, and a travelling companion, who will not let
+you be starved to death in the wilderness."
+
+Orders were sent forward in advance, along all the line we were to
+traverse as far as Haidouk, that we should be supplied with horses at
+every station without delay.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+      COMMERCIAL POSITION OF ASTRAKHAN--ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE
+      MIDDLE AGES--ITS LOSS OF THE OVERLAND TRADE FROM INDIA--
+      COMMERCIAL STATISTICS--FISHERIES OF THE CASPIAN--CHANGE
+      OF THE MONETARY SYSTEM IN RUSSIA--BAD STATE OF THE
+      FINANCES--RUSSIAN POLITICAL ECONOMY.
+
+
+There is no city, perhaps, of eastern Europe, which has played a more
+important part than Astrakhan in the commercial relations between Europe
+and Asia. Situated at the lower extremity of the largest navigable river
+of Europe, it communicates on the one side by the Caspian with
+Turcomania and the northern regions of Persia; on the other side, by
+means of the Volga and the Don, it is in direct intercourse with the
+central provinces of the Muscovite empire, and the whole coast of the
+Black Sea. With such facilities for traffic, Astrakhan would naturally
+be one of the chief points of transit for Indian goods during the middle
+ages, when the passage by the Cape of Good Hope was unknown, and
+European navigators had not yet appeared in the Persian Gulf. It was
+towards the middle of the thirteenth century, after the foundation of
+the Kaptshak empire, and of the kingdom of Little Tartary, that the
+Caspian Sea became a highway for the Indian trade, with which, in still
+earlier times, the Petchenegues, the predecessors of the Tatars in the
+Tauris, appear not to have been altogether unacquainted. Astrakhan on
+one side, and Soldaïa on the Black Sea on the other, became the two
+great maritime places of the Tatars, and exchanged between them the
+merchandise of Europe and Asia, by means of the caravans of the Kouban
+and the Volga.[20] From Soldaïa the Indian goods were next conveyed to
+Constantinople, where they were sold either for the provinces of the
+empire, or to foreigners trading in that capital. Afterwards, about
+1280, when the Genoese took possession of the coasts of the Tauris,
+Soldaïa lost its commercial importance, and the splendid colony of Caffa
+became the centre of all the Asiatic commerce. Mercantile relations with
+India assumed fresh activity at that period, particularly when, after
+the dissolution of the empire of the Kaptshak, in the reign of Hadji
+Devlet Cherii, the Genoese became masters of Tana, on the Don. The whole
+trade in spices, aromatic and medicinal drugs, perfumes, silks, and
+other productions of the East in request in Europe, fell thus into the
+hands of those intrepid Italian speculators, whose connexions by way of
+the Caspian, the Persian Gulf, and the caravans, extended as far as the
+Indies.
+
+But soon a new tempest burst forth, more terrible than any of those
+which had before shaken the soil of the East. In 1453, Mahomed II.
+seized Constantinople, and twenty years later all the Genoese colonies
+fell one after another into the power of the Ottomans. It was in vain
+the Venetians strove to appropriate the commerce of the Black Sea and
+the East; their efforts were fruitless, and the closing of the
+Dardanelles was peremptorily declared. The old communications between
+Europe and Asia were thus severed, and for many years the precious
+commodities of the East ceased to find their way towards Europe. But as
+they were in great demand, and were very costly, merchants contrived to
+find a new passage for them, and Smyrna became their entrepôt. The
+situation of that town, however, was far from compensating for the
+disadvantage of a long, perilous, and expensive land carriage. Hence the
+Indian trade remained in a languid state, until Vasco de Gama's
+discovery opened a new route for the people of the West.
+
+Smyrna retained the monopoly of the Eastern trade for more than 250
+years; and until the middle of the seventeenth century, Persia was the
+first entrepôt for Indian productions, which arrived there by way of the
+Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Beloochistan. They were partly consumed
+in the country, and the rest was conveyed either to Smyrna by Erzeroum
+and Bagdad, or into Russia by the Caspian Sea and Georgia. In
+consequence of this great commercial revolution, the regions now
+constituting the south-eastern provinces of Russia, lost all their
+importance with regard to the traffic between Europe and Asia. The great
+entrepôts of Caffa and Tana having fallen into decay, all the routes
+leading to them were forsaken. The great caravans of the Volga and the
+Kouban disappeared, the navigation of the Caspian was almost
+annihilated, and Astrakhan was reduced exclusively to local commerce
+with the adjoining districts of Russia.
+
+A hundred years after the taking of Constantinople, Ivan the Terrible
+planted his victorious banner on the shores of the Caspian, and the old
+city of the Tatars of the Golden Horde fell under the Muscovite sway.
+Ever since that event, historians have had to record but a long series
+of disasters, mistakes, and decadence. It appears, however, that under
+the reign of Ivan the Terrible and his next successors, Astrakhan still
+continued to supply Russia with the productions of Persia, and with some
+of those of Central Asia. An English company even attempted, about the
+year 1560, to open up a commercial intercourse with Persia and
+Turcomania by way of the Caspian, but failed completely; and
+subsequently the appearance of the Dutch and British flags in the
+Persian Gulf, and the immense development of the maritime commerce with
+India, for ever extinguished, for Astrakhan, the hope of recovering its
+former position. The navigation of the Caspian was completely abandoned,
+and the few Asiatic goods which Russia could not dispense with were
+conveyed to that country by expensive and perilous overland routes.
+Accordingly, when Alexis Michaelovitz ascended the throne about the
+middle of the seventeenth century, how to arrive at Persia by sea was
+almost become an unsolved problem. To this prince belongs, however, the
+honour of the first effort made by Russia to re-establish the commerce
+of the Caspian. A maritime expedition was undertaken from Astrakhan in
+1660, under the direction of Dutch seamen; but it failed completely, in
+consequence of the revolt of the Cossacks, and the successes achieved by
+their leader, Stenko Razin. After this ineffectual attempt, things
+reverted to their old state, and the commercial history of this part of
+the empire presents nothing remarkable until the accession of Peter the
+Great.
+
+The trade with Asia was not forgotten under that illustrious regenerator
+of the Muscovite nation, who bent all the force of his genius upon the
+affairs of the East. Filled with the grand design of making the
+merchandise of Asia pass through his dominions, he repaired in person
+to Astrakhan, inspected the mouths of the Volga, selected a site for a
+quarantine establishment, and set Dutchmen to work to turn the shores of
+the Caspian to profitable account, until such time as political
+circumstances should enable him to found establishments by force of arms
+on the Russian coast. But the brilliant expeditions beyond the Caucasus
+subsequently made by Russia led to no commercial result. Central Asia
+continued as of old to communicate with Europe by way of Smyrna and the
+Indian Ocean; and after Peter's death Russia gave up all her pretensions
+to the southern shores of the Caspian, over which she had entertained
+strong hopes of establishing her dominion.
+
+Eventually the extension of the Russian possessions southward to the
+Kouban and the Terek, and eastward to the Ural, was not without its
+fruits. The safety secured to travellers caused the trade with Persia by
+way of Georgia to revive in some degree. Astrakhan was again visited by
+Persian and Hindu merchants, and by caravans from Khiva and Bokhara; the
+western and eastern shores of the Caspian were again frequented by
+vessels, and the numerous nomade hordes, of Asiatic habits, that then
+occupied the steppes of the Volga and the Kouma, contributed not a
+little to give animation to the commercial interchange between Russia
+and the Transcaucasian regions.[21]
+
+In the reign of Catherine II. the Russians reappeared once more beyond
+the Caucasus on the Caspian shores; but it was not until Alexander's
+time that their sway was definitively established in those Asiatic
+regions. Once mistress of a vast country conterminous with Persia and
+Turkey, and washed both by the Caspian and the Black Sea, Russia
+evidently commanded every possible means for developing to her own
+advantage a trade between Europe and most of the western regions of
+Asia. By way of the Caspian and the Volga she could supply all her
+central provinces with Persian silks and cottons, dye-stuffs, and drugs;
+besides which she could monopolise the profit on the transit of goods to
+the fairs of Germany and down the Danube.
+
+At first the Russian government seemed disposed to favour the
+establishment of all these great mercantile relations; but it did not
+long persist in its liberal course. It soon began to practise
+restrictive measures, thus paving the way for the grand system of
+proscription which it afterwards adopted. In the beginning of
+Alexander's reign the old trade with Persia still subsisted, and the
+Russians continued to buy cottons of excellent quality, at very low
+prices, in Mazanderan, a province situated on the Caspian.[22] The
+merchants used then to make their payments in ducats, that gold coinage
+being a _sine quâ non_ in all bargains. But the exportation of ducats
+was prohibited in 1812 and 1813, and thenceforth the Persians refused to
+trade, not choosing to accept silver coin. The English merchants, always
+prompt to seize advantageous opportunities, immediately entered the
+markets of Mazanderan, the cottons of which, purchased by them at low
+prices, reached Europe by way of the Persian Gulf. At first they paid in
+ducats; but England soon substituted for specie cloths, and all other
+kinds of goods suitable to the inhabitants of that part of Persia. It
+was especially during the war of 1813 that the English led the Persians
+to adopt their various manufactures. The stop put to the Russian trade
+opened the eyes of the ministry, who soon revoked the measure concerning
+ducats, but the mischief was done; commerce had already run into a new
+channel. Severe as was this lesson it produced no lasting effect. In
+order to favour a single Moscow manufacture, a duty equivalent to a
+prohibition was imposed on foreign velvets _in transitu_ for Persia, and
+thenceforth an article for which there was so important a demand, ceased
+to be an item in the Russian traffic with Persia.
+
+In 1821, the Russian government seemed to be disposed to wiser views,
+and allowed European goods free entrance into the ports of Georgia.
+Thereupon, a great transit trade rapidly sprang up between Turkey,
+Persia, and the great German fairs, by way of Radzivilov, Odessa, Redout
+Kaleh, and Tiflis. This new and very promising line of communication had
+but a brief duration, for ten years afterwards, Russia, in her
+infatuation, destroyed all these magnificent commercial elements, as we
+have already shown. She closed the Transcaucasian provinces against
+European goods, and thus gave an immediate impulse to the prosperity of
+her formidable competitors in Trebisond, which soon surpassed the
+establishments on the Persian Gulf, and became the principal port in
+Persia and the point of destination for English goods, to the annual
+value at present of more than two millions sterling.
+
+The Trebisond route having been once adopted, the trade in drugs and
+dye-stuffs was likewise lost for Russia.
+
+It is scarcely conceivable with what perverse obstinacy the Russian
+government has persisted in its course, in defiance of all warning; and
+whilst the people of Persia and Turkey in Asia, were forsaking their old
+commercial routes for new markets, Russia has gone on making her
+prohibitive system more and more stringent, even to the extent of
+excluding the common pottery, an immense quantity of which was formerly
+sent from Khiva and Bokhara to Astrakhan, for the use of the Tatars and
+Kalmucks.
+
+It was through the effect of such measures as these that Astrakhan lost
+all trace of its former greatness. In 1839 it contained only forty-eight
+merchants of the first guild, including women and children, and had but
+forty-eight vessels belonging to its port. Of these forty-eight vessels,
+having a total tonnage of about nine millions of kilogrammes, eleven
+belonged to the crown, twenty-five were the property of private
+individuals, and were employed as government transports; there remained,
+therefore, for trade only twelve vessels, one-third of which were
+unemployed. The vessels belonging to the other ports of the Caspian in
+connexion with Astrakhan, such as Baku and Salian, were eight in number,
+with a tonnage of 387,000 kilogrammes, besides about sixty coasters,
+tonnage unknown. Such is the deplorable condition to which the trade and
+navigation of the Caspian have been reduced by an exclusive government,
+which would never consent to understand the reciprocal nature of
+traffic, but foolishly hoped to preserve its commercial intercourse with
+nations whose productions it rejects, and to which it refuses even the
+transit of the foreign goods they require. Do what she will, Russia will
+never succeed in adequately replacing for the Mussulmans of the south of
+the empire the manufactures of Asia, which are peculiarly adapted to
+their habits and their wants, or in inducing the Transcaucasian
+countries to adopt her own sorry manufactures. The spread of English
+commerce, moreover, in the western regions of Asia is now a historical
+fact, and Russia cannot possibly check it unless she become mistress,
+some time or other, of Constantinople. It is true she may compete in
+some hardware goods with the higher-priced productions of England; but
+the Asiatics are excellent judges of such matters; they are seldom
+tempted by mere cheapness; on the contrary, experience proves that they
+prefer the English goods, the soundness and high finish of which they
+fully appreciate. But even though the Russian goods were as well made as
+the English, the prohibitive system of the empire, and the refusal of
+transit to European merchandise, would still be sufficient to deprive
+the country of all export trade in the Caspian; for the people of Asia
+will always give the preference to those commercial relations which
+afford them opportunities for exchanges suitable to their wants, along
+with the advantages of a more extensive demand.
+
+The trade of the two Russian ports of the Caspian in 1835, was as
+follows:--
+
+                   Exports.       Imports.      Duties.
+                   rubles.        rubles.       rubles.
+  Astrakhan       2,235,514      2,235,514      127,241
+  Baku              556,016      1,564,924       81,735
+                  ---------      ---------      -------
+                  2,791,530      3,800,438      208,976
+
+Which gives for the whole Caspian a general circulation of about
+6,500,000 rubles. The trade has still continued to decline since 1835.
+We find it stated in the journal of the ministry of the interior, that
+the whole exports of the Russian Transcaucasian provinces, by the Black
+Sea, the Caspian, and overland, amounted in 1839, to but 3,889,707
+rubles,[23] whilst the imports by the Caspian, did not exceed 2,896,008
+rubles, nearly a million less than in 1835. In the same year Persia
+supplied, by the overland route, goods to the amount of 8,545,035 rubles
+to the Caucasian provinces. Now these goods consisted, according to the
+documents of the government itself, not of raw materials, but almost
+entirely in silk and cotton fabrics. The fact is, that notwithstanding
+the high duties of the imperial tariff, the people of Asia, who know
+nothing of the fantastic changes of fashion, always prefer the durable
+productions of the Persian looms to the flimsy tissues which Russia
+offers them, at very high prices, in consequence of the great remoteness
+of Moscow, the only seat of manufactures in the empire. Again, the
+Persians, finding that Russia can supply them with but few articles
+suited to them, keep all the raw materials produced in their country,
+and those which reach them from Central Asia, to exchange them for the
+European goods, which are now briskly and abundantly supplied in
+Trebisond and Tauris. Thus the Ghilan[24] silks, the Mazanderan cottons,
+the gall-nuts of Kurdistan, the tobaccoes of Shiraz, the gums,
+dye-stuffs, saffron, &c., have completely deserted the Caspian, and the
+route from Tiflis to Redout-Kaleh, for that by way of Erzeroum and
+Trebisond. Another circumstance in favour of this new line is the low
+rate of carriage and duties in Turkey; the latter never exceed three per
+cent. for Europeans, and four per cent. for Persians; but in reality
+merchants seldom pay more than half that amount. Altogether the transit
+from Constantinople does not augment the first cost of goods by more
+than ten per cent. Hence it is easy to infer how difficult it is for
+Russia, whose manufacturing power is still so inconsiderable, to contend
+with the other European states in the markets of Persia, and how grossly
+it blundered when it voluntarily annihilated all transit trade through
+its dominions, in the vain hope of forcing its own productions on the
+Transcaucasian countries.
+
+One of the most curious things connected with the destruction of all
+these elements of wealth is the petty artifices practised by the
+ministry to make Europe, and the head of the government, believe that
+the extension of commerce is nowhere more sedulously pursued than in
+Russia. For instance, the fort of Alexandrof has been built on the
+north-east coast of the Caspian, under the pretence of providing a
+receptacle for the imaginary caravans from Khiva and Bokhara.
+Unfortunately, the locality affords neither fresh water nor wood, nor
+any one necessary; accordingly, as might have been foreseen, it has not
+been visited by a single caravan. The garrison consists of 600 men, and
+requires to be constantly renewed in consequence of its suffering by
+scurvy; the commandant is obliged to procure fresh water from the mouths
+of the Ural, which is conveyed to him in packet-boats. The fort has not
+even proved of use for the protection of the fishery which is carried on
+not far from its site. The soldiers cannot venture from their redoubts
+without incurring the risk of being carried off by the Khirghis. More
+than eighty Russian fishermen were made prisoners in 1839 by those
+nomades, and sold in Khiva and Bokhara.
+
+It is well known what hopes Peter the Great built on the Black Sea, the
+Caspian, and the countries situated beyond the Caucasus. It remains for
+us briefly to discuss the question, whether it will ever be possible for
+Russia to make the Indian trade return to its old route.
+
+Now that navigation has made such amazing progress, now that the
+establishment of steamboats on the Euphrates and the Red Sea, is a
+solved problem, and the cost of freight by sea is exceedingly reduced,
+we think there is no longer a chance for Russia to divert the course of
+the Indian trade, and make it pass through her own dominions. Russia is
+conterminous with the Chinese empire, and has long enjoyed certain and
+regular communication with it; and yet the English find it very
+profitable to sell in Odessa, and all the south of Russia, tea brought
+them by ships that double the Cape of Good Hope. It is evident that
+Russia is in a still worse position with regard to India than to China.
+Should the Russians ever become masters of the Sea of Azof, they might,
+perhaps, penetrate to Bokhara and Samarkand by way of the rivers Sir
+Daria (Iaxartes) and Amore Daria (Oxus). This was one of Peter the
+Great's grand conceptions. But the reiterated attempts that have been
+made in Khiva, always to no purpose, prove plainly that conquests are
+not easily to be made in those regions, and that such armies as those of
+our day are not fitted to traverse the steppes of the Khirghis and
+Turcomans. And how were it possible, besides, to establish as regular
+and cheap communications with India, by way of Persia or Bokhara, as
+those which now exist by sea? It seems, therefore, evident that Peter
+the Great's projects are become chimerical at this day, and that all the
+efforts Russia can ever make by herself, will be unable to change the
+course of the Indian trade. It is only in case of a long maritime war
+that she could hope to bring the productions of Central Asia to the
+Black Sea, thence to be distributed over continental Europe. But apart
+from this trade, there was still a vast field to be wrought: in like
+manner as the East Indies are become, commercially speaking,
+dependencies of Great Britain, so Persia and Turcomania might have
+become tributaries to Russia, had not the latter, blinded by her vanity
+and jealous ambition, to adopt her deplorable system of prohibition, and
+destroyed the whole European transit trade which was establishing itself
+by way of the ports she possesses on the Black Sea.
+
+Our facts and figures have clearly proved that the decay of the
+navigation of the Caspian has accompanied that of the Asiatic trade; it
+is important, however, to give some notion of the nature and employment
+of the vessels actually in use on the Caspian and the Volga. These
+vessels are divided into five classes, according to the character of
+their build. The first comprises ships that visit all the ports of the
+Caspian indiscriminately; the second, those that ply only in the
+neighbourhood of Astrakhan; the third, those that confine themselves to
+the mouths of the Volga from Astrakhan to the sea; the fourth, the river
+boats that never quit the Volga; and the fifth, those belonging to the
+Persian provinces.
+
+The ships that visit the ports of the Caspian are called _shkooutes_,
+and their hulls are not unlike those of Dutch vessels. They are built of
+bad timber, and in defiance of all rules. Their number, though greatly
+exceeding the demands of commerce, is not above eighty; they gauge from
+1000 to 2000 _hectolitres_. Shipowners generally buy old hulls in Nijni
+Novgorod, and turn them into shkooutes, without ever reflecting that
+their craziness and want of regularity makes them exceedingly dangerous
+as sea-going vessels. And then the command of them is given to ignorant
+pilots, who fill the office of captains in all but the name. The crews
+consist of from ten to sixteen, and these being chosen by the sole test
+of cheapness, the result is that the navigation of the squally and
+formidable Caspian is in very bad repute among merchants, and will
+inevitably be abandoned altogether.
+
+The shkooutes are employed in conveying Russian and Persian goods, and
+the workmen, materials, provisions, and produce, belonging to the
+fisheries situated between Salian,[25] Siphitourinsk, Akhrabat, and
+Astrabad,[26] and in carrying victuals and stores to the garrisons in
+the eastern parts of the Caucasus.
+
+Of all these transports, those of the crown alone afford the shippers
+any chance of profit. The Russian authorities and merchants themselves
+confess that there is no longer any thing to be got by conveying
+merchandise from Astrakhan to Persia. Twenty years ago the freights
+obtained for heavy goods were from 1.30 rubles, to 3 per pood, and from
+6 to 10 rubles for light and bulky goods. Now the freight for the former
+does not exceed from 40 to 70 copeks, and that of the latter never
+amounts to one ruble. The return charges cannot be stated with accuracy,
+since they depend on the quantity of goods to be shipped, and the number
+of vessels ready to load. It often happens that the captains put up
+their services to auction, and end with losing instead of gaining. This
+diminution in the charges for freight is evidently the consequence of
+the superabundance of vessels, of the frequent shipwrecks which cause a
+preference for land carriage, and of the small amount of importation
+into the Persian provinces.
+
+The vessels that ply on the Caspian in the vicinity of Astrakhan are
+known in the country by the name of _razchiva_. They differ very little
+from the shkooutes, and cost from 1500 to 4000 rubles. Sailors
+distinguish them into two classes, _manghishlaks_ and _aslams_, the
+former of which take the name from the port[27] whence they formerly
+carried to Astrakhan the goods brought by the Khiva and Bokhara
+caravans. This traffic was monopolised by Tatars, who alone had nothing
+to fear from the Khirghis and Turkmans, when they landed. In 1832, there
+were but eight manghishlaks, half of which were unemployed. These little
+vessels carry from 700 to 1200 hectolitres.
+
+The other class of razchivas, designated by the Tartar word _aslam_
+(carrier--_voiturier_), are used to convey household vessels, victuals,
+timber, and articles requisite for the fisheries. They ply to
+Kisliar,[28] Gourief,[29] and Tchetchenze,[30] and traverse all the
+north-western parts of the Caspian, from the Volga to Terek, their
+principal cargoes being commissariat stores for the troops in the
+Caucasian provinces. They bring back wine, rice, and Kisliar brandy,
+which is much esteemed in the country. The number of these razchivas
+does not, however, exceed fifty. They can make five trips in the year.
+
+These vessels are much more profitable to their owners than are
+shkooutes. In reality they are but coasters, and as they seldom venture
+out of sight of the shore, they are much less exposed to wreck.
+Moreover, in addition to their Astrakhan freights, they keep up an
+exchange trade in eatable commodities with the nomades of the Caspian
+shores. They are also employed in the fisheries of the Emba and of
+Tchetchenze, though the fishermen generally prefer smaller vessels.
+
+The vessels that ply in the mouths of the Volga are some of them decked,
+some open. The former, which need to be of a certain strength, carry
+goods directly on board the shkooutes in the offing, whereas the latter
+stop a little distance from the mouth of the river. Both are really
+lighters. The water is so low near the mouths of the Volga, as well as
+in all the northern part of the Caspian, that the shkooutes are obliged
+to put to sea empty from the port of Astrakhan. About twenty miles from
+the shore they take in half their cargo, which is brought to them in
+open lighters, nor can they complete their loading until they are 100 or
+120 miles from the embouchure, where they are met by decked vessels
+whose draught of water does not exceed thirteen feet. The lighters
+generally belong to petty captains, who realise a good profit by them;
+but a large proportion of them are lost every year.
+
+The boats that float down the Volga to Astrakhan from the interior, are
+of extreme diversity of construction. The most remarkable are the
+_kladnyas_, which are distinguished above all the rest by their solidity
+and their Dutch build. They have but one enormously tall mast with two
+sails, one of which is attached to a boom twice as long as the hull of
+the vessel. Next after them come the _beliangs_, flat boats built
+entirely of deal, and not pitched either within or without. Besides
+these there are an infinity of smaller boats, which it is unnecessary to
+describe. All these boats convey goods from Astrakhan to Nijni Novgorod,
+Saratof, and other places, and _vice versa_, charging for freight from
+ten to thirty kopeks per pood, according to distance. They arrive at
+Astrakhan at stated times, namely, in May, July, and September. The
+steamboat that makes one trip every year between Astrakhan and Nijni
+Novgorod, takes from forty to fifty days to ascend the river, and a
+fortnight to return. The navigation of the Volga, appears by the
+sailors' accounts, to be growing more difficult every year; some parts
+of the river are already impracticable for boats of a certain draught.
+Indeed the fact seems clearly ascertained that the Volga has undergone a
+great diminution of volume within the last century.
+
+The vessels belonging to the Persian provinces resemble the Russian
+shkooutes, with this difference, that no pitch is used in their
+construction, but their timbers are so accurately joined as to admit no
+water. It is superfluous to say that the Persian shipping is in a still
+worse position than that of Russia. If to these statistical details we
+add that all the Russian goods are conveyed by land to the Caucasian
+provinces of the empire, no more will be wanting to show how deserted is
+the Caspian Sea.
+
+The manual industry of Astrakhan shares, of course, the decay of its
+commerce. The metropolis reckoned fifty-two manufacturing establishments
+in 1838, viz.: one for silks, two for cotton cloths, twenty
+dyeing-houses, ten tanyards, two candle manufactories, three soap
+manufactories, twelve tile manufactories, one tallow melting-house, one
+rope-walk; 615 workmen were employed in all these establishments. It was
+the fisheries of the Volga that in reality furnished the population with
+all the means of subsistence; they are still the chief resource of the
+country, and it would seem as though nature had wished to compensate
+Astrakhan for the sterility of its soil, by rendering the waters that
+wash it more prolific than any others in fish.[31] The waters in which
+the fishing is carried on are private property, or farmed out by the
+crown and the towns, or they are free to all comers. The most
+productive spots belong to the princes Kourakin, Youssoupof, Besborodko,
+&c. The crown fisheries were formerly commercial property; they are now
+leased to one individual, along with those belonging to the district
+capitals of the government of Astrakhan. The waters of Astrakhan, though
+belonging to Prince Kourakin, have nevertheless been gratuitously
+conceded to the town. They yield for the most part only small kinds of
+fish, which are consumed by the inhabitants themselves.
+
+The fisheries of the Emba have been free since 1803. They comprise 300
+miles of the Caspian coast, from the mouth of the Ural to Mentvoi
+Koultouk, and take their name from the river Emba. They belonged
+formerly to the counts Koutussof and Soltykov.
+
+By virtue of a decree, dated March 31, 1803, fishery of all sorts,
+including that of seals, is free in the maritime waters of Tchetchenze.
+The island of that name, lying not far from the gulf and cape of
+Agrakhan, contains vast establishments for smoking, salting, and drying
+fish, and numerous dwellings occupied by the fishermen. The fishery here
+lasts all the year through, and yields beluga,[32] common sturgeon,
+salmon trout, silurus,[33] and two varieties of carp. It has been the
+custom of the seal-fishers from time immemorial not to destroy any of
+those animals before the 13th of April; whoever infringes this rule is
+deprived of all his booty by his comrades, who divide it among
+themselves. War is waged upon the seals in five different ways. In
+summer they are hunted on the islands and netted in the sea; in winter
+they are shot, or killed with clubs on the ice, or at the
+breathing-holes they break through it. In summer the seals weigh thirty
+pounds, in autumn about sixty, and in winter often ninety-six.
+
+The permanent fisheries are called _vataghis_ and _outshoughis_; the
+places where they are temporary are called _stania_. An outshoughi
+consists in a barrier of stakes planted across the river, and sometimes
+wattled. Below this barrier the apparatus called in Russian _samoloff_,
+is placed in the current. It is a cord hung with short lines and hooks,
+and the business of the fisherman consists in examining the lines, and
+taking off the fish that are hooked. These are immediately taken to a
+shed built on piles at the waterside, where they are cut up; the roes,
+the fat, and the nerves are afterwards conveyed to places where they
+undergo the processes necessary to fit them for commerce.
+
+As the lines of stakes hinder the fish from ascending the river, the
+government has for some time prohibited the use of outshoughis, and also
+of the lines and hooks, by which it is found that scarcely one fish is
+taken out of a hundred that swallow the bait; the rest escape though
+wounded, and thus perish uselessly.
+
+The invention of these barriers is ascribed to the Tatars of the khanat
+of Astrakhan. As fish was an important article of commerce between them
+and the Russians, it may be presumed that they adopted this means to
+keep the fish from ascending to the upper portions of the Volga.
+
+The vataghis, usually placed on the heights above the shore, are cellars
+in which fish is salted and dried. Before the door there is always a
+platform sheltered by a screen of reeds, where the fish are cut up and
+cleaned. Nets, some of them several hundred yards in length, are
+exclusively used in these establishments. It is forbidden, however, to
+stretch them across the entire width of the river.
+
+The fishing season is divided into several distinct periods. The first,
+which extends from March till May, that is from the breaking up of the
+ice to the time of flood, is called the caviar season; it is the most
+important and most productive of the caviar and isinglass. The second
+occurs in July when the waters have sunk within their ordinary bed, and
+the fish having spawned, are returning to the sea. The third, from
+September to November, is the season when the beluga, sturgeon, and
+sevriuga[34] return to the deepest parts of the river. These fish are
+also taken in winter by nets of a peculiar form. At that time of year
+the fishermen of the coasts often travel over the ice for dozens of
+miles from the land. Every two men have a horse and sledge, and carry
+with them 3000 yards of net, with which they capture belugas, sturgeons,
+silures, and even seals under the ice. These expeditions are very
+dangerous. The wind often drives the ice-blocks on a sudden out to sea,
+and then the loss of the fishermen is inevitable, unless the wind chops
+round and drives them back to land. Old experienced fishermen allege
+that the instinct of the horses forewarns them of these atmospheric
+changes, and that their uneasiness puts their masters on their guard
+against the danger; according to the same authorities, the moment the
+animals are yoked they turn of their own accord towards the shore, and
+set off thither with extraordinary speed.
+
+The fishermen of Astrakhan reckon three classes of fish. The first they
+call red fish, which includes the beluga, the sevriuga, and the
+sturgeon. The second consists of white fish, such as the salmon-trout,
+the bastard beluga, the sterlet,[35] the carp or sazan, the soudak,[36]
+and the silure. To the third class belong all those designated by the
+general name of _tchistia_, _kovaya_ or _riba_, either on account of the
+closeness of the nets employed to take them, or of their habits of
+entering rivers in very dense shoals. They are small fish, which are
+little prized, and are salted for the consumption of the interior of the
+empire.
+
+The government fishing board has the general control of the fisheries,
+grants the requisite licences, superintends the election of the headmen,
+sends out inspectors to maintain order, and collects information as to
+the produce of the fisheries. In 1828, 8887 men employed in fishing, and
+254 in taking seals, with 3219 boats, brought in 43,033 sturgeons,
+653,164 sevriugas, and 23,069 belugas: these yielded 330 tons of caviar,
+and about 34 tons of isinglass. There were also taken 8335 soudaks, and
+the enormous quantity of 98,584 seals. The sturgeon fishery alone
+produces about 2,000,000 of rubles annually, but the expenses are very
+considerable. The revenue derived by the government from the fisheries
+of the Volga amounts to 800,000 paper rubles.
+
+The celebrated imperial ukase appointing a uniform monetary system
+throughout the empire, was promulgated during our stay in Astrakhan, and
+afforded us a fresh opportunity of beholding the amazing impassiveness
+of the Russians, and their extreme incapability of self-assertion. The
+change was certainly excellent in itself, and loudly called for by the
+circumstances of the country, but the manner of carrying it into effect
+caused a loss of eighteen per cent, to all holders of coin. In
+Astrakhan, the voice of the public crier sufficed at once, and without
+warning, to reduce the 4 ruble piece to 3.5, that of 1.20 to 1.05, that
+of 1 ruble to 0.87, and that of 0.62 to 0.52; and immediately after beat
+of drum, the law was carried into full force on all commercial
+transactions. It must not be supposed, however, that this inert
+resignation of the tzar's subjects is merely the result of their
+profound reverence for whatever emanates from the omnipotence of their
+sovereign. Every one of them is fully and keenly sensible of his loss,
+and if no voice is uplifted against such ministerial spoliations, the
+cause abides in that total absence of will and reflection which we have
+already had many occasions to point out as a distinguishing trait of the
+Russian character. For our own part we cannot but highly approve of the
+idea of establishing a complete uniformity in the value of coinage, for
+the variations of value which the same coin formerly underwent in
+passing from one government to another were exceedingly injurious to
+trade. We think, however, that the change might have been accomplished
+by more legal and less violent means. It is true, that by acting as he
+did, Count Cancrine was sure of realising a gain of eighteen per cent.,
+and this, it may be presumed, was the principal motive that actuated
+him. Be this as it may, this was not the first time the Russian
+government took such a course; every one knows that in 1812, the silver
+ruble fell abruptly to the value of a paper ruble, entailing a loss of
+seventy-one per cent. on all holders of government bills, who received
+but a paper ruble for every silver ruble represented by the bills. This
+state of things lasted until 1839, when the old system was restored. The
+present government paper, having for its basis a real coin, the silver
+ruble, worth 3.50 paper rubles (about 3_s._ 2_d._), consists of notes
+for 5, 10, 20, and even 10,000 rubles. These notes are extremely small,
+and the government must inevitably realise a large profit annually by
+their wear and tear and loss. It is likewise very possible that the
+ministry of finance had no other motive for creating these new notes,
+than that of preparing means to repeat the bankruptcy of 1812; and
+seeing the actual state of the imperial treasury, there is no doubt that
+such an act of bankruptcy would be committed in case of war. Never was
+the state so oppressed with debt as it is at this day. The war in the
+Caucasus, the grand military parades, and the payment of a countless
+host of diplomatic agents, avowed and secret, all absorb immense sums,
+and the ministry is consequently reduced to miserable shifts to make up
+the deficit, and restore the balance of the finances. The proposal of a
+great military expenditure was discussed in the imperial council of
+1841, and was opposed with reason by Cancrine, on the too real ground of
+want of money. The emperor, chafed by an opposition to his wishes such
+as he was not used to, ordered the grand treasurer to produce all his
+accounts, that the matter might be investigated in council. Next day the
+accounts were examined in presence of the tzar and his ministers. One
+item excited great surprise; an enormous sum was set down as expended,
+but how or wherefore it was spent was not stated. The emperor yielding
+without reflection to a sudden impulse of anger, commanded Cancrine to
+explain what had become of the money, and the minister, who had taken
+his precautions beforehand, instantly laid before his master a note in
+which were revealed some singular mysteries. It was, they say, after
+this memorable sitting that all public works were immediately stopped,
+the stamp duties were quadrupled, the charge for passports centupled,
+and new notes payable to the bearer, were issued for more than
+100,000,000 of silver rubles. Such are the expedients that constitute
+the genius of the ministry, and which Count Cancrine thought it right to
+employ to augment the financial resources of the country. I recollect an
+anecdote that exactly typifies the notions of that statesman. I was once
+in the house of a Moldavian landowner of Bessarabia, whose lands bring
+him in about 10,000 rubles a year. The conversation turned on
+agriculture. "What!" exclaimed a Russian who was present, "your estate
+yields you but 10,000 rubles a-year? Nonsense; put it into my hands and
+I warrant you twice as much."--"That would be a very agreeable thing, if
+it could be done," said the landlord; "I flatter myself I am tolerably
+well versed in these matters, and yet I have never been able to discover
+any possible means of increasing my income."--"How many days do your
+peasants work?" said the Russian.--"Thirty."--"That's not enough: make
+them work sixty. What breadth of land do they till for you?"--"So
+much."--"Double it." And so he went on through the other items of the
+inquiry, crying, "Double it! double it!" We could not help heartily
+laughing. But the Russian remained perfectly serious, and I am sure he
+thought himself as great a man as Cancrine himself; I really regret that
+I did not ask him, had he taken lessons in economics in the office of
+that illustrious financier.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[20] Notwithstanding the assertions of most geographers, we are of
+opinion that the communications between Soldaïa, Kaffa, and Astrakhan
+generally took place by way of the Don and the Volga. Many reasons seem
+to confirm this opinion. Had it been otherwise, the Genoese would not
+have attached so much importance to the possession of Tana, on the mouth
+of the Don. Furthermore, the route by the banks of the Terek and the
+Kouban, skirting the northern slope of the Caucasus, being much longer
+as well as more dangerous, by reason of the neighbourhood of the
+Caucasian tribes, preference would naturally have been given to the
+route by the Don and the Volga, which passed only through Tatar
+countries, inhabited by the same people as the traders, and subjected to
+the same government. It seems confirmatory of this opinion that in the
+expedition of Sultan Selim against Astrakhan, in 1560, part of the
+Turkish army marched by that very route. The line of the Manitch must
+have been little frequented on account of its almost total want of
+drinkable water.
+
+[21] Among the various nomade hordes then encamped on the soil of
+Southern Russia, the Kalmucks alone numbered more than 120,000 families;
+at the same period the Crimea alone had a population of more than
+600,000. But these regions have undergone a remarkable change since
+Peter the Great's time. A large portion of the Kalmucks have emigrated
+to China, and the Mussulman tribes have lost at least nine-tenths of
+their population. It may easily be conceived how injurious to the trade
+with Persia and Central Asia has been the disappearance of these Asiatic
+races.
+
+[22] The best cotton of Persia is grown on the slopes of the Elbrouz.
+These regions might easily supply Russia annually with an average of
+1,500,000 kilogrammes of cotton, at 65 to 70 centimes the kilogramme on
+the spot.
+
+[23] Among the articles exported by Russia, the following are to be
+estimated at the approximative values annexed to them: cotton cloths,
+700,000 rubles; woollens, 40,000; linens, 30,000; iron, 200,000 to
+400,000; various metal wares, 200,000, and wheat 100,000.
+
+[24] In 1836, Ghilan exported more than 9,000,000 rubles worth of silk
+to Trebisond.
+
+[25] Salian is a port on the Caspian, at the mouth of the Coura (the
+ancient Cyrus). The roadstead is tolerably good, and the fisheries are
+important. An immense quantity of sturgeons are caught.
+
+[26] Astrabad on the southern coast of the Caspian, between Persia and
+Turkistan, is in regular and easy communication with all the regions of
+Persia, Khiva, and Bokhara. It is the true key to all the commerce of
+Asia by way of the Caspian; hence it was an object of special attention
+for Peter the Great and Catherine II.
+
+[27] Manghishlak is not a town but merely a port, at which vessels used
+formerly to touch to trade with the nomades of that part of the coast.
+It is now entirely abandoned; the few vessels which still visit these
+parts, stop at Tuk Karakhan, near the old landing place, whence goods
+are conveyed on camels to Khiva in twenty-eight days.
+
+[28] A town on the Caspian, at the mouth of Terek, celebrated for its
+brandy.
+
+[29] A town at the mouth of the Ural. It belongs to the Cossacks of the
+Ural, and contains upwards of a hundred houses.
+
+[30] An island not far from the Gulf of Agrakhan.
+
+[31] The particulars that follow as to the fisheries of the Caspian,
+were communicated to us at Astrakhan. Neither the weather nor the season
+allowed us to be present at those interesting operations.
+
+[32] The _beluga_ of the Russians is the great sturgeon (_Piscis
+ichthyocolla, Accipenser Huso_), its weight often amounts to 1400 lbs.
+
+[33] _Silurus glanis_, a fish unknown in France. I have found it in the
+Danube, the Volga, and the Dniepr, where its voracity and strength make
+it formidable to bathers.
+
+[34] Accipenser stellatus.
+
+[35] A. ruthenus.
+
+[36] Perca asper.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM ASTRAKHAN--COAST OF THE CASPIAN--HAWKING--
+      HOUIDOUK--THREE STORMY DAYS PASSED IN A POST-HOUSE--ARMENIAN
+      MERCHANTS--ROBBERY COMMITTED BY KALMUCKS--CAMELS--KOUSKAIA--
+      ANOTHER TEMPEST--TARAKANS--A REPORTED GOLD MINE.
+
+
+We left Astrakhan at eight in the evening, and were ferried across the
+Volga in a four-oared boat. It took us more than an hour to cross the
+river, its breadth opposite the town being more than 2000 yards. When we
+reached the opposite bank we might have fancied ourselves transported
+suddenly to a distance of a hundred versts from Astrakhan. Kalmucks,
+sand, felt tents, camels, in a word, the desert and its tenants were all
+that now met our view. We found our britchka waiting for us; our officer
+and the dragoman got into a telega or post chariot, and the bells began
+their merry jingling.
+
+Nothing can be more dismal than the route from Astrakhan to Kisliar. For
+two days and two nights our journey lay through a horrid tract of loose
+sand, with nothing to be seen but some half-buried Kalmuck kibitkas,
+serving for post stations, and a few patches of wormwood, the melancholy
+foliage of which was in perfect harmony with the desolate aspect of the
+landscape. The heaps of sand we passed between exhibited the most
+capricious mimicry of natural scenery. We had before our eyes hills,
+ravines, cascades, narrow valleys, and tumuli; but nothing remained in
+its place; an invisible power was ceaselessly at work, changing every
+shape too quickly for the eye to follow the rapid transformation.
+
+On the evening of the day after our departure, we had an opportunity of
+testing the prowess of our travelling companion, the hawk. The first
+theatre of his exploits was a little pond covered with wild ducks and
+geese, that promised a rich booty.
+
+At a signal from my husband the Tatar officer unhooded the bird, and
+cast him off. Instantly the hawk darted off like an arrow, close along
+the surface of the ground, towards the pond, and was soon hidden from us
+among the reeds, where his presence was saluted with a deafening
+clamour, and a scared multitude of wild geese rose up out of the sedges.
+Their screams of rage and terror, and their bewildered flight backwards
+and forwards, and in all directions, were utterly indescribable, until
+the arrival of the officer put them to the route, and delivered their
+assailant from their obstreperous resentment. The moment the hawk flew
+off, the Tatar followed him at a gallop, all the while beating a small
+drum that was fastened to his saddle. When he reached the pond he found
+the bird planted stoutly on the back of a most insubmissive victim, and
+waiting with philosophic patience until his master should come and
+release him from his critical position.
+
+The officer told us, that but for his presence, and the noise of the
+drum, the geese would in all probability have pummelled the hawk to
+death with their beaks, in order to rescue their companion. In such
+cases, however, the hawk braves the storm with imperturbable coolness,
+and adopts a curious expedient when the attacks are too violent, and his
+master is too slow in appearing. Without quitting hold of his victim, he
+slips himself under the broad wings of the goose, which then become his
+buckler. Once in that position he is invincible, and the blows aimed at
+him fall only on the poor prisoner, whose cruel fate it is to be forced
+to protect its mortal enemy. When the falconer comes up, the first thing
+he does is to cut off its head and give the brains to the hawk. Until
+that operation is completed, the latter keeps fast hold on the quarry,
+and no efforts of its master can induce it to relax its gripe.
+
+The hawk made two or three more successful flights before we reached
+Houidouk, and supplied us with a good stock of provisions, which were
+not a little needful to us in that miserable post station.
+
+During this journey we passed several times very close to the Caspian,
+but without perceiving it.
+
+At Houidouk, on the mouth of the Kouma, we found our escort, which had
+been waiting two days for us. Every thing was ready for our departure,
+but a violent fall of rain detained us three mortal days in the most
+detestable cabin we had yet entered. Two rooms, one for travellers, and
+the other for the master of the station and his family, composed the
+whole dwelling. We installed ourselves as well as we could in the
+former, the whole furniture of which consisted of a long table and two
+benches. The walls of this wretched hole were made of ill-jointed
+boards, that gave admission to the wind and the rain, and to add to our
+discomfort, it served as an ante-chamber to the other room, and was thus
+common to the whole household. Hens, children, and the master of the
+house, were perpetually passing through it, and left us not a moment's
+rest. Our situation was intolerable; the violence of the tempest
+increased at such a rate, that we knew not how the miserable wooden
+fabric could stand against it. All the elements seemed confounded
+together; there was no distinguishing earth or sky; but the terrible
+disorder of nature appeared to me more tolerable than the scene within
+doors. Outside there was at least something for the imagination; the
+mind was exalted in contemplating the swelling uproar that threatened a
+renewal of chaos; but the scene within was enough to drive us to
+despair--children fighting and screaming, fowls fluttering and perching
+on the table and benches, squalor all around us, and a frowsy
+atmosphere! To complete our distress, some Armenian merchants on their
+way to the fair of Tiflis, finding it impossible to continue their
+journey, came to share with us the den in which we were already so
+uncomfortable.
+
+But this new incident was a sort of lesson in philosophy for us. When we
+saw these men conversing quietly as they smoked their tchibouks, without
+the least show of impatience, and talking of the heavy losses the
+unseasonable weather might occasion them, as calmly as if their own
+interests were not concerned, we could not help envying the stoic
+resignation of which the men of the East alone possess the secret. There
+is nothing like their fatalism for enabling one to take all things as
+they come; is not that the acme of human wisdom?
+
+Our escort passed the three days of this deluge in a corner of the shed
+adjoining the house. Wrapped up in their sheep-skins, those iron men
+slept as quietly through wind and rain as if they had been in a snug
+room. One must have lived among the Russians to have any idea of the
+apathy with which they bear all kinds of privations. Their bodies,
+inured to the rigours of their climate, to the coarsest food, and most
+Spartan habits, grow so hardened, that what would be mortal to others
+makes no injurious impression on them.
+
+At last the rain ceased towards the end of the third day. A west wind
+followed it, and dispersed the dark threatening clouds that had so long
+obscured the sky. Though the weather seemed still unsettled, we
+determined to make for the Caspian, which lay but thirty versts from us.
+My husband's anxiety to commence his surveying operations, and our
+eagerness to quit our detestable abode, gave us courage to risk the
+chance of another storm in the open steppe.
+
+But a very unexpected incident threw the station into confusion just as
+we were departing, and delayed us some hours longer. A Kalmuck Cossack,
+mounted on a camel, arrived in great haste and informed us that the
+Armenian merchants, who had started the day before, had been attacked
+some distance from the station by a band of Kalmucks and plundered of
+the greater part of their merchandise.
+
+Our Cossack officer, after listening with great indignation to this
+story, asked permission of my husband to pursue the robbers. The whole
+escort set off with him at a hard gallop, but the pursuit was
+ineffectual. The robbers, having had some hours' start, had already
+reached the sedges of the Caspian. In consequence of this delay it was
+the afternoon before we could make a start, and even then we had great
+difficulty in getting away, for the terrified postmaster entreated us
+not to forsake him at a moment so critical. His dismay, for which indeed
+there was little reason, almost infected me too, and it was not without
+some apprehension of disaster that I left the station.
+
+The appearance of our caravan was curious and grotesque. Our britchka
+was drawn by three camels, taken in tow by a man on foot, and several
+other animals of the same species, besides sumpter-horses, were mounted
+by Kalmucks and Cossacks. Our escort followed, and all the men composing
+it, armed with sabres, guns, and pistols, looked martial enough to scare
+away the most daring thieves. The leader of the troop, the Tatar prince,
+rode with his falcon on his fist, every now and then showing off his
+skill in horsemanship and venery. Thinking no more of the morning alarm,
+I gave myself up to the liveliest anticipations of the extraordinary
+things which this excursion promised us. At last I was about to behold
+that Caspian Sea which, ever since men have been engaged with
+geographical questions, has been the object of their researches and
+conjectures. Besides, it had a much more potent interest for us, for it
+was in a manner the sole aim and end of our journey; it was to solve an
+immemorial question concerning it, that we had abandoned the comforts of
+civilised life, and encountered so many annoyances and privations.
+Notwithstanding my ignorance of science, I felt that in sharing my
+husband's toils, I was in some sort a partner in his learned researches,
+and that I too, like him, had my claims upon the Caspian. I was,
+therefore, impatient to see it; but our camels, who had no such motives
+for hurrying themselves, crawled along at a provokingly slow rate. They
+did not at all correspond with what we had read of the ships of the
+desert, creatures insensible to hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and as
+obedient to the will of man as the dry leaf is to the breath of the
+wind. In spite of a thick cord passed through one of their nostrils,
+which caused them sharp pain whenever they were unruly, our camels
+scarcely marched more than two hours at a stretch without lying down.
+The men had to battle with them continually to rouse them from their
+torpor, or hinder them from biting one another. Whenever one of the
+drivers pulled the halter of his camel roughly, we heard loud cries, the
+more hideous from their resemblance to the human voice. In short our
+camels behaved so badly during this short trip, as largely to abate the
+good opinion of their species, which we had conceived in reading the
+more poetical than true descriptions of our great naturalist.
+
+At some distance from Houidouk we met two camps of Kalmucks, improperly
+called Christians. These tribes are reputed to be addicted to theft, and
+are generally despised by the other Kalmucks. We will speak of them
+again in another place. This whole region, as far as the Caspian, is
+extremely arid, with only here and there a few pools of brackish water,
+the edges of which swarm with countless birds, the most remarkable of
+which are the white herons, whose plumage forms such beautiful
+_aigrettes_. Unfortunately, these birds are so wary, that our companion
+could not take one of them, notwithstanding all his address and the
+power of his falcon.
+
+A ludicrous misadventure that befel our dragoman, Anthony, amused us a
+good deal. Curiosity prompting him to ride a camel, he asked one of the
+Kalmucks to lend him his beast, and the request being complied with, he
+bestrode the saddle, pleased with the novelty of the experiment, and
+quite at a loss to know why the Cossacks and camel-drivers laughed among
+themselves as he mounted. But as soon as the beast began to move, a
+change came over his face, and he speedily began to bawl out for help.
+The fact is, one must be almost a Kalmuck to be able to endure the
+trotting of a camel; the shaking is so violent as to amount to downright
+torture for those who are not accustomed to it. The unlucky Anthony,
+left in the rear of the party, strove in vain to come up with us, and
+was obliged, in spite of himself, to continue his ride to the Caspian,
+where we arrived two hours before him. I never saw a man so cut up. He
+groaned so piteously when he was lifted down, that we began to be really
+alarmed for him.
+
+There are in nature two opposite types, beauty and ugliness; the
+elements of which vary infinitely, though imagination always erroneously
+supposes it can fix their boundaries. How often are we fully persuaded
+we can never meet again an object so beautiful as that before us; yet no
+sooner have we lavished all our enthusiasm upon it, than a more charming
+face, a sublimer landscape, or a more graceful form makes us forget what
+we had regarded as the model of perfection; and itself is soon, in turn,
+dethroned by other objects which we declare superior to all our former
+idols. Just so it is with ugliness. It matters not that we have before
+us the lowest grade we believe it can attain, we have but to turn our
+heads another way to be amazed and confounded by new discoveries
+revealing to us the inexhaustible combinations of nature. These
+reflections occurred to me more and more strongly as we approached
+Koumskaia. The aridity of the steppes round Odessa, the wilderness of
+the Volga, the parched and dismal soil of the environs of Astrakhan, in
+a word all we had heretofore seen that was least engaging, seemed lovely
+in comparison with what met our view on the banks of the Caspian.
+
+A grey, sickly sky, crossed from time to time by heavy black clouds,
+threw an indescribably sad and revolting hue over the lonely, sandy
+plain, and low, broken shore. The same funereal pall seemed to hang over
+the wooden houses, the gangs of Turkmans and Kalmucks loading their
+carts with salt, and the camels that roamed along the shore mingling
+their dismal cries with the sound of the waves.
+
+Yet hideous as it seemed to us, this part of the coast is not
+unimportant in a commercial point of view. It supplies large quantities
+of salt, and has a port where vessels unload their cargoes of corn for
+the army of the Caucasus. We counted at least a score of vessels which
+had been driven in there by the late storm.
+
+The population of Koumskaia consists of a Russian functionary, a Cossack
+post, and a few Kalmuck families, that appear very miserable. The
+_employé_ gave us the use of his house; that is to say, of two
+dilapidated rooms without glass windows or furniture. One can scarcely
+conceive how the mind can have strength to endure so very wretched an
+existence. An unwholesome climate, brackish water, excessive heat in
+summer, rigorous cold in winter, huts and kibitkas buried in the sand,
+the Caspian Sea with its squalls and tempests--all these things combine
+to make this region the most horrible abode imaginable. The major, who
+welcomed us to Koumskaia, had a slow fever, which he owed still less
+perhaps to the insalubrity of the climate than to the hardships and
+mortal ennui he had endured for eighteen months. His wife, more
+stout-hearted, and amused in some degree by her household occupations,
+had still preserved a certain cheerfulness, which was no less than
+heroic in her situation. Their exile was to last in all two years. The
+government, perceiving that many _employés_ died in Koumskaia, has
+limited the time of service there to that short period, and as some
+compensation for what those suffer who are sent thither, their two years
+are counted as four of ordinary service.
+
+The weather had been louring since we left Houidouk, and we had a
+regular hurricane the evening we reached the Caspian. It lasted
+four-and-twenty hours, and such was the noise of the wind and waves,
+that we could hardly hear each other speak in our room. We saw two or
+three kibitkas blown away into the sea, and we expected every moment to
+share the same fate, for our frail tenement creaked like the cabin of a
+ship; the boarded window let in such a current of air, as soon drove
+into the room all the garments with which we strove to stop the chinks.
+
+But the saddest chapter of our history remains to be narrated. As soon
+as our servant had prepared the samovar, and lighted the candles, a
+multitude of black creatures crept out of the chinks of the walls and
+ceilings, and dropped from all sides like a living rain. Imagine our
+consternation at the sight of that legion of black demons swarming
+around us, and leaving us no alternative but to put out the candles that
+attracted them. These insects, called in the country _tarakans_, though
+disgusting in appearance, are very inoffensive, and seldom climb on the
+person; but they are fond of light and heat, and hence they are a
+grievous nuisance in these regions, where their number is prodigious. I
+had already seen them in some post-houses, but in small numbers, and
+though I had always disliked them, I had never been so horrified by them
+as in the house of the major, where they kept me awake all night.
+
+Next morning, the wind having fallen somewhat, we went, in spite of the
+rain, to gather shells on the shore. The vessels in the harbour all
+showed signs of having suffered severely by the storm. The waters of the
+Caspian had a livid, muddy colour I never observed in any other sea in
+the most boisterous weather.
+
+When we returned to our cabin, the Cossack officer presented to us a
+Tatar, who asserted he had found gold in a spot forty versts from
+Koumskaia. Having heard of our arrival, he had walked all that horrible
+night to ask my husband to accompany him to the spot where he had made
+the discovery. But in spite of the gold ear and finger-rings he
+exhibited as tokens of his veracity, my husband was not tempted to lose
+four or five days in a search that would have led to nothing, to judge
+from the nature of the ground in which the Tatar reported that the
+precious ore was to be found.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+      ANOTHER ROBBERY AT HOUIDOUK--OUR NOMADE LIFE--CAMELS--KALMUCK
+      CAMP--QUARREL WITH A TURCOMAN CONVOY, AND RECONCILIATION--
+      LOVE OF THE KALMUCKS FOR THEIR STEPPES; ANECDOTE--A SATZA--
+      SELENOI SASTAVA--FLEECED BY A LIEUTENANT-COLONEL--CAMEL-DRIVERS
+      BEATEN BY THE KALMUCKS--ALARM OF A CIRCASSIAN INCURSION--
+      SOURCES OF THE MANITCH--THE JOURNEY ARRESTED--VISIT TO A KALMUCK
+      LADY--HOSPITALITY OF A RUSSIAN OFFICER.
+
+
+On returning to Houidouk, we found the postmaster in still greater
+perturbation than he had been cast into by the disaster of the Armenian
+merchants. One of his postillions had been seized but two versts from
+the station by Turkmans, who, after robbing him of his sheep-skin and
+his tobacco, had beaten him and left him half dead, and then made off
+with the three horses he was taking back to the station. The strangest
+part of the adventure was, that on the morning of the next day, which
+happened to be that of our arrival, the three horses returned quietly to
+their stable, as if nothing extraordinary had befallen. This proved, at
+least, that the robbers were not very confident, but chose rather to
+lose their booty than expose themselves to the vengeance of the
+Cossacks.
+
+Though such stories were not very encouraging to us, we nevertheless set
+out early next morning, entirely forsaking the post road we had till
+then pursued, and striking across the steppes with a weak escort, very
+insufficient to resist a serious attack. My husband, who had already
+begun his course of levels, resumed his operations from the station at
+Houidouk. Having to make one every ten minutes, he proceeded on foot, as
+well as the Kalmucks and Cossacks who carried the instruments and
+measured the distances. All the men were occupied except the camel
+drivers and the officer, who amused himself with flying his falcon now
+and then at wild ducks and geese. Besides its positive and gastronomic
+results, this sport did me the further service of withdrawing my mind
+from the monotony of a slow march across the desert, in which I had
+often no other pastime than watching the grotesque movements of the
+three camels that drew my carriage, or the capricious evolutions of the
+flocks of birds that were already assembling for their autumnal
+emigration.
+
+Yet the impression made on me by this first day did not tend much to
+alarm me at the prospect of wandering, like a veritable Kalmuck, for
+several weeks across the steppe. The novelty of my sensations, and the
+secret pleasure of escaping for awhile from the round of prescribed
+habits that make up the chief part of civilised life, banished from my
+mind every sombre thought. The excursion was an experimental glimpse of
+those natural ways of life which are no longer possible in our
+thickly-peopled lands; and in spite of my prejudices, a nomade existence
+no longer seemed to me so absurd or wearisome as I had supposed it to
+be. The quiet and the immensity of space around us imparted a deep
+serenity to my mind, and fortified it against any remains of fear
+occasioned by the late events at Houidouk.
+
+We made our first halt about noon, not at all too soon for our Cossacks,
+a race not accustomed to long walking. They immediately made a great
+fire, whilst our camel-drivers were busy setting up the tents and
+arranging a regular encampment. The sun had reappeared with more force
+than before, as usually happens after violent storms. The heat of the
+vertical sunshine, increased by the bare parched soil and by the
+extraordinary dryness of the air, had so overcome us that we could
+scarcely attend to the picturesque group presented by our halt in the
+desert, over which we appeared to reign as absolute masters.
+
+The britchka, unyoked and unladen, was placed a little way from, the
+tent, on the carpet of which were heaped portfolios, cushions, and
+boxes, in a manner which a painter would have thought worth notice.
+Whilst we were taking tea our men were making preparations for dinner,
+some plucking a fine wild goose and half-a-dozen kourlis, others
+attending to the fire, round which were ranged two or three pots for the
+pilau and the bacon soup, of which the Cossacks are great admirers; and
+Anthony with a little barrel of brandy under his arm, distributed the
+regular dram to every man, with the gravity of a German major-domo. As
+for the officer, he lay on his back under the britchka, for sake of the
+shade, amusing himself with his hawk, which he had unhooded, after
+fastening it with a stout cord to the carriage. Though the creature's
+sparkling eyes were continually on the look out for a quarry, it seemed
+by the continual flapping of its wings to enjoy its master's caresses.
+The camels, rejoicing in their freedom, browsed at a little distance
+from the tent, and contributed by their presence to give an oriental
+aspect to our first essay in savage life; wherein I myself figured in my
+huge bonnet, dressed as usual in wide pantaloons, with a Gaulish tunic
+gathered round my waist by a leathern belt. By dint of wondering at
+every thing, our wonderment at last wore itself out, and we regarded
+ourselves as definitively naturalised Kalmucks.
+
+Three hours before we halted, the last kibitkas had disappeared below
+the horizon: we were absolutely alone on the whole surface of the vast
+plain. There was no vestige to tell us that other men had encamped where
+we were. The steppe is like the sea; it retains no trace of those who
+have traversed it.
+
+At two o'clock Hommaire gave the word to march: the tent was struck; the
+camels knelt to receive their burdens; the officer was in the saddle
+with his hawk on his fist; and I was again alone in the carriage, slowly
+following our little troop as it resumed its operations.
+
+My first night under a tent proved to me that I was not so acclimated to
+the steppe as my vanity had led me to suppose. The felt cone under which
+I was to sleep; the Kalmucks moving about the fire; the camels sending
+their plaintive cries through the immensity of the desert; in a word,
+every thing I saw and heard, was so at variance with my habits and ways
+of thought, that I almost fancied I was in an opium dream.
+
+We spent part of the night seated before the tent, our reveries unbroken
+by any inclination to sleep. The moon, larger and more brilliant than it
+ever appears in the west, lighted the whole sky and part of the steppe,
+over which it cast a luminous line like that which a vessel leaves in
+its wake at sea. Absolute silence reigned in the air, and produced upon
+us an effect which no words can describe. Hardly did we dare to break
+it, so solemn did it seem, and so in harmony with the infinite grandeur
+of the waste. It would be in vain to look for a stillness so complete,
+even in the most sequestered solitudes of our regions. There is always
+some murmuring brook there, some rustling leaves; and even in the
+silence of night, some low sounds are heard, that give an object to the
+thoughts. But here nature is petrified, and one has constantly before
+him the image of that eternal repose which our minds can so hardly
+conceive.
+
+We marched for several days without meeting one living creature. This
+part of the steppes is inhabited only in Winter; for during the rest of
+the year it is completely destitute of fresh water. At last, towards the
+close of the fourth day, we saw a black object in motion on the horizon.
+The officer instantly galloped off to reconnoitre, waving his cap in the
+air, for a signal of command. In a few seconds we were sure he was
+perceived, for we distinguished the form of a Kalmuck mounted on a camel
+approaching us. He was hailed with shouts of joy by our men, who soon
+fastened on him, and overwhelmed him with questions. The eagerness of
+nomades to hear news is unbounded, and it is wonderful with what
+rapidity the knowledge of the most trivial event is conveyed from one
+tribe to another. The new comer told us that our journey was already
+known all over the steppes, and that we should soon fall in with an
+encampment of Kalmucks, who had moved forward on purpose to see us.
+
+The presence of this man put all our men in the gayest humour. Desirous
+of doing due honour to his arrival, they deputed Anthony to solicit from
+us a double ration of spirits. They passed all the early part of the
+night sitting round the fire, smoking their tchibouks, and telling
+stories, as grave and as entranced in the charms of conversation as
+Bedouins.
+
+Next day our little caravan was in motion before sunrise; the Kalmuck
+set off alone for the fair of Kisliar, and we took the opposite
+direction, pursuing the invisible line which science traced for us
+across the desert, and which was to lead us to the sources of the
+Manitch.
+
+It was on this morning I took my first ride on the back of a camel, and
+I vowed it should be the last. Decidedly the camel is the most
+detestable quadruped to ride in the world. From the moment you mount
+until you descend from that murderous perch you have to endure an
+incessant series of shocks, so violent and sudden, that every joint in
+your body feels dislocated. I could now feel for the sufferings of our
+poor dragoman during his long trot from Houidouk to the Caspian. Though
+my experiment was limited to a trip of two versts at the most, I was
+totally exhausted when I dismounted.
+
+Not long afterwards I had an opportunity of observing a curious instance
+of the vindictive temper of these rough trotters. The camel, as every
+one knows, is a ruminating animal, but few, perhaps, are aware that he
+has the cunning to make his rumination subservient to his vengeance in a
+very extraordinary and ingenious manner.
+
+I had noticed in the morning that one of our camel-drivers seemed to be
+on very bad terms with his beast. In vain he strove to master it by
+severity, and by pulling the cord passed through its nostril; the brute
+was obstinate, and threw itself every moment rebelliously on the ground.
+At last the Kalmuck, incensed beyond endurance, took advantage of a
+general halt, and alighted to give the camel a sound drubbing. But the
+creature, disdainfully lifting up its long neck, followed all its
+master's movements with so spiteful an eye, that I was sure it had some
+wicked scheme in its head. It waited patiently till the Kalmuck stood in
+front of it, and then, opening its great mouth, it let fly a charge of
+chewed grass mixed with mucus and all sorts of nastiness, and hit the
+poor driver full in the face. To tell with what an air of satisfied
+vengeance the camel again reared its neck and turned its head from side
+to side, as if looking round for applause, would be totally impossible.
+But what astonished me the most was the moderation of the master after
+such an outrage. He wiped his face very coolly, got into the saddle
+again, and patted the neck of his ill-bred brute, as if it had played
+the most amiable and innocent little trick imaginable. Good fellowship
+was thenceforth re-established between them, and they jogged peaceably
+along together, without thinking any more of what had happened.
+
+It happens by a rare good fortune, that no noxious insect is found in
+the steppes between the Caspian and the Caucasus. Of course it was not
+until I was quite sure of this that I could sleep in peace. Our tent,
+made of felt like those of the Kalmucks, was at most five feet high and
+as many wide. It was supported by a bundle of sticks tied together at
+the ends; the interior, furnished with a carpet and cushions laid on the
+ground, contained, besides, some boxes belonging to the britchka. A flap
+of felt formed the door. As the tent narrowed toward the top, we could
+not stand within it, but were obliged to kneel. Such was our dwelling
+for six weeks; and I can aver, that notwithstanding the hardness of our
+bed on the ground, and the strangeness of our situation, I never slept
+so soundly as during that period of my life. Nothing is better for the
+health than living in the open air; the appetite, the sleep, the
+unutterable serenity of mind, and the free circulation of the blood
+which it procures, sufficiently attest its happy influence on our
+organisation. Few functional maladies, I suspect, would resist a two or
+three months' excursion like that which we accomplished.
+
+As the Kalmuck had foretold, we arrived at night in a Kalmuck camp,
+consisting of a score of tents. All the men came to meet us, took the
+camels from the britchka, and would not allow our people to lend a hand;
+then having pitched our tent a little way off from their own, at the
+foot of a tumulus, they began to dance with their women, in token of
+rejoicing. One of the latter went down on her knees and begged some
+tobacco of my husband, and when she had got it she became an object of
+envy to her companions, before whom she hastened to display and smoke
+it.
+
+When night had fallen, the camp was lighted up with numerous fires,
+which gave a still more curious aspect to the kibitkas, and the dancing
+figures of the Kalmucks and Cossacks, whose exuberant gaiety was in part
+owing to an extraordinary distribution of food and brandy. The women
+advanced in their turn, and several of them forming a circle, danced in
+the same manner as the ladies of honour of the Princess Tumene. But they
+all seemed to me extremely ugly, though some of them were very young.
+
+Two days afterwards we arrived at the edge of a pond, where we arranged
+to pass the night. The sight of the water, and of the thousands of birds
+on its surface, afforded us real delight; there needed but such a little
+thing, under such circumstances as ours, to constitute an event, and
+occupy the imagination! All that evening was spent in shooting and
+hawking, bathing, and walking round and round the pool. We could not
+satiate ourselves with the pleasure of beholding that brackish mud, and
+the forest of reeds that encompassed it. No landscape on the Alps or the
+Tyrol was probably ever hailed with so much enthusiasm.
+
+Beyond this pond, the appearance of the steppes gradually changed; water
+grew less rare, the vegetation less scorched. We saw from time to time
+herds of more than five hundred camels, grazing in freedom on the short
+thick grass. Some of them were of gigantic height. I shall never forget
+the amazement they manifested at beholding us. The moment they perceived
+us they hurried towards, then stopped short, gazing at us with
+outstretched necks until we were out of sight.
+
+The eighth day after our departure from Houidouk our fresh water was so
+sensibly diminished, that we were obliged to use brackish water in
+cooking. This change in our kitchen routine fortunately lasted but a few
+days; but it was enough to give me a hearty aversion for meats so
+cooked: they had so disagreeable a taste, that nothing but necessity and
+long habit can account for their ordinary use. The Kalmucks and
+Cossacks, however, use no other water during a great part of the year.
+
+That same day we had a very singular encounter, which went near to be
+tragical. Shortly before encamping, we saw a very long file of small
+carts approaching us; our Kalmucks recognised them as belonging to
+Turkmans, a sort of people held in very bad repute, by reason of their
+quarrelsome and brutal temper. Every untoward event that happens in the
+steppes is laid to their account, and there is perpetual warfare between
+them and the Cossacks, to whom they give more trouble than all the other
+tribes put together. As we advanced, an increased confusion was manifest
+in the convoy, and suddenly all the oxen, as if possessed by the fiend,
+exhibited the most violent terror, and began to run away in wild
+disorder, dashing against each other, upsetting and breaking the carts
+loaded with salt, wholly regardless of the voices and blows of their
+drivers. Some moments elapsed before we could account for this strange
+disaster, and comprehend the meaning of the furious abuse with which the
+Turkmans assailed our escort. The camel-drivers were the real culprits
+in this affair, for they knew by experience how much horses and oxen are
+frightened by the sight of a camel, and they ought to have moved out of
+the direct line of march, and not exposed us to the rage of the fierce
+carters.
+
+The moment immediately after the catastrophe was really critical. All
+the Turkmans, incensed at the sight of the broken carts and their salt
+strewed over the ground, seemed, by their threatening gestures and
+vociferations, to be debating whether or not they should attack us. A
+single imprudent gesture might have been fatal to us, for they were more
+than fifty, and armed with cutlasses; but the steady behaviour of the
+escort gradually quieted them. Instead of noticing their hostile
+demonstrations, all our men set to work to repair the mischief, and the
+Turkmans soon followed their example; in less than an hour all was made
+right again, and the scene of confusion ended much more peaceably than
+we had at first ventured to hope. All parties now thought only of the
+comical part of the adventure, and hearty laughter supplanted the tokens
+of strife. To seal the reconciliation, Hommaire ordered a distribution
+of brandy, which completely won the hearts of the fellows, who a little
+before had been on the point of murdering us.
+
+The more we became accustomed to the stillness and grandeur of the
+desert, the better we understood the Kalmuck's passionate love for the
+steppes and his kibitka. If happiness consist in freedom, no man is more
+happy than he. Habituated as he is to gaze over a boundless expanse, to
+endure no restriction, and to pitch his tent wherever his humour
+dictates, it is natural that he should feel ill at ease, cribbed,
+cabined, and confined, when removed from his native wastes, and that he
+should rather die by his own hand than live in exile. During our stay at
+Astrakhan, every one was talking of a recent event which afforded us an
+instance of the strong attachment of those primitive beings to the natal
+soil.
+
+A Kalmuck chief killed his Cossack rival in a fit of jealousy, and
+instead of attempting to escape punishment by flight, he augmented his
+guilt by resisting a detachment which was sent to arrest him. Several
+of his servants aided him, but numbers prevailed; all were made
+prisoners and conveyed to a fort, where they were to remain until their
+sentence should have been pronounced. A month afterwards, an order
+arrived for their transportation to Siberia, but by that time
+three-fourths of the captives had ceased to exist. Some had died of
+grief, others had eluded the vigilance of their gaolers, and killed
+themselves. The chief, however, had been too closely watched to allow of
+his making any attempt on his own life, but his obstinate silence, and
+the deep dejection of his haggard features, proved plainly that his
+despair was not less than that which had driven his companions to
+suicide.
+
+When he was placed in the car to begin his journey, some Kalmucks were
+allowed to approach and bid him farewell. "What can we do for thee?"
+they whispered; the chief only replied, "You know." Thereupon one of the
+Kalmucks drew a pistol from his pocket, and before the bystanders had
+time to interpose, he blew out the chief's brains. The faces of the two
+other prisoners beamed with joy. "Thanks for him," they cried; "as for
+us, we shall never see Siberia."
+
+I have not yet spoken of the Kalmuck _satzas_, and the desire we felt to
+become acquainted with them. From the moment we had entered the waste,
+we had never ceased to sweep the horizon in hopes to discover one of
+these mysterious tombs, from which the Kalmucks always keep aloof, in
+order not to profane them by their presence. These satzas are small
+temples erected on purpose to contain the remains of the high priests.
+When one of them dies, his body is burned, and his ashes are deposited
+with great pomp in the mausoleum prepared to receive them, along with a
+quantity of sacred images, which are so many good genii placed there to
+keep watch eternally over the dust of the holy personage.
+
+Before we left Astrakhan, we had taken care to collect all possible
+information respecting these satzas, in order to visit one of them
+during our journey through the steppes, and rifle it, if possible, of
+its contents. But as the religious jealousy of our Kalmucks had hitherto
+prevented us from making any researches of the kind, we determined at
+last to trust to chance for the gratification of our wishes.
+
+It was at one day's journey from Selenoi Sastava that we had for the
+first time the satisfaction of perceiving one of these monuments. Great
+was our delight, notwithstanding the difficulty of approaching it, and
+eluding the keen watch of our camel-drivers; nay, the obstacles in our
+way did but give the more zest to our pleasure. There were precautions
+to be taken, a secret to be kept, and novelty to be enjoyed; all this
+gave enhanced interest to the satza, and delightfully broke the monotony
+that had oppressed us for so many days. All our measures were therefore
+taken with extreme prudence and deliberation. We halted for breakfast at
+a reasonable distance from the satza, so that our camel-drivers might
+not conceive any suspicion; and during the repast Anthony and the
+officer, who had received their instructions from us, took care to say
+that we intended to catch a few white herons before we resumed our
+march. The Kalmucks, being aware of the value we attached to those
+birds, heard the news as a matter of course, and rejoiced at the
+opportunity of indulging in a longer doze.
+
+The satza stood in the midst of the sands, five or six versts from our
+halting-place. To reach it we had to make a long detour, in order to
+deceive the Kalmucks, in case they conceived any suspicion of our
+design. All this was difficult enough, and extremely fatiguing; still I
+insisted on making one in the expedition, and was among the first
+mounted.
+
+After two hours' marching and countermarching over the sands, in a
+tropical temperature that quite dispirited our beasts, we arrived in
+front of the satza, the appearance of which was any thing but
+attractive, and seemed far from deserving the pains we had taken to see
+it. It was a small square building, of a grey colour, with only two
+holes by way of windows. Fancy our consternation when we found that
+there was no door. We all marched round and round the impenetrable
+sanctuary in a state of ludicrous disappointment. Some means or other
+was to be devised for getting in, for the thought of returning without
+satisfying our curiosity never once entered our heads. The removal of
+some stones from one of the windows afforded us a passage, very
+inconvenient indeed, but sufficient.
+
+Like conquerors we entered the satza through a breach, like Mahomet
+entering the capital of the Lower Empire; but we had not thought of the
+standard, which was indispensable for the strict accomplishment of the
+usual ceremonies. Instead thereof, Hommaire had recourse to his silk
+handkerchief, and planting it on the summit of the mausoleum, he took
+possession of it in the name of all present and future travellers.
+
+This ceremony completed, we made a minute inspection of the interior of
+the tomb, but found in it nothing extraordinary: it appeared to be of
+great antiquity. Some idols of baked clay, like those we had seen at
+Prince Tumene's, were ranged along the wall. Several small notches, at
+regular intervals, contained images half decayed by damp. The floor of
+beaten earth, and part of the walls were covered with felt: such were
+the sole decorations we beheld.
+
+Like generous victors we contented ourselves with taking two small
+statues, and a few images. According to the notions of the Kalmucks, no
+sacrilege can compare with that of which we were now guilty. Yet no
+celestial fire reduced us to ashes, and the Grand Llama allowed us to
+return in peace to our escort. But a great vexation befel us, for one of
+the idols was broken by the way, and we had to supplicate the Boukhans
+of the steppe to extend their protection to the other, during the rest
+of the journey.
+
+Anthony and the officer were questioned at great length by the Kalmucks,
+who seemed possessed by some uneasy misgivings. On awaking, they had
+seen us return in the direction that led from the satza, and this
+circumstance had much annoyed them. The display of some game, however,
+with which we had taken care to furnish ourselves, and the peremptory
+tone of the officer, cut short all their observations.
+
+On the day after this memorable adventure, Anthony informed us that
+there was no more bread. The news obliged my husband to suspend his
+scientific operations, and proceed to Selenoi Sastava, from which we
+were distant only thirty-five versts. I cannot express the delight with
+which the Kalmucks and Cossacks again took possession of their camels.
+We need not wonder at any eccentricity of taste when we see men
+preferring the dislocating torture of riding those detestable trotters
+to the fatigue of walking fifteen or twenty versts a day. Hommaire, too,
+did not seem at all dissatisfied at taking his place again in the
+britchka. In short, we were all like a set of schoolboys that had got an
+unexpected holiday.
+
+Before reaching the salt-works, where we intended to ask for
+hospitality, we passed some Kalmuck camps; carts loaded with salt
+appeared in different directions. The desert was assuming a more
+animated aspect, and we were no longer alone between the sky and the
+steppe.
+
+On arriving at Selenoi, we were taken to the house of the sub-inspector
+of the salt-works (the inspector was absent). We found that functionary
+in a most miserable hole, compared with which the hut at Houidouk was a
+palace. We had never seen such horrid deficiency of all needful
+accommodation even among the poorest Russian peasants.
+
+We were received by a little weasel-faced man in a uniform so old and
+tarnished, that neither the colour of the cloth nor the lace was
+distinguishable. His manifestations of bewildered joy--his volubility
+that savoured almost of insanity--and his incessant importunity,
+completed our disgust. The house, a heap of ruins, kept from falling by
+a few half-rotten posts, was abominably filthy. We were assigned the
+least dilapidated chamber, but it took more than two hours to clear away
+the clouds of dust raised by Anthony in sweeping it. The windows were
+without frames, the doors were broken, and furniture there was none. How
+we regretted that we had not encamped as usual on the steppe. We tried
+to quit the house, but the lieutenant-colonel (for our host bore that
+title in addition to that of sub-inspector) made such an outcry, that we
+were obliged, whether we would or not, to resign ourselves to his
+singular hospitality. To make up for the want of furniture, we did like
+the Turks, and made a carpet and cushions on the ground serve us for a
+bed and a divan.
+
+Having completed these first arrangements, we proceeded to ask our host
+if he had bread enough to spare us some. Having learned from our escort
+the reason of our coming, he was prepared with his answer. Our presence
+was too great a piece of good luck for a man in his extreme state of
+destitution to allow of our escaping out of his hands until he had made
+the most of us. Accordingly, he protested he could not possibly provide
+what we wanted in less than three or four days, and we had every reason
+to think we should be fortunate enough if we got out of his clutches so
+cheaply. The event proved that our suspicions were not unjust, and his
+conduct towards us, his indecorous demands, his cupidity and his thefts
+sufficiently explained the motives of his extravagant delight at our
+arrival.
+
+On the first day of our sojourn with him, tempted by a fine wild goose
+which Anthony had roasted in the tent of his Kalmuck cook, he sent to
+beg permission to dine with us, and presently arrived, holding in his
+hand a plate of paltry crusts dried in the oven, which he presented to
+us as excellent _zouckari_. During all the time of dinner he diverted us
+exceedingly by his insatiable gluttony and continual babbling: nor was
+it the least amusing part of the performance to see him despatch to his
+own share a half mouldy loaf he had sold us that morning for a ruble and
+a half.
+
+The camel-drivers proceeded, during our stay at Selenoi, to a
+neighbouring camp to get fresh camels instead of their own, which had
+been fatigued by more than a fortnight's marching. They promised to
+return within twenty-four hours, but we did not see them again till two
+days had elapsed, and then in a very sorry plight. According to the
+account given by one of them, who was the first to arrive in great
+tribulation, they had behaved rather roughly to the Kalmucks who were to
+furnish them with the camels, and the latter had retaliated by beating
+them, tieing them hand and foot, and carrying them before one of their
+inspectors, who kept them in confinement until the next day. I never saw
+a more woe-begone set than these unfortunate camel-drivers appeared on
+their return: one of them had his head bandaged, another wore his arm in
+a sling, a third limped, and all had been very roughly handled. This
+adventure, and the gross cupidity of the lieutenant-colonel, were not
+the only things that occurred to amuse or interest us at Selenoi. On the
+third day of our stay, a great number of Kalmuck families suddenly
+arrived in strange disorder, and announced that the Circassians had just
+shown themselves three versts from the salt-works, on the borders of the
+Kouma.
+
+Terrible was the consternation produced by this news. Both Kalmucks and
+Cossacks were terrified at the thought of having the Circassians so near
+them. Our whole escort came and implored us on their knees not to set
+out until something positive was known of the matter. But after many
+inquiries we were satisfied that the alarm was groundless, and we did
+not delay our preparations to depart.
+
+Our host was surely the oddest being this world ever produced. In spite
+of ourselves, he was the sole object of our thoughts every moment in the
+day. Anthony, who had taken no little aversion to him, lost no
+opportunity of informing us of what he called his turpitudes. For
+instance, every morning he was sure to be seen in ambush behind the
+door until our samovar was ready, when he would come in smiling with his
+cup and spoon in his hand, without even waiting for an invitation, seat
+himself at the table, and wash down his zouckaris with three or four
+cups of tea.
+
+One day he begged a few spoonfuls of rum of my husband, for a sick
+person, as he said; but that evening his jollity and the redness of his
+face told us plainly what had become of our liquor. He even found it so
+much to his taste, that he entreated Anthony next day to give him a few
+more spoonfuls on the sly, telling him very seriously that the cat had
+spilled the first cup.
+
+He gave us no peace night or day. Not content with deafening us by his
+incessant babbling, not a word of which we understood, the whim would
+sometimes seize him to sing all the Malorussian airs that came into his
+head. Long after we were in bed one night, we heard him pacing up and
+down the corridor like a sentinel. We tried hard to guess what might be
+the meaning of this new freak; but next day we discovered that it
+proceeded from his excessive vigilance and forethought. He failed not
+himself to tell us, that feeling uneasy at the news that the Circassians
+were abroad, he had kept guard over us with his musket shouldered, and
+that he was ready to perform the same duty every night.
+
+Could we remain untouched by such conduct? Could we refuse such a man
+the parcels of coffee, tea, and sugar he had been so long soliciting
+with looks and hints? Unfortunately his requests followed so close on
+each other, that our gratitude was worn out at last. Anthony was furious
+every time we yielded to his importunities, and ceased not in revenge to
+torment him in a thousand ways.
+
+One day the jealous dragoman, of his own authority, served up dinner an
+hour before the usual time, in order to baffle our host, who accordingly
+did not arrive until we were just quitting the table. I never saw a man
+more disappointed; he stood at the door, not knowing whether to enter or
+not; at last, doomed to forego his dinner, he knew nothing better to do
+in his despair than to go and cudgel his Kalmuck.
+
+On the eve of our departure we learned that he had charged us for the
+bread he sold us more than double the price paid at the barracks. This
+occasioned a very lively altercation between him and Anthony, who was
+delighted to have such an opportunity of speaking out his mind. But the
+honourable functionary was not to be disconcerted by such a trifle;
+after listening with imperturbable coolness to the dragoman's
+reproaches, he replied in a very off-hand manner that the thing was not
+worth talking about, for when people travel, they must make up their
+minds to pay a ducat in most cases for what is not worth more than
+twenty copeks.
+
+He became extremely sulky when he observed our preparations to depart.
+He no longer talked, but contented himself with restlessly watching all
+that was going on in the room; peering at every article of our baggage,
+as if he would look through and through it. Whenever our men carried any
+thing to the carriage, he followed them with angry looks, as if they
+were committing a robbery upon him. At last, on the sixth day after our
+arrival at Selenoi Sastava, we had the pleasure to turn our backs on the
+lieutenant-colonel and his miserable cabin. I doubt if the fear of the
+Circassians would have been able to detain us longer in such a spot.
+
+The dryness of the atmosphere, which had lasted from the time we left
+Houidouk, was succeeded by heavy rain when we reached Selenoi, and this
+was the chief cause of our long stay there. On the day of our departure
+the sky looked rather threatening, notwithstanding which we stepped into
+the carriage with inexpressible delight. I would rather have taken my
+chance of ten deluges in the open steppe, than have spent twenty-four
+hours more in Selenoi; but fortune was pleased to compensate us in some
+degree for our recent vexations by affording us the most agreeable
+weather that travellers could desire. The rain had given the sand a
+pleasant degree of solidity, and had, besides, spread a mild and subdued
+tone over the steppes that was peculiarly agreeable. Autumn was now
+come, with its sharp morning air and its melancholy tints; and
+accustomed as we had been to the scorching reverberation of the
+sunshine, we felt as if an earthly paradise was opening before us. In
+one day more the sky was cleared of its last vapours, and reappeared in
+all its azure purity, streaked only with a few rich and warm-coloured
+clouds, that seemed to take away the aridity of the desert. But the sun
+had lost much of its power, and though it shone down on us without
+obstruction, we reached the sources of the Manitch without being much
+inconvenienced by the heat.
+
+These sources are formed by a depression of about twenty-five versts in
+diameter, towards which converge several small ravines. They were quite
+dry when we arrived at them, and all the vicinity, intercepted by small
+brackish lakes, displayed no kind of vegetation. The total want of water
+and fodder hindered us from proceeding to the Don, as we had intended,
+and my husband was obliged to suspend his levelling operations. It was
+not, of course, without sore regret that he put off the solution of his
+great scientific problem until the following year. Our men were in good
+spirits, our health excellent, and we were by no means prepared to
+expect such an obstacle as that which now stopped us in a course we had
+pursued with such perseverance; but nature commanded, and we were forced
+to obey.
+
+We passed the night near the sources in the midst of a total solitude,
+and early next morning we retraced our steps, and proceeded towards the
+Kouma, distant about seventy-five versts; the men were all mounted again
+on their camels, and seemed well pleased to have no more pedestrian
+labours in prospect; for with all their willingness, they had not been
+able to accustom their limbs to that sort of service. We encamped for
+two nights successively among Kalmucks, for the steppes grew less lonely
+as we departed from our first course. These good people heard the story
+of our journey through their plains with eager curiosity. As soon as
+supper was over they squatted themselves round our kibitka, lending a
+religious attention to the most improbable tales, for our men, who took
+upon them the office of historiographers, paid very little respect to
+truth in their compositions. One of our camel-drivers, especially, had
+been endowed by Heaven with an imagination of extraordinary fecundity.
+It was his peculiar office to amuse the whole escort during the bivouac,
+and when he had to do with a new audience, his captivating eloquence
+attained the utmost limits of possibility, enchanting even those who
+heard him every day.
+
+The last encampment in which we passed the night was one of the most
+considerable we had seen up to that time. The country, indeed, had
+entirely changed its aspect; we had left the dreary sands behind us,
+with the Caspian and the Manitch. An abundant vegetation, and
+undulations of the ground that became more and more decided as we
+proceeded, gladdened the sight, and accounted for the numerous
+encampments we discovered in all directions. Herds of horses, camels,
+and oxen spotted all the surface of the steppe, and bespoke the wealth
+of the hordes to which they belonged. We were not in the least molested
+by the latter. These good Kalmucks were delighted to receive us in their
+tents, and never attempted to steal the least thing from us. Their
+desires and their wants are so very limited! To tame a wild horse, to
+roam from steppe to steppe on their camels, to smoke and drink koumis,
+to shut themselves up in winter in the midst of ashes and smoke, and to
+addict themselves to the superstitious practices of a religion they
+cannot understand,--such is the whole sum of their lives.
+
+I had the curiosity frequently to enter their kibitkas, but I never saw
+in any of them the dirt I had been told of. The Russian kates are
+infinitely more untidy and squalid that the interiors of these tents.
+Among other visits we made one to the wife of a subaltern chief, and as
+she had been warned of our coming, she was dressed in her best finery.
+She sat with her legs tucked under her on a piece of felt, with a child
+before her, and a servant-woman motionless at her side. She was
+delighted to receive us, and thanked us with much cordiality. We
+complimented her on the neatness and good order of her tent, at which
+she seem gratified in the highest degree.
+
+We remarked with surprise that there was not one priest in all the camps
+we passed through, but we afterwards learned that they were all gone
+northwards to the Sarpa, where there were much finer pastures, and where
+one was not tormented by the myriads of gnats that abound in those
+countries in autumn. We ourselves had much to endure from those terrible
+insects all the way to Vladimirofka, and we were often so annoyed by
+them as to wish ourselves back among the sands of the Manitch.
+
+Even if the want of water had not put a stop to our journey, the state
+of our provisions was such that I hardly know what we could have done.
+Our bacon, rice, coffee, and biscuits had long disappeared; we had
+nothing left but a small stock of tea and sugar, and for the rest we
+were dependent on the hawk, which did wonders daily in supplying the
+deficiencies of our commissariat. Our last repast under the tent
+consisted only of game cooked in all sorts of ways. Anthony, who to his
+functions as dragoman, added those of butler, cook, and scullion, put
+forth all his powers on that occasion: but we had been surfeited with
+game; we had lived upon it so long that the sight of a wild goose was
+enough to give us a fit of indigestion. It was, therefore, with
+exceeding joy that on reaching the house of an inspector of Kalmucks, we
+found ourselves seated at a table covered with vegetables and pastry.
+
+The house of that officer (a very agreeable young Russian who spoke
+Kalmuck like a native) was situated at a little distance from the Kouma
+in a magnificent meadow. For a long while we had beheld no such
+landscape, and though we were still on the verge of the desert, that
+little white house with green window blinds, and the two or three
+handsome trees around it, completely changed the physiognomy of the
+country in our eyes.
+
+The inspector gave us a good deal of information respecting the
+proprietor of Vladimirofka, of whom we had already heard at Astrakhan,
+and he offered to accompany us to the establishment, which was barely
+ten versts distant. It was there we proposed to rest and recruit
+ourselves after the fatigues of our journey, and to take a final leave
+of our escort.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+      REVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE KALMUCKS.
+
+
+The account we have given of our journey on the banks of the Volga, and
+the steppes of the Caspian, will have afforded the reader an idea of the
+strange and striking habits of the nomade hordes that wander with their
+flocks over those vast deserts, and worship their Llamite deities with
+all the pomp and fervour of the nations of Thibet. Our historical and
+political sketch will serve as a complement to those primary notions. It
+is by no means our intention, however, to give a complete history of the
+Kalmucks; such a work would be too extensive, and would require too long
+and arduous researches to be compressed within our limits. At present we
+shall only cast a rapid glance over the past history of the great Mongol
+families; we shall dwell principally upon their actual condition, and
+then comparing our own observations with the statements of preceding
+writers, we shall try to cast some new light on the history of the
+Asiatic races that occupy the south of Russia.
+
+Pallas and B. Bergmann, the only travellers who have taken pains to
+investigate the history of the Kalmucks in the government of Astrakhan,
+have left us some valuable details respecting their manners and customs,
+and their religion. But Pallas travelled in 1769, and circumstances have
+greatly changed since his day. B. Bergmann visited the Kalmucks in the
+early part of this century, and it is to be regretted that his work,
+which contains such important information respecting the languages and
+the religious books of the Mongols, takes no notice whatever of any
+matter connected with their political administration and organisation.
+
+It is not surprising that so little is yet known of the Kalmuck hordes,
+for excursions through the remote Steppes of the Caspian Sea present
+difficulties and hardships which few travellers can withstand. One must
+unquestionably be impelled by a strong motive, to traverse those immense
+plains which are almost everywhere destitute of fresh water, where one
+often marches 100 leagues without seeing a trace of human life, and
+where the soil, bare of vegetation, offers no other variety than sands
+and brackish lakes. Yet in order to form an exact idea of the
+inhabitants of these deserts, of their character, and ways of life, it
+is necessary to dwell beneath their tents. It is in the vicinity of
+Sarepta that the traveller arriving from the north meets the first
+Kalmuck kibitkas. The camps then stretch away across the Manitch and the
+Kouma towards the foot of the great Caucasian chain. We have explored
+all that extent of country, have visited the remotest parts of the
+steppes, and seen the Kalmucks in an advanced social stage at Prince
+Tumene's, and in a primitive condition beneath their tents. It is thus
+we have been enabled to collect our information respecting the history
+and present condition of this unique people of Europe.
+
+According to the unanimous opinion of all historians, the regions
+adjoining the Altai mountains, and especially those south of that great
+chain, appear to have been from time immemorial the cradle and domain of
+the Mongol tribes. At first divided into two branches, always at war
+with each other, the Mongols were at last united into one great nation
+under the celebrated Genghis Khan, and thus was laid the basis of that
+formidable power which was to invade almost the whole of eastern Europe.
+But after the death of Genghis Khan, the old discord broke out with
+renewed violence, and only ended with the mutual destruction of the two
+great Mongol tribes. The Mongols proper were forced to submit to the
+Chinese, whom they had formerly vanquished, and the four nations that
+formed the Doerboen OEroet, scattered themselves over all the
+north of Asia. The Koïtes, after long wars, spread over Mongolia and
+Thibet; the Touemmoites or Toummouts settled along the great wall of
+China, where they remain to this day; the Bourga Burates, who already in
+the time of Genghis Khan inhabited the mountains adjacent to Lake
+Barkal, are now beneath the Russian sceptre; the Eleuthes, the last of
+the four, are better known in Europe and Western Asia under the
+appellation of Kalmucks.
+
+According to ancient national traditions, the greater part of the
+Eleuthes made an expedition westward, and were lost in the Caucasus,
+long before the time of Genghis Khan. It is to that epoch that some
+historians refer the origin of the word Kalmuck, which they derive from
+_kalimak_, _severed_, _left behind_, and they suppose this designation
+was applied to all those Eleuthes who did not accompany their brethren
+westward. According to Bergmann, _kalimak_ signifies likewise
+_unbeliever_, and this name may very naturally have been given by the
+people of Asia who adhered to the primitive religion, to the Eleuthes,
+when they had become converts to Buddhism. We leave to competent judges
+the task of deciding which is the more rational or probable explanation.
+
+The Eleuthes or Kalmucks allege that they dwelt in old times in the
+countries lying between Koho Noor (Blue Lake) and Thibet. Their division
+into four great tribes, each under an independent prince, dates probably
+from the dissolution of the Mongol power. These tribes, whose remains
+exist to this day, are the Koshotes, Derbetes, Soongars, and Torghouts.
+The Koshotes, whose chiefs consider themselves to be lineally descended
+from a brother of Genghis Khan, were partly destroyed in intestine wars
+with the Torghouts and Soongars, and partly subjugated by China. Only a
+small remnant of them accompanied the Derbetes to the banks of the
+Volga.
+
+The Soongars originally united with the Derbetes, constituted the most
+formidable tribe in Asia, in the beginning of the seventeenth century.
+Their princes, who resided on the river Ily, had then subdued all the
+other Kalmucks; they could bring 60,000 fighting men into the field, and
+the Khirghis and Turkmans paid them tribute. Their pride augmented with
+their success, and a war they undertook against the Chinese Mongols
+became the cause of their downfall. The Soongars were enslaved or
+scattered, and a branch of the Derbetes shared their fate. It was about
+this period that the first emigration of Kalmucks took place into
+Russia; 50,000 Soongar or Torgout families encamped on the banks of the
+Volga, in 1630, and Astrakhan owed its safety only to the death of their
+prince Cho Orloëk, who was slain in an assault on the town.
+Subsequently, however, about 1665, Daitchink, the son of Cho Orloëk, was
+forced to acknowledge himself a vassal of the empire, and to swear
+fealty. His example was followed by his son. But this submission was
+merely nominal, and did not at all affect the real independence of the
+Mongol hordes.
+
+The first Kalmuck emigrations towards the west were speedily followed by
+others. The Derbetes and other Torghouts arrived in the steppes of the
+Caspian and Volga to the number of more than 10,000 tents. In 1665,
+Aiouki Khan, grandson of Daitchink, an enterprising and ambitious man,
+succeeded, in defiance of Russia, in extending his sway over all the
+Kalmuck tribes. This chief pushed his excursions up to the foot of the
+Caucasus, and being opposed on his march by the Nogais of the Kouban, he
+completely defeated them in a general engagement. The bodies of his
+slain foes were cast by his orders into a pit dug under a great tumulus,
+situated on the field of battle, and still known in the country by the
+name of _Bairin Tolkon_ (Mountain of Joy), bestowed on it by the
+victorious khan in memory of his triumph.
+
+Aiouki's forces then took part in Peter the Great's famous expedition
+against Persia, in which they rendered great services to Russia. The
+Kalmuck prince had a brilliant interview on this occasion with the Tzar.
+Peter received him on board his galley on the Volga, near Saratof, and
+treated him and his wife with all the honours due to sovereigns. Aiouki
+was then at the height of his power, and cared little for the oath of
+allegiance to Russia taken by his predecessors. Peter required 10,000
+men of him, and he furnished 5000. It was about this period that an
+embassy, under the special protection of Russia, arrived from China, by
+way of Siberia, and waited on Aiouki Khan, ostensibly for the purpose of
+treating with him for the restoration of one of his nephews, who was
+detained at the imperial court for reasons unknown to us. But we believe
+that the principal object of the embassy was to keep up political
+relations with the Kalmucks, whom the Chinese government wished to bring
+back under its own sway. Aiouki, following the example of his
+predecessors, had not broken off all communication with the celestial
+empire, and had even sent rich presents to the emperor in 1698. It was,
+therefore, important to cherish this favourable disposition, of which
+the Chinese hoped to avail themselves sooner or later. Of course it is
+not to be supposed that these views were avowed officially; and we
+cannot but wonder at the indifference of the Russian government, or the
+adroitness with which the Chinese availed themselves of the aid of
+Russia herself to compass their ends. But in the various interviews
+between Aiouki and Toulichen, the head of the embassy, the question of
+keeping up an intimacy between the two nations was largely discussed,
+and all necessary measures were arranged to avoid awakening the
+suspicions of Russia, and thus closing the only means of communication
+that lay open to them.[37]
+
+Aiouki reigned about fifty years. After his death, in 1724, the old
+dissensions broke out again among the Kalmucks; Russia made good use of
+the opportunity to break down the independence of the hordes by directly
+interfering in their domestic affairs, and their princes soon became
+subject to the imperial sceptre. Thenceforth the dignity of khan was
+conferred only by the Muscovite tzars, and the tribes were put under the
+special control of a Russian commander called a _pristof_.
+
+After a long series of contests and intrigues, Dondouk Ombo, the
+son-in-law of Aiouki, was named khan, to the prejudice of Aiouki's
+grandson. Under this prince internal peace was restored among the
+hordes, and the Kalmucks did good service to Russia in the campaigns
+against the Nogaïs, and other inhabitants of the Kouban. But quarrels
+broke out again on the death of Dondouk Ombo in 1741. His children, who
+were minors, were set aside, and his ambitious and intriguing widow
+contrived to have Dondouk Dachi, her youngest brother, and grandson of
+the celebrated Aiouki, declared vice-khan. The new chief was entirely
+devoted to Russia, and his submissiveness was rewarded after the lapse
+of fifteen years by promotion to the rank of khan; but he enjoyed that
+dignity only four years. His son Oubacha succeeded him as vice-khan in
+January, 1761.
+
+In Oubacha's reign new hordes arrived in Europe, and the Kalmucks were
+reinforced by 10,000 tents, commanded by Chereng Taidchi. The various
+tribes, which consisted of more than 80,000 families, and possessed
+innumerable herds of cattle, extended at that time from the shores of
+the Jaïk to the Don, and from Zaritzin, on the Volga, to the foot of the
+northern slopes of the Caucasus. Oubacha paid no tribute to Russia; he
+was regarded rather as an ally than a vassal, and was only required to
+supply cavalry to the imperial armies in time of war.
+
+Oubacha vigorously seconded the Russians in their expedition against the
+Turks and Nogaïs. His army amounted to 30,000 horse, and one of its
+detachments figured even in the celebrated siege of Otchakof. It was on
+the return of the Kalmucks from these campaigns that their celebrated
+emigration took place, when nearly half a million of men, women, and
+children, headed by their prince, quitted the banks of the Volga with
+their cattle, and set out across the most arid regions in quest of their
+old country.
+
+The flight of the Kalmucks has been variously explained. B. Bergmann
+attributes it solely to the vindictiveness of Zebeck Dorchi, a relation
+of Oubacha's, who had been frustrated in his attempt to raise himself to
+sovereign power. After fruitless attempts at the court of the Empress
+Elizabeth, he had nevertheless been named first _sargatchi_, or
+councillor at the court of his rival. The imperial government hoped by
+this means to curb the ambition of Oubacha, whose power it had abridged
+in 1761, by deciding that the sargatchis, or members of the khan's
+council, should be attached to the ministry of foreign affairs, with an
+annual salary of 100 rubles. According to Bergmann, Zebeck Dorchi made
+no account of his new dignity, and unable to forgive Russia for not
+having favoured his pretensions, he joined the hordes with a full
+determination to take signal vengeance. He would induce the Kalmucks to
+go over to China, and thus deprive the empire of more than 500,000
+subjects, and the army of the greater part of its best cavalry, and make
+all the neighbouring towns feel severely the loss of their cattle. Such,
+according to Bergmann, was Zebeck Dorchi's project, to realise which he
+counted solely on the natural fickleness of the Kalmucks, and his own
+active intrigues. This was certainly a very extraordinary scheme of
+vengeance, and one we can hardly credit, notwithstanding Bergmann's
+assertions. Zebeck Dorchi's aim being to secure the supreme power, it
+would have been folly for him to choose such means. It would have been
+much more to the purpose to have informed against Oubacha at the moment
+when the latter was making his arrangements for quitting Russia. Such a
+service would have had its reward, and the informer would undoubtedly
+have supplanted his rival. This whole explanation of the affair given by
+Bergmann, rests on no one positive fact, and can only have been devised
+by a man writing under Russian influence, and consequently forced to
+disguise the truth.
+
+At the period of the Kalmuck emigration Catherine II. filled the throne,
+and the Russian government was beginning to adopt those principles of
+uniformity which so highly characterise its present policy. Moreover, it
+was really impossible to allow that the whole southern portion of the
+empire should be given up to turbulent hordes, which, though nominally
+subjected to the crown, still indulged their propensity to pillage
+without scruple. Placed as they were between the central and the
+southern provinces, and occupying almost all the approaches to the
+Caucasus, the Kalmucks were destined, of necessity, to lose their
+independence, and fall beneath the immediate yoke of Russia. Catherine's
+intentions were soon no secret, and Oubacha saw that he must escape by
+flight from the encroachments of his powerful neighbours, if he would
+save what remained to him of the primitive authority of the khans. If we
+reflect, moreover, that the power of the Kalmuck princes had been
+considerably abridged by the new organisation of their administrative
+council; that Colonel Kitchinskoi, then grand pristof, had excited the
+general indignation of the tribes by his harsh conduct; that the
+political and military exigencies of Russia were continually on the
+increase; we shall have no difficulty in comprehending the real causes
+of the emigration of these Mongol tribes. Certainly it required all
+these combined motives to induce the Kalmucks to undertake such a
+journey through desert regions, the inhabitants of which were their
+natural enemies. Nevertheless, we believe the Chinese government was not
+altogether unconcerned in bringing about Oubacha's determination; for,
+as we shall see by and by, the emperor had already, in Aiouki's time,
+sent the mandarin Toulischin to the Kalmucks, to assure them of his
+protection, in case they would return to their native country.[38]
+
+It was on the 5th of January, 1771, the day appointed by the high
+priests, that Oubacha began his march, with 70,000 families. Most of the
+hordes were then assembled in the steppes on the left bank of the Volga,
+and the whole multitude followed him. Only 15,000 families remained in
+Russia, because the Volga remained unfrozen to an unusual late period,
+and prevented them from crossing over to the rendezvous. Oubacha
+arrived, without impediment, beyond the Jaïk, but was afterwards
+vigorously assailed by the Cossacks of the Ural and the Khirghis, and
+lost many men. After two months' marching, the exhausted hordes encamped
+on the Irguitch, which falls into Lake Aksakal, to the north of the sea
+of Aral. Next they had to cross the frightful desert of Chareh Ousoun,
+where they were exposed to all the torments of thirst, and suffered
+indescribable disasters; after which they arrived at Lake Palkache Nor,
+where many of them fell in a last encounter with the Khirghis. Oubacha
+then forced a passage through the country of the Burats, and at last
+reached China, after a march of eight months. Strange to say, the
+Muscovite government took no energetic means to arrest the fugitives,
+and detain them in Russia. General Traubenberg, indeed, who was in
+command at Orenberg, was sent in pursuit of them, but failed totally,
+whether from incapacity or otherwise. Thus was accomplished the most
+extraordinary emigration of modern times; the empire was suddenly
+deprived of a pastoral and warlike people, whose habits accorded so well
+with the Caspian steppes, and the regions in which many thousand
+families had fed their innumerable flocks and herds for a long series of
+years, were left desolate and unpeopled.
+
+We will now extract that portion of the Memoirs of the Jesuits, Vol. I.,
+in which Father Amiot recounts the arrival of the Kalmucks in China,
+dated Pekin, November 8th, 1772. I copy this curious document from
+Father Amiot's original manuscript.[39]
+
+"In the thirty-sixth year of Kien Long, that is to say, in the year of
+Jesus Christ, 1771, all the Tatars[40] composing the nation of the
+Torgouths[41] arrived, after encountering a thousand perils, in the
+plains watered by the Ily, entreating the favour to be admitted among
+the vassals of the great Chinese empire. By their own account, they
+have abandoned for ever, and without regret, the sterile banks of the
+Volga and the Jaïk, along which the Russians had formerly allowed them
+to settle, near where the two rivers empty themselves into the Caspian.
+They have abandoned them, they say, _to come and admire more closely the
+brilliant lustre of the heavens, and at last to enjoy, like so many
+others, the happiness of having henceforth for master the greatest
+prince in the world_. Notwithstanding the many battles in which they
+have been obliged to engage, defensively or offensively, with those
+through whose country they had to pass, and at whose expense they were
+necessarily compelled to live; notwithstanding the depredations
+committed on them by the vagrant Tatars, who repeatedly attacked and
+plundered them on their march; notwithstanding the enormous fatigues
+endured by them in traversing more than 10,000 leagues, through one of
+the most difficult countries; notwithstanding hunger, thirst, misery,
+and an almost general scarcity of common necessaries, to which they were
+exposed during their eight months' journey, their numbers still amounted
+to 50,000 families when they arrived, and these 50,000 families, to use
+the language of the country, counted 300,000 mouths, without sensible
+error. Among the Russians carried off by them at their departure, were
+100 soldiers, at the head of whom was a Monsieur Dudin, Doudin, or
+Toutim,[42] as the name is pronounced here. This name is probably not
+unknown in our part of the world. It is not at all like the common
+Russian names. Is it not that of some expatriated Frenchman, who had
+found employment among the Russians? Be this as it may, had this officer
+been still alive in last August, when the emperor gave evidence to the
+Torgouth princes whom he had summoned to Gé Ho, where he was enjoying
+the pleasures of the chase, he would certainly have been sent back with
+honour to Muscovy. His majesty did not disdain to inquire personally as
+to this fact. 'Is it true,' said he to one of the chiefs of the nation,
+'that before your departure you plundered the possessions of the
+Russians, and carried off one of their officers and 100 of their
+soldiers?' 'We did so,' replied the Torgouth prince, 'and could not help
+doing so, under the circumstances in which we were placed. As for the
+Russian officer and his 100 and odd soldiers, there is every reason to
+think that they all perished by the way. I remember that when the
+division was made, eight of them fell to me. I will inquire of my people
+whether any of these Russians are still alive, and if so, I will send
+them to your majesty immediately on my return to Ily.'
+
+"This year, 1772, the thirty-seventh of the reign of Kien Long, those of
+the Eleuths who were formerly dispersed over the vast regions known by
+the general name of Tartary, some hordes of Pourouths, and the rest of
+the nation of the Torgouths, came like the others, and voluntarily
+submitted to a yoke which no one sought to impose on them. They were in
+number 30,000 families, which, added to the 50,000 of the preceding
+year, make a total of 480,000 mouths, who will unite their voices with
+those of the other subjects of the empire in proclaiming the marvels of
+one of the most glorious reigns that has been since the foundation of
+the monarchy.
+
+"So extraordinary and unexpected an event, happening when the empress
+mother's eighty-sixth year was celebrated here with a pomp becoming all
+the majesty of him who gives law to this empire, has been regarded by
+the emperor as an infallible mark of the goodness of that supreme
+heaven, of which he calls himself the son, and from which he glories in
+having unceasingly received the most signal favours since his accession
+to the throne: it is in this spirit he has caused the fact to be
+enrolled in the private archives of his nation, archives which, in the
+course of ages, will, perhaps, contrast in many points with those which
+will be published by the Chinese historians, and with those, too, which
+some neighbouring nations may publish with reference to the same facts.
+The latter will, perhaps, impute political views and manoeuvres which
+have had no existence, whilst the former, in spite of certain
+appearances which may suggest the probability of intrigues and
+negotiations practised for the accomplishment of a preconcerted design,
+nevertheless state nothing but the truth, which will be somewhat hard to
+believe. If the testimony of a contemporary, and, as it were, ocular
+witness, who has no prejudice or interest in the matter, were necessary
+to establish that the fact I am about to speak of is among the number of
+those which are true in all circumstances, I would freely give it
+without fearing that any man, of the least information, could ever
+accuse me of error or partiality. Be this as it may, until such time as
+history shall acquaint posterity with an event which he regards as one
+of the most glorious of his reign, the emperor has caused the statement
+and the date to be inscribed on stone in four languages spoken by the
+various nations subject to him, viz., the Mantchous, Mongols, Torgouths,
+and Chinese. This lapidary monument is to be erected at Ily before the
+eyes of the Torgouths, that it may be seen by all those nations I have
+named. Having had an opportunity of procuring a copy from the original,
+taken by one of those who were employed in making the Mantchou
+inscription, I have ventured to translate it. It would doubtless be very
+acceptable even as a literary specimen, had I been able to preserve in
+our language that noble simplicity, that energy and precision, which the
+emperor has given it in his own tongue. Its contents are nearly as
+follows:
+
+"'_Records of the transmigration of the Torgouths, who voluntarily, and
+of their own full accord, came bodily as a nation, and submitted
+themselves to the empire of China._
+
+"'Those who, after having revolted, reflecting uneasily on a crime
+which they cannot yet be made to expiate, but for which they see full
+well that they will be punished sooner or later, beg permission to
+return beneath the yoke of obedience, are men who submit through fear;
+they are constrained subjects; those who having the option to undergo
+the yoke or not, yet come and submit themselves to it voluntarily, and
+of their own full accord, even when there is no thought of imposing it
+upon them, are men who have submitted only because such is their
+pleasure; they are subjects who have freely given themselves to him whom
+they have chosen to govern them.
+
+"'All those who now compose the nation of the Torgouths, undismayed by
+the dangers of a long and toilsome journey, filled with the sole desire
+of procuring for the future a better manner of life and a happier lot,
+have abandoned the places where they dwelt far beyond our frontier, have
+traversed with unshakable courage a space of more than ten thousand
+leagues, and have ranged themselves, of their own accord, among the
+number of my subjects. Their submission to me is not a submission
+inspired by fear, but a voluntary and free submission, if ever such
+there was.
+
+"'After having pacified the western frontiers of my dominions, I caused
+the lands of my domain which are on the Ily to be put under tillage, and
+I diminished the tribute heretofore imposed on the neighbouring
+Mahometans. I enacted that the Hasacks and the Pourouths should together
+form the external limits of the empire on that side, and should be
+governed on the footing of the foreign hordes. As regards the nations of
+the Antchiyen and the Badakchan, as they are still more remote, I
+determined to leave them free to pay or not to pay tribute.
+
+"'No one needs blush when he can limit his desires; no one has occasion
+to fear when he knows how to desist in due time. Such are the sentiments
+that actuate me. In all places under heaven, to the remotest corners
+beyond the sea, there are men who obey under the names of slaves or
+subjects. Shall I persuade myself that they are all submitted to me, and
+that they own themselves my vassals? Far from me be so chimerical a
+pretension. What I persuade myself, and what is strictly true, is that
+the Torgouths, without any interference on my part, have come of their
+own full accord to live henceforth under my laws. Heaven has, no doubt,
+inspired them with this design; they have only obeyed Heaven in putting
+it in force. I should do wrong not to commemorate this event in an
+authentic monument.
+
+"'The Torgouths are a branch of the Eleuths. Four branches formerly
+constituted the entire nation of the Tchong Kars.[43] It would be
+difficult to explain their common origin, respecting which moreover
+nothing very certain is known. These four branches separated, and each
+formed a distinct nation. That of the Eleuths, the chief of them all,
+gradually subdued the others, and continued until the time of Kang Hi,
+to exercise over them the pre-eminence it had usurped. Tsé Ouang Raptan
+then reigned over the Eleuths, and Aiouki over the Torgouths. These two
+leaders, at variance with each other, had disputes, to which Aiouki, the
+weaker of the two, feared he should be the unhappy victim. He conceived
+the design of withdrawing for ever from beneath the sway of the
+Eleuths.[44] He took secret measures to secure the flight he meditated,
+and escaped with all his followers to the lands under the sway of the
+Russians, who permitted him to settle in the country of Etchil.[45]
+
+"'Cheng Tsou Jin Hoang Ty, my grandfather, wishing to be informed of the
+true reasons that had induced Aiouki thus to expatriate himself, sent
+him the mandarin Toulichen[46] and some others to assure him of his
+protection in case he desired to return to the country where he had
+formerly dwelt. The Russians, to whom Toulichen was ordered to apply for
+permission to pass through their country, granted it without difficulty;
+but as they gave him no information as to what he was in quest of, it
+took him three years and some months to fulfil his commission. It was
+not until after his return that the desired information respecting
+Aiouki and his people was at last possessed.
+
+"'Oubacha, who is now khan of the Torgouths, is great grandson of
+Aiouki. The Russians, never ceasing to require soldiers of him to be
+incorporated in their troops, having at last taken his own son from him
+as a hostage, and being besides of a different religion from himself,
+and making no account of that of the Lamas which the Torgouths profess,
+Oubacha and his people finally determined to shake off a yoke which was
+daily becoming more and more insupportable.
+
+"'After having secretly deliberated among themselves, they resolved to
+quit an abode where they had to suffer so much, and come and dwell in
+the countries subject to China, where the religion of Fo is professed.
+
+"'In the beginning of the eleventh moon of last year, they began their
+march with their women and children and all their baggage, traversed the
+country of the Hasacks, passed along the shores of Lake Palkache Nor
+and through the adjoining deserts; and towards the close of the sixth
+moon of this year, after having completed more than 10,000 leagues in
+the eight months of their wayfaring, they at last arrived on the
+frontiers of Chara Pen, not far from the banks of the Ily. I was already
+aware that the Torgouths were on their march to submit themselves to me,
+the news having been brought me shortly after their departure from
+Etchil. I then reflected that Iletou, general of the troops at Ily,
+having already been charged with other very important affairs, it was to
+be feared that he could not regulate those of the new comers with all
+the requisite attention.
+
+"'Chouhédé, one of the general's councillors, was at Ouché, employed in
+maintaining order among the Mahometans. As he was at hand to attend to
+the Torgouths, I ordered him to repair to Ily, that he might use his
+best efforts to establish them solidly.
+
+"'Those who fancy they see danger everywhere, failed not to make their
+representations to me on this matter. 'Among those who are come to make
+their submission,' said they, with one voice, 'is the perfidious
+Chereng. That traitor, after having deceived Tangalou, put him to death
+miserably, and took refuge among the Russians. He who has once deceived
+may do so again. Let us beware; we cannot be too much on our guard. To
+give welcome to one who comes of his own accord to make submission, is
+to give reception to an enemy.' Upon these representations I conceived
+some distrust, and gave orders that some preparations should be made to
+meet every contingency. I reflected, however, with all the maturity
+required by an affair of such importance, and my reiterated reflections
+at last convinced me that what I was told to fear could not possibly
+come to pass. Could Chereng alone have been able to persuade a whole
+nation? Could he have put Oubacha and all the Torgouths, his subjects,
+in motion? What likelihood is there that so many men would willingly
+have inconvenienced themselves to follow a private individual--would
+have entered into his views--and run the risk of perishing of hunger and
+wretchedness with him? Besides this, the Russians, from whose sway they
+have ventured to withdraw themselves, are like myself, masters of a
+great realm. If the Torgouths were come with the intention of insulting
+my frontiers, and settling there by force, could they hope that I would
+leave them undisturbed there? Can they have persuaded themselves that I
+would not stir to expel them? And if they are expelled, whither can they
+retire? Can they dare to hope that the Russians, whom they have treated
+with ingratitude in abandoning them as they have done, will condescend
+to receive them back with impunity, and allow them to resume possession
+of the ground they accorded to them formerly? Had the Torgouths been
+actuated by any other motive than that of wishing to submit sincerely to
+me, they would be without support on either side; they would be between
+two fires. Of ten arguments for and against, there are nine to show that
+there is nothing in their proceeding to excite suspicion. Among these
+ten arguments is there one tending to prove that they entertain any
+secret views? If so, the future will unmask them, and then I will act as
+circumstances shall require. What was to happen at the time I made these
+reflections, has happened at last. It has proved the accuracy of my
+reasoning, and exactly verified what I had predicted.
+
+"'Nevertheless I neglected none of the precautions that seemed to me
+necessary. I ordered Chouhédé to erect forts and redoubts in the most
+important places, and have all the passes strictly guarded. I enjoined
+him to exert himself personally in procuring necessary provisions of all
+kinds in the interior, whilst fit persons, carefully chosen by him,
+should make every arrangement for securing quiet without.
+
+"'The Torgouths arrived; and at once found lodging, food, and all the
+conveniences they could have enjoyed each in his own dwelling. Nor was
+this all; the principal men among them, who were to come in person and
+pay homage to me, were conducted with honour and free of expense by the
+imperial post-roads to the place where I then was. I saw them, spoke to
+them, and was pleased that they should enjoy the pleasures of the chase
+with me; and after the days allotted to that recreation were ended, they
+repaired in my suite to Ge Ho. There I gave them the banquet of
+ceremony, and made them the ordinary presents with the same pomp and
+state as I am accustomed to employ when I give solemn audience to
+Tchering and the chiefs of the Tourbeths (_the Derbetes of the
+Russians_), of whom he is the leader.
+
+"'It was at Ge Ho, in those charming scenes where Kang Hi, my
+grandfather, made himself an abode to which he might retire during the
+hot season, and at the same time put himself in a position to watch more
+closely over the welfare of the people beyond the western frontiers of
+the empire; it was, I say, in that delightful spot, that having
+conquered the whole of the country of the Eleuths, I received the
+sincere homage of Tchering and his Tourbeths, who alone among the
+Eleuths, had remained true to me. It is not necessary to go back many
+years to reach the term of that epoch; the memory of it is still quite
+recent.
+
+"'Who would have said it! When I had the least reason to expect it--when
+I was not even thinking of it--that branch of the Eleuths which had been
+the first to separate from the trunk, the Torgouths who had voluntarily
+expatriated themselves to live under an alien and remote dominion, those
+very Torgouths came of themselves and submitted to me of their own free
+will; and it was at Ge Ho, near the venerable spot where rest the ashes
+of my grandfather, that I had the unsought opportunity of solemnly
+admitting them among the number of my subjects.
+
+"'Now, indeed, it may be said, without fear of overstepping the truth,
+that the whole nation of the Mongols is subject to our dynasty of Tay
+Tsing, since it is from it in fact that all the hordes composing it now
+receive laws. My august grandfather conjectured this result; he foresaw
+that it would happen one day; what would have been his delight to know
+that that day was actually come!
+
+"'It is under the reign of my humble person that the conjectures of that
+great prince are realised, and what he had foreseen is fully
+accomplished. What token can I give him of gratitude proportioned to
+what I owe him! What profound homage, what respectful sentiments can
+clear my account with Heaven for the constant protection with which it
+deigns to honour me! I tremble under the apprehension of not bearing
+sufficiently at heart those obligations with which I ought to be wholly
+filled, or of not being sufficiently attentive to fulfil them entirely.
+After all I have no thought of imputing to my own virtue and merits the
+voluntary submission, or the arrival of the Torgouths in my dominions. I
+will strive to behave, in this respect, as well as I possibly can. No
+sooner were the Torgouths arrived than the representations began anew.
+'These people,' I was told 'are rebels who have withdrawn from the sway
+of the Russians; we are not free to receive them. It is to be feared
+that if we gave them a favourable reception it would occasion
+animosities and some troubles on our frontiers.' 'Let not that alarm
+you,' I replied. 'Chereng was formerly my subject; he revolted and took
+refuge among the Russians, and they received him. Repeatedly did I
+request them to give him up to me, but they would not. And now Chereng,
+acknowledging his fault, comes and surrenders voluntarily. What I here
+say, I have already said to the Russians in the fullest detail, and I
+have completely reduced them to silence.'
+
+"'What! was it to be supposed that for considerations no way binding
+upon me, I should have suffered so many thousand human beings to perish,
+after they had arrived on the verge of our frontiers almost half dead
+with wretchedness and famine! 'But,' it was objected, 'they have
+plundered by the way; they have carried off provisions and cattle.' And
+suppose they have, how could they have preserved their lives without
+doing so? Who would have supplied them with the means of existence?
+'Watch so well,' says an old Chinese proverb, 'that you may never be
+surprised; keep such careful guard that perfect security may reign even
+in your deserts.'
+
+"'With regard to the Ily country where I have allowed them to take up
+their abode, though I have very recently caused a town to be built
+there, that place is not yet strong enough to protect the frontiers in
+that direction, and hinder the brigands from continuing to insult them.
+Those who inhabit the country are employed only in tilling the ground
+and feeding cattle. How could they protect themselves? How could they
+secure the peace of those deserts? General Iletou being informed of the
+approach of the Torgouths, failed not to acquaint me with the fact. If
+through fear of the uncertain future, or considerations unsuited to the
+circumstances of the case, I had determined to have the border strictly
+guarded, and to have a stop put to the march of the Torgouths, what
+should I have gained thereby? Driven to despair, would they not have
+rushed into the most violent excesses? An ordinary private individual
+would be justly stigmatised as inhuman, were he to behold strangers from
+a far country exhausted with fatigue, bowed down by wretchedness, and
+ready to breathe out their last gasp, and not take the trouble to
+succour them; and shall a great prince, whose first duty it is to try to
+imitate Heaven in his manner of governing men, shall he leave a whole
+nation that implores his clemency to perish for want of aid? Far from us
+be such vile thoughts! farther still be conduct conformable to them! No,
+we will never adopt such cruel sentiments. The Torgouths came, I
+received them; they wanted even the commonest necessaries of life; I
+provided them with every thing abundantly; I opened for them my
+granaries and my coffers, my stalls and my studs. Out of the former I
+bestowed on them what was requisite for their present wants; from the
+latter I desired that they should be supplied with the means of
+providing for themselves in time to come. I intrusted the management of
+this important affair to those of my grandees whose disinterestedness
+and enlightenment were already known to me. I hope and trust that every
+thing will be done to the entire satisfaction of the Torgouths. It is
+needless to say more in this place. My intention has only been to give a
+summary of what has come to pass."[47]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[37] "Narrative of the Chinese Embassy to the Khan of Torgouth Tartars,
+in the years 1712, '13, '14 and '15, by the Chinese Ambassador, and
+published by the emperor's authority at Pekin." London. I am indebted to
+the kindness of Baron Walckenaer for an acquaintance with this work.
+
+[38] The flight of the Kalmucks has also been attributed to Prince
+Chereng Taidchi, of whom mention has been made above. This version of
+the matter seems to us improbable. Chereng had left China as an outlaw,
+and it is not to be supposed that he was favourable to the emigration,
+notwithstanding the impatience with which he endured the yoke of Russia.
+It appears, on the contrary, that he never ceased to protest against the
+resolution adopted by Oubacha.
+
+[39] The MS. belongs to M. Ternaux Compans, who has obligingly placed at
+my disposal all the rich stores of his valuable library.
+
+[40] Here again we see that the Chinese give the name of Tatars to the
+Mongols, which confirms our opinion, that the denomination we give to
+the Mussulman subjects of Southern Russia is incorrect. We have
+substituted Tatar for the word Tartar in the MS.
+
+[41] The Chinese doubtless adopted the name Torgouth, because the
+fugitive Kalmucks consisted, in a great measure, of that tribe. The
+Kalmucks that remained in Russia are almost all Derbetes and Koschoots.
+
+[42] Russian documents confirm the fact, that a captain of this name
+commanding a Russian detachment was carried off by the fugitive
+Kalmucks.
+
+[43] There is here, evidently, a confusion of names. The Soongars, or
+Tchong-Kars, as the Chinese call them, are a branch of the Eleuths, and
+are the very nation who played the important part here attributed to the
+Eleuths in general.
+
+[44] This assertion seems totally erroneous. The Torgouths arrived in
+Russia in 1630, and Aiouki was not raised to the dignity of khan until
+1675; he could not, therefore, have acted the part here ascribed to him.
+The relation of the Chinese embassy to Aiouki (1712-1715) likewise
+confirms in all points the inaccuracy of the Emperor Kien Long's
+historical version. At that period China was a country almost unknown to
+the Kalmucks, and Aiouki, in all his conferences with the ambassadors,
+was continually asking for information of all kinds respecting the
+celestial empire.
+
+[45] The part of southern Russia comprised between the Volga and the
+Jaïk. The Tatars also gave the name of Etchil to the Volga.
+
+[46] Here the emperor's words are altogether at variance with the report
+of the Chinese embassy, of which Toulischin was the leader.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+      THE KALMUCKS AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF OUBACHA--DIVISION OF THE
+      HORDES, LIMITS OF THEIR TERRITORY--THE TURKOMAN AND TATAR
+      TRIBES IN THE GOVERNMENTS OF ASTRAKHAN AND THE CAUCASUS--
+      CHRISTIAN KALMUCKS--AGRICULTURAL ATTEMPTS--PHYSICAL, SOCIAL,
+      AND MORAL, CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KALMUCKS.
+
+
+After the departure of Oubacha, the Kalmucks that remained in Russia
+were deprived of their special jurisdiction, and for more than thirty
+years had neither khan nor vice-khan. It was not until 1802, that the
+Emperor Paul, in one of his inexplicable caprices, thought fit to
+re-establish the office of vice-khan, and bestowed it on Prince
+Tchoutchei, an influential Kalmuck of the race of the Derbetes. The
+administration of the hordes, which had been under the control of the
+governor of Astrakhan since 1771, was again made independent, the
+functions of the Russian pristofs were limited, and they could no longer
+abuse their power so much as they had done. But upon the death of
+Tchoutchei, the Kalmucks again came under the Russian laws and
+tribunals; they lost all their privileges irrevocably, and the
+sovereignty of the khans and of the vice-khans disappeared for ever.
+
+The complete subjection of the Kalmucks was not, however, effected
+without some difficulty. Discontent prevailed among them in the highest
+degree, but their attempts at revolt were all fruitless. Hemmed in on
+all sides by lines of Cossacks, the tribes were constrained to accept
+the Russian sway in all its extent. The only remarkable incident of
+their last struggles was a partial emigration into the Cossack country.
+This insubordination excited the tzar's utmost wrath, and he despatched
+an extraordinary courier to Astrakhan, with orders to arrest the high
+priest and the principal chiefs of the hordes, and send them to St.
+Petersburg. Before leaving Astrakhan, these two Kalmucks engaged a
+certain Maximof to act as their interpreter, and plead their cause
+before the emperor.
+
+But when the two captives arrived in St. Petersburg, the emperor's fit
+of anger was quite over; they were received extremely well, and instead
+of being chastised, they returned to the steppes invested with a new
+Russian dignity. They took leave publicly of the tzar, and this audience
+was turned to good account by their interpreter. In presenting their
+thanks to his majesty, that very clever person, knowing he ran no risk
+of being contradicted, made Paul believe that the Kalmucks earnestly
+entreated that his imperial majesty would grant him, also, an honorary
+grade in recompense for his good services. The tzar was taken in by the
+trick, and Maximof quitted the court with the title of major. The man
+still lived in Astrakhan when we visited the town, and did not hesitate
+to tell us the story with his own lips.
+
+Though entirely subjected to the Russian laws, the Kalmucks have an
+administrative committee, which is occupied exclusively with their
+affairs. It resides in Astrakhan, and consists of a president, two
+Russian judges, and two Kalmuck deputies. The latter, of course, are
+appointed only for form sake, and have no influence over the decisions
+of the council. The president of the committee is what the Russians call
+the curator-general of the Kalmucks. In 1840, this post had been filled
+for many years by M. Fadiew, a man of integrity and capacity, and the
+tribes owed to his wise administration a state of tranquillity they had
+not enjoyed for a long while.
+
+To each camp there is also attached a superintendent, called a pristof,
+with some Cossacks under his orders. All matters of litigation are
+decided in accordance with the Russian code, but criminal cases are
+extremely rare, owing to the pacific character of the Kalmucks, and the
+interposition of their chiefs.
+
+The Kalmuck hordes are divided into two great classes, those belonging
+respectively to princes and to the crown; but all are amenable to the
+same laws and the same tribunals. The former pay a tax of twenty-five
+rubles to their princes, who have the right of taking from among them
+all the persons they require for their domestic service, and they are
+bound to maintain a police and good order within their camp. Every
+chief, has, at his command, several subaltern chiefs called _zaizans_,
+who have the immediate superintendence of 100 or 150 tents. Their office
+is nearly hereditary. He who fills it enjoys the title of prince, but
+this is not shared by the other members of his family. The zaizans are
+entitled to a contribution of two rubles from every kibitka under their
+command.
+
+The hordes of the crown come under more direct Russian surveillance.
+They paid no tax at first, and were bound to military service in the
+same way as the Cossacks; but they have been exempted from it since
+1836, and now pay merely a tax of twenty-five rubles for each family.
+The princely hordes, likewise, used to supply troops for the frontier
+service; but this was changed in 1825, and since then the Kalmucks have
+been free from all military service, and pay only twenty-five rubles per
+tent to their princes, and 2.50 to the crown.
+
+Besides the two great divisions we have just mentioned, the Kalmucks are
+also distinguished into various _oulousses_, or hordes, belonging to
+sundry princes. Each _oulousse_ has its own camping-ground for summer
+and winter.
+
+The Kalmuck territory has been considerably reduced since the departure
+of Oubacha; it now comprises but a small extent of country on the left
+bank of the Volga, and the Khirghis of the inner horde now occupy the
+steppes between the Ural and the Volga. The present limits of European
+Kalmuckia are to the north and east, the Volga as far as latitude 48
+deg.; a line drawn from that point to the mouths of the Volga, parallel
+with the course of the river, and at a distance from it of about forty
+miles; and, lastly, the Caspian Sea as far as the Kouma. On the south,
+the boundary is the Kouma and a line drawn from that river, below
+Vladimirofka, to the upper part of the course of the Kougoultcha. The
+Egorlik, and a line passing through the sources of the different rivers
+that fall into the Don, form the frontiers on the west.
+
+The whole portion of the steppes included between the Volga, the
+frontiers of the government of Saratof and the country of the Don
+Cossacks, and the 46th degree of north latitude, forms the summer
+camping-ground of the following oulousses: Karakousofsky, Iandikofsky,
+Great Derbet, belonging to Prince Otshir Kapshukof; Little Derbet,
+belonging to Prince Tondoudof, and Ikytsokourofsky, which is now without
+a proprietor; its prince having died childless, it is not known who is
+to have his inheritance.
+
+The whole territory comprises about 4,105,424 hectares of land; 40,000
+were detached from it in 1838 by Prince Tondoudof, and presented to the
+Cossacks, in return for which act of generosity the crown conferred on
+him the rank of captain. He gave a splendid ball on the occasion at
+Astrakhan, which cost upwards of 15,000 rubles. We saw him in that town
+at the governor's soirées, where he made a very poor figure; yet he is
+the richest of all the Kalmuck princes, for he possesses 4500 tents, and
+his income amounts, it is said, to more than 200,000 rubles.
+
+The Kalmucks occupy in all 10,297,587 hectares of land, of which
+8,599,415 are in the government of Astrakhan, and 1,598,172 in that of
+the Caucasus. These figures which cannot be expected to be
+mathematically exact, are the result of my own observations, and of the
+assertions of the Kalmucks, compared with some surveys made by order of
+the administrative committee.
+
+Besides the Kalmucks, the only legitimate proprietors of the soil, other
+nomades also intrude upon these steppes. Such are the Turcomans, called
+Troushmens by the Russians. They have their own lands in the government
+of the Caucasus, between the Kouma and the Terek; but as the countless
+swarms of gnats infesting those regions in summer render them almost
+uninhabitable for camels and other cattle, the Turcomans pass the Kouma
+of their own authority, with some Nogaï hordes, who are in the same
+predicament, encamp amidst the Kalmucks, and occupy during all the fine
+weather a great part of the steppes between the Kouma and the Manitch.
+This intrusion has often been strongly resented by the Kalmucks, and the
+authorities have been obliged to interfere to appease the strife. But as
+it is absolutely requisite to allot a summer camping-ground to the
+Turcomans, the government is not a little perplexed how to cut the
+gordian knot. An expedient, however, was adopted during our stay in
+Astrakhan. It was determined to take from the Kalmucks a portion of the
+territory they possess along the Kalaous, and of which they make no use,
+and bestow it upon the Turcomans. This ground being completely isolated,
+it was furthermore decided that there should be allowed a road six
+kilometres wide (three miles six furlongs) for the passage of their
+flocks. Nothing can convey a more striking picture of these arid regions
+than this scheme of a road nearly four miles wide, extending for more
+than sixty leagues.
+
+The Turcomans entered Russia in the train of the Kalmucks, whose slaves
+they appear to have been. They are now much mixed up with the Nogaïs,
+like whom they profess Mohammedanism. They reckon 3838 tents. The only
+obligation imposed on them is to convey the corn destined for the army
+of the Caucasus. They receive their loads at Koumskaia, where the
+vessels from Astrakhan discharge their cargoes, and thence they repair
+to the Terek and often to Tiflis in Georgia. This service is regarded by
+them as very onerous, and they have long requested permission to pay
+their taxes in money. They use in this business carts with two wheels of
+large diameter, drawn by oxen, for camels and horses are scarcely ever
+employed. The Turcomans have preserved the good old customs of their
+native country; they are the greatest plunderers in the steppes, and the
+only people whom there is any real cause to regard with distrust. Before
+the end of summer, in the latter part of August, the Turcomans begin to
+retire behind the Kouma, into the government of the Caucasus.
+
+A Tatar horde called Sirtof likewise encamps on the lands of the
+Kalmucks, within sixty miles of Astrakhan, on the road to Kisliar. It
+reckons but 112 tents, and as the lands it occupies are of little
+importance, no one thinks of troubling it.
+
+Lastly are to be enumerated 500 families of Kalmucks, improperly called
+Christians, who occupy the two banks of the Kouma, between Vladimirofka
+and the Caspian. Some Russian missionaries attempted their conversion
+towards the close of the last century, but their proselytising efforts,
+based on force, were fruitless, and produced nothing but revolts. Since
+then these Kalmucks, some of whom had suffered themselves to be
+baptised, were called Christians, chiefly for the purpose of
+distinguishing them from those who are not bound like themselves to
+military service. They are chiefly employed in guarding the salt pools,
+and belong, under the denomination of Cossacks, to the regiment of
+Mosdok. The government feeds them and their horses when they are on
+actual service, but they still pay a tax for every head of cattle, the
+amount of which goes into the regimental chest. These Kalmucks having no
+camping-ground of their own, have long been soliciting to have one
+assigned them. The government offered them ground in the environs of
+Stavropol, the capital of the Caucasian government, but they refused it
+for fear of the incursions of the Circassians. These nominal Christians
+are with the Turcomans the most dangerous people in the steppes. Their
+attacks are not at all to be feared by day; but at night it is necessary
+to keep a sharp look out after one's camels and horses; for in these
+deserts to rob a traveller of his means of transport is almost to take
+his life.
+
+As will be seen from what we have stated above, the summer encampments
+of the Kalmuck hordes are situated in the most northern parts of the
+country, where there is the richest pasture, and where the cattle suffer
+least from flies in the hot weather. The emigration to the north is
+almost general; only a few very needy families, who have no cattle,
+remain in the winter camp, keeping as near as possible to the post
+stations and inhabited places, in hopes of procuring employment. In the
+beginning of the cold season the hordes return to the south, along the
+banks of the Caspian and the Kouma, where they fix themselves among the
+forests of rushes that supply them with firing and fodder for their
+cattle.
+
+In all these regions destitute of forests, reeds are of immense
+importance, and nature has liberally distributed them along all the
+rivers of the steppes, and in all the numerous bottom lands that flank
+the Caspian. The inhabitants of Astrakhan make a regular and systematic
+use of them, employing them not only for fuel, but also for roofing
+their houses, and for thatching their waggons laden with salt or fish,
+which they send into the interior of the country. It is in spring,
+before the floods caused by the melting of the snow, that the reeds
+begin to sprout. Their stalks, which are as thick as a finger, soon
+shoot up to the height of twelve or thirteen feet. Those that grow on
+the banks of the Volga are never quite covered in the highest floods.
+The beginning of winter is the season for laying in a stock of reeds,
+and it is customary to burn all those that are not cut and carried off,
+in order that the dead stalks may not hinder the growth of the young
+shoots.
+
+The ceremony attending the departure of the hordes in spring is not
+without interest. The Kalmuck chiefs never begin a march without making
+an offering to the Bourkhan, or god of the river, as an acknowledgment
+of the protection vouchsafed to their camp during the winter. To this
+end they repair in great pomp to the banks of the Kouma, accompanied by
+their families and a large body of priests, and throw several pieces of
+silver money into the river, at the same time invoking its future
+favours.
+
+According to the official documents communicated to me, the Kalmuck
+population does not appear to exceed 15,000 families. On this head,
+however, it is impossible to arrive at very exact statistics, for the
+princes having themselves to pay the crown dues, have of course an
+interest in making the population seem as small as possible. I am
+inclined to believe, from sundry facts, that the number of the tents is
+scarcely under 20,000. At all events, it seems ascertained that the
+Kalmuck population has remained stationary for the last sixty years, a
+fact which is owing to the ravages of disease, such as small-pox, and
+others of the cutaneous kind.
+
+The Kalmucks, all of them nomades, are exclusively engaged in rearing
+cattle, and know nothing whatever of agriculture. They breed camels,
+oxen, sheep, and above all, horses, of which they have an excellent
+description, small, but strong, agile, and of great endurance. I have
+ridden a Kalmuck horse often eighteen and even twenty-five leagues
+without once dismounting. The Russian cavalry is mounted chiefly on
+horses from the Caspian steppes: the average price of a good horse is
+from 80 to 100 rubles. Formerly the Kalmucks used to send their horses
+to the great fairs of Poland, paying a duty of 1.75 rubles on every
+horse sold; but the duty was raised to 5.25 rubles in 1828, for every
+horse arriving in the fair, and this unlucky measure immediately
+destroyed all trade with Poland. The business of horse-breeding has
+diminished immensely ever since in the Caspian steppes. The government
+afterwards returned to the old rate of duty; but the mischief was done,
+and the Kalmucks did not again appear in their old markets.
+
+It is impossible to know, even approximately, the amount of cattle
+belonging to the tribes, for the Kalmucks are too superstitious ever to
+acknowledge the number of their stock. From various data I collected at
+Astrakhan, and from the superintendents of the hordes, we may estimate
+that the Kalmucks possess on the whole from 250,000 to 300,000 horses,
+about 60,000 camels, 180,000 kine, and nearly a million sheep.
+
+Prince Tumene is the only one of the Kalmucks who has engaged in
+agriculture, and his attempts have been exceedingly favoured by the
+character of the soil in his domains on the left bank of the Volga. His
+produce consists of grain, grapes, and all kinds of fruit. He has even
+tried to manufacture Champagne wine, but with little success; and when
+we visited him, he entreated me to send him a good work on the subject,
+that he might begin his operations again on an improved plan.
+
+Prince Tondoudof is also striving to follow in Prince Tumene's
+footsteps. He has lately marked out a large space in the steppes for the
+fixed residence of a part of his Kalmucks, but I greatly doubt that his
+wishes can ever be realised. He has for many years possessed a very
+handsome dwelling, but he has not yet been able to give up his tent, so
+strong is the attachment of all this race to a nomade life. But the most
+potent obstacle to the establishment of a permanent colony consists in
+the nature of the soil itself. We have traversed the Kalmuck steppes in
+almost all directions, and found everywhere only an argillaceous, sandy,
+or salt soil, generally unsuited to agriculture. Where there is pasture,
+the grass is so short and thin, that the ground exactly resembles the
+appearance of the steppes of the Black Sea, when the grass begins to
+grow again after the conflagrations of winter. Hence the Kalmucks are
+continually on the move to find fresh pasture for their cattle, and
+seldom remain in one spot for more than a month or six weeks. But the
+most serious obstacle to agriculture is the want of fresh water. The few
+brooks that run through the steppes are dry during the greater part of
+the year, and the summers are generally without rain. The cold, too, is
+as intolerable as the heat: for four months the thermometer is almost
+always steady at twenty-eight degrees of Reaumur in the shade, and very
+often it rises to thirty-two; then when winter sets in it falls to
+twenty-eight degrees below zero. Thus, there is a difference of nearly
+sixty degrees between the winter and the summer temperature. If in
+addition to these changes of temperature we consider the total flatness
+of the country, exposed without any shelter to the violence of the north
+and east winds, it will easily be conceived how unfavourable it must be
+to agriculture. A nomade life seems therefore to me a necessity for the
+Kalmucks, and until the development of civilisation among them shall
+make them feel the need of fixed dwellings, they must be left free to
+wander over their steppes. Moreover, in applying themselves exclusively
+to pastoral pursuits, they render much greater service to Russia than if
+they employed themselves in cultivating a stubborn and thankless soil.
+No doubt there are numerous oases scattered over these immense plains,
+just as in other deserts, and agriculture might have some success in the
+northern parts; but these favourable spots are all situated amid
+wildernesses where the cultivators would find no markets for their
+produce. In spite of all these drawbacks, the Russian government still
+persists in its endeavours to colonise the Kalmucks, and strives with
+all its might to introduce among them its system of uniformity. But its
+efforts have hitherto been quite fruitless; the hordes are now, perhaps,
+more than ever attached to their vagrant way of life, in which they find
+at least a compensation for the privileges and the independence of which
+they have been deprived.
+
+The Kalmucks, like most other nations, are divided into three orders,
+nobles, clergy, and commons; the members of the aristocracy assume the
+name of _white bones_, whilst the common people are called _black
+bones_. The priests belong indifferently to either class, but those that
+issue from the ranks of the people do not easily succeed in effacing the
+stain of their origin. The prejudices of noble birth are, however, much
+less deeply rooted at this day than formerly, a natural consequence of
+the destruction of the power of the khans and the princes, and the
+complete subjection of the hordes to the laws and customs of the empire.
+Bergmann's account has therefore become quite inapplicable to the
+present state of things, and can only give false notions of the
+constitution of the Kalmucks.
+
+Among the Asiatic races there is none whose features are so distinctly
+characterised as those of the Mongols. Paint one individual and you
+paint the whole nation. In 1815, the celebrated painter, Isabey, after
+seeing a great number of Kalmucks, observed so striking a resemblance
+between them, that having to take the likeness of Prince Tumene, and
+perceiving that the prince was very restless at the last sittings, he
+begged him to send one of his servants in his stead. In that way the
+painter finished the portrait, which turned out to be a most striking
+likeness, as I myself can testify. All the Kalmucks have eyes set
+obliquely, with eyelids little opened, scanty black eyebrows, noses
+deeply depressed near the forehead, prominent cheek-bones, spare beards,
+thin moustaches, and a brownish yellow skin. The lips of the men are
+thick and fleshy, but the women, particularly those of high rank, have
+heart-shaped mouths of no common beauty. All have enormous ears,
+projecting strongly from the head, and their hair is invariably black.
+The Kalmucks are generally small, but with figures well rounded, and an
+easy carriage. Very few deformed persons are seen among them, for with
+more good sense than ourselves, they leave the development of their
+children's frames entirely to nature, and never put any kind of garment
+on them until the age of nine or ten. No sooner are they able to walk,
+than they mount on horseback, and apply themselves with all their hearts
+to wrestling and riding, the chief amusements of the tribes.
+
+The portrait we have drawn of the Kalmucks is certainly not very
+engaging; but their own notions of beauty are very different from ours.
+A Kalmuck princess has been named to us, who, though frightfully ugly
+in European eyes, nevertheless, passed for such a marvel of loveliness
+among her own people, that after having had a host of suitors, she was
+at last carried off by force by one of her admirers.
+
+Like all inhabitants of vast plains, the Kalmucks have exceedingly keen
+sight. An hour after sunset they can still distinguish a camel at a
+distance of three miles or more. Very often when I perceived nothing but
+a point barely visible on the horizon, they clearly made out a horseman
+armed with his lance and gun. They have also an extraordinary faculty
+for wending their way through their pathless wildernesses. Without the
+least apparent mark to guide them, they traverse hundreds of miles with
+their flocks, without ever wandering from the right course.
+
+The costume of the common Kalmucks is not marked by any very decided
+peculiarity, the cap alone excepted. It is invariably of yellow cloth
+trimmed with black lambskin, and is worn by both sexes. I am even
+tempted to think that there are some superstitious notions connected
+with it, seeing the difficulty I experienced in procuring one as a
+specimen. The trousers are wide and open below. Persons in good
+circumstances wear two long tunics, one of which is tied round the
+waist, but the usual dress consists only of trousers and a jacket of
+skin with tight sleeves. We have already described the garb of the
+women. The men shave a part of their heads, and the rest of the hair is
+gathered into a single mass, which hangs on their shoulders. The women
+wear two tresses, and this is really the only visible criterion of their
+sex. The princes have almost all adopted the Circassian costume, or the
+uniform of the Cossacks of Astrakhan, to which body some of them belong.
+The ordinary foot gear is red boots with very high heels, and generally
+much too short. The Kalmucks, like the Chinese, greatly admire small
+feet, and as they are constantly on horseback, their short boots, which
+would be torturing to us, cause them no inconvenience. But they are very
+bad pedestrians; the form of their boots obliges them to walk on their
+toes, and they are exceedingly distressed when they have not a horse to
+mount.
+
+They never set out on a journey unarmed. They usually carry a poniard
+and a long Asiatic gun, generally a matchlock. The camel is the beast
+they commonly ride, guiding it by a string passed through its nostrils,
+which gives them complete command over the animal. They have long quite
+abandoned the use of bows and arrows; the gun, the lance, and the dagger
+being now their only weapons. Cuirasses, too, have become useless to
+them. I saw a few admirable specimens at Prince Tumene's, which appeared
+to be of Persian manufacture, and were valued at from fifty to a hundred
+horses. In spite of the precepts of buddhism which forbid them to kill
+any sort of animal, the Kalmucks are skilful sportsmen with hawk and
+gun. They almost always shoot in the manner of the old arquebusiers,
+resting the gun on a long fork which plays upon an axis fixed at the
+extremity of the barrel.
+
+The Kalmucks, like all pastoral people, live very frugally. Dairy
+produce forms their chief aliment, and their favourite beverage is tea.
+They eat meat also, particularly horse flesh, which they prefer to any
+other, but very well done and not raw as some writers have asserted. As
+for cereal food, which the natives of Europe prize so highly, the
+Kalmucks scarcely know its use; it is only at rare intervals that some
+of them buy bread or oatcake from the neighbouring Russians. Their tea
+is prepared in a very peculiar manner. It comes to them from China, in
+the shape of very hard bricks composed of the leaves and coarsest parts
+of the plant. After boiling it a considerable time in water, they add
+milk, butter, and salt. The infusion then acquires consistency, and
+becomes of a dirty red-yellow colour. We tasted the beverage at Prince
+Tumene's, but must confess it was perfectly detestable, and instantly
+reminded us of Madame Gibou's incredible preparation. They say, however,
+that it is easy to accustom oneself to this tea, and that at last it is
+thought delicious. At all events it has one good quality. By strongly
+exciting perspiration, it serves as an excellent preservative against
+the effects of sudden chills. The Kalmucks drink their tea out of round
+shallow little wooden vessels, to which they often attach a very high
+value. I have seen several which were priced at two or three horses.
+They are generally made of roots brought from Asia. It is superfluous to
+say that the Kalmucks, knowing nothing of the use of teakettles, prepare
+their infusion in large iron pots. Next to tea there is no beverage they
+are so fond of as spirituous liquors. They manufacture a sort of brandy
+from mare's or cow's milk; but as it is very weak, and has little action
+on the brain, they seek after Russian liquors with intense eagerness, so
+that to prevent the pernicious consequences of this passion, the
+government has been obliged to prohibit the establishment of any dram
+shops among the hordes. The women are as eager after the fatal liquor as
+the men, but they have seldom an opportunity to indulge their taste, for
+their lords and masters watch them narrowly in this respect. The Kalmuck
+kitchen is disgustingly filthy. A housekeeper would think herself
+disgraced if she washed her utensils with water. When she has to clean a
+vessel, no matter of what sort, she merely empties out its contents, and
+polishes the inside with the back of her hand. Often have I had pans of
+milk brought to me that had been cleansed in this ingenious manner.
+However, as we have already remarked, the interior of the tents by no
+means exhibits the filth with which this people has been often charged.
+
+Among the Kalmucks, like most Oriental nations, the stronger sex
+considers all household cares derogatory to its dignity, and leaves them
+entirely to the women, whose business it is to cook, take care of the
+children, keep the tents in order, make up the garments and furs of the
+family, and attend to the cattle. The men barely condescend to groom
+their horses; they hunt, drink tea or brandy, stretch themselves out on
+felts, and smoke or sleep. Add to these daily occupations some games,
+such as chess, and that played with knuckle-bones, and you have a
+complete picture of the existence of a Kalmuck _pater familias_. The
+women are quite habituated to their toilsome life, and make cheerful and
+contented housewives; but they grow old fast, and after a few years of
+wedlock become frightfully ugly. Their appearance then differs not at
+all from that of the men; their masculine forms, the shape of their
+features, their swarthy complexion, and the identity of costume often
+deceive the most practised eye.
+
+We twice visited the Kalmucks, and the favourable opinion we conceived
+of them from the first was never shaken. They are the most pacific
+people imaginable; in analysing their physiognomy, it is impossible to
+believe that a malicious thought can enter their heads. We invariably
+encountered the frankest and most affable hospitality among them, and
+our arrival in a camp was always hailed by the joyful shouts of the
+whole tribe hurrying to meet us. According to Bergmann's book he seems
+not to have fared so well at their hands, and he revenges himself by
+painting them in a very odious light. But it must not be forgotten that
+Bergmann was, above all things, clerical, and that he could not fail to
+be looked on with dislike by the Kalmucks, who had already endured so
+many attempts of missionaries to convert them. It is, therefore, by no
+means surprising if he was not always treated with the deference he had
+a right to exact. As for that pride of the great men and that impudence
+of the vulgar, which so deeply stirred the indignation of the Livonian
+traveller, these are defects common enough in all countries, and even
+among nations that make the greatest boast of their liberality; it would
+be unjust, therefore, to visit them too severely in the case of the
+Kalmucks.
+
+A very marked characteristic of these tribes is their sociability. They
+seldom eat alone, and often entertain each other; it is even their
+custom, before tasting their food, to offer a part of it to strangers,
+or, if none are present, to children; the act is in their eyes both a
+work of charity, and a sort of propitiatory offering in acknowledgment
+of the bounty of the Deity.
+
+Their dwellings are felt tents, called _kibitkas_ by the Russians. They
+are four or five yards in diameter, cylindrical to the height of a man's
+shoulder, with a conical top, open at the apex to let the smoke escape.
+The frame is light, and can be taken asunder for the convenience of
+carriage. The skeleton of the roof consists of a wooden ring, forming
+the aperture for the smoke, and of a great number of small spars
+supporting the ring, and resting on the upper circumference of the
+cylindrical frame. The whole tent is light enough to be carried by two
+camels. A kibitka serves for a whole family; men, women, and children
+sleep in it promiscuously without any separation. In the centre there is
+always a trivet, on which stands the pot used for cooking tea and meat.
+The floor is partly covered with felts, carpets, and mats; the couches
+are opposite the door, and the walls of the tent are hung with arms,
+leathern vessels, household utensils, quarters of meat, &c.
+
+Among the most important occupations of these people are the
+distillation of spirits, and the manufacture of felts, to which a
+certain season of the year is appropriated. For the latter operation the
+men themselves awake out of their lethargy, and condescend to put their
+hands to the work. They make two kinds of felt, grey and white. The
+price of the best is ten or twelve rubles for the piece of eight yards
+by two. The Kalmucks are also very expert in making leathern vessels for
+liquids, of all shapes and sizes, with extremely small throats. The
+women tan the skins after a manner which the curious in these matters
+will find described by the celebrated traveller, Pallas. The priests,
+moreover, manufacture some very peculiar tea-caddies; they are of wood,
+their shape a truncated cone, with numerous ornamental hoops of copper.
+In other respects industry has made no progress among the Kalmucks,
+whose wants are so limited, that none of them has ever felt the need of
+applying himself to any distinct trade. Every man can supply his own
+wants, and we never found an artisan of any kind among the hordes. At
+Astrakhan, there are some Kalmuck journeymen engaged in the fisheries,
+and many of them are in high repute as boatmen. On the whole, it is not
+for want of intelligence they are without arts, but because they have no
+need of them.
+
+We frequently questioned the Kalmucks respecting their wintering under a
+tent, and they always assured us that their kabitkas perfectly protected
+them from the cold. By day they keep up a fire with reeds and dried
+dung; and at night, when there remains only clear coal, they stop up all
+the openings to confine the heat. Their felts, besides, as I know from
+experience, are so well made, as to shelter them completely from the
+most furious tempests.
+
+We have little to say of the education of the Kalmucks. Their princes
+and priests alone boast of some learning, but it consists only in a
+knowledge of their religious works. The mass of the people grovel in
+utter ignorance. Nevertheless, a very notable intellectual movement took
+place among the tribes in the beginning of the seventeenth century, at
+which period Zaia Pandity, one of their high priests, invented a new
+alphabet, and enriched the old Mongol language with many Turkish
+elements. Thereupon the Kalmuck nation had a literature of its own, and
+soon, under the influence of its numerous traditions, and its
+historical, sacred, and political books, it exhibited all the germs of a
+hopeful, nascent civilisation; nor was it rare in those days to find men
+of decided talent among the aristocracy. But Oubacha's emigration
+blighted all these fair hopes. The books were all carried off by the
+fugitives; the old traditions, so potent among Asiatic nations,
+gradually became extinct, the natural bond that knitted the various
+hordes together was broken, and the Kalmucks that remained in Europe
+soon relapsed into their old barbarian condition.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[47] The emperor subjoins in a note: "The nation of the Torgouths
+arrived at Ily in total destitution without victuals or clothing. I had
+foreseen this, and given orders to Chouhédé and others, to lay up the
+necessary provisions of all kinds, that they might be promptly
+succoured. This was done. The lands were divided, and to each family was
+assigned a sufficient portion for its support by tillage or cattle
+rearing. Each individual received cloth for garments, a year's supply of
+corn, household utensils, and other necessaries, and besides all this
+several ounces of silver to provide himself with whatever might have
+been forgotten. Particular places, fertile in pasturage, were pointed
+out to them, and they were given oxen, sheep, &c., that they might
+afterwards labour for their own sustenance and welfare."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+      BUDDHISM--KALMUCK COSMOGONY--KALMUCK CLERGY--RITES AND
+      CEREMONIES--POLYGAMY--THE KHIRGHIS.
+
+
+The Kalmucks, Like most of the other offshoots of the Mongol stock, are
+Buddhists, or rather Lamites. According to the opinion of all writers,
+Buddhism began in India, and Buddha, afterwards deified by his followers
+under the name of Dchakdchamouni, was its founder and first patriarch.
+Opposed by the fanaticism of the children of Brahma, the new creed made
+little progress, and appears to have been cruelly persecuted in the
+beginning. The learned researches of M. Abel Remusat have, however,
+demonstrated that there was a succession of twenty-eight Buddhist
+patriarchs in India. It was not until about A.D. 495, that
+Bodhidharma, impelled no doubt by the persecutions of the Brahmins, set
+out for China, where the doctrines of Buddha had already made
+considerable progress, as well as in Thibet and great part of Tartary.
+Eight centuries, nevertheless, elapsed before the successors of
+Bodhidharma emerged from their obscure and precarious condition: it was
+to the grand fortunes of the celebrated Genghis Khan they owed that
+royal splendour they afterwards enjoyed under the name of Dalai Lama.
+
+According to Klaproth, the first traces of Buddhism are recorded in a
+Mongol book, entitled "The Source of the Heart," written in the time of
+Genghis Khan. It is there related that the conqueror, when about to
+enter the countries occupied by the Buddhists, sent an embassy to their
+patriarch with these words: "I have chosen thee for my high priest, and
+for that of my empire; repair to me; I give thee charge over the present
+and future weal of my people, and I will be thy protector." The desires
+of Genghis Khan were quickly fulfilled; from that time forth the
+patriarchs often resided at the conqueror's court, and their religion
+was at last adopted by the greatest Mongol warriors. In the reign of
+Genghis Khan's grandson, Buddhism was already become a power; and then
+it was that the high priests, assuming the title of Dalai Lama, fixed
+their residence in Thibet, where they continued to be treated as actual
+monarchs, until dissensions and rivalries destroyed all the prestige of
+their authority, and they became confounded with the other vassals of
+the empire of China.
+
+When Buddhism installed itself in Thibet, that country was already
+peopled with Christians, and the Nestorians had many monasteries there.
+The religious tolerance of the Mongol monarchs was unlimited: all creeds
+enjoyed equal protection in their capital. The Christians were
+especially numerous in the imperial city, where they had a church with
+bells, and were long presided over by an Italian Archbishop. The effect
+of this general toleration, and of the potent action of the principles
+of Christianity, must necessarily have been to modify Buddhism to an
+important degree; and we believe, with M. Remusat, that we must refer to
+this period for the origin and explanation of the many points of analogy
+between it and the doctrines of Christians.
+
+Pallas and Bergmann have written much on the religious cosmogony of the
+Kalmucks; we will follow them in their investigations, and endeavour to
+complete them by means of our own observations.
+
+There was in the beginning an immense abyss, called Khoubi Saiagar,
+exceeding in length and depth 6,116,000 berez (about 12,000,000
+leagues), and out of this abyss the Taingairis, or aerial spirits,
+existing from all eternity, drew forth the world. First rose
+fiery-coloured clouds, which gathered together until they dissolved into
+a heavy rain, every drop of which was as big as a chariot wheel, and
+thus was formed the universal sea. Soon afterwards there appeared on the
+surface of the waters an immense quantity of foam, white as milk, and
+out of it issued all living creatures, including the human race. We will
+say nothing of those hurricanes which, arising from the ten parts of the
+world, produced in the upper hemisphere that fantastic column, as lofty
+as the ocean is deep, round which revolve the various worlds of the
+Buddhist universe. But we cannot forbear to mention the ingenious
+explanation by which the astronomers of Thibet accounted for the
+periodical revolutions of the day. According to their sacred books, the
+mystic column has four faces, of different colours, argent, azure, or,
+and deep red. At sunrise the rays of the sun fall on the argent side, in
+the forenoon they are reflected from the azure, at noon from the gold,
+towards the close of day from the red surface, and the concealment of
+the orb behind the column is what produces night.
+
+All the books of the Kalmucks speak of four great lands, which are
+sometimes spoken of as belonging to the same whole, sometimes as forming
+separate worlds. The first of these, lying eastward, is occupied by
+giants who are eight cubits high, and live for 150 years; the second,
+towards the west, has inhabitants eleven cubits high, whose lifetime is
+500 years; the third, placed in the north, is still more favoured, for
+its inhabitants, though devoid of souls, live for 1000 years exempt from
+all infirmity. Their stature is 230 cubits. When the term of their
+existence is arrived, they assemble their families and their friends
+around them, and expire calmly at the call of a heavenly voice summoning
+them by their name. The fourth earth is that on which we dwell, and on
+which all the favours of the Deity are profusely lavished. It has four
+great rivers bearing the mystic names of Ganga, Schilda, Baktschou, and
+Aipura, which take their rise in the heart of four great mountains,
+where dwells an elephant two leagues long, white as snow, and named
+Gasar Sakitschin Koven (protector of the earth). This fabulous animal
+has thirty-three red heads, each furnished with six trunks, whence spout
+forth as many fountains, all surmounted with six stars. On each star
+sits a virgin always young and gracefully attired. These virgins are the
+daughters of the aerial spirits, one of whom, the most potent of all,
+sits astride on the middle of the elephant's head, when the animal
+thinks fit to change his quarters.[48]
+
+In the beginning the inhabitants of this privileged earth lived 80,000
+years, abounding in health, and incapable of forming a desire that was
+not instantly fulfilled. Their eyes shot forth rays of light that
+supplied the place of the sun and the stars, and invisible grace stood
+them instead of all nourishment. It was during this golden age that most
+of the secondary divinities were born, and 1000 Bourkhans were taken up
+from the earth to the abode of the blessed. But those blissful times
+came to an end, for, as in Genesis, an unlucky fruit, for which mankind
+imprudently conceived a liking, was the cause of their downfal. The
+human race lost all its precious privileges; its wings failed; physical
+wants tormented it; its gigantic stature dwindled down, and the span of
+life was contracted to 40,000 years, whilst the luminous rays of the
+eyes, the only light of that period, disappeared. Darkness then covered
+the face of the earth, until four powerful deities, touched with
+compassion, squeezed the mountain hard, and forced from it the sun and
+the moon, those two great luminaries which still exist in our day.
+
+The evil did not stop here. To the physical woes that afflicted man was
+soon added moral depravation; adultery, homicide, and violence
+supplanted the primitive virtues, and disorder reigned over the whole
+face of the habitable earth. During this long period of decay the
+duration of life underwent successive curtailments, and many bourkhans
+descended on earth to correct and ameliorate mankind. The bourkhan
+Ebdekchi (the perturber) appeared at the time when the duration of life
+did not exceed 40,000 years. Altan Dohidakti, the bourkhan of
+incorruptible gold, appeared to the world when men only lived 30,000
+years, and those whose years were but 20,000 were visited by the
+bourkhan Guerel Sakitchi (the guardian of the world). After him came
+Massouschiri. Lastly, the term of human, existence had been reduced to
+100 years, when the celebrated bourkhan Dchakdchamouni, the founder of
+the existing sect, came upon the earth and preached the faith to
+one-and-thirty nations. A great moral revolution then took place in the
+world; but unfortunately the new law was variously interpreted, and
+thence resulted this great diversity of religions and languages.
+
+Still, however, the degeneration of the human race is far from having
+reached its utmost limit. The life and stature of man and of all
+animals, will undergo a further considerable diminution in the course of
+ages. There will come a time when the horse will be no bigger than the
+present race of hares, and men but a few palms high, will live but ten
+years, and will marry at the age of five months. Thus the Buddhists have
+adopted notions diametrically opposed to those of certain modern
+philosophers, who think that we began as oysters and will end with being
+gods. Which is the more absurd of these two opinions? We shall not
+attempt to decide the question, but leave it to our neighbours beyond
+the Rhine, who are more competent than we to deal with such matters. The
+extreme limit of physical decay having been once attained, most living
+creatures will be destroyed by a mortal malady. But just when the world
+seems on the point of relapsing into the chaos from whence it issued,
+the voice of the celestial spirits will be heard, and some of the
+miserable dwarfs still peopling the earth will seek refuge in dark
+caverns; it will then rain swords, spears, and all sorts of deadly
+weapons; the ground will be strewed with corpses and red with blood.
+Finally, a horrible down-pour of rain will sweep all the corpses and all
+the filth into the ocean. This will be the last act of the genius of
+destruction, soon after which a fragrant rain will vivify the earth. All
+sorts of garments and food will drop from the sky; the dwarfs that have
+escaped destruction will come forth from their caverns, and men,
+regenerated and virtuous, will at once recover their gigantic stature
+and their privilege of living 80,000 years. There will then be a new
+decay, and when the bourkhan Maidari appears on earth, men will have
+again become dwarfs; but at the voice of that prophet they will be fully
+converted, and will attain a high degree of perfection. We will not
+follow Lamism through its systems regarding the various epochs of the
+world. The notions of the Kalmucks on this head are so confused, that I
+have been unable to learn any thing in addition to what is stated by the
+learned Pallas. Their sacred books speak of forty-nine epochs, ending by
+fire, or deluges, or hurricanes. They are all divided into four great
+periods. The first comprises the space of time in which human life
+begins with being 80,000 years long, and diminishes to 10,000; during
+the second period man perishes; during the third the earth remains
+desolate, and in the fourth occurs a hurricane which carries the souls
+from hell to the earth.
+
+We have already mentioned that happy epoch in which thousands of holy
+beings were raised to the heavens, and deified under the name of
+bourkhans. These bourkhans do not all hold the same rank, but differ
+from each other both in power and functions. The Kalmucks, who hold them
+in great veneration, adore them as the most beneficent deities. Their
+images are found in all the temples. The mighty Dchakdchamouni is most
+especially worshipped. The bourkhans are supposed to inhabit different
+worlds; some dwell in the planets, others in the regions of the air,
+others again in the sky; Dchakdchamouni still inhabits the earth. There
+is an infinite multitude of legends concerning these secondary
+divinities, especially the last named. The following adventure is
+related of him in all the religious books of the Lamites, and is known
+to all the Kalmucks: One day three bourkhans were praying with great
+fervour, and while their eyes were piously cast down, an infernal genius
+deposited his excrement in the sacred cup belonging to one of them.
+Great was the stupefaction of the bourkhans when they lifted up their
+heads. They consulted further what they should do. If they diffused the
+pestiferous matter through the air, it would be the destruction of all
+the beings that people that element; if they let it fall on the earth,
+all its inhabitants would, in like manner, perish. They resolved,
+therefore, for the good of mankind, to swallow the dreadful substance.
+Dchakdchamouni had the bottom of the cup for his share, and the legend
+states that so horrible was the taste, the poor bourkhan's face suddenly
+became blue all over. That god has ever since been depicted with a blue
+visage.
+
+The aerial spirits are next in importance to the bourkhans; some of them
+are beneficent, others malignant. The Kalmucks worship these rather than
+the others, because they alone can do harm to mortals, whilst nothing
+but good offices are to be expected from the beneficent spirits. These
+genii are not immortal, and their power is much less than that of the
+bourkhans. The manner in which their race is propagated is very simple,
+but singular: an embrace, an exchange of smiles, or of gracious looks is
+sufficient with them to produce conception. All these spirits have
+divers abodes in the world and in the air; to the malevolent among them,
+the Kalmucks attribute all the disorders of the atmosphere, and all
+pestilential diseases; the evil genii are particularly active in stormy
+weather, wherefore the Kalmucks greatly dread thunder, and always fire
+many shots when a storm blows, in order to scare away the demons.
+
+There are also in the Lamite religion a great many fabulous deities
+represented by monstrous idols, which appear to be old reminiscences of
+a primitive creed anterior to Buddhism. It is remarkable that these
+idols have generally female faces. They are almost always decorated with
+the scarf of honour, or the bell and sceptre, used by the priests in
+their religious ceremonies, are placed in their hands. The priests are
+the makers of all these idols, some of which are of curious workmanship.
+The materials are baked earth, bronze, silver, or even gold.
+
+Though the Kalmucks address their worship almost exclusively to the host
+of secondary deities we have just mentioned, still they acknowledge a
+supreme being, to whom the bourkhans and the good and evil genii are but
+vassals: if they have no image or idol representing him, it is because
+the conception of the one eternal creator passes all the bounds of their
+imagination, and they rather apply their thoughts to beings less
+incomprehensible and less remote from their own nature. Pallas seems to
+think that the Kalmucks follow the system of Epicurus, but the
+conversations I have had with many learned princes and priests, have
+convinced me of the contrary.
+
+The Kalmucks and the Mongols believe, like the Hindus, in the
+transmigration of souls; but Bergmann errs greatly in asserting that
+they have no other idea of immortality. I have investigated the popular
+notions on this subject, and my conviction is that the Kalmucks consider
+the transmigration only as a longer or shorter trial which the soul of
+every man, not acknowledged a saint, must pass through before appearing
+in presence of the supreme judge. As for those who have been celebrated
+for their piety and their virtues, Lamism teaches that they are raised
+to the rank of bourkhans, still preserving their former individuality.
+
+Erlik Khan is the great judge of the Kalmuck hell, and before his awful
+throne all souls must appear, to be rewarded according to their works.
+If they are found just and pure, they are placed on a golden seat
+supported on a cloud, and so wafted to the abode of the bourkhans; if
+their sins and their good works seem to balance each other, then Erlik
+Khan opens his great book in which all the good and evil deeds of men
+are minutely recorded, and having cast the dread balance, he finally
+pronounces sentence. On the whole this king of hell seems a good-natured
+devil enough, for very often to avoid condemning an unfortunate sinner
+who has some good qualities to recommend him, he allows him to go back
+to earth and live over again in his own form. The Kalmucks, always
+logical in their mythological notions, allege that they derive from men
+thus resuscitated all the knowledge they possess of hell and the future
+life.
+
+The imagination of the Lamite priests has outstripped that of the
+Christians, and of all other nations; indeed we know nothing that can be
+compared with the Kalmuck hell. Erlik Khan, the judge of the dead, is
+likewise sovereign of the realm of the damned. His palace, which always
+resounds with the clashing of immense gongs, is situated in a great town
+surrounded with white walls, within which spreads a vast sea of urine
+and excrement, in which wallow the accursed. An iron causeway traverses
+this sea, and when the guilty attempt to pass along it, it narrows
+beneath them to a hair's breadth, then snaps asunder, and the wicked
+souls, thus tested and convicted, are straightway plunged into hell. Not
+far from this place of horror is a sea of blood, on which float many
+human heads; this is the place of torture for such as have excited
+quarrels and occasioned murders among relations and friends. Further on
+is seen the punishment of Tantalus, where a multitude of damned souls
+suffer hunger and thirst on a white and arid soil. They dig and turn up
+the earth without ceasing; but their unavailing labour only serves to
+wear down their arms to the shoulders, after which the stumps grow
+again, and their torments begin afresh. Such is the punishment of those
+who have neglected to provide for the wants and the jovial habits of the
+clergy. It would be tedious to pursue these details further; suffice it
+to say, that in describing the various torments of hell, the Lamites
+have employed every device which the wildest imagination could conceive.
+We must, however, give these priests credit for one thing: they do not
+admit the eternity of punishment;[49] but on the other hand, in the
+distribution of chastisement they have not forgotten the smallest
+offence that can possibly be committed against themselves. Hence they
+have immense power over the people, whom they can induce to believe what
+they will. Their cupidity is equal to their influence, and they never
+forego any opportunity of making their profit of the poor Kalmuck.
+
+From all these particulars of the religious notions of the Kalmucks, it
+is plain that the popular mythology of Lamism is like many other
+superstitions, only a potent instrument invented by priests to fascinate
+and command the multitude. By means of these incredible fables, the
+Lamite clergy have made themselves masters of the field, and hold great
+and small under their sway. It is to be remarked that in all religions
+ecclesiastical supremacy is inseparable from the creation of a hell, and
+that the one never exists without the other; in fact among nations where
+the idea of eternal punishments has been abandoned, the ministers of
+religion have seldom exercised an oppressive power over the people. This
+proves how large a part selfishness and the lust of sway have had in the
+construction of many religions; but in none has the priesthood evermore
+possessed a greater power than in Buddhism; in none has it more
+violently opposed all who have sought to shake its sway by proclaiming
+the infinite mercy of God.
+
+As a natural consequence of the great prerogatives attached to the
+priesthood, the clergy are become extremely numerous among the followers
+of Lama. Prince Tumene, whose oulousse is very inconsiderable, has at
+least three hundred priests attached to his pagoda.
+
+During our stay in Astrakhan, we had opportunities of confirming, by our
+own observation, the truth of what Pallas remarks, that there is much
+analogy between the religious ceremonies of the Brahmins and those of
+the Kalmucks. Indeed, in studying the theological system of the Lamites,
+it becomes clear that their doctrines have been partly borrowed from
+religions still in existence. Who can fail to recognise the Biblical
+allegory in the fruit _shimé_, which the first men were imprudent enough
+to taste? Again, that period during which man was only unhappy, but not
+criminal, does it not represent the time that elapsed from Adam's
+expulsion from Paradise to the murder of Abel? The traditions of the
+Greek mythology appear also to have been made use of, for the dread
+Erlik Khan seems very like the Pluto of the ancients; and perhaps the
+loathsome sea that encompasses his palace is but another form of the
+Styx. It is unnecessary to remark that all these religious notions are
+familiar only to the priests and some princes; the common people are
+content to believe, worship, and submit blindly to the exactions of
+their spiritual guides.
+
+People begin, however, to observe a certain falling off in the
+observance of the precepts of Lamism. Thus, although a true follower of
+Lama has a right to destroy only the carnivorous creatures that hurt his
+flocks, the Kalmucks, nevertheless, put to death domestic animals, and
+make no scruple of hunting. They urge, it is true, in defence of these
+acts, that the prohibition against killing was not made by the gods
+themselves, but by one of their high priests who lived several centuries
+ago. Nevertheless, there are many priests who would think themselves
+guilty of murder if they put to death the smallest insect; and very
+often it occurred when we were sporting, that several of them came and
+earnestly entreated us to liberate the bird we had just caught. In so
+doing they thought they performed an act of charity, and saved a soul.
+
+The modern Kalmuck clergy are divided into four classes. The backshaus
+are the chief priests and religious teachers: in the Caspian steppes the
+eldest of them is improperly styled the Lama. The ghelungs are the
+ordinary priests, and may be compared in rank and functions to the
+French country _curés_. The ghetzuls, or deacons, constitute the third
+class; and the fourth consists of the mandshis, or musicians. Above all
+these grades stands the Dalai Lama of Thibet, the supreme head of the
+church. The Russian Kalmucks were formerly in constant communication
+with him, but since Oubacha's emigration, the government has put a stop
+to this intercourse, which could not fail to thwart its views by keeping
+up a spirit of nationality among the Kalmucks, and fostering their
+attachment to their religion.
+
+Both the clergy and those in their service enjoy all possible
+immunities. They are exempt from all taxes and charges, and the people
+are bound to see that they want for nothing. It is true that the priests
+are prohibited by the rules of their religion from possessing property,
+but the restriction is evaded to a great extent, and the backshaus and
+ghelungs all possess numerous herds: if any one wants to buy a good
+horse, he must apply to them. The sloth and insolence of these priests
+passes all comparison; excepting their religious ceremonies, in which
+they chant some prayers and play on their instruments, they do
+absolutely nothing but eat, drink, and sleep. The meanest ghelung has
+always a retinue of some half dozen of deacons, who look after his
+cattle, his table, and his wardrobe.
+
+The ghetzuls are like our deacons, aspirants for the priesthood, and
+from their body the chief backshaus select the ghelungs, always having
+regard to the wealth of the candidates rather than to their good
+character or capacity. The ordination generally takes place towards the
+close of the great religious festivals, at which period the new ghelungs
+pass the whole night in marching round the priest's camp, chaplet in
+hand, barefooted, and with their shaven crowns uncovered. This is the
+last exercise preliminary to the commencement of their ministry.
+
+All the members of the clergy of every rank take vows of chastity, which
+they are far from observing; for there are few priests who do not
+indulge in illicit intercourse with married women. The poor husband does
+what he can to prevent this, but when he discovers the actual existence
+of the evil, instead of resenting it, he appears to accept his mischance
+as an honour, such is his veneration for his spiritual superiors. The
+priest, however, is forced to use stratagem for the indulgence of his
+passion. The reverend personage usually goes by night and pushes against
+the kibitka of the woman on whom his choice has fallen; whereupon she
+pretends to believe that some animal is prowling about, gets up, takes a
+stick, and goes out to drive it away. The priest then absconds with her,
+and the husband suspects nothing. The princes share these privileges
+with the priests, only they carry matters with a higher hand. When a
+woman strikes their fancy, they take possession of her without ceremony,
+and send her back when they are tired of her company. As for the
+husband, his resignation under such circumstances is almost always
+exemplary. He knows, too, that he may count thenceforth on the patronage
+of the amorous prince, and commit sundry peccadilloes on the strength of
+it with impunity. The marital policy is the same with regard to the
+priests. Pallas, therefore, is wrong to express surprise at the fact
+that the Kalmuck hell provides no punishment for the sin of wantonness.
+This omission does honour to the sly sagacity of the Lamite priests, and
+proves how much they distrust their own virtue. As marriage is forbidden
+them, they are the more liable to sin in this way, and therefore it was
+not reasonable that in a religious system of their own making, they
+should inflict punishment on their own souls.
+
+We have already described the ceremonial garb of the priests, their
+ordinary costume consists of a wide tunic with sleeves, and a flat
+broad-brimmed hat of cloth. Yellow and red are their favourite colours.
+
+The priests always pitch their tents at a certain distance from the
+oulousse to which they are attached, and usually range them in a circle
+round a large open space, in the centre of which stand the kibitkas that
+serve them for temples. Such a camp is called a khouroul, and every
+evening the Kalmucks assemble there in great numbers to perform their
+religious duties. The temples are generally adorned with rich silk
+hangings, and with a great number of images. Opposite the door stands
+the altar with a little bronze image of Dchakdchamouni upon it, and a
+profusion of votive cups filled with grain and beans, as customary among
+the Brahmins; and one vessel of holy water in which several peacock's
+feathers are dipped. Holy water plays an important part in the religious
+ceremonies of Lamism; the ghetzuls distribute it in the great festivals
+to the people, who swallow some of it and wash their faces with the
+rest. It appears to be an infusion of saffron and sugar, but the
+Kalmucks attribute to it very marvellous properties. A lamp burns day
+and night before the idol, which is generally clad in brilliant silks,
+the head and hands alone remaining uncovered. A silk curtain hangs
+before the other images, and is only raised at the time of prayer.
+
+The priests practise in a most scandalous manner on the credulity of the
+people. The first thing a Kalmuck does when he falls ill, is to have
+recourse to the prayers and invocations of his priest. If he is poor he
+is usually let off for a pelisse or a cloak, which the ghelung carries
+off on the pretext that it is the abode of some evil genius who has
+caused all the patient's suffering. But when the sick man is a prince,
+the proceedings are in accordance with his fortune. In that case it is
+not in a pelisse or a cloak the demon abides; he is lodged in the very
+body of the prince, and the business is how to provide him with another
+dwelling. The backshau must be paid handsomely for finding a man who
+will take the disaster upon himself. This is usually some poor devil who
+is brought by fair means or by force into the sick man's tent, where
+after a multitude of odd ceremonies, he receives the name of the prince,
+and so the evil spirit passes into his body. He is then driven out of
+the oulousse with his whole family, and forbidden ever to set foot
+within it again. Persons so treated are called _Andin_ (fugitives). They
+may join another oulousse, but are always obliged to set up their tents
+at a distance from the general camp.
+
+The Kalmucks have three great annual festivals, which they always take
+care shall last at least a fortnight each. The chief of the three
+called, _Zackan Zara_, is in celebration of the return of spring; the
+second (_Urus Zara_), which falls about June, consists in the
+benediction of the waters; and the third (_Souloun Zara_, or the feast
+of the lamp) takes place in December. An altar is then erected in the
+open air, and on it are set a great number of sacred lamps and candles,
+which are lighted by the priests at the moment the new moon is visible,
+in presence of the whole assembled clergy and laity. I borrow from
+Bergmann a description of the feast of Zackan Zara at which he was
+present.
+
+"About noon," he says, "the sound of instruments gave token that the
+ceremony was about to begin, and I hastened to the khouroul, where the
+priests arranged in classes, and drawn up in line, were ready to begin
+the procession. The persons who only carried the instruments formed of
+themselves a considerable group. On the flanks of all those battalions
+of ghelungs, ghetzuls, and mandshis, floated sundry kinds of flags, some
+formed of strips of silk of many colours sewn in a ring, resembled the
+Roman ensigns; others like our banners were fixed to cross rods
+supported on long poles. We had not long to wait ere the chief priests,
+carrying with them large chests, came forth from a kibitka, and put
+themselves at the head of the multitude. They were closely followed by
+many others dressed in their richest attire, who eagerly pressed forward
+to assist in carrying the chests, or even to touch them with the tips of
+their fingers. As for the instruments, the timbrels were fixed on pieces
+of wood, and the great trumpets were supported by rods carried by some
+of the common people. The multitude that closed the procession were
+scarcely more numerous than the priests, and the old women alone
+testified their piety by sighs drawn from the bottom of their hearts. At
+some hundred paces from the khouroul, a scaffolding had been erected in
+the form of an altar thirteen or fourteen feet high, braced with ropes
+before and behind. In front of the altar was a circular space covered
+with carpets, and intended for the priests, with an immense red silk
+parasol to shade the high priest who filled the functions of Lama. The
+procession having reached the altar, the sacred chests were laid at its
+foot, and the images it contained were unmuffled. Everything was now
+ready to begin the ceremony when the Lama should arrive.
+
+"I availed myself of this pause to examine the sanctuary. On a yellow
+cloth richly embroidered with sacred flowers of a red colour, I saw
+several votive cups, and the gilded images of some deities. Right and
+left of the altar stood the banners, and in front of it, but outside the
+carpeted circle, were the instruments. Suddenly the music struck up, and
+the Lama arrived, borne in triumph in a palanquin, from which he
+alighted at a little distance from the altar. A signal was then given;
+the curtain that hung before the images was raised, and the priests, the
+princes, and the whole people prostrated themselves three times.
+
+"After this ceremony, the vice-khan Tchoutchei, who was present with his
+two sons, marched thrice with his whole suit round the circular space
+where the priests were squatted, and at last took his place beside the
+Grand Lama under the great parasol. His example was followed by his
+wife, only she took up her position outside the clerical circle, under a
+reserved pavilion where tea was presented to her. Large wooden vessels
+filled with tea, and cakes, were then set before the priests, and a
+great number of sheep intended for dinner were slaughtered. The repast,
+often interrupted by prayers and other ceremonies, was protracted until
+sunset. The images were then rolled up again, and the chests carried
+back in procession to the tents whence they had been taken. The same
+ceremonies were repeated on the two following days, but other bourkhans
+were exhibited to the worshippers."
+
+This feast of Zackan was instituted in honour of a victory achieved by
+Djackdjamouni over six false doctors with whom he contended for more
+than a week. Besides their great festivals, the Kalmucks have also three
+days in every month (the 7th, 15th, and 30th) on which they kill no sort
+of animal, but every faithful follower of Lama must live only on milk
+diet. The priests spend those days in the temple, praying from morning
+till night, and the people generally attend.
+
+The Kalmucks practise family devotions, consisting of prayers chanted
+with some degree of harmony, in an alternation of acute and grave sounds
+and slow and quick measures. They pray with a rosary somewhat like those
+used in Catholic countries, but oftener they perform that business by a
+mechanical process that does great honour to the inventive wit of the
+Lamites. To invoke Heaven in this way they have a drum or cylinder
+covered with Tangout characters, and containing several sacred writings
+in its interior, and the whole operation consists in making the cylinder
+revolve more or less rapidly by means of a cord. This very simple method
+of praying leaves the mind quite free, and does not hinder the Kalmucks
+from chatting, smoking, quarrelling, and abusing each other; provided
+the cylinder turns, the prayer is worked off of its own accord, and the
+bourkhans are quite satisfied. The followers of Lama believe this manual
+occupation to be highly meritorious, and imagine that the noise made by
+the sacred writings, when the cylinder revolves, rises to the throne of
+the deity and brings down his blessing. The princes have a still easier
+method of worshipping. Whenever they do not find it convenient to repeat
+their prayers orally, they plant before their tent a long pole to which
+is attached a flag inscribed with sacred verses; and thus they leave it
+to the winds to carry their homage to the throne of the bourkhans.
+
+Lucky or unlucky days are carefully observed by the Kalmucks. If one of
+the common people dies on a lucky day, he is buried, almost in the same
+way as among ourselves, and a small banner with a sort of epitaph is
+planted on his grave. On the contrary, if he dies on an unlucky day his
+body is laid on the ground, covered only with a felt or a mat, and the
+performance of his obsequies is left to carrion beasts and birds. In
+this case the relations or friends of the deceased watch to see by what
+kind of creature the corpse is first attacked, and from that fact they
+draw inferences as to how the soul fares in the other world. The rule is
+different with regard to princes, whose bodies are never exposed above
+ground. If they die on an unlucky day they are buried; otherwise they
+are burned with great pomp, and on the spot where they have expired a
+small chapel is erected, in which their ashes are deposited. The priests
+are still better off than the princes: die when they will they are
+always granted the honours of burning, provided they have had some
+reputation for sanctity in their lifetime; and their ashes are moulded
+into a little statue which is carried with great pomp to one of those
+small temples, called satzas, of which I have already spoken. The
+Kalmucks who greatly venerate the tombs of their priests, try as much as
+possible to keep the lamp in each of them perpetually burning. If it
+goes out, the first person who passes that way is bound to relight it.
+
+The habits of private life among the Kalmucks are of course in
+accordance with their state of civilisation and religious belief, and
+are strongly marked by all their gross superstitions. Yet certain of
+their customs are serious and affecting, and cannot fail to make an
+impression on the traveller. Others are curious for their patriarchal
+simplicity. When a woman is in labour, one or more priests are sent for,
+and whilst the husband runs round the tent with a big stick to drive
+away the evil spirits, the ghelungs stand at the door reciting prayers,
+and invoking the favour of the deity on the child about to be born. When
+the babe is come into the world, one of the relations goes out of the
+tent, and gives it the name of the first object he sees. This is the
+practice among all classes. I have known a prince _Little Dog_, and
+other individuals bearing the most whimsical names. The women remain
+veiled for many days after their delivery, and a certain time must
+elapse before they can be present at the religious ceremonies.
+
+The customs observed in marriages are more interesting, particularly
+when the young couple belong to the aristocracy. The preliminaries
+consist in stipulating the amount in horses, camels, and money, which
+the bridegroom is to pay to the bride's father; this being settled the
+young man sets out on horseback, accompanied by the chief nobles of his
+oulousse, to carry off his bride. A sham resistance is always made by
+the people of her camp, in spite of which she fails not to be borne away
+on a richly caparisoned horse, with loud shouts and _feux de joie_. When
+the party arrive at the spot where the kibitka of the new couple is to
+stand, and where the trivet supporting their great pot is already
+placed, the bride and bridegroom dismount, kneel down on carpets, and
+receive the benediction of their priests; then they rise, and, turning
+towards the sun, address their invocations aloud to the four elements.
+At this moment the horse on which the bride has been brought home is
+stripped of saddle and bridle, and turned loose for any one to catch and
+keep who can. The intention of this practice, which is observed only
+among the rich, is to signify to the bride that she is thenceforth to
+live only with her husband, and not think of returning to her parents.
+The setting up of the kibitka concludes the whole ceremony. The bride
+remains veiled until the tent is ready, and her husband taking off her
+veil, hands her into her new home. There is one curious incident in the
+marriages of the wealthy which deserves mention. The bride chooses a
+bridesmaid who accompanies her in her abduction; and when they come to
+the place for the kibitka, the bride throws her handkerchief among the
+men; whoever catches it must marry the bridesmaid. For a year after
+marriage the wife must confine herself to the tent, and during all that
+time can only receive visits on its threshold, even on the part of her
+parents. But when the year is out she is free to do just as she likes.
+
+All marriages are not contracted in this peaceable manner among the
+Kalmucks. When the relations cannot agree on the terms, which is no
+unusual case, the question is very often settled by force. If the young
+man is really enamoured he calls together his comrades and by force or
+cunning carries off the girl, who, after she has once entered his tent,
+cannot under any pretext be reclaimed by her parents.
+
+Lamism seems in the beginning to have forbidden polygamy and divorce,
+but these prohibitions have long become obsolete, and both practices are
+now legalised among all the Kalmucks. In case of infidelity on the
+wife's part, the repudiation takes place publicly, if the husband
+requires it. The most broken down horse that can be found is brought
+out, its tail is cut off, the guilty woman is mounted on its bare back,
+and hooted out of the oulousse. But these scenes occur very rarely; for
+the offended husband usually contents himself with sending his wife away
+privately, after giving her a few head of cattle for her support. The
+Kalmucks of the Caspian indulge very seldom in polygamy; indeed I never
+heard of more than one individual who had two wives. The condition of
+women among them is very different from what prevails in Turkey and
+great part of Asia; the restrictions of the harem are unknown, and both
+wives and maids enjoy the greatest independence, and may freely expose
+their faces to view on all occasions.
+
+I have spoken of the efforts made by the Moravian brethren of Sarepta to
+convert the Kalmucks, and of the intolerant manner in which the Russian
+clergy put a stop to them. Though we are by no means partisans of
+spiritual missions, and are of opinion that the apostles of our day
+often do more harm than good, still we cannot but regret the decision
+adopted by the synod. By their position, their industry, the simplicity
+of their religious notions, and their knowledge of the country, the
+Moravians are most favourably circumstanced for effecting the
+civilisation and social improvement of the Kalmucks; and there are some
+men among them who really understand their task. Buddhism, as practised
+among the Kalmucks tends to cramp all intellectual growth. Consisting
+exclusively in gross and burlesque superstitions, though liberality and
+equality were its fundamental principles, that religion can now only
+serve to brutalise the people, and retain them under the yoke of a
+grasping and fraudulent clergy. In this point of view a conversion to
+more rational doctrines would evidently be for the welfare of the
+Kalmucks; but the change should not be accomplished under the influence
+of so ignorant and superstitious a clergy as that of the Russian church;
+for it would be better to leave the Kalmucks to their old creed, and
+trust to time for their emancipation from the control of their priests.
+After all, the civilisation of these tribes is a difficult problem.
+Looking to the arid land in which they dwell, we must confess that it
+would be fatal to them were they subjected to our rules of life. I
+resided a considerable time among them, and inured myself in a great
+degree to their habits; and when on returning to our civilised towns, I
+was again a witness of the struggles, passions, vices, and evils that
+torment most of the nations of Europe, I could not but wish from my
+heart that the Kalmucks may long retain their native habits, and very
+long remain safe from that ambitious civilisation that gnaws the souls
+of the various classes of our populations.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Oubacha's emigration left the plains of the Ural unoccupied for many
+years, and it was not until the beginning of this century that some
+Khirghis tribes of the Little Horde entered on possession of them with
+the consent of the Russian government. Few at first, their numbers
+rapidly increased by new emigrations, and at last Russia conferred upon
+the Khirghis colony the entire and authenticated possession of about
+7,075,700 hectares of land. More fortunate than the Kalmucks, this
+people still enjoys a certain degree of independence, in appearance at
+least if not in reality. They have their sovereign khan, pay no tax, and
+the only obligation imposed on them is to furnish a corps of cavalry in
+time of war.
+
+It is hard to know exactly the number of these Khirghis. The Russian
+government is always solicitous to persuade the world of the prosperity
+of its subject peoples, and to this end it publishes very fallacious
+documents. Thus in a supplement to the journal of the ministry of the
+interior, August 30, 1841, the population of the horde is set down at
+16,550 tents, whereas the real number is but 8000, as appears from an
+extract taken in my presence at Astrakhan from the official documents of
+the military governor. But as the editor of the St. Petersburg journal
+judiciously remarks, the tribe cannot but have augmented rapidly under
+the wise administration of Russia, and it is from his admiration for his
+government he deduces the best proof in support of his statistical
+statements. Such arguments have not much weight with us, and we even
+suspect that the number 8000 is an exaggeration, and that the Khirghis
+have remained faithful to Russia only because they cannot do otherwise,
+since the government has taken the precaution of imprisoning them
+between two lines of Cossacks, those of the Ural and the Volga. Besides,
+if I may judge from the facts communicated to me at Astrakhan, the
+immigration of the Khirghis was not so free as the government is pleased
+to proclaim it to have been. Both force and fraud were employed to make
+them settle in regions from which Russia derived no profit since the
+flight of the Kalmucks.
+
+The Khirghis are nomades, living in felt tents, and employed in cattle
+rearing, like the Kalmucks. But they profess the Mahometan religion,
+belong evidently to the Turkish race, and have been from all time
+implacable foes to the Mongol hordes. Latterly, however, they appear to
+have lived in harmony with the Kalmucks of the Volga. Their khan often
+visits Prince Tumene, and in 1836 more than 2000 Khirghis encamped on
+the banks of the Volga, and took part in the grand entertainments given
+by the Kalmuck chief to the government authorities. But this state of
+peace is only the result of imperious necessity; if the hordes were
+independent, their old animosities would soon break out again.
+
+The present khan of the Khirghis is Giangour Boukevitch, who is reputed
+to be an able man, and desirous of introducing European civilisation
+among his people. The Emperor Nicholas had a handsome wooden house
+erected for him at the foot of the sand-hills called Ryn Peski, but he
+seldom resides in it. A few paltry buildings have been subsequently
+erected, through the strenuous intervention of the Russian _employés_,
+but it would be extravagant to behold in a score of cabins the elements
+of a future capital, as a certain St. Petersburg journal is pleased to
+do. The Khirghis will not so readily forsake their nomade ways. Their
+territory is hardly better than that of the Kalmucks; and their khan
+himself, obliged to camp out during the greater part of the year, in
+order to find fodder for his cattle, only returns to his pretended
+capital when the inclemency of winter drives him from his felt kibitka.
+It is necessary to exercise extreme caution and rigid criticism
+respecting all things pertaining to Russia, if we would arrive at the
+truth; for otherwise we shall be every moment in danger of mistaking for
+an indication of improvement and increased prosperity what is but the
+result of arbitrary power. We have repeatedly noticed instances of such
+mistakes on the part of travellers who have recently visited the
+southern portions of the empire. Never was any power more prodigal of
+outward decorations than the Muscovite; Russia is of all countries that
+which most lavishly expends its money to please the eye. To Potemkin
+belongs the honour of having been the first to play off these
+mystifications, when he got up extemporaneous villages and herds of
+cattle all along the road travelled by Catherine II. in her journey to
+the Crimea. He has had no lack of successors ever since. Alleys of
+acacias spring up by enchantment in the new towns; churches and houses
+with columns and porticoes; magnificent double eagles bearing the crown
+and the sceptre; numerous bureaucratic sign-boards with gilded
+inscriptions, &c., are seen on all hands. This mania of wishing to
+appear what one is not, which has always characterised the Russians,
+seems to us one of their greatest obstacles to all real improvement, and
+to be one of the most dangerous maladies of the empire. Certainly it is
+a defect not easy to be avoided by a backward people who aspire to put
+themselves on a level with their more advanced neighbours; but in
+Russia, unhappily, artificial ostentation has been systematised; not
+only does it exist among individuals, but it forms the basis of all the
+acts of the government; from one end of the empire to the other, in the
+towns and in the steppes of the Caspian, its costly stage scenery is
+everywhere to be found; it has become the aim and the fixed idea of
+every man, from the ministers of state down to the lowest _employé_; and
+whilst millions are uselessly expended to adorn the drapery of the
+theatre, the framework of the social edifice is allowed to go to ruin.
+The future welfare and the real progress of the country are deemed of
+little moment, provided the vanity of the day be satisfied, and the
+comedy be well played before his majesty and the strangers whom
+curiosity induces to visit Russia.
+
+After the Khirghis, we have also on the left bank of the Volga, near its
+mouths, a small Tatar horde, called Koundrof, an offshoot of the great
+tribe of the Kouban. These Tatars, who number about 1100 tents, were
+formerly bestowed by Russia as vassals upon the khans of the Kalmucks,
+but they were adroit enough to escape from taking part in Oubacha's
+famous emigration. Unavailing attempts have been subsequently made to
+colonise them. The governor of Astrakhan made them build two villages
+thirty years ago; but they soon abandoned those fixed dwellings, and
+resumed their old roving habits.
+
+Lastly, there are the black Nogais, who occupy the banks of the Terek,
+to the number of 8432 tents. We shall speak of them in detail in the
+next chapter.
+
+
+_Table of the Nomade Population of the Governments of Astrakhan and the
+Caucasus._
+
+                            Families.
+
+  Kalmucks                   15,500
+  Khirghis                    8,000
+  Koundrof Tatars            11,000
+  Sertof Tatars                 112
+  Black Nogaïs                8,432
+  Turcomans                   3,838
+                             ------
+           Total             36,982
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[48] After the curious researches of M. Ferdinand Denis, respecting the
+cosmography and the fantastic histories of the middle ages, we can no
+longer wonder at the singular conceptions of the Kalmucks. The world of
+Cosmas has likewise its four great sacred rivers, and he, too, like the
+followers of the Dalai Lama, makes the sun and the stars revolve round a
+mystic column. We might point out many other analogies between the
+Mongol myths and those of the medieval writers; but we will rather refer
+the reader to the enchanted world of M. Denis, to those elegant and
+poetic pages in which the learned librarian of Sainte Géneviève has so
+ably demonstrated the historical importance of all those fabulous
+legends, which at first appear to be only the idle ravings of an
+extravagant imagination.
+
+[49] The priests, however, have endeavoured to persuade the people that
+there are five sins which inevitably draw down everlasting punishment:
+these are irreverence towards the gods, thefts committed in the temples,
+disrespect to parents, murder, and, of course, offences against the
+clergy. These ideas are for all that in contradiction to the sacred
+books; but it is not surprising that the ministers of the Grand Lama
+have sought to give them vogue amongst the multitude.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+      THE TATARS AND MONGOLS--THE KAPTSHAK--HISTORY AND TRADITIONS
+      OF THE NOGAIS.
+
+
+Perhaps no people has given occasion to more discussions than the Tatars
+and Mongols, nor is the problem of their origin completely solved in our
+day, notwithstanding the most learned investigations. Some admit that
+the Tatars and Mongols formed but one nation, others allege that they
+are two essentially different races. According to Lesvèque d'Herbelot
+and Lesur[50] the Tatars are but Turks. Klaproth,[51] while he asserts
+that the Tatars and Mongols spring from the same stock, nevertheless
+regards the white Tatars, whom Genghis Khan conquered, as Turks. Lastly,
+D'Ohson in his remarkable history of the Mongols, treats the Mongols and
+Tatars as distinct races, but does not admit the theory of the Turkish
+origin. The same uncertainty that hangs over the Mongol and Tatar hordes
+of the fourteenth century, prevails with regard to the people who, under
+the name of Tatars, now dwell in the southern part of the Russian
+empire; and they have been considered sometimes as descendants of the
+Turkish tribes that occupied those regions previously to the twelfth
+century, sometimes as remnants of the conquering Mongol Tatars. Let us
+try to unravel this tangled web of opinions, and see what may be the
+least problematical origin of these various nations.
+
+The Chinese writers for the first time make mention of the Tatar people
+in the eighth century of our era, under the name of Tata, and consider
+them as a branch of the Mongols. The general and historian, Meng
+Koung,[52] who died in 1246, and who commanded a Chinese force sent to
+aid the Mongols against the Kin, informs us in his memoirs that a part
+of the Tatar horde, formerly dispersed or subdued by the Khitans,[53]
+quitted the In Chan mountains,[54] where they had taken refuge, and
+joined their countrymen, who dwelt north-east of the Khitans. The white
+Tatars and the savage or black Tatars then formed the most important
+tribes of those regions.
+
+According to D'Ohson, the Chinese comprehended under the name of Tatars
+all the nomade hordes that occupied the regions north of the desert of
+Sha No, either because the Tatars were the nearest, or because they were
+the most powerful of all those tribes. The intercourse of the Chinese
+with the west of Asia, would have afterwards served to give currency to
+the general denomination by which they designated their nomade vassals;
+and thus from the commencement of the power of the Genghis Khan, those
+tribes would have been already known by the name of Tatars,[55] which
+was propagated from nation to nation until it reached Europe, although
+it was repudiated with contempt by the conquerors themselves, as that of
+a nation they had exterminated. It is a fact established by the
+statements of many writers, and by D'Ohson himself, that Genghis Khan
+annihilated the white Tatars, and thus it has come to pass by a most
+curious freak of accident, that this extinguished people became
+celebrated all over the East by the conquests of its very destroyers.
+
+Jean du Plan de Carpin expresses himself still more positively: "The
+country of the Tatars," he says, "bears the name of Mongal,[56] and is
+inhabited by four different peoples, the Jeka Mongals, that is to say,
+the Great Mongals; the Sou Mongals, or the Fluviatile Mongals, who call
+themselves Tatars from the name of the river that flows through their
+territory; the Merkit and the Mecrit. All these peoples have the same
+personal characteristics and the same language, though belonging to
+different provinces, and ruled by divers princes."[57] He then goes on
+to speak of the birth of Genghis Khan among the Jeka Mongals, and of his
+conflicts with the Sou Mongals and the other _Tatar_ tribes.
+
+On comparing this author with the Chinese writers mentioned and
+commented on in the works of de Guignes, Abel Rémusat and D'Ohson, it
+will appear beyond all question that the Jeka Mongals are none other
+than the black Tatars, and that the Sou Mongals are the representatives
+of the white Tatars. As for the Merkit and the Mecrit, we confess, with
+M. d'Avezac, that our knowledge of them amounts only to conjecture; but,
+whatever was their origin, they are of but little importance with regard
+to the question we are now discussing.
+
+The old Mohammedan authors, such as Massoudi and Ebn Haoucal, who treat
+of the nations of Asia, appear not to have known the Tatars, for they
+never speak of them. Their name figures, however, in a Persian
+abridgment of universal history, entitled "Modjmel ut Tevarikh el
+Coussas;" and Reschyd el Dyn calls the Tatars a people famous throughout
+the world; but it would be difficult to extract from these authorities
+any precise argument for the solution of our problem. After all, as
+previously to the days of Genghis Khan, the most important tribe of
+Mongols bore the name of Tatars, it is not surprising that the Mussulman
+writers included the whole of that people under this denomination. The
+Chinese, on the contrary, being in close intercourse with the Tatars,
+their vassals, must of course have known their generic name, and
+transmitted it to us.
+
+Now let us recapitulate. If we reflect that Genghis Khan, though born in
+the tribe especially designated as black Tatars, yet adopted the
+denomination of Mongols for his people; that historians have been
+unanimous in calling Genghis Khan's soldiers Mongols; that the Chinese
+chroniclers, De Guignes, and many others, have considered the Tatars as
+only a branch of the Mongols; that Du Plan de Carpin himself begins his
+history with these words: "_Incipit historia Mongalorum quos nos
+Tartaros appellamus_," it will not be easy to deny, that previously to
+the twelfth century, previously to the great Asiatic invasions, the
+Tatars and Mongols were parts of one nation, belonging to one race. If
+subsequently the hordes of Genghis renounced their special name, this
+circumstance must be ascribed to the sanguinary contest which Jessoukai
+and his son, Genghis Khan, had to sustain against their oppressors, the
+white Tatars, then the principal tribe in those regions. But the term
+Tatar still prevailed in Europe, though it continued to be regarded as
+synonymous with Mongol by all the Chinese writers, and by most of those
+of other nations.
+
+The religious and political constitution of the various Mongol or Tatar
+branches before Genghis Khan, is very imperfectly known to us, and
+affords us no manner of ground for presuming a positive separation into
+two races. According to the Mongol work, "The Source of the Heart,"
+written in the beginning of the thirteenth century it appears that
+Lamism was first adopted by Genghis Khan, and that it became under his
+successors the prevailing religion of the Mongols proper. Marco Polo's
+narrative seems nevertheless to prove, that at the end of the thirteenth
+century the Mongols had not yet entirely adopted the creed and rites of
+Lamism; we now find it professed by all the Kalmucks of Russia.
+
+In later times, after the invasions by Genghis Khan and his sons, the
+Europeans, through ignorance or heedlessness, gave the name of Tatars
+not only to the tribes who had figured in those Asiatic irruptions, but
+also to the Mahometans, who had once been masters of the regions
+adjacent to the Caspian and the Black Sea, and had been subjugated by
+those conquerors; hence have arisen in a great measure all the mistakes
+and discussions respecting the origin of the Tatars. After the Mongol
+torrent had subsided, Europeans persisted in giving the appellation of
+Tatars to all those Mussulman nations originally of Turkish origin, that
+to this day occupy the territory of Kasan and Astrakhan, the Crimea and
+the region called Turcomania, situated between the Belur Mountains, Lake
+Aral, and the Caspian Sea; and as all these nations exhibited a
+religious, political, and moral character peculiar to themselves, people
+were naturally led to distinguish them from the Mongols, and to
+attribute to them a special origin. Thus Pallas and many other
+travellers, after visiting the Mahometans of Southern Russia, and
+comparing them with the Kalmucks, have made of the Tatars and Mongols
+two distinct races; and Malte Brun, in his geography, has given the name
+of Tatar to all the tribes established in our day in Turkistan, applying
+that of Mongol exclusively to the nations inhabiting the central
+tableland of Asia, from Lake Palcati and the Belur Mountains to the
+great wall of China, and to the Siolky Mountains which separate them
+from the Manchous, a tribe of the great race of the Tongouses. All these
+writers have failed to observe, that the appellation Tatar lost all
+signification in Asia under the destroying power of Genghis Khan, and
+has ever since existed only in the European vocabulary.
+
+Doubtless, Genghis Khan and his successors did not achieve all their
+conquests by the arms of the Mongols alone; and after having subjugated
+all the Mahometan nations occupying the vast regions of Turcomania and a
+part of Western Asia, they of course incorporated them with their
+hordes, and employed them in their European invasions.
+
+What, then, are we to suppose is the origin of all those tribes who,
+under the name of Tatars, now inhabit the south of Russia? We agree
+entirely with the opinion put forth in Courtin's "Encyclopédie Moderne,"
+that these Tatars are nothing but Turks, Comans, or Petshenegues, who
+having been at the commencement of the thirteenth century masters of all
+the countries north and west of the Caspian Sea as far the Dniepr, were
+afterwards subdued by the sons of Genghis Khan, and contributed towards
+the foundation of a new empire comprised between the Dniepr and the
+Emba, to which was given the name of Kaptshak, or Kiptshak, a
+designation which appears to have been originally that of the territory.
+
+The princes of this empire were Mongols or Tatars, but the majority of
+their subjects were Turks. It appears even that the latter formed a
+large portion of the armies of Genghis Khan in his late expeditions. The
+Turkish language thus remained predominant throughout the Kaptshak,
+Little and Great Bokhara, and among the Bashkirs and Tchouvaches. A few
+Mongol words are still found in the Turkish dialect of the Russian
+Mahometans, but they are extremely rare, and this may be easily
+explained. The soldiers of the Mongol army were of course bachelors, and
+when they married Kaptshak women, their children adopted the language of
+their mothers. The sovereigns themselves of this new empire soon
+embraced Mahometanism. Bereke, the brother and successor of Batou, set
+the first example; Usbeck Khan, who reigned in 1305, followed in his
+steps, and declared himself the protector of Islam, which thenceforth
+became the creed of the conquerors as well as of the conquered.
+
+It must not be inferred from the preceding statement that the Turks and
+Mongols may not, in more remote times, have belonged to one and the same
+race; we are not quite of that opinion; we have considered the Turkish
+race only under the conditions in which it appeared in Europe and Asia
+about the twelfth century, that is to say, modified by long contact with
+the Caucasian nations, and we have left altogether out of view what it
+may previously have been. Moreover, if De Guignes is rightly informed,
+the inhabitants of the Kaptshak are really of Mongol origin, and the
+soldiers of Genghis Khan took pains to prove to them that they were
+their countrymen.
+
+Towards the close of the fifteenth century, the empire of the Kaptshak
+was divided into several khanats--Kasan, Astrakhan, and the Crimea, the
+rulers of which, descended from Genghis, were all Mongols; but then they
+had no longer armies drawn from the interior of Asia, and the Turkish
+element finally prevailed throughout the whole population. Still, it
+cannot be denied that the Mahometan hordes of Russia present some
+resemblance to the Mongols, and this tends to confirm the ideas we have
+expressed above. But then it is obvious that two nations that served so
+long under the same banners, and lived under the same government, must
+have intermarried with each other, and that their blood must have been
+frequently mingled. Moreover, it is a most remarkable fact, with what
+pertinacity the Mongol type maintains its identity in spite of the
+mixture of many generations; a few marriages are sufficient to spread
+traces of it in the course of a certain time, over a whole nation. I
+have seen one example of this in the Cossacks, who have been living
+amidst the Kalmucks for about two hundred years.
+
+The Tatars in the mountains of the Crimea more rarely exhibit Mongol
+features; the Greek profile is frequently found among them. This
+difference is owing to their mixture with the Goths, the Greeks, and the
+remnants of other nations that have successively overrun the peninsula.
+
+The Nogais, who inhabit the plains of the Crimea, and the steppes of
+the Sea of Azof, are unquestionably the nearest in appearance to the
+Mongols of all the Tatars, and generally their physiognomy is such as
+cannot be attributed to any other origin. Moreover, according to their
+own traditions, they never made part of the Kaptshak, nor did they
+arrive in Europe until subsequently to the death of Genghis Khan, after
+having dwelt from time immemorial, if not with the Mongols, at least in
+their vicinity.
+
+According to Lesvèque, the horde of the Nogais, long the most celebrated
+of the west after that of the Kaptshak, was constituted in the
+thirteenth century by Nogai, a Tatar general, who, after conquering the
+countries north of the Black Sea, succeeded in forming a state
+independent of the Kaptshak. The traditions I collected among the Nogais
+themselves, make no mention whatever of a general of that name; their
+chronicles allege that the name of the nation is derived from _neogai_
+(which may be translated by the phrase, _mayst thou never know
+happiness_), and that it was bestowed on them in their old country, on
+account of their precarious and vagabond life.[58] I am inclined to
+adopt this opinion; for considering the importance which the Nogais
+attach to nobility and to antiquity of race, it would be very
+extraordinary that they should not have preserved the name of the
+founder of their power. The same traditions relate that after the death
+of Genghis Khan, the horde whence the Nogais of the Crimea are
+descended, arrived under the command of Djanibek Khan on the Volga, the
+left bank of which it kept possession of for many years. Part of this
+horde afterwards crossed the river, and advancing to the foot of the
+Caucasus, settled on the Kouma and the Terek. The principal tribe of
+these Tatars, and the same of which we are about to speak, soon forsook
+those regions, and after crossing the Don, the Dniepr, and the Dniestr,
+finally settled in Bessarabia, in the country called Boudjiak. There it
+remained more than half a century; but being continually harassed by the
+Turks and Moldavians, it abandoned its new country, retraced its steps,
+and under the command of Jannat Bey, traversed the Crimea and the
+Straits of Kertch. After reaching the banks of the Kouban, the horde was
+broken up, by internal dissensions, into three branches, the largest of
+which remained on the Kouban, and the others recrossed the straits. One
+of these tribes fixed itself on the plains of the Crimea, and the other
+returned to Bessarabia, partly by land, partly by sea.
+
+The Nogais of the Kouban again divided into several tribes, some of
+which connected themselves with the Kalmuck hordes, others with the
+mountaineers of the Caucasus. During all these emigrations, they were
+successively commanded by Jam Adie, Kani Osman, and Kalil Effendi, the
+Tatar of the Crimea. The latter, at the head of one of the principal
+tribes the Kouban, marched along the eastern coast of the Sea of Azof,
+crossed the Don, and encamped on the banks of the Moloshnia Vodi, where
+he died; his tomb still exists near the Nogai village of Keneges, on the
+Berda. He was succeeded by Asit Bey, who ruled for seventeen years, and
+was the last Tatar chief; he died in 1824. But long before his death, in
+the time of Catherine II., these Nogai hordes were completely subjected
+to the laws of the empire, and were under the management of Russian
+officials. Count Maison, a French emigrant, was appointed their governor
+in 1808, and he it was, who by dint of perseverance, made them renounce
+their nomade ways, and settle in villages.
+
+The Nogais now occupy the whole region between the Sea of Azof and the
+Moloshnia Vodi. They are about 52,000 souls, residing in seventy-six
+villages. As long as they were vagrants they remained very poor,
+cultivating no grain but millet, which was their usual food, and of this
+they could hardly procure a sufficient supply. Turbulent, fickle, and
+thievish, they had an insurmountable aversion for all steady toil, and
+particularly for agricultural labour; their occupations were tending
+cattle, hunting, riding, music, and dancing. They were fond of
+assembling and sitting in a ring, smoking and hearing the traditions of
+their forefathers. All the cares of the household fell upon the women.
+Their clothes, cooking utensils, bread, &c., they procured in exchange
+for cattle. They seldom remained many months in one spot; an hour was
+enough for them to pack up wife, children, and goods in their araba,[59]
+and then moving at random towards some other point of the horizon, they
+carried with them all they possessed. "Such is the order established by
+God himself," cried the Nogai, "to us he has given wheels, to other
+nations fixed dwellings and the plough." There was little wealth among
+them in those times, though there was a certain overbearing aristocracy
+that monopolised all the gifts of fortune and power to the detriment of
+the other members of the community, many of whom, either through
+ignorance or sloth, became even slaves of the shrewder and braver. Such
+was the origin of the authority of the Mourzas, or noble chiefs of the
+_aouls_ (villages, encampments).
+
+The Nogais had for their emigrations, like the Kalmucks, circular tents
+of felt, three or four yards in diameter, and conical at top. In winter,
+they constructed earthen huts beside their kibitkas. Such cold and damp
+dwellings were very prejudicial to health, as was proved by the
+multitude of children that died every year.
+
+Under Count Maison's wise and disinterested administration, all these
+old habits disappeared by degrees, and the Nogais began to improve their
+condition. By dint of patience and zeal they were prevailed on to build
+commodious dwellings, and having once established themselves in
+villages, their prosperity went on regularly increasing, and every man
+had the means of procuring subsistence for his family by his own
+labour. Count Maison is still remembered by the Nogais with the most
+lively gratitude, but his honesty did not protect him from malevolence
+and intrigues; it provoked against him all the subordinate functionaries
+whose peculations he prevented; and after enduring disgusts and
+annoyances without number, he sent in his resignation to St. Petersburg
+in 1821. Since that time the Nogais have had no special governor, but
+are under the control of functionaries attached to the ministry of the
+interior, who reside in their villages. They have, however, preserved
+the judicial authority of their cadis, and the Russian tribunals only
+take cognizance of those criminal and civil cases which the cadis cannot
+decide. The Nogais are exempt from military service, but they pay money
+contributions to the crown, at the rate of thirty rubles for each
+family.
+
+For about fifteen years past a Mennonite of the German colonies has of
+his own accord continued the work so judiciously begun by Count Maison.
+M. Cornies, one of the most remarkable men in New Russia, deservedly
+exercises the greatest influence over the Nogais, among whom his advice
+and exertions have already produced some excellent results. The
+miserable villages of former days have been gradually superseded by
+pretty houses in the German style, surrounded with gardens, and
+agriculture has made such progress, that a large number of farmers are
+now able to export corn.
+
+The Nogais are rather strict observers of the precepts of Islam. Their
+country contains eleven mosques, and each village has several houses for
+prayer. Their clergy are subject to the mufti of the Crimea and of his
+representative, who resides in the aoul of Emmaout; they consist of
+effendi mollahs, mollas, and cadis. The mollahs take tithe of all grain,
+and a fortieth of the cattle. Their functions are to call the people to
+prayer, to pray for the sick, write talismans, preside at sacrifices,
+marriages, and funerals, and perform all the rites of public worship.
+The effendi mollahs draw up articles of marriage and divorce; and, in
+concert with the village elders, they decide all quarrels and suits
+between husband and wife, and all questions relative to the sale of the
+latter. They also fulfil along with the cadis the duties of interpreters
+of the law, and preceptors of the Koran. Circumcision, which boys
+undergo at ten or twelve years of age, is performed by the bab (father),
+whose office is hereditary. Hadjis, or pilgrims, who have visited the
+kaaba of Mecca, though they have no official duties, still possess great
+authority, and are consulted on almost all occasions; they are
+distinguished by a green or white shawl rolled round their woollen caps.
+The pilgrimage to Mecca, is not quite obligatory on the Nogais, who
+generally exempt themselves from it by means of offerings and
+sacrifices. The new measures adopted by the Russians render this journey
+very difficult, and the Tatars must soon renounce it altogether. Every
+individual is bound before he sets out to prove that he takes with him
+at least 120_l._; his passport costs him nearly 8_l._, and if he does
+not return, the whole village where he was born is bound to pay his
+quota of taxation until a new census of the population is made.
+
+Expiatory sacrifices are very common among the Nogais: they take place
+during the Kourban Bairam, on the occasion of a death, for the
+commemoration of deceased persons, on the celebration of a marriage, on
+return from a journey, and as an atonement for the omission of any
+religious duty. Those who offer them up invite to their houses their
+friends and relations, and the poor of the village, to whom they give a
+good portion of the victim, which is either a sheep or a cow, according
+to the wealth of the individual, or the importance of the occasion.
+
+The great forty days fast of Ramazan is strictly observed only by aged
+persons of either sex. Curiously enough the obligation of prayer is
+imposed only on persons aged forty or fifty; the seventh day of the
+Mussulman week, which corresponds to our Friday, is celebrated only by
+the priests and some devout old men. The prohibition against wine is not
+at all regarded by the young, especially in travelling. In general the
+rising generation of Nogais pay very little heed to the commandments of
+Mahomet, and by no means share this religious fanaticism of the Asiatic
+Mussulmans. Long and handsome beards are held in great veneration among
+them. Old men shave the whole head, but the young leave a small tuft
+growing on the top of the crown. This custom obliges them to wear
+woollen caps in all seasons.
+
+The Nogais have generally two wives, and some even three, but this is a
+very rare case. The plurality and sale of wives frequently occasion
+quarrels, brawls, and acts of bloody vengeance.
+
+Charity, which is regarded in the Koran as one of the greatest virtues,
+extends only to the poor who beg from door to door, and who are usually
+given a little bread and millet. Orphans and old people are left to the
+care of their friends or relations, for the Nogais have no public
+establishment for the indigent. The fidelity of the Nogais is
+proverbial; even the most thievish of them would never betray a trust
+reposed in them. As for the ancient hospitality, it is now only
+exercised from habit, and very rarely from virtue. Still they invariably
+afford the most cordial welcome to every aged Mussulman or hadji, and in
+these cases their hospitality is quite patriarchal. Reverence for the
+aged is considered by them as a sacred duty.
+
+One of the most striking characteristics of these Tatars is their
+excessive vanity with regard to every thing that concerns the nobility
+of their ancestors. It shows itself not only towards strangers, but also
+in their dealings with each other. They profess likewise the most
+profound contempt for the Persians, the Turks, and even for the mountain
+Tatars of the Crimea, and deem it a dishonour to intermarry with those
+nations, which yet are of the same creed, if not of the same origin with
+themselves.
+
+The Nogai alternates between total supineness and extraordinary
+exertion, so that to make any profit of him he must be employed by task
+work and not by the day. This sloth, however, is not so much a vice
+inherent in the character of the nation as a result of its old vagrant
+and precarious existence, and of its limited wants. On the other hand,
+the nomade habits of other days have developed the capacity of this
+people in a remarkable degree, and whether as artisans or journeymen,
+agriculturists or manufacturers, the Nogais invariably give proof of
+great ability and skill.
+
+The Nogai is of moderate stature, but well proportioned; his movements
+are free and unembarrassed, and his attitude is never awkward under any
+circumstances. The women are, like all those of the East, comely when
+young; but when old they are horribly ugly. Neither sex exhibits any
+decided national physiognomy; countenances both of the Circassian and
+the Mongol type are very common among them.
+
+The Nogai constructs his own cottage with bricks dried in the sun, and
+whitewashes it regularly once a year within and without. Its dimensions
+are scarcely more than two or three-and-thirty feet by thirteen. The
+roof consists of a few rafters on which are laid reeds and branches of
+trees loaded with earth and ashes. A dwelling of this kind hardly costs
+more than 100 rubles; others of a larger size, with a floor and ceiling
+of wood, cost from 400 to 500 rubles. Each dwelling consists of two
+rooms, the kitchen, which is next the entrance, and the family room. The
+kitchen contains a fireplace, an iron pot, wooden vessels for milk and
+butter, harness and agricultural implements; the second room, which
+serves as a dormitory, is furnished with felt carpets, quilts, a pile of
+cushions, boxes containing clothes, and a dozen of napkins embroidered
+with coloured silk or cotton, according to the fortune of the family,
+and hung round the room. When the Nogai has two or more wives he
+constructs his house in such a manner that each of them may have her
+separate room.
+
+The costume of the Nogais is commodious. It consists of wide trousers, a
+cotton or woollen shirt, and a short caftan, fastened round the waist
+with a leathern girdle. Their head-dress is a cylindrical cap of
+lamb's-skin. In the winter they wear a sheep's-skin over the caftan, and
+in snowy weather they muffle themselves in a bashlik, or hood, which
+conceals their head and shoulders.
+
+The women wear a shift, a cloth caftan, belted above the hips with a
+broad girdle adorned with large metal buckles, Turkish trousers and
+slippers. Their head-dress is a white veil fastened to the crown of the
+head, with the two ends hanging gracefully on the shoulders. They wear
+little silver finger and nose rings, and heavy earrings often connected
+by a chain passing under the chin. Young girls part their hair into a
+multitude of tresses, and instead of the veil wear a little red
+skull-cap bedizened with bits of metal and all sorts of gewgaws.
+
+The Nogais eat mutton, beef, mares' flesh, &c., fish, and dairy
+produce. They prepare koumiss from mares' milk, and esteem it above all
+other liquors. They also kill sick horses for food, and very often do
+not disdain the flesh of one that has died a natural death. Mares'
+flesh, minced, forms the chief part of a national dish called _tarama_,
+which the men eat with their friends in token of sincerity and
+brotherhood. The women are not allowed to partake of these repasts.
+Their favourite dish is millet boiled in water, with a little sour milk
+called _tchourtzch_. Kalmuck tea is also much esteemed, and since the
+improvement of agriculture, the use of bread, which was formerly
+unknown, is gradually spreading among them.
+
+Their most common diseases are fever, small-pox, ulcers, itch, and
+syphilis. No one takes any means either to avoid or cure them. Charms
+are the only medicine known to the Nogais, and they are even quite
+indifferent to certain maladies which they attribute to fatality. They
+attribute great medicinal virtues to pepper, alum, sugar, and honey. The
+mortality of infants is frightful among them, and accounts for the
+stationary condition in which the population has long remained.
+
+No system of education as yet exists among the Nogais; their children
+grow up like the young of animals. Every village, indeed, possesses a
+cabin decorated with the name of school, in which the clergy give some
+imperfect lessons in the Tatar language and writing; but the rest of
+their teaching, which is exclusively religious, consists in the reading
+of Arabic books, which the teachers understand no better than the
+pupils.
+
+The rearing of cattle, particularly horses, forms the chief occupation
+of the Nogais. Their horses are of the Kalmuck Khirghis race, nimble and
+robust, though of moderate size, and usually fetch from 100 to 120
+rubles: they pass the whole year in the steppe, and have to find their
+food under the snow in winter. The horned cattle is small. The cows sell
+for twenty or thirty rubles; they give little milk, and are generally
+unprofitable. Camels are little used and seldom seen.
+
+In Count Maison's time the Nogais were required to sow, at least, two
+tchetverts of corn per head, which made a total of about 40,000
+tchetverts for the whole population. A year after the count's
+retirement, the seed sown in the whole territory did not exceed 19,000
+tchetverts, and the quantity went on diminishing from year to year. But
+since the disastrous winters, for cattle, of 1836 and 1837, the Nogais
+have been induced, by M. Cornies, to apply themselves again to
+agriculture, and the women have taken a part with the men in field
+labours.
+
+Their mode of cultivating the ground is extremely defective; they have
+bad ploughs drawn by four or five pair of oxen, whilst their neighbours,
+the Germans, do infinitely more work with but two. The harvest generally
+takes place in July, and is a season of great jollity. Gipsy musicians
+stroll over the country at that period, and collect an ample store of
+wheat and millet. The corn is trodden out by horses in the open air: the
+best, which is called _arnaout_, sells at from seven to twelve rubles
+the tchetvert. The territory of the Nogais is still common property, and
+the want of finite boundaries occasions many quarrels, especially at
+harvest time.
+
+As usual, among eastern nations, the Nogai women do all the household
+drudgery, for the men think it beneath them to take part in it. The poor
+mother of the family is therefore obliged to prepare the victuals with
+her own hands, to wash the linen, milk the cows and mares, keep the
+house in repair, churn butter, &c., and take care of the children. She
+must also gather the firewood, prepare all the drinkables, make candles
+and soap, and dress the sheep-skins to make pelisses for all the family.
+This is hard drudgery, and a few years of such married life suffice to
+make her old. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the
+Nogai cannot content himself with one wife, and that the purchase of
+young girls is so important and costly an affair among them.
+
+A man usually chooses his wife from a remote village; for every young
+man makes it a point of honour not to have seen his wife before
+marriage. The only particulars he is anxious to learn indirectly is
+whether the lady is plump and has long hair. When his choice is fixed,
+he bargains with the father or the relations of the girl for the price
+he is to pay for her. A handsome girl of good family costs four or five
+hundred rubles, besides a couple of score of cows and a few other
+beasts. Young widows are cheaper, and old women are to be had for
+nothing. The bride's price is paid on the spot by the wooer, and a horse
+and two oxen are reckoned equivalent to a couple of cows. The girl's
+inclinations are never consulted, and she submits to her lot with
+stoical indifference; she is given dresses, mattresses, and cushions by
+way of dower. Matches are often made when the bride is still in her
+cradle, the bridegroom's father paying down a part of the stipulated
+sum, and when the girl has attained the age of thirteen or fourteen, the
+marriage takes place without any opposition on the young man's part. But
+this traffic in girls often occasions long lawsuits between families.
+Various accidents occur to prevent the espousals, such as mutilation,
+loss of health or beauty, and, above all, bad faith, and hence arise
+animosities that are often transmitted from one generation to another.
+
+The women of the mountain race of Tatars of the Crimea, and the Kalmuck
+women, cost less than young Nogai girls, and are purchased by the poorer
+classes.
+
+On the day appointed for the wedding, the young people, who have not yet
+seen each other, choose each of them a deputy, who exchange hands on
+their behalf, and thus the marriage rite is accomplished. The day is
+spent in merriment, and in the evening the bride is veiled, and escorted
+by a troop of women to the conjugal abode, where she sees her husband
+for the first time.
+
+The young wife must remain shut up at home for a whole year, and see no
+men, conversing only with her husband and his relations. After this her
+emancipation is celebrated by a grand banquet. The Nogai women are very
+timid, for the jealousy of their husbands is extreme. When a married man
+dies, his brothers inherit his widows, and may keep or sell them as they
+please. A husband may repudiate his wife whenever he chooses, but she is
+entitled to marry again after the legalisation of the divorce. When a
+Nogai has many wives, the first retains peculiar privileges so long as
+she is young and handsome, but when her beauty fades, a younger rival
+always gains the good graces of the husband. Hence arise interminable
+quarrels, and domestic peace is only maintained by the kantshouk or whip
+of the lord of the mansion. On the whole, the women endure a hard
+slavery; but their ignorance of a better state of things makes their
+chains set light on them, and they are insensible of the degraded
+condition in which they are kept by their absolute lords.
+
+It would be difficult to predict with accuracy the fate reserved for all
+this Mahometan population. The Nogais have doubtless made great progress
+within the last twenty years; but their religious notions and their
+moral and political constitution will long impede their complete
+reformation, and it will need many a generation to eradicate from among
+them all those prejudices and all those old habits of a wandering life,
+which so fatally obstruct their prosperity and their intellectual
+growth. Besides, it is now impossible to mistake the tendency of the
+policy adopted by the Russian government towards the foreign races:
+there is every reason to think that they will at last be entirely
+absorbed by the Slavic population.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[50] Histoire de la Russie, par Lesvèque. Bibliothèque Orientale, par
+d'Herbelot. Hist. des Cosaques, par Lesur.
+
+[51] Voyage au Caucase, par Klaproth, en 1807 et 1808.
+
+[52] See Klaproth, Asia Polyglotta, p. 202.
+
+[53] The Kitans occupied the country north of the Chinese provinces of
+Tschy Li and Ching-Ching, watered by the Charamuin, or Liao Ho and its
+confluents. Ibid.
+
+[54] The chain of mountains called In Chan, begins north of the country
+of the Ordos, or of the most northern curve of the Hoang Ho, or Yellow
+River, and extends eastward to the sources of the rivers that fall into
+the western part of the Gulf of Pekin.
+
+[55] We have entirely rejected from our discussion the word _Tartar_,
+which owes its origin only to a _jeu de mots_, of which St. Louis was
+the author.
+
+[56] _Mongal_ is the most frequent reading in the MSS.; and where the
+more exact reading, _Mongal_, occurs, it is probably a correction by the
+copyists. _Mongal_ is the form prevalent among the Russians; and we have
+already had occasion to remark, that in transcribing proper names, Du
+Plan de Carpin generally adopts the Slavonic pronunciation, as he had it
+from his companion and interpreter, Benedict of Poland. (Extract from
+the interesting treatise of M. D'Avezac, on the travels of Du P. de C.)
+
+[57] Terra quadam est in partibus Orientis de qua dictum est supra, quæ
+Mongal nominatur. Hæc terra quondam populos quatuor habuit: unus Yeka
+Mongal, id est magni Mongali vocabantur; secundus Su Mongal, id est
+aquatici Mongali vocabantur; sibi autem se ipsos Tartaros appellabant, a
+quodam fluvio qui currit per terram illorum qui Tatar nominatur. Alius
+appellabatur Merkit; quartus Mecrit. Hi populi omnes unam formani
+personarum et unam linguam habebant, quamvis inter se per provincias et
+principes essent divisi.
+
+In terra Jeka Mongal fuit quidam qui vocabatur Chingis; este incepit
+esse robustus venator coram domino: dedicit enim homines furari, rapere
+prædam. Ibat autem ad alias terras et quoscumque poterat capere et sibi
+associare non demittebat; homines autem suæ gentes ad se inclinavit, qui
+tanquam ducem ipsum sequebantur ad omnia malefacta. Hic autem incepit
+pugnare cum Su Mongal sive Tartaris, postquam plures homines
+aggregaverat sibi, et interfecit ducem eorum, et multo bello sibi omnes
+Tataros subjugavit et in suam servitutem recepit ac redegit. Post hæc
+cum omnibus istis pugnavit cum Merkitis, qui erant positi juxta terram
+Tartarorum, quas etiam sibi bello subjecit. Inde procedens pugnavit
+contra Mecritas et etiam illos devicit.
+
+[58] The name _Nogaï_ appears to me to have occasioned the same mistakes
+as Tatar; misled by the conspicuous part played for some time by the
+Nogaï hordes, most writers have comprehended under that name all the
+Mussulman tribes of the provinces of Astrakhan and Kasan.
+
+[59] A large four-wheeled vehicle covered with felt. The wheels are
+never greased, and the noise they make can often be heard at a distance
+of several versts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+      BANKS OF THE KOUMA; VLADIMIROFKA--M. REBROF'S REPULSE OF A
+      CIRCASSIAN FORAY--BOURGON MADJAR--JOURNEY ALONG THE KOUMA--
+      VIEW OF THE CAUCASIAN MOUNTAINS--CRITICAL SITUATION--GEORGIEF
+      --ADVENTURE WITH A RUSSIAN COLONEL--STORY OF A CIRCASSIAN CHIEF.
+
+
+Notwithstanding the dangers and hardships that had attended our desert
+wanderings, it was not without some degree of regret we bade a final
+adieu to the Kalmucks, whose patriarchal simplicity of life we had
+shared for more than a month. But as we approached Vladimirofka, and
+beheld the clear waters of the Kouma, its wooded banks, and the lovely
+scenery around, the change was indescribably delightful to eyes long
+accustomed to the blank and arid wilderness.
+
+In front of us stood a handsome dwelling on a gentle slope, flanked
+with two turrets, and surmounted by a belvedere rising above the trees.
+Behind us lay the Kalmuck camps and their herds of camels, resembling in
+the distance those effects of the mirage that are so common in the
+desert. A little to the left, the village, picturesquely situated at the
+foot of the mansion, descended in terraces to the margin of the Kouma,
+displaying its pretty workshops, and its houses parted from each other
+by plantations of mulberries, hazels, and Lombardy poplars, tinted with
+the varied hues of autumn. All the enchantments that opulence could call
+forth from a fruitful soil, were there assembled, as a bountiful
+compensation for our past fatigues. The camel-drivers and the Cossacks
+of our escort fully shared our delight, and remained like ourselves
+wonder-stricken before that brilliant apparition.
+
+Soon afterwards we entered the yard of the mansion, which was soon
+crowded with _employés_ and servants, all greatly puzzled to conceive
+whence could have come so strange a caravan. Our appearance might well
+excite their astonishment. The britchka, drawn by three camels, preceded
+a little troop composed of four or five Cossacks, armed to the teeth,
+and several Kalmucks leading other camels loaded with all our nomadic
+gear. Our Cossack officer, with his falcon on his fist, and his long
+rifle slung behind him, rode close to the door of the carriage, ready,
+with Russian precision, to transmit our orders to the escort, and to
+gallop off at the slightest signal; whilst our dragoman, lolling on the
+box-seat with Italian _nonchalance_, looked down with profound disdain
+on the bustling throng around us, and did not condescend to answer one
+word to their thousand questions.
+
+M. Rebrof, the proprietor of Vladimirofka, having been waited on by our
+officer, came out and welcomed us in the most polite and cordial manner,
+and showed us into delightful apartments on the ground floor, looking
+out on a large, handsome garden, and containing a billiard-table and
+several numbers of the _Revue Etrangère_. Then, after empowering us to
+make free use of his servants, his garden, his horses, and all his
+property, our host left us to ourselves, with a delicate tact not always
+displayed even by well-bred persons.
+
+Well, after all, it is a very good thing when one has long been deprived
+of all the comforts and conveniences of life, to come upon them again in
+full measure, and slide back into one's old habits; to pass from the
+Kalmuck kibitka to a lordly mansion,--from the horrible flat cake of
+unleavened dough to fresh bread every day--from the wearisome march of
+the camels to the repose of the divan--from the monotony of the steppes
+to all the comforts of civilised life. It is really a very good thing,
+especially if one has the rare good fortune to enjoy, in addition to all
+these pleasures, the hospitality of a most friendly and engaging family.
+In fact, what gives the most racy zest to travelling is precisely these
+contrasts that await you at every step, and which enable you to
+appreciate matters justly by comparison; for after all what is a good
+dinner to one who dines well every day? What are a divan, books, music,
+pictures, to the privileged being who has them always before him? More
+than half his time is spent in yawning at the chimney corner; music
+wearies him; reading makes his eyes ache; his cook is a dull blockhead,
+and has no invention! Oh, the weary dreary lot of the wealthy man! But
+let some good genius suddenly whisk him off into the heart of the
+desert; let him be forced to wash down his biscuit with brackish water
+from the standing pool, to count on his falcon's quarry for his dinner,
+to lie on the hard ground, to bear rain, wind, and dust, to hear only
+the cries of camels, and see only Kalmuck faces; and afterwards, when he
+returns to all the good things he despised before, he will be heard
+exclaiming in the joy of his heart, "Oh! what a pleasant thing it is to
+eat, sleep, and dream; what a very comfortable life this is!"
+
+Vladimirofka is one of the finest properties I have seen in Russia. The
+whole economy of this magnificent establishment bespeaks the enlarged
+and enlightened views of its master. It is about fifty years since M.
+Rebrof laid the first foundations of his colony, undismayed by the
+obstacles and dangers he encountered in all shapes. He wished to make
+profitable use of the fine waters of the Kouma, which had never before
+been bridled in their course by man; and now several mills, set up by
+him, enliven the whole neighbourhood by their continual din. The
+mildness of the climate has allowed him to make numerous plantations of
+mulberries, which have perfectly succeeded, and to establish factories,
+the productions of which may vie with the finest silks of Provence.
+
+Another manufacture which he is carrying on with great spirit is that of
+Champagne wine. He sends every year at least 10,000 bottles to Moscow,
+and sells them at the rate of four rubles a bottle. By dint of energy
+and perseverance he has called up life and abundance in a wild
+uncultivated spot, which before had served only for the temporary halts
+of the Kalmucks and Turcomans. Many peasants whom he brought with him
+from Great Russia, and who had been habituated to an almost savage state
+of existence, have been transformed by him into good workmen,
+industrious husbandmen, and, on occasion, into soldiers devoted to their
+master.
+
+In 1835, some three-score Circassians, tempted by the hope of a rich
+booty, made a descent from their mountains to sack and pillage
+Vladimirofka, expecting to surprise the little village population by
+night, and to find them wholly unprepared. But though M. Rebrof had
+enjoyed complete security for many years, he had never deceived himself
+as to the dangers of his position, but always expected to be attacked
+sooner or later; and, therefore, he had from the first taken all
+possible precautions against the designs of his formidable neighbours.
+Two branches of the Kouma served as fosses for the village and the
+château; there was a small redoubt with two pieces of cannon commanding
+the most exposed side, and in a room on the ground-floor of the mansion
+there was a well-stocked armoury, with all things requisite for
+sustaining a siege. With these means, M. Rebrof felt confident he could
+resist any attack.
+
+Every night two sentinels kept watch until dawn, and it was this
+seemingly superfluous measure that saved Vladimirofka from total
+destruction. The Circassians, never reckoning on such extreme caution,
+arrived one night in face of the village, and felt sure that their
+approach was unsuspected. But the alarm had been already given, and the
+whole population, suddenly aroused out of their sleep, were ready for
+the fight. Arms were distributed to the workpeople and servants, the
+drawbridges were raised, the two cannons were loaded with grape, and the
+château was transformed into a fortress. All this was done with such
+rapidity, that when the Circassians came to the banks of the river, they
+found the village in a perfect state of defence. They attempted,
+however, to swim their horses over the Kouma, but were repulsed by a
+brisk fire. Three or four other attempts were equally unsuccessful; all
+points were so well guarded, and the men did their duty so well, that
+the Circassians were obliged to retreat at break of day. But enraged at
+their disappointment, they set fire to the village and the surrounding
+woods, and escaped unmolested, under cover of the conflagration, without
+its being discovered what direction they took.
+
+As an economist and administrator, M. Rebrof may be compared with the
+most eminent men of Europe, and his manufacturing enterprises are the
+more meritorious, as he is destitute of the aid of books. Knowing only
+his own language, which is very poor in such practical works as would
+suit his purposes, he has nothing but a few bad translations of French
+and German works, which would be of little avail but for his own
+superior sagacity.
+
+His gardens are filled with all the fruits of Europe, and with several
+kinds of grapes, from which he derives a large profit. Among these I
+particularly noticed the Schiras grape, which has no stones. Nor must I
+forget his excellent _oeil de perdrix_ wine, which he set before us
+every day after dinner, with the pride of a manufacturer. Nothing could
+exceed his satisfaction on hearing us compare it with the best vintages
+of France, as we did in all sincerity on our first arrival. Afterwards
+our enthusiasm cooled down a little; but it did not matter; our host was
+still persuaded that his wine could compete with the best made in
+Champagne.
+
+It was painful to us to quit Vladimirofka. Had the season been less
+advanced, we would willingly have remained there another week; but we
+had still to visit the Caucasus, and September was drawing to a close.
+We had, therefore, to make haste and profit by the fine weather that
+still remained for us. M. Rebrof's horses conveyed us to Bourgon Madjar,
+a property belonging to General Skaginsky. It is situated on the Kouma,
+about thirty versts from Vladimirofka, like which, it possesses fine
+woods and beautiful scenery. It was our intention only to change horses
+there, but the steward, who had been expecting us for two days,
+determined otherwise, and to please him we were constrained to lose two
+days in his company. Our complaisance would not have extended so far had
+our choice been free; but the moment we entered his doors he told us
+very positively we should have no horses until the day after the morrow.
+It was to no purpose we raved and entreated; we were forced to submit to
+a tyranny that was more flattering than agreeable. The difficulty of
+understanding each other without an interpreter added to our
+embarrassment and ill-humour. The whole conversation on the first day
+was made up of two words _mozhna_ (you can stay), and _nilza_ (it is
+impossible). But setting aside the loss of two days, which were then
+very precious, I must allow that our time passed agreeably, and our host
+did his best to entertain us.
+
+The first day was spent in seeing the buildings, gardens, vineyards,
+mills, and all that was under the immediate management of the steward.
+Every thing was in as excellent order as if the whole of the fine
+property had been constantly under the master's eye. But General
+Skaginsky hardly ever visits it, contenting himself with the receipt of
+the proceeds, which amount to about 20,000 rubles. The stable contains
+some capital saddle horses, that tempted us to make a long excursion
+through the forest. We also saw antelopes almost tame, and of exquisite
+beauty. Whole herds of them are sometimes found in this part of the
+steppes. The woods adjacent to the Kouma also contain deer and wild
+boars. The steward pressed hard for one day more that he might get up a
+hunt for us, but we would not hear of it, and answered with so
+peremptory a _nilza_ that he was obliged to submit to what he called our
+obstinacy.
+
+His anxiety to retain us may be easily accounted for by the extreme
+loneliness in which he lives. He is a Pole by birth, and has known a
+different condition from that of a steward, as his tastes prove. He is a
+poet, a musician, and a wit--three qualities singularly at variance with
+his calling. But as he is alone, and has no superior to control his
+tastes, he may meditate, Virgil in hand, on the charms of rural life. A
+guitar, a few select books, and the visitations of the muse, enable him
+to nourish an intellectual existence amidst all his prosaic occupations.
+
+After quitting Bourgon Madjar we passed through the place where formerly
+stood the celebrated Madjar, whose past is still a problem for
+historians. Nothing remains of it, not even a few bricks to attest its
+former existence. The Russians have carried it away piecemeal to build
+their villages. We now rapidly approached the Caucasus; the Elbrouz (the
+highest mountain of the chain) from time to time gave us a glimpse of
+its majestic head, almost always wrapped in mist, as if to conceal it
+from profane eyes. Tradition informs us that Noah's dove alighted on its
+summit, and there plucked the mystic branch which afterwards became the
+Christian symbol of peace and hope. Hence the mountain is held in high
+veneration by all the races of the Caucasus: Christians, idolaters, and
+Mussulmans, all agree in regarding it as holy.
+
+We were now in an enchanted region, though but just beyond the verge of
+the steppes. The faint lines discernible in the sky assumed gradually
+more distinct form and colour; the mountains appeared to us first as
+light, transparent vapours, floating upon the wind; but by degrees this
+airy phantasmagoria changed into mountains clothed with forests, deep
+gorges and domes crowned with mists. We met several horsemen in the
+Circassian garb, whose manly beauty afforded us examples of the noble
+Caucasian race. Our minds were almost overwhelmed with a multitude of
+emotions, excited by the exuberant nature before us, the magnificent
+vegetation, and the varied hues of the forests and mountains, peaks,
+crags, ravines, and snowy summits. It was beautiful, superbly beautiful,
+and then it was the Caucasus! The Caucasus, a name associated with so
+many grand historic memories, with the earliest traditions and most
+fabulous creeds; the abode, in the morning of the world, of families
+whence issued so many great nations. Round it hangs all the vague poetry
+of the ages visible only to the imagination, through the mysterious veil
+of antiquity.
+
+What a sad thing it was in the midst of all our ecstatic enthusiasm, to
+be obliged to descend to the vulgar concerns of locomotion, and to be
+crossed and thwarted at every step. We were more than ten versts from
+Georgief, when we were stopped in a village by the perversity of a
+postmaster, who refused to let us have horses at any price. It was
+raining in torrents, and the mud in the village was like a quagmire. The
+Cossack and Anthony ran about among all the peasants, trying to prevail
+on them to hire us horses; but the Russians are so lazy that they would
+rather lose an opportunity of earning money than quit their sweet
+repose. At last, after four hours search, the two men came back with
+three wretched hacks they had carried off by force from different
+peasants. For want of a roof to shelter us we had been obliged to sit
+all that while in the britchka, and when the miserable team was yoked it
+could hardly draw us out of the mud in which the wheels were embedded.
+The road all the way to Georgief was the most detestable that could be
+imagined. The weather cleared up a little, but the rain had converted
+all the low plains through which we had to pass into marshes, and had
+rendered the bridges all but impassable. Steep and very narrow descents
+often obliged us to alight at the risk of leaving our boots in the mud,
+and for a long while we feared we should not reach Georgief that day.
+Finally, however, by dint of flogging, our coachman forced the horses up
+the last hill, and at seven in the evening we reached a wide plateau, at
+one end of which towered the fortress that commands the road to the
+Caucasus.
+
+We had been told that we should find a fair going on in Georgief, and
+this accounted for the number of horsemen we saw proceeding like
+ourselves in that direction. I must confess in all humility, that I did
+not feel quite at my ease whenever one of these groups passed close to
+our carriage. The bad weather, the darkness, the bold bearing of these
+mountaineers, and their arms half concealed under their black bourkas,
+made me rather nervous. We arrived, however, safe and sound in Georgief,
+where we enjoyed our repose and sipped our tea with a zest known only to
+way-worn travellers.
+
+Whilst we were thus enjoying ourselves, the tinkling of a pereclatnoi
+bell in the yard announced a fresh arrival. But we gave ourselves very
+little concern about the event, for in order to be the more at our ease,
+we had engaged the travellers' room for ourselves alone. In travelling,
+people grow selfish, in spite of themselves; and in Russia it is a very
+lucky chance indeed that enables you now and then to display that
+quality. We therefore paid no heed to the tinklings that seemed with
+increasing vehemence to demand shelter for the late coming pilgrim. In a
+few moments there was a loud hubbub at our door, and we heard Anthony's
+voice stoutly refusing admission into our sanctuary. The postmaster
+seemed to play but a negative part, venturing only to say now and then,
+in the humblest tone, "_Ne mozhna polkovnick_" (it is not possible,
+colonel). A deluge of _douraks_, and a few fisticuffs distributed right
+and left, put an end to the discussion; the door was flung open, and a
+tall individual, muffled up to the nose, rushed in furiously, halted
+suddenly, made an awkward bow, and skipped out of the room again,
+without attempting even to profit by his victory. Amazed at this sudden
+retreat, Anthony hastily closed the door he had so bravely defended, and
+then told us that this officer had refused to listen to a word of
+explanation, and had threatened, if they provoked him, to turn us all
+into the street, and take our places. This did not in the least surprise
+us, for in Russia it is a matter of course for a colonel to behave thus
+to his inferiors, and as this officer was not aware of our being
+foreigners, he had behaved in the usual peremptory fashion; but he had
+been taken aback on discovering that we were something else than village
+pometchiks, and his tone became changed accordingly in the comical
+manner aforesaid. We were highly diverted by his discomfiture, and to
+punish his blustering, we let him go and seek a lodging elsewhere.
+
+He had not been gone half an hour when another officer drove into the
+yard, and with more moderation than his predecessor, took up his
+quarters in the kitchen, which was divided by a thin partition from our
+room. He was no sooner installed, than the silence was again broken by
+loud cracks of a whip, and the poor postmaster was at his wits' end. We
+paid no attention to this incident until our curiosity was excited by
+hearing some words of French, accompanied by peals of laughter; and on
+listening we heard the whole of our late adventure narrated in the most
+amusing manner, the story being interspersed with keen remarks on the
+unaccountable propensity of some women for travelling, and filling up
+every hotel. Of course we recognised in the orator the hero of the
+adventure himself. Having knocked in vain at all the doors in Georgief,
+he found he could do no better than return to the confounded station,
+and take his chance of sleeping in the stable; but hearing that a
+comrade had taken up his abode in the kitchen, he had determined to beg
+leave to join him. All this, be it observed, was said in French, to
+prevent our understanding it; this was amusing enough; but the
+conversation soon became so confidential, that we were obliged to raise
+our voices, as a hint to our neighbours to speak Russian. They did
+nothing all night but smoke, drink tea, and talk.
+
+Next day, having ascertained that we were French, they sent the
+postmaster to us, begging we would allow them to come and apologise for
+the inconvenience they had caused us. We found them well-bred gentlemen,
+and we had a good laugh together at the strange manner in which our
+mutual acquaintance had taken place. We all left the station nearly
+together. After breakfasting with us, they set out, one of them for
+Persia, the other for the north. For ourselves, as we intended to stop
+some days in Georgief, until the roads should have become drier, we
+accepted the invitation of the governor of the fortress to reside with
+him. The mud was so deep in the yard of the post-house, that we were
+obliged to have a bridge of planks made for us to the carriage, and the
+grooms and the persons who had occasion to enter the house, had to cross
+the yard on horseback. In passing through the street we saw an
+unfortunate peasant sunk up to his middle, and making prodigious efforts
+to extricate his cart and oxen.
+
+Our hospitable and obliging entertainer, the general, told us many
+particulars respecting the tribes of the Caucasus, and we saw at his
+table a great number of Kabardian chiefs whom the fair had brought to
+Georgief. There was one among them whose handsome, grave features, and
+somewhat wild appearance, excited our curiosity; and the general
+perceiving this, told us all he knew about the man. I will relate the
+story as nearly as possible in his own words.
+
+"About two years ago I was ordered to make a tour of inspection among
+the friendly tribes of the Caucasus, and had nearly completed it, when
+arriving one evening near an aoul situated on a mountain, the summit of
+which you can see from here, I noticed that the village was in great
+commotion. Being accompanied by a detachment of Cossacks, I had no need
+to be apprehensive about the result, happen what might; still I thought
+it advisable to take some precautions, and settled with the commanding
+officer of the detachment what was to be done if we were attacked. I
+then got on a few hundred paces ahead of the party, and advanced softly,
+like an _éclaireur_, to a place where the whole population was
+assembled. As it was rather dark, and I was covered with a bourka, no
+one took any notice of me, and I was allowed to make my observations
+without impediment.
+
+"When my eyes had grown more familiarised with the objects about me, I
+perceived that the crowd was gathered round the ruins of a house that
+seemed to have been very recently burned down. Though ignorant of what
+had happened, I felt certain that the burning was connected with some
+deed of violence and bloodshed, for I had long known these mountaineers,
+whose violent passions are kept in constant excitement by the false
+position in which they are placed both as to the Russians, whom they
+detest while they submit to their power, and with regard to the free
+tribes, who cannot forgive them for their compulsory submission. On
+inspecting the various groups more narrowly, I saw a Kabardian lying on
+the ground, with his cloak drawn over his face, while every one gazed on
+him with a respectful pity. Puzzled still more to know what this meant,
+and not seeing any reason why I might not make myself known, I was about
+to put some questions to the person next me, when the sound of
+approaching hoofs called off the attention of the crowd in another
+direction. It was my party, who had become uneasy about me, and had
+quickened their march. The mountaineers all clustered round my soldiers,
+but without any such hostile demonstrations as we had encountered in the
+other aouls. Every body seemed under the influence of some unusual
+feeling, that made him forget for the while the hatred which the mere
+sight of a Cossack awakens among these people.
+
+"I issued the necessary orders for the encampment of my party, and when
+all was made safe for the night, I returned to the spot where my
+curiosity had been so strongly excited; and there lay the mountaineer
+still stretched on the ground, looking like a corpse under the black
+bourka that covered him. Several women sat round him, and one of them,
+who was very young, and seemed less distressed than the others, at last
+satisfied my impatience, and told me a tale which was confirmed by the
+whole population of the village.
+
+"The person I saw stretched on the ground before the ashes of his own
+house, was the chief of the aoul, and belonged to a princely family,
+living independently amidst their own mountains. At the age of twenty he
+unfortunately became his elder brother's rival, and in order to possess
+the wife of his choice, he had carried her off, and settled under the
+protection of Russia. This latter act, the most infamous of which a
+mountaineer can be guilty when he commits it of his own accord, remained
+a long while unpunished during the wars between Russia and the tribes.
+For fifteen years nothing occurred to make the refugee suppose that his
+brother thought of him at all. The wife had died a few years after the
+elopement, leaving him a daughter, who grew up so beautiful, that the
+whole tribe called her the Rose of the Mountain.
+
+"Now on the day before my arrival in the aoul, four independent
+mountaineers had visited the chief as friends, and told him that his
+brother was dead, and that he might now return home without any fear of
+danger. The strangers spent the night under his roof, and did all they
+could to persuade him to accompany them; but next day, finding they
+could make no impression on his mind, they set fire to his house,
+stabbed him in several places, and seizing his daughter, galloped away
+before any one was prepared to pursue them. Most of the inhabitants were
+a-field at the time, and when I came up at dusk it was too late to think
+of overtaking the assassins. Although I was assured that the man was
+dead, I had him carried to a house, where every possible care was
+bestowed upon him. In about an hour he became conscious, and there
+appeared some hope of saving him. Our acquaintance, which began in so
+dramatic a manner, afterwards became as intimate as it could be between
+a Russian general and a Caucasian chief.
+
+"But for a long while my influence over the mind of the unfortunate
+father was totally unable to overcome the despair and thirst of
+vengeance occasioned by the abduction of his daughter. At the head of
+the most determined men of his aoul and of some Cossacks, he thrice
+endeavoured to force his way into that part of the mountain where his
+kindred resided; but these attempts led to nothing but desperate
+conflicts and fierce reprisals. He was about making a fourth attempt
+about two months ago, when we were informed by a spy that the Rose of
+the Mountain had been sent to Trebisond, to become the ornament of some
+harem in Constantinople.
+
+"From that time a gradual change took place in the savage temper of the
+Kabardian; the idea that his daughter was no longer in the hated
+mountains, was balm to his wounds. He attached himself to the society of
+the officers of the garrison, who had become warmly interested in his
+history. At his own request I have solicited an appointment for him in
+his majesty's imperial guard, and I hope he will soon be far away from
+scenes that remind him of such terrible disasters."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+      ROAD FROM GEORGIEF TO THE WATERS OF THE CAUCASUS--A POLISH
+      LADY CARRIED OFF BY CIRCASSIANS--PIATIGORSK--KISLOVODSK--
+      HISTORY OF THE MINERAL WATERS OF THE CAUCASUS.
+
+
+From Georgief we set out for Piatigorsk, the chief watering place of the
+Caucasus, and travelled for three hours over a dreary plain, with
+nothing for the eye to rest on but here and there a long conical mound,
+that scarcely broke the dull monotony of the landscape; and even these
+were scarcely visible through the foggy atmosphere. We felt, therefore,
+a depression of spirits we had never known in our previous journeyings,
+and it was still more increased by the thought that we might fall in
+with those Circassians whose very name strikes terror into the Russians.
+
+The two Cossacks whom the commandant of Georgief had given us for
+escort, were not the sort of men to assuage our fears, for they seemed
+themselves very much possessed with a sense of the dangers we were
+incurring. Their visages grew very serious indeed when we had left the
+plain behind us, and the road began to skirt along a deep valley, with
+the waters of the Pod Kouma brawling at the bottom. They were constantly
+peering in every direction, as if they expected every moment to fall
+into an ambuscade. Presently they stopped, and called our dragoman to
+show him a spot on which their eyes seemed riveted. One of them began to
+talk with great volubility, and from his expressive gestures it was
+evident he was relating some tragic event of which that spot had been
+witness. And so, indeed, it was. Anthony informed us that on the very
+spot where we stood, a young Polish lady had been assailed the year
+before by several mountaineers, who lay in wait for her in the bed of
+the torrent. She was on her way to the waters of Kislovodsk, accompanied
+by an escort and two or three servants. Her followers were massacred or
+dispersed, her carriage was rifled, and she herself was carried off and
+never heard of again, notwithstanding the most active exertions to
+ascertain her fate. One of the Cossacks, who had escaped by miracle from
+the balls of the Circassians, galloped off to Georgief, and returned
+within a few hours to the scene of the catastrophe, accompanied by a
+detachment of cavalry. They found the carriage broken to pieces, and
+plundered of all its contents; and the ground was strewed with bodies
+horribly mutilated and stripped of their arms, but neither the body of
+the young lady nor that of her waiting-maid was among them. It is to be
+presumed that the Circassians carried them off to their aoul, as the
+richest spoils of their bloody expedition.
+
+The story of this recent tragedy, related on the very spot where it had
+occurred, made no slight impression upon us; my dismay, therefore, may
+be imagined, when a sudden clearing up of the fog enabled us to
+distinguish at a distance of a hundred yards from the road, what seemed
+but too palpable a realisation of my fearful fancies. There was no room
+for doubt. The men before us were those terrible Circassians I had
+trembled at the thought of meeting. The scream that escaped me, when I
+caught sight of them, was fortunately heard by one of our Cossacks, who
+immediately relieved my mind by the assurance that these were men of a
+friendly tribe. Nevertheless, in spite of my conviction that we had no
+hostilities to apprehend, it was not without some secret uneasiness I
+saw them defile past us. The troop was a small one, five or six at most,
+yet they looked dangerous enough. I shall never forget the glances they
+cast on our Cossacks as they rode by, though it was only in looks they
+manifested the hatred that rankled in their hearts against every thing
+belonging to Russia. They were all fully armed. Their pistols and their
+damasked poniards glittered from beneath their black bourkas. I confess
+I was best pleased with their appearance when they were just vanishing
+from sight on the top of a hill, where their martial figures were
+relieved against the sky. Seen through the mist, they set me thinking of
+Ossian's heroes.
+
+We continued to wind our way slowly up a steep and narrow track, and for
+half an hour we did not see a cabin or a living creature except some
+vultures of the largest kind, flying silently above our heads. At last
+we reached the culminating point of the road, whence we could look down
+on the valley, Piatigorsk, the villas scattered over the heights, and
+all the details of a delightful landscape, that seemed as if it had
+dropped by chance amongst the stern and majestic scenes of the Caucasian
+Alps. From thence we had a gentle descent of about a verst to the
+outskirts of Piatigorsk.
+
+It is only within the last ten or twelve years that it has been possible
+to travel in carriages to Piatigorsk without extreme risk, partly on
+account of the hostility of the Circassians, and partly in consequence
+of the state of the roads. The latter have been improved, and a great
+number of military posts have been established on them, so that now the
+waters of the Caucasus are annually frequented by more than 1500
+persons, who visit them from all parts of the empire for health or
+pleasure. Catastrophes have become more and more rare, and since that
+which I have mentioned no other event of the kind has occurred.
+
+On arriving at Piatigorsk we took up our abode with the principal
+doctor, for whom we had letters, and who received us in the most
+obliging manner. Unluckily we had abominable weather during the whole
+time of our stay, and the mountains we had come so far to see were
+hidden from our eyes by an impenetrable veil of mist. We could just
+discern from our windows the base of the Bechtau, at a distance of but
+two versts. Our first visit was to the Alexandra spring, so called after
+the name of the empress. The waters are sulphurous, and their
+temperature is above 38 degrees Reaumur. The bathing establishment is on
+a very large scale, and contains every thing requisite for the
+frequenters of the waters. Other thermal springs are found on most of
+the heights about Piatigorsk, and the works that have been constructed
+to afford access to them do credit to the government. On one of the
+highest peaks there is an octagonal building, consisting of a cupola
+supported on light columns, which are surrounded at their base by an
+elegant balustrade. The interior, which is open to all the winds,
+contains an æolian harp, the melancholy notes of which descend to the
+valley, mingled with all the echoes of the mountains. Doctor Conrad, our
+host, was the author of this pretty design. Being like most Germans
+passionately fond of music, he felt assured that those airy sounds,
+coming as it were from the sky, would have a most salutary influence on
+the minds of his patients. The little temple, surnamed the pavilion of
+Æolus, must be a favourite spot for those who are fond of reverie and
+lonely contemplation of the sublime scenes of nature. The view from it
+is of great beauty, but in order to judge of it we should have been more
+favoured by the weather; but the glowing description given us by our
+good doctor made some amends for our mischance. I must own, too, that
+the trouble we took in ascending was not altogether unrequited, for the
+vague and mysterious outlines of mountains and forests clothed in mists
+were not without their charms.
+
+There are several natural and artificial grottoes in various parts of
+the mountain, affording cool retreats in the sultry season, and an
+amusing spectacle to those who sit and watch the company proceeding to
+and from the baths. The physiognomist may there behold the most varied
+types of features, from those of the Tatar prince of the Crimea to those
+of the fair Georgian from Tiflis. Society in Russia has one rare
+advantage, inasmuch as it is free from that fatiguing monotony which
+pursues us in almost all European countries.
+
+The handsomest quarter of Piatigorsk is at the bottom of the valley,
+where there is a promenade, with fine trees and seats, flanked on either
+side by a line of handsome houses backed against the cliffs. The
+permanent population consists only of the civil servants of the
+government, the garrison, and a few incurable invalids. The crown
+buildings are numerous, including, besides the bathing establishment, a
+Greek church, a very large hotel for strangers, a concert hall, a
+charitable institution, a hospital for wounded officers from the
+Caucasus, barracks, &c.
+
+On the whole, Piatigorsk is not so much a town as a delightful
+assemblage of country-houses, inhabited for some months of the year by a
+rich aristocracy. Every thing about it is pretty and trim, and displays
+those tokens of affluence which the Russian nobles like to see around
+them. There is nothing there to offend the eye or sadden the heart, no
+poor class, no cabins, no misery. It is a fortunate spot, intended to
+exhibit to the ladies and princes, courtiers, and generals of the
+empire, none but pleasing images, culled from all that is attractive in
+nature and art. What wonder, then, if the annals of the place abound in
+marvellous cures! The doctor, who is a shrewd man, having perhaps his
+doubts of the sole efficacy of the waters, has done his part to render
+Piatigorsk an earthly Paradise; but it must be admitted that his views
+have been perfectly understood and promoted by the emperor, who is
+always disposed to display magnificence in the most superficial things.
+Luxurious refinement has here been pushed so far, that the fair and
+exceedingly indolent dames of Moscow and St. Petersburg may repair to
+their baths without alighting from their stylish equipages; and yet the
+springs are almost all of them several hundred yards above the valley.
+What peasants' _corvées_, what an amount of toil and suffering do these
+commodious roads represent! None but the Russian government is capable
+of such acts of gallantry!
+
+Though the watering season was over when we arrived, the doctor had
+still a few patients residing with him, who added much, to the pleasure
+of our evening meetings. Among these was a young officer, who had
+returned with two severe wounds from an expedition against the
+Circassians. The accounts he gave us of his campaign, and of the
+terrible episodes he had witnessed, often made us shudder. The Russians
+paid dearly for the conquest of some burnt villages. They lost half
+their men, and 120 officers. One of the friends of our invalid picked up
+a pretty little Circassian girl, whose mother had been killed before his
+eyes. Pitying the fate of the poor orphan, the officer carried her away
+on his horse, and on reaching Piatigorsk, he placed her in a
+boarding-school kept by some French ladies. We went to see her, and were
+charmed with her beauty, which promised to sustain her country's
+reputation in that respect.
+
+As the weather was not favourable to long excursions, we passed a week
+of quiet social enjoyment in the doctor's house; but one fine morning
+the sun, which we had completely forgotten, broke out through the fog,
+and recalled us, perhaps against our will, to our adventurous habits.
+Next day we set out for Kislovodsk, situated forty versts from
+Piatigorsk, in the interior of the mountains, and possessing acid waters
+of great reputation.
+
+The road, on quitting Piatigorsk, passes at first along the wide and
+deep valley of the Pod Kouma, which is bounded on the right by rocks
+heaped on each other like petrified waves, and presenting, in their
+outlines and rents, all the tokens of a _bouleversement_; whilst on the
+left, beautiful wooded mountains ascend in successive stages to the
+imposing chain of the Kasbeck. At the distance of about two hours'
+travelling, the road leaves the valley, which has here become very
+narrow, and runs on a long sinuous level ledge, parallel with the course
+of the torrent, up to the point where it begins to enter the mountains,
+and where the miry soil through which our horses laboured with great
+difficulty, the grey sky and moist atmosphere that had hitherto
+accompanied us, were at once exchanged for dryness, cold, dust, and sun.
+This sudden contrast is a phenomenon peculiar to elevated regions, and
+had been foretold us by our host, who is very learned in all that
+concerns the atmospheric variations of his beloved mountains.
+
+Nothing I have before attempted to describe could compare with the wild
+and picturesque scenery of this part of the Caucasus. At certain
+intervals we saw conical mounds of earth about sixty feet high, serving
+as watch-towers, on which sentinels are stationed day and night. Their
+outlines, relieved against the cloudy sky, produces a singular effect
+amidst the solitude around them. The sight of these Cossacks, with
+muskets shouldered, pacing up and down the small platform on the summit
+of each eminence, made us involuntarily own our gratitude to the
+Russian government for having cleared this country, and rendered access
+to it so easy for invalids and tourists.
+
+Although it was the middle of October, the vegetation was still quite
+fresh. Rich green swards covering the steep slopes of the mountains,
+afforded abundant pasture for the scattered flocks of goats. Their
+keepers, dressed in sheep-skins, and, instead of crooks, carrying long
+guns slung at their backs, and two or three powder and ball cases at
+their girdles, gave a half martial, half pastoral complexion to the
+landscape. Gigantic eagles flew majestically from rock to rock, like the
+sole sovereigns of those solitary places. Here we had really before us
+what we had dreamed of in the Caspian steppes, when, with eyes scorched
+by the hot sand, and with no amusement but the sight of our camels and
+the sound of their cries, or the encounter of some Kalmuck kibitkas, we
+tried to beguile the discomforts of our situation by peopling the desert
+with a thousand fascinating images.
+
+Before we reached the gorge in which Kislovodsk is concealed, we fell in
+with a second party of Circassians; but fortified by the safety with
+which we had pursued our journey so far, and by our stay in Piatigorsk,
+I indulged without apprehension in the pleasure of admiring them. There
+were eight or ten of them reposing under a projecting rock, and a very
+picturesque group they formed. Their horses, saddled and bridled, were
+feeding at a little distance from their masters, who had not
+disencumbered themselves of their weapons. Some had their heads entirely
+enveloped in _bashliks_, a sort of hood made of camels' hair, which is
+worn only in travelling; others wore the national fur cap; their
+garments, of a graceful and commodious form, glittered with broad silver
+lace; they all had bourkas, a kind of mantle, indispensable to the
+Circassian as his weapons. When our carriage approached them, some of
+them sat up and looked at us with an air of scornful indifference, but
+showed no disposition to molest us.
+
+Our first business on reaching Kislovodsk was to visit the source of the
+acid waters, to which the place owes its celebrity. It does not break
+out like most others from the side of a mountain, or from a cleft in a
+rock, but at the bottom of a valley. Nature, who usually conceals her
+treasures in the most inaccessible spots, has made an exception in its
+favour. A square basin has been constructed for it, and there it seems
+continually boiling up, though it has no heat. It resembles
+Seltzer-water in its sparkling and its slightly acid taste.
+
+Kislovodsk consists of about fifteen houses, or rather little Asiatic
+palaces, adorned with long open galleries, terraces, gardens, and
+vestibules filled with flowers. All the frequenters of Piatigorsk finish
+the watering season at Kislovodsk. Behind this aristocratic abode
+extends a narrow gorge, bounded on all sides by vertical mountain crags
+that seem to cut it off from the whole world. It would require several
+days to explore all the charming scenes in the neighbourhood. Among its
+natural curiosities is a celebrated cascade hidden in the very heart of
+the valley. The way to it leads for an hour along the bed its waters
+have hollowed for themselves through a thick limestone stratum, over a
+winding path that narrows continually up to the foot of the fall. At
+that spot you are imprisoned between cliffs so steep that no goat could
+find footing on them, and you have before you a dazzling sheet of water
+descending by terraces from a height of more than sixty feet, breaking
+into snowy foam where it meets with obstacles on its way, and
+disappearing for a moment under fragments of rocks, beyond which it
+re-appears as a limpid stream, flowing over a bed of moss and pebbles.
+
+The position of Kislovodsk exposes it much more that Piatigorsk to the
+assaults of the mountaineers, and one never feels quite safe there,
+notwithstanding the Cossack detachment that guards the heights. A
+Circassian aoul, perched like an eyrie on the highest crest of the
+adjacent mountains, is a dangerous neighbour for the water drinkers. Its
+inhabitants, though nominally subdued, forego no opportunity of wreaking
+their hatred on the Russians.
+
+After our return to the doctor's roof, we went to see the German colony
+of Karas at the foot of the Bechtau. Its thriving condition does honour
+both to the colonists and to the government whose protection they have
+sought. At first it was composed only of Scotchmen, and was founded by
+one Peterson, a zealous sectarian, whose chief object was the conversion
+of the Circassians. But his preaching was wholly ineffectual, and by
+degrees the laborious Germans took the place of the Scotch missionaries.
+The original intention of the establishments is now scarcely remembered:
+the colonists are simply agriculturists, and think only of enriching
+themselves at the cost of the strangers who come to drink the mineral
+waters.
+
+A short sketch of the history of these waters may not be unacceptable to
+the reader. It was in the reign of Catherine II., that Russia advanced
+her frontiers to the Kouban and the Terek, and forced the various tribes
+established near those rivers to retire into the mountains. In 1780,
+Potemkin invaded what at present forms the territory of Piatigorsk, and
+advanced to the Pod Kouma at the foot of the Bechtau. The fortress of
+Constantinogorsk was erected at that period, and Catherine constrained
+the neighbouring tribes to acknowledge her sovereignty. But this
+pacification of the country was hollow and fallacious. The chiefs of the
+Bechtau had submitted but in outward appearance; they kept up a secret
+understanding with the inhabitants of Kabarda, and often joined in their
+marauding expeditions against the common enemy. Hence arose continual
+conflicts between them and the Russians.
+
+General Marcof took command of the Caucasus in 1798, and adopted the
+most rigorous measures against the petty tribes of the Bechtau. Their
+country was invaded by a numerous army and given up to pillage, and the
+mountaineers, driven from their villages, were obliged to seek refuge
+beyond the Kouban and the Terek. Thenceforth there was more quiet on the
+line of the Caucasus, and the Kabardians were less frequently seen in
+the vicinity of Piatigorsk. It was about this time the sulphurous waters
+were discovered by some soldiers of the 16th regiment of chasseurs in
+garrison at Constantinogorsk. It appears, however, that they had been
+long known and used by the people of the country, as proved by some old
+baths hollowed out of the rock.
+
+The discovery made by the soldiers was quickly turned to account by
+their officers, and a small house was erected near by the principal
+spring at the cost of the regiment. The sulphurous waters were soon
+known in the neighbourhood, and their fame was spread all over the
+empire through the medium of military intercourse. Several persons of
+distinction repaired to them in 1799, at which time medical advice was
+given by the regimental surgeons, and the patients resided in tents
+given up for their use by the officers and soldiers. The number of
+visitors increased every year up to 1804, and the government repeatedly
+sent chemists and physicians to the spot to study the composition and
+therapeutic qualities of the waters. Unfortunately in 1804, a contagious
+disease, which soon proved to be the plague, broke out in a Circassian
+aoul, seven versts from Georgief. It spread rapidly through all the
+adjacent countries, and caused a frightful mortality. The sanatory
+measures adopted in consequence, put an end to all communication between
+the Caucasus and the Russian provinces, and the mineral waters were
+entirely forsaken even by the inhabitants of the country. Such were the
+ravages of the plague, that in the space of five years Little Kabarda
+lost, at least, the twentieth part of its population. The Russian
+government omitted no means that could stay the contagion from crossing
+its frontiers, and it was not until 1809, that free intercourse with the
+Caucasus was again permitted. Multitude of visitors appeared in the
+following year, the ordinary tents were not sufficient for their
+accommodation, and it was necessary to make huts for them with branches
+of trees; several persons even made their abode in their carriages, and
+under felt and canvass awnings. The want of new wooden bath-rooms was
+also felt, and several little chambers were erected round the springs.
+
+In 1811, the concourse of visitors was so great that the Kalmucks of the
+Caspian were ordered to supply them with 100 felt tents. But even these
+were found insufficient in the following summer, and by this time the
+profits realised by the soldiers, who let out their quarters, having
+attracted the attention of some individuals, considerable stone edifices
+were soon erected. In 1814, the celebrated Greek, Warvatzi, built new
+bath-rooms at his own expense, and laid down two roads, one for
+pedestrians, the other for carriages, both leading to the principal
+spring. Three hundred Polish prisoners were placed at his disposal for
+the execution of these works. Thenceforth the place grew up rapidly,
+and under General Yermoloff's administration, nothing was neglected that
+could render the various edifices as complete and commodious as
+possible. Thus was gradually formed the pretty little town of
+Piatigorsk, which now contains seven principal bathing hotels, and
+eleven warm sulphurous springs, the temperature of which ranges from
+thirty to thirty-eight degrees Reaumur.
+
+The waters of Kislovodsk were discovered in 1790, during the war waged
+by the Russians against the Kabardians, and in 1792, they were
+numerously frequented under the protection of the imperial troops. The
+danger was great, however, for attacks were often made by the enemy, who
+even made repeated attempts to choke up the spring, or divert the
+waters. It was not until a fort was built in 1803, that the waters could
+be visited with some degree of security.
+
+The first houses for the reception of invalids were built in 1819;
+before that time they resided in tents. A magnificent restaurant was
+built in 1823, and a handsome alley of lindens was planted from the
+spring to the cataract, the picturesque appearance of which we so much
+admired. The ferruginous waters, near the site of the Scotch colony,
+were not made use of until long after the others, in consequence of
+their remote position, and the woods by which they were surrounded. It
+was not before 1819, that Yermoloff rendered them easy of access, and
+they began to be regularly frequented by invalids.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+SITUATION OF THE RUSSIANS AS TO THE CAUCASUS.
+
+      HISTORY OF THEIR ACQUISITION OF THE TRANS-CAUCASIAN
+      PROVINCES--GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CAUCASUS--ARMED LINE OF
+      THE KOUBAN AND THE TEREK--BLOCKADE OF THE COASTS--CHARACTER
+      AND USAGES OF THE MOUNTAINEERS--ANECDOTE--VISIT TO A
+      CIRCASSIAN PRINCE.
+
+
+Among the various Asiatic nations which force and diplomacy are striving
+to subject to the Muscovite sceptre, there is one against which the
+whole might of Russia has hitherto been put forth in vain. The warlike
+tribes of the Caucasus have victoriously maintained their national
+independence; and in thus separating the trans-Caucasian provinces from
+the rest of the empire, they have protected Persia and Asiatic Turkey,
+and postponed indefinitely all thoughts of a Russian invasion of India.
+The cabinets of Europe have generally overlooked the importance of the
+Caucasus, and the part which its tribes are destined to play soon or
+late in eastern questions. Great Britain alone, prompted by her
+commercial instinct and her restless jealousy, protested for a time
+against the encroaching career of the tzars; but the singular
+manifestation of the _Vixen_ produced no slackening of the operations of
+Russia. The war has now been going on for sixteen years, yet few exact
+notions of its character and details are as yet possessed by Europe. Let
+us endeavour to complete as far as possible what we already know
+respecting the situation of the Russians in the Caucasus, and to see
+what may be the general results, political and commercial, of the
+occupation or independence of that region.
+
+We know that one of Peter the Great's most cherished schemes, the dream
+of his whole life, was to re-establish the trade of the East on its old
+footing, and to secure to himself a port on the Black Sea, in order to
+make it the link between the two continents. The genius of that
+sovereign must surely have been most enterprising to conceive such a
+project, at a time when its realisation required that the southern
+frontiers of the empire should first be pushed forward from 150 to 200
+leagues, as they have since been. Peter began his new political career
+by the taking of Azof and the foundation of the port of Taganrok in
+1695. The fatal campaign of the Pruth retarded the accomplishment of his
+designs; but when circumstances allowed him to return to them, he began
+again to pursue them in the direction of Persia and the Caspian. The
+restitution of Azof, and the destruction of Taganrok, stipulated in the
+treaty of the Pruth, thus became the primary cause of the Russian
+expeditions against the trans-Caucasian provinces.
+
+At this period Persia was suffering all the disorders of anarchy. The
+Turks had possessed themselves of all its western provinces up to the
+foot of the Caucasus; whilst the mountaineers, availing themselves of
+the distracted state of the country, made bloody inroads upon Georgia
+and the adjacent regions. The Lesghis, now one of the most formidable
+tribes of the Caucasus, ravaged the plains of Shirvan, in 1712, reduced
+the towns and villages to ashes, and massacred, according to Russian
+writers, 300 merchants, subjects of the empire, in the town of Shamaki.
+These acts of violence afforded Peter the Great an opportunity which he
+did not let slip. Under the pretence of punishing the Lesghis, and
+protecting the Shah of Persia against them, he prepared to make an armed
+intervention in the trans-Caucasian provinces. A formidable expedition
+was fitted out. A flotilla, constructed at Casan, arrived at the mouths
+of the Volga, and on the 15th of May, 1722, the emperor began his march
+at the head of 22,000 infantry, 9000 dragoons, and 15,000 Cossacks and
+Kalmucks. The transports coasted the Caspian, whilst the army marched by
+the Daghestan route, the great highway successively followed by the
+nations of the north and the south in their invasions. Thus it was that
+the Russians entered the Caucasus, and the valleys of those inaccessible
+mountains resounded, for the first time, to the war music of the
+Muscovite. The occupation of Ghilan and Derbent, and the siege of Bakou
+were the chief events of this campaign. Turkey, dismayed at the
+influence Russia was about to acquire in the East, was ready to take up
+arms; but Austria, taking the initiative in Europe, declared for the
+policy of the tzar, and vigorously resisted the hostile tendencies of
+the Porte. Russia was thus enabled to secure, not only Daghestan and
+Ghilan, but also the surrender of those provinces in which her armies
+had never set foot. In the midst of these events, Peter died when on the
+eve of consolidating his conquests, and before he had completed his
+negotiations with Persia and Turkey. His grand commercial ideas were
+abandoned after his death; the policy of the empire was directed solely
+towards territorial acquisition, and the tzars only obeyed the strong
+impulse, that, as if by some decree of fate, urges their subjects
+towards the south. Thenceforth the trans-Caucasian provinces were
+considered only a point gained for intervention in the affairs of Persia
+and Turkey, and for ulterior conquests in the direction of Central Asia.
+The rise of the celebrated Nadir Shah, who possessed himself of all the
+ancient dominions of Persia, for a while changed the face of things.
+Russia, crippled in her finances, withdrew her troops, gave up her
+pretensions to the countries beyond the Caucasus, acknowledged the
+independence of the two Kabardas by the treaty of Belgrade, and even
+engaged no longer to keep a fleet on the Sea of Azof.
+
+A religious mission sent to the Ossetans, who occupy the celebrated
+defiles of Dariel, was the only event in the reign of Elizabeth, that
+regarded the regions we are considering. Hardly any conversions were
+effected, but the Ossetans, to a certain extent, acknowledged the
+supremacy of Russia: this satisfied the real purpose of the mission, for
+the first stone was thereby laid on the line which was to become the
+great channel of communication between Russia and her Asiatic provinces.
+
+Schemes of conquest in the direction of Persia were resumed with vigour
+under Catherine II., and were carried out with more regularity. The
+first thing aimed at was to protect the south of the empire against the
+inroads of the Caucasians, and to this end the armed line of the Kouban
+and the Terek was organised and finished in 1771. It then numbered
+sixteen principal forts, and a great number of lesser ones and redoubts.
+Numerous military colonies of Cossacks, were next settled on the banks
+of the two rivers for the protection of the frontiers. While these
+preparations were in hand, war broke out with Turkey. Victorious both by
+sea and land, Catherine signed, in 1774, the memorable treaty of
+Koutchouk Kainardji, which secured to her the free navigation of the
+Black Sea, the passage of the Dardanelles, the entry of the Dniepr, and,
+moreover, conceded to her in the Caucasus, the sovereignty over both
+Kabardas.
+
+Peace being thus concluded, Catherine's first act was to send a pacific
+mission to explore the country of the Ossetans. The old negotiations
+were skilfully renewed, and a free passage through the defiles was
+obtained with the consent of that people. In 1781, an imperial squadron
+once more appeared in the Caspian, and endeavoured, but ineffectually,
+to make some military settlements on the Persian coasts. This expedition
+limited itself to consolidating the moral influence of Russia, and
+exciting, among the various tribes and nations of those regions,
+dissensions which afterwards afforded her a pretext for direct
+intervention. The Christian princes of Georgia, and the adjacent
+principalities, were the first to undergo the consequences of the
+Russian policy. Seduced by gold and presents, and doubtless also,
+wearied by the continual troubles that desolated their country, they
+gradually fell off from Persia and Turkey and accepted the protection of
+Catherine. The passes of the Caucasus were now free to Russia; she lost
+no time in making them practicable for an army, and so she was at last
+in a condition to realise in part the vast plans of the founder of her
+power.
+
+At a later period, in 1787, Russia and Turkey were again in arms, and
+the shore of the Caspian became for the first time a centre of military
+operations. Anapa, which the Turks had built for the protection of their
+trade with the mountaineers, after an unsuccessful assault, was taken by
+storm in 1791. Soudjouk Kaleh shared the same fate, but the Circassians
+blew up its fortifications before they retired. Struck by these
+conspicuous successes, the several states of Europe departed from the
+favourable policy with which they had previously treated the views of
+Russia, and the empress thought herself fortunate to conclude the treaty
+of Jassy in 1792, by which she advanced her frontiers to the Dniestr,
+and obtained the sovereignties of Georgia and the neighbouring
+countries. But Turkey had Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh restored to her, upon
+her engaging to suppress the incursions of the tribes dwelling on the
+left of the Kouban.
+
+Aga Mahomed Khan marched against Georgia in 1795, to punish it for
+having accepted the protectorate of Russia. Tiflis was sacked, and given
+up to fire and sword. On hearing of this bloody invasion Catherine II.
+immediately declared war against Persia, and her armies were already in
+occupation of Bakou, and a large portion of the Caspian shores, when she
+was succeeded by her son Paul I., who ordered all the recent conquests
+to be abandoned. Nevertheless, this strange beginning did not hinder the
+eccentric monarch from doing four years afterwards for Georgia what
+Catherine had done for the Crimea. Under pretext of putting an end to
+intestine discord, Georgia was united to Russia by an imperial ukase.
+Shortly after the accession of Alexander, Mingrelia shared the fate of
+Georgia; the conquests beyond the Caucasus were then regularised, and
+Tiflis became the centre of an exclusive Muscovite administration, civil
+and military.
+
+The immediate contact of Russia with Persia soon led to a rupture
+between these two powers. In 1806, hostilities began with Turkey also,
+and the campaign was marked like that of 1791 by the taking of Anapa and
+Soudjouk Kaleh, and the establishment of the Russians on the shores of
+Circassia. The unfortunate contest which then ensued between Napoleon
+and Alexander, and the direct intervention of England, put an end to the
+war, and brought about the signature of two treaties. That of Bucharest
+stipulated the reddition of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh; but Russia
+acquired Bessarabia and the left bank of the Danube; and Koutousofs
+80,000 men marched against Napoleon. The treaty of Gulistan, in 1814,
+gave to the empire, among other countries, Daghestan, Georgia, Imeritia,
+Mingrelia, the province of Bakou, Karabaugh, and Shirvan. This latter
+treaty was no sooner ratified than endless discussions arose respecting
+the determination of the frontiers. War was renewed, and ended only in
+1828 by the treaty of Turkmantchai, which conceded to Russia the fine
+countries of Erivan and Naktchivan, advanced her frontiers to the banks
+of the Araxus, and rendered her mistress of all the passes of Persia.
+
+It was during these latter wars that the people of the Caucasus began to
+be seriously uneasy about the designs of Russia. The special protection
+accorded to the Christian populations, the successive downfall of the
+principal chiefs of the country, and the introduction of the Russian
+administration, with its abuses and arbitrary proceedings, excited
+violent commotions in the Caucasian provinces, and the mountaineers
+naturally took part in every coalition formed against the common enemy.
+The armed line of the Kouban and the Terek was often attacked, and many
+a Cossack post was massacred. The Lesghis, the Tchetchenzes, and the
+Circassians distinguished themselves especially by their pertinacity and
+daring. Thenceforth Russia might conceive some idea of the contest she
+would have to sustain on the confines of Asia.
+
+We now approach the period when Russia, at last relieved from all her
+quarrels with Persia and Turkey, definitively acquired Anapa and
+Soudjouk Kaleh by the treaty of Adrianople, and directed all her efforts
+against the mountaineers of the Caucasus. But as now the war assumed a
+totally different character, it will be necessary to a full
+understanding of it that we should first glance at the topography of the
+country, and sketch the respective positions of the mountaineers and
+their foes.
+
+The chain of the Caucasus exhibits a peculiar conformation, altogether
+different from that of any of the European chains. The Alps, the
+Pyrenees, and the Carpathians, are accessible only by the valleys, and
+in these the inhabitants of the country find their subsistence, and
+agriculture develops its wealth. The contrary is the case in the
+Caucasus. From the fortress of Anapa on the Black Sea, all along to the
+Caspian, the northern slope presents only immense inclined plains,
+rising in terraces to a height of 3000 or 4000 yards above the sea
+level. These plains, rent on all directions by deep and narrow valleys
+and vertical clefts, often form real steppes, and possess on their
+loftiest heights rich pastures, where the inhabitants, secure from all
+attack, find fresh grass for their cattle in the sultriest days of
+summer. The valleys on the other hand are frightful abysses, the steep
+sides of which are clothed with brambles, while the bottoms are filled
+with rapid torrents foaming over beds of rocks and stones. Such is the
+singular spectacle generally presented by the northern slope of the
+Caucasus. This brief description may give an idea of the difficulties to
+be encountered by an invading army. Obliged to occupy the heights, it is
+incessantly checked in its march by impassable ravines, which do not
+allow of the employment of cavalry, and for the most part prevent the
+passage of artillery. The ordinary tactics of the mountaineers is to
+fall back before the enemy, until the nature of the ground or the want
+of supplies obliges the latter to begin a retrograde movement. Then it
+is that they attack the invaders, and, entrenched in their forests
+behind impregnable rocks, they inflict the most terrible carnage on them
+with little danger to themselves.
+
+On the south the character of the Caucasian chain is different. From
+Anapa to Gagra, along the shores of the Black Sea, we observe a
+secondary chain composed of schistous mountains, seldom exceeding 1000
+yards in height. But the nature of their soil, and of their rocks, would
+be enough to render them almost impracticable for European armies, even
+were they not covered with impenetrable forests. The inhabitants of this
+region, who are called Tcherkesses or Circassians, by the Russians, are
+entirely independent, and constitute one of the most warlike peoples of
+the Caucasus.
+
+The great chain begins in reality at Gagra, but the mountains recede
+from the shore, and nothing is to be seen along the coast as far as
+Mingrelia but secondary hills, commanded by immense crags, that
+completely cut off all approach to the central part of the Caucasus.
+This region, so feebly defended by its topographical conformation, is
+Abkhasia, the inhabitants of which have been forced to submit to Russia.
+To the north and on the northern slope, westward of the military road
+from Mosdok to Tiflis, dwell a considerable number of tribes, some of
+them ruled by a sort of feudal system, others constituted into little
+republics. Those of the west, dependent on Circassia and Abadza, are in
+continual war with the empire, whilst the Nogais, who inhabit the plains
+on the left bank of the Kouma, and the tribes of the Great Kabarda, own
+the sovereignty of the tzar; but their wavering and dubious submission
+cannot be relied on. In the centre, at the foot of the Elbrouz, dwell
+the Souanethes, an unsubdued people, and near them, occupying both sides
+of the pass of Dariel, are the Ingouches and Ossetans, exceptional
+tribes, essentially different from the aboriginal peoples. Finally, we
+have eastward of the great Tiflis road, near the Terek, Little Kabarda,
+and the country of the Koumicks, for the present subjugated; and then
+those indomitable tribes, the Lesghis and Tchetchenzes, of whom Shamihl
+is the Abd el Kader, and who extend over the two slopes of the Caucasus
+to the vicinity of the Caspian.
+
+In reality, the Kouban and the Terek, that rise from the central chain,
+and fall, the one into the Black Sea, the other into the Caspian, may
+be considered as the northern political limits of independent Caucasus.
+It is along those two rivers that Russia has formed her armed line,
+defended by Cossacks, and detachments from the regular army. The
+Russians have indeed penetrated those northern frontiers at sundry
+points, and have planted some forts within the country of the Lesghis
+and Tchetchenzes. But these lonely posts, in which a few unhappy
+garrisons are surrounded on all sides, and generally without a chance of
+escape, cannot be regarded as a real occupation of the soil on which
+they stand. They are in fact only so many piquets, whose business is
+only to watch more closely the movements of the mountaineers. In the
+south, from Anapa to Gagra, along the Black Sea, the imperial
+possessions are limited to a few detached forts, completely isolated,
+and deprived of all means of communication by land. A rigorous blockade
+has been established on this coast; but the Circassians, as intrepid in
+their frail barks as among their mountains, often pass by night through
+the Russian line of vessels, and reach Trebisond and Constantinople.
+Elsewhere, from Mingrelia to the Caspian, the frontiers are less
+precisely defined, and generally run parallel with the great chain of
+the Caucasus.
+
+Thus limited, the Caucasus, including the territory occupied by the
+subject tribes, presents a surface of scarcely 5000 leagues; and it is
+in this narrow region that a virgin and chivalric nation, amounting at
+most to 2,000,000 of souls, proudly upholds its independence against the
+might of the Russian empire, and has for twenty years sustained one of
+the most obstinate struggles known to modern history.
+
+The Russian line of the Kouban, which is exactly similar to that of the
+Terek, is defended by the Cossacks of the Black Sea, the poor remains of
+the famous Zaporogues, whom Catherine II. subdued with so much
+difficulty, and whom she colonised at the foot of the Caucasus, as a
+bulwark against the incursions of the mountaineers. The line consists of
+small forts and watch stations; the latter are merely a kind of sentry
+box raised on four posts, about fifty feet from the ground. Two Cossacks
+keep watch in them day and night. On the least movement of the enemy in
+the vast plain of reeds that fringes both banks of the river, a beacon
+fire is kindled on the top of the watch box. If the danger becomes more
+pressing, an enormous torch of straw and tar is set fire to. The signal
+is repeated from post to post, the whole line springs to arms, and 500
+or 600 men are instantly assembled on the point threatened. These posts,
+composed generally of a dozen men, are very close to each other,
+particularly in the most dangerous places. Small forts have been erected
+at intervals with earthworks, and a few pieces of cannon; they contain
+each from 150 to 200 men.
+
+But notwithstanding all the vigilance of the Cossacks, often aided by
+the troops of the line, the mountaineers not unfrequently cross the
+frontier and carry their incursions, which are always marked with
+massacre and pillage, into the adjacent provinces. These are bloody but
+justifiable reprisals. In 1835 a body of fifty horsemen entered the
+country of the Cossacks, and proceeded to a distance of 120 leagues, to
+plunder the German colony of Madjar and the important village of
+Vladimirofka, on the Kouma, and what is most remarkable, they got back
+to their mountains without being interrupted. The same year Kisliar on
+the Caspian was sacked by the Lesghis. These daring expeditions prove of
+themselves how insufficient is the armed line of the Caucasus, and to
+what dangers that part of southern Russia is exposed.
+
+The line of forts along the Black Sea is quite as weak, and the
+Circassians there are quite as daring. They carry off the Russian
+soldiers from beneath the fire of their redoubts, and come up to the
+very foot of their walls to insult the garrison. At the time I was
+exploring the mouths of the Kouban, a hostile chief had the audacity to
+appear one day before the gates of Anapa. He did all he could to
+irritate the Russians, and abusing them as cowards and woman-hearted, he
+defied them to single combat. Exasperated by his invectives, the
+commandant ordered that he should be fired on with grape. The horse of
+the mountaineer reared and threw off his rider, who, without letting go
+the bridle, instantly mounted again, and, advancing still nearer to the
+walls, discharged his pistol almost at point blank distance at the
+soldiers, and galloped off to the mountains.
+
+As for the blockade by sea, the imperial squadron is not expert enough
+to render it really effectual. It is only a few armed boats, manned by
+Cossacks, that give the Circassians any serious uneasiness. These
+Cossacks, like those of the Black Sea, are descended from the
+Zaporogues. Previously to the last war with Turkey they were settled on
+the right bank of the Danube, where their ancestors had taken refuge
+after the destruction of their Setcha. During the campaigns of 1828-9,
+pains were taken to revive their national feelings, they were brought
+again by fair means or by force under the imperial sway, and were then
+settled in the forts along the Caucasian shore, the keeping of which was
+committed to their charge. Courageous, enterprising, and worthy rivals
+of their foes, they wage a most active war against the skiffs of the
+mountaineers in their boats, which carry crews of fifty or sixty men.
+The war not having permitted us to visit the independent tribes, and
+investigate their moral and political condition for ourselves, we shall
+not enter into long details respecting the manners and institutions of
+the Circassians, but content ourselves with pointing out the principal
+traits of their character, and such of their peculiarities as may have
+most influence upon their relations with Russians.[60]
+
+Of all the peoples of the Caucasus, none more fully realise than the
+Circassians those heroic qualities with which imagination delights to
+invest the tribes of these mountains. Courage, intelligence, and
+remarkable beauty, have been liberally bestowed on them by nature; and
+what I admired above all in their character is a calm, noble dignity
+that never forsakes them, and which they unite with the most chivalric
+feelings and the most ardent passion for national liberty. I remember
+that during my stay at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the Cossacks of the
+Black Sea, being seated one morning in front of a merchant's house in
+the company of several Russian officers, I saw a very ill-dressed
+Circassian come up, who appeared to belong to the lowest class. He
+stopped before the shop, and while he was cheapening some articles, we
+examined his sabre. I saw distinctly on it the Latin inscription, _Anno
+Domini_, 1547, and the blade appeared to me to be of superior temper;
+the Russians were of a different opinion, for they handed the weapon
+back to the Circassian with disdainful indifference. The Circassian took
+it without uttering a word, cut off a handful of his beard with it at a
+stroke, as easily as though he had done it with a razor, then quietly
+mounted his horse and rode away, casting on the officers a look of such
+deep scorn as no words could describe.
+
+The Circassians, evermore engaged in war, are in general all well armed.
+Their equipment consists of a rifle, a sabre, a long dagger, which they
+wear in front, and a pistol stuck in their belt. Their remarkably
+elegant costume consists of tight pantaloons, and a short tunic belted
+round the waist, and having cartridge pockets worked on the breast;
+their head-dress is a round laced cap, encircled with a black or white
+border of long-wooled sheep-skin. In cold or rainy weather, they wear a
+hood (bashlik), and wrap themselves in an impenetrable felt cloak
+(bourka). Their horses are small, but of astonishing spirit and bottom.
+It has often been ascertained by the imperial garrisons that Circassian
+marauders have got over twenty-five or even thirty leagues of ground in
+a night. When pursued by the Russians, the mountaineers are not to be
+stopped by the most rapid torrents. If the horse is young, and not yet
+trained to this perilous kind of service, the rider gallops him up to
+the verge of the ravine, then covering the animal's head with his
+bourka, he plunges, almost always with impunity, down precipices that
+are sometimes from ten or fifteen yards deep.
+
+The Circassians are wonderfully expert in the use of fire-arms, and of
+their double-edged daggers. Armed only with the latter weapon, they have
+been known to leap their horses over the Russian bayonets, stab the
+soldiers, and rout their squared battalions. When they are surrounded in
+their forts or villages, without any chance of escape, they often
+sacrifice their wives and children, set fire to their dwellings, and
+perish in the flames rather than surrender. Like all Orientals, they do
+not abandon their dead and wounded except at the last extremity, and
+nothing can surpass the obstinacy with which they fight to carry them
+off from the enemy. It was to this fact I owed my escape from one of the
+greatest dangers I ever encountered.
+
+In the month of April, 1841, I explored the military line of the Kouban.
+On my departure from Stavropol, the governor strongly insisted on giving
+me an escort; but I refused it, for fear of encumbering my movements,
+and resolved to trust to my lucky star. It was the season of flood, too,
+in the Kouban, a period in which the Circassians very seldom cross it. I
+accepted, however, as a guide, an old Cossack, who had seen more than
+five-and-twenty years' fighting, and was all over scars, in short, a
+genuine descendant of the Zaporogues. This man, my interpreter, and a
+postillion, whom we were to change at each station, formed my whole
+suite. We were all armed, though there is not much use in such a
+precaution in a country where one is always attacked either unawares, so
+that he cannot defend himself, or by superior forces against which all
+resistance is but a danger the more. But what of that? There was
+something imposing and flattering to one's pride in these martial
+accoutrements. A Tiflis dagger was stuck in my belt, a heavy rifle
+thumped against my loins, and my holsters contained an excellent pair of
+St. Etienne pistols. My Cossack was armed with two pistols, a rifle, a
+Circassian sabre, and a lance. As for my interpreter, an Italian, he was
+as brave as a Calabrian bandit, and what prized above all in him was an
+imperturbable coolness in the most critical positions, and a blind
+obedience to my orders. For five days we pursued our way pleasantly
+along the Kouban, without thinking of the danger of our position. The
+country, broken up by beautiful hills, was covered with rich vegetation.
+The muddy waters of the Kouban flowed on our left, and beyond the river
+we saw distinctly the first ranges of the Caucasus. We could even
+discern the smoke of the Circassian aouls rising up amidst the forests.
+
+On the evening of the fifth day we arrived at a little fort, where we
+passed the night. The weather next morning was cold and rainy, and every
+thing gave token of an unpleasant day. The country before us was quite
+unlike that we were leaving behind. The road wound tortuously over an
+immense plain between marshes and quagmires, that often rendered it all
+but impossible to advance. Our morning ride was therefore a dull and
+silent one. The Cossack had no tales to tell of his warlike feats; he
+was in bad humour, and never opened his lips except to rap out one of
+those thundering oaths in which the Russians often indulge. A thin rain
+beat in our faces; our tired horses slid at every step on the greasy
+clay soil, and we rode in single file, muffled up in our bourkas and
+bashliks. Towards noon, the weather cleared up, the road became less
+difficult, and towards evening we were but an hour and a half from the
+last fort on that side of Ekaterinodar. We were then proceeding slowly,
+without any thought of danger, and I paid no heed to the Cossack, who
+had halted some distance behind. But our quick-eared guide had heard
+the sound of hoofs, and in a few seconds he rode up at full speed,
+shouting with all his might, "The Tcherkesses! the Tcherkesses!" Looking
+round we saw four mountaineers coming over a hill not far from the road.
+My plan was instantly formed. The state of our horses rendered any
+attempt at flight entirely useless; we were still far from the fortress,
+and, once overtaken, we could not avoid a fight, the chances of which
+were all against us. The Cossack alone had a sabre, and when once we had
+discharged our fire-arms, it would be all over with us. But I knew that
+the Circassians never abandoned their dead and wounded, and it was on
+this I founded our hope of safety. My orders were quickly given, and we
+continued to advance at a walk, riding abreast, but sufficiently wide
+apart to leave each man's movements free. Not a word was uttered by any
+of us. I had incurred many dangers in the course of my travels, but I
+had never been in a situation of more breathless anxiety. In less than
+ten minutes we distinctly heard the galloping of the mountaineers, and
+immediately afterwards their balls whizzed past us. My bourka was
+slightly touched, and the shaft of the Cossack's lance was cut in two.
+The critical moment was come; I gave the word, and we instantly wheeled
+round, and discharged our pistols at arm's length at our assailants: two
+of them fell. "Away now, and ride for your lives," I shouted, "the
+Circassians will not pursue us." Our horses, which had recovered their
+wind, and were probably inspirited by the smell of powder, carried us
+along at a sweeping pace, and never stopped until we were within sight
+of the fortress. Exactly what I had foreseen had happened. On the
+morning after that memorable day the garrison turned out and scoured the
+country, and I accompanied them to the scene of action. There were
+copious marks of blood on the sand, and among the sedges on the side of
+the road we found a shaska, or Circassian sabre, which had been dropped
+no doubt by the enemy. The commanding officer presented it to me, and I
+have kept it ever since as a remembrance of my perilous interview with
+the mountaineers. It bears the mark of a ball.
+
+It would be difficult to give any precise idea respecting the religious
+principles of the various nations of the Caucasus. The charge of
+idolatry has been alleged against several of them, but we think without
+any good grounds. Paganism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism, have by
+turns found access among them, and the result has been an anomalous
+medley of no clearly defined doctrines with the most superstitious
+practices of their early obsolete creeds. The Lesghis and the eastern
+tribes alone are really Mohammedans. As for the Ossetans, Circassians,
+Kabardians, and other western tribes, they seem to profess a pure deism,
+mingled with some Christian and Mussulman notions. It is thought that
+Christianity was introduced among these people by the celebrated Thamar,
+Queen of Georgia, who reigned in the latter part of the twelfth century;
+but it is much more probable that this was done by the Greek colonies of
+the Lower Empire, and afterwards by those of the republic of Genoa in
+the Crimea. The Tcherkesses to this day entertain a profound reverence
+for the crosses and old churches of their country, to which they make
+frequent pilgrimages, and yearly offerings and sacrifices. It seems,
+too, that the Greek mythology has left numerous traces in Circassia; the
+story of Saturn for instance, that of the Titans endeavouring to scale
+heaven, and several others, are found among many of the tribes. A very
+marked characteristic of the Circassians is a total absence of religious
+fanaticism. Pretenders to divine inspiration have always been repulsed
+by them, and most of them have paid with their lives for their attempts
+at proselytism. This is not the case on the Caspian side of the
+mountains, where Shamihl's power is in a great measure based on his
+religious influence over the tribes.
+
+When two nations are at war, it usually happens that the one is
+calumniated by the other, and the stronger seeks an apology for its own
+ambition in blackening the character of its antagonist. Thus the
+Russians, wishing to make the inhabitants of the Caucasus appear as
+savages, against whom every means of extermination is allowable, relate
+the most absurd tales of the ferocious tortures inflicted by them on
+their prisoners. But there is no truth in all this. I have often met
+military men who had been prisoners in the mountains, and they
+unanimously testified to the good treatment they had received. The
+Circassians deal harshly only with those who resist, or who have made
+several attempts to escape; but in those cases their measures are fully
+justified by the fear lest the fugitives should convey important
+topographical information to the Russians. As for the story of the
+chopped horsehair inserted under the skin of the soles of the feet to
+hinder the escape of captives, it has been strangely exaggerated by some
+travellers. I never could hear of more than one prisoner of war who had
+been thus treated, and this was an army surgeon with whom I had an
+opportunity of conversing. He had not been previously ill-treated in any
+way by the mountaineers; but, distracted with the desire for freedom, he
+had made three attempts to escape, and it was not until the third that
+the Tcherkesses had recourse to the terrible expedient of the horsehair.
+During our stay at the waters of the Caucasus, I saw a young Russian
+woman who had recently been rescued by General Grabe's detachment.
+Shortly after our arrival she fled, and returned to the mountains. This
+fact speaks at least in favour of the gallantry of the Circassians.
+Indeed, there is no one in the country but well knows the deep respect
+they profess for the sex. It would be very difficult, if not impossible,
+to mention any case in which Russian female prisoners have been
+maltreated by them.
+
+The Circassians have been accustomed, from time immemorial, to make
+prisoners of all foreigners who land on their shores without any special
+warrant or recommendation. This custom has been denounced and censured
+in every possible way; yet it is not so barbarous as has been supposed.
+Encompassed by enemies, exposed to incessant attacks, and relying for
+their defence chiefly on the nature of their country, the jealous care
+of their independence has naturally compelled the mountaineers to become
+suspicious, and not to allow any traveller to penetrate their retreats.
+What proves that this prohibitive measure is by no means the result of a
+savage temper is, that it is enough to pronounce the name of a chief, no
+matter who, to be welcomed and treated everywhere with unbounded
+hospitality. Reassured by this slender evidence of good faith, the
+mountaineers lay aside their distrust, and think only how they may do
+honour to the guest of one of their princes.
+
+But another and still graver charge still hangs over the Circassians,
+namely, their slave dealing, which has so often provoked the generous
+indignation of the philanthropists of Europe, and for the abolition of
+which Russia has been extolled by all journalists. We are certainly far
+from approving of that hateful trade, in which human beings are bought
+and sold as merchandise; but we are bound in justice to the people of
+Asia to remark, that there is a wide difference between Oriental slavery
+and that which exists in Russia, in the French colonies, and in America.
+In the East, slavery becomes in fact a virtual adoption, which has
+generally a favourable effect both on the moral and the physical weal of
+the individual. It is a condition by no means implying any sort of
+degradation, nor has there ever existed between it and the class of
+freemen that line of demarcation, beset by pride and prejudice, which is
+found everywhere else. It would be easy to mention the names of many
+high dignitaries of Turkey who were originally slaves; indeed, it would
+be difficult to name one young man of the Caucasus, sold to the Turks,
+who did not rise to more or less distinction. As for the women, large
+cargoes of whom still arrive in the Bosphorus in spite of the Russian
+blockade, they are far from bewailing their lot; on the contrary, they
+think themselves very fortunate in being able to set out for
+Constantinople, which offers them a prospect of every thing that can
+fascinate the imagination of a girl of the East. All this, of course,
+pre-supposes the absence of those family affections to which we attach
+so much value; but it must not be forgotten that the tribes of the
+Caucasus cannot be fairly or soundly judged by the standard of our
+European notions, but that we must make due allowance for their social
+state, their manners, and traditions. The sale of women in Circassia is
+obviously but a substitute and an equivalent for the indispensable
+preliminaries that elsewhere precede every marriage in the East; with
+this difference alone, that in the Caucasus, on account of its
+remoteness, it is an agent who undertakes the pecuniary part of the
+transaction, and acts as the medium between the girl's relations and him
+whose lawful wife she is in most cases to become. The parents, it is
+true, part with their children, and give them up to strangers almost
+always unknown to them; but they do not abandon them for all that. They
+keep up a frequent correspondence with them, and the Russians never
+capture a single Circassian boat in which there are not men and women
+going to or returning from Constantinople merely to see their children.
+No one who has been in the Caucasus can be ignorant of the fact that all
+the families, not excepting even those of high rank, esteem it a great
+honour to have their children placed out in Turkey. It is to all these
+relations and alliances, as I may say, between the Circassians and the
+Turks that the latter owe the great moral influence they still exercise
+over the tribes of the Caucasus. The name of Turk is always the best
+recommendation among the mountaineers, and there is no sort of
+respectful consideration but is evinced towards those who have returned
+home after passing some years of servitude in Turkey. After all, the
+Russians themselves think on this subject precisely as we do, and were
+it not for potent political considerations, they would not by any means
+offer impediment to the Caucasian slave-trade. This is proved most
+manifestly by the proposal made by a Russian general in 1843, to
+regulate and ratify this traffic, and carry it on for the benefit of
+Russia, by granting the tzar's subjects the exclusive privilege of
+purchasing Circassian slaves. The scheme was abortive, and could not
+have been otherwise, for it is a monstrous absurdity to compare Russian
+slavery with that which prevails in Constantinople. Nothing proves more
+strongly how different are the real sentiments of the Circassians from
+those imputed to them, than the indignation with which they regard
+slavery, such as prevails in Russia. I will here relate an anecdote
+which I doubt not will appear strange to many persons; but I can
+guarantee its authenticity, since the fact occurred under my own eyes.
+
+A detachment of mountaineers, destined to form a guard of honour for
+Paskewitch, passed through Rostof on the Don, in 1838. The sultry season
+was then at its height, and two of the Circassians, going to bathe, laid
+their clothes in the boat belonging to the custom-house. There was
+certainly nothing very reprehensible in this; but the _employés_ of the
+customs thought otherwise, threw the men's clothes into the river, and
+assaulted them with sticks. Immediately there was a tremendous uproar;
+all the mountaineers flocked to the spot, and threatened to set fire to
+the town, if the amplest satisfaction were not given to their comrades.
+The inhabitants were seized with alarm, and the director of the customs
+went in person to the commander of the Circassians, to beseech him not
+to put his threats in execution; and he backed his entreaties with the
+offer of a round sum of money for the officer and his men. "Money!"
+retorted the indignant chieftain; "money! it is good for base-souled,
+venal Russians! It is good for you, who sell men, women, and children
+like vile cattle; but among our people, the honour of a man made in the
+image of God is not bought and sold. Let your men kneel down before my
+soldiers, and beg their pardon; that is the only reparation we insist
+on." The chief's demand was complied with, and the peace of the town
+was immediately restored. The words we have reported are authentic; they
+prove that the Tcherkesses do not look on the sale of their children as
+a traffic, and that in the actual state of their national civilisation,
+that sale cannot be in anywise considered as incompatible with family
+affections, and the sentiments of honour and humanity.
+
+The Circassian women have been celebrated by so many writers, and their
+beauty has been made the theme of so many charming descriptions, that we
+may be allowed to say a few words about them. Unfortunately we are
+constrained to avow, that the reputation of their charms appears to us
+greatly exaggerated, and that in person they are much less remarkable
+than the men. It is true we have not been able to visit any of the great
+centres of the population: we have not been among the independent
+tribes; but we have been in several aouls on the banks of the Kouban,
+and been entertained in a princely family; but nowhere could we see any
+of those perfect beauties of whom travellers make such frequent mention.
+The only thing that really struck us in these mountain girls was the
+elegance of their shape, and the inimitable grace of their bearing. A
+Circassian woman is never awkward. Dressed in rags or in brocade, she
+never fails to assume spontaneously the most noble and picturesque
+attitudes. In this respect she is incontestably superior to the highest
+efforts of fascination which Parisian art can achieve.
+
+The great celebrity of the women of the Caucasus appears to have been
+derived from the bazaars of Constantinople, where the Turks, who are
+great admirers of their charms, still inquire after them with extreme
+avidity. But as their notions of beauty are quite different from ours,
+and relate chiefly to plumpness, and the shape of the feet, it is not at
+all surprising that the opinions of the Turks have misled travellers.
+But though the Circassian belles do not completely realise the ideal
+type dreamed of by Europeans, we are far from denying the brilliant
+qualities with which nature has evidently endowed them. They are
+engaging, gracious, and affable towards the stranger, and we can well
+conceive that their charming hospitality has won for them many an ardent
+admirer.
+
+Apropos of the conjugal and domestic habits of the Circassians; I will
+describe an excursion I made along the military line of the North,
+eighteen months after my journey to the Caspian Sea.
+
+During my stay at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the country of the Black
+Sea Cossacks, I heard a great deal about a Tcherkess prince, allied to
+Russia, and established on the right bank of the Kouban, a dozen versts
+from the town. I therefore gladly accepted the proposal made to me by
+the Attaman Zavadofsky to visit the chief, under the escort of an
+officer and two soldiers. Baron Kloch, of whom I have already spoken,
+accompanied me. We mounted our horses, armed to the teeth, according to
+the invariable custom of the country, and in three hours we alighted in
+the middle of the aoul. We were immediately surrounded by a crowd of
+persons whose looks had nothing in them of welcome; but when they were
+informed that we were not Russians, but foreigners, and that we were
+come merely to request a few hours' hospitality of their master, their
+sour looks were changed for an expression of the frankest cordiality,
+and they hastened to conduct us to the prince's dwelling.
+
+It was a miserable thatched mud cabin, in front of which we found the
+noble Tcherkess, lying on a mat, in his shirt, and barefooted. He
+received us in the kindest manner, and after complimenting us on our
+arrival, he proceeded to make his toilette. He sent for his most elegant
+garments and his most stylish leg-gear, girded on his weapons, which he
+took care to make us admire, and then led us into the cabin, which
+served as his abode during the day. The interior was as naked and
+unfurnished as it could well be. A divan covered with reed matting, a
+few vessels, and a saddle, were the only objects visible. After we had
+rested a few moments, the prince begged us to pay a visit to his wife
+and daughter, who had been apprised of our arrival, and were extremely
+desirous to see us.
+
+These ladies occupied a hut of their own, consisting, like the prince's,
+of but one room. They rose as we entered, and saluted us very
+gracefully; then motioning us to be seated, the mother sat down in the
+Turkish fashion on her divan, whilst her daughter came and leaned
+gracefully against the sofa on which we had taken our places. When the
+ceremony of reception was over, we remarked with surprise that the
+prince had not crossed the threshold, but merely put his head in at the
+door to answer our questions and talk with his wife. Our Cossack officer
+explained the meaning of this singular conduct, telling us that a
+Circassian husband cannot, without detriment to his honour, enter his
+wife's apartment during the day. This rule is rigorously observed in all
+families that make any pretensions to distinction.
+
+The princess's apartments had a little more air of comfort than her
+husband's. We found in it two large divans with silk cushions
+embroidered with gold and silver, carpets of painted felt, several
+trunks and a very pretty work-basket. A little Russian mirror, and the
+chief's armorial trophies, formed the ornaments of the walls. But the
+floor was not boarded, the walls were rough plastered, and two little
+holes, furnished with shutters, barely served to let a little air into
+the interior. The princess, who seemed about five-and-thirty or forty,
+was not fitted to support the reputation of her countrywomen, and we
+were by no means dazzled by her charms. Her dress alone attracted our
+attention. Under a brocaded pelisse with short sleeves, and laced on the
+seams, she wore a silk chemise, open much lower down than decency could
+approve. A velvet cap trimmed with silver, smooth plaits of hair, cut
+heart-shape on the forehead, a white veil fastened on the top of the
+head, and crossing over the bosom, and lastly, a red shawl thrown
+carelessly over her lap, completed her toilette. As for her daughter, we
+thought her charming: she was dressed in a white robe, and a red
+kazavek confined round the waist; she had delicate features, a
+dazzlingly fair complexion, and her black hair escaped in a profusion of
+tresses from beneath her cap. The affability of the two ladies exceeded
+our expectations. They asked us a multitude of questions about our
+journey, our country, and our occupations. Our European costume
+interested them exceedingly: our straw hats above all excited their
+especial wonder. And yet there was something cold and impassive in their
+whole demeanour. It was not until a long curtain falling by accident
+shut out the princess from our sight that they condescended to smile.
+After conversing for a little while, we asked permission of the princess
+to take her likeness, and to sketch the interior of her dwelling, to
+which she made no objection. When we had made our drawings, a collation
+was set before us, consisting of fruits and small cheese-cakes, to
+which, for my part, I did not do much honour. In the evening we took our
+leave, and on coming out of the hut, we found all the inhabitants of the
+aoul assembled, their faces beaming with the most sincere good will, and
+every man was eager to shake hands with us before our departure. A
+numerous body volunteered to accompany us, and the prince himself
+mounted and rode with us half-way to Ekaterinodar, where we embraced
+like old acquaintances. The Tcherkess chief turned back to his aoul, and
+it was not without a feeling of regret that we spurred our horses in the
+direction of the capital of the Black Sea Cossacks.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[60] For fuller details we refer our readers to the Travels of M.
+Taitbout de Marigny and of the English agent Bell, and to the works
+recently published by MM. Fonton and Dubois. There exists also another
+narrative by Mr. Spencer, which has had the honour of a long analysis in
+the _Revue des Deux Mondes_; but we know most positively that the
+honourable gentleman only made a military promenade along the coasts of
+the Black Sea, in company with Count Woronzof, and that he never
+undertook that perilous excursion into Circassia, with which he has
+filled a whole volume.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+      RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE WAR IN THE CAUCASUS--VITAL
+      IMPORTANCE OF THE CAUCASUS TO RUSSIA--DESIGNS ON INDIA,
+      CENTRAL ASIA, BOKHARA, KHIVA, &C.--RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH
+      COMMERCE IN PERSIA.
+
+
+The treaty of Adrianople was in a manner the opening of a new era in the
+relations of Russia with the mountaineers; for it was by virtue of that
+treaty that the present tzar, already master of Anapa and Soudjouk
+Kaleh, pretended to the sovereignty of Circassia and of the whole
+seaboard of the Black Sea. True to the invariable principles of its
+foreign policy, the government at first employed means of corruption,
+and strove to seduce the various chiefs of the country by pensions,
+decorations, and military appointments. But the mountaineers, who had
+the example of the Persian provinces before their eyes, sternly rejected
+all the overtures of Russia, and repudiated the clauses of the
+convention of Adrianople; the political and commercial independence of
+their country became their rallying cry, and they would not treat on any
+other condition. All such ideas were totally at variance with Nicholas's
+schemes of absolute dominion; therefore he had recourse to arms to
+obtain by force what he had been unable to accomplish by other means.
+
+Abkhasia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, and easily
+accessible, was the first invaded. A Russian force occupied the country
+in 1839, under the ordinary pretence of supporting one of its princes,
+and putting an end to anarchy. In the same year General Paskevitch, then
+governor-general of the Caucasus, for the first time made an armed
+exploration of the country of the Tcherkesses beyond the Kouban; but he
+effected absolutely nothing, and his expedition only resulted in a great
+loss of men and stores. In the following year war broke out in Daghestan
+with the Lesghis and the Tchetchenzes. The celebrated Kadi Moulah,
+giving himself out for a prophet, gathered together a considerable
+number of partisans; but unfortunately for him there was no unanimity
+among the tribes, and the princes were continually counteracting each
+other. Kadi Moulah never was able to bring more than 3000 or 4000 men
+together; nevertheless, he maintained the struggle with a courage worthy
+of a better fate, and Russia knows what it cost her to put down the
+revolt of Daghestan. As for any real progress in that part of the
+Caucasus, the Russians made none; they did no more than replace things
+on the old footing. Daghestan soon became again more hostile than ever,
+and the Tchetchenzes and Lesghis continued in separate detachments to
+plunder and ravage the adjacent provinces up to the time when the
+ascendency of the celebrated Shamihl, the worthy successor of Kadi
+Moulah, gave a fresh impulse to the warlike tribes of the mountain, and
+rendered them more formidable than ever.
+
+After taking possession of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh, the Russians
+thought of seizing the whole seaboard of Circassia, and especially the
+various points suitable for the establishment of military posts. They
+made themselves masters of Guelendchik and the important position of
+Gagra, which commands the pass between Circassia and Abkhasia. The
+Tcherkesses heroically defended their territory, but how could they have
+withstood the guns of the ships of war that mowed them down whilst the
+soldiers were landing and constructing their redoubts? The blockade of
+the coasts was declared in 1838, and all foreign communication with the
+Caucasus ostensibly intercepted. During the four following years Russia
+suffered heavy losses; and all her successes were limited to the
+establishment of some small isolated forts on the sea-coast. She then
+increased her army, laid down the military road from the Kouban to
+Guelendchik, across the last western offshoot of the Caucasus, set on
+foot an exploration of the enemy's whole coast, and prepared to push the
+war with renewed vigour.
+
+In 1837 the Emperor Nicholas visited the Caucasus. He would see for
+himself the theatre of a war so disastrous for his arms, and try what
+impression his imperial presence could make on the mountaineers. The
+chiefs of the country were invited to various conferences, to which they
+boldly repaired on the faith of the Russian parole; but instead of
+conciliating them by words of peace and moderation, the emperor only
+exasperated them by his threatening and haughty language. "Do you know,"
+said he to them, "that I have powder enough to blow up all your
+mountains?"
+
+During the three following years there was an incessant succession of
+expeditions. Golovin, on the frontiers of Georgia, Grabe on the north,
+and Racifsky on the Circassian seaboard, left nothing untried to
+accomplish their master's orders. The sacrifices incurred by Russia were
+enormous; the greater part of her fleet was destroyed by a storm, but
+all efforts failed against the intrepidity and tactics of the
+mountaineers. Some new forts erected under cover of the ships were all
+that resulted from these disastrous campaigns. I was in the Caucasus in
+1839, when Lieutenant-General Grabe returned from his famous expedition
+against Shamihl. When the army marched it had numbered 6000 men, 1000 of
+whom, and 120 officers, were cut off in three months. But as the general
+had advanced further into the country than any of his predecessors,
+Russia sang poeans, and Grabe became the hero of the day, although the
+imperial troops had been forced to retreat and entirely evacuate the
+country they had invaded. All the other expeditions were similar to this
+one, and achieved in reality nothing but the burning and destruction of
+a few villages. It is true the mountaineers are far from being
+victorious in all their encounters with the Russians, whose artillery
+they cannot easily withstand; but if they are obliged to give way to
+numbers or to engineering, nevertheless, they remain in the end masters
+of the ground, and annul all the momentary advantages gained by their
+enemies.
+
+The year 1840 was still more fatal to the arms of Nicholas. Almost all
+the new forts on the seaboard were taken by the Circassians, who bravely
+attacked and carried the best fortified posts without artillery. The
+military road from the Kouban to Guelendchik was intercepted, Fort St.
+Nicholas, which commanded it, was stormed and the garrison massacred.
+Never yet had Russia endured such heavy blows. The disasters were such
+that the official journals themselves, after many months' silence, were
+at last obliged to speak of them, and to try to gloss them over by
+publishing turgid eulogiums on the heroism of the unfortunate Black Sea
+garrisons. The following is the bulletin published in the Russian
+_Invalide_ of the 7th of August, 1840:[61]
+
+"The annals of the Russian army present a multitude of glorious deeds of
+arms and heroic actions, the memory of which will be for ever preserved
+among posterity. The detached corps of the Caucasus has from its special
+destination more frequent opportunities than the other troops to gather
+new laurels; but there had not yet been seen in its ranks examples of so
+brilliant a valour as that recently manifested by the garrisons of
+several campaigning fortifications erected on the unsubjugated
+territory of the Cossacks of the eastern shores of the Black Sea.
+Erected with a view to curb the brigandages of those semi-barbarous
+hordes, and particularly their favourite occupation, the shameful trade
+in slaves, these fortifications were during the spring of this year the
+constant objects of their attacks. In hopes to destroy the obstacles
+raised against them, at a period when by reason of their position, and
+the insurmountable difficulty of communication, the forts on the
+seaboard could not receive any aid from without, they united against
+them all their forces and all their means. And indeed three of these
+forts fell, but fell with a glory that won for their defenders the
+admiration and even the respect of their fierce enemies. The valiant
+efforts of the other garrisons were crowned with better success. They
+have all withstood the desperate and often-repeated attacks of the
+mountaineers, and held out unsubdued until it was possible to send them
+succours.
+
+"In this struggle between a handful of Russian soldiers and a determined
+and enterprising enemy, ten and even twenty times their superiors in
+number, the high deeds of the garrisons of the Veliaminof and Michael
+redoubts, and the defence of forts Navaguinsky and Abinsky, merit
+particular attention. The first of these redoubts was taken by the
+mountaineers on the 29th of last February. At daybreak, taking advantage
+of the localities, and concealed by the morning mist, their bands, more
+than 7000 strong, approached the entrenchments unperceived, and rushed
+impetuously to the assault. Repeatedly overthrown, they returned each
+time furiously to the charge, and after a long conflict finally remained
+masters of the rampart. The garrison, rejecting all proposals to
+surrender, continued with invincible courage a combat thenceforth
+without hope, preferring to find in it a glorious death; and all fell
+with the exception of some invalid soldiers, who were made prisoners by
+the mountaineers. The latter, in token of respect for the defenders of
+the redoubt, took home with them some of them whom there still appeared
+a chance of saving. The garrison of the Veliaminof redoubt consisted of
+400 men of all ranks. The loss of the mountaineers amounted, in killed
+alone, to 900 men.
+
+"On the morning of the 22nd of March, the mountaineers, to the number of
+more than 11,000 men, attacked the Michael redoubt, the garrison of
+which counted but 480 men under arms. Its brave commander,
+Second-captain Lico, of the battalion No. 5 of the Cossacks of the
+frontier line of the Black Sea, having learned the intentions of the
+enemy, had made preparations for vigorously resisting his attempts.
+Seeing the impossibility of receiving timely succour, he had nails
+prepared to spike his cannons, in case the rampart should be carried,
+and had a _réduit_ constructed in the interior of the redoubt, with
+planks, tubs, and other suitable materials. Then collecting his whole
+garrison, officers and soldiers, he proposed to them to blow up the
+powder magazine, if they did not succeed in repulsing the enemy. The
+proposal was received with an enthusiasm which the subsequent conduct of
+the garrison proved to be genuine. The mountaineers were received with a
+most destructive fire by the artillery of the fort, and could not make
+themselves masters of the rampart until after an hour and half of
+fighting, in which they suffered considerable loss. The heroic efforts
+of the garrison having forced them back into the ditch, they took to
+flight; but the mountain horsemen, who had remained on the watch at a
+certain distance, fell with their sabres on the fugitives; and the
+latter, seeing inevitable death on either hand, returned to the assault,
+drove the garrison from the rampart, and forced it to retire into the
+_réduit_, after it had set fire to all the stores and provisions of
+every kind that were in the redoubt. Sharp-shooting went on for half an
+hour; the firing then ceased, and the mountaineers were beginning to
+congratulate themselves on their victory, when the powder magazine blew
+up.[62] The garrison perished in accomplishing this act, memorable in
+military annals; but with it perished all the mountaineers who were in
+the redoubt. The details of the defence of the Veliaminof and Michael
+redoubts have been divulged by the mountaineers themselves, and by some
+soldiers who have escaped from slavery among them. The services of the
+heroes who died thus on the field of honour, have been honoured by his
+majesty the emperor, in the persons of their families; whose livelihood
+has been insured, and whose children will be brought up at the expense
+of the state. These redoubts are now once more occupied by the
+detachment of troops operating on the eastern coasts of the Black Sea.
+
+"The Navaguinsky fort has often been subjected to the attacks of the
+mountaineers; but they have always been repulsed with the same valour
+and steadiness. In one of these attacks, the mountaineers, availing
+themselves of the darkness of night, and the noise of a tempest,
+approached the fort without being perceived by the sentinels, surrounded
+it on all sides, sprang suddenly to the assault with ladders and hooks,
+made themselves masters of part of the rampart, and got into the fort.
+Captain Podgoursky, its brave commandant, and Lieutenant Jacovlev, then
+advanced against them with a part of the garrison. Both were killed on
+the spot, but their death in no degree checked the ardour of the
+soldiers, who fell upon the enemy with the bayonet, and drove them into
+the ditch. The fight was maintained with the same enthusiasm on all the
+other points of the fortifications, and the invalids themselves
+voluntarily turned out from the hospital and took part in it. At
+daybreak, after three hours hard fighting, the fort was cleared of the
+enemy, who left in it a considerable number of killed and wounded.
+
+"On the 26th of May, the Abinsky fort, situated between the Kouban and
+the shore of the Black Sea, was surrounded at two in the morning by a
+body of mountaineers 12,000 strong, who had assembled in the vicinity,
+and suddenly assaulted the fort with loud shouts, and discharges from
+their rifles. The hail of bullets, hand-grenades, and grape-shot with
+which they were received did not check their ardour. Full of temerity
+and contempt of death, they descended with marvellous promptitude and
+agility into the ditch, and began to scale the rampart, thus blindly
+seeking sure destruction. The warriors, clad in coats of mail,
+penetrated repeatedly into the entrenchment, but were each time killed
+or driven back. At last, in spite of all the efforts of the garrison, a
+numerous party found their way into the interior of a bastion, and flung
+themselves with flags unfurled into the interior of the fort. Colonel
+Vecelofsky, the commandant, retaining all his presence of mind at this
+critical moment, charged the enemy at the bayonet point, with a reserve
+he had kept, of 40 men, and drove them out of the entrenchment, after
+capturing two of their flags. This brilliant feat checked the audacity
+of the assailants, and inflamed the courage of the garrison to the
+highest pitch. The enemy, beaten on all points, took flight, carrying
+off their dead, according to the custom of the Asiatics. Ten of their
+wounded remained in the hands of the garrison, who found 685 dead in the
+interior of the fort and in the ditches. The number of those whom the
+mountaineers carried off to bury at home, was doubtless still more
+considerable. The loss on our side was nine killed and eighteen wounded.
+
+"At the time of the attack, the garrison of the Abinsky fort consisted
+of a superior officer, fifteen officers, and 676 soldiers. The numerical
+weakness of this force, proves of itself the extraordinary intrepidity
+of all comprised in it, officers and soldiers, and their unanimous
+resolution to defend with unswerving firmness the ramparts confided to
+their courage."
+
+It seems to us superfluous to offer any comment on this heroic bulletin.
+We shall merely observe, that the most serious losses, the destruction
+of the new road from the Kouban, the taking of fort St. Nicholas, and
+that of several other forts, have been entirely forgotten in the
+official statement, and no facts mentioned, but those which might be
+interpreted in favour of Russia's military glory.
+
+On the eastern side of the mountain the war was fully as disastrous for
+the invaders. The imperial army lost 400 petty officers and soldiers,
+and twenty-nine officers in the battle of Valrik against the
+Tchetchenzes. The military colonies of the Terek were attacked and
+plundered, and when General Golovin retired to his winter quarters at
+the end of the campaign, he had lost more than three-fourths of his
+men.
+
+The Great Kabarda did not remain an indifferent spectator of the
+offensive league formed by the tribes of the Caucasus; and when Russia,
+suspecting with reason the unfriendly disposition of some tribes, made
+an armed exploration on the banks of the Laba in order to construct
+redoubts, and thus cut off the subjugated tribes from the others, the
+general found the country, wherever he advanced, but a desert. All the
+inhabitants had already retired to the other side of the Laba to join
+their warlike neighbours.
+
+Since that time fresh defeats have been made known through the press,
+and in spite of all the mystery in which the war of the Caucasus is
+sought to be wrapt, the truth has, nevertheless, transpired. The last
+military operations of Russia have been as unproductive as those that
+preceded them, and prove that no change has taken place in the
+belligerents respectively. Thus we see that in despite of the resources
+of the empire, and of the indomitable obstinacy of the emperor, the
+position of Russia in the Caucasus has been quite stationary for sixty
+years.
+
+In considering this long series of disasters and unavailing efforts, we
+are naturally led to inquire what have been the causes of this want of
+success? We have already mentioned the topographical character of the
+country, and the difficulties encountered by an invading army in regions
+not accessible by the valleys, and we have given such details of the
+manners and character of the mountaineers as may enable the reader to
+conceive the obstinate and formidable nature of their resistance.
+Nevertheless, seeing the absolute power of Nicholas, and the intense
+importance he attaches to the conquest of the Caucasus, it is difficult
+to admit that obstacles arising out of the nature of the ground and the
+character of the population could not have been overcome in a region so
+limited, if there were not other and more potent causes continually at
+work to impede the military operations of Russia. These causes reside
+chiefly in the deplorable state and constitution of the imperial armies.
+
+In Russia there is no distinct commissariat department under
+disinterested control, whether of the government or of superior
+officers. It is the colonel himself of each regiment who provides the
+rations, and as he is subject to no control, but acts really with
+despotic authority, both he and his contractors have the amplest
+possible opportunity to cheat the government and enrich themselves at
+the expense of the troops. There are regiments in the Caucasus that
+bring in from 80,000 to 100,000 francs to the colonel. As for the
+subaltern officers, military submission on the one hand, and the
+scantiness of their pay on the other, make them always ready to
+participate in their commander's infamous speculations. What is the
+result of this wretched corruption? It is that, notwithstanding the high
+prices paid by the government, the contractors continue to send to the
+Caucasus the most unwholesome stores, and grains almost always heated or
+quite spoiled; for it is only in this way they can realise sufficient
+profits to be able to satisfy the cupidity of their confederates, the
+officers. I knew several merchants of Theodosia in the Crimea, men of
+honour, who refused to have any thing to do with military supplies,
+because they found it impossible to make the colonels and generals
+accept sound articles.
+
+This official robbery is nowhere carried on in a more scandalous manner
+than in the Caucasus. It is there regularly established, and one may
+conjecture the hardships and privations of the soldier from seeing the
+luxurious tables of the lowest officers, most of whom have but from 1000
+or 1200 rubles yearly pay. Certainly there are few sovereigns who take
+more heed than Nicholas to the physical welfare of their soldiers, and
+we must give full credit to his generous intentions in this respect; but
+these are completely defeated by the corruption of his officers and
+civil servants, by the total want of publicity, and by that base
+servility which will always hinder an inferior from accusing his
+superior. I have been present at several military inspections made by
+general officers in the Caucasus, but never heard the least complaint
+made by the soldiers; and when the general, calling them by companies
+round him in a circle, questioned them respecting their victuals, they
+all invariably replied in chorus, that they had nothing to complain of,
+and were as well treated as possible. Their colonel's eye was upon them,
+and they knew what the least word of complaint would have cost them; yet
+they were dying by hundreds of scurvy, and other diseases engendered by
+unwholesome food.
+
+The government usually makes large purchases of butter in Siberia for
+the army of the Caucasus; but this butter which would be of such great
+utility in the military hospitals, and which costs as much as sixty-five
+francs the twenty kilogrammes, very seldom passes further than Taganrok,
+where it is sold in retail, and its place supplied with the worst
+substitute that can be had. Nor does the robbery end there. The butter
+fabricated in Taganrok is again made matter of speculation in the
+Caucasus, and finally not a particle reaches the sick and drooping
+soldiers. The other good provisions undergo nearly the same course.
+
+When I was at Theodosia in 1840, there were in the military hospital of
+the town 15,000 invalids, who were all dying for want of attendance and
+good medicine. A Courland general (whom I could name) justly incensed at
+these abuses, sent in a strong report of them directly to the emperor;
+and twenty days afterwards, a superior officer, despatched by the
+emperor himself, arrived on the spot. But the people about the hospital
+were rich; they had taken their measures, and the result of this
+mission, which looked so threatening at first, was a report extremely
+satisfactory as to the zeal of the managers and the sanatory condition
+of the establishment. The general was severely reprimanded, almost
+disgraced, and the robbers continued to merit official encomiums. I did
+not hear that they were rewarded by the government.
+
+The most frightful mortality prevails among the troops in the Caucasus;
+whole divisions disappear in the space of a few months, and the army is
+used up and wholly renewed every three or four years. It is especially
+in the small forts on the seaboard, where the mischiefs of bad food are
+increased by almost total isolation, that diseases make frightful havoc,
+particularly scurvy. In the spring of 1840, the twelfth division marched
+to occupy the redoubts on the coasts of Circassia, and its effective
+number was 12,000 men, quite an extraordinary circumstance. Four months
+afterwards it was recalled to take part in the expedition at that time
+projected against the Viceroy of Egypt. When it landed at Sevastopol it
+was reduced to 1500 men. In the same year the commander-in-chief, in
+visiting the forts of the seaboard, found but nine men fit for service
+out of 300 that composed the garrison of Soukhoum Kaleh. According to
+official returns, the average deaths on the seaboard of Circassia in
+1841 and 1842, were 17,000 in each year.
+
+Is it to be wondered that with such a military administration, Russia
+makes no progress in the Caucasus? What can be expected of armies in
+which want of all necessaries and total disregard for the lives of men
+are the order of the day? The divisions and regiments in the Caucasus
+are in a state of permanent disorganisation, and the courage and
+activity of the troops sink altogether under the influence of the
+diseases by which they are incessantly mowed down. It needs all the
+force of discipline, all the stoic self-denial of the soldier, and,
+above all, the incessant renovation of the garrisons, to hinder the
+Russians from being driven out of all their positions.
+
+People often ask with surprise why Russia does not take the field with
+200,000 or even 300,000 men at once. We have already given sufficiently
+circumstantial details on the topography of the Caucasus, to enable
+every one to perceive immediately how difficult it is to employ large
+armies in regions so inaccessible, and so wonderfully defended by
+nature. Nor, on the other hand, must it be forgotten that the official
+strength of the army of the Caucasus is always at least 160,000 men. Its
+real strength, indeed, very seldom exceeds 80,000; but its proportion to
+the grand total of the imperial forces, paid as if they were at the
+full, still remains the same, and it is impossible, under existing
+circumstances, that the government should augment the number of its
+troops without most seriously increasing the already embarrassed
+condition of the finances. Another consideration of still greater weight
+is, that the movements of large armies are attended with extreme
+difficulty in Russia, to a degree unknown in any other country of
+Europe. In all the discussions that are held on the subject of the war
+in the Caucasus, the immense difficulties of the transport of men,
+military stores, and provisions, have never been taken into account, and
+people have always reasoned as if the Caucasus was situated in the midst
+of the tzar's dominions. A glance at the map of Russia will suffice to
+show, that those mountains lying on the most southern verge of the
+empire, are separated by real deserts from the great centres of the
+Russian population, and that to repair to the banks of the Kouban from
+the first governments where troops are recruited, they must traverse
+more than 150 leagues of country inhabited by Cossacks and Kalmucks, in
+which the nature of the soil and of the inhabitants forbids any
+cantonment of reserves.
+
+Moreover we must not forget the difficulties of the climate. The fine
+season barely lasts four months in Russia. The roads are impassable for
+pedestrians in spring and autumn, and during the winter the cold is too
+severe, the days too short, the snow-storms often too prolonged to allow
+of putting regiments on the march, not to say sending them to the
+Caucasus across the uncultivated and desert plains that stretch between
+the Sea of Azof and the Caspian. The route by sea is equally
+impracticable. No use can be made of the Caspian on account of the arid
+and unproductive steppes that belt it on the Russian side. Astrakhan,
+the only town situated on that part of the coast, is obliged to fetch
+its provisions from a distance of 200 leagues. The Black Sea is, indeed,
+more favourably circumstanced; but it only affords communication with
+the forts on the Circassian side; and the mountaineers always wait to
+make their attacks in the season of rough weather, during which
+navigation is usually suspended, and it is exceedingly difficult to
+reinforce and victual the garrisons. The tediousness and difficulty of
+conveying stores is the same by land. With the exception of the forts of
+Circassia, supplied directly from the ports of Odessa, Theodosia, and
+Kertch, all the garrisons of the Caucasus receive their supplies from
+the nearly central provinces of the empire. Thus the materials destined
+for the army of the Terek and of Daghestan arrive first in Astrakhan,
+after a voyage of more than 200 leagues down the Volga; and then they
+are forwarded by sea for the most part to Koumskaia, on the mouth of the
+Kouma, where they are taken up by the Turcomans on their little
+ox-carts, impressed for the service, and reach their final destination
+after fifteen or twenty days' travelling. The mode of proceeding is
+still more tedious and expensive for the implements and _matériel_ of
+war which arrive from Siberia only once a year, during the spring floods
+of the Volga, the Don, and the Dniepr. Such obstacles render it
+impossible to augment the forces employed on the Caucasus. France is
+infinitely better circumstanced with regard to Algeria. We have nothing
+to prevent our keeping up strong military stations on the Mediterranean
+shore. We can at any moment command the means of rapidly transporting to
+Africa whatever forces may be required by ordinary or unforeseen
+circumstances. We will by and by return to the war in Algeria, as
+compared with that which the Russians are carrying on in the Caucasus.
+
+We have yet to speak of another cause of weakness to the Russian arms,
+and one which is the more serious as it operates exclusively on the
+_moral_ of the soldiers. Russia has made the Caucasus a place of
+transportation, a regular Botany Bay for all the rogues in the empire,
+and for those who by their acts or their political opinions, have
+incurred the wrath of the tzar. In reference to this subject, we will
+mention a fact which may seem hard to believe, but which I attest as an
+eye-witness. In 1840, the fifteenth division, commanded by
+Lieutenant-General S----, received orders to march to the Caucasus. On
+leaving Taganrok, it was about 1200 short of its complement, and its
+deficiency was supplied from the prisons of southern Russia. Robbers,
+pickpockets, vagabonds, and soldiers that had been flogged and degraded,
+were marched into Taganrok, and incorporated with the regiments which
+were about to begin the campaign. These singular recruits were put under
+the keeping of the soldiers, and each of them, according to his supposed
+degree of rascality, was guarded by two, three, or four men. Surely the
+_moral_ of the Russian troops is sufficiently jeopardised by the social
+and military institutions of the empire, and it cannot be prudent so
+deeply to debase the soldier by associating him with thieves and highway
+robbers, and to change the toilsome wars of the Caucasus into a means of
+punishment, I may say of destruction, for political offenders and real
+criminals. Furthermore, a conflict so prolonged, so disastrous, and that
+for so many years has been without any tangible result, must inevitably
+have the worst effect on the minds of troops who are not actuated either
+by the sense of glory or honour, or by the feeling that they are
+defending the right. We have visited the Caucasus at various times, and
+never did we meet one officer who was heartily attached to the service
+in which he was engaged. Despondency is universal, and many expeditions
+against the mountaineers have been marked by a total absence of
+discipline. The soldiers have often refused to march, and have suffered
+themselves to be massacred by their officers, rather than advance a
+foot.
+
+The Caucasus has also become a place of exile for a great number of
+Poles. After the revolution of 1831, the Russian government committed
+the blunder of sending to the Kouban most of the regiments compromised
+in that ill-fated effort. The result was very easy to foresee; desertion
+soon began in the ranks of the outlaws, and it is now known beyond a
+doubt that the Tcherkesses have Poles among them, who instruct them in
+the art of war, endeavour to create an artillery for them with the
+pieces captured from the Russians, and labour actively to allay the
+dissensions between the various tribes. General Grabe himself assured me
+that he had seen in several places fortifications which he recognised as
+quite modern. He had also in his campaign of 1840 remarked a more
+compact and better concerted resistance on the part of the Circassians,
+and often a remarkable degree of combined action in their attacks.
+
+We have not much to say about the military tactics employed by Russia in
+this war; in point of science it presents no very striking features, but
+on the contrary, cannot but give a very low idea of the merit of the
+imperial generals. At first it was expected that the conquest would be
+effected by hemming in the mountaineers with military lines, and
+gradually encroaching on their territory; but this very costly system
+seems to me quite impracticable in a country in which the forts are
+always solitary, and cannot protect each other, or cross their fires. I
+do not know, however, whether it has been quite given up.
+
+Attempts were made in 1837 to set fire to the forests of the Caucasus by
+means of pitch. Three years afterwards it was hoped to effect their
+destruction by arming the men of the 15th division with axes; but these
+strange expedients only produced useless expenditure. I know a general
+of the highest personal courage, who calls in the aid of natural
+philosophy to beguile or awe the mountaineers. Whenever he receives a
+visit from chiefs whose fidelity he is inclined to suspect, he sets an
+electrical machine in play. His visitors feel violent shocks, they know
+not how, their beards and hair stand on end, and in the bewilderment
+caused by these mysterious visitations, they sometimes let out an
+important secret, and betray themselves to their enemy.
+
+An officer of engineers told me an anecdote of this same general which
+is worth recording. A mosque which the Russian government had built at
+its own expense for a tribe of Little Kabarda was to be inaugurated, and
+as usual there was a grand military parade in honour of the occasion.
+When the Kabardians had displayed all their address in horsemanship and
+shooting, the Russian general proceeded to give a sample of what he
+could do, and to strike the assembled tribes with amazement. He called
+for his double-barrelled gun, and having himself charged one of the
+barrels with ball, he ordered a pigeon to be let loose, which he
+instantly brought down, to the astonishment of the beholders. "That is
+not all," said he to the chiefs near him; "to shoot a pigeon flying is
+no very extraordinary feat; but to cut off his head with the ball is
+what I call good shooting." Then turning to his servant, he said
+something to him in German. The man went and picked up the bird, and
+when he held it out to view, it was seen to be beheaded just as the
+general had said. Unbounded was the admiration of the simple
+mountaineers; they looked on the general as a supernatural being, and
+nothing was talked of for many a day in the aouls, but the beheaded
+pigeon and the wonderful Russian marksman.
+
+Now to explain the enigma. The inhabitants of the Caucasus are ignorant
+of the use of small shot, and it was with this the general had
+accomplished his surprising exploit, having previously loaded one barrel
+with it. As for the pigeon's head, it was adroitly whipped off by the
+servant, who had received his orders to that effect in German.
+
+But it would be idle to expect that the shrewd good sense of the
+mountaineers will long be imposed on by the scientific accomplishments
+of the Russian generals; on the contrary, these curious expedients only
+give them increased confidence in their own strength. Yermoloff appears
+to us to have been the only governor who understood the nature of the
+war in the Caucasus, and who conducted affairs with the dignified and
+inflexible vigour which were fitted to make an impression on the tribes.
+Several commanders-in-chief have succeeded him in turns: Rosen, Golovin,
+Grabe, Raiefsky, Anrep, Neughart; but the government has gained nothing
+by all these changes.
+
+After the details we have given, comments and arguments would be almost
+superfluous: it is easy to conceive how critical is the situation of the
+Russians in the Caucasian regions. For twenty years the Emperor Nicholas
+has expended all the military genius of his empire, shrinking from no
+sacrifice of men or money, and employing generals of the highest
+reputation, and yet the might of his sovereign will has broken down
+before the difficulties we have pointed out. The tribes of the mountain
+are, on the contrary, growing stronger every day. They are making
+progress in the art of war; success fires their zeal; the old intestine
+discords are gradually disappearing, and the various tribes seem to feel
+the necessity of acting in concert, and uniting under one banner. Now
+can Russia, under existing circumstances, increase her chances of
+success? We think not, and the facts sufficiently corroborate our
+opinion. With his system of war and absolute dominion, the tzar has
+entangled himself in a hopeless maze, and the Caucasus will long remain
+a running sore to the empire, a bottomless pit to swallow up many an
+army and much treasure. It has often been proposed to renounce the
+present system, but the emperor's vanity will not admit of any pacific
+counsels. Besides, even if Russia were now willing to change the nature
+of her relations with the independent tribes, she could not do so. Her
+overtures would be regarded as tokens of weakness, and the mountaineers
+would only become so much the more enterprising.
+
+In Alexander's time, when warlike ideas were less in favour, it was
+proposed to establish a commercial intercourse with the Tcherkesses, and
+bring them gradually by pacific means to acknowledge the supremacy of
+Russia. A Genoese, named Scassi, proposed in 1813 to the Duc de
+Richelieu, governor of Odessa, a plan for a commercial settlement on the
+coasts of Circassia. His scheme was adopted, and a merchant vessel
+touched soon afterwards at Guelendchik and Pchiat, without meeting with
+any hindrance on the part of the inhabitants. A trade was soon
+established, but the disorderly conduct of the Russians aroused the
+jealousy of the Circassians, who soon burned and destroyed the factory
+at Pchiat, and the government, whether justly or not, treated Scassi as
+a culprit. Since that time there has been no thought of commerce or
+pacification, and the tribes of the Caucasus have been regarded only as
+rebels to be put down, not as a free people justly jealous of their
+privileges. Frequent conferences have taken place between the Russian
+generals and the mountain chiefs; but as the one party talked only of
+liberty and independence, and the other of nothing but submission and
+implicit obedience, hostilities always broke out again with fresh
+vehemence. It appears, however, from facts recently communicated to me,
+that the emperor is at last disposed to give up his warlike system, and
+that his generals have at last received orders to act only on the
+defensive.[63] But as the government, whilst adopting these new
+measures, still loudly proclaims its rights of sovereignty over the
+Caucasus, it follows that this change of policy is quite illusory, and
+cannot effect any kind of reconciliation between the Russians and the
+mountaineers.
+
+We now come to the point at which we may advert to a question which set
+the whole English press in a blaze in 1837; namely, the blockade of the
+Circassian coasts, and the pretensions of Russia as to that part of the
+Caucasus. It is evident that the tzar's government being at open war
+with the mountaineers, may at its pleasure intercept the foreign trade
+with the enemy's country. This is an incontestible right recognised by
+all nations, and the capture of the _Vixen_ was not worth the noise that
+was made about it. As to the proprietary right to the country which
+Russia affects to have received from Turkey, through the treaty of
+Adrianople, it is totally fallacious, and is unsupported by any
+historical document or positive fact. It is fully demonstrated that
+Turkey never possessed any right over Circassia; she had merely erected
+on the seaboard, with the consent of the inhabitants, the two fortresses
+of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh, for the protection of the trade between the
+two countries. Russia herself, in the beginning, publicly acknowledged
+this state of things; and the evidence of her having done so is to be
+found in the general depôt of the maps of the empire. Chance threw into
+my hands a map of the Caucasus, drawn up by the Russian engineers, long
+prior to the treaty of Adrianople. The Turkish possessions are
+distinctly marked on it, and defined by a red boundary line; they
+consist solely, as we have just stated, of the two fortresses on the
+coast. This map, the existence of which one day sorely surprised Count
+Voronzof (governor-general of New Russia), was sent to England, and
+deposited in the Foreign Office during Lord Palmerston's administration.
+After all, I hardly know why Russia tries to avail herself of the treaty
+of Adrianople as a justification in the eyes of Europe of her schemes of
+conquest in the Caucasus. She is doing there only what we are doing in
+Algeria, and the English in India, and indeed with still greater reason;
+for, as we shall presently see, the possession of the Caucasus is a
+question vitally affecting her interests in her trans-Caucasian
+provinces, and her ulterior projects respecting the regions dependent on
+Persia and Central Asia.
+
+Here are the terms in which this subject is handled in a report printed
+at St. Petersburg, and addressed to the emperor after the expedition of
+General Emmanuel towards the Elbrouz, in 1829:
+
+"The Tcherkesses bar out Russia from the South, and may at their
+pleasure open or close the passage to the nations of Asia. At present
+their intestine dissensions, fostered by Russia, hinder them from
+uniting under one leader; but it must not be forgotten that according to
+traditions religiously preserved among them, the sway of their ancestors
+extended as far as to the Black Sea. They believe that a mighty people,
+descended from their ancestors, and whose existence is corroborated by
+the ruins of Madjar, has once already overrun the fine plains adjacent
+to the Danube, and finally settled in Pannonia. Add to this
+consideration their superiority in arms. Perfect horsemen, extremely
+well armed, inured to war by the continual freebooting they exercise
+against their neighbours, courageous, and disdaining the advantages of
+our civilisation, the imagination is appalled at the consequences which
+their union under one leader might have for Russia, which has no other
+bulwark against their ravages than a military line, too extensive to be
+very strong."
+
+Reflections like these, printed in St. Petersburg, can leave no doubt as
+to the dangers to which the southern provinces are exposed. They are not
+to be mistaken, and the government sees them clearly: the aggressive
+independence of the Caucasus is perilous to all Russia. Armed,
+courageous, and enterprising as they are, the mountaineers need only
+some degree of union among their chiefs, to carry the flames of revolt
+over a vast portion of the tzar's dominions.
+
+Let any one look fairly and impartially at the immense region comprised
+between the Danube and the Caspian, and what will he behold? To the east
+40,000 tents of Khirghis, Turcomans, and Kalmucks, robbed of all their
+ancient rights, or threatened with the loss of the remnant yet left them
+of their independence; in the centre 800,000 Cossacks bound to the most
+onerous military service, tormented by the recollection of their
+suppressed constitutions, and detesting a government whose efforts tend
+to extinguish every trace of their nationality; in the south and west
+the Tatars of the Crimea and the Sea of Azof, and the Bessarabians, who
+are far from being favourable to Russia; and lastly, beyond the
+Caucasus, in Asia, restless populations, ill-broken as yet to the
+Russian yoke, and possessions with which there exists no overland
+communication except that by way of Mozdok, a dangerous route, which
+cannot be traversed without an escort of infantry and artillery, and
+which the mountaineers may at any moment intercept.[64] Here, assuredly,
+are causes enough of disorganisation and ruin, that want only a man of
+genius to set them in action. What wonder is it that with such
+contingencies to apprehend, the empire recoils from no sacrifice!
+
+No one, we believe, will deny the schemes of conquest which the
+Muscovite government entertains regarding Turkey, Persia, and even
+certain regions of India: these schemes are incontestible, and have long
+been matter of history. The fact being admitted, what is the position
+most favourable for these vast plans of aggrandisement? We have but to
+glance at the map to answer immediately: the regions beyond the
+Caucasus. There it is that Russia is in contact at once with the Caspian
+and the Black Sea, with Persia and Turkey; from thence she can with the
+same army dictate laws to the Sultan of Constantinople, and to the Shah
+of Teheran; and there her diplomacy finds an ample field to work, and
+continual pretexts to justify fresh encroachments. But this formidable
+position will never be truly and securely possessed by the tzars until
+the tribes of the Caucasus shall have been subjugated.
+
+When the empire acquired all those Asiatic provinces, its situation as
+to the Caucasus was far from being so critical as it now is. It is, in
+fact, only within the last fourteen or fifteen years that the fierce
+struggle has raged between Muscovite domination and the freedom of the
+mountain. I therefore much doubt that Russia would now venture to act
+towards Persia as she did in the time of Catherine II., and her
+successors. Her hostile attitude has been strikingly modified since she
+has had in her rear a foe so active and dangerous as the Caucasians.
+This is a consideration that may ease the minds of the English as to
+their possessions in India, for the road by Herat and Affghanistan will
+not be so very soon open to their rivals. There can be no question then
+respecting the great importance of the Caucasus to Russia. The
+independence of the mountaineers is perilous to her southern
+governments, compromises the safety and the future destiny of the
+trans-Caucasian provinces, and at the same time fetters and completely
+paralyses the ambition of the tzar. It is in this sense the question is
+likewise regarded by the court of Teheran, which now builds its whole
+hope of safety on the entanglements of Russia in the Caucasus.
+
+And now let us ask what is the work which Russia is doing beyond the
+Caucasus for the advantage or detriment of mankind? What, independently
+of her ambition and her tendencies, is the influence she is called to
+exercise over the actual and future lot of the nations she has subjected
+to her sway? It must be admitted that when the imperial armies appeared
+for the first time on the confines of Asia, the trans-Caucasian
+provinces were abandoned without defence or hope for the future to all
+the sanguinary horrors of anarchy. Turkey, Persia, and the mountain
+tribes rioted in the plunder of Georgia and the adjacent states. The
+advent of the Russians put an end to this sad state of things, and
+introduced a condition of peace and quiet unknown for many centuries
+before. The imperial government, it is true, brought with it its vices,
+its abuses, its vexations, and its hosts of greedy and plundering
+functionaries; and then, when the first heyday of delight at the
+enjoyment of personal safety was past, the inhabitants had other
+hardships to deplore. Nevertheless, the depredations committed by its
+functionaries will never prevent the inevitable tendency of the
+Muscovite occupation to bring about an intellectual development, which,
+soon or late, will act most favourably on the future condition of those
+Asiatic regions. Christian populations, so active and enterprising as
+are those of the trans-Caucasian provinces, will infallibly begin a
+career of social improvement from the moment they find themselves
+released from the engrossing care of defending their bodily existence.
+Of course it will need many years to mature a movement which derives no
+aid from the too superficial and corrupt civilisation of Russia; nor has
+any thing worth mentioning been done as yet to promote the industry,
+commerce, and agriculture of a country, which only needs some share of
+freedom to be productive. Tiflis is far from having fulfilled the
+prophecy of Count Gamba, in 1820, and become a second Palmyra or
+Alexandria; on the contrary, every measure has been adopted that could
+extinguish the very germs of the national wealth. But humanity,
+mysterious in its ways, and slow in its progress, seldom keeps pace with
+the impatience of nations; and notwithstanding the new evils that in our
+day afflict the trans-Caucasian populations, we are convinced that it
+was a grand step in advance for them to have been withdrawn from the
+anarchical sway of Persia and Turkey, and to have had the personal
+safety of their inhabitants secured by the intervention and authority of
+Russia.[65]
+
+The conquest of India by the Russians has often been the theme of long
+discussions and elaborate hypotheses. England was very uneasy at the
+attempts on Khiva, and never meets with a single difficulty in
+Affghanistan without ascribing it to Muscovite agents. It is, therefore,
+worth while to consider what are the means and facilities at the command
+of Russia for the establishment of her dominion in the centre of
+Turkistan and on the banks of the Indus and the Ganges.
+
+Three points of departure and three routes present themselves to Russia
+for the invasion of Central Asia. On the eastern coast of the Caspian
+Sea, Manghishlak, Tuk Karakhan, and the Bay of Balkhan, communicate with
+Khiva by caravan routes; Orenburg to the north is in pretty regular
+communication with Khiva and Bokhara; and to the south the Caspian
+provinces trade with Affghanistan either by way of Meshed, Bokhara, and
+Balkh, or by Meshed, Bokhara, and Candahar.
+
+The first line that was taken by a Russian expedition was that from Tuk
+Kharakhan to Khiva. Prince Alexander Bekovitch was sent by Peter the
+Great to explore certain regions of the Khanat of Khiva, which were
+supposed to contain rich gold mines, and landed on the Caspian shore
+with about 3,000 men. The result was disastrous; but the details are
+too well known to need repetition here. No new demonstration has since
+been made in that direction, and it appears to have been with good
+reason abandoned entirely. The eastern shores of the Caspian have been
+sufficiently explored to make it clear that they cannot be made the
+starting point of military operations against Turkistan. From the mouth
+of the Emba to the vicinity of Astrabad, the shore is without a river;
+and the whole seaboard, as well as the regions between the Caspian and
+Khiva, with the exception of a very small tract occupied by the Balkhan
+mountains, presents only barren desert plains, without water, occupied
+by nomade Turcomans, and affording no resources to an invading army.
+"This country," says Mouravief, "exhibits the image of death, or rather
+of the desolation left behind by a mighty convulsion of nature. Neither
+birds nor quadrupeds are found in it; no verdure or vegetation cheers
+the sight, except here and there at long intervals some spots on which
+there grow a few sickly stunted shrubs." It is reckoned that on an
+average a caravan employs from twenty-eight to thirty-five days of
+camel-marching to complete the distance of about two hundred leagues
+that divides Tuk Karakhan from Khiva. The journey is not quite so long
+from the Bay of Balkhan. This was the route taken by Captain Mouravief
+when he was sent by Yermolof to the Khan of Khiva, to propose to him an
+alliance with Russia. It would certainly be hard to conceive any
+conditions more unfavourable for an expedition towards the interior than
+are presented by this part of the coast. On the one side is the Caspian
+Sea, the navigation of which is at all times difficult, and in winter
+impossible; on the other side more than a month's march through the
+desert; and then on the coast itself there is a total impossibility of
+cantoning a reserved force. Under these circumstances, all schemes of
+conquest in this direction must be chimerical. The Russians no doubt
+might, by a clever _coup-de-main_, push forwards some thousands of men
+on Khiva, and take the town; but what would they gain thereby? How could
+they victual their troops; or how could they establish any safe line of
+transport across deserts traversed by flying hordes of warlike
+plunderers? Russia could not possibly dispense with a series of
+fortified posts to keep up a regular communication with her army of
+occupation, and how could she erect and maintain such posts in a naked
+and wholly unproductive country? The government has already tried to
+establish some small forts on the north-eastern shore of the Caspian,
+for the protection of its fisheries, against the Khirghis; but to this
+day it has effected nothing thereby, but the useless destruction of many
+thousands of its soldiers, who have perished under the most cruel
+hardships. Furthermore, the Khanat of Khiva, the state nearest the
+imperial frontiers, is but a very small part of Turkistan; nor would its
+occupation help in more than a very limited degree towards the conquest
+of Bokhara, and _a fortiori_ towards that of Affghanistan.
+
+After the line from the eastern coast of the Caspian, that from Orenburg
+to Khiva and Bokhara appears to have attracted the particular attention
+of the tzars. But General Perofsky's fruitless expedition against Khiva,
+in 1840, has demonstrated that this line is quite as perilous and
+difficult as the other. The steppes that lie between Russia and the two
+khanats are exactly similar to those situated north and east of the
+Caspian, presenting the same nakedness and sterility, an almost total
+want of fresh water, and nomade tribes perpetually engaged in rapine.
+When State Councillor Negri was sent on an embassy to the Khan of
+Bokhara, in 1820, he set out accompanied by 200 Cossacks, 200 infantry,
+twenty-five Bashkir horsemen, two pieces of artillery, 400 horses, and
+358 camels. The government afforded him every possible facility and
+means of transport, and he took with him more than two months' rations
+for his men and cattle. Yet though he met with no obstruction on the
+part of the hordes whose steppes he traversed, he was not less than
+seventy-one days in completing the journey of 1600 kilometres (1000
+miles) from Orenburg to Bokhara.
+
+Perofsky, who marched at the head of 6000 infantry, with 10,000 baggage
+camels, could not even reach the territory of Khiva. The disasters
+suffered by his troops obliged him to retrace his steps without having
+advanced further than Ac Boulak, the last outpost erected by the
+Russians in 1839, at 180 kilometres from the Emba. The obstacles
+encountered by his small army were beyond all description. The cold was
+fearful, being 40 degrees below zero of the centigrade thermometer; the
+camels could scarcely advance through the snow; and the movements of the
+troops were constantly impeded by hurricanes of extraordinary violence.
+Such an expedition, undertaken in the depth of winter, solely for the
+purpose of having fresh water, may enable one to guess at the
+difficulties of a march over the same ground in summer. Spring is a
+season unknown in all those immense plains of southern Russia; intense
+frost is there succeeded abruptly by tropical heat, and a fortnight is
+generally sufficient to dry up the small streams and the stagnant waters
+produced by the melting of the snows, and to scorch up the thin coating
+of pasturage that for a brief while had covered the steppes. What chance
+then has Russia of successfully invading Turkistan from the north, and
+reigning supreme over Bokhara, which is separated from Orenburg by 400
+leagues of desert? All that has been done, and all that has been
+observed up to this day, proves that the notion is preposterous. As for
+any compact and amity between Russia and the numerous Kirghis hordes,
+such as might favour the march of the imperial armies in Bokhara, no
+such thing is to be expected. A great deal has been said of the Emperor
+Alexander's journey to Orenburg in 1824, and the efforts then made by
+the government to conciliate the Kirghis; but these proceedings have
+been greatly exaggerated, and represented as much more important than
+they really were. They have not produced any substantial result, and I
+know from my own experience how hostile to Russia are all the roving
+tribes of the Caspian, and how much they detest whatever menaces their
+freedom and independence.
+
+We have now to consider in the last place the two great Persian routes,
+which coincide, or run parallel, with each other, as far as Meshed,
+where they branch off to Bokhara on the one hand, and on the other to
+Cabul by Herat and Candahar. The former of these routes, travelled over
+by Alexander Burnes, seems to us totally impracticable. The distance to
+Bokhara from Teheran (which we will assume for the starting point,
+though it is still the capital of Persia) is not less than 500 leagues;
+and it cannot reasonably be supposed possible to effect, and above all
+to preserve, a conquest so remote, when in order to reach the heart of
+the coveted country, it is necessary to traverse the vast deserts north
+of Meshed, occupied by nomade hordes, which are the more formidable,
+inasmuch as no kind of military tactics can be brought to bear on them.
+Moreover, it must not be forgotten that the occupation of Bokhara by no
+means infers that of Affghanistan. The distance from the former to Cabul
+is more than 250 leagues. The regions between the two towns are indeed
+less sterile and easier to traverse; but, on the other hand, an army
+marching towards India would have to penetrate the dangerous passes of
+the high mountain chain between Turkistan and Affghanistan, which are
+defended by the most indomitable tribes of Central Asia. Here would be
+repeated those struggles in which Russia has been vainly exhausting her
+strength for so many years in the Caucasus.[66] In truth, in presence of
+such obstacles, of ground, climate, population, and distance, all
+discussion becomes superfluous, and the question must appear decided in
+the negative by every impartial man who possesses any precise notions as
+to the regions of Western Asia.
+
+There remains the route by Meshed, Herat, and Candahar. This is
+incontestably the one which presents fewest difficulties; yet we doubt
+that it can ever serve the ambitious views attributed to Russia. Along
+the line from Teheran to Herat lie important centres of agricultural
+populations; villages are found on it surrounded by a fertile and
+productive soil. But these advantages, besides being very limited, are
+largely counterbalanced by uncultivated plains destitute of water which
+must be traversed in passing from one inhabited spot to another, and by
+the obstacles of all kinds which would be subsequently encountered in a
+march through the deserts of Affghanistan, the warlike tribes of which
+are much more formidable even than the Turcomans who infest the route
+from Teheran to Herat. Besides, as it is nearly 600 leagues from the
+capital of Persia to the centre of Affghanistan, it is exceedingly
+unlikely that Russia will ever succeed in subjugating a country in
+which its armies could only arrive by a military road maintained and
+defended through so huge a space.
+
+No doubt the way would be considerably smoothed for Russia along both
+the Candahar and the Bokhara lines, if by gradually extending the circle
+of her conquests she had brought the inhabitants of Khorasan and
+Turkistan to obey her. But there are obstacles to the achievement of
+this preliminary task which the empire is not by any means competent to
+surmount, nor will it be so for a very long time to come. To say nothing
+of climate, soil, and distance, all the tribes in question are animated
+with a hatred and aversion for Russia, which will long neutralise the
+projects of the tzars. We often hear of the great influence exercised by
+the cabinet of St. Petersburg at Khiva, Bokhara, and Cabul; but we
+believe it to be greatly exaggerated, and the history of the various
+Muscovite embassies proves most palpably that it is so. What did Negri
+and Mouravief effect at Khiva and Bokhara? They were both received with
+the most insulting distrust, prevented from holding any communication
+with the natives, and watched with a strictness which is only employed
+against an enemy. Mouravief even went near to pay for his embassy with
+his head. Was Russia more fortunate at Cabul? We think not. The
+remoteness of her dominions may cause her agents to be received with
+some degree of favour, especially at a time when the sovereign of Cabul
+finds himself exposed to the hostility of England. Yet it is not the
+less true that any serious attempt of Russia on Turkistan and the
+eastern regions of Persia would suddenly arouse the animosity of the
+Affghans and all their neighbours. We readily admit that the imperial
+government has it in its power, by its advice and its intrigues, to
+exercise a certain influence at Cabul, to the detriment of England; but
+that this influence can ever serve the extension of the Muscovite sway
+is what we utterly deny, knowing as we do the intense and unmitigable
+aversion to Russia which is felt by all the natives of Asia.
+
+The conquests of Alexander the Great and of Genghis Khan have often been
+appealed to as proving how easy it would be for the tzars to follow in
+the footsteps of those great captains. Such language bespeaks on the
+part of the writers who have put it forth the most profound ignorance of
+the actual condition of the places and the inhabitants. When Alexander
+marched towards Bactriana to subjugate the last possessions of Persia,
+he left behind him rich and fertile countries, important Greek colonies,
+and nations entirely subdued; moreover, he marched at the head of an
+army consisting of natives of the south, possessing all the
+qualifications necessary for warfare in the latitudes of Central Asia.
+Furthermore, at that period the provinces of the Oxus contained numerous
+rich and flourishing towns, with inhabitants living in luxury, and
+little capable of resistance. Nevertheless, in spite of all the
+facilities and all the supplies which the country then offered to an
+invading army, its physical conformation, broken and bounded by deserts
+both on the north and on the south, seems to have aided the efforts of
+its defenders to a remarkable degree. It was in fact in this remote part
+of Persia that the conqueror of Darius had to fight many a battle for
+the establishment of his transient sway. The same circumstances marked
+his march to India. Invasions have become still more difficult since his
+day, for all those regions once occupied by wealthy and agricultural
+nations have been ravaged and turned into deserts; scarcely do there
+exist a few traces of the ancient towns, and the populations subdued by
+Alexander have been succeeded by hordes of Khirgis, Turcomans, and
+Affghans, who would be for the Russians what the Scythians were for the
+King of Macedon and the other conquerors who tried to enslave their
+country.
+
+The Mongol invasions can no more than Alexander's be regarded as a
+precedent for Russia. Inured to the fatigues of emigration, carrying all
+their ordinary habits into the camp, changing their country without
+changing their ways of life, unburdened by any _matériel_ of war, and
+never retarded by the slow and painful march of a body of infantry, the
+hordes of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane were singularly fitted for
+occupying and retaining possession of the immense plains of Turkistan,
+and realising the conquest of India.
+
+Russia, on the contrary, is totally devoid of those grand means of sway
+which Alexander and the Mongols enjoyed. The Russians have nothing in
+common with the soldiers of antiquity and of the middle ages, and are
+placed in very different circumstances: they are natives of the coldest
+regions of the globe; they have no possible opportunity of previous
+acclimation, and they are separated from the frontiers of India by more
+than 500 leagues of almost desert country, in which the employment of
+infantry, wherein alone consists the real superiority of Europeans over
+Orientals, is impracticable.
+
+And now, if we look to India, and to the people from whom the tzars
+propose to wrest its empire, we see Great Britain occupying all the
+towns on the coast and in the interior, mistress of the great rivers of
+the country, controlling millions of inhabitants by her irresistible
+political ascendency, having the richest and most productive countries
+of the world for the basis of her military operations, commanding
+acclimated European troops, and a powerful native army habituated to
+follow her banners; in a word, we see Great Britain placed in the most
+admirable position for defending her conquests, and repulsing any
+aggression of the northern nations, foreign to the soil of Hindustan and
+Central Asia. The fears of the English and the schemes of the Russians
+appear to us, therefore, alike chimerical. Undoubtedly, as we have
+already said, the intrigues of the government of St. Petersburg, may,
+like those of any other influential power, create difficulties and
+annoyances in Affghanistan and elsewhere; but the English rule will
+never be really in danger, until the time shall come when national
+ambition and a desire of resistance shall have been kindled in the
+Hindu populations themselves.
+
+Let us turn back to the Caucasus, of which we have not spoken in this
+discussion, though the independence of its tribes is in our opinion one
+of the most important obstacles to the aggrandisement of Russia in Asia;
+and let us imagine what are the immediate palpable interests which are
+at stake in the Trans-Caucasian regions for certain powers of Europe.
+Every one knows that Persia is become of late years the point of contact
+between England and Russia, the scene of competition between the two
+nations for the disposal of their merchandise. Our readers are aware,
+that since the suppression of the transit trade and free commerce of the
+Caucasian provinces, the English have established a vast depôt for their
+manufactures at Trebisond, whence they have not only acquired a monopoly
+in the supply of Armenia, Eastern Turkey, and the greater part of
+Persia, but also supply the Russian provinces themselves by contraband.
+Hence it may be conceived with what wakeful jealousy England must watch
+the proceedings of Russia beyond the Caucasus, and what an interest she
+has in impeding any conquest that would close against her the great
+commercial route she has pursued by way of Erzeroum and Tauris. She
+cannot, therefore, be indifferent to the independence of the Caucasus,
+which, while serving as a bulwark to the frontiers of Turkey and Persia,
+affords also a most effectual protection to her mercantile operations in
+Trebisond. It may perhaps be said that this is a merely English
+question, very interesting to the manufacturers of London and
+Manchester, but of little concern to France. But where our neighbours
+find means to dispose annually of more than 2,000,000_l._ sterling worth
+of manufactures, there also we think our own political and commercial
+interests are concerned. Have not we, too, an influence to keep up in
+Asia? Do not we, too, possess manufactories and a numerous working
+population, and is it not carrying indifference and apathy too far, to
+let other powers engross all those regions of Asia where we could find
+such ready and profitable markets? Whose fault is it if the French flag
+is so seldom seen on the Black Sea, if Trebisond is become an English
+town, and if the commerce of Asia is monopolised by our rivals? There is
+much to blame in the indifference of our country, and in the incapacity
+of some of our consular agents. But if our commercial policy is often
+vicious, if our trade is misdirected and mismanaged, and we are often
+outstripped by our neighbours across the channel, is that any reason why
+we should, in blind selfishness, express our approval of conquests which
+would only end in the destruction of all European commerce in the Black
+Sea? Certainly if Russia, modifying her prohibitive system, and frankly
+abandoning all further designs against Turkey and the coasts of the
+Black Sea, would seek to extend her dominions solely on the side of
+Persia, we think it would be good policy not to thwart such a movement;
+for in case of a struggle between that power and England, France would
+unquestionably be called on to act as a mediator, which would give her
+an admirable opportunity for dictating conditions favourable to her
+policy and her influence in the East.
+
+The detailed considerations into which we have entered respecting the
+situation of the Russians, the war in the Caucasus, and the political
+importance of that region, clearly indicate the differences between the
+conflict in the Caucasus and that which we have been carrying on for
+fourteen years in Algeria. The aggressive policy of Russia once
+admitted, and her possessions north, south, and east of the Caucasus not
+allowing of contestation, the submission of the mountaineers becomes for
+her a vital question, with which is connected, not only the fate of her
+Asiatic provinces, but also that of all the governments that lie between
+the Danube and the Caspian. In Algeria, on the contrary, we are not
+urged by any imperious motive to extend our conquests. Our political
+influence in Europe, and our real strength could at present gain nothing
+thereby; and it is probably reserved to another generation to derive a
+grand and useful result from our African conquests.
+
+Of late years some public writers, taking the defeats of Russia for
+their text, have founded on them an argument against the establishment
+of French supremacy in Algeria. This reasoning appears to us unsound,
+and it is even at variance with historical facts. In Asia, Russia has
+had to deal with two very distinct regions; the trans-Caucasian
+provinces, and the Caucasus proper. The former, easy of access, and
+comprising Georgia, Imeritia, Mingrelia, and the other provinces taken
+from Persia and Turkey, were occupied by disorganised nations, at
+variance within themselves, and differing from each other in race,
+manners, and religion; accordingly the Muscovite sway was established
+over them without difficulty, and without any conflict worth mentioning
+with the inhabitants. The case has not been the same in that immense
+mountain barrier erected between Europe and Asia, the inaccessible
+retreats of which extend from Anapa to the shores of the Caspian. The
+dwellers in those regions present no analogy with the inhabitants south
+of the chain. There has never been a moment's pause in the obstinate
+strife between them and Russia; and all the sacrifices, and all the
+efforts of the tzars against them, have for sixty years been wholly in
+vain.
+
+Our situation in Algeria is evidently very different. We have there had
+for our portion neither the bootless strife of the Caucasus, though
+having most warlike tribes for adversaries, nor the easy conquests of
+the trans-Caucasian provinces. It is but fourteen years since our troops
+landed in Africa, and we possess, not only all the towns of the
+seaboard, but likewise all those of the interior; numerous bodies of
+natives share actively in our operations; we are masters of all the
+lines of communication; our forces command the country to a great
+distance from the coasts: and in the opinion of all well-informed
+officers the pacification of the regency of Algiers would, perhaps, have
+by this time been accomplished, if the government had set its face
+against the passion for bulletins, and the too martial humour of most of
+our generals, and tried to pacify the tribes, not by arms and violence,
+but numerously ramified commercial relations which should call into play
+the natural cupidity of the Arabs.
+
+Nor can the topographical difficulties of Algeria be compared with those
+that defend the country of the Lesghis, the Tchetchenzes, and the
+Tcherkesses. Intersected by vast plateaux, numerous rich and fertile
+valleys, and parallel mountain ranges, almost everywhere passable and
+flanked by long lines of coast of which we possess the principal points,
+and which present at Algiers, Oran, Philippeville, and Bona, wide
+openings affording admission into the interior, our possessions afford
+free course to our armies, and nowhere exhibit that strange and singular
+conformation in which has consisted from time immemorial the safety of
+the Caucasian tribes.
+
+There are other circumstances likewise that facilitate our progress in
+Africa, and enable us to exercise a direct influence over all the tribes
+south of the Tel of Algiers. As has been very ably demonstrated by M.
+Carrette, captain of engineers, it is enough to occupy the extreme
+limits of the cultivated lands, and the markets in which the inhabitants
+of the oases exchange their produce for the corn and other indispensable
+commodities of the north, to oblige all the populations of the Sahara,
+fixed or nomade, immediately to acknowledge the sovereignty of France.
+
+It is only in case our government, impelled by ill-directed vanity,
+should decide on the absolute conquest of the mountains of the Kabyles,
+that we might encounter in the country, and in the political
+constitution of those mountaineers, some of the obstacles that
+characterise the Caucasian regions. And again, what comparison can there
+be between Kabylia, the two portions of which east and west of Algiers
+comprise but 1000 or 1200 square leagues of surface, and the great chain
+of the Caucasus which extends with a mean breadth of fifty or sixty
+leagues, over a length of more than 250 leagues?
+
+We say nothing of the superiority of our armies and our military system.
+It is enough to recall what we have said as to the deplorable situation
+of the troops in the Caucasus, to be aware how much France has the
+advantage over Russia in this respect.
+
+The diseases and the frightful mortality incident to our armies have
+been also dwelt on; but here again all the statistical returns are in
+favour of France. Out of a force of 75,000 men, our mean annual loss is
+7000 or 8000. In 1840, indeed, the most fatal year, it appears to have
+risen to 12,000; but in that same year, and likewise in the following
+year, Russia lost more than 17,000 on the coasts of Circassia alone.
+Thus physically, as well as politically, there is a total difference
+between the war in the Caucasus and that in Algeria; and instead of
+suffering ourselves to be disheartened by fourteen years of unproductive
+occupation, and despairing before hand, because the actual results do
+not keep pace with our unreasonable impatience, we ought to take example
+by that indefatigable perseverance with which Russia, in spite of her
+disasters and the fruitlessness of her efforts, has gone on in the
+pursuit of her purpose for upwards of half a century.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[61] M. Hommaire says he has copied the bulletin exactly as it appeared
+in French in the Russian papers.
+
+[62] "Unfortunately the author of this heroic act is unknown. It is
+believed from some hearsay accounts to have been performed by a private
+soldier of the Tenguinisky regiment of infantry. The results of the
+inquiry instituted on the subject will be published hereafter." (_Note
+of the Russian journalist._)
+
+[63] This was written in 1844.
+
+[64] There is indeed a road by way of Daghestan along the Caspian; but
+it is still more impracticable than that by Mozdok, and besides it is
+too long to be of use to Russia in her dealings with the Asiatic
+governments. As for the maritime routes by the Caspian and the Black
+Sea, their utility is greatly limited by the intense frosts which block
+up the ports of Odessa, Kherson, Taganrok, Kertch, and Astrakhan during
+four months of the year.
+
+[65] We do not mean these remarks to apply in any respect to the
+Mussulman tribes, of whom we will speak hereafter. The Christian and the
+Mahometan population balance each other in the trans-Caucasian
+provinces; they both number about 400,000 males.
+
+[66] The mountains that divide Turkistan from Affghanistan are covered
+with perpetual snow; some of their peaks are 6000 yards high. Hadjigak,
+which was crossed by A. Burnes, is 4000 yards above the sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+      A STORM IN THE CAUCASUS--NIGHT JOURNEY; DANGERS AND
+      DIFFICULTIES--STAVROPOL--HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
+      GOVERNMENT OF THE CAUCASUS AND THE BLACK SEA COSSACKS.
+
+
+At four o'clock on a dull morning we left Piatigorsk of charming memory,
+to strike once more into the mountains, where by the by, in less than an
+hour, we were met by one of the grandest and most violent storms I
+remember ever having witnessed. We had to endure its force for two long
+hours; and our situation was the more critical, since our _yemshik_
+(coachman), though quite familiar with the road, seemed almost at his
+wits' end. It was only by the gleam of the lightning he was able to make
+such brief observations of the ground as enabled him to guide his
+horses. This was certainly a very precarious resource, but there is a
+special providence for travellers. Lost in the midst of the mountains,
+and our sole hope of safety resting on the coolness and skill of a
+peasant, we escaped, we scarce knew how, from a seemingly inevitable
+catastrophe. A furious burst of rain, the last expiring effort of the
+storm, at last cleared the sky, which became coloured towards the west
+with purple bands, that contrasted gloriously with the darkness of the
+rest of the firmament. A magnificent rainbow, with one end springing
+from the highest peak of the Caucasus, whilst the other was lost in the
+mists of evening, gleamed before us for a few moments, and gradually
+dissolved away.
+
+At half-past seven we reached the station, wet, weary, stupified, and
+very much surprised to find ourselves safe and sound after having passed
+through so many dangers. Nevertheless, this recent alert by no means
+made us forego our original plan of travelling all night in order to
+reach Stavropol the next day. Nothing is so soon forgotten in travelling
+as danger. One is no sooner out of one scrape than he is ready to get
+into another, and a worse one, without giving a thought to his past
+alarms. You must get over the ground: that is your ruling thought. As
+for taking precautions, calculating the good or the bad chances of the
+journey, or troubling oneself about dangers to come, by reason of those
+already incurred, all this is quite out of the question. We were quite
+bent on travelling all night, but the idea was totally discountenanced
+by the postmaster and the Cossacks whom we fell in with at the station.
+They told us there was a fair at Stavropol, and that the road was always
+somewhat dangerous on such occasions, particularly after sunset. A night
+or two before, several persons returning from the fair had been
+surprised and plundered by the Circassians, in spite of the many
+military posts along the road. Several other ugly stories were told us,
+in a tone that at last shook our resolution, and we were beginning very
+reluctantly to give up our project, when an unexpected incident made us
+recur to it again.
+
+A Polish officer, who until then had kept aloof in a dark corner, seeing
+the annoyance we felt at this unforeseen delay, joined in the
+conversation, and offered to set out at once with us, if his company
+would be sufficient to restore our confidence. He, too, was going to
+Stavropol, and it was all the same to him whether he travelled that
+night or next day. The proposal, which was made with the most obliging
+frankness, agreed too well with our wishes to allow of any further
+hesitation, and we at once accepted it. The Pole had with him a servant
+very well armed, and the two together were such a reinforcement to our
+little troop as almost insured our safety. With great exultation we set
+about our preparations for departure, but the more experienced
+postmaster gave with reluctance the order to put the horses to, and
+could not help crossing himself repeatedly when he saw us get into the
+britchka, whilst the two yemshiks failed not to imitate his example, and
+to lift their fur caps several times in token of devotion. The Russians
+always find means to mingle crossings with all the other acts of their
+hands, by which process they set their consciences entirely at rest. I
+am satisfied they cross themselves even when thieving, partly from
+habit, and partly in the hope of escaping without detection.
+
+Once out of the yard, the pleasure of travelling on a mild and dim night
+through an unknown country, that presented itself to our eyes under
+vague and mysterious forms, so engrossed our minds that we thought no
+more of Circassians, or broken ground, or danger of any kind. The Pole's
+carriage preceded ours, and his Cossack began to sing in a low tone one
+of those sweet melancholy airs which are peculiar to the Malorussians.
+The plaintive melody, mingled with the tinkling of the horses' bells,
+and the motion of the carriage lulled me into a dreamy repose, half way
+between sleeping and waking. I know not how long this state of
+hallucination lasted; but I was startled out of it by a pistol-shot
+fired close to me, and before I could collect my senses a second was
+fired, but at some distance. The carriage had stopped, the night was
+very dark, and my companions were quite silent. I was a good deal
+frightened, until my husband explained to me that the Polish officer had
+lost his way, and that our dragoman had fired his pistol as a signal to
+him, and that the second shot was an answer to the first. Being now
+satisfied that we had not half a dozen Circassians about us, I recovered
+courage enough to laugh at my first dismay. Anthony left us to look for
+our travelling companion, after arranging with us that a third shot
+should be the token of his having found him. We passed half an hour in a
+state of painful anxiety, teasing ourselves with a thousand alarming
+conjectures, and dreading lest the report of fire-arms should bring down
+on us some of the Circassians who might be prowling in the
+neighbourhood. What would I not have then given to be far away from that
+road which we had been told was so terrible, and of which my imagination
+still more magnified the dangers!
+
+At last the preconcerted signal was heard, and Anthony soon afterwards
+returned, but alone, and told us that we must go on without the Pole,
+whose pereclatnoi had stuck fast in a bad spot, and could not be
+extricated until daylight. The night was so dark, and the ground so
+dangerous, that notwithstanding his wish to ease our minds, the officer
+could not venture to come to us. This news was not calculated to abate
+our anxiety; we might in a moment be in the same predicament as the
+officer, supposing nothing worse should happen. The road, as the yemshik
+told us, wound round a rock, and what proved that it was dangerous was
+that it was flanked in places with slight posts and rails. Such a
+precaution is so rare in Russia, that it may be taken as a certain
+indication of no common danger. We debated awhile whether it would not
+be more prudent to remain where we were until daybreak; but the coachman
+was so terrified at the thought of passing a night in the mountains,
+that he gave us no peace till we moved forward. The prospect of tumbling
+down a precipice was decidedly less terrible to him than the thought of
+having to do with the Circassians. Alighting and leading his horses, he
+followed Anthony, who carefully sounded one side of the road. As we
+advanced on our perilous descent, the sound of a torrent roaring at the
+bottom smote our ears, as if to increase our perplexity; but in an
+hour's time we found ourselves safe and sound on the plain, and soon
+afterwards we reached the station, where our arrival excited great
+astonishment. The postmaster was enraged against his colleague, and
+could not conceive how he had come to give us horses at night, in
+defiance of the strict rules of the police. For his part he assured us
+that his duty forbade him to do any such thing, and that it was useless
+to ask him. I need not say, however, that this declaration itself was
+useless, for we had had quite enough of the road for that night. I never
+enjoyed the most comfortable chamber in a French or German hotel so much
+as I did the miserable lodging in which I then lay down on a bench
+covered only with a carpet.
+
+We did not quit the station next day until the arrival of our travelling
+companion, whom we had reluctantly left in so unpleasant a predicament.
+He was severely bruised by his fall, but laughed heartily at his mishap.
+We set out together, very glad to get away from those fine mountains
+that were then gleaming in the rays of the morning. The events of the
+preceding night, though after all not very dramatic, had left so
+painful an impression on our mind, that the very sight of the mountains
+still caused us a secret dread. Instead, therefore, of quitting with
+regret so picturesque a region, the more homely and commonplace the
+country became, the more we admired it. We were just in the humour to be
+delighted with the steppes of the Black Sea; so much does the
+appreciation of scenery depend on the state of the mind.
+
+During all this day's journey the road was covered with carriages,
+horsemen, and pedestrians, repairing to the fair of Stavropol, and
+affording samples of all the motley population of the vicinity,
+Circassians, Cossacks, Turcomans, Georgians, and Tatars; some in
+brilliant costume, caracoling on their high-bred Kalmuck or Persian
+horses, others stowed away with their families in carts covered with
+hides; others driving before them immense flocks of sheep or swine, that
+encompassed the carriages and horsemen, and occasioned some very comical
+incidents. Among all those whom business or pleasure was calling to the
+fair, we particularly noticed a very handsome young Circassian mounted
+on a richly caparisoned horse, and riding constantly beside a pavosk of
+more elegance than the rest, and the curtains of which were let down.
+This was enough to stimulate our curiosity, for in these romantic
+regions the slightest incident affords matter for endless conjectures. I
+would have given something to be allowed to lift one of the curtains of
+the mysterious pavosk, or at the least to keep it in view until our
+arrival in Stavropol, but our postilion did not partake in our
+curiosity, and putting his horses to a gallop, he soon made us lose
+sight of the group. The last low range of the Caucasus, which gradually
+diminishes in height to Stavropol, formed an irregular line on our left,
+in which we caught many hasty glimpses of charming scenery. The
+vegetation still retained a great degree of freshness, in consequence of
+the mildness of the temperature, which at this season would have
+appeared to us extraordinary even in more southern countries.
+
+It was late in the evening when we reached Stavropol, so that we could
+not avail ourselves of our letters of introduction, and were obliged to
+hunt for a lodging in the hotels of the principal street. But they were
+all full, and with great difficulty we succeeded, with the help of our
+Polish friend, in getting admission to the Great Saint Nicholas, a
+shabby inn, the common room of which was already tenanted by a dozen
+travellers. Nevertheless, we secured a little corner, and there we
+contrived to form a tolerable sort of divan with our cushions and
+pelisses. I had now an opportunity of remarking how little notice
+travellers take of each other in this country. In this room, filled with
+people whose habits were so different from ours, we were as much at our
+ease as if the apartment belonged to us alone; and neither our language,
+behaviour, nor dress, appeared to attract any undue attention.
+
+Stavropol, the capital of the whole Caucasus, is a very agreeable town,
+and appeared to us so much the more so from the animation lent it by the
+fair. But I perceive that in the course of these travels I have not
+named one town without immediately joining the word _fair_ to it. It
+must be owned that chance was most bountiful to us in throwing in our
+way so many occasions for conceiving a high idea of the commerce of
+Russia. At Stavropol, however, the fair occupied our attention much less
+than General Grabe, who was just a week returned from an expedition
+against the Circassians. His staff filled the whole town with the noise
+of their martial deeds. Every officer had his story of some glorious
+exploit, whereof of course he was himself the hero. Though so recently
+returned, General Grabe was already in busy preparation for another
+campaign, on which he built the greatest hopes. The good gentleman even
+pressed my husband very strongly to accompany him, as if it were a mere
+party of pleasure. He offered him his tent, instruments, and every thing
+necessary to render the excursion beneficial to science. Under any other
+circumstances my husband would no doubt have yielded to the temptation
+of visiting the tribes of the Caucasus in the very heart of their
+mountains, under the protection of a whole army, but it would have been
+madness to undertake such a journey after those we had but just
+completed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Before we finally take leave of the Caucasian regions, it will not be
+amiss to give some historical account of that part of the empire, and of
+the Cossacks of the Black Sea, to whom is committed the perilous task of
+protecting the frontiers against the incessant attacks of the formidable
+mountain tribes.
+
+It was by virtue of an ukase promulgated by Catherine II. in 1783, that
+Russia took full and entire possession of all the countries north of the
+Kouban and the Terek, which of yore formed the almost exclusive
+dominions of numerous hordes of black Nogais, some of them independent,
+others acknowledging the authority of the Tatar khans of the Crimea. But
+previously to this period the tzars were already in military occupation
+of the country, for it was in 1771 that they completed the armed line of
+the Caucasus, begun by Peter the Great, at the mouth of the Terek.
+
+At first the new conquest was put under the direction of the military
+governor of Astrakhan; but the state of the southern frontiers soon
+became so serious in consequence of the war with the mountaineers, that
+it was found advisable to form all the provinces conquered by Catherine
+II. north of the Caucasus, into a distinct province. The government of
+the Caucasus thus constituted, is bounded on the north by the Kouma and
+the Manitch, which divide it from the territory of Astrakhan and from
+that of the Don Cossacks; on the west by the country of the Black Sea
+Cossacks; on the east by the Caspian, and on the south by the armed line
+of the Kouban and the Terek.
+
+At the foot of the Caucasus, as everywhere else, the Russian occupation
+occasioned great migrations. All the black Nogais of the right bank of
+the Kouban, who had fought against Russia, withdrew beyond the river
+among the tribes of the mountain. The Kabardians forsook the environs of
+Georgief, and sought refuge deeper in the Caucasian chain, and it was
+only the black Nogais of the barren plains between the Terek and the
+Kouma that remained in their old abodes. Cut off from the independent
+tribes since the erection of the fortresses of Kisliar and Mosdok, they
+took no part in the events of the war, and so they remained in peaceable
+possession of their territory. As for the Kalmucks, who had been very
+bold and active auxiliaries of Russia, they preserved intact all the
+pasturages they now possess in the government of the Caucasus.
+
+The Muscovite sway once established, and the frontiers put in a state of
+defence, the next step was to occupy the country along the northern
+verge of the Caucasus in some other way than by light troops. It was
+therefore determined to form numerous colonies of Muscovites and
+Cossacks, a project which the absolute power of the tzars enabled them
+quickly to fulfil. The present villages in the centre of the province
+along the banks of the Kouban, the Terek, the Kouma, the Egorlik and the
+Kalaous, were erected, and the military colonies of the Black Sea
+Cossacks were founded; several large proprietors seconded the efforts of
+the government, and prompted either by the spirit of speculation, or by
+the superabundance of their slaves, formed large establishments on the
+lands that had been gratuitously conferred upon them. Attempts, too,
+were made to settle some of the German families of Saratof on the Kouma.
+
+But the results were far from realising the hopes of the government.
+Compressed between the narrow limits in the districts of Stavropol and
+Georgief, bounded on the north and east by the uncultivated lands of the
+Turcomans and Kalmucks, on the south by the armed lines, continually
+attacked and overrun by the mountaineers, the colonies soon ceased to
+wear a thriving appearance; many sacked and burnt villages never rose
+again from their ashes, the German colony on the Kouma was destroyed,
+and now there remains no hope that the number of agricultural
+inhabitants will ever become sufficient to lend any real aid to the
+projects of the tzars. We have been in a great many villages on the
+Kouma, and the confluents of the Manitch, and found them scarcely able
+to supply their own wants. Their contributions to the commissariat are
+almost nothing, and the armies are always obliged to procure their
+stores from the central provinces of Russia.
+
+Some settlements, indeed, such as Vladimirofka and Bourgon Madjar on the
+Kouma, directed by able men, have attained a high degree of prosperity;
+but these are exceptions, and they owe their wealth to the cultivation
+of the mulberry and the pine, and their numerous corn-mills, which
+constitute for them a virtual monopoly. The cultivation of corn has had
+no share in the welfare of these colonies, the nature of the climate
+having always been unfavourable to it: the people of Vladimirofka and
+the neighbouring villages think themselves fortunate if they can raise
+corn enough for their own consumption.
+
+Thus, while we cordially approve of the principle that suggested the
+foundation of these advanced posts of the Slavic population, and that
+strives to enlarge their growth, we are nevertheless convinced that in
+the present state of things, with the war in the Caucasus becoming every
+day more formidable, these colonies can never be conducive to the
+progress of Russia; unless, indeed, that should happen, which we think
+most unlikely, namely, that the government should so extend its
+conquests as to become undisputed possessor of the fertile regions
+beyond the Kouban, where the colonist could command sufficient natural
+resources.
+
+The Cossacks better fulfilled the purpose for which they were settled on
+the frontier. Active, enterprising, and accustomed to partisan warfare,
+they were admirably adapted for resisting the incursions of the
+mountaineers. If they have been less efficient of late years, the blame
+must be laid on the inordinate demands of the government, the extreme
+contempt with which they are treated by the Russian generals, and, above
+all, the extinction of the privileges which had been wisely conferred on
+them in the beginning, and which alone could guarantee to the empire the
+maintenance of their vigorous military organisation.
+
+The Black Sea Cossacks, as every one is aware, are descended from the
+Zaporogues of the Dniepr, whose famous military corporation appears to
+have been established towards the end of the fifteenth century.
+Continually engaged against the Tatars of the Crimea, the Ukraine
+Cossacks founded at this period a sort of colony near the mouths of the
+Dniepr, consisting exclusively of unmarried men, whose special avocation
+it was to guard the frontiers. Their numbers rapidly increased,
+deserters from all nations being attracted to them by the hope of booty,
+and their setcha, or head-quarters, on an island of the Dniepr, became
+famous throughout the land for the military services and the valour of
+its inhabitants. In 1540, such was the importance of these colonies to
+Poland, that King Sigismund granted a large tract of land above the
+cataracts to the Zaporogues, in order to strengthen the barrier erected
+by them between his dominions and the Tatars.
+
+The new settlements on the Dniepr for a long time followed the fortune
+of the Cossacks of Little Russia. But as their strength augmented
+continually, they at last detached themselves from the mother country,
+and became an independent military state. The supremacy of the tzars was
+imposed on Little Russia in 1664, and from that time the Zaporogues,
+deprived of their allies, and left entirely to their own resources,
+owned allegiance, according to circumstances, to the Turks or the
+Tatars, to Poland or Russia, until the rebellion of Mazeppa, in which
+they took part, led to the total destruction of their power. Some years
+afterwards we find them again rallied under the protection of the khans
+of the Crimea; but Russia soon assumed so formidable an attitude in
+those parts, that they were at last constrained, in 1737, to acknowledge
+themselves vassals of the empire.
+
+But the political decline of the unfortunate Zaporogues did not stop
+there. During the war that preceded the treaty of Koutchouk Kainardji, a
+strong desire for independence was excited among them by the arbitrary
+acts of Russia. Many of their detachments fought even in the ranks of
+the Turks. Then it was that Catherine determined on completely rooting
+out the military colony of the Dniepr. The Zaporogues were expelled by
+force from their territory, which was given to other cultivators; and
+some of them emigrated beyond the Danube, while others were transported
+to the neighbourhood of Bielgorod. Ten years afterwards, when war broke
+out again with Turkey, a great number of the latter volunteered into the
+Russian armies. After the peace of Jassy, Prince Potemkin, who had
+formed them into regiments, was so pleased with their valour and
+fidelity, that he induced Catherine to settle them beyond the strait of
+the Kertch, and intrust them with the defence of the Circassian border.
+They were also granted, along with the peninsula of Taman, the whole
+territory comprised between the Kouban and the Sea of Azof, and
+extending eastward to the confluent of the Laba, and northward to the
+river Eia. The Zaporogues then took the appellation of Cossacks of the
+Black Sea, and their organisation was assimilated to that of their
+brethren of the Don. They had an attaman, nominated for life by the
+emperor, out of a list of candidates chosen by themselves; and the civil
+and military affairs of the community were directed, under this supreme
+chief, by two permanent functionaries, and four assessors changed every
+three years. Other privileges were likewise accorded to them, consisting
+chiefly in exemption from all taxes, the free use of the salt-pools, the
+right of terminating all litigations without having recourse to the St.
+Petersburg courts of appeal, and in the pledge given to them by the
+government, that their regiments should never be required to serve
+beyond their own territory.
+
+Under the influence of Catherine's liberal institutions, the military
+colony completely fulfilled the hopes of the government, and made rapid
+progress. The rich pastures of the Kouban were covered with immense
+multitudes of cattle, and agriculture, too, attained some degree of
+importance. The population also augmented considerably. The lands of the
+Kouban, as formerly those of the Don, became an asylum for a great
+number of fugitives, and the neighbouring provinces had often to
+complain of the escape of their slaves. But for the last twenty years
+the Black Sea Cossacks have been suffering from the effects of the new
+measures for equalisation and uniformity, and, like the Cossacks of the
+Don, they are now on the eve of being subjected to the ordinary laws and
+institutions of the provinces of the empire. The first encroachment on
+their privileges, was their employment on active service during the
+late wars with Turkey and Persia. They were obliged to furnish four
+regiments, which lost an enormous number of men, and nearly all their
+horses. This first step taken, the government advanced rapidly in its
+course of reform, and in a few years the Cossacks were deprived of their
+right of electing their own functionaries, who were thenceforth
+nominated by the emperor alone. These administrative changes, conjoined
+with the military duties, which have increased to a most onerous extent
+in the course of the war against the mountaineers, have had a very
+depressing effect on the spirits of the population; and at this day the
+Cossacks of the Kouban are far different men from those fiery
+Zaporogues, whose vigorous aid was so eagerly sought by Russia, Poland,
+and Turkey. The military life is become a loathsome burden to them, and
+they now only fight by constraint or in self-defence. The Russians,
+accordingly, accuse them of cowardice; but the government, by destroying
+their privileges, and the commanders-in-chief by the scorn with which
+they treat them and the continual activity they impose on them, do all
+that in them lies to dishearten and debase them. It is they who are
+always put foremost in every expedition; every commanding officer
+sacrifices them without scruple, and makes targets of them for the balls
+of the mountaineers. Is it reasonable, then, to expect alacrity and high
+courage on the part of men for whom military service is the breaking of
+every family tie, the destruction of all domestic prosperity, and who
+have not been left, in exchange for so many sacrifices, even the shadow
+of national independence?
+
+At the time of my last journey to the Caucasus in 1840, the Cossacks of
+the Black Sea numbered about 112,000 souls, of whom 68,000 were males,
+residing in sixty-four villages, and on 36,000,000 hectares of land held
+in common property, like the country of the Don in former times. The
+colonial army counted at that period according to the registers, eleven
+regiments of cavalry, ten of infantry, of 800 men each, and two
+batteries of artillery, one of them mounted, making altogether a total
+of 20,000 men, nearly the third of the male population. No doubt, the
+army can never in any case reach the official amount of force, its ranks
+being continually thinned by disease and war; and although young men are
+forced to enter the service at the age of seventeen, and are often kept
+in it thirty or forty years, still it would be quite impossible to bring
+more than 12,000 or 14,000 into the field at once, without endangering
+the total destruction of the population. In a pecuniary point of view,
+no men could well be more unfortunate than the Cossacks of the Kouban,
+whether in campaign against the mountaineers, or merely cantoned as
+reserves in their villages, they receive absolutely nothing for their
+services. The regulations, indeed, declare that the regiments actually
+called out shall receive pay at the rate of six rubles annually for each
+private, thirty-five rubles for every non-commissioned officer, and 250
+for every subaltern officer; but infallible means have been found for
+preventing these moderate allowances from ever reaching those to whom
+they are promised. The posting establishment throughout the Cossack
+country costs the government just as little as the maintenance of the
+troops, since horses, harness, hay, and corn are all furnished gratis by
+the colony. The postilions even receive no pay whatever; they are only
+allowed a little flour and groats, and for every thing else they and
+their families must shift for themselves during their whole term of
+service. As for the progon (the posting-money paid by travellers), it
+belongs to the Cossack exchequer, and composes, with the proceeds of the
+farm of brandy, salt, and the fisheries, the sole revenues of the
+country.
+
+When I was at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the country, during the
+season of field-work, and in a time of quiet, they reckoned fourteen
+regiments on active service. Accordingly, as might have been expected,
+agriculture had been long neglected, and the country was in a miserable
+state. Nothing was to be seen in the villages but infirm old men,
+invalids, widows, and orphans; and the existence of the colony depended
+on the toil of the women alone. The distress then became so great as to
+excite the uneasiness of the government, and commissioners were sent to
+examine into the state of things; but unfortunately the mission, like
+every thing of the kind, did no good. The truth remained completely
+concealed from the emperor. The blame was cast entirely on the Cossacks
+themselves, and nothing was done to remedy the sufferings of the
+population.
+
+We do not know what measures have been adopted since our departure by
+the imperial government with respect to the present and future situation
+of the military colony of the Kouban. For our own parts, having had
+opportunities of appreciating the good qualities of the Tchornomorskie
+Cossacks, and all the capabilities which a wise administration would
+find in them, we cannot but heartily wish that the government may, with
+a better understanding of its own true interests, at least adopt towards
+them a line of conduct more in accordance with their wants and their
+laborious services.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+      RAPID JOURNEY FROM STAVROPOL--RUSSIAN WEDDING--PERILOUS
+      PASSAGE OF THE DON; ALL SORTS OF DISASTERS BY NIGHT--
+      TAGANROK; COMMENCEMENT OF THE COLD SEASON--THE GERMAN
+      COLONIES REVISITED.
+
+
+It would have been impossible to travel more rapidly than we did from
+Stavropol to the Don. The steppe is as smooth as a mirror, and the
+posting better conducted than in any other part. We no sooner reached a
+station, than horses, which had been brought out the moment we were
+descried, were put to, and galloped away with us without a moment's
+check to the next station. A temperature of at least 20° Reaumer, the
+beauty of the sky, and something light and joyous in the atmosphere,
+kept us in the highest spirits. In no country have I ever seen such
+multitudes of gossamer threads. The carriage, the horses, and our
+clothes were covered with those glistening prognostics of fair weather.
+
+As we advanced towards the abodes of civilisation, our thoughts were all
+about the pleasure of arriving at Taganrok, to find our letters, our
+friends, our European habits again, and the comforts of which for many
+months we had enjoyed but casual snatches. We rejoiced, therefore, in
+the speed with which we got over the ground, and scarcely cared to
+bestow a glance on the stanitzas that fled away behind us. In passing
+through a Russian village, however, we were constrained to bestow some
+attention on outward objects, our carriage being stopped by a wedding
+party that filled the whole street. We counted a dozen pavosks filled
+with young people of both sexes. The girls, with their heads bedizened
+with ribbons, screamed almost like savages, and rivalled the young men
+in impudence and coarseness. It was a disgusting spectacle. The bride
+differed from the rest only by the greater profusion of ribbons and
+flowers that formed her head-gear; her face was as red, her gestures as
+indelicate, and her voice as loud and shrill as those of her companions.
+
+It may seem scarcely credible, but we were but two-and-twenty hours
+travelling 316 versts, between Stavropol and the Don. We ate and slept
+in the carriage, and only alighted at the river side, where all sorts of
+tribulations awaited us. I cannot at this moment think of that memorable
+night without wondering at the pertinacity with which ill-luck clings to
+us when once it has fastened upon us. At ten at night, when we were some
+little way from the Don, we were told that the bridge was in a very bad
+state, and that we should probably be obliged to wait till the next day,
+before we could cross it. Such a delay was not what we had bargained
+for, especially as we had reckoned on enjoying that very night a good
+supper and a good bed under a friendly roof in Rostof. Then the weather,
+which had been so mild, had suddenly turned chill, and this was another
+motive to haste; so we went on without heeding what was told us; but
+when we came to the river, the tokens that the bridge was out of order,
+were but too manifest. Several carts stood there unyoked, and peasants
+lay beside them, patiently waiting the daylight. These men reiterated
+the bad news we had already heard; but then it was only eleven o'clock;
+if we waited we should have to pass nearly seven hours in the britchka,
+exposed to the cold night air, whereas once on the other side, we should
+reach Rostof in two hours. This consideration was too potent to allow of
+our receding from our purpose. At the same time we neglected no
+precaution that prudence required. The coachman and the Cossack were
+sent forward with a lantern to make a reconnaissance, and returning in
+half an hour, they reported that the passage was not quite
+impracticable, only it would be necessary to be very cautious, for some
+parts of the bridge were so weak, that any imprudence might be fatal to
+us.
+
+Without calculating the risks we were about to run, we at once alighted,
+and followed the carriage, which the coachman drove slowly, whilst the
+Cossack went ahead with the lantern, pointing out the places he ought to
+avoid. I do not think that in the whole course of my travels we were
+ever in so alarming a situation. The danger was imminent and
+indubitable. The cracking of the woodwork, the darkness, the noise of
+the water dashing through the decayed floor, that bent under our feet,
+and the cries of alarm uttered every moment by the coachman and the
+Cossack, were enough to fill us with dismay: yet the thought of death
+did not occur to me, or rather my mind was too confused to have any
+distinct thought at all. Frequently the wheels sank between the broken
+planks, and those were moments of racking anxiety; but at last by dint
+of perseverance we reached the opposite bank in safety. The passage had
+lasted more than an hour; it was time for it to end, for I could hold
+out no longer; the water on the bridge was over our ancles. It may be
+imagined with what satisfaction we took our places again in the
+carriage. The dangers we had just incurred, and which we were then
+better able fully to understand, almost made us doubt our actual safety.
+For a long while we seemed to hear the noise of the waves breaking
+against the bridge; but this feeling was soon dispelled by others; for
+our nocturnal adventures were by no means at an end.
+
+At some versts from the Don our unlucky star put us into the hands of a
+drunken coachman, who after losing his way, I know not how often, and
+bumping us over ditches and ploughed fields, actually brought us back in
+sight of the dreadful bridge which we still could not think of without
+shuddering. We tried in our distress to persuade ourselves we were
+mistaken, but the case was too plain; there was the Don in front of us,
+and there stood Axai, the village we had passed through after getting
+into the britchka. Fancy our rage after floundering about for two hours
+to find ourselves just at the point from which we started. The only
+thing we could think of was to pass the night in a peasant's cabin; but
+our abominable coachman, whom the sight of the river had suddenly
+sobered, and who had reason to expect a sound drubbing, threw himself on
+his knees and so earnestly implored us to try the road to Rostof again,
+that we yielded to his entreaties. The difficulty was how to get back
+into the road, and we had many a start before we found it. The carriage
+was so violently shaken in crossing a ditch, that the coachman and
+Anthony were pitched from their seats, and the latter fell upon the
+pole, and became entangled in such a way that he was not easily
+extricated. His shouts for help, and his grimaces when my husband and
+the Cossack had set him on his legs were so desperate, that one would
+have thought half his bones were broken, though he had only a few
+trifling bruises. As for the yemshik, he picked himself up very coolly,
+and climbed into his seat again as if nothing extraordinary had
+happened. To see the quiet way in which he resumed the reins, one would
+have supposed he had just risen from a bed of roses; such is the usual
+apathy of the Russian peasants.
+
+It was four in the morning when we came in sight of Rostof, which is but
+twelve versts distant from the Don. Thus we spent a great part of the
+night in wandering about that town, like condemned ghosts, without
+deriving much advantage from our rash passage of the river. It was well
+worth while to run the risk of drowning, when our calculations and
+efforts could be baffled by so vulgar a cause as the drunkenness of a
+coachman! But the sight of Rostof, where good cheer and hospitality
+awaited us, consoled us for all our mishaps. Yet even here, when we
+almost touched the goal, our patience was put to further trial; for
+alighting at the post station two versts from the town, our rascally
+coachman positively refused to drive us a foot beyond it. This was too
+much for the Cossack's endurance, so drawing out a long knout from his
+belt, he paid the fellow on the spot the whole reckoning he had intended
+to settle with him at the journey's end. The yemshik's shouts brought
+all the people of the station about us, and the wife of the postmaster
+came and scolded him at such a rate, that at last he was forced to drive
+us to the town; but it was more than an hour before he set us down at
+Mr. Yeams's house. His drunkenness had now passed into the sleepy stage,
+and he could only be kept to his work by constant thumping.
+
+The house where we intended to lodge contained a corn store belonging to
+Mr. Yeams, English consul at Taganrok, who had obligingly invited us to
+use it when we quitted that town, and had sent orders to that effect to
+his clerk, M. Grenier: and so pleased were we with our quarters on our
+first visit to Rostof, that now the thought of going anywhere else never
+entered our heads. To have done so would have seemed an affront to Mr.
+Yeams's cordial hospitality. While we were unpacking the carriage,
+Anthony went and knocked at the door, and the coachman, unyoking his
+horses, in a trice went off as fast as he could, without even waiting to
+ask for drink money. Some minutes elapsed; Hommaire, losing patience,
+knocks again, when at last out comes Anthony with a very long face, and
+tells us that M. Grenier, clerk and Provençal into the bargain, refused
+of his own authority to receive us, pretending that he had not a room
+for us. Unable to comprehend such conduct, and believing that there was
+some mistake in the case, my husband went himself to the man, who
+putting his nose out from under the blankets, told him impudently, we
+must go and look for a lodging elsewhere.
+
+All comment on such behaviour would be superfluous. To shut the door at
+night against one's own country people, and one of them a woman, rather
+than incur a little personal trouble, was a proceeding that could enter
+the head of none but a Provençal. The Kalmucks might have given a lesson
+in politeness to this boor, who rolled himself up snugly to sleep,
+whilst we spent the night, benumbed and shivering, under his windows in
+his court-yard. It may be conceived in what a state I passed the night;
+drenched with wet, worn down with mental and bodily fatigue, hungry,
+sleepy, and chilled by the sharp cold that at that season precedes
+sunrise, I was really unconscious of what was passing around me. As soon
+as it was light the Cossack procured horses, and took us to the best
+hotel in Rostof, where a warm room, an excellent bowl of soup, and a
+large divan, soon set us to rights again. On our arrival at Taganrok all
+the Yeams family were indignant at the behaviour of our Provençal, and,
+had we been disposed to pay him in his own coin we might have done so.
+They would have sent him his discharge forthwith, had we not interceded
+for him; the French consul wrote him a threatening letter, and with this
+our vengeance remained satisfied.
+
+We learned at Taganrok that the strangest rumours had gone abroad
+respecting us. Some said that the Circassians had made us prisoners,
+others that we had perished of hunger and thirst in the Caspian steppes.
+In short, every one had had his own melodramatic version of our supposed
+fate. I cannot describe all the kind interest that was shown on our safe
+return from so hazardous a journey. In spite of our wish to arrive as
+soon as possible in Odessa, we could not refrain from bestowing a week
+on friends who received us with such warm sympathy.
+
+The winds from the Ural swept away in one night all that October had
+spared. The weather was still sunny when we arrived on the shores of the
+Sea of Azof; but on the next day the sky assumed that sombre chilly hue
+that always precedes the metels or snow-storms. The whole face of nature
+seemed prepared for the reception of winter, that eternal sovereign of
+northern lands. The sea-beach covered with a thin coating of ice, the
+harsh winds, the ground hardened by the frost, and the increasing
+lividness of the atmosphere, all betokened its coming, and made us
+keenly apprehensive of what we should have to suffer on our way to
+Odessa, where we were to take up our winter quarters, and from whence we
+were still 900 versts distant. With the rapidity of the Russian post the
+journey might be accomplished in ten days, if the weather were not
+unfavourable; but after the threatening symptoms I have mentioned, we
+might expect soon to have a fall of snow, and perhaps to be kept
+prisoners by it in some village.
+
+Unfortunately for us it was the most dangerous season for travelling in
+Russia. The first snows, which are not firm enough to bear a sledge, are
+much feared by travellers, and almost every year cause many accidents.
+At this period, too, the winds are very violent, and produce those
+frightful snow-storms which we have already described. It was a very
+cheerless prospect for persons so way-worn and weary as we were, to have
+incessantly to fight against the elements and other obstacles. I
+remember that in this last journey our need of rest was so urgent, that
+the poorest peasant seated by his stove was an object of envy to us.
+
+We once more passed through all the German colonies I had so much
+admired a few months before. But the pleasing verdure of May had
+disappeared beneath the icy winds of the north, and all was dreary and
+dull of hue. Even the houses, no longer glistening in the sunshine, had
+a sombre appearance in harmony with the withered leaves of the orchards.
+A metel that broke out one night forced us to pass two days in a German
+village, in the house of a worthy old Prussian couple. The wife had lost
+the use of one side, and could not leave her chair, but her husband
+supplied her place in all the domestic concerns with a skill that
+surprised us. As in all the German houses, the principal room was
+adorned with a handsome porcelain stove, and a large tester bed which
+our hosts insisted on giving up to us. From morning till night the
+husband, aided by a stout servant girl, exerted all his culinary powers
+for our benefit. The table was laid out all day until dinner hour with
+coffee, pastry, bottles of wine, ham, and other appetising commodities.
+
+There is nothing I think more delightful in travelling than to watch the
+proceedings of a somewhat rustic cuisine. In such cases all the marvels
+of Carême's art fade before two or three simple dishes prepared under
+your own eyes. The ear is pleasingly titillated by the tune of the
+frying-pan, the smell of good things stimulates desire and quickens the
+imagination, and the very preliminaries are so agreeable, that the
+traveller would not exchange them for the most magnificent banquet in
+the world.
+
+The quantity of snow that had fallen during those two days retarded our
+speed. A man rode on before the carriage and carefully sounded the
+ground, for the metel had filled up the holes and ditches, and
+obliterated all landmarks. Nothing can be more frightful than those
+snowy wastes recently swept and tossed by furious winds. All trace of
+man's existence and his works, have disappeared beneath those white
+billows heaped upon each other like those of the ocean in a storm. How
+well we could appreciate, in those long days we spent in plodding
+through the snow, the horrible sufferings of our poor soldiers,
+perishing by thousands in the fatal retreat of 1812! The thought of
+their misery smote upon our hearts, and forbade us to complain, warmly
+clad as we were, drawn by stout horses, and having all we required done
+for us by others.
+
+As we approached Kherson post-sledges began to show themselves; several
+of them shot by us with travellers wrapped up to the eyes in their fur
+cloaks. These sledges are very low, and hold at most two persons. It
+very often happens that the body part upsets without the driver's
+perceiving it; the accident is not at all dangerous; but it must be
+exceedingly annoying to the traveller, as he rolls in the snow, to see
+his sledge borne away from him at full speed, leaving him no help for it
+but to follow on foot. If the driver does not take the precaution to
+look back from time to time, the traveller may chance to run all the
+way to the next station, and it may be imagined in what a plight he
+arrives there. When the accident happens by night the case is still more
+serious. Many Russians have told us that they had thus lost their way,
+and only after a day or two's search had found the station where their
+sledge had arrived empty. Nothing, indeed, is more common than to lose
+one's way in the steppes, nor is it at all necessary to that end that
+one should fall out of his sledge. We ourselves were once in danger of
+roaming about all night in the neighbourhood of Kherson in search of our
+road, which we could not find. A very dense fog surprised us at sunset,
+scarcely five versts from the town. For a long time we went on at
+random, not knowing whether we were going north or south, and Heaven
+knows where we should have found ourselves at last, if we had not caught
+the sound of horses' bells. The travellers put us on the right way, and
+told us it was ten o'clock, and we had twelve versts between us and
+Kherson.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+      DEPARTURE FOR THE CRIMEA--BALACLAVA--VISIT TO THE MONASTERY
+      OF ST. GEORGE--SEVASTOPOL--THE IMPERIAL FLEET.
+
+
+After a winter spent in the pleasures of repose, we left Odessa at the
+end of April to visit the Crimea, on board the _Julia_, a handsome brig,
+owned and commanded by M. Taitbout de Marigny. Our departure was
+extremely brilliant. The two cannons of the _Julia_, and those of the
+_Little Mary_, that was to sail in company with us, announced to the
+whole town that we were about to weigh anchor. Our passage could not
+fail to be agreeable under such a captain as ours. M. Taitbout de
+Marigny, consul of the Netherlands, joins to the varied acquirements of
+the man of science all the accomplishments of the artist and man of the
+world.
+
+The voyage was very short, but full of chances and incidents; we had
+sea-sickness, squalls, clear moonlight nights, and a little of all the
+pains and pleasures of the sea. On the second morning, the sun shining
+brightly, we began to discern the coast of that land, surnamed
+inhospitable by the ancients, by reason of the horrible custom of its
+inhabitants to massacre every stranger whom chance or foul weather led
+thither. The woes of Orestes alone would suffice to render the Tauris
+celebrated. Who is there that has not been moved by that terrible and
+pathetic drama, of which the brother and sister were the hero and
+heroine on this desert shore! As soon as I could distinguish the line of
+rocks that vaguely marked the horizon, I began to look for Cape
+Parthenike, on which tradition places the temple of the goddess of whom
+Iphigenia was the priestess, and where she was near immolating her
+brother. With the captain's aid I at last descried on a point of rock at
+a great distance from us a solitary chapel, which I was informed was
+dedicated to the Virgin. What a contrast between the gentle worship of
+Mary and that of the sanguinary Taura, who exacted for offerings not the
+simple prayers and _ex voto_ of the mariner, but human victims! All this
+part of the coast is sterile and desert: a wall of rock extended before
+us, and seemed to shut us out from the peninsula so often conquered and
+ravaged by warlike and commercial nations. Richly endowed by nature, the
+Tauris, Chersonese, or Crimea, has always been coveted by the people of
+Europe and Asia. Pastoral nations have contended for possession of its
+mountains; commercial nations for its ports and its renowned Bosphorus;
+warlike peoples have pitched their tents amid its magnificent valleys;
+all have coveted a footing on that soil, to which Greek civilisation has
+attached such brilliant memories.
+
+During a part of the day the wind was contrary, and obliged us to make
+short tacks in view of the rocky wall; but at four o'clock a change of
+wind allowed the brig to approach the coast. The sea was like a
+magnificent basin reflecting in its transparent waters the great
+calcareous masses that overhung it. It was a fine spectacle; but our
+captain's serious expression of countenance, and the intentness with
+which he watched the sails, and directed the manoeuvres, plainly
+showed that our situation was one of difficulty, if not of danger. A
+boat was manned and sent off to explore the coast, and as its white sail
+gleamed at a distance in the sun, it looked like a seabird in search of
+its nest in the hollow of some rock. The _Little Mary_ imitated all our
+evolutions, skimming over the waves like a sea swallow. She shortened
+her trip at every tack, and kept closer and closer to us; and our
+captain's face grew more and more grave, until all at once to our great
+surprise the rock opened before us like a scene in a theatre, and
+afforded us a passage which two vessels could not have entered abreast.
+Having got fairly through the channel, M. Taitbout was himself again.
+This entrance he told us is very dangerous in stormy weather, and often
+impracticable even when the wind is but moderately fresh. The scene,
+however, on which it opens is extremely beautiful. The port is
+surrounded with mountains, the highest of which still bear traces of the
+old Genoese dominion, and in front of the entrance is the pretty Greek
+town of Balaclava, with its balconied houses and trees rising in
+terraces one above the other. A ruined fortress overlooks the town: from
+that elevated point the Genoese, once masters of this whole coast,
+scanned the sea like birds of prey, and woe to the foreign vessels
+tempest driven within their range! Balaclava, with its Greek population,
+its girdle of rocks, and its mild climate, resembles those little towns
+of the Archipelago that are seen specking the horizon as one sails
+towards Constantinople.
+
+While we remained on board waiting for the completion of the
+custom-house formalities, we were entertained with the most picturesque
+and animated scene imaginable. It was Sunday, and the whole population
+was scattered over the shore and the adjoining heights. Groups of
+sailors, Arnaouts, and girls as gracefully formed as those of the
+Grecian isles, were ascending the steep path to the fortress, or were
+dancing to the shrill music of a balalaika. All the balconies were
+filled with spectators, who were busy, no doubt, discussing the
+apparition of a brig in their port; for the trade of Balaclava, so
+flourishing under the Genoese, is now fallen to such a degree that the
+arrival of a single vessel is an event for the whole town.
+
+Balaclava, the Cembalo of the Genoese, is now the humble capital of a
+little Greek colony founded in the reign of Catherine II., and now
+numbering several villages with 600 families. During her wars with the
+Porte, the empress thought of appealing to the national sentiments of
+the Greeks, and their hatred of the Turks. The result answered her
+expectations, and Russia soon had a large naval force that displayed the
+most signal bravery in all its encounters with the enemy. When the
+campaign against Turkey was ended, the Greek auxiliaries took part in
+the military operations in the Crimea; and after the conquest of the
+peninsula, they were employed in suppressing the revolts of the Tatars,
+and striking terror into them by the sanguinary cruelty of their
+expeditions. It was at that period the Mussulmans of the Crimea gave
+them the name of Arnaouts, which they have retained ever since.
+
+The peninsula having been finally subjugated, the Greeks were formed
+into a regimental colony, with the town and territory of Balaclava for
+their residence. They now number 600 fighting men, who are only employed
+in guarding the coasts. The colonist is only liable to be called out for
+active service during four months in the year; the other eight he has at
+his own disposal for the cultivation of his lands. Each soldier has
+twenty-eight rubles yearly pay, and finds his own equipment.
+
+The day after our arrival at Balaclava we made a boating excursion to
+examine the geology of the coast, and landed in a beautiful little cove
+lined with flowering trees and shrubs. On our return the boatmen made
+themselves coronals of hawthorn and blossoming apple sprays, and
+decorated the boat with garlands of the same, and in this festive style
+we made our entry into Balaclava. In our poetic enthusiasm as we looked
+on the lovely sky, the placid sea, and the Greek mariners, who thus
+retained on a foreign shore, and after the lapse of so many centuries,
+the cheerful customs of their ancestors, we could not help comparing
+ourselves to one of the numerous deputations that used every year to
+enter the Pyræus, with their vessels' prows festooned with flowers, to
+take part in the brilliant festivals of Athens.
+
+We bade adieu that day to our excellent friend M. Taitbout de Marigny,
+who continued his cruise to Ialta, where we were again to meet him. We
+set out for the convent of St. George, our minds filled with classical
+reminiscences, which fortified us to endure the horrible bumping of our
+pereclatnoi. This vehicle is a sort of low four-wheeled cart, so narrow
+as barely to accommodate two persons, who have nothing to sit on but
+boxes and packages laid on a great heap of hay. It is no easy matter to
+keep one's balance on such a seat, especially when the frail equipage is
+galloped along from post to post at the full speed of three stout
+horses. Yet this is the manner in which most Russians travel, and often
+for a week together, day and night.
+
+The road from Balaclava to the monastery presents no striking features;
+it runs over a vast plateau, as barren as the steppes. A little before
+sunset we were quite close to the convent, but saw nothing indicative of
+its existence, and were, therefore, not a little surprised when the
+driver jumped down and told us to alight. We thought he was making game
+of us, when he led the way into an arched passage, but when we reached
+the further end a cry of admiration escaped our lips, as we beheld the
+monastery with its cells backed against the rock, its green-domed
+church, its terraces and blooming gardens, suspended several hundred
+feet above the sea. Long did we remain wrapt in contemplation of the
+magic effect produced by man's labour on a scene that looked in its
+savage and contorted aspect as if it had been destined only to be the
+domain of solitude.
+
+The Russian and Greek monasteries are far from displaying the monumental
+appearance of the western convents. They consist only of a group of
+small houses of one story, built without symmetry, and with nothing
+about them denoting the austere habits of a religious community. Those
+poetic souls who find such food for meditation in the long galleries of
+the cloisters, could not easily be reconciled to such a disregard for
+form. The monks received us not like Christians, but like downright
+pagans. The bishop, for whom we had letters, happening to be absent, we
+fell into the hands of two or three surly-looking friars, whose dirty
+dress and red faces indicated habits any thing but monastic. They
+confined us in a disgustingly filthy hole, where a few crazy chairs, two
+or three rough planks on tressels, and a nasty candle stuck in a bottle,
+were all the accommodation we obtained from their munificence. Our
+dragoman could not even get coals to boil the kettle without paying for
+it double what it was worth. When we remonstrated with the monks their
+invariable answer was, that they were not bound to provide us with any
+thing but the bare furniture of the table. Such was their notion of the
+duties of hospitality.
+
+With our bones aching from the pereclatnoi we were obliged to content
+ourselves with a few cups of tea by way of supper, and to lie down on
+the execrable planks they had the assurance to call a bed. Fortunately,
+the bishop returned next day, and we got a cleaner room, mattresses,
+pillows, plenty to eat, and more respectful treatment on the part of
+the monks; but all this could not reconcile us to men who had such a
+curious way of practising the precepts of the gospel. The few days we
+spent among them were enough to enable us to judge of the degree of
+ignorance and moral degradation in which they live. Religion which, in
+default of instruction, ought at least to mould their souls to the
+Christian virtues, and to love of their neighbours, has no influence
+over them. They do not understand it, and their gross instincts find few
+impediments in the statutes of their order. Sloth, drunkenness, and
+fanaticism, stand them instead of faith, love, and charity.
+
+The great steepness of this part of the coast renders the descent to the
+sea extremely difficult. We tried it, however, and with a good deal of
+hard work we scrambled down to the beach, which is here only a few yards
+wide. Magnificent volcanic rocks form in this place a natural colonnade,
+the base of which is constantly washed by the sea, whilst every craggy
+point is tenanted by marine birds, the only living creatures to be seen.
+
+On our return to the convent we found it full of beggars who had come
+for the annual festival that was to be held on the day but one
+following. Cake and fruit-sellers, gipsies and Tatars, had set up their
+booths and tents on the plateau; every thing betokened that the
+solemnity would be very brilliant, but we had not the curiosity to wait
+for it. We set out that evening for Stavropol, glad to get away from a
+convent in which hospitality is not bestowed freely, but sold.
+
+On leaving the monastery we proceeded first of all in the direction of
+Cape Khersonese, the most western point of this classic land, where
+flourished, for more than twelve centuries, the celebrated colony of
+Kherson, founded by the Heracleans 600 years B. C. At present
+the only remains of all its greatness are a few heaps of shapeless
+stones; and strange to relate, the people who put the last hand to the
+destruction of whatever had escaped the barbarian invasions and the
+Mussulman sway, was the same whose conversion to Christianity in the
+person of the Grand Duke Vladimir, was celebrated by Kherson in 988.
+When the Russians entered the Crimea some considerable architectural
+remains were still standing, among which were the principal gate of the
+town and its two towers, and a large portion of the walls; besides which
+there were shafts and capitals of columns, numerous inscriptions and
+three churches of the Lower Empire, half buried under the soil. But
+Muscovite vandalism quickly swept away all these remains. A quarantine
+establishment for the new port of Sevastopol was constructed on the site
+of the ancient Heraclean town, and all the existing vestiges of its
+monuments were rapidly demolished and carried away stone by stone; and
+but for the direct interference of the Emperor Alexander, who caused a
+few inscriptions to be deposited in the museum of Nicolaief, there would
+be nothing remaining in our day to attest the existence of one of the
+most opulent cities of the northern coasts of the Black Sea.
+
+At a short distance from Cape Khersonese begins that succession of ports
+which render this point of the Crimea so important to Russia; one of
+them is Sevastopol, whence the imperial fleet commands the whole of the
+Black Sea, and incessantly threatens the existence of the sultan's
+empire. Between Cape Khersonese and the Sevastopol roads which comprise
+three important ports, there are six distinct bays running inland
+parallel to each other. First come the Double Bay (_Dvoinaia_) and the
+Bay of the Cossack (_Cozatchaia_), between which the Heracleans founded
+their first establishment, no trace of which now exists. Then comes the
+Round Bay (_Kruglaia_), that of the Butts (_Strelezkaia_), and that of
+the Sands (_Pestchannaia_). These five are all abandoned, and are only
+used by vessels driven by stress of weather to seek shelter in them. It
+was in the space between the Bay of the Sands and that more to the west
+where the quarantine is established, that the celebrated Kherson once
+stood.
+
+A little beyond the quarantine cove, the traveller discovers Sevastopol,
+situated on the slope of a hill between Artillery and South bays, the
+first two ports on the right hand as you enter the main roads. The
+position of the town thus built in an amphitheatre, renders its whole
+plan discernible at one view, and gives it a very grand appearance from
+a distance. Its barracks and stores, the extensive buildings of the
+admiralty, the numerous churches, and vast ship-building docks and
+yards, attest the importation of this town, the creation of which dates
+only from the arrival of the Russians in the Crimea. The interior,
+though not quite corresponding to the brilliant panorama it presents
+from a distance, is yet worthy of the great naval station. The streets
+are large, the houses handsome, and the population, in consequence of an
+imperial ukase which excludes the Jews from its territory, is much less
+repulsive than that of Odessa, Kherson, Iekaterinoslav, &c.
+
+The port of Sevastopol is unquestionably one of the most remarkable in
+Europe. It owes all its excellence to nature, which has here, without
+the aid of art, provided a magnificent roadstead with ramifications,
+forming so many basins admirably adapted for the requirements of a naval
+station. The whole of this noble harbour may be seen at once from the
+upper part of the town. The great roadstead first attracts attention. It
+lies east and west, stretching seven kilometres (four miles and
+three-quarters) inland, with a mean breadth of 1000 yards, and serves as
+a station for all the active part of the fleet. It forms the medium of
+communication between Sevastopol and the interior of the peninsula. The
+northern shore presents only a line of cliffs of no interest, but on the
+southern shore the eye is detained by the fine basins formed there by
+nature. To the east, at the very foot of the hill on which the town
+stands, is South Bay, in length upwards of 3000 mètres, and completely
+sheltered by high limestone cliffs. It is here the vessels are rigged
+and unrigged; and here, too, lies a long range of pontoons and vessels
+past service, some of which are converted into magazines, and others
+into lodgings for some thousand convicts who are employed in the works
+of the arsenal. Among these numerous veterans of a naval force that is
+almost always idle, the traveller beholds with astonishment the colossal
+ship, the _Paris_, formerly mounting 120 guns, and which was, down to
+1829, the finest vessel in the imperial fleet.
+
+Beyond South Bay, and communicating with it, is the little creek in
+which the government is constructing the most considerable works of the
+port, and has been engaged for many years in forming an immense dock
+with five distinct basins, capable of accommodating three ships of the
+line and two frigates, while simultaneously undergoing repairs. The
+original plan for this great work was devised by M. Raucourt, a French
+engineer, who estimated the total cost at about 6,000,000 rubles. The
+magnitude of this sum alarmed the government, but at the instance of
+Count Voronzof, they accepted the proposals of an English engineer, who
+asked only 2,500,000, and promised to complete the whole within five
+years. The work was begun on the 17th of June, 1832; but when we visited
+Sevastopol, some years after the first stone had been laid, the job was
+not half finished, and the expenses already exceeded 9,000,000 rubles.
+The execution of the basins seems, however, to be very far from
+corresponding to the enormous expenses they have already occasioned, and
+it is strange, indeed, that a weak and friable limestone should have
+been employed in hydraulic constructions of such importance. The angles
+of the walls, it is true, are of granite or porphyry, but this odd
+association of heterogeneous materials conveys, in itself, the severest
+condemnation of the mode of construction which has been adopted.
+
+Highly favoured as is the port of Sevastopol with regard to the form and
+the security of its bays, it yet labours under very serious
+inconveniences. The waters swarm with certain worms that attack the
+ships' bottoms, and often make them unserviceable in two or three years.
+To avoid this incurable evil, the government determined to fill the
+basins with fresh water, by changing the course of the little river,
+Tchernoi Retchka, which falls into the head of the main gulf. Three
+aqueducts and two tunnels, built like the rest of the works in chalk,
+and forming part of the artificial channel, were nearly completed in
+1841; but about that period the engineers endured a very sad
+discomfiture, it being then demonstrated that the worms they wanted to
+get rid of were produced by nothing else than the muddy waters which the
+Tchernoi Retchka pours into the harbour.[67]
+
+Artillery Bay, which bounds the town on the west, is used only by
+trading vessels. This and Careening Bay, the most eastern of all, are
+not inferior in natural advantages to the two others we have been
+speaking of; but we have nothing more particular to mention respecting
+them.
+
+After discussing the harbours and the works belonging to them, we are
+naturally led to glance at the war-fleet, and the famous fortifications
+of which the Russians are so proud, and which they regard as a marvel of
+modern art. In 1831, when the July revolution was threatening to upset
+the whole _status quo_ of Europe, a London journal stated in an article
+on the Black Sea and Southern Russia, that nothing could be easier than
+for a few well-appointed vessels to set fire to the imperial fleet in
+the port of Sevastopol. The article alarmed the emperor's council to the
+highest degree, and orders were immediately issued for the construction
+of immense defensive works.
+
+Four new forts were constructed, making a total of eleven batteries.
+Forts Constantine and Alexander were erected for the defence of the
+great harbour, the one on the north, the other on the west side of
+Artillery Bay; and the Admiralty and the Paul batteries were to play on
+vessels attempting to enter South Bay, or Ships' Bay. These four forts,
+consisting each of three tiers of batteries, and each mounting from 250
+to 300 pieces of artillery, constitute the chief defences of the place,
+and appear, at first sight, truly formidable. But here again, the
+reality does not correspond with the outer appearance, and we are of
+opinion that all these costly batteries are more fitted to astonish the
+vulgar in time of peace, than to awe the enemy in war. In the first
+place their position at some height above the level of the sea, and
+their three stories appear to us radically bad, and practical men will
+agree with us that a hostile squadron might make very light of the three
+tiers of guns which, when pointed horizontally, could, at most, only hit
+the rigging of the ships. The internal arrangements struck us as equally
+at variance with all the rules of military architecture: each story
+consists of a suite of rooms opening one upon the other, and
+communicating by a small door, with an outer gallery that runs the whole
+length of the building. All these rooms, in which the guns are worked,
+are so narrow, and the ventilation is so ill-contrived, that we are
+warranted by our own observation in asserting that a few discharges
+would make it extremely difficult for the artillerymen to do their duty.
+But a still more serious defect than those we have named, and one which
+endangers the whole existence of the works, consists in the general
+system adopted for their construction.
+
+Here the improvidence of the government has been quite as great as with
+regard to the dock basins: for the imperial engineers have thought
+proper to employ small pieces of coarse limestone in the masonry of
+three-storied batteries, mounting from 250 to 300 guns. The works, too,
+have been constructed with so little care, and the dimensions of the
+walls and arches are so insufficient, that it is easy to see at a
+glance, that all these batteries must inevitably be shaken to pieces
+whenever their numerous artillery shall be brought into play. The trials
+that have been made in Fort Constantine, have already demonstrated the
+correctness of this opinion, wide rents having been there occasioned in
+the walls by a few discharges.
+
+Finally, all the forts labour under the disadvantage of being utterly
+defenceless on the land side. Thinking only of attacks by sea, the
+government has quite overlooked the great facility with which an enemy
+may land on any part of the coast of the Khersonese. So, besides that
+the batteries are totally destitute of artillery and ditches on the land
+side, the town itself is open on all points, and is not defended by a
+single redoubt. We know not what works have been planned or executed
+since 1841; but at the period of our visit a force of some thousand men,
+aided by a maritime demonstration, would have had no sort of difficulty
+in forcing their way into the interior of the place, and setting fire to
+the fleet and the arsenals.
+
+We have now to speak of the offensive strength of the Port of
+Sevastopol, that famous fleet always in readiness to sail against
+Constantinople. The effective of the Black Sea fleet, in 1841, was as
+follows:--
+
+  Ships of the line      13, 2 of 120 guns, the rest of 84
+  Frigates                6 mounting 60 guns
+  Corvettes               6    "     20
+  Brigs                  10    "     10 to 20
+  Schooners               5
+  Cutters                10
+  Steamers                5
+  Tenders                25
+
+The largest tenders are of 750 tons' burden, the smallest thirty. The
+crews, making together fourteen battalions, ought to be 14,000 strong.
+But we know that in Russia official figures are always much higher than
+the reality. We think we cannot be far wrong in setting down the actual
+strength at 6000 or 8000 men.
+
+Like every thing else in Russia, the ships of war look very imposing at
+first sight, but will not bear a very close scrutiny. After what we have
+stated respecting the venality of the administrative departments, it is
+easy to conceive the malversations that must abound in the naval
+arsenals. In vain may the government lavish its money and order the
+purchase of the needful materials; its intentions are sure to be baffled
+by the corruption and rapacity of its servants. The vessels are
+generally built of worthless materials, and there is no kind of
+peculation but is practised in their construction. We have mentioned the
+_Paris_ as an instance of the short duration of Russian ships: and all
+the vessels of the same period are in nearly as bad a plight. A single
+cruise has been enough to make them unserviceable. We must, however,
+admit that the naval boards are not alone to blame for this rapid
+destruction. According to the information we have received, it appears
+that the ships are built generally of pine or fir; but every one knows
+that these kinds of wood, produced in moist places and low bottoms,
+cannot possess the solidity required in naval architecture.
+
+Before quitting Sevastopol we made an excursion to the head of the great
+bay, to visit the remains of a once celebrated town, of which nothing
+now remains but some ruins known under the name Inkermann. We explored
+with some interest a long suite of crypts, some of which seem to belong
+to the remotest antiquity, while others evidently date from the Lower
+Empire. Among the latter we particularly noticed a large chapel,
+excavated wholly in the rock, and presenting in its interior all the
+characteristics of the Byzantine churches. Above all these subterraneous
+edifices, on the highest part of the rocks, stand some fragments of
+walls, the sole remains of the castle and town that formerly crowned
+those heights. The ruins appear to occupy the site of the ancient
+Eupatorion of Strabo, which afterwards, under the name of Theodori,
+became the seat of a little Greek principality dependent on the Lower
+Empire. It was taken by the Turks in 1475, and soon afterwards totally
+destroyed.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[67] See notes at the end of the volume.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+      BAGTCHE SERAI--HISTORICAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA--THE
+      PALACE OF THE KHANS--COUNTESS POTOCKI.
+
+
+After our excursion to Inkermann we left Sevastopol the same day, glad
+to quit the Russians and their naval capital for Bagtche Serai, that
+ancient city, which previously to the Muscovite conquest might still vie
+in power and opulence with the great cities of the East. Even now,
+though much decayed, Bagtche Serai is the most interesting town in the
+Crimea.
+
+The road which leads to it runs parallel with a mountain chain, and
+commands very beautiful scenery, which we beheld in all the fresh
+luxuriance of May. The hills and valleys were clothed with forests of
+peach, almond, apple, and apricot trees in full blossom, and the south
+wind came to us loaded with their fragrance. We had many a flying
+glimpse of landscapes we would willingly have paused to admire in
+detail, but the pereclatnoi whirled us along, and towns, hillsides,
+winding brooks, farms, meadows, and Tatar villages shot past us with
+magic rapidity.
+
+Notwithstanding a temperature of 25° Reaumer, the day appeared to us
+very short. Yet we were impatient to see Bagtche Serai, its palace and
+its fountains which have been sung by Pushkin, the Russian nightingale;
+and this impatience, which increased as we approached our journey's end,
+prevented us from visiting different spots which less hasty travellers
+would not have disdained. Every mountain, valley, or village has some
+peculiar interest of its own. There were aqueducts, old bridges, and
+half-ruined towers in every direction to tell of an ancient
+civilisation; but all these interested us less, perhaps, than the modest
+dwelling in which Pallas long resided, and where he ended his days.
+
+Bagtche Serai has completely retained its national character in
+consequence of an ukase of Catherine II., empowering the Tatars to
+retain exclusive possession of their own capital. You would fancy
+yourself in the heart of the East, in walking through the narrow streets
+of the town, the mosques, shops, and cemeteries of which so much
+resemble those of the old quarters of Constantinople. But it is
+especially in the courts, gardens, and kiosks of the harem of the old
+palace, that the traveller may well believe himself transported into
+some delicious abode of Aleppo or Bagdad.
+
+It was in 1226, that the Mongol or Tatar hordes led by Batu Khan,
+grandson of Genghis Khan, after invading Russia, Poland, and Hungary,
+made their first appearance in the Crimea, and laid the foundations of
+the Tatar kingdom, which was soon to attain a high degree of power. The
+Genoese about the same time took possession of several important points
+on the southern coast, and founded Caffa and other towns, which became
+extremely flourishing seats of commerce. Their prosperity lasted until
+1473, when the Turks, already masters of Constantinople, drove the
+Genoese out of the Crimea, and took under their protection the Khans of
+little Tatary, who became vassals of the Porte, whilst retaining their
+absolute sway over the Crimea. From that time until the eighteenth
+century, the history of the peninsula is but a long series of contests
+between the Ottomans, the Tatars, and the Muscovites.
+
+Russia, coveting this fine country, took advantage of its continual
+revolutions, and sent a large army thither in 1771, for the purpose of
+putting the young prince Saheb Guerai on the throne. By this stroke of
+policy, she took the Crimea out of the hands of the Porte, and brought
+it under her own sole protection. In return for the empress's good
+offices, Saheb Guerai ceded to her the towns of Kertch, Yeni Kaleh, and
+Kalbouroun, very advantageously situated on the Dniepr. In this way
+Russia took the first steps towards the celebrated treaty of Kainardji
+of 1774, which conceded to her the free navigation of all the seas
+dependent on the Turkish dominions. But it was not until 1783, that her
+sway was irrevocably established in the peninsula, and the Tatars
+submitted to a yoke against which they had so often and so boldly
+struggled.
+
+During the brilliant period in which the khans reigned in the Crimea,
+the seat of government alternated between Eski Krim and Tchoufout Kaleh,
+until the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Bagtche Serai was
+made the capital.
+
+One would hardly recognise in the simple and orderly Tatars of the
+present day, the descendants of those fierce Mongols who imposed their
+sway on a part of western Europe. There is a great difference between
+the Tatars of the coast and those of the mountains. The former have been
+rendered covetous, knavish, and treacherous by their continual
+intercourse with the Russians; whilst their mountain brethren have
+retained the patriarchal manners that distinguish the Asiatic peoples.
+Their hospitality is most generous. The Tatar's best room, and the best
+which his house and his table can afford, are offered to his guest with
+a cordial alacrity that forbids the very idea of a refusal; and he would
+deem it an insult to be offered any other payment than a friendly grasp
+of the hand.
+
+The Tatar women, without being handsome, display a timid grace that
+makes them singularly engaging. In public they wear a long white veil,
+the two ends of which hang over their shoulders, and they are
+particularly remarkable for their complete freedom from every appearance
+of vulgarity. We saw none at Bagtche Serai, but those of the poorer
+classes; the women of the mourzas (nobles), and beys (princes) live
+quite retired and never show themselves in public.
+
+But to return to the palace of Bagtche Serai. It is no easy task to
+describe the charm of this mysterious and splendid abode, in which the
+voluptuous khans forgot all the cares of life: it is not to be done, as
+in the case of one of our palaces, by analysing the style, arrangement,
+and details of the rich architecture, and reading the artist's thought
+in the regularity, grace, and noble simplicity of the edifice: all this
+is easy to understand and to describe: such beauties are more or less
+appreciable by every one. But one must be something of a poet to
+appreciate a Turkish palace; its charms must be sought, not in what one
+sees, but in what one feels. I have heard persons speak very
+contemptuously of Bagtche Serai. "How," said they, "can any one apply
+the name of palace to that assemblage of wooden houses, daubed with
+coarse paintings, and furnished only with divans and carpets?" And these
+people were right in their way. The positive cast of their minds
+disabling them from seeing beauty in any thing but rich materials,
+well-defined forms and highly-finished workmanship, Bagtche Serai must
+be to them only a group of shabby houses adorned with paltry ornaments,
+and fit only for the habitation of miserable Tatars.
+
+Situated in the centre of the town, in a valley enclosed between hills
+of unequal heights, the palace (Serai) covers a considerable space, and
+is enclosed within walls, and a small stream deeply entrenched. The
+bridge which affords admission into the principal court is guarded by a
+post of Russian veterans. The spacious court is planted with poplars and
+lilacs, and adorned with a beautiful Turkish fountain, shaded by
+willows; its melancholy murmur harmonises well with the loneliness of
+the place. To the right as you enter are some buildings, one of which is
+set apart for the use of those travellers who are fortunate enough to
+gain admittance into the palace. To the left are the mosque, the
+stables, and the trees of the cemetery, which is divided from the court
+by a wall.
+
+We first visited the palace properly so called. Its exterior displays
+the usual irregularity of Eastern dwellings; but its want of symmetry is
+more than compensated for by its wide galleries, its bright decorations,
+its pavilions so lightly fashioned that they seem scarcely attached to
+the body of the building, and by a profusion of large trees that shade
+it on all sides. These all invest it with a charm, that in my opinion
+greatly surpasses the systematic regularity of our princely abodes. The
+interior is an embodied page out of the Arabian Nights. The first hall
+we entered contains the celebrated Fountain of Tears, the theme of
+Pushkin's beautiful verses. It derives its melancholy name from the
+sweet sad murmur of its slender jets as they fall on the marble of the
+basin. The sombre and mysterious aspect of the hall, further augments
+the tendency of the spectator's mind to forget reality for the dreams of
+the imagination. The foot falls noiselessly on fine Egyptian mats; the
+walls are inscribed with sentences from the Koran, written in gold on a
+black ground in those odd-looking Turkish characters, that seem more the
+caprices of an idle fancy than vehicles of thought. From the hall we
+entered a large reception-room with a double row of windows of stained
+glass, representing all sorts of rural scenes. The ceiling and doors are
+richly gilded, and the workmanship of the latter is very fine. Broad
+divans covered with crimson velvet run all round the room. In the middle
+there is a fountain playing in a large porphyry basin. Every thing is
+magnificent in this room, except the whimsical manner in which the walls
+are painted. All that the most fertile imagination could conceive in the
+shape of isles, villages, harbours, fabulous castles, and so forth, is
+huddled together promiscuously on the walls, without any more regard for
+perspective than for geography. Nor is this all: there are niches over
+the doors in which are collected all sorts of children's toys, such as
+wooden houses a few inches high, fruit trees, models of ships, little
+figures of men twisted into a thousand contortions, &c. These singular
+curiosities are arranged on receding shelves for the greater facility of
+inspection, and are carefully protected by glass cases. One of the last
+khans, we were assured, used to shut himself up in this room every day
+to admire these interesting objects. Such childishness, common among the
+Orientals, would lead us to form a very unfavourable opinion of their
+intelligence, if it was not redeemed by their instinctive love of
+beauty, and the poetic feeling which they possess in a high degree. For
+my part I heartily forgave the khans for having painted their walls so
+queerly, in consideration of the charming fountain that plashed on the
+marble, and the little garden filled with rare flowers adjoining the
+saloon.
+
+The hall of the divan is of royal magnificence; the mouldings of the
+ceiling, in particular, are of exquisite delicacy. We passed through
+other rooms adorned with fountains and glowing colours, but that which
+most interested us was the apartment of the beautiful Countess Potocki.
+It was her strange fortune to inspire with a violent passion one of the
+last khans of the Crimea, who carried her off and made her absolute
+mistress of his palace, in which she lived ten years, her heart divided
+between her love for an infidel, and the remorse that brought her
+prematurely to the grave. The thought of her romantic fate gave a magic
+charm to every thing we beheld. The Russian officer who acted as our
+cicerone pointed out to us a cross carved on the chimney of the
+bed-room. The mystic symbol, placed above a crescent, eloquently
+interpreted the emotions of a life of love and grief. What tears, what
+inward struggles, and bitter recollections had it not witnessed!
+
+We passed through I know not how many gardens and inner yards,
+surrounded with high walls, to visit the various pavilions, kiosks, and
+buildings of all sorts comprised within the limits of the palace. The
+part occupied by the harem contains such a profusion of rose-trees and
+fountains as to merit the pleasing name of The Little Valley of Roses.
+Nothing can be more charming than this Tatar building, surrounded by
+blossoming trees. I felt a secret pleasure in pressing the divans on
+which had rested the fair forms of Mussulman beauties, as they breathed
+the fresh air from the fountains in voluptuous repose. No sound from
+without can reach this enchanted retreat, where nothing is heard but the
+rippling of the waters, and the song of the nightingales. We counted
+more than twenty fountains in the courts and gardens; they all derive
+their supply from the mountains, and the water is of extreme coolness.
+
+A tower of considerable height, with a terrace fronted with gratings
+that can be raised or lowered at pleasure, overlooks the principal
+court. It was erected to enable the khan's wives to witness, unseen, the
+martial exercises practised in the court. The prospect from the terrace
+is admirable; immediately below it you have a bird's-eye view of the
+labyrinth of buildings, gardens, and other enclosures. Further on the
+town of Bagtche Serai rises gradually on a sloping amphitheatre of
+hills. The sounds of the whole town, concentrated and reverberated
+within the narrow space, reach you distinctly. The panorama is
+peculiarly pleasing at the close of the day, when the voices of the
+muezzins, calling to prayer from the minarets, mingle with the bleating
+of the flocks returning from pasture, and the cries of the shepherds.
+
+After seeing the palace we repaired to the mosque and to the cemetery in
+which are the tombs of all the khans who have reigned in the Crimea.
+There as at Constantinople, I admired the wonderful art with which the
+Orientals disguise the gloomy idea of death under fresh and gladsome
+images. Who can yield to dismal thoughts as he breathes a perfumed air,
+listens to the waters of a sparkling fountain, and follows the little
+paths, edged with violets, that lead to lilac groves bending their
+flagrant blossoms over tombs adorned with rich carpets and gorgeous
+inscriptions?
+
+The Tatar who has charge of this smiling abode of death, prompted by the
+poetic feeling that is lodged in the bosom of every Oriental, brought
+me a nosegay plucked from the tomb of a Georgian, the beloved wife of
+the last khan. Was it not a touching thing to see this humble guardian
+of the cemetery comprehend instinctively that flowers, associated with
+the memory of a young woman, could not be indifferent to another of her
+sex and age?
+
+Some isolated pavilions contain the tombs of khans of most eminent
+renown. They are much more ornate than the others, and the care with
+which they are kept up testifies the pious veneration of the Tatars.
+Carpets, cashmeres, lamps burning continually, and inscriptions in
+letters of gold, combine to give grandeur to these monuments, which yet
+are intended to commemorate only names almost forgotten.
+
+Such is a brief sketch of this ancient abode of the khans, which was
+carefully repaired by the Emperor Alexander. He found it in such a state
+of disorder and neglect, that it was probable nothing would remain in a
+few years of a dwelling with which is associated almost the whole past
+history of the Crimea. But Alexander, whose temperament was so well
+adapted to appreciate the melancholy beauty of the spot, immediately on
+his return to St. Petersburg sent a very able man to Bagtche Serai, with
+orders to restore the palace to the state in which it had been in the
+time of the khans. Since then the imperial family has sometimes
+exchanged the dreary magnificence of the St. Petersburg palaces for the
+rosy bowers and sunny clime of the Tatar Serai.
+
+In speaking of this Tatar town, I must not forget to mention a man known
+throughout the Crimea for his eccentricity. It is about twelve years
+since a Dutchman of the name of Vanderschbrug, a retired civil engineer
+in the imperial service, arrived in the Tatar capital with the intention
+of settling there. His motive for this act of misanthropy has never been
+ascertained; all that is known is, that his resolution has remained
+unshaken. Since his installation among the Tatars, Major Vanderschbrug
+has never set his foot outside the town, though his family reside in
+Simpheropol. His retiring pension, amounting to some hundred rubles,
+allows him to lead a life, which to many persons would seem very
+uninviting, but which is not devoid of a certain charm. The complete
+independence he has secured for himself, makes up to him, in some sort,
+for the void he must feel in the loss of family affection. He lives like
+a philosopher in his little cottage, with his cow, his poultry, his
+pencils, some books, and an old housekeeper. He speaks the language of
+the Tatars like one of themselves, and his thorough knowledge of the
+country, and the originality of his mind render his conversation very
+agreeable. All over the country he is known only by the name of the
+hermit of Bagtche Serai. The Tatars hold him in great respect, often
+refer their disputes to his decision, and implicitly follow his advice.
+
+We breakfasted with him, and seeing him apparently so contented with his
+lot, we thought how little is sufficient to make a man happy when his
+desires are limited. Major Vanderschbrug beguiles his solitude with
+reading and the arts, for which he has preserved a taste. He showed us
+some fine water-coloured drawings he had made, and an old volume of Jean
+Jacques Rousseau, which he has kept for many years as a precious
+treasure. To all the objections we raised against the strange exile to
+which he condemned himself, he replied that ennui had not yet invaded
+his humble dwelling.
+
+Before bidding farewell to Bagtche Serai, we went in company with our
+recluse to visit the Valley of Jehoshaphat and the famous mountain of
+Tchoufout Kaleh,[68] which has been for several centuries the exclusive
+property of certain Jews, known by the name of Karaïmes or Karaïtes.
+They are a sect who still adhere to the law of Moses, but who separated
+from the general body, as some writers suppose, several centuries before
+the Christian era. According to other authorities, the separation did
+not occur until A.D. 750. There is a marked difference between
+them and the other Jews. The simplicity of their manners, their probity
+and industry give them a strong claim to the traveller's respect.
+
+At six in the morning we mounted our little Tatar horses, and began to
+ascend the steep road that winds through a vast cemetery, covering the
+whole side of the mountain. The melancholy aspect of the tombs, covered
+with Hebrew inscriptions, accords with the desolation of the scene. Of
+the whole population, that during the lapse of ages have lived and died
+on this rock, nothing remains but tombs, and a dozen families that
+persist, from religious motives, in dwelling among ruins.
+
+In the time of the khans, the Karaïtes of Tchoufout Kaleh were stoutly
+confined to their rock, being only allowed to pass the business hours of
+the day in the Tatar capital, returning every evening to their mountain.
+When one of them arrived opposite the palace on horseback, he was bound
+to alight and proceed on foot until he was out of sight. But since the
+conquest by the Russians, the Karaïtes are free to reside in Bagtche
+Serai, and they have gradually left the mountain, with the exception, as
+I have stated, of a few families who regard it as a sacred duty to abide
+on the spot where their forefathers dwelt.
+
+Considering the almost inaccessible position of the town, its want of
+water, the sterility of the soil, and the loneliness of the inhabitants,
+we cannot fail to be struck by the thirst for freedom that made the
+Karaïtes of yore choose such a site, and the constancy of the families
+that still cling to it. Tchoufout Kaleh is built entirely on the bare
+rock, and the mountain is so steep that in the only place where it
+admits of access, it has been necessary to cut flights of steps several
+hundred feet long. As you ascend, huge masses of overhanging rocks seem
+to threaten you with destruction, and when you enter the ruined town,
+the sepulchral silence and desolation of its dilapidated streets make a
+painful impression on the mind. No inhabitant comes forth to greet the
+stranger or direct him on his way. The only living beings we saw abroad
+were famished dogs that howled most dismally.
+
+Besides the interest we felt in this acropolis of the middle ages, we
+had a still stronger motive for our journey to Tchoufout Kaleh; namely,
+to see a poet who has resided from his youth upwards on that dreary
+rock. We had heard a great deal about it from M. Taitbout de Marigny and
+from Major Vanderschbrug; the first point, therefore, towards which we
+bent our steps was the rabbi's dwelling, built like an eagle's nest on
+the point of a rock. Being shown into a small room furnished with books
+and maps, we found ourselves in presence of a little old man with a long
+white beard who received us with the grave and easy dignity of the
+Orientals. His features were of the most purely Jewish cast. With the
+help of the major, who acted as our interpreter, we were enabled to
+carry on a long conversation, and to admire the varied knowledge
+possessed by a man so completely cut off from the world. Is it not
+wonderful that a person in such a position, and so totally deprived of
+all necessary appliances, should undertake the gigantic task of writing
+the history of the Karaïtes from the time of Moses to our days? Yet thus
+our rabbi has been employed for upward of twenty years, undismayed by
+the difficulties of all kinds that lie in his way. It was not a little
+moving to see a man of great intellect, vast erudition, and poetic
+imagination, wearing out on a desolate rock the remains of a life which
+would have been so fair and so productive if passed in more active
+scenes. He showed us several sacred poems in manuscript written in his
+youth. How much I regretted that I could not read the productions of
+such a poet.
+
+He lives like a patriarch surrounded by ten or a dozen children of all
+ages who enliven and embellish his solitude. Several little rooms
+communicating together by galleries form his dwelling. It is very
+humble, but the rabbi's remarkable physiognomy, and the Oriental costume
+of his wife and daughters, impart a charm even to so rude a tenement. He
+escorted us to the synagogue, a small building, long left to solitude.
+We saw, too, not without a lively interest, the grave of a khan's
+daughter, who, in the time of the Genoese rule, forsook the Koran for
+the law of the Christians, and died at the age of eighteen among those
+who had converted her. Like every thing else about it, it was in a state
+of neglect and decay.
+
+All the lower part of the mountain, and also a deep narrow valley
+stretching eastward of Tchoufout Kaleh are covered with tombs, to which
+circumstance the situation owes its name of Valley of Jehoshaphat.
+Opposite the Karaïte town is the celebrated convent of the Assumption,
+which is annually visited in the month of August by more than twenty
+thousand pilgrims. Its cells excavated in the rock have a very curious
+appearance from a distance. Some wooden flights of stairs on the outside
+of the rock lead to the several stages of this singular convent
+inhabited only by a few monks.
+
+On our return to Bagtche Serai we noticed several crypts in the rock
+which are the haunt of a large number of Tsiganes. Nowhere does this
+vagrant people present a more disgusting aspect than in this locality.
+Their horrible infirmities, distorted limbs, and indescribable
+wretchedness make one almost doubt that they can belong to humanity.
+
+We proceeded the next day to Simpheropol where we were to pass some
+days.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[68] Tchoufout Kaleh, formerly called Kirkov, was for a long series of
+years the residence of the khans, until Mengle Gherai quitted it for
+Bagtche Serai, in 1475.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+      SIMPHEROPOL--KAKOLEZ--VISIT TO PRINCESS ADEL BEY--EXCURSION
+      TO MANGOUP KALEH.
+
+
+Under the Tatars Simpheropol was the second town of the Crimea, and the
+residence of the Kalga Sultan, whose functions were nearly equivalent to
+those of vice-khan. He exercised the regency of the country on the death
+of the khan, until his successor was nominated by the Porte. The Kalga's
+court was composed of the same functionaries as that of Bagtche Serai,
+and his authority extended over all the regions north of the Crimea
+mountains. Simpheropol was then adorned with palaces, mosques, and fine
+gardens, few traces of which now remain. The tortuous streets, high
+walls, and rose thickets of the old city, have given place to the cold
+monotony of the Russian towns. It is the capital of the government of
+the Crimea, with a population of about 8000 souls, of whom 1700 are
+Russians, 5000 Tatars, 400 strangers, and 900 gipsies. Its plan is large
+enough to comprise ten times as many houses as it possesses; but, at
+least, it retains its Salghir, the banks of which are covered with the
+finest orchards in the Crimea. But instead of building the new town in
+the valley, it has been set at the top of a great plateau where its few
+houses and its disproportionately wide streets present no kind of
+character. It is with extreme pleasure, therefore, that after wandering
+through the streets in which the sun's rays beat down without any thing
+to break their force, one finds himself under the cool verdant shades
+that fringe the Salghir, with the pretty country houses that peep out
+from the orchards.
+
+We made many excursions in the vicinity, and were above all pleased with
+the beautiful landscapes in the valley of the Alma. In a ride on
+horseback to visit some rocks of an interesting geological character, we
+crossed the river eighteen times in the space of three hours: this may
+afford an idea of the multitude of meanders it makes before continuing
+its course to the Black Sea.
+
+Bagtche Serai being on the road to Karolez, we could not resist the
+pleasure of once more seeing its delightful palace. We passed the
+evening in one of the large galleries, admiring the magic appearance of
+the buildings and gardens by moonlight. The deep stillness of the place;
+the mysterious aspect of the principal edifice, one part of which was
+completely in the shade, whilst the other, with its coloured windows and
+its open balconies, received the full rays of the moon; the masses of
+foliage in the gardens, and the melancholy sounds of the fountain; all
+this accompanied by the imaginative relations of our eccentric friend,
+the major, made an indelible impression on our minds.
+
+At Bagtche Serai we finally exchanged the pereclatnoi for Tatar horses,
+the serviceable qualities of which had commended themselves to us in
+many trials. Our cavalcade made a grotesque appearance as we rode out of
+the palace. For my own part I looked oddly enough, perched on an
+enormously high Tatar saddle in my Caspian costume, with my parasol in
+my hand. Hommaire wore with Oriental gravity the Persian cap, the girdle
+and the weapons, to which he had become accustomed in his long
+wanderings. But the queerest figure of all was our dragoman.
+Half-a-dozen leather bags containing provisions dangled at his horse's
+flanks; my poor straw bonnet, which I had been obliged to abandon for a
+round hat, hung at the pummel of his saddle, and in addition to all this
+accoutrement he carried in his hand a large white canvass umbrella to
+screen him from the sun. Two Tatar horsemen followed us, carrying
+likewise their contingent of baggage.
+
+After some hours' riding through a lovely country, intersected with
+streams, valleys, and numerous orchards, we arrived in the evening at
+Karolez, a Tatar village, lost among mountains, in the valley of the
+same name, which is one of the most delightful spots in the beautiful
+Crimea, so rich in picturesque scenes.
+
+Though it does not belong to the southern coast, and consequently has no
+maritime traffic, Karolez, nevertheless, possesses a romantic
+attraction, which every year brings to it numerous visitors. This is
+owing to its vicinity to Mangoup Kaleh, the abundance of its waters, the
+mountains that encompass the valley with a line of battlemented walls,
+as if Nature had been pleased in a sportive mood to imitate art, whilst
+yet retaining her own more majestic proportions; and, lastly, the merit
+of belonging to the Princess Adel Bey, whose beauty, though invisible
+has inspired many a poet.
+
+I had taken care before leaving Simpheropol to furnish myself with a
+letter from the governor to the princess, in order to obtain an
+interview which might enable me to judge whether the beauty of this
+Tatar lady and her daughters was as great as fame reported. The question
+had been often agitated since our arrival in the Crimea; it may,
+therefore, be imagined how desirous I was to resolve it. But in spite
+of my letter of introduction, my admission to the palace was still very
+problematical. Many Russian ladies had tried in vain to enter it; for
+the princess, while exercising the noblest hospitality, was seldom
+disposed to satisfy the curiosity of her guests. Though the law of
+Mahomet respecting the seclusion of women is less rigidly observed among
+the Tatars of the Crimea than among the Turks of Constantinople, rich
+ladies do not often pass the threshold of their own dwellings, and when
+they do they are always closely veiled.
+
+One of my friends from Simpheropol, who had proceeded the day before to
+the princess's, having giving notice of our coming, we were received in
+the most brilliant style. The guest house was prepared with the
+ostentation which the Orientals are fond of displaying on all occasions.
+A double line of servants of all ages was drawn up in the vestibule when
+we dismounted; and one of the oldest and most richly dressed ushered us
+into a saloon arranged in the fashion of the East, with gaily painted
+walls and red silk divans that reminded us of the delightful rooms in
+the palace of the khans. The princess's son, an engaging boy of twelve
+years of age, who spoke Russian very well, attached himself to us,
+obligingly translated our orders to the domestics, and took care that we
+wanted for nothing. I gave him my letter, which he immediately carried
+to his mother, and soon afterwards he came and told me, to my great
+satisfaction, that she would receive me when she had finished her
+toilette. In the eagerness of my curiosity I now counted every minute,
+until an officer, followed by an old woman in a veil, came to introduce
+me into the mysterious palace of which I had as yet seen only the lofty
+outer wall.
+
+My husband, as arranged between us beforehand, attempted to follow us,
+and seeing that no impediment was offered, he stepped without ceremony
+through the little door into the park, crossed the latter, boldly
+ascended a terrace adjoining the palace, and, at last, found himself,
+not without extreme surprise at his good fortune, in a little room that
+seemed to belong to the princess's private apartments. Until then no
+male stranger except Count Voronzof had ever entered the palace; the
+flattering and unexpected exception which the princess made in favour of
+my husband, might, therefore, lead us to hope that her complaisance
+would not stop there. But we were soon undeceived. The officer who had
+ushered us into the palace, after having treated us to iced water,
+sweetmeats and pipes, took my husband by the hand, and led him out of
+the room with very significant celerity. He had no sooner disappeared
+than a curtain was raised at the end of the room, and a woman of
+striking beauty entered, dressed in a rich costume. She advanced to me
+with an air of remarkable dignity, took both my hands, kissed me on the
+two cheeks, and sat down beside me, making me many demonstrations of
+friendship. She wore a great deal of rouge; her eyelids were painted
+black and met over the nose, giving her countenance a certain sternness,
+that, nevertheless, did not destroy its pleasing effect. A furred velvet
+vest fitted tight to her still elegant figure. Altogether her
+appearance surpassed what I had conceived of her beauty. We spent a
+quarter of an hour closely examining each other, and interchanging as
+well as we could a few Russian words that very insufficiently conveyed
+our thoughts. But in such cases, looks supply the deficiencies of
+speech, and mine must have told the princess with what admiration I
+beheld her. Hers, I must confess, in all humility, seemed to express
+much more surprise than admiration at my travelling costume. What would
+I not have given to know the result of her purely feminine analysis of
+my appearance! I was even crossed in this _tête-à-tête_ by a serious
+scruple of conscience for having presented myself before her in male
+attire, which must have given her a strange notion of the fashions of
+Europe.
+
+Notwithstanding my desire to prolong my visit in hopes of seeing her
+daughters, the fear of appearing intrusive prompted me to take my leave;
+but checking me with a very graceful gesture, she said eagerly "_Pastoy,
+Pastoy_" (stay, stay), and clapped her hands several times. A young girl
+entered at the signal, and by her mistress's orders threw open a folding
+door, and immediately I was struck dumb with surprise and admiration by
+a most brilliant apparition. Imagine, reader, the most exquisite
+sultanas of whom poetry and painting have ever tried to convey an idea,
+and still your conception will fall far short of the enchanting models I
+had then before me. There were three of them, all equally beautiful and
+graceful. Two were clad in tunics of crimson brocade, adorned in front
+with broad gold lace. The tunics were open and disclosed beneath them
+cashmere robes, with very tight sleeves terminating in gold fringes. The
+youngest wore a tunic of azure blue brocade, with silver ornaments: this
+was the only difference between her dress and that of her sisters. All
+three had magnificent black hair escaping in countless tresses from a
+fez of silver filigree, set like a diadem over their ivory foreheads;
+they wore gold embroidered slippers and wide trousers drawn close at the
+ankle.
+
+I had never beheld skins so dazzlingly fair, eyelashes so long, or so
+delicate a bloom of youth. The calm repose that sat on the countenances
+of these lovely creatures, had never been disturbed by any profane
+glance. No look but their mother's had ever told them they were
+beautiful; and this thought gave them an inexpressible charm in my eyes.
+It is not in our Europe, where women, exposed to the gaze of crowds, so
+soon addict themselves to coquetry, that the imagination could conceive
+such a type of beauty. The features of our young girls are too soon
+altered by the vivacity of their impressions, to allow the eye of the
+artist to discover in them that divine charm of purity and ignorance
+with which I was so struck in beholding my Tatar princesses. After
+embracing me they retired to the end of the room where they remained
+standing in those graceful Oriental attitudes which no woman in Europe
+could imitate. A dozen attendants muffled in white muslin, were gathered
+round the door, gazing with respectful curiosity. Their profiles, shown
+in relief on a dark ground, added to the picturesque character of the
+scene. This delightful vision lasted an hour. When the princess saw that
+I was decided on going away, she signified to me by signs that I should
+go and see the garden; but though grateful to her for this further mark
+of attention, I preferred immediately rejoining my husband, being
+impatient to relate to him all the details of this interview, with which
+I was completely dazzled.
+
+Next morning we set out on horseback for Mangoup Kaleh, a mountain
+renowned throughout the country, and of which the inhabitants never
+speak but with veneration. Goths, Turks, and Tatars have been by turns
+its possessors. Owing to its almost impregnable position, it has played
+an important part in all the revolutions of the Crimea. The town of
+Mangoup, which appears to have been the residence of the Gothic princes,
+was formerly a very considerable place. It had a bishop in 754. The
+Turks took it and put a garrison in it in 1745. Twenty years afterwards
+it was entirely burnt down. The khans of the Crimea next took possession
+of it, and let it gradually fall into decay. At the close of the last
+century, the population of this ancient town still consisted of some
+Karaïte families; at present there remains no other trace of their
+existence than the tombs spread over the mountain side.
+
+For three hours we ascended the mountain by scarcely marked bridle
+roads, astonished at the confidence with which our horses walked up
+those steep slopes where there seemed hardly any hold for their feet.
+But the horses of the Crimea are wonderfully surefooted, and if they can
+set down their feet anywhere, it is alike to them whether it is on a
+smooth plain or on the verge of a precipice. Here, as at Tchoufout
+Kaleh, the mountain was covered with tombs; but these bore inscriptions
+in Tatar as well as Hebrew, showing that this deserted soil had formerly
+been trodden by more than one people. The ascent ended at a broad
+triangular plateau on the summit of the mountain, where the town once
+stood. It is now a barren spot, strewed all over with ruins. Two sides
+of the plateau are perpendicular; the third was defended by a fortress,
+part of which is still standing.
+
+Every thing on this mountain wears a grand and melancholy character.
+Desolation has long taken it for its domain. Nothing meets the eye but
+ruins, tombs, and a naked soil. And yet, notwithstanding the stern
+aspect of the place, it does not fill the soul with the same feelings of
+painful awe as Tchoufout Kaleh. This is because the ancient town of the
+Karaïtes, all mutilated as it is by time and events, still retains a
+semblance of existence, and this alliance between life and death
+necessarily impresses the mind with a superstitious dread. At Mangoup
+Kaleh all human traces have been too long effaced to awaken painful
+thoughts. There one thinks not so much of men as of remote epochs, of
+the great events and numerous revolutions of which this rock has been
+the theatre.
+
+The façade of the fortress has withstood the slow attacks of time,
+though full of cracks, and the lofty walls appear still from a distance
+to protect Mangoup Kaleh. Herds of Tatar horses graze in complete
+freedom on the plateau, and drink from a large reservoir supplied by a
+spring that never fails in any season. As we were exploring the interior
+of what must have been the citadel, we came upon a clump of lilacs in
+full bloom among the ruins. I cannot tell the impression made on me by
+those flowers thus unfolding their sweets under the dew of Heaven far
+from every human eye. Besides the fortress we found another edifice
+partly spared by time. Its construction and the graves about it showed
+it to be an old Christian church. The chancel was in tolerably good
+preservation, and even the windows had not suffered much dilapidation.
+
+The view from Mangoup Kaleh is very extensive and varied. On the one
+side is the sea with its islands and capes, its vessels, and Sevastopol,
+which can be distinctly perceived in clear weather. To the west,
+magnificent orchards, vine-clad hills, and broad meadows, intersected
+with streams, stretch away as far as the eye can reach in the direction
+of Simpheropol; then, at the foot of the mountain, the valley of
+Karolez, its forests, its rocky girdle, its Tatar village, and the
+palace of the princess Adel Bey, disclosing its Moorish architecture
+from behind a screen of poplars.
+
+At the earnest recommendation of our guides, I ventured to explore some
+grottoes hollowed in the rock, the descent to which is rather difficult
+and dangerous. There are about a dozen of them opening one into the
+other, and separated only by shapeless pillars. The Tatars could give us
+no sort of explanation as to these subterraneous chambers. They seem
+like those of Inkermann to belong to very remote antiquity, but their
+origin and history are quite unknown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+      ROAD TO BAIDAR--THE SOUTHERN COAST; GRAND SCENERY--MISKHOR
+      AND ALOUPKA--PREDILECTION OF THE GREAT RUSSIAN NOBLES FOR
+      THE CRIMEA.
+
+
+The country we passed over, next day, on our way to the southern coast,
+had a wild sylvan appearance strikingly in contrast with what we had
+hitherto seen. Between the valley of Karolez and that of Baidar near the
+coast, lies a chain of mountains with deep gorges filled with forests.
+Sometimes the road passed along the bottom of one of these gorges, where
+we were constantly obstructed by watercourses and thickets; sometimes we
+pursued a track barely discernible along the flank of the mountain, and
+then the summits of the hills that had seemed so high when we looked up
+to them from below, were hidden beneath us in dense vapours. At last,
+by dint of ascending and descending, we reached the wide plain of
+Baidar, with the village in its centre. Early next morning we were again
+on horseback, and breathing with delight the wild odours exhaled by the
+still dewy forest.
+
+Our road ascended gently to the culminating point of the mountain, and
+then we stood rooted for a while to the spot in admiration of the
+magnificent sea view that burst upon us. But our thoughts were suddenly
+called off in another direction by the music of a military band, and
+looking down we were surprised to see several groups of soldiers posted
+some hundred feet below the point where we stood. It was a whole
+regiment employed in making a new road between Sevastopol and Ialta.
+Some were blowing up rocks, and filling the air with something like the
+din and smoke of battle; others were busy round a great fire preparing
+the morning meal; the musicians were waking the mountain echoes with
+their martial strains, and the officers were lounging in front of a tent
+smoking their pipes.
+
+When we had sufficiently indulged our admiration of the scene, we turned
+with some dismay to contemplate the descent before us. The mountain
+which we had found so gently sloping on the western side, here fell so
+precipitously that I could not imagine how our horses were to make their
+way down. For my part I thought it safest to alight and lead my horse.
+The band of the regiment, as if they had guessed we were French, saluted
+us with the overture of the _Fiancée_. After we had already reached the
+seaside, we still heard that charming music, weakened by distance, but
+kindling our recollections of home in the most unexpected manner.
+
+We spent some days at Moukhalatka, the residence of Colonel Olive, a
+Frenchman, formerly page to Louis XVIII., who entered the service of the
+Grand-duke Constantine shortly after the return of the Bourbons to
+France. Beyond Moukhalatka our way lay over mountains, the scenery of
+which partly compensated for the incessant toil of climbing up broken
+rocks, and passing through glens where we could only advance in single
+file. But with the exception of these difficulties, the whole journey to
+Aloupka was a continual enchantment. Talk of the isles of the
+Archipelago with their naked rocks! Here a luxuriant vegetation descends
+to the water's edge, and the coast everywhere presents an amphitheatre
+of forests, gardens, villages, and country houses, over which the eye
+wanders with delight. The almond, the cythesus, the wild chestnut, the
+Judas-tree, the olive, and the cypress, and all the vegetation of a
+southern clime, thrives there with a vigour that attests the potency of
+the sun. On our left we had gigantic masses towering vertically, sombre
+tints, and an inconceivable chaos of rocky fragments; on our right a
+brilliant mosaic bordered by the sea. But the beauty of the scenery
+about Aloupka is even still more striking. The eye takes in at once the
+majestic Tchatir Dagh, Cape Aïtodor, with its lighthouse, the Aiou
+Dagh, the brow of which, by a curious freak of nature, seems crowned
+with bastions and half-ruined towers, the Ai Petri, and the Megabi, with
+its gilded dome surmounted by a cross which was erected by the
+celebrated Princess Gallitzin, whose memory is still fresh in the
+Crimea. All these objects are clothed in a rich and varied garb of light
+such as belongs only to the warm atmosphere of southern lands.
+
+Aristocracy has set its seal on this favoured portion of the coast. The
+change in the appearance of the roads indicates the neighbourhood of
+wealthy landowners. They have been made expressly for the dashing
+four-horse equipages that are continually traversing it. We observed
+that the limits of each estate were marked by a post bearing the
+blazonry of the proprietor.
+
+We were most agreeably surprised in the neighbourhood of Aloupka, where
+we fell in on the road with our friend M. Marigny. In consequence of
+this welcome encounter we put off our visit to Aloupka to the next day,
+and proceeded with the consul to Mishkor, the estate of General
+Narishkin, adjoining that of Count Voronzof.
+
+We were greatly pleased with this fine property, on the maintenance of
+which the general annually expends 100,000 francs. It comprises forests,
+a park, a château, a church, and a great number of ornamental buildings,
+that bespeak the exquisite taste of the proprietor. Mishkor has this
+great advantage, that its costly artificial arrangements are so well
+disguised under an appearance of rural simplicity, that one is almost
+tempted to attribute its perfections to the hand of nature.
+
+The reverse is the case at Aloupka where art reigns supreme. This almost
+royal residence, which has excited the envy even of the Emperor
+Nicholas, has already cost Count Voronzof between 4,000,000 and
+5,000,000 of francs, although it is not yet finished. All epochs and all
+styles are represented in its architecture and embellishments. Its lofty
+walls, its massive square tower and belfry, its vaulted passages and the
+mysterious aspect of its long galleries, give it a considerable
+resemblance to a feudal manor; but the Oriental style is exhibited in
+its small columns, its chimneys, and its profusion of pinnacles and
+domes. To justify the construction of such a porphyry château, the count
+should have been able to retrograde some centuries: in our own times
+such a dwelling is an anachronism. What is the use of such walls when
+there is no fear of being attacked by a neighbour? What is the use of
+those vaulted passages without men-at-arms to fill them? An old castle
+speaks to the imagination, recalling the chronicles, the fortunes and
+events connected with it, but a modern construction like this is a thing
+of no meaning. Its towers, battlements, and threatening walls seem a
+parody on the past. What have they seen? of what combats, feuds, loves,
+and revenges have they been witnesses?
+
+In addition to this total want of fitness of character, the château has
+besides the grievous defect of being very disadvantageously situated.
+The coast is so narrow at this spot that there are but a few paces'
+breadth between the façade of the building and the sea, so that, in
+order to have a fair view of the whole, one must take a boat and put out
+from the shore until the proper point of view is found. Now it is not
+every one who will be disposed to take this trouble solely for the
+purpose of appreciating the effect of a façade.
+
+The park displays a charming labyrinth of broken rocks, and a variety of
+natural picturesque and extraordinary features. Art has had nothing to
+do but to make paths and alleys between the accumulated volcanic masses,
+and to adorn the sides of the cascades with flowers. In the hollow of a
+rock there is a deep grotto with a little babbling spring, inviting to
+repose and meditation. At the eastern end of the château there is a
+lofty cypress wood, which the countess calls her Scutari.
+
+The general aspect of this magnificent abode is too grave to delight the
+eye; we admire but do not covet it. The gigantic shadow of the Ai Petri,
+which hangs like a veil over the whole domain, adds still more to its
+sternness.
+
+The reputation of the southern coast dates only from the arrival of
+Count Voronzof in the Crimea, previously to which no one thought of
+residing on it, except some speculators who were beginning to try the
+cultivation of the vine there. The count, who is a man of much taste,
+was at once struck with the beauty of the country, and soon became the
+purchaser of several estates in it. His example was followed by numbers
+of wealthy nobles whose eyes were immediately opened to the charms of
+the landscapes when once the count had proclaimed their attractions.
+Numerous villas were erected in the course of a few years along all the
+coast from Balaclava to Theodosia. A fleet of steamers was established,
+with the port of Ialta for their head quarters. The imperial family
+itself gave into the fashion and purchased Oreanda, one of the most
+beautiful sites on the coast; and many foreigners, infected by the
+prevailing fever, turned all they had into money and settled in the
+Crimea to cultivate the vine, a pursuit which Count Voronzof was then
+encouraging to the utmost of his power. But this was the reverse of the
+medal; most of them were ruined, and are now expiating in extreme
+poverty the cupidity with which they plunged into foolish enterprises.
+
+Throughout its whole extent the coast presents only a narrow strip,
+seldom half a league wide, traversed by deep ravines, and backed by a
+range of calcareous cliffs that shelter it from the north wind. It is
+only on this _detritus_ that the handsomest domains are situated. Among
+these are Koutchouk Lampat, belonging to General Borosdine; Parthenit,
+where is still to be seen the great hazel under which the Prince de
+Ligne wrote to Catherine II.; Kisil Tasch, the proprietor of which bears
+a name famous in France, that of Poniatowski; Oudsouf, lying close under
+the forest shades of Aiou Dagh; Arteck the estate of Prince Andrew
+Gallitzin; Ai Daniel, the property of the late Duc de Richelieu;
+Marsanda; Oreanda, an imperial domain; Mishkor and Nikita; Gaspra where
+Madame de Krudener died in the arms of her daughter, Baroness Berckheim;
+and Koreis where Princess Gallitzin, exiled from court, ended her days.
+
+All these properties, adjoining each other, are, in the fine season, the
+rendezvous of a numerous society eagerly intent on pleasure. Aloupka is
+the great centre of amusement. Foreigners of distinction who are for the
+moment at Odessa, are _ex officio_ the guests of Count Voronzof; but
+many of them have on their return complained of paying somewhat too
+dearly for the governor-general's hospitality. As the château,
+notwithstanding its imposing appearance, can contain only a small number
+of the select, the majority are compelled to find a lodging at the inn
+of the Two Cypresses near Aloupka, the landlord of which, by way of
+doing honour to his noble patron, practises unsparing extortion on all
+who have need of his apartments.
+
+On our way to Ialta, about a dozen versts from Mishkor we visited the
+country houses best worth seeing, particularly Gaspra, which interested
+us for Madame de Krudener's sake. Perhaps the reader will not be
+unwilling to peruse the details I collected respecting the motives that
+induced that celebrated woman to settle in the peninsula, and which
+connected her name with that of two other women equally remarkable for
+their strange fortunes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+      THREE CELEBRATED WOMEN.
+
+
+Every one is aware of the mystic influence which Madame de Krudener
+exercised for many years over the enthusiastic temperament of the
+Emperor Alexander. This lady who has so charmingly portrayed her own
+character in _Valérie_, who was pre-eminently distinguished in the
+aristocratic _salons_ of Paris by her beauty, her talents, and her
+position as an ambassadress, who was by turns a woman of the world, a
+heroine of romance, a remarkable writer, and a prophetess, will not soon
+be forgotten in France. The lovers of mystic poetry will read _Valérie_,
+that charming work, the appearance of which made so much noise,
+notwithstanding the bulletins of the grand army (for it appeared in the
+most brilliant period of the empire); those who delight in grace,
+combined with beauty and mental endowments, will recall to mind that
+young woman who won for herself so distinguished a place in French
+society; and those whose glowing imaginations love to dwell on exalted
+sentiments and religious fervour, united to the most lively faith,
+cannot refuse their admiration to her who asked of the mighty of the
+earth only the means of freely exercising charity, that evangelical
+virtue, of which she was always one of the most ardent apostles.
+
+The _Lettres de Mademoiselle Cochelet_ make known to us with what zeal
+Madame de Krudener applied herself to seeking out and comforting the
+afflicted. Her extreme goodness of heart was such that she was called,
+in St. Petersburg, the Mother of the Poor. All the sums she received
+from the emperor were immediately distributed to the wretched, and her
+own fortune was applied in the same way, so that her house was besieged
+from morning till night by mujiks and mothers of families, to whom she
+gave food both for soul and body.
+
+With so much will and power to do good, Madame de Krudener by and by
+acquired so great an influence in St. Petersburg, that the government at
+last became alarmed. She was accused of entertaining tendencies of too
+liberal a cast, religious notions of no orthodox kind, extreme ambition
+cloaked under the guise of charity, and therewith too much compassion
+for those miserable mujiks of whom she was the unfailing friend. But the
+chief cause of the displeasure of the court was the baroness's connexion
+with two other ladies, whose religious sentiments were by all means
+exceedingly questionable. They were the Princess Gallitzin and Countess
+Guacher (we will give the real name of the latter by and by).
+
+The publicity which these ladies affected in all their acts could not
+but be injurious to the meek Christian enterprise of Madame de Krudener.
+The princess was detested at court. Too superior to disguise her
+opinions, and renowned for her beauty, her caustic wit, and her
+philosophic notions, she had excited against her a host of enemies, who
+were sure to take the first opportunity of injuring her with the
+emperor. As for the Countess Guacher, the chief heroine of our tale, her
+rather equivocal position at the court furnished a weapon against her,
+when suddenly issuing from the extreme retirement in which she had
+previously lived, she became one of Madame de Krudener's most
+enthusiastic adepts. But before we proceed further it will be necessary
+to give a brief account of her arrival in Russia.
+
+Two years before the period I am speaking of, a lady of high rank
+arrived in St. Petersburg, accompanied by a numerous retinue, and giving
+herself out for one of the victims of the French revolution. In that
+quality she was received with alacrity in the society of the capital,
+and the Emperor Alexander himself was one of the foremost to notice her.
+It appeared that she came last from England, where she had taken shelter
+during the revolutionary troubles; but the motive which had induced her,
+after so long a residence among the English, to quit their country for
+Russia, remained an impenetrable secret. She always evinced an extreme
+repugnance to meet the French emigrants, who resided in St. Petersburg,
+and they on their part declared that the name she bore was entirely
+unknown to them. It soon began to be whispered about, that the lady was,
+perhaps, a personage of illustrious birth who desired to be _incognita_;
+but what her real name was no one could tell, not even the emperor. The
+wit of the courtiers was baffled by the lofty reserve of the countess,
+who always affected a total silence whenever France was mentioned in
+conversation. Alexander, always prompt to declare himself a champion of
+dames, respected the fair stranger's _incognito_ with chivalric loyalty,
+and declared that any attempt to penetrate the mystery would exceedingly
+displease him. This was enough to cool the fever of curiosity that had
+infected the courtiers since Madame Guacher's first appearance; her name
+was thenceforth mentioned only with a circumspection that would have
+seemed very curious to any one unacquainted with the Russians, and she
+soon became a stranger to the court, where she appeared only on rare
+occasions.
+
+The emperor alone, stimulated no doubt by the mystery she observed
+respecting her past history, and struck by her high-bred demeanour, kept
+up an intercourse with her to which he seemed to attach much value.
+There was nothing of ordinary gallantry in this, at least there never
+was any thing to indicate that their intimacy had led to so commonplace
+a result. The romantic spirit of Alexander, delighted to build all sorts
+of hypotheses on a person whose noble presence and lofty airs exercised
+a peculiar prestige upon his imagination.
+
+When the Princess Gallitzin returned to St. Petersburg after a journey
+to Italy, the emperor, who sincerely admired her, took upon himself to
+make two ladies acquainted whom he thought so fitted to appreciate each
+other. As he had foreseen, a close intimacy grew up between them, but to
+the great mortification of the court, this intimacy was, through Madame
+de Krudener's influence, the basis of an association which aimed at
+nothing less than the conversion of the whole earth to the holy law of
+Christ.
+
+At first the scheme was met with derision, then alarm was felt, and at
+last, by dint of intrigues, the emperor, whom these ladies had half made
+a proselyte, was forced to banish them from court, and confine them for
+the rest of their days to the territory of the Crimea. It is said that
+this decision, so contrary to the kind nature of Alexander, was
+occasioned by an article in an English newspaper, in which the female
+trio and his imperial majesty were made the subjects of most biting
+sarcasms. Enraged at being accused of being held in leading strings by
+three half-crazed women, the emperor signed the warrant for their exile
+to the great joy of the envious courtiers. The victims beheld in the
+event only the manifestation of the divine will, that they should
+propagate the faith among the followers of Mahomet. In a spirit of
+Christian humility they declined receiving any other escort than that of
+a non-commissioned officer, whose duty should be only to see to their
+personal safety, and transmit their orders to the persons employed in
+the journey. Their departure produced a great sensation in St.
+Petersburg; and every one was eager to see the distinguished ladies in
+their monastic costume. The court laughed, but the populace, always
+sensitive where religion is concerned, and who, besides, were losing a
+most generous protectress in Madame de Krudener, accompanied the
+pilgrims with great demonstrations of respect and sorrow to the banks of
+the Neva, where they embarked on the 6th of September, 1822.
+
+Two months after that date, on a cold November morning, when the Sea of
+Azof was already beginning to be covered near shore with a thin coat of
+ice, there arrived in Taganrok one of those large boats called lodkas,
+which ply on all the navigable rivers of the empire, and are used for
+the transport of goods. This one seemed to have been fitted up for the
+temporary accommodation of passengers. The practised eyes of the sailors
+in the port soon noticed the peculiar arrangement of the deck, the care
+with which the bales of merchandise were ranged along the gangways, and
+above all, the great carpet that covered the whole quarter-deck. These
+circumstances excited much curiosity in the port, especially as at that
+advanced season arrivals were very rare; but conjecture was exerted in
+vain, as to who might be the mysterious passengers, for the whole day
+passed without one of them appearing. It was ascertained, indeed, that a
+non-commissioned officer landed from the lodka, and waited on the
+police-master and the English consul, and that those functionaries
+repaired on board the lodka; but that was all, and the public remained
+for ever in ignorance whence the lodka came, whither it was bound, and
+who were the persons on board of it.
+
+The same evening the English consul was waiting with some curiosity for
+the visit of a foreigner, who, as he had been informed by the
+non-commissioned officer of the lodka, would call on him at eight
+o'clock; but her name and her business remained a mystery for him. At
+the appointed time the door opened, and a person entered whose
+appearance at first sight did not seem to justify the curiosity which
+the consul had felt about her. Dressed in a long, loose, grey robe, and
+a white hood with lappets falling on the bosom, she had all the
+appearance of those Russian nuns who go about to rich houses and beg for
+their convents. Taking her for one of these persons, Mr. Y---- was about
+to give her a very expeditious answer, when to his surprise she accosted
+him in excellent English. The appearance and manners of the visitor soon
+convinced him she was a person of superior station. The conversation
+turned at first on England. The unknown told him that having long
+resided in that country, she had felt desirous of seeing its
+representative in Taganrok; she then went on to discuss English society,
+mentioning the most aristocratic names, and talking in such a manner as
+to show that she must have been long familiar with the London world of
+fashion. After this she proceeded to the main object of her visit, which
+was to procure from the consul a podoroshni, to continue her journey by
+land instead of by water as before.
+
+All this while the consul was scrutinising his strange visitor with
+increasing astonishment. She appeared to be about fifty years of age;
+her features, which were still very well preserved, must have been once
+very handsome. She had a Bourbon countenance, large blue eyes, grave
+lineaments, and a somewhat haughty ease in her demeanour, that
+altogether produced a singularly imposing effect. The conversation
+gradually becoming more familiar, the lady confessed that having been
+converted by the Baroness de Krudener and the Princess Gallitzin, she
+had been exiled with those ladies to the Crimea, where she purposed to
+preach the faith.
+
+This unexpected communication of course increased the surprise of Mr.
+Y----, and drew from him some observations on the nature of such a
+project. After lauding the zeal of the fair missionary, he hinted a
+doubt that she would find many proselytes among the Mahometans, and
+asked her had she no family or friends who had a more direct claim on
+her charity than strangers, who were too barbarous to appreciate her
+motives. This question produced an extraordinary effect on the lady. She
+grew pale and confused, and muttered indistinctly that all her earthly
+ties were broken, and that the wrath of Heaven had long rested on her
+head! A silence of some minutes followed that avowal. The consul
+remained with his eyes fixed on the strange being before him, and in
+spite of all his address and knowledge of the world, he was quite at a
+loss how to behave or how to renew the conversation. His visitor,
+however, relieved him by taking her leave, after repeating her request
+that he would supply her with a podoroshni on the following morning.
+
+It may easily be imagined that Mr. Y---- did not wait until the next day
+to satisfy his curiosity respecting the ladies whose invincible spirit
+of proselytism had sent them from the banks of the Neva to the shores of
+the Black Sea, and soon after the departure of his visitor he was on his
+way to the port. He had no difficulty in finding the lodka; the deck was
+deserted, but a light shone through one of the skylights. Looking down
+he saw three phantom-like females standing at a table covered with
+papers, and reading out of large books. When their prayers were ended
+they began to chant hymns in a slow measure. The solemn religious
+harmony, suddenly breaking the deep silence, made so intense an
+impression on the consul, that twenty years afterwards he still spoke of
+it with enthusiasm.
+
+Countess Guacher stood with her back towards him, but he had a full view
+of the faces of the two other ladies. Madame de Krudener was small,
+delicate, and fair haired; her inspired looks and the gentleness of her
+countenance bespoke her boundless beneficence of soul. The Princess
+Gallitzin, on the contrary, had an imposing countenance, the expression
+of which presented a strange mixture of shrewdness, asceticism,
+sternness, and raillery. For a long while the pilgrims continued
+chanting Sclavonic psalms, the mysterious impart of which accorded with
+the enthusiastic disposition of their souls. Before they had ended, the
+sound of footsteps on the deck woke Mr. Y---- from his trance of wonder.
+The new comer was the non-commissioned officer, and Mr. Y---- desired
+the man to announce him, although he hardly expected to be admitted at
+so late an hour. His visit was nevertheless accepted, and the ladies
+received him with as much ease as if they had been doing the honours of
+a drawing-room.
+
+In spite of their religious enthusiasm, and the apostolic vocation which
+they attributed to themselves, it may easily be imagined that these
+three high-bred ladies, accustomed to all the refinements of luxury,
+should now and then have had their tempers a little ruffled by the
+hardships of their journey, and that their mutual harmony should have
+suffered somewhat in consequence. Their wish, therefore, to separate on
+their arrival at Taganrok was natural enough. Countess Guacher
+especially, having made less progress than her companions in the path of
+perfection, had often revolted against the austere habits imposed on
+her; but these ebullitions of carnal temper were always brief and
+transient; and on the day after her visit to the consul, when he
+returned to the port to announce that the podoroshni was ready, the boat
+and its passengers had disappeared, and no one could give any
+information about them.
+
+
+II.
+
+The apparition of these ladies in the Crimea threw the whole peninsula
+into commotion. Eager to make proselytes, they were seen toiling in
+their _béguine_ costume, with the cross and the gospel in their hands,
+over mountains and valleys, exploring Tatar villages, and even carrying
+their enthusiasm to the strange length of preaching in the open air to
+the amazed and puzzled Mussulmans. But as the English consul had
+predicted, in spite of their mystic fervour, their persuasive voices,
+and the originality of their enterprise, our heroines effected few
+conversions. They only succeeded in making themselves thoroughly
+ridiculous not only in the eyes of the Tatars, but in those also of the
+Russian nobles of the vicinity, who instead of seconding their efforts,
+or at least giving them credit for their good intentions, regarded them
+only as feather-witted _illuminatæ_, capable at most of catechising
+little children. The police, too, always prompt to take alarm, and
+having besides received special instructions respecting these ladies,
+soon threw impediments in the way of all their efforts, so that two
+months had scarcely elapsed before they were obliged to give up their
+roving ways, their preachings, and all the fine dreams they had indulged
+during their long and painful journey. It was a sore mortification for
+them to renounce the hope of planting a new Thebaid in the mountains of
+the Crimea. Madame de Krudener could not endure the loss of her
+illusions; her health, already impaired by many years of an ascetic
+life, declined rapidly, and within a year from the time of her arrival
+in the peninsula, there remained no hope of saving her life. She died
+in 1823, in the arms of her daughter, the Baroness Berckheim, who had
+been for some years resident on the southern coast, and became possessed
+of many documents on the latter part of a life so rich in romantic
+events: but unfortunately these documents are not destined to see the
+light.
+
+Princess Gallitzin, whose religious sentiments were perhaps less
+sincere, thought no more of making conversions after she had installed
+herself in her delightful villa on the coast. Throwing off for ever the
+coarse _béguine_ robe, she adopted a no less eccentric costume which she
+retained until her death. It was an Amazonian petticoat, with a cloth
+vest of a male cut. A Polish cap trimmed with fur completed her attire,
+that accorded well with the original character of the princess. It is in
+this dress she is represented in several portraits still to be seen in
+her villa at Koreis.
+
+The caustic wit that led to her disgrace at the court of St. Petersburg,
+her stately manners, her name, her prodigious memory, and immense
+fortune, quickly attracted round her all the notable persons in Southern
+Russia. Distinguished foreigners eagerly coveted the honour of being
+introduced to her, and she was soon at the head of a little court, over
+which she presided like a real sovereign. But being by nature very
+capricious, the freak sometimes seized her to shut herself up for whole
+months in total solitude. Although she relapsed into philosophical and
+Voltairian notions, the remembrance of Madame de Krudener inspired her
+with occasional fits of devotion that oddly contrasted with her usual
+habits. It was during one of these visitations that she erected a
+colossal cross on one of the heights commanding Koreis. The cross being
+gilded is visible to a great distance.
+
+Her death in 1839 left a void in Russian society which will not easily
+be filled. Reared in the school of the eighteenth century, well versed
+in the literature and the arts of France, speaking the language with an
+entire command of all that light, playful raillery that made it so
+formidable of yore; having been a near observer of all the events and
+all the eminent men of the empire; possessing moreover a power of
+apprehension and discernment that gave equal variety and point to her
+conversation; a man in mind and variety of knowledge, a woman in grace
+and frivolity; the Princess Gallitzin belonged by her brilliant
+qualities and her charming faults to a class that is day by day becoming
+extinct.
+
+Now that conversation is quite dethroned in France, and exists only in
+some few salons of Europe, it is hard to conceive the influence formerly
+exercised by women of talent. Those of our day, more ambitious of
+obtaining celebrity through the press than of reigning over a social
+circle, guard the treasures of their imagination and intellect with an
+anxious reserve that cannot but prove a real detriment to society. To
+write feuilletons, romances, and poetry, is all very well; but to
+preside over a drawing-room, like the women of the eighteenth century,
+has also its merit. But we must not blame the female sex alone for the
+loss of that supremacy which once belonged to French society. The men of
+the present day, more serious than their predecessors, more occupied
+with positive, palpable interests, seem to look with cold disdain on
+what but lately commanded their warmest admiration.
+
+But we have lost sight of the Countess Guacher, who is not for all that
+the least interesting of our heroines. Resigning herself with much more
+equanimity than her companions to the necessity of leaving the Tatars
+alone, she hired for herself, even before their complete separation, a
+small house standing by itself on the sea shore; and there she took up
+her abode with only one female attendant. Following the example of the
+Princess Gallitzin, she threw off the _béguine_ robe and assumed a kind
+of male attire. For some time her existence was almost unknown to her
+neighbours; so retired were her habits. The only occasions when she was
+visible was during her rides on horseback on the beach, and it was
+noticed that she chose the most stormy weather for these excursions.
+
+But her recluse habits did not long conceal her from curious inquiry. A
+certain Colonel Ivanof, who had noticed the strange proceedings of the
+pilgrims from their first arrival in the Crimea, set himself to watch
+the countess, and at last took a house near her retreat; but in order
+that his presence might not scare her, he contented himself for some
+weeks with following her at a distance during her lonely promenades,
+trusting to chance for an opportunity of becoming more intimately
+acquainted with her. His perseverance was at last rewarded with full
+success.
+
+One evening, as the colonel stood at his window observing the tokens of
+an approaching storm, he perceived a person on horseback galloping in
+the direction of his house, evidently with the intention of seeking
+shelter. Before this could be accomplished the storm broke out with
+great fury, and just then the colonel was startled by the discovery that
+the stranger was his mysterious neighbour. The sequel will be best told
+in his own words:
+
+"Full of surprise and curiosity I hastened to meet the countess, who
+entered my doors without honouring me with a single look. She seemed in
+very bad humour, and concentrated her whole attention upon a tortoise
+she carried in her left hand. Without uttering a word or caring for the
+water that streamed from her clothes, she sat down on the divan, and
+remained for some moments apparently lost in thought. For my part, I
+continued standing before her, waiting until she should address me, and
+glad of the opportunity to scrutinise her appearance at my ease. She
+wore an Amazonian petticoat, a green cloth vest, buttoned over the
+bosom, a broad-brimmed felt hat, with a pair of pistols in her girdle,
+and, as I have said, a tortoise in her hand. Her handsome, grave
+countenance excited my admiration. Below her hat appeared some grey
+locks, that seemed whitened not so much by years as by sorrow, of which
+her visage bore the impress.
+
+"Without taking off her hat, the flap of which half concealed her face,
+she began to warm the tortoise with her breath, calling it by the pet
+name _Dushinka_ (little soul), which duty being performed she deigned to
+look up, and perceived me. Her first gesture bespoke extreme surprise.
+Until then, supposing she was in a Tatar house, she had taken no notice
+of the objects around her, but the sight of my drawing-room, my library,
+my piano, and myself, struck her with stupefaction. 'Where am I?' she
+exclaimed, in hurried alarm. 'Madam,' I replied, 'you are in the house
+of a man who has long lived as a hermit--a man who like you loves
+solitude, the sea, and meditation--who has renounced like you the
+society of his kind to live after his own way in this wilderness.' These
+words struck her forcibly. 'You, too,' she ejaculated, 'you, too, have
+divorced yourself from the world, and why? Ay, why?' she repeated, as if
+conversing with her own thoughts, 'why bury yourself alive here, without
+friends, without relations, without a heart to respond to yours? Why die
+this lingering death, when the world is open to you--the world with its
+delights, its balls and spectacles, its passionate adorations, with the
+fascinations of the court, the favour of a queen?' Imagine my
+astonishment to hear her thus in a sort of hallucination, revealing her
+secret thoughts and recollections. In these few words her whole life was
+set forth, the life of a beautiful woman, rich, flattered, habituated to
+the atmosphere of courts.
+
+"After a pause of some duration she entered into conversation with me,
+questioned me at great length on the way in which I passed my time, on
+my tastes, the few resources I enjoyed for cultivating the arts, &c. We
+chatted for more than an hour like old acquaintances, and she seemed
+quite to have forgotten the strange words she had uttered in the
+beginning of the interview. Being very much puzzled to know what
+pleasure she took in carrying the tortoise about with her, I asked her
+some questions on the subject; but with a solemnity that seemed to me
+strangely disproportioned to the subject, she told me she had made a vow
+never to separate from it. 'It is a present from the Emperor Alexander,'
+she said, 'and as long as I have it near me I shall not utterly despair
+of my destiny.' Availing myself of this opening I tried to make her talk
+of the motives that had brought her to the peninsula, but she cut me
+short by saying that since she had become acquainted with the character
+of the Tatars she had given up all thought of making converts among
+them. 'They are men of pure feelings and pure consciences,' she said,
+impressively; 'why insist on their changing their creed, since they live
+in accordance with the principles of morality and religion? After all it
+matters little whether one adores Jesus Christ, Mahomet, or the Grand
+Lama, if one is charitable, humble, and hospitable.'
+
+"I laughed, and said she spoke rank heresy, and that if she preached
+such doctrines, she ran great risk of having a bull of excommunication
+fulminated against her. 'It is since I have given up preaching,' she
+replied, 'that I have begun to think in this way; solitude makes one
+regard things in quite a different aspect from that in which they are
+seen by the world. Only three months ago I set Catholicism above all
+religions, and now I meditate one still more perfect and sublime. Will
+you be my first disciple?' she said, in a tone between jest and earnest,
+that left me very uncertain whether she was serious or not. When she
+left my house I escorted her to her own door, and promised I would call
+on her the next day."
+
+The second interview was not less curious than the first: the colonel
+found his neighbour busily at work with a glass spinner's lamp and a
+blowpipe, making glass beads. She did not allow her visitor's presence
+to interrupt her operations, but finished before him enough to make a
+necklace. She then showed him several boxes filled with beads of all
+sorts, made by her own hands, and said very seriously, "If ever I return
+to the world I will wear no other ornaments than such pearls as these.
+It is a stupid thing to wear true ones. See how bright, clear, and large
+these are! Would any one suppose they were not the produce of the Indian
+Ocean? So it is with every thing else: what matters the substance if the
+form is beautiful and pleasing to the eye?" The colonel was about to
+enter into a grave discussion of this very questionable moral doctrine,
+very common in the eighteenth century, when suddenly changing the
+subject, the countess took down a sword that hung at the head of her bed
+and laid it on his lap. "You see this weapon, colonel: it was given me
+by a Vendean chief in admiration of my courage; for though a woman I
+have fought for the good cause, and many a time smelt powder among the
+bushes and heaths of Bretagne. You need not wonder at my partiality for
+weapons and for male costume; it is a reminiscence of my youth. A
+Vendean at heart, I long made part in the heroic bands that withstood
+the republican armies, and the dangers, hardships, and fiery emotions of
+partisan warfare are no secrets to me." "But," observed the colonel,
+"how is it that thus devoted as you are to the royal cause you do not
+return to your country, where monarchy is again triumphant?" "Hush!" she
+answered, lowering her voice, "hush! let us say no more of the present
+or the past. Would you ask the shrub broken by the storm why the breath
+of spring does not reanimate its mutilated form? Let us leave things as
+they are, and not strive to repair what is irreparable. Man's justice
+has pronounced its decree; let us trust in that of God, merciful and
+infinite, like all that is eternally just and good!"
+
+It was in vain the colonel endeavoured by further questions to become
+acquainted with that mysterious past to which she could not make any
+allusion without extreme perturbation of mind; she remained silent, and
+retired to another room without renewing the conversation.
+
+After these two interviews, Colonel Ivanof had no other opportunity of
+gathering any hints that could lead him towards a definite conclusion
+respecting this extraordinary woman, although he saw her almost daily
+for more than two months. She often talked to him of her residence in
+London, her friendly relations with the Emperor of Russia, her travels,
+and her fortune; but of France not a word. Not an expression of regret,
+not a name or allusion of any sort, afforded the colonel reason to
+suspect that his neighbour had left behind her in her native land any
+objects on which her memory still dwelt. His brain was almost turned at
+last by the romantic acquaintance he had made. His vanity was piqued,
+and his desire to solve so difficult an enigma gave him no rest. He
+diligently perused the history of the French Revolution, in hopes to
+find in it a clue to his inquiry, but it was to no purpose. He felt
+completely astray in such a labyrinth. Many great names successively
+occurred to him as likely to belong to his mysterious neighbour, but
+there were always some circumstances connected with them that refuted
+such a supposition.
+
+Perhaps a more matter-of-fact person would at last have discovered the
+truth; but the colonel's lively imagination led him to embrace the
+oddest hypothesis. It was his belief that the countess was the
+illegitimate offspring of a royal amour. Setting out from this principle
+he put aside all the names proscribed by the revolution, and stuck
+obstinately to a myth. But tired at last of this pursuit of shadows, he
+resolved to trust to that chance which had already been so favourable
+for the clearing up of his uncertainty. Assiduously noting all the
+lady's eccentricities, he knew not whether to pity or admire her, though
+very certain that her wits wandered at times.
+
+She frequently received despatches from St. Petersburg, and seemed,
+notwithstanding her exile, to have retained a certain influence over the
+mind of the tzar. One day she showed her neighbour a letter from a lady
+of the court, who thanked her warmly for having obtained from the
+emperor a regiment which that lady had long been ineffectually
+soliciting for her son.
+
+So absorbed was the Russian officer by the interest he took in the
+countess, that he seemed to have forgotten all the world besides; but an
+unexpected event suddenly put an end to his romantic loiterings, and
+sent him back to the realities of life. A Frenchman, calling himself
+Baron X--, arrived one fine morning from St. Petersburg, and established
+himself without ceremony as the countess's factotum. From that moment
+all intimacy was broken off between the latter and Colonel Ivanof. The
+cold, astute behaviour of the baron, and his continual presence, obliged
+the colonel to retire. It may seem strange that he surrendered the field
+so quickly to an unknown person, but it was time for him to return to
+his military duties, and besides, what could he do with a man whose
+connexion with the countess seemed of old standing, and who watched her
+with a jealous vigilance enough to discourage the most intrepid
+curiosity? His departure was scarcely noticed by Madame Guacher, whose
+habits had undergone an entire change since the arrival of the baron.
+The incoherence of her mind became more and more visible; it was only at
+long and uncertain intervals she rode out on horseback; the rest of her
+time was spent in enduring all sorts of extraordinary mortifications.
+
+Baron X--remained in the Crimea until the death of the countess, which
+took place in 1823. Being fully acquainted with all her affairs he was
+her sole heir, not legally, perhaps, but _de facto_. On leaving the
+peninsula he proceeded to England, where a large part of our heroine's
+property was invested, and he afterwards returned to Russia with a
+considerable fortune.
+
+A curious incident occurred after the death of the countess. As soon as
+the emperor was informed of the event he despatched a courier to the
+Crimea, with orders to bring him a casket, the form, size, and materials
+of which were described with the most minute exactness. The messenger,
+assisted by the chief of the police, at first made a fruitless search;
+but at last, through the information of a waiting woman, the casket was
+found sealed up, under the bed of the deceased lady. The courier took
+possession of it and returned with the utmost speed. In ten days he was
+in St. Petersburg.
+
+The precious casket was delivered to the emperor in his private cabinet,
+in the presence of two or three courtiers. Alexander was so impatient to
+open it that he had the lock forced. But alas! what a sad
+disappointment! The casket contained only--a pair of scissors. It surely
+was not for the sake of a pair of scissors that Alexander had made one
+of his Cossacks gallop 4000 versts in a fortnight. Be that as it may,
+Baron X--was accused of having purloined papers of the highest
+importance, and unfairly possessed himself of Madame Guacher's fortune.
+But as he was then on his road to London, the emperor's anger was of no
+avail.
+
+At a subsequent period, the disclosures made by this man, and the
+discovery of a curious correspondence, at last revealed the real name of
+the countess; but the tardy information arrived when there was no longer
+any one to be interested in it; the emperor was dead, and Colonel
+Ivanhof was fighting in the Caucasus.
+
+Interred in a corner of the garden belonging to her house, that
+mysterious woman who had been the subject of so many contradictory
+rumours, had not even a stone to cover her grave, and to mark to the
+stranger the spot where rest the remains of the _Countess de Lamothe_,
+who had been whipped and branded in the Place de Grève, as an accomplice
+in the scandalous affair of the diamond necklace.[69]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[69] All the facts we have related respecting Madame de Lamothe are
+positive and perfectly authentic: they were reported to us by persons
+who had known that lady particularly, and who moreover possessed
+substantial proofs of her identity. It is chiefly to Mademoiselle
+Jacquemart, mentioned in "Marshal Marmont's Travels," that we are
+indebted for the details we have given respecting the arrival of our
+three heroines in the Crimea. We have ourselves seen in that lady's
+possession the sword which the countess alleged she had used in the wars
+of La Vendée, and sundry letters attesting the great influence she
+exercised over the Emperor Alexander.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+      IALTA--KOUTCHOUK LAMPAT--PARTHENIT--THE PRINCE DE LIGNE'S
+      HAZEL--OULOU OUZEN; A GARDEN CONVERTED INTO AN AVIARY--TATAR
+      YOUNG WOMEN--EXCURSION TO SOUDAGH--MADEMOISELLE JACQUEMART.
+
+
+The proximity of Ialta to the most remarkable places on the coast, its
+harbour, and its delightful situation, make it the rendezvous of all the
+travellers who flock to the Crimea in the fine season. A packet-boat
+from Odessa brings every week a large number of passengers, and the
+harbour is further enlivened by a multitude of small vessels from all
+parts of the coast. Nothing can be more charming than the sight of that
+white Ialta, seated at the head of a bay like a beautiful sultana
+bathing her feet in the sea, and sheltering her fair forehead from the
+sun under rocks festooned with verdure. Elegant buildings, handsome
+hotels, and a comfortable, cheerful population, indicate that opulence
+and pleasure have taken the town under their patronage; its prosperity,
+indeed, depends entirely on the travellers who fill its hotels for
+several months of the year. When it belonged to the Greeks it was
+counted among the most important towns on the coast; but the successive
+revolutions of the Crimea were fatal to it, and for a long while it
+remained only a wretched village. At present a custom-house and a
+garrison complete its pretensions to the style and dignity of a grand
+town. But nature has been so liberal to it, that instead of wondering at
+its rapid rise one is rather disposed to think it much inferior to what
+it might be.
+
+We left Ialta in a tolerably large body, some on horseback, others in
+carriages. Leaving behind us Aloupka, Mishkor, Koreis, and Oreanda, we
+soon forgot their sumptuous displays of art for the inexhaustible
+marvels of nature. Our road lay parallel to the coast, and the continual
+variations of its admirable scenery made us think the way too short. A
+storm of rain overtook us in the fine forest of Koutchouk Lampat, and
+made us all run for shelter. The more advanced of the party easily
+reached the house of General Borosdin the owner of the property; but
+those in the rear, of whom I was one, were obliged to take refuge in a
+pavilion. Whilst we were quietly waiting there until the storm should
+blow over, the people of the house were seeking for us on all sides,
+having been sent out by our companions. Several times we saw them
+passing along at a distance armed with large umbrellas; but as there was
+a billiard-table in the pavilion we never showed ourselves until we had
+finished an interesting game. The châtelain of Koutchouk Lampat,
+delighted to receive so numerous a party, entertained us with an
+excellent collation, in which figured all the wines of France and Spain.
+
+A few leagues from Koutchouk Lampat lies Parthenit, a village where, for
+the first time, I received a mark of civility from Tatar females. As I
+entered the place, keeping in the rear of the others according to my
+usual custom, I passed in front of a house in the large balcony of which
+there were three veiled women. Just as I passed beneath the balcony I
+slackened my horse's pace and made some friendly signals to them,
+whereupon, one of them, and I make no doubt the prettiest, repeatedly
+kissed a large bouquet of lily of the valley she held, and threw it to
+me so adroitly that it fell into my hand. Delighted with the present, I
+hastened up to my companions and showed it to them; but they were all
+malicious enough to assure me that the gift had been addressed not to
+myself but to my clothes. The reader will remember that I travelled in
+male costume.
+
+At Parthenit we failed not to sit under the famous hazel-tree of the
+Prince de Ligne. Its foliage is so thick and spreading that it
+overshadows a whole _place_. The trunk is not less than eight yards in
+circumference, and is surrounded by a large wooden divan, almost always
+occupied by travellers, who use it as a tavern. The inhabitants of
+Parthenit regard this tree with great affection, and beneath its shade
+they discuss all the important affairs of the village. A limpid
+fountain, the waters of which are distributed through several channels,
+adds to the charm of the spot. Our whole cavalcade was completely
+sheltered under the dome of the magnificent hazel. The Tatars brought us
+sweetmeats, coffee, and fresh eggs, and obstinately refused to take
+payment for them. Almost the whole population came to see us, but their
+curiosity was not at all obtrusive. Such of them as had no immediate
+business with us kept a respectful distance.
+
+On leaving Parthenit we passed very close to some old fortifications
+covering a whole hill with their imposing ruins. At evening we arrived
+at the post station of Alouchta,[70] where our party was to break up.
+Some of our companions returned to Ialta, others proceeded towards
+Simpheropol; whilst we ourselves, accompanied by a single Tatar and our
+dragoman, set out by the sea-coast for Oulou Ouzen. The distance was but
+twelve versts, but we spent several hours upon it, in consequence of the
+difficulty of the ground and the steepness of the cliffs which we were
+often obliged to ascend. We met no one on the way; this part of the
+coast is quite deserted and sterile.
+
+Oulou Ouzen, our point of destination, is a narrow valley opening on the
+sea, and belonging to Madame Lang, who has covered it with vineyards and
+orchards. A week passed quickly away in the agreeable society of our
+hostess, whose residence is one of the prettiest in the country. Being
+very fond of birds, she has succeeded by a very simple process in
+converting her garden into a great aviary. On the day we arrived we
+were surprised to see her continually assailed by a flock of pretty
+titmice that pecked at her hair and hands with extraordinary
+familiarity. They were the progeny in the third and fourth generation of
+a pair she had reared two years before, and had liberated in the
+beginning of spring. Next year they returned with a young brood that
+grew used by degrees to feed on the balcony, and at last to eat out of
+her hands. These in their turn brought her their young ones; other birds
+followed their example, and thus she has always a flock of gay dwellers
+of the air perching and fluttering about her balcony, which is covered
+with nets to protect them from birds of prey.
+
+At Madame Lang's we met a very agreeable gentleman and a great admirer
+of the Crimea, M. Montandon, who has written an excellent itinerary of
+the country. We talked a great deal with him about a French lady,
+Mademoiselle Jacquemart, whose acquaintance my husband had made some
+months previously. She has resided for the last fifteen years in
+Soudagh, a valley near Oulou Ouzen. The Duc de Raguse speaks at great
+length of her in his _Excursion en Crimée_, and relates the tragic
+adventure of which she was the heroine some years ago, but he assigns
+for it a romantic cause which Mademoiselle Jacquemart has absolutely
+contradicted.
+
+Few ladies have passed through a more eccentric life than Mademoiselle
+Jacquemart. In her young days, her beauty, her talents, and her wit
+invested her with a celebrity, such as rarely falls to the lot of one in
+the humble position of a governess. After having lived long in the great
+world of St. Petersburg and of Vienna, she suddenly withdrew to the
+Crimea, where, having like many others almost ruined herself by vintage
+speculations, she purchased the little property in which she now
+resides. Her history and her unusual energy of character led to a close
+intimacy between her and the old Princess Gallitzin, who was herself
+enough of an original character to like every thing uncommon, and
+Mademoiselle Jacquemart was an habitual guest at Koreis.
+
+Before we left Oulou Ouzen we went to spend a day with Madame Lang's
+only neighbour, an old bachelor, who lives quite alone, not out of
+misanthropy, but that he may devote himself without interruption to his
+favourite pursuit of botany. A deep ravine between the two properties,
+and a steep descent overlooking the sea, render the road so dangerous
+that ladies can venture to traverse it only in a vehicle drawn by oxen.
+It was in this strange equipage, guided by a Tatar armed with a long
+goad, that we reached the house of M. Faviski, who was quite delighted,
+but greatly puzzled to receive ladies. He did the honours of his
+bachelor's dwelling, nevertheless, like a very well-bred gentleman.
+
+While we were waiting for dinner, Madame Lang conceived the happy
+thought of sending for all the Tatar beauties of the village that I
+might see them. When they arrived, the gentlemen were obliged to leave
+the room, which was immediately entered by a dozen of pretty bashful
+young women, looking like a herd of scared gazelles. But after a few
+words from Madame Lang, who speaks Tatar very well, they soon became
+familiarised with our strange faces, and grew very merry. They took off
+their veils and papouches at our request, and favoured us with an
+Oriental dance. One of them quite astonished me by the magnificent
+lineaments of her face, which reminded me of the head of an empress on
+an ancient medal. They examined all the details of our toilette with
+childlike curiosity, and exacted from us the same attentive notice of
+the embroidery on their bodices and veils. Meanwhile, so amused were we
+by this scene, that we had quite forgotten the gentlemen whom we had
+turned out, and who now began to thump lustily at the door. The Tatar
+women were now thrown into the most picturesque and comical disorder,
+and ran about in all directions looking for their veils. In the midst of
+the confusion I was wicked enough to hide the veil and slippers of the
+young beauty, and then throw the door wide open. It was curious to see
+the dismay of the poor blushing creature who knew not how to escape from
+the bold admiration of several men. She had never in her life been in
+such a situation before; so when I thought the gentlemen had
+sufficiently indulged their curiosity, I hastened to relieve her by
+returning her veil.
+
+Next day, after a fatiguing journey, we reached Soudagh in the evening.
+It was with no little interest I beheld the humble abode of a woman of
+talent, who, through some unaccountable whim, had quitted the world
+while still young, and retired to almost absolute solitude. She was glad
+to receive the visit of compatriots, and talked frankly to us of the
+hardships and discomforts of a life she had not the courage to abandon.
+The extreme loneliness of her dwelling exposed her to frequent attacks
+by night, and obliged her to have a brace of pistols always at the head
+of her bed. People stole her fruit, her poultry, and even her vines; she
+was kept continually on the alert, and had the fear before her of
+repetition of the horrible attempt to which she was once near falling a
+victim.
+
+The account she herself gave us of that affair was as follows. Two days
+before it happened, a Greek applied to her for work and food. Not having
+any employment for him, she gave him some provisions, and advised him to
+look elsewhere for work. The next day but one, as she was returning in
+the evening from a geological excursion, carrying in her hand a small
+hatchet she used for breaking pebbles, she perceived the same man
+walking behind her in silence. Feeling some uneasiness, she turned round
+to look in the Greek's face; but at that moment she felt herself grasped
+round the waist, the hatchet was snatched out of her hand, and she
+received several blows with it on the head that deprived her of all
+consciousness. When her senses returned the assassin had disappeared.
+How she reached home with her skull fractured, she never could explain.
+For many months her life was in imminent danger, and her reason was
+impaired. At the time we saw her she still suffered acutely from some
+splinters of a comb that remained in her head. This is a much less
+romantic story than that told by Marmont.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[70] About A.D. 465, the Khersonites invoked the protection of the
+emperors of the East against the Huns. Justinian seized the opportunity
+to erect the two fortresses of Alouchta and Oursouf, by means of which
+he subsequently rendered the republic of Kherson tributary to the
+empire. There still exist at Alouchta three large towers that formed
+part of the imperial castle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+      RUINS OF SOLDAYA--ROAD TO THEODOSIA--CAFFA--MUSCOVITE
+      VANDALISM--PENINSULA OF KERTCH--PANTICAPEA AND ITS TOMBS.
+
+
+Leaving my wife to return with Mademoiselle Jacquemart to Oulou Ouzen, I
+took my way by the lower part of the valley of Soudagh through a
+labyrinth of vineyards and meadows covered with blossoming peach and
+apricot trees. Passing the paltry village that has borrowed one of the
+names of the celebrated Soldaya, we soon arrived at the sea beach at the
+foot of the triple castle erected by the intrepid Genoese, in 1365, on
+the site of a city they had just conquered, and which had flourished
+under the successive dominion of the Greeks, the Komans, and the Tatars.
+
+The origin of Soldaya, or Sougdai, belongs to the most remote periods of
+Crimean history. In the eighth century it was a bishop's see, and though
+then dependent on the Greek empire it boasted not the less of its own
+sovereigns. Four centuries afterwards, in 1204, the Komans, an Asiatic
+people, expelled from their own territories, and driven westward by the
+hordes of Genghis Khan, entered the Crimea, where they were the
+precursors of that terrible Mongol invasion that was soon to overwhelm
+all the east of Europe. The arrivals of these fugitives was fatal to the
+Greek settlements; the princes of Soldaya were exterminated, and the
+victors took possession of their capital. But the Komans did not long
+enjoy their conquests. Overtaken a second time by the rapid current of
+the Mongol invasion, they were obliged to abandon the Crimea after
+thirty years' possession, and seek an asylum in the most western regions
+of Thrace.
+
+Under the Mongol dominion the Greeks returned to Soldaya, which again
+became a Christian town, and the most important port of the peninsula.
+It was tributary, indeed, to the Tatars, but it had a bishop and its own
+administration.
+
+In the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Tatars of the
+Kaptchak adopted the religion of Mahomet, Mussulman fanaticism prevailed
+for a while in the Crimea, the Christians were expelled from Soldaya and
+their numerous churches were converted into mosques. But it is a
+remarkable fact that the word of a pope, John XXII., was of such force
+in 1323, that Ousbeck Khan allowed the exiles to resume possession of
+their city with the enjoyment of their ancient privileges.
+
+But twenty years had elapsed when a fresh revolution, occasioned by
+intestine disorder and dissensions, finally extinguished all trace of
+the Greek sway in Soldaya. The Genoese, who had for nearly a century
+been masters of Caffa, incorporated the ancient capital of the Komans
+with their own territory on the 18th of June, 1365.[71] Then it was that
+in order to secure their possession of the fertile territory of Soudagh
+and defend it against the Tatars, the enterprising merchant princes
+erected, on the most inaccessible rock at the entrance of the valley,
+that formidable fortress of three stories, crowned by the gigantic
+Maiden Tower (_Kize Kouleh_) whence the warders could overlook the fort,
+the sea, and the adjacent regions.
+
+The Genoese remained in quiet possession of their castle for more than a
+century; but after the taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II., and the
+almost immediate destruction of Caffa, the capital of the Crimean
+colonies, Soldaya, shared the same fate. The Turks laid siege to the
+fortress in 1475. It made a long and obstinate resistance, and famine
+alone overcame the valour of the garrison.[72]
+
+With the Genoese sway, fell all that had constituted the glory and
+prosperity of Soldaya during so many centuries; the population of the
+town was driven out and scattered; the once animated harbour was
+deserted, and grass grew in the streets trodden of yore by the elegant
+Greeks of the Lower Empire, the victorious Komans and the proud citizens
+of Genoa. A feeble Turkish garrison became the tenants of the place, and
+for nearly three centuries continued the unmoved spectators of the decay
+and desolation of one of the oldest and most remarkable cities of the
+Pontus Euxinus.
+
+The imperial eagle of the tzars floated over the towers of Soldaya in
+1781, and from that time began for the monuments of the Genoese colony
+that rapid destruction which everywhere characterises the Russian
+conquests. All the beautiful public and private buildings which Pallas
+so much admired in his first journey, disappeared, and out of their
+precious remains, Muscovite vandalism erected great useless barracks,
+the unmeaning ruins of which have, for many years, strewed the ground.
+At present Soldaya, erased from the list of towns and fortresses, has
+not even a watchman to guard its walls and its magnificent towers with
+their proud inscriptions. Every year the sight is saddened by fresh
+mutilations, and ere long there will remain nothing of those marble
+tablets with their elegant arabesques that adorned every tower and
+doorway, and recorded its origin and history. The only thing that could
+save the Genoese castle from total destruction, would be to leave it
+quite alone, and to remove far from it every body of Russian
+authorities. Unfortunately, the government seems willing to take upon
+itself the care of its preservation, and there can be no doubt that
+demolition awaits the remains of Soldaya from the moment an _employé_,
+without salary enough to live on, shall be invested with the right of
+protecting them against the ravages of time and of men.[73]
+
+On leaving Soldaya we proceeded towards Theodosia, the Caffa of the
+Genoese. We will not weary the reader with a monotonous description of
+our route. This part of the country is less diversified, less beautiful
+and picturesque, and the population much more thinly spread than in the
+other mountainous parts of the Crimea. The great calcareous chain
+recedes considerably from the coast, and from its precipitous sides it
+sends off blackish schistous offshoots, scarcely covered by a meagre
+vegetation, enclosing between them in their course to the sea some
+valleys in which the Tatars have established the only villages in the
+country. Completely abandoned by the aristocracy, destitute of roads,
+and unadorned by any of those elegant dwellings with which luxury and
+fashion have embellished the hill sides of Ialta, the whole coast
+between Alouchta and Theodosia is neglected by most tourists, and is
+only visited at rare intervals by scientific travellers. But if the
+Soudagh coasts are disdained by the Russian nobles, and display no
+Italian villas or porphyry gothic manors, the traveller finds there the
+most frank reception and truly Oriental hospitality. Far from all the
+centres of the elegant and partly corrupt civilisation which the
+Russians have imported into the Crimea within the last twenty years, the
+Tatars of these regions retain unaltered their ancient usages, and the
+prominent features of their primitive character. I could not easily
+describe the kindly good-will with which I was received in all the
+villages where I stopped. The fact that I was a Frenchman, who had
+nothing to do with any branch of Russian administration, had a really
+marvellous effect on the mountaineers. Wherever I went the best house,
+the handsomest divan, cushions, and carpets were assigned for my use;
+and in an instant I found myself sipping my coffee and smoking my
+chibouk, surrounded with all those comforts the want of which is so
+sorely felt by those who travel in certain parts of the East.
+
+In Toklouk, Kooz, and Otouz, which we passed through successively, the
+flat-roofed Tatar houses are, as everywhere else, backed against the
+hills that flank the valley. By this means the inhabitants are enabled
+to keep up a communication with each other by the terrace tops of their
+houses, where they regularly carry on their work, and which are formed
+of stout carpentry covered with a thick bed of clay. Nothing can be more
+picturesque than the appearance, at evening, of all these terraces
+rising in gradations one above the other. At that period of the day the
+whole population of each village is on the alert; and quitting the dark
+rooms in which they had sheltered from the heat of the day, men, women,
+and children gather on the roofs; animation, mirth, and the din of
+tongues, takes place of the silence of day, and the observer is never
+weary of watching the picturesque scenes formed by the various groups
+engaged in their household occupations.
+
+At Koktebel, a little village on the sea shore, twenty-nine versts from
+Soudagh, the sombre headland Kara Dagh terminates the bolder scenery of
+the Crimea. Beyond that point the country presents no picturesque
+features; vast plains gradually succeed the hills, and as the traveller
+advances he is forewarned by various tokens of his approach to the
+steppes, which form all the northern part of the peninsula, and extend
+eastward of the old Genoese colony to the shores of the Cimmerian
+Bosphorus. Along the whole line from Soudagh to Theodosia there is not
+one point, not one monument or ruin to interest the historian or the
+antiquarian. Indeed the nature of the coast, now abrupt, now formed of
+great unsheltered flats, does not seem to favour the foundation of a
+town or of a harbour, whether for war or commerce.
+
+We are now arrived at Theodosia or Caffa, formerly the splendid
+metropolis of the Genoese dominion in the Black Sea, now a Russian town,
+stripped of all political and commercial importance. The genius of
+barbarous destruction has wrought still more deplorable effects here
+than at Soldaya or any other spot in the Crimea.
+
+Theodosia was founded by the Milesians in the early times of their
+expedition to the Pontus Euxinus, and long prospered as an independent
+colony. It was afterwards incorporated into the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus, and shared its destinies for many centuries. The Alans, a
+barbarous people from the heart of Asia, appeared in the Crimea about
+the middle of the first century of our era; Theodosia was sacked by
+them, and sixty years afterwards Arrian speaks of it in his _Periplus of
+the Black Sea_ as a town entirely deserted. The Huns subsequently
+completed what the Alans had begun, and left not a vestige to indicate
+the true position of the old Milesian colony.
+
+Ten centuries after the destruction of Theodosia, other navigators not
+less intelligent or enterprising than the Milesians, landed on the
+Crimean coasts; and soon there arose on the site of the Greek city
+another equally remarkable city, the annals of which form unquestionably
+one of the finest chapters in the political and commercial history of
+the Black Sea. It was in the middle of the thirteenth century, after the
+conquest of the Crimea by the Mongols, when three potent republics were
+contending for the empire of the seas, that the Genoese, entering the
+bay of Theodosia, obtained from Prince Oran Timour the grant of a small
+portion of ground on the coast. The colony of Caffa was regularly
+founded in 1280, and so rapid was its rise, that in nine years from that
+date it was able, without impairing its own means of defence, to send
+nine galleys to the succour of Tripoli, then besieged by the
+Saracens.[74]
+
+The foundation of Caffa increased the rancorous strife between Genoa and
+her potent rival of the Adriatic. The Crimean colony was surprised by
+twenty Venetian galleys in the year 1292, and totally destroyed. In the
+following year the Genoese again took possession of their territory;
+Caffa quickly rose from its ruins, and twenty years afterwards Pope John
+XXII. made it a bishop's see. War having broke out with the Tatars in
+1343, Djanibeck Khan, sovereign of Kaptchak, laid siege to Caffa. The
+Genoese came off victorious in this warfare, but the dangers to which
+they were exposed made them feel the need of a strong system of
+fortifications. The earthen ramparts and the palisades of the town were,
+therefore, replaced by thick and lofty walls, flanked by towers, and
+surrounded by a deep, wide ditch, faced with solid masonry. These
+magnificent works, whose excellence and gigantic proportions may still
+be admired by the traveller, were begun in 1353, and finished in 1386.
+The most remarkable tower, that at the southern corner which commands
+the whole town, was dedicated to the memory of Pope Clement VI., in an
+inscription relating to the crusade preached by that pontiff at the time
+when the Tatars were invading the colony.
+
+From that period the prosperity of Caffa augmented incessantly; it
+attracted to itself the trade of the most remote regions of Asia, and
+according to the statement of its historians it soon equalled in extent
+and population the capital of the Greek empire, which it surpassed in
+industry and opulence. The Genoese colony had thus reached the apogee of
+its glory and might in the middle of the fifteenth century, when the
+taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II. cut it off from the metropolis,
+and prepared its entire destruction.
+
+On the 1st of June, 1475, a fleet of 482 vessels, commanded by the high
+admiral Achmet Pacha, appeared before Caffa, which was immediately
+bombarded by the formidable Ottoman artillery. The attack was of short
+duration; large portions of the walls, erected at a period when the use
+of cannons was unknown, were rapidly dismantled; breaches were made in
+all directions, and the besieged were forced to surrender at discretion
+on the 6th of June, 1475, after ineffectually attempting to obtain terms
+of capitulation.
+
+Achmet Pacha entered Caffa as an incensed victor and an enemy of the
+Christian name. After taking possession of the consular palace, he
+disarmed the population, imposed an enormous fine on the town, and then
+seized half the property of the inhabitants, and all the slaves of both
+sexes. The Latin Catholics were shipped on board the Turkish fleet and
+carried to Constantinople, where the sultan, established them by force
+in the suburbs of his new capital, after taking from them 1500 male
+children to be brought up as members of his guard. Thus was annihilated
+in the space of a few days, after 200 years of glorious existence, that
+magnificent establishment which the genius of Europe had erected on
+those remote shores, and which had shed such lustre on the commerce of
+the Black Sea.
+
+Caffa, the destruction of which was immediately followed by that of
+Soldaya and Cembalo, was annexed to the Turkish dominions, and for
+upwards of 550 years had no other importance than what it derived from
+its Turkish garrison and its military position on the shore of a
+Mussulman region, the absolute conquest of which never ceased to be an
+object of the Porte's ambition. In the middle of the seventeenth
+century, the old Genoese city awoke from its long trance, and in
+consequence of the commercial and industrial movement which then took
+place among the Tatars, it again became the great trading port of the
+Black Sea. Chardin, on his journey to Persia in 1663, found more than
+400 vessels in the bay of Caffa. The town, to which the Turks then gave
+the name of Koutchouk Stamboul (Little Constantinople) contained 4000
+houses, with a population exceeding 80,000 souls.
+
+The new prosperity of Caffa was short lived. From the time of Peter the
+Great Russia pursued her threatening advance towards the regions of the
+Black Sea, and in 1783, in the reign of the Empress Catherine II., the
+Crimea was finally incorporated with the Muscovite empire. Caffa now
+accomplished the last stage of its destinies; it lost even officially
+its time-honoured name, and under the pompous appellation of the Greek
+Colony, bestowed on it by the Emperor Alexander, it became a paltry
+district town, to which authentic documents assign at the present day
+scarcely 4500 inhabitants. At Caffa, just as at Soldaya, the
+construction of useless barracks occasioned the demolition of the
+Genoese edifices. The facings of the ditches were first carried off, and
+then, emboldened by the deplorable indifference of the government, the
+destroyers laid hands on the walls themselves. The magnificent towers
+that defended them were pulled down, and there now remain only three
+fragments of walls belonging to the remarkable bastion erected in honour
+of Pope Clement VI. When the Genoese fortifications had been destroyed,
+the civil monuments next fell under the ruthless vandalism of the
+authorities. At the time the Russians took possession, two imposing
+edifices adorned the principal square of Caffa, the great Turkish baths,
+an admirable model of Oriental architecture, and the ancient episcopal
+church of the Genoese, built in the beginning of the fourteenth century,
+and converted into a mosque after the Turkish conquest. It was decided
+in the reign of Catherine II. that the mosque should be restored to the
+Greek church, but unfortunately instead of preserving it unaltered, the
+fatal project of adorning it with wretched doric porticoes was adopted.
+The elegant domes that so gracefully encompassed the main building were,
+therefore, demolished; but scarcely were the bases of the columns laid
+when a trifling deficit occurred in the funds, as M. Dubois relates, and
+thenceforth the government refused to make any further advances.
+
+The beautiful mosque which had been quickly stripped of its lead, to be
+sold, of course, for the benefit of the Russian officials, was thus
+abandoned to the mutilations of time and of the population, and soon
+became a mere ruin. In 1833, the ignorance of a civil governor,
+Kasnatcheief, completed this afflicting work of destruction, which
+extended at the same time to the great baths that still remained
+untouched. A fortnight's work with the pickaxe and gunpowder razed to
+the ground the two admirable monuments with which the Genoese and the
+Turks had adorned the town. When I visited Theodosia in 1840, the great
+square was still obstructed with their precious materials, which the
+local administration was eager to dispose of at a low price to whoever
+would buy them.
+
+Of all the splendid edifices of the Genoese colony two churches alone
+have escaped the destroyer; art owes their preservation to the Catholics
+and the Armenians. For a very long time those two foreign communities
+struggled against the indifference of the government, and strove to
+obtain its aid for the repair of their edifices; but their applications
+were all unsuccessful, and it was by great personal sacrifices that they
+succeeded in recent times in themselves effecting the restoration of
+their temples.
+
+If we turn our attention from the interior of the town to its environs,
+we are still afflicted by the same spectacle of destruction. All the
+thriving fields and orchards that encompassed the town in the time of
+the Tatars have disappeared. Two Muscovite regiments annihilated in a
+single winter all trace of the rich cultivation that formerly clothed
+the hills.
+
+There is a museum in Theodosia, but except some Genoese inscriptions,
+foremost among which is that of the famous tower of Clement VI., it
+contains no remains belonging to the ancient Milesian colony. All the
+antiquities it possesses come exclusively from Kertsch (Panticapea), and
+were brought to Theodosia at a period when that town was still the chief
+seat of the administration of the Crimea. Dr. Grapperon, a Frenchman, is
+the director of the museum. He never fails to mystify the antiquaries
+who pass through his town, by exhibiting to them a pretended female
+torso, found in the heart of the Crimean mountains; but the cunning old
+man knows very well that his chef-d'oeuvre is only a _lusus naturæ_.
+
+Notwithstanding all the depredations of the authorities, and the stupid
+ignorance of a governor, Caffa has not been entirely metamorphosed into
+a Russian town. Its chief edifices have been demolished, its walls
+razed, its Tatar population expelled, and solitude has succeeded to its
+former animation, yet the general appearance of the city, its various
+private buildings, and its streets paved with large flags, all bespeak a
+foreign origin and a foreign rule. Long may the town preserve this
+picturesque aspect, which reminds the traveller of that of the little
+Mediterranean seaports.
+
+After three days spent in exploring the ruins of the Genoese colony,
+days rendered doubly agreeable by the varied and instructive
+conversation of my kind cicerone, M. Felix Lagorio,[75] I set out again
+to continue my investigations as far as the most eastern point of the
+Crimea. It is from the point where the last hills of the Crimean chain
+subside at the foot of the walls of Theodosia that the celebrated
+peninsula of Kertch begins, which extends between the Black Sea and the
+Sea of Azof to the shores of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. As I traversed its
+now deserted and arid plains, where nothing seems formed to arrest the
+attention for a single moment, my mind went back with astonishment to
+those glorious times when flourished the numerous opulent towns which
+the colonising genius of the Milesians erected in these regions.
+Theodosia, Nimphea, Mirmikione, and on the other side of the strait
+Phanagoria, crowded the brilliant historic scene called up by my
+recollections; but above them all stood Panticapea, the celebrated
+capital of the kingdom of the Bosphorus, where Greek elegance and
+civilisation reigned for so many ages, and where Mithridates died after
+having for a while menaced the existence of the Roman empire. While my
+imagination was thus reconstructing the splendid panorama which the
+peninsula must have presented when the Bosphorians had covered it with
+their rich establishments, the Russian pereclatnoi was carrying me along
+through vast solitudes, where I sought in vain to discover some traces
+of that ancient Greek dominion, the grandeur and prosperity of which
+were extolled by Herodotus five centuries before the Christian era.
+Towards evening only, as I approached the Bosphorus, my curiosity was
+strongly excited by the singular indentations which the steppe exhibited
+along the line of the horizon, and soon afterwards I found myself in the
+midst of one of the chief necropolises of the ancient Milesian city.
+Huge cones of earth rose around me, and numerous coral crags, mingled
+with the mounds erected by the hands of men, enhanced the grandeur of
+this singular cemetery. On reaching the extremity of the plateau, I
+could overlook the whole extent of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. The last
+rays of the setting sun were colouring the cliffs on the Asiatic side,
+and the triangular sails of some fishing boats; the many tumuli of
+Phanagoria stood in full relief against the blue sky, and whilst the
+melancholy hue of evening was gradually stealing upon the smooth waters
+of the channel, the deeply-marked shadow of Cape Akbouroun was already
+spreading far over them. I had but a few seconds to admire these
+magnificent effects of light and shade: the sun dipped below the
+horizon, and twilight immediately invested the scene with its uniform
+hues. Ten minutes afterwards I entered Kertch, a Russian town of
+yesterday, stretching along the sea at the foot of the celebrated rock
+which popular tradition has decked with the name of Mithridates' Chair.
+It was on the side of this mountain, formerly crowned by an acropolis,
+that the capital of the kingdom of the Bosphorus expanded like an
+amphitheatre. A few mutilated fragments are all that now exist of
+Panticapea; the hill on which it stood is parched, bare, and rent by
+deep ravines, and modern archæologists have had much difficulty in
+positively determining the site of the most celebrated of the Milesian
+colonies.
+
+Having taken up my quarters in Kertch under the hospitable roof of M.
+Menestrier, one of the most agreeable of my countrymen I have met in my
+travels, I set earnestly about my excursions, and through the obliging
+kindness of Prince Kherkeoulitchev, the governor of the town, I was soon
+in possession of all the data requisite to guide me in my researches. I
+shall not, however, obtrude upon the reader all the archæological notes
+with which I enriched my journal, while exploring the tombs and
+monuments of Panticapea, since I have been anticipated in this respect
+by others more competent in such matters, especially M. Dubois
+Montperreux.
+
+In roaming about the environs of Kertch, among the innumerable tumuli,
+that served as tombs for the sovereigns and wealthy citizens of
+Panticapea, one is instantly struck by the exceedingly slovenly and
+mischievous manner in which every opening of these mounds has been
+performed during the last twenty years. Instead of seeking to preserve
+these precious monuments bequeathed unaltered to them by so many
+generations, the Russians have been only bent on destroying them, in
+order to arrive the sooner at the discovery of the valuable contents
+thought to be enclosed within them. All the tumuli _against_ which
+official exploratory operations have been directed, have been totally
+demolished, or cut in four by wide trenches from the summit to the base,
+and no one has even thought of effecting the required researches by
+means either of a vertical shaft or by tunnelling.
+
+I have visited all the chief points where the destructive genius of the
+Muscovite archæologists has been exercised; but it would be impossible
+for me to describe the grief I felt at the sight of such horrible
+devastation. They have not contented themselves with destroying the form
+of the monuments; the inner chambers and the mortal remains within them
+have been no more respected than the earth and stones that had protected
+them for so many ages from all profanation. The bones have everywhere
+been taken out of the tombs, and exposed on the surface of the ground to
+the inclemency of the weather. M. Menestrier, of whom I have spoken
+above, and whose generous indignation has not spared the directors of
+these operations, had one day to bury with his own hands the still
+entire skeleton of a young woman. I have myself seen soldiers warming
+themselves at large fires which they fed with the precious fragments of
+wooden sarcophagi they had just discovered.
+
+Among the various tumuli, that situated near the quarantine
+establishment north of the town, unquestionably deserved especial
+attention on the part of the local administration. Considering the
+gigantic dimensions of its central chamber and gallery, both having
+corbelled ceilings, it was a truly unique monument, which the government
+should have been solicitous to transmit unimpaired to future
+generations. The entrance gallery is 36.25 mètres long, 2.80 wide, and
+7.50 high. The five lower courses forming the basement are each 0.45
+thick. Then come twelve other courses, only 0.40 high, and rising in
+corbels so as to form a series of regular projections on the interior of
+0.12. The two upper courses, which have an interval of 0.25 between
+them, instead of being joined by keystones, are merely covered with
+large flags laid flat in mortar. The stability of such ceilings is
+evidently contrary to all the rules of art, and it is probable that in
+erecting them the builders must have used numerous wooden props and
+trusts, until the whole structure was consolidated by a sufficient load
+of earth. A rectangular opening at the end of the gallery three mètres
+high and 2.35 wide, gives admission into the interior of the central
+chamber or cupola.
+
+The base of the cupola consists of four courses, of 0.40 to 0.45 in
+thickness, forming a total height of 1.85. The ground plan of this part
+is an irregular square, the sides of which are 4.50, 4.40, 4.45 and
+4.30. Above the fifth course the four angles are filled in by stones
+forming a circular projection of 0.30 in the line of the diagonal. The
+same thing is repeated in the succeeding courses. The curved portions
+thus gradually increase in extent, until at the ninth course they form
+together a complete circle, the diameter of which diminishes with each
+succeeding course, until at top there is only a circular opening of 0.70
+diameter, which is closed in the same manner as the upper part of the
+entrance gallery. The total height of the cupola is 9.10. The material
+is tertiary shell limestone, large quarries of which exist in the
+neighbourhood. Of all the tombs recently explored by the Russians, that
+of the quarantine is the only one which had been previously opened. It
+was found completely empty. The first examination appears to have
+occurred at a very early date; perhaps at the time when the Genoese
+possessed the small fort of Cerco, at the foot of the mountain of
+Panticapea.
+
+Of the tombs with semi-circular arches, that discovered in the summer of
+1841 is among the most remarkable. It consists of two distinct chambers
+communicating with each other. In the centre of the inner one was found
+a wooden sarcophagus with a male skeleton having a crown of dead gold on
+the skull. It was from this sarcophagus that the wooden target was taken
+representing a fight between a stag and a griffin, which I have
+presented to the Cabinet of Antiquities of the Bibliothèque du Roi.
+Another coffin found in the centre of the outer chamber contained a
+female skeleton in a wonderful state of preservation. The smallest bones
+of the fingers and toes were perfect, and where the skull lay was seen a
+large quantity of light brown hair. The garments even retained their
+form and colour, but they fell to pieces at the least touch. In this
+chamber, to the right on entering, there was a small niche, in which had
+been deposited the body of a child, with a bronze lamp and two
+lacrymatories, one of them of glass, beside it. I have the last two in
+my possession.
+
+In 1841, when I first explored the remains of Panticapea, this
+remarkable tomb, which excited the admiration of all artists, served as
+a place of shelter for the cattle of the neighbourhood, and its fine
+entrance gallery was falling to ruin. Some months after my departure the
+work of destruction was carried on in the face of day, and the
+magnificent pavement of the chamber was shamelessly carried off. At
+Soudagh and Theodosia, I could in some degree account for the disastrous
+effects of administrative recklessness; the ignorant governors to whom
+was committed the sole custody of the antiquities of those towns, could
+see in the buildings of past ages only a quarry to be worked for their
+own profit. But at Kertch, which possesses a museum, and a committee of
+_savans_ to superintend the processes for exploring its antiquities,
+such destruction appeared to me quite incomprehensible. It is true the
+Russian government cares little about the preservation of monuments,
+even of such as directly concern its own history; it granted only 4000
+paper rubles for the investigations, and seems in reality to be
+interested only about objects of art, such as Etruscan vases, gold
+ornaments, small statues, &c., which may serve to decorate the rooms of
+the Hermitage; but there exists in Southern Russia a numerous society of
+antiquaries, officially constituted, and there cannot be a question,
+that if it would or could fulfil in some small degree the nominal
+purpose of its creation, it would immediately obtain from the emperor
+all the necessary supplies for the conservation of the monuments in the
+peninsula of Kertch. Unhappily, that general indifference to
+intellectual pursuits, which we have dwelt on in a preceding chapter,
+prevails as much with regard to archeology as any thing else. When I
+examined the exploring works, and conversed with the learned gentlemen
+that directed them, I could not help seeing before me, instead of the
+love of knowledge, palpable evidence of private interest and ambition
+employing all means to rise in the nobiliary scale of the empire; and
+whilst the Russian journals trumpeted forth the admirable discoveries
+made in the name of the history of mankind, every man of those who were
+disturbing the ashes of the ancient Panticapea thought only of
+augmenting his own income, or gaining a grade or a decoration.
+
+Another proof how secondary a consideration in these researches is the
+interest of learning and history, is the scandalous neglect of the
+sarcophagi, the bas-reliefs, the architectural fragments, and, in a
+word, all the large sculptures that cannot be sent to St. Petersburg and
+laid before his majesty. When I visited the museum of Kertch, I found
+the approaches to the building filled with antiques, which lay on the
+ground without any shelter. The noses and chins of the principal figures
+on the bas-reliefs had just been broken, perhaps that very morning; yet
+the learned committee had not thought of making the least complaint, so
+little importance did it attach to the matter. In passing through the
+various halls of the museum, I everywhere noticed the same negligence,
+and tokens of incessant pillage. Among other relics the destruction of
+which I had to deplore, I was shown the remains of a magnificent wooden
+sarcophagus, which had been found in perfect condition. It was enriched
+with Greek carvings, the prominent parts of which were gilded, and the
+hollow parts painted red, and it was in my opinion the most interesting
+piece in the museum. Thanks, however, to the obliging disposition shown
+by the keepers towards strangers, I doubt if a fragment or two of it yet
+remain at this moment. We should never have done, if we were to recite
+all the acts of vandalism and depredation of which the museum of Kertch
+has been the theatre. The details which we have given will sufficiently
+indicate the value of the archeological labours carried on upon the site
+of the ancient Panticapea; may the remonstrances we here put forth in
+the name of art, literature, and science, attract the notice of all
+those Russians who take a real interest in the historical monuments of
+their country.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[71] Superbi discordes et desides Græci a Genuensibus Italis fracti et
+debilitati civitatem eam amiserant (Martini Briniovii Tartaria, 1575).
+
+[72] Cum obsidionem diuturnam ac famem, Genuenses diutius ferre nee
+impetum tam numerosi exercitus Turcorum sustinere amplius possent, in
+maximum tempum illud, quod adhuc ibi integrum est, centeni aliquot vel
+mille fere viri egregii sese receperant, et per dies aliquot in arce
+inferiori in quam Turcæ irruperant fortiter et animose sese defendentes,
+insigni et memorabili Turcarum strage edita tandem in templo illo
+universi concidere.--Ibid.
+
+[73] For a more detailed description of the ruins of Soudagh, see the
+remarkable work of M. Dubois de Montperreux. Paris, 1843.
+
+[74] Giust. Ann. di Genova, lib. iii.
+
+[75] Formerly French Consul at Theodosia; deprived of his place for his
+opinions upon the return of the Bourbons, and now filling the humble
+functions of Neapolitan consular agent. He is the author of a valuable
+work on the political revolutions of the Crimea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA.
+
+      EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF SURFACE--MILESIAN AND HERACLEAN
+      COLONIES--KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS--EXPORT AND IMPORT TRADE
+      IN THE TIMES OF THE GREEK REPUBLICS--MITHRIDATES--THE
+      KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS UNDER THE ROMANS--THE ALANS AND
+      GOTHS--SITUATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KHERSON--THE HUNS;
+      DESTRUCTION OF THE KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS--THE KHERSONITES
+      PUT THEMSELVES UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
+      --DOMINION OF THE KHAZARS--THE PETCHENEGUES AND KOMANS--THE
+      KINGDOM OF LITTLE TATARY--RISE AND FALL OF THE GENOESE
+      COLONIES--THE CRIMEA UNDER THE TATARS--ITS CONQUEST BY THE
+      RUSSIANS.
+
+
+The Crimea comprises a surface of about 1100 square geographic leagues,
+divided into two distinct regions. The first of these is mountainous,
+and forms a strip of about ninety-five English miles in length along the
+southern coast, with a mean breadth of from twelve to sixteen miles; the
+second, the region of the plains, presents all the characters of the
+steppes of Southern Russia, and extends northward to the isthmus of
+Perecop, which connects the peninsula with the continent. The Crimea now
+forms part of the government called the Taurid, the territory of which
+extends beyond Perecop, between the Dniepr and the Sea of Azof, to the
+47th degree of latitude. Simpheropol is its chief town.
+
+In order to give a clear conception of the political and commercial
+importance of the Crimea, which, by its almost central position in the
+Black Sea, commands at once the coasts of Asia, the mouths of the
+Danube, and the entrance to the Constantinopolitan Bosphorus, it is
+indispensable to present a rapid sketch of the numerous revolutions
+which the march of time and the invasions of peoples have effected in
+that important peninsula. It was in the middle of the seventh century
+before Christ, that the Milesians made their appearance on the northern
+shores of the Euxine. The eastern part of the Tauris, an open country
+and easy of occupation, having attracted their attention, they founded
+their first colonies there, possessing themselves at the same time of
+all the little region which we now call the peninsula of Kertch. The
+agricultural prosperity which they soon attained, was quickly known in
+Greece, whence it occasioned fresh and important emigrations. Theodosia,
+Nymphea, Panticapea, and Mermikion, were erected on the shore of the
+little peninsula, and served as seaports for the thriving colonists.
+
+The success of the Milesians stimulated the Heracleans to follow their
+example. They chose the most western part of the country, landed not far
+from the celebrated Cape Perthenica, and after having beaten the savage
+natives and driven them back into the mountains, they settled in the
+little peninsula of Trachea, known in our day by the name of the ancient
+Khersonesus. Thus were laid the foundations of the celebrated republic
+of Kherson, which subsisted, great and prosperous, for more than 1500
+years, and the capital of which having become the temporary conquest of
+a Grand Duke of Russia, in the tenth century, was the starting point of
+that great religious revolution which completely changed the face and
+the destinies of the Muscovite empire.
+
+Whilst the Heracleans were consolidating their power by improving their
+trade, the Milesian settlements on the Bosphorus were growing up with
+magic rapidity, and were spreading even beyond the strait to the Asiatic
+coast, where the towns of Phanagoria, Hermonassa, and Kepos were
+founded. At first all these Milesian colonies were independent of each
+other, but at last they became united into the kingdom of the Bosphorus,
+B.C. 480.
+
+As agriculture formed the basis of the public wealth of the Milesians,
+it became the object of the new government's peculiar attention. On his
+accession to the throne, Leucon relieved the Athenians of the thirtieth
+imposed on exported corn, in consequence of which liberal measure those
+exports increased prodigiously; the Cimmerian peninsula became the
+granary of Greece, and merchants flocked to Theodosia and Panticapea,
+where they procured at the same time wool, furs, and all those salted
+provisions, which still constitute one of the chief riches of Southern
+Russia. As for the import trade, of which history says little, it is
+easy to conceive the nature of its operations from the important
+archeological discoveries of Panticapea.
+
+The Bosphorians undoubtedly received in exchange for their produce, all
+the manufactured goods which wealth and luxury had brought into vogue in
+Athens, and it was probably Greek artists who executed all those
+magnificent objects of art which are contained in the museum of Kertch,
+and which prove that the agricultural colonists of the Tauris did not
+fall short of the opulence of their brilliant mother city. Building
+materials seem to have formed an important item of importation. There is
+no trace of white marble either in the Crimea or on the northern coasts
+of the Black Sea; nevertheless, large quantities have been found in the
+excavations made at Kertch, and there is every reason to presume that
+the huge masses of cut marble employed in the public and private
+buildings, were imported ready wrought from Greece.
+
+Despite the dangerous vicinity of the Sarmatians, the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus enjoyed perfect tranquillity for above three hundred years,
+and through a steady and rational policy increased in prosperity and
+riches, until the conquest of Greece by the Romans subverted all the
+commercial relations of the East. At that period the Bosphorians,
+attacked by the Scythians, and too weak to resist them, threw themselves
+into the arms of the celebrated Mithridates, who turned their state into
+a province of the Pontus, and bestowed it as an appanage on his son
+Makhares.
+
+After the defeat and death of her implacable enemy, Rome maintained the
+traitor Pharnaces in possession of the crown of the Bosphorus; but the
+new prince's sovereignty was merely nominal, and the successors of the
+son of Mithridates, powerless and despoiled of all the Milesians had
+possessed on the Asiatic shore of the strait, reigned only in accordance
+with the caprice of the Roman emperors.
+
+About the middle of the first century after Christ, the Alans entered
+the Tauris, devastated the greater part of the country, and entirely
+destroyed Theodosia, which had offered them some resistance. They were
+followed by the Goths, who in their turns became masters of the
+peninsula. But far from abusing their victory, they blended their race
+with that of the vanquished, founded numerous colonies on the vast
+plains north of the mountainous region, and followed their natural bent
+for a sedentary life and rural occupations. The Tauric Khersonese now
+entered on a fresh period of tranquillity and agricultural prosperity.
+Unfortunately, Greece was at this period rapidly declining under the
+Roman yoke; Rome having become the capital of the whole world, Egypt,
+Sicily, and Africa had naturally acquired to themselves the monopoly of
+the supply of corn; so that with all its efforts the Tauris could not
+emerge from the depression into which it had been plunged by the
+political events of the first Christian century.
+
+The remote and inaccessible position of the little republic of Kherson,
+preserved its independence during all these early barbarian invasions.
+In Diocletian's time, the Khersonites, whose dominions extended over
+nearly the whole of the elevated country, had concentrated in their own
+hands almost all the commerce that still existed between the Tauris and
+some parts of the shores of the Black Sea.[76] Their republic was the
+most powerful state of the peninsula, when war broke out between them
+and the Sarmatians, who had already seized the kingdom of the Bosphorus,
+and given it a king of their own nation. The struggle between the two
+rival nations lasted nearly a century, and the Sarmatians having been at
+last expelled, the Bosphorians again enjoyed some years of freedom and
+quiet. But the peace was not of long duration. The unfortunate peninsula
+was soon visited by the most violent tempest that had yet desolated it.
+The Huns, from the heart of Asia, came down to the Asiatic side of the
+strait, and soon the terrified Bosphorians beheld those furious hordes
+traversing the Sea of Azof, which had for a while arrested their
+progress. The ancient kingdom of the Milesians was then extinguished for
+ever. (A.D. 375.) The numerous colonies of united Goths and
+Alans shared the same fate, and all the rich agricultural establishments
+of the country were reduced to ashes. Still protected by their isolated
+position, the Khersonites alone escaped the devastation, in consequence
+of the rapidity with which the torrent of the invaders rushed forth
+towards the western regions of Europe.
+
+The Tauris was still suffering under the effects of the frightful
+disasters inflicted on it by the Huns, when it was again ravaged by
+their disbanded hordes, after the death of Attila. The Khersonites were
+now in jeopardy, and in their alarm, they sought the protection of the
+Eastern Empire. Justinian, who then reigned at Constantinople, acceded
+to their request, but he made them pay dear for the imperial protection.
+Under pretence of providing for the defence of the country, he erected
+the two strong fortresses of Alouchta and Gourzoubita, on the southern
+coast, and the republic of Kherson became tributary to the empire.
+
+In the latter part of the seventh century (A.D. 679) the
+Tauris was invaded by the Khazars, hordes that having accompanied the
+Huns, had settled in Bersilia (Lithuania), and had been formed into an
+independent kingdom by Attila himself. The apparition of these new
+conquerors, already masters of a vast territory, made such a sensation
+at Constantinople, that their alliance was courted by the sovereigns of
+the East, and the Emperor Leo even asked for his son the hand of the
+daughter of the kalgan, or chief of the nation. The forebodings of the
+imperial government were soon realised, for in the short space of 150
+years the Khazars, who had given their own name to the peninsula,
+founded a vast monarchy, the limits of which extended in Europe beyond
+the Danube, and in Asia to the foot of the Caucasus.
+
+After the Khazars, whose fall was caused chiefly by the attacks of the
+Russians, and who thenceforth disappeared entirely from the records of
+history, the victorious Petchenegues ruled over the whole land except
+the southern territory of Kherson, which was incorporated with the
+Empire of the East. Under the sway of this other Asiatic people, the
+trade and commerce of the peninsula revived, its intercourse with
+Constantinople resumed activity, and the Tauric ports supplied the
+merchants of the Lower Empire with purple, fine stuffs, embroidered
+cloths, ermines, leopard skins, furs of all kinds, pepper, and spices,
+which the Petchenegues purchased in Eastern Russia, south of the Kouban,
+and in the Transcaucasian regions that extend to the banks of the Cyrus
+and the Araxes. Thus began again for this unfortunate country a new era
+of prosperity, unexampled for many previous centuries.
+
+The dominion of the Petchenegues lasted 150 years, and then they
+themselves endured the fate they had inflicted on the Khazars. Assailed
+by the Comans, whom the growth of the Mongol power had expelled from
+their own territory, they were beaten and forced to return into Asia.
+The Comans, a warlike people, made Soldaya their capital; but they had
+scarcely consolidated their power when they were obliged to give place
+to other conquerors, and seek an abode in regions further west. With the
+expulsion of the Comans ceased all those transient invasions which dyed
+the soil of the Tauris with blood during ten centuries. The various
+hordes that have left nothing but their name in history, were succeeded
+by two remarkable peoples: the one, victorious over Asia, had just
+founded the most gigantic empire of the middle ages; the other, issuing
+from a trading city of Italy, was destined to make Khazaria the nucleus
+of all the commercial relations between Europe and Asia.
+
+With the Mongol invasion of 1226, the empire of the tzars entered on
+that fatal period of servitude and oppression which has left such
+pernicious traces in the national character of the Muscovites. Russia,
+Poland, and Hungary, were successively overrun by the hordes of the
+celebrated grandson of Genghis Khan; Khazaria was added to their
+enormous conquests, and became, under the name of Little Tatary, the
+cradle of a potent state, which maintained its independence down to the
+end of the eighteenth century. Under the yoke of the Mongols the Tauris,
+after being oppressed at first, soon recovered; Soldaya was restored to
+the Christians, and soon proved that the resources of the country were
+not exhausted, and that nothing but peace and quiet were wanted to
+develop the elements of wealth with which nature had so liberally
+endowed it. In a few years Soldaya became the most important port of the
+Black Sea, and one of the great termini of the commercial lines between
+Europe and Asia.
+
+The greatness of Soldaya was, however, of short duration: another
+people, more active, and endowed with a bolder spirit of mercantile
+enterprise than the Greeks, came forward about the same period, and
+concentrated in its own hands the whole heritage of the great epochs
+that had successively shed lustre on the peninsula from the day when the
+Milesians founded their first colonies on the Cimmerian Bosphorus. Being
+already possessed of important factories in Constantinople, the Genoese
+had long been aware of the circumstances of the Black Sea, and the
+immense resources it would place at the disposal of enterprising men who
+should there centralise for their own profit all the commercial
+relations of Europe with Russia, Persia, and the Indies. The rivalry
+which then existed between them and the Venetians, accelerated the
+execution of their projects, and in 1820, after having secured the
+territory of the ancient Theodosia, partly by fraud, partly by force,
+they laid the foundation of the celebrated Caffa, through which they
+became sure masters of the Black Sea, and sole proprietors of its
+commerce. With the arrival of the Genoese the Tauris saw the most
+brilliant epochs of its history revived. Caffa became by its greatness,
+its population, and its opulence, in some degree the rival of
+Constantinople, and its consuls, possessing themselves of Cerco,
+Soldaya, and Cembalo, made themselves masters of all the southern coast
+of the Crimea. Other equally profitable conquests were subsequently made
+beyond the peninsula. The galleys of the republic entered the Palus
+Mæotis; Tana, on the mouth of the Don, was wrested from the Tatars; a
+fortress was erected at the mouth of the Dniestr; several factories were
+established in Colchis, and on the Caucasian coast, and even the
+imperial town of Trebisond was forced to admit one of the most important
+factories of the republic on the Black Sea. The Genoese colonies thus
+became the general emporium of the rich productions of Russia, Asia
+Minor, Persia, and the Indies; they monopolised for more than two
+centuries all the traffic between Europe and Asia, and presented a
+marvellous spectacle of thriving greatness. All this glory had an end.
+Mahomet's standard was planted over the dome of St. Sophia in 1453, and
+the intercourse of the Crimea with the Mediterranean was broken off. The
+destruction of the Genoese settlements was then inevitable; and the
+republic, despairing of their preservation, assigned them over to the
+bank of St. George, on the 15th of November, 1453. The consequences of
+this cession which put an end to the political connexion of the colonies
+with the mother state, were of course disastrous. Despair and loss of
+public spirit fell upon the colonists, individual selfishness
+predominated in all their councils, and the consular government, before
+remarkable for its integrity and its virtues, instead of uniting with
+the Tatars, and rendering its own position with regard to the Porte less
+perilous, completely disgusted them by a total want of honesty, and by
+selling its aid for gold to all the parties that were desolating the
+Crimea. So many faults were followed by the natural catastrophe. Caffa
+was forced to surrender at discretion to the Turks on the 6th of June,
+1473, and some months afterwards all the points occupied by the Genoese
+fell one by one into the hands of the Ottomans.
+
+After the disaster of the Genoese colonies, the great lines of
+communication of the trans-Caucasian regions, the Caspian, the Volga,
+the Don, and the Kouban, were broken, having lost their feeders, and all
+the commercial relations with Central Asia were for a while suspended.
+The Venetians, who had obtained from the Turks the right of navigating
+the Black Sea, in consideration of a yearly tribute of 10,000 ducats,
+strove in vain to take the place their rivals had lost; they were
+expelled in their turn from the Black Sea, the Dardanelles were closed
+against all the nations of the West, and the Turks and their subjects,
+the Greeks of the Archipelago, alone possessed the privilege of passing
+through the strait. In our remarks on the Caspian we have already
+pointed out the new outlets which the Eastern trade procured for itself
+by way of Smyrna, and the great revolution which followed Vasco de
+Gama's discovery.
+
+Under the reign of the first khans, who were tributary to the Porte, the
+Crimea lost all its commercial and agricultural importance. Continual
+wars, and incessant revolts, sometimes favoured, sometimes punished by
+the Porte, added to the still deeply-rooted habits of a nomade and
+vagabond existence, for many years precluded the regeneration of the
+country. But a rich fertile soil, and a country abundantly provided with
+all the resources necessary to man, triumphed over the natural indolence
+of the Tatars, just as they had done before by the savage hordes that
+successively invaded the Tauris. The hill sides and valleys became
+covered with villages, and all branches of native industry increased
+rapidly with the internal tranquillity of the country. The corn, cattle,
+timber, resins, fish, and salt of Little Tatary furnished freights for a
+multitude of vessels. The commerce of Central Asia, it is true, was lost
+for it beyond recovery, but the exportation of its native produce and of
+that which Russia sent to it by the Don and the Sea of Azof, was more
+than sufficient to keep its people in a very thriving, if not an opulent
+condition. Caffa shared in the general improvement; it rose again from
+its ruins, became the commercial centre of the country, as in the time
+of the Genoese, and its advancement was such, that the Turks bestowed on
+it the flattering name of Koutchouk Stamboul (Little Constantinople).
+
+The dominion of the khans extended at this period, in Europe and Asia,
+from the banks of the Danube to the foot of the mountains of the
+Caucasus, and the indomitable mountaineers of Circassia themselves often
+did homage to the sovereigns of the Tauris. The Mussulman population was
+divided in those days into two great classes: the descendants of the
+first conquerors, known by the special designation of Tatars; and the
+Nogais, nomade tribes who, subsequently to the conquest, had come and
+put themselves under the protection of the illustrious Batou khan. The
+former, mixed up with the remains of the ancient possessors, formed the
+civilised part of the nation. Possessing the mountainous regions, and
+residing in towns and villages, they were both agriculturists and
+manufacturers; whilst the Nogais, who lived in a manner independently in
+Southern Russia, applied themselves solely to cattle rearing. They were
+at that time divided into five principal hordes: the Boudjiak occupied
+the plains of Bessarabia from the mouths of the Danube to the Dniestr;
+the Yedisan, the largest, which could bring into the field 80,000
+horsemen, encamped between the Dniestr and the Dniepr; the Djamboiluk
+and Jedickhoul, the remnants of which still inhabit the territory of
+their ancestors, extended from the banks of the Dniepr to the western
+coasts of the Sea of Azof; lastly, the tribes of the Kouban, nomadised
+in the steppes between that river and the Don, which now form the domain
+of the Black Sea Cossacks. All these tribes collectively could, in case
+of urgent necessity, bring into the field upwards of 400,000 men. Such
+was the political condition of Little Tatary, when the Russian conquest
+of the provinces of the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea destroyed all the
+fruits of the great social revolution which had been effected in the
+habits of the Mussulmans by the new development of trade and commerce.
+
+The first Muscovite invasion took place in 1736. A hundred thousand men,
+commanded by Field-marshal Munich forced the Isthmus of Perecop, entered
+the peninsula, and laid waste the whole country, up to the northern
+slope of the Tauric chain. The peace of Belgrade put an end to this
+first inroad, but the political existence of Little Tatary was,
+nevertheless, violently shaken; and from that time forth the khans were
+kept in continual perplexity by the secret or armed interventions of
+Russia, their subjects were stimulated to revolt, and they themselves
+were but puppets moved by the court of St. Petersburg.
+
+In 1783, Sahem Guerai abdicated in favour of the Empress Catherine II.,
+and the kingdom of the Tatars, exhausted by extensive emigrations and
+bloody insurrections, finally ceased to exist; and then perished rapidly
+the last elements of the prosperity of a land that had been so often
+ravaged, and had always emerged victoriously from its disasters.
+Previously to this period, in 1778, the irresistible command of Russia
+had determined the emigration of all the Greek and Armenian families of
+the peninsula, and an agricultural and trading population had been seen
+to quit, voluntarily as Russia pretends, fertile regions, and a
+favouring climate, to settle in the savage steppes of the Don and the
+Sea of Azof. About the same period, and under the same influence, began
+the emigration of the Tatars and Nogais, some of whom retired into
+Turkey, others joined the mountaineers of the Caucasus. The Russian
+occupation accelerated this disastrous movement, and on the day when the
+tzars extended their frontiers to the banks of the Dniestr, the
+celebrated horde of Yedisan disappeared entirely from the soil of the
+empire. The Tatars of the region between the Dniepr and the Sea of Azof
+did not emigrate in such numbers as the others, for the imperial
+government had hemmed them in, even previously to the conquest, by
+formidable military lines on the east and on the west. The heaviest
+calamities fell, of course, on the peninsula, which was covered with
+fixed settlements, and was the centre of the Tatar civilisation and
+power, and there the scenes of carnage and devastation which had marked
+the irruption of the barbarians from Asia were renewed in all their
+horrors. The peninsula lost at least nine-tenths of its population; its
+towns were given up to pillage, its fields laid waste; and in the space
+of a few months that region which had been still so nourishing under its
+last khan, exhibited but one vast spectacle of oppression, misery, and
+devastation.
+
+Since that period there have elapsed sixty years, during which the
+Russian domination has never had any resistance to encounter or revolt
+to quell; and yet, notwithstanding the opening of the Dardanelles, the
+Tauris has been unable, to this day, to rise from the deep depression
+into which it was sunk by the political events of the close of the
+eighteenth century. It is true, no doubt, that very handsome villas have
+been erected on the southern coast, and that luxurious opulence has made
+that region its chosen seat; but the vital and productive forces of the
+peninsula have been smothered, its trade and agriculture have been
+destroyed; and that bootless quietude in which the dwindled population
+of the Tatars now vegetates, results, in fact, only from the destruction
+of all material resources, and the extinction of all moral and
+intellectual energy which have come to pass under the sway of the
+Russian administration.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[76] Const. Porph. de adm. Imp., c. xiii.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+      COMMERCIAL POLITY OF RUSSIA IN THE CRIMEA--CAFFA SACRIFICED
+      IN FAVOUR OF KERTCH--THESE TWO PORTS COMPARED--THE
+      QUARANTINE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE SEA OF AZOF, AND ITS
+      CONSEQUENCES--COMMERCE OF KERTCH--VINEYARDS OF THE CRIMEA;
+      THE VALLEY OF SOUDAK--AGRICULTURE--CATTLE--HORTICULTURE--
+      MANUFACTURES; MOROCCO LEATHER--DESTRUCTION OF THE GOATS--
+      DECAY OF THE FORESTS--SALT WORKS--GENERAL TABLE OF THE
+      COMMERCE OF THE CRIMEA--PROSPECTS OF THE TATAR POPULATION.
+
+
+When the Russian authority was fully established in the Crimea, and the
+inevitable disasters attending the occupation of a country by Muscovite
+troops had subsided, the imperial government seemed for a while disposed
+to rekindle the embers of the peninsular prosperity. The Emperor
+Alexander was personally acquainted with the intrinsic value of the
+country, and manifested the best and most earnest intentions in its
+favour; but unfortunately he could not overcome the inveterate habits of
+the Russian functionaries, and their utter indifference to the true
+interests of the empire. Half measures, therefore, were all that was
+effected; custom-houses and quarantines were established, Caffa
+exchanged its name for that of the Milesian colony, German villages were
+founded,[77] large grants of land were made to Russians and strangers,
+vines were planted, and the cultivation of the olive was attempted; but
+all capital questions were overlooked or misconceived; no thought was
+given to the matter of markets or to commercial relations; and the
+government persisting in its prohibitive system, assimilated the Crimea
+to the other provinces, in spite of strong remonstrances, and repudiated
+all thoughts of mercantile freedom, the only means by which it could
+have given new life to the Crimea, and created an active and industrious
+population in the place of the Tatar tribes, of whom war and emigration
+had deprived the country.
+
+But in lieu of such privileges Caffa was from the first endowed with a
+tribunal of commerce, a quarantine, and a custom-house of the first
+class; and if it could not recover its old greatness under the new
+domination, it might at least have expected to become one of the chief
+places of export and import in southern Russia, within the bounds
+prescribed by the exigencies of the customs. Situated at the extremity
+of the Tauric chain, not far from the Cimmerian Bosphorus, possessing
+the only trading port open to vessels in all seasons, in easy
+communication with rich and productive regions, this town possessed
+every possible claim to the peculiar attention of the Russian
+government. But the hopes which had been at first conceived, were
+entirely disappointed, and the unfortunate Theodosia was positively
+devoted to abandonment and destruction.
+
+It is not easy to determine the real motives for which the old Genoese
+city was abandoned in favour of its rival on the Cimmerian Bosphorus.
+The ostensible reasons were sanatory measures, the necessity of having a
+general quarantine at the entrance of the Sea of Azof, encouragement of
+coasters and lighters, and the utility of a vast emporium opened to the
+productions of all Russia. We believe, however, that all these arguments
+were in reality of very secondary weight, and that the downfall of
+Theodosia is to be ascribed to nothing else than an absurd vanity. To
+resuscitate the ancient name of _Odessus_; to found a town called
+_Ovidiopol_ in a country where Ovid never resided; to lead our
+geographers into error by giving the name of _Tiraspol_ to a mean
+village on the Dniestr, in the front of Bender; to substitute the name
+of _Theodosia_ for that of Caffa; all these innovations might have
+pleased certain archæologists, but how was it possible to resist the
+thought of rebuilding the celebrated capital of the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus? How irresistible the temptation to raise a new and great
+city at the foot of Mithridates' rock! The memory of the Milesians had,
+therefore, to fade before that of the illustrious sovereign of Pontus;
+Theodosia was despoiled of its privileges and its revenues, its tribunal
+of commerce was transferred to Kertch, and double arbour dues were
+imposed on vessels touching there before arriving at the latter port.
+Assuredly no stronger testimony could be borne to the superiority of
+Theodosia than that which was embodied in these arbitrary measures, nor
+could there be a more incontestible proof of the caprice to which the
+Genoese town was sacrificed. Caffa was infinitely better fitted than
+Kertch to satisfy those conditions which the official orders announced
+as the grounds for destroying its commercial position. The Kertch roads
+are often closed against vessels for three or four months continuously;
+the anchorage is unsafe, and often disastrous, both from the want of
+shelter and from the shallowness of the water. The port of Theodosia, on
+the contrary, is always open, and shipwrecks are unknown there. During
+the fine season an active service of lighters might have concentrated
+there all the freights brought by the Don and the Sea of Azof. In this
+way the commercial intercourse with Russia by the Black Sea would never
+have suffered the least interruption; and, what is an incalculable
+advantage in those latitudes, foreign vessels, being no longer
+constrained to make the long and difficult passage to Taganrok, or to
+run the risk of wintering in the ice, might, if they failed to obtain
+freight at Theodosia, have proceeded in search of one without loss of
+time to the southern shores of the Black Sea. All these grand
+considerations, which had raised the prosperity of Caffa so high, were
+superseded by the dictates of vanity.
+
+Kertch then was declared, in 1827, a port of the first class, with a
+custom-house of entry and exit. A vast lazaret was immediately
+constructed, and five years afterwards appeared the famous sanatory
+orders which still regulate the navigation of the Sea of Azof. The
+duration of the quarantine was fixed at thirty days, but before that
+time can begin to run, the vessel must be moored within the lazaret, and
+every thing on board, including the effects of the crew, must be
+subjected to a fumigation of twenty-four hours. This operation being
+ended the sailors land, after having first divested themselves of all
+their dress and portable articles; the sails are plunged in water by the
+servants of the establishment, and the hull of the vessel is
+disinfected. After these preliminaries, which often occupy from ten to
+fifteen days, the sailors return to their vessels, and their days of
+quarantine begin to count. All these regulations are in curious contrast
+with those of the lazaret of Odessa, where the quarantine lasts only
+fifteen days.
+
+This new system, which was in fact an interdict upon the Sea of Azof,
+told of course in favour of Kertch. But the factitious prosperity of
+that town appears to us to have already reached its utmost limit, and we
+doubt much that the best devised or most stringent orders can ever give
+to its port those elements of commercial prosperity which nature has
+refused to it. Hence we see, that to avoid the delay and cost of the
+Kertch quarantine, the merchants of Taganrok and the neighbouring towns,
+use lighters almost exclusively to carry their goods to the vessels
+moored in the Cimmerian Bosphorus. On their arrival in the channel,
+these lighters are put into the hands of the crew belonging to the
+vessel to be freighted, and their men remain on shore during the
+trans-shipment. This being accomplished, the lighters are fumigated for
+twenty-four hours, and then taken back by the lightermen to the Sea of
+Azof. All these operations, however, are tedious, costly, and uncertain;
+and the only reason why the merchants have adopted this plan of
+proceeding is, that they all are reluctant to incur the great expenses
+of storing their goods in Kertch, and that the paucity of lighters,
+together with the irregularity of the winds, and the many shoals in the
+Sea of Azof, render shipments extremely expensive, so that no additional
+charge could be easily borne. At the opening of the navigation in 1839,
+freight between Taganrok and Kertch cost as much as four rubles per
+tchetvert of wheat, and 1-1/2 in the course of the summer. M. Taitbout
+de Marigny, who has paid great attention to all these matters, estimates
+the freight charges in question as equivalent on the average to those
+usually paid to Black Sea vessels bound for the Archipelago.[78]
+
+A remarkable result of this whole system of quarantine and customs is as
+follows. Suppose two vessels start simultaneously from the
+Mediterranean, the one for Taganrok, the other for Odessa, and that the
+latter failing to obtain a cargo, shall quit Odessa after its fifteen
+days' quarantine, and sail for the Sea of Azof: there is every
+probability that after remaining at Taganrok long enough to take in its
+cargo, it will on its return still find the first vessel in the Kertch
+roads, waiting to complete the formalities required before it can enter
+the Sea of Azof. Such measures as these, would inevitably keep aloof
+from the ports of the Sea of Azof, and even from that of Kertch, every
+vessel that was sure of its cargo beforehand. It is needless to insist
+afresh in this place on the superiority of Theodosia, considered as a
+general entrepôt of the goods arriving in the Sea of Azof, and of those
+which might have flowed directly into its port through the Isthmus of
+Arabat.
+
+As for the commercial resources belonging intrinsically to the town of
+Kertch, it is enough to look at its situation at the extremity of a
+long, depopulated, and sterile peninsula, and its distance from every
+route, whether political or commercial, to be assured that they must be
+quite futile. Seven years after the creation of its port, the annual
+customs' revenue had not risen above 1200 rubles. In 1840, the whole
+quantity of corn that had issued from the town of Kertch since its
+origin, whether directly or through the medium of its entrepôts,
+scarcely amounted to 5000 tchetverts, and the receipts of the
+custom-house for the same year were but 695,130. If from this sum we
+deduct 551,108, the amount of the excise on salt destined exclusively
+for Russian consumption, and a further considerable sum produced by
+other imposts, there will remain an exceedingly small amount to
+represent the nett commercial revenue. The port of Kertch has,
+therefore, by no means fulfilled the grand expectations so foolishly
+conceived of it; it has ruined the great city of Theodosia, robbed the
+Crimea of its commercial importance, cut off all chances of prosperity
+from the ports of the Sea of Azof, and crippled navigation; and all this
+without any profit worth speaking of to itself, and without the least
+prospect of ever rising above the low condition in which it is doomed to
+vegetate, both by its geographical situation, and the nature and
+configuration of the adjacent regions.
+
+The results have not been much more satisfactory as regards the growth
+of the Russian mercantile navy. According to official reports, which we
+believe exaggerated, there were, in 1840, in the Sea of Azof, 323
+vessels measuring about 26,000,000 of kilogrammes, and manned by 1517
+individuals. If we recollect that the Sea of Azof is but a marsh, the
+greatest depth of which does not exceed fourteen mètres, that the crafts
+which ply in it, pursuing always the same invariable track, hardly
+require the simplest rudiments of nautical skill for their management,
+and that the navigation of the sea is usually interrupted during four or
+five months of the year, it will be easily conceived that the maritime
+advantages which may accrue to Russia, from the closing of the Sea of
+Azof, must be very insignificant, not to say quite illusory.
+
+We have now to examine the manufacturing and agricultural resources of
+the Crimea, and the measures which have been taken by the imperial
+government to further them. The cultivation of the vine may be
+considered as at present the most important, if not the most productive
+branch of industry in the country. When Russia took possession of it,
+the vineyards were concentrated in the southern valleys of Soudak,
+Kobsel, Koze, and Toklouk, and in those of the Katch, the Alma, &c., on
+the northern slope of the Tauric chain. These vineyards which seem to
+have existed from very remote antiquity, were all in the plain, where
+they were subjected to continual irrigations after the system of the
+Greeks and Tatars. The consequence of this mode of culture was that the
+crops were extremely abundant, and the wine of a very poor quality.[79]
+After the Russian occupation, however, the business of vine-growing
+increased considerably in the northern valleys, which were soon
+frequented by the merchants of the interior, who were attracted both by
+the extraordinary cheapness of the produce, and by the facilities of
+transport. Thus the wines of the Crimea found their way into the
+interior of the empire, but they were chiefly used for mixing and
+adulteration; the small quantity that was sold in its original state was
+always of very bad quality, so that the peninsular wines were in very
+bad repute, and for a long while lost all chance of sale. This
+well-merited depreciation was such that even in our own day a merchant
+of eminence in Moscow or St. Petersburg would have thought it a serious
+disgrace to him to admit into his cellars a few bottles of Crimean wine.
+
+Such was the state of the vine cultivation in the Crimea, when Count
+Voronzof was named governor-general of New Russia. Under his active and
+enterprising administration, a bold attempt was made to change the whole
+system of cultivation, so as to produce wines capable of competing
+advantageously with those of foreign countries.[80] The valleys, with
+their method of irrigation, were therefore abandoned, and the preference
+was given to the long strip of schistous and _éboulement_ grounds which
+stretches along the seaside between Balaklava and Alouchta, on the
+southern coast. Count Voronzof set the example with his characteristic
+ardour; his first operations took place in 1826 at Aidaniel,[81] and six
+years afterwards he was the owner of 72,000 vine plants. The example of
+the governor-general was quickly followed, and in 1834, there were
+already 2,000,000 stocks in the country, from cuttings brought chiefly
+from the Rhenish and the French provinces.
+
+When the vines were in full bearing, the next thing to be considered was
+to find a market for their produce; but here arose a great and
+unforeseen difficulty, and the brilliant expectations of the planters
+were soon miserably disappointed. In spite of the difficulties of the
+route, some merchants yielded to the earnest solicitations of the
+governor-general and his imitators, and arrived on the coast to
+purchase; but the demands of the proprietors were exorbitant; their
+first outlay had been very great, and their produce small, yet they were
+bent on realising at once the amount of their investments. They thought,
+too, that by setting a high price on their wines, they would secure
+their reputation; accordingly they fixed it at twenty to twenty-five
+rubles the vedro (0.1229 hectolitres), and immediately they lost all
+chance of sale.
+
+The business prospered better in the valley of the Soudak, where the
+same modifications had been introduced into the culture of the vine. The
+hill wines were sold at the rate of twelve to fifteen rubles the vedro,
+and those of the plain at five and six. But this did not last long; in
+1840 the wine growers of Soudak could no longer dispose of their stock,
+though they had reduced their prices to two and three rubles for the
+best qualities, and to one and one and a half for the lowland wines. As
+to the wine-growers of the southern coasts, they were very glad at that
+time if they could find purchasers at the rate of five or six rubles the
+vedro.
+
+Several causes contributed to these unfortunate results. The southern
+coast, as we have already said, consists of a long narrow strip of
+argillaceous schist and detritus, with a very steep inclination, and
+overtopped throughout its length by high cliffs of jura limestone. In
+consequence of these topographical conditions, the heat is very great in
+summer; the soil, which is quite destitute of watercourses, dries
+rapidly, and the many ravines by which it is intersected, completely
+deprives it of any little moisture that may remain in it. The scarcity
+of rain augments these disadvantages, so that the vine plants procured
+from abroad degenerate rapidly; as the grapes cannot ripen before
+autumn, the wine loses much in quality; and, moreover, the quantity is
+far from abundant, in proportion to the extent of the ground. These
+circumstances, combined with those occasioned by the desire to exalt the
+wines of the Crimea in public opinion, inflame both the pretensions of
+the proprietors and the indifference of the merchants, who could never
+have disposed of the coast wine at the high prices asked for it. These
+were afterwards considerably diminished, but not sufficiently to produce
+any effect. Whatever be said to the contrary, it is certain that the
+wines of the southern Crimea can never sustain any sort of comparison
+with those of France or the Rhine; hence they continued to be held in
+low repute, and the merchants of the interior still found it more to
+their advantage to make their purchases in the northern valleys, which
+were easy of access, and where the wine was incomparably cheaper. In
+spite of all their efforts, therefore, the wine-growers of the southern
+coast could not find a market for their produce, and were obliged to
+consume the chief part of it themselves.
+
+It may, perhaps, excite surprise that no attempt has been made to evade
+the difficulties of land-carriage by seeking outlets by sea, and
+procuring customers in the great maritime towns of Russia. But unluckily
+there exists between Russia and Greece an ancient treaty, which the
+tzars, for political considerations no doubt, persist in religiously
+observing, and by virtue of which Greek wines are received almost free
+of duty in the imperial ports. Whoever is aware of the prodigious
+quantity and incredible cheapness of the wines of the Archipelago, and
+of the great facilities they afford for effecting mixtures and
+adulterations, will easily conceive, that with such a competition to
+encounter, the sale of Crimean wines became absolutely impossible. If
+the culture of the vine in the Crimea was induced by encouragements on
+the part of the government, then the landowners were grossly duped. But,
+as we shall explain by and by, the ministry seem never to have looked
+favourably on this branch of industry, and the vine-growers have only
+their own extreme want of forethought to blame for all the disasters
+that have befallen them.
+
+At Soudak, however, the mischief appears to us attributable solely to
+the misconduct of the authorities. We have already stated that the
+vintage speculations of Soudak were at first much more prosperous than
+those of the southern coast. The situation of the valley, which is of
+very easy access for northern traffic, and the decided preference of the
+German colonists for white wines, for many years kept the fine plain of
+Soldaya in a thriving if not an opulent condition. But unfortunately,
+that western part of the coast not being within the region which the
+governor-general and the great landowners had taken under their special
+protection, Soudak was completely abandoned to her own resources; her
+roads were left without repairs, and the local administration took no
+measures whatever for the preservation of order and the security of
+individuals. When I visited the coast in 1840, the roads of this
+district were in the most deplorable condition;[82] they were strewed
+with fragments of carts and casks; a German waggoner was killed in my
+presence by the breaking down of his waggon; thieving and pillage were
+the order of the day in the valley, and the proprietors could only
+preserve their chattels by keeping a close personal watch upon them day
+and night.
+
+The consequences of this culpable neglect may readily be imagined.
+Purchasers diminished in number year by year, the wines lost their
+value, and the unfortunate proprietors with large stocks on hand were
+reduced to great poverty. All sorts of expedients were adopted under the
+pressure of the calamity; the wines were turned into vinegar, but again
+the speculation failed for want of a market. We heartily desire that our
+reasonable remonstrances in favour of Soudak may reach the imperial
+government, so that effectual measures may be taken to revive the great
+natural wealth of that magnificent valley. We do not know the intentions
+of the present finance minister, but it is to be hoped that he will not
+partake the narrow views of his predecessor. Count Cancrini was a
+fanatic partisan of the consumption of foreign wines, and at the same
+time the declared enemy of the home growth, which he regarded as most
+injurious to the customs' revenue of the empire.
+
+In the present state of things it is not easy to predict the future
+fortunes of the Crimean wine production. For our own part, we are
+thoroughly convinced that France has no sort of competition to fear on
+the part of those regions. Whether the cultivation of the vine be
+concentrated in the valleys or on the hill sides, we do not think that
+the vintage can ever rival ours. It has been very justly remarked that
+wherever the vine and the olive grow together, the wines cannot have
+that delicacy and that _bouquet_ which belong only to our temperate
+climates. We believe, however, that if the wines of the Archipelago were
+subjected to higher duties, if the means of transport were rendered more
+facile, and increased cultivation were given to the more open hill sides
+that extend towards the east of the Tauric chain, the Crimea would soon
+be enabled to supply the demand of the whole empire for the commoner
+sorts of wine, and the result would, perhaps, be extremely advantageous
+in diminishing the mischievous use of ardent spirits. Such a change as
+this would evidently be not at all prejudicial to French commerce, which
+sends only wines of the first quality to the south of Russia.
+
+According to a report printed in the Russian journals of 1834, and cited
+by M. Dubois, the 7,100,000 vine plants, contained in that year on the
+old and new plantations, were distributed as follows:--
+
+  South-west coast of the Crimea       1,600,000
+  Soudak and south-east coast          2,000,000
+  Valley of the Katch                  2,000,000
+       "    the Alma                     500,000
+       "    the Belek                    500,000
+  German colonies                        500,000
+
+The wine yielded by the vintage of 1832, was 32,307 hectolitres, of
+which 1694 were the produce of the south-west coast, 6050 that of
+Soudak, and 7865 that of the valley of the Katch.
+
+The plantations have augmented considerably since that time; we cannot
+venture, however, to accept as authentic, the following statistics of
+the annual production of the Crimea, given us by landowners in 1840:--
+
+  Valley of Soudak    80,000 vedros    9,760 hectolitres
+  Southern coast     120,000  "       14,640  "
+  Northern valleys   750,000  "       91,500  "
+
+We have not much to say of the other branches of agriculture; they are
+all in the most deplorable state. The magnificent forests, yielding such
+quantities of timber, that formerly clothed the mountains, are rapidly
+disappearing. Camel breeding, formerly very productive to the Tatars of
+the plain, has given place to lank flocks of merinos. The most fertile
+valleys are in the same state of desolation in which they were left by
+the great calamities at the close of the last century, and the peninsula
+now produces scarcely corn enough for its own consumption. Horticulture
+alone has made any real progress. Some foreigners practise it with
+profit in the northern valleys, which for many years past have enjoyed
+the privilege of supplying all the fruit used at the tables of Moscow
+and St. Petersburg.
+
+Manufactories are almost in the same state of decay as agriculture.
+Morocco and other leathers formerly constituted an important part of the
+exports from the Crimea; at present the value of these exports is no
+more than 129,646 rubles. It is about five years since this branch of
+industry was ruined. All that time there existed on the mountains of the
+peninsula a great quantity of goats, which being left at liberty,
+caused, it must be confessed, much damage to the forests, by nipping off
+the young shoots. According to the usual Russian practice of attacking
+secondary causes rather than going at once to the root of any evil, the
+local administration could devise nothing better in the case than to
+proclaim a war of extermination, by giving every one the right of
+hunting and killing goats, in all places and at all seasons. The goats
+were almost all destroyed, and with them fell of necessity the greater
+part of the manufactories for morocco leather. It would certainly have
+been easy for authorities, possessed of any practical ability, to
+preserve the forests without exterminating the goats; but as they would
+not, or could not, deal with the real destroyers, the noble landowners,
+they wreaked their spite on the quadrupeds. It is really inconceivable
+with what rapidity the finest forests of the Crimea are disappearing;
+year by year whole hills are totally stripped, and the government, stern
+as it has shown itself against the goats, takes no means to check this
+fatal devastation. Several great landowners are engaged in lawsuits
+gravely affecting their rights, and meanwhile, until their causes shall
+have been decided, they use their opportunity to cut timber as fast as
+possible. Foremost in those proceedings is Admiral Mordvinof, who has
+already destroyed the exceedingly rich forests that clothed the hills
+above the valley of Baidar. The effects of this clearing away of the
+forests are already felt severely; the rivers are diminishing in volume,
+a great number of springs have run dry, and fire wood, now costs as much
+as forty rubles the fathom at Ialta.
+
+Another branch of industry, likewise very profitable in former times,
+was the working of the rich salt-pits in the environs of Kozlov
+(Eupatoria). Only a few years ago eighty vessels used to come to the
+port from Anatolia, to take in cargo. The price of the salt was then
+very low, but the trade was nevertheless a source of employment and
+profit for all the surrounding population. The minister of finance was
+jealous of the profits realised by individuals in this trade, and
+therefore laid a considerable export duty on the salt. In the following
+year not a single vessel came from Anatolia, and it was soon ascertained
+that, prompted by necessity, the people of the southern shores of the
+Black Sea had found rich salt-pits in their own territory.
+
+The following table of the commerce of the Crimea in 1838 and 1839, is
+taken from official documents. The figures contained in it are in our
+opinion exaggerated, for they do not by any means agree with those
+resulting from the detailed table we shall give further on.
+
+  ------------+-----------------------+-----------------------
+              |        IMPORTS.       |        EXPORTS.
+              |-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+              |   1838.   |   1839.   |   1838.   |   1839.
+  ------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+              |  rubles.  |  rubles.  |  rubles.  |  rubles.
+              |           |           |           |
+  Kertch      |   175,321 |   250,887 |   226,999 |   123,082
+  Theodosia   |   673,535 |   695,130 | 1,281,244 |   955,108
+  Eupatoria   |   185,480 |   131,222 | 2,299,365 | 2,394,867
+  Balaclava   |     6,605 |           |           |
+              +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+       Total  | 1,040,941 | 1,077,239 | 3,807,608 | 3,473,057
+  ------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+
+Be it remarked that among the exports corn alone figured in 1839 for
+835,486 rubles for Theodosia, and 1,755,052 rubles for Eupatoria; and as
+all this corn came from countries beyond the Crimea, the nullity of the
+peninsular exportation is apparent. Moreover, the gross total of three
+and a half millions is scarcely the fifteenth part of the annual
+exportation of the town of Odessa alone. In order to give a more exact
+idea of the industrial and commercial situation of the Crimea, we set
+down the details of its exports and imports in 1839.
+
+IMPORTS.
+
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
+            ARTICLES.        |  KERTCH.  | THEODOSIA. | EUPATORIA.|
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
+                             |  rubles.  |  rubles.   |  rubles.  |
+  Cotton                     |   49,993  |   33,650   |           |
+  Cotton thread              |    4,080  |    4,986   |           |
+  Turkish cotton cloths      |   14,164  |  532,976   |           |
+  Chairs                     |    5,750  |            |           |
+  Wooden vessels             |    3,645  |    2,441   |           |
+  Woollen caps               |    4,504  |   29,218   |           |
+  Oil                        |   20,636  |    3,589   |   16,997  |
+  Sickles                    |    5,000  |            |           |
+  Wines                      |   12,069  |    2,190   |    2,342  |
+  Porter                     |    4,600  |    2,171   |           |
+  Cassonade                  |   14,354  |            |           |
+  Fresh and dried fruit      |  100,402  |   15,107   |   27,464  |
+  Fine pearls                |           |    4,000   |           |
+  Coffee                     |           |    4,319   |   25,102  |
+  Linen thread               |           |    2,204   |           |
+  Nard juice and grapes      |           |    6,269   |           |
+  Turkish tobacco            |           |    3,345   |    7,823  |
+  Olives                     |           |    3,467   |           |
+  Raw silk                   |           |    9,008   |           |
+  Dyed silk thread           |           |   20,915   |           |
+  Oak galls                  |           |            |   20,387  |
+  Colours                    |           |            |   13,814  |
+  Vegetables                 |           |            |    2,122  |
+  Pepper                     |           |            |    3,063  |
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
+
+  EXPORTS.
+
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------
+            ARTICLES.        |  KERTCH.  | THEODOSIA. | EUPATORIA.
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------
+                             |  rubles.  |  rubles.   |  rubles.
+  Raw hides                  |   15,152  |   22,653   |    68,312
+  Fish                       |    7,310  |            |
+  Red caviar                 |   13,113  |            |
+  Linseed                    |    6,100  |            |
+  Rapeseed                   |    6,600  |            |
+  Wheat                      |   31,040  |  745,031   | 1,544,313
+  Wool                       |   41,185  |   19,087   |   344,997
+  Cordage                    |           |    3,275   |
+  Woollen felt               |           |    7,670   |    31,424
+  Tanned leather             |           |   18,375   |     5,150
+  Flax, hemp, and stuffs     |           |   11,323   |    27,065
+  Butter                     |           |    8,133   |    61,445
+  Bar iron                   |           |    2,340   |    14,700
+  Salt                       |           |    8,813   |     5,700
+  Soda                       |           |    4,691   |
+  Rye                        |           |   48,157   |    66,600
+  Barley                     |           |   39,485   | 1,333,640
+  Millet                     |           |    2,870   |     1,910
+  Glue                       |           |            |     3,494
+  Raw Hemp                   |           |            |     3,264
+  Locks                      |           |            |    22,296
+  Copper utensils            |           |            |     3,050
+  Brass, and brass wire      |           |            |     4,650
+  Cutlery                    |           |            |    13,509
+  Swords and epaulettes      |           |            |     3,000
+  Sheep skins                |           |            |     3,650
+  Suet                       |           |            |    11,893
+  Turpentine                 |           |            |     2,100
+  Beans                      |           |            |     8,589
+  Flour                      |           |            |     2,120
+  Raw silk                   |           |            |     3,200
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------
+
+We do not at all coincide in opinion with those who attribute the
+decadence we have just described to the general character of the people
+of the East. The Orientals, it is true, have none of that feverish
+activity which characterises the people of our climes; besides which
+their wants are so limited and so easily satisfied, that they can never,
+in their present social condition, become strenuous workers. Yet we have
+seen that the Tatars, when they first occupied the country, were
+distinguished for their agricultural and industrial labours, whether it
+was in consequence of their mixture with the old races, or merely of the
+propitious climate; they also employed themselves with such success in
+gardening and the cultivation of the vine and of corn, that the Crimea
+under the khans was considered one of the chief regions whence
+Constantinople drew its supplies. It was only the steppe tribes, whose
+sole wealth was their cattle, that remained true to their primitive
+habits and their nomade life. In like manner there exists to this day a
+very striking difference, both intellectual and physical, between the
+two fractions of the Mussulman race of the Crimea.
+
+We believe, therefore, that under a better system it would have been
+easy to revive the laborious disposition of the Tatars by facilitating
+and encouraging commercial transactions, and gradually effacing the
+disheartening apprehensions under which the Mussulman population have
+naturally laboured since their great calamities befel them. Assuredly we
+cannot blame Russia for that depopulation of the country which was the
+first cause of its decadence. As victors, the Russians used all the
+rights of the strong hand to consolidate their conquest and extinguish
+all chance of insurrection. The means no doubt were violent, disastrous,
+and often even exceeded all the bounds of humanity; yet it was scarcely
+possible but that excesses should be committed in a war between Russian
+Christians and Mussulman Tatars, who had so often braved, triumphed
+over, and swayed the Muscovite power. In fairness, therefore, we can
+only criticise the measures adopted by the Russian government
+subsequently to the conquest, from the day when the country was
+completely pacified, and the Tatars submitted implicitly to the new
+yoke, and lost all hope of deliverance.
+
+We have already seen how an act of caprice annihilated the commercial
+prosperity of Theodosia, which would naturally have had the greatest
+influence over the industrial development of the peninsula; and we have
+pointed out the mischievous measures that ruined various branches of the
+native trade. To these depressing causes, for which the government with
+its fatal system of prohibition and its half measures is alone
+responsible, we must add others no less active, because they principally
+affect the agricultural population who stand most in need of
+encouragement. We have already repeatedly mentioned the countless
+depredations of the inferior government agents. In the Crimea the
+difference of religion and language, and the difficulty of making any
+kind of appeal for redress, naturally rendered the local administration
+more troublesome and rapacious than in any other province. The
+consequence was that the Tatars led a life of fear and distrust,
+agriculture languished, and every man cultivated yearly only as much as
+was necessary for the subsistence of his family, that he might not
+excite the cupidity of the _employés_.
+
+On his accession to the government, Count Voronzof, with his natural
+kindness, applied himself strenuously to improve the condition of the
+Tatars; he took them under his special protection, and prevented the
+rapacity of his underlings as far as in him lay. Unfortunately, his
+efforts could hardly avail beyond the limits of his own estates, and all
+his generous intentions were baffled or worn out by the incessant
+pettyfogging arts of the _employés_. Nothing could more signally
+exemplify the distrustful feelings of the Tatars, than the events which
+occurred during the famine of 1833, which was so great that whole
+families perished of hunger. Moved by these misfortunes the government
+offered aid to the Tatars, but incredible as it may appear, the
+proffered succours were generally refused, so much did the Mussulmans
+dread the price which would be afterwards exacted for such assistance.
+
+Towards 1840, after the creation of the ministry of the domains of the
+crown under Count Kizilev, the imperial government set about the task in
+which Count Voronzof had failed. Men of the best character for
+intelligence and probity were sent to the Crimea, but their efforts were
+all ineffectual, and they soon retired in disgust from the useless
+struggle. The unfortunate Crimea was again surrendered to the unlimited
+power and endless knaveries of the captain _ispravniks_, and of the
+worthy subaltern agents of the local administration.
+
+What are the destinies ultimately reserved for the Mussulman population
+of the Crimea,[83] now numbering barely 100,000 souls?[84] We are
+strongly inclined to anticipate its total extinction at a more or less
+remote date. The tribes are rapidly degenerating; the moral and physical
+forces of the nation are daily declining; the territorial wealth of the
+Tatars has been destroyed, sold, or divided; the native families
+distinguished for their past history or for their fortunes have
+disappeared; the population, instead of increasing, diminishes. There
+remains, therefore, no element of vitality to revive the effete remains
+of a power that made Russia tremble during so many centuries, and that
+even menaced for a while the political existence of all Europe.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[77] These colonies now consist of nine villages, with a population of
+1800 souls.
+
+[78] _Trade of the Sea of Azof, in 1838 and 1839._
+
+  --------------------+-----------------------+----------------------
+                      |       IMPORTS.        |       EXPORTS.
+                      +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                      |   1838.   |   1839.   |   1838.   |   1839.
+                      |  Rubles.  |  Rubles.  |  Rubles.  |  Rubles.
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Taganrok   {Goods   | 5,887,901 | 5,334,369 | 7,666,943 |13,813,323
+             {Cash    | 1,414,596 | 2,885,279 |           |
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Marcoupol  {Goods   |       300 |       987 | 3,422,107 | 6,276,882
+             {Cash    |   640,660 | 1,515,525 |           |
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Rostof on  {Goods   |           |           | 3,205,406 | 6,078,037
+    the Don  {Cash    |           |           |           |
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Bordiansk  {Goods   |           |           | 2,971,426 | 4,107,638
+             {Cash    |   768,722 |   825,113 |           |
+                      +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                Total | 8,712,179 |10,561,273 |17,265,882 |30,275,880
+  --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+
+[79] De La Mottraye, who visited the Crimea in 1711, speaks of a Soudak
+wine the flavour of which he compares with Burgundy. At that period the
+wines of the northern valleys sold at 2-1/2 centimes the bottle. In
+Peyssonel's time, in 1762, the Soudak wines fetched from 32 to 38
+centimes the bottle; those of Belbek 22 to 25, and those of Katch, of
+which De La Mottraye speaks, 13 to 15. The Ukraine Cossacks and the
+Zaporogues consumed the greatest portion of these wines; about 1210
+hectolitres annually according to Peyssonel. In 1784, at the time of the
+Russian occupation, the price of Soudak wine was 5 to 6 centimes the
+litre; it rose to 65 centimes in 1793, during the war with Turkey.--(See
+Pallas, Voyage dans la Russie Méridionale.)
+
+[80] Previously to Count Voronzof, M. Rouvier, who introduced the breed
+of merino sheep into Russia, had planted vines from Malaga on the hill
+sides of Laspi, at the western extremity of the chain; but his example
+had not many imitators.
+
+[81] Aidaniel is north-east of Ialta, a little town, the chief station
+for steamboats.
+
+[82] Of roads perfectly practicable for wheeled vehicles there exist in
+the Crimea: 1. The road leading from Simpheropol to Sevastopol, skirting
+the northern slope of the Tauric chain; its length is thirty-nine
+English miles; 2. That from Simpheropol to Ialta, crossing the mountains
+at the foot of the Tchatir Dagh, forty-nine miles; 3. That from Ialta to
+Balaclava, proceeding along the southern coast as far as Foros, where it
+passes on to the northern side of the mountains; its length is forty
+miles between Ialta and Foros; the second portion was in course of
+construction in 1840. This line of road seems to us extremely
+ill-contrived. It has been carried along the very foot of the
+jura-limestone cliffs, for the purpose of avoiding expense in crossing
+the ravines; and thus it is completely exterior to the vine-growing and
+cultivable district, and every proprietor who desires to use it must
+make a private road at his own expense, in order to reach the elevated
+level of the highway. We say nothing of the roads in the plains, the
+construction of which, just as in the interior of Russia, consists
+merely in tracing the breadth and direction by a ditch on either side.
+
+[83] Hitherto the Tatars have been exempted from military service; they
+are merely required to furnish one squadron to the imperial guard, to be
+discharged every five years. As for the taxes imposed on them they
+amount to the illusory sum of 8_s._ 4_d._ for every male individual, not
+including duty work on roads, transports, &c.
+
+[84] The total population of the Crimea is about 200,000, including
+Russians, Greeks, Armenians, Karaïtes, Germans, and other foreigners.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BESSARABIA.
+
+      TOPOLOGY--ANCIENT FORTRESSES--THE RUSSIAN POLICY IN
+      BESSARABIA--EMANCIPATION OF THE SERFS--COLONIES--
+      CATTLE--EXPORTS AND IMPORTS--MIXED POPULATION OF THE
+      PROVINCE.
+
+
+To complete our account of the southern regions of Russia, it remains
+for us to speak of Bessarabia, the most remote province which the tzars
+possess on the shores of the Black Sea, and the country which formed,
+down to the commencement of the present century, one of the most
+valuable possessions of the principality of Moldavia. We will not now
+endeavour to withdraw the veil that covers the history of past ages, or
+discuss the effects produced upon this province by the expeditions of
+Darius and of Alexander, the Roman conquests, the Tatar invasions, and
+the Mussulman dominion: we will confine ourselves to contemporaneous
+facts, the only ones which can have some chance of exciting, if not
+interest, at least curiosity.
+
+Bessarabia is bounded on the south by the Danube, north and east by the
+Dniepr and the Black Sea, and west by the Pruth, which separates it from
+Moldavia, and by Bukovine, a dependency of Austria. It thus forms
+between two rivers which might easily be rendered navigable, a strip of
+more than 375 English miles in length, with an average breadth not
+exceeding fifty. This strip, which expands gradually as it approaches
+the sea, is divided into two regions, totally distinct both in
+population and in topographical character. The southern part, to which
+the Tatars have given the name of Boudjiak, consists of the flat country
+which extends to the sea between the mouths of the Danube and lower part
+of the Dniestr. It has all the characteristics of the Russian steppes,
+possesses but a few insignificant streams, and is chiefly fitted for
+rearing cattle; it yields little to tillage, except in some localities
+along the watercourses, where numerous colonies of Germans and
+Bulgarians are settled. The northern part adjoining Austria is, on the
+contrary, a hill country, beautifully diversified, covered with
+magnificent forests, and rich in all the productions of the most
+favoured temperate climates.
+
+At the period when the Russians appeared on the banks of the Dniestr,
+the Boudjiak steppes were occupied by Nogai Tatars, nomades for the most
+part, who after having been at first tributary to the khans of the
+Crimea, had placed themselves under the protection of the Porte; whilst
+the northern region was possessed by a numerous Moldavian population,
+essentially agricultural, subjected to the laws of serfdom, and
+acknowledging the authority of the hospodars of Jassy. The Ottoman
+power was represented solely by military garrisons holding peaceful
+possession of the two fortresses of Ismael and Kilia on the Danube, and
+those of Khotin, Bender, and Ackerman, on the Dniestr.
+
+The fortress of Ismael is famous for the sieges sustained in it by the
+Turks against Souvarof. Its fortifications have not been much increased
+by Russia; she keeps in it a numerous garrison, and a considerable
+amount of artillery. The little flotilla of the Danube is stationed at
+the foot of the walls. The fort of Kilia is now quite abandoned.
+
+The fortress of Khotin is half of Genoese, half of Turkish construction.
+The citadel or castle is an irregular square, flanked by enormous
+towers. The Turks and the Russians have added new fortifications to the
+old works, without however increasing the strength of the position. In
+the present state of military art, Khotin is of no importance whatever.
+Commanded on all sides by hills, and situated on the very edge of the
+Dniestr, it would not resist a regular siege of a few hours. The walls
+consist of courses of brick and cut stone, and bear numerous Genoese
+inscriptions. Over the principal gate are seen a lion and a leopard,
+chained beside an elephant bearing a tower. These figures are in the
+Eastern style, and date from the time of the Turks. The doors and the
+uprights of the windows are adorned with verses from the Koran. The
+great mosque of the fortress has unfortunately been demolished, and
+nothing remains of it but its minaret, which stands alone in the midst
+of the place, as if to protest against the vandalism of the conquerors.
+On the other side of the Dniestr, at a short distance from the river, is
+Kaminietz, the capital of Podolia.
+
+Bender and Ackerman likewise possess two castles of Genoese and Turkish
+construction: the latter situated on the liman of the Dniestr, has been
+abandoned; the former, which stands on the main road to Turkey, has a
+garrison. Between Bender and Khotin, on the banks of the Dniestr, are
+the ruins of a fourth fortress called Soroka, which merits a special
+description, inasmuch, as it is altogether different from the other
+edifices we have noticed in Southern Russia. It forms a circular
+enclosure of thirty-one mètres, interior diameter. At four equidistant
+points of the circumference, stand as many towers, projecting externally
+in a semi-cylindrical form, whilst on the interior they are prismatic.
+Between the two towers on the river side, there is a fifth which
+commands the single gate of the castle. The interior diameter of the
+towers is 5.5 mètres; the thickness of the walls is 3.8 mètres. They
+have embrasures in the upper parts, and a few openings at various
+heights. All round the walls in the inner court there is a circular
+range of apartments on the ground, in tolerable preservation, and
+consisting of ten casemates seven mètres deep, lighted only from within.
+They formed probably, the stables of the fortress. Above this range are
+the remains of an upper story, which, of course, served with the towers
+for lodging the garrison. The whole building exhibits the greatest
+solidity, and the mortar is wonderfully hard. But it is a bitter
+disappointment to the traveller that there are no inscriptions on the
+walls, or sculpture of any kind to fix the date of the edifice. The
+fortress never had ditches; its strength consists only in the height and
+thickness of its walls. The only entrance is towards the Dniestr, four
+or five yards from the scarp that flanks the river. This arrangement was
+probably adopted in order to secure a means of retreat, and of receiving
+provisions by way of the river.--The general appearance of the castle
+reminded me of the Roman fortresses erected against the barbarians,
+remains of which exist in many parts of Europe.
+
+Bessarabia was justly considered, at the period referred to above, as
+one of the most fertile and productive provinces of the Black Sea.
+Ismael and Remy were its two great export markets for corn; Ackerman
+sent numerous cargoes of fruit and provisions of all kinds yearly to
+Constantinople; the magazines of the fortresses were profusely filled
+with wheat and maize; the countless flocks of the Boudjiak steppes
+supplied wool to the East and to Italy; and Austria alone drew from them
+annually upwards of 60,000 heads of cattle. Such were the circumstances
+of Bessarabia at the time when the Russians, in the worst moment of
+their disasters, at the very time when Napoleon was entering their
+ancient capital, had the courageous cleverness to obtain the cession of
+that province, and advance their frontier to the Danube, at the same
+time securing the inestimable advantage of being free to withdraw their
+troops from it, and march them against the invader.
+
+When the Russians took possession, the Nogais, many tribes of whom had
+previously emigrated, completely forsook their old possessions, and
+withdrew beyond the Danube, and thus there remained in Bessarabia only
+the Moldavian population, who were Greek Christians, like the Russians.
+The conduct of the government towards the Bessarabians was at first as
+accommodating and liberal as possible. Official pledges were given them,
+that they should retain their own language, laws, tribunals, and
+administrative forms of all kinds. The governors of the country were
+chosen from among the natives, and the province remained in the full
+enjoyment of its commercial immunities and franchises, which were the
+grand bases of its agricultural prosperity. But these valuable
+privileges soon begot jealousies; the old administration fell into
+discredit through its own injudicious pretensions, and perhaps also in
+consequence of political intrigues against it, and it became exposed to
+the incessant hostility even of the boyars. The outcry was so great,
+that the Emperor Alexander, wishing to satisfy the population,
+determined that a new constitution should be framed, which should be
+more in harmony with the habits, the wants, and the state of
+civilisation of the country.
+
+A committee of twenty-eight was appointed to draw up this constitution,
+conspicuous among whom was M. Pronkoul, one of the most eminent boyars
+of the country. He had the chief hand in framing the constitution, and
+he promoted the adoption of its most liberal articles, with a very
+laudable spirit and much cleverness, no doubt, but with by no means a
+just discernment of the state of things. As soon as the commission had
+completed its task, Alexander visited Bessarabia, in 1818, and was
+welcomed with the most cordial gladness, and the most sumptuous
+rejoicings. He received from the province a national present of 5000
+horses, and was quite amazed at the prosperity and the inexhaustible
+resources of his new conquest. It was naturally desired to take the
+opportunity of his presence for the ratification of the new
+constitution; but that was not to be had so readily, since it brought in
+question the principle of the political unity of the empire. It was
+rightly represented to Alexander that it would be imprudent and
+impolitic to give a final and decisive sanction to a system, the real
+value and fitness of which could only be made known by time. The emperor
+yielded to these considerations, and merely ordered that the
+constitution should be put in force, without prejudice to the future.
+
+The fundamental principles of this constitution were as liberal as
+possible; too liberal, indeed, to have had the slightest chance of
+enduring. Bessarabia retained all its nationality; the governor and the
+vice-governor alone could be Russians, all the other functionaries were
+to be Moldavians; the province continued to enjoy all commercial
+immunities, and the finances, too, were under the immediate inspection
+and control of the natives. To any man of common sense and foresight,
+the maintenance of such a constitution was a chimera. Was it to be
+imagined that Russia would allow the subsistence of a conquered province
+on its extreme frontiers, in contact with Turkey, governing itself by
+its own laws, and possessing an administration diametrically opposed to
+that which controls the other governments of the empire?
+
+The Moldavian boyars nevertheless considered the promulgation of the
+constitution as a victory, and thought in their infatuation they might
+defy all the chances of the future. But events soon undeceived them, and
+the mismanagement of their own institutions provoked the first blow
+against their privileges. In accordance with old customs the government
+continued to sell the taxes by auction, and they were generally farmed
+by the great landowners of the province. This vicious system of finance,
+which had been practised under the Oriental regimen of the hospodars,
+could not fail to have fatal consequences under the new system of
+things. As we have already said, Bessarabia had retained her commercial
+freedom in its full extent after her union with Russia. It rapidly
+degenerated into an abuse, through the improvident prodigality of the
+Moldavians, and the extravagant ideas of civilisation and progress that
+fermented in all their brains; luxury increased beyond measure among the
+nobles, and Kichinev, the capital, became famous through all the
+country for its sumptuous festivities, and the wealth of its ware-rooms.
+The consequence was that the receipts of the treasury proceeded in the
+inverse ratio of the progress of luxury; and the farmers, whose expenses
+swallowed up more than the revenue, were last unable to pay the sums
+they had contracted for. The imperial government was of course indulgent
+during the first years, and had not recourse to any severe measures.
+This conduct encouraged the defaulters, and the disorder of the finances
+at last reached such a pass as called indispensably for the strenuous
+intervention of the imperial government. The commercial franchises of
+the province were suppressed therefore in 1822, the prohibitive system
+of the imperial customs was introduced, and the payment of all arrears
+was rigorously exacted. This last measure of course gave occasion to
+endless suits and executions, and so the ruin of the principal families
+was accomplished at the same time as the destruction of all their
+political influence, and the government had then only to fix the day
+when its principles of political unity should have complete force in its
+new conquest.
+
+The constitution thus impaired, subsisted, however, until the death of
+Alexander; but on the accession of Nicholas it was completely
+suppressed; Bessarabia was deprived of all its privileges, and even of
+its language, and was assimilated in all points of administration to the
+other provinces of the empire; with the exception, however, that the
+government, in order to ensure the ulterior success of its measures,
+took from the inhabitants the right of electing their captain
+ispravniks, or officers of rural police.[85]
+
+So radical a revolution could not be effected without bringing with it
+serious perturbations. It is enough to recollect what we have said of
+the venality of the public functionaries, in order to guess what the
+Bessarabians must have had to endure at the hands of that multitude of
+Russian _employés_ who took up their quarters in the towns and villages.
+The intrigues and pettyfogging artifices of these men complicated more
+and more the already numerous lawsuits; and the daily increasing
+perplexities in the relations between the landowners, the freedmen, and
+the serfs, overthrew all the elements of the national wealth. To all
+these causes of disorganisation were added the military occupation of
+the country in the time of the Turkish war, and this was the more
+onerous because the rich procured themselves exemption for money, and
+the whole burden fell on the petty proprietors and the peasants.
+
+When the country fell into this state of exhaustion, the boyars were
+not slow to remonstrate: and they did so with such vehemence, on the
+occasion of the journey of the Emperor Nicholas, in 1827, that he
+resolved to have a commission appointed, to report to him at St.
+Petersburg, on the grievances of the province. The election of the
+commissioners took place immediately; but as the boyars revived their
+old pretensions, whilst the government strenuously adhered to its system
+of political unity, it was not possible to come to an understanding
+respecting the ameliorations to be introduced into the administrative
+regimen. The elections, after being frequently annulled and recommenced,
+produced no result, and the last commission named was finally dissolved
+without having been able to repair to St. Petersburg.
+
+All these long altercations necessarily produced asperity in the
+relations of Bessarabia with the superior administration, and at last
+the imperial government, weary of these discussions, was ready to take
+any measure to reduce the Moldavians to the most absolute political and
+administrative nullity, even to the prejudice of the national
+prosperity. To this end it was determined to cut off the last means of
+influence which serfdom afforded to the boyars, by issuing an ukase, by
+virtue of which all serfs were declared free, with the right of residing
+where they pleased. The consequences of this abrupt emancipation were,
+of course, disastrous to agriculture. Urged by intrigues, or by the
+chimerical hope of bettering their physical condition, the serfs
+abandoned their old abodes to settle elsewhere, and chiefly on the lands
+recently acquired by the Russians. In this way many villages were left
+deserted, the lands remained untilled, and the landowners found
+themselves suddenly deprived of the hands necessary for their work.
+
+Putting aside all political considerations, this measure of the
+government was unquestionably premature. Nothing in the moral or
+physical condition of the Bessarabians could as yet justify so radical a
+destruction of all that belonged to the old system. The state of the
+serfs was in fact very tolerable, and quite in harmony with the
+civilisation of the country. The peasants were no further bound to the
+soil, than inasmuch as a certain portion of it was placed at their
+disposal. Their duties to their lords were defined by rule, and
+consisted generally of eighteen days' labour in the year, some haulages,
+and the tithes of their produce. The landowners, no doubt, occasionally
+abused their power in a cruel manner; but these abuses were not without
+remedy. A resolute and conscientious administration might easily have
+put an end to them. Under the present system, the peasants possessing no
+lands appeared to us in reality much more enslaved, and in a far less
+satisfactory physical condition. Formerly, the interests of the lords
+and the serfs were closely united, the prosperity of either necessarily
+inferred that of the others; but now that the emancipated serfs,
+possessing no means of subsistence of their own, cultivate the land only
+in virtue of a contract, the landowners think only how to get as much
+profit out of them as possible, during the time the engagement lasts,
+and care nothing what becomes of them afterwards. The peasants, it is
+true, have a right of appealing to the tribunals; but in consequence of
+the venality of the latter, their complaints generally serve only to put
+them to expense, and make their condition worse. A rich boyar said very
+naïvely to me on this subject, "How do you suppose the husbandman can
+obtain justice, when for every egg he gives we give a silver ruble?"
+Again, the frequent changes of abode are very pernicious, from the loss
+of time and the expense they occasion. Other dwellings must be built,
+new habits must be contracted; the peasant is soon reduced to
+destitution, and finds himself obliged to accept whatever terms are
+offered him. In this way the dependence of the rural population is but
+the more grievous for being limited, and their situation towards the
+landlords is without security for the present, or guarantee for the
+future. Nor have their duty labours undergone any modification, and the
+abuses are exactly the same as under the old régime. Without exceeding
+the limits of the regulations, a peasant pays his master tithes of all
+agricultural produce, besides 1^r.20 for every head of large cattle,
+0.16 for each sheep, and one hive of honey out of every fifty he
+possesses. He takes upon himself, moreover, all repairs of buildings,
+enclosures, &c., supplies night watchers, executes annually at least
+three haulages over thirty-eight miles of ground, and seldom works less
+than twenty-eight or thirty days for his landlord, often as much as
+fifty or even sixty. In point of physical welfare, therefore, the
+results of emancipation are quite illusory, and the more so as the
+peasants enjoy no political rights, and support all the burdens and
+_corvées_. In fine, the new system has as yet produced only loss,
+trouble, and embarrassment, both to large and small fortunes. As to
+hopes for the future, none can be seriously conceived, except for very
+distant times. It will require many years even for a wise and
+enlightened administration to rectify the state of a country whose
+population consists of a scanty body of landowners, and a mass of
+peasants without fixed domicile, possessing no other resources than the
+chance of a limited engagement, and the labour of their hands.
+
+We will not go into details of all the measures adopted by the Russian
+government with reference to the agricultural and commercial affairs of
+Bessarabia: they were as contradictory and as irrational as those we
+have noticed in our account of the Crimea. The immigrations of the
+Bulgarians[86] and Germans,[87] it is true, were favoured, and they
+were granted the most fertile lands of the Boudjiak; several villages of
+Cossacks[88] and of Great Russians[89] were settled in the same regions;
+and attempts were even made with some success to colonise a few nomade
+tribes of gipsies.[90] But all these excellent creations, the first idea
+of which belongs to the head of the state, were largely counterbalanced
+by the mischievous measures of the local boards. Thus, for instance, in
+consequence of the division among the great landlords of all the immense
+meadows formerly possessed by the hospodars, and which they used to rent
+out in pasture, the national business of rearing zigai sheep was
+destroyed, and gave place to some ruinous attempts to introduce the
+merino breed. Extreme injury was done at the same time to the breeding
+of horses and horned cattle, a business which the government had already
+seriously damaged by forcing the proprietors of such stock to become
+Russian subjects or give up their employment, and by impeding by
+countless vexatious formalities the entrance of foreign merchants into
+the province, and their sojourn in it. In 1839, Bessarabia sold only
+2365 horses, whereas formerly Austria alone drew from it from 12,000 to
+15,000 every year for her cavalry.[91]
+
+The following general table of the exports and imports of Bessarabia by
+the Danube and by land is drawn up from official documents. It cannot,
+however, indicate precisely the commercial situation of Bessarabia,
+since a considerable portion of the goods declared in five places named
+belongs only to the transit trade through the province, which, moreover,
+receives a quantity of manufactured and other goods from Southern Russia
+that are not mentioned at all in the table. Our figures would require a
+certain reduction to make them accurately represent the true state of
+the case.
+
+                                BY THE DANUBE.--IMPORTS.
+  -----------------------+-----------------------+----------------------
+                         |         1838.         |          1839.
+      NAMES OF PLACES.   +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                         |   Goods.  |    Cash.  |    Goods. |    Cash.
+  -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                         |   rubles. |   rubles. |   rubles. |   rubles.
+  Ismael                 |   253,697 | 1,632,996 |   238,996 |   820,035
+  Reny                   |    50,193 |   797,497 |    85,429 |   553,174
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                  Total  |   303,890 | 2,430,493 |   324,425 | 1,373,209
+
+                                          EXPORTS.
+
+  Ismael                 | 3,913,494 |     9,915 | 2,793,244 |
+  Reny                   |   718,040 |    50,773 |   609,541 |    77,745
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                  Total  | 4,631,534 |    60,688 | 3,402,785 |    77,745
+
+                                     BY LAND.--IMPORTS.
+
+  Novo Selitza, Austrian |           |           |           |
+  frontier               |   221,324 | 1,939,604 |   245,198 | 3,048,064
+  Skouleni on the Pruth  |   222,507 |   497,209 |   195,088 |   721,015
+  Leovo on the Pruth     |    52,336 |    29,932 |    55,664 |    26,291
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                  Total  |   496,167 | 2,466,745 |   495,950 | 3,795,370
+
+                                          EXPORTS.
+
+  Novo Selitza           | 1,978,172 |   163,868 | 3,277,660 |    81,868
+  Skouleni               |   829,692 |   525,638 |   737,462 |   540,618
+  Leovo                  |    96,832 |    60,537 |    59,906 |    36,709
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+                  Total  | 2,904,696 |   750,043 | 4,075,028 |   659,195
+  -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+
+Total of the customs and other duties realised in 1838, in the five
+localities above-named, 360,332 rubles, and in 1839, 319,134 rubles.
+
+From some scattered details we have already given, the reader may
+conjecture that the population of Bessarabia is exceedingly mixed. The
+Boudjiak numbers among its inhabitants, Great Russians, Cossacks,
+Germans, Bulgarians, Swiss vine-dressers, gipsies, and Greek and
+Armenian merchants. The northern part of the province, on the contrary,
+is occupied almost exclusively by the Moldavian race, whose villages
+extend even along the Dniestr to the vicinity of Ackerman. Jews abound
+in the northern part; there are very few in the towns of the Boudjiak;
+leaving them out of the account the Bessarabian population may be
+divided into four great classes: the nobles, the free peasants who
+possess lands, the newly emancipated peasants, and the gipsies. The
+nobles consist of the ancient Moldavian aristocracy, the public
+functionaries, retired officers, and a great number of Russians, who
+have become landowners in the province. To this class we must join the
+Mazils, who are descendants of the ancient boyars, but whom war and the
+numerous revolutions that have desolated the land have reduced to
+penury. They form at present an intermediate class between the new
+nobles and the peasantry, and differ from the aristocracy only in not
+taking part in the elections of the judges and marshals of the nobles.
+The free peasants are those, who, having been emancipated in times more
+or less remote, possess lands, and depend neither on the great landlords
+nor on the crown, though subject to ordinary imposts and _corvées_. The
+newly liberated peasants consist of those who are settled, by virtue of
+a contract or agreement, on lands belonging to individuals or to the
+crown; they form the majority of the population. The Bohemians are still
+subjected to the laws of slavery. Some of them, to the number of 900
+families, belong to the crown, and the rest to Moldavian landowners, who
+usually employ them as servants, workmen, and musicians.
+
+In Bessarabia, as throughout Russia and the principalities of the
+Danube, the new generation of nobles have completely renounced the
+habits of former days. They have of course adopted the straight coat,
+trousers, cravat, and all the rest of our Western costume; there is
+nothing striking in their outward appearance. The old boyars alone
+adhere to their ancestral customs; a broad divan, pipes, coffee, dolces,
+and the kieff after dinner, are indispensable for them; and to some of
+them shampooing is a delicious necessity. I know a certain nobleman who
+cannot fall asleep without having his feet rubbed by his Bohemian. But
+what above all strikes and delights every stranger, especially a
+Frenchman, is the eager and cordial hospitality and kindness he
+encounters in every Moldavian house. One is sure of meeting everywhere
+with men who sympathise heartily with every thing great and useful to
+mankind which our civilisation and our efforts have produced in these
+latter times. It is only to be regretted that these brilliant qualities
+are often tarnished by the corruption which administrative venality and
+rapacity, supervening upon long military occupations, have insensibly
+diffused through all classes of the population.
+
+The Bessarabian of the lower class is by nature a husbandman; he very
+rarely plies a trade. To know his real worth he must be seen in the
+interior of the country, far from the towns. The Moldavian peasant is
+brave, gay, and hospitable; he delights to welcome the stranger, and
+generally would be ashamed to receive the slightest present from him.
+The Russians accuse him of excessive sloth, but the charge appears
+unfounded. The Moldavian peasant seldom, indeed, thinks of accumulating
+money, but he always works with zeal until he has attained the position
+he had aspired to, the amount of comfort he had set his heart on; and,
+in reality, it is not until after the fulfilment of his desires that he
+becomes lazy, and that his efforts are generally limited to procuring
+his family the few sacks of maize necessary for its subsistence. But
+increase his wants, make him understand that there are other enjoyments
+than those in which he indulges so cheaply, and you will infallibly see
+him shake off his natural apathy, and rise to the level of the new ideas
+he has adopted.
+
+The most charming thing in the Moldavian villages is the extreme
+cleanliness of the houses, which are generally surrounded by gardens and
+thriving orchards. Enter the forest dwelling, and you will almost always
+find a small room perfectly clean, furnished with a bed, and broad
+wooden divans covered with thick woollen stuffs. Bright parti-coloured
+carpets, piles of cushions, with open work embroideries, long red and
+blue napkins, often interwoven with gold and silver thread, are
+essential requisites in every household, and form a principal portion of
+the dowery of young women.
+
+In general, the women take little part in field labours, but they are
+exceedingly industrious housewives. They are all clever weavers, and
+display great art and taste in making carpets, articles of dress, and
+linen. The great object of emulation among the women of every village,
+is to have the neatest and most comfortable house, and the best supplied
+with linen and household utensils.
+
+Such was Bessarabia, when I visited it in detail, on my return from my
+long journeys in the steppes of the Caspian. I visited it a second time
+when about to quit Russia for the principalities of the Danube; and when
+I crossed the Pruth, I could not help reiterating my earnest prayers
+that the inexhaustible resources of this province may at last be duly
+appreciated, and that effectual measures may be taken to put an end to
+that languor and depression in which it has been sunk for so many years.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[85] Bessarabia now includes nine districts, the capitals of which,
+beginning from the south, are Ismael, Ackerman, Kahoul, Bender,
+Kichinev, Orgeiev, Beltz, Soroka, and Khotin. Kichinev is the capital of
+the government; it was formerly a poor borough on the Bouik, a little
+river that falls into the Dniestr; the preference was given it on
+account of its central position. Its population is now 42,636, of whom
+from 15,000 to 18,000 are Jews. It is to the administration of
+Lieutenant-general Foederof that the town owes the numerous
+embellishments, and the principal public edifices it presents to the
+traveller's view.
+
+[86] The Bulgarian colonies, the most prosperous of all those that have
+been established in the Boudjiak, numbered in 1840, 10,153 families,
+comprising 32,916 males, and 29,314 females. The surface of their lands
+has been estimated at 585,463 hectares, of which 527,590 are fit for
+tillage and hay crops, and 57,873 are waste. The Bulgarian colonists pay
+the crown 50 rubles per family. The corn harvest amounted, in 1839, to
+211,337 tchetverts. They have contrived to preserve among them the breed
+of zigai sheep, the long strong wool of which is in demand in the East,
+and formed, previously to the Russian occupation, the chief wealth of
+the Bessarabians: they now possess about 343,479.
+
+[87] The German colonies include nineteen villages and 1736 families.
+They are in a very backward condition.
+
+[88] After the destruction of the celebrated Setcha of Dniepr, the
+Zaporogue Cossacks withdrew in great numbers beyond the Danube, and
+settled with the permission of the Turks on that secondary branch of the
+Balkan which runs between Isaktchy and Toultcha. During the wars of 1828
+and 1829, the Russian government contrived to gain the allegiance of
+many of the descendants of these Zaporogues who served it as spies.
+Their number was so considerable that after the campaign Russia formed
+them into military colonies in the Boudjiak. These colonies increased
+greatly in consequence of the asylum they afforded to all the refugees
+and vagabonds of Russia, and presented, in 1840, an effective of two
+regiments of cavalry of 600 men each, with a total population of 3000
+families, having eight villages and 50,000 hectares of land.
+
+[89] We have no exact data respecting these villages, the situation of
+which is wretched enough. Their population consists entirely of
+fugitives, to whom the government had for many years granted an asylum
+in Bessarabia to the detriment of the neighbouring government.
+
+[90] The gipsies have three villages containing 900 families. The
+establishment of these colonies was not effected without difficulty, and
+it required all the severity of a military administration to make them
+sow their grounds.
+
+[91] Since our departure, the Russian government seems disposed to
+interest itself on behalf of Bessarabia. We are informed that it is at
+present turning its attention to the navigation of the Dniestr, a matter
+of the more importance since the Dniestr washes Bessarabia throughout
+its whole length, and there is not yet in that province any means of
+communication practicable at all seasons.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+To complete our author's account of Sevastopol, we subjoin an abstract
+of a paper by Mr. Shears, C.E., which was read at the meeting of the
+Institution of Civil Engineers, January 12, 1847.
+
+      "Sevastopol is very peculiarly situated, amidst rocky
+      ground, rising so abruptly from the shore, that there was
+      not space for the buildings necessary for a dockyard. On
+      account of the depth of water close in shore, and other
+      natural advantages, the emperor determined to make it the
+      site of an extensive establishment, and as there is not any
+      rise of tide in the Black Sea, and the construction of
+      cofferdams would have been very expensive and difficult in
+      such a rocky position, it was decided to build three locks,
+      each having a rise of ten feet, and at this level of thirty
+      feet above the sea to place a main dock with lateral docks,
+      into which vessels of war could be introduced, and the gates
+      being closed, the water could be discharged by subterranean
+      conducts to the sea, and the vessel, being left dry, could
+      be examined and repaired, even beneath the keel. A stream
+      was conducted from a distance of twelve miles to supply the
+      locks, and to keep the docks full; this, however, has been
+      found insufficient, and a pumping-engine has since been
+      erected by Messrs. Maudsley and Field, for assisting.
+
+      "The original intention was to have made the gates for the
+      docks of timber, but on account of the ravages of a worm,
+      which it appears does not, as in the case of the Teredo
+      navalis or the Tenebranes, confine itself to the salt water,
+      it was resolved to make them with cast iron frames covered
+      with wrought iron plates.
+
+      "There are nine pairs of gates, whose openings vary from 64
+      feet in width and 34 feet 4 inches in height for ships of
+      120 guns, to 46 feet 7 inches in width, and 21 feet in
+      height, for frigates.
+
+      "The manipulation of such masses of metal as composed these
+      gates demanded peculiar machines; accordingly, Messrs.
+      Rennie fitted up a building expressly, with machines
+      constructed by Mr. Whitworth, by which all the bearing
+      surfaces could be planed, and the holes bored in the ribs,
+      and all the other parts, whether their surfaces were curved
+      or plane. The planing was effected by tools which travelled
+      over the surface, backward and forward, cutting each way;
+      the piece of metal being either held in blocks, if the
+      surface was plane, or turned on centres, if the surface was
+      curved. The drilling was performed by machines, so fixed,
+      that the pieces could be brought beneath or against the
+      drills, in the required direction, and guided so as to
+      insure perfect uniformity and accordance between them.
+
+      "Travelling cranes were so arranged, as to take the largest
+      pieces from the wharf, and place them in the various
+      machines, by the agency of a very few men, notwithstanding
+      their formidable dimensions; the heelposts in some cases
+      being upwards of 34 feet long. Each endless screw, for
+      giving progressive motion to the cutting tools, was 45 feet
+      long. Some idea may be formed of the manual labour avoided
+      by the machines, when it is stated, that the surface planed
+      or turned in the nine pairs of gates equals 717,464 square
+      inches; and in some cases a thickness of three-quarters of
+      an inch was cut off. The surface in the drilled bolt holes
+      equals 120,000 square inches."
+
+      The paper gave all the details of the construction of the
+      gates, and the machinery for making them; and was
+      illustrated by a series of detailed drawings.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.
+
+
+
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+    |                                                     |
+    | Typographical errors corrected in the text:         |
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+    | Page  141  Gengis changed to Genghis                |
+    | Page  153  Gengis changed to Genghis                |
+    | Page  157  Alsacean changed to Alsacian             |
+    | Page  159  it changed to its                        |
+    | Page  173  stupified changed to stupefied           |
+    | Paqe  174  vieing changed to vying                  |
+    | Page  176  rareties changed to rarities             |
+    | Page  180  Tibetian changed to Tibetan              |
+    | Page  185  Tondoutof changed to Tondoudof           |
+    | Page  194  Samarcand changed to Samarkand           |
+    | Page  196  hectrolitres changed to hectolitres      |
+    | Page  207  semovar changed to samovar               |
+    | Page  214  gaolors changed to gaolers               |
+    | Page  217  wo-begone changed to woe-begone          |
+    | Page  218  semovar changed to samovar               |
+    | Page  223  downfal changed to downfall              |
+    | Page  224  predecesssors chaned to  predecessors    |
+    | Page  235  Tourgouth changed to Torgouth            |
+    | Page  237  latitiude changed to latitude            |
+    | Page  257  batallions changed to battalions         |
+    | Page  267  Ghenghis changed to Genghis              |
+    | Page  269  Boudjak changed to Boudjiak              |
+    | Page  270  earthern changed to earthen              |
+    | Page  282  fistycuffs changed to fisticuffs         |
+    | Page  282  suprise changed to surprise              |
+    | Page  297  Bukharest changed to Bucharest           |
+    | Page  307  Caucausus changed to Caucasus            |
+    | Page  322  Emmaneul changed to Emmanuel             |
+    | Page  325  Manghislak changed to Manghishlak        |
+    | Page  326  incontestibly changed to incontestably   |
+    | Page  349  Taibout changed to Taitbout              |
+    | Page  351  formalties changed to formalities        |
+    | Page  363  cashmires changed to cashmeres           |
+    | Page  364  Bagtchte changed to Bagtche              |
+    | Page  367  moolight changed to moonlight            |
+    | Page  369  filagree changed to filigree             |
+    | Page  373  belfrey changed to belfry                |
+    | Page  380  ebulitions changed to ebullitions        |
+    | Page  384  thngs changed to things                  |
+    | Page  388  fhe changed to the                       |
+    | Page  388  sweatmeats changed to sweetmeats         |
+    | Page  391  Ghenghis changed to Genghis              |
+    | Page  392  Soudah changed to Soudagh                |
+    | Page  400  griffen changed to griffin               |
+    | Page  409  Guerei changed to Guerai                 |
+    | Page  411  recuscitate changed to resuscitate       |
+    | Page  423  Cossaks changed to Cossacks              |
+    | Page  430  ^ indicates a superscript letter         |
+    |              following the symbol                   |
+    | Page  432  Skoulein changed to Skouleni             |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian
+Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c., by Xavier Hommaire de Hell
+
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+    .poem span.pn     { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+                        /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+                            position: absolute; right: 2%;
+                            font-size: 75%;
+                            text-align: right;
+                            text-indent: 0em;
+                            font-style: normal;
+                            font-weight: normal;
+                            color: silver; background-color: inherit;
+                            font-variant: normal;} /* page numbers in poems */
+
+
+    </style>
+   </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea,
+the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c., by Xavier Hommaire de Hell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c.
+
+Author: Xavier Hommaire de Hell
+
+Release Date: June 24, 2011 [EBook #36505]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN STEPPES OF CASPIAN SEA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Barbara Kosker and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<div class="tr">
+<p class="cen">Transcriber's Note</p>
+<br />
+Some inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in
+the original document has been preserved.<br />
+<br />
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+
+<h1>  TRAVELS</h1>
+
+<h4>  IN THE</h4>
+
+<h1>  STEPPES OF THE CASPIAN SEA,</h1>
+
+<h3>  THE CRIMEA, THE CAUCASUS, &amp;c.</h3>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h4>  BY</h4>
+
+<h2>  XAVIER HOMMAIRE DE HELL,</h2>
+
+<h4>  CIVIL ENGINEER,<br />
+  MEMBER OF THE SOCIETE GEOLOGIQUE OF FRANCE, AND KNIGHT OF THE ORDER<br />
+  OF ST. VLADIMIR OF RUSSIA.</h4>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h3>  WITH ADDITIONS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.</h3>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h3>  LONDON:<br />
+  CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186, STRAND.<br />
+  MDCCCXLVII.</h3>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<h4>C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.</h4>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>AUTHOR'S PREFACE.</h2>
+
+<p>When I left Constantinople for Odessa my principal object was to
+investigate the geology of the Crimea and of New Russia, and to arrive
+by positive observations at the solution of the great question of the
+rupture of the Bosphorus. Having once entered on this pursuit, I was
+soon led beyond the limits of the plan I had marked out for myself, and
+found it incumbent on me to examine all the vast regions that extend
+between the Danube and the Caspian Sea to the foot of the northern slope
+of the Caucasus. I spent, therefore, nearly five years in Southern
+Russia, traversing the country in all directions, exploring the course
+of rivers and streams on foot or on horseback, and visiting all the
+Russian coasts of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azof and the Caspian. Twice
+I was intrusted by the Russian government with important scientific and
+industrial missions; I enjoyed special protection and assistance during
+all my travels, and I am happy to be able to testify in this place my
+gratitude to Count Voronzof, and to all those who so amply seconded me
+in my laborious investigations.</p>
+
+<p>Thus protected by the local authorities, I was enabled to collect the
+most authentic information respecting the state of men and things. Hence
+I was naturally led to superadd to my scientific pursuits considerations
+of all kinds connected with the history, statistics, and actual
+condition of the various races inhabiting Southern Russia. I was,
+moreover, strongly encouraged in my new task by the desire to make known
+in their true light all those southern regions of the empire which have
+played so important a part in the history of Russia since the days of
+Peter the Great.</p>
+
+<p>My wife, who braved all hardships to accompany me in most of my
+journeys, has also been the partner of my literary labours in France. To
+her belongs all the descriptive part of this book of travels.</p>
+
+<p>Our work is published under no man's patronage; we have kept ourselves
+independent of all extraneous influence; and in frankly pointing out
+what struck us as faulty in the social institutions of the Muscovite
+empire, we think we evince our gratitude for the hospitable treatment we
+received in Russia, better than some travellers of our day, whose pages
+are only filled with exaggerated and ridiculous flatteries.</p>
+
+<p class="right">XAVIER HOMMAIRE DE HELL.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>DEFINITIONS.</h2>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Geographic miles</i> are of 15 to a degree of the equator.</p>
+
+<p>A Russian Verst (104-3/10 to a degree), is 1/7 of a geographical mile,
+1/4 of a French league of 25 to a degree. It is equal to 3484.9 English
+feet, or nearly 2/3 of a statute mile. It is divided into 500
+<i>sazhenes</i>, and each of these into 3 <i>arshines</i>.</p>
+
+<p>A <i>deciatine</i> (superficial measure) is equivalent to 2 acres, 2 roods,
+32 perches, English.</p>
+
+<p>A <i>pood</i> is equal to 40 Russian or 36 English pounds.</p>
+
+<p>100 <i>tchetverts</i> (corn measure) are equal to about 74-1/2 English
+quarters.</p>
+
+<p>A <i>vedro</i> (liquid measure) contains 3-1/4 English gallons, or 12-1/4
+Litres.</p>
+
+<p>Since 1839 the paper ruble has been suppressed, and has given place to
+the silver ruble. But the former is always to be understood wherever the
+word ruble occurs in the following pages. The paper ruble is worth from
+1 fr. 10c. to 1 fr. 18c. according to the course of exchange; the silver
+ruble is equal to 3-1/2 paper rubles.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>A French <i>hectare</i> is equal to 2 acres, 1 rood, 33 perches, English.</p>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh" width="85%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrb" width="15%" style="font-size: 80%;">PAGE</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER I.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Departure from Constantinople&mdash;Arrival in Odessa&mdash;Quarantine</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER II.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Streets of Odessa&mdash;Jews&mdash;Hotels&mdash;Partiality of the Russians for
+    Odessa&mdash;Hurricane, Dust, Mud, Climate, &amp;c.&mdash;Public Buildings</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER III.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Imperial Family in Odessa&mdash;Church Music&mdash;Society of the
+    Place, Count and Countess Voronzof&mdash;Anecdote of the Countess
+    Braniska&mdash;The Theatre&mdash;Theatrical Row</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IV.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Commerce of the Black Sea&mdash;Prohibitive System and its Pernicious
+    Results&mdash;Depressed State of Agriculture&mdash;Trade of Odessa&mdash;Its
+    Bank</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER V.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Navigation, Charge for Freight, &amp;c. in the Black Sea</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Agriculture and Manufactures of Southern Russia&mdash;Mineral
+    Productions&mdash;Russian Workmen</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Departure from Odessa&mdash;Travelling in Russia&mdash;Nikola&iuml;ef, Olvia,
+    Otshakof&mdash;Kherson&mdash;The Dniepr&mdash;General Potier&mdash;Ancient
+    Tumuli&mdash;Steppes of the Black Sea&mdash;A Russian Village&mdash; Snow
+    Storm&mdash;Narrow Escape from Suffocation&mdash;A Russian Family&mdash;Appendix</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_32">32</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER VIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">An Earthquake&mdash;Ludicrous Anecdote&mdash;Sledging&mdash;Sporting&mdash;Dangerous
+    Passage of the Dniepr&mdash;Thaw; Spring-Time&mdash;Manners and Customs
+    of the Little Russians&mdash;Easter Holidays&mdash;The Clergy</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER IX.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">  Excursion on the Banks of the Dniepr&mdash;Doutchina&mdash;Election of
+  the Marshals and Judges of the Nobility at Kherson&mdash;Horse-Racing&mdash;Strange Story
+  in the "Journal des D&eacute;bats"&mdash;A Country House and
+  its Visiters&mdash;Traits of Russian Manners&mdash;The Wife of Two
+  Husbands&mdash;Servants&mdash;Murder of a Courier&mdash;Appendix</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER X.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Departure for the Caspian&mdash;Iekaterinoslav&mdash;Potemkin's Ruined
+  Palace&mdash;Paskevitch's Caucasian Guard&mdash;Sham Fight&mdash;Intolerable
+  Heat&mdash;Cataracts of the Dniepr&mdash;German Colonies&mdash;The Setcha of the
+  Zaporogues&mdash;A French Steward&mdash;Night Adventure&mdash;Colonies of the
+  Moloshnia Vodi&mdash;Mr. Cornies&mdash;The Doukoboren, a Religious Sect</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span>CHAPTER XI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Marioupol&mdash;Berdiansk&mdash;Knavish Jew Postmaster&mdash;Taganrok&mdash;Memorials
+  of Peter the Great and Alexander&mdash;Great Fair&mdash;The General with
+  Two Wives&mdash;Morality in Russia&mdash;Adventures of a Philhellene&mdash;A
+  French Doctor&mdash;The English Consul&mdash;Horse Races&mdash;A First Sight of
+  the Kalmucks</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Departure from Taganrok&mdash;Sunset in the Steppes&mdash;A Gipsy
+  Camp&mdash;Rostof; a Town unparalleled in the Empire&mdash; Navigation of the
+  Don&mdash;Azof; St. Dimitri&mdash;Aspect of the Don&mdash;Nakitchevane, and
+  its Armenian Colony</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">General Remarks on New Russia&mdash;Antipathy between the Muscovites
+  and Malorossians&mdash;Foreign Colonies&mdash;General aspect of the
+  Country, Cattle, &amp;c.&mdash;Want of Means of Communication&mdash;River
+  Navigation; Bridges&mdash;Character of the Minister of Finance&mdash;History
+  of the Steamboat on the Dniestr&mdash;The Board of Roads
+  and Ways&mdash;Anecdote&mdash; Appendix</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIV.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The different Conditions of Men in Russia&mdash;The Nobles&mdash; Discontent
+  of the Old Aristocracy&mdash;The Merchant Class&mdash;Serfdom&mdash;Constitution
+  of the Empire; Governments&mdash; Consequences of Centralisation;
+  Dissimulation of Public Functionaries&mdash;Tribunals&mdash;The Colonel
+  of the Gendarmerie&mdash;Corruption&mdash;Pedantry of Forms&mdash;Contempt of
+  the Decrees of the Emperor and the Senate&mdash;Singular Anecdote;
+  Interpretation of a Will&mdash;Radical Evils in the Judicial
+  Organisation&mdash;History and present State of Russian Law</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XV.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Public Instruction&mdash;Corps of Cadets&mdash;Universities and
+  Elementary Schools; Anecdote&mdash;Plan of Education&mdash;Motives for
+  attending the Universities&mdash;Statistics&mdash;Professors; their
+  Ignorance&mdash;Exclusion of Foreign Professors&mdash;Engineering&mdash;
+  Obstacles to Intellectual Improvement&mdash;Characteristics of the
+  Sclavonic Race</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Entry into the Country of the Don Cossacks&mdash;Female Pilgrims of
+  Kiev; Religious Fervour of the Cossacks&mdash;Novo Tcherkask, Capital
+  of the Don&mdash;Street-lamps guarded by Sentinels&mdash;The Streets on
+  Sunday&mdash;Cossack Hospitality and Good Nature&mdash;Their Veneration
+  for Napoleon's Memory</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Origin of the Don Cossacks&mdash;Meaning of the Name&mdash;The Khirghis
+  Cossacks&mdash;Races anterior to the Cossacks&mdash; Sclavonic Emigrations
+  towards the East</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XVIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Journey from Novo Tcherkask along the Don&mdash;Another Knavish
+  Postmaster&mdash;Muscovite Merchants&mdash;Cossack Stanitzas</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XIX.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">First Kalmuck Encampments&mdash;The Volga&mdash;Astrakhan&mdash;Visit to a
+  Kalmuck Princess&mdash;Music, Dancing, Costume, &amp;c.&mdash; Equestrian
+  Feats&mdash;Religious Ceremony&mdash;Poetry</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XX.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Historical Notice of Astrakhan&mdash;Mixed Population; Armenians,
+  Tatars&mdash;Singular Result of a Mixture of Races&mdash;Description of
+  the Town&mdash;Hindu Religious Ceremonies&mdash;Society</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Commercial Position of Astrakhan&mdash;Its Importance in the Middle
+  Ages&mdash;Its Loss of the Overland Trade from India&mdash;Commercial
+  Statistics&mdash;Fisheries of the Caspian&mdash;Change of the Monetary
+  System in Russia&mdash;Bad State of the Finances&mdash;Russian Political
+  Economy</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_187">187</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Departure from Astrakhan&mdash;Coast of the Caspian&mdash;Hawking&mdash;
+  Houidouk&mdash;Three Stormy Days passed in a Post-house&mdash; Armenian
+  Merchants&mdash;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span>Robbery committed by Kalmucks&mdash;Camels&mdash;Kouskaia&mdash;Another
+  Tempest&mdash;Tarakans&mdash;A reported Gold Mine</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Another Robbery at Houidouk&mdash;Our Nomade Life&mdash;Camels&mdash;Kalmuck
+  Camp&mdash;Quarrel with a Turcoman Convoy, and Reconciliation&mdash;Love
+  of the Kalmucks for their Steppes; Anecdote&mdash;A Satza&mdash;Selenoi
+  Sastava&mdash;Fleeced by a Lieutenant-Colonel&mdash;Camel-drivers beaten
+  by the Kalmucks&mdash;Alarm of a Circassian Incursion&mdash;Sources of
+  the Manitch&mdash;The Journey arrested&mdash;Visit to a Kalmuck Lady&mdash;
+  Hospitality of a Russian Officer</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXIV.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Review of the History of the Kalmucks</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_221">221</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXV.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Kalmucks after the Departure of Oubacha&mdash;Division of the
+  Hordes, Limits of their Territory&mdash;The Turcoman and Tatar
+  Tribes in the Governments of Astrakhan and the Caucasus&mdash;
+  Christian Kalmucks&mdash;Agricultural Attempts&mdash;Physical, Social,
+  and Moral Characteristics of the Kalmucks</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXVI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Buddhism&mdash;Kalmuck Cosmogony&mdash;Kalmuck Clergy&mdash;Rites and
+  Ceremonies&mdash;Polygamy&mdash;The Kirghix</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXVII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">The Tatars and Mongols&mdash;The Kaptshak&mdash;History and Traditions
+  of the Nogais</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXVIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Banks of the Kouma; Vladimirofka&mdash;M. Rebrof's Repulse of a
+  Circassian Foray&mdash;Bourgon Madjar&mdash;Journey along the Kouma&mdash;View
+  of the Caucasian Mountains&mdash;Critical Situation&mdash;Georgief&mdash;Adventure
+  with a Russian Colonel&mdash;Story of a Circassian Chief</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_276">276</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXIX.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Road from Georgief to the Waters of the Caucasus&mdash;A Polish Lady
+  carried off by Circassians&mdash;Piatigorsk&mdash;Kislovodsk&mdash;History
+  of the Mineral Waters of the Caucasus</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXX.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">SITUATION OF THE RUSSIANS AS TO THE CAUCASUS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">History of their Acquisition of the Trans-Caucasian Provinces&mdash;
+  General Topography of the Caucasus&mdash;Armed Line of the Kouban
+  and the Terek&mdash;Blockade of the Coasts&mdash;Character and Usages of
+  the Mountaineers&mdash;Anecdote&mdash;Visit to a Circassian Prince</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Retrospective View of the War in the Caucasus&mdash;Vital Importance
+  of the Caucasus to Russia&mdash;Designs on India, Central Asia,
+  Bokhara, Khiva, &amp;c.&mdash;Russian and English Commerce in Persia</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">A Storm in the Caucasus&mdash;Night Journey; Dangers and Difficulties&mdash;Stavropol&mdash;Historical
+  Sketch of the Government of the Caucasus
+  and the Black Sea Cossacks</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_334">334</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Rapid Journey from Stavropol&mdash;Russian Wedding&mdash;Perilous Passage
+  of the Don; all sorts of Disasters by Night&mdash;Taganrok;
+  Commencement of the Cold Season&mdash;The German Colonies revisited</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXIV.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Departure for the Crimea&mdash;Balaclava&mdash;Visit to the Monastery of
+  St. George&mdash;Sevastopol&mdash;The Imperial Fleet</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_349">349</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXV.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Bagtche Serai&mdash;Historical Revolutions of the Crimea&mdash;The Palace
+  of the Khans&mdash;Countess Potocki</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_358">358</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> CHAPTER XXXVI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Simpheropol&mdash;Karolez&mdash;Visit to Princess Adel Bey&mdash;Excursion to
+  Mangoup Kaleh</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXVII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Road to Baidar&mdash;The Southern Coast; Grand Scenery&mdash;Miskhor and
+  Aloupka&mdash;Predilection of the Great Russian Nobles for the Crimea</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_371">371</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXVIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Three Celebrated Women</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_375">375</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XXXIX.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Ialta&mdash;Koutchouk Lampat&mdash;Parthenit&mdash;The Prince de Ligne's
+  Hazel&mdash;Oulou Ouzen; a Garden converted into an Aviary&mdash;Tatar Young
+  Women&mdash;Excursion to Soudagh&mdash; Mademoiselle Jacquemart</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_387">387</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XL.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Ruins of Soldaya&mdash;Road to Theodosia&mdash;Caffa&mdash;Muscovite
+  Vandalism&mdash;Peninsula of Kertch&mdash;Panticapea and its Tombs</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_391">391</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XLI.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Extent and Character of Surface&mdash;Milesian and Heraclean
+  Colonies&mdash;Kingdom of the Bosphorus&mdash;Export and Import Trade in the Times
+  of the Greek Republics&mdash;Mithridates&mdash; The Kingdom of the Bosphorus
+  under the Romans&mdash;The Alans and Goths&mdash;Situation of the Republic
+  of Kherson&mdash;The Huns; Destruction of the Kingdom of the
+  Bosphorus&mdash;The Khersonites put themselves under the Protection of the
+  Byzantine Empire&mdash;Dominion of the Khazars&mdash;The Petchenegues and
+  Romans&mdash;The Kingdom of Little Tatary&mdash;Rise and Fall of the
+  Genoese Colonies&mdash;The Crimea under the Tatars&mdash;Its Conquest by
+  the Russians</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_402">402</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XLII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Commercial Polity of Russia in the Crimea&mdash;Caffa sacrificed in
+  Favour of Kertch&mdash;These two Ports compared&mdash;The Quarantine at
+  the Entrance of the Sea of Azof, and its Consequences&mdash;Commerce
+  of Kertch&mdash;Vineyards of the Crimea; the Valley of
+  Soudak&mdash;Agriculture&mdash;Cattle&mdash; Horticulture&mdash;Manufactures; Morocco
+  Leather&mdash;Destruction of the Goats&mdash;Decay of the Forests&mdash;Salt
+  Works&mdash;General Table of the Commerce of the Crimea&mdash;Prospects of the
+  Tatar Population</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_410">410</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">CHAPTER XLIII.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="2">HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BESSARABIA.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlh">Topology&mdash;Ancient Fortresses&mdash;The Russian Policy in Bessarabia&mdash;Emancipation
+  of the Serfs&mdash;Colonies&mdash;Cattle&mdash;Exports and
+  Imports&mdash;Mixed Population of the Province</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_424">424</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Note</td>
+  <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_435">435</a></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span>
+
+<h2>THE STEPPES OF THE CASPIAN SEA, &amp;c.</h2>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">DEPARTURE FROM CONSTANTINOPLE&mdash;ARRIVAL, IN
+ODESSA&mdash; QUARANTINE.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>On the 15th of May, 1838, we bade adieu to Constantinople, and standing
+on the deck of the Odessa steamer, as it entered the Bosphorus, we could
+not withdraw our eyes from the magnificent panorama we were leaving
+behind us.</p>
+
+<p>Constantinople then appeared to us in all its grandeur and beauty.
+Seated like Rome on its seven hills, exercising its sovereignty like
+Corinth over two seas, the vast city presented to our eyes a superb
+amphitheatre of palaces, mosques, white minarets and green plane-trees
+glistening in an Asiatic sunshine. What description could adequately
+depict this marvellous spectacle, or even give an idea of it? Would it
+not be wronging creation, as Lamartine has said, to compare
+Constantinople with any thing else in this world?</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, we were advancing up the Bosphorus, and the two shores,
+fringed all along to the Black Sea with cypress groves, and half hidden
+beneath their sombre shade, invited a share of that attentive gaze we
+had hitherto bestowed only on the great city that was vanishing in our
+wake. The Bosphorus itself presented a very animated scene. A thousand
+white-sailed ca&iuml;ques glided lightly over the waves, coming and going
+incessantly from shore to shore. As we advanced, the Bosphorus widened
+more and more, and we soon entered that Black Sea, whose ominous name so
+well accords with the storms that perpetually convulse it. A multitude
+of vessels of all kinds and dimensions, were anchored at the entrance of
+the channel, waiting for a favourable wind to take them out of the
+straits, which alone present more dangers than the whole navigation of
+the Black Sea. The difficulties of this passage are further augmented in
+the beginning of spring and the end of autumn by dense fogs, which have
+caused an incalculable number of vessels to be wrecked on the steep
+rocks of these iron-bound coasts.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>The passage from Constantinople to Odessa is effected in fifty hours in
+the Russian steamers, which ply twice a month from each of these ports.
+Those who are accustomed to the comfort, elegance, and scrupulous
+cleanliness of the Mediterranean and Atlantic steamers, must be
+horrified at finding themselves on board a Russian vessel. It is
+impossible to express the filth and disorder of that in which we were
+embarked. The deck, which was already heaped from end to end with goods
+and provisions, was crowded besides with a disgusting mob of pilgrims,
+mendicant monks, Jews, and Russian or Cossack women, all squatting and
+lying about at their ease without regard to the convenience of the other
+passengers. Most of them were returning from Jerusalem. The Russian
+people are possessed in the highest degree with the mania for
+pilgrimages. All these beggars set off barefooted, with their wallets on
+their backs, and their rosaries in their hands, to seek Heaven's pardon
+for their sins; appealing on their way to the charity of men, to enable
+them to continue that vagabond and miserable life which they prefer to
+the fulfilment of homely duties.</p>
+
+<p>It was a sorry specimen of the people we were going to visit that we had
+thus before our eyes, and our repugnance to these Muscovites was all the
+stronger from our recollections of the Turks, whose noble presence and
+beauty had so lately engaged our admiration.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning of the second day, we saw on our left a little island
+called by the sailors the Island of Serpents. The Russians have retained
+its Greek name of Fidonisi. It was anciently called Leucaia, or Makaron
+Nesos (Island of the Blest), was sacred to Achilles, and contained a
+temple, in which mariners used to deposit offerings. It is a calcareous
+rock, about thirty yards high and not more than 600 in its greatest
+diameter, and has long been uninhabited. Some ruins still visible upon
+it would probably be worth exploring, if we may judge from an
+inscription already discovered.</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards we were made aware of our approach to Odessa, our place
+of destination, by the appearance of the Russian coast with its cliffs
+striated horizontally in red and white. Nothing can be more dreary than
+these low, deserted, and monotonous coasts, stretching away as far as
+the eye can reach, until they are lost in the hazy horizon. There is no
+vegetation, no variety in the scene, no trace of human habitation; but
+everywhere a calcareous and argillaceous wall thirty or forty yards
+high, with an arid sandy beach at its foot, continually swept bare by
+the waves. But as we approached nearer to Odessa, the shore assumed a
+more varied appearance. Huge masses of limestone and earth, separated
+ages ago from the line of the cliffs, form a range of hills all along
+the sea border, planted with trees and studded with charming
+country-houses.</p>
+
+<p>A lighthouse, at some distance from the walls of Odessa, is the first
+landmark noted by mariners. An hour after it came in sight, we were in
+front of the town. Europe was once more before our eyes, and the aspect
+of the straight lines of street, the wide fronted <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>houses, and the sober
+aspect of the buildings awoke many dear recollections in our minds.
+Every object appeared to us in old familiar hues and forms, which time
+and absence had for a while effaced from our memories. Even
+Constantinople, which so lately had filled our imaginations, was now
+thought of but as a brilliant mirage which had met our view by chance,
+and soon vanished with all its illusive splendours.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa looks to great advantage from the quarantine harbour, where the
+steamer moored. The eye takes in at one view the boulevard, the
+Exchange, Count Voronzof's palace, the <i>pratique</i> harbour, and the
+Custom-house; and, in the background, some churches with green roofs and
+gilded domes, the theatre, Count de Witt's pretty Gothic house, and some
+large barracks, which from their Grecian architecture, one would be
+disposed to take for ancient monuments.</p>
+
+<p>Behind the Custom-house, on some steep calcareous rocks, sixty or
+seventy feet high, stands the quarantine establishment, looking proudly
+down on all Odessa. A fortress and bastions crowning the height, protect
+the town. All the remarkable buildings are thus within view of the port,
+and give the town at first sight an appearance of grandeur that is very
+striking.</p>
+
+<p>The day of our arrival was a Sunday; and when we entered the harbour, it
+was about four in the afternoon, the hour of the promenade, and all that
+portion of the town adjoining the port presented the most picturesque
+appearance imaginable. We had no difficulty in distinguishing the
+numerous promenaders that filled the alleys of the boulevard, and we
+heard the noise of the droshkys and four-horse equipages that rolled in
+every direction. The music, too, of a military band stationed in the
+middle of the promenade, distinctly reached our ears, and heightened the
+charms of the scene. It was, indeed, a European town we beheld, full of
+affluence, movement, and gaiety. But, alas! our curiosity and our
+longings, thus strongly excited, were not for a long while to be
+satisfied. The dreaded quarantine looked down on us, as if to notify
+that its rights were paramount, and assuredly it was not disposed to
+abrogate them in our favour. One of the officers belonging to it had
+already come down to receive the letters, journals, and passports, and
+to order us into a large wooden house, placed like a watchful sentinel
+on the verge of the sea. So we were forced to quit the brilliant
+spectacle on which we had been gazing, and go and pass through certain
+preliminary formalities in a smoky room, filled with sailors and
+passengers, waiting their turn with the usual apathy of Russians.</p>
+
+<p>We had no sooner entered the quarantine, than we were separated from
+each other, and every one made as much haste to avoid us, as if we were
+unfortunate pariahs whose touch was uncleanness. All our baggage was put
+aside for four-and-twenty hours, and we were accommodated in the
+meantime with the loan of garments, so grotesque and ridiculous, that
+after we had got into them, we could not look at each other without
+bursting into laughter. We made <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>haste to inspect our chambers, which we
+found miraculously furnished with the most indispensable things. But
+what rejoiced us above all, was a court-yard adorned with two beautiful
+acacias, the flowery branches of which threw their shade upon our
+windows. Our guardian, who had been unable to preserve the usual gravity
+of a Russian soldier at the sight of our ludicrous <i>travestissement</i>,
+surprised us greatly by a few words of French which he addressed to us.
+By dint of mangling our mother tongue, he managed to inform us that he
+had made the campaign of 1815, and that he was never so happy as when he
+met Frenchmen. On our part we had every reason to be satisfied with his
+attentive services.</p>
+
+<p>The first hours we passed in quarantine, were extremely tedious and
+unpleasant, in consequence of the want of our baggage. Our books, our
+papers, and every thing we had most urgent need of, were carried off to
+undergo two whole days' fumigation. But afterwards the time passed away
+glibly enough, and I should never have supposed it possible to be so
+contented in prison. But for the iron bars and the treble locks which
+had to be opened every time we had occasion to leave our rooms, we might
+have fancied we were rusticating for our pleasure. A handsome garden, a
+capital cook, books, a view of the sea&mdash;what more could any one desire?
+We were allowed to walk about the whole establishment, on condition only
+that we kept at a respectful distance from all who came in our way, and
+that we were constantly accompanied by our guardian. On one of the
+angles of the rock there is a little platform, with seats and trees,
+looking down on the sea, the harbour, and part of the town. In this
+delightful lounging-place we often passed hours together, in
+contemplating the beautiful spectacle before us.</p>
+
+<p>What a lively source of endless enjoyment does the imagination find in a
+broad extent of sea animated by numerous vessels! The bustle of the
+harbour, the boats plying with provisions and passengers; the various
+flags flying from the mast-heads; the brig preparing to sail, with
+canvass unfurled, and the crew singing out as they tramp round the
+capstan; a sail suddenly appearing on the horizon, like a bird on the
+wing, gleaming in the sun, and gradually enlarging on the sight; the
+zones of light and shade, that scud athwart the sea's surface, and give
+it a thousand varying aspects; the coast, with its headlands, its
+lighthouse, its sinuous and indented lines, its broad beach and belt of
+rocks; all these things form a panorama, that completely absorbs the
+faculties. You envy the good fortune of those who are outward bound, and
+whose course lies over yon smooth expanse of water, limited only by the
+sky, in search of other shores and other scenes. You bid them farewell
+with voice and gesture as familiar friends, and wish them fair winds and
+good speed, as though they could hear you.</p>
+
+<p>We were then in the beautiful month of June; the placid sea was as
+limpid and bright as the sky; the acacia was coming into full bloom, and
+embalmed the air far over sea and shore with its <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>delicious perfume.
+Odessa is full of these trees, and when they are covered with their
+odorous blossoms, the streets, the squares, and even the meanest
+quarters, put on a charming gala aspect; the whole town is metamorphosed
+into a smiling garden.</p>
+
+<p>We feel bound to testify to the excellent arrangements of the quarantine
+establishment, and to the ready, obliging disposition of its officers.
+Though placed in such propinquity to Constantinople, the Odessa lazaret
+may serve as a model of its kind, and the excellence of the system
+observed in it is proved by the happy results obtained. Travellers are
+subjected to a quarantine of a fortnight only, and merchandise, after
+undergoing forty-eight hours' fumigation with preparations of chlorine,
+is immediately set free; yet since the existence of this establishment,
+there has not occurred in Odessa a single case of plague which could be
+ascribed to any defect in the sanatory regulations of the place. There
+is no denying the fact that in matters of quarantine, France remains in
+the extreme background. The lazaret of Marseilles, is at this day
+exactly what it was at the beginning of the last century. All our
+discoveries in chemistry and medicine have been of no avail against the
+inveterate force of old habits; and up to the present time,
+notwithstanding all the remonstrances of commercial men, it has been
+impossible to modify the sanatory regulations enforced in our
+Mediterranean ports. Marseilles is 600 leagues away from the countries
+ravaged by the plague, and yet vessels are subjected there, after
+five-and-twenty days' navigation, to a quarantine of forty-five days,
+and their cargoes are exposed in the open air for the same period. It
+has been frequently proposed to establish a new system, more in
+accordance with the advanced state of our knowledge; but it seems that
+the efforts of the government have always been defeated by the
+prejudices of the inhabitants of the south.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">STREETS OF ODESSA&mdash;JEWS&mdash;HOTELS&mdash;PARTIALITY OF THE RUSSIANS
+FOR ODESSA&mdash;HURRICANE, DUST, MUD, CLIMATE, &amp;c.&mdash;PUBLIC
+BUILDINGS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The day of our release from quarantine, was as full of bustle and
+annoyances as that of our arrival, the <i>spolio</i> alone excepted. How we
+regretted the freedom of the East! There the traveller's movements are
+shackled by no formalities, but he is free from the moment he quits his
+vessel, to roam about the town as he pleases, without being pestered
+with the custom-house and police officers, and the <i>employ&eacute;s</i> of all
+sorts that assail him in lands calling themselves civilised. But it is
+in Russia especially that he has most reason to pour out his wrathful
+imprecations on that army of birds of prey <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>that pounce on him with an
+avidity truly intolerable. I can't tell how many formalities we had to
+go through from the hour appointed for our leaving the lazaret, until we
+finally got out of the clutches of the Custom-house, and could breathe
+freely. But our feelings of vexation, strong as they were, gave way to
+downright stupefaction, when we entered the town. Was this really that
+Odessa which had seemed so brilliant when we saw it from the lazaret,
+and which now presented itself to our eyes under so mean and wretched an
+aspect? Could we even grace with the name of town the place where we
+then were and the streets we beheld? It was a great open space without
+houses, filled with carts, and oxen rolling in the dust, in company with
+a mob of Russian and Polish peasants, all sleeping together in the sun,
+in a temperature of more than 90&deg;.</p>
+
+<p>Whirlwinds of dust exactly like waterspouts in all but the material
+composing them, darkened the air every moment, and swept the ground with
+incredible fury. Further on, we entered a street wider than our highways
+in France, and flanked with little houses, one story high, and separated
+from each other by uncultivated gardens. The population consisting of
+Jews, whose filth is become proverbial in Russia, completed our disgust,
+and we knew not which way to turn our eyes to escape the sight of such
+loathsome objects. However, as we approached the heart of the town the
+streets began to show shops and houses, and the appearance of the
+inhabitants grew more diversified. But notwithstanding the carriages and
+droshkys that passed us rapidly, notwithstanding the footways of cut
+stone, and the Grecian architecture of the corn stores, we reached the
+Hotel de la Nouvelle Russie without having been able to reconcile
+ourselves to the aspect of the town; and there again we encountered
+fresh disappointments. We had been told by many of our acquaintances in
+Constantinople that the hotels of Odessa were among the best in Europe;
+great, therefore, was our surprise at not finding any one of the
+commonest requisites for travellers in the one at which we stopped. No
+linen, no bells, no servants to wait on us; it was with difficulty we
+could get a carafe of water after waiting for it half an hour. Our
+single apartment looked due south, and all the furniture in it consisted
+of a bedstead, a chest of drawers, and a few chairs, without a scrap of
+curtain to mitigate the blazing sunshine that scorched our eyes. And for
+such accommodation as this we had to pay eight rubles a day. But our
+amazement reached the highest pitch, when, after giving orders to fit up
+the bedstead which made so piteous a figure in this agreeable lodging,
+we were informed by the hotel keeper that every article was charged for
+separately. "What!" I exclaimed, in great indignation, "do we not pay
+eight rubles a day?" "Certainly, madame, but accessories are never
+included in the charge for the room. But if madame don't like, there is
+no need to have a bed furnished completely. We have generals and
+countesses that are satisfied with a plain mattress." We had no desire
+to follow the example of their Excellencies, so we were obliged <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>to
+submit to our host's terms. It is fair to add, however, that
+circumstances to a certain extent justified some exorbitance of charge,
+for the Emperor Nicholas and his family were hourly expected, and the
+hotels were of course thronged with military men and strangers.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa now lays claim to a respectable rank among the towns of Europe.
+Its position on the Black Sea, the rapid increase of its population, its
+commercial wealth, and its brilliant society, all concur to place it
+next in Russia after the two capitals of the empire. Though but forty
+years have elapsed since its foundation, it has far outstripped those
+half-Sclavonic, half-Tartar cities, Kiev the holy, the great Novgorod,
+and Vladimir, all celebrated in the bloody annals of the tzars, and
+already old before Moscow and St. Petersburg were yet in existence.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa is not at all like any of the other towns in the empire. In it
+you hear every language and see all kinds of usages except those of the
+country. Nevertheless, the Russians prefer it even to St. Petersburg,
+for they enjoy greater liberty in it, and are relieved from the rigorous
+etiquette that engrosses three-fourths of their time in the capital.
+Besides this, Odessa possesses one grand attraction for the Russian and
+Polish ladies in the freedom of its port, which enables them to indulge
+their taste for dress and other luxuries without the ruinous expense
+these entail on them in St. Petersburg. Odessa is their Paris, which
+they are all bent on visiting at least once in their lives, whatever be
+the distance they have to travel. The reputation of the town has even
+passed the Russian frontiers, and people have been so obliging as to
+bestow on it the flattering name of the <i>Russian Florence</i>; but for what
+reason I really cannot tell. Odessa possesses neither arts nor artists;
+even the dilettante class is scarcely known there; the predominant
+spirit of trade leaves little room for a love of the beautiful, and the
+commercial men care very little about art. It is true that M. Vital, a
+distinguished French painter, has endeavoured to establish a
+drawing-academy under the patronage of Count Voronzof, but the success
+of his efforts may be doubted.</p>
+
+<p>The infatuated admiration of the Russians for Odessa is carried to the
+utmost extreme, and they cannot understand how a stranger can fail to
+share in it. How indeed can any one refuse to be enraptured with a town
+that possesses an Italian opera, fashionable shops, wide footways, an
+English club, a boulevard, a statue, two or three paved streets, &amp;c.?
+Barbarian taste or envy could alone behold all this without admiration.
+After all, this enthusiasm of the Russians may be easily accounted for:
+accustomed as they are to their wildernesses of snow and mud, Odessa is
+for them a real Eldorado comprising all the seductions and pleasures of
+the world.</p>
+
+<p>If you will believe the Russians, snow is a thing of rare occurrence
+there, and every winter they wonder in all sincerity at the reappearance
+of sledges in the streets. But this does not hinder the thermometer from
+remaining steadily for several months at 25&deg; or <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>26&deg; R. below zero, and
+the whole sea from becoming one polished sheet of ice; nor does it
+dispense with the necessity of having double windows, stoves, and
+pelisses, just as in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Great, therefore, is the
+surprise of the traveller, who, on the strength of its flattering
+<i>sobriquet</i>, expects to find an Italian sun in Odessa, and who meets at
+every step nothing but frost-bitten faces and sledges. Besides these
+wintry rigours, there are the hurricanes that continually desolate the
+whole region, during what is elsewhere called the fine season. And these
+vicissitudes of the atmosphere are aggravated by another evil still more
+distressing, the dust, namely, which makes the town almost uninhabitable
+during a part of the year. Dust is here a real calamity, a fiend-like
+persecutor, that allows you not a moment's rest. It spreads out in seas
+and billows that rise with the least breath of wind, and envelop you
+with increasing fury, until you are stifled and blinded, and incapable
+of a single movement. The gusts of wind are so violent and sudden as to
+baffle every precaution. It is only at sunset that one can venture out
+at last to breathe the sea air on the boulevard, or to walk in the Rue
+Richelieu, the wide footways of which are then thronged by all the
+fashion of the place.</p>
+
+<p>Many natural causes combine to keep up this terrible plague. First, the
+argillaceous soil, the dryness of the air, the force of the wind, and
+the width of the streets; then the bad paving, the great extent of
+uncultivated ground still within the town, and the prodigious number of
+carriages. The local administration has tried all imaginable systems,
+with the hope of getting rid of the dust, and has even had stones
+brought from Italy to pave certain streets, but all its efforts have
+been ineffectual. At last, in a fit of despair, it fell upon the notable
+device of macadamising the well-paved Rue Italienne and Rue Richelieu.
+The only result of this operation was, of course, prodigiously to
+increase the evil. A wood paving, to be laid down by a Frenchman, is now
+talked of, and it appears that his first attempts have been quite
+successful.</p>
+
+<p>In order to give some idea of the violence of the hurricanes to which
+the country is subject, I will mention a phenomenon of which I was
+myself a witness. After a very hot day in 1840, the air of Odessa
+gradually darkened about four in the afternoon, until it was impossible
+to see twenty paces before one. The oppressive feel of the atmosphere,
+the dead calm, and the portentous colour of the sky, filled every one
+with deep consternation, and seemed to betoken some fearful catastrophe.
+For an hour and a half the spectator could watch the progress of this
+novel eclipse, which as yet was without a precedent in those parts. The
+thermometer attained the enormous height of 104&deg; F. The obscurity was
+then complete; presently the most furious tempest imagination can
+conceive, burst forth, and when the darkness cleared off, there was seen
+over the sea, what looked like a waterspout of prodigious depth and
+breadth, suspended at a height of several feet above the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>water, and
+moving slowly away until it dispersed at last at a distance of many
+miles from the shore. The eclipse and the waterspout were nothing else
+than dust, and that day Odessa was swept cleaner than it will probably
+ever be again.</p>
+
+<p>During the winter the dust is changed into liquid mud, in which the
+pedestrian sinks up to mid-leg, and in which he might soon drown
+himself, if his humour so disposed him. A long pole to take soundings
+with, would not come amiss to one who had to steer his course between
+the slimy abysses with which some streets are filled. Formerly, that is
+to say some fifteen years ago, ladies used to repair to the ball-room in
+carts, drawn each by a numerous team of oxen. At present the principal
+streets are paved and lighted, and one may proceed to an evening party
+in a rather more elegant equipage; but the poor pedestrian,
+nevertheless, finds it a most difficult task to drag his feet out of the
+adhesive mud that meets him whichever way he turns; those, therefore,
+who have no carriages in Odessa, are obliged to live in absolute
+solitude. The distances are as great as in Paris, and the only vehicle
+for hire is what is called in Russia a droshky; that is to say, a sort
+of saddle mounted on four wheels, on which men sit astride, and ladies
+find it very difficult to seat themselves with decorum. The droshky
+affords you no protection from either mud, dust, or rain, and at most is
+only suitable to men of business and Russians, who never go out of doors
+without their cloaks, even in the height of summer.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa contains no remarkable building. In many private houses and in
+most of the corn warehouses, a lavish use has been made of the Greek
+style of architecture, which accords neither with the climate, nor above
+all with the materials employed. All those columns, pediments, and
+regular fa&ccedil;ades, with which the eye is so soon satiated, are in plaster,
+and they begin to spoil even before the building is finished. The
+mouldings must be renewed every year, and notwithstanding this care,
+most of the houses and churches have an air of dilapidation, that makes
+them resemble ruins rather than palaces and temples. The cathedral
+itself has nothing to distinguish it but its bulk. One must not look for
+the rules of architecture, or for elegance of form, or pleasing details
+in the religious edifices. They are monotonous in character, and shabby
+in structure and fittings. Their interiors are glaring with pictures and
+gilding, but all in the spurious taste of the Lower Empire. The
+oddly-accoutred saints, the biblical scenes so grotesquely travestied,
+the profusion of tinsel, and the reds, greens, and blues, laid one upon
+the other, in the coarsest discordance, far too disagreeably shock the
+sight to inspire any serious and pious thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa has also some synagogues, a Catholic church, and one or two
+Protestant places of worship, which from their humble appearance might
+rather be taken for private houses. It has but one promenade, the
+Boulevard, which overlooks the whole harbour, and is exposed, from its
+situation, to frequent landslips. The vicinity of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>this promenade is the
+most fashionable quarter. The theatre, the exchange, the mansions of
+Count Voronzof and the Princess Narishkin; a line of very elegant
+houses, and the throng of carriages, all bespeak the presence of the
+aristocracy. Workmen have been employed for the last two or three years
+in constructing a gigantic staircase, to lead by a very gentle descent
+from the Boulevard to the sea-beach. This expensive and useless toy, is
+likely to cost nearly forty-thousand pounds. It is intended to be
+ornamented with vases and statues; but some considerable fissures
+already give reason to fear the speedy destruction of this great
+staircase, which after all can never be of any use, except to the
+promenaders on the Boulevard.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">THE IMPERIAL FAMILY IN ODESSA&mdash;CHURCH MUSIC&mdash;SOCIETY OF THE
+PLACE, COUNT AND COUNTESS VORONZOF&mdash;ANECDOTE OF THE COUNTESS
+BRANISKA&mdash;THE THEATRE&mdash;THEATRICAL ROW.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The brilliant f&ecirc;tes that took place on the arrival of the imperial
+family, happened most opportunely for us, and enabled us to see many
+celebrated personages. All the foreigners of distinction who had been
+present at the famous review of Vosnecensk, followed the emperor to
+Odessa, and prolonged their stay there after his departure. The whole
+town was in revolution. The houses of dubious colour were most carefully
+re-coated, and even old tumbling walls were plastered and coloured. Te
+Deum was chanted in the cathedral the day their majesties arrived; the
+emperor and his eldest son attended, and were met at the great doors by
+the whole Russian clergy dressed in their richest robes, and headed by
+the archbishop. The emperor was accompanied by a long-train of courtiers
+and officers, whose golden embroideries and glittering decorations vied
+in splendour with the magnificent costumes of the popes and choristers.
+The Te Deum appeared to me incomparably beautiful. Whoever would know
+the full power of harmony, should hear the religious music of the
+Russians. The notes are so full, so grave, of such thrilling sweetness,
+and such extraordinary volume, and all the voices, seeming as though
+they issued from the depths of the building, accord so admirably with
+each other, that no language can express the effect of that mighty music
+and the profound emotion it excites. I had often heard enthusiastic
+accounts of the Russian church-singing, but all fell far short of what I
+then heard. After the Te Deum the archbishop presented his episcopal
+ring to the tzar and the grand duke, who kissed it respectfully. The
+imperial party then left the cathedral, which was filled with clouds of
+incense. The vast throng, assembled in front of the building, dispersed
+in silence, without <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>pressure or confusion; and the interference of the
+Cossacks, appointed to maintain order, was not for a moment requisite.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening there was a grand illumination, the empress held a
+drawing-room, and there was an extraordinary representation at the
+theatre, at which the whole imperial family was present. It was noticed
+that during the whole evening, the emperor sat behind the empress and
+did not once advance to the front of the box. There was therefore not a
+single hurrah, but every one seemed to affect ignorance of his majesty's
+presence. Next day the merchants gave a grand ball to the imperial
+family. It was a very brilliant assemblage: the exchange-rooms were all
+full of Highnesses and Excellencies, and the poor merchants cut but a
+sorry figure amongst all the embroidered uniforms, the wearers of which
+elbowed and pushed them aside contemptuously. With an excessive devotion
+to etiquette, they had adopted knee-breeches, cocked-hats, and a
+<i>soi-disant</i> uniform, with swords at their sides; but this costume was
+far less becoming than the black dress which they would certainly have
+done better in retaining. A boudoir all lined with vines had been
+constructed for the empress, and the fine clusters of grapes hung from
+the branches as if to invite her royal hand to pluck them.</p>
+
+<p>The imperial family remained but five or six days in Odessa, and then
+proceeded in a steamer to the Crimea. Their presence in the town
+produced on the whole a very favourable impression.</p>
+
+<p>It remains for us to say a few words respecting the society to be met
+with in Odessa. It consists of so many heterogeneous elements, that it
+possesses no distinctive character of its own; French, Germans,
+Russians, English, Greeks, and Italians, all bring to it their
+respective opinions, habits, language, interests, and prejudices. The
+Countess Voronzof's drawing-rooms are the general rendezvous of that
+aristocratic, commercial, and travelling world, which is to be found in
+similar admixture only in some of the towns of Italy. The same confusion
+prevails among the women; the noble and proud Narishkin may be seen
+there side by side with a broker's wife: pure blood, mixed blood, all
+shades, all tones, all possible physiognomies are there assembled
+together.</p>
+
+<p>Count Voronzof is a veritable <i>grand seigneur</i>, and spends more than
+&pound;6000 a year in pomps and entertainments. His name, his immense fortune,
+and his influence at court give him the predominance over most of the
+emperor's favourites. Brought up in England, where his father was
+ambassador for more than forty years, he seems more an Englishman than a
+Russian, and has retained nothing of his nationality except his devoted
+loyalty to the emperor, and the exquisite politeness that distinguishes
+the Russian nobles. His talents, his affability, and great facility of
+character, secure him numerous admirers amongst the Odessians and
+foreigners. Nicholas could not have made a better choice than in
+selecting him for governor of New Russia. His sumptuous tastes and vast
+wealth give great <i>&eacute;clat</i> to the rank he fills, and put him on a par
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>with the most magnificent lords of Europe. His wife is the daughter of
+the celebrated Countess Braniska, whose gigantic fortune was long an
+object of astonishment to the Russians themselves. She died but recently
+at the age of ninety-five, leaving her immense fortune to her only son,
+with the exception only of a fourteenth part, which was all that
+devolved, according to the laws of Russia, on her two daughters. Her
+avarice was as notorious as her wealth, and stories are told of her,
+that far out-do all that is related of the most famous misers. I will
+mention but one of them, the authenticity of which was warranted to me
+by an eye-witness.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Dantz, one of our friends, having had occasion to call on the
+countess, on matters of business, left his britchka in a court-yard of
+her house, in which there was some cattle. A large bundle of hay,
+intended for his horses, was hung behind the carriage, according to the
+usual custom in Russia. Being shown into a room that looked out into the
+court-yard, he became engaged in a brisk discussion with the countess,
+who would not yield to any of his arguments, and soon losing patience
+rose, as if to put an end to the interview, and walked to a window. But
+no sooner had she looked down into the court-yard than she again took up
+all the points of the discussion, one after the other, seeming
+half-disposed to yield, and keeping Mr. Dantz in suspense for more than
+a half an hour. Exceedingly puzzled by this sudden change in the lady's
+temper, which he knew not how to account for, he narrowly watched all
+her movements, and observed that from time to time she cast a rapid
+glance into the court-yard; whereupon he went with affected carelessness
+to the window, and what did he see? Two or three horribly lean cows
+busily devouring the hay behind his carriage. The countess had prolonged
+the interview in order to gain time for her cows to feed at her
+visitor's expense; and, accordingly, as soon as the last blade of hay
+was eaten up, she resumed all her stateliness, cut short the discussion
+with a word, and gave Mr. Dantz his cong&eacute;.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa is a town of pleasure and luxury, where the ladies, it is said,
+ruin their husbands by their profusion and extravagant love of dress. In
+addition to the balls, concerts, and soir&eacute;es of all sorts, performances
+for the benefit of the poor are given every year in the great theatre,
+by the <i>court</i>, as the Countess Voronzof's establishment is called. All
+the <i>&eacute;lite</i> of Odessa, take part in these amusements, which bring in
+considerable sums. The countess at first set the example, by herself
+performing a part; but an order from the emperor forbade her thus
+exhibiting in public, and since that time she confines herself to the
+business of managing behind the curtain. The house is always well
+filled, and each performance brings in four or five thousand rubles. The
+skill displayed by these noble actors is not to be surpassed by any
+professional company; but this is not surprising, for every one knows in
+how high a degree the Russians possess the talent for imitation;
+whatever they see they mimic with ease, and without preparation. It is
+needless to add that the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>performances are in French, and that the
+pieces are taken from our stock. M. Scribe is almost the sole
+contributor. Nowhere, perhaps, is our witty vaudevillist so much prized
+as in Russia.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa possesses the only Italian theatre in Russia. The company is
+generally well composed, and gives, during the whole year, performances,
+which are but scantily attended, notwithstanding the passionate
+admiration which the Odessians affect for Italian music. It is only in
+the bathing season, when the Poles fill the town, that the house
+presents a somewhat more animated appearance. All the rest of the year
+the boxes are almost deserted, and the Jews alone frequent the pit. In
+1840, Mademoiselle Georges entered into a six months' engagement with
+the manager of the Odessa theatre, and arrived with a numerous company,
+including some really superior actors. Yet, notwithstanding her European
+celebrity and her ample <i>repertoire</i>, she would scarcely have covered
+her expenses, but for the strenuous exertions of her quondam admirer,
+General N., who welcomed her as though fifteen years had not interrupted
+their liaison, and placed his mansion, his equipages, his purse, and his
+credit, at her disposal, with all the chivalric gallantry of a Russian
+magnifico.</p>
+
+<p>But all his efforts were unable to reverse the very unfavourable
+sentence which public opinion had, from the first, pronounced upon his
+prot&eacute;g&eacute;. Notwithstanding the superior talent with which she still plays
+certain parts, she was appreciated but by a very small number of
+persons; and she left Odessa with sentiments of deep disdain for a
+public that so much preferred the paltriest vaudeville to all her bursts
+of passion as to make almost open war upon her. A thing till then almost
+unheard-of in Russia took place at the last performance of the French
+company: a regular cabal was formed, attended with an explosion of very
+stormy passions. The whole town was divided into two factions, the one
+for Mademoiselle Georges, the other for M. Montdidier, one of her best
+actors. Our tragedy queen, it is said, was exceedingly jealous of this
+preference, and lost no opportunity of mortifying her rival.
+Accordingly, she purposely selected for the last performance, two pieces
+in which he had no part. The public, greatly dissatisfied at not seeing
+the name of their favourite actor in the bills, repaired to the theatre
+in an ill-humour, of which they soon gave very intelligible symptoms.
+Things passed off, however, tolerably well until the end of the last
+piece; but then there was a call for Montdidier, which was taken up, and
+vehemently sustained by the whole pit, notwithstanding all the efforts
+of the police, General N's coterie, and the presence of the
+governor-general. This incident which had been altogether unforeseen by
+the managers, caused them extreme perplexity; no one knew where
+Montdidier was to be found. At last, seeing the row increase, Count
+Voronzof himself ordered the commissioner of police to go to
+Montdidier's hotel, and fetch him alive or dead. The commissioner found
+him fast asleep, and quite unconscious of all the agitation he was
+causing in the theatre. He hurried thither, and was proceeding to show
+himself on <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>the stage, but was stopped by the whole company with
+Mademoiselle Georges at their head, under pretext that such a course
+would be an infraction of all the rules of the theatre. In short, there
+was, for a while, an indescribable tumult. The whole pit stood up and
+never ceased shouting until they saw Montdidier rush on the stage, with
+his dress in a state of disorder that showed what a hard battle he had
+sustained behind the scenes. The angry shouts were now succeeded by an
+explosion of applause; the boxes rang with prolonged bravos, and even
+Count Voronzof himself was seen clapping his hands and laughing with all
+his might. The whole audience seemed to have lost their wits. General
+N., quite disconcerted, slunk back into the rear of his box, and said to
+one of his friends as he pointed to the stage, "Look at those Frenchmen;
+they have only to show themselves to upset all established usages and
+principles. They bring with them disorder, rebellion, and the spirit of
+revolution; and the contagion soon spreads even among the most sensible
+people." In truth nothing of the kind had ever before been seen in
+Odessa; and all the jealousies of the <i>primissime donne</i> had never
+caused the twentieth part of the confusion that marked that memorable
+night.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">COMMERCE OF THE BLACK SEA&mdash;PROHIBITIVE SYSTEM AND ITS
+PERNICIOUS RESULTS&mdash;DEPRESSED STATE OF AGRICULTURE&mdash;TRADE OF
+ODESSA&mdash;ITS BANK.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>From the destruction of the Genoese colonies in the Crimea, in 1476,
+down to the treaty of Kainardji, a period of 300 years, the Black Sea
+remained closed against the nations of the West, and was the privileged
+domain of Turkey. Its whole coast belonged to the sultans of
+Constantinople, and the khans of the Crimea. The Turks, and the Greeks
+of the Archipelago, subjects of the Ottoman Porte, had the sole right of
+navigating those waters, and all the commerce of Europe with that
+portion of the East was exclusively in the hands of the latter people.
+The conquests of Peter the Great, and subsequently those of the
+celebrated Catherine II., changed this state of things. The Russians
+advanced towards the south, and soon made themselves masters of the Sea
+of Azof, the Crimea, and all the northern coasts of the Black Sea.
+Nevertheless, it was not until July 21, 1774, after six consecutive
+campaigns, and many victories achieved by the Russians, by sea and land,
+that the treaty of Kainardji was signed, which by throwing open the
+Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, effected a real revolution in the
+commercial relations of Europe, and definitively secured to Russia that
+immense influence which it exercises to this day over the destinies of
+the East. The treaty of Kainardji ere long received a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>more ample
+extension. Austria, France, and successively all the other powers,
+partook in the advantages of the Black Sea navigation. Russia was,
+therefore, justly entitled to the gratitude of Europe, for the new
+channels she had opened to its commerce.</p>
+
+<p>Once mistress of the Black Sea, and free to communicate with the
+Mediterranean, Catherine earnestly applied herself to the foundation of
+a port, which should be at once military and commercial. The mouth of
+the Dniepr, one of the largest rivers of Russia, at first attracted her
+attention. General Hannibal founded the town of Kherson upon it, in
+1788, by her orders; and in 1783, a Frenchman, afterwards ennobled by
+Louis XVI., established the first foreign commercial house there, and
+contracted to supply the arsenals of Toulon with the hemp and timber
+conveyed down the Dniepr. Kherson, however, did not prosper as might
+have been expected. The empress's intentions were defeated by the
+exigencies of the system of customs prevailing in the empire, and it was
+impossible to obtain for the port of Kherson the franchises so necessary
+for a new town, and for the extension of its commerce.</p>
+
+<p>The dismemberment of Poland gave a new turn to Catherine's commercial
+ideas. The port of Kherson was abandoned, or nearly so, in 1796, and the
+preference was given to Odessa, which, by its more western position,
+considerably facilitated the exportation of agricultural produce,
+wherein consisted the chief wealth of the palatinates of Podolia,
+Volhynia, and the other provinces newly incorporated with the Russian
+possessions. No change, however, was made in the system of customs, and
+it was not until 1803, in the reign of Alexander, that a reduction of
+one-fourth was made in the duties imposed by the general tariff on all
+exports and imports in the harbours of the Black Sea. In 1804, Odessa
+was made an entrep&ocirc;t for sea-borne goods, the entrance of which was
+permitted into Russia. They might remain there in bond for eighteen
+months; a favour which was the more important at that period, because,
+as the import duties were considerable, the merchants would have been
+obliged to draw heavily on their capital, had they been obliged to
+defray them at once. An ukase of the 5th of March, in the same year,
+allowed transit, free of duty, to all foreign goods which were not
+prohibited in Odessa, or which arrived there from other towns of Russia;
+such goods if destined for Moldavia and Wallachia, were to pass through
+the custom-houses of Mohelef and Dubassar; for Austria, through those of
+Radzivilof; for Prussia, through those of Kezinsky; and foreign goods
+sent through these four establishments to Odessa, were allowed free
+transit there by sea. These liberal and very enlightened arrangements
+vastly augmented the prosperity of Odessa, and soon attracted the
+attention of all speculators to that port.</p>
+
+<p>About the year 1817 an increased duty was laid on all foreign goods in
+the Black Sea; but at the same period Odessa was definitively declared
+to be a free port, without restriction. Things <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>continued thus until
+1822; and it was during this interval that all those great foreign
+houses were established in Odessa, some of which exist to this day. The
+commerce of Southern Russia had then reached its apogee. After the long
+wars of the French empire the agriculture of Europe was in a very
+depressed condition, and it was necessary to have recourse to Russia for
+the corn which other countries could not raise in sufficient quantity
+for their own subsistence. Odessa thus became, under the wise
+administration of the Duc de Richelieu, one of the most active
+commercial cities of eastern Europe; its population increased
+prodigiously; the habits induced by prosperity gave a new stimulus to
+its import trade, and every year hundreds of vessels entered its port to
+take in agricultural freights of all kinds.</p>
+
+<p>Dazzled by this commercial prosperity, till then unexampled in Russia,
+and, doubtless believing it unalterably established, the government then
+chose to return to its prohibitive system, and, whether through
+ignorance or incapacity, the ministry deliberately ruined with their own
+hands the commercial wealth of Southern Russia. In 1822, at the moment
+when it was least expected, an ukase suppressed the freedom of the port
+of Odessa, and made it obligatory on the merchants to pay the duties on
+all goods then in the warehouses. This excited intense alarm, and as it
+was totally impossible to pay immediately such enormous duties as those
+imposed by the general tariff of the empire, the merchants remonstrated
+earnestly and threatened, all of them, to commit bankruptcy. The
+governor of the town, dismayed at the disasters which the enforcement of
+the law would occasion, took it on his own responsibility to delay; and
+commissioners were sent to St. Petersburg to acquaint the emperor with
+the state of commerce in Odessa. Alexander, whose intentions were always
+excellent, and who had no doubt been deceived by false reports, promptly
+annulled the ukase. The freedom of the port of Odessa was therefore
+re-established, but not to the same extent as before. Concessions were
+made to the board of customs, a fifth of the duties exacted in other
+Russian ports was imposed on goods entering Odessa, and the other
+four-fifths were to be paid on their departure for the interior. The
+limits of the free port were also considerably reduced, and two lines of
+custom-houses were formed, the one round the port, the other round the
+town. These lines still subsist.</p>
+
+<p>The victories of the board of customs did not stop here, and new
+measures, suggested and supported no doubt by fraud, were put in force.
+We have spoken of the free transit traffic through the towns of
+Doubassar, Radzivilov, and Odessa. This traffic was increasing rapidly;
+all the merchants of western Asia were beginning to take the Odessa
+route to make their purchases in the great fairs of Germany. There was
+every probability that Odessa would be one of the principal points of
+arrival and exchange for all the produce of Europe and Asia. The
+Transcaucasian provinces enjoyed very extensive commercial freedom at
+this period by virtue of an ukase promulgated, October 20, 1821.
+Redoutkal&eacute;, at the mouth of the Phasis, on the shores <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>of Mingrelia, was
+then the port to which all the goods from Leipsic were conveyed by sea;
+from thence they passed to Tiflis and Erivan, and were then distributed
+over all the adjacent countries, through Turkey, Armenia, and even as
+far as Persia. The Armenians had secured this traffic almost exclusively
+to themselves. They appeared for the first time in Odessa in 1823. The
+next year they advanced as far as Leipsic, where they bought European
+manufactures to the amount of more than 600,000 francs; in 1825 their
+purchases rose to 1,200,000 francs, and in 1826 to 2,800,000. All these
+goods were conveyed by land to Odessa, and there embarked on the Black
+Sea for Redoutkaleh. It may easily be conceived what a happy influence
+such a traffic would have exercised over the agriculture and cattle
+rearing of Southern Russia, and eventually on the prosperity of the
+population engaged in this carrying trade. But all these promising
+elements of prosperity were to be annihilated by the narrow views of the
+minister of finance. The commercial franchise of the Caucasian
+provinces, after having lasted for ten years, was suddenly suppressed on
+the first of January, 1832. The most rigorous prohibitive system was put
+in force; Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, more than 220 miles from the
+Black Sea, was made the centre of the customs administration, and all
+goods destined for that part of Asia had to pass through that town to be
+examined there and pay duty.</p>
+
+<p>By these arbitrary and exclusive measures, the government thought to
+encourage native manufactures; and by prohibiting the goods of Germany,
+France, and England, it hoped to force the productions of Russia on the
+trans-Caucasian provinces. The transit trade was, of course, proscribed
+at the same period. By a first ukase, the merchants were forced to
+deposit at the frontier in Radzivilof, double the value of their goods,
+and the money was only to be returned to them at Odessa, upon
+verification of their bales. It is obviously not to be thought of that
+merchants, however wealthy, should carry with them, in addition to the
+capital to be expended on their purchases, double the value of their
+goods <i>in transitu</i>. This new measure, therefore, was sufficient of
+itself alone to put an entire stop to the transit trade. The Persians
+and Armenians forsook this route, and chose another, to the great
+detriment of Russia. At present the value of the transit is from 180,000
+to 200,000 francs, the goods being chiefly yellow amber, sent from
+Prussia to Turkey. For a charge of fifteen francs per twenty
+kilogrammes, the Jews undertake to give security to the customs in
+title-deeds, which they hire at the rate of five or six per cent., and
+they despatch the goods directly to Odessa.</p>
+
+<p>England, always so prompt to seize opportunities, took advantage of the
+blunders of Russia. She secured a position in Trebizond, and her
+merchants, recoiling from no sacrifice, formed there an immense
+entrep&ocirc;t, from which they soon sent out the manufactures of their
+country into all the provinces of Asia. Business to the amount of more
+than 2,000,000<i>l.</i> sterling, is now carried on in Trebizond, and two
+sets of steamboats ply between it and Constantinople.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>Thus Russia lost one of the most important commercial lines in the
+world, and by her extravagant increase of duties she completely
+extinguished the lawful import trade of the Caucasian provinces. But
+English and other foreign goods still find their way there by
+contraband, and the government officers are themselves the first to
+profit by this system; for they are still more desirous than the native
+inhabitants to procure manufactured goods, and, above all, at a moderate
+price. The prohibitive measures of Russia have, therefore, really
+recoiled on the government itself, and the treasury loses considerably
+by them, not only in the Caucasus, but also on the European frontiers.
+Owing to the freedom of its port, the town of Odessa, of course, suffers
+less from the disastrous effects of this prohibitive system, and finds
+some commercial resources in its own consumption, and in that of its
+environs. Nevertheless, as this consumption, (which notwithstanding the
+contraband trade is kept in full vigour by the Jews, and even by the
+highest classes,) is out of all proportion to the exportation, and as
+there is very little exchange traffic, foreign vessels are gradually
+deserting the Black Sea; and, besides this, their charges for freight
+are necessarily too high, in consequence of their being obliged in
+almost every instance to repair in ballast to the harbours of South
+Russia. Then we must take into account the remoteness of the Black Sea;
+the dread, not yet quite effaced, with which it is regarded; the
+impossibility of finding freights anywhere except in Odessa; the
+excessive severity of the winter, and the usual obstructions of the
+harbours by ice during three or four months every year. All these things
+combine to repel mariners; so that nothing, except extraordinary
+cheapness and great profits, could induce merchants to send their
+vessels for freight to the ports of Southern Russia.</p>
+
+<p>Thus driven away by the prohibitive system of Russia, many nations are
+seeking to establish markets for their productions elsewhere. It is also
+to be remarked that agriculture has made very great progress in Europe
+since the re-establishment of peace; and consequently the exportation of
+corn from Russia has considerably diminished. Nevertheless, we are of
+opinion that Southern Russia would have lost little of its agricultural
+importance, notwithstanding its system of customs, if the government,
+instead of remaining stationary, had sincerely entered on a course of
+improvement.</p>
+
+<p>All circumstances seem to combine in New Russia to make the productions
+of the soil as economical as possible, and to enable them to compete
+successfully with those of all other countries. The soil is virgin and
+very abundant; labour is cheap and the price of cattle extraordinarily
+low; whilst serfdom, by obliging thousands of men to employ at least
+half their time for the benefit of their lords, ought naturally to tend
+to diminish the price of bread stuffs. Unfortunately the means of
+communication have been totally neglected, and the government has taken
+no steps to facilitate transport; in consequence of this the price of
+grain, instead of falling is constantly increasing, and merchants are no
+longer willing to purchase except in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>seasons of scarcity. The wheat
+sent to Odessa from Khivia, Volhynia, Podolia, and Bessarabia, arrives
+in carts drawn by oxen. The journeys are tedious, the extreme rate of
+travelling being not more than fifteen miles a day; and they are costly,
+for the carriage of a tchetvert or seven bushels of corn varies from
+four to six rubles; moreover, the transport can only be effected between
+May and September in consequence of the deplorable state of the roads
+during the other seven months of the year. The result of all this is
+that wheat, though very cheap in the provinces we have mentioned, is
+quoted at very high prices comparatively at Odessa, so as not to leave
+foreign speculators a sufficient profit to compensate for the length of
+the voyage to the Black Sea, the outlay of capital, and the enormous
+expenses caused by the quarantines to which many goods are subject.
+Besides this, Odessa is the only port that offers any facilities for
+commerce; Kherson situated in the midst of a fertile and productive
+region, is only a harbour of export, and its commerce cannot possibly
+extend; for the ships destined to take in freight at that port must
+previously perform quarantine in Odessa. All the landowners are
+therefore forced to send their produce to Odessa, if they would have any
+chance of sale. But, as we have already observed, the means of
+communication are everywhere wanting. It must, indeed, be owned that the
+construction of stone-faced roads is attended with great difficulty, for
+throughout all the plains of Southern Russia the materials, are scarce
+and for the most part of bad quality, being limestone of a friable
+character. But might not the produce of a great part of Poland, and of
+all new Russia, be conveyed to Odessa by the Pruth, the Dniestr, and the
+Dniepr?</p>
+
+<p>The only goods conveyed down the Dniestr consist at present of some
+rafts of timber and firewood from the mountains of Austrian Gallicia.
+The Russian government has repeatedly been desirous of improving the
+navigation of the river in compliance with the desire of the inhabitants
+of its banks. A survey was made in 1827, and again in 1840.
+Unfortunately all these investigations being made by men of no capacity
+led to nothing. An engineer was commissioned in 1829 to make a report on
+the works necessary for rendering the river practicable at Jampol, where
+it is obstructed by a small chain of granite. He estimated the expense
+at 185,000 francs, whereas it was secretly ascertained that 10,000 would
+be more than enough. The project was then abandoned. Thus with the best
+and most laudable intentions, the government is constantly crippled in
+its plans of amelioration whether by the incapacity or by the bad faith
+and cupidity of its functionaries. Last year the subject of the
+navigation of the Dniestr was again taken up, and it is even alleged
+that the Russian government has given orders for two steam-vessels
+destined to ply on that river.</p>
+
+<p>The works on the Dniepr are scarcely in a more forward state than those
+of the Dniestr. It is known that below Iekaterinoslaf the course of the
+river is traversed by a granite chain, which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>extends between that town
+and Alexandrof, a distance of more than fifteen leagues. At the time of
+the conquest of the Crimea and the shores of the Black Sea, it was
+proposed to render navigable the thirteen rapids that form what has been
+improperly denominated the cataracts of the Dniepr. Works were begun at
+various times, but always abandoned. They were resumed under Nicholas
+with new ardour, but the government was soon discouraged by the enormous
+cost, and, above all, by the peculations of its servants. The whole
+amount of work done up to the present time is a wretched canal 300 yards
+long, more dangerous for barges to pass through than the rapids
+themselves. This canal was finished in 1838. The works had not yet been
+resumed when we left Russia in 1841. The rapids of the Dniepr are
+therefore still as impracticable as ever, and it is only during the
+spring floods, a period of a month or six weeks, that barges venture to
+pass them; and even then it rarely happens that they escape without
+accident. More than eighty men were lost in them in 1839, and a
+multitude of barges and rafts were knocked to pieces on the rocks. The
+goods that thus descend the Dniepr consist almost exclusively of timber
+and firewood, and Siberian iron. Corn never makes any part of the cargo,
+because in case of accident it would be lost beyond recovery. But what
+will really seem incredible is, that the German colonists settled below
+the rapids, are obliged to convey their produce to the Sea of Azov in
+order to find any market for it; hence the greater part of the
+government of Iekaterinoslaf, and those of Poltava and Tchernikof,
+watered by the Dniepr, are in a perpetual state of distress, though they
+have wheat in abundance; and the peasants sunk into the deepest
+wretchedness, are compelled every year to make journeys of 300 miles,
+and often more, to earn from six to seven francs a month in the service
+of the landowners on the borders of the Black Sea. The eastern part of
+the government of Iekaterinoslaf profits by the vicinity of the Sea of
+Azov, and tries to dispose of its corn in Taganrok, Marioupol, and
+Berdiansk, a port newly established by Count Voronzof.</p>
+
+<p>This general survey of the means of transport possessed by Russia, is
+enough to show that the corn-trade of these regions owes its vast
+development in a great measure to fortuitous circumstances; and that the
+absence of easy communication, and the prohibitive system, both tend to
+bring it down lower and lower every year. Here follows a statement of
+the price of corn at Tulzin, one of the least remote points of Volhynia,
+and the cost of carriage to Odessa, during the years 1828-30, and 1839,
+40, 41.</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 028">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" width="60%">1828-30.</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="20%">Rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="20%">1839-40-41.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Price of 100 kilogrammes of wheat on the spot</td>
+  <td class="tdc">15.30</td>
+  <td class="tdc">63.70</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cost of carriage to Odessa</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;1.56</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;2.50</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Export Duties</td>
+  <td class="tdc" style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;0.39</td>
+  <td class="tdc" style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;0.39</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">Total&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc">17.25</td>
+  <td class="tdc">66.59</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">Or&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>15.s.9d.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>61s.3d.</i></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>From this table we see that prices rose remarkably during the latter
+years. We must remark, however, that the years 1828-29-30, were
+unusually productive, and the prices prevailing in them are by no means
+an average. But it is altogether obvious that with such prices, and an
+absolute blank in importation, the commerce of Southern Russia must
+necessarily perish. In 1841, the merchants could only offer the masters
+of merchant vessels two-and-a-half francs per sack for freight to
+Marseilles, while the latter can hardly realise any profit even at the
+rate of four francs. For Trieste they offered only twenty, and even
+eighteen kreutzers, whereas not less than sixty will yield any
+remuneration. Ship owners will not henceforth be tempted to visit Odessa
+in quest of gain. The English alone have obtained tolerable freights.</p>
+
+<p>To all these causes of ruin are to be added the enormous charges to
+which merchants are subject; those of the first class pay 300 rubles for
+their licence, always in advance; the postage charges for letters are
+exorbitant; there are persons whose yearly correspondence costs 10,000,
+15,000, 20,000 rubles. An ordinary letter to London pays seven and even
+eight rubles. Again, the great merchants not choosing to sit idle, keep
+up the high prices by their purchases: they may no doubt gain
+occasionally by these speculations, but they generally lose. Witness the
+disasters and failures of the year 1841. What chance of prosperity can
+there be for a trade that at the moment of the departure of the goods,
+hardly ever promises any profit at the current prices in the place of
+destination, and which consequently lives only on the hope of an
+eventual rise? How will it be with it in a few years, when the canals
+and railroads projected in Germany, shall have been finished? At this
+day the wheat of Nuremberg and Bamberg, reaches England by way of
+Amsterdam.</p>
+
+<p>But without going so far, Southern Russia now sees growing up against it
+in the Black Sea a competition, which is daily becoming more formidable.
+The principalities of the Danube, have made immense progress in ten
+years, in consequence of the franchises and privileges bestowed on them
+by the treaty of Adrianople. Galatz and Ibra&iuml;la, now furnish a
+considerable quantity of corn to the foreigner; and in spite of the
+disadvantages of having to ascend the Danube, masters of vessels now
+prefer repairing to those ports on account of their administrative
+facilities, and above all by reason of the commercial resources which
+importation offers there. In 1839, Marseilles bought more than 4000
+hectolitres of wheat in the markets of Galatz and Ibra&iuml;la, whilst the
+port of Odessa hardly supplied it with twice that quantity. We will
+return by and by to the question of the Danube, when we come to speak of
+Bessarabia.</p>
+
+<p>Another measure fatal to the corn-trade, was the decision of the
+government with respect to the confiscated lands of the Poles. After the
+revolution of 1831, more than 423,000 peasants were sequestrated to the
+crown. These peasants occupied extremely fertile regions lying very near
+Odessa: Ouman, the property of Alexander Potocki, made part of them. The
+government <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>committed the management of these lands to public servants,
+selected chiefly from among the retired veteran officers, or those who
+had been incapacitated for service by their wounds. Under such
+management, pillage and the most utter neglect were the order of the
+day, and the consequence was, that the lands produced literally nothing
+to the crown, and served only to enrich their administrators. Weary of
+this disorder, the government determined in 1836 to detach nearly 93,000
+peasants from these lands, and incorporate them with the military
+colonies. Nor did it stop there, but under pretext of removing all
+opportunity for extortion on the part of its servants, it issued an
+order in 1840, confining the new colonists to the cultivation of oats
+and barley, and forbidding them to sow wheat for exportation. These
+regulations, occasioned by the general corruption of the public
+servants, which the imperial will is powerless to check, produced
+melancholy results for the trade of Odessa, and that town was suddenly
+deprived of the agricultural produce it used to draw from the fertile
+soil of Ouman.</p>
+
+<p>We must now enter into some considerations, bearing more immediately on
+Odessa itself. The credit that town enjoys abroad is extremely limited
+by the inordinate privileges of the imperial bank. In cases of
+bankruptcy, that establishment is entitled to disregard all competing
+claims, and to pay itself immediately by the sale of the real and
+personal property of its debtor, without reference to his other
+creditors; it is entitled to pay itself: 1st. the capital lent; 2nd. A
+surcharge of eight per cent., called re-exchange, arising out of the
+cost of brokerage and renewal of bills every three months; and, 3rd.
+Interest on the capital and surcharge, at the rate of 1-1/2 per cent,
+per month, until the whole debt is liquidated. The fatal effects of such
+a system may easily be conceived; the merchants of Odessa can seldom
+establish a credit with foreign houses.</p>
+
+<p>As for the uses of the bank, they consist: 1st. In discounting town
+bills that have not more than four months to run; 2nd. In making
+advances on goods; 3rd. In serving as a bank of deposit for the
+mercantile houses; 4th. In giving drafts on the other banks of the
+empire, and paying their drafts on itself; 5th. In receiving deposits on
+interest.</p>
+
+<p>The drafts were of great use in commerce, particularly for the payments
+between St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa: the charge upon them was a
+quarter per cent., whilst the conveyance of money through the post costs
+one per cent., besides postage. This convenient system was unfortunately
+put an end to in 1841. The charge on drafts now amounting to five per
+cent., operations of this kind have consequently become impossible. It
+was, probably, with a view to the revenues of the post-office, that this
+sage measure was adopted by the minister of finance.</p>
+
+<p>Every one knows, that in order that a bank of discount should carry on
+business profitably for itself and for the commerce it is intended to
+assist, it must deal only in genuine commercial bills. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>Merchants
+recognise as genuine and discountable bills, only those drawn by other
+places for banking operations, and home bills drawn in consideration of
+goods sold for payment at a determinate future date. Now the Odessa bank
+not being a bank of issue, does not practise acceptance properly so
+called; Constantinople is almost the only town that draws on Odessa, and
+that but for small amounts, and as these acceptances are at twenty-one
+days' date, they are rarely discounted. Sales of goods for bills are
+also seldom practised, and from all we could learn, we believe they make
+but a very small part of the business of the Odessa bank. Goods are
+generally bought in that town on trust and without bills.</p>
+
+<p>On what bases then have the operations of the Odessa bank hitherto
+rested? Rather, we are disposed to think, on fictitious than on real
+commerce. From its first establishment, the bank, strong in its
+privileges, thought to serve trade by encouraging discounts; and the
+facilities it afforded, induced many persons to avail themselves of this
+means of credit. Every one in Odessa knows how many disasters have been
+the consequence. Suppose a merchant wished to make a speculation, to buy
+for instance, a ship-load of wheat, amounting to 12,000<i>l.</i>; if he had
+only 80,000 or 100,000 rubles capital, he obtained the indorsement of
+one or more of his friends, and the bank immediately advanced him the
+whole sum necessary, at three months. The merchant was, therefore,
+forced to dispose of his goods as fast as possible, in order to meet his
+engagements with the bank: clogged and disturbed in his operations, and
+fearing lest he should involve his friends, he must often have incurred
+great losses, and after a few similar speculations, his ruin, and that
+of his friends were inevitable. Such has been the fate of many a
+merchant, in consequence of the unfortunate facility they found in
+obtaining money. The bank ought to have been aware, that instead of
+genuine commercial bills, it was discounting mere accommodation paper,
+and that there is an immense difference between discount for the
+realisation of business actually done, and discount for the realisation
+of business yet to be done. Unquestionably, the bank ought to have
+modified its system, after seeing the mischiefs it led to; but it has
+persisted in its original course, and were it to desist from it without
+a radical change of institutions, the operations of an establishment
+constructed on so vast a scale would become quite insignificant.</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto, then, the bank of Odessa has completely failed to answer the
+purpose for which it was founded; it has done infinitely more harm than
+good to trade, and its enormous privileges have, moreover discredited
+Odessa abroad. The abolition of these privileges could repair the errors
+and mischiefs of the first establishment. The bank would thereby be
+compelled to discount only genuine commercial paper, and to do business
+on a much smaller scale; but its operations, though restricted, would be
+but the more advantageous for itself and for commerce; every one would
+then conduct his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>business with, reasonable regard to the extent of his
+means; failures would no longer be so ruinous to creditors; and this new
+bank, in correspondence with those of St. Petersburg and Moscow, by
+continuing to make transfers as in the beginning, and by accepting
+deposits at four per cent., would suffice for all the wants of the
+place. Unfortunately, judging from the last measure adopted with respect
+to transfers, there is no hope whatever that a new bank will be
+established, or that the existing one will undergo the requisite
+reforms. Yet if the Russian government, which persists in its
+prohibitive system, wishes to avoid the complete destruction of the
+commerce of Southern Russia, it must absolutely change its line of
+conduct, it must devote its strenuous attention to the means of internal
+communication, and render the commercial transactions of Odessa as easy
+and economical as possible. What is most deplorable in Russia is, that
+the truth never finds its way to the head of the state, and that a
+public functionary would think himself undone if he disclosed the real
+state of things; hence in the memoirs, reports, and tables laid before
+the emperor, the good only is acknowledged, and the evil is always
+disguised. Once committed to this course of dissimulation and lying, the
+public functionaries render all improvements impossible; and by always
+sacrificing the future to the present, do incalculable mischief to the
+country. The question is now entertained, of depriving Odessa of its
+last franchises, and putting its port on the same footing with the other
+commercial places of the empire. If Count Cancrine has not yet succeeded
+in doing this, the town has to thank the protection and the influence of
+Count Voronzof.</p>
+
+<p>The following table shows the exports and imports at the different ports
+and custom-houses of Southern Russia, during the years 1838 and 1839,
+the value being set down in paper rubles.</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Phosphate">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="5">EXPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdctb">PORTS.</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">1838.</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">1839.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="40%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Goods.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Specie.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Goods.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Specie.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Odessa</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">38,300,872</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,730</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">48,551,077</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">54,406</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Ismael (on the Danube)</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,913,494</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">9,915</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,793,244</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Reny (on the Danube)</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">718,040</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">50,773</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">609,541</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">77,745</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">In Bessarabia</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Novoselitza</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,978,172</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">163,868</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,277,660</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">81,868</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Skouliany</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">829,602</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">525,638</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">737,462</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">540,618</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Leovo</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">96,832</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">58,906</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">36,709</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Tagranok</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">7,666,943</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">8,219,648</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Marioupol</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">4,152,710</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">6,808,526</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Berdiansk</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,971,426</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">4,107,638</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kertsch</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">226,999</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">123,082</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Theodosia</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,281,244</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">955,108</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Eupatoria</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">9,299,365</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,394,867</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Balouclava</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">64,435,699</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">814,461</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">78,637,759</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">793,346</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="5">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="5"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
+                                   IMPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdctb">PORTS.</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">1838.</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">1839.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="40%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Goods.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Specie.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Goods.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Specie.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Odessa</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">17,483,635</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,825,258</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">19,297,201</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,992,799</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Ismael (on the Danube)</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">253,697</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,632,996</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">238,996</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">820,035</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Reny (on the Danube)</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">50,193</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">797,497</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">85,429</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">553,174</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">In Bessarabia</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Novoselitza</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">221,324</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,939,604</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">245,198</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,048,064</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Skouliany</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">222,507</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">497,200</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">195,088</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">721,015</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Leovo</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">52,336</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">29,932</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">55,664</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">26,291</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Taganrok</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">5,887,901</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,415,596</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">5,334,369</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,885,279</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Marioupol</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">300</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">640,660</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">987</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,515,525</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Berdiansk</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">300</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">768,722</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">987</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">825,113</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kertsch</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">{&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;175,321</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">{&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;250,887</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Theodosia</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">{&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;673,535</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,678,658</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">{&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;695,130</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,891,947</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Eupatoria</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">{&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;185,480</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">{&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;131,222</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Balouclava</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">6,605</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">25,212,834</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">13,226,132</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">26,520,171</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">16,281,242</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total of Duties</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">25,212,834</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">8,492,074</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">26,520,171</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">8,215,426</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>The foreign goods that entered the interior of the empire in 1839, by
+way of Odessa, amounted in value to 9,130,148 paper rubles, which,
+curiously enough, was not even half the total importation of that port.
+From this we may judge of the consumption of Odessa, and at the same
+time of the extent of the contraband trade.</p>
+
+<p>From these tables we see that there is no equilibrium in the trade of
+Odessa. Southern Russia absorbs every year more than 15,000,000 of
+foreign specie, and its exports are treble its imports. It is evident
+that such a trade rests on no solid basis; that its prosperity is due
+only to accidental circumstances, and that ships will gradually abandon
+the Black Sea, and seek some other destination, wherever agriculture
+flourishes, and is accompanied by a less exclusive system of customs. In
+the present state of things, the cultivation of corn in Egypt would be
+enough to ruin immediately all the ports of Southern Russia. With such
+contingencies before it, the government of Russia ought to ponder well
+before obstinately persevering in its present system. Mariners do not
+like the northern parts of the Black Sea, and once they shall have left
+them, they will return to them no more.</p>
+
+<p>The year 1839 was most memorable in the commercial history of Odessa.
+The exports, consisting almost entirely of corn, amounted to 48,000,000
+paper rubles. The harvests in the country had been very abundant, and as
+those of the rest of Europe were very unpromising, the demand was at
+first so encouraging that the merchants launched out into the boldest
+speculations. These were successful for a while, but disasters soon
+followed, and the houses which were supposed to have realised profits to
+the amount of millions, failed a year or eighteen months afterwards.
+Since that time trade has always been in a perilous state. In 1840,
+under the still subsisting influence of the movement of the preceding
+year, there was a diminution of 7,184,021 rubles; and in 1841 the first
+quarter alone <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>presented a decrease of 6,891,332 rubles in comparison
+with the corresponding quarter in 1840.</p>
+
+<p>On examining a general table of the exportation of Odessa, we see that
+during Napoleon's wars its commerce, completely stationary, did not
+exceed five or six millions of rubles. After the events of 1815, during
+the horrible dearth that afflicted all western Europe, the exports rose
+in 1817 to more than 38,000,000. In 1818 they fell without any
+transition to 20,000,000. During the war of 1828-29 they sank to
+1,673,000. After the treaty of Adrianople, Southern Russia, being
+encumbered with an excess of produce, the exports again rose to
+27,000,000. After this they varied from twenty to thirty, until 1839
+when they reached the highest point they ever attained, namely,
+48,000,000. We have already explained the causes of this factitious
+augmentation. From these data we see that the activity of the trade of
+Odessa has always arisen out of fortuitous circumstances, which are
+becoming more and more rare, and that it is by no means the result of
+the progressive development of agricultural resources: the country is,
+therefore, completely stationary.</p>
+
+<p>It is also easy to convince ourselves, by simple comparison, that the
+commerce of Southern Russia is far from prosperous. In 1839, the most
+productive year, the custom-houses yield but 8,215,426 rubles; and ten
+seaports distributed over more than 400 leagues of coast, together with
+three land custom-houses, show on an average but from forty-five to
+fifty-five millions of exports, and hardly a third of that amount of
+imports; whilst Trebizond alone annually sends out more than 50,000,000
+worth of English goods into the various adjoining countries.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="cen">NAVIGATION, CHARGE FOR FREIGHT, &amp;c. IN THE BLACK SEA.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Of all the seaboard of the East, the coasts of the Black Sea are those
+from which the expense of freight are the greatest. Different
+circumstances combine in producing this effect. 1. The amount of
+importation being inconsiderable, most of the vessels must arrive in
+ballast, or with a very scanty cargo. 2. The vessels are exposed to long
+delays in the Archipelago, and still more so in the Dardanelles and the
+Bosphorus. Fifty days may be taken as the average duration of the voyage
+from Marseilles, Genoa, Leghorn, or Trieste, to Odessa. It does not take
+longer to reach America from the same ports, by a voyage at once less
+difficult and more lucrative. 3. The Black Sea is situated at the
+extremity of the inland seas of Europe, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>and its coasts, which have
+little traffic, especially with each other, offer few resources to
+merchant vessels; so that if there is nothing profitable to be done at
+Odessa or Taganrok, a ship has no alternative but to take freight at
+ruinously low prices, or to return in ballast, and retrace some hundred
+miles of a route on which it has already incurred such delays. Certain
+merchants often take advantage of the distressing position of the
+masters, and for many years past, a part of the profits on some goods
+sent to the Mediterranean, has regularly consisted in the sacrifices to
+which the shipowner has been compelled. 4. The passage through the
+Straits of Constantinople subjects vessels freighted in the Russian
+ports for those of the Mediterranean, to a quarantine which, besides
+consuming from thirty-five to forty days, always entails considerable
+expense. It is generally reckoned that it takes a vessel fully six
+months to accomplish the voyage both ways between a Mediterranean port
+and Odessa, and to get <i>pratique</i> again, even supposing it to have
+tolerably favourable winds, and to obtain cargo almost immediately in
+the Black Sea, a thing which unhappily occurs very seldom. Now a
+Mediterranean brig of 275 tons, or 200,000 tchetverts' burden, has a
+crew that costs at least 800 rubles a month for wages and keep. If we
+add to this, for wear of rigging, insurance, and harbour-dues 400
+rubles, we shall have more than 1200 rubles a month for ordinary
+expenses, without reckoning what storms and other casualties may
+occasion. Thus the cost of a six months' voyage will amount to 7200
+rubles.</p>
+
+<p>Before 1838, the average price of freight in paper rubles was as
+follows:</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="60%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 035">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="5%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl" width="40%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="25%">Per Tchetvert.</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="30%">Per 2000 Tchetverts, or<br /> 275 Tons.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">For</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Constantinople</td>
+  <td class="tdc">1.40</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;2,800</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Trieste</td>
+  <td class="tdc">2.33</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;4,666</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Leghorn</td>
+  <td class="tdc">2.66</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;5,332</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Genoa</td>
+  <td class="tdc">4.25</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;8,500</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Marseilles</td>
+  <td class="tdc">2.40</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;4,800</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Holland</td>
+  <td class="tdc">5.75</td>
+  <td class="tdc">11,500</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">England</td>
+  <td class="tdc">7.00</td>
+  <td class="tdc">14,000</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>From this table it appears that the freights did not pay the ordinary
+expenses of the vessels, with the exception of those bound for England,
+Holland, and Genoa, under the Sardinian flag.</p>
+
+<p>Odessa has hardly any intercourse with the portion of the Black Sea
+coast subject to the Sultan, but it often furnishes cargoes for the
+banks of the Danube, to vessels of not more than twelve feet draught.
+These vessels usually proceed to Galatz and Ibra&iuml;la. Those which have no
+return cargo, touch at Toultcha and Isacktcha, to take in firewood;
+others ship a cargo at Galatz and Ibra&iuml;la, for Constantinople and the
+Mediterranean. Good prices for freight are generally procured in the
+Danube, particularly of late years. The progress of agriculture in the
+principalities, and the facilities met with in their ports, attract
+foreign captains, and many of them have entirely forsaken Odessa for
+Galatz.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>The government supplies, the war in the Caucasus, and private
+speculations likewise afford employment to a certain number of vessels
+between Odessa and the Russian provinces of the Black Sea, and the Sea
+of Azov. The prices of freight in these cases depend on the greater or
+less demand, but they are always kept very low by the competition of
+Kherson <i>lodkas</i> (large coasting vessels). These lodkas ply at a very
+cheap rate, but they are exposed to risks which ought to make them less
+sought after than better built and better commanded vessels. The passage
+from Odessa to Taganrok, is tedious and expensive, above all for vessels
+which are obliged to be accompanied with lighters, in order to pass the
+Straits of Kertch where the waters are low, and must then anchor in the
+Taganrok-roads, at a distance of ten from the shore. We may confidently
+estimate the voyage between Taganrok and Odessa both ways, as of two
+months' duration.</p>
+
+<p>Thus navigation is hardly more prosperous than trade itself. If it Has
+hitherto maintained a part of its activity, this must be attributed to
+the great number of vessels belonging to the Mediterranean, to the
+influence of a past period, fertile in profit, and to commercial
+routine. Nevertheless, a revolution is gradually taking place, and
+already many vessels that formerly frequented the Russian ports, have
+found means to employ themselves advantageously on the Ocean. We find
+their names mentioned in foreign journals, in the shipping intelligence
+from America and India, and it is probable they are quite as successful
+there as others that have not yet chosen to visit the coasts of Southern
+Russia.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES OF SOUTHERN
+  RUSSIA&mdash;MINERAL PRODUCTIONS&mdash;RUSSIAN WORKMEN.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>In justification of its prohibitive system, the government alleges the
+protection and encouragement it owes to native industry. Now it is
+evident that absolute exclusion cannot favour industry. The high tariff,
+it is true, seems to secure a certain market for Russian manufactures;
+but it results from it that those manufactures, being kept clear of all
+competition, are worse than stationary; for the manufacturers, whose
+number is very limited, agree among themselves to turn out exactly the
+same sort of workmanship, and in the same proportion. Moscow is now the
+centre of all the manufactures of silk, cotton, and woollen stuffs,
+shawls, &amp;c.; yet, in spite of all the privileges secured to those
+establishments by the tariff, a great number of them have failed of late
+years. Their goods have become so <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>bad that they could no longer compete
+in sale with smuggled articles. In 1840, or 1841, the emperor made a
+journey to Moscow, on purpose to preside over the meeting of
+manufacturers; but unfortunately ukases and proclamations are
+inefficient to create a body of manufacturers; the imperial desires in
+nowise altered the face of things.</p>
+
+<p>There are at this day, in Russia, two great branches of manufacturing
+industry, one of which, employing the raw materials furnished by the
+soil, such as iron, copper, and other metals, belongs properly to
+Russia, and has no need to fear foreign competition. It is true we
+cannot speak very highly of the Russian hardware and cutlery, but they
+find a sure sale, the inhabitants caring more for cheapness than
+quality. The most important manufactures of this sort are established at
+Toula, and in the government of Nijni Novgorod; the materials are
+furnished by Siberia.</p>
+
+<p>The Ural is one of the most remarkable mountain chains on the globe, for
+the extent and variety of its mineral wealth. I say nothing of its gold,
+silver, and platina ores; they add too little to the real prosperity of
+the country to call for mention here. The iron ores of Siberia are
+generally of superior quality; but as the processes to which they are
+subjected, are somewhat injudicious, the iron produced from them is
+seldom as good as it might be. The working of the iron mines has been a
+good deal neglected of late years, landowners having turned their
+attention chiefly to the precious metals; hence the prices of wrought
+and cast iron have risen considerably in Southern Russia, which employs
+those of Siberia exclusively. The carriage is effected for this part of
+the empire by land; in one direction by the Volga, the Don, and the Sea
+of Azov, in another by the Dniepr. The journeys are long and expensive,
+and often they cannot be effected at all in consequence of
+irregularities either in the arrivals, or in the river floods. The
+present price of pig-iron is from eighteen to twenty francs for the 100
+kilogrammes, and of bar-iron from forty-four to forty-five francs, in
+Kherson and Odessa. I do not know the prices at the places where the
+iron is produced, but whatever they may be, these figures show how much
+Russia has yet to do towards facilitating the means of internal
+communication. Of copper, lead, &amp;c., notwithstanding the cost of
+carriage, Russia exports a considerable quantity to foreign countries.</p>
+
+<p>Not content with these valuable sources of wealth, which alone would
+suffice for the support of a vast and truly national industry, Russia
+has thought it desirable to create for herself a manufacturing industry
+such as exists in other countries of Europe, and to arrive at this end
+she has devised a system of the most absolute prohibition. How far has
+she been successful? Of all European countries Russia is unquestionably
+placed in the most unfavourable circumstances for contending with
+foreign manufactures. Situated as she is at the extremity of Europe, she
+can only be reached by long, difficult, and expensive routes; and as her
+manufactures of stuffs, silks, &amp;c., are all concentrated in Moscow, the
+expenses of carriage are enormous. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>Thus the cottons landed in Odessa
+are first carried to Moscow, and then return, after being wrought, to
+the governments of the Black Sea. The want of capable and intelligent
+workmen is also one of the most serious obstacles to the establishment
+of manufactures; the Russian peasant is essentially agricultural, and
+knows nothing of handicraft trades, except so far as they are of service
+to him in his daily labours; and then, by constitution and by the
+effects of that long slavery that has weighed and still weighs upon him,
+his ideas are naturally contracted and can never apply themselves to
+more than a single object. The sole talent he possesses in a really
+remarkable degree is that of imitation. The black enamelled work of the
+Caucasus is admirably imitated at Toula; and at Lughan, in the
+government of Iekaterinoslaf, they make very pretty things in Berlin
+iron, copied from Prussian models. This talent for imitation is no doubt
+valuable in the workshops where they are constantly making the same set
+of things, and in the same way; but it becomes completely inefficient in
+the manufactories for piece-goods, in which there must be incessant
+innovation and improvement: hence we find all the great manufactories,
+after being at first managed by foreign superintendents and workmen,
+fall gradually into decay from the moment they are transferred to native
+hands. The Russians are essentially destitute of imagination and the
+spirit of invention; and then the proneness of the workmen to laziness
+and drunkenness cannot but be fatal to industry. The workman is always
+seeking some pretext to escape from labour; he has his own calendar, in
+which the number of holidays is doubled; these he employs in getting
+drunk, and the days following them in sleeping off his liquor. The
+result is, that he passes half the year in doing nothing, that he
+strives to sell his day's work at the dearest possible rate, and that
+the working time being thus indefinite, it is impossible to fix
+punctually the time of production. This unhappy moral condition of the
+labouring classes is the same throughout all Russia, and may be regarded
+as one of the worst evils incidental to the native industry. To these
+obstacles, proceeding from the very nature of the people, are superadded
+physical difficulties no less imperious. In France, England, and
+Germany, when any new manufacture is established, it always rests on
+other branches already in existence, and about which it has no need to
+employ itself. In Russia, on the contrary, in order to succeed in any
+branch of manufactures, it is necessary at the same time to create all
+the accessories connected with it. Every one knows what a vast quantity
+of merino and other wools Southern Russia supplies, and it would seem at
+first sight that of all manufactures that of woollen cloths ought to
+offer the fairest chances of success in that country. But it is not so:
+I have visited two or three cloth factories on the banks of the Dniepr
+belonging to foreigners, and managed by them with an ability beyond all
+praise; yet it was with the utmost difficulty and through the personal
+labour of their proprietors that they were able to subsist. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>The
+government itself, some years ago, erected at Iekaterinoslaf one of the
+largest cloth manufactories I am acquainted with; the looms were set in
+motion by two steam-engines, and several hundred workmen were employed.
+The establishment, nevertheless, was closed after three years'
+existence, and I myself saw all the materials sold at a great
+depreciation.</p>
+
+<p>The number of manufacturing establishments of all sorts in Russia
+amounted in 1839 to 6855, and that of the workmen employed to 412,931,
+not including those engaged in the mines and in the smelting-houses,
+forges, &amp;c., belonging to them. We will enumerate as the most important
+branches of Russian industry:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="68%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 039">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr" width="25%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl" width="55%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="20%">Establishments.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Manufactories of</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Cloth and Woollen Stuffs</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;606</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Silks</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;227</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Cottons</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;467</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdr">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Canvass and other Linen Goods</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;216</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Ten Yards</td>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc">1918</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" colspan="2">Tallow-melting Houses</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;554</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Manufactories of</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Candies</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;444</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Soap</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;270</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Metal Ware</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;486</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>In this table the manufactories of woollen cloths, silks, and cottons,
+together figure but as 1300; and yet it is in a great measure to the
+supposed encouragement which the government desires to afford these
+branches of industry, that Russia owes her system of customs; for
+setting aside a few objects of luxury, Russia has no need to fear
+foreign competition with regard to any other articles. Certainly, if the
+silk and cotton manufactures could exercise a beneficial influence upon
+the prosperity of the country, if they were necessary to supply the
+wants of the whole population, in that case we could to a certain extent
+understand the sentence of exclusion pronounced on foreign goods; but
+the productions of the Moscow factories are destined only for the
+aristocracy and the trading classes, and the 40,000,000 of slaves that
+constitute the European population of Russia, consume but an
+insignificant portion of them, all their clothes being wrought by their
+own hands.</p>
+
+<p>It is not surprising then that all the manufacturing establishments are
+concentrated in Moscow, that being the place where the aristocratic and
+trading part of the community exist in most considerable numbers, and
+where there is most certainty of finding customers. Everywhere else the
+chances of success would be few or none: witness Southern Russia where
+all manufacturing attempts have hitherto failed, notwithstanding the
+advantages it derives from its seaports. The three governments composing
+it reckon at this day but 2000 workmen, even including those who work in
+the rope walks and the tallow houses.</p>
+
+<p>According to authentic documents the numbers of the nobility and
+tradespeople do not exceed 3,000,000. Without a complete alteration,
+therefore, in the manners and habits of the peasants, it is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>impossible
+to hope that the manufacture of piece-goods can ever attain a great
+development, and it would have been infinitely better to have left the
+supply of these articles to importation; the imperial treasury would
+thereby have been a gainer, and more active relations with the foreigner
+would have afforded valuable guarantees for the prosperity of the
+country. But Russia suffered herself to be seduced by the most brilliant
+branch of industry of our times; she, too, wished to have her cachemires
+and her silks; and not considering that agriculture is for her the most
+lucrative, the most positive of all branches of industry, she recoiled
+from no prohibitive measure in order to favour some indigenous
+manufactures. I say again, Russia is before all things a country for the
+production of raw materials. Agriculture, including therein the breeding
+of cattle, evidently forms the basis of the national prosperity, and it
+is only by facilitating its extension and its outlets that Russia can
+hope to secure the future welfare of its people.</p>
+
+<p>If at this day the establishment of new villages in Southern Russia is
+becoming so difficult, it is not for want of land, but because the
+peasants have no means of ready transport for their produce, and because
+also the want of importation, naturally exercising a great influence
+upon the price of corn, signally restricts the demand from abroad. Is it
+not indeed deplorable to see the most fertile and productive governments
+of New Russia sunk in extreme penury by the want of roads, and by the
+culpable neglect of the administration which deprives them of the
+navigation of the rivers! Will the government at last open its eyes to
+the mischiefs of the course it is pursuing? We can scarcely hope so. All
+the commercial reports of the empire dress up things in so fair a light,
+and the public functionaries agree so well together in falsifying public
+opinion, that the emperor, beguiled by the brilliant picture incessantly
+laid before his eyes, cannot but persevere in the fatal course adopted
+by his predecessors.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">DEPARTURE FROM ODESSA&mdash;TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA&mdash;NIKOLA&Iuml;EF,
+OLVIA, OTSHAKOF&mdash;KHERSON&mdash;THE DNIEPR&mdash;GENERAL
+POTIER&mdash;ANCIENT TUMULI&mdash;STEPPES OF THE BLACK SEA&mdash;A RUSSIAN
+VILLAGE&mdash;SNOW STORM&mdash;NARROW ESCAPE FROM SUFFOCATION&mdash;A
+RUSSIAN FAMILY&mdash;APPENDIX.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>After some months' stay in Odessa, we left it in company with General
+Potier, a Frenchman by birth, to pass the winter at his country-house.
+Travelling would nowhere be more rapid than in Russia, if the
+posting-houses were a little better conducted and more punctual in
+supplying horses. The country is perfectly flat, and you may traverse
+several hundred leagues without meeting a single hill. Besides this, the
+Russian driver has no mercy on his horses; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>they must gallop
+continually, though they should drop dead under the whip. Another reason
+that contributes to the rapidity of posting, is, that there are never
+less than three or four horses yoked to the lightest vehicle. The
+general's carriage being rather heavy, we had six horses, that carried
+us along at the rate of fifteen versts (ten miles) an hour. We found the
+rooms in the posting-stations much more elegant than we had expected;
+but this was owing to the journey of the imperial family, for whom they
+had been completely metamorphosed. The walls and ceilings were fresh
+painted with the greatest care, and we found everywhere handsome
+mirrors, divans, and portraits of the emperor and empress. Thanks,
+therefore, to the transit of their majesties, our journey was effected
+in the most agreeable manner, though on ordinary occasions, one must
+make up his mind to encounter all sorts of privations and annoyances in
+a long excursion through Russia. The towns are so few, and the villages
+are so destitute of all requisites, that one is in sore danger of being
+starved to death by the way, unless he has had the precaution to lay in
+a stock of provisions at starting. The post-houses afford you literally
+nothing more than hot water for tea, and a bench to rest on. The Russian
+and Polish grandees never omit to carry with them on their journeys a
+bed with all its appurtenances, a whole range of cooking implements, and
+plenty of provisions. In this way they pass from town to town, without
+ever suspecting the unfortunate position in which the foreigner is
+placed who traverses their vast wildernesses. The latter, it may be
+said, is free to follow their example; but the thing is not so easy.
+Supposing even that he was possessed of all this travelling apparatus,
+still the expense of carriage would imperatively forbid his taking it
+with him, whereas the Russians, who generally travel with their own
+horses, may have a dozen without adding to their expenses. As for those
+who have recourse to the post, they care very little about economy, and
+provided they have a good dinner prepared by their own cooks, a soft bed
+and all other physical comforts, they never trouble themselves to
+calculate the cost. But as for the foreigner who travels in this
+country, the inconvenience I have just mentioned is nothing in
+comparison with the countless vexations he must endure, simply because
+he is a foreigner. Having no legal right to lay his cane over the
+shoulders of the clerks of the post, he must make up his mind to endure
+the most scandalous impositions and annoyances at their hands, and very
+often he will be obliged to pass forty-eight hours in a station, because
+he cannot submit to the conditions imposed on him. Neither threats nor
+entreaties can prevail on the clerk to make him furnish horses if it
+does not suit his humour. The epithet <i>particularnii tcheloviek</i> which
+is applied in Russia to all who do not wear epaulettes, and which
+signifies something less than a nobody, is a categorical reply to the
+traveller's utmost eloquence.</p>
+
+<p>Before we reached Kherson, we stopped at Nicola&iuml;ef, a pretty town, which
+has been for some years the seat of the Admiralty formerly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>established
+in Kherson, and which is daily increasing at its rival's expense. Its
+vast dockyards attract a whole population of workmen, whose presence
+swells its wealth and importance. Its position on the Bug, its new
+houses and pretty walks planted with poplars, make it the most agreeable
+town in the government. When we passed through it, a splendid ship of
+the line of three decks had just been completed, and was waiting only
+for the ceremony of being christened to take its place in the Black Sea
+fleet.</p>
+
+<p>Four or five leagues below Nicola&iuml;ef, on the right bank of the Bug, near
+its embouchure in the liman<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> of the Dniepr, are the ruins of Olvia or
+Olviopolis, a Milesian colony founded about 500 <span class="smcap">B.C.</span> There have
+been found inscriptions and medals which put the origin of these remains
+beyond all doubt. Lower down on the liman of the Dniepr, not far from
+the sea, is the fortress of Otchakov, which formerly belonged to the
+Turks, and then formed a considerable town, known by the name of Ozou.
+It was twice taken by the Russian troops on the 13th of June, 1737,
+under the command of Marshal Munich, and on the 6th of December, 1788,
+under Potemkin. At present, not a trace of the Turkish sway remains in
+the village. All the Mussulman buildings have been pulled down to give
+place to a steppe, on which some Russian cabins and about fifty
+miserable shops have been set up. The environs of Otchakov also present
+traces of the abode of the ancient Greeks. In 1833 there were found here
+a fragment of a bas-relief in tolerable preservation, a male torso, and
+an offering with an inscription from certain Greek military chiefs to
+Achilles, ruler of the Pontus.</p>
+
+<p>Otchakof was founded at the close of the fifteenth century, by Mengli
+Chere&iuml;, khan of the Crimea, on the ruins of Alektor, a little town
+belonging to a queen of the Sauromatians, and which was destroyed
+probably by the Get&aelig; at the same time as Olvia, 100 <span class="smcap">B.C.</span>
+Alektor must have possessed specimens of Greek workmanship, but they
+disappeared under the hands of the Turks, who employed them in building
+Otchakov.</p>
+
+<p>Kherson, where we arrived in the evening, retains no relics of its
+ancient opulence, or of the importance it derived scarcely fifty years
+ago from its commerce, its port, and its admiralty; at present, it
+exhibits the melancholy spectacle of a town entirely ruined; its
+population does not exceed 6000 or 8000 souls. Odessa and Nicola&iuml;ef have
+dealt it mortal blows, and it now subsists only by its entrep&ocirc;t for the
+various productions of the empire, which are conveyed to it by the
+Dniepr, and forwarded by lighters to Odessa. It has even lost its
+custom-house for imports, retaining only the privilege of exporting; and
+beside this, the vessels which take in cargo at Kherson, must first
+perform quarantine in Odessa. Fevers and the Jews are likewise
+formidable foes to its prosperity. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>Expelled from Nicola&iuml;ef and
+Sevastopol, the Israelites swarm like locusts in Kherson, and form
+almost its whole population. Nothing can be more hideous than the
+appearance of the Russian Jews. Dressed in a uniform garb, consisting of
+a long robe of black calico, fastened with a woollen girdle, canvass
+drawers, and a broad-brimmed black hat, they all present so degraded a
+type of humanity, that the eye turns from them with deep disgust. Their
+filthiness is indescribable; the entrance of a single Jew into an
+apartment is enough suddenly to vitiate the atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>We had already had occasion in Odessa to see into what an abject state
+this people is fallen in Russia; but it was not until we came to Kherson
+that we beheld them in all their vileness. What a contrast between their
+sallow faces, disgusting beards, and straggling locks, plastered flat on
+the skin, their brutified air, and crawling humility, and the easy,
+dignified bearing, the noble features, and the elegant costume of the
+Jews of Constantinople! It is impossible to bring oneself to believe
+there is any thing in common between them, that they belong to the same
+race, and have the same rules and usages, the same language and
+religion. But the cause which has produced such a difference between two
+branches of one people, is a question involving political and
+philosophical considerations of too high an order, to be discussed here;
+all we can say, is that, in seeing the Jews of Kherson, and comparing
+them with their brethren of the East, we had evidence before us of the
+depth to which governments and institutions can debase mankind.</p>
+
+<p>The streets of Kherson are thronged with these miserable Israelites, who
+carry on every kind of trade, and recoil from no species of occupation,
+provided it be lucrative. Their penury is so great, that they will run
+from one end of the town to the other for a few kopeks, and in this
+respect they are of much use to the stranger, who would be greatly
+embarrassed if they were not at hand, ready to render him every possible
+service. The moment a traveller arrives at an inn, in New Russia, he is
+beset and persecuted without ceasing by these officious agents, who
+place at his disposal their goods, their persons, all they have and all
+they have not. It is to no purpose he threatens them and turns them out
+a hundred times; they care little for abuse; and do what you will, they
+sit themselves down on the ground opposite your door, and remain there
+with imperturbable phlegm, waiting their opportunity to walk in again,
+and renew their offer. Many a time have we seen Jews thus spend four or
+five hours consecutively, without evincing the least impatience, or
+seeming to regret the waste of time they might have employed more
+profitably, and go away at last satisfied with having gained a few
+kopeks.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the government of Kherson that the plan of forming Jewish
+colonies was first tried. Several were established in the districts of
+Kherson and Bobrinetz, and in 1824 these contained nine villages, with a
+population of 8000 souls, settled on 55,333 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span><i>hectares</i> of land. All the
+new colonists are wholly exempt from taxation for ten years; but after
+the lapse of that time, they are placed on the same footing as the other
+crown peasants, except that they remain free from military service for
+fifty years.</p>
+
+<p>The colonisation of these Jews was no easy matter; at first, it was
+necessary to keep the most rigorous watch over them, to prevent them
+from leaving their villages. The colonists are all dependent on the
+governor-general of New Russia, and each of their villages is under the
+control of a non-commissioned officer of the army. I have not the least
+idea of the object for which the government founded these colonies,
+which, as far as agriculture is concerned, can be of no use to the
+country. Was its motive one of a philanthropic kind? I do not think so.
+I should rather suspect that the prospective advantages in a military
+point of view may have been the inducement, an opinion, which seems
+justified by the fact, that the Russian government has found it
+necessary, for some years past, to enrol the Jews by force in the naval
+service. The unfortunate men are chiefly employed as workmen, and I have
+seen great numbers of them in the arsenals of Sevastopol and Nicola&iuml;ef.</p>
+
+<p>The aspect of Kherson is as dismal as that of Nicola&iuml;ef is brilliant and
+lively. Nothing is to be seen but dilapidated houses and abandoned
+sites, which give it the appearance of a town devastated by war. But
+viewing it from a distance, as it rises in an amphitheatre on the banks
+of the Dniepr, with its numerous belfries, its barracks, and its
+gardens, one would be far from suspecting the sort of spectacle its
+interior presents. Above all, one cannot conceive why a town in such a
+position, with a river close at hand, navigable for ships of war, should
+have been thus abandoned; but such has been the imperial will, and
+Kherson, completely sacrificed to Odessa, now shows scarcely any signs
+of life, excepting its great wool washing establishments, which employ
+hundreds of workmen, and its retail trade, which the Jews monopolise.
+The only remains of its past greatness the town has preserved, are its
+title as capital of the government, and its tribunals. The governor
+resides in it, no doubt much against his will; but many great families
+have forsaken it on account of the fevers prevailing in it during a part
+of the year, with more fatal violence than in any other region. They are
+occasioned by the wide sheets of water left behind by the inundations of
+the Dniepr, and which, finding no issue when the river returns to its
+bed, stagnate among the reeds, until the rays of the sun are strong
+enough to make them evaporate. Fetid and pestilential exhalations then
+rise, and produce malignant and typhoid fevers that almost always prove
+mortal.</p>
+
+<p>The population of Kherson, like that of all the other towns in Southern
+Russia, is a medley of Jews, Armenians, Russians, Greeks, Italians, &amp;c.;
+a few French have been long settled there, and have acquired some
+wealth; some deal in wood, others are at the head of the wool-washing
+establishments I have already mentioned. Among <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>the latter, there is a
+Parisian, who, by dint of washing and rewashing wool, and that too on
+another's account, has managed to amass nearly 12,000<i>l.</i> in less than
+eight years. The <i>lavoirs</i> of MM. Vassal and Potier are the most
+considerable in Kherson, giving daily employment to more than 600 men.</p>
+
+<p>The Dniepr seen from Kherson, resembles a vast lake studded with
+islands; the views it presents are very beautiful, and partake very much
+of the character of maritime scenery. The estate we were going to lay on
+the other side of the river, and we had the pleasure of travelling about
+fifteen versts by water, through the labyrinth of islands, and a
+constant succession of the most enchanting views. We found horses
+waiting for us on the opposite bank, and in less than four hours we were
+at Clarofka, our journey's end.</p>
+
+<p>M. Potier, the proprietor of Clarofka, is an ex-pupil of the Polytechnic
+School, who was sent to St. Petersburg by Napoleon, with three
+colleagues, to establish a school of civil engineering. In 1812, the
+government fearing lest they should join the French, sent them away to
+the confines of China, where they were detained more than two years.
+When our troops had evacuated Russia, and the presence of these young
+men was no longer to be feared, the Emperor Alexander recalled them, and
+gave them each a pension of 6000 rubles, to indemnify them for their
+exile. From that time forth, they all made rapid progress in fortune and
+in honours. M. Potier was for a long while director of the civil
+engineering institution. He is highly esteemed by the Emperor Nicholas,
+who wished to attach him completely to his court, by conferring on him a
+post of the highest importance, but M. Potier always refused, and at
+last succeeded in obtaining permission to retire. He is the son-in-law
+of M. Rouvier, who made himself popular in Russia and even in France, by
+being the first to introduce the breed of Merino sheep into Southern
+Russia. M. Potier followed his father-in-law's example, and has more
+than 20,000 sheep on his estate.</p>
+
+<p>The estate of M. Vassal, another son-in-law and successor of M. Rouvier,
+is but a dozen versts from Clarofka. It is larger than many a German
+duchy; but instead of the fertile fields and thriving villages that
+adorn Germany, it presents to view only a vast desert with numerous
+tumuli, salt lakes, and a few sheep folds. These tumuli exact models of
+mole-hills, from ten to fifteen yards high, are the only hills in the
+country, and appear to be the burial-places of its old masters, the
+Scythians. Several of them have been opened, and nothing found in them
+but some bones, copper coins of the kings of Bosphorus, and coarse
+earthen utensils. Similar tombs in the Crimea have been found to contain
+objects of more value, both as regards material and workmanship. This
+difference is easily accounted for; the Milesian colonies that occupied
+part of the Crimea 200 years ago, spread a taste for opulence and the
+fine arts all through the peninsula; their tombs would, therefore, bear
+token of the degree of civilisation they had reached. They had a regular
+government, princes, and all the elements and accessories of a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>kingdom;
+whilst our poor Scythians, divided into nomade tribes like the Kirghises
+and Kalmucks of the present day, led a rude life in the midst of the
+herds of cattle that constituted their sole wealth.</p>
+
+<p>Agriculture could never have yielded much in these steppes, where rain
+is extremely rare in summer, where there are neither brooks nor wells
+for irrigation, and where hot winds scorch up every thing during the
+greater part of the fine season. It is only on the banks of the rivers
+that vegetation makes its appearance and the eye rests on cultivated
+fields and green pastures. There are indeed here and there a few
+depressions, where the grass retains its verdure during a part of the
+year, and some stunted trees spread their meagre branches over a less
+unkindly soil than that of the steppe; but these are unusual
+circumstances, and one must often travel hundreds of versts to find a
+single shrub. Such being the general configuration of the country, it
+may easily be imagined how cheerless is the aspect of those vast plains
+with nothing to vary their surface except the tumuli, and with no other
+boundaries than the sea. No one who is unaccustomed to that monotonous
+nature can long endure its influence. Those dreary wastes seem to him a
+boundless prison in which he vainly exerts himself without a hope of
+escape. And yet that flat and barren soil from which the eye turns away
+so contemptuously, has become a source of wealth to its present
+proprietors by the great success of the first experiments in Merino
+sheep-breeding. It was M. Rouvier, who first conceived the happy idea of
+turning the unproductive steppes into pasture. The Emperor Alexander,
+always ready to encourage liberal ideas, not only advanced the projector
+a sum of a hundred thousand rubles, but gave him even a man-of-war to go
+and make his first purchases in Spain, and on his return, granted him an
+immense extent of land, where the flocks, increasing rapidly, brought in
+a considerable fortune to M. Rouvier in a few years. His sons-in-law,
+General Potier and M. Vassal inherited it, and formed those great
+establishments of which we have spoken. Thenceforth the stock of merinos
+increased with incredible rapidity in New Russia; but an enormous fall
+in the price of wool soon occurred, and many proprietors have now reason
+to regret their outlay in that branch of rural economy, and are
+endeavouring to get rid of their flocks. The rams which fetched 500 or
+600 francs in 1834 and 1835, were not worth more than 250 or 300 in
+1841. In 1842, a landowner of our acquaintance had made up his mind to
+part with his best thorough-bred rams for 140 and even 100 francs a
+head. The exportation of wool increased, nevertheless, during the last
+years of our stay in Russia; but this was only because the landowners,
+after holding out a long while, found themselves at last constrained to
+accept prices one-half lower than those current a few years before, and
+to dispose of the wools they had long kept in their warehouses. Here was
+another instance of the disastrous consequences of the Russian
+prohibitive system; it has been as fatal to the wool-trade as to that in
+corn.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>Clarofka is a village consisting of fifteen or twenty houses, each
+containing two families of peasants. It is some distance from the farm,
+which alone contains more dwellings and inmates than the whole village.</p>
+
+<p>The steward resides in a very long, low house, with small windows in the
+Russian fashion, and an earthen roof, and standing at the edge of a
+large pond, the fetid exhalations from which are very unwholesome during
+the hot season. A few weeping-willows wave their branches over the
+stagnant water, and increase still more the melancholy appearance of the
+spot. The pond is frequented by a multitude of water-fowl, such as teal,
+gulls, ducks, pelicans, and kourlis, that make their nests in the thick
+reeds on the margin. Beside the house, according to the Russian custom,
+stand the kitchens and other offices, the icehouse, poultry-yard,
+wash-house, cellar for fruit and vegetables, &amp;c. A little further on are
+the stables and coach-houses, containing a great number of carriages,
+caleches, droshkies, and a dozen horses; other buildings, including the
+workmen's barracks, the forge, the gardener's and the miller's dwellings
+are scattered irregularly here and there. Two great wind-mills lift
+their huge wings above the road leading to the village. All this is not
+very handsome; but there is one thing indicative of princely
+sumptuousness, namely, an immense garden that spreads out behind the
+house, and almost makes one forget the steppes, so thick is the foliage
+of its beautiful alleys. One is at a loss to conceive by what miracle
+this park, with its large trees, its fine fruit, and its charming walks,
+can have thus sprung up out of the scorched and arid soil, that waits
+whole months for a few drops of water to clothe it in transient verdure.
+And indeed to create such an oasis in the heart of so barren a land,
+there needed not one miracle, but a series of miracles of perseverance,
+toil, and resolution, seconded by all the means at the disposal of a
+Russian lord. All kinds of fruit are here collected together; we counted
+more than fifty varieties of the pear in one alley. Grapes of all kinds,
+strawberries, beds of asparagus of incomparable flavour, every thing in
+short that the most capricious taste can desire, grows there in such
+abundance, that seeing all these things one really feels transported
+into the midst of regions the most favoured by nature.</p>
+
+<p>No one but a Russian lord could have effected such metamorphoses. Master
+of a whole population of slaves, he has never to pay for labour; and
+whims which would be ruinous to others, cost him only the trouble of
+conceiving them. In the dry season, which often lasts for more than five
+months, chain pumps worked by horses supply water to every part of this
+extensive garden, and thus afford what the unkind skies deny it. The
+work to be done in the spring season generally requires the labour of
+more than 200 pair of hands daily, and during the rest of the year
+three-score peasants are constantly employed in pruning the trees,
+plucking up the weeds that rapidly spring up in the walks, training the
+vines, and attending to the flowers. In return for all this expenditure
+the general has the satisfaction of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>seeing his table covered with the
+finest fruits and most exquisite preserves; and for one who inhabits a
+desert these things unquestionably have their value. On the whole
+Clarofka is a real <i>pays de cocagne</i> for good cheer: the steppes abound
+with game of every kind, from grouse to the majestic bustard. A hunter
+is attached to the farm, and daily supplies the table with all the
+delicacies of this sort which the country affords. The sea also
+contributes abundance of excellent fish. It is evident, therefore, that
+in a gastronomic point of view it would be difficult to find a more
+advantageous residence; but this merit, important as it is, fails to
+make amends for the intolerable ennui one labours under in Clarofka.
+Thanks to the garden, one may forget the steppe during the fine season;
+and then there is the amusement of fishing, and of picking up shells on
+the sea-shore, so that one may contrive to kill time passably well. But
+what are you to do in winter, when the snow falls so thickly that you
+cannot see the houses, particularly when the <i>metel</i> turns the whole
+country topsy-turvy? No language can give an idea of these <i>metels</i> or
+hurricanes. They come down on the land with such whirling and driving
+gusts, such furious and continuous tempests, such whistlings and
+groanings of the wind, and a sky so murky and threatening, that no
+hurricane at sea can be more alarming. The snow is now piled up like a
+mountain, now hollowed into deep valleys, and now spread out into
+rushing and heaving billows; or else it is driven through the air like a
+long white veil expanding and folding on itself until the wind has
+scattered its last shreds before it. In order to pass from one house to
+another, people are obliged to dig paths through the snow often two
+yards deep. Whole flocks of sheep, surprised by the tempest not far from
+their folds, and even herds of horses, have been driven into the sea and
+drowned. When beset by such dangers their instinct usually prompts them
+to cluster together in a circle and form a compact mass, so as to
+present less surface to the <i>metel</i>. But the force of the wind gradually
+compelling them forwards, they approach the shore, the ground fails
+them, and finally they all disappear beneath the waves. These tempests
+are generally succeeded by a dead calm, and an intense cold that soon
+changes the surface of the Dniepr and the sea-shore into a vast mirror.
+This is the most agreeable part of the winter. The communications
+between neighbours are renewed; sporting expeditions on a great scale,
+excursions in sledges, and entertainments within doors follow each other
+almost without interruption. Despite the intensity of the cold, the
+Russians infinitely prefer it to a milder temperature, which would put a
+stop to their business as well as to their pleasures. The great fairs of
+the empire generally take place in winter; for then the frozen lakes and
+rivers serve the inhabitants as a safe and rapid means of communication.
+In this way they traverse immense distances without quitting their
+sledges, and even without perceiving whether they are on land or water.
+Wrapped up in their furs they encounter with impunity a temperature of
+35&deg; for several <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>consecutive days, without any other auxiliaries than
+brandy and tea, which they consume in fearful quantities. During our
+winter residence in Clarofka, we had an opportunity of convincing
+ourselves that people suffer much less from cold in northern than in
+southern countries.</p>
+
+<p>In Constantinople, where we had passed the preceding winter, the cold
+and the snow appeared to us insupportable in the light wooden houses,
+open to every wind, and furnished with no other resource against the
+inclemency of the weather than a manghal, which served at best only to
+roast the feet and hands, whilst it left the rest of the body to freeze.
+But in Russia even the mujik has constantly a temperature of nearly 77&deg;
+in his cabin in the very height of winter, which he obtains in a very
+simple and economical manner. A large brickwork stove or oven is formed
+in the wall, consisting of a fireplace and a long series of quadrangular
+flues ending in the chimney and giving passage to the smoke. The fire is
+made either of <i>kirbitch</i><a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> or of reeds. When these materials are
+completely consumed, the pipe by which the flues communicate with the
+chimney is hermetically closed, and the hot air passes into the room by
+two openings made for that purpose. Exactly the same apparatus is used
+in the houses of the wealthy. The stoves are so contrived that one of
+them serves to heat two or three rooms. The halls, staircases, and
+servants' rooms, are all kept at the same temperature. But great caution
+is necessary to avoid the dangers to which this method of warming may
+give rise. I myself was saved only by a providential chance from falling
+a victim to them. I had been asleep for some hours one night, when I was
+suddenly awakened by my son, who was calling to me for drink. I got up
+instantly, and without waiting to light a candle I was proceeding to
+pour out a glass of water, but I had scarcely moved a few steps when the
+glass dropped from my hand and I fell, as if struck with lightning, and
+in a state of total insensibility. I had afterwards a confused
+recollection of cries that seemed to me to have come from a great
+distance; but for two minutes I remained completely inanimate, and only
+recovered consciousness after my husband had carried me into an icy room
+and laid me on the floor. My son suffered still more than myself, but it
+happened most strangely that my husband was not in the smallest degree
+affected, and this it was that saved us. The cause of this nocturnal
+alarm was the imprudence of a servant who had closed the stove before
+all the kirbitch was consumed; this was quite enough to make the
+atmosphere deadly. All the inmates of the house were more or less
+indisposed.</p>
+
+<p>The hothouse temperature kept up in all the apartments cannot fail to
+act injuriously on the health. For more than ten months the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>outer air
+is never admitted into the house, and foreigners are affected in
+consequence with an uneasy sense of oppression and a sort of torpor that
+almost incapacitates them for thinking. As for the Russians, who are
+habituated to the thing from their childhood, they suffer little
+inconvenience from it; nevertheless many maladies probably owe their
+origin to this artificial warmth, which is equally enervating for body
+and mind. To this cause, no doubt, we must attribute the utter absence
+of blooming freshness from the cheeks of the Russian ladies. Incapable
+of enduring the slightest change of temperature, they have not the least
+idea of the pleasure derived from inhaling the fresh air, and braving
+the cold by means of brisk exercise. But for dancing, of which they are
+passionately fond, their lives would pass away in almost absolute
+immobility, for lolling in a carriage is not what I call putting oneself
+in motion. There is scarcely any country where women walk less than in
+Russia, and nowhere do they lead more artificial lives. We had a Russian
+family for two months at Clarofka, returning from the waters of the
+Caucasus, and waiting until the sledging season was fully set in, to get
+back to Moscow. This family, consisting of a husband and wife and the
+sister of the latter, was a great godsend for us during part of the
+winter. Madame Bougainsky is a very clever young woman, equally well
+acquainted with our literary works as with our Parisian frivolities. But
+dress and play are for her the two grand concerns of life, and all the
+rest are but accessories. I do not think she went out of doors three
+times during her two months' stay in Clarofka. The habit of living in
+the world of fashion and in a perpetual state of parade had taken such
+inveterate hold on her, that, without thinking of it, she used to dress
+three or four times a day, just as if she were among the salons of
+Moscow. I learned from her that the Russian ladies are as fond of play
+as of dancing, and that many ruin themselves thereby. On the whole,
+there is little poetry or romance in the existence of Russian women of
+fashion. The men, though treating them with exquisite politeness and
+gallantry, in reality think little about them, and find more pleasure in
+hunting, smoking, gaming, and drinking, than in lavishing on them those
+attentions to which they have many just claims. The Russian ladies have
+generally little beauty; their bloom, as I have said, is gone at twenty;
+but if they can boast neither perfect features nor dazzlingly fair
+complexions, there is, on the other hand, in all their manners
+remarkable elegance, and an indescribable fascination that sometimes
+makes them irresistible. With a pale face, a somewhat frail figure,
+careless attitudes, and a haughty cast of countenance, they succeed in
+making more impression in a drawing-room than many women of greater
+beauty.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <i>Liman</i>, a Tartar word signifying harbour, is the name
+given to the gulfs formed by the principal rivers of Southern Russia
+before their entrance into the sea.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Kirbitch consists of dung kneaded into little bricks, and
+dried in summer. Along with straw and reeds, it forms the only firing
+used for domestic purposes. At Odessa, however, they procure firewood
+from Bessarabia, but it costs as much as ninety francs the cube
+fathom.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+<br />
+
+<p>A propensity to sedentary habits is not peculiarly a female failing in
+Russia, as will appear from the following extract: "The Russian has as
+little taste for promenading on foot as any Oriental. Hence, with the
+exception of the two capitals, and the north-west provinces, in which
+German usages prevail, there are no public walks or gardens for
+recreation. True enjoyment, according to the notions of the genuine
+Muscovite, consists in sitting down to a well-furnished table, either in
+his own house or a neighbour's, and indulging after the repast in some
+game which requires the least possible exertion of body. Soon after my
+arrival in Kasan, I was glad to employ the early days of summer, which
+there begins at the end of May, in making pedestrian excursions in the
+neighbourhood, to the great and general surprise of my new friends, who
+could not conceive why I thus roamed like an idiot about the country, in
+which I had no business, as they very well knew. It was conjectured that
+I was ill, and had adopted this laborious discipline as a mode of cure;
+but even under this interpretation my proceedings seemed very strange to
+them, for their own invariable practice when they feel unwell, is to go
+to bed immediately. In one of my walks I fell in with an acquaintance,
+who asked me what took me to the village, to which he supposed I was
+going. On my replying, that I had nothing whatever to do there, and that
+as yet I had neither seen the village nor any of its inhabitants, he
+said then of course I was going to look at it. No, I told him, that was
+not my intention, for I knew very well I should see nothing there
+different from any of the other villages in the vicinity. 'Well, then,
+Daddy (<i>batiushka</i>),' said my puzzled and curious friend, 'do tell me,
+what is it you are afoot for?' 'I am afoot, simply for the sake of being
+afoot,' was my answer, 'for the pleasure of a little exercise in the
+open air.' My friend burst into a loud fit of laughter at this
+explanation of my rambling habits, which had so long been an enigma to
+himself and every body else. To walk for walking sake! He had never
+heard any thing like that in all his life, and it was not long before
+this most novel and extraordinary phrase ran the round of the whole
+town, so that even to the following year it remained a standing joke
+against me in every company I entered."&mdash;<i>Von Littrow.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>Suffocating vapours.</i>&mdash;Accidents like that which befel Madame Hommaire,
+are unavoidably frequent under such a system of warming, and with
+servants so negligent as those in Russia; but happily they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>do not often
+end fatally. The worst result of them is generally a violent headache,
+all trace of which disappears the following day. Incredible as it may
+appear, the common people take pleasure in the sort of intoxication
+produced by the inhalation of diluted carbonic acid, and purposely
+procure themselves that strange enjoyment on leisure days. "They close
+the stoves before the usual time, and lie down on them; for in the
+peasants' houses the stoves are so constructed as to present a platform,
+on which the family sleep in winter. On entering a cabin on these
+occasions, you see the inmates lying close together on their bellies,
+chatting pleasantly with one another. Their faces are tumid and of a
+deep red hue, from the effects of the noxious gas. There is an unusual
+lustre in their protruding eyeballs, and in short, they have all the
+outward appearance of intoxication, though the intellectual functions
+are not affected by the gas. The headache they suffer may, indeed, be a
+drawback to their pleasure, but the increased warmth thus obtained, is
+so delightful to them, that they are content to purchase it even at that
+price. There is no mistaking their evident enjoyment and satisfaction,
+though one may not be tempted to partake in their joy."</p>
+
+<p>Another mode of obtaining artificial heat is practised in what the
+Russian peasants call their smoke-rooms. These rooms have but a few very
+small windows, just large enough to pass the head through, and seldom
+glazed, except with talc, where that mineral is abundant and cheap.
+Where this is not the case they are stopped up, in winter only, with
+moss and rags. When the fire is lighted, the chimney is closed, and the
+smoke escapes through the stove-door into the room. Being lighter than
+the cold air, it ascends at first, and hangs overhead in a thick cloud.
+But as its mass increases, it gradually descends, until there is no
+standing upright in the room without danger of suffocation. As the smoke
+approaches the floor, so too do the inmates, first stooping, then
+kneeling, sitting, and at last lying prone. If the smoke threatens quite
+to reach the ground, they open the windows or air-holes, which are not
+quite level with a man's head, and the black vapour rushes out. The
+under part of the room is thus left free, the prostrate inmates
+gradually rise, and set about their occupations in the clear warm space
+below. The first time I entered one of these dark sooty dens, I was so
+disgusted with it, that I should not have hesitated in my choice between
+a prison and so horrible an abode. I was, therefore, not a little
+surprised when I saw the inmates lying on the floor, gossiping quite at
+their ease, and bandying about jokes that will hardly bear repeating,
+but which manifested a degree of mirthfulness in these people I had,
+until then, thought quite impossible."&mdash;<i>Idem.</i></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">AN EARTHQUAKE&mdash;LUDICROUS
+ANECDOTE&mdash;SLEDGING&mdash;SPORTING&mdash; DANGEROUS PASSAGE OF THE
+DNIEPR&mdash;THAW; SPRING-TIME&mdash;MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE LITTLE
+RUSSIANS&mdash;EASTER HOLIDAYS&mdash;THE CLERGY.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>That same winter at 10 <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> on the 11th of January, we had a
+smart shock of earthquake, but which happily did no mischief in that
+part of the steppes. We were seated at the whist table, when we were
+suddenly startled by a loud rolling noise, that seemed rapidly
+approaching us, and the cards dropped from our hands. The sound was like
+that of a large heavily-laden waggon rattling over the pavement.
+Scarcely two seconds after our first surprise the whole house received a
+sudden shock, that set all the furniture in motion, before the idea of
+an earthquake had occurred to our minds. This first shock was followed
+by another of longer duration, but less alarming character; it was like
+the undulation of the waves when they are seeking to recover their
+equilibrium. The whole house was filled with dismay, except the party in
+the drawing-room; with us surprise prevailed over fear, and we remained
+motionless as statues, whilst every one else was running out of doors.
+The earthquake, of which mention has been made in several journals, gave
+occasion to a ludicrous story that was related to us some days after.</p>
+
+<p>One of the general's peasants, an old fellow whose conscience was no
+doubt burthened with some weighty sin, imagined when he felt his house
+dancing like a boat on the waves, that the devil in person was come to
+bid him prepare to accompany him to the bottomless pit. Tearing out his
+hair by the roots, bawling, roaring, and crossing himself, he begins to
+confess his sins aloud, and gives himself up to the most violent terror
+and despair. His wife, who was no less alarmed, accused her husband of
+all sorts of wickedness; the husband retorted on the wife, and the whole
+night was passed in unspeakable confusion. The day dawned, but brought
+no comfort to the unfortunate sinner, whose spirits were all in a
+ferment, like new wine. Fully assured that the devil would soon come and
+lay his claws on him, he had no thought of going to his daily work. His
+wife was equally regardless of her household cares; what was the use of
+her preparing the porridge, when she and her husband were sure of
+breakfasting with Lucifer? So there they sat, waiting the fatal moment,
+with an anxiety that would have petrified them at last, but for an
+unexpected incident. All the other peasants, probably having less on
+their consciences, had been a-field since dawn. The head man of the
+village missed Petrovitch and his wife; he waited for them some hours,
+and at last bent his steps towards their cabin, calculating as he went
+how many stripes of the knout he should administer to them for their
+unpardonable neglect of duty. He steps in, but no one seems to notice
+his presence. Petrovitch sits <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>huddled together in a corner, staring
+before him with glassy eyes; whilst his wife, on her knees before a
+picture of St. Nicholas, never for a moment interrupts her crossings and
+lamentations. "Hallo! what's all this?" cries the overseer, "have you
+lost your wits, and don't you know that you ought to have been at work
+hours ago?" "Oh Ivan Ivanovitch, it's all over; I shall never work
+again." "Not work again, wont you? we shall see. Come, start, booby!"
+And down comes the knout on the back of the peasant, who receives the
+blows with the most stoical composure. "O beat me if you like; it's all
+the same. What signify a few blows more or less, when a body is going to
+be roasted with the fiends?" "What on earth do you mean?" said the
+puzzled overseer; "what has happened to you to make you talk such
+nonsense?" "Nonsense here, or nonsense there, I have had a warning in
+the night." Ivan now recollected the earthquake, and suspecting he had
+found a clue to the mystery, burst into a hearty fit of laughter. "Oh,
+you may laugh; but you don't know that I am a great sinner, and that the
+devil came last night to claim my soul." After amusing himself
+sufficiently with the man's terrors, the overseer had the utmost
+difficulty in convincing him that all the other houses had been shaken
+like his own, and that the devil had nothing to do with the matter.</p>
+
+<p>Sledge driving is one of the greatest amusements of the Russian winter.
+The horses, stimulated by the cold, sweep with you over the plain with
+the most mettlesome impetuosity. In the twinkling of an eye, you have
+left behind you the whole surface of a frozen lake, measuring several
+versts in length. It is a downright steeplechase: the keenness of the
+air, the rapid motion, the shouts of the driver urging the willing
+steeds, the vast plain that seems to enlarge as you advance, all produce
+an intense excitement, and pleasurably dispel the torpor caused by the
+indolent life of the steppes. We frequently crossed the Dniepr in this
+manner, to drive about the streets of Kherson, where all the fashion of
+the neighbourhood rendezvous from noon to two o'clock. It is an exercise
+which has as much charm for the Russians as for foreigners; the smallest
+landowner, or the lowest clerk in a public office, though he earns but a
+few rubles a year, must have his sledge and his two horses, if he
+starves for it half the year. At the usual hour you may reckon more than
+a hundred sledges of every form, most of them covered with rich rugs and
+furs, chasing each other through the streets, and each containing a
+gentleman and lady, and a driver furred from head to foot. This sort of
+amusement is an admirable aid to coquetry. Nothing can be more
+fascinating than those female figures wrapped up in pelisses, and with
+their faces dimly seen through their blonde veils; appearing for an
+instant, and then vanishing into the vaporous atmosphere, followed by
+many a tender glance.</p>
+
+<p>I must say a few words as to the field sports of the steppes. Shooting
+parties use a very long low carriage called a <i>dolgushka</i>, and
+accommodating more than fifteen persons seated back to back. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>The feet
+rest on a board on each side about a foot from the ground. Behind the
+driver is a large box for holding provisions and all the accoutrements
+of the sportsmen; and the game is received in another box fixed at the
+end of the carriage. Nothing can be more convenient for country parties.
+The <i>dolgushka</i> is drawn by four horses yoked abreast; birds are much
+less afraid of it than of a man on foot, and come near enough to allow
+the sportsman to shoot without alighting. Parties often amounting to
+many hundreds, both nobles and peasants, assemble for the pursuit of
+wolves, foxes, and hares. The usual scene of these hunts is a desert
+island belonging to General Potier. They begin by a general beating of
+the steppes, whereupon the wild animals cross the ice to the little
+island, thinking to be safe there from the balls of their pursuers; but
+their retreat is soon invaded. The hunters form a circle round the
+island, and then begins a slaughter that for some time clears the
+country of those sheep devourers. Two or three battues of this kind take
+place every year, chiefly for the purpose of destroying the wolves that
+come in flocks and carry dismay into the sheep-folds.</p>
+
+<p>Among the peculiarities presented by the plains of the Black Sea, I must
+not omit to mention the extensive conflagrations that regularly take
+place in winter, and remind one of the scenes witnessed by many
+travellers in the prairies of America. In Russia, it is the inhabitants
+themselves who set fire to the steppes, thinking that by thus clearing
+away the withered herbage from the surface, they favour the growth of
+the new grass. But the flames being often driven by the winds in all
+directions, and over immense surfaces, now and then occasion great
+disasters; and there have been instances in which sheep-folds and whole
+flocks have been consumed.</p>
+
+<p>The thaw begins on the Dniepr, about the end of March. It is preceded by
+dull cracklings and muffled sounds, giving token that the river is
+awakening from its long icy sleep, and is about to burst its prison. All
+communication between the farms and Kherson is interrupted for more than
+six weeks; posts of Cossacks stationed along the banks, give notice of
+the danger of crossing; but as the temperature is continually changing
+at that season, the final break-up does not take place for a long while.</p>
+
+<p>At the beginning of the thaw we persisted in going to Kherson, in
+opposition to all advice. When we came to the banks of the Dniepr and
+manifested our intention of crossing, all the boatmen stared at us in
+amazement, and not one of them would let us hire his sledge. We were
+therefore about to give up our project, when we saw two or three
+gentlemen coming towards us on foot across the Dniepr, followed by an
+empty sledge. They told us that the river was partially clear of ice
+opposite Kherson, and that it would be extremely dangerous to attempt
+crossing in a sledge. They had left Kherson at six in the morning, (it
+was then ten) and had been all that time engaged in effecting their
+passage. They united with the boatmen in dissuading us from undertaking
+such a journey, the danger of which was now <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>the greater, inasmuch as
+the sun had acquired much power since the morning; but all was of no
+avail; their sledge which they placed at our disposal decided the
+business, and we embarked gaily, preceded by a boatman, whom our example
+had encouraged, and who was to sound the ice before us. A glowing sun
+streamed over the vast sheet of ice, raising from it a bluish vapour,
+which the driver and the guide watched with lively anxiety.
+Notwithstanding their looks of uneasiness we pushed on rapidly, and the
+boatman was oftener on the sledge than in advance of it. By and by,
+however, the sounds of cracking ice growing more and more frequent,
+rather cast a gloom over our imaginations, and made us begin to fear
+that we should meet with more serious obstacles further on. We saw the
+ice melting in some degree beneath the rays of the sun, and gradually
+parting from the shores of the islands we were coasting; and what still
+more augmented our uneasiness, was the elasticity of the ice, which bent
+very visibly under the motion of our sledge. Its gradual rise and fall
+seemed like the breathing of the river, becoming more and more distinct
+as the ice diminished in thickness. As our guide still continued to
+advance, we had no other course than to follow him, and so we came to an
+arm of the Dniepr, which is much dreaded on account of its current, the
+rapidity of which does not allow the ice to acquire much solidity even
+in the most intense frosts. We all proceeded to cross it on foot, each
+maneuvering as best he could on a surface as smooth as a mirror. At
+last, notwithstanding our zigzags, our tumbles, and the splitting of the
+ice, we found ourselves safe over the perilous passage, very much
+delighted at having escaped so well, and at feeling solid ground under
+our feet. We had then more than two versts to travel over an island,
+before we came to the branch of the river opposite Kherson. With the
+utmost confidence, then, we seated ourselves once more in the sledge,
+and bounded away at full speed over a soft surface of snow melting
+rapidly in the sun. But it is always when the mind is most at ease, that
+accidents seem to take a malicious pleasure in surprising us. A wide
+crevice, which the driver had not time to avoid, suddenly yawned athwart
+our course; the sledge was immediately upset, and we were all pitched
+out. My husband, who was seated on the top of the baggage, was quite
+stunned by the blow; the driver and the guide, who were thrown a
+considerable distance from the sledge, remained motionless likewise; and
+as for me, I found myself rolled up in my pelisse in the middle of a
+bush. When I cast a look on my companions in misfortune, they were
+beginning to stir and to feel themselves all over. They seemed in no
+hurry to get up, and they cut such piteous figures, that I could not
+help laughing most heartily. Notwithstanding our bruises we were soon on
+our legs, with the certainty that none of our bones were broken. The
+driver limped back to his seat, in great amazement at not receiving a
+severe castigation for his awkwardness. Had this mishap occurred to
+Russians, the poor fellow would not have escaped with less than a sound
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>drubbing. We were more magnanimous, and imputed wholly to fortune an
+accident which, indeed, could not easily have been avoided.</p>
+
+<p>Our journey continued without much to alarm us, until we were just about
+to commit ourselves to the wide arm of the Dniepr, that still lay
+between us and the town. Its surface presented an appearance that was
+really frightful. Enormous banks of ice were beginning to move, and had
+already left a great part of the river exposed. Besides this, the ice
+that still remained fixed, was so intersected with clefts, that we could
+not advance without serious danger. Our position was becoming more and
+more critical, and we were thinking of returning to the island we had
+just left, and waiting until a boat could take us across to Kherson; but
+as there would probably have been as much risk in returning as in
+proceeding, we continued our route but with the utmost caution. The
+first glow of exulting boldness was over, and we sorely regretted our
+temerity. The floor that separated us from the waters seemed so
+treacherous, that we every moment despaired of escape. This state of
+perplexity lasted more than an hour; but at last we reached the vessels
+that were ice-locked at some distance from the harbour. We were now in
+safety, and we finished our perilous expedition in a boat.</p>
+
+<p>Two days afterwards a southerly wind had almost completely swept away
+the immense sheet of ice that for so many months had imprisoned the
+waters of the Dniepr. The thaw took place so rapidly, that the river was
+free before any one could have noted the progress of its deliverance. In
+eight days there was not a vestige of ice, and we returned to Clarofka,
+without experiencing any of the emotions we had felt on our first rash
+and picturesque expedition. But this mild weather, very unusual in the
+month of March, soon gave place to sharp frosts, which renewed the
+winter mantle of the Dniepr, and did not entirely cease until the
+beginning of April. At this season the steppes begin to be clothed with
+a magnificent vegetation, and in a few days they have the appearance of
+a boundless meadow, full of thyme, hyacinths, tulips, pinks, and an
+infinity of other wild flowers of great sweetness and beauty. Thousands
+of larks nestle in the grass, and carol everywhere over the traveller's
+head. The sea, too, partakes in the common gladness of the general
+season. Its shells are more beautiful and more numerous; its hues are
+more varied, and its murmurs gentler. Plants and animals seem all in
+haste to live and reproduce their kind, as if they foresaw the brief
+duration of these pleasant days. Elsewhere, summer is often but a
+continuation of spring; fresh blossoms come forth, and nature retains
+her vital power for a long period; but here a fortnight or three weeks
+are enough to change the vernal freshness of the landscape into a
+sun-burnt waste. In all these countries there are really but two
+seasons; you pass from intense cold to a Senegal heat; without the body
+having time to accustom itself to this sudden change of temperature. The
+sea-breezes alone <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>make it possible to endure the heat which in July and
+August almost always amounts to 94&deg; or 95&deg;.</p>
+
+<p>The thing to which the stranger finds it most difficult to accustom his
+eyes in Russia, is the horrible sheep-skins in which men, women, and
+children are muffled at all times of the year. These half-tanned skins,
+which are worn with the wool inwards, give them a savage appearance,
+which is increased in the men by the long beard and moustaches they
+invariably wear. Yet there are handsome faces to be seen among the
+Russian peasants, and in this respect Nature has been much more liberal
+to the men than to the women, who are generally very ugly. The dress of
+the latter consists in a shift with wide sleeves, fitting tight round
+the throat, and trimmed with coloured cotton, and a petticoat fastened
+below the bosom. Instead of a petticoat, girls commonly wear a piece of
+woollen stuff, which laps across in front, without forming a single
+plait, and is fastened by a long, narrow scarf, embroidered at the ends.
+Their legs are quite bare, and any rather sudden movement may open their
+singular garment more than is consistent with decorum. On holidays they
+add to their ordinary attire a large muslin cap, and an apron of the
+same material, adorned with a wide flounce. Their hair is tied up with
+ribands, into two tresses, that fall on their shoulders, or are twisted
+into a crown on the top of the head. When they marry, they cease to wear
+their hair uncovered; a handkerchief of a glaring colour is then their
+usual head-dress. We are now speaking only of the women of Little
+Russia; but those of Great Russia retain the national costume called
+<i>serafine</i>, which is very picturesque, and is still worn at court on
+special occasions.</p>
+
+<p>The women of Little Russia, accustomed to field labour from their
+childhood, and usually marrying at the age of fifteen or sixteen, are
+old before they have reached their thirtieth year; indeed, one can
+hardly say when they cease to be young, since they never exhibit the
+bloom of youth. Whether a Russian woman's age be fifteen, twenty, or
+thirty, it is all one in the end. Immediately after childhood, her limbs
+are as masculine, her features as hard, her skin as tanned, and her
+voice as rough as at a more advanced age. So much has been written about
+the relaxed morals and the drunkenness of the Russian peasants, that we
+need not dwell on the subject. We shall only say that their deplorable
+passion for strong liquors, is continually on the increase, and that
+most of the young women are as much addicted to them as the old. It
+frequently happens that a peasant and his wife go on Sunday to a
+<i>kabak</i>, drench themselves with brandy, and on their way back fall dead
+drunk into some gully, where they pass the whole night without being
+aware of their change of domicile.</p>
+
+<p>A fondness for dancing is another distinguishing characteristic of this
+people. You often see a party of both sexes assemble after work, and
+continue dancing all the evening. The Ruthenians are remarkable for
+their gaiety and extreme indifference to worldly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>cares. Leaving to
+their masters the whole trouble of providing for their lodging and
+maintenance, they never concern themselves about the future. Their tasks
+once ended, they think only of repose, and seldom entertain any idea of
+working for themselves. When you pass through their villages, you never
+see the peasants busy in repairing their hedges, cultivating their
+gardens, mending their implements, or doing any thing else that bespeaks
+any regard for domestic comforts. No&mdash;the Russian works only because he
+is forced to do so; when he returns from his labour, he stretches
+himself out to sleep on his stove, or goes and gets drunk at the next
+<i>kabak</i>. A curious custom I have noticed in Southern Russia, and which
+is common to all classes, is that of chewing the seeds of the melon or
+the sunflower, from morning till night. In order to indulge this taste,
+every one dries in the sun the seeds of all the melons he eats during
+the summer, and puts by his stock for the winter. I have seen many wives
+of <i>pometchiks</i> (landowners) pass their whole day in indulging this
+queer appetite.</p>
+
+<p>In Russia, as in all imperfectly civilised countries, religious
+ceremonies still retain all their ancient influence. They afford the
+peasant a season of pleasure and emancipation, that makes him for a
+moment forget his thraldom, to revel in intoxication. Full of
+superstition, and indolent to an extreme degree, he longs impatiently
+for the interval of relaxation that allows him to indulge his favourite
+propensities. For him the whole sum and substance of every religious
+festival consists in cessation from toil, and in outward practices of
+devotion that bear a strong impress of gross idolatry. The Russian
+thinks he perfectly understands and fulfils his religion, if he makes
+innumerable signs of the cross and genuflections before the smoky
+picture that adorns his isbas, and scrupulously observes those two
+commandments of the Church, to fast and make lenten fare. His conscience
+is then quite at ease, even though it should be burdened with the most
+atrocious crimes. Theft, drunkenness, and even murder, excite in him
+much less horror than the mere idea of breaking fast or eating animal
+food on Friday.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing can exceed the depravity of the Russian clergy; and their
+ignorance is on a par with their vicious propensities. Most of the monks
+and priests pass their lives in disgraceful intoxication, that renders
+them incapable of decently discharging their religious duties. The
+priestly office is regarded in Russia, not as a sacred calling, but as a
+means of escaping from slavery and attaining nobility. The monks,
+deacons, and priests, that swarm in the churches and monasteries, are
+almost all sons of peasants who have entered the Church, that they may
+no longer be liable to the knout, and above all to the misfortune of
+being made soldiers. But though thereby acquiring the right to plunder
+the serfs, and catechise them after their own fashion, they cannot
+efface the stain of their birth, and they continue to be regarded by the
+nobility with that sovereign disdain which the latter profess for all
+who are not sprung <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>from their own caste. The great and the petty nobles
+are perfectly agreed in this respect, and it is not uncommon to see a
+pometshik raise his hand to strike a pope, whilst the latter humbly bows
+his head to receive the chastisement. This resignation, which would be
+exemplary if it were to be ascribed to evangelical humility, is here but
+the result of the base and crouching character of the slave, of which
+the Russian priest cannot divest himself, even in the midst of the
+highest functions of his spiritual life.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the popes provokes equal disgust and astonishment. To
+see those men, whose neglected beards, besotted faces, and filthy dress,
+indicate a total want of all decent self-respect, it is impossible to
+persuade oneself that such persons can be apostles of the divine word.
+As usual in the Greek Church, they are all married and have large
+families. You may look in vain in their dwellings for any indication of
+their sacred character. A few coarsely-coloured pictures of saints, and
+a few books flung into a corner of the room, in which the whole family
+are huddled together, are the only marks of the profession exercised by
+the master of the house. As they receive nothing from the state, it is
+the unfortunate serfs who must support their establishments, and even
+supply them with the means of indulging their gluttony and drunkenness.
+It is particularly on the eve of a great Church festival, that the
+Russian priest is sure of an abundant harvest of poultry, eggs, and
+meal. Easter is the most remarkable of these festivals, and lasts a
+whole week. During the preceding seven weeks of Lent, the Russian must
+not eat either eggs, meat, fish, oil, butter, or cheese. His diet
+consists only of salted cucumbers, boiled vegetables, and different
+kinds of porridge. The fortitude with which he endures so long a
+penance, proves the mighty influence which religious ideas possess over
+such rude minds. During the last few days that precede the festival, he
+is not allowed to take any food before sunset, and then it may be fairly
+admitted that brandy is a real blessing for him.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to imagine all the discussions that take place between
+the popes and the peasants on these occasions. As the Russian must then
+fulfil his religious duties, whether he will or not, he is at the mercy
+of the priest, who of course makes him pay as dearly as he can for
+absolution, and keeps a regular tariff, in which offences and
+punishments are set down with minute precision. Thus for a theft, so
+many dozens of eggs; for breach of a fast, so many chickens, &amp;c. If the
+serf is refractory, the punishment is doubled, and nothing can save him
+from it. The thought of complaining to his lord of the pope's
+extortionate cupidity never enters his head; for assuredly, if he were
+to adopt such a course, he would think himself damned to all eternity.</p>
+
+<p>As long as the holidays last, the lords keep open table, and every one
+is free to enter and take part in the banquet. Such was the practice of
+the <i>knias</i> (princes) and boyards of old, who lived as sovereigns in
+their feudal mansions, and extended their hospitality <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>to all strangers,
+without distinction of country or lineage. Many travellers allege that
+this patriarchal custom still prevails in some families of Great Russia.
+But here, except on gala days, most of the pometshiks live in such a
+shabby style, as gives but a poor idea of their means or of their
+dispositions.</p>
+
+<p>To return to our Easter holidays: the last week of Lent is employed in
+making an immense quantity of cakes, buns, and Easter bread, and in
+staining eggs with all sorts of colours. A painter was brought expressly
+from Kherson to our entertainer's mansion for this purpose, and he
+painted more than 1000 eggs, most of them adorned with cherubims,
+fat-cheeked angels, virgins, and all the saints in paradise. The whole
+farm was turned topsy-turvy, the work was interrupted, and the steward's
+authority suspended. Every one was eager to assist in the preparations
+for merry making; some put up the swings, others arranged the ball-room;
+some were intent on their devotions, others half-smothered themselves in
+the vapour baths, which are one of the most favourite indulgences of the
+Russian people: all in short were busy in one way or other. A man with a
+barrel organ had been engaged for a long while beforehand, and when he
+arrived every face beamed with joy. The Russians are passionately fond
+of music. Often in the long summer evenings, after their tasks are
+ended, they sit in a circle and sing with a precision and harmony that
+evince a great natural aptitude for music. Their tunes are very simple
+and full of melancholy; and as their plaintive strains are heard rising
+at evening from some lonely spot in the midst of the desert plain, they
+often produce emotions, such as more scientific compositions do not
+always awaken.</p>
+
+<p>At last Easter day was come. In the morning we were greatly surprised to
+find our sitting-room filled with men who were waiting for us, and were
+meanwhile refreshing themselves with copious potations of brandy. The
+evening before we had been sent two bottles of that liquor, and a large
+basket of cakes and painted eggs, but without any intimation of the use
+they were to be put to; but we at once understood the meaning of this
+measure, when we saw all these peasants in their Sunday trim, and a
+domestic serving out drink to them, by way I suppose of beguiling the
+time until we made our appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The moment my husband entered the room, all those red-bearded fellows
+surrounded him, and each with great gravity presented him with a painted
+egg, accompanying the gift with three stout kisses. In compliance with
+the custom of the country my husband had to give each of them an egg in
+return, and a glass of brandy, after first putting it to his own lips.
+But the ceremony did not end there: <i>Kooda barinya? kooda barinya?</i>
+(where is madame), <i>nadlegit</i> (it must be so), and so I was forced to
+come among them and receive my share of the eggs and embraces. During
+all Easter week the peasant has a right to embrace whomsoever he
+pleases, not even excepting the emperor and the empress. This is a relic
+of the old patriarchal manners which prevailed so long unaltered all
+over northern Europe. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>In Russia, particularly, where extremes meet, the
+peasant to this day addresses the czar with <i>thou</i> and <i>thee</i>, and calls
+him father in speaking to him.</p>
+
+<p>When we had got rid of these queer visitors we repaired to the parlour,
+where the morning repast was served up with a profusion worthy of the
+times of Pantagruel. In the centre of the table stood a sucking pig
+flanked with small hams, German sausages, chitterlings, black puddings,
+and large dishes of game. A magnificent pie containing at least a dozen
+hares, towered like a fortress at one end of the table, and seemed quite
+capable of sustaining the most vehement onslaught of the assailants. The
+sondag and the sterlet, those choice fish of Southern Russia, garnished
+with aromatic herbs, betokened the vicinity of the sea. Imagine, in
+addition to all these things, all sorts of cordial waters, glass vases
+filled with preserves, and a multitude of sponge cake castles, with
+their platforms frosted and heaped with bonbons, and the reader will
+have an idea of the profuse good cheer displayed by the Russian lords on
+such occasions.</p>
+
+<p>General Potier, surrounded by all his household retinue, and by some
+other guests, impatiently awaited the arrival of the pope, whose
+benediction was an indispensable preliminary to the banquet. He arrived
+at ten o'clock precisely, accompanied by a monk, and began to chant a
+hallelujah, walking two or three times round the table; then blessing
+each dish separately, he concluded by bravely attacking the sucking pig,
+to the best part of which he helped himself. This was the signal to
+begin; every one laid hold on what he liked without ceremony; the pie,
+the hams, and the fish, all vanished. For more than a quarter of an hour
+nothing was to be heard but a continual noise of knives and forks, jaws
+munching, and glasses hobnobbing. The pope set a bright example, and his
+rubicund face fully declared the pleasure he took in fulfilling such
+functions of his office.</p>
+
+<p>The Russians in general are remarkable for gluttony, such as perhaps is
+without a parallel elsewhere. The rudeness of their climate and their
+strong digestive powers would account for this. They make five meals
+daily, and those so copious and substantial that one of them would alone
+be amply sufficient for an inhabitant of the south.</p>
+
+<p>During the repast a choir of girls stood before the windows and sang
+several national airs in a very pleasing style; after which they
+received the usual gratuity of nuts with tokens of the liveliest glee.
+The Russians are strict observers of all ancestral customs, and Easter
+would be no Easter for them if it came without eggs or nuts.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving the breakfast table we proceeded to the place where the
+sports were held; but there I saw nothing of that hearty merriment that
+elsewhere accompanies a popular holiday. The women, in their best
+attire, clung to the swings, I will not say gracefully, but very bodily,
+and in a manner to shame the men, who found less pleasure in looking at
+them than in gorging themselves with brandy in their smoky <i>kabaks</i>.
+Others danced to the sound of the organ with cavaliers, whose zigzag
+movements told of plenteous libations. Some old women nearly dead drunk
+went from one group to another <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>singing obscene songs, and falling here
+and there in the middle of the road, without any one thinking of picking
+them up.</p>
+
+<p>We noticed on this occasion an essential characteristic of the Russian
+people. In this scene of universal drunkenness there was no quarrelling;
+not a blow was struck. Nothing can rouse the Russians from their apathy;
+nothing can quicken the dull current of their blood; they are slaves
+even in drink.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we went to dine with one of the general's neighbours, who gave
+us a most sumptuous reception. Before we sat down to table, we were
+shown into a small room with a side-board loaded with cold meat, caviar,
+salted cucumbers, and liqueurs, all intended to whet our appetites. This
+collation, which the Russians call <i>sagouska</i>, always precedes their
+meals; they are not content with their natural appetite, but have
+recourse to stimulants that they may the better perform their parts at
+table.</p>
+
+<p>All the time of dinner we were entertained by a choir of forty young men
+who sang some fine harmonised pieces, and some Cossack airs that pleased
+us much. Our entertainer was one of the richest landowners in New
+Russia, and his manner of living partakes of many of the old national
+usages. His musicians are slaves taught by an Italian long attached to
+the establishment in the capacity of chapel master.</p>
+
+<p>Such are the Easter festivities. As the reader will perceive, they
+consist on the whole in eating and drinking inordinately. The whole week
+is spent in this way, and during all that time the authority of the
+master is almost in abeyance; the coachman deserts the stables, the cook
+the kitchen, the housekeeper her store-room; all are drunk, all are
+merry-making, all are intent on enjoying a season of liberty so long
+anticipated with impatience.</p>
+
+<p>The rejoicings in the town are of the same character. The <i>katchellni</i>,
+a sort of fair lasting three days, brings together all classes of
+society. The nobles and the government servants ride about in carriages,
+but the populace amuse themselves just as they do in the country, only
+they have the pleasure of getting drunk in better company.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">EXCURSION ON THE BANKS OF THE DNIEPR&mdash;DOUTCHINA&mdash;ELECTION OF
+THE MARSHALS AND JUDGES OF THE NOBILITY AT
+KHERSON&mdash;HORSE-RACING&mdash;STRANGE STORY IN THE "JOURNAL DES
+D&Eacute;BATS"&mdash;A COUNTRY HOUSE AND ITS VISITERS&mdash;TRAITS OF RUSSIAN
+MANNERS&mdash;THE WIFE OF TWO HUSBANDS&mdash;SERVANTS&mdash;MURDER OF A
+COURIER&mdash;APPENDIX.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>We left Clarofka in May, to explore the banks of the Dniepr, and the
+shores of the Sea of Azov. The object we had in view was purely
+scientific, but the journey became doubly interesting by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>affording us a
+closer insight into the habits of Russian society, and the manner in
+which noble families live on their estates. I had intended to visit
+Taganrok, but on this occasion I proceeded no further than Doutchina,
+the property of a Baroness de Bervick, who most hospitably insisted on
+my remaining with her whilst my husband was continuing his geological
+researches in the country of the Cossacks.</p>
+
+<p>Doutchina is situated on the post-road from Kherson to Iekaterinoslav,
+in a broad ravine formed by a brook that falls into the Dniepr a little
+way from the village. From the high ground over which the road passes,
+the eye suddenly looks down on a beautiful landscape&mdash;a most welcome
+surprise for the traveller who has just passed over some hundred versts
+of uncultivated plains.</p>
+
+<p>In Russia, travelling is not, as elsewhere, synonymous with seeing new
+sights. In vain your <i>tro&iuml;ka</i> bears you along with dizzy speed; in vain
+you pass hours, days, and nights in posting; still you have before your
+eyes the same steppe that seems to lengthen out before you as you
+advance, the same horizon, the same cold stern lines, the same snow or
+sunshine; and nothing either in the temperature or the aspect of the
+ground indicates that you have accomplished any change of place.</p>
+
+<p>It is only in the vicinity of the great rivers that the country assumes
+a different aspect, and the wearied eye at last enjoys the pleasure of
+encountering more limited horizons, a more verdant vegetation, and a
+landscape more varied in its outlines. Among these rivers, the Dniepr
+claims one of the foremost places, from the length of its course, the
+volume of its waters, and the deep bed it has excavated for itself
+athwart the plains of Southern Russia. But nowhere does it present more
+charming views than from the height I have just mentioned and its
+vicinity. After having spread out to the breadth of nearly a league, it
+parts into a multitude of channels, that wind through forests of oaks,
+alders, poplars, and aspens, whose vigorous growth bespeaks the richness
+of a virgin soil. The groups of islands capriciously breaking the
+surface of the waters, have a melancholy beauty and a primitive
+character scarcely to be seen except in those vast wildernesses where
+man has left no traces of his presence. Nothing in our country at all
+resembles this kind of landscape. With us, the creature has everywhere
+refashioned the work of the Creator; the mark of his hand appears even
+on the most inaccessible mountains; whereas, in Russia, where the nobles
+are the sole proprietors, nature still remains, in many places, just as
+God created it. Thus these plavniks<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> of the Dniepr, seldom touched by
+the woodman's axe, have all the wild majesty of the forests of the new
+world. For some time after my arrival at Doutchina, I found an endless
+source of delight in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>contemplating those majestic scenes, lighted by a
+pale sky, and veiled in light mists, that gave them a tinge of sadness,
+sometimes more pleasing than the glare of noon.</p>
+
+<p>Doutchina, situated, as I have said, on a ledge of a ravine that ends in
+the plavniks, is altogether unlike the other villages of Russia. Its
+pretty cottages, separated by gardens and groups of fruit-trees, its
+picturesque site and magnificent environs, strikingly remind one of the
+Danube, near Vienna. The whole country, as far as one can see from the
+highest point of the road, belongs to the Baroness of Bervick, and forms
+one of the most valuable estates in the neighbourhood. But her residence
+is strangely unsuited to her fortune, being a mere cabin, open to every
+wind, and fit, at most, for a sporting lodge. As we looked on this
+shabby abode, we were amazed that a wealthy lady, still young and
+handsome, should be content to inhabit it, and to endure a multitude of
+privations, which we should have thought intolerable to a person of her
+station. At the time we became this lady's guest, she had left France
+about eighteen months, to reside on this property, bequeathed to her by
+her late husband.</p>
+
+<p>Some days after my husband's departure we set out for Kherson, where the
+elections of the marshals and judges of the nobility were soon to take
+place. All the great families of the government of Kherson were already
+assembled in the town, and gave it an appearance of animation to which
+it had long been a stranger. These elections, which take place only
+every three years, are occasions for balls and parties, to which the
+pometchiks and their wives look forward with eager anticipation. For
+more than a fortnight the town is thronged with officers of all ranks,
+and elegant equipages with four horses, that give the streets and
+promenades an unusually gay appearance. The Russians spare no expense on
+these occasions of display. Many a petty proprietor's wife, who lives
+all the year on <i>kash</i><a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> and dried fish, contrives at this period to
+out-do the ladies of the town in costly finery.</p>
+
+<p>The amusements began with a horse-race, which made some noise in the
+world in consequence of an article in the <i>Journal des D&eacute;bats</i>. Those
+who have any curiosity to know how one may mystify a newspaper, and
+amuse oneself at the expense of a credulous public, have but to read a
+certain number of the year 1838, which positively alleges, that forty
+ladies, headed by the young and beautiful Narishkin, appeared on the
+course as jockeys, rode their own horses, &amp;c., and a thousand other
+things still more absurd and incredible. All I can say of this race, at
+which I was present, is, that it was like every other affair of the
+kind, and was not distinguished by any remarkable incident or romantic
+adventure. Eight horses started, one of which belonged to the Countess
+Voronzof and another to General Narishkin, and the riders were not
+lovely ladies, but rather <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>clumsy grooms. The first prize, a large
+silver cup worth 1500 rubles, was won by the Countess Voronzof's
+Atalanta: the second was carried off by the general's horse. Such is the
+way in which these things always end, and the consequence may very
+likely be, that the races will cease altogether. The landowners know
+very well that their horses stand no chance against those belonging to
+great people, and as they are sure of being beaten they will at last
+grow tired of the mock contest. The Countess Voronzof ought to consider
+that these races are not merely an amusement, but that they were
+instituted for the purpose of encouraging the improvement of the breed
+of horses.</p>
+
+<p>After the race there was a grand dinner at the general commandant's,
+which was attended by all the rank and fashion then assembled in
+Kherson. It was at this dinner I first remarked the custom observed by
+the Russians of placing the gentlemen on one side of the table and the
+ladies on the other, a custom both unsightly and injurious to
+conversation. It has almost fallen into disuse in Odessa, like all the
+other national practices; but in the provincial towns it would still be
+thought a deadly insult to a lady to help her after a gentleman, and no
+doubt it is in order to avoid such a breach of politeness that the
+ladies are all ranged together in one row.</p>
+
+<p>The nobility of the district gave a grand ball that evening in one of
+the club-rooms, and there I noticed all the contrasts that form the
+ground-work of Russian manners. The mixture of refinement and barbarism,
+of gallantry and grossness, which this people exhibits on all occasions,
+shows how young it still is in civilisation. Here were officers in
+splendid uniforms and ladies blazing with diamonds, dancing and playing
+cards in a very ugly room with old patched and plastered walls, dimly
+lighted by a few shabby lamps, and they were as intent on their
+pleasures as if they were in a court drawing-room, and never seemed to
+think that there was any thing at all offensive to the sight in the
+accommodations around them. The refreshments, consisting of dried fruits
+and <i>eau sucr&eacute;e</i>, were in as much demand as the best ices and sherbets
+could have been. The same inconsistency was displayed in the behaviour
+of the gentlemen towards the ladies. Though ready, like the Poles, to
+drink every man of them to his fancy's queen out of the heel of her
+shoe, they did not think it unbecoming to take their places alone in the
+quadrilles, neither troubling themselves to go in search of their
+partners nor escorting them back to their seats after the dance. Setting
+aside, however, this total want of tact, they perfectly imitate all the
+outward shows and forms of politeness.</p>
+
+<p>A final ball, given by the governor at the conclusion of the election,
+was much more brilliant than those of the noblesse, and satisfied my
+critical eye in every respect. Every thing testified the taste and
+opulence of our entertainer. A splendid supper was served up at
+midnight, and a chorus of young lads sang some national airs, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>full of
+that grave and melancholy sweetness that constitutes the charm of
+Russian music. When the champagne was sent round the governor rose and
+made a speech in Russian, which was responded to by a general hurrah:
+the healths of the emperor, the empress, and the rest of the imperial
+family, were then drunk with shouts of joy; the married ladies were next
+toasted, then the unmarried, who were cheered with frantic acclamations.
+These duties being accomplished, the company returned to the ball-room,
+where dancing was kept up until morning. This entertainment was perfect
+in its kind; but, in accordance with the national habits, it was
+destined to end in an orgy. We learned the next day that the dawn had
+found the gentlemen eating, drinking, and fighting lustily. It was
+reckoned that 150 bottles of champagne were emptied on this occasion,
+and as the price of each bottle is eighteen francs, the reader may hence
+form some idea of Russian profusion.</p>
+
+<p>Two days afterwards we left Kherson for the country seat of the marshal
+of the nobles, where a large party was already assembled. The manner in
+which hospitality is exercised in Russia is very convenient, and entails
+no great outlay in the matter of upholstery. Those who receive visiters
+give themselves very little concern as to whether their guests are well
+or ill lodged, provided they can offer them a good table; it never
+occurs to them that a good bed, and a room provided with some articles
+of furniture, are to some persons quite as acceptable as a good dinner.
+Whatever has no reference to the comfort of the stomach, lies beyond the
+range of Russian politeness, and the stranger must make up his account
+accordingly. As we were the last comers, we fared very queerly in point
+of lodging, being thrust four or five of us into one room, with no other
+furniture than two miserable bedsteads; and there we were left to shift
+for ourselves as we could. The house is very handsome in appearance; but
+for all its portico, its terrace, and its grand halls, it only contains
+two or three rooms for reception, and a few garrets, graced with the
+name of bed-rooms. Ostentation is inherent in the Russian character, but
+it abounds especially among the petty nobles, who lavish away their
+whole income in outward show. They must have equipages with four horses,
+billiard-rooms, grand drawing-rooms, pianos, &amp;c. And if they can procure
+all these superfluities, they are quite content to live on mujik's fare,
+and to sleep in beds without any thing in the shape of sheets.</p>
+
+<p>Articles of furniture, the most indispensable, are totally unknown in
+the dwellings of most of the second-rate nobles. Notwithstanding the
+vaunted progress of Russian civilisation, it is almost impossible to
+find a basin and ewer in a bed-room. Bedsteads are almost as great
+rarities, and almost invariably you have nothing but a divan on which
+you may pass the night. You may deem yourself singularly fortunate if
+the mistress of the mansion thinks of sending you a blanket and a
+pillow; but this is so unusual a piece of good luck that you must never
+reckon upon it. In their own persons the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>Russians set an example of
+truly Spartan habits, as I had many opportunities of perceiving during
+my stay in the marshal's house. No one, the marshal himself not
+excepted, had a private chamber; his eldest daughter, though a very
+elegant and charming young lady, lay on the floor, wrapped up in a cloak
+like an old veteran. His wife, with three or four young children, passed
+the night in a closet that served as boudoir by day, and he himself made
+his bed on one of the divans of the grand saloon. As for the visiters,
+some slept on the billiard-table; others, like ourselves, scrambled for
+a few paltry stump bedsteads, whilst the most philosophical wore away
+the night in drinking and gambling.</p>
+
+<p>I say nothing as to the manner in which the domestic servants are
+lodged; a good guess as to this matter may be easily made from what I
+have just said of their masters. Besides, it is a settled point in
+Russia never to take any heed for servants; they eat, drink, and sleep,
+how and where they can, and their masters never think of asking a word
+about the matter. The family whose guests we were was very large, and
+furnished us with themes for many a remark on the national usages, and
+the notions respecting education that are in vogue in the empire. A
+Swiss governess is an indispensable piece of furniture in every house in
+which there are many children. She must teach them to read, write, and
+speak French, and play a few mazurkas on the piano. No more is required
+of her; for solid instruction is a thing almost unknown among the petty
+nobles. A girl of fifteen has completed her education if she can do the
+honours of the drawing-room, and warble a few French romances. Yet I
+have met with several exceptions to this rule, foremost among which I
+must note our host's pretty daughter Loubinka, who, thanks to a sound
+understanding and quick apprehension, has acquired such a stock of
+information as very few Russian ladies possess.</p>
+
+<p>It is only among those families that constantly reside on their estates
+that we still find in full vigour all those prejudices, superstitions,
+and usages of old Russia, that are handed down as heir-looms from
+generation to generation, and keep strong hold on all the rustic
+nobility. No people are more superstitious than the Russians; the sight
+of two crossed forks, or of a salt-cellar upset, will make them turn
+pale and tremble with terror. There are unlucky days on which nothing
+could induce them to set out on a journey or begin any business. Monday
+especially is marked with a red cross in their calendar, and woe to the
+man who would dare to brave its malign influence.</p>
+
+<p>Among the Russian customs most sedulously preserved is that of mutual
+salutations after meals. Nothing can be more amusing than to see all the
+persons round the table bowing right and left with a gravity that proves
+the importance they attach to a formality so singular in our eyes. The
+children set the example by respectfully kissing the hands of their
+parents. In all social meetings etiquette peremptorily requires that the
+young ladies, instead of sitting in the drawing-room, shall remain by
+themselves in an adjoining apartment, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>and not allow any young man to
+approach them. If there is dancing the gravest matron in the company
+goes and brings them almost by force into the ball-room. Once there they
+may indulge their youthful vivacity without restraint; but on no pretext
+are they to withdraw from beneath the eyes of their mothers or
+chaperons. It would be ruinous to a young lady's reputation to be caught
+in a <i>t&ecirc;te-&aacute;-t&ecirc;te</i> with a young man within two steps of the ball-room.
+But all this prudery extends no further than outward forms, and it would
+be a grand mistake to suppose that there is more morality in Russia than
+elsewhere. Genuine virtue, such as is based on sound principles and an
+enlightened education is not very common there. Young girls are
+jealously guarded, because the practice is in accordance with the
+general habits and feelings of the country, and little reliance is
+placed in their own sense of propriety. But once married, they acquire
+the right of conducting themselves as they please, and the husband would
+find it a hard matter to control their actions. Though divorces are
+almost impossible to obtain, it does not follow that all wives remain
+with their husbands; on the contrary, nothing is more common than
+amicable arrangements between married people to wink at each other's
+peccadilloes; such conventions excite no scandal, and do not exclude the
+wife from society. One of these divorces I will mention, which is
+perhaps without a parallel in the annals of the civilised world.</p>
+
+<p>A very pretty and sprightly young Polish lady was married to a man of
+great wealth, but much older than herself, and a thorough Muscovite in
+coarseness of character and habits. After two or three years spent in
+wrangling and plaguing each other, the ill-assorted pair resolved to
+travel, in the hopes of escaping the intolerable sort of life they led
+at home. A residence in Italy, the chosen land of intrigues and illicit
+amours, soon settled the case. The young wife eloped with an Italian
+nobleman, whose passion ere long grew so intense that nothing would
+satisfy him short of a legal sanction of their union. Divorces, as every
+one knows, are easily obtained in the pope's dominions. Madame de K. had
+therefore no difficulty in causing her marriage to be annulled,
+especially with the help of her lord and master, who, for the first time
+since they had come together, agreed with her, heart and soul. Every
+thing was promptly arranged, and <i>Monsieur</i> carried his complaisance so
+far as to be present as an official witness at <i>Madame's</i> wedding,
+doubtless for the purpose of thoroughly making sure of its validity.
+Three or four children were the fruit of this new union; but the lady's
+happiness was of short duration. Her domestic peace was destroyed by the
+intrigues of her second husband's family; perhaps, too, the Italian's
+love had cooled; be this as it may, after some months of miserable
+struggles and humiliations, sentence of separation was finally
+pronounced against her, and she found herself suddenly without fortune
+or protector, burdened with a young family, and weighed down with
+fearful anticipations of the future. Her first step was to leave a
+country where such cruel <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>calamities had befallen her, and to return to
+Podolia, the land of her birth. Hitherto her story is like hundreds of
+others, and I should not have thought of narrating it had it ended
+there; but what almost surpasses belief, and gives it a stamp of
+originality altogether out of the common line, is the conduct of her
+first husband when he heard of her return. That brutal, inconstant man,
+who had trampled on all social decencies in attending at the marriage of
+his wife with another, did all in his power to induce her to return to
+his house. By dint of unwearied efforts and entreaties he succeeded in
+overcoming her scruples, and bore her home in triumph along with her
+children by the Italian, on whom he settled part of his fortune. From
+that time forth the most perfect harmony subsists between the pair, and
+seems likely long to continue. I saw a letter written by the lady two or
+three months after her return beneath the conjugal roof; it breathed the
+liveliest gratitude and the fondest affection for him whom she called
+<i>her beloved husband</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The Russians pique themselves greatly on having a large retinue of
+servants; the smallest proprietor never keeps fewer than five or six;
+yet this does not prevent their houses from being, without exception,
+disgustingly dirty. Except the state-rooms, which the servants make a
+show of cleaning, all the rest of the house is left in a state of filth
+beyond description. The condition of these domestic servants is much
+less pitiable than one would suppose; they are so numerous that they
+have hardly any thing to do, and spend half the day in sleeping. The
+canings they receive from time to time do not at all ruffle their good
+humour. It is true they fare horribly as to victuals, and have no other
+bed than the bare ground; but their robust constitutions enable them
+easily to endure the greatest privations, and if they have salted
+cucumbers, arbutus berries, and <i>kash</i>, they scarcely envy their masters
+their more nutritious viands.</p>
+
+<p>After some ten days spent very agreeably in the house of the marshal of
+the nobles, we at last set out on our return for Doutchina, where my
+husband was soon to meet us again. On arriving at the third
+post-station, we were surprised to find the house filled with Cossacks
+and police-officers. Neither postmaster, horses, nor coachmen, were to
+be seen, and it was plain some extraordinary event had taken place. We
+were presently informed that a murder had been committed two days
+before, at a very short distance from the station, on the person of a
+courier, who had a sum of 40,000 rubles in his charge. The following are
+the details communicated to us on the subject. A courier arrived at the
+post-station in the evening, having with him a small valise containing a
+considerable amount of property. He drank a few glasses of brandy with
+the postmaster before he resumed his journey, and told him he was not
+going further than Kherson, and would return that way next day.</p>
+
+<p>That same night some peasants found a deserted carriage on the highway,
+near Kherson, and were soon satisfied on examining it, that a crime had
+been committed in it. Several pieces of silver coin <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>were scattered in
+the straw, as if some one had forgotten them there in his haste, and
+copious marks of blood were discernible on the ground and in the
+carriage. These facts were communicated to the police, inquiries were
+instituted, and the courier's body, with a deep gash in the head, was
+found in a ditch two or three versts from the station. The driver had
+disappeared, and the postmaster, an unfortunate Jew, who was perhaps
+innocent of all participation in the crime, was immediately taken to
+prison. Such was the state of the case when we arrived at the station
+and found it all in confusion, and filled with Cossacks.</p>
+
+<p>This tragic event threw the whole country into agitation, but it was not
+until six weeks afterwards that the police at last succeeded in
+arresting the perpetrator of the deed, in consequence of quite new
+information, which gave a still stranger complexion to the whole story.
+By the murderer's own statement, it appeared that he belonged to a
+family of shopkeepers, and that he had given up his business only to
+execute a long cherished project. Some months before the murder he had
+gone into the Crimea, where he had taken pains to conceal his identity
+and baffle any attempt to track his steps, by letting his beard grow,
+adopting the habits and appearance of a mujik, and frequently changing
+his place of abode. When he thought his measures complete in this
+respect, he went and hired himself as postillion to the Jew, who kept
+the post-station before mentioned. He had been waiting more than a month
+for a favourable opportunity, when the unfortunate courier, who was his
+victim, arrived. He confessed he had hesitated for some moments before
+committing the murder, not from horror of the deed itself, but because
+he recognised in the courier an old companion of his boyhood. Twice,
+perceiving that the man was asleep, he had left his seat and got up
+behind the carriage with the intention of knocking him on the head; but
+twice his courage failed him; the third time, however, he drew the
+courier's own sabre and cleft his skull with it at a blow. Having
+secured the valise, he threw the corpse into a ditch, and continued his
+journey to within a short distance of Kherson, where he left the
+kibitka, changed his dress, cut off his beard, and then entered the city
+on foot. His family received him without the least suspicion, never
+doubting but that he came straight from the Crimea, and for more than
+six weeks he lived quite at his ease, making like every body else
+numberless conjectures respecting the event which was the constant theme
+of conversation. Meanwhile, several persons having been struck by the
+resemblance of his features to those of the postillion who had
+disappeared, they put the police on the alert, and he was arrested just
+as he was setting out for Bessarabia. He was condemned to a hundred
+strokes of the knout, and the postmaster was sent to Siberia. The
+children of the latter were enrolled as soldiers, and all he was worth
+became the booty of the police.</p>
+
+<p>With such penal laws, Russia has little to fear from malefactors.
+Notwithstanding its vast extent and its thinly scattered population,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>the traveller is safer there than in any other country. But this state
+of things is to be ascribed rather to the political situation of the
+people, than to the strict administration of the police, and it is easy
+to conceive that in a country, in which there are none but slaves bound
+to the soil, highway robberies, generally speaking, are morally
+impossible, because they can scarcely ever yield any gain to their
+authors. There existed, nevertheless, in Bessarabia, from 1832 to 1836,
+a very formidable gang of robbers, of which the police found it
+extremely difficult to rid the country. The captain, of whom a thousand
+extraordinary tales are told, was a revolted slave, unconsciously
+playing the part of Fra Diavolo, in a corner of Russia. He waged war not
+against individuals, but against society. It is alleged, that he never
+killed any one, and that many a peasant found with him an asylum and
+protection. He was a daring fellow, beloved by his gang, and a merciless
+plunderer of landlords, and above all of Jews. It was not until the
+close of 1836 that he was taken, through the treachery of a girl he was
+attached to, who betrayed him to the officers of justice. He died under
+the knout; the death of their leader dispersed his gang, and they fell
+one by one into the hands of the police.</p>
+
+<p>Some days after my husband's return, we took our leave of the baroness
+to return to Clarofka. Our main journey through the Kalmuck steppes and
+to the Caucasus, being fixed for the following spring, part of the
+winter was spent in making preparations for our departure. Count
+Voronzof most obligingly furnished us with letters for the governors and
+authorities of the countries we were to pass through.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> The name applied collectively to the islands and channels
+formed by all the great rivers of Southern Russia.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> A favourite Russian dish, a sort of porridge of buckwheat
+or Indian corn.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>APPENDIX TO CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+<br />
+
+<p><i>Petty Larceny.</i>&mdash;"Highway robbery and burglary, with violence, are
+things wholly unknown in the greater part of Russia. The peasants laugh
+when they see foreigners travelling about with swords, pistols, and a
+whole arsenal of weapons. The Russian trader journeys from one end of
+the empire to the other, often with all he is worth in the world, and
+does not think it necessary even to carry a knife in his pocket; yet one
+never hears of their being robbed by force on the highways, at least in
+the parts of the country with which I was more intimately acquainted.
+Cases of the kind do indeed occur in the southern provinces, adjoining
+the Turkish dominions, and in Siberia, where so many malefactors are
+settled, and where there is often extreme distress. Some may be disposed
+to ascribe this unfrequency of highway robbery to the great remoteness
+of the villages from each other, and to the severity of the climate,
+which must deter rogues from remaining much in the open air, especially
+at night. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>But even in summer, and in the more populous regions, where
+the villages are tolerably close together, highway robbery is equally
+rare, and the absence of this crime seems to me attributable rather to
+the character of the people themselves, to whom the practice seems
+repugnant and unnatural. It were to be wished that they had the same
+instinctive aversion to robbery without violence, but this unfortunately
+is not the case. As I was a frequent sufferer from the nimbleness of
+their fingers, I had occasion enough to ponder on the causes of this
+striking propensity of theirs, and I came to the conclusion, paradoxical
+as it may perhaps seem, that it arises not so much from want of moral
+feeling as from want of intellectual cultivation. Most of the common
+folk who are given to this vice (for among educated persons it is as
+rare and is reputed as infamous as in any other country) see no harm at
+all in pilfering, and are, therefore, prone to practise it whenever they
+have an opportunity. I am fully persuaded that these people, who are
+often the most good-natured and even honest-hearted fellows, would
+desist from the practice if they were once taught to regard it in a
+different light, and were made conscious of its impropriety. This is a
+case as to which primary instruction, village schools, and church
+sermons, in the vernacular tongue, would deal most happily and
+beneficially for the morals of the nation. But village schools are rare,
+and sermons or religious instruction of any kind, are rarer still; books
+there are none, and if there were any the populace could not read them.
+What means then have they of becoming enlightened as to themselves and
+the things around them, and of correcting the views and notions handed
+down to them from generation to generation? Centuries ago they worked
+out for themselves their own system of ethics, if I may so speak, and
+they now make the best they can of it. Certain things, for instance,
+such as household furniture and the like, are regarded as sacred; the
+owners may leave them all night in the street, and be sure of finding
+them again in the morning, whereas there are a thousand other things
+which they cannot watch too carefully, though far less serviceable, and
+consequently less tempting. On the former there is a sort of interdict
+laid by tacit consent, whereas the latter are looked upon as common
+property. The same man who will not hesitate to pick another's pocket,
+or to filch something from his table, will never, even though quite safe
+from detection, open a closed door, or put his hand in at an open window
+to take any thing out of a room. He would call this 'stealing'
+(<i>vorit</i>,) and that has an ugly sound even in Russian ears, and is
+considered a great sin. But the first-mentioned little matters he looks
+on as allowed, or at least not forbidden, and he applies to them the
+endearing diminutive <i>vorovat</i>, a pretty, harmless word, not at all
+associated with the odious idea of thieving properly so called. To put
+this matter in a clearer light I will relate two little incidents that
+came under my own personal observation.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>"I was once in the house of a common chapman on an affair of business,
+in which he behaved like an upright worthy man. We had finished the
+transaction between us, and were sipping our tea, when an old man with
+an open, honest-looking countenance, but very poorly clad, came in and
+offered the chapman a silver spoon for sale. After some chaffering the
+latter bought the spoon at a price much below its worth, and said,
+banteringly, as he paid over the money: '<i>Sukin tu sin, tu vorovat</i>.'
+'You pilfered it, you son of a b&mdash;&mdash;.' (This last phrase, as I have
+elsewhere remarked, is practically equivalent to 'my good friend,' or
+the like.) The old man looked at him with a roguish twinkle of the eye,
+laid his hand on his breast, and said very gravely: '<i>Niet sudar, Bog
+podal</i>,' 'No, sir, God bestowed it,' and then went quietly about his
+business. I often took pains to come at the special meaning of this
+'<i>Bog podal</i>,' by a series of indirect questions, and every time I
+became more and more assured that by many persons the phrase was
+understood as signifying a sort of divine permission to steal.</p>
+
+<p>"The second anecdote is perhaps still more characteristic. In the year
+1816 I was on my way with a German friend to the country-seat of Count
+S. We thought we were the only persons in our little open carriage who
+understood the German language, in which we conversed, when, to our
+surprise, our long-bearded <i>ishvorshtik</i> (coachman) joined in the
+discourse with great fluency, though his German was somewhat broken.
+Observing our astonishment, he told us that he had been in Germany, and
+had served in a detached corps of the army, which had been organised in
+the form of a <i>landwehr</i>, or local militia: he had passed a summer in
+Saxony, and seen Leipsig, Dresden, Wittenberg, &amp;c. All this he told us
+with an air of no small self-complacency. 'And how did you like
+Germany?' said I. 'Why, pretty well,' he answered, 'only for one thing
+that I could not abide at all.' He might have settled there
+advantageously, and his colonel would have given him his discharge, as
+the corps was to be disbanded; but this <i>one thing</i> he talked of was not
+to be got over, and so he had preferred to return home. 'And what was
+this thing that stuck so in your stomach?' 'Sir,' said he, turning to us
+with one eye half shut, and speaking almost in a whisper, '<i>Sudar,
+vorovat ne velat</i>,' 'Sir, they won't allow a body to do a wee bit of
+pilfering.' We were not a little confounded by this unexpected reply,
+and my friend, who had not been long in Russia, was beginning to lecture
+him on the enormity of such principles, when the coachman, who had no
+mind to hear a long sermon, laughingly cut short the preacher's
+harangue, and gave him to understand that he was wandering wide of the
+mark. 'O, you don't understand me, <i>sudar</i>, I don't mean stealing; of
+course not; I know very well it is a bad thing; I only mean <i>vorovat</i>,
+which surely ought to be allowed everywhere; leastways it ought to be
+allowed to a poor soldier.'</p>
+
+<p>"The world is ruled by opinion: we should therefore try to set this
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>governing power right, where we can, and where that may not be one, we
+should at least make the best use we can of it in the state in which we
+find it. Russia affords one striking exemplification of this wise system
+of compromise with reference to the subject we have been discussing. It
+is a received opinion among the populace, as I have said, that a man may
+filch a little from a stranger without being guilty of downright
+dishonesty, but to rob one's own master, is a grievous and unpardonable
+sin. Hence, the surest way of protecting yourself against a house-thief,
+when you once know him, is to take him into your service. From that
+moment you are not only safe from any larceny on his part, but you have
+secured besides the best watch against all other thieves, since it is a
+point of honour with him to prevent all acts of peculation that might
+entail suspicion on himself; and he knows practically all the tricks and
+stratagems against which he must be on his guard. An officer of high
+rank in the Russian army, a German by birth, told me, that once when his
+battalion had to encamp for several weeks together along with a Cossack
+pult, he and his men had like to be stripped of all they had by a
+continual course of thieving. Every morning brought a disastrous list of
+clothes missing, horse trappings carried off, &amp;c. &amp;c. More sentinels
+were placed, strict vigilance was observed, but every precaution failed.
+Almost at his wit's end, the officer complained to the hetman of the
+pult, and was advised by him to withdraw all his own sentries, and to
+make one of the Cossacks mount guard in his own quarters, and in every
+division of those occupied by his men. The German could not help
+thinking the proposed measure very like committing the fold to the
+custody of the wolf, but as he knew nothing better he could do, he
+adopted it, and from that moment all the thieving was at an end. The
+Cossacks always laid themselves down at nightfall right before the doors
+of the quarters and stables, and the officer never again heard even of
+any attempt to annoy him or his men. Such is the force of opinion, and
+of the manner in which these people (and all of us, too, if we will but
+own it) are in the habit of seeing things."&mdash;<i>Von Littrow.</i></p>
+
+<p>Von Littrow remarks that we ought not to be too hasty in laying to the
+account of moral depravity the nimbleness of finger of the Russian
+peasant, but consider whether even among the most civilised people there
+are not some relics of the olden barbarism, some striking deviations
+from moral propriety, which <span class="smcap">OPINION</span> is pleased to look on with
+indulgence. Books change owners in the German universities by a
+surreptitious process, for which a slang word has been adopted. This
+kind of <i>vorovat</i> is called "shooting" (<i>schiessen</i>) and some very
+learned professors we are told, plume themselves on the skill with which
+they contrive to "shoot" rare specimens of natural history, &amp;c. There
+are men otherwise of great probity and worth, who we fear are not always
+scrupulously careful to return a borrowed umbrella.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span><i>Russian Servants.</i>&mdash;"Where a German would think himself very well off
+with the attendance of one woman servant, a Russian tradesman, in like
+pecuniary circumstances, keeps at least four; but the German's one
+servant does quite as much as the Russian's four put together. In the
+houses of the wealthy, the number of menservants amounts to fifty,
+sixty, and even a hundred or more. There is an intendant and a
+<i>ma&icirc;tre-d'h&ocirc;tel</i>, a couple of dozen of pages and footmen, the master of
+the house's own men, the lady's own men, and again own men for the young
+gentlemen and for the young ladies; then come the butlers, caterers,
+hunters, doorkeepers, porters, couriers, coachmen, and stable-boys,
+grooms and outriders, cooks and under-cooks, confectioners,
+stove-lighters, and chamber-cleaners, &amp;c. &amp;c., not to mention the female
+servants of all sorts. But the worst of the thing is the continual
+increase of this numerous body; for it is a matter of course in Russia
+that every married man who enters service takes his wife with him; his
+children, too, belong to the house and remain in it; nay, his kith and
+kin, if not actually domesticated in the establishment, take up their
+abode in it for days and weeks together, without demur; besides which,
+the friends and acquaintances of the servants may drop in when they
+please, and partake of bed and board. 'When I married,' said a wealthy
+Russian to me, 'I made up my mind to have no more of these
+good-for-nothing people in my house than were unavoidably necessary for
+myself and my wife, and I therefore restricted myself to forty, but
+after the lapse of three or four years, I remarked, to my great
+astonishment, that this number was already almost doubled.' In any other
+country, some three or four of these fellows would be thought enough to
+wait at table even in the best appointed houses; but in Russia, where
+dinner parties often consist of forty or fifty persons, there must be a
+servant behind every chair, or the whole set out would be considered
+extremely shabby. It was formerly the custom generally, and it is so
+still in the country-houses of the great, to have a footman constantly
+stationed in each of the rooms of the numerous suite of apartments, and
+one or two lads outside, their business being to do the office now
+performed by bells. An order given by the lord of the mansion in the
+innermost apartment, was transmitted from room to room, and from door to
+door, until it reached the last of the train, who fetched the article
+called for, and so it was passed from hand to hand until it reached the
+<i>gosudar</i> (the lord).</p>
+
+<p>"A Polish countess told me, that she once called on Count Orloff on
+business, and while they were conversing, the count desired the servant
+who stood by the door, to call for a glass of water. The man disappeared
+for a moment to speak to his next neighbour, and immediately returned to
+his post; half-an-hour elapsed, and no water came. The thirsty count had
+to repeat the order, and turning to the countess, he said, 'See what a
+poor man I am; I have more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>than a hundred and twenty servants in this
+house alone, and if I want a glass of water, I cannot have it.' The
+countess smiled at the poor man, and told him that if he was a good deal
+poorer, and had but one servant, he would be better attended on. The
+Countess Orloff, his daughter, who inherited his whole fortune, is said
+to have upwards of 800 servants of both sexes in her palace at Moscow,
+and to maintain a special hospital for them."&mdash;<i>Von Littrow.</i></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">DEPARTURE FOR THE CASPIAN&mdash;IEKATERINOSLAV&mdash;POTEMKIN'S RUINED
+PALACE&mdash;PASKEVITCH'S CAUCASIAN GUARD&mdash;SHAM
+FIGHT&mdash;INTOLERABLE HEAT&mdash;CATARACTS OF THE DNIEPR&mdash;GERMAN
+COLONIES&mdash;THE SETCHA OF THE ZAPOROGUES&mdash;A FRENCH
+STEWARD&mdash;NIGHT ADVENTURE&mdash;COLONIES OF THE MOLOSHNIA
+VODI&mdash;MR. CORNIES&mdash;THE DOUKOBOREN, A RELIGIOUS SECT.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>About the middle of May, 1839, we left the shores of the Black Sea,
+accompanied by a Cossack and an excellent dragoman, who spoke all the
+dialects current in Southern Russia. After we had travelled more than
+100 leagues upwards along the banks of the Dniepr, we reached
+Iekaterinoslav, a new town, which about fifty years ago consisted only
+of some wretched fishermen's cabins, scattered along the margin of the
+river.</p>
+
+<p>Iekaterinoslav, founded in 1784 by the great Catherine, who laid the
+first stone in the presence of the Emperor Joseph II., is built on such
+a gigantic plan as makes it a perfect wilderness, in which the sparse
+houses and scanty population seem lost, as it were. Its wide and regular
+streets, marked out only by a few dwellings at long intervals, seem to
+have been planned for a million of souls; a whole government would have
+to be unpeopled to fill them, and give them that life and movement so
+necessary to a capital. But there seems no likelihood that time will
+fill up the void spaces of this desert, for the number of its
+inhabitants has not much increased within forty years; it is a
+stationary town, which will probably never realise the expectations
+formed by the empress when she gave it her name. It contains, however,
+some large buildings, numerous churches, bazaars, and charming gardens.
+But for the absurd mania of the Russians for planning their towns on an
+enormous scale, it would be a delightful abode, rich in its beautiful
+Dniepr and the fertile hills around it.</p>
+
+<p>But Iekaterinoslav possesses one thing that distinguishes it from all
+the towns with which Russian civilisation is beginning to cover the
+south of the empire; and that is Potemkin's palace and garden. The
+palace is in ruins though it was built for Catherine II., barely <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>sixty
+years ago. The indifference of the Russians for their historical
+monuments is so great, that they hasten to destroy them, merely to clear
+the ground of things that have ceased to be of use.</p>
+
+<p>The government, despotic as it is, unfortunately has not the power to
+stay the instinctive vandalism of its people. We will give melancholy
+proofs of this by and by, when we come to speak of the ancient tombs of
+the Crimea, so rich in objects of art, and so precious for their
+antiquity, yet which, in spite of the pretended care of the police, are
+day by day disappearing before the barbarous cupidity of the peasants,
+and still more of the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>.</p>
+
+<p>To judge from its remains, Potemkin's palace appears to have been one of
+truly royal magnificence; on each side are still standing wings which
+must have contained a great number of apartments. There is a profusion
+of colonnades, porticoes, capitals, and beautiful cornices in the
+Italian style of the period; but all is at the mercy of the first
+peasant who wants stones or wood to repair his cabin. The ground is all
+strewed over with shapeless fragments, blocks of stone, and broken
+shafts. Nothing can look more sad than such skeletons of monuments which
+no accumulated ages have hallowed, and which have not even a veil of ivy
+to hide their decrepitude, nor any thing to throw a cast of dignity over
+their blank disorder. The feeling they impart is like that produced by
+the effects of an earthquake: no lesson given by the past, nothing for
+the imagination to feed on: no chronicles, no poetry.</p>
+
+<p>The haughty Catherine little suspected that one day the serfs would
+carry away piecemeal that magnificent edifice planned by the inventive
+genius of her favourite, at the most brilliant period of her life. It
+was there she rested from the fatigues of her fantastic journey, and
+prepared herself for the new wonders that awaited her in the Crimea.</p>
+
+<p>The amorous sovereign of the largest empire in the world, left the ices
+of St. Petersburg, and performed a journey of 1800 versts, to visit the
+richest jewel added to her imperial crown, that enchanting Tauris which
+Potemkin laid at her feet.</p>
+
+<p>At intervals all along the route from Iekaterinoslav to Kherson, stand
+little pyramids surrounded by a balustrade, to mark the spots where the
+empress halted, changed horses, &amp;c. In many places are still to be seen
+palaces that suddenly sprang up on her way, as if at the touch of an
+enchanter's wand. The whole tract of country is stamped with
+reminiscences of her grandeur, though she but passed rapidly through
+these deserts, which were metamorphosed beneath her glance into smiling
+and populous plains.</p>
+
+<p>Of all these ephemeral palaces, that of Iekaterinoslav was the most
+worthy to harbour the imperial beauty. It stands on a gentle slope
+descending to the Dniepr, and is still surrounded with a magnificent
+park, presenting an admirable variety of sites and views: forests,
+labyrinths, and granite rocks, clothed with rich vegetation, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>with paths
+so capricious, thickets so dense, and resting-places so mysterious, that
+every step reveals some token of the genius of a courtier, and the power
+of an empress.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite the palace a little granite island lifts itself above the
+waters of the Dniepr like a Nereid. Its sole inhabitants are some white
+albatrosses and an old forest-keeper, whose cabin is hidden among trees.
+He leads a true hermit life. His gun and his fishing-tackle supply his
+food; the bushes and briars yield him firing, and thus he finds every
+thing requisite for his wants within the limits of his retreat. He has a
+nutshell of a boat, in which he can visit every nook of the island
+shore, which he shares with the fowls of the air. Except a few
+fishermen, no one ventures to thread that labyrinth of rocks and
+whirlpools that render the Dniepr so dangerous hereabouts.</p>
+
+<p>Besides Potemkin's Park, the town has another of great beauty, which
+serves as a public promenade. It is crowded twice a week, when a
+military band performs. Its extent, its broad sheets of water, its shady
+alleys and fine expanse of lawn, make it one of the handsomest gardens I
+have seen in Russia.</p>
+
+<p>We spent a week in Iekaterinoslav under the roof of an excellent French
+family long settled in the country. The cloth factory of Messrs. Neumann
+is the only industrial establishment in the town. Their machines,
+imported from France and England, and their thorough knowledge of their
+business, enable them to give the utmost perfection to their goods,
+notwithstanding which M. Neumann assured us that he should certainly be
+obliged to shut up his establishment before the lapse of two years. We
+have already set forth the causes that obstruct the progress of
+manufactures in Russia, and completely paralyse the industrial efforts
+of the ablest men.</p>
+
+<p>During our stay in Iekaterinoslav, we had all the pleasure of an
+excursion into the mountains of Asia, without the trouble of changing
+our place. It is only in Russia one can encounter such lucky chances.
+Three hundred mountaineers of the Caucasus arrived in the town, and by
+the governor's desire entertained the inhabitants with a display of
+their warlike games and exercises. They were on their way to Warsaw, to
+serve as a guard of honour for Paskevitch, the hero of the day. This
+whim of a man spoiled by fortune and the emperor, is tolerably
+characteristic of the Russians: merely to satisfy it, some hundreds of
+mountaineers had to quit their families, and traverse vast distances to
+go and parade on the great square of a capital.</p>
+
+<p>The sight of those half-barbarians arriving like a torrent, and taking
+possession of the town as of a conquered place, was well calculated to
+excite our curiosity. We forgot time and place as we gazed on this
+unwonted spectacle, and seemed carried back among the gigantic invasions
+of Tamerlane, and his exterminating hordes of Asia, with their wild
+cries and picturesque costumes, swooping down with long lances and fiery
+steeds on old Europe, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>just as they appeared some centuries before, when
+they subjected all the wide domains of Russia to their sway.</p>
+
+<p>These mountaineers are small, agile, and muscular. There is no saying
+how they walk, for their life is passed on horseback. There is in the
+expression of their countenances, an inconceivable mixture of boldness,
+frankness, and fierce rapacity. Their bronzed complexion, dazzlingly
+white teeth, black eyes, every glance of which is a flash of lightning,
+and regular features, compose a physiognomy that terrifies more than
+great ugliness.</p>
+
+<p>Their man&oelig;uvres surpass every thing an European can imagine. How
+cold, prim, and faded seem our civilised ways compared with those
+impassioned countenances, those picturesque costumes, those furious
+gallops, that grace and impetuosity of movement, that belong only to
+them. They discharge their carbines on horseback at full speed, and
+display inimitable address in the exercise of the djereed. Every rider
+decks his steed with a care he does not always bestow on his own
+adornment, covering it with carpets, strips of purple stuffs, cashmere
+shawls, and all the costly things with which the plunder of the caravans
+can supply him.</p>
+
+<p>The man&oelig;uvres lasted more than two hours, and afforded us an exact
+image of Asiatic warfare. They concluded with a general <i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i>, which
+really terrified not a few spectators, so much did the smoke, the
+shouts, the ardour of the combatants, the discharges of musketry, and
+the neighings of the horses complete the vivid illusion of the scene. It
+was at last impossible to distinguish any thing through the clouds of
+dust and smoke that whirled round the impetuous riders.</p>
+
+<p>Paskevitch will perhaps be more embarrassed with them than he expects.
+From the moment these lions of the desert arrived, the town was in a
+state of revolution. The shopkeepers complained of their numerous
+thefts, and husbands and fathers were shocked at their cavalier manners
+towards the fair sex.</p>
+
+<p>Though it was but the beginning of June, the heat had attained an
+intensity that made it literally a public calamity. The hospitals were
+crowded with patients, most of them labouring under cerebral fevers, a
+class of affections exceedingly dangerous in this country. The dust lay
+so thick in the street, that the foot sank in it as in snow, and for
+more than a fortnight the thermometer had remained invariably at 84&deg; R.
+You have but to visit Russia to know what is the heat of the tropics. We
+nevertheless carried away not a few agreeable recollections of
+Iekaterinoslav, thanks to its charming position, and some distinguished
+<i>salons</i> of which it has reason to be proud.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Iekaterinoslav we proceeded to the famous cataracts of the
+Dniepr, on which attempts have been ineffectually made for more than a
+hundred years to render them navigable, and in the vicinity of which
+there are several German colonies.</p>
+
+<p>My husband having in the preceding year discovered a rich iron <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>mine in
+this locality, we had to stop some time to make fresh investigations. I
+have already spoken so much of the Dniepr, that I am almost afraid to
+return to the subject. In this part of its course, however, there is
+nothing like the maritime views of Kherson, the plavnicks of the
+Doutchina, or the cheerful bold aspect of the vicinity of
+Iekaterinoslav. Near the cataracts, the river has all the depth and
+calmness of a beautiful lake; not a ripple breaks its dark azure
+surface. Its bed is flanked by huge blocks of granite, that seem as
+though they had been piled up at random by the hands of giants. Every
+thing is grand and majestic in these scenes of primeval nature; nothing
+in them reminds us of the flight and the ravages of time. There are no
+trees shedding their leaves on the river's margin, no turf that withers,
+no soil worn away by the flood: the scene is an image of eternal
+changelessness.</p>
+
+<p>The Dniepr has deeps here which no plummet has ever fathomed, and the
+inhabitants allege that it harbours real marine monsters in its abysses.
+All the fishermen have seen the silurus, a sort of fresh water shark,
+capable of swallowing a man or a horse at a mouthful, and they relate
+anecdotes on this head, that transport you to the Nile or the Ganges,
+the peculiar homes of the voracious crocodile and alligator. One of
+these stories is of very recent date, and there are many boatmen who
+pretend to speak of the fact from personal knowledge. They positively
+aver, that a young girl, who was washing linen on the margin of the
+water, was carried down to the bottom of the Dniepr, and that her body
+never again rose to the surface.</p>
+
+<p>A German village is visible on the other side of the river, at some
+distance from the house of Mr. Masure, the proprietor of the mine. Its
+pretty red factories with their green window-shutters, the surrounding
+forest, and a neighbouring island with cliffs glistening in the sun,
+fill the mind with thoughts of tranquil happiness. On the distant
+horizon the eye discerns the rent and pointed rocks, and the fleecy
+spray of the cataracts. Here and there some rocks just rising above the
+water, one of which, surnamed the Brigand, is the terror of boatmen, are
+the haunts of countless water-fowl, whose riotous screams long pursue
+the traveller as he ferries across from bank to bank. All this scene is
+cheerful and pastoral, like one of Greuze's landscapes; but the bare
+hills that follow the undulations of the left bank show only dreariness
+and aridity.</p>
+
+<p>The Germans settled below the cataracts of the Dniepr are the oldest
+colonists of Southern Russia: their colony was founded by Catherine II.,
+in 1784, after the expulsion of the Zaporogue Cossacks, who were removed
+to the banks of the Kouban. It is composed solely of Prussian
+Mennonites, and comprises sixteen villages, numbering 4251 inhabitants,
+very industrious people, generally in the enjoyment of an ample
+competence. Corn and cattle form the staple of their wealth, but they
+are also manufacturers, and have two establishments for making cotton
+goods, and one for cloth. These Mennonites, however, have remained
+stationary <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>since their arrival in Russia: full of prejudices, and
+intensely self-willed, they have set their faces against all innovation
+and all intellectual development. One of their villages stands on the
+island of Cortetz, in the Dniepr, once the seat of the celebrated Setcha
+of the Zaporogue Cossacks. The Setcha, as the reader is perhaps aware,
+was at first only a fortified spot, where the young men were trained to
+arms, and where the public deliberations and the elections of the chiefs
+were held. Afterwards it became the fixed abode of warriors who lived in
+celibacy; and all who aspired to a reputation for valour were bound to
+pass at least three years there. I went over the island of Cortetz, and
+saw everywhere numerous traces of fortifications and entrenched camps.
+It would not have been easy to select a position more suited to the
+purpose the Cossacks had in view. The island is a natural fortress,
+rising more than 150 feet above the water, and defended on all sides by
+masses of granite, that leave scarcely any thing for art to do to render
+it impregnable.</p>
+
+<p>We made our first halt, after our departure from the cataracts, at the
+house of a village superintendent, in whom we discovered, with surprise,
+a young Frenchman, with the most Parisian accent I ever heard. He is
+married to a woman of the country, and has been two years <i>prigatchik</i>
+(superintendent) in one of General Markof's villages. He placed his
+whole cabin at our disposal, with an alacrity that proved how delighted
+he was to entertain people from his native land. We had excellent honey,
+cream, and water-melons, set before us in profusion; but in spite of all
+our urgent entreaties, we could not prevail on him to partake with us.
+This made a painful impression on us. Is the air of slavery so
+contagious that no one can breathe it without losing his personal
+dignity? This man, born in a land where social distinctions are almost
+effaced, voluntarily degraded himself in our eyes, by esteeming himself
+unworthy to sit by our side, just as though he were a born serf, and had
+been used from his childhood to servility.</p>
+
+<p>He gave us a brief history of his life, a melancholy tissue of
+disappointments and wretchedness, the narration of which deeply affected
+us. His ardour and his Parisian wilfulness, his efforts and his hopes,
+all the exuberance of his twenty years, were cast into a withering
+atmosphere of disgusts and humiliations, which at last destroyed in him
+all feeling of nationality: he is become a slave through his intercourse
+alike with the masters and with the serfs; and what completely proves
+this, is the cold-blooded cruelty with which he chastises the peasants
+under him. The whole village is struck with consternation at the
+punishments he daily inflicts for the most trivial offences. While he
+was conversing with us, word was brought him that two women and three
+men had arrived at the place of punishment in pursuance to his orders.
+Notwithstanding our entreaties, and the repugnance we felt at being so
+near such a scene, he ordered that they should each receive fifty blows
+of the stick, and double the number if they made any resistance. The
+wretched <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>man thus avenges himself on the mujiks, for what he has
+himself endured at the hands of the Russian aristocracy, and it is at
+best a hazardous revenge; even for his own sake he ought not to
+exasperate the peasants, who sometimes make fearful reprisals; frequent
+attempts have already been made to assassinate him, and although the
+criminals have paid dearly for their temerity, he may one day fall a
+victim to some more cunning or more fortunate aggressor. Only the week
+before our visit, as his wife told us, a more daring attempt than any
+preceding one, had been made by a peasant who from the first had
+declared himself his enemy.</p>
+
+<p>After a long walk in the fields, the superintendent sat down under the
+shade of some trees in a ravine. Overcome with heat and fatigue, he at
+last fell asleep, after placing his two pistols by his side. An
+instinctive fear possessed him even in sleep, and kept him sensible of
+the least noise around him. The body slept, but not the mind. Suddenly
+his ear catches a suspicious sound; he opens his eyes, and sees a mujik
+stooping down softly in the act of picking up one of his pistols. There
+was so much ferocity in the man's looks, and such a stealthiness in his
+movements, that there could be no doubt of his intentions. The
+superintendent, with admirable presence of mind, raised himself on his
+elbow, and asked, with a yawn, what he was going to do with the pistol;
+to which the mujik, instantly putting on an air of affected stolidity
+peculiar to the Russian serf, answered, that he was curious to see how a
+pistol was made. So saying, he handed the weapon to his master, without
+appearing in the least disconcerted. The unfortunate man nearly died
+under the knout, and the superintendent's wife remarked, with a
+<i>na&iuml;vet&eacute;</i>, thoroughly Russian, that he would have done much better to
+die outright.</p>
+
+<p>We had further opportunities in this village for remarking how little
+compassion the Russian peasants have for each other. They look on at the
+beating of a comrade without evincing the least sympathy, or being moved
+by so degrading a sight to any reflection on their unhappy condition; it
+seems as though humanity has lost all claim on their hearts, so
+completely has servitude destroyed in them all capability of feeling,
+and all human dignity.</p>
+
+<p>We left this station about six in the evening, having still some twenty
+versts to travel before arriving at the first village of the German
+colonies of the Moloshnia, where we intended to pass the night. Thanks
+to the bad horses and the stupid driver our countryman had given us, we
+had scarcely got over a quarter of the ground when we were in total
+darkness.</p>
+
+<p>The coachman was all black and blue from the brutal treatment of his
+master, who had given him half a dozen blows in our presence. The fellow
+was every moment changing his road at random, without regard to the
+fresh corrections of the same sort, which Antoine showered thickly upon
+him by way of admonition. He <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>made us lose a great deal of time on the
+way, besides wearing out the strength of his cattle to no purpose.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing can be more wearisome and monotonous than travelling in the
+steppes; but it is, above all, by night that the uniformity of the
+country is truly discouraging, for then you are every moment in danger
+of turning your back on the point you want to reach: you have an
+immensity like that of the sea around you, and a compass would be of
+real service. Such, however, is the instinct of the peasants, that they
+find their way with ease, in the darkest night or the most violent
+snow-storm, through tracks crossing each other in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>Our driver was an exception to the general rule, but sulkiness had more
+to do than inability with his apparent embarrassment. Our perplexity
+increased considerably when we found that the horses at last refused to
+move. The night was very gloomy; there was not a twinkling of light, nor
+any sound or sign of human habitations; every fresh question we put to
+our driver only elicited the laconic answer, "<i>nesnai</i>" (I don't know);
+and when a Russian has said <i>he does not know</i>, no power of tongue or
+stick can make him say <i>he knows</i>. Of this we had a proof that night.
+Our Cossack, tired of vainly questioning the unlucky driver, began to
+tickle his shoulders with a long whip he carried at his girdle; but it
+was all to no purpose; and but one course remained to us, if we would
+not pass the night in the open air. The Cossack unharnessed one of the
+horses, and set off to reconnoitre. After an absence of two hours, he
+came back and told us we were not very far from a German village, and
+that we might reach it in two hours; that is to say, provided our horses
+would move; but they were dead beat.</p>
+
+<p>Here, again, the Cossack relieved us from our difficulty, by yoking to
+the carriage a poor little colt that had followed its mother, without
+suspecting that it was that night to begin its hard apprenticeship. Weak
+as was this reinforcement, it enabled us to advance, though very slowly;
+but at last the barking of dogs revived the mettle of our horses, and
+they broke into a trot for the first time.</p>
+
+<p>A forest of handsome trees and distant lights gave indubitable assurance
+of a village. It was not like the ordinary villages, collections of
+mean-looking <i>kates</i> rising like mushrooms out of the arid ground,
+without a shrub to screen them; we were entering the German colonies,
+and the odours from the blossoming fruit-trees, and the sight of the
+pretty little red houses of which we caught glimpses through the trees,
+soon carried us in imagination far away from the Russian steppes.</p>
+
+<p>With as keen delight as ever oasis caused the desert wanderer, we
+entered this pretty village, the name of which (<i>Rosenthal</i>, Rosedale)
+gives token of the poetic feeling of the Germans. Its extensive gardens
+obliged us to make a long <i>d&eacute;tour</i>. The people were all in bed when we
+arrived, and we had much difficulty in finding <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>the house of the
+<i>schultz</i> (the headborough). At last we discovered it, and the
+hospitable reception we met with soon made us forget the events of this
+memorable night.</p>
+
+<p>The region occupied by these colonies is unlike the steppes, though the
+form of the ground is the same. The villages are very close to each
+other, are all built on the same plan, and are for the most part
+sheltered in ravines. The houses have only a ground-floor, and are built
+with wood or with red and blue bricks, and have very projecting roofs.
+Their parti-coloured walls, their carved wooden chimneys, and pretty
+straw roofs, that seem as neatly finished as the finest Egyptian mats,
+produce a charming effect as seen through the green trees of the gardens
+that surround them. They are almost all exactly similar, even to the
+most minute details: a few only are distinguished from the rest by a
+little more colouring or carving, and a more elegant balustrade next the
+garden.</p>
+
+<p>The fields are in excellent cultivation; the pastures are stocked with
+fine cattle; and sheep-folds and wells placed here and there enliven the
+landscape, and break the fatiguing monotony of the plain; the whole face
+of the country tells of the thriving labours of the colonists. But one
+must enter their houses to appreciate the habits of order and industry
+to which they owe not only an ample supply for the necessaries of life,
+but almost always a degree of comfort rarely to be found in the
+dwellings of the Russian nobles. One might even accuse the good
+housewives of a little sensuality, to see their eider-down beds and
+pillows heaped almost up to the ceiling. You may be certain of finding
+in every house a handsome porcelain stove, a glazed cupboard, containing
+crockery, and often plate, furniture carefully scrubbed and polished,
+curtains to the windows, and flowers in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>We passed two days in Orlof with the wealthiest and most philanthropic
+proprietor in all the German villages. M. Cornies came into the country
+about forty years ago, and started without capital, having like the
+others only a patch of land and some farming implements. After the lapse
+of a few years every one already envied his fortune, but all
+acknowledged his kindly solicitude for those who had been less
+prosperous than himself. Endowed with an active and intelligent
+character, and strongly interested in the cause of human improvement, he
+afterwards became the leader in the work of civilising the Nogai
+Tartars, and he now continues with very great success the work so ably
+begun by one of our own countrymen, Count Maison. M. Cornies is a
+corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy, and has contributed
+to its Transactions several papers of learned research, and remarkable
+for the comprehensive scope of their ideas; hence he enjoys a great
+reputation not only among his countrymen, but likewise throughout all
+Southern Russia. His flocks, his nurseries, and his wools, are objects
+of interest to all persons engaged in trade, and his plans for the
+improvement of agriculture and cattle rearing, are generally adopted as
+models.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>Though M. Cornies is worth more than 40,000<i>l.</i>, his way of life is in
+strict conformity with the rigorism and simplicity of the Mennonites, to
+which sect he belongs. The habits of these sectarians are of an extreme
+austerity that strips domestic life of all its ordinary charms. The wife
+and daughters of a Mennonite, whatever be his fortune, are the only
+female servants in his house, and Madame Cornies and her daughters
+waited humbly on us at table, as though they had no right to sit at it
+with the head of the family. Notwithstanding this apparent inequality of
+the sexes, there is a great deal of happiness in the married life of the
+Mennonites; nor should it be forgotten that in judging of all matters
+appertaining to foreigners, we should endeavour to behold things in the
+peculiar light in which education and custom invest them for native
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>The dress of the women is like their habits of life, plain and simple.
+It consists invariably of a gown of blue printed cotton, the bodice of
+which ends just below the bosom, an apron of the same material, and a
+white collar with a flat hem; the hair is combed back <i>&agrave; la Chinoise</i>,
+and on it sits a little black cap without trimming, tied under the chin.
+This head-dress, which has some resemblance to that of the Alsatian
+women, sets off a young and pretty face to advantage, but increases the
+ugliness of an ugly one. The dress of the men is the same as that of the
+German peasants, with the exception of some slight modifications.</p>
+
+<p>One dish of meat and two of vegetables, compose the whole dinner of a
+Mennonite; each person at table has a large goblet of milk set before
+him instead of wine, the use of which is altogether prohibited in their
+sect.</p>
+
+<p>There are no regular priests in these colonies; the oldest and most
+esteemed members of each community, are elected to fulfil the office of
+the ministry. These elders read the Bible every Sunday, preach, and give
+out the hymns, which are sung by the whole congregation.</p>
+
+<p>The Mennonites are generally well educated; but their information has no
+more than their wealth the effect of impairing the patriarchal
+simplicity of their habits. We happened to see a young man, belonging to
+one of the wealthiest families, on his return from a long foreign tour;
+he had visited France, Switzerland, and Germany, and yet it was with a
+most cordial alacrity he returned to share in the agricultural labours
+of his father and his brothers.</p>
+
+<p>All these German colonies are divided into two distinct groups: the one
+established on the right bank of the Moloshnia Vodi<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> is composed of
+people from Baden and Swabia, and comprises twenty-three villages, with
+6649 inhabitants; the other seated on the left coast of the Black Sea,
+and along the little rivulet Joushendli, contains <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>forty-three Mennonite
+villages. As the latter is unquestionably the most important and
+thriving colony in Southern Russia, we will direct our attention to it
+almost exclusively.</p>
+
+<p>The Mennonites, so called after the name of the founder of their sect,
+profess nearly the same religious principles as the Anabaptists of
+France. They first arose in Holland, the language of which country they
+still speak, and settled towards the close of the last century in
+Northern Prussia, in the vicinity of Dantzig. Attempts having been made
+about that time, to force them into military service, contrary to their
+tenets, a first migration took place, and the colony of Cortetz, below
+the cataract of the Dniepr, was founded under the auspices of Catherine
+II. That of Moloshnia Vodi, was founded in 1804, by a fresh body of
+emigrants; it was greatly enlarged in 1820, and at the end of the year
+1837, it covered 100,000 hectares of land, and contained forty-three
+villages, with 9561 inhabitants, including 984 families of proprietors.</p>
+
+<p>The non-agricultural population is composed of handicraftsmen of all
+sorts, some of whom are very skilful. Alpstadt, the chief place of the
+colony, has a cloth manufactory, in which seven looms are at work. Wages
+are very high; for almost all the workmen as soon as they have saved any
+money, give up their trade and addict themselves to agriculture.</p>
+
+<p>Each village is under the control of a headborough, called the
+<i>schultz</i>, and two assistants. They are elected every three years, but
+one of them remains in office a year after the two others, that he may
+afford their successors the necessary current information. An
+<i>oberschultz</i> (mayor), who likewise has two assistants, resides in the
+chief place of the colony. These magistrates decide without appeal, in
+all the little differences that may arise between the colonists.
+Important cases are carried before the central committee. As for
+criminal cases, of which there has yet been no example, they fall under
+the jurisdiction of the Russian tribunals. Laziness is punished by fine
+and forced labour for the benefit of the community.</p>
+
+<p>The inspector, who represents the government, resides in the Swabian
+colony, on the right bank of the Moloshnia. Odessa is the seat of the
+administrative council, which consists of a president and three judges,
+all Russians, nominated by the emperor. The committee exercises a
+general control over all the colonies, and ratifies the elections of the
+schultzes and their assistants. Its last president was the infantry
+general Inzof, a man remarkable for his personal character and the deep
+interest he took in the establishments under his direction.</p>
+
+<p>Every proprietor has sixty-five hectares of land, for which he pays an
+annual quit-rent to the crown of fifteen kopeks per hectare; besides
+which he pays four rubles a year towards defraying the general expenses
+of the colony, the salaries of the committee, the inspector, the
+schoolmasters, &amp;c. Each village has a granary for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>reserve against
+seasons of dearth; it must always contain two tchetverts of wheat for
+every male head.</p>
+
+<p>The cattle is all under the management of one chief herdsman, at whose
+call they leave their stalls in the morning, and return in the evening
+to the village.</p>
+
+<p>Every five or six years one or more new villages are established. A
+newly-established family does not at once receive its sixty-five
+hectares of land; if the young couple do not choose to reside with their
+parents, they generally build themselves a little house beyond the
+precincts of the village. But when the young families are become so
+numerous that their united allotments shall form a space sufficient for
+the pasture of their flocks in common, and for the execution of the
+agricultural works enjoined by the regulations, then, and not till then,
+the new colonists obtain permission to establish themselves on the
+uncultivated lands. At present the Mennonite colony possesses nearly
+30,000 hectares of land not yet brought under the plough. Thus these
+Germans, transplanted to the extremity of Southern Russia, have
+successfully realised some of the ideas of the celebrated economist,
+Fourrier.</p>
+
+<p>It will readily be conceived that under such a system of administration,
+and, above all, with their simple habits, their sobriety and industry,
+these Mennonites must naturally have outstripped the other colonists in
+prosperity. Those from Swabia and Baden, though subjected to precisely
+the same regulations, will never attain to the same degree of wealth.
+They are generally fond of good cheer, and addicted to drink; but they
+have, perhaps, the merit of understanding life better than their
+Puritanical neighbours, and of making the most of the gifts Providence
+has bestowed on them.</p>
+
+<p>The Mennonite colony possessed at the close of 1837:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="40%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 088">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="85%">Horned cattle</td>
+  <td class="tdr" width="15%">7,719</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Horses</td>
+  <td class="tdr">6,029</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Merino sheep</td>
+  <td class="tdr">412,274</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Fruit-trees in the gardens</td>
+  <td class="tdr">316,011</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Forest trees</td>
+  <td class="tdr">609,096</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>These last have since perished for the most part. The sale of wheat in
+1838, amounted to 600,000 rubles. The provisions for public instruction
+are highly satisfactory. The colony numbers forty schools, attended by
+2390 pupils of both sexes, who are taught the German language,
+arithmetic, history, and geography. Russian is also taught in two of the
+schools.</p>
+
+<p>The Mennonites, as well as the other German colonists of Southern
+Russia, for a long while enjoyed a very special protection on the part
+of the government; and both the present sovereign and his predecessor
+have on several occasions given them signal proofs of their favour. But
+unhappily their committee was suppressed eighteen months ago, and this
+measure will be fatal to them. They had long looked forward with alarm
+to a change in their affairs, and sent many <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>deputations to St.
+Petersburg, to solicit a continuance of the original system: their
+efforts were ineffectual; the work of centralization and unity has
+involved them in their turn, and they are now in immediate dependence on
+the newly-constituted ministry of the domains of the crown. No doubt the
+government had a full right to act in this manner; and after having
+allowed the colonists to enjoy their peculiar privileges for such a long
+series of years, it may now, without incurring any obloquy, subject them
+to the ordinary system of administration prevalent in the empire. But it
+is not the less certain, seeing the corruption and venality of the
+Russian functionaries, that this change of system will lead to the ruin
+of the colonists, and that, notwithstanding all the efforts and the good
+intentions of the government, when once the Germans are put under the
+same management as the crown serfs, they will be unable to save their
+property from the rapacity of their new controlers. The colonies have
+been but a few months under the direction of the ministry of the
+domains, and already several hundred families have abandoned their
+dwellings and their lands, and retired to Germany. I saw a great number
+of them arrive in 1842, in Moldavia, where they thought to form some
+settlements; but they did not succeed.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the German colonies of which we have been speaking, there are
+others in the environs of Nicola&iuml;ef and Odessa, in Bessarabia and the
+Crimea, and about the coasts of the sea of Azov. Altogether these
+foreign colonies in New Russia, number upwards of 160 villages,
+containing more than 46,000 souls. In the midst of them are several
+villages inhabited by Russian dissenters, entertaining nearly the same
+religious views as the Mennonites and Anabaptists. These are the
+Douckoboren and Molokaner, who separated from the national church about
+160 years ago, at which time they were resident in several of the
+central provinces; but the government being alarmed at the spread of
+their doctrines, transported them forcibly to New Russia, where it
+placed them under military supervision. Here they admirably availed
+themselves of the examples set them by the Germans, and soon attained a
+high degree of prosperity. In 1839, they amounted to a population of
+6617 souls, occupying thirteen villages. Most of their houses were in
+the German style, and every thing about them was indicative of plenty.
+Two years after this first visit to them, I met on the road from
+Taganrok to Rostof, two large detachments of exiles escorted by two
+battalions of infantry. They were the unfortunate dissenters of the
+Moloshnia, who had been expelled from their villages, and were on their
+way to the military lines of the Caucasus. The most perfect decorum and
+the most touching resignation appeared in the whole body. The women
+alone showed signs of anger, whilst the men sang hymns in chorus. I
+asked several of them whither they were going; their answer was "God
+only knows."</p>
+
+<p>After leaving the German colonies, we passed through several villages of
+Noga&iuml; Tatars. We shall reserve what we have to say of these people for
+another place.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The Moloshnia Vodi (Milk River) is a little stream emptying
+itself between Berdiansk and Guenitshky into the liman of a lake which
+no longer communicates with the Sea of Azov.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">MARIOUPOL&mdash;BERDIANSK&mdash;KNAVISH JEW
+POSTMASTER&mdash;TAGANROK&mdash;MEMORIALS OF PETER THE GREAT AND
+ALEXANDER&mdash;GREAT FAIR&mdash;THE GENERAL WITH TWO WIVES&mdash;MORALITY
+IN RUSSIA&mdash;ADVENTURES OF A PHILHELLENE&mdash;A FRENCH DOCTOR&mdash;THE
+ENGLISH CONSUL&mdash;HORSE RACES&mdash;A FIRST SIGHT OF THE KALMUCKS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Our arrival in Marioupol unpleasantly reminded us that we were no longer
+in the German colonies. A dirty inn-room, horses not forthcoming, bread
+not to be had, nor even fresh water, rude <i>employ&eacute;s</i>&mdash;every thing in
+short was in painful contrast with the comfort and facilities to which
+we became accustomed in our progress through the thriving villages of
+the Mennonites.</p>
+
+<p>Marioupol is the chief place of an important colony founded on the
+shores of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmious, by the Greeks
+whom Catherine II. removed thither from the Crimea in 1784. It now
+reckons eighty villages, a population of about 30,000, occupying 450,000
+<i>hectares</i><a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> of land. The taxes paid by these colonists amount to ten
+kopeks per <i>hectare</i>; in addition to which, each family contributes one
+ruble fifty kopeks towards the salary of the government officers in
+their district. They enjoy several privileges, have their own
+magistrates and subordinate judges, elected by themselves, and are
+exempt from military service. Criminal cases and suits not terminated
+before their own tribunals, come under the general laws and regulations
+of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>Agriculture and commerce are the chief resources of the colony, but I
+have seen no trace of the mulberry plantations attributed to it.</p>
+
+<p>Having been for a long series of ages subject to the khans of the
+Crimea, all these Greeks speak a corrupt Tatar dialect among themselves.
+They are on the whole a degenerate and thoroughly unprincipled race,
+particularly in Marioupol, the traders of which enrich themselves by
+robbing the agriculturists, who are forced to sell them their produce.</p>
+
+<p>Marioupol is a large dirty village, and its port, which has only a
+custom-house of exit, is nothing but a paltry roadstead of little depth,
+in which vessels are sheltered from none but western winds. With the
+exception of a solitary brig, there were only some small coasting
+vessels in it when we visited the place. Its export trade is
+considerable notwithstanding, amounting to the annual value of four or
+five millions of francs.</p>
+
+<p>Marioupol is infallibly destined to lose all its commercial importance
+since the foundation of the new and more advantageously-situated harbour
+of Berdiansk, to which the greater part of the produce of the
+surrounding country already takes its way. As a general rule, one town
+of Southern Russia can prosper only at the expense <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>and by the
+abandonment of another; thus Kherson has been sacrificed to Odessa,
+Theodosia to Kertch, &amp;c. It must, however, be owned that the preference
+given to Berdiansk is well grounded. Placed at the mouth of the Berda,
+that town is unquestionably the best port on the Sea of Azov. Its
+population in 1840 was 1258, and during the year 1839 it exported
+187,761 tchetverts of wheat; its importation is a blank as yet.</p>
+
+<p>After waiting several hours we at last procured horses that conveyed us
+rapidly to the next post; but there we had another stoppage. The clerk
+had a fancy to squeeze our purses, and knew no better way of doing so
+than by refusing us horses. Commands, threats, and abuse, never for a
+moment ruffled his dogged composure. Unfortunately our Cossack had been
+seized with a violent fever, and remained behind at Marioupol; had he
+been with us the clerk would hardly have ventured on his tricks, for he
+would have been sure of a sound drubbing. But this manner of enforcing
+compliance was not in our way, and as we had written authority to hire
+horses from the peasants wherever we found them, we sent Anthony to the
+next village, and thought no more about being supplied by the
+postmaster. Our unconcern began to alarm the clerk; gangs of horses were
+every moment returning from pasture, and he saw plainly that his
+position was becoming critical. After an hour's absence Anthony appeared
+in the distance with three stout horses and a driver. I will not attempt
+to depict the consternation of the Jew when he was assured that the team
+was really for us. He threw himself at our feet, knocked his head
+against the ground, and in short, evinced such a passion of grovelling
+fear, that disgusted and wearied with his importunities, we at last
+promised not to make any complaint against him. We made all haste to
+quit the spot, and in five hours afterwards we were in Taganrok.</p>
+
+<p>The town, situated on the bay of the same name at the northern extremity
+of the Sea of Azov, is the chief place of a distinct administrative
+district, dependent on Iekaterinoslav only as regards the courts of law,
+and comprising within its limits, Rostof, Marioupol, Nakitchevane, and a
+little territory lying round the northern end of the sea, and
+encompassed by the country of the Don. Its boundaries are, on one side,
+the Mious, which falls into the Sea of Azov, and on the other side, the
+Government of the Cossacks of the Black Sea.</p>
+
+<p>Taganrok was founded in 1706, by Peter the Great, after the taking of
+Azov, and was demolished in pursuance of the treaty of the Pruth. War
+with Turkey having been renewed, it was rebuilt in 1709, and fortified;
+and a harbour was constructed, surrounded with a mole, the remains of
+which are still seen just level with the surface of the water.</p>
+
+<p>This harbour is a long rectangle, with a single entrance towards the
+west. There is some idea of renovating it, by reconstructing its mole,
+and clearing it of the sand with which it has been long <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>choked; but
+this project, if carried into effect, will not remove the natural
+defects of the Taganrok roadstead. The water is so low, that vessels are
+obliged to lie from four to six leagues off the shore, and to load and
+unload their cargoes in a curious round-about, and very expensive
+manner. Waggons surmounted with platforms loaded with grain, perform the
+first part of the process, and advance in files, often to a distance of
+half a league into the sea. There they are unloaded into large barges,
+and these almost always require the aid of a third auxiliary, before
+their freight is finally shipped.</p>
+
+<p>On approaching Taganrok, one almost fancies the town before him is
+Odessa. Its position on the Sea of Azov, the character of the landscape,
+its churches, its great extent, and every feature of the place, even to
+the fortress commanding it, combine to favour the illusion.</p>
+
+<p>Taganrok has thriven rapidly, as Peter the Great foresaw it would do,
+and has become one of the most commercial towns of Southern Russia. Its
+trade, however, has considerably diminished since the suppression of its
+lazaret, and the closure of the Sea of Azov, in consequence of a fifty
+days' quarantine established at Kertch. The town now contains 16,000
+inhabitants.</p>
+
+<p>Peter the Great's sojourn in Taganrok, is commemorated by an oak wood of
+his own planting. Such a memorial of a great prince is certainly better
+than a pompous monument; more durable, and more philanthropic,
+particularly in a country destitute of forests.</p>
+
+<p>It was at Taganrok that the Emperor Alexander died, far away from the
+splendours of St. Petersburg. As we visited the modest dwelling that
+served him for his last abode, all the events of the great epoch in
+which he was one of the most illustrious actors crowded on our memories.
+The bed-room where he died has been converted into a <i>chapelle ardente</i>,
+but in every other respect the house has been preserved with religious
+care, just as he left it.</p>
+
+<p>There was a fair in the town when we arrived. The suffocating heat, the
+clouds of dust, and the crowded state of all the hotels, at first made
+us look unfavourably on the place, but the diversions of the fair soon
+reconciled us to the inconveniences of our lodgings.</p>
+
+<p>In Russia, fairs still retain an importance they scarcely any longer
+possess in our more civilised countries. Every town has its own, which
+is more or less frequented; that of Nijni Novgorod is reputed the most
+considerable on the European continent; all the nations of Europe and
+Asia, send their representatives to it. Next after it, the fair of
+Karkhof, is in high esteem among merchants for its rich furs. These
+fairs often last more than a month, and they are impatiently looked
+forward to by all the country nobles, whom they enable for a while to
+breathe as it were the odour of fashionable town life. Balls, theatres,
+shopping, music, horse races&mdash;what a world of pleasures in the compass
+of a few days! And every one <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>sets about enjoying them with feverish
+ardour. Every thing else is interrupted; the fair to-day, all other
+concerns to-morrow. At some little distance from Taganrok, there are
+huge bazaars filled with oriental merchandise, and the covered alleys
+are crowded with fashionable loungers in the evening. A very curious
+spectacle indeed is this labyrinth of Persian cloths, slippers, furs,
+Parisian bonnets and caps, shawls from Kashmir, and a thousand other
+articles too numerous to detail. Every thing is arranged to the best
+advantage, and the eye is delighted with the picturesque and fantastic
+medley of colours and forms.</p>
+
+<p>Europe and Asia are matched against each other, and exert all their arts
+of fascination to allure purchasers. In spite of all the elegance of the
+French fashions, it must be owned that our little bonnets and our scanty
+mantillas cut but a sorry figure beside the muslins interwoven with gold
+and silver, the rich termalamas and the furs that adorn the shops of the
+country. And yet all eyes, all desires, all purses turn towards the
+productions of France. Some faded ribands and trumpery bonnets attract a
+greater number of pretty customers than all the gorgeous wares of Asia.</p>
+
+<p>During our stay at Taganrok, we were invited to a ball at the mansion of
+General Khersanof, son-in-law of the celebrated Hetman Platof. The
+general possesses the handsomest residence in the town, and keeps his
+state like a real prince, amidst the motley society of a commercial
+town. All his apartments are stuccoed and decorated with equal taste and
+magnificence. The windows consist of single panes of plate glass more
+than three yards high. The furniture, lustres, ceilings, and pictures,
+all display a feeling for the fine arts, and a sumptuosity governed by
+good taste, which may well surprise us in a Cossack.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the mansion lies a handsome garden, which was lighted up
+with coloured lamps for the occasion. The whole front of the dwelling
+was brilliantly illuminated. It was a magic <i>coup d'&oelig;il</i>,
+particularly as it was aided by the transparent atmosphere of a
+beautiful summer night, that vied in purity with the clearest of those
+of the south.</p>
+
+<p>On entering the first <i>salon</i>, we were met by the general, who
+immediately presented us to his two wives. But the reader will say, is
+bigamy allowed among the Cossacks? Not exactly so; but if the laws and
+public opinion are against it, still a man of high station may easily
+evade both; and General Khersanof has been living for many years in
+open, avowed bigamy, without finding that his <i>salons</i> are the less
+frequented on account of such a trifle. In Russia, wealth covers every
+thing with its glittering veil, and sanctions every kind of
+eccentricity, however opposed to the usages of the land, provided it
+redeem them by plenty of balls and entertainments. Public opinion, such
+as exists in France, is here altogether unknown. The majority leave
+scruples of conscience to timorous souls, without even so much as
+acknowledging their merit.</p>
+
+<p>A man the slave of his word, and a woman of her reputation, could not be
+understood in a country where caprice reigns as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>absolute sovereign. A
+Russian lady, to whom I made some remarks on this subject, answered
+<i>na&iuml;vely</i>, that none but low people could be affected by scandal,
+inasmuch as censure can only proceed from superiors. She was perfectly
+right, for, situated as the nobility are, who would dare to criticise
+and condemn their faults? In order that public opinion should exist,
+there must be an independent class, capable of uttering its judgments
+without fearing the vengeance of those it calls before its bar; there
+must be a free country in which the acts of every individual may be
+impartially appreciated; in short, the words justice, honour, honesty,
+and delicacy of feeling must have a real meaning, instead of being the
+sport of an elegant and corrupt caste, that systematically makes a mock
+of every thing not subservient to its caprices and passions.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding their opulence, and the society that frequents their
+<i>salons</i>, Mesdames Khersanof retain a simplicity of manners and costume
+in curious contrast with every thing around them. An embarrassed air,
+vulgar features, an absence of all dignity in bearing and in
+conversation, and an ungainly style of dress&mdash;this was all that struck
+us as most remarkable about them. The younger wore a silk gown of a
+sombre colour, with a short body and straight sleeves, and so narrow
+that it might be taken for a bag. A silk kerchief covered her shoulders
+and part of her neck, and her little cap put me strongly in mind of the
+head-gear of our master-cooks. The whole costume was mean, awkward, and
+insipid. Except a few brilliants in her girdle and her cap, she showed
+no other trace of that Asiatic splendour which is still affected by many
+other women of this country.</p>
+
+<p>It is said that the two co-wives live on the best possible terms with
+each other. The general seems quite at his ease with respect to them,
+and goes from the one to the other with the same marks of attention and
+affection. His first wife is very old, and might be taken for the mother
+of the second. We were assured that being greatly distressed at having
+no children, she had herself advised her husband to make a new choice.
+The general fixed on a very pretty young peasant working on his own
+property. In order to diminish the great disparity of rank between them,
+he married her to one of his officers, who, on coming out of church,
+received orders to depart instantly on a distant mission, from which he
+never returned. Some time afterwards the young woman was installed in
+the general's brilliant mansion, and presented to all his acquaintance
+as Madame Khersanof.</p>
+
+<p>Two charming daughters are the fruit of this not very orthodox union.
+Dressed in seraphines of blue silk, they performed the Russian and the
+Cossack dances with exquisite grace, and enchanted us during the whole
+continuance of the ball. The Russian dance fascinates by its simplicity
+and poetry, and differs entirely from all other national dances: it
+consists not so much in the steps, as in a pensive, natural pantomime,
+in which northern calmness and gravity are tempered by a charming grace
+and timidity. Less impassioned than the dances <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>of Spain, it affects the
+senses with a gentle langour which it is not easy to resist.</p>
+
+<p>We met with a Frenchman at Taganrok, a real hero of romance. At eighteen
+his adventurous temper impelled him to quit the service to go and play a
+part in the Greek revolution. He participated in all the chances and
+dangers of the struggle against the Turks; and battling sometimes as a
+guerrillero, sometimes as a seaman, and sometimes as a diplomatist, he
+was thrown into more or less immediate contact with all those who shed
+such a lustre on the war of independence. In one of his campaigns he
+chanced to save the life of a young and pretty Smyrniote, whom he lost
+no time in marrying and bearing far away from the scenes of massacre
+with which the whole archipelago then abounded. A Russian nobleman
+advised him to repair to Moscow, and furnished him with the means. His
+wife's magnificent Greek costume, her youth and beauty, produced an
+intense sensation in that capital. The whole court, which was then in
+Moscow, was full of interest for the young Smyrniote, and the empress
+even sought to attach her to her person by the most tempting offers.
+Madame de V. refused them, preferring to remain with her husband, whose
+conduct, however, was far from irreproachable. Being young, very
+handsome, and of an enterprising character, his successes among the
+Muscovite ladies were very numerous; and he was everywhere known by the
+name of the handsome Frenchman.</p>
+
+<p>An adventure that made a great deal of noise, and in which a lady of the
+court had completely compromised her reputation for his sake, obliged
+him to quit Moscow in the midst of his triumphs. He then led his wife
+from one capital to another, presenting her everywhere as an interesting
+victim of the Greek revolution. After this European tour, he returned to
+Paris, where he passed some years. Many eminent artists of that city
+painted the portrait of his wife, who is still very beautiful. In 1838
+he left Paris and settled in Taganrok as a teacher of the French
+language; and there this poet, traveller, man of the world, and <i>beau
+cavalier</i> is throwing away almost all his advantages, which are of
+little service to him in the walk he has chosen, and in a town where
+there are so few persons capable of appreciating him.</p>
+
+<p>Our whole colony in Taganrok consists of Doctor Meunier, who acts as
+consul; M. de V., and a Proven&ccedil;al lady, who keeps a boarding-school.</p>
+
+<p>This Doctor Meunier is another original. He passed I know not how many
+years in the service of the Shah of Persia, who had a great regard for
+him, and invested him on his departure with the order of the sun, a
+magnificent decoration, more brilliant than that of a grand cordon.</p>
+
+<p>Having shrewdly availed himself of his extensive opportunities for
+observation, his acquaintance is highly to be prized by all who love to
+give their imagination free scope: his graphic and marvellous <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>stories
+are like pages from the Arabian Nights. In an instant, he sets before
+his hearers palaces of gold and azure, bewitching almehs, towns ruined
+to their foundations, towers of human heads, a French milliner
+superintending the education of Persian ladies, princes, beggars,
+dervishes, unbounded luxury side by side with the most hideous poverty,
+and all that the East can show to move, allure, or terrify the soul.</p>
+
+<p>One of the houses that offer most attractions for foreigners, is that of
+Mr. Yeams, brother of the English consul-general of Odessa. We found him
+possessed of all his brother's amiable qualities and perfect tact. When
+the English can shake off the stiffness with which they are so justly
+reproached, and their immoderate pride, they are perhaps the most
+agreeable of all acquaintances. They generally possess strong powers of
+observation and analysis, large and sound information, genuine dignity
+of conduct, and above all, a good-humoured kindliness, that is more
+winning for the pains they take to conceal it.</p>
+
+<p>While looking over Mr. Yeams' English, French, and German library, and
+the journals of all nations that lie on the tables, it is not easy to
+believe oneself on the shores of the Sea of Azov, and on the outskirts
+of Europe. The "Journal des D&eacute;bats," the "Times," and the "Augsburg
+Gazette," put you <i>au courant</i> of the affairs of Europe, as though Paris
+and London were not a thousand leagues away from you.</p>
+
+<p>It is not to be conceived into what a confusion of ideas one is cast at
+first, by the sight of a room filled with books, maps, journals,
+familiar articles of furniture, and people talking French: you ask
+yourself what is become of the days and nights you have spent in
+galloping post, the vast extent of sea you have crossed, the leagues of
+land and water, the regions and the climes you have left between you and
+your native country.</p>
+
+<p>With the advances civilisation is daily making, distances will soon be
+annulled; for distance to my thinking, consists not in difference of
+longitude, but in diversity of manners and ideas. I certainly felt
+myself nearer to France in Taganrok than I should have been in certain
+cantons of Switzerland or Germany.</p>
+
+<p>On the eve of our departure we attended some horse-races, that
+interested us only by the number and the variety of the spectators.
+There we began to make acquaintance with the Kalmucks, some of whom had
+come to the fair to sell their horses, the breed of which is in great
+request throughout the south of Russia. There was nothing very
+captivating in the Mongol features and savage appearance of these
+worshippers of the Grand Lama; and when I saw the jealous and disdainful
+looks they cast on those around them, and heard their loud yells
+whenever a horse passed at full speed before them, I could not help
+feeling some apprehension at the thought that I should soon have to
+throw myself on their hospitality.</p>
+
+<p>Taganrok has the strongest resemblance to a Levantine town, so <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>much are
+its Greek and Italian inhabitants in a majority over the rest of the
+population. Such was the perpetual hubbub, that we could hardly persuade
+ourselves we were in Russia, where the people usually make as little
+noise as possible, lest the echo of their voices should reach St.
+Petersburg. The Greeks, though subjected to the imperial <i>r&eacute;gime</i>, are
+less circumspect, and retain under the northern sky the vivacity and
+restless temperament that characterise their race. We particularly
+admired that day, a number of young Greek women, whose black eyes and
+elegant figures attracted every gaze. A string of carriages was drawn up
+round part of the race-course, and enabled us to review all the
+aristocratic families of the town and neighbourhood. The ladies were
+dressed as for a ball, with short sleeves, their heads uncovered and
+decked with flowers.</p>
+
+<p>A blazing sun and whirlwinds of dust, such as would be thought fabulous
+in any other country, soon dimmed all this finery, and drove away most
+of the spectators: we were not the last to seek refuge in the covered
+alleys of a neighbouring bazaar, where we had ices and delicious
+water-melons set before us in the Armenian caf&eacute; for a few kopeks.</p>
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> A <i>hectare</i> is a little more than two acres.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">DEPARTURE FROM TAGANROK&mdash;SUNSET IN THE STEPPES&mdash;A
+GIPSY CAMP&mdash;ROSTOF; A TOWN UNPARALLELED IN THE EMPIRE&mdash;NAVIGATION
+OF THE DON&mdash;AZOV; ST. DIMITRI&mdash;ASPECT OF THE
+DON&mdash;NAKITCHEVANE, AND ITS ARMENIAN COLONY.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>As we turned our backs on Taganrok, we could easily foresee what we
+should have to suffer during our journey. A long drought and a
+temperature of 99&deg; had already changed the verdant plains of the Don
+into an arid desert. At times the wind raised such billows of dust
+around us, that the sky was completely veiled from our eyes; our breath
+failed us, and the blood boiled in our ears; our sufferings for the
+moment were horrible. The hot air of a conflagration does not cause a
+more painful sense of suffocation than that produced by the wind of the
+desert. The horses could not stand against it, but stopped and hung down
+their heads, seeming as much distressed as ourselves.</p>
+
+<p>As we approached the Don the country was not quite such a dead, unbroken
+flat as before; a few Cossack stanitzas began to show themselves among
+the clumps of trees on the banks of the river. Deep gullies lined with
+foliage, and the traces of several streams, show how agreeable this part
+of the steppes must be in spring; but at the period of our journey every
+thing had been dried up and almost calcined by the rays of a sun which
+no cloud had obscured for two months.</p>
+
+<p>Before reaching Rostof, we passed through a large Armenian <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>village. Its
+picturesque position, in the midst of a ravine, and the oriental fashion
+of its houses, give some interest and variety to these lonely regions,
+and transiently busy the imagination. The evening promised to be very
+beautiful; something serene, calm, and melancholy, had succeeded to the
+enervating heat of the day.</p>
+
+<p>Sunset in the steppes is like sunset nowhere else. In a country of
+varied surface, the gradually lengthening shadows give warning long
+beforehand that the sun is approaching the horizon. But here there is
+nothing to intercept its rays until the moment it sinks below the line
+of the steppe; then the night falls with unequalled rapidity; in a few
+moments all trace is gone of that brilliant luminary that just before
+was making the whole west ablaze. It is a magnificent transformation, a
+sudden transition to which the grandeur of the scene adds almost
+supernatural majesty and strangeness.</p>
+
+<p>Fatigued by the rapidity with which we had been travelling since we left
+Taganrok, I took advantage of our halt at a post station, not far from
+the village, to ascend the rising ground that concealed the road from my
+view.</p>
+
+<p>As I have said, the night had come down suddenly, and there remained in
+the west but a few pale red stripes that were fading away with every
+second. At the opposite point of the horizon the broad red glowing moon,
+such as it appears when it issues from the sea, was climbing
+majestically towards the zenith, and already filled that region of the
+heavens with a soft and mysterious radiance. The greater part of the
+steppe was still in gloom, whilst a golden fringe marked the limits of
+earth and sky: the effect was very singular and splendid.</p>
+
+<p>When I reached the summit of the hill an involuntary cry of surprise and
+alarm escaped me. I remained motionless before the unexpected scene that
+presented itself to my eyes&mdash;a whole gipsy camp, realising one of Sir
+Walter Scott's most striking fictions. Dispersed over the whole surface
+of the globe, and placed at the bottom of the social scale, this vagrant
+people forms in Russia, as elsewhere, a real tribe of pariahs, whose
+presence is regarded with disgust, even by the peasants. The government
+has attempted to settle a colony of these Bedouins of Europe in
+Bessarabia, but with little success hitherto. True to the traditional
+usages of their race, the Tsigans abhor every thing belonging to
+agriculture and regular habits. No bond has ever been found strong
+enough to check that nomade humour they inherit from their forefathers,
+and which has resisted the rude climate of Russia and the despotism of
+its government. Just as in Italy and Spain, they roam from village to
+village, plying various trades, stealing horses, poultry, and fruit,
+telling fortunes, procuring by fraud or entreaty the means of barely
+keeping themselves alive, and infinitely preferring such a vagabond and
+lazy existence to the comfort they might easily secure with a moderate
+amount of labour.</p>
+
+<p>Their manner of travelling reminds one of the emigrations of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>barbarous
+tribes. Marching always in numerous bodies, they pass from place to
+place with all they possess. The women, children, and aged persons, are
+huddled together in a sort of cart called <i>pavoshk</i>, drawn each by one
+or two small horses with long manes. All their wealth consists of a few
+coarse brown blankets, which form their tents by night, and in some
+tools employed in their chief trade, that of farriery.</p>
+
+<p>All travellers who have visited Russia, speak with enthusiasm of the
+gipsy singing heard in the Moscow <i>salons</i>. No race perhaps possesses an
+aptitude for music in a higher degree than these gipsies. In many other
+respects too, their intelligence appeared to us remarkable. A long abode
+in Moldavia, where there are said to be more than 100,000 Tsigans,
+enabled us to study with facility the curious habits of this people, and
+to collect a great number of facts, which would not perhaps be without
+interest for the majority of readers.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p>The Tsigans pass the fine season in travelling from fair to fair,
+encamping for some weeks in the neighbourhood of the towns, and living,
+heedless of the future, in thorough Asiatic indolence; but when the
+snows set in, and the northern blasts sweep those vast plains as level
+as the sea, the condition of these wretched creatures is such, as may
+well excite the strongest pity. But half clad, cowling in huts sunk
+below the surface of the ground, and destitute of the commonest
+necessaries, it is inconceivable how they live through the winter.
+Horrible as such a state of existence must be, they never give it a
+thought from the moment the breath of the south enables them to resume
+their vagrant career. Recklessness is the predominant feature in their
+character, and the most frightful sufferings cannot force them to bestow
+a moment's consideration on the future.</p>
+
+<p>The singular apparition that had suddenly arrested my steps by the road
+side, was that of a troop of gipsies encamped for the night in that
+lonely spot, about thirty yards from the road, near a field of
+water-melons. Their <i>pavoshks</i> were arranged in a circle, with the
+shafts turned upwards, and support the cloths of their tents, which
+could only be entered by creeping on all fours. Two large fires burned
+at a little distance from the tents, and round them sat about fifty
+persons of the most frightful appearance. Their sooty colour, matted
+hair, wild features, and the rags that scarcely covered them, seen by
+the capricious light of the flames, that sometimes glared up strongly,
+and at other moments suddenly sank down and left every thing in
+darkness, produced a sort of demoniacal spectacle, that recalled to the
+imagination those sinister scenes of which they have so long been made
+the heroes.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>The history of all that is most repulsive in penury and the habits of a
+vagrant life, was legible in their haggard faces, in the restless
+expression of their large black eyes, and the sort of voluptuousness
+with which they grovelled in the dust; one would have said it was their
+native element, and that they felt themselves born for the mire with all
+swarming creatures of uncleanness. The women especially appeared hideous
+to me. Covered only with a tattered petticoat, their breasts, arms, and
+part of their legs bare, their eyes haggard, and their faces almost
+hidden under their straggling locks, they retained no semblance of their
+sex, or even of humanity.</p>
+
+<p>The faces of some old men struck me, however, by their perfect
+regularity of features, and by the contrast between their white hair and
+the olive hue of their skins. All were smoking, men, women, and
+children. It is a pleasure they esteem almost as much as drinking
+spirits. What painter's imagination ever conceived a wilder or more
+fantastic picture!</p>
+
+<p>Hitherto they had not perceived me, but the noise of our carriage, which
+was rapidly advancing, and my husband's voice, put them on the alert.
+The whole gang instantly started to their feet, and I found myself, not
+without some degree of dread, surrounded by a dozen of perfectly naked
+children, all bawling to me for alms. Some young girls seeing the fright
+I was in began to sing in so sweet and melodious a manner, that even our
+Cossack seemed affected. We remained a long while listening to them, and
+admiring the picturesque effect of their encampment in the steppes,
+under the beautiful and lucid night sky. No thought of serious danger
+crossed our minds, and, indeed, it would have been quite absurd; but in
+any other country than Russia such an encounter would have been far from
+agreeable.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of the following day we reached Rostof, a pretty little
+town on the Don, entirely different in appearance from the other Russian
+towns. You have here none of the cold, monotonous straight lines that
+afflict the traveller's sight from one end of the empire to the other;
+but the inequality of the ground, and the wish to keep near the harbour,
+have obliged the inhabitants to build their houses in an irregular
+manner, which has a very picturesque effect.</p>
+
+<p>The population, too, a mixture of Russians, Greeks, and Cossacks, have
+in their ways and habits nothing at all analogous to the systematic
+stiffness and military drill that seem to regulate all the actions of
+the Russians. The influence of a people long free has changed even the
+character of the chancery <i>employ&eacute;s</i>, who are here exempt from that
+arrogance and self-sufficiency that distinguish the petty nobles of
+Russia. Hence society is much more agreeable in Rostof than in most of
+the continental towns. The ridiculous pretensions of <i>tchin</i> (rank) do
+not there assail you at every step; there is a complete fusion of
+nationality, tastes, and ideas, to the great advantage of all parties.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>This secret influence exercised by the Cossacks on the Russians, is
+worthy of note, and seems to prove that the defects of the latter are
+attributable rather to their political system, than to the inherent
+character of the nation.</p>
+
+<p>Their natural gaiety, kept down by the secret inquisition of a sovereign
+power, readily gets the upper hand when opportunity offers. The public
+functionaries associate freely in Rostof, with the Cossacks and the
+Greek merchants, without any appearance of the haughty exclusiveness
+elsewhere conspicuous in their class.</p>
+
+<p>One thing that greatly surprised us, and that shows how much liberal
+ideas are in favour in this town, is the establishment of a sort of
+casino, where all grades of society assemble on Sunday, to dance and
+hold parties of pleasure. This is without a parallel elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>This casino contains a large ball-room, handsome gardens, billiard and
+refreshment-rooms, and every thing else that can be desired in an
+establishment of the sort. Though all persons are at liberty to enter
+without payment, it is nevertheless frequented by the best society, who
+dance there as heartily as in the most aristocratic <i>salons</i>. All
+distinctions vanish in the casino: public functionaries, shopkeepers,
+officers' wives, work-girls, foreigners, persons, in short, of all ranks
+and conditions mingle together, forming an amusing pell-mell, that
+reminds one, by its unceremonious gaiety, of the <i>bals champ&ecirc;tres</i> of
+the environs of Paris. Every thing is a matter of surprise to the
+traveller in this little town, so remote from all civilisation: the
+hotels are provided with good restaurants, clean chambers, each
+furnished with a bed, and all appurtenances complete (a thing unheard of
+everywhere else in the interior of Russia), besides many other things
+that are hardly to be found even in Odessa.</p>
+
+<p>Rostof is the centre of all the commerce of the interior of the empire,
+with the Sea of Azov, and with a large portion of the Russian coasts of
+the Black Sea. Through this town pass all the productions of Siberia,
+and the manufactured goods intended for consumption throughout the
+greater part of Southern Russia. These goods are floated down the Volga
+as far as Doubofka, in the vicinity of Saritzin. They are then carried
+by land, a distance of about thirty-eight miles to Kahilnitzkaia, where
+they are embarked on the Don, and conveyed to Rostof, their general
+<i>entrep&ocirc;t</i>. The barges on the Don and the Volga are flat; 112 feet long,
+from twenty to twenty-six wide, and about six feet deep. They draw only
+two feet of water, and cost from 300 to 500 rubles. They are freighted
+with timber and firewood, mats, bark, pitch, tar, hemp, cables, and
+cordage, pig and wrought iron, pieces of artillery, anchors, lead,
+copper, butter, &amp;c. The whole traffic and navigation of the Don, down
+stream, from Kahalnitzkaia, depends on the arrivals from the Volga. The
+barges employed on the latter river, being put together with wooden
+bolts, are taken asunder at Doubofka, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>and laid with their cargoes in
+carts, on which they are conveyed to the banks of the Don.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> Seven or
+eight days are sufficient for this operation, the expense of which
+amounts nearly to a quarter of the capital employed. Thus every year the
+crown and the merchants spend from 850,000 to 1,000,000 rubles at
+Doubofka. It is reckoned that 10,000 pairs of oxen, on an average, are
+employed on the road connecting the two rivers. The charge for heavy
+goods is from sixty to sixty-five kopeks the 100 kilogrammes. The
+vessels that ascend the Upper Don convey the goods above-named to the
+government of Voronege and the adjoining ones; besides which, some are
+freighted with the fruits and wines of the Don. Scarcely any traffic
+ascends the lower part of the river.</p>
+
+<p>The coasting trade of Rostof is, therefore, brisk, and particularly so
+since the establishment of the quarantine at Kertch. There were exported
+from the town, in 1840, for Russian ports, more than 3,500,000 rubles'
+worth of domestic goods of various kinds, and about 700,000 rubles'
+worth of provisions, chiefly intended for the armies. Flax-seed and
+common wool have also become, within the last three years, rather
+important articles of export to foreign countries. The population of
+Rostof is about 8000.</p>
+
+<p>Azov, on the other side of the Don, a little below Rostof, is now only a
+large village. Its long celebrated fortress has been abandoned, and is
+falling into ruin. It is said to occupy the site of the ancient Tana,
+built by the Greeks of the Bosphorus.</p>
+
+<p>The fort of Saint Dimitri, built by Peter the Great, between Rostof and
+Nakhitchevane, has had the same fate as Azov. It was formerly destined
+to protect the country against the incursions of the Turks, who were
+then masters of the opposite bank. The post-road traverses its whole
+length, and then continues all the way to Nakhitchevane, along a raised
+causeway, and overlooks the whole basin of the river. Nothing can be
+more varied than the wide landscapes through which one travels along
+this extended ridge. Behind lies Rostof, with its harbour full of
+vessels, and its houses rising in terrace rows, one above the other, its
+Greek churches, and its hanging gardens. On the right is the calm and
+limpid mirror of the river, spreading out into a broad basin, with banks
+shaded with handsome poplars. Fishing-boats, rafts, and barges diversify
+its surface, and give the most picturesque appearance to this part of
+the landscape. Then in front, Nakhitchevane, the elegant Armenian town,
+towers before you, the glazed windows of its great bazaars glittering in
+the sun. Enter the town, and you are surprised by a vision of the East,
+as you behold the capricious architecture of the buildings, and the
+handsome Asiatic figures that pass before you.</p>
+
+<p>Impelled by our recollections of Constantinople, we visited every
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>quarter of the town without delay. At the sight of the veiled women,
+trailing their yellow slippers along the ground with inimitable
+<i>nonchalance</i>, the Oriental costumes, the long white beards, the
+merchants sitting on their heels before their shops, and the bazaars
+filled with the productions of Asia, we fancied ourselves really
+transported to one of the trading quarters of Stamboul; the illusion was
+complete. The shops abound with articles, many of which appeared to us
+very curious. The Armenians are excellent workers in silver. We were
+shown some remarkably beautiful saddles, intended for Caucasian chiefs.
+One of them covered with blue velvet, adorned with black enamelled
+silver plates, and with stirrups of massive silver, and a brilliantly
+adorned bridle, had been ordered for a young Circassian princess. Here,
+as in Constantinople, each description of goods has its separate bazaar,
+and the shops are kept by men only.</p>
+
+<p>This Armenian town, seated on the banks of the Don, in the heart of a
+country occupied by the Cossacks, is still one of those singularities
+which are only to be met with in Russia. One cannot help asking what can
+have been the cause why these children of the East have transplanted
+themselves into a region, where nothing is in harmony with their manner
+of being; where the language, habits, and wants of the inhabitants are
+diametrically opposite to their own, and where nature herself reminds
+them, by stern tokens, that their presence there is but an accident. It
+is true that the Armenians are essentially cosmopolitan, and accommodate
+themselves to all climates and governments, when their pecuniary
+interests require it. Industrious, intelligent, and frugal, they thrive
+everywhere, and commerce springs up with their presence, in every place
+where they settle. Thus it was that Nakhitchevane, the town of traffic
+<i>par excellence</i>, to which purchasers resort from the distance of
+twenty-five leagues all round it, arose amidst the wilderness of the
+Don. It was only Armenians who could have effected such a prodigy, and
+found the means of prosperity in a retail trade. But nothing has escaped
+their keen sagacity; every source of profit is largely employed by them.
+They do not confine themselves to the local trade; on the contrary,
+there is not a fair in all Southern Russia that is not attended by
+dealers from Nakhitchevane. The supply of dress and arms to the
+inhabitants of the Caucasus, still forms one of the principal branches
+of commerce for these Armenians. They maintain a pretty close
+correspondence with the mountaineers, and are even accused of serving
+them as spies. As to their social habits, the Armenians are in
+Nakhitchevane what they are everywhere else; they may change their
+country and their garb, but their manners and their usages never undergo
+any alteration. Their race is like a tree whose trunk is almost
+destroyed, but which throws up at every point new shoots, invariable in
+their nature, and differing from each other only in some outward
+particulars.</p>
+
+<p>The colony of Nakhitchevane dates from the year 1780, when Catherine II.
+had the greater part of the Armenians of the Crimea transported to the
+banks of the Don. The colonists are divided <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>into agriculturists and
+shopkeepers. The former inhabit five villages, containing a population
+of 4600; the others reside exclusively in the town, which is the chief
+place of their establishment, and contains about 6000 souls. These
+Armenians enjoy the same privileges as the Greeks of Marioupol, already
+mentioned. They are under the control of functionaries chosen by
+themselves, and it happens very rarely that they are obliged to have
+recourse to the Russian tribunals.</p>
+
+<p>The following was the decision adopted by the Council of the Empire, in
+1841, relatively to the Armenians of New Russia. "The descendants of the
+Armenians settled at the invitation of the government, in the towns of
+Karasson Bazar, Starikrim in the Crimea, Nakhitchevane, and
+Gregorioupol, in the government of Kherson, will continue to pay, not
+the poll-tax, but the land-tax, and that on houses, according to the
+privileges granted to their fathers by an ukase of October 28, 1799;
+whilst those who have settled since that time, as well as all Armenians
+generally, shall be liable to the poll-tax, in pursuance of an ukase of
+May 21, 1836; in addition to which they shall pay from January 1, 1841;
+viz., townspeople and artisans, seven rubles per house, and
+agriculturists seventeen and a half kopeks per deciatine of land."</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> As the plan of the present work does not allow of our
+entering on the subject in this place, we reserve it for our "Travels in
+the Principalities of the Danube," to be hereafter published.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> The construction of a canal or a railroad between the Don
+and the Volga has long been talked of. Peter I. began a canal, but the
+works were soon abandoned. A new project was laid before the government
+in 1820, the expense of which was estimated at 7,500,000., but it
+remains still to be realised.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">GENERAL REMARKS ON NEW RUSSIA&mdash;ANTIPATHY BETWEEN THE
+MUSCOVITES AND MALOROSSIANS&mdash;FOREIGN COLONIES&mdash;GENERAL
+ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY, CATTLE, &amp;c.&mdash;WANT OF MEANS OF
+COMMUNICATION&mdash;RIVER NAVIGATION; BRIDGES&mdash;CHARACTER OF THE
+MINISTER OF FINANCE&mdash;HISTORY OF THE STEAMBOAT ON THE
+DNIESTR&mdash;THE BOARD OF ROADS AND WAYS&mdash;ANECDOTE.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>New Russia, which we have now traversed in its whole length, from west
+to east, consists of the three governments of Kherson, Taurid, and
+Iekaterinoslav. It is bounded on the north by the governments of
+Podolia, Kiev, Poltava, and Kharkov; on the east by the country of the
+Don Cossacks, the Sea of Azov, and the Straits of Kertch; on the south
+by the Black Sea, and on the west by the Dniestr, which divides it from
+Bessarabia. Its surface may be estimated at 1882 square myriam&egrave;tres. It
+contains a population of 1,346,515, which makes about 715 inhabitants to
+a square myriam&egrave;tre.</p>
+
+<p>The existing organisation of the three governments dates from the year
+1802. Their territory was successively annexed to the empire, by the
+treaty of Koutchouk Kainardji, the conquest of the Crimea, and the
+convention concluded at Jassy, in 1791.</p>
+
+<p>The population of these regions is extremely mixed. The Malorossians
+(Little Russians) formerly known by the appellation of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>Cossacks of the
+Ukraine, form its principal nucleus; then come numerous villages of
+Muscovites (Great Russians) belonging to the crown and to individuals;
+colonies of Germans, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Bulgarians; the
+military establishments of Vosnecensk, formed with the Cossacks of the
+Boug and fugitives from all the neighbouring nations; and lastly the
+Tatars, who occupy the greater part of the Crimea and the western shores
+of the Sea of Azov.</p>
+
+<p>Here are certainly very various and heterogeneous elements; nor can
+there exist between them any religious or political sympathy. The
+Muscovites and the Malorossians are even very hostile to each other,
+though professing the same creed and subject to the same laws. In spite
+of all the efforts of the government, and notwithstanding all the
+Muscovite colonies disseminated through the country, no blending of the
+two races has yet been effected. The old ideas of independence of the
+Cossacks of the Ukraine, are very far from being entirely extinguished,
+and the Malorossians, who have not forgotten the liberty and the
+privileges they enjoyed down to the end of the last century, always bear
+in mind that serfdom was established amongst them only by an imperial
+ukase of Catherine II. When the Emperor Alexander travelled through the
+Crimea, in 1820, it is said that he received more than 60,000 petitions
+from peasants claiming their freedom. Two years afterwards an
+insurrection broke out at Martinofka, in the environs of Taganrok; but
+it was speedily put down, and led to nothing but the transportation of
+some hundreds of unhappy serfs to Siberia.</p>
+
+<p>As for the foreign colonies established in New Russia, the government
+adapted its regulations at first in strict accordance with their wants.
+Each of them possessed a constitution in harmony with its manners, its
+usages, and its state of civilisation, and nothing had been neglected
+that could prompt the development of their prosperity.</p>
+
+<p>But within the last few years, the principles of political unity have
+been gaining the upper hand, and all the government measures are tending
+to assimilate the foreign populations to the free peasants of the crown.
+It is with this view that the special administrative committees have
+been suppressed, and the ministry of the domains of the crown has been
+created. Undoubtedly, as we have already said, when speaking of the
+German colonies, Russia has an incontestible right to strive to render
+herself homogeneous; the interests of her policy and her nationality
+require that she should neglect no means of arriving at a uniform
+administrative system. Unfortunately, generalisations are still
+impossible in the empire. Where there are so many conflicting forms of
+civilisation, the attempt to impose one unvarying system of rule upon so
+many dissimilar peoples, cannot be unattended with danger, particularly
+when that system is an exclusive one, and belongs only to one of the
+least enlightened portions of the population. It is, at this day, quite
+as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>impolitic to apply to the German colonists the administrative system
+practised with the Russian peasants, as it would be absurd to govern the
+latter like the Germans.</p>
+
+<p>The government would act more wisely if it tried, in the first place, to
+raise its native subjects to the level of the foreigners, instead of
+depressing the latter by subjecting them to the same conditions as its
+40,000,000 of serfs. The difficulties would no doubt be great; but
+obstinately to persist in establishing a forced administrative unity by
+dint of ukases, is nothing short of ruin to those thriving and
+industrious foreign colonies, which for more than half a century have
+done so much for the prosperity of the country, by bringing the soil of
+Southern Russia into productive cultivation; and it is well known, that
+already, several hundred families have abandoned their settlements and
+returned to Germany.</p>
+
+<p>The whole of Southern Russia from the banks of the Dniestr to the Sea of
+Azov, and to the foot of the mountains of the Crimea, consists
+exclusively of vast plains called steppes, elevated from forty to fifty
+yards above the level of the sea. The soil is completely bare of
+forests; it is only in some sheltered localities along the banks of the
+Dniepr and the other rivers, and in their islands, that we find a few
+woods of oak, birch, aspen, and willow. The inhabitants of the country
+are obliged to use for firing, reeds, straw, and the dung of cattle
+kneaded into little masses like bricks. In Odessa, they import wood from
+Bessarabia, the Crimea, and the banks of the Danube; but it costs as
+much as eighty rubles the fathom. English coal is also consumed, and as
+the merchant vessels carry it as ballast, its cost is very moderate.
+Within the last few years the native coal from the government of
+Iekaterinoslav and the Don country, is also beginning to be used
+throughout Southern Russia.</p>
+
+<p>The growth of wheat and the rearing of cattle, chiefly Merino sheep, are
+the main sources of wealth in these regions. The best cultivated tracts
+are, in the first place, those occupied by the German colonies, and
+next, the environs of Podolia and Khivia. But the most productive soil
+is, unquestionably, that of the north-east of the government of
+Iekaterinoslav, where the surface of the country is more varied and
+better irrigated. Unfortunately, the inhabitants have scarcely any
+markets for their produce.</p>
+
+<p>The grand want of this part of the empire is, the means of transport.
+Within the sixty years or thereabouts, during which the Russians have
+been in possession of these regions, they have founded many towns and
+erected many edifices to accommodate the public functionaries; but they
+have completely forgotten the most important thing, the thing without
+which agriculture and trade can make no progress worth speaking of.
+There are no causeways anywhere; the roads are mere tracks marked out by
+two ditches a few inches deep, and a line of posts set up from verst to
+verst to mark the distance. But usually no account is made of the
+imperial track, and the wheel-ruts vary laterally over a space of half a
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>league and more. With every fall of rain the course of the road is
+changed. In winter, when snow-storms and fogs prevail, travelling in New
+Russia is beset with serious perils. It is then so easy to wander from
+the route, that travellers are often in danger of losing themselves in
+the steppes, and dying of cold.</p>
+
+<p>Bridges over the streams and rivers are as rare as causeways, and where
+any exist they are so defective, that drivers always try to avoid them,
+and so save their vehicles from the chance of being broken. Whenever the
+traveller is suddenly roused up from a sound sleep by a violent shock,
+he may be certain he is passing over a bridge or a fragment of a
+causeway. Spring and autumn are the seasons when he has most reason to
+curse the bad management of the Board of Bridges and Roads, for then the
+roads are impracticable: the smallest gully becomes the bed of a
+torrent, and communications are often totally interrupted. The
+consequence is that the transport of goods can only be effected in
+winter and during four months of summer. Nor must we allow ourselves to
+imagine that sledging is a very safe mode of carriage; the snow-storms
+cause great disasters, and if the winter be at all rigorous, an enormous
+number of draught oxen are lost.</p>
+
+<p>Every one knows what fine rivers nature has bestowed on New Russia. The
+Dniestr and the Dniepr are two admirable canals, which, after having
+traversed the central parts of the empire and its most fertile regions,
+terminate in the Black Sea. Their navigation, if well managed, would
+certainly compensate largely for the difficulties in the way of
+constructing roads, and might amply suffice for the wants of the
+population. But, as we have said in our chapter on the commerce of the
+Black Sea, every thing in Russia bears deplorable proof of the
+supineness of the government. It must, however, be owned that it is not
+to be reproached in every case with want of the will to do better; for
+recently, upon the enlightened solicitation of Count Voronzof, it was
+determined to establish on the Donetz, one of the confluents of the Don,
+a steam-tug to take in tow the coal-barges of the government of
+Iekaterinoslav.</p>
+
+<p>The two grand obstacles which, in our opinion, impede the accomplishment
+of useful works in Russia, consist in the self-sufficient incapacity of
+the ministry of finance, and in the peculation of the functionaries.
+Count Cancrine<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> may be an excellent bookkeeper; we grant that he
+possesses no ordinary talent in matters of account; but we believe, and
+facts demonstrate it, that his administration has greatly diminished the
+financial resources of the empire. The man possesses not one enlarged
+idea, no forecast; he sacrifices every thing to the present moment.
+Every item of expenditure must bring in an immediate profit, or he looks
+on it as money mis-spent; he can never be brought to understand that all
+capital expended <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>in promoting agriculture and trade, returns sooner or
+later to the exchequer with large interest.</p>
+
+<p>In 1840, a landowner, deeply interested in the navigation of the liman
+of the Dniestr, after many fruitless efforts, at last succeeded by
+stratagem in inducing him to establish a small steamer on those waters,
+in order to facilitate the commercial intercourse between Akermann and
+Ovidiopol. The salt works of Touzla, situated in the vicinity, were to
+advance the necessary funds to the directory of the steamer, and
+although that directory was entirely dependent on the government, it
+was, nevertheless, obliged to enter into an engagement for the repayment
+of the small sum advanced, within a specified time. The steamboat was
+set plying; but whether from mismanagement or from other causes, no
+profit was realised in the first few years; on the contrary, there was
+some loss. Angry expostulations on the part of the ministry soon
+followed; and for a while there was an intention of suppressing the new
+means of communication, though so highly important to both banks. Such
+is the behaviour of the ministry on all industrial or commercial
+questions. We shall have many other facts of the same kind to mention,
+when we come to speak of Bessarabia and the Crimea.</p>
+
+<p>Now for an anecdote exemplifying the proceedings of the Board of Roads
+and Ways.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> It was proposed by Count Voronzof in 1838, to have a
+bridge constructed over a brook that crosses the road from Ovidiopol to
+Odessa, and which is twice every year converted into a torrent. The
+chief engineer of the district having estimated the expense at 36,750
+rubles, the scheme was discountenanced by the ministry, and the bridge
+remained unbuilt for four years. In 1841, Count Voronzof visited
+Bessarabia, and his carriage was near being overturned on the little old
+bridge by which the brook is crossed. "It is very much to be regretted,"
+said he to M&mdash;&mdash;i, who accompanied him, "that there is not a suitable
+bridge here; the ministry would not, perhaps, have refused to sanction
+it, if the engineers had been more moderate in their demands."</p>
+
+<p>Some days afterwards M&mdash;&mdash;i sent for an Italian engineer, and put into
+his hands a statement of all the measurements on which the government
+engineers had founded their estimate. The Italian asked at first 8400
+rubles, and finally reduced his demand to 6475. M&mdash;&mdash;i hastened to lay
+his proposal before Count Voronzof, who was amazed, and instantly
+accepted the terms. The bridge was to be forthwith constructed. It was
+not long before the chief engineer visited M&mdash;&mdash;i, and beset him with
+reproaches and remonstrances, to which the former replied thus: "My good
+sir, I have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>not slandered you, nor do I bear you the least enmity. I
+wanted a bridge that I might visit my estate without danger. It is not
+enough to have a steamer on the liman of the Dniestr, unless one has
+also the means of making use of it. Your demand for the execution of the
+works was 36,750 rubles; another person, who has no desire to lose by
+the job, is content to perform it for 6475. I am sorry you think he has
+asked too little. Be that as it may, I shall have the bridge, and that
+was a thing I had set my mind on. Excuse me this once."</p>
+
+<p>We see by this, with what difficulty useful improvements are effected in
+Russia. The most earnest and laudable purposes are constantly frustrated
+by the vices of the administrative system. Unhappily there never can be
+an end to the fatal influence and the tyranny everywhere exercised by
+the public functionaries, until a radical reform shall have taken place
+in the social institutions of the empire; but nothing indicates as yet
+that there is any serious intention of effecting such a system.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> See Appendix, p. 101.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> It is needless to say that our remarks do not apply to all
+the Russian engineers without exception, for we ourselves have known
+many upright and worthy men amongst them; and these men were the more
+deserving of esteem, as they always ended by being the victims of their
+own integrity.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIII.</h2>
+<br />
+
+<p>"Count Cancrine was the only statesman in Russia who possessed some
+share of learning and general information, though somewhat deficient in
+the knowledge specially applicable to his own department. He was a very
+good bookkeeper; but chemistry, mechanics, and technology were quite
+unknown to him. His sense of duty overbore all feelings of German
+nationality; he really desired the good of Russia, while at the same
+time he did not neglect his own affairs, for the care of which his post
+afforded him peculiar facilities. Colbert's fortune was made matter of
+reproach to him; a similar reproach may be fairly made against M.
+Cancrine, even though he leaves to his children the care of expending
+his wealth. He has amassed a yearly income of 400,000 rubles. 'It will
+all go,' he says, 'my children will take care of that.'</p>
+
+<p>"He was the most ardent partisan both of the prohibitive and of the
+industrial system; and the feverish development he gave to manufactures
+does not redeem the distress of agriculture to which he denied his
+solicitude. A true Russian would never have fallen into this error, but
+would have comprehended that Russia is pre-eminently an agricultural
+country. The question of serfdom found this minister's knowledge at
+fault. His monetary measures were but gropings in the dark, with many an
+awkward fall, and sometimes a lucky hit. He deserves credit, however,
+for having opposed the emperor's wasteful profusion, with a perseverance
+which the tsar called wrongheadedness, though he did not venture to
+break with him. It was Mazarine's merit that he gave Colbert to Louis
+XIV. In appointing M. Vrontshenko as his successor, Count Cancrine has
+rendered a very ill service to Russia."&mdash;<i>Ivan Golovine, Russia under
+Nicholas I.</i></p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">THE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS OF MEN IN RUSSIA&mdash;THE
+NOBLES&mdash;DISCONTENT OF THE OLD ARISTOCRACY&mdash;THE MERCHANT
+CLASS&mdash;SERFDOM.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The Russian nation is divided into two classes: the aristocracy, who
+enjoy all the privileges; and the people who bear all the burdens of the
+state.</p>
+
+<p>We must not, however, form to ourselves an idea of the Russian nobility
+at all similar to those we entertain of the aristocracies of Germany, or
+of ante-revolutionary France. In Russia, nobility is not exclusively
+conferred by birth, as in the other countries of Europe. There every
+freeman may become noble by serving the state either in a military or a
+civil capacity; with this difference only, that the son of a nobleman is
+advanced one step shortly after he enters the service, whilst the son of
+a commoner must wait twelve years for his first promotion, unless he
+have an opportunity of distinguishing himself in the meanwhile. Such
+opportunities indeed are easily found by all who have the inclination
+and the means to purchase them.</p>
+
+<p>The first important modifications in the constitution of the noblesse
+were anterior to Peter the Great; and Feodor Alexievitch, by burning the
+charters of the aristocracy, made the first attempt towards destroying
+the distinction which the boyars wanted to establish between the great
+and the petty nobles. It is a curious fact, that at the accession of the
+latter monarch to the throne, most offices of state were hereditary in
+Russia, and it was not an uncommon thing to forego the services of a man
+who would have made an excellent general, merely because his ancestors
+had not filled that high post, which men of no military talent obtained
+by right of birth. Frequent mention has of late been made of the
+celebrated phrase, <i>The boyars have been of opinion and the tzar has
+ordained</i>, and it has been made the theme of violent accusations against
+the usurpation of the Muscovite sovereigns. But historical facts
+demonstrate that the supposed power of the nobility was always illusory,
+and that the so much vaunted and regretted institution served, in
+reality, only to relieve the tzars from all personal responsibility. The
+spirit of resistance, whatever may be said to the contrary, was never a
+characteristic of the Russian nobility. No doubt there have been
+frequent conspiracies in Russia; but they have always been directed
+against the life of the reigning sovereign, and never in any respect
+against existing institutions. The facility with which Christianity was
+introduced into the country, affords a striking proof of the blind
+servility of the Russian people. Vladimir caused proclamation to be made
+one day in the town of Kiev, that all the inhabitants were to repair
+next day to the banks of the Dniepr and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>receive baptism; and
+accordingly at the appointed hour on the morrow, without the least
+tumult or show of force, all the inhabitants of Kiev were Christians.</p>
+
+<p>The existing institutions of the Russian noblesse date from the reign of
+Peter the Great. The innovation of that sovereign excited violent
+dissatisfaction, and the nobles, not yet broken into the yoke they now
+bear, caused their monarch much serious uneasiness. The means which
+appeared to Peter I. best adapted for cramping the old aristocracy, was
+to throw open the field of honours to all his subjects who were not
+serfs. But in order to avoid too rudely shocking established prejudices,
+he made a difference between nobles and commoners as to the period of
+service, entitling them respectively to obtain that first step which was
+to place them both on the same level. Having then established the
+gradations of rank and the conditions of promotion, and desirous of
+ratifying his institutions by his example, he feigned submission to them
+in his own person, and passed successively through all the steps of the
+scale he had appointed.</p>
+
+<p>The rank of officer in the military service makes the holder a gentleman
+in blood, that is, confers hereditary nobility; but in the civil
+service, this quality is only personal up to the rank of college
+assessor, which corresponds to that of major.</p>
+
+<p>The individual once admitted into the fourteenth or lowest class,
+becomes noble, and enjoys all the privileges of nobility as much as a
+count of the empire, with this exception only, that he cannot have
+slaves of his own before he has attained the grade of college assessor,
+unless he be noble born.</p>
+
+<p>It results from this system that consideration is attached in Russia,
+not to birth, but merely to the grade occupied. As promotion from one
+rank to another is obtained after a period of service, specified by the
+statutes, or sooner through private interest, there is no college
+registrar (fourteenth class) whatever be his parentage, but may aspire
+to attain precedence over the first families in the empire; and the
+examples of these elevations are not rare. It must be owned, however,
+that the old families have more chance of advancement than the others:
+but they owe this advantage to their wealth rather than to their
+personal influence.</p>
+
+<p>With all the apparent liberality of this scheme of nobility, it has,
+nevertheless, proved admirably subservient to the policy of the
+Muscovite sovereigns. The old aristocracy has lost every kind of
+influence, and its great families, most of them resident in Moscow, can
+now only protest by their inaction and their absence from court, against
+the state of insignificance to which they have been reduced, and from
+which they have no chance of recovery.</p>
+
+<p>Had it been necessary for all aspirants to nobility to pass through the
+wretched condition of the common soldier, it is evident that the empire
+would not possess one-tenth of its present number of nobles.
+Notwithstanding their abject and servile condition, very few commoners
+would have the courage to ennoble themselves by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>undergoing such a
+novitiate, with the stick hanging over them for many years. But they
+have the alternative of the civil service, which leads to the same
+result by a less thorny path, and offers even comparatively many more
+advantages to them than to the nobles by blood. Whereas the latter, on
+entering the military service, only appear for a brief while for form's
+sake in the ranks, become non-commissioned officers immediately, and
+officers in a few months; they are compelled in the civil service to act
+for two or three years as supernumeraries in some public office before
+being promoted to the first grade. It is true, the preliminary term of
+service is fixed for commoners at twelve years, but we have already
+spoken of the facilities they possess for abridging this apprenticeship.</p>
+
+<p>But this excessive facility for obtaining the privileges of nobility has
+given rise to a subaltern aristocracy, the most insupportable and
+oppressive imaginable; and has enormously multiplied the number of
+<i>employ&eacute;s</i> in the various departments. Every Russian, not a serf, takes
+service as a matter of course, were it only to obtain rank in the
+fourteenth class; for otherwise he would fall back almost into the
+condition of the slaves, would be virtually unprotected, and would be
+exposed to the continual vexations of the nobility and the public
+functionaries. Hence, many individuals gladly accept a salary of sixty
+francs a year, for the permission of acting as clerks in some
+department; and so it comes to pass that the subaltern <i>employ&eacute;s</i> are
+obliged to rob for the means of subsistence. This is one of the chief
+causes of the venality and of the defective condition of the Russian
+administrative departments.</p>
+
+<p>Peter the Great's regulations were excellent no doubt in the beginning,
+and hardly could that sovereign have devised a more efficacious means of
+mastering the nobility, and prostrating them at his feet. But now that
+the intended result has been amply obtained, these institutions require
+to be modified; for, under the greatly altered circumstances of the
+country, they only serve to augment beyond measure the numbers of a
+pernicious bureaucracy, and to impede the development of the middle
+class. To obtain admission into the fourteenth class, and become a
+noble, is the sole ambition of a priest's or merchant's son, an ambition
+fully justified by the unhappy condition of all but the privileged
+orders. There is no country in which persons engaged in trade are held
+in lower esteem than in Russia. They are daily subjected to the insults
+of the lowest clerks, and it is only by dint of bribery they can obtain
+the smallest act of justice. How often have I seen in the post stations,
+unfortunate merchants, who had been waiting for forty-eight hours and
+more, for the good pleasure of the clerk, without daring to complain. It
+mattered nothing that their papers were quite regular, the noble of the
+fourteenth class did not care for that, nor would he give them horses
+until he had squeezed a good sum out of the <i>particularnii tchelovieks</i>,
+as he called them in his aristocratic pride. The same annoyances await
+the foreigner, who, on the strength of his passport, undertakes a
+journey without a decoration at his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>buttonhole, or any title to give
+him importance. I speak from experience: for more than two years spent
+in traversing Russia as a private individual, enabled me fully to
+appreciate the obliging disposition of the fourteenth class nobles. At a
+later period, being employed on a scientific mission by the government,
+I held successively the rank of major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel;
+and then I had nothing to complain of; the posting-clerks, and the other
+<i>employ&eacute;s</i> received me with all the politeness imaginable. I never had
+to wait for horses, and as the title with which I was decked authorised
+me to distribute a few cuts of the whip with impunity, my orders were
+fulfilled with quite magical promptitude.</p>
+
+<p>Under such a system, the aristocracy would increase without end in a
+free country. But it is not so in Russia, where the number of those who
+can arrive at a grade is extremely limited, the vast majority of the
+population being slaves. Thus the hereditary and personal nobility
+comprise no more than 563,653 males; though all free-born Russians enter
+the military or civil service, and remain at their posts as long as
+possible; for once they have returned into private life they sink into
+mere oblivion. From the moment he has put on plain clothes, the most
+deserving functionary is exposed to the vexations of the lowest
+subalterns, who then omit no opportunity of lording over their former
+superior.</p>
+
+<p>Such social institutions have fatally contributed to excite a most
+decided antipathy between the old and the new aristocracy; and the
+emperor naturally accords his preference and his favours to those who
+owe him every thing, and from whom he has nothing to fear. In this way
+the new nobles have insensibly supplanted the old boyars. But their
+places and pecuniary gains naturally attach them to the established
+government, and consequently they are quite devoid of all revolutionary
+tendencies. Equally disliked by the old aristocracy whom they have
+supplanted, and by the peasants whom they oppress, they are, moreover,
+too few in numbers to be able to act by themselves; and, in addition to
+this, the high importance attached to the distinctions of rank, prevent
+all real union or sympathy between the members of this branch of Russian
+society. The tzar, who perfectly understands the character of this body,
+is fully aware of its venality and corruption; and if he honours it with
+his special favour, this is only because he finds in it a more absolute
+and blind submission than in the old aristocracy, whose ambitious
+yearnings after their ancient prerogatives cannot but be at variance
+with the imperial will. As for any revolutions which could possibly
+arise out of the discontent of this latter order, we may be assured they
+will never be directed against the political and moral system of the
+country; they will always be, as they have always been, aimed solely
+against the individual at the head of the government. Conspiracies of
+this kind are the only ones now possible in Russia; and what proves this
+fact is, the impotence of that resentment the tzars have provoked on the
+part of the old aristocracy, whenever they have touched on the question
+of emancipating the serfs.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>The tzars have shown no less dexterity than the kings of France in their
+struggles against the aristocracy, and they have been much more favoured
+by circumstances. We see the Russian sovereigns bent, like Louis XI., on
+prostrating the great feudatories of the realm; but there was this
+difference between their respective tasks, that the French nobles could
+bring armies into the field, and often did so, whereas the Russian
+nobles can only counteract the power of their ruler by secret
+conspiracies, and will never succeed in stirring up their peasants
+against the imperial authority.</p>
+
+<p>What may we conclude are the destinies in store for the Russian
+nobility, and what part will it play in the future history of the
+country? It seems to us to possess little inherent vigour and vitality,
+and we doubt that a radical regeneration of the empire is ever to be
+expected at its hands. The influence of Europe has been fatal to it. It
+has sought to assimilate itself too rapidly with our modern
+civilisation, and to place itself too suddenly on a level with the
+nations of the west. Its efforts have necessarily produced only
+corruption and demoralisation, which, by bastardising the country, have
+deprived it of whatever natural strength it once possessed.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt there are in Russia as elsewhere, men of noble and patriotic
+sentiments, who feel a lively interest in the greatness and the future
+destinies of their native land; but they are, perhaps, committed to an
+erroneous course; and it is to be feared that by adopting our liberal
+principles in their full extent, and seeking to apply them at home, they
+will do still more mischief than the obstinate conservatives who suffer
+themselves to be borne along passively by the current of time and
+circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>Hence, after having studied the influence of European civilisation on
+Russia, we are fully prepared to understand the efforts which the
+Emperor Nicholas is making to isolate his empire as much as possible,
+and to restore its primitive nationality. Despairing of the destinies of
+his aristocracy, he, no doubt, wishes to preserve the middle class
+(whose development will infallibly be effected sooner or later) from the
+rock on which the former class have made shipwreck of their hopes. And
+certainly it is not among a few thousand nobles he can hope to find
+sufficient elements of greatness and prosperity for the present and for
+future times.</p>
+
+<p>After the nobles come the merchants and burghers, about a million and a
+half in number, and now constituting the first nucleus of a middle
+class. They are wholly engrossed with commerce and their pecuniary
+interests. Among them there are some very wealthy men, and they are
+allowed to discharge the inoffensive functions of mayors in the towns.
+The nobility profess almost as much contempt for this class as for the
+slaves, and are not sparing towards it of injustice and extortion. But
+the Russian merchant is the calmest and most patient being imaginable,
+and in comparison with slavery and the sad condition of the soldier, he
+regards his own lot as the very ideal of good fortune. Down to the reign
+of Ivan IV., merchants enjoyed tolerably extensive privileges in Russia.
+They were, it is <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>true, placed below the lowest class of the nobility,
+just as in our days; but they were considered as a constituent part of
+the government, were summoned to the great assemblies of the nation, and
+voted in them like the boyars.</p>
+
+<p>The Emperor Nicholas has sought of late years to raise their body in
+public estimation, by granting them many prerogatives of nobility; but
+his efforts have hitherto not been very successful. The only means of
+giving outward respectability to this important class, would be to
+afford it admission into the body of the nobles without compelling it to
+enter the government service. And surely an individual who contributes
+to develop the trade and commerce of the land, has as strong claims to
+honorary distinctions as a petty clerk, whose whole life is passed in
+cheating his superiors, and robbing those who are so unfortunate as to
+have any dealings with him. Should the emperor ever adopt such a course,
+there would follow from it another advantage still more important,
+namely, that it would gradually extinguish the abuses of the present
+nobiliary system, and would immediately rid the public departments of
+all those useless underlings, who now encumber the various offices
+solely with a view to acquire a footing among the privileged orders.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian and foreign merchants, established in the country, are
+divided into three classes, or guilds. Those of the first guild must
+give proof of possessing a capital of 50,000 rubles. They have a right
+to own manufactories, town and country houses, and gardens. They may
+trade with the interior of the empire, and with foreign countries; they
+are exempt from corporal punishments, and are privileged like the
+hereditary nobility to drive four horses in their carriages; but they
+must pay 3000 rubles for their licence.</p>
+
+<p>Those of the second guild are required to prove only a capital of 20,000
+rubles, and their trade is confined to the interior of the empire. They
+may be proprietors of factories, hotels and boats; but they are not
+allowed to have more than two horses to their carriages.</p>
+
+<p>The third guild merchants, whose capital needs not exceed 8000 rubles,
+are the retail dealers of the towns and villages, they keep inns and
+workshops, and hold booths in the fairs.</p>
+
+<p>The peasants who engage in trade, are not required to prove any capital.
+The statistics of these several classes, in 1839, were as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="50%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 115">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="85%">First guild merchants</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="15%">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;889</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Second guild merchants</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;1,874</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Third guild merchants</td>
+  <td class="tdc">33,808</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Peasants having permission to trade</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;5,299</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Clerks</td>
+  <td class="tdc" style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;8,345</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdc">50,215</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>The slaves form by far the most considerable part of the population;
+their numbers, exclusive of those belonging to the crown and to private
+proprietors, exceed 45,000,000; an enormous amount in comparison with
+the numbers of the nobles.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>We will not enter into any historical details respecting the origin of
+serfdom in Russia; every one knows that the institution is one of
+somewhat modern date, and that servitude, though long existing
+virtually, was established legally in the empire only by an ukase of
+Boris Godounof. We will confine our remarks to the institution as it
+exists at the present day.</p>
+
+<p>The slaves are divided into two classes, those belonging respectively to
+the crown, and to private individuals. The former are under the control
+of the ministry of the domains of the crown, a special board created
+January 1st, 1838, and presided over by General Count Kizelev. By law
+they are required to pay to the crown a capitation tax of fifteen rubles
+yearly for every male, but this tax is almost always raised to thirty or
+thirty-five rubles by the rapacity of the government servants. Besides
+these money contributions, they are subjected to <i>corv&eacute;es</i> for the
+repair of the roads and public works, and they may also be required to
+furnish means of conveyance and food for the troops. For these latter
+services, it is true, they receive a nominal compensation in the shape
+of orders payable by treasury, but these are never cashed. Lastly, they
+are liable to military recruitment, which of late years has annually
+taken off six out of every 1000 male inhabitants in the governments of
+New Russia.</p>
+
+<p>In exchange for all these burdens, the peasant receives from the crown
+the land necessary for his subsistence, the quantity of which varies
+from ten or eleven deciatines, to one or two, according to the density
+of the population. Whatever may have been said on the subject, the
+condition of the crown serf is neither miserable nor destitute, and his
+slavery cannot but be favourable to physical and animal life, the only
+life as yet understood by the bulk of the Russian people. Except in
+years of great dearth, such as often desolate the country, the peasant
+has his means of existence secured; his dwelling, his cattle, and his
+little field of buckwheat; and as far as freedom from moral and physical
+sufferings constitute happiness, he may be considered much better off
+than the free peasants of the other European states. With plenty of
+food, his dwelling well warmed in winter, his mind disencumbered of all
+those anxieties for the future that harass our labouring poor; and
+endowed by nature with a vigorous constitution, he possesses all the
+elements of that negative happiness which is founded on ignorance and
+the want of all awakened sense of man's dignity. The slave besides is so
+frugal, he needs so little to live, his wants and desires are so
+circumscribed, that poverty, as it exists in our civilised lands, is one
+of the rarest exceptions in Russia. But all these conditions of
+existence constitute a life essentially brutish; and the most wretched
+being in France would certainly not exchange his lot for that of the
+Muscovite peasant.</p>
+
+<p>It cannot, however, be questioned that the crown serfs enjoy almost
+complete liberty. Simply attached to the soil, they are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>masters of
+their own time, and may even obtain permission to go and seek employment
+in the towns, or on the estates of private landowners. Hence, were it
+not for the difficulties connected with the emancipation of the private
+serfs, the crown peasants might be declared independent to-morrow,
+without any sort of danger to the empire. Their physical condition is in
+perfect harmony with the present state of civilisation, and in this
+respect the system established by the crown, does not deserve the outcry
+raised against it. The penury and distress in which the imperial serfs
+are plunged in some districts, are ascribable solely to the cupidity and
+corruption of the public functionaries, or to the want of outlets for
+the produce of the soil, and not to the laws regulating serfdom.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of the slaves on seignorial lands is both morally and
+physically less satisfactory than that of the crown serfs. They are
+subject to arbitrary caprice, and to countless vexations, particularly
+when they belong to small proprietors, or are immediately dependant on
+stewards. There exist, indeed, very strict regulations for their
+protection against the undue exactions of their lords; but the latter
+are, nevertheless, all-powerful through their social position and the
+posts they fill, and however they may abuse their authority, they are
+always sure of impunity. Thanks to judicial venality, they know that all
+appeals to justice against them are futile. There is only one case in
+which the peasant can hope for a favourable hearing, namely, where there
+is any ill-will between his master and the higher powers; but his wrongs
+must be very cruel indeed if they goad him to seek legal redress, for he
+well knows that sooner or later he will be made to pay dearly for his
+rebellion. We are bound, however, to acknowledge that the lords often
+act with the greatest humanity towards the serfs, and they have at last
+come to understand that in caring for the welfare of their peasants,
+they are taking the best means to augment their own fortunes. It is only
+to be regretted that their benevolent efforts are almost constantly
+paralysed by the rapine and insatiable cupidity of their stewards and
+agents.</p>
+
+<p>The private slaves, who number about 23,000,000, pay a poll tax of eight
+rubles for every male to the crown, and must give half their time to
+their masters. They usually work three days in the week for the latter,
+and the other three for themselves. Their lord grants them five or six
+hectares of land, and often more, and all the produce they raise from
+them is their own. They are required furthermore to supply out of their
+numbers all the domestic servants requisite for their master's
+establishment, and to do extra duty labour of various kinds, dependent
+solely on the caprice of the latter. A peasant cannot quit his village
+without his master's permission, and if he exercises any handicraft
+trade whatever, he is bound to pay an annual sum proportioned to his
+presumed profits. This sum is called his <i>obrok</i>, and is often very
+considerable; in the case of agricultural and other peasants, it
+averages fifty rubles. But <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>whatever be the position the serf may have
+attained to by his talents and his skill, he never shakes off his
+absolute dependence on his master, one word from whom may compel him to
+abandon all his business and his prospects, and return to his village.
+Many of the wealthiest merchants of Moscow have been named to me, who
+are slaves by birth, and who have in vain offered hundreds of thousands
+of rubles for their freedom. It flatters the pride of the great
+patrician families to have men of merit among their serfs, and many of
+them send young slaves into the towns, and supply them with all the
+means necessary for pursuing a creditable and lucrative calling.</p>
+
+<p>All the hawkers and pedlars that go from village to village, and from
+mansion to mansion, from the banks of the Neva to the extremity of
+Siberia, are slaves, who bring in large profits to their masters; it
+frequently happens that a <i>pometchik</i> has no other income than that
+which he thus derives from his peasants.</p>
+
+<p>Marriages between serfs can only take place with the consent of the
+lord. They are usually consummated at a very early age, and are arranged
+by the steward, who never consults the parties, and whose sole object is
+to effect a rapid increase in the population of his village. The average
+price of a whole family is estimated as ranging from 25<i>l.</i> to 40<i>l.</i></p>
+
+<p>A great deal has been often said of the boundless attachment of the
+serfs to their lords; I doubt that it ever existed; at any rate, it
+exists no longer. The slaves no longer regard with the same resignation
+and apathy the low estate which Providence has assigned them in this
+world; the more liberal treatment enjoyed by the imperial serfs, has
+inoculated them with ideas of independence, and they are all now
+ambitious of passing into the domain of the crown&mdash;a good fortune, which
+in their eyes is equivalent to emancipation. This tendency of the serfs
+to detach themselves from the aristocracy is a most important fact, and
+if the emperor succeeds in regulating this great social movement so that
+it may be effected without turbulence, he will have rendered a signal
+service to Russia, and have mightily contributed to the regeneration and
+future welfare of her people.</p>
+
+<p>Every village has its mayor, called <i>golova</i>, and its <i>starosts</i>, whose
+number depends on that of the population, there being usually one for
+every ten families. They are all elected by the community, and to them
+it belongs to regulate the various labours performed by it, and to
+apportion and collect the taxes. Whatever petty differences may arise
+between the peasants, are settled before the <i>starosts</i> or council of
+elders, whose decisions are always received with blind submission.</p>
+
+<p>Military service is the only <i>corv&eacute;e</i> which the Russian peasants regard
+with real horror. Their antipathy to it is universal, and the regiments
+can only be recruited by main force. There is no conscription in Russia,
+but whenever men are wanted, an imperial ukase is issued, commanding a
+certain number to be raised in such or such a government. In the crown
+lands, it is the head man of the village <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>aided by the district
+authorities, who selects the future heroes, and this is usually done in
+secret, in order to prevent desertion. The young men chosen are
+forthwith arrested, generally in the middle of the night, and remain
+fettered until they have been inspected by the surgeon, after which they
+are sent off in small detachments to the regiments, under the guard of
+armed soldiers. In the seignorial villages, the selection is made by the
+steward. But the business is here of more difficult execution than in
+the domains of the crown, and the unfortunate recruit is often chained
+to an aged peasant, who acts as his keeper, and cannot quit him day or
+night. I saw two young peasants thus chained to two old men, in a
+village belonging to General Papof; they spent their time quietly in
+drinking in the dram-shops, without exciting any surprise in the
+spectators. When we reflect on the privations and sufferings that await
+the Muscovite soldier, we cannot wonder at the intense repugnance the
+peasants entertain for the service.</p>
+
+<p>The military spirit, so potent elsewhere, scarcely exists in the empire.
+Glory and honour are things for which the Russian serfs care very
+little, nor have they any conception of the magic that lies in the words
+"Our country," "Our native land." The only country they know is their
+village, their stove, their <i>kasha</i>, the patch of ground they daily
+cultivate, and that mud which a French grenadier lifted up with his
+foot, exclaiming, "And this they call a country!" "<i>ils appellent cela
+une patrie!</i>" At the same time, it is evident that this antipathy of the
+Russians for military service, is to be attributed as much to the
+political constitution of the empire, as to the character of the
+inhabitants; and as that constitution has hitherto been a national
+necessity, it would be unjust to charge as a crime upon the government,
+the unhappy moral condition of its armies. We shall speak at more length
+in another place, on the subject of the Russian soldiery.</p>
+
+<p>Moral and intellectual instruction have hitherto made very little way
+among the slave population. Attempts indeed have been made to found
+schools in some of the crown villages, but these attempts have been
+always ill-directed, and necessarily unsuccessful. Religion which
+everywhere else constitutes the most potent instrument of civilisation,
+can have in Russia no favourable effect on the improvement of the
+people. Consisting solely in fasts, crossings, and outward ceremonies,
+it leaves the mind totally uninfluenced, and in no respect acts as a bar
+to the demoralisation which is gradually pervading the immense class of
+the serfs. The peculiar circumstances of the Russian towns and villages
+are also perhaps among the greatest obstacles to intellectual progress.
+The advance of civilisation depends in a great measure on facility of
+intercourse. When a population is compact, and its several members are
+continually in presence of each other, each man's knowledge is
+propagated among his compatriots, facts and opinions are discussed, and
+men become mutually enlightened as to what is thought and done around
+them. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>From this continual interchange of mental wealth, there naturally
+arises an amount of enlightenment and capacity that tends greatly to
+extend the domain of thought. But let any one cast his eyes on Russia,
+and he will be struck by the unfavourable manner in which its population
+is distributed. Not only are the great centres of population very thinly
+scattered over the surface, but the several dwellings too in the towns
+are placed very wide apart, and those of the villages still more so.
+Every man is isolated, every man lives by and for himself, or at least
+within a very contracted sphere. Social meetings are rare, and in winter
+almost impossible; in a word, it is not at all unusual for people not to
+know their neighbours on the opposite side of the street; hence the
+invariable <i>nesnai</i> (I do not know) with which the Russian replies to
+every question the traveller puts to him, ought not to astonish or
+incense the latter. At first I was disposed to think this ignorance was
+pretended, and to attribute it to sulkiness and indolence; but I
+afterwards perceived that it was occasioned in much greater measure by
+the absurd style of building adopted in the country.</p>
+
+<p>Another thing that tends to enervate the Russians and keep them in their
+brutified condition, is the immoderate use of brandy, to which both men
+and women are addicted. It is truly deplorable that the government feels
+constrained to favour the sale of that pernicious liquor which forms its
+most important source of revenue. How often have I seen the dram-shops
+full of women dead drunk, who had left their poultry yards tenantless,
+and sold their household furniture to gratify their fatal passion.</p>
+
+<p>A thing by which I have always been much struck in Russia, is the
+stationary uniformity which prevails over the whole surface of the
+empire, both in ideas and in physical productions. You see everywhere
+the same plans and arrangements of the buildings, the same implements,
+and the same agricultural practices and modes of carriage. Contact with
+foreigners has as yet had no influence on the Sclavonic population, and
+the prosperity generally enjoyed for sixty years by the German colonies
+has done little in the way of example. Is this intellectual
+insensibility the result of servitude exclusively? I think not.
+Servitude may indeed repress, but it cannot extinguish, the various
+qualities with which nature has endowed us; and if the Russians are
+still so backward, and give so little promise of improvement, we must
+explain the fact by the nature of their race, by their still infant
+state as a nation, and their want of precedents in civilisation. At the
+same time there is no reason to despair of them. In our opinion, the
+future civilisation of Russia rests in a great measure on the
+contingency of a religious reformation; but as that reformation could
+not but be hazardous to absolute power by awakening ideas of
+independence and resistance to oppression, the government impedes it by
+every means in its power, and labours unceasingly to reduce all the
+inhabitants of the empire to religious uniformity, as is proved by its
+conduct towards the United <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>Greeks of Poland, and towards the
+Douckoboren and the Molokaner. I had opportunities of observing among
+the members of the two latter communities, how great an influence a
+change of religion may have on the character and intellect of the
+Russians. The Douckoboren and the Molokaner differ essentially in this
+respect from the other subjects of the empire. Activity, probity,
+intelligence, desire of improvement, all these qualities are developed
+among them to the highest degree, and after having consorted with the
+Germans for fifteen years, they have completely appropriated all the
+agricultural ameliorations, and even the social habits of those foreign
+colonists. Among the Russian peasants on the contrary, whether slave or
+free, a complete immobility prevails, and nothing can force them out of
+the old inevitable rut. All the efforts and all the encouragements of
+the government have hitherto been of no avail.</p>
+
+<p>The emancipation of the slaves seems earnestly to occupy the Emperor
+Nicholas; and the measures adopted of late years testify in favour of
+his generous intentions. Unfortunately, the task is beset with
+difficulties for the legislator, and an abrupt attempt to make the
+Russian people independent, would infallibly expose the empire to the
+greatest dangers.</p>
+
+<p>There are in the Russian slave two natures, essentially distinct: the
+one, destitute of all energy, of all vitality, is the result of the
+servitude under which the nation has bent for ages; the other, a bequest
+of barbarism, starting into action at the breath of liberty, is prompt
+to the most alarming excesses, and inspires the revolted serf with the
+desire, above all things, to massacre his master. Emancipation,
+therefore, is not so easy as certain philanthropists would believe it to
+be, and the details we have just given may enable one to conceive all
+the mischiefs that might ensue from it.</p>
+
+<p>The greatest obstacle to this social metamorphosis is presented by the
+private slaves, the majority of whom belong to the hereditary
+aristocracy; it is especially on the part of this class that premature
+liberty might occasion fatal and bloody reactions, which would endanger
+the empire itself, though immediately directed against the lords only.
+Accordingly the tzar, who is not ignorant of these facts, does all in
+his power to withdraw the serfs from their proprietors, and bring them
+into the crown domain: hence the position of the serfs has been
+considerably altered within the last few years. Slaves can now no longer
+be purchased without the lands to which they are attached. Formerly
+owners often hired out their slaves: they can now only grant them
+passports for three years, and the serf himself chooses the master he
+will serve, and the kind of labour to which he will apply himself.</p>
+
+<p>It was evidently with a view to the same end that a bank was created
+some years ago in St. Petersburg, for the purpose of rendering pecuniary
+assistance to the aristocracy. Every proprietor can borrow from the bank
+at eight per cent., on a mortgage of his lands. But by the rules of the
+institution, when the term of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>payment is past, the property of a
+defaulting creditor may be immediately sequestrated to the crown. What
+the government foresaw has happened, and does happen daily, and it has
+acquired numerous private estates, and incorporated them with the
+imperial domains.</p>
+
+<p>A new ukase respecting the emancipation of the slaves which was issued
+in 1842, fixed the relative position of freedmen and their former lords.
+The measure was shaped so as to give the government a direct influence
+conducive to the gradual emancipation of the population. The owners were
+left, as before, the power of emancipating their serfs; but by the terms
+of the ukase, they could only do so in accordance with certain rules,
+and with the express sanction of the emperor. This ukase excited so much
+dissatisfaction among the old <i>noblesse</i>, that the tzar was induced
+subsequently to neutralise its effect by a police enactment. The primary
+end was, nevertheless, obtained, and the ukase dealt a heavy blow to the
+subsisting relations between lord and serf.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> We believe,
+nevertheless, that the course adopted by the Emperor Nicholas (by the
+advice, no doubt, of Count Kizilev) is erroneous, and that the last
+ukases are impolitic. Do what it will, the government will never succeed
+in liberating the private slaves without the co-operation of their
+owners. It is impossible to think of making all the peasants exclusively
+serfs of the crown; such a means of emancipation is impracticable, for
+it implies that the government should remain, in the last result, sole
+possessor of all the lands in the empire, and that the nobility, great
+and small, should be infallibly ruined. In our opinion, the last ukases
+have only served to make emancipation more difficult, by exciting hatred
+between masters and slaves, and fostering the germs of a dangerous
+rebellious spirit. The Russians are still so backward in civilisation,
+that ideas of independence, abruptly and incautiously introduced amongst
+them, would be very likely to cause disastrous convulsions. Liberty must
+reach them gradually; and above all, it is absolutely necessary that
+they should be prepared, by instruction, to exchange their slavery for a
+better state of things. Otherwise, with their present character,
+liberty, after being first summed up by them in the privilege of doing
+nothing, in pillage and massacre, would inevitably end in wretchedness
+and destitution. In the treatment of this great social question, it is
+before all things necessary that the government should come to a fair
+understanding with the nobles, and labour conjointly with them for the
+regeneration of the slave population: it is only by earnest mutual aid
+that those two powers will ever succeed in advancing the cause of
+emancipation without imminent peril to the empire. But in any case,
+there is no denying the many <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>difficulties of this enterprise, no
+answering for all future contingencies. Considerations connected with
+landed property will probably long defeat all efforts in this direction,
+unless the peasants be freely permitted to become landowners, on payment
+of a certain sum for the redemption of their persons, and the purchase
+of the land requisite for their subsistence. This seems to us the only
+rational, nay, the only possible means, of arriving at complete
+emancipation without violence. No doubt if such a privilege be granted
+to the peasants, the present improvident and prodigal race of nobles
+will be rapidly dispossessed; but this will not occasion the country any
+serious inconvenience, and the new order of things will but favour the
+development of the middle class, in which really reside, in our day, all
+the strength and prosperity of a nation.</p>
+
+<p>As for the clergy, whose numbers amount to about 500,000, both males and
+females, we mention them here only to repeat our declaration of their
+nullity and immorality. Utterly unacquainted with any thing pertaining
+to polity and administration, having nothing to do with public
+instruction, and being in their own persons ignorant to excess, the
+priests enjoy no sort of influence or consideration, and are occupied
+solely with corporeal things. We will not enter further into this
+subject. We are loath to unveil completely the vices and ignoble habits
+that distinguish the priests of the orthodox Russian church.</p>
+
+<p>The following is a general table of the Russian population as published
+by the ministry in 1836:</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 123">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" width="66%"><i>Clergy.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="17%">Males.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="17%">Females.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Orthodox Greek clergy of all grades, including the families of ecclesiastics</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">254,057</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">240,748</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">United Greek</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">7,823</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">7,318</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Catholic</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,497</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Armenian</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">474</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">343</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Lutheran</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,003</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">955</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Reformed</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">51</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">37</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Mahommedan Mollahs</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">7,850</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">[A] 6,701</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Buddhist Lamas</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">[B] 150</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>Nobility.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Hereditary nobles</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">284,731</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">253,429</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Personal nobles, including the children of officers</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">78,922</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">74,273</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Subaltern functionaries, retired soldiers, and their families</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">187,047</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">237,443</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>Populations bound to military service in time of war.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cossacks of the Don, the Black Sea, the Caucasus, Astrakhan, Azov, and the
+    Danube, Orenburg and the Ural, and of Siberia, Bashkirs, and Mestcheriaks</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">950,698</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">981,467</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>Inhabiting towns, or included in the municipalities.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Merchants of the three guilds, including notable <i>bourgeois</i>.</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">131,347</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">120,714</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Bourgeois and artisans</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,339,434</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,433,982</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">  <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>
+    Bourgeois in the towns of the western provinces</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">7,522</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">6,966</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Greek of Nejine, armourers of Toula, apprentices in the pharmacies, and others,
+    brokers in the towns, and functionaries in the service of the municipalities</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">10,882</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">10,940</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Inhabitants of the towns of Bessarabia</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">57,905</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">56,176</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>Inhabiting the rural districts.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Serfs of the crown and the apanages</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">10,441,399</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">11,022,595</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Serfs of the seignorial lands</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">11,403,722</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">11,958,873</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>Nomade races, such as</i></td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kalmucks, Khirghis, Turkmans, Tatars</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">254,715</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">261,982</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Inhabitants of the Transcaucasian Provinces</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">689,147</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">689,150</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kingdom of Poland</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,077,311</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,110,911</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Grand Duchy of Finland</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">663,658</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">708,464</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Russian colonies in America</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">30,761</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">30,292</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">28,883,106</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">30,213,759</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" colspan="3">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" colspan="3">[A: These figures are evidently misplaced. Ought they to stand for
+  Catholic nuns?&mdash;<i>Translator.</i>]</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" colspan="3">[B: This number is quite erroneous, for we ourselves found several
+    hundred priests among the Kalmucks of the Volga. The encampment of
+    Prince Tumene, which we visited, alone possesses more than 200.]</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Soldiers and sailors in actual service, their wives and families, not
+having been included in this total, the gross amount of the population
+of the empire appears to be about 61,000,000,&mdash;at least if we may judge
+from the ministerial table, the correctness of which we by no means
+guarantee.</p>
+
+<p>According to the report of the ministry of the interior, the part of the
+population of European Russia not belonging to the orthodox Greek
+church, was, in 1839, as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="40%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 124">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="80%">Catholics</td>
+  <td class="tdr" width="20%">2,235,586</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Gregorian Armenians</td>
+  <td class="tdr">39,927</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Catholic Armenians</td>
+  <td class="tdr">28,145</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Protestants</td>
+  <td class="tdr">1,500,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Mohammedans</td>
+  <td class="tdr">1,530,726</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Jews</td>
+  <td class="tdr">1,069,440</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Buddhists</td>
+  <td class="tdr" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">65,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdr">6,868,824</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> We have not the honour of being acquainted with the
+Emperor of Russia's secret thoughts, and we willingly ascribe to a
+certain liberalism all the ukases concerning the emancipation of the
+slaves; it is possible, however, that the tzar's measures may have been
+prompted, in a great degree, by the fears with which he regards an
+aristocracy still possessing more than 20,000,000 of slaves.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE; GOVERNMENTS&mdash;CONSEQUENCES OF
+CENTRALISATION; DISSIMULATION OF PUBLIC
+FUNCTIONARIES&mdash;TRIBUNALS&mdash;THE COLONEL OF THE
+GENDARMERIE&mdash;CORRUPTION&mdash;PEDANTRY OF FORMS&mdash;CONTEMPT OF THE
+DECREES OF THE EMPEROR AND THE SENATE&mdash;SINGULAR ANECDOTE;
+INTERPRETATION OF A WILL&mdash;RADICAL EVILS IN THE JUDICIAL
+ORGANISATION&mdash;HISTORY AND PRESENT STATE OF RUSSIAN LAW.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The existing division of the Russian empire into fifty-six governments
+dates from the reign of the Emperor Paul. A nearly similar organisation
+existed indeed in the time of Catherine II., but the functions of the
+governors had a much wider range at that period than in our days, and
+those administrators, called by the empress her stewards, enjoyed nearly
+sovereign power.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>The Russian governments correspond to the French departments, the
+districts to sub-prefectures; each government has its chief town, which
+is the seat of the different civil and military administrations.</p>
+
+<p>The governor, who has the exclusive charge of the civil administration,
+nominates to various secondary places, is the head of the college of
+<i>pr&eacute;voyance</i>, and ex-officio inspector of the schools, can demand an
+account of their proceedings of all the provincial authorities except
+the high court, and determines administrative questions with the aid of
+a council of regency composed of two councillors and a secretary,
+nominated by the emperor.</p>
+
+<p>At first sight the governor's power seems unlimited; and indeed he has
+all the authority requisite to do mischief, but very little to do good.
+In Russia the most laudable intentions and the most brilliant
+capabilities are completely paralysed, and the chief administrators
+must, whether they will or not, undergo the disastrous consequences of
+the venality and corruption of their subordinates. Distrust and
+suspicion have been made the essential basis of the organisation of the
+bureaucracy. By surrounding the high functionaries with a multitude of
+<i>employ&eacute;s</i>, and subjecting them to countless formalities, it was thought
+the abuses of power would be hindered; and all that is come of it is the
+creation of an odious class, who use the weapons put into their hands to
+cheat the government, rob individuals, and prevent honest men from
+labouring for the prosperity of their country. The governors have not
+even the right of inquest in judicial questions, and the judges may, by
+entrenching themselves behind the text of the rules, pronounce the most
+iniquitous sentences with impunity. I have known some true-hearted and
+generous administrators, but all after struggling for long years to
+arrive at some sage reforms, at last gave up their efforts in despair,
+and most of them fell into disgrace through the multiplied intrigues of
+their subordinates. In each chief town it is the secretary, the head of
+the chancery, who is the real wielder of the power of government. He
+alone is regarded as knowing the text of the Russian laws; so that, in
+order to oppose any measure of the governor's, he has but to cite a few
+phrases, more or less obscure, from the code of regulations, and it very
+rarely happens that his principal ventures, without his approbation, to
+take on himself the responsibility of any administrative act. There have
+been instances in which governors, disregarding bureaucratic
+formalities, and acting for themselves, have impeded the execution of a
+decree of the tribunals; but they have never failed to expiate their
+audacity by dismissal, unless they were supported by a high social
+position and potent protectors.</p>
+
+<p>Furthermore, the representatives of government are so cramped in their
+powers, that a governor-general, who often rules over several millions
+of men, cannot dispose of 200<i>l.</i> without the sanction of the ministry.</p>
+
+<p>Centralisation, no doubt, has its advantages; but in a country so <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>vast,
+and of such varied wants as Russia, it is impossible that a minister, be
+his talents what they may, can ever satisfy the reasonable demands of
+all parts of the empire. The consequence is that the most useful
+projects are almost always neglected or rejected in the provinces remote
+from the capital.</p>
+
+<p>Another evil, not less deplorable, is the necessity of practising mutual
+deception, under which the public functionaries labour. A public servant
+never thinks of making known to his superior the real situation of the
+country he governs: either he ridiculously exaggerates the good, or he
+is absolutely silent as to what is bad. In the latter case, he acts only
+in accordance with the imperative dictates of prudence, for if he
+declared the truth he would infallibly incur disgrace, and would even
+run the risk of being dismissed. So whenever a public calamity happens,
+it is only at the last extremity, and when the mischief is become
+irremediable, that he makes up his mind to call for an aid that usually
+comes not at all, or else is sure to come too late.</p>
+
+<p>This profound dissimulation, joined with the jealousy which the
+distinctions of rank excite among the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>, does incalculable
+damage to the empire by impeding every useful reform. However, of all
+the sovereigns of the empire, the Tzar Nicholas is, perhaps, the one to
+whom truth and plain dealing are most welcome, and with whom
+well-grounded censure finds most acceptance. Unfortunately, since
+Potemkin's mystifications, falsehood has become a normal thing with the
+Russian <i>employ&eacute;s</i>, and the basis of all their proceedings, and hitherto
+the imperial will has been incapable of eradicating this fatal evil.</p>
+
+<p>The superior court of justice sitting in the chief place of each
+government, and comprising a civil and a criminal section, consists of
+two presidents, two councillors, two secretaries, and eight assessors,
+four of whom are burghers. The emperor endeavoured in 1835 to extend the
+rights of the nobility, by making the offices of president and judge in
+these tribunals elective, but this change appears to have produced but
+very unfavourable results. As all the great proprietors had very little
+inclination to fill such offices, the electors had no opportunity of
+making a good choice, and at last it was found necessary to return to
+the old institutions.</p>
+
+<p>The superior court of justice decides finally in all civil cases, in
+which the sum in dispute does not exceed 500 rubles. Over it are the
+various departments of the senate and the general assembly, resident
+partly in St. Petersburg, and partly in Moscow, and constituting two
+courts to which appeals lie from the governmental courts. There is no
+appeal from the decisions of the general assembly of the senate, or from
+those of the council of the empire approved by the emperor, except on
+the ground of misrepresentations in the evidence.</p>
+
+<p>In the district courts (corresponding to the French <i>tribunaux de
+premi&egrave;re instance</i>) there are also two sections, civil and criminal,
+consisting each of a president, a secretary, having under him several
+<i>employ&eacute;s</i> <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>who constitute the chancery, and four assessors, two of whom
+are chosen from among the inhabitants of the rural district. These
+latter sit only in cases where peasants are concerned.</p>
+
+<p>There is likewise in each governmental chief town, and in each district
+town, an inferior court, specially charged with the affairs of the rural
+police, the taking of informations in criminal affairs, summary
+jurisdiction as to minor offences, and the execution of sentences. This
+court consists of a president, called <i>ispravnik</i>, and four assessors,
+two of them nobles, two peasants. These judges, who are all elected by
+the nobles, are assisted by a secretary, the only <i>employ&eacute;</i> directly
+dependent on the government.</p>
+
+<p>The chief towns and the district towns have also a sort of municipal
+council, consisting of a mayor (<i>golova</i>), and four assistants, elected
+by the municipality, and afterwards approved of by the government. This
+council acts also as a tribunal, and takes cognizance of all the petty
+cases of litigation that may arise among the townsfolk. A nearly similar
+institution exists among the peasants of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>We will not speak of the colleges of wards, the committees of the nobles
+presided over by the marshals of the nobles, the courts of conscience
+which try cases between parents and children, &amp;c. The members of all
+these institutions are elected, but their functions are too
+insignificant to demand mention here.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most influential personages in each government, is the
+colonel of the gendarmerie, who is completely independent of the
+governor. He is the head of the secret police, corresponds directly with
+the minister, and has it in his power, if he is an honest man, to do
+much good by the rigorous control he can exercise over all the
+<i>employ&eacute;s</i> of a province.</p>
+
+<p>This justiciary scheme is in itself very liberal, and ought, one would
+suppose, to satisfy the wants of the population; but like the governors,
+the judges of the different tribunals are in fact but puppets, moved at
+the discretion of the subordinate clerks, who alone are masters of the
+tricks and quibbles of Russian jurisprudence, and legal practice. The
+lowest clerk in a chancery has often more influence than the president
+himself, and the suitor who refuses to be squeezed by him may be quite
+certain thathe will never see the termination of his cause. It is
+impossible to imagine with what adroitness all these fellows, many of
+whom receive for salary only sixty or a hundred rubles a year, manage to
+sweat the purses of those who require their assistance. Justice is
+continually violated in favour of the highest bidder, and thanks to the
+number of contradictory ukases which pass for laws, the most audacious
+robberies are unblushingly committed without the possibility of redress.
+It may be asserted with truth, that the jurisdictional authority in
+Russia resides in the offices of court rather than in the persons of the
+judges. The secretary is the omnipotent arbiter of sentences, and
+dictates them under the influence of money and the bureaucracy.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>Nothing can give an idea of the arts of knavery and chicane put in
+practice to fleece the unfortunates who have to do with the underlings
+of justice. The rigorous stickling for forms, and the multitude of
+papers, are a curse to the country; no business is done by word of mouth
+in Russia.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> All law proceedings are carried on in writing; the
+slightest question and the most trivial explanation must be put down on
+stamped paper according to the appointed forms. Hence it may be
+conceived that with the horrible spirit of chicanery that characterises
+the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>, and the readiness with which they can find a flaw (a
+<i>krutchuk</i> as they call it), in every paper, legal proceedings are spun
+out to an indefinite length, and scarcely end until both parties are
+ruined, or until the one prevails over the other by dint of money and
+corruption. I have often known a document to be sent back from St.
+Petersburg after a lapse of six months, merely because this or that
+phrase was not written according to rule. The government of Bessarabia
+alone paid 63,000<i>l.</i> for stamps, in the course of four years, and the
+population of that province does not exceed 500,000. The want of
+publicity, moreover, has the most pernicious influence on the
+administration of justice. All judgments are made up in secret; there
+are no open pleadings; law processes consist from first to last in piles
+of paper, which enrich the judges and their subordinates, but in no-wise
+affect their opinions, which are always based on the most advantageous
+offers.</p>
+
+<p>This woful state of things is further aggravated by the fact that the
+judges are secure from all responsibility; in whatever manner they
+decide a cause, they always do so in accordance with the laws, provided
+they observe the due forms; but what is really incredible, is the
+impudence with which the lowest tribunal of a district town presumes to
+annul both the decrees of the emperor and those of the general assembly
+of the senate. I will mention in illustration a certain suit brought
+against the heirs of a rich landowner in Podolia, who was deeply
+indebted at his death to the imperial bank of St. Petersburg and to
+several foreign bankers. These latter having become creditors before the
+bank, naturally claimed to be paid in the first instance. The
+consequence was a suit, which had been going on for twelve years when I
+arrived in Russia. The foreigners were defeated in the district court,
+but they gained their cause successively in the governmental court and
+the general assembly of the senate, and finally they obtained a decree
+in their favour from the emperor himself; but the district tribunal,
+under pretext that certain regulations had been violated, took upon
+itself to annul all the decisions of the senate, and to make the whole
+suit be begun over again.</p>
+
+<p>It sometimes happens, however, that the imperial will is declared in so
+positive a manner, that all the tricks and subterfuges of judges and
+secretaries must give way to it. Here is an anecdote that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>conveys a
+perfect notion of what law means in Russia. In Alexander's reign the
+Jesuits had made themselves all-powerful in some parts of Poland. A rich
+landowner and possessor of 6000 peasants at Poltzk, the Jesuit
+head-quarters, was so wrought on by the artful assiduities of the
+society that he bequeathed his whole fortune to it at his death, with
+this stipulation, that the Jesuits should bring up his only son, and
+afterwards give him whatever portion of the inheritance <i>they should
+choose</i>. When the young man had reached the age of twenty, the Jesuits
+bestowed on him 300 peasants. He protested vehemently against their
+usurpation, and began a suit against the society; but his father's will
+seemed clear and explicit, and after having consumed all his little
+fortune, he found his claims disowned by every tribunal in the empire,
+including even the general assembly of the senate. In this seemingly
+hopeless extremity he applied to a certain attorney in St. Petersburg,
+famous for his inexhaustible fertility of mind in matters of cunning and
+chicanery. After having perused the will and the documents connected
+with the suit, the lawyer said to his client, "Your business is done; if
+you will promise me 10,000 rubles I will undertake to procure an
+imperial ukase reinstating you in possession of all your father's
+property." The young man readily agreed to the bargain, and in eight
+days afterwards he was master of his patrimony. The decision which led
+to this singular result rested solely on the interpretation of the
+phrase <i>they shall give him whatever portion they shall choose</i>, which
+plainly meant, as the lawyer maintained, that the young man was entitled
+exclusively to such portion as the Jesuits <i>chose</i>, <i>i. e.</i>, to that
+which they chose and retained for themselves. The emperor admitted this
+curious explanation; the son became proprietor of 5700 peasants, and the
+Jesuits were obliged to content themselves with the 300 they had
+bestowed on their ward in the first instance. Assuredly the most adroit
+cadi in Turkey could not have decided the case better.</p>
+
+<p>We have already seen that litigants can appeal to the governmental
+court, and again to the general assembly of the senate, in all suits for
+more than five hundred rubles. This privilege instead of being
+advantageous, appears to us to be highly the reverse. In France, where
+distances are short, and where justice is administered with a
+promptitude and impartiality elsewhere unexampled, the appeal to the
+court of cassation affords the most precious guarantee for the equitable
+application of the laws. Besides this, it only gives occasions to a
+revision of the documents in the case, and to a new trial before another
+tribunal if there have been any error of form; but in Russia, where
+distances are immense, and where all things conspire to render suits
+interminable, litigants from the provinces can only ruin themselves by
+using their right of recourse to the tribunals of St. Petersburg. I have
+known landowners who spent twenty years of their lives in prosecuting a
+suit in the capital, and who died without having obtained judgment. It
+must be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>acknowledged, however, that appeals to St. Petersburg are
+justified to a certain extent by the deplorable nature of governmental
+justice.</p>
+
+<p>The last radical vice we have to mention has its origin in the nobiliary
+system of Peter the Great, in inadequate salaries and the want of a
+special body of magistrates. We have seen the necessity entailed on all
+freemen of entering the service of the state and acquiring a more or
+less elevated rank, the consequence is, that all the public departments
+are overburdened with <i>employ&eacute;s</i>; and as most of them have no patrimony
+and are very scantily paid, sometimes not paid at all, they are of
+course driven to dishonest shifts for their livelihood. Even the heads
+of departments are not sufficiently remunerated to be safe from the many
+temptations that beset them. The government has indeed augmented their
+salaries at various times, but never in a sufficient degree to produce
+any desirable reform in their conduct. The office of judge, too, is not
+regarded with sufficient respect and consideration to make it an object
+of ambition to the high nobility; it is filled in all instances by the
+lowest privileged class in the empire, or bestowed as a recompense on
+retired military men. This will no doubt appear extraordinary; but it
+must be remembered that there exists as yet in Russia no distinct corps
+of magistrates, nor any official class of lawyers; the members of the
+several tribunals, whether elected by the nobles, or nominated by the
+emperor, are by no means expected to be acquainted with jurisprudence
+and the laws, and if any among them have studied law in the universities
+this is a mere accident. Those of them who are honest, judge according
+to their conscience and their common sense; the others give their voices
+for those who have bought them.</p>
+
+<p>It is the same with the senate, the supreme judicial court in the
+empire. It consists only of military veterans, and superannuated
+servants of the state; in a word, of men who know nothing whatever of
+law. Hence it is easy to conceive the unlimited power exercised in all
+these courts by the government secretaries, who, when they know by heart
+the some thousands of ukases that form what is called the imperial code,
+pass for eminent lawyers in the eyes of the Russians.</p>
+
+<p>The same evil affects, to an equal degree, all the administrative
+departments. In Russia, no calling or profession has its limits strictly
+defined; a man passes indifferently from one service to another. A
+cavalry officer, for instance, will be nominated as director of a high
+school, an old colonel as head of a custom-house, and so forth.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the laws which are peculiar to it, Russian legislation
+evidently comprises two foreign elements, the German and the Roman.
+Germanic law was introduced into Russia by the Varengians, a branch of
+the Northman stock. To the leaders of those warriors the country owes
+the origin of its feudal system. Subsequently, when the Russians were
+converted to Christianity, Vladimir adopted <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>certain parts of the Roman
+law as modified by the Byzantines. But if we may judge from the
+documents furnished by the Nestorian chronicle, it would appear, that
+previously to that epoch, the Russians had already borrowed some
+particulars from the Roman code, and blended them with their customary
+law of indigenous and German origin.</p>
+
+<p>The first written code mentioned in Russian history, is that of
+Jaroslav, who reigned in the beginning of the thirteenth century; from
+that period the country remained quite stationary, in consequence of the
+continual wars and troubles occasioned by its territorial division; and
+more than a century of suffering and anarchy prepared the nation to
+submit without resistance to a foreign yoke.</p>
+
+<p>It was in 1218 that the Tatars crossed the Volga and seized the
+dominions of the tzars; and whilst Europe, under the energetic influence
+of the crusades and of the lights of the Lower Empire, was sapping the
+edifice of feudalism, and labouring towards its future glorious
+emancipation, Russia remained for more than 300 years in ignominious
+thraldom, taking no part in the great intellectual movement of the
+fifteenth century, retrograding rather than advancing, debasing its
+national character day by day, and thus heaping up against the progress
+of civilisation, obstacles which the genius of its modern sovereigns has
+not yet been able to annihilate.</p>
+
+<p>In the ever memorable reign of Ivan III. the Tatars were expelled from
+the greater part of Russia, the dissensions caused by the parcelling out
+of the empire were extinguished, the several principalities were united
+into a single body, and legislative labours were resumed after four
+hundred years of inaction.</p>
+
+<p>Ivan III. had a collection made of all the old judicial constitutions,
+and published, with the assistance of the metropolitan Jerome, a
+collection of laws, which is not without merit, considering the period
+when it was made. But this code allowed wager of battle; and murder,
+arson, and highway robbery, continued to be judged in the lists.</p>
+
+<p>About 1550, Ivan IV. surnamed the Terrible, completed the code of laws
+promulgated by his grandfather, Ivan III. and put a check upon the
+territorial aggrandisements of the clergy. The new code, known by the
+name of <i>Sudebnick</i>, remained in force almost without any change, until
+the accession of the tzar Alexis Michaelovitz (father of Peter the
+Great), who, having collected the laws of the several provinces of the
+empire, published them in 1649, under the title of <i>Ulogeni&egrave;</i>. This
+collection, the first printed in Russia, was begun and completed within
+the space of two months and a half; but notwithstanding its
+imperfection, it has nevertheless, served as the foundation on which all
+subsequent improvements have been based.</p>
+
+<p>Since the reign of Peter the Great, ten commissions have been
+successively employed in the codification of the Russian laws. We <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>will
+not enter into the details of the changes introduced by them: on this
+subject, the work published by M. Victor Foucher, and the "Coup d'oeil
+sur la l&eacute;gislation Russe," by M. Tolstoi, may be consulted with
+advantage. The tenth commission was appointed in 1804, and sat until
+1826. It applied itself earnestly to the construction of the civil,
+penal, and criminal codes; but numerous difficulties prevented it from
+completing its task.</p>
+
+<p>On his accession to the throne, the Emperor Nicholas promised at first a
+new code which should correct and complete its predecessors. But the
+difficulties were too great, and he ended by adopting a digest, which
+merely classified according to their subjects all the existing laws
+promulgated since the general regulation of 1649, effected by Alexis
+Michaelovitz. In 1826, he laid down the following rules for this
+revision.</p>
+
+<p>1. Enactments fallen into desuetude to be excluded.</p>
+
+<p>2. All repetitions to be suppressed, by choosing among statutes to the
+same effect that one which is most complete.</p>
+
+<p>3. The spirit of the law to be preserved by expressing in a single rule
+the substance of all those that treat of the same matter.</p>
+
+<p>4. The acts from which each law is drawn are to be exactly set forth.</p>
+
+<p>5. Between two contradictory laws, the preference to be given to the
+more recent.</p>
+
+<p>The design of the Emperor Nicholas was speedily carried into effect. The
+complete collection of the laws of the empire was published in 1830; and
+on the 31st of January, the tzar announced in a manifesto that the
+classification of the law as a systematic body was terminated. The
+matter was then spoken of in the Russian journals in 1830:</p>
+
+<p>"The second section of the private chancery of his majesty the emperor
+has just finished printing the first collection of the laws of the
+Russian empire from 1649 to December 12, 1825 in forty-five volumes,
+4to.</p>
+
+<p>"This collection consists of four principal parts: 1, the text of the
+laws from the general regulation of 1649 to the first manifesto of the
+Emperor Nicholas (December 12, 1825), in forty volumes. This part
+comprises 30,920 laws, rules, treaties, and acts of various kinds; 2, a
+general index containing a chronological table, which is in some sort a
+juridical dictionary for Russia; 3, a book of the appointments of civil
+functionaries and of the administrative expenditure and the tariffs from
+1711 to 1825, to the number of 1351; 4, a book of the plans and designs
+pertaining to the several laws.</p>
+
+<p>"The laws and acts belonging to the reign of his majesty the Emperor
+Nicholas, will form the second collection beginning on the 12th of
+December, 1825. The printing is already begun, and it will appear in the
+course of the year. A supplement to it will afterwards be published
+every year.</p>
+
+<p>"The laws anterior to the year of 1649, which are generally <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>considered
+as obsolete, but which are nevertheless of high importance as regards,
+history, will form a separate collection under the name of the ancient
+laws.</p>
+
+<p>"This first collection was begun in 1826, and finished on the 1st of
+March, 1830. The printing began on the 21st of May, 1828, and ended on
+the 1st of April last, at the press of the second section of his
+majesty's chancery. For the composition of this collection, it has been
+necessary to collate and extract from 3396 books of laws. The forty
+volumes of the text, and the volume of the chronological index, contain
+5284 printed sheets.</p>
+
+<p>"This book will be ready for sale on the 1st of June at the
+printing-office. The price of the forty-five volumes is 500 paper
+rubles.</p>
+
+<p>"By a rescript of the 5th of April last, addressed to the
+privy-councillor Dashkof, adjunct of the minister of justice and
+director of that ministry, his majesty the emperor notifies to him the
+order he has given to furnish copies of the collection to all the
+departments of the senate, and to all the tribunals and administrations
+of the government, and directs him to concert with the ministers of
+finance and of the interior for the prompt delivery of these books in
+all the governments, so that they may be kept and employed in due
+manner."</p>
+
+<p>Thus the code of the Emperor Nicholas is, in fact, but a systematic
+collection of all the laws promulgated within the last 200 years, or
+thereabouts. It contains not one new idea, not one modification required
+by the actual situation of the empire, not one thought for the future.
+Now if we reflect that the study of 3396 books of laws, and the revision
+of 50,000 laws or ukases, have taken place within the short period of
+two years, and that the men who had to perform this task, were far from
+being jurisconsults, we shall perceive that such a work must be very
+imperfect, and that it must have been totally impossible to fulfil the
+intentions of the tzar, as expressed in the instructions above cited.
+The empire, indeed, possesses fifty-five bulky volumes of laws, but the
+inconveniences resulting from the multiplicity of contradictory ukases,
+and from others ill adapted to the necessities of the country, have been
+retained in them to a great extent; and the experience of thirteen years
+has shown the insufficiency of this collection, and its little influence
+on the course and conduct of lawsuits. Another defective point in this
+improvisated legislation, is its pretension to satisfy the requirements
+of the future by admitting, as a complement to the body of the statutes,
+all the ukases issued, or to be issued by the emperor. If to these
+30,920 laws already existing, this palladium of justice already so
+formidable, there be added every year a supplementary volume equal in
+capacity to the average legislative contributions of the last 180 years,
+every year will then supply its battalion of 172 new laws; and I am at a
+loss to conceive where there will be found by-and-by a lawyer
+sufficiently patient to study this new levy of justice, when with all
+the good will imaginable the most <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>indefatigable reader can hardly once
+in his life pass in review the body of the veterans.</p>
+
+<p>In the space of five years since the emperor's manifesto (January 31,
+1833), five new volumes have been already added to the collection.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the emperor's performance is
+extremely meritorious. To him belongs the honour of having been the
+first to bestow a regular body of laws on his country. Before his time
+Russia had but a confused and fluctuating legislation, encumbered with
+an infinity of statutes, the study of which was the more difficult, as
+no printed collection of them existed. At present it possesses at least
+a complete digest, within reach of all, and which all may consult and
+appeal to. Surely a man of the emperor's perseverance and great capacity
+would not have shrunk from accomplishing a more perfect work, could he
+have indulged the hope of being seconded by abler and better instructed
+jurisconsults. But he was compelled of necessity to take the
+consequences of the want of any thing like a corps of magistrature, and
+finding he could not do any thing better, he resolved to make no change
+in the spirit of the laws promulgated during the preceding 200 years,
+and to follow exactly the course marked out in 1700 by Peter the Great.
+In this way the codification of the laws became a mere effort of
+compilation and arrangement, and setting aside the collation of the
+ukases, the clerks of the second section of the imperial chancery were
+quite competent to the task.</p>
+
+<p>It will not be altogether uninteresting to place here a detailed table
+of the population in a governmental chief town. An examination of such
+documents may lead to very curious comparisons and reflections. The town
+we have chosen is Kichinev, the capital of Bessarabia, and the figures
+we give have been extracted directly from the books of the provincial
+governor's chancery.</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 134">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="76%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="12%">Men.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="12%">Women.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Monks</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">16</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Priests</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">89</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">126</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Servants</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">114</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">59</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Military officers[A] in active service</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">139</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">53</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Superior officers in the civil service, ditto</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">339</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">236</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Officers of the fourteenth class, ditto</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">419</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">163</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc"><i>Military officers on leave.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Generals</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Staff-officers of every grade</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">42</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">31</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdcb "><i>Civil officers on leave.</i></td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Generals</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Superior officers and others</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">107</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">104</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="3">~~~~~~~~~~</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Persons employed in the theatre</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">15</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">9</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">First guild merchants</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">6</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">10</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Second guild merchants</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">35</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">31</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Third guild merchants</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">736</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">623</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>Foreigners</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">194</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">144</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Burghers</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">18,092</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">15,973</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Government employ&eacute;s of all kinds</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,121</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">237</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Young people reared at the expense of the crown</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">32</td>
+  <td class="tdrbl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Soldiers on furlough</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">31</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">12</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Workpeople</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">415</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">511</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Gipsy slaves</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">54</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">63</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">German colonists</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">37</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">24</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Pupils of all kinds</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">996</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">17</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">24,032</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">18,429</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" colspan="3">[A: Neither the officers nor the soldiers of the garrison are
+    included in this list.]</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> The official correspondence of the ministers, and of the
+civil and military authorities, amounts annually to nearly 15,000,000 of
+letters, whilst that of all private Russians does not exceed 7,000,000.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">PUBLIC INSTRUCTION&mdash;CORPS OF CADETS&mdash;UNIVERSITIES AND
+ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS; ANECDOTE&mdash;PLAN OF EDUCATION&mdash;MOTIVES FOR
+ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITIES&mdash;STATISTICS&mdash;PROFESSORS; THEIR
+IGNORANCE&mdash;EXCLUSION OF FOREIGN
+PROFESSORS&mdash;ENGINEERING&mdash;OBSTACLES TO INTELLECTUAL
+IMPROVEMENT&mdash;CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SCLAVONIC RACE.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>In contemplating the development and organisation of public instruction
+in Russia from the time of Peter the Great to these days, one cannot
+help thinking that the Russians attach infinitely more value to the
+appearance of progress, than to its real existence. One would say they
+care very little about scientific and intellectual results, provided
+their universities and schools be complete in all physical details, and
+provided they have numerous educational halls graced with the names of
+all the sciences professed in Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, the sovereigns of Russia have all laboured more or less
+actively for the propagation of public instruction. Unfortunately they
+would never suffer themselves to admit that civilisation is a long and
+difficult work; and incapable of forgetting, even amidst the liberal
+ideas on which they based their projects, that they were before all
+things absolute princes, they fancied they could civilise their nation
+as they had disciplined their soldiers; and then, swayed by vanity and
+self-conceit, they graciously suffered themselves to be deceived by all
+the brilliant reports laid before them by the administrative
+departments.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the reign of Feodor Alexievitz that the first academy was
+founded in Moscow. The Sclavonic, Greek, and Latin languages were taught
+there. A university was afterwards established in the same city, and in
+the reign of Catherine II. St. Petersburg possessed an academy of
+sciences and the fine arts, and a society of rural economy. But even at
+that period the spirit of ostentation, which forms the substratum of the
+Russian character, already revealed itself; and while forming those
+grand institutions, not a thought had been given to the opening of a
+single elementary school in either capital. Some <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>writers indeed allege
+that Peter I. left behind him, at his death, fifty-one schools for the
+people, and fifty-six for the military; but I have always been disposed
+to think that those establishments existed but in name, and my
+researches have but confirmed that opinion.</p>
+
+<p>The first elementary institution of any importance founded in the new
+capital, dates only from the beginning of the eighteenth century: it is
+the school of the cadet corps, exclusively reserved for the young
+nobility, and intended to form officers for the land and sea service,
+and for the engineers. In order to judge of the instruction afforded in
+it, one ought to be able at least to mention some of its pupils who have
+been distinguished for their talents, and who have acquired a certain
+degree of celebrity; but it is as difficult to name any such, as to
+discover men of learning and science among the members of the various
+academies mentioned above. Be this as it may, we cannot help
+entertaining a very mean opinion of the spirit and organisation of all
+these establishments founded by Peter the Great, and by the sovereigns
+who succeeded him during the latter part of the eighteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>The first institution in favour of the people was created in St.
+Petersburg in 1764: it was an educational establishment for the
+daughters of burghers and gentlemen of scanty fortune. It was founded by
+Catherine II., who in taking measures by preference for the education of
+women, seems to have intended to prepare them for usurping in their
+domestic circle the same absolute sway which she was herself about to
+exercise over the whole empire.</p>
+
+<p>Elementary schools were not actually opened to the public until 1783,
+and that only in some of the great towns of the empire. As all these
+ill-contrived early institutions possess little interest, I will pass on
+to the consideration of the present state of public instruction. The
+existing system dates from Alexander's reign. The course adopted in the
+beginning was on all points similar to that pursued by Peter the Great
+and Catherine II. The first thing thought of was the establishment of
+universities; those of Dorpat and Vilna were re-established; that of
+Moscow was reformed, and new ones were founded in Kasan and Kharkof. As
+for elementary schools, they were completely overlooked. The following
+anecdote will give an idea of the primitive state of the great colleges
+of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>A German gentleman in the Russian service travelled in the Crimea, in
+1803. On passing through Kharkof, curiosity induced him to visit the
+university, which had been opened in the town about a year before. While
+looking over the cabinet of natural philosophy, he perceived with
+amazement that the professor of that branch of science did not even know
+the names of the few instruments at his command. Unable to conceal his
+surprise, he asked his guide where he had been professor before he
+became attached to the university. "I never was a professor before," was
+the reply. "Where did you study?" "I learned to read and write in
+Moscow." "How did you obtain the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>rank of professor of natural
+philosophy?" "I was an officer of police; my age no longer allowed me to
+support the fatigues of my duty; so hearing that a place which would
+suit me better was vacant in the academy, I applied for it. Thirty
+years' service, good certificates, and the influence of a patron,
+enabled me to obtain it." "And what are the duties belonging to your
+place?" "I have to inspect the instruments, and keep them in order, and
+I am directed to show them to such persons of distinction as may please
+to visit the university."</p>
+
+<p>This happened, it is true, in 1803, and I only mention the fact to show
+the spirit that prevailed in the establishment of these learned
+institutions. The university of Kharkof is now in a better condition,
+and I know many professors there of real merit, distinguished among whom
+are Doctor Vancetti, equally remarkable for his acquirements and his
+philanthropy, and Professor Kalenitchikov, who devotes himself with
+success to all branches of natural history.</p>
+
+<p>At last, however, it was felt that universities were insufficient, and
+could not exist without elementary schools. Some years after the
+accession of Alexander, gymnasiums were therefore established in all the
+governmental chief towns; and the district towns had their primary
+institutions, in which were to be taught reading and writing, the
+elements of grammar and arithmetic, the history of Russia, sacred
+history, geography, geometry, and the rudiments of Latin.</p>
+
+<p>The course of instruction in the gymnasia was more extensive, and
+embraced special mathematics, logic, rhetoric, and physics. Lastly, the
+pupil was advanced to the university, where he went through a complete
+course of study, comprising the sciences, the liberal arts, literature.</p>
+
+<p>At first sight it would appear that this well conceived plan of studies
+ought to have had the most satisfactory results; but this was not
+altogether the case. The nobiliary system of the empire, and certain
+regulations of detail and discipline combined to destroy the reasonable
+hopes founded on such liberal institutions.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian universities unquestionably number among their professors
+some distinguished men, equally devoted to science and to the duties of
+their calling; but the social ideas prevalent in the country render
+their efforts almost always unavailing, and they find themselves
+compelled to restrict their course of instruction within the narrow
+routine prescribed to them.</p>
+
+<p>Now and always the universities and gymnasia are and have been for the
+most part attended only by pupils of the class of petty nobles, or of
+those of the priests and burghers. As for the sons of the aristocratic
+families, they are generally educated at home by private tutors, and as
+they are almost all intended for the army, they enter at once into the
+corps of cadets established in St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>According to a table published by the ministry of the interior, all the
+first class establishments for public instruction, that is to say the
+universities, the two medico-chirurgical academies, the pedagogic
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>institute and the three lycea, contained in 1840 only 612 functionaries
+and professors, and 3809 pupils, the numbers being thus made up:</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="60%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 138">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="70%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Functionaries and Teachers.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">Students.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">St. Petersburg</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">59</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">433</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Moscow</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">82</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">932</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Dorpat</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">66</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">530</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kharkof</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">79</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">468</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kasan</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">74</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">237</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">St. Vladimir (Kiev)</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">55</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">140</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Richelieu (Odessa)</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">25</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;52</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Demidof ditto</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">20</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;33</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Bezborodko ditto</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">15</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;19</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Medico-chirurgical academies of Moscow and Vilna</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" style="vertical-align: bottom;">94</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" style="vertical-align: bottom;">797</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Pedagogical institute of St. Petersburg</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">43</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;68</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>According to the same report the Russian empire possessed at the close
+of the year 1840, 3230 establishments under the superior direction of
+the ministry of public instruction, and containing 103,450 pupils.</p>
+
+<p>The young men who attend the university courses, have all but one single
+object in view, that of acquiring a grade of nobility; and the
+examinations are too slight to make industry and proficiency in their
+studies really requisite to the attainment of their purpose. Besides,
+they are most of them educated at the cost of the government, and as the
+latter does not like to lose its money, they must all enter the imperial
+service, whether well taught or not. In this manner are formed all the
+physicians, surgeons, and subordinate professors of gymnasia.</p>
+
+<p>As for the civil departments the sole condition required for admission
+into them, is the knowledge of writing and arithmetic; accordingly the
+common class Russian thinks he has completed his education when he can
+read, write, and cypher; and he is indeed sufficiently erudite to get a
+footing in some chancery office, a common clerkship in which admits him
+to the first grade as a civil officer, and from thence he may arrive at
+the highest rank in the service.</p>
+
+<p>Many young men on leaving the universities, are of course employed in
+the public offices; but then, whatever talents they may possess, and
+whatever fruit they may have gathered from their studies become utterly
+useless to them. From the moment they enter any office whatever, they
+perceive with astonishment that they know nothing of what it is
+essential they should know. They have stepped into a new world of which
+they do not even know the language. They hear nothing talked of around
+them but forms, rules, tricks for evading the laws and ordinances,
+artifices for giving a legal colouring to abuses and extortions, and all
+sorts of inventions for squeezing money out of those who have the
+misfortune to need the help of the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>.</p>
+
+<p>They soon see that the greatest adepts in those frauds which are
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>conveniently styled office usages, the least scrupulous, or, in plain
+terms, the greatest rogues, are considered clever fellows, and make
+their way rapidly; whilst those who still retain some sense of honesty
+and a lingering respect for the principles of morality, are laughed at
+as fools. What then does the novice, who has perhaps carried off the
+prize of eloquence at the university? Finding himself obliged to defer
+to the lowest pupil of an elementary school, who has already gained some
+knowledge of office practice, he tries to forget all he has learned, and
+applies himself to a new course of study. His conscientious scruples are
+soon silenced; prompted by emulation he gradually becomes as
+accomplished as his mates, and by dint of this second education the
+clever fellow at last quite effaces the honest man.</p>
+
+<p>It is also from the universities that the young men are taken who are
+designed for the business of public instruction; and as we have already
+stated, they are for the most part educated at the expense of the state.
+When their studies are completed they are appointed professors in the
+gymnasia and other schools. The government has neglected no means of
+making their calling as advantageous as possible, both as to salary and
+honorary advancement. These encouragements would have the happiest
+effect anywhere else than in Russia, but there they have quite the
+contrary result. It follows from the existing system of nobility with
+its graduated scale, the privileges it confers, and the means of fortune
+its offers, that a man's whole status in life resolves itself into a
+question of official rank. Now, as no calling presents a greater chance
+of rapid advancement than that of the public instructor, in which
+capacity a young man rarely fails to obtain the rank of major
+(hereditary nobility) after five or six years' service, the consequence
+is that all the sons of the petty nobles, burghers, and priests, eagerly
+rush into this thriving profession. This, however, is not the real
+mischief; on the contrary, the great number of competitors might produce
+a very salutary rivalry; but unfortunately the little power and
+influence exercised by the professors, who after all, can only command
+boys, and still more than this, their want of opportunity to enrich
+themselves under cover of their office, strip the business of public
+instruction of all prestige, and cause it to be considered,
+notwithstanding its high pay, as much less advantageous than many other
+posts the fixed salary of which is almost nothing, but which enable the
+holders to levy almost unlimited contributions on those who come under
+their hands. What follows? As soon as the professors have obtained the
+rank of major, they quit the universities and enter the civil
+administrations, where they can fatten on law suits, chicanery, and
+exactions, and all the countless means by which the law enables them to
+make fraudulent fortunes. And here we may remark that this state of
+things is another consequence of the want of definite callings and
+professions in Russia. The career of official rank is the only one known
+to the Russian; for him there exists none other.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>We must not wonder, therefore, if the instruction given in the
+elementary schools, and the gymnasia is incomplete and almost barren of
+good effect. The teachers are almost always mere boys without experience
+or sound knowledge. They content themselves with going through their
+routine of business according to the letter of the rules, and the
+military discipline imposed on them; but once escaped from their
+classes, they think of nothing but enjoying themselves, eating,
+drinking, and playing cards. I have visited many gymnasia in Russia, and
+I have always seen in them the same effects flowing from the same
+causes.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the great universities and high schools, all the leading towns
+of the empire formerly contained numerous boarding schools, most of them
+kept by strangers; but these were suppressed by ukase in the year 1842.
+The means of instruction are at present confined to the imperial
+establishments, from which all foreigners not naturalised in Russia are
+excluded. These new regulations dictated by false vanity, will
+infallibly have a disastrous influence, and render the progress of
+education more and more difficult.</p>
+
+<p>There still exist in Russia several establishments for the education of
+officers and civil and military engineers. The Institute of Ways and
+Communications was established in the reign of Alexander, under the
+superintendence of four pupils of the Ecole Polytechnique of France, MM.
+Potier, Fabre, Destr&ecirc;me, and Bazain, who entered the service of Russia,
+at the request to that effect preferred by the tzar to Napoleon. This
+school (which I have not visited) might have rendered great service to
+the empire, had the government been discreet enough to leave it its
+foreign professors, and not subject it to the absurd interference of the
+Russian military drill. Very few able men have issued from this
+institution, and the profound ignorance I have seen exhibited in all the
+great works executed at a distance from the capital, attests the decay
+of a school which at first promised so fairly. Again, it must be owned,
+that from the time when engineers enter on active service, they have no
+leisure to complete their studies; as soon as they receive an
+appointment, their whole time is taken up with reports, accounts,
+writings without end, and all the countless formalities devised by the
+quibbling and captious spirit of the Russians. I have known several
+engineers at the head of important works; they had not a moment to
+themselves, their whole day being spent in writing and signing heaps of
+paper. The same observations apply to the military, for whom secondary
+man&oelig;uvres and minute costume observances form a never relaxing and
+stultifying slavery. Under such a system, all the germs of instruction
+implanted in the schools, soon disappear in service.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, it must be admitted that the generality of Russians have a
+natural indifference to the sciences and the arts, which will long
+defeat the efforts of sovereigns desirous of effecting an intellectual
+regeneration. Though I have gone over a large portion of the empire, I
+have found very few persons, young or old, who were really <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>studious and
+well-informed, and too often I have met with nothing but the most utter
+apathy, where I had a right to expect interest and enthusiasm. It
+matters not that the emperor showers tokens of favour and respect on his
+<i>savans</i>, the Russians themselves continue, notwithstanding, to treat
+them with great disdain. The reason is, that the arts and sciences do
+not lead to fortune in Russia, and as they fall exclusively to the lot
+either of foreigners, or of the petty nobles, they cannot enjoy high
+consideration in a form of society which respects only might and
+authority, and consequently recognises but two vocations worthy of
+ambition, viz., the military profession and the civil service.</p>
+
+<p>But independently of the influence of a bad social organisation, the
+Russians seem to me to be at this day the least apt by nature of all the
+nations of Europe to receive solid instruction. The Sclavonic race may
+be divided into two great branches: the first of these, which contains
+the Poles among others, has felt the influence of the west, with which
+it has been in long and immediate contact, and so enabled to adopt its
+civilisation more or less closely; the second, on the contrary, has
+acknowledged the paramount influence of Asia, and the Russians who
+compose it, are still in our day under the action of the Mongol hordes,
+to which they were enslaved for more than three centuries. Again, Russia
+is absolutely and entirely a novice in civilisation; go over her whole
+history, and you will not find a single page which gives proof of a
+really progressive tendency. It is a very remarkable fact that her
+political and commercial relations with the Lower Empire were entirely
+barren of result upon her civilisation, which remained completely
+stationary, even in circumstances most favourable to its development: it
+is therefore by no means surprising, that despite all the efforts of her
+sovereigns, she has been unable to place herself on the level of the
+other nations of Europe within the space of a hundred years.</p>
+
+<p>The results of our civilisation, more than twenty centuries old, are not
+to be inculcated so rapidly: there needs we think, a long series of
+progressive initiations, so that the moral constitution reacting on the
+physical, may render the perceptions and the organs of the latter more
+delicate, and more suited to intellectual development: and this period
+of transition must necessarily be very long for a nation to which the
+past has bequeathed only reminiscences of slavery and destruction. Look,
+on the other hand, at Greece, Moldavia, and Wallachia, countries which
+have all had glorious periods in history; they have made great strides
+within ten years, and have in that short space of time established their
+claim to rank as members of the European family of nations. To their
+past history belongs in part the honour of their present advancement.
+That thirst for instruction, that incredible aptitude to seize and
+understand every thing, which is characteristic above all of the Greeks,
+are evidently but old faculties long sunk in torpor under the pressure
+of slavery, and which waited but for a little freedom to break forth
+with new energy.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY OF THE DON COSSACKS&mdash;FEMALE PILGRIMS
+OF KIEV; RELIGIOUS FERVOUR OF THE COSSACKS&mdash;NOVO TCHERKASK,
+CAPITAL OF THE DON&mdash;STREET-LAMPS GUARDED BY SENTINELS&mdash;THE
+STREETS ON SUNDAY&mdash;COSSACK HOSPITALITY AND GOOD
+NATURE&mdash;THEIR VENERATION FOR NAPOLEON'S MEMORY.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Beyond Nakhitchevane, several valleys abutting on the basin of the Don,
+isolated hamlets, and a few stanitzas, diversify the country, and make
+one forget the sterility of the steppes, that spread out their gray and
+scarcely undulating surface to the westward. The banks of the Don which
+are seldom out of sight, are enlivened by clumps of trees, fishermen's
+huts, and herds of horses that seek there a fresher pasture than the
+desert affords. But except these animals, we saw not a single living
+creature; the heat was so intense, and the country is still so little
+inhabited, that most of the fields appeared to us in a state of wild
+nature. Nothing around us indicated the presence of man. In the country
+of the Don Cossacks, as elsewhere throughout Russia, the post road is
+barely marked out by two ditches so called, which you often drive over
+without perceiving them, and by distance posts two or three yards high.
+This is all the outlay the government chooses to incur for the imperial
+post roads leading to the principal towns of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>Before arriving in Novo Tcherkask, the capital of the Cossacks, we
+encountered another wandering party at least as curious as our gipsies.</p>
+
+<p>Imagine our surprise when having passed through a wide ravine, which for
+a long while shut in the road, we saw defiling over the steppes a
+countless string of small cars, escorted by I know not how many hundreds
+of women. We advanced, puzzled and curious to the last degree; and the
+more we gazed the more the numbers of these women seemed to multiply.
+They were everywhere, in the cars, on the road, and over the steppes; it
+was like a swarm of locusts suddenly dropped from the sky. Most of them
+walked barefoot, holding their shoes in one hand, and with the other
+picking up fragments of wood and straw, for what purpose we could not
+conceive. Their carts were just like barrels with two openings, and were
+driven by themselves, for there was not the shadow of a beard among
+them. They were all returning, as they told us, from the catacombs of
+Kiev, to which they had been making a pilgrimage. Among them I remarked
+some old women who had scarcely a breath of life remaining. They seemed
+dreadfully fatigued, but at the same time very well pleased with their
+pious expedition.</p>
+
+<p>Further on we met another procession of the same kind, which had already
+arranged its encampment for the night. Two fires, fed with those little
+chips of wood that had so much perplexed us, served to prepare the
+evening meal. All the pilgrims were busy, and formed the most varied
+groups. Some were fetching water in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>earthen pitchers, which they
+carried on their heads; others were kneeling devoutly, making the sign
+of the cross; and the genuflexions so frequent among the Russians and
+Cossacks; the oldest were feeding the fire and telling stories. It was
+an indescribable scene of bustle and noise, displaying a variety of the
+most picturesque attitudes and physiognomies.</p>
+
+<p>All the women were of Cossack race. There is much more of pious fervour
+in this nation than in the Muscovites. A slight difference of text
+between the Bibles of the two people has occasioned a very great one in
+their religious sentiments. The Cossacks call themselves the true
+believers, and abstain on religious grounds from the pipe, and from many
+other things which the Muscovites allow themselves without scruple. The
+natural integrity of their character is rarely sullied by hypocrisy.
+They love and believe with equal ardour and sincerity.</p>
+
+<p>At the extremity of a plateau, on the verge of a wide and deep valley,
+the town of Novo Tcherkask suddenly appeared to us, rising in an
+amphitheatre, and embracing in its huge extent several hills, the broad
+slopes of which descend to the bottom of the valley. All the towns we
+had previously seen, and which had shocked us by the extravagant breadth
+of their streets and their dearth of houses, were nothing in comparison
+with what now met our eyes. Seen from the point where we then stood, the
+whole town was like an enormous chess board, with the lines formed by
+avenues broader than the Place du Carousel in Paris. These lines,
+bordered at intervals by a few shabby dwellings, and separated from each
+other by open spaces in which whole regiments might man&oelig;uvre quite at
+their ease, some churches, and a triumphal arch erected in 1815 in
+honour of Alexander, are the only salient points of this desert which
+they call a capital, and the superficial dimensions of which are,
+without exaggeration, as great as those of Paris.</p>
+
+<p>Novo Tcherkask, now the seat of all the public offices of the Don
+country, was founded in 1806 by Count Platof, who became so celebrated
+through the unfortunate French campaign of Moscow. Its very ill-chosen
+position forbids all chance of future prosperity. It is situated nearly
+eight miles from the Don, on a hill surrounded on all sides by the Axai
+and the Touzlof, small confluents of the river from which it is so
+fatally remote. Platof is said to have selected this site for the
+purpose of building a fortress; but his intentions have not been
+realised. Another most serious inconvenience for the town is the
+absolute want of good water. Wealthy persons use melted ice to make tea.</p>
+
+<p>In the great square there are two very large bazaars with wooden roofs,
+in which are found all sorts of goods, and especially an abundant
+collection of military equipments for the use of the Cossacks. There is
+also a great arsenal, but quite destitute of arms. As for the other
+edifices, they are not worth mentioning, notwithstanding all the fine
+descriptions given of them by geographers.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>But Novo Tcherkask has one precious thing to boast of&mdash;a thing unique in
+Russia&mdash;and that is an excellent hotel kept by a Frenchman, in which the
+traveller finds all the comforts he can desire. The nobility who have
+strongly encouraged this establishment, have formed in it a casino, in
+which many balls are given in the winter.</p>
+
+<p>The Emperor Nicholas visited the Don Cossacks in 1837, and to this
+auspicious event the capital owed the good fortune of being supplied
+with lamps in the streets. But the lights went out when his majesty
+departed; and it is said, that in order to save the lamps from being
+stolen, the authorities had been obliged to make an armed Cossack stand
+sentry over each of them.</p>
+
+<p>The population of Novo Tcherkask, formed by the union of four stanitzas,
+amounts to about 10,000. Staro Tcherkask, the old capital, now
+abandoned, has nothing to attract the traveller's attention, though Dr.
+Clarke has bestowed on it the pompous title of the Russian Venice.</p>
+
+<p>Our arrival in the Cossack capital fell on a Sunday. As the windows of
+our hotel looked full on the only promenade in the town, the greater
+part of the population passed in review before us. Every thing here
+bespeaks the nomade and warlike temper of the Cossacks. There is no
+copying of European fashion, no Frank costumes, no mixed population;
+every thing is Cossack, except a few Kalmuck figures, telling us of the
+vicinity of the Volga.</p>
+
+<p>The Cossacks we had seen at Taganrok, had given us but a poor opinion of
+the beauty of the women of the country; we were, therefore, agreeably
+surprised at the sight of all the pretty girls that passed continually
+before our windows. Even their costume, which we had thought ugly, now
+seemed not wanting in originality, and even in a certain piquancy. The
+young girls let their braided hair fall on their shoulders, and usually
+tie the braids with bright ribbons, that hang down to their heels. Some
+of them confine their tresses in a long bag made of a silk handkerchief,
+a style of head-dress by no means unbecoming.</p>
+
+<p>It was really a very pretty sight to see the crowd of elegant officers
+and young women in gala attire that filled the footways, exchanging
+looks, smiles, and even soft discourse, as if they were in a ball-room.
+The men are tall and handsome, and look remarkably well in uniform.
+Bravery and noble pride are legible in their features and their eyes, as
+if they were still those fiery children of the steppes, who, before the
+days of Catherine II. acknowledged no other power than that of their
+ataman, freely chosen by themselves. Arms are at this day their sole
+occupation, just as they were a hundred years ago, and their
+organisation is still altogether military, as we shall see by and by.</p>
+
+<p>What erroneous notions are entertained in France, of these good-natured,
+inoffensive, and hospitable Cossacks! The events of 1814 and 1815, have
+left a deep repugnance towards them in all French <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>minds, and indeed it
+could hardly be expected it should be otherwise. But speaking of them as
+we found them in their own land, they do not deserve the aversion with
+which our countrymen regard them. There is no part of Russia where the
+traveller is more safe than in their country, nor does he anywhere meet
+with a more kindly welcome. The name of Frenchman, especially, is an
+excellent recommendation there. The portrait of Napoleon is found in
+every house, and sometimes it is placed above that of the great St.
+Nicholas himself. All the old veterans who have survived the great wars
+of the empire, profess the greatest veneration for the French emperor,
+and these sentiments are fully shared by the present generation.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">ORIGIN OF THE DON COSSACKS&mdash;MEANING OF THE NAME&mdash;THE
+KHIRGHIS COSSACKS&mdash;RACES ANTERIOR TO THE COSSACKS&mdash;SCLAVONIC
+EMIGRATIONS TOWARDS THE EAST.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The origin of the Don Cossacks has, like that of the Tatars of Southern
+Russia, given rise to interminable discussions. Some have represented
+this people as an offshoot of the great Sclavonic stock; others consider
+it as only a medley of Turks, Tatars, and Circassians. Vsevolojsky
+adopts the former of these opinions, in his Geographical and Historical
+Dictionary of the Russian Empire. M. Schnitzler boldly decides the
+question, in his Statistics of Russia, by declaring that the Cossacks of
+the Don have proceeded from the Caucasus, and belong for the most part
+to the Tcherkess or Circassian nation.</p>
+
+<p>Constantino Porphyrogenitus, a writer of the ninth century, mentions a
+country called <i>Kasachia</i>. "On the other side of the Papagian country,"
+he says, "is Kasachia, and immediately afterwards are discovered the
+tops of the Caucasus." The Russian chronicles likewise mention a
+Circassian people subjugated in 1021 by Prince Mstizlav, of Tmoutarakan.
+These, it must be owned, are very vague data, and the resemblance
+between two names is not warrant for our concluding that the Cossacks of
+our day and the Kasachians of the ninth century, are one and the same
+nation. Except the few words we have just cited, we have no other
+information respecting the latter people, and all the historical
+researches hitherto made, have failed to determine the real situation of
+Tmoutarakan. This town has been placed sometimes at Riazan, sometimes at
+the mouth of the Volga, on the site of Astrakhan, sometimes on the
+Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus. A stone, with a Sclavonic inscription,
+discovered at Taman, seemed for a while to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>have solved the problem. But
+it was afterwards fully demonstrated, that this grand historical
+discovery was only a hoax practised on the credulous antiquarians.</p>
+
+<p>The Kasachia of the ninth century is thus but very imperfectly known to
+us; even with the help of Constantino Porphyrogenitus, it would be
+difficult to determine its position with any real precision; and when
+the Cossacks, now known to us, appear for the first time, 600 years
+afterwards, it would be rash and arbitrary in the extreme to declare
+them the descendants of a people so briefly mentioned by the Byzantine
+writer. This opinion will appear the less admissible, when it is
+considered that the country of the Cossacks, situated around the Sea of
+Azov, lay directly in the route of all those conquering hordes that
+issued from Asia to overrun and ravage Europe, and afterwards
+disappeared successively, without leaving any other trace of their
+existence than their name in the pages of history.</p>
+
+<p>Is it likely that Kasachia was more fortunate? Is there any probability
+that its people, after 600 years of absolute obscurity, again arose out
+of the chaos of all those revolutions, to produce the Cossacks of our
+day? We cannot think so. Historical inquiries, and above all a knowledge
+of the regions extending between the Sea of Azov and the Caspian, prove
+beyond question that all those countries were never occupied by a nation
+having fixed habitations. We have ourselves traversed those Russian
+deserts, up to the northern foot of the Caucasus; and except the
+somewhat modern remains of Madjar, on the borders of the Kouma, we
+nowhere found any vestige of human occupancy, or any trace of
+civilisation. It is, therefore, by no means likely, that amidst all the
+convulsions of the Asiatic invasions, from the ninth to the fifteenth
+century, whilst so many races were disappearing completely, that a
+little remote nomade people shall have preserved for 600 years its
+nationality and its territory, without being swept away and absorbed by
+all those warlike hordes that must have passed over it in torrents. This
+would be an historical fact perfectly unique in that part of the world;
+to us it appears in flagrant contradiction with historical experience.
+We are of opinion then, that the Cossacks of our day have nothing in
+common with the Kasachia of Constantino Porphyrogenitus, and that we
+must look elsewhere for their origin and for the reason of their
+appellation.</p>
+
+<p>Let us in the first place examine this word <i>Cossack</i>. According to the
+use in which it was formerly and is still employed, it seems evidently
+not to belong to a special people, but simply to express the generic
+character of every nation, having certain distinct manners and customs.
+Thus in Russia, at this day, the name of Cossacks is given to all those
+persons who are under military organisation: there are Turcomans,
+Kalmuks, and Tatars so called in the steppes of the Caspian; and in
+Bessarabia, some gipsies and a medley of nondescript people constitute
+the Cossacks of the Dniestr. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>Don Cossacks, themselves, attach no
+historical significance to their designation, which they seem to regard
+merely as a by-name given to them in former times, and they readily
+share it with the nomade tribes around them, whose organisation is the
+same as their own. The only appellation they assume among themselves, is
+that of true believers.</p>
+
+<p>The existence of the Khirghis Kaissacks of our day, can be traced back
+to more remote times; but there is certainly no analogy between this
+Mussulman people and our Cossacks. Furthermore, it seems proved that the
+Tatars before their invasions of Europe, used to give the appellation of
+Cossacks to all those individuals of their own race, who, having no
+property, were obliged to subsist by pillage, or to sell their services
+to some military leader. <i>Cossack</i> then, according to our apprehension,
+signifies only a nomade and a vagabond people, and it is likely that the
+Tatars on their arrival in Europe, gave that name to all the wandering
+tribes they found in the steppes of Azov and of the Don. What tends
+still more to confirm this opinion is, that no mention of Cossacks is
+made by Rubruquis and Du Plan de Carpin, who traversed all the regions
+of Southern Russia, on their embassy to the grand khan, in the beginning
+of the thirteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>And now let us ask whence came those nomade people that preceded the
+modern Cossacks in the steppes of the Don and the Sea of Azov? Here
+again we must dissent from the views of Dr. Edmund Clarke and Lesur
+which have been generally adopted in Schnitzler's statistics.</p>
+
+<p>According to the testimony of all historians the Slaves already occupied
+various parts of Southern Russia, during the first period of the
+decadence of the Lower Empire: every one knows indeed that the
+descendants of Rurik often carried their attacks on the emperors of the
+East up to the very gates of their capital. The annals of Russia also
+demonstrate the existence of the Slaves at the same period, in all
+Little Russia, and even in the country of the Don. This region was then
+called Severa. Its inhabitants, after a long contest with the
+Petchenegues, emigrated in part, and we now find their name attached to
+one of the principalities of the Danube, viz., Servia.</p>
+
+<p>Again, it is universally admitted even by the adversaries of our
+opinions that the Don country was occupied previously to the Tatar
+invasions by a nomade and warlike people, the Polovtzis, who, there is
+every reason to think, were no other than Slaves.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>It may well be conceived that the dissensions and continual wars between
+the numerous chieftains, among whom the Russian soil was formerly
+parceled out, must naturally have produced numerous emigrations; and
+these partial emigrations being too weak to act against the west, must
+of course have turned eastward towards those remote regions of the
+steppes where the fugitives might find freedom and independence. It
+would be difficult then to disprove that a Slavic people existed on the
+banks of the Don when the Tatars arrived; and that people was apparently
+the Polovtzis, an agglomeration of fugitives and malcontents, who,
+during the convulsions of the Russian empire, under Vladimir the Great's
+successors, seem to have laid the first foundations of the Cossack power
+in the steppes of the Sea of Azov and the Don.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+<p>The name of the Polovtzis disappeared completely under the Tatar sway;
+but it would be illogical thence to infer that the people itself utterly
+perished, and did not share the destiny of the other Sclavonic tribes of
+Russia. We agree, therefore, with some historians in thinking that the
+Polovtzis merely exchanged their appellation for that of Cossacks,
+imposed on them by the Tatars, and made permanent by a servitude of more
+than three centuries. We have besides already remarked that the Tatars
+used among themselves to call all adventurers and vagabonds Cossacks: it
+is not, therefore, surprising that they should on their arrival in
+Russia, have given this designation to the nomade hordes of the
+Polovtzis. This historical version seems far more rational than the
+supposition that the Polovtzis completely disappeared, and were entirely
+supplanted by a Caucasian race, which had taken part in the expeditions
+of Batou Khan.</p>
+
+<p>The traveller, who has studied the Cossacks and the mountaineers of the
+Caucasus, can never admit the doctrine that would make but one nation of
+these two. Our notions on this subject are corroborated in every point
+by physiological observations. In the first place, considerations
+founded on religion and language, are not so lightly to be rejected as
+Clarke and Lesur assert. The conversion of the Cossacks would not
+certainly have been passed over unnoticed in the history of the Lower
+Empire; the Byzantine writers would have been sure to record such a
+triumph of their creed; but they say not a word about it; and every one
+knows perfectly well in what manner Christianity was categorically
+introduced into Russia. Moreover, if the Cossacks had been nothing but
+Circassians at the beginning of the thirteenth century, it would be hard
+to account for their ready adoption of a foreign language and religion,
+at a time when that language and that religion were, if not proscribed,
+at least much <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>discredited under the Tatar sway. The last Russian
+expeditions into the Caucasus, towards the sources of the Kouban, have,
+it is true, given birth to new historical ideas as to that part of Asia.
+Thus, there have been discovered two churches in a perfect state of
+preservation, the origin of which is evidently Genoese or Venetian, and
+we can scarcely fail to recognise in the Circassians some traces of
+Christianity in the profound respect they bear to the cross. But, on the
+other hand, nothing indicates that this people was ever Christian; on
+the contrary, every thing proves that its primitive religion, if its
+religious notions may be so called, has undergone no alteration. Those
+Christian edifices, too, which we have alluded to, belong to a later
+period than the inroads of the Tatar hordes, consequently they can only
+testify in favour of our views.</p>
+
+<p>No chronicle speaks of the emigration of a Tcherkess people in the
+middle ages. The only tradition relating to any thing of the kind, is
+that of a strong tribe from the Caucasus, which, after occupying the
+plains of the Danube, is said to have settled at last in Pannonia. Every
+one is aware that mountain tribes are the least migratory of all, and
+the most attached to their native soil; it is, therefore, natural to
+suppose that the Circassians, so proud of their independence and so
+often ineffectually attacked, did not receive the warriors of Genghis
+Khan as friends, or take part in their sanguinary expeditions.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> Hence
+M. Schnitzler appears to me to propound a more than questionable fact
+when he alleges, following Karamsin, that the Circassians entered Russia
+with Batou Khan, and so formed by degrees that new people, which, to
+borrow the language of this statician, <i>on the breaking up of the Tatar
+rule and the dispersion of the clouds, which till then had hung over
+their country, appears to us as Russian and Christian, but with
+Circassian features, with Tatar manners and customs, and hating the
+Muscovites</i>.</p>
+
+<p>How can we assign such an origin to the Don Cossacks when there exists
+neither among them, nor among their supposed brethren, any tradition of
+so modern a fact? Besides, if the Cossacks had really come from the
+Caucasus, would they not have retained some neighbourly relations with
+the mountaineers? Is it not a singular notion to take Circassians, the
+most indomitable of all men, and the most attached to their hereditary
+usages and manners, to subject them to the Tatars for more than 300
+years, and then to transform them at once, and without transition, into
+a people speaking pure unmixed Sclavonic, and professing the Greek
+religion? This is certainly one of the most curious of metamorphoses;
+before it could happen there must have been a combination of
+circumstances exactly the reverse of those which have really existed.
+The Circassians, one would think, would have been much more disposed to
+adopt the religion of the victors, than of the vanquished, the more so
+as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>islamism having already at that period made considerable progress in
+Eastern Caucasus, would give them a much stronger bias towards the
+Tatars, than towards the wandering hordes of the Polovtzis, from which
+we derive the Cossacks.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the assertions of Dr. Clarke, it is not easy to trace
+much resemblance between the Circassians and the Cossacks. At present we
+see all the people who dwell at the foot of the Caucasus, generally
+adopting the habits of the mountain tribes. A great number of Nogai
+Tatars have become completely blended with them. The Cossacks of the
+Black Sea have borrowed from them their costume and their arms. The
+Muscovites and the German colonists themselves have not escaped the
+energetic influence of the Caucasian tribes; and yet some would have us
+believe that the Don Cossacks, a Tcherkess tribe, separated from the
+parent stock not more than 400 years, have undergone a contrary impulse
+during all that time, and now present, in a manner, no resemblance to
+their ancestors. The two peoples differ in costume, arms, industry, and
+every other particular. The Circassians are extremely apt in
+manufactures, and excel in all sorts of handicraft productions, to which
+they give a very marked and original character. The Cossacks, on the
+contrary, have little or no turn for manufactures; in this respect they
+exhibit no trace of what characterises the Caucasian tribes in so high a
+degree. As for the Tatar habits, of which M. Schnitzler speaks, I know
+not where to look for them, unless they consist in the trousers
+generally worn by the Cossack women. After all, the Tatars must
+necessarily have left some traces of their habits in the countries over
+which they ruled for so many centuries.</p>
+
+<p>The real point of contact between the Cossacks and the Circassians,
+consists in their love of freedom, and their intense hatred for every
+thing Russian. But these sentiments evidently flow from their ancient
+and primitive constitution; and if they detest the Russians, it is
+because the Muscovite sovereigns, who have never ceased to attack their
+privileges, have at last succeeded in annihilating their whole political
+existence.</p>
+
+<p>Undoubtedly the Cossacks are not pure Sclavonians, like the people of
+Great Russia, but are mixed up with many other races. The Don country
+long remained a soil of freedom, a real land of asylum for all refugees.
+The Circassians have probably not been strangers to their past history,
+and the adventurous life of the Cossack must have fascinated many a
+mountain chief. History, too, informs us that the Sclavons of Poland
+have mingled their blood with that of the inhabitants of the Don
+country. It is this medley of races, and the combination of all these
+various influences, added to the thoroughly republican character of
+their primitive constitution, that give the Cossacks their intellectual
+superiority, and make them a nation apart. But the principle stock is
+nevertheless Sclavonic.</p>
+
+<p>The partisans of the Circassian origin have also dwelt on the
+resemblance between the name of the capital of the Don country, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>and
+that of a Caucasian tribe. But really when a historical question of this
+importance is under discussion, such a resemblance cannot be of much
+weight. We know that some fugitives from the Boristhenes, about the
+year 1569, fell in with Cossacks on the Don, and joined with them in an
+attack on Azov, which then belonged to the Turks. It was just about this
+period, 1570, that Staro Tcherkask was founded. We should hence be
+disposed to believe that the fugitives from the Ukraine had a great
+share in the creation of that town, and that they called it Tcherkask,
+in memory of the name of the old capital of their native land.</p>
+
+<p>The Don Cossacks appear to us for the first time in the thirteenth
+century, on the ruins of the Tatar empire. Not till then did they begin
+to make a certain figure in the history of the Muscovite empire. In the
+reign of Ivan IV. the Terrible, they put themselves under the protection
+of Russia. From that time until near the end of the last century, we see
+them sometimes marching under the banners of the Muscovite sovereigns,
+sometimes rising against them, and often bringing the empire to the very
+verge of ruin. Their political condition was in those days a real
+republic, founded on a basis of absolute equality. The head of the
+government, styled ataman, was selected by the whole assembled nation,
+and retained his office but for five years; but his power was
+dictatorial, and no one could call him to account for his acts, even
+after the expiration of his office. All the subaltern leaders were
+likewise elected, and retained their posts for a greater or less time,
+according to circumstances. Equality, however, resumed its sway at the
+end of each military campaign; each officer, on returning into private
+life, enjoyed only the rights common to all; and the colonel or
+starshine often made the ensuing campaign as a private soldier.
+Aristocracy was totally unknown to the Don Cossacks in those days; if
+some families were distinguished from the rest by their greater
+influence, they owed this solely to their courage and their exploits. So
+strong was then the sense of independence, that the Cossacks despised as
+vile mercenaries those who took permanent service under the Russian
+sovereigns. As for the imperial suzerainty, it was limited to the right
+of calling for a military contingent in case of war, and of disposing of
+a small body of troops to defend the frontiers against the nomades of
+the steppes.</p>
+
+<p>Cossack freedom was doomed to perish when brought into collision with
+the principles of absolutism and servitude which rule in the Russian
+empire; accordingly, as soon as the Empress Catherine II. felt strong
+enough to make the attempt, she decided on a radical change in the
+political constitution of the Don country.</p>
+
+<p>The first of her ukases to this effect enacted that all the Cossack
+officers in the service of Russia should retain their rank and
+privileges on their return to their own country; a regulation directly
+opposed to the habits and usages of that republican people. How,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>indeed, could that haughty soldiery have endured that slave-officers,
+as it called them, should be put on the same footing with its own,
+elected by the acclamations of the nation? A revolt ensued, but it was
+promptly put down. The illustrious Potemkin could not understand that
+insurrection, for it seemed to him incredible that the Cossacks should
+rebel because they were granted almost all the privileges of Russian
+officers. After these unhappy troubles, their elections were abolished,
+and their political system was gradually changed, until it came to
+resemble that of a Russian government. Count Platof was the last ataman
+of the Cossacks, and he owed the authority he was allowed to enjoy, in a
+great measure to the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed by
+the wars of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>The Don country continued through the last century as before, to be a
+land of asylum and freedom for all refugees. This led to the settlement
+of a great number of Russians among the Cossacks. The Emperor Paul took
+advantage of this circumstance to secure the attachment of the principal
+families by publishing an ukase, in which he at once, and without
+warning, declared all the Russian fugitives slaves of the landowners,
+whose patronage they had accepted. This first partition of the people
+was not the last; another ukase of the same sovereign completed the work
+of Catherine II., abolished equality, and constituted an aristocracy by
+ennobling all the officers and <i>employ&eacute;s</i> of the government. The
+nobility at present amount to a considerable number, and all the
+officers are taken from that body. The young Cossacks, like the
+Russians, enter the St. Petersburg corps as cadets, at ten or twelve
+years of age; after some years they join a regiment as <i>junker</i>, and two
+or three months afterwards they become officers.</p>
+
+<p>The political power of the Cossacks being annihilated, active means were
+taken to deprive them of all military strength, by dispersing them all
+over the empire, and stationing them wherever there were quarantines,
+custom-house lines, and hostile frontiers to guard. Cossack posts were
+simultaneously established on the frontiers of Poland, and at the foot
+of the Caucasus. Lastly, every means of enfeeblement was largely
+employed, and after the death of Platof, under pretext of rewarding the
+nation for its devotedness during the campaign of Moscow, the functions
+of ataman-in-chief were suppressed, and the title was conferred on the
+heir-apparent.</p>
+
+<p>All these arbitrary measures, which, after all cannot be blamed, have
+naturally excited the most violent discontent in the country of the Don,
+and the Cossacks would undoubtedly cause the empire serious uneasiness
+in case of war. The government is not ignorant of this hostile temper.
+In recent times it did not dare to trust the Cossacks with real pieces
+of artillery, and the regiments were compelled to exercise with wooden
+cannons. It is certain that the campaign of 1812 would not have been so
+disastrous for France, if Napoleon had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>taken care to send emissaries
+among the inhabitants of the Don with promises to re-establish their
+ancient political constitution. I have questioned a great number of
+military men on this subject, and all were unanimous in assuring me of
+the alacrity with which the Cossacks would then have joined the French
+army. Nothing can give an idea of the antipathy they cherish to their
+masters; the feeling pervades all classes, in spite of every effort of
+the government. The Russians affect so much disdain for the Cossack
+nobles, that the latter, notwithstanding their epaulettes and their
+decorations, cannot but bitterly regret the old republican constitution.
+Furthermore, the military service is so onerous, that it checks all
+agricultural and industrial activity; for be it observed, that the
+Cossacks of the present day are far from being the plunderers they were
+in former times. The service is to them but a profitless task, and they
+all long eagerly for a sedentary life, which would allow them to attend
+to rural occupations, and to trade.</p>
+
+<p>The country of the Don Cossacks is now definitively a Russian
+government. All the laws of the empire are there in full force, and the
+administrative forms are the same, under other names. Nevertheless, the
+still free attitude of the Cossacks has not hitherto permitted the
+installation of the Russian <i>employ&eacute;s</i> among them. Within the last three
+years only, the government has succeeded in having itself represented at
+Novo Tcherkask, by a general placed at the head of the military staff of
+the country. The Cossacks regard this innovation with dislike, and spare
+their new military superior no annoyance. The following is the present
+organisation of the Don Cossacks:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>The ataman (<i>locum tenens</i>) holding the grade of lieutenant-general, is
+the military and civil head of the government, and at the same time the
+president of the various tribunals of the capital. The functions of
+vice-president having been conferred since 1841 on the general of the
+staff before mentioned, the latter is in fact the sole influential
+authority in the country.</p>
+
+<p>The province of the Don Cossacks is divided into seven civil and four
+military districts; the courts are similar to those of the other
+governments.</p>
+
+<p>The army amounts at present, to fifty-four regiments, of 850 men each
+(not including the two regiments of the emperor and the grand duke) and
+nine companies of artillery, having each eight pieces of cannon. In
+1840, there were twenty-eight regiments in active service, fifteen of
+them in the Caucasus, with three companies of artillery. At the same
+time, nine other regiments were under orders to march for the lines of
+the Kouban.</p>
+
+<p>All the Cossacks are soldiers born: their legal term of service is
+twenty years abroad, or twenty-five at home. But no regard is paid to
+this regulation, for most of them remain in active service for thirty or
+even forty years. They pay no taxes, but are obliged to equip themselves
+at their own expense, and receive the ordinary <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>pay of Russian troops
+only from the day they cross their native frontiers.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p>The organisation of the regiments is effected in rather a curious
+manner. When a regiment is to be sent to the Caucasus, each district
+receives notice how many soldiers and officers it is to supply, and then
+the first names on the military books are taken without distinction. The
+place of muster is usually near the frontier, and every one arrives
+there as he pleases, without concerning himself about others. When all
+the men are assembled, they are classed by squadrons, the requisite
+officers are set over them, and the detachment begins its march. Hence
+we see there is nothing fixed in the composition of the regiments. The
+Cossacks are subjected nevertheless to the European discipline, and
+formed into regular corps; but this innovation seems likely to be fatal
+to them, by completely destroying their valuable aptitude for acting as
+skirmishers. The Emperor Nicholas visited the Don country in 1837, and
+reviewed the Cossack troops at Novo Tcherkask, but it appears that he
+was exceedingly displeased with the condition of the regulars.
+Accordingly, that he might not expose them to the criticism of
+foreigners, he took care not to be accompanied by the brilliant cort&egrave;ge
+of European officers who had been present at the grand military parades
+of Vosnecensk.</p>
+
+<p>The population of the Don Cossacks amounts to about 600,000, occupying
+14,000,000 hectares of land, and divided into four very distinct
+classes: 1. The aristocracy founded by the Emperor Paul; 2. The free
+Cossacks; 3. The merchants; 4. The slaves. The free Cossacks form the
+mass of the population, and furnish the horse soldiers; they have
+however the opportunity of acquiring nobility by military service, but
+to this end, they must serve for twelve years as non-commissioned
+officers.</p>
+
+<p>The merchants form a peculiar class, which can hardly exceed 500 in
+number. They are not bound to do military service, but in lieu of this,
+they pay taxes to the government. The slaves, whose origin we have
+described, amount to about 85,000 souls.</p>
+
+<p>The revenues of the government of the Cossacks, are about 2,000,000
+rubles, more than sufficient for the expenditure, that is to say, for
+the payment of the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>. The spirit duties produce 1,500,000
+rubles, the rest is made up by the salt works of the Manitch, and the
+pasturage dues.</p>
+
+<p>The country of the Don Cossacks is bounded on the north by the two
+governments of Voroneje and Saratof; on the east by the latter, and that
+of Astrakhan; on the south by the government of the Caucasus, the
+country of the Cossacks of the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov; on the
+west, by the governments of Voroneje and Iekaterinoslav and the Ukraine
+slobodes. All this territory <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>forms a vast extent, no part of which is
+detached as M. Schnitzler asserts; on the contrary, the regency of
+Taganrok is completely encompassed by it.</p>
+
+<p>The country of the Cossacks may be divided into two very distinct parts:
+that situated to the north and west, presenting lofty plains intersected
+by many rivers and ravines, is admirably adapted for agriculture, and
+possesses excellent pastures. Among its numerous rivers, are the Donetz,
+the Mious, and the Kalmious, which marks its frontier on the west, and
+the Khoper and the Medveditza on the north-east. It is principally along
+the two latter streams, that the Cossacks have established their most
+celebrated studs, among the foremost of which, are those of Count
+Platof. The second division of the country, consists of all the steppes
+that extend along the left bank of the Don, to the confines of the
+government of the Caucasus, and along the Manitch to the frontier of
+Astrakhan. The soil is here unvaried; it is the Russian desert in all
+its uniformity, and the basin of the muddy and brackish Manitch, is
+perfectly in harmony with the regions it traverses. But those monotonous
+plains are a source of wealth to the Cossacks, who rear vast herds of
+horses and other cattle; several thousands of Kalmucks too find
+subsistence in them.</p>
+
+<p>Until 1841, the government of the Cossacks exhibited one very singular
+peculiarity. Its whole territory formed but one vast communal domain,
+without any individual owners or ownership. After several fruitless
+attempts, the Russian government finally determined on dividing the
+lands, and the work must by this time have been completed. Besides the
+new arrangements adopted, there have been granted to each family thirty
+hectares of land for each male, and fifteen additional for each slave.
+After this distribution, there will remain to the government, 2,000,000
+hectares of land, on which it will no doubt establish Muscovite
+colonies. This division of the land is a final blow to the old Cossack
+institutions, and ere long the population will consist only of nobles
+and peasants, just as in the rest of Russia. The peasants are free it is
+true, but their properties will soon be absorbed by the wealthier and
+more powerful: and then an ukase will do the work of establishing
+slavery in the country. The community of landed property was hitherto
+the only obstacle to a complete severance between the new nobles and the
+other Cossacks. It was another remnant of the old republican equality,
+and was naturally doomed to fall before the principles of unity and
+centralisation of the Russian government. When we see Russia laying her
+hand on all the free populations of the southern part of the empire, and
+bringing them gradually under the yoke of serfdom, we cannot but be
+struck with astonishment, and compare the revolution it is now effecting
+before our eyes, with that which so deplorably signalised the Roman
+sway.</p>
+
+<p>It may easily be conceived how fatal the military organisation of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>the
+Cossacks must be to their prosperity and well-being. Never sure of what
+the morrow may bring forth, and liable at any moment to be called to
+arms, they have of necessity fallen into indifference and sloth. Their
+domestic ties are broken, for they are often many years without seeing
+their wives and children. Under such a system, all intellectual
+improvement becomes impossible; and there has also resulted from it an
+incipient demoralisation, compressed as yet by the force of primitive
+manners, but which will not fail at last to spread over the whole
+population. Yet the Cossacks are eminently intelligent. I saw thirty
+young men at Novo Tcherkask execute topographical plans extremely well,
+after a few weeks' study. The Russian generals themselves could not
+refrain from expressing their surprise to me at so rapid a progress. Let
+Russia renounce the oppressive system she is forcing on the Cossacks;
+let the latter, on their part, make up their mind to admit that their
+ancient constitution is in our day become an utopia; and the Don country
+will soon make rapid advances in colonisation, and exhibit all that
+constitutes the prosperity and wealth of a nation.</p>
+
+<p>The means of instruction enjoyed by the Cossacks are still extremely
+limited. In the whole country there is but one gymnasium, very recently
+established in Novo Tcherkask; but the wealthier Cossacks have long been
+used to have their children educated in the neighbouring governments,
+particularly in Taganrok, where the private schools kept by foreigners
+afford them great advantages.</p>
+
+<p>The rearing of cattle, especially of horses, is now the chief source of
+gain to the Cossacks. Count Platof's studs, as we have already said, are
+reputed the best: they are descended from the trans-Kouban races,
+crossed by Persian and Khivian stallions, procured by the late count
+during the war of 1796 with Persia. Very good cavalry horses are also
+produced by Platof's stallions out of Tatar and Kalmuck mares. Count
+Platof's horses fetch from 250 to 350 rubles; but in the steppes of the
+Manitch, where there are very extensive herds, the price seldom exceeds
+150. The care of the herds is chiefly committed to Kalmucks; usually 100
+horses are kept by one family, five hundred by three, a thousand by
+five, and from 1500 to 2000 by six. Except a few proprietors, who are
+careful about the improvement of the breed, the Cossacks allow their
+vast herds to wander about the steppes without any care or
+superintendence. The horses of the Don never enter a stable; summer and
+winter they are in the open air, and must procure their own food, for
+which they have often to strive against the snow; hence they become
+extremely vigorous, and support the most trying campaigns with
+remarkable hardiness. Nothing can be more simple and expeditious than
+the way in which they are broken in. The horse selected is caught with a
+noose; he is saddled and bridled; the rider mounts him, and he is
+allowed to gallop over the steppe until he falls exhausted. From that
+moment he is almost always perfectly tamed, and may be used <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>without
+danger. I rode a mare thus broken, in one of my longest journeys on
+horseback. Six days before my departure she was completely free; yet I
+never rode a more docile animal.</p>
+
+<p>The Cossacks have three sorts of horned cattle, the Kalmuck, the
+Hungarian, and the Dutch breeds. The first is generally preferred
+because it does not require to be stalled either winter or summer, or to
+receive any particular care, and always can pick up its feed in the
+steppes. At the same time the loss of cattle is enormous in long and
+severe winters, for the proprietors can never procure hay for more than
+six weeks' consumption, on account of the great numbers of their herds.
+At the end of the year 1839, the Don country possessed in cattle:</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="40%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 157">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="50%">Horned cattle</td>
+  <td class="tdr" width="50%">1,013,106</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Sheep</td>
+  <td class="tdr">2,310,445</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Goats</td>
+  <td class="tdr">53,221</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Camels</td>
+  <td class="tdr">1,692</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Horses</td>
+  <td class="tdr" style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;326,788</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdr">3,705,252</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>In that year the sheep produced 5,698,000 kilogrammes of wool, which was
+exported. Of the above number of sheep, only 308,652 are merinos. The
+wool of the latter fetched 156 rubles the 100 kilogrammes, whilst that
+of the native sheep did not sell for more than 58 to 62. But the merinos
+require too much care, and I much doubt that they will ever be reared on
+a large scale by the Cossacks. Besides, as we have already seen, the
+breeding of merinos is far from being as profitable at this day as it
+was formerly.</p>
+
+<p>Agriculture, properly so called, must naturally be in a depressed
+condition in a country of which the tenth part of the population is
+continually either in active service, or in readiness to be called out.
+No more corn is cultivated than is sufficient for the subsistence of the
+inhabitants. The crop of 1839 was 6,953,814 hectolitres, a quantity
+considerably too small for seed, and for the consumption of a nation
+that annually consumes 6.18 hectolitres per head. The Cossacks were,
+therefore, obliged to draw on the reserved stores and on the
+neighbouring governments. In general, whatever M. Schnitzler may say to
+the contrary, their agriculture produces no more than is barely
+necessary; notwithstanding the advantages of a great navigable river,
+and its position on the Sea of Azov, the Don country has not yet been
+able to export any corn.</p>
+
+<p>The cultivation of the vine is the only one that has prospered in any
+remarkable degree among the Cossacks; it prevails in the southern
+regions on the banks of the Don and of the Axai. They now reckon 4514
+vineyards, yielding annually, on an average, from 20,000 to 25,000
+hectolitres of wine, and 300 to 400 of brandy. In 1841, the production
+amounted to nearly 62,500; and when I was in Novo Tcherkask, grapes were
+selling there for three rubles the 100 kilogrammes. Sparkling wines are
+made, of which the Don country now exports more than a million of
+bottles yearly. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>The best wine of a certain Abrahamof is usually charged
+for at the rate of six rubles in the inns of Novo Tcherkask. The reader
+will, no doubt, be surprised to hear of such quantities of sparkling
+wines; but Russia is unquestionably the country in which that sort of
+beverage is most esteemed; and as the petty nobles and the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>
+cannot afford to drink champagne, they have recourse to the Cossack
+vintage. The latter is consumed in incredible quantity, principally in
+the fairs, where no bargain can be concluded without a case of Don wine.
+It is very agreeable, and is much liked, even by foreigners. It is to
+Frenchmen the Cossacks owe this branch of industry.</p>
+
+<p>Fishing also forms an important source of income for the Cossacks. It is
+carried on chiefly at the mouths of the Don. In 1838, it produced
+304,000 kilogrammes of sturgeons yielding caviare, and more than
+20,000,000 of fish of different kinds, which they salt and send to the
+neighbouring governments. Bees must also be enumerated among the sources
+of wealth in the country. The Mious district, which possesses nearly
+31,000 hives, produced in 1839, 124,336 kilogrammes of honey, and 21,056
+kilogrammes of wax.</p>
+
+<p>From these hints it will be seen how rich is the country of the
+Cossacks, and how high a degree of prosperity it might reach under an
+enlightened and liberal administration. Manufacturing industry is the
+only one that, as yet, has made no progress in it. It is said not to
+possess a single manufactory, which is natural enough, considering the
+military organisation of the nation. There is an extreme want of
+workmen; the few found in the country, who come from the neighbouring
+governments, demand very high pay, as much as two rubles and a half a
+day, which is exorbitant in Russia. As for mineral wealth, the Don
+country possesses abundance of coal and anthracite, the latter of which
+is worked in the neighbourhood of Novo Tcherkask.</p>
+
+<p>Among the tribes incorporated with the Don Cossacks, the Kalmucks demand
+especial mention. In the reign of the Emperor Paul, an ukase was issued,
+commanding a census to be taken of all the nomade tribes subject to
+Russia. This certain presage of some tax or other, spread consternation
+among the Kalmucks; their hordes began to break up, and great numbers of
+them took refuge with the Cossacks. But the fatal ukase soon pursued
+them to their new asylum, whereupon some returned to the steppes of the
+Caspian, whilst the rest being retained by the Cossacks, were put under
+the same military and civil system of administration as the inhabitants
+of the Don. These Kalmucks now form a population of about 15,000, and
+encamp on both banks of the Manitch, about 100 miles from the confluence
+with the Don. In order to give some notion of the manners and customs of
+this people, I will here copy some fragments from an account of a
+scientific journey I made along the Manitch, to determine the difference
+of level between the Black Sea and the Caspian.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>It was towards the end of May, 1841, I set out from Novo Tcherkask, to
+explore the Manitch, a paltry stream, but which, nevertheless, had for a
+long while the honour of marking the boundary between Europe and Asia. I
+was accompanied by my friend, Baron Kloch, a German by birth, and a most
+agreeable man, lately arrived for the first time in Russia. His
+intelligent conversation was a great source of enjoyment to me. Six
+hours' travel brought us to Axai, a charming stanitza, built like an
+amphitheatre on the right bank of the Don. It is the great trading place
+of the Cossacks, and but for the vicinity of Rostof, a Russian, and of
+course a privileged town, it would have been made the capital of the Don
+country, and the general entrep&ocirc;t of all the traffic from the north of
+the empire. The project was even entertained at first, but it was
+defeated partly by intrigue, and partly I believe by the obstinacy of
+Count Platof. Axai is, nevertheless, the handsomest stanitza in the
+country. Its balconied houses, painted in different colours, its port,
+the activity prevailing in it, its lively and bustling population, all
+excite the traveller's attention and curiosity. When I arrived in the
+town the inundations of the Don were at their height, and as far as the
+eye could reach the waters covered the low plain that stretches along
+its left bank. We were soon furnished with a boat having on board a
+pilot and four excellent rowers, and at nine in the evening, we embarked
+to cross the river. The evening was perfectly calm and beautiful; and I
+shall never forget the lodkas with bellied sails, gliding down with the
+current, the melancholy songs of the Russian boatmen, the sounds from
+Axai gradually dying away in the distance, and our boat skimming across
+the smooth surface of the water, which broke in thousands of sparks from
+the oars. At midnight we landed before Makinskaia, where we passed the
+remainder of the night on heaps of hay, in the court-yard of a paltry
+inn.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak next morning, the saddle horses were ready, and we started
+for Manitchkaia on the confluence of the Manitch with the Don. After
+some hours' riding we were brought to a halt by the overflow of the
+latter river; and for want of a better road to reach the stanitza, we
+were obliged to betake ourselves to wading through the temporary lake.
+This was the most unpleasant part of our journey. For a distance of more
+than four leagues our horses plodded on through thick mud with the water
+up to their bellies; and sometimes they were forced to swim. Besides
+this, we were tormented by clouds of gnats. At last our situation became
+quite intolerable; for in the very middle of this passage we were
+assailed by a violent hurricane, the rain came down in torrents; our
+baggage waggon broke down, and we very nearly lost all its contents. The
+whole day was consumed in making the six leagues to Manitchkaia. Our
+Kalmucks only succeeded in extricating the waggon from the hole in which
+it was stuck fast, by yoking one of their horses to it by the tail. This
+is an infallible means as we often found by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>experience; nothing can
+resist the violent efforts of the unfortunate horse when he finds
+himself in that predicament.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Manitchkaia, we skirted along the basin of the Manitch. The
+first dwellings we descried were some miserable Tatar cabins, surrounded
+with brambles and thistles. We found in them an old Tatar captain, a
+relic of the French campaign. He amused us a good deal by his pompous
+encomiums on the valour and tall stature of the Prussians. A Frenchman,
+said he, does not fear ten Russians, but a Prussian would settle at
+least ten Frenchmen.</p>
+
+<p>For three days our journey was without interest. No traces of buildings
+were to be seen; at intervals there appeared in the middle of the
+steppes, a Kalmuck tent, the inhabitants of which kept a large herd of
+horses; then here and there some strayed camels, and these were the only
+objects that broke the dreary monotony of the wilderness. But on the
+fourth day, we reached the vicinity of the great Khouroul of the
+Kalmucks, the residence of their high priest. One of our Cossacks was
+sent forward to announce our visit, and an hour after his departure two
+priests came galloping up to us. After complimenting us in the name of
+the grand Lama, they presented us with brandy distilled from mare's
+milk, in token of welcome, and fell in to line with our party. Some
+minutes afterwards we descried the white tents of the Khouroul. Our
+party was every moment swelled by fresh reinforcements, and we had soon
+fifty horsemen caracoling by our sides. Having reached the centre of the
+Khouroul, we alighted, and then walking between two lines of priests
+dressed in garments of the most glaring colours, we were conducted to
+the high priest's tent. This venerable representative of the great Dalai
+Lama, was an old man upwards of seventy, entirely bald, and with
+features of a much less Kalmuck cast than his countrymen. He was wrapped
+in a wide tunic of yellow brocade, lined with cherry red silk, and his
+fingers were busy with the beads of his chaplet. After many salutations
+on both sides we sat down on a sofa, and then, according to the
+invariable Kalmuck usage, we were helped to brandy and koumis, a
+beverage at which my friend Kloch made very queer faces. Next, I
+presented the high priest with two pounds of bad tobacco, purchased at
+Novo Tcherkask, which I passed off as genuine Latakieh. He was so
+delighted with my present that he did honour to it on the spot, with
+every mark of extreme satisfaction. This high priest will have the
+honour to be burned after his death, and his ashes, formed into a paste
+with a certain ingredient, will be worked into a little statue, which
+will adorn the temple to be erected to his memory. His successor is
+already nominated; he looks like a stupid fanatic, puffed up with the
+importance of his future dignity; we afterwards saw him acquit himself
+of his religious duties, with a conscientiousness quite rare among the
+Cossack Kalmucks. All the priests of this khouroul, appeared to us
+incomparably less devout than those of the Volga and the Caspian. They
+have very little reverence for their spiritual chief; they seem fully
+aware of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>absurdities of their religious notions and ceremonies, and
+if they set any value by their functions, it is because they enable them
+to lead a life of indolence and sensuality, and exempt them from
+military service. The laity seems to be very indifferent as to religious
+matters. The women alone seem attached to their ancient principles; one
+of them burst into a fury because her husband allowed us to see and
+touch the leaves of her prayer-book. It is to their intercourse with the
+Cossacks that we must attribute the lapse of these Kalmucks from the
+strictness of the primitive rule, which has been preserved almost
+unimpaired among the Kalmucks of the Caspian.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving the high priest's tent we attended the religious
+ceremonies, in which there was nothing very striking. A sheep was
+afterwards killed in honour of our visit, and was served up, cut into
+small pieces, in a huge cast-iron pan. The ragout was black and
+detestable, but hunger made it seem delicious.</p>
+
+<p>The women of the vicinity arrived in the evening, and began to sing in
+chorus, parading round the khouroul. Their strains were profoundly
+melancholy; nothing like them had ever yet struck my ears. Their voices
+were so sonorous and vibrating, that the sound was like that of brazen
+instruments; and heard in that vast solemn wilderness, it produced the
+most singular impression. After walking half-a-dozen times round the
+khouroul the singers halted, and forming line with their faces towards
+the temple, they stretched out their arms and prostrated themselves
+repeatedly. The women having ended, next came the mandjis or musicians,
+who made the air resound with the braying of their trumpets at the
+moment when the sun was descending below the horizon.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we left the khouroul to return to the banks of the Manitch; I
+then continued my levelling along the course of that stream up to the
+point, where eighteen months before, on my way back from the Caspian, I
+had been stopped by want of water and pasture. In our return journey we
+passed through numerous Kalmuck camps on the right bank of the Manitch,
+and were everywhere received with the liveliest delight. As all these
+nomades are exclusively engaged in rearing cattle, our curiosity was
+greatly excited by the prodigious herds of camels, horses, and oxen that
+covered the plain.</p>
+
+<p>Before we reached the Don we spent the last two nights in the lonely
+steppe, under the open sky. But six hours afterwards we were in
+Taganrok, in the drawing-room of the amiable English consul, surrounded
+by all the comforts of civilised life.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> We are quite convinced that the Comans mentioned by the
+Byzantine writers, are identical with the Kaptschaks of the Oriental
+historians. Rubruck's narrative supplies proof of this; moreover both
+peoples spoke Turkish. But in spite of all Klaproth's assertions, we do
+not believe that the Polovtzis of the Slavic chroniclers were Comans;
+for it seems to us far more rational to look for the descendants of the
+Comans among the Mussulman inhabitants of the south of the empire, who,
+as we learn from historic records, were already established in the same
+regions under the name of Kaptschak, at the arrival of Genghis Khan's
+Mongols.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Note that in our day the Cossack population though
+augmented during a succession of ages, by numerous emigrations, does not
+exceed 600,000 souls; it must, therefore, in all probability, have been
+much less considerable in the fifteenth century, a supposition which
+further confirms our opinion that the Cossacks never formed a distinct
+nation.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> According to Du Plan de Carpin, the Circassians do not
+appear to have escaped unscathed from the attacks of the Mongols; but
+there seems no reason to think that they were really subjugated.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Since we left Russia it has been proposed to equip the
+Cossack regiments at the cost of the government. The country would, of
+course, in that case be taxed, and would cease to differ in any respect
+from the other provinces.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">JOURNEY FROM NOVO TCHERKASK ALONG THE DON&mdash;ANOTHER KNAVISH
+POSTMASTER&mdash;MUSCOVITE MERCHANTS&mdash;COSSACK STANITZAS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Beyond Novo Tcherkask the road to Astrakhan runs northward along the
+right bank of the Don; the country still continuing the same naked and
+monotonous appearance; it is only in the neighbourhood of the river that
+its desolation is here and there relieved by a few clumps of trees in
+the ravines.</p>
+
+<p>It is certainly not without reason that the Russians boast of the rapid
+travelling in their country; its posts would be unrivalled in Europe
+were it not for the vexations practised by the <i>employ&eacute;s</i> at the
+stations. On the whole we had hitherto had no great reason to complain;
+the official papers with which we were furnished smoothed many
+difficulties; but at the first station beyond Novo Tcherkask we endured
+the common fate of all who travel without titular grade or decoration,
+and were mercilessly fleeced. We arrived towards evening followed by
+another carriage of which we were but a few minutes in advance. A
+caleche without horses seemed a bad omen to us as we entered the
+court-yard; and the first answer given to our Cossack was, that we could
+not have horses until the next morning. The prospect of passing the
+night in a miserable hovel was disagreeable enough; but what remedy had
+we with a postmaster, who opening all his stables, showed that he had no
+horses? After waiting a full half hour to no purpose our interpreter
+explored the vicinity of the station, and on his return, some rubles
+bestowed on the head of the establishment procured us all the horses we
+wanted. We put to and started immediately, leaving our companions behind
+us; but they overtook us an hour afterwards, having done like ourselves;
+and so it appeared at last, that there were horses enough for us all.</p>
+
+<p>The travellers who followed us were young Muscovite merchants returning
+from some fair in the Caucasus. They amused themselves all night with
+letting off rockets and all kinds of fireworks, the sudden flash of
+which, lighting up the deep darkness of the steppes, produced a most
+striking effect.</p>
+
+<p>We passed on the following day through several stanitzas. These Cossack
+hamlets have a far more pleasing appearance than the Russian villages.
+The houses of which they consist are small, almost all of them built of
+painted wood, with green window-shutters. They have only a ground-floor,
+surrounded by a miniature gallery, and look as if they were merely
+intended for pretty toys. The interiors are extremely neat, and show an
+appreciation of domestic comfort of which the Russians betray no trace.
+You find in them table-linen, delf plates, forks, and all the most
+necessary utensils. The Cossacks have usually two dwellings adjoining
+each other. One of these, that which we have been speaking of, is
+occupied in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>summer, and almost always contains one handsome apartment,
+adorned with stained paper, images, flowers, and groups of arms; it is
+the room used on grand occasions, and for the accommodation of
+strangers. The other dwelling is built of earth, and resembles the
+<i>kates</i> of the Muscovite peasants; it contains but one room, in which
+the whole family huddle themselves together in winter for the more
+warmth.</p>
+
+<p>In general, only women and children are to be seen in the stanitzas. The
+whole male population is under arms, with the exception of some veterans
+who have purchased, by forty years' service, the right of returning home
+to die. All the burden of labour falls on the women; it is they who must
+repair the houses, whitewash them, dress the furs, take care of the
+children, and tend the cattle. It is really inconceivable how they can
+accomplish so many laborious tasks.</p>
+
+<p>At Piatisbanskaia, a charming stanitza, shaded by handsome trees, and
+rising in an amphitheatre on the banks of the Don, we turned off from
+the post-road, and after crossing the river, entered on a sea of sand,
+through which we worked our way with immense difficulty. The peasants'
+horses are less used than those of the post to such toilsome marches,
+and it was really piteous to see their panting distress. The reflected
+glare of the sun, and the absence of any breath of wind, made this day's
+journey one of the most oppressive we encountered. It took us four hours
+to get over nine versts (less than six English miles). Though I wore a
+thick veil and blue spectacles, my eyelids were so swollen I could
+scarcely open them. Towards noon we at last reached a poor lonely
+village, where we rested until nightfall.</p>
+
+<p>The country from Piatisbanskaia is dreary, and void of vegetation. The
+stanitzas are few and far between, the land lies waste, and the
+sand-hills and hot winds betoken the approach to the deserts of the
+Caspian. Nothing is more saddening to the imagination, than the lifeless
+aspect and uniform hues of these endless plains. One is surprised to
+meet in them, from time to time, some miserable Cossack villages, and
+cannot tell how the inhabitants can exist amidst such desolation. This
+sad sterility is the work of men, rather than of nature. The present
+system of government of the Don Cossacks is an insuperable bar to
+agricultural improvement; and so long as it exists, the land must remain
+uncultivated.</p>
+
+<p>But, as we have already remarked, all is contrast in Russia. Extremes of
+all kinds meet there without any transition: from a desert you pass into
+a populous town, from a cabin to a palace, from a Tatar mosque into an
+ancient Christian cathedral, from an arid plain into the cheerful German
+colonies. Surprises follow one upon the other without end, and give a
+peculiar zest to travelling, scarcely to be experienced in any other
+part of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>It is particularly in approaching Sarepta that one feels the force of
+these reflections: the novel impressions that there await the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>traveller
+who arrives benumbed in soul from the dreary wilderness, come upon him
+with the bewildering effect of a marvellous dream. Even were Sarepta
+whisked away, and set down in the middle of Switzerland, one could not
+fail to be delighted with so charming a place; but to feel all its real
+excellence, one should come to it weary and worn as we were, one should
+have known what it was to long for a little shade and water, as for
+manna from the skies, and have plodded on for many days through a
+country like that we have described, under the unmitigating rays of a
+roasting sun.</p>
+
+<p>Picture to yourself a pretty little German town, with its high gabled
+houses, its fruit trees, fountains, and promenades, its scrupulous
+neatness, and its comfortable and happy people, and you will have an
+idea of Sarepta: industry, the fine arts, morality, sociability,
+commerce, are all combined in that favoured spot.</p>
+
+<p>The Moravian colony, shut in within a bend of the Volga, in the midst of
+the Kalmuck hordes, eloquently demonstrates what miracles decision and
+perseverance can effect. It is the first shoot planted by Europe in that
+remote region, amidst those pastoral tribes so jealous of their
+independence; and the changes wrought by the Moravian brethren on the
+rude soil they have fertilised, and on the still ruder character of the
+inhabitants, give striking evidence of the benefits of our civilisation.</p>
+
+<p>Every thing breathes of peace and contentment in this little town, on
+which rests the blessing of God. It is the only place I know in Russia
+in which the eye is never saddened by the sight of miserable penury. No
+bitter thought mingles there with the interesting observations gleaned
+by curiosity. Every house is a workshop, every individual a workman.
+During the day every one is busy; but in the evening the thriving and
+cheerful population throng the walks and the square, and give a most
+pleasing air of animation to the town.</p>
+
+<p>Like most Germans, the Moravian brethren are passionately fond of music.
+The piano, heard at evening in almost every house, reminds them of their
+fatherland, and consoles them for the vicinity of the Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<p>We visited the establishments of the Moravian sisters, where, by a
+fortunate chance, we met a German lady who spoke French very well. The
+life of the sisters is tranquil, humble, and accordant with the purest
+principles of morality and religion. They are forty in number, and
+appear happy, as much so at least as it is possible to be in a perfectly
+monastic state of existence. Consummate order, commodious apartments,
+and a handsome garden, make the current of their lives flow with
+unruffled smoothness, as far as outward things are concerned. Music,
+too, is a great resource for them. We observed in the prayer-room three
+pianos, with which they accompany the hymns they sing in chorus. They
+execute very pretty work in pearls and tapestry, which they sell for the
+benefit of the community. There would be nothing very extraordinary in
+these <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>details, if any other country were in question; we are afraid
+they will even be thought too commonplace; but if the reader will only
+reflect for a moment on the position of this oasis of civilisation on
+the far verge of Europe, in the midst of the Kalmucks and on the
+confines of the country of the Khirghis, he will think our enthusiasm
+very natural and excusable.</p>
+
+<p>The only thing that rather offended our eyes was the would-be finery of
+the women's dress. Would any one imagine that in this remote little
+corner of the earth they should be ridiculous enough to ape French
+fashions and wear bonnets with flowers? How preferable are the simple
+demure costume of the Mennonite women and their little Alsacian caps, to
+the mingled elegance and shabbiness of the Moravian sisters. Their dress
+is quite out of character, and makes them look like street
+ballad-singers.</p>
+
+<p>To give an idea of it, here follows an exact description of the costume
+of a fashionably-dressed young lady of Sarepta (our host's
+daughter.):&mdash;A flowered muslin gown, short and narrow; a black apron; a
+large Madras handkerchief on the neck; a patch-work ridicule carried in
+the hand; thick-soled shoes, bare arms, and a pink bonnet with flowers.
+To complete the portrait, we must add a very pretty face, and plump,
+well-rounded arms. The women here are much handsomer than in any other
+part of Russia; many of them are remarkable specimens of the North
+German style of beauty.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening of our arrival we were advised to attend the funeral
+music performed as a last honour to one of the principal inhabitants of
+Sarepta. The body was laid out in a mortuary chapel, with the family and
+numerous friends around it, and was not to be removed to the cemetery
+until the fourth day; an excellent custom, which may prevent horrible
+accidents.</p>
+
+<p>It would be difficult to imagine any thing more melancholy than the
+harmony produced by the voices and the brass instruments that
+alternately answered each other, and seemed the echoes of the saddest
+and most profound emotions of the heart. A great number of persons were
+present, and all the solemnity of the occasion did not hinder those
+worthy Germans from gathering round us with the liveliest curiosity, and
+putting a thousand questions to us about the purport of our travels.</p>
+
+<p>The association of the Moravian brethren dates from the celebrated John
+Huss, who was burnt at Constance, in 1419. Their history is but a long
+series of persecutions. The issue of the Thirty Years' War, so
+disastrous for Frederick, the elector palatine, and king of Bohemia, was
+particularly fatal to them. At that period most of the Protestants of
+Bohemia fled their country, and spread themselves through Saxony,
+Brandenburg, Poland, and Hungary. The vengeance of the Emperor Frederick
+II. pursued them without ceasing, and great numbers of them perished in
+want and wretchedness. In 1722, Christian David, a carpenter, and some
+others of the proscribed, obtained permission from the Count of
+Zinzendorf, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>in Lusace, to settle on his lands. They reached their place
+of refuge in secret, with their wives and children, and David struck his
+axe into a tree, exclaiming: "Here shall the bird find a dwelling, and
+the swallow a nest." His hopes were not disappointed. The new
+establishment assumed the name of <i>Herrenhut</i> (The Lord's Keeping), and
+its members were soon known in Germany only by that appellation. Such
+was the beginning of the new evangelical society of the Brethren of the
+Unity of the Confession of Augsburg. Herrenhut, the central
+establishment, throve rapidly, and became known all over Europe for its
+industry and its manufactures; and by and by, when the proselytising
+spirit had possessed the brethren, they extended their relations over
+all parts of the world.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly after the Empress Catherine II. had made known to Europe that
+Russia was open to foreigners, and that she would bestow lands the
+immigrants, a deputation from Herrenhut to St. Petersburg decided on the
+formation of a Moravian colony in the government of Astrakhan. Five of
+the brethren visited the banks of the Volga in 1769, and on the 3rd of
+September of the same year, the colony was settled at the confluence of
+the Sarpa with the Volga, and consisted at that time of thirty persons
+of both sexes. Its name was borrowed from the Bible, and an olive and a
+wheatsheaf were chosen for its arms.</p>
+
+<p>It was only by dint of courage and perseverance that these first
+colonists succeeded in their enterprise, surrounded as they were on all
+sides by the savage hordes of the Kalmucks, having no knowledge of the
+language of the country, and situated at more than 120 versts from any
+Russian town. But after the first difficulties were surmounted, their
+prosperity was rapid. As we have already said, the Moravian brethren
+form a vast society, spread throughout all parts of the world for the
+propagation of the Gospel; but, moreover, for the better fulfilment of
+their mission they are all required by the rules of their order to know
+some trade, so as to be able to support themselves by the work of their
+own hands. Hence Sarepta soon became a seat of manufactures of all
+sorts, and an industrial school for the surrounding country, and
+Catherine's intentions were realised.</p>
+
+<p>As for the brethren themselves, the establishment of an industrial town
+in a land so remote and so destitute of resources and markets, was for
+them but a secondary object. Their chief aim was the conversion of the
+Kalmucks, to accomplish which they thought rightly that it was
+indispensable to have a permanent settlement among those people. All
+their proselytising efforts, however, remained fruitless; the Kalmucks
+were deaf to their instruction. It was not till 1820 that they succeeded
+in converting a few families, and inducing them to receive baptism. But
+now the Russian clergy interposed, and insisted on the converts being
+baptised according to the Greek rite, and finally, all the Moravian
+missions were suppressed. Ever since then Sarepta has been a purely
+manufacturing town.</p>
+
+<p>The colony of Sarepta endured great calamities in the beginning. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>In
+1771, the period of the famous emigration of the Kalmucks, the brethren
+had a narrow escape of being carried into captivity, and were saved only
+by the mildness of the winter, which prevented their enemies from
+crossing the Volga and joining the great horde. The Cossack Pougatchef
+ravaged the whole country in 1773, and the colonists, 200 in number,
+including women, were obliged to retreat to Astrakhan. The defeat of the
+rebel shortly afterwards enabled them to return home. Their town had
+been destroyed, but they were not disheartened, and it soon rose again
+from its ruins. A whole street was burned down in Sarepta in 1812, and
+in the same year they lost their warehouses in Moscow, containing an
+immense stock of goods, in the great conflagration. But the most
+terrible disaster was that of 1823, when two-thirds of the colony and
+the largest establishments were reduced to ashes; the loss was estimated
+at upwards of 40,000<i>l.</i> The Emperor Alexander and the Moravian
+Association afforded the poor colonists generous aid, but they could
+never restore the old prosperity of Sarepta.</p>
+
+<p>All these heavy blows falling successively on the unfortunate community,
+did not, however, prevent the development of its industry. Great
+activity prevailed in its very various manufactories down to the
+beginning of the present century, and their productions continued to be
+in request in all parts of Russia. Some of the brethren established in
+the great towns of the empire were the active and honest correspondents
+of the Volga colonists. The silks and cottons of Sarepta were so
+successful that the weavers of that town formed establishments at their
+own cost among the German colonies of the government of Saratof.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> But
+all these elements of wealth were annihilated by the new customs'
+regulations; most of the manufactories were closed; as for the rest,
+with one or two exceptions, being obliged to confine themselves to the
+production of a small number of articles, they can only subsist by dint
+of great economy and skill. The difficulty, too, of procuring workmen
+makes labour extremely dear in Sarepta; and besides this the colonists
+instead of importing the raw materials direct from the foreigner, are
+obliged to purchase them in the markets of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
+The decrease in the waters of the Sarpa has also been disastrous to the
+trade of Sarepta. The brethren had set up a great number of saw and
+other mills on the banks, and these brought them large profits; but the
+want of water caused them all to be abandoned in 1800. In noticing this
+continual struggle of man against nature and events, we cannot but pay
+the tribute of our admiration to those intrepid colonists, who, on the
+furthest verge of Europe, in the arid steppes of the Volga, have never
+suffered themselves to be overcome by their mischances, but have always
+found fresh resources in their own energy and perseverance.</p>
+
+<p>The manufacture of mustard is at present the most important <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>branch of
+business in Sarepta, producing nearly 16,000 kilogrammes yearly, besides
+4800 kilogrammes of oil. This trade is not unimportant to the
+neighbouring villages, since it uses upon an average every year 160,000
+kilogrammes of mustard seed, for which the manufacturer pays the peasant
+at the rate of 1.60 rubles the poud or thirty-three pounds.</p>
+
+<p>The other trades that are still carried on with some degree of success
+are the manufactures of silk and cotton tissues, stockings and caps,
+tobacco and tanned leather, but these are all upon a greatly reduced
+scale and at a greatly diminished rate of profit. There is also a very
+clever optician in Sarepta, and there are several confectioners who
+travel to Moscow. The colony possesses also warehouses of manufactured
+goods, and offers almost all the resources and conveniences of a good
+European town.</p>
+
+<p>Agriculture can only be a secondary matter in the colony; of the 17,000
+deciatines of land possessed by it 2000 are quite unfit for cultivation,
+10,000 are salt, and only 4000 are really good. There is, however, a
+little village named Sch&ouml;nbrunn, not far from the town, in which there
+are some families engaged in agriculture and cattle rearing. Merino
+sheep have not done well with them hitherto. They had a large stock some
+years ago, but it dwindled away either from mismanagement, or from the
+severity of the climate, and at present does not exceed 1000 head.</p>
+
+<p>The brethren possess also numerous gardens along the Sarpa, irrigated by
+water wheels, and producing all sorts of fruits and plants, but chiefly
+tobacco, and latterly indigo, which will no doubt become of great
+importance to the colony.</p>
+
+<p>The little town of Sarepta has not changed much within the last eighty
+years: its buildings still present the same appearance as they did some
+years after the foundation of the colony; but the great industrial
+movements of former times have deserted it, and its streets are become
+lonely and silent. The fountain still flows on the same spot, and is
+still shaded by the same trees; but the blackened walls of the two
+finest manufactories, burnt down in the terrible fire of 1823, and which
+the colonists have never been able to rebuild, make a singularly painful
+impression on the beholder, and tell too plainly that in spite of their
+courage and industry, events have been too strong for the Moravians. All
+travellers who visit Sarepta, and have an opportunity of appreciating
+the worth of its inhabitants, will certainly desire from their hearts a
+return of prosperity to this interesting colony: unhappily it is not
+probable that these wishes will be very speedily realised.</p>
+
+<p>The Moravian community has augmented but little since 1769; for in 1837
+it comprised but 380 souls, viz., 160 men and 220 women; and even of
+these, only one half were natives of Sarepta, the remainder being
+immigrants from abroad. Many causes combine to keep down the population.
+In the first place, no colonist is allowed to marry, until he can prove
+the sufficiency of his means; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>both men and women, therefore, marry late
+in life, and large families are extremely rare. Again, no brother can
+marry, if his doing so would cause any detriment to another; and all
+those who, by their misconduct, in any degree disturb the order and
+tranquillity of the colony, are banished and put out of the association.
+A sort of passport is given them for the government of Saratof, and then
+they are at liberty either to enrol themselves as government colonists,
+or to enjoy their privileges as foreigners. Lastly, after the great fire
+of 1823, many of the brethren, discouraged by the loss of their all,
+left Sarepta, and went to reside elsewhere. All these reasons,
+sufficiently account for the stationary condition of the population. Of
+strangers to the association, there are in Sarepta, thirty families of
+work people from the German colonies of Saratof, forty Russians, and
+twenty Tatars; some fifty Kalmuck kibitkas (tents) supply labourers for
+the gardens and for other works.</p>
+
+<p>There are now fifty-six stone and 136 wooden houses in Sarepta, and
+outside it, one stone and forty-nine wooden. Its public buildings, are a
+church, with an organ and a belfry, and three large workhouses for
+bachelors, widows, and girls. These serve at the same time as asylums
+for orphans, and for all persons who have no families. There are also
+schools for the young of both sexes, in which the course of instruction
+is rather extensive, and includes the German, Russian, and French
+languages, history, geography, and elementary mathematics.</p>
+
+<p>At first, Sarepta was surrounded with ditches and ramparts, supplied
+with artillery and defended by a detachment of Cossacks; but these
+military displays have long disappeared, and the worthy Moravians are
+left alone to their own peaceful pursuits. In describing this
+interesting colony, we must not forget its numerous and delicious
+fountains. Every street, every house has its own, the water being
+conveyed by wooden pipes underground into a common reservoir, whence it
+is distributed to all parts. Nor will it be without a keen feeling of
+satisfaction that the weary traveller will stop at the Sarepta hotel,
+where he will find a good bed and a good table, excellent wine, and all
+the comforts he can desire.</p>
+
+<p>The Moravian brethren of Sarepta justly enjoy much more extensive
+privileges than all the other colonists of Russia: they pay to the crown
+but a slight tax per deciatine of land; and they have the right of
+trading in all parts of the empire and to foreign parts, as first guild
+merchants without paying any dues. They have their own perfectly
+separate administration, and all litigated affairs among them are
+settled by themselves, without the interference of any Russian tribunal:
+if any disputes arise between them and their neighbours, they have
+recourse to the general committee of the German colonies of Saratof, or
+in matters of weight, to the ministry in St. Petersburg, through one of
+their brethren, who resides there as their agent. In cases of murder
+alone, they deliver over the criminal to the Russian authorities.
+Banishment is usually the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>sentence pronounced for other offences by the
+tribunal of the association, which consists of a mayor and two
+assistants, elected by the community, and who act also as administrators
+of the colony, and have under their orders an officer, who is
+responsible for all things pertaining to the town and country police.
+The public revenue is 20,000 rubles, produced by the rent of the
+fisheries and by special taxes; this money is spent in keeping up the
+public buildings, the schools, workhouses, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The habits of these colonists, their amount of education, and their
+religious principles, make a marked distinction between them and all the
+other Germans in Russia. We have seen few sectarians whose religious
+views are characterised by so much sound sense. While discharging their
+duties with the most scrupulous exactness, they avail themselves of the
+good things granted them by Providence, live in a liberal and commodious
+manner, and surround themselves with all that can render life easy and
+agreeable. What struck us most of all, was to find invariably in the
+mere workman as well as in the wealthy manufacturer, a well-bred,
+well-informed man, of elegant manners and appearance, and engaging
+conversation. We spent but a few days in the colony, but our knowledge
+of the German language, enabled us quickly to acquire the friendship of
+the principal inhabitants; and when we left the town, our carriage was
+surrounded by a great number of those worthy people who came to bid us a
+last farewell, and to wish us a pleasant journey through the wild
+steppes of the Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> The German colonies of the government of Saratof consist
+of 102 villages, with a population of 81,271; in 1820 they produced
+242,830 hectolitres of wheat, worth 555,263 paper rubles, and tobacco to
+the value of 260,485.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">FIRST KALMUCK ENCAMPMENTS&mdash;THE VOLGA&mdash;ASTRAKHAN&mdash;VISIT TO A
+KALMUCK PRINCE&mdash;MUSIC, DANCING, COSTUME, &amp;c.&mdash;EQUESTRIAN
+FEATS&mdash;RELIGIOUS CEREMONY&mdash;POETRY.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>At eight in the evening we left Sarepta, delighted in the highest degree
+with the good Moravian brethren, and the cordial hospitality they had
+shown us.</p>
+
+<p>At some distance from the colony, a dull white line, scarcely
+distinguishable through the gloom, announced the presence of the Volga.
+We followed its course all night, catching a glimpse of it from time to
+time by the faint glimmering of the stars, and by numerous lights along
+its banks; these were fishermen's lanterns. There was an originality in
+the whole region that strongly impressed our imaginations. Those
+numerous lights, flitting every moment from place to place, were like
+the will o' the wisp that beguiles the benighted traveller; and then the
+Kalmuck encampments with their black masses that seemed to glide over
+the surface of the steppe; the darkness of the night; the speed with
+which our tro&iuml;ka bore us <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>over the boundless plain; the shrill tinklings
+of the horse bells, and above all, the thought that we were in the land
+of the Kalmucks, wrought us up to a state of nervous excitement that
+made us see every thing in the hues of fancy.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak, our eyes were bent eagerly on the Volga, that gleamed in
+the colours of the morning sky. From the plateau where we were, we could
+see the whole country, and it may easily be conceived with what
+admiration we gazed on the calm majestic stream, and its multitude of
+islands clothed with alders and aspens. On the other side of the river,
+the steppes where the Khirgises and Kalmucks encamp, stretched away as
+far as the eye could reach, till bounded by a horizon as even as that of
+the ocean. It would have been difficult to conceive a more majestic
+spectacle, or one more in harmony with the ideas evoked by the Volga, to
+which its course of more than six hundred leagues assigns the foremost
+rank among the great rivers of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>The post-road, which skirts the river as far as Astrakhan, is difficult,
+and often dangerous. Our driver was constantly turning his horses into
+the water, to prevent their sinking in a soil that undulates like the
+sea with every breath of wind. At intervals we encountered Cossack
+villages almost buried under sandy billows, and many cabins entirely
+abandoned. This encroachment of the sands, which increases every year in
+extent, will soon change the already dreary banks of the Volga into a
+real desert. No one can behold the sterility and desolation of these
+regions, without marvelling at the patience with which the Cossacks
+endure a visitation that from year to year drives them from their
+cabins, and compels them to build new ones. For a length of more than
+sixty versts, the traveller finds his route shut in between the bed of
+the river, and moving hills of sand, whose dead monotony has a most
+depressing effect on the spirits. It is still worse at night, for then
+he seems surrounded with perils. No wonder if fear possesses him when he
+thinks that a plundering nomade horde may be lying in ambush behind
+those defiles which the darkness renders still more menacing; the
+Cossack posts, however, which he meets from time to time along his road,
+contribute greatly to quiet his apprehensions.</p>
+
+<p>These Cossacks were originally from the Don, and were sent by the
+government to defend the frontiers of the Volga against the incursions
+of the nomades. Settling with their families, they founded several
+villages, and afterwards peopled Samara, Saratof, and other towns. There
+remains of these colonists only a military population, whose duty is
+limited to watching the movements of the Khirgises from a distance, and
+protecting travellers. The soil affords them no means of practising
+agriculture, but they supply their wants by fishing.</p>
+
+<p>Since our departure from Sarepta, we were much surprised to find on this
+little frequented route much better horses than are met with on the main
+post-roads; the stations too seemed larger, more <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>commodious and
+elegant, and every thing about them betokened attentive care on the part
+of the government.</p>
+
+<p>As we approached Astrakhan, the sand-hills diminished insensibly in
+height, until they no longer confined the view. All this part of the
+steppe is bare of wood, and the salt sandy waste is only spotted here
+and there with pools of water and patches of wormwood. No sound is heard
+but the shrill cries of the petrels and wild geese that haunt the edges
+of the pools. Here and there only we encountered numerous herds of
+camels going to drink the clear water of the Volga, or wandering among
+the Kalmuck kibitkas scattered over the steppes.</p>
+
+<p>At the last station but one, we were startled from our breakfast by the
+sound of military music, which for a moment threw the whole house into a
+state of revolution. We were ourselves very much puzzled to know what it
+meant, and jumping up from table we ran and saw&mdash;what? A steamer, no
+less, puffing and smoking, and lashing the astonished waters of the calm
+Volga into foam. Gay flags flaunted over its deck, which was crowded
+with passengers, and whence proceeded the sounds that had so surprised
+us. It passed before us, I will not say proudly, but very clumsily, by
+no means skimming along the water like a swallow.</p>
+
+<p>When we saw the crowded state of the deck, a thought struck us that the
+matter in some degree concerned ourselves, for as the steamer was from
+Astrakhan, it was to be presumed that it carried several persons we had
+expected to see there. But our conjectures fell short of the reality,
+and our consternation was extreme, when the postmaster told us that the
+boat was conveying all the good society of Astrakhan on a visit to a
+Kalmuck prince, whose custom it was to give splendid entertainments at
+that season of the year. What made the thing still more vexatious, was,
+that many persons had already talked to us about the said prince, and
+strongly recommended us to go and see him.</p>
+
+<p>There could not have been a more favourable opportunity for indulging
+our curiosity; but we were compelled to forego it for want of a
+<i>podoroshni</i><a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> entitling us to have horses on our way back. The
+Russians are such rigid sticklers for forms, that nothing but strong
+motives of interest can make them swerve from the letter of their
+instructions. Now it happened by a singular piece of ill-luck that our
+postmaster was an honest man after his fashion; that is to say, he would
+not depart a hair's breadth from his regulations to please any one. His
+stupid obstinacy was proof against all solicitations and bribes, and we
+gave up the tempting project of visiting the prince, whose palace we had
+passed a few hours before, about forty versts from the station.</p>
+
+<p>Our best course under the circumstances would have been to hail <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>the
+steamer, and go on board of it, but we did not think of this until we
+had lost much time with the postmaster, and then it was too late to
+overtake the steamer, notwithstanding its slow rate of moving. When we
+afterwards related our mischances to the governor of Astrakhan, he
+blamed us much for not having at once thought of so simple an expedient.</p>
+
+<p>About four o'clock <span class="smcap">P.M.</span> the same day, we came in sight of
+Astrakhan. I cannot describe our sensations when from a large boat in
+which we embarked, we beheld the fine panorama of the city, its
+churches, cupolas, and ruined forts gradually coming forth to the view.
+Situated in an island of the Volga, its environs are not covered like
+those of most great cities, with villages and cultivated fields: no, it
+stands alone, surrounded by water and sand, proud of its sovereignty
+over the noble river, and of the name of Star of the Desert, with which
+the poetic imagination of the Orientals has graced it.</p>
+
+<p>We had great difficulty in finding a lodging after we had landed, and
+though assisted by a police officer, we spent more than two hours in
+wandering from place to place, everywhere meeting with refusals. We were
+about cutting short our perplexities by taking refuge in a Persian
+caravanserai, when chance came to our aid. A Polish lady whom we fell in
+with, offered us the accommodation of her house, and with such good
+grace, that we could not hesitate to accept her civility. Besides, our
+travels in Russia had accustomed us to the sympathy with which every
+thing French is greeted by the Poles. The last political events have not
+yet been able to weaken their good will towards us; they regard us as
+brethren, and are ready to prove it on all occasions.</p>
+
+<p>Except some crown buildings occupied by the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>, there is nothing
+in Astrakhan to remind us of its being under foreign sway. The town has
+completely preserved the Asiatic physiognomy it owes to its climate, its
+past history, and its diversified population. It is built partly on a
+hill, partly on the plain, and several of its oldest portions stand on
+low spots intersected with marshes, and are exposed to very unwholesome
+exhalations during the summer, after the river floods. A canal with
+quays runs through its whole length.</p>
+
+<p>My husband's first proceeding after a hurried installation in our new
+quarters, was to call on M. Fadier, the curator-general of the Kalmucks,
+and try to obtain a <i>podoroshni</i> as quickly as possible. He came back in
+an hour, and told me that we were to start that evening in a boat
+belonging to the admiralty, which was placed at our disposal. The
+governor, M. Fadier, the port-admiral, and all the superior society of
+the place were visiting the prince, as we had before been told; but
+Madame Fadier had been kept at home by indisposition, and that lady,
+whose name will frequently appear in our reminiscences of Astrakhan,
+obligingly removed all our difficulties.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>We embarked in the evening in the boat, with a crew of six stout Kalmuck
+rowers and a Tatta pilot. We expected to arrive at the prince's in the
+morning; but by some unaccountable chance I was seized all at once with
+a dread that obliged us to halt, in spite of our eager desire to reach
+our journey's end. The night was very dark, and the river, the waves of
+which made our boat reel, seemed to me boundless; yet all this was not
+enough to account for the insurmountable terror that took hold of me so
+capriciously. Many sea-voyages and long excursions on the Bosphorus in
+those light ca&iuml;ques that threaten to upset with the slightest movement,
+ought to have seasoned me against such emotions; but fear is a sentiment
+that cannot reason, and that comes upon us unawares, without any real
+danger to justify it. I must add, however, in palliation of my conduct,
+that the frequent lightning and the heaviness of the atmosphere foretold
+a storm; and no doubt had something to do with the nervous state in
+which I found myself.</p>
+
+<p>Be this as it may, I could not rest until I had heard my husband give
+orders to put back into port, and the sequel proved that this was really
+the best thing we could do. The night was horrible: one of those
+terrific squalls that are so frequent and so dangerous on the Volga,
+came on soon after we landed, and made me bless that terror of which I
+was at first ashamed, and which I was now tempted to regard as a secret
+presentiment of the danger that threatened us.</p>
+
+<p>At sunrise next day we set out by the post, and travelled till evening
+along that river on which I had been so much agitated. Its appearance in
+the fresh, calm morning was little in accordance with my terror on the
+preceding day. The weather showed that brilliancy that always follows a
+storm in southern lands, and our spirits were such as to make our little
+trip exceedingly agreeable. The postmaster who had annoyed us so much
+the preceding day, could not help showing great surprise at our
+reappearance. He examined our new <i>podoroshni</i> with scrupulous care, and
+having satisfied himself that it was quite as it ought to be, he was
+suddenly seized with great respect for us. The quickness with which we
+had obtained the paper, was plain proof to him that we were persons of
+importance.</p>
+
+<p>We left our post-carriage in the evening, and embarked; for we had still
+a dozen versts to travel on the river before reaching the prince's; but
+all the phantoms of the previous night had fled before the bright sun,
+and I stepped gaily into the boat thinking only of the pleasure of a
+long row over the limpid waves of the Volga. But now a last vexation
+befel us; one would have fancied some evil genius was amusing himself
+with baffling all our arrangements, merely for the purpose of preventing
+our paying that visit on which we were so eagerly bent.</p>
+
+<p>Our whole desire was to arrive at the prince's before the departure of
+the steamer; for as for the f&ecirc;tes, we had already given up all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>thought
+of them. From what Madame Fadier had told us we were quite at ease, and
+never doubted but that we should find the whole company assembled in the
+Kalmuck palace. Fancy our dismay then, when our boatman suddenly called
+out 'the steamer!' pointing at the same time to a light smoke that rose
+above the trees. I am not very prone to superstition, but this obvious
+fatality was too much for my philosophy. Here was the best part of the
+pleasure we had anticipated from this unlucky trip, struck from us at
+one blow, and that at the very moment when we flattered ourselves we had
+overcome all obstacles! the steamer passed proudly and triumphantly at a
+little distance from us, with its joyous music that seemed to insult our
+disappointment, and our poor little boat, tossed about like a nutshell
+by the surge of the confounded vessel, had not even the honour of being
+seen at first. Some one at last condescended to notice us; a telescope
+was pointed in our direction, and we afterwards learned that our
+appearance gave rise to a multitude of conjectures, which, of course,
+were solved only in Astrakhan.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing remained for us but to bear our fate with philosophical
+composure; and we did so with the confident belief that luck, which had
+hitherto run so decidedly against us, must soon take a turn in our
+favour. Forgetting, therefore, the steamboat, its music, and its
+brilliant company, we applied all our attention to the spectacle before
+us, which was certainly much better worth seeing than the prosaic
+steamer.</p>
+
+<p>The little island belonging to Prince Tumene stands alone in the middle
+of the river. From a distance it looks like a nest of verdure resting on
+the waves, and waiting only a breath of wind to send it floating down
+the rapid course of the Volga; but, as you advance, the land unfolds
+before you, the trees form themselves into groups, and the prince's
+palace displays a portion of its white fa&ccedil;ade, and the open galleries of
+its turrets. Every object assumes a more decided and more picturesque
+form, and stands out in clear relief, from the cupola of the mysterious
+pagoda which you see towering above the trees, to the humble kibitka
+glittering in the magic tints of sunset. The landscape, as it presented
+itself successively to our eyes, with the unruffled mirror of the Volga
+for its framework, wore a calm, but strange and profoundly melancholy
+character. It was like nothing we had ever seen before; it was a new
+world which fancy might people as it pleased; one of those mysterious
+isles one dreams of at fifteen after reading the "Arabian Nights;" a
+thing, in short, such as crosses the traveller's path but once in all
+his wanderings, and which we enjoyed with all the zest of unexpected
+pleasure. But we were soon called back from all these charming phantoms
+of the imagination to the realities of life? we were arrived. Our
+boatman moored his little craft in a clump of thornbroom; and whilst my
+husband proceeded to the palace with his interpreter, I remained in the
+boat, divided between the pleasure I anticipated from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>extraordinary
+things to be seen in a Kalmuck palace, and the involuntary apprehension
+awakened in me by all the incidents of this visit.</p>
+
+<p>The latter feeling did not last long. Not many minutes had elapsed after
+the departure of my companions, when I saw them returning with a young
+man, who was presented to me as one of the princes Tumene. It was with
+equal elegance and good breeding he introduced me to the palace, where
+every step brought me some new surprise. I was quite unprepared for what
+I saw; and really in passing through two salons which united the most
+finished display of European taste with the gorgeousness of Asia, on
+being suddenly accosted by a young lady who welcomed me in excellent
+French, I felt such a thrill of delight, that I could only answer by
+embracing her heartily! In this manner an acquaintance is quickly made.</p>
+
+<p>The room where we took tea was soon filled with Russian and Cossack
+officers, guests of the prince's, and thus assumed a European aspect
+which we had not at all expected after the departure of the steamer. But
+was this what we had come to see? was it to look at Russian officers,
+and articles of furniture of well known fashion, to take caravan tea off
+a silver tray, and talk French, that we had left Astrakhan? These
+reflections soon yielded to the secret pleasure of meeting the image of
+Europe even among the Kalmucks, and being able without the aid of a
+dragoman to testify to the charming Polish lady who did the honours of
+the drawing-room, the gratification her presence afforded us. The old
+Prince Tumene, the head of the family, joined us by and by, and thanked
+us with the most exquisite politeness for our obliging visit.</p>
+
+<p>After the first civilities were over, I was conducted to a very handsome
+chamber, with windows opening on a large verandah. I found in it a
+toilette apparatus in silver, very elegant furniture, and many objects
+both rare and precious. My surprise augmented continually as I beheld
+this aristocratic sumptuousness. In vain I looked for any thing that
+could remind me of the Kalmucks; nothing around me had a tinge of
+<i>couleur locale</i>; all seemed rather to bespeak the abode of a rich
+Asiatic nabob; and with a little effort of imagination, I might easily
+have fancied myself transported into the marvellous world of the
+fairies, as I beheld that magnificent palace encircled with water, with
+its exterior fretted all over with balconies and fantastic ornaments,
+and its interior all filled with velvets, tapestries, and crystals, as
+though the touch of a wand had made all these wonders start from the
+bosom of the Volga! And what completed the illusion was the thought that
+the author of these prodigies was a Kalmuck prince, a chief of those
+half-savage tribes that wander over the sandy plains of the Caspian Sea,
+a worshipper of the Grand Lama, a believer in the metempsychosis; in
+short, one of those beings whose existence seems to us almost fabulous,
+such a host of mysterious legends do their names awaken in the mind.</p>
+
+<p>Madame Zakarevitch soon made me acquainted with all I wished <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>to know
+respecting the princes Tumene and herself. Her husband, who had long
+been curator of the Kalmucks, died some years ago, a victim to the
+integrity with which he discharged his office. The employ&eacute;s, enraged at
+not being able to rob at their ease, combined together to have him
+brought to trial and persecuted him to his last moment with their base
+intrigues. His wife, who has all the impassioned character of the Poles,
+has ever since been actively engaged in vindication of his memory,
+devoting time, money, and toilsome journeys, with admirable perseverance
+to that sacred task. A friendship of long standing subsists between her
+and Prince Tumene, with whose daughter and a lady companion she usually
+passes part of the summer.</p>
+
+<p>Prince Tumene is the wealthiest and most influential of all the Kalmuck
+chiefs. In 1815 he raised a regiment at his own expense, and led it to
+Paris, for which meritorious service he was rewarded with numerous
+decorations. He has now the rank of colonel, and he was the first of
+this nomade people who exchanged his kibitka for an European dwelling.
+Absolute master in his own family (among the Kalmucks the same respect
+is paid to the eldest brother as to the father), he employs his
+authority only for the good of those around him. He possesses about a
+million deciatines of land, and several hundred families, from which he
+derives a considerable revenue. His race, which belongs to the tribe of
+the Koshots, is one of the most ancient and respected among the
+Kalmucks. Repeatedly tried by severe afflictions, his mind has taken an
+exclusively religious bent, and the superstitious practices to which he
+devotes himself give him a great reputation for sanctity among his
+countrymen. An isolated pavilion at some distance from the palace is his
+habitual abode, where he passes his life in prayer and religious
+conference with the most celebrated priests of the country. No one but
+these latter is allowed admission into his mysterious sanctuary; even
+his brothers have never entered it. This is assuredly a singular mode of
+existence, especially if we compare it with that which he might lead
+amidst the splendour and conveniences with which he has embellished his
+palace, and which betoken a cast of thought far superior to what we
+should expect to find in a Kalmuck. This voluntary sacrifice of earthly
+delights, this asceticism caused by moral sufferings, strikingly reminds
+us of Christianity and the origin of our religious orders. Like the most
+fervent Catholics, this votary of Lama seeks in solitude, prayer,
+austerity, and the hope of another life, consolations which all his
+fortune is powerless to afford him! Is not this the history of many a
+Trappist or Carthusian?</p>
+
+<p>The position of the palace is exquisitely chosen, and shows a sense of
+the beautiful as developed as that of the most civilised nations. It is
+built in the Chinese style, and is prettily seated on the gentle slope
+of a hill about a hundred feet from the Volga. Its numerous galleries
+afford views over every part of the isle, and the imposing surface of
+the river. From one of the angles the eye looks down on a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>mass of
+foliage, through which glitter the cupola and golden ball of the pagoda.
+Beautiful meadows, dotted over with clumps of trees, and fields in high
+cultivation, unfold their carpets of verdure on the left of the palace,
+and form different landscapes which the eye can take in at once. The
+whole is enlivened by the presence of Kalmuck horsemen, camels wandering
+here and there through the rich pastures, and officers conveying the
+chief's orders from tent to tent. It is a beautiful spectacle, various
+in its details, and no less harmonious in its assemblage.</p>
+
+<p>After learning the reasons why we had not arrived two days sooner,
+Madame Zakarevitch very agreeably surprised us with the assurance that
+it was the prince's intention to have the <i>f&ecirc;tes</i> repeated for us.
+Couriers had already been despatched to bring back the priests who had
+been engaged in the solemnities of the occasion, in order that we might
+have an opportunity of seeing their religious ceremonies. The day being
+now far advanced, we spent the remainder of it in visiting the palace in
+detail, and resting from the fatigues of our journey.</p>
+
+<p>At an early hour next day, Madame Zakarevitch came to accompany us to
+the prince's sister-in-law, who, during the fine season, resides in the
+kibitka in preference to the palace. Nothing could be more agreeable to
+us than this proposal. At last then I was about to see Kalmuck manners
+and customs without any foreign admixture. On the way I learned that the
+princess was renowned among her people for extreme beauty and
+accomplishments, besides many other details which contributed further to
+augment my curiosity. We formed a tolerably large party when we reached
+her tent, and as she had been informed of our intended visit, we
+enjoyed, on entering, a spectacle that far surpassed our anticipations.
+When the curtain at the doorway of the kibitka was raised, we found
+ourselves in a rather spacious room, lighted from above, and hung with
+red damask, the reflection from which shed a glowing tint on every
+object; the floor was covered with a rich Turkey carpet, and the air was
+loaded with perfumes. In this balmy atmosphere and crimson light we
+perceived the princess seated on a low platform at the further end of
+the tent, dressed in glistening robes, and as motionless as an idol.
+Some twenty women in full dress, sitting on their heels, formed a
+strange and parti-coloured circle round her. It was like nothing I could
+compare it to but an opera scene suddenly got up on the banks of the
+Volga. When the princess had allowed us time enough to admire her, she
+slowly descended the steps of the platform, approached us with dignity,
+took me by the hand, embraced me affectionately, and led me to the place
+she had just left. She did the same by Madame Zakarevitch and her
+daughter, and then graciously saluting the persons who accompanied us,
+she motioned them to be seated on a large divan opposite the platform.
+No mistress of a house in Paris could have done better. When every one
+had found a place, she sat down beside me, and through the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>medium of an
+Armenian, who spoke Russian and Kalmuck extremely well, she made me a
+thousand compliments, that gave me a very high opinion of her capacity.
+With the Armenian's assistance we were able to put many questions to
+each other, and notwithstanding the awkwardness of being obliged to have
+recourse to an interpreter, the conversation was far from growing
+languid, so eager was the princess for information of every kind. The
+Armenian, who was a merry soul, constituted himself, of his own
+authority, grand master of the ceremonies, and commenced his functions
+by advising the princess to give orders for the opening of the ball.
+Immediately upon a sign from the latter, one of the ladies of honour
+rose and performed a few steps, turning slowly upon herself; whilst
+another, who remained seated, drew forth from a balalaika (an Oriental
+guitar) some melancholy sounds, by no means appropriate to the occasion.
+Nor were the attitudes and movements of her companion more accordant
+with our notions of dancing. They formed a pantomime, the meaning of
+which I could not ascertain, but which, by its languishing monotony,
+expressed any thing but pleasure or gaiety. The young <i>figurante</i>
+frequently stretched out her arms and knelt down as if to invoke some
+invisible being. The performance lasted a considerable time, during
+which I had full opportunity to scrutinise the princess, and saw good
+reason to justify the high renown in which her beauty was held among her
+own people. Her figure is imposing, and extremely well-proportioned, as
+far as her numerous garments allowed me to judge. Her mouth, finely
+arched and adorned with beautiful teeth, her countenance, expressive of
+great sweetness, her skin, somewhat brown, but remarkably delicate,
+would entitle her to be thought a very handsome woman, even in France,
+if the outline of her face and the arrangement of her features were only
+a trifle less Kalmuck. Nevertheless, in spite of the obliquity of her
+eyes and the prominence of her cheek-bones, she would still find many an
+admirer, not in Kalmuckia alone, but all the world over. Her looks
+convey an expression of the utmost gentleness and good-nature, and like
+all the women of her race, she has an air of caressing humility, which
+makes her appearance still more winning.</p>
+
+<p>Now for her costume. Over a very rich robe of Persian stuff, laced all
+over with silver, she wore a light silk tunic, reaching only to the knee
+and open in front. The high corsage was quite flat, and glittered with
+silver embroidery and fine pearls that covered all the seams. Round her
+neck she had a white cambric habit shirt, the shape of which seemed to
+me like that of a man's shirt collar. It was fastened in front by a
+diamond button. Her very thick, deep black hair fell over her bosom in
+two magnificent tresses of remarkable length. A yellow cap, edged with
+rich fur, and resembling in shape the square cap of a French judge, was
+set jauntily on the crown of her head. But what surprised me most in her
+costume was an embroidered cambric handkerchief and a pair of black
+mittens. Thus, it appears, the productions of our workshops find their
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>way even to the toilette of a great Kalmuck lady. Among the princess's
+ornaments I must not forget to enumerate a large gold chain, which,
+after being wound round her beautiful tresses, fell over her bosom,
+passing on its way through her gold earrings. Her whole attire, such as
+I have described it, looked much less barbarous than I had expected. The
+ladies of honour, though less richly clad, wore robes and caps of the
+same form; only they had not advanced so far as to wear mittens.</p>
+
+<p>The dancing lady, after figuring for half an hour, went and touched the
+shoulder of one of her companions, who took her place, and began the
+same figures over again. When she had done, the Armenian urged the
+princess that her daughter, who until then had kept herself concealed
+behind a curtain, should also give a specimen of her skill; but there
+was a difficulty in the case. No lady of honour had a right to touch
+her, and this formality was indispensable according to established
+usage. Not to be baffled by this obstacle, the Armenian sprang gaily
+into the middle of the circle, and began to dance in so original a
+manner, that every one enthusiastically applauded. Having thus satisfied
+the exigency of Kalmuck etiquette, he stepped up to the curtain and laid
+his finger lightly on the shoulder of the young lady, who could not
+refuse an invitation thus made in all due form. Her dancing appeared to
+us less wearisome than that of the ladies of honour, thanks to her
+pretty face and her timid and languishing attitudes. She in her turn
+touched her brother, a handsome lad of fifteen, dressed in the Cossack
+costume, who appeared exceedingly mortified at being obliged to put a
+Kalmuck cap on his head, in order to exhibit the dance in all its
+nationality. Twice he dashed his cap on the ground with a most comical
+air of vexation; but his mother rigidly insisted on his putting it on
+again.</p>
+
+<p>The dancing of the men is as imperious and animated as that of the women
+is tame and monotonous; the spirit of domination displays itself in all
+their gestures, in the bold expression of their looks and their noble
+bearing. It would be impossible for me to describe all the evolutions
+the young prince went through with equal grace and rapidity. The
+elasticity of his limbs was as remarkable as the perfect measure
+observed in his complicated steps.</p>
+
+<p>After the ball came the concert. The women played one after the other on
+the balalaika, and then sang in chorus. But there is as little variety
+in their music as in their dancing. At last we were presented with
+different kinds of koumis and sweetmeats on large silver trays.</p>
+
+<p>When we came out from the kibitka, the princess's brother-in-law took us
+to a herd of wild horses, where one of the most extraordinary scenes
+awaited us. The moment we were perceived, five or six mounted men, armed
+with long lassoes, rushed into the middle of the <i>taboun</i> (herd of
+horses), keeping their eyes constantly fixed on the young prince, who
+was to point out the animal they should <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>seize. The signal being given,
+they instantly galloped forward and noosed a young horse with a long
+dishevelled mane, whose dilated eyes and smoking nostrils betokened
+inexpressible terror. A lightly-clad Kalmuck, who followed them on foot,
+immediately sprang upon the stallion, cut the thongs that were
+throttling him, and engaged with him in an incredible contest of daring
+and agility. It would be impossible, I think, for any spectacle more
+vividly to affect the mind than that which now met our eyes. Sometimes
+the rider and his horse rolled together on the grass; sometimes they
+shot through the air with the speed of an arrow, and then stopped
+abruptly, as if a wall had all at once risen up before them. On a sudden
+the furious animal would crawl on its belly, or rear in a manner that
+made us shriek with terror, then plunging forward again in his mad
+gallop he would dash through the taboun, and endeavour in every possible
+way to shake off his novel burden.</p>
+
+<p>But this exercise, violent and dangerous as it appeared to us, seemed
+but sport to the Kalmuck, whose body followed all the movements of the
+animal with so much suppleness, that one would have fancied that the
+same thought possessed both bodies. The sweat poured in foaming streams
+from the stallion's flanks, and he trembled in every limb. As for the
+rider, his coolness would have put to shame the most accomplished
+horsemen in Europe. In the most critical moments he still found himself
+at liberty to wave his arms in token of triumph; and in spite of the
+indomitable humour of his steed, he had sufficient command over it to
+keep it almost always within the circle of our vision. At a signal from
+the prince, two horsemen, who had kept as close as possible to the
+daring centaur, seized him with amazing quickness, and galloped away
+with him before we had time to comprehend this new man&oelig;uvre. The
+horse, for a moment stupefied, soon made off at full speed, and was lost
+in the midst of the herd. These performances were repeated several times
+without a single rider suffering himself to be thrown.</p>
+
+<p>But what was our amazement when we saw a boy of ten years come forward
+to undertake the same exploit! They selected for him a young white
+stallion of great size, whose fiery bounds and desperate efforts to
+break his bonds, indicated a most violent temper.</p>
+
+<p>I will not attempt to depict our intense emotions during this new
+conflict. This child, who, like the other riders, had only the horse's
+mane to cling to, afforded an example of the power of reasoning over
+instinct and brute force. For some minutes he maintained his difficult
+position with heroic intrepidity. At last, to our great relief, a
+horseman rode up to him, caught him up in his outstretched arm, and
+threw him on the croup behind him.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks, as the reader will perceive, are excellent horsemen, and
+are accustomed from their childhood to subdue the wildest horses. The
+exercise we had witnessed is one of their greatest amusements: it is
+even practised by the women, and we have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>frequently seen them vying
+with each other in feats of equestrian daring.</p>
+
+<p>The lateness of the hour recalled us to the palace where a splendid
+dinner was prepared for us. Two large tables were laid in two adjoining
+rooms, and at the head of each sat one of the princes. We took our
+places at that of the elder brother, who did the honours in the most
+finished style.</p>
+
+<p>The cookery, which was half Russian, half French, left us nothing to
+desire as regarded the choice or the savour of the dishes. Every thing
+was served up in silver, and the wines of France and Spain, champagne
+especially, were supplied in princely profusion. Many toasts were given,
+foremost among which were those in honour of the Emperor of Russia and
+the King of the French.</p>
+
+<p>I remarked with much surprise, that during the whole dinner, the
+princess seemed very ill at ease in presence of her brother-in-law; she
+did not sit down until he had desired her to do so, and her whole
+demeanour manifested her profound respect for the head of her family.
+Her husband, the prince's younger brother, had been absent upwards of
+two months. The repast was very lengthened and great animation
+prevailed; whilst for our parts, we could hardly reconcile to our minds
+the idea that the giver of so sumptuous and so well-appointed an
+entertainment was a Kalmuck. The prince put many questions to us about
+France, and talked with enthusiasm of his residence in our country, and
+the agreeable acquaintances he had made there. Though he did not much
+make our current politics his study, he was not ignorant of our last
+revolution, and he expressed great admiration for Louis Philippe.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner we went in his carriage to visit the mysterious pagoda
+which had so much excited our curiosity.</p>
+
+<p>The moment we set foot on the threshold of the temple, our ears were
+assailed with a <i>charivari</i>, compared with which a score or two of great
+bells set in motion promiscuously, would have been harmony itself. It
+almost deprived us of the power of perceiving what was going on around
+us. The noise was so piercing, discordant, and savage that we were
+completely stupified, and there was no possibility of exchanging a word.</p>
+
+<p>The perpetrators of this terrible uproar, in other words the musicians,
+were arranged in two parallel lines facing each other; at their head, in
+the direction of the altar, the high-priest knelt quite motionless on a
+rich Persian carpet, and behind them towards the entrance stood the
+<i>ghepki</i>, or master of the ceremonies, dressed in a scarlet robe and a
+deep yellow hood, and having in his hand a long staff, the emblem, no
+doubt, of his dignity. The other priests, all kneeling as well as the
+musicians, and looking like grotesque Chinese in their features and
+attitudes, wore dresses of glaring colours, loaded with gold and silver
+brocade, consisting of wide tunics, with open sleeves, and a sort of
+mitre with several broad points. Their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>head-dress somewhat resembled
+that of the ancient Peruvians, except that instead of feathers they had
+plates covered with religious paintings, besides which there rose from
+the centre a long straight tuft of black silk, tied up so as to form a
+series of little balls, diminishing from the base to the summit. Below,
+this tuft spread out into several tresses which fell down on the
+shoulders. But what surprised us most of all were the musical
+instruments. Besides enormous timbrels and the Chinese tamtam, there
+were large sea-shells used as horns, and two huge tubes, three or four
+yards long, and each supported on two props. My husband ineffectually
+endeavoured to sound these trumpets; none but the stentorian lungs of
+the vigorous Mandschis could give them breath. If there is neither tune,
+nor harmony, nor method in the religious music of the Kalmucks, by way
+of amends for this every one makes as much noise as he can in his own
+way and according to the strength of his lungs. The concert began by a
+jingling of little bells, then the timbrels and tamtams struck up, and
+lastly, after the shrill squeakings of the shells, the two great
+trumpets began to bellow, and made all the windows of the temple shake.
+It would be impossible for me to depict all the oddity of this ceremony.
+Now indeed we felt that we were thousands of leagues away from Europe,
+in the heart of Asia, in a pagoda of the Grand Dalai Lama of Thibet.</p>
+
+<p>The temple, lighted by a row of large windows, is adorned with slender
+columns of stuccoed brickwork, the lightness of which reminds one of the
+graceful Moorish architecture. A gallery runs all round the dome, which
+is also remarkable for the extreme delicacy of its workmanship.
+Tapestries, representing a multitude of good and evil genii, monstrous
+idols and fabulous animals, cover all parts of the pagoda, and give it
+an aspect much more grotesque than religious. The veneration of the
+worshippers of Lama for their images is so great, that we could not
+approach these mis-shapen gods without covering our mouths with a
+handkerchief, lest we should profane them with an unhallowed breath.</p>
+
+<p>The priests showed how much they disliked our minute examination of
+every thing, by the uneasiness with which they continually watched all
+our movements. Their fear as we afterwards learned, was lest we should
+take a fancy to purloin some of those mystic images we scrutinised so
+narrowly; certainly they had good reason to be alarmed, for the will was
+not wanting on our part. But we were obliged to content ourselves with
+gazing at them with looks of the most profound respect, consoling
+ourselves with the hope of having our revenge on a more favourable
+occasion.</p>
+
+<p>When we returned to the palace, we found the old prince in a little
+room, of which he is particularly fond, and where he has collected a
+great quantity of arms and curiosities. Among other things, we admired
+some Circassian chaskas (sabres), richly adorned with black enamelled
+silver; Damascus swords, no less valuable for the temper of the blades,
+than for the rich incrustations of the hilts <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>and scabbards; Florentine
+pistols of the fifteenth century; a jaspar cup of antique form,
+purchased for 4000 rubles of a Persian nobleman; Circassian coats of
+mail, like those of our knights of old, and a thousand other rarities,
+the artistic worth of which testify the good taste of a prince, whom
+many persons might consider a barbarian. He also keeps in this cabinet,
+as a thing of great price, the book in which are inscribed the names of
+those travellers who visit him. Among the names, most of them
+aristocratic, we observed those of Baron Humboldt, some English lords,
+and sundry Russian and German savans.</p>
+
+<p>We finished our <i>soir&eacute;e</i> with an extemporaneous ball that lasted all
+night. The Armenian, who first proposed the scheme, had to undertake the
+business of getting up an orchestra. I know not how he set about it, but
+in a few minutes he brought us triumphantly a violin, a guitar, and a
+flageolet. Such instruments among the Kalmucks&mdash;is it not really
+prodigious? We had quickly arranged a <i>soir&eacute;e dansante</i>, as complete as
+any drawing-room could exhibit; and the merriment soon became so
+contagious, that the princess and her daughter, after much hesitation,
+at last overcame all bashfulness, and bravely threw themselves into a
+heady gallop, in which, by the by, one of them lost her cap. The
+wondering and delighted princess, stuck to me for the rest of the night,
+like my shadow, and incessantly assured me, through the Armenian, that
+she had never in her life passed so pleasant an evening, and that she
+would never forget it. She expressed a strong desire to hear me sing,
+and found the French <i>romances</i> so much to her taste, that I had to
+promise I would copy out some of them for her. On her part, she gave me
+two Kalmuck songs of her own composition, and transcribed with her own
+hand.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> According to Russian custom, the officers did full justice to
+the champagne, which was sent round all night at a fearful rate.</p>
+
+<p>We spent the next day in promenades about the island, and in hawking.
+This sport is a great favourite with the Kalmucks, and they practise it
+in as grand a style as the ch&acirc;telains of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>the middle ages. Prince Tumene
+has a very well appointed falconry, and his hawks are trained by the
+same methods as were adopted by our ancestors. The hawk we had that day
+was a small one, of astonishing spirit. The Kalmuck who held it
+hoodwinked on his fist had the utmost difficulty in restraining it when
+its head was uncovered. He let it fly at a magnificent grey heron, which
+it struck down in less than a minute. Several wild ducks were also
+killed by it with incredible rapidity.</p>
+
+<p>The succeeding days were filled up with varied and novel amusements; nor
+can I describe the assiduous efforts of our entertainers, to let us see
+every particular of their manners and customs that might be interesting
+to us. Every day some new surprise was adroitly brought forward to delay
+our departure. But, alas! every thing must have an end in this world,
+and we felt at last constrained to bid adieu to those brilliant and
+varied scenes which we found so much to our taste.</p>
+
+<p>On the day fixed for our departure we all breakfasted together, while
+the final preparations were going on. The party was a sad one, for all
+were occupied with the same thought. Our host's elegant four-in-hand
+equipage, lined with white satin, was drawn up before the door, with an
+escort of fifteen horsemen. There was a large crowd assembled, who
+looked up eagerly to the large balcony, where we were receiving the
+stirrup-cup from the old prince. The whole formed a striking and
+splendid picture. The refinements of western luxury, mixed up with
+Kalmuck faces and costumes, the officers in brilliant uniforms, the
+handsome horses champing the bit, and, above all, the noble figure of
+the old prince waving a last farewell to us from the balcony, left an
+indelible impression on our memories. Young Tumene put himself at the
+head of the cavalcade, and continued during all the while he was with us
+to astonish us with his feats of horsemanship. The day was splendid, and
+every thing concurred to awaken in us a throng of sensations, such as we
+shall never, perhaps, experience again.</p>
+
+<p>Madame Zakarevitch and her daughter, whom we had carried off from Prince
+Tumene, embarked with us, opposite the posting station, in the boat
+provided for us. On the shore, too, we found our carriages ready to
+receive us, horses having been ordered by an express sent forward the
+day before by the prince.</p>
+
+<p>On finding ourselves again on that route which we had twice already
+traversed within less than twenty-four hours, the recollection of our
+past annoyances after recurred to us, and we could not help thinking how
+unwisely many travellers allow themselves to be swayed by what they call
+inauspicious omens; a person, for instance, with a slight leaning to
+superstition, would have given up all thoughts of a visit which seemed
+forbidden by such a run of unlucky accidents, and would have lost the
+opportunity of seeing the extraordinary things I have endeavoured to
+describe, and which so much exceeded our expectations.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> A sort of passport licensing you to hire post-horses. You
+pay a sum for it proportioned to the distance you wish to travel, and
+the number of horses to your carriage.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Here is a translation of one of these songs, which will
+certainly not give a high idea of the poetic talents of a Kalmuck
+princess:&mdash;
+</p><p class="noin">
+"Mon cheval roux qui dispute le prix de la course au chameau, bronte
+l'herbe des champs du Don. Dieu notre seigneur, tu nous feras la grace
+de nous retrouver dans une autre contr&eacute;e. Et toi charmante herbette
+agit&eacute;e par le vent, tu t'&eacute;tends sur la terre. Et toi, o coeur le plus
+tendre volant vers ma m&egrave;re, dis lui: qu'entre deux montagnes et des
+vall&eacute;es, dans un vallon uni demeurent cinquante braves qui s'approchent
+avec courage pour tuer une outarde bien grasse. Et toi, tendre m&egrave;re
+nature, sois nous propice."
+</p><p class="noin">
+[It is with much hesitation and doubt, that I venture to translate this
+incomprehensible translation:&mdash;<i>Tr.</i>]
+</p><p class="noin">
+"My bright bay horse, which vies in swiftness with the camel, browses on
+the grass of the Don. God, our Lord, thou wilt grant us of thy grace to
+meet in another country. And thou charming little grass shaken by the
+wind, thou stretchest thyself out on the ground. And thou, O fondest
+heart, flying to my mother, tell her that between two mountains and
+valleys, in an even strath, dwell fifty braves, who draw together
+courageously to kill a very fat bustard. And thou, fond Mother Nature be
+propitious to us."</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XX.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">HISTORICAL NOTICE OF ASTRAKHAN&mdash;MIXED POPULATION; ARMENIANS,
+TATARS&mdash;SINGULAR RESULT OF A MIXTURE OF RACES&mdash;DESCRIPTION
+OF THE TOWN&mdash;HINDU RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES&mdash;SOCIETY.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The history of Astrakhan is so well known that the reader will no doubt
+thank us for not recapitulating the various political revolutions that
+have taken place in the regions of which this town has been for so many
+ages the brilliant metropolis. After having made part of the empire of
+the Kaptshak, founded by Batou Khan, and after a long series of
+intestine commotions, Astrakhan at last became an independent state in
+the beginning of the fifteenth century. One hundred and fifty years
+later there broke out between the Russians and the Tatars that obstinate
+strife which was to end by delivering the country of the tsars from the
+yoke of its oppressors. In 1554, Ivan the Terrible, partly by treachery,
+and partly by force of arms, possessed himself of the khanat of the
+Caspian, and was the first to assume the title of King of Casan and
+Astrakhan. This valuable conquest was incorporated with the empire, and
+led to the submission or emigration of all the adjacent tribes.
+Astrakhan has ever since belonged to Russia; but it soon lost the
+prosperity that had rendered it so celebrated of yore under the Tatars
+of the Golden Horde. Fifteen years after the Russian conquest, the Turks
+directed an expedition against Astrakhan, in concert with the Tatars of
+the Crimea; but the effort was abortive, and the bulk of the Ottoman
+army perished in the deserts of the Manitch. Towards the end of the
+seventeenth century, Astrakhan again underwent a brief but bloody
+revolution: the rebel Stenko Razin, made himself master of the town,
+gave it up to horrible massacres, and for a while caused serious alarm
+to Russia. At present the ancient capital of the Tatar kingdom is merely
+the chief town of a government, which though presenting a surface of
+more than 4000 geographical square miles, yet possesses only 285,000
+inhabitants, of whom 200,000 are nomades. It contains a great number of
+squares, churches, and mosques. Its old embattled towers and its walls,
+which still include a considerable space of ground, remind the traveller
+of its ancient warlike renown. Its population, a medley of all the races
+of Asia, amounts in number to 45,703, the bulk of whom are Russians,
+Kalmucks, and Tatars. The Armenians are shopkeepers here, just as they
+are in all countries in the world; notwithstanding their religion, which
+should make them coalesce with the Westerns, they retain in their
+manners and customs every thing belonging to the East. The Armenian
+carries everywhere with him that spirit of traffic which is common to
+him with the Jew; always at work on some stroke of business, always
+ready to seize a flying opportunity; discounting, computing, figuring,
+with indefatigable patience. Meet him where you will, in the fertile
+valleys of Armenia, in the snowy North, or beneath a southern sky,
+everywhere he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>exhibits that intense selfishness which stands him in
+lieu of the patriotic feelings so potent in most other branches of the
+human family. This nation, dispersed over the whole world like the Jews,
+presents one of those distinctive types of feature characteristic of an
+unmixed race, which are to be found in full preservation only among
+Eastern nations. The brown mantle in which the Armenian women wrap
+themselves at Constantinople, is here replaced by long black veils that
+cover them from head to foot. This garment, which displays the shape
+very well, and falls in graceful folds to the feet, when well put on,
+reminds one of the elegant lines of certain Grecian statues; and what
+makes the resemblance the more striking, is that the Armenian women are
+particularly remarkable for their stately carriage and the severe
+dignity of their features.</p>
+
+<p>The Tatars, upwards of 5000 in number, are engaged in trade, and chiefly
+in that of cattle. The numerous mosques and the cupolas of their baths
+contribute to give Astrakhan quite an oriental appearance.</p>
+
+<p>The Indians who were formerly rather numerous in this city, have long
+since abandoned the trade for which they frequented it, and none of them
+remain but a few priests who are detained by interminable lawsuits. But
+from the old intercourse between the Hindus and the Kalmucks has sprung
+a half-breed now numbering several hundred individuals, improperly
+designated Tatars. The mixed blood of these two essentially Asiatic
+races has produced a type closely resembling that of European nations.
+It exhibits neither the oblique eyes of the Kalmucks, nor the bronzed
+skin of the Indians; and nothing in the character or habits of the
+descendants of these two races indicates a relationship with either
+stock. In striking contrast with the apathy and indolence of the
+population among which they live, these half-breeds exhibit in all they
+do, the activity and perseverance of the men of the north. They serve as
+porters, waggoners, or sailors, as occasion may require, and shrink from
+no kind of employment however laborious. Their white felt hats, with
+broad brims and pointed conical crowns, their tall figures, and bold,
+cheerful countenances, give them a considerable degree of resemblance to
+the Spanish muleteers.</p>
+
+<p>This result of the crossing of two races both so sharply defined is
+extremely remarkable, and cannot but interest ethnologists. The Mongol
+is perhaps above all others the type that perpetuates itself with most
+energy, and most obstinately resists the influence of foreign admixture
+continued through a long series of generations. We have found it in all
+its originality among the Cossacks, the Tatars, and every other people
+dwelling in the vicinity of the Kalmucks. Is it not then a most curious
+fact to see it vanish immediately under the influence of the Hindu
+blood, and produce instead of itself a thoroughly Caucasian type? Might
+we not then conclude that the Caucasian is not a primitive type, as
+hitherto supposed, but that it is simply the result of a mixture, the
+two elements of which we must <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>seek for in Central Asia, in those
+mysterious regions of the great Tibetan chain which have so much
+occupied the inventive genius of ancient and modern writers?</p>
+
+<p>The Persians, like the Indians, are gradually deserting Astrakhan. The
+prohibitive system of Russia has destroyed all their commercial
+resources, and now only some hundreds of them, for the most part
+detained by penury, are to be found in their adopted country, employed
+in petty retail dealings. We went over the vast Persian khans of
+Astrakhan, but saw none of those gorgeous stuffs for which they were
+formerly so celebrated. The ware rooms are empty, and it is but with
+great difficulty the traveller can now and then obtain cashmeres, silky
+termalamas, or any other of those productions of Asia which so much
+excite our curiosity, and which were formerly a source of prosperity to
+the town.</p>
+
+<p>Astrakhan has for some years had a lazaret on the mouths of the Volga at
+seventy-five versts from its walls. The history of this establishment is
+curious enough. Before it was built on the site it now occupies,
+building had been carried on to a considerable extent at two other spots
+which were successively abandoned as unsuitable. It was not until much
+time and money had been spent, that an engineer took notice of a little
+island exceedingly well adapted to the purpose, and on which the lazaret
+was finally erected. Some years afterwards there was found in the town
+archives a manuscript note left by Peter the Great at his departure from
+Astrakhan, and in which he mentioned that very island as well suited for
+the site of a lazaret. A glance had enabled the tsar to perceive the
+importance of a locality which many engineering commissions discovered
+only after repeated search.</p>
+
+<p>Paving is a luxury quite unknown in Astrakhan, and the streets are as
+sandy as the soil of the environs. Though they are almost deserted
+during the day, on account of the intense heat, few spectacles are more
+lively and picturesque than that which they present in the evening, when
+the whole town awakes from the somnolency into which it had been cast by
+a temperature of 100. Every one then hastens to enjoy the refreshing air
+of the twilight; people sit at the doors amusing themselves with the
+sight of whatever passes; business is resumed, and the shops are in a
+bustle; a numerous population of all races and tongues spreads rapidly
+along the bridges and the quays bordered with trees; the canal is
+covered with ca&iuml;ques laden with fruit and arbutus berries; elegant
+droshkies, caleches, and horsemen rush about in all directions, and the
+whole town wears a gala aspect that astonishes and captivates the
+traveller. He finds there collected into a focus all the picturesque
+items that have struck him singly elsewhere. Alongside of a Tatar
+dwelling stretches a great building blackened by time, and by its
+architecture and carvings carrying you back to the middle ages. A
+European shop displays its fashionable haberdashery opposite a
+caravanserai; the magnificent cathedral overshadows a pretty mosque with
+its fountain; a Moorish balcony <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>contains a group of young European
+ladies who set you thinking of Paris, whilst a graceful white shadow
+glides mysteriously under the gallery of an old palace. All contrasts
+are here met together; and so it happens that in passing from one
+quarter to another you think you have but made a short promenade, and
+you have picked up a stock of observations and reminiscences belonging
+to all times and places. The Russians ought to be proud of a town which
+did not spring up yesterday, like all the others in their country, and
+where one is not plagued with the cold, monotonous regularity that meets
+you without end in every part of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>The churches in Astrakhan are not built in the invariable Greek style of
+all the other religious buildings of Russia: they have carvings, spires,
+and balustrades, something to attract the gaze, and details to fix it.
+The cathedral, built towards the end of the seventeenth century, is a
+large square edifice, surmounted by five cupolas, gilded and starred
+with azure, and presenting a style midway between those of Asia and
+Europe. The interior is hung with pictures of no value in point of art,
+but attractive to the eye from the richness of their frames, most of
+which are of massive silver curiously chased. The most interesting
+monument in Astrakhan is a small church concealed in Peter the Great's
+fort. It is attributed to Ivan IV. Its architecture is purely Moorish,
+and it is fretted all over with details exceedingly interesting to an
+artist. Unfortunately, it has long been abandoned, and is now used as a
+warehouse.</p>
+
+<p>The climate of Astrakhan is dry, and very hot. For three months the
+thermometer seldom falls in the day below 95. This great heat enervates
+both mind and body, and sufficiently accounts for the extreme sloth of
+the inhabitants. But in consequence of its dryness the atmosphere
+possesses a transparent purity that would enchant a painter, giving as
+it does to every object a warmth and lucidity worthy of Italy.</p>
+
+<p>A very serious source of annoyance to the Astrakhaners, and still more
+to the foreigner, is the swarm of gnats and other insects that fill the
+air at certain seasons. Their pertinacious attacks baffle all
+precautions; it is in vain you surround yourself with gauze at night,
+and resign yourself to total darkness during the day, you are not the
+less persecuted by them, and you exhaust yourself with ineffectual
+efforts against an invisible enemy.</p>
+
+<p>They are sinking an artesian well in the upper part of the town. They
+had reached, when we were there, a depth of 166 yards; but instead of
+water there escaped a jet of carburretted hydrogen, which had been
+burning for three weeks with great brilliancy.</p>
+
+<p>Astrakhan now contains 146 streets, 46 squares, 8 market-places, a
+public garden, 11 wooden and 9 earthen bridges, 37 churches (34 of
+stone, 3 wooden), 2 of which are cathedrals; 15 mosques, 2 of them of
+stone; 3883 houses, 288 of which are of stone, the rest of wood. All
+narratives of travels tell of the gardens of Astrakhan, and the
+magnificent fruit produced in them. Unfortunately, these are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>pure
+fictions, for there are but 75 gardens or vineyards around the town, and
+it is only by means of irrigation with Persian wheels that they are
+rendered productive. All the fruit of the place, moreover, is very poor,
+if not decidedly bad. The grapes alone are tolerable and of very various
+kinds, suitable for the table, but none of them fit for making wine. As
+for the celebrated water-melons, they are held in very low esteem in the
+country, and the people of the town talk only of those of Kherson and
+the Crimea. It is very possible, however, that the fruit of Astrakhan
+may have deserved its high reputation previously to the Muscovite
+domination. Here, as everywhere else, the Russian population, in taking
+the place of the Tatars, can only have destroyed the agricultural
+resources of the country. The Russian townspeople being exclusively
+traders and shopkeepers, and never engaging in rural pursuits, the
+gardens almost all belong to Tatars and Armenians.</p>
+
+<p>As for the government of Astrakhan, its territory is one of the most
+sterile in the empire. Agriculture is there wholly unproductive; in
+general nothing is sowed but a little maize and barley, provisions of
+all kinds being procured from Saratof, by way of the Volga. It is this
+that gives some little briskness to the navigation of that river; for
+besides the corn consumed by Astrakhan, and the towns dependent on its
+jurisdiction, Saratof and the adjoining regions send supplies also to
+Gourief, on the mouth of the Ural, to the army cantoned on the Terek,
+and even to the Transcaucasian countries. Nevertheless, there are no
+boats plying regularly on the Volga; it is only at the period of the
+fair of Nijni Novgorod, that the clumsy steamer we saw proceeding to
+Prince Tumene's condescends to dawdle up the stream.</p>
+
+<p>The day after our arrival in Astrakhan we were taken to the house of
+some Hindu brahmins, where we were to be present at the evening prayers.
+We were received by the chief among them in the most courteous and
+obliging manner. The room into which he led us looked to the west, and
+had no other furniture than large Turkish divans, and the only thing
+capable of attracting our attention was a little chapel let into the
+wall, and which two priests were in the act of arranging for the
+ceremony. One of them kept his eyes constantly turned towards the west,
+watching with religious attention the descent of the sun's disc to the
+horizon. These brahmins were dressed in long brown robes, crossed in
+front by a white scarf, the two ends of which swept the ground. Their
+bronzed and antiquely moulded visages were surmounted by white muslin
+turbans with large folds. The leader, who was much less absorbed in his
+devotions than the rest, was continually smiling upon us, and waving a
+monstrous Persian fan that had the effect of a smart breeze. Meanwhile
+the sun was fast declining; at last its total disappearance was
+announced by the harsh sound of a conch-shell, whereupon one of the
+priests lighted several tapers and placed them before an image in the
+chapel. Another began to wash curiously-shaped vessels, filled <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>them
+with water of lustration, and prostrated himself before them with great
+unction. A large grey stone set in the wall, appeared to be the
+principal object of their adorations. According to the explanation given
+to us by the chief priest, the soul of a celebrated saint, grown weary
+of the world and of men, had retired within that mystical covering;
+hence the stone is sacred in the eyes of the Hindus, and the mere sight
+of it, as they declare, is capable of working miracles. After
+worshipping in silence for some minutes, the chief priest began to burn
+perfumes, and the room was soon filled with a cloud of smoke, seen
+through which every object assumed a vaguer and more mysterious form,
+the pungent aromatic odour, combined with the heat and the strangeness
+of the scene before our eyes, acted so strongly upon us that we were
+soon unable to distinguish what was real from what was fantastic. In
+fact, our semi-ecstatic condition was in remarkable accordance with the
+moral state of our brahmins. Their religious enthusiasm soon ceased to
+content itself with mere prostrations. Hitherto every thing had passed
+in complete silence, but at a given signal two priests knelt down before
+the holy stone and recited a prayer, in slow and guttural accents.
+Another with his arms crossed on his breast, stood a few steps off from
+the chapel, and now and then blew upon a shrill whistle. The fourth,
+armed with a conch-shell, stood upon one of the divans, and added his
+voice to the sounds which his companions gave out with increasing
+loudness. Presently their eyes kindled, the muscles of their frames grew
+tense, the conch vibrated, a bell was rapidly agitated by the leader,
+and then began so strange and infernal a din, a scene so grotesque and
+wild, that one would really have thought the brahmins were all possessed
+by devils. Their attitudes and frantic gestures conveyed the idea of
+exorcism rather than of prayer. What we felt it would be impossible to
+describe; it was a mixture of surprise, curiosity, disgust, and fright.
+Had not fatigue compelled the actors in this sabbat to stop after ten
+minutes' exertion, I doubt that we should have been able to support a
+longer continuance of such a spectacle. One would almost be disposed to
+say that men take pains to worship God in the least religious manner
+possible. I have seen the whirling and howling dervishes at
+Constantinople, whose strange and frightful performances can be compared
+only to those of the medieval convulsionaries. The religious music of
+the Kalmucks is not behind-hand with these aberrations of the human
+mind; and here is the Hindu, worship, which seems to vie with whatever
+is most demented and extravagant in other religions.</p>
+
+<p>When the abominable concert was ended, the leader took a handful of
+yellow flowers, like marigolds, dipped them in Ganges water, and
+presented one to each of us. Then he kneaded a piece of dough in his
+hands, and gave it a symbolic form, stuck seven small tapers in it,
+waved it in every direction before the chapel, and then turning towards
+us, repeated the same ceremony. Lastly, he took a small white shell,
+which had been lying until then on the sacred <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>stone, filled it with
+sacred water from the Ganges, and sprinkled us with it very devoutly.
+Meanwhile, his companions were setting out a table with a collation of
+fine fruit and pastry, of which the leader did the honours to us with
+much politeness and gallantry. So ended a scene as difficult to describe
+well as to forget.</p>
+
+<p>Now let us leave the Indians and their odd ceremonies, and recur to the
+European usages, which, to our great surprise we found in many <i>salons</i>
+of Astrakhan.</p>
+
+<p>A singular thing, and one which must strike the traveller strongly, is
+the moral influence which France exercises in all countries of the
+world. Wherever you find any trace of civilisation, you are sure to
+discern the effect of that influence, whether in manners, dress, or
+political opinions, and that, even among rulers the most distant.</p>
+
+<p>Most of our romance-writers are probably not aware that their works are
+read with avidity even on the banks of the Caspian, and are criticised
+there with as much acuteness as in the great capitals of Europe. All who
+call themselves Russians, in Astrakhan, speak French, and receive every
+month our newest publications from Brussels. In many of the libraries I
+found Lamartine, Balzac, Alexandra Dumas, Eug&egrave;ne Sue, George Sand, De
+Musset, &amp;c., and many other names less known perhaps in Paris than in
+Astrakhan.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian ladies read a great deal; they are generally gifted with
+natural talent, and converse with tact and to the purpose. Their only
+fault in this respect is, that they confine their reading to romances
+and novels, which almost always warp their judgment, and give them quite
+erroneous notions of our habits and our literature. Paul de Kock and
+Pigault Lebrun are especial favourites throughout the empire, and their
+pictures of low life are read much more eagerly than the elegant and
+chastened pages of our best writers. I must acknowledge, however, that
+many Russian ladies are capable of appreciating the gravest works. I saw
+on many a table in Astrakhan, "Les Ducs de Bourgogne," "L'Histoire du
+Bas Empire," "La Conqu&ecirc;te des Normands," and even treatises on geology.
+It is needless to add, that our fashions and the prodigies of our
+civilisation are adopted with the same avidity as our literature.</p>
+
+<p>I had some difficulty in believing myself on the verge of the Caspian,
+when listening to conversation on the fine arts, and on industrial
+economy, just as in Vienna or Paris. Music, too, is in high vogue in
+Astrakhan, and many of Donizetti's pieces are sung there by brilliant
+and cultivated voices. Our quadrilles, too, are all the rage there, and
+so are the charming melodies of Lo&iuml;za Puget.</p>
+
+<p>On the faith of some travellers who have been, or are reported to have
+been in Astrakhan, we expected to find a good many English, Italians,
+and even French in the town; but the fact is, it does not even contain a
+single individual of those nations, and its society consists solely of
+Russians and Germans, sent thither as <i>employ&eacute;s</i>. I could hear of but
+one Belgian, formerly a prisoner of war, who became a tailor, and now
+enjoys a very handsome fortune. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>Astrakhan pretends to have a theatre,
+but I have little to say for it. Imagine a very ugly and very black hall
+furnished with some thirty niches in double row; a pit adorned with a
+few dirty caftans; an orchestra composed of a paltry violin and
+half-a-dozen trumpets, the whole lighted up by a row of candles on the
+proscenium, and you have an idea of what presumes to call itself a
+theatre on the Caspian shores. As for the pieces and the actors, they
+are altogether beneath criticism.</p>
+
+<p>The governor gave a grand ball and some soir&eacute;es during our stay in
+Astrakhan. Though the heat was intolerable, the rooms were every time
+filled with a fashionable throng, always eager for pleasure. The Russian
+governors of provinces play the part of petty kings, and exercise over
+all classes an influence, which has its source in the very constitution
+of the country. Under an absolute government, every superior employ&eacute;
+exercises unbounded authority in his own sphere. He has his courtiers,
+his favourites, his numerous chancery, his orderly officers, and his
+etiquette modelled on that of St. Petersburg, in short all that
+constitutes the outward tokens of power. But all these appearances of
+grandeur and might are but relative, for above these petty kings stands
+a sovereign will, that can by one word strip them of their privileges,
+and send them to Siberia. We must not imagine that slavery exists in
+Russia only for the people; whether you go east or west, into the
+brilliant salons of St. Petersburg, or into the isbas of the Muscovite
+peasant, you find it everywhere; only it is commonly disguised under
+forms that deceive many travellers, whose judgments are beguiled by the
+glittering varnish with which the Russian contrives to invest himself,
+by his numerous staff, his princely abode, and the pomp of his official
+life. And yet what is all this in reality? Something like the soap
+bubbles that glisten with all the colours of the rainbow, but vanish
+with the least breath.</p>
+
+<p>The magnificence of the governor's palace astonished us. On our arrival
+for the ball, after passing through several rooms sumptuously furnished,
+we were led into a boudoir, where we found Madame Timirasif, the
+governor's lady, surrounded by all the <i>&eacute;lite</i> of the place. She
+introduced me to several ladies who spoke French very well, and with
+whom I was soon engaged in a conversation as frivolous and varied as the
+chit-chat of the Parisian world of fashion. But the music soon began,
+and we repaired to a very large ball-room, most splendidly lighted, and
+already thronged with officers. The orchestra, placed on a raised
+platform, played French quadrilles in excellent style. I took advantage
+of an interminable mazurka, to learn the names of various personages:
+General Brigon, a Livonian, hetman of all the Cossacks; Count Pushkin,
+curator of the university of Casan; Admiral Lazaref; the Kalmuck prince,
+Tondoudof; the Princess Dolgoruky; and a young Persian, who occupied the
+attention of all the ladies during the ball. His handsome Oriental
+countenance, his rich costume, the grace with which he danced <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>French
+quadrilles and mazurkas, and above all, his title of traveller, gave him
+an extraordinary &eacute;clat, which seemed in no wise to astonish him. I will
+say nothing of a collection of colonels and aides-de-camp, an inevitable
+and always profuse element of every Russian party, nor of a battalion of
+excellencies loaded with more stars and decorations than are commonly
+seen in the court balls of France or England.</p>
+
+<p>The governor's wife is a specimen of the Russian lady in the highest
+perfection of the class. Elegant, lively, fascinating, and <i>pleine de
+distinction</i>, she possesses all the qualities requisite in the queen of
+a drawing-room. She did the honours of that remarkable <i>soir&eacute;e</i> with
+charming grace. The ball ended with a grand supper, which was prolonged
+until morning.</p>
+
+<p>We passed fifteen well-spent days in Astrakhan. Notwithstanding the
+heat, we were running about from morning till night, escorted by an
+aide-de-camp, whom his excellency had assigned to us as cicerone. This
+very obliging officer being perfectly well acquainted with the country,
+and being incessantly on the look-out for any thing that could interest
+us, it came to pass that in eight days we had a much better knowledge of
+the town than the governor himself. One thing alone escaped our search,
+namely, one or two families of Parsees, who still inhabit Astrakhan, but
+whom our guide could not succeed in ferreting out. It was in vain he
+hunted about and questioned every body; no one could give him any
+precise information on the subject. <i>Soir&eacute;es</i>, cavalcades, numerous
+dinners, and above all, a pleasing intimacy with many agreeable
+families, filled up our tourist existence in the most charming manner,
+and made us postpone as long as possible a departure, which was to snap
+asunder such pleasing social ties.</p>
+
+<p>It would be impossible to surpass the active kindness shown us by the
+governor and all the best society of Astrakhan. During our whole stay
+the governor put his caleche at our disposal, and was imitated in this
+by many other persons. But notwithstanding all these temptations to
+prolong our abode, we were obliged at last to set in earnest about
+arrangements for our journey across the Kalmuck steppes. Our first care
+was to provide all that was indispensable to prevent our dying of hunger
+on the way. An expedition of this kind is like a long sea voyage; the
+previous cares are the same; one must enter into the same sort of
+details as the sailor who is bound for a distant shore.</p>
+
+<p>We laid in a great stock of biscuits, rice, oil, candles, dry fruit,
+tea, coffee, and sugar, and sent them forward with our escort to
+Houidouk, a post station near the Caspian, where my husband was to begin
+his series of levels.</p>
+
+<p>This escort, consisting of ten camels with their drivers and some
+Cossacks fully armed, had been selected by the governor and M. Fadiew,
+with a carefulness that proved how much they were both concerned for our
+safety. I cannot sufficiently express my <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>gratitude for all the kindness
+they showed us on this occasion; their anxiety about the result of so
+hazardous a journey betrayed itself by numberless precautions and
+recommendations, which might have had some influence on our
+determination if it had not been irrevocably fixed.</p>
+
+<p>The governor chose from among his best officers, a Tatar prince to
+command our escort. This young man, who was an excellent sportsman, had
+a hawk, from which he was inseparable, and to this circumstance was
+owing the orders he received to accompany us. General Timirasif, always
+mindful of the privations that awaited us, thought he could not do
+better than furnish us with so clever a purveyor; who, indeed, proved to
+be of immense assistance to us. When he presented the officer to us,
+with his hawk on his fist, his face beamed with satisfaction. "Now," he
+said, laughing, "my conscience is at ease; here I give you a brave
+soldier for your champion, and a travelling companion, who will not let
+you be starved to death in the wilderness."</p>
+
+<p>Orders were sent forward in advance, along all the line we were to
+traverse as far as Haidouk, that we should be supplied with horses at
+every station without delay.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXI.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">COMMERCIAL POSITION OF ASTRAKHAN&mdash;ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE
+MIDDLE AGES&mdash;ITS LOSS OF THE OVERLAND TRADE FROM
+INDIA&mdash;COMMERCIAL STATISTICS&mdash;FISHERIES OF THE
+CASPIAN&mdash;CHANGE OF THE MONETARY SYSTEM IN RUSSIA&mdash;BAD STATE
+OF THE FINANCES&mdash;RUSSIAN POLITICAL ECONOMY.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>There is no city, perhaps, of eastern Europe, which has played a more
+important part than Astrakhan in the commercial relations between Europe
+and Asia. Situated at the lower extremity of the largest navigable river
+of Europe, it communicates on the one side by the Caspian with
+Turcomania and the northern regions of Persia; on the other side, by
+means of the Volga and the Don, it is in direct intercourse with the
+central provinces of the Muscovite empire, and the whole coast of the
+Black Sea. With such facilities for traffic, Astrakhan would naturally
+be one of the chief points of transit for Indian goods during the middle
+ages, when the passage by the Cape of Good Hope was unknown, and
+European navigators had not yet appeared in the Persian Gulf. It was
+towards the middle of the thirteenth century, after the foundation of
+the Kaptshak empire, and of the kingdom of Little Tartary, that the
+Caspian Sea became a highway for the Indian trade, with which, in still
+earlier times, the Petchenegues, the predecessors of the Tatars in the
+Tauris, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>appear not to have been altogether unacquainted. Astrakhan on
+one side, and Solda&iuml;a on the Black Sea on the other, became the two
+great maritime places of the Tatars, and exchanged between them the
+merchandise of Europe and Asia, by means of the caravans of the Kouban
+and the Volga.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> From Solda&iuml;a the Indian goods were next conveyed to
+Constantinople, where they were sold either for the provinces of the
+empire, or to foreigners trading in that capital. Afterwards, about
+1280, when the Genoese took possession of the coasts of the Tauris,
+Solda&iuml;a lost its commercial importance, and the splendid colony of Caffa
+became the centre of all the Asiatic commerce. Mercantile relations with
+India assumed fresh activity at that period, particularly when, after
+the dissolution of the empire of the Kaptshak, in the reign of Hadji
+Devlet Cherii, the Genoese became masters of Tana, on the Don. The whole
+trade in spices, aromatic and medicinal drugs, perfumes, silks, and
+other productions of the East in request in Europe, fell thus into the
+hands of those intrepid Italian speculators, whose connexions by way of
+the Caspian, the Persian Gulf, and the caravans, extended as far as the
+Indies.</p>
+
+<p>But soon a new tempest burst forth, more terrible than any of those
+which had before shaken the soil of the East. In 1453, Mahomed II.
+seized Constantinople, and twenty years later all the Genoese colonies
+fell one after another into the power of the Ottomans. It was in vain
+the Venetians strove to appropriate the commerce of the Black Sea and
+the East; their efforts were fruitless, and the closing of the
+Dardanelles was peremptorily declared. The old communications between
+Europe and Asia were thus severed, and for many years the precious
+commodities of the East ceased to find their way towards Europe. But as
+they were in great demand, and were very costly, merchants contrived to
+find a new passage for them, and Smyrna became their entrep&ocirc;t. The
+situation of that town, however, was far from compensating for the
+disadvantage of a long, perilous, and expensive land carriage. Hence the
+Indian trade remained in a languid state, until Vasco de Gama's
+discovery opened a new route for the people of the West.</p>
+
+<p>Smyrna retained the monopoly of the Eastern trade for more than <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>250
+years; and until the middle of the seventeenth century, Persia was the
+first entrep&ocirc;t for Indian productions, which arrived there by way of the
+Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Beloochistan. They were partly consumed
+in the country, and the rest was conveyed either to Smyrna by Erzeroum
+and Bagdad, or into Russia by the Caspian Sea and Georgia. In
+consequence of this great commercial revolution, the regions now
+constituting the south-eastern provinces of Russia, lost all their
+importance with regard to the traffic between Europe and Asia. The great
+entrep&ocirc;ts of Caffa and Tana having fallen into decay, all the routes
+leading to them were forsaken. The great caravans of the Volga and the
+Kouban disappeared, the navigation of the Caspian was almost
+annihilated, and Astrakhan was reduced exclusively to local commerce
+with the adjoining districts of Russia.</p>
+
+<p>A hundred years after the taking of Constantinople, Ivan the Terrible
+planted his victorious banner on the shores of the Caspian, and the old
+city of the Tatars of the Golden Horde fell under the Muscovite sway.
+Ever since that event, historians have had to record but a long series
+of disasters, mistakes, and decadence. It appears, however, that under
+the reign of Ivan the Terrible and his next successors, Astrakhan still
+continued to supply Russia with the productions of Persia, and with some
+of those of Central Asia. An English company even attempted, about the
+year 1560, to open up a commercial intercourse with Persia and
+Turcomania by way of the Caspian, but failed completely; and
+subsequently the appearance of the Dutch and British flags in the
+Persian Gulf, and the immense development of the maritime commerce with
+India, for ever extinguished, for Astrakhan, the hope of recovering its
+former position. The navigation of the Caspian was completely abandoned,
+and the few Asiatic goods which Russia could not dispense with were
+conveyed to that country by expensive and perilous overland routes.
+Accordingly, when Alexis Michaelovitz ascended the throne about the
+middle of the seventeenth century, how to arrive at Persia by sea was
+almost become an unsolved problem. To this prince belongs, however, the
+honour of the first effort made by Russia to re-establish the commerce
+of the Caspian. A maritime expedition was undertaken from Astrakhan in
+1660, under the direction of Dutch seamen; but it failed completely, in
+consequence of the revolt of the Cossacks, and the successes achieved by
+their leader, Stenko Razin. After this ineffectual attempt, things
+reverted to their old state, and the commercial history of this part of
+the empire presents nothing remarkable until the accession of Peter the
+Great.</p>
+
+<p>The trade with Asia was not forgotten under that illustrious regenerator
+of the Muscovite nation, who bent all the force of his genius upon the
+affairs of the East. Filled with the grand design of making the
+merchandise of Asia pass through his dominions, he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>repaired in person
+to Astrakhan, inspected the mouths of the Volga, selected a site for a
+quarantine establishment, and set Dutchmen to work to turn the shores of
+the Caspian to profitable account, until such time as political
+circumstances should enable him to found establishments by force of arms
+on the Russian coast. But the brilliant expeditions beyond the Caucasus
+subsequently made by Russia led to no commercial result. Central Asia
+continued as of old to communicate with Europe by way of Smyrna and the
+Indian Ocean; and after Peter's death Russia gave up all her pretensions
+to the southern shores of the Caspian, over which she had entertained
+strong hopes of establishing her dominion.</p>
+
+<p>Eventually the extension of the Russian possessions southward to the
+Kouban and the Terek, and eastward to the Ural, was not without its
+fruits. The safety secured to travellers caused the trade with Persia by
+way of Georgia to revive in some degree. Astrakhan was again visited by
+Persian and Hindu merchants, and by caravans from Khiva and Bokhara; the
+western and eastern shores of the Caspian were again frequented by
+vessels, and the numerous nomade hordes, of Asiatic habits, that then
+occupied the steppes of the Volga and the Kouma, contributed not a
+little to give animation to the commercial interchange between Russia
+and the Transcaucasian regions.<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the reign of Catherine II. the Russians reappeared once more beyond
+the Caucasus on the Caspian shores; but it was not until Alexander's
+time that their sway was definitively established in those Asiatic
+regions. Once mistress of a vast country conterminous with Persia and
+Turkey, and washed both by the Caspian and the Black Sea, Russia
+evidently commanded every possible means for developing to her own
+advantage a trade between Europe and most of the western regions of
+Asia. By way of the Caspian and the Volga she could supply all her
+central provinces with Persian silks and cottons, dye-stuffs, and drugs;
+besides which she could monopolise the profit on the transit of goods to
+the fairs of Germany and down the Danube.</p>
+
+<p>At first the Russian government seemed disposed to favour the
+establishment of all these great mercantile relations; but it did not
+long persist in its liberal course. It soon began to practise
+restrictive measures, thus paving the way for the grand system of
+proscription which it afterwards adopted. In the beginning of
+Alexander's reign the old trade with Persia still subsisted, and the
+Russians continued to buy cottons of excellent quality, at very low
+prices, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>Mazanderan, a province situated on the Caspian.<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> The
+merchants used then to make their payments in ducats, that gold coinage
+being a <i>sine qu&acirc; non</i> in all bargains. But the exportation of ducats
+was prohibited in 1812 and 1813, and thenceforth the Persians refused to
+trade, not choosing to accept silver coin. The English merchants, always
+prompt to seize advantageous opportunities, immediately entered the
+markets of Mazanderan, the cottons of which, purchased by them at low
+prices, reached Europe by way of the Persian Gulf. At first they paid in
+ducats; but England soon substituted for specie cloths, and all other
+kinds of goods suitable to the inhabitants of that part of Persia. It
+was especially during the war of 1813 that the English led the Persians
+to adopt their various manufactures. The stop put to the Russian trade
+opened the eyes of the ministry, who soon revoked the measure concerning
+ducats, but the mischief was done; commerce had already run into a new
+channel. Severe as was this lesson it produced no lasting effect. In
+order to favour a single Moscow manufacture, a duty equivalent to a
+prohibition was imposed on foreign velvets <i>in transitu</i> for Persia, and
+thenceforth an article for which there was so important a demand, ceased
+to be an item in the Russian traffic with Persia.</p>
+
+<p>In 1821, the Russian government seemed to be disposed to wiser views,
+and allowed European goods free entrance into the ports of Georgia.
+Thereupon, a great transit trade rapidly sprang up between Turkey,
+Persia, and the great German fairs, by way of Radzivilov, Odessa, Redout
+Kaleh, and Tiflis. This new and very promising line of communication had
+but a brief duration, for ten years afterwards, Russia, in her
+infatuation, destroyed all these magnificent commercial elements, as we
+have already shown. She closed the Transcaucasian provinces against
+European goods, and thus gave an immediate impulse to the prosperity of
+her formidable competitors in Trebisond, which soon surpassed the
+establishments on the Persian Gulf, and became the principal port in
+Persia and the point of destination for English goods, to the annual
+value at present of more than two millions sterling.</p>
+
+<p>The Trebisond route having been once adopted, the trade in drugs and
+dye-stuffs was likewise lost for Russia.</p>
+
+<p>It is scarcely conceivable with what perverse obstinacy the Russian
+government has persisted in its course, in defiance of all warning; and
+whilst the people of Persia and Turkey in Asia, were forsaking their old
+commercial routes for new markets, Russia has gone on making her
+prohibitive system more and more stringent, even to the extent of
+excluding the common pottery, an immense quantity of which was formerly
+sent from Khiva and Bokhara to Astrakhan, for the use of the Tatars and
+Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>It was through the effect of such measures as these that Astrakhan lost
+all trace of its former greatness. In 1839 it contained only forty-eight
+merchants of the first guild, including women and children, and had but
+forty-eight vessels belonging to its port. Of these forty-eight vessels,
+having a total tonnage of about nine millions of kilogrammes, eleven
+belonged to the crown, twenty-five were the property of private
+individuals, and were employed as government transports; there remained,
+therefore, for trade only twelve vessels, one-third of which were
+unemployed. The vessels belonging to the other ports of the Caspian in
+connexion with Astrakhan, such as Baku and Salian, were eight in number,
+with a tonnage of 387,000 kilogrammes, besides about sixty coasters,
+tonnage unknown. Such is the deplorable condition to which the trade and
+navigation of the Caspian have been reduced by an exclusive government,
+which would never consent to understand the reciprocal nature of
+traffic, but foolishly hoped to preserve its commercial intercourse with
+nations whose productions it rejects, and to which it refuses even the
+transit of the foreign goods they require. Do what she will, Russia will
+never succeed in adequately replacing for the Mussulmans of the south of
+the empire the manufactures of Asia, which are peculiarly adapted to
+their habits and their wants, or in inducing the Transcaucasian
+countries to adopt her own sorry manufactures. The spread of English
+commerce, moreover, in the western regions of Asia is now a historical
+fact, and Russia cannot possibly check it unless she become mistress,
+some time or other, of Constantinople. It is true she may compete in
+some hardware goods with the higher-priced productions of England; but
+the Asiatics are excellent judges of such matters; they are seldom
+tempted by mere cheapness; on the contrary, experience proves that they
+prefer the English goods, the soundness and high finish of which they
+fully appreciate. But even though the Russian goods were as well made as
+the English, the prohibitive system of the empire, and the refusal of
+transit to European merchandise, would still be sufficient to deprive
+the country of all export trade in the Caspian; for the people of Asia
+will always give the preference to those commercial relations which
+afford them opportunities for exchanges suitable to their wants, along
+with the advantages of a more extensive demand.</p>
+
+<p>The trade of the two Russian ports of the Caspian in 1835, was as
+follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="60%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 200">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="25%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="25%">Exports.<br />rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="25%">Imports.<br />rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="25%">Duties<br />rubles.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Astrakhan</td>
+  <td class="tdc">2,235,514</td>
+  <td class="tdc">2,235,514</td>
+  <td class="tdc">127,241</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Baku</td>
+  <td class="tdc" style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;556,016</td>
+  <td class="tdc" style="text-decoration: underline;">1,564,924</td>
+  <td class="tdc" style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;81,735</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc">2,791,530</td>
+  <td class="tdc">3,800,438</td>
+  <td class="tdc">208,976</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Which gives for the whole Caspian a general circulation of about
+6,500,000 rubles. The trade has still continued to decline since 1835.
+We find it stated in the journal of the ministry of the interior, that
+the whole exports of the Russian Transcaucasian <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>provinces, by the Black
+Sea, the Caspian, and overland, amounted in 1839, to but 3,889,707
+rubles,<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> whilst the imports by the Caspian, did not exceed 2,896,008
+rubles, nearly a million less than in 1835. In the same year Persia
+supplied, by the overland route, goods to the amount of 8,545,035 rubles
+to the Caucasian provinces. Now these goods consisted, according to the
+documents of the government itself, not of raw materials, but almost
+entirely in silk and cotton fabrics. The fact is, that notwithstanding
+the high duties of the imperial tariff, the people of Asia, who know
+nothing of the fantastic changes of fashion, always prefer the durable
+productions of the Persian looms to the flimsy tissues which Russia
+offers them, at very high prices, in consequence of the great remoteness
+of Moscow, the only seat of manufactures in the empire. Again, the
+Persians, finding that Russia can supply them with but few articles
+suited to them, keep all the raw materials produced in their country,
+and those which reach them from Central Asia, to exchange them for the
+European goods, which are now briskly and abundantly supplied in
+Trebisond and Tauris. Thus the Ghilan<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> silks, the Mazanderan cottons,
+the gall-nuts of Kurdistan, the tobaccoes of Shiraz, the gums,
+dye-stuffs, saffron, &amp;c., have completely deserted the Caspian, and the
+route from Tiflis to Redout-Kaleh, for that by way of Erzeroum and
+Trebisond. Another circumstance in favour of this new line is the low
+rate of carriage and duties in Turkey; the latter never exceed three per
+cent. for Europeans, and four per cent. for Persians; but in reality
+merchants seldom pay more than half that amount. Altogether the transit
+from Constantinople does not augment the first cost of goods by more
+than ten per cent. Hence it is easy to infer how difficult it is for
+Russia, whose manufacturing power is still so inconsiderable, to contend
+with the other European states in the markets of Persia, and how grossly
+it blundered when it voluntarily annihilated all transit trade through
+its dominions, in the vain hope of forcing its own productions on the
+Transcaucasian countries.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most curious things connected with the destruction of all
+these elements of wealth is the petty artifices practised by the
+ministry to make Europe, and the head of the government, believe that
+the extension of commerce is nowhere more sedulously pursued than in
+Russia. For instance, the fort of Alexandrof has been built on the
+north-east coast of the Caspian, under the pretence of providing a
+receptacle for the imaginary caravans from Khiva and Bokhara.
+Unfortunately, the locality affords neither fresh water nor wood, nor
+any one necessary; accordingly, as might have been foreseen, it has not
+been visited by a single caravan. The garrison consists of 600 men, and
+requires to be constantly renewed in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>consequence of its suffering by
+scurvy; the commandant is obliged to procure fresh water from the mouths
+of the Ural, which is conveyed to him in packet-boats. The fort has not
+even proved of use for the protection of the fishery which is carried on
+not far from its site. The soldiers cannot venture from their redoubts
+without incurring the risk of being carried off by the Khirghis. More
+than eighty Russian fishermen were made prisoners in 1839 by those
+nomades, and sold in Khiva and Bokhara.</p>
+
+<p>It is well known what hopes Peter the Great built on the Black Sea, the
+Caspian, and the countries situated beyond the Caucasus. It remains for
+us briefly to discuss the question, whether it will ever be possible for
+Russia to make the Indian trade return to its old route.</p>
+
+<p>Now that navigation has made such amazing progress, now that the
+establishment of steamboats on the Euphrates and the Red Sea, is a
+solved problem, and the cost of freight by sea is exceedingly reduced,
+we think there is no longer a chance for Russia to divert the course of
+the Indian trade, and make it pass through her own dominions. Russia is
+conterminous with the Chinese empire, and has long enjoyed certain and
+regular communication with it; and yet the English find it very
+profitable to sell in Odessa, and all the south of Russia, tea brought
+them by ships that double the Cape of Good Hope. It is evident that
+Russia is in a still worse position with regard to India than to China.
+Should the Russians ever become masters of the Sea of Azof, they might,
+perhaps, penetrate to Bokhara and Samarkand by way of the rivers Sir
+Daria (Iaxartes) and Amore Daria (Oxus). This was one of Peter the
+Great's grand conceptions. But the reiterated attempts that have been
+made in Khiva, always to no purpose, prove plainly that conquests are
+not easily to be made in those regions, and that such armies as those of
+our day are not fitted to traverse the steppes of the Khirghis and
+Turcomans. And how were it possible, besides, to establish as regular
+and cheap communications with India, by way of Persia or Bokhara, as
+those which now exist by sea? It seems, therefore, evident that Peter
+the Great's projects are become chimerical at this day, and that all the
+efforts Russia can ever make by herself, will be unable to change the
+course of the Indian trade. It is only in case of a long maritime war
+that she could hope to bring the productions of Central Asia to the
+Black Sea, thence to be distributed over continental Europe. But apart
+from this trade, there was still a vast field to be wrought: in like
+manner as the East Indies are become, commercially speaking,
+dependencies of Great Britain, so Persia and Turcomania might have
+become tributaries to Russia, had not the latter, blinded by her vanity
+and jealous ambition, to adopt her deplorable system of prohibition, and
+destroyed the whole European transit trade which was establishing itself
+by way of the ports she possesses on the Black Sea.</p>
+
+<p>Our facts and figures have clearly proved that the decay of the
+navigation of the Caspian has accompanied that of the Asiatic trade; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>it
+is important, however, to give some notion of the nature and employment
+of the vessels actually in use on the Caspian and the Volga. These
+vessels are divided into five classes, according to the character of
+their build. The first comprises ships that visit all the ports of the
+Caspian indiscriminately; the second, those that ply only in the
+neighbourhood of Astrakhan; the third, those that confine themselves to
+the mouths of the Volga from Astrakhan to the sea; the fourth, the river
+boats that never quit the Volga; and the fifth, those belonging to the
+Persian provinces.</p>
+
+<p>The ships that visit the ports of the Caspian are called <i>shkooutes</i>,
+and their hulls are not unlike those of Dutch vessels. They are built of
+bad timber, and in defiance of all rules. Their number, though greatly
+exceeding the demands of commerce, is not above eighty; they gauge from
+1000 to 2000 <i>hectolitres</i>. Shipowners generally buy old hulls in Nijni
+Novgorod, and turn them into shkooutes, without ever reflecting that
+their craziness and want of regularity makes them exceedingly dangerous
+as sea-going vessels. And then the command of them is given to ignorant
+pilots, who fill the office of captains in all but the name. The crews
+consist of from ten to sixteen, and these being chosen by the sole test
+of cheapness, the result is that the navigation of the squally and
+formidable Caspian is in very bad repute among merchants, and will
+inevitably be abandoned altogether.</p>
+
+<p>The shkooutes are employed in conveying Russian and Persian goods, and
+the workmen, materials, provisions, and produce, belonging to the
+fisheries situated between Salian,<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> Siphitourinsk, Akhrabat, and
+Astrabad,<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> and in carrying victuals and stores to the garrisons in
+the eastern parts of the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>Of all these transports, those of the crown alone afford the shippers
+any chance of profit. The Russian authorities and merchants themselves
+confess that there is no longer any thing to be got by conveying
+merchandise from Astrakhan to Persia. Twenty years ago the freights
+obtained for heavy goods were from 1.30 rubles, to 3 per pood, and from
+6 to 10 rubles for light and bulky goods. Now the freight for the former
+does not exceed from 40 to 70 copeks, and that of the latter never
+amounts to one ruble. The return charges cannot be stated with accuracy,
+since they depend on the quantity of goods to be shipped, and the number
+of vessels ready to load. It often happens that the captains put up
+their services to auction, and end with losing instead of gaining. This
+diminution in the charges for freight is evidently the consequence of
+the superabundance of vessels, of the frequent shipwrecks which cause a
+preference for land <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>carriage, and of the small amount of importation
+into the Persian provinces.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels that ply on the Caspian in the vicinity of Astrakhan are
+known in the country by the name of <i>razchiva</i>. They differ very little
+from the shkooutes, and cost from 1500 to 4000 rubles. Sailors
+distinguish them into two classes, <i>manghishlaks</i> and <i>aslams</i>, the
+former of which take the name from the port<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> whence they formerly
+carried to Astrakhan the goods brought by the Khiva and Bokhara
+caravans. This traffic was monopolised by Tatars, who alone had nothing
+to fear from the Khirghis and Turkmans, when they landed. In 1832, there
+were but eight manghishlaks, half of which were unemployed. These little
+vessels carry from 700 to 1200 hectolitres.</p>
+
+<p>The other class of razchivas, designated by the Tartar word <i>aslam</i>
+(carrier&mdash;<i>voiturier</i>), are used to convey household vessels, victuals,
+timber, and articles requisite for the fisheries. They ply to
+Kisliar,<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> Gourief,<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> and Tchetchenze,<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> and traverse all the
+north-western parts of the Caspian, from the Volga to Terek, their
+principal cargoes being commissariat stores for the troops in the
+Caucasian provinces. They bring back wine, rice, and Kisliar brandy,
+which is much esteemed in the country. The number of these razchivas
+does not, however, exceed fifty. They can make five trips in the year.</p>
+
+<p>These vessels are much more profitable to their owners than are
+shkooutes. In reality they are but coasters, and as they seldom venture
+out of sight of the shore, they are much less exposed to wreck.
+Moreover, in addition to their Astrakhan freights, they keep up an
+exchange trade in eatable commodities with the nomades of the Caspian
+shores. They are also employed in the fisheries of the Emba and of
+Tchetchenze, though the fishermen generally prefer smaller vessels.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels that ply in the mouths of the Volga are some of them decked,
+some open. The former, which need to be of a certain strength, carry
+goods directly on board the shkooutes in the offing, whereas the latter
+stop a little distance from the mouth of the river. Both are really
+lighters. The water is so low near the mouths of the Volga, as well as
+in all the northern part of the Caspian, that the shkooutes are obliged
+to put to sea empty from the port of Astrakhan. About twenty miles from
+the shore they take in half their cargo, which is brought to them in
+open lighters, nor can they complete their loading until they are 100 or
+120 miles from the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>embouchure, where they are met by decked vessels
+whose draught of water does not exceed thirteen feet. The lighters
+generally belong to petty captains, who realise a good profit by them;
+but a large proportion of them are lost every year.</p>
+
+<p>The boats that float down the Volga to Astrakhan from the interior, are
+of extreme diversity of construction. The most remarkable are the
+<i>kladnyas</i>, which are distinguished above all the rest by their solidity
+and their Dutch build. They have but one enormously tall mast with two
+sails, one of which is attached to a boom twice as long as the hull of
+the vessel. Next after them come the <i>beliangs</i>, flat boats built
+entirely of deal, and not pitched either within or without. Besides
+these there are an infinity of smaller boats, which it is unnecessary to
+describe. All these boats convey goods from Astrakhan to Nijni Novgorod,
+Saratof, and other places, and <i>vice versa</i>, charging for freight from
+ten to thirty kopeks per pood, according to distance. They arrive at
+Astrakhan at stated times, namely, in May, July, and September. The
+steamboat that makes one trip every year between Astrakhan and Nijni
+Novgorod, takes from forty to fifty days to ascend the river, and a
+fortnight to return. The navigation of the Volga, appears by the
+sailors' accounts, to be growing more difficult every year; some parts
+of the river are already impracticable for boats of a certain draught.
+Indeed the fact seems clearly ascertained that the Volga has undergone a
+great diminution of volume within the last century.</p>
+
+<p>The vessels belonging to the Persian provinces resemble the Russian
+shkooutes, with this difference, that no pitch is used in their
+construction, but their timbers are so accurately joined as to admit no
+water. It is superfluous to say that the Persian shipping is in a still
+worse position than that of Russia. If to these statistical details we
+add that all the Russian goods are conveyed by land to the Caucasian
+provinces of the empire, no more will be wanting to show how deserted is
+the Caspian Sea.</p>
+
+<p>The manual industry of Astrakhan shares, of course, the decay of its
+commerce. The metropolis reckoned fifty-two manufacturing establishments
+in 1838, viz.: one for silks, two for cotton cloths, twenty
+dyeing-houses, ten tanyards, two candle manufactories, three soap
+manufactories, twelve tile manufactories, one tallow melting-house, one
+rope-walk; 615 workmen were employed in all these establishments. It was
+the fisheries of the Volga that in reality furnished the population with
+all the means of subsistence; they are still the chief resource of the
+country, and it would seem as though nature had wished to compensate
+Astrakhan for the sterility of its soil, by rendering the waters that
+wash it more prolific than any others in fish.<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> The waters in which
+the fishing is carried on are private property, or farmed out by the
+crown and the towns, or they are free <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>to all comers. The most
+productive spots belong to the princes Kourakin, Youssoupof, Besborodko,
+&amp;c. The crown fisheries were formerly commercial property; they are now
+leased to one individual, along with those belonging to the district
+capitals of the government of Astrakhan. The waters of Astrakhan, though
+belonging to Prince Kourakin, have nevertheless been gratuitously
+conceded to the town. They yield for the most part only small kinds of
+fish, which are consumed by the inhabitants themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The fisheries of the Emba have been free since 1803. They comprise 300
+miles of the Caspian coast, from the mouth of the Ural to Mentvoi
+Koultouk, and take their name from the river Emba. They belonged
+formerly to the counts Koutussof and Soltykov.</p>
+
+<p>By virtue of a decree, dated March 31, 1803, fishery of all sorts,
+including that of seals, is free in the maritime waters of Tchetchenze.
+The island of that name, lying not far from the gulf and cape of
+Agrakhan, contains vast establishments for smoking, salting, and drying
+fish, and numerous dwellings occupied by the fishermen. The fishery here
+lasts all the year through, and yields beluga,<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> common sturgeon,
+salmon trout, silurus,<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> and two varieties of carp. It has been the
+custom of the seal-fishers from time immemorial not to destroy any of
+those animals before the 13th of April; whoever infringes this rule is
+deprived of all his booty by his comrades, who divide it among
+themselves. War is waged upon the seals in five different ways. In
+summer they are hunted on the islands and netted in the sea; in winter
+they are shot, or killed with clubs on the ice, or at the
+breathing-holes they break through it. In summer the seals weigh thirty
+pounds, in autumn about sixty, and in winter often ninety-six.</p>
+
+<p>The permanent fisheries are called <i>vataghis</i> and <i>outshoughis</i>; the
+places where they are temporary are called <i>stania</i>. An outshoughi
+consists in a barrier of stakes planted across the river, and sometimes
+wattled. Below this barrier the apparatus called in Russian <i>samoloff</i>,
+is placed in the current. It is a cord hung with short lines and hooks,
+and the business of the fisherman consists in examining the lines, and
+taking off the fish that are hooked. These are immediately taken to a
+shed built on piles at the waterside, where they are cut up; the roes,
+the fat, and the nerves are afterwards conveyed to places where they
+undergo the processes necessary to fit them for commerce.</p>
+
+<p>As the lines of stakes hinder the fish from ascending the river, the
+government has for some time prohibited the use of outshoughis, and also
+of the lines and hooks, by which it is found that scarcely one fish is
+taken out of a hundred that swallow the bait; the rest escape though
+wounded, and thus perish uselessly.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>The invention of these barriers is ascribed to the Tatars of the khanat
+of Astrakhan. As fish was an important article of commerce between them
+and the Russians, it may be presumed that they adopted this means to
+keep the fish from ascending to the upper portions of the Volga.</p>
+
+<p>The vataghis, usually placed on the heights above the shore, are cellars
+in which fish is salted and dried. Before the door there is always a
+platform sheltered by a screen of reeds, where the fish are cut up and
+cleaned. Nets, some of them several hundred yards in length, are
+exclusively used in these establishments. It is forbidden, however, to
+stretch them across the entire width of the river.</p>
+
+<p>The fishing season is divided into several distinct periods. The first,
+which extends from March till May, that is from the breaking up of the
+ice to the time of flood, is called the caviar season; it is the most
+important and most productive of the caviar and isinglass. The second
+occurs in July when the waters have sunk within their ordinary bed, and
+the fish having spawned, are returning to the sea. The third, from
+September to November, is the season when the beluga, sturgeon, and
+sevriuga<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> return to the deepest parts of the river. These fish are
+also taken in winter by nets of a peculiar form. At that time of year
+the fishermen of the coasts often travel over the ice for dozens of
+miles from the land. Every two men have a horse and sledge, and carry
+with them 3000 yards of net, with which they capture belugas, sturgeons,
+silures, and even seals under the ice. These expeditions are very
+dangerous. The wind often drives the ice-blocks on a sudden out to sea,
+and then the loss of the fishermen is inevitable, unless the wind chops
+round and drives them back to land. Old experienced fishermen allege
+that the instinct of the horses forewarns them of these atmospheric
+changes, and that their uneasiness puts their masters on their guard
+against the danger; according to the same authorities, the moment the
+animals are yoked they turn of their own accord towards the shore, and
+set off thither with extraordinary speed.</p>
+
+<p>The fishermen of Astrakhan reckon three classes of fish. The first they
+call red fish, which includes the beluga, the sevriuga, and the
+sturgeon. The second consists of white fish, such as the salmon-trout,
+the bastard beluga, the sterlet,<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> the carp or sazan, the soudak,<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a>
+and the silure. To the third class belong all those designated by the
+general name of <i>tchistia</i>, <i>kovaya</i> or <i>riba</i>, either on account of the
+closeness of the nets employed to take them, or of their habits of
+entering rivers in very dense shoals. They are small fish, which are
+little prized, and are salted for the consumption of the interior of the
+empire.</p>
+
+<p>The government fishing board has the general control of the fisheries,
+grants the requisite licences, superintends the election of the headmen,
+sends out inspectors to maintain order, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>collects information as to
+the produce of the fisheries. In 1828, 8887 men employed in fishing, and
+254 in taking seals, with 3219 boats, brought in 43,033 sturgeons,
+653,164 sevriugas, and 23,069 belugas: these yielded 330 tons of caviar,
+and about 34 tons of isinglass. There were also taken 8335 soudaks, and
+the enormous quantity of 98,584 seals. The sturgeon fishery alone
+produces about 2,000,000 of rubles annually, but the expenses are very
+considerable. The revenue derived by the government from the fisheries
+of the Volga amounts to 800,000 paper rubles.</p>
+
+<p>The celebrated imperial ukase appointing a uniform monetary system
+throughout the empire, was promulgated during our stay in Astrakhan, and
+afforded us a fresh opportunity of beholding the amazing impassiveness
+of the Russians, and their extreme incapability of self-assertion. The
+change was certainly excellent in itself, and loudly called for by the
+circumstances of the country, but the manner of carrying it into effect
+caused a loss of eighteen per cent, to all holders of coin. In
+Astrakhan, the voice of the public crier sufficed at once, and without
+warning, to reduce the 4 ruble piece to 3.5, that of 1.20 to 1.05, that
+of 1 ruble to 0.87, and that of 0.62 to 0.52; and immediately after beat
+of drum, the law was carried into full force on all commercial
+transactions. It must not be supposed, however, that this inert
+resignation of the tzar's subjects is merely the result of their
+profound reverence for whatever emanates from the omnipotence of their
+sovereign. Every one of them is fully and keenly sensible of his loss,
+and if no voice is uplifted against such ministerial spoliations, the
+cause abides in that total absence of will and reflection which we have
+already had many occasions to point out as a distinguishing trait of the
+Russian character. For our own part we cannot but highly approve of the
+idea of establishing a complete uniformity in the value of coinage, for
+the variations of value which the same coin formerly underwent in
+passing from one government to another were exceedingly injurious to
+trade. We think, however, that the change might have been accomplished
+by more legal and less violent means. It is true, that by acting as he
+did, Count Cancrine was sure of realising a gain of eighteen per cent.,
+and this, it may be presumed, was the principal motive that actuated
+him. Be this as it may, this was not the first time the Russian
+government took such a course; every one knows that in 1812, the silver
+ruble fell abruptly to the value of a paper ruble, entailing a loss of
+seventy-one per cent. on all holders of government bills, who received
+but a paper ruble for every silver ruble represented by the bills. This
+state of things lasted until 1839, when the old system was restored. The
+present government paper, having for its basis a real coin, the silver
+ruble, worth 3.50 paper rubles (about 3<i>s.</i> 2<i>d.</i>), consists of notes
+for 5, 10, 20, and even 10,000 rubles. These notes are extremely small,
+and the government must inevitably realise a large profit annually by
+their wear and tear and loss. It is likewise very possible that the
+ministry of finance had no other <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>motive for creating these new notes,
+than that of preparing means to repeat the bankruptcy of 1812; and
+seeing the actual state of the imperial treasury, there is no doubt that
+such an act of bankruptcy would be committed in case of war. Never was
+the state so oppressed with debt as it is at this day. The war in the
+Caucasus, the grand military parades, and the payment of a countless
+host of diplomatic agents, avowed and secret, all absorb immense sums,
+and the ministry is consequently reduced to miserable shifts to make up
+the deficit, and restore the balance of the finances. The proposal of a
+great military expenditure was discussed in the imperial council of
+1841, and was opposed with reason by Cancrine, on the too real ground of
+want of money. The emperor, chafed by an opposition to his wishes such
+as he was not used to, ordered the grand treasurer to produce all his
+accounts, that the matter might be investigated in council. Next day the
+accounts were examined in presence of the tzar and his ministers. One
+item excited great surprise; an enormous sum was set down as expended,
+but how or wherefore it was spent was not stated. The emperor yielding
+without reflection to a sudden impulse of anger, commanded Cancrine to
+explain what had become of the money, and the minister, who had taken
+his precautions beforehand, instantly laid before his master a note in
+which were revealed some singular mysteries. It was, they say, after
+this memorable sitting that all public works were immediately stopped,
+the stamp duties were quadrupled, the charge for passports centupled,
+and new notes payable to the bearer, were issued for more than
+100,000,000 of silver rubles. Such are the expedients that constitute
+the genius of the ministry, and which Count Cancrine thought it right to
+employ to augment the financial resources of the country. I recollect an
+anecdote that exactly typifies the notions of that statesman. I was once
+in the house of a Moldavian landowner of Bessarabia, whose lands bring
+him in about 10,000 rubles a year. The conversation turned on
+agriculture. "What!" exclaimed a Russian who was present, "your estate
+yields you but 10,000 rubles a-year? Nonsense; put it into my hands and
+I warrant you twice as much."&mdash;"That would be a very agreeable thing, if
+it could be done," said the landlord; "I flatter myself I am tolerably
+well versed in these matters, and yet I have never been able to discover
+any possible means of increasing my income."&mdash;"How many days do your
+peasants work?" said the Russian.&mdash;"Thirty."&mdash;"That's not enough: make
+them work sixty. What breadth of land do they till for you?"&mdash;"So
+much."&mdash;"Double it." And so he went on through the other items of the
+inquiry, crying, "Double it! double it!" We could not help heartily
+laughing. But the Russian remained perfectly serious, and I am sure he
+thought himself as great a man as Cancrine himself; I really regret that
+I did not ask him, had he taken lessons in economics in the office of
+that illustrious financier.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Notwithstanding the assertions of most geographers, we are
+of opinion that the communications between Solda&iuml;a, Kaffa, and Astrakhan
+generally took place by way of the Don and the Volga. Many reasons seem
+to confirm this opinion. Had it been otherwise, the Genoese would not
+have attached so much importance to the possession of Tana, on the mouth
+of the Don. Furthermore, the route by the banks of the Terek and the
+Kouban, skirting the northern slope of the Caucasus, being much longer
+as well as more dangerous, by reason of the neighbourhood of the
+Caucasian tribes, preference would naturally have been given to the
+route by the Don and the Volga, which passed only through Tatar
+countries, inhabited by the same people as the traders, and subjected to
+the same government. It seems confirmatory of this opinion that in the
+expedition of Sultan Selim against Astrakhan, in 1560, part of the
+Turkish army marched by that very route. The line of the Manitch must
+have been little frequented on account of its almost total want of
+drinkable water.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Among the various nomade hordes then encamped on the soil
+of Southern Russia, the Kalmucks alone numbered more than 120,000
+families; at the same period the Crimea alone had a population of more
+than 600,000. But these regions have undergone a remarkable change since
+Peter the Great's time. A large portion of the Kalmucks have emigrated
+to China, and the Mussulman tribes have lost at least nine-tenths of
+their population. It may easily be conceived how injurious to the trade
+with Persia and Central Asia has been the disappearance of these Asiatic
+races.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> The best cotton of Persia is grown on the slopes of the
+Elbrouz. These regions might easily supply Russia annually with an
+average of 1,500,000 kilogrammes of cotton, at 65 to 70 centimes the
+kilogramme on the spot.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Among the articles exported by Russia, the following are
+to be estimated at the approximative values annexed to them: cotton
+cloths, 700,000 rubles; woollens, 40,000; linens, 30,000; iron, 200,000
+to 400,000; various metal wares, 200,000, and wheat 100,000.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> In 1836, Ghilan exported more than 9,000,000 rubles worth
+of silk to Trebisond.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Salian is a port on the Caspian, at the mouth of the Coura
+(the ancient Cyrus). The roadstead is tolerably good, and the fisheries
+are important. An immense quantity of sturgeons are caught.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Astrabad on the southern coast of the Caspian, between
+Persia and Turkistan, is in regular and easy communication with all the
+regions of Persia, Khiva, and Bokhara. It is the true key to all the
+commerce of Asia by way of the Caspian; hence it was an object of
+special attention for Peter the Great and Catherine II.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Manghishlak is not a town but merely a port, at which
+vessels used formerly to touch to trade with the nomades of that part of
+the coast. It is now entirely abandoned; the few vessels which still
+visit these parts, stop at Tuk Karakhan, near the old landing place,
+whence goods are conveyed on camels to Khiva in twenty-eight days.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> A town on the Caspian, at the mouth of Terek, celebrated
+for its brandy.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> A town at the mouth of the Ural. It belongs to the
+Cossacks of the Ural, and contains upwards of a hundred houses.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> An island not far from the Gulf of Agrakhan.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> The particulars that follow as to the fisheries of the
+Caspian, were communicated to us at Astrakhan. Neither the weather nor
+the season allowed us to be present at those interesting operations.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> The <i>beluga</i> of the Russians is the great sturgeon
+(<i>Piscis ichthyocolla, Accipenser Huso</i>), its weight often amounts to
+1400 lbs.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> <i>Silurus glanis</i>, a fish unknown in France. I have found
+it in the Danube, the Volga, and the Dniepr, where its voracity and
+strength make it formidable to bathers.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Accipenser stellatus.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> A. ruthenus.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Perca asper.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">DEPARTURE FROM ASTRAKHAN&mdash;COAST OF THE
+CASPIAN&mdash;HAWKING&mdash;HOUIDOUK&mdash;THREE STORMY DAYS PASSED IN A
+POST-HOUSE&mdash;ARMENIAN MERCHANTS&mdash;ROBBERY COMMITTED BY
+KALMUCKS&mdash;CAMELS&mdash;KOUSKAIA&mdash;ANOTHER TEMPEST&mdash;TARAKANS&mdash;A
+REPORTED GOLD MINE.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>We left Astrakhan at eight in the evening, and were ferried across the
+Volga in a four-oared boat. It took us more than an hour to cross the
+river, its breadth opposite the town being more than 2000 yards. When we
+reached the opposite bank we might have fancied ourselves transported
+suddenly to a distance of a hundred versts from Astrakhan. Kalmucks,
+sand, felt tents, camels, in a word, the desert and its tenants were all
+that now met our view. We found our britchka waiting for us; our officer
+and the dragoman got into a telega or post chariot, and the bells began
+their merry jingling.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing can be more dismal than the route from Astrakhan to Kisliar. For
+two days and two nights our journey lay through a horrid tract of loose
+sand, with nothing to be seen but some half-buried Kalmuck kibitkas,
+serving for post stations, and a few patches of wormwood, the melancholy
+foliage of which was in perfect harmony with the desolate aspect of the
+landscape. The heaps of sand we passed between exhibited the most
+capricious mimicry of natural scenery. We had before our eyes hills,
+ravines, cascades, narrow valleys, and tumuli; but nothing remained in
+its place; an invisible power was ceaselessly at work, changing every
+shape too quickly for the eye to follow the rapid transformation.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening of the day after our departure, we had an opportunity of
+testing the prowess of our travelling companion, the hawk. The first
+theatre of his exploits was a little pond covered with wild ducks and
+geese, that promised a rich booty.</p>
+
+<p>At a signal from my husband the Tatar officer unhooded the bird, and
+cast him off. Instantly the hawk darted off like an arrow, close along
+the surface of the ground, towards the pond, and was soon hidden from us
+among the reeds, where his presence was saluted with a deafening
+clamour, and a scared multitude of wild geese rose up out of the sedges.
+Their screams of rage and terror, and their bewildered flight backwards
+and forwards, and in all directions, were utterly indescribable, until
+the arrival of the officer put them to the route, and delivered their
+assailant from their obstreperous resentment. The moment the hawk flew
+off, the Tatar followed him at a gallop, all the while beating a small
+drum that was fastened to his saddle. When he reached the pond he found
+the bird planted stoutly on the back of a most insubmissive victim, and
+waiting with philosophic patience until his master should come and
+release him from his critical position.</p>
+
+<p>The officer told us, that but for his presence, and the noise of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>drum, the geese would in all probability have pummelled the hawk to
+death with their beaks, in order to rescue their companion. In such
+cases, however, the hawk braves the storm with imperturbable coolness,
+and adopts a curious expedient when the attacks are too violent, and his
+master is too slow in appearing. Without quitting hold of his victim, he
+slips himself under the broad wings of the goose, which then become his
+buckler. Once in that position he is invincible, and the blows aimed at
+him fall only on the poor prisoner, whose cruel fate it is to be forced
+to protect its mortal enemy. When the falconer comes up, the first thing
+he does is to cut off its head and give the brains to the hawk. Until
+that operation is completed, the latter keeps fast hold on the quarry,
+and no efforts of its master can induce it to relax its gripe.</p>
+
+<p>The hawk made two or three more successful flights before we reached
+Houidouk, and supplied us with a good stock of provisions, which were
+not a little needful to us in that miserable post station.</p>
+
+<p>During this journey we passed several times very close to the Caspian,
+but without perceiving it.</p>
+
+<p>At Houidouk, on the mouth of the Kouma, we found our escort, which had
+been waiting two days for us. Every thing was ready for our departure,
+but a violent fall of rain detained us three mortal days in the most
+detestable cabin we had yet entered. Two rooms, one for travellers, and
+the other for the master of the station and his family, composed the
+whole dwelling. We installed ourselves as well as we could in the
+former, the whole furniture of which consisted of a long table and two
+benches. The walls of this wretched hole were made of ill-jointed
+boards, that gave admission to the wind and the rain, and to add to our
+discomfort, it served as an ante-chamber to the other room, and was thus
+common to the whole household. Hens, children, and the master of the
+house, were perpetually passing through it, and left us not a moment's
+rest. Our situation was intolerable; the violence of the tempest
+increased at such a rate, that we knew not how the miserable wooden
+fabric could stand against it. All the elements seemed confounded
+together; there was no distinguishing earth or sky; but the terrible
+disorder of nature appeared to me more tolerable than the scene within
+doors. Outside there was at least something for the imagination; the
+mind was exalted in contemplating the swelling uproar that threatened a
+renewal of chaos; but the scene within was enough to drive us to
+despair&mdash;children fighting and screaming, fowls fluttering and perching
+on the table and benches, squalor all around us, and a frowsy
+atmosphere! To complete our distress, some Armenian merchants on their
+way to the fair of Tiflis, finding it impossible to continue their
+journey, came to share with us the den in which we were already so
+uncomfortable.</p>
+
+<p>But this new incident was a sort of lesson in philosophy for us. When we
+saw these men conversing quietly as they smoked their tchibouks, without
+the least show of impatience, and talking of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>heavy losses the
+unseasonable weather might occasion them, as calmly as if their own
+interests were not concerned, we could not help envying the stoic
+resignation of which the men of the East alone possess the secret. There
+is nothing like their fatalism for enabling one to take all things as
+they come; is not that the acme of human wisdom?</p>
+
+<p>Our escort passed the three days of this deluge in a corner of the shed
+adjoining the house. Wrapped up in their sheep-skins, those iron men
+slept as quietly through wind and rain as if they had been in a snug
+room. One must have lived among the Russians to have any idea of the
+apathy with which they bear all kinds of privations. Their bodies,
+inured to the rigours of their climate, to the coarsest food, and most
+Spartan habits, grow so hardened, that what would be mortal to others
+makes no injurious impression on them.</p>
+
+<p>At last the rain ceased towards the end of the third day. A west wind
+followed it, and dispersed the dark threatening clouds that had so long
+obscured the sky. Though the weather seemed still unsettled, we
+determined to make for the Caspian, which lay but thirty versts from us.
+My husband's anxiety to commence his surveying operations, and our
+eagerness to quit our detestable abode, gave us courage to risk the
+chance of another storm in the open steppe.</p>
+
+<p>But a very unexpected incident threw the station into confusion just as
+we were departing, and delayed us some hours longer. A Kalmuck Cossack,
+mounted on a camel, arrived in great haste and informed us that the
+Armenian merchants, who had started the day before, had been attacked
+some distance from the station by a band of Kalmucks and plundered of
+the greater part of their merchandise.</p>
+
+<p>Our Cossack officer, after listening with great indignation to this
+story, asked permission of my husband to pursue the robbers. The whole
+escort set off with him at a hard gallop, but the pursuit was
+ineffectual. The robbers, having had some hours' start, had already
+reached the sedges of the Caspian. In consequence of this delay it was
+the afternoon before we could make a start, and even then we had great
+difficulty in getting away, for the terrified postmaster entreated us
+not to forsake him at a moment so critical. His dismay, for which indeed
+there was little reason, almost infected me too, and it was not without
+some apprehension of disaster that I left the station.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of our caravan was curious and grotesque. Our britchka
+was drawn by three camels, taken in tow by a man on foot, and several
+other animals of the same species, besides sumpter-horses, were mounted
+by Kalmucks and Cossacks. Our escort followed, and all the men composing
+it, armed with sabres, guns, and pistols, looked martial enough to scare
+away the most daring thieves. The leader of the troop, the Tatar prince,
+rode with his falcon on his fist, every now and then showing off his
+skill in horsemanship and venery. Thinking no more of the morning alarm,
+I gave myself up to the liveliest anticipations of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>extraordinary
+things which this excursion promised us. At last I was about to behold
+that Caspian Sea which, ever since men have been engaged with
+geographical questions, has been the object of their researches and
+conjectures. Besides, it had a much more potent interest for us, for it
+was in a manner the sole aim and end of our journey; it was to solve an
+immemorial question concerning it, that we had abandoned the comforts of
+civilised life, and encountered so many annoyances and privations.
+Notwithstanding my ignorance of science, I felt that in sharing my
+husband's toils, I was in some sort a partner in his learned researches,
+and that I too, like him, had my claims upon the Caspian. I was,
+therefore, impatient to see it; but our camels, who had no such motives
+for hurrying themselves, crawled along at a provokingly slow rate. They
+did not at all correspond with what we had read of the ships of the
+desert, creatures insensible to hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and as
+obedient to the will of man as the dry leaf is to the breath of the
+wind. In spite of a thick cord passed through one of their nostrils,
+which caused them sharp pain whenever they were unruly, our camels
+scarcely marched more than two hours at a stretch without lying down.
+The men had to battle with them continually to rouse them from their
+torpor, or hinder them from biting one another. Whenever one of the
+drivers pulled the halter of his camel roughly, we heard loud cries, the
+more hideous from their resemblance to the human voice. In short our
+camels behaved so badly during this short trip, as largely to abate the
+good opinion of their species, which we had conceived in reading the
+more poetical than true descriptions of our great naturalist.</p>
+
+<p>At some distance from Houidouk we met two camps of Kalmucks, improperly
+called Christians. These tribes are reputed to be addicted to theft, and
+are generally despised by the other Kalmucks. We will speak of them
+again in another place. This whole region, as far as the Caspian, is
+extremely arid, with only here and there a few pools of brackish water,
+the edges of which swarm with countless birds, the most remarkable of
+which are the white herons, whose plumage forms such beautiful
+<i>aigrettes</i>. Unfortunately, these birds are so wary, that our companion
+could not take one of them, notwithstanding all his address and the
+power of his falcon.</p>
+
+<p>A ludicrous misadventure that befel our dragoman, Anthony, amused us a
+good deal. Curiosity prompting him to ride a camel, he asked one of the
+Kalmucks to lend him his beast, and the request being complied with, he
+bestrode the saddle, pleased with the novelty of the experiment, and
+quite at a loss to know why the Cossacks and camel-drivers laughed among
+themselves as he mounted. But as soon as the beast began to move, a
+change came over his face, and he speedily began to bawl out for help.
+The fact is, one must be almost a Kalmuck to be able to endure the
+trotting of a camel; the shaking is so violent as to amount to downright
+torture for those who are not accustomed to it. The unlucky <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>Anthony,
+left in the rear of the party, strove in vain to come up with us, and
+was obliged, in spite of himself, to continue his ride to the Caspian,
+where we arrived two hours before him. I never saw a man so cut up. He
+groaned so piteously when he was lifted down, that we began to be really
+alarmed for him.</p>
+
+<p>There are in nature two opposite types, beauty and ugliness; the
+elements of which vary infinitely, though imagination always erroneously
+supposes it can fix their boundaries. How often are we fully persuaded
+we can never meet again an object so beautiful as that before us; yet no
+sooner have we lavished all our enthusiasm upon it, than a more charming
+face, a sublimer landscape, or a more graceful form makes us forget what
+we had regarded as the model of perfection; and itself is soon, in turn,
+dethroned by other objects which we declare superior to all our former
+idols. Just so it is with ugliness. It matters not that we have before
+us the lowest grade we believe it can attain, we have but to turn our
+heads another way to be amazed and confounded by new discoveries
+revealing to us the inexhaustible combinations of nature. These
+reflections occurred to me more and more strongly as we approached
+Koumskaia. The aridity of the steppes round Odessa, the wilderness of
+the Volga, the parched and dismal soil of the environs of Astrakhan, in
+a word all we had heretofore seen that was least engaging, seemed lovely
+in comparison with what met our view on the banks of the Caspian.</p>
+
+<p>A grey, sickly sky, crossed from time to time by heavy black clouds,
+threw an indescribably sad and revolting hue over the lonely, sandy
+plain, and low, broken shore. The same funereal pall seemed to hang over
+the wooden houses, the gangs of Turkmans and Kalmucks loading their
+carts with salt, and the camels that roamed along the shore mingling
+their dismal cries with the sound of the waves.</p>
+
+<p>Yet hideous as it seemed to us, this part of the coast is not
+unimportant in a commercial point of view. It supplies large quantities
+of salt, and has a port where vessels unload their cargoes of corn for
+the army of the Caucasus. We counted at least a score of vessels which
+had been driven in there by the late storm.</p>
+
+<p>The population of Koumskaia consists of a Russian functionary, a Cossack
+post, and a few Kalmuck families, that appear very miserable. The
+<i>employ&eacute;</i> gave us the use of his house; that is to say, of two
+dilapidated rooms without glass windows or furniture. One can scarcely
+conceive how the mind can have strength to endure so very wretched an
+existence. An unwholesome climate, brackish water, excessive heat in
+summer, rigorous cold in winter, huts and kibitkas buried in the sand,
+the Caspian Sea with its squalls and tempests&mdash;all these things combine
+to make this region the most horrible abode imaginable. The major, who
+welcomed us to Koumskaia, had a slow fever, which he owed still less
+perhaps to the insalubrity of the climate than to the hardships and
+mortal ennui he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>had endured for eighteen months. His wife, more
+stout-hearted, and amused in some degree by her household occupations,
+had still preserved a certain cheerfulness, which was no less than
+heroic in her situation. Their exile was to last in all two years. The
+government, perceiving that many <i>employ&eacute;s</i> died in Koumskaia, has
+limited the time of service there to that short period, and as some
+compensation for what those suffer who are sent thither, their two years
+are counted as four of ordinary service.</p>
+
+<p>The weather had been louring since we left Houidouk, and we had a
+regular hurricane the evening we reached the Caspian. It lasted
+four-and-twenty hours, and such was the noise of the wind and waves,
+that we could hardly hear each other speak in our room. We saw two or
+three kibitkas blown away into the sea, and we expected every moment to
+share the same fate, for our frail tenement creaked like the cabin of a
+ship; the boarded window let in such a current of air, as soon drove
+into the room all the garments with which we strove to stop the chinks.</p>
+
+<p>But the saddest chapter of our history remains to be narrated. As soon
+as our servant had prepared the samovar, and lighted the candles, a
+multitude of black creatures crept out of the chinks of the walls and
+ceilings, and dropped from all sides like a living rain. Imagine our
+consternation at the sight of that legion of black demons swarming
+around us, and leaving us no alternative but to put out the candles that
+attracted them. These insects, called in the country <i>tarakans</i>, though
+disgusting in appearance, are very inoffensive, and seldom climb on the
+person; but they are fond of light and heat, and hence they are a
+grievous nuisance in these regions, where their number is prodigious. I
+had already seen them in some post-houses, but in small numbers, and
+though I had always disliked them, I had never been so horrified by them
+as in the house of the major, where they kept me awake all night.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, the wind having fallen somewhat, we went, in spite of the
+rain, to gather shells on the shore. The vessels in the harbour all
+showed signs of having suffered severely by the storm. The waters of the
+Caspian had a livid, muddy colour I never observed in any other sea in
+the most boisterous weather.</p>
+
+<p>When we returned to our cabin, the Cossack officer presented to us a
+Tatar, who asserted he had found gold in a spot forty versts from
+Koumskaia. Having heard of our arrival, he had walked all that horrible
+night to ask my husband to accompany him to the spot where he had made
+the discovery. But in spite of the gold ear and finger-rings he
+exhibited as tokens of his veracity, my husband was not tempted to lose
+four or five days in a search that would have led to nothing, to judge
+from the nature of the ground in which the Tatar reported that the
+precious ore was to be found.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">ANOTHER ROBBERY AT HOUIDOUK&mdash;OUR NOMADE
+LIFE&mdash;CAMELS&mdash;KALMUCK CAMP&mdash;QUARREL WITH A TURCOMAN CONVOY,
+AND RECONCILIATION&mdash;LOVE OF THE KALMUCKS FOR THEIR STEPPES;
+ANECDOTE&mdash;A SATZA&mdash;SELENOI SASTAVA&mdash;FLEECED BY A
+LIEUTENANT-COLONEL&mdash;CAMEL-DRIVERS BEATEN BY THE
+KALMUCKS&mdash;ALARM OF A CIRCASSIAN INCURSION&mdash;SOURCES OF THE
+MANITCH&mdash;THE JOURNEY ARRESTED&mdash;VISIT TO A KALMUCK
+LADY&mdash; HOSPITALITY OF A RUSSIAN OFFICER.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>On returning to Houidouk, we found the postmaster in still greater
+perturbation than he had been cast into by the disaster of the Armenian
+merchants. One of his postillions had been seized but two versts from
+the station by Turkmans, who, after robbing him of his sheep-skin and
+his tobacco, had beaten him and left him half dead, and then made off
+with the three horses he was taking back to the station. The strangest
+part of the adventure was, that on the morning of the next day, which
+happened to be that of our arrival, the three horses returned quietly to
+their stable, as if nothing extraordinary had befallen. This proved, at
+least, that the robbers were not very confident, but chose rather to
+lose their booty than expose themselves to the vengeance of the
+Cossacks.</p>
+
+<p>Though such stories were not very encouraging to us, we nevertheless set
+out early next morning, entirely forsaking the post road we had till
+then pursued, and striking across the steppes with a weak escort, very
+insufficient to resist a serious attack. My husband, who had already
+begun his course of levels, resumed his operations from the station at
+Houidouk. Having to make one every ten minutes, he proceeded on foot, as
+well as the Kalmucks and Cossacks who carried the instruments and
+measured the distances. All the men were occupied except the camel
+drivers and the officer, who amused himself with flying his falcon now
+and then at wild ducks and geese. Besides its positive and gastronomic
+results, this sport did me the further service of withdrawing my mind
+from the monotony of a slow march across the desert, in which I had
+often no other pastime than watching the grotesque movements of the
+three camels that drew my carriage, or the capricious evolutions of the
+flocks of birds that were already assembling for their autumnal
+emigration.</p>
+
+<p>Yet the impression made on me by this first day did not tend much to
+alarm me at the prospect of wandering, like a veritable Kalmuck, for
+several weeks across the steppe. The novelty of my sensations, and the
+secret pleasure of escaping for awhile from the round of prescribed
+habits that make up the chief part of civilised life, banished from my
+mind every sombre thought. The excursion was an experimental glimpse of
+those natural ways of life which are no longer possible in our
+thickly-peopled lands; and in spite of my prejudices, a nomade existence
+no longer seemed to me so absurd or wearisome as I had supposed it to
+be. The quiet and the immensity of space around us imparted a deep
+serenity to my mind, and fortified it against any remains of fear
+occasioned by the late events at Houidouk.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>We made our first halt about noon, not at all too soon for our Cossacks,
+a race not accustomed to long walking. They immediately made a great
+fire, whilst our camel-drivers were busy setting up the tents and
+arranging a regular encampment. The sun had reappeared with more force
+than before, as usually happens after violent storms. The heat of the
+vertical sunshine, increased by the bare parched soil and by the
+extraordinary dryness of the air, had so overcome us that we could
+scarcely attend to the picturesque group presented by our halt in the
+desert, over which we appeared to reign as absolute masters.</p>
+
+<p>The britchka, unyoked and unladen, was placed a little way from, the
+tent, on the carpet of which were heaped portfolios, cushions, and
+boxes, in a manner which a painter would have thought worth notice.
+Whilst we were taking tea our men were making preparations for dinner,
+some plucking a fine wild goose and half-a-dozen kourlis, others
+attending to the fire, round which were ranged two or three pots for the
+pilau and the bacon soup, of which the Cossacks are great admirers; and
+Anthony with a little barrel of brandy under his arm, distributed the
+regular dram to every man, with the gravity of a German major-domo. As
+for the officer, he lay on his back under the britchka, for sake of the
+shade, amusing himself with his hawk, which he had unhooded, after
+fastening it with a stout cord to the carriage. Though the creature's
+sparkling eyes were continually on the look out for a quarry, it seemed
+by the continual flapping of its wings to enjoy its master's caresses.
+The camels, rejoicing in their freedom, browsed at a little distance
+from the tent, and contributed by their presence to give an oriental
+aspect to our first essay in savage life; wherein I myself figured in my
+huge bonnet, dressed as usual in wide pantaloons, with a Gaulish tunic
+gathered round my waist by a leathern belt. By dint of wondering at
+every thing, our wonderment at last wore itself out, and we regarded
+ourselves as definitively naturalised Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<p>Three hours before we halted, the last kibitkas had disappeared below
+the horizon: we were absolutely alone on the whole surface of the vast
+plain. There was no vestige to tell us that other men had encamped where
+we were. The steppe is like the sea; it retains no trace of those who
+have traversed it.</p>
+
+<p>At two o'clock Hommaire gave the word to march: the tent was struck; the
+camels knelt to receive their burdens; the officer was in the saddle
+with his hawk on his fist; and I was again alone in the carriage, slowly
+following our little troop as it resumed its operations.</p>
+
+<p>My first night under a tent proved to me that I was not so acclimated to
+the steppe as my vanity had led me to suppose. The felt cone under which
+I was to sleep; the Kalmucks moving about the fire; the camels sending
+their plaintive cries through the immensity of the desert; in a word,
+every thing I saw and heard, was so at variance <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>with my habits and ways
+of thought, that I almost fancied I was in an opium dream.</p>
+
+<p>We spent part of the night seated before the tent, our reveries unbroken
+by any inclination to sleep. The moon, larger and more brilliant than it
+ever appears in the west, lighted the whole sky and part of the steppe,
+over which it cast a luminous line like that which a vessel leaves in
+its wake at sea. Absolute silence reigned in the air, and produced upon
+us an effect which no words can describe. Hardly did we dare to break
+it, so solemn did it seem, and so in harmony with the infinite grandeur
+of the waste. It would be in vain to look for a stillness so complete,
+even in the most sequestered solitudes of our regions. There is always
+some murmuring brook there, some rustling leaves; and even in the
+silence of night, some low sounds are heard, that give an object to the
+thoughts. But here nature is petrified, and one has constantly before
+him the image of that eternal repose which our minds can so hardly
+conceive.</p>
+
+<p>We marched for several days without meeting one living creature. This
+part of the steppes is inhabited only in Winter; for during the rest of
+the year it is completely destitute of fresh water. At last, towards the
+close of the fourth day, we saw a black object in motion on the horizon.
+The officer instantly galloped off to reconnoitre, waving his cap in the
+air, for a signal of command. In a few seconds we were sure he was
+perceived, for we distinguished the form of a Kalmuck mounted on a camel
+approaching us. He was hailed with shouts of joy by our men, who soon
+fastened on him, and overwhelmed him with questions. The eagerness of
+nomades to hear news is unbounded, and it is wonderful with what
+rapidity the knowledge of the most trivial event is conveyed from one
+tribe to another. The new comer told us that our journey was already
+known all over the steppes, and that we should soon fall in with an
+encampment of Kalmucks, who had moved forward on purpose to see us.</p>
+
+<p>The presence of this man put all our men in the gayest humour. Desirous
+of doing due honour to his arrival, they deputed Anthony to solicit from
+us a double ration of spirits. They passed all the early part of the
+night sitting round the fire, smoking their tchibouks, and telling
+stories, as grave and as entranced in the charms of conversation as
+Bedouins.</p>
+
+<p>Next day our little caravan was in motion before sunrise; the Kalmuck
+set off alone for the fair of Kisliar, and we took the opposite
+direction, pursuing the invisible line which science traced for us
+across the desert, and which was to lead us to the sources of the
+Manitch.</p>
+
+<p>It was on this morning I took my first ride on the back of a camel, and
+I vowed it should be the last. Decidedly the camel is the most
+detestable quadruped to ride in the world. From the moment you mount
+until you descend from that murderous perch <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>you have to endure an
+incessant series of shocks, so violent and sudden, that every joint in
+your body feels dislocated. I could now feel for the sufferings of our
+poor dragoman during his long trot from Houidouk to the Caspian. Though
+my experiment was limited to a trip of two versts at the most, I was
+totally exhausted when I dismounted.</p>
+
+<p>Not long afterwards I had an opportunity of observing a curious instance
+of the vindictive temper of these rough trotters. The camel, as every
+one knows, is a ruminating animal, but few, perhaps, are aware that he
+has the cunning to make his rumination subservient to his vengeance in a
+very extraordinary and ingenious manner.</p>
+
+<p>I had noticed in the morning that one of our camel-drivers seemed to be
+on very bad terms with his beast. In vain he strove to master it by
+severity, and by pulling the cord passed through its nostril; the brute
+was obstinate, and threw itself every moment rebelliously on the ground.
+At last the Kalmuck, incensed beyond endurance, took advantage of a
+general halt, and alighted to give the camel a sound drubbing. But the
+creature, disdainfully lifting up its long neck, followed all its
+master's movements with so spiteful an eye, that I was sure it had some
+wicked scheme in its head. It waited patiently till the Kalmuck stood in
+front of it, and then, opening its great mouth, it let fly a charge of
+chewed grass mixed with mucus and all sorts of nastiness, and hit the
+poor driver full in the face. To tell with what an air of satisfied
+vengeance the camel again reared its neck and turned its head from side
+to side, as if looking round for applause, would be totally impossible.
+But what astonished me the most was the moderation of the master after
+such an outrage. He wiped his face very coolly, got into the saddle
+again, and patted the neck of his ill-bred brute, as if it had played
+the most amiable and innocent little trick imaginable. Good fellowship
+was thenceforth re-established between them, and they jogged peaceably
+along together, without thinking any more of what had happened.</p>
+
+<p>It happens by a rare good fortune, that no noxious insect is found in
+the steppes between the Caspian and the Caucasus. Of course it was not
+until I was quite sure of this that I could sleep in peace. Our tent,
+made of felt like those of the Kalmucks, was at most five feet high and
+as many wide. It was supported by a bundle of sticks tied together at
+the ends; the interior, furnished with a carpet and cushions laid on the
+ground, contained, besides, some boxes belonging to the britchka. A flap
+of felt formed the door. As the tent narrowed toward the top, we could
+not stand within it, but were obliged to kneel. Such was our dwelling
+for six weeks; and I can aver, that notwithstanding the hardness of our
+bed on the ground, and the strangeness of our situation, I never slept
+so soundly as during that period of my life. Nothing is better for the
+health than living in the open air; the appetite, the sleep, the
+unutterable serenity of mind, and the free circulation of the blood
+which it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>procures, sufficiently attest its happy influence on our
+organisation. Few functional maladies, I suspect, would resist a two or
+three months' excursion like that which we accomplished.</p>
+
+<p>As the Kalmuck had foretold, we arrived at night in a Kalmuck camp,
+consisting of a score of tents. All the men came to meet us, took the
+camels from the britchka, and would not allow our people to lend a hand;
+then having pitched our tent a little way off from their own, at the
+foot of a tumulus, they began to dance with their women, in token of
+rejoicing. One of the latter went down on her knees and begged some
+tobacco of my husband, and when she had got it she became an object of
+envy to her companions, before whom she hastened to display and smoke
+it.</p>
+
+<p>When night had fallen, the camp was lighted up with numerous fires,
+which gave a still more curious aspect to the kibitkas, and the dancing
+figures of the Kalmucks and Cossacks, whose exuberant gaiety was in part
+owing to an extraordinary distribution of food and brandy. The women
+advanced in their turn, and several of them forming a circle, danced in
+the same manner as the ladies of honour of the Princess Tumene. But they
+all seemed to me extremely ugly, though some of them were very young.</p>
+
+<p>Two days afterwards we arrived at the edge of a pond, where we arranged
+to pass the night. The sight of the water, and of the thousands of birds
+on its surface, afforded us real delight; there needed but such a little
+thing, under such circumstances as ours, to constitute an event, and
+occupy the imagination! All that evening was spent in shooting and
+hawking, bathing, and walking round and round the pool. We could not
+satiate ourselves with the pleasure of beholding that brackish mud, and
+the forest of reeds that encompassed it. No landscape on the Alps or the
+Tyrol was probably ever hailed with so much enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond this pond, the appearance of the steppes gradually changed; water
+grew less rare, the vegetation less scorched. We saw from time to time
+herds of more than five hundred camels, grazing in freedom on the short
+thick grass. Some of them were of gigantic height. I shall never forget
+the amazement they manifested at beholding us. The moment they perceived
+us they hurried towards, then stopped short, gazing at us with
+outstretched necks until we were out of sight.</p>
+
+<p>The eighth day after our departure from Houidouk our fresh water was so
+sensibly diminished, that we were obliged to use brackish water in
+cooking. This change in our kitchen routine fortunately lasted but a few
+days; but it was enough to give me a hearty aversion for meats so
+cooked: they had so disagreeable a taste, that nothing but necessity and
+long habit can account for their ordinary use. The Kalmucks and
+Cossacks, however, use no other water during a great part of the year.</p>
+
+<p>That same day we had a very singular encounter, which went near to be
+tragical. Shortly before encamping, we saw a very long <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>file of small
+carts approaching us; our Kalmucks recognised them as belonging to
+Turkmans, a sort of people held in very bad repute, by reason of their
+quarrelsome and brutal temper. Every untoward event that happens in the
+steppes is laid to their account, and there is perpetual warfare between
+them and the Cossacks, to whom they give more trouble than all the other
+tribes put together. As we advanced, an increased confusion was manifest
+in the convoy, and suddenly all the oxen, as if possessed by the fiend,
+exhibited the most violent terror, and began to run away in wild
+disorder, dashing against each other, upsetting and breaking the carts
+loaded with salt, wholly regardless of the voices and blows of their
+drivers. Some moments elapsed before we could account for this strange
+disaster, and comprehend the meaning of the furious abuse with which the
+Turkmans assailed our escort. The camel-drivers were the real culprits
+in this affair, for they knew by experience how much horses and oxen are
+frightened by the sight of a camel, and they ought to have moved out of
+the direct line of march, and not exposed us to the rage of the fierce
+carters.</p>
+
+<p>The moment immediately after the catastrophe was really critical. All
+the Turkmans, incensed at the sight of the broken carts and their salt
+strewed over the ground, seemed, by their threatening gestures and
+vociferations, to be debating whether or not they should attack us. A
+single imprudent gesture might have been fatal to us, for they were more
+than fifty, and armed with cutlasses; but the steady behaviour of the
+escort gradually quieted them. Instead of noticing their hostile
+demonstrations, all our men set to work to repair the mischief, and the
+Turkmans soon followed their example; in less than an hour all was made
+right again, and the scene of confusion ended much more peaceably than
+we had at first ventured to hope. All parties now thought only of the
+comical part of the adventure, and hearty laughter supplanted the tokens
+of strife. To seal the reconciliation, Hommaire ordered a distribution
+of brandy, which completely won the hearts of the fellows, who a little
+before had been on the point of murdering us.</p>
+
+<p>The more we became accustomed to the stillness and grandeur of the
+desert, the better we understood the Kalmuck's passionate love for the
+steppes and his kibitka. If happiness consist in freedom, no man is more
+happy than he. Habituated as he is to gaze over a boundless expanse, to
+endure no restriction, and to pitch his tent wherever his humour
+dictates, it is natural that he should feel ill at ease, cribbed,
+cabined, and confined, when removed from his native wastes, and that he
+should rather die by his own hand than live in exile. During our stay at
+Astrakhan, every one was talking of a recent event which afforded us an
+instance of the strong attachment of those primitive beings to the natal
+soil.</p>
+
+<p>A Kalmuck chief killed his Cossack rival in a fit of jealousy, and
+instead of attempting to escape punishment by flight, he augmented his
+guilt by resisting a detachment which was sent to arrest <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>him. Several
+of his servants aided him, but numbers prevailed; all were made
+prisoners and conveyed to a fort, where they were to remain until their
+sentence should have been pronounced. A month afterwards, an order
+arrived for their transportation to Siberia, but by that time
+three-fourths of the captives had ceased to exist. Some had died of
+grief, others had eluded the vigilance of their gaolers, and killed
+themselves. The chief, however, had been too closely watched to allow of
+his making any attempt on his own life, but his obstinate silence, and
+the deep dejection of his haggard features, proved plainly that his
+despair was not less than that which had driven his companions to
+suicide.</p>
+
+<p>When he was placed in the car to begin his journey, some Kalmucks were
+allowed to approach and bid him farewell. "What can we do for thee?"
+they whispered; the chief only replied, "You know." Thereupon one of the
+Kalmucks drew a pistol from his pocket, and before the bystanders had
+time to interpose, he blew out the chief's brains. The faces of the two
+other prisoners beamed with joy. "Thanks for him," they cried; "as for
+us, we shall never see Siberia."</p>
+
+<p>I have not yet spoken of the Kalmuck <i>satzas</i>, and the desire we felt to
+become acquainted with them. From the moment we had entered the waste,
+we had never ceased to sweep the horizon in hopes to discover one of
+these mysterious tombs, from which the Kalmucks always keep aloof, in
+order not to profane them by their presence. These satzas are small
+temples erected on purpose to contain the remains of the high priests.
+When one of them dies, his body is burned, and his ashes are deposited
+with great pomp in the mausoleum prepared to receive them, along with a
+quantity of sacred images, which are so many good genii placed there to
+keep watch eternally over the dust of the holy personage.</p>
+
+<p>Before we left Astrakhan, we had taken care to collect all possible
+information respecting these satzas, in order to visit one of them
+during our journey through the steppes, and rifle it, if possible, of
+its contents. But as the religious jealousy of our Kalmucks had hitherto
+prevented us from making any researches of the kind, we determined at
+last to trust to chance for the gratification of our wishes.</p>
+
+<p>It was at one day's journey from Selenoi Sastava that we had for the
+first time the satisfaction of perceiving one of these monuments. Great
+was our delight, notwithstanding the difficulty of approaching it, and
+eluding the keen watch of our camel-drivers; nay, the obstacles in our
+way did but give the more zest to our pleasure. There were precautions
+to be taken, a secret to be kept, and novelty to be enjoyed; all this
+gave enhanced interest to the satza, and delightfully broke the monotony
+that had oppressed us for so many days. All our measures were therefore
+taken with extreme prudence and deliberation. We halted for breakfast at
+a reasonable distance from the satza, so that our camel-drivers might
+not conceive any <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>suspicion; and during the repast Anthony and the
+officer, who had received their instructions from us, took care to say
+that we intended to catch a few white herons before we resumed our
+march. The Kalmucks, being aware of the value we attached to those
+birds, heard the news as a matter of course, and rejoiced at the
+opportunity of indulging in a longer doze.</p>
+
+<p>The satza stood in the midst of the sands, five or six versts from our
+halting-place. To reach it we had to make a long detour, in order to
+deceive the Kalmucks, in case they conceived any suspicion of our
+design. All this was difficult enough, and extremely fatiguing; still I
+insisted on making one in the expedition, and was among the first
+mounted.</p>
+
+<p>After two hours' marching and countermarching over the sands, in a
+tropical temperature that quite dispirited our beasts, we arrived in
+front of the satza, the appearance of which was any thing but
+attractive, and seemed far from deserving the pains we had taken to see
+it. It was a small square building, of a grey colour, with only two
+holes by way of windows. Fancy our consternation when we found that
+there was no door. We all marched round and round the impenetrable
+sanctuary in a state of ludicrous disappointment. Some means or other
+was to be devised for getting in, for the thought of returning without
+satisfying our curiosity never once entered our heads. The removal of
+some stones from one of the windows afforded us a passage, very
+inconvenient indeed, but sufficient.</p>
+
+<p>Like conquerors we entered the satza through a breach, like Mahomet
+entering the capital of the Lower Empire; but we had not thought of the
+standard, which was indispensable for the strict accomplishment of the
+usual ceremonies. Instead thereof, Hommaire had recourse to his silk
+handkerchief, and planting it on the summit of the mausoleum, he took
+possession of it in the name of all present and future travellers.</p>
+
+<p>This ceremony completed, we made a minute inspection of the interior of
+the tomb, but found in it nothing extraordinary: it appeared to be of
+great antiquity. Some idols of baked clay, like those we had seen at
+Prince Tumene's, were ranged along the wall. Several small notches, at
+regular intervals, contained images half decayed by damp. The floor of
+beaten earth, and part of the walls were covered with felt: such were
+the sole decorations we beheld.</p>
+
+<p>Like generous victors we contented ourselves with taking two small
+statues, and a few images. According to the notions of the Kalmucks, no
+sacrilege can compare with that of which we were now guilty. Yet no
+celestial fire reduced us to ashes, and the Grand Llama allowed us to
+return in peace to our escort. But a great vexation befel us, for one of
+the idols was broken by the way, and we had to supplicate the Boukhans
+of the steppe to extend their protection to the other, during the rest
+of the journey.</p>
+
+<p>Anthony and the officer were questioned at great length by the Kalmucks,
+who seemed possessed by some uneasy misgivings. On <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>awaking, they had
+seen us return in the direction that led from the satza, and this
+circumstance had much annoyed them. The display of some game, however,
+with which we had taken care to furnish ourselves, and the peremptory
+tone of the officer, cut short all their observations.</p>
+
+<p>On the day after this memorable adventure, Anthony informed us that
+there was no more bread. The news obliged my husband to suspend his
+scientific operations, and proceed to Selenoi Sastava, from which we
+were distant only thirty-five versts. I cannot express the delight with
+which the Kalmucks and Cossacks again took possession of their camels.
+We need not wonder at any eccentricity of taste when we see men
+preferring the dislocating torture of riding those detestable trotters
+to the fatigue of walking fifteen or twenty versts a day. Hommaire, too,
+did not seem at all dissatisfied at taking his place again in the
+britchka. In short, we were all like a set of schoolboys that had got an
+unexpected holiday.</p>
+
+<p>Before reaching the salt-works, where we intended to ask for
+hospitality, we passed some Kalmuck camps; carts loaded with salt
+appeared in different directions. The desert was assuming a more
+animated aspect, and we were no longer alone between the sky and the
+steppe.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving at Selenoi, we were taken to the house of the sub-inspector
+of the salt-works (the inspector was absent). We found that functionary
+in a most miserable hole, compared with which the hut at Houidouk was a
+palace. We had never seen such horrid deficiency of all needful
+accommodation even among the poorest Russian peasants.</p>
+
+<p>We were received by a little weasel-faced man in a uniform so old and
+tarnished, that neither the colour of the cloth nor the lace was
+distinguishable. His manifestations of bewildered joy&mdash;his volubility
+that savoured almost of insanity&mdash;and his incessant importunity,
+completed our disgust. The house, a heap of ruins, kept from falling by
+a few half-rotten posts, was abominably filthy. We were assigned the
+least dilapidated chamber, but it took more than two hours to clear away
+the clouds of dust raised by Anthony in sweeping it. The windows were
+without frames, the doors were broken, and furniture there was none. How
+we regretted that we had not encamped as usual on the steppe. We tried
+to quit the house, but the lieutenant-colonel (for our host bore that
+title in addition to that of sub-inspector) made such an outcry, that we
+were obliged, whether we would or not, to resign ourselves to his
+singular hospitality. To make up for the want of furniture, we did like
+the Turks, and made a carpet and cushions on the ground serve us for a
+bed and a divan.</p>
+
+<p>Having completed these first arrangements, we proceeded to ask our host
+if he had bread enough to spare us some. Having learned from our escort
+the reason of our coming, he was prepared with his answer. Our presence
+was too great a piece of good luck for a man in his extreme state of
+destitution to allow of our escaping out of his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>hands until he had made
+the most of us. Accordingly, he protested he could not possibly provide
+what we wanted in less than three or four days, and we had every reason
+to think we should be fortunate enough if we got out of his clutches so
+cheaply. The event proved that our suspicions were not unjust, and his
+conduct towards us, his indecorous demands, his cupidity and his thefts
+sufficiently explained the motives of his extravagant delight at our
+arrival.</p>
+
+<p>On the first day of our sojourn with him, tempted by a fine wild goose
+which Anthony had roasted in the tent of his Kalmuck cook, he sent to
+beg permission to dine with us, and presently arrived, holding in his
+hand a plate of paltry crusts dried in the oven, which he presented to
+us as excellent <i>zouckari</i>. During all the time of dinner he diverted us
+exceedingly by his insatiable gluttony and continual babbling: nor was
+it the least amusing part of the performance to see him despatch to his
+own share a half mouldy loaf he had sold us that morning for a ruble and
+a half.</p>
+
+<p>The camel-drivers proceeded, during our stay at Selenoi, to a
+neighbouring camp to get fresh camels instead of their own, which had
+been fatigued by more than a fortnight's marching. They promised to
+return within twenty-four hours, but we did not see them again till two
+days had elapsed, and then in a very sorry plight. According to the
+account given by one of them, who was the first to arrive in great
+tribulation, they had behaved rather roughly to the Kalmucks who were to
+furnish them with the camels, and the latter had retaliated by beating
+them, tieing them hand and foot, and carrying them before one of their
+inspectors, who kept them in confinement until the next day. I never saw
+a more woe-begone set than these unfortunate camel-drivers appeared on
+their return: one of them had his head bandaged, another wore his arm in
+a sling, a third limped, and all had been very roughly handled. This
+adventure, and the gross cupidity of the lieutenant-colonel, were not
+the only things that occurred to amuse or interest us at Selenoi. On the
+third day of our stay, a great number of Kalmuck families suddenly
+arrived in strange disorder, and announced that the Circassians had just
+shown themselves three versts from the salt-works, on the borders of the
+Kouma.</p>
+
+<p>Terrible was the consternation produced by this news. Both Kalmucks and
+Cossacks were terrified at the thought of having the Circassians so near
+them. Our whole escort came and implored us on their knees not to set
+out until something positive was known of the matter. But after many
+inquiries we were satisfied that the alarm was groundless, and we did
+not delay our preparations to depart.</p>
+
+<p>Our host was surely the oddest being this world ever produced. In spite
+of ourselves, he was the sole object of our thoughts every moment in the
+day. Anthony, who had taken no little aversion to him, lost no
+opportunity of informing us of what he called his turpitudes. For
+instance, every morning he was sure to be seen <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>in ambush behind the
+door until our samovar was ready, when he would come in smiling with his
+cup and spoon in his hand, without even waiting for an invitation, seat
+himself at the table, and wash down his zouckaris with three or four
+cups of tea.</p>
+
+<p>One day he begged a few spoonfuls of rum of my husband, for a sick
+person, as he said; but that evening his jollity and the redness of his
+face told us plainly what had become of our liquor. He even found it so
+much to his taste, that he entreated Anthony next day to give him a few
+more spoonfuls on the sly, telling him very seriously that the cat had
+spilled the first cup.</p>
+
+<p>He gave us no peace night or day. Not content with deafening us by his
+incessant babbling, not a word of which we understood, the whim would
+sometimes seize him to sing all the Malorussian airs that came into his
+head. Long after we were in bed one night, we heard him pacing up and
+down the corridor like a sentinel. We tried hard to guess what might be
+the meaning of this new freak; but next day we discovered that it
+proceeded from his excessive vigilance and forethought. He failed not
+himself to tell us, that feeling uneasy at the news that the Circassians
+were abroad, he had kept guard over us with his musket shouldered, and
+that he was ready to perform the same duty every night.</p>
+
+<p>Could we remain untouched by such conduct? Could we refuse such a man
+the parcels of coffee, tea, and sugar he had been so long soliciting
+with looks and hints? Unfortunately his requests followed so close on
+each other, that our gratitude was worn out at last. Anthony was furious
+every time we yielded to his importunities, and ceased not in revenge to
+torment him in a thousand ways.</p>
+
+<p>One day the jealous dragoman, of his own authority, served up dinner an
+hour before the usual time, in order to baffle our host, who accordingly
+did not arrive until we were just quitting the table. I never saw a man
+more disappointed; he stood at the door, not knowing whether to enter or
+not; at last, doomed to forego his dinner, he knew nothing better to do
+in his despair than to go and cudgel his Kalmuck.</p>
+
+<p>On the eve of our departure we learned that he had charged us for the
+bread he sold us more than double the price paid at the barracks. This
+occasioned a very lively altercation between him and Anthony, who was
+delighted to have such an opportunity of speaking out his mind. But the
+honourable functionary was not to be disconcerted by such a trifle;
+after listening with imperturbable coolness to the dragoman's
+reproaches, he replied in a very off-hand manner that the thing was not
+worth talking about, for when people travel, they must make up their
+minds to pay a ducat in most cases for what is not worth more than
+twenty copeks.</p>
+
+<p>He became extremely sulky when he observed our preparations to depart.
+He no longer talked, but contented himself with restlessly watching all
+that was going on in the room; peering at every <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>article of our baggage,
+as if he would look through and through it. Whenever our men carried any
+thing to the carriage, he followed them with angry looks, as if they
+were committing a robbery upon him. At last, on the sixth day after our
+arrival at Selenoi Sastava, we had the pleasure to turn our backs on the
+lieutenant-colonel and his miserable cabin. I doubt if the fear of the
+Circassians would have been able to detain us longer in such a spot.</p>
+
+<p>The dryness of the atmosphere, which had lasted from the time we left
+Houidouk, was succeeded by heavy rain when we reached Selenoi, and this
+was the chief cause of our long stay there. On the day of our departure
+the sky looked rather threatening, notwithstanding which we stepped into
+the carriage with inexpressible delight. I would rather have taken my
+chance of ten deluges in the open steppe, than have spent twenty-four
+hours more in Selenoi; but fortune was pleased to compensate us in some
+degree for our recent vexations by affording us the most agreeable
+weather that travellers could desire. The rain had given the sand a
+pleasant degree of solidity, and had, besides, spread a mild and subdued
+tone over the steppes that was peculiarly agreeable. Autumn was now
+come, with its sharp morning air and its melancholy tints; and
+accustomed as we had been to the scorching reverberation of the
+sunshine, we felt as if an earthly paradise was opening before us. In
+one day more the sky was cleared of its last vapours, and reappeared in
+all its azure purity, streaked only with a few rich and warm-coloured
+clouds, that seemed to take away the aridity of the desert. But the sun
+had lost much of its power, and though it shone down on us without
+obstruction, we reached the sources of the Manitch without being much
+inconvenienced by the heat.</p>
+
+<p>These sources are formed by a depression of about twenty-five versts in
+diameter, towards which converge several small ravines. They were quite
+dry when we arrived at them, and all the vicinity, intercepted by small
+brackish lakes, displayed no kind of vegetation. The total want of water
+and fodder hindered us from proceeding to the Don, as we had intended,
+and my husband was obliged to suspend his levelling operations. It was
+not, of course, without sore regret that he put off the solution of his
+great scientific problem until the following year. Our men were in good
+spirits, our health excellent, and we were by no means prepared to
+expect such an obstacle as that which now stopped us in a course we had
+pursued with such perseverance; but nature commanded, and we were forced
+to obey.</p>
+
+<p>We passed the night near the sources in the midst of a total solitude,
+and early next morning we retraced our steps, and proceeded towards the
+Kouma, distant about seventy-five versts; the men were all mounted again
+on their camels, and seemed well pleased to have no more pedestrian
+labours in prospect; for with all their willingness, they had not been
+able to accustom their limbs to that sort of service. We encamped for
+two nights successively among Kalmucks, for the steppes grew less lonely
+as we departed from our first <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>course. These good people heard the story
+of our journey through their plains with eager curiosity. As soon as
+supper was over they squatted themselves round our kibitka, lending a
+religious attention to the most improbable tales, for our men, who took
+upon them the office of historiographers, paid very little respect to
+truth in their compositions. One of our camel-drivers, especially, had
+been endowed by Heaven with an imagination of extraordinary fecundity.
+It was his peculiar office to amuse the whole escort during the bivouac,
+and when he had to do with a new audience, his captivating eloquence
+attained the utmost limits of possibility, enchanting even those who
+heard him every day.</p>
+
+<p>The last encampment in which we passed the night was one of the most
+considerable we had seen up to that time. The country, indeed, had
+entirely changed its aspect; we had left the dreary sands behind us,
+with the Caspian and the Manitch. An abundant vegetation, and
+undulations of the ground that became more and more decided as we
+proceeded, gladdened the sight, and accounted for the numerous
+encampments we discovered in all directions. Herds of horses, camels,
+and oxen spotted all the surface of the steppe, and bespoke the wealth
+of the hordes to which they belonged. We were not in the least molested
+by the latter. These good Kalmucks were delighted to receive us in their
+tents, and never attempted to steal the least thing from us. Their
+desires and their wants are so very limited! To tame a wild horse, to
+roam from steppe to steppe on their camels, to smoke and drink koumis,
+to shut themselves up in winter in the midst of ashes and smoke, and to
+addict themselves to the superstitious practices of a religion they
+cannot understand,&mdash;such is the whole sum of their lives.</p>
+
+<p>I had the curiosity frequently to enter their kibitkas, but I never saw
+in any of them the dirt I had been told of. The Russian kates are
+infinitely more untidy and squalid that the interiors of these tents.
+Among other visits we made one to the wife of a subaltern chief, and as
+she had been warned of our coming, she was dressed in her best finery.
+She sat with her legs tucked under her on a piece of felt, with a child
+before her, and a servant-woman motionless at her side. She was
+delighted to receive us, and thanked us with much cordiality. We
+complimented her on the neatness and good order of her tent, at which
+she seem gratified in the highest degree.</p>
+
+<p>We remarked with surprise that there was not one priest in all the camps
+we passed through, but we afterwards learned that they were all gone
+northwards to the Sarpa, where there were much finer pastures, and where
+one was not tormented by the myriads of gnats that abound in those
+countries in autumn. We ourselves had much to endure from those terrible
+insects all the way to Vladimirofka, and we were often so annoyed by
+them as to wish ourselves back among the sands of the Manitch.</p>
+
+<p>Even if the want of water had not put a stop to our journey, the state
+of our provisions was such that I hardly know what we <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>could have done.
+Our bacon, rice, coffee, and biscuits had long disappeared; we had
+nothing left but a small stock of tea and sugar, and for the rest we
+were dependent on the hawk, which did wonders daily in supplying the
+deficiencies of our commissariat. Our last repast under the tent
+consisted only of game cooked in all sorts of ways. Anthony, who to his
+functions as dragoman, added those of butler, cook, and scullion, put
+forth all his powers on that occasion: but we had been surfeited with
+game; we had lived upon it so long that the sight of a wild goose was
+enough to give us a fit of indigestion. It was, therefore, with
+exceeding joy that on reaching the house of an inspector of Kalmucks, we
+found ourselves seated at a table covered with vegetables and pastry.</p>
+
+<p>The house of that officer (a very agreeable young Russian who spoke
+Kalmuck like a native) was situated at a little distance from the Kouma
+in a magnificent meadow. For a long while we had beheld no such
+landscape, and though we were still on the verge of the desert, that
+little white house with green window blinds, and the two or three
+handsome trees around it, completely changed the physiognomy of the
+country in our eyes.</p>
+
+<p>The inspector gave us a good deal of information respecting the
+proprietor of Vladimirofka, of whom we had already heard at Astrakhan,
+and he offered to accompany us to the establishment, which was barely
+ten versts distant. It was there we proposed to rest and recruit
+ourselves after the fatigues of our journey, and to take a final leave
+of our escort.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="cen">REVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE KALMUCKS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The account we have given of our journey on the banks of the Volga, and
+the steppes of the Caspian, will have afforded the reader an idea of the
+strange and striking habits of the nomade hordes that wander with their
+flocks over those vast deserts, and worship their Llamite deities with
+all the pomp and fervour of the nations of Thibet. Our historical and
+political sketch will serve as a complement to those primary notions. It
+is by no means our intention, however, to give a complete history of the
+Kalmucks; such a work would be too extensive, and would require too long
+and arduous researches to be compressed within our limits. At present we
+shall only cast a rapid glance over the past history of the great Mongol
+families; we shall dwell principally upon their actual condition, and
+then comparing our own observations with the statements of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>preceding
+writers, we shall try to cast some new light on the history of the
+Asiatic races that occupy the south of Russia.</p>
+
+<p>Pallas and B. Bergmann, the only travellers who have taken pains to
+investigate the history of the Kalmucks in the government of Astrakhan,
+have left us some valuable details respecting their manners and customs,
+and their religion. But Pallas travelled in 1769, and circumstances have
+greatly changed since his day. B. Bergmann visited the Kalmucks in the
+early part of this century, and it is to be regretted that his work,
+which contains such important information respecting the languages and
+the religious books of the Mongols, takes no notice whatever of any
+matter connected with their political administration and organisation.</p>
+
+<p>It is not surprising that so little is yet known of the Kalmuck hordes,
+for excursions through the remote Steppes of the Caspian Sea present
+difficulties and hardships which few travellers can withstand. One must
+unquestionably be impelled by a strong motive, to traverse those immense
+plains which are almost everywhere destitute of fresh water, where one
+often marches 100 leagues without seeing a trace of human life, and
+where the soil, bare of vegetation, offers no other variety than sands
+and brackish lakes. Yet in order to form an exact idea of the
+inhabitants of these deserts, of their character, and ways of life, it
+is necessary to dwell beneath their tents. It is in the vicinity of
+Sarepta that the traveller arriving from the north meets the first
+Kalmuck kibitkas. The camps then stretch away across the Manitch and the
+Kouma towards the foot of the great Caucasian chain. We have explored
+all that extent of country, have visited the remotest parts of the
+steppes, and seen the Kalmucks in an advanced social stage at Prince
+Tumene's, and in a primitive condition beneath their tents. It is thus
+we have been enabled to collect our information respecting the history
+and present condition of this unique people of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>According to the unanimous opinion of all historians, the regions
+adjoining the Altai mountains, and especially those south of that great
+chain, appear to have been from time immemorial the cradle and domain of
+the Mongol tribes. At first divided into two branches, always at war
+with each other, the Mongols were at last united into one great nation
+under the celebrated Genghis Khan, and thus was laid the basis of that
+formidable power which was to invade almost the whole of eastern Europe.
+But after the death of Genghis Khan, the old discord broke out with
+renewed violence, and only ended with the mutual destruction of the two
+great Mongol tribes. The Mongols proper were forced to submit to the
+Chinese, whom they had formerly vanquished, and the four nations that
+formed the D&oelig;rb&oelig;n &OElig;r&oelig;t, scattered themselves over all the
+north of Asia. The Ko&iuml;tes, after long wars, spread over Mongolia and
+Thibet; the Touemmoites or Toummouts settled along the great wall of
+China, where they remain to this day; the Bourga Burates, who already in
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>the time of Genghis Khan inhabited the mountains adjacent to Lake
+Barkal, are now beneath the Russian sceptre; the Eleuthes, the last of
+the four, are better known in Europe and Western Asia under the
+appellation of Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<p>According to ancient national traditions, the greater part of the
+Eleuthes made an expedition westward, and were lost in the Caucasus,
+long before the time of Genghis Khan. It is to that epoch that some
+historians refer the origin of the word Kalmuck, which they derive from
+<i>kalimak</i>, <i>severed</i>, <i>left behind</i>, and they suppose this designation
+was applied to all those Eleuthes who did not accompany their brethren
+westward. According to Bergmann, <i>kalimak</i> signifies likewise
+<i>unbeliever</i>, and this name may very naturally have been given by the
+people of Asia who adhered to the primitive religion, to the Eleuthes,
+when they had become converts to Buddhism. We leave to competent judges
+the task of deciding which is the more rational or probable explanation.</p>
+
+<p>The Eleuthes or Kalmucks allege that they dwelt in old times in the
+countries lying between Koho Noor (Blue Lake) and Thibet. Their division
+into four great tribes, each under an independent prince, dates probably
+from the dissolution of the Mongol power. These tribes, whose remains
+exist to this day, are the Koshotes, Derbetes, Soongars, and Torghouts.
+The Koshotes, whose chiefs consider themselves to be lineally descended
+from a brother of Genghis Khan, were partly destroyed in intestine wars
+with the Torghouts and Soongars, and partly subjugated by China. Only a
+small remnant of them accompanied the Derbetes to the banks of the
+Volga.</p>
+
+<p>The Soongars originally united with the Derbetes, constituted the most
+formidable tribe in Asia, in the beginning of the seventeenth century.
+Their princes, who resided on the river Ily, had then subdued all the
+other Kalmucks; they could bring 60,000 fighting men into the field, and
+the Khirghis and Turkmans paid them tribute. Their pride augmented with
+their success, and a war they undertook against the Chinese Mongols
+became the cause of their downfall. The Soongars were enslaved or
+scattered, and a branch of the Derbetes shared their fate. It was about
+this period that the first emigration of Kalmucks took place into
+Russia; 50,000 Soongar or Torgout families encamped on the banks of the
+Volga, in 1630, and Astrakhan owed its safety only to the death of their
+prince Cho Orlo&euml;k, who was slain in an assault on the town.
+Subsequently, however, about 1665, Daitchink, the son of Cho Orlo&euml;k, was
+forced to acknowledge himself a vassal of the empire, and to swear
+fealty. His example was followed by his son. But this submission was
+merely nominal, and did not at all affect the real independence of the
+Mongol hordes.</p>
+
+<p>The first Kalmuck emigrations towards the west were speedily followed by
+others. The Derbetes and other Torghouts arrived in the steppes of the
+Caspian and Volga to the number of more than <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>10,000 tents. In 1665,
+Aiouki Khan, grandson of Daitchink, an enterprising and ambitious man,
+succeeded, in defiance of Russia, in extending his sway over all the
+Kalmuck tribes. This chief pushed his excursions up to the foot of the
+Caucasus, and being opposed on his march by the Nogais of the Kouban, he
+completely defeated them in a general engagement. The bodies of his
+slain foes were cast by his orders into a pit dug under a great tumulus,
+situated on the field of battle, and still known in the country by the
+name of <i>Bairin Tolkon</i> (Mountain of Joy), bestowed on it by the
+victorious khan in memory of his triumph.</p>
+
+<p>Aiouki's forces then took part in Peter the Great's famous expedition
+against Persia, in which they rendered great services to Russia. The
+Kalmuck prince had a brilliant interview on this occasion with the Tzar.
+Peter received him on board his galley on the Volga, near Saratof, and
+treated him and his wife with all the honours due to sovereigns. Aiouki
+was then at the height of his power, and cared little for the oath of
+allegiance to Russia taken by his predecessors. Peter required 10,000
+men of him, and he furnished 5000. It was about this period that an
+embassy, under the special protection of Russia, arrived from China, by
+way of Siberia, and waited on Aiouki Khan, ostensibly for the purpose of
+treating with him for the restoration of one of his nephews, who was
+detained at the imperial court for reasons unknown to us. But we believe
+that the principal object of the embassy was to keep up political
+relations with the Kalmucks, whom the Chinese government wished to bring
+back under its own sway. Aiouki, following the example of his
+predecessors, had not broken off all communication with the celestial
+empire, and had even sent rich presents to the emperor in 1698. It was,
+therefore, important to cherish this favourable disposition, of which
+the Chinese hoped to avail themselves sooner or later. Of course it is
+not to be supposed that these views were avowed officially; and we
+cannot but wonder at the indifference of the Russian government, or the
+adroitness with which the Chinese availed themselves of the aid of
+Russia herself to compass their ends. But in the various interviews
+between Aiouki and Toulichen, the head of the embassy, the question of
+keeping up an intimacy between the two nations was largely discussed,
+and all necessary measures were arranged to avoid awakening the
+suspicions of Russia, and thus closing the only means of communication
+that lay open to them.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p>
+
+<p>Aiouki reigned about fifty years. After his death, in 1724, the old
+dissensions broke out again among the Kalmucks; Russia made good use of
+the opportunity to break down the independence of the hordes by directly
+interfering in their domestic affairs, and their princes soon became
+subject to the imperial sceptre. Thenceforth the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>dignity of khan was
+conferred only by the Muscovite tzars, and the tribes were put under the
+special control of a Russian commander called a <i>pristof</i>.</p>
+
+<p>After a long series of contests and intrigues, Dondouk Ombo, the
+son-in-law of Aiouki, was named khan, to the prejudice of Aiouki's
+grandson. Under this prince internal peace was restored among the
+hordes, and the Kalmucks did good service to Russia in the campaigns
+against the Noga&iuml;s, and other inhabitants of the Kouban. But quarrels
+broke out again on the death of Dondouk Ombo in 1741. His children, who
+were minors, were set aside, and his ambitious and intriguing widow
+contrived to have Dondouk Dachi, her youngest brother, and grandson of
+the celebrated Aiouki, declared vice-khan. The new chief was entirely
+devoted to Russia, and his submissiveness was rewarded after the lapse
+of fifteen years by promotion to the rank of khan; but he enjoyed that
+dignity only four years. His son Oubacha succeeded him as vice-khan in
+January, 1761.</p>
+
+<p>In Oubacha's reign new hordes arrived in Europe, and the Kalmucks were
+reinforced by 10,000 tents, commanded by Chereng Taidchi. The various
+tribes, which consisted of more than 80,000 families, and possessed
+innumerable herds of cattle, extended at that time from the shores of
+the Ja&iuml;k to the Don, and from Zaritzin, on the Volga, to the foot of the
+northern slopes of the Caucasus. Oubacha paid no tribute to Russia; he
+was regarded rather as an ally than a vassal, and was only required to
+supply cavalry to the imperial armies in time of war.</p>
+
+<p>Oubacha vigorously seconded the Russians in their expedition against the
+Turks and Noga&iuml;s. His army amounted to 30,000 horse, and one of its
+detachments figured even in the celebrated siege of Otchakof. It was on
+the return of the Kalmucks from these campaigns that their celebrated
+emigration took place, when nearly half a million of men, women, and
+children, headed by their prince, quitted the banks of the Volga with
+their cattle, and set out across the most arid regions in quest of their
+old country.</p>
+
+<p>The flight of the Kalmucks has been variously explained. B. Bergmann
+attributes it solely to the vindictiveness of Zebeck Dorchi, a relation
+of Oubacha's, who had been frustrated in his attempt to raise himself to
+sovereign power. After fruitless attempts at the court of the Empress
+Elizabeth, he had nevertheless been named first <i>sargatchi</i>, or
+councillor at the court of his rival. The imperial government hoped by
+this means to curb the ambition of Oubacha, whose power it had abridged
+in 1761, by deciding that the sargatchis, or members of the khan's
+council, should be attached to the ministry of foreign affairs, with an
+annual salary of 100 rubles. According to Bergmann, Zebeck Dorchi made
+no account of his new dignity, and unable to forgive Russia for not
+having favoured his pretensions, he joined the hordes with a full
+determination to take signal vengeance. He would induce the Kalmucks to
+go over to China, and thus deprive <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>the empire of more than 500,000
+subjects, and the army of the greater part of its best cavalry, and make
+all the neighbouring towns feel severely the loss of their cattle. Such,
+according to Bergmann, was Zebeck Dorchi's project, to realise which he
+counted solely on the natural fickleness of the Kalmucks, and his own
+active intrigues. This was certainly a very extraordinary scheme of
+vengeance, and one we can hardly credit, notwithstanding Bergmann's
+assertions. Zebeck Dorchi's aim being to secure the supreme power, it
+would have been folly for him to choose such means. It would have been
+much more to the purpose to have informed against Oubacha at the moment
+when the latter was making his arrangements for quitting Russia. Such a
+service would have had its reward, and the informer would undoubtedly
+have supplanted his rival. This whole explanation of the affair given by
+Bergmann, rests on no one positive fact, and can only have been devised
+by a man writing under Russian influence, and consequently forced to
+disguise the truth.</p>
+
+<p>At the period of the Kalmuck emigration Catherine II. filled the throne,
+and the Russian government was beginning to adopt those principles of
+uniformity which so highly characterise its present policy. Moreover, it
+was really impossible to allow that the whole southern portion of the
+empire should be given up to turbulent hordes, which, though nominally
+subjected to the crown, still indulged their propensity to pillage
+without scruple. Placed as they were between the central and the
+southern provinces, and occupying almost all the approaches to the
+Caucasus, the Kalmucks were destined, of necessity, to lose their
+independence, and fall beneath the immediate yoke of Russia. Catherine's
+intentions were soon no secret, and Oubacha saw that he must escape by
+flight from the encroachments of his powerful neighbours, if he would
+save what remained to him of the primitive authority of the khans. If we
+reflect, moreover, that the power of the Kalmuck princes had been
+considerably abridged by the new organisation of their administrative
+council; that Colonel Kitchinskoi, then grand pristof, had excited the
+general indignation of the tribes by his harsh conduct; that the
+political and military exigencies of Russia were continually on the
+increase; we shall have no difficulty in comprehending the real causes
+of the emigration of these Mongol tribes. Certainly it required all
+these combined motives to induce the Kalmucks to undertake such a
+journey through desert regions, the inhabitants of which were their
+natural enemies. Nevertheless, we believe the Chinese government was not
+altogether unconcerned in bringing about Oubacha's determination; for,
+as we shall see by and by, the emperor had already, in Aiouki's time,
+sent the mandarin Toulischin to the Kalmucks, to assure them of his
+protection, in case they would return to their native country.<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>It was on the 5th of January, 1771, the day appointed by the high
+priests, that Oubacha began his march, with 70,000 families. Most of the
+hordes were then assembled in the steppes on the left bank of the Volga,
+and the whole multitude followed him. Only 15,000 families remained in
+Russia, because the Volga remained unfrozen to an unusual late period,
+and prevented them from crossing over to the rendezvous. Oubacha
+arrived, without impediment, beyond the Ja&iuml;k, but was afterwards
+vigorously assailed by the Cossacks of the Ural and the Khirghis, and
+lost many men. After two months' marching, the exhausted hordes encamped
+on the Irguitch, which falls into Lake Aksakal, to the north of the sea
+of Aral. Next they had to cross the frightful desert of Chareh Ousoun,
+where they were exposed to all the torments of thirst, and suffered
+indescribable disasters; after which they arrived at Lake Palkache Nor,
+where many of them fell in a last encounter with the Khirghis. Oubacha
+then forced a passage through the country of the Burats, and at last
+reached China, after a march of eight months. Strange to say, the
+Muscovite government took no energetic means to arrest the fugitives,
+and detain them in Russia. General Traubenberg, indeed, who was in
+command at Orenberg, was sent in pursuit of them, but failed totally,
+whether from incapacity or otherwise. Thus was accomplished the most
+extraordinary emigration of modern times; the empire was suddenly
+deprived of a pastoral and warlike people, whose habits accorded so well
+with the Caspian steppes, and the regions in which many thousand
+families had fed their innumerable flocks and herds for a long series of
+years, were left desolate and unpeopled.</p>
+
+<p>We will now extract that portion of the Memoirs of the Jesuits, Vol. I.,
+in which Father Amiot recounts the arrival of the Kalmucks in China,
+dated Pekin, November 8th, 1772. I copy this curious document from
+Father Amiot's original manuscript.<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p>
+
+<p>"In the thirty-sixth year of Kien Long, that is to say, in the year of
+Jesus Christ, 1771, all the Tatars<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> composing the nation of the
+Torgouths<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> arrived, after encountering a thousand perils, in the
+plains watered by the Ily, entreating the favour to be admitted among
+the vassals of the great Chinese empire. By their own <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>account, they
+have abandoned for ever, and without regret, the sterile banks of the
+Volga and the Ja&iuml;k, along which the Russians had formerly allowed them
+to settle, near where the two rivers empty themselves into the Caspian.
+They have abandoned them, they say, <i>to come and admire more closely the
+brilliant lustre of the heavens, and at last to enjoy, like so many
+others, the happiness of having henceforth for master the greatest
+prince in the world</i>. Notwithstanding the many battles in which they
+have been obliged to engage, defensively or offensively, with those
+through whose country they had to pass, and at whose expense they were
+necessarily compelled to live; notwithstanding the depredations
+committed on them by the vagrant Tatars, who repeatedly attacked and
+plundered them on their march; notwithstanding the enormous fatigues
+endured by them in traversing more than 10,000 leagues, through one of
+the most difficult countries; notwithstanding hunger, thirst, misery,
+and an almost general scarcity of common necessaries, to which they were
+exposed during their eight months' journey, their numbers still amounted
+to 50,000 families when they arrived, and these 50,000 families, to use
+the language of the country, counted 300,000 mouths, without sensible
+error. Among the Russians carried off by them at their departure, were
+100 soldiers, at the head of whom was a Monsieur Dudin, Doudin, or
+Toutim,<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> as the name is pronounced here. This name is probably not
+unknown in our part of the world. It is not at all like the common
+Russian names. Is it not that of some expatriated Frenchman, who had
+found employment among the Russians? Be this as it may, had this officer
+been still alive in last August, when the emperor gave evidence to the
+Torgouth princes whom he had summoned to G&eacute; Ho, where he was enjoying
+the pleasures of the chase, he would certainly have been sent back with
+honour to Muscovy. His majesty did not disdain to inquire personally as
+to this fact. 'Is it true,' said he to one of the chiefs of the nation,
+'that before your departure you plundered the possessions of the
+Russians, and carried off one of their officers and 100 of their
+soldiers?' 'We did so,' replied the Torgouth prince, 'and could not help
+doing so, under the circumstances in which we were placed. As for the
+Russian officer and his 100 and odd soldiers, there is every reason to
+think that they all perished by the way. I remember that when the
+division was made, eight of them fell to me. I will inquire of my people
+whether any of these Russians are still alive, and if so, I will send
+them to your majesty immediately on my return to Ily.'</p>
+
+<p>"This year, 1772, the thirty-seventh of the reign of Kien Long, those of
+the Eleuths who were formerly dispersed over the vast <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>regions known by
+the general name of Tartary, some hordes of Pourouths, and the rest of
+the nation of the Torgouths, came like the others, and voluntarily
+submitted to a yoke which no one sought to impose on them. They were in
+number 30,000 families, which, added to the 50,000 of the preceding
+year, make a total of 480,000 mouths, who will unite their voices with
+those of the other subjects of the empire in proclaiming the marvels of
+one of the most glorious reigns that has been since the foundation of
+the monarchy.</p>
+
+<p>"So extraordinary and unexpected an event, happening when the empress
+mother's eighty-sixth year was celebrated here with a pomp becoming all
+the majesty of him who gives law to this empire, has been regarded by
+the emperor as an infallible mark of the goodness of that supreme
+heaven, of which he calls himself the son, and from which he glories in
+having unceasingly received the most signal favours since his accession
+to the throne: it is in this spirit he has caused the fact to be
+enrolled in the private archives of his nation, archives which, in the
+course of ages, will, perhaps, contrast in many points with those which
+will be published by the Chinese historians, and with those, too, which
+some neighbouring nations may publish with reference to the same facts.
+The latter will, perhaps, impute political views and man&oelig;uvres which
+have had no existence, whilst the former, in spite of certain
+appearances which may suggest the probability of intrigues and
+negotiations practised for the accomplishment of a preconcerted design,
+nevertheless state nothing but the truth, which will be somewhat hard to
+believe. If the testimony of a contemporary, and, as it were, ocular
+witness, who has no prejudice or interest in the matter, were necessary
+to establish that the fact I am about to speak of is among the number of
+those which are true in all circumstances, I would freely give it
+without fearing that any man, of the least information, could ever
+accuse me of error or partiality. Be this as it may, until such time as
+history shall acquaint posterity with an event which he regards as one
+of the most glorious of his reign, the emperor has caused the statement
+and the date to be inscribed on stone in four languages spoken by the
+various nations subject to him, viz., the Mantchous, Mongols, Torgouths,
+and Chinese. This lapidary monument is to be erected at Ily before the
+eyes of the Torgouths, that it may be seen by all those nations I have
+named. Having had an opportunity of procuring a copy from the original,
+taken by one of those who were employed in making the Mantchou
+inscription, I have ventured to translate it. It would doubtless be very
+acceptable even as a literary specimen, had I been able to preserve in
+our language that noble simplicity, that energy and precision, which the
+emperor has given it in his own tongue. Its contents are nearly as
+follows:</p>
+
+<p>"'<i>Records of the transmigration of the Torgouths, who voluntarily, and
+of their own full accord, came bodily as a nation, and submitted
+themselves to the empire of China.</i></p>
+
+<p>"'Those who, after having revolted, reflecting uneasily on a crime
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>which they cannot yet be made to expiate, but for which they see full
+well that they will be punished sooner or later, beg permission to
+return beneath the yoke of obedience, are men who submit through fear;
+they are constrained subjects; those who having the option to undergo
+the yoke or not, yet come and submit themselves to it voluntarily, and
+of their own full accord, even when there is no thought of imposing it
+upon them, are men who have submitted only because such is their
+pleasure; they are subjects who have freely given themselves to him whom
+they have chosen to govern them.</p>
+
+<p>"'All those who now compose the nation of the Torgouths, undismayed by
+the dangers of a long and toilsome journey, filled with the sole desire
+of procuring for the future a better manner of life and a happier lot,
+have abandoned the places where they dwelt far beyond our frontier, have
+traversed with unshakable courage a space of more than ten thousand
+leagues, and have ranged themselves, of their own accord, among the
+number of my subjects. Their submission to me is not a submission
+inspired by fear, but a voluntary and free submission, if ever such
+there was.</p>
+
+<p>"'After having pacified the western frontiers of my dominions, I caused
+the lands of my domain which are on the Ily to be put under tillage, and
+I diminished the tribute heretofore imposed on the neighbouring
+Mahometans. I enacted that the Hasacks and the Pourouths should together
+form the external limits of the empire on that side, and should be
+governed on the footing of the foreign hordes. As regards the nations of
+the Antchiyen and the Badakchan, as they are still more remote, I
+determined to leave them free to pay or not to pay tribute.</p>
+
+<p>"'No one needs blush when he can limit his desires; no one has occasion
+to fear when he knows how to desist in due time. Such are the sentiments
+that actuate me. In all places under heaven, to the remotest corners
+beyond the sea, there are men who obey under the names of slaves or
+subjects. Shall I persuade myself that they are all submitted to me, and
+that they own themselves my vassals? Far from me be so chimerical a
+pretension. What I persuade myself, and what is strictly true, is that
+the Torgouths, without any interference on my part, have come of their
+own full accord to live henceforth under my laws. Heaven has, no doubt,
+inspired them with this design; they have only obeyed Heaven in putting
+it in force. I should do wrong not to commemorate this event in an
+authentic monument.</p>
+
+<p>"'The Torgouths are a branch of the Eleuths. Four branches formerly
+constituted the entire nation of the Tchong Kars.<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> It would be
+difficult to explain their common origin, respecting which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>moreover
+nothing very certain is known. These four branches separated, and each
+formed a distinct nation. That of the Eleuths, the chief of them all,
+gradually subdued the others, and continued until the time of Kang Hi,
+to exercise over them the pre-eminence it had usurped. Ts&eacute; Ouang Raptan
+then reigned over the Eleuths, and Aiouki over the Torgouths. These two
+leaders, at variance with each other, had disputes, to which Aiouki, the
+weaker of the two, feared he should be the unhappy victim. He conceived
+the design of withdrawing for ever from beneath the sway of the
+Eleuths.<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> He took secret measures to secure the flight he meditated,
+and escaped with all his followers to the lands under the sway of the
+Russians, who permitted him to settle in the country of Etchil.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p>
+
+<p>"'Cheng Tsou Jin Hoang Ty, my grandfather, wishing to be informed of the
+true reasons that had induced Aiouki thus to expatriate himself, sent
+him the mandarin Toulichen<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> and some others to assure him of his
+protection in case he desired to return to the country where he had
+formerly dwelt. The Russians, to whom Toulichen was ordered to apply for
+permission to pass through their country, granted it without difficulty;
+but as they gave him no information as to what he was in quest of, it
+took him three years and some months to fulfil his commission. It was
+not until after his return that the desired information respecting
+Aiouki and his people was at last possessed.</p>
+
+<p>"'Oubacha, who is now khan of the Torgouths, is great grandson of
+Aiouki. The Russians, never ceasing to require soldiers of him to be
+incorporated in their troops, having at last taken his own son from him
+as a hostage, and being besides of a different religion from himself,
+and making no account of that of the Lamas which the Torgouths profess,
+Oubacha and his people finally determined to shake off a yoke which was
+daily becoming more and more insupportable.</p>
+
+<p>"'After having secretly deliberated among themselves, they resolved to
+quit an abode where they had to suffer so much, and come and dwell in
+the countries subject to China, where the religion of Fo is professed.</p>
+
+<p>"'In the beginning of the eleventh moon of last year, they began their
+march with their women and children and all their baggage, traversed the
+country of the Hasacks, passed along the shores of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>Lake Palkache Nor
+and through the adjoining deserts; and towards the close of the sixth
+moon of this year, after having completed more than 10,000 leagues in
+the eight months of their wayfaring, they at last arrived on the
+frontiers of Chara Pen, not far from the banks of the Ily. I was already
+aware that the Torgouths were on their march to submit themselves to me,
+the news having been brought me shortly after their departure from
+Etchil. I then reflected that Iletou, general of the troops at Ily,
+having already been charged with other very important affairs, it was to
+be feared that he could not regulate those of the new comers with all
+the requisite attention.</p>
+
+<p>"'Chouh&eacute;d&eacute;, one of the general's councillors, was at Ouch&eacute;, employed in
+maintaining order among the Mahometans. As he was at hand to attend to
+the Torgouths, I ordered him to repair to Ily, that he might use his
+best efforts to establish them solidly.</p>
+
+<p>"'Those who fancy they see danger everywhere, failed not to make their
+representations to me on this matter. 'Among those who are come to make
+their submission,' said they, with one voice, 'is the perfidious
+Chereng. That traitor, after having deceived Tangalou, put him to death
+miserably, and took refuge among the Russians. He who has once deceived
+may do so again. Let us beware; we cannot be too much on our guard. To
+give welcome to one who comes of his own accord to make submission, is
+to give reception to an enemy.' Upon these representations I conceived
+some distrust, and gave orders that some preparations should be made to
+meet every contingency. I reflected, however, with all the maturity
+required by an affair of such importance, and my reiterated reflections
+at last convinced me that what I was told to fear could not possibly
+come to pass. Could Chereng alone have been able to persuade a whole
+nation? Could he have put Oubacha and all the Torgouths, his subjects,
+in motion? What likelihood is there that so many men would willingly
+have inconvenienced themselves to follow a private individual&mdash;would
+have entered into his views&mdash;and run the risk of perishing of hunger and
+wretchedness with him? Besides this, the Russians, from whose sway they
+have ventured to withdraw themselves, are like myself, masters of a
+great realm. If the Torgouths were come with the intention of insulting
+my frontiers, and settling there by force, could they hope that I would
+leave them undisturbed there? Can they have persuaded themselves that I
+would not stir to expel them? And if they are expelled, whither can they
+retire? Can they dare to hope that the Russians, whom they have treated
+with ingratitude in abandoning them as they have done, will condescend
+to receive them back with impunity, and allow them to resume possession
+of the ground they accorded to them formerly? Had the Torgouths been
+actuated by any other motive than that of wishing to submit sincerely to
+me, they would be without support on either side; they would be between
+two fires. Of ten arguments for and against, there are nine to show that
+there is nothing in their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>proceeding to excite suspicion. Among these
+ten arguments is there one tending to prove that they entertain any
+secret views? If so, the future will unmask them, and then I will act as
+circumstances shall require. What was to happen at the time I made these
+reflections, has happened at last. It has proved the accuracy of my
+reasoning, and exactly verified what I had predicted.</p>
+
+<p>"'Nevertheless I neglected none of the precautions that seemed to me
+necessary. I ordered Chouh&eacute;d&eacute; to erect forts and redoubts in the most
+important places, and have all the passes strictly guarded. I enjoined
+him to exert himself personally in procuring necessary provisions of all
+kinds in the interior, whilst fit persons, carefully chosen by him,
+should make every arrangement for securing quiet without.</p>
+
+<p>"'The Torgouths arrived; and at once found lodging, food, and all the
+conveniences they could have enjoyed each in his own dwelling. Nor was
+this all; the principal men among them, who were to come in person and
+pay homage to me, were conducted with honour and free of expense by the
+imperial post-roads to the place where I then was. I saw them, spoke to
+them, and was pleased that they should enjoy the pleasures of the chase
+with me; and after the days allotted to that recreation were ended, they
+repaired in my suite to Ge Ho. There I gave them the banquet of
+ceremony, and made them the ordinary presents with the same pomp and
+state as I am accustomed to employ when I give solemn audience to
+Tchering and the chiefs of the Tourbeths (<i>the Derbetes of the
+Russians</i>), of whom he is the leader.</p>
+
+<p>"'It was at Ge Ho, in those charming scenes where Kang Hi, my
+grandfather, made himself an abode to which he might retire during the
+hot season, and at the same time put himself in a position to watch more
+closely over the welfare of the people beyond the western frontiers of
+the empire; it was, I say, in that delightful spot, that having
+conquered the whole of the country of the Eleuths, I received the
+sincere homage of Tchering and his Tourbeths, who alone among the
+Eleuths, had remained true to me. It is not necessary to go back many
+years to reach the term of that epoch; the memory of it is still quite
+recent.</p>
+
+<p>"'Who would have said it! When I had the least reason to expect it&mdash;when
+I was not even thinking of it&mdash;that branch of the Eleuths which had been
+the first to separate from the trunk, the Torgouths who had voluntarily
+expatriated themselves to live under an alien and remote dominion, those
+very Torgouths came of themselves and submitted to me of their own free
+will; and it was at Ge Ho, near the venerable spot where rest the ashes
+of my grandfather, that I had the unsought opportunity of solemnly
+admitting them among the number of my subjects.</p>
+
+<p>"'Now, indeed, it may be said, without fear of overstepping the truth,
+that the whole nation of the Mongols is subject to our dynasty of Tay
+Tsing, since it is from it in fact that all the hordes composing <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>it now
+receive laws. My august grandfather conjectured this result; he foresaw
+that it would happen one day; what would have been his delight to know
+that that day was actually come!</p>
+
+<p>"'It is under the reign of my humble person that the conjectures of that
+great prince are realised, and what he had foreseen is fully
+accomplished. What token can I give him of gratitude proportioned to
+what I owe him! What profound homage, what respectful sentiments can
+clear my account with Heaven for the constant protection with which it
+deigns to honour me! I tremble under the apprehension of not bearing
+sufficiently at heart those obligations with which I ought to be wholly
+filled, or of not being sufficiently attentive to fulfil them entirely.
+After all I have no thought of imputing to my own virtue and merits the
+voluntary submission, or the arrival of the Torgouths in my dominions. I
+will strive to behave, in this respect, as well as I possibly can. No
+sooner were the Torgouths arrived than the representations began anew.
+'These people,' I was told 'are rebels who have withdrawn from the sway
+of the Russians; we are not free to receive them. It is to be feared
+that if we gave them a favourable reception it would occasion
+animosities and some troubles on our frontiers.' 'Let not that alarm
+you,' I replied. 'Chereng was formerly my subject; he revolted and took
+refuge among the Russians, and they received him. Repeatedly did I
+request them to give him up to me, but they would not. And now Chereng,
+acknowledging his fault, comes and surrenders voluntarily. What I here
+say, I have already said to the Russians in the fullest detail, and I
+have completely reduced them to silence.'</p>
+
+<p>"'What! was it to be supposed that for considerations no way binding
+upon me, I should have suffered so many thousand human beings to perish,
+after they had arrived on the verge of our frontiers almost half dead
+with wretchedness and famine! 'But,' it was objected, 'they have
+plundered by the way; they have carried off provisions and cattle.' And
+suppose they have, how could they have preserved their lives without
+doing so? Who would have supplied them with the means of existence?
+'Watch so well,' says an old Chinese proverb, 'that you may never be
+surprised; keep such careful guard that perfect security may reign even
+in your deserts.'</p>
+
+<p>"'With regard to the Ily country where I have allowed them to take up
+their abode, though I have very recently caused a town to be built
+there, that place is not yet strong enough to protect the frontiers in
+that direction, and hinder the brigands from continuing to insult them.
+Those who inhabit the country are employed only in tilling the ground
+and feeding cattle. How could they protect themselves? How could they
+secure the peace of those deserts? General Iletou being informed of the
+approach of the Torgouths, failed not to acquaint me with the fact. If
+through fear of the uncertain future, or considerations unsuited to the
+circumstances of the case, I had determined to have the border strictly
+guarded, and to have a stop put to the march of the Torgouths, what
+should I <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>have gained thereby? Driven to despair, would they not have
+rushed into the most violent excesses? An ordinary private individual
+would be justly stigmatised as inhuman, were he to behold strangers from
+a far country exhausted with fatigue, bowed down by wretchedness, and
+ready to breathe out their last gasp, and not take the trouble to
+succour them; and shall a great prince, whose first duty it is to try to
+imitate Heaven in his manner of governing men, shall he leave a whole
+nation that implores his clemency to perish for want of aid? Far from us
+be such vile thoughts! farther still be conduct conformable to them! No,
+we will never adopt such cruel sentiments. The Torgouths came, I
+received them; they wanted even the commonest necessaries of life; I
+provided them with every thing abundantly; I opened for them my
+granaries and my coffers, my stalls and my studs. Out of the former I
+bestowed on them what was requisite for their present wants; from the
+latter I desired that they should be supplied with the means of
+providing for themselves in time to come. I intrusted the management of
+this important affair to those of my grandees whose disinterestedness
+and enlightenment were already known to me. I hope and trust that every
+thing will be done to the entire satisfaction of the Torgouths. It is
+needless to say more in this place. My intention has only been to give a
+summary of what has come to pass."<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a></p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> "Narrative of the Chinese Embassy to the Khan of Torgouth
+Tartars, in the years 1712, '13, '14 and '15, by the Chinese Ambassador,
+and published by the emperor's authority at Pekin." London. I am
+indebted to the kindness of Baron Walckenaer for an acquaintance with
+this work.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> The flight of the Kalmucks has also been attributed to
+Prince Chereng Taidchi, of whom mention has been made above. This
+version of the matter seems to us improbable. Chereng had left China as
+an outlaw, and it is not to be supposed that he was favourable to the
+emigration, notwithstanding the impatience with which he endured the
+yoke of Russia. It appears, on the contrary, that he never ceased to
+protest against the resolution adopted by Oubacha.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> The MS. belongs to M. Ternaux Compans, who has obligingly
+placed at my disposal all the rich stores of his valuable library.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Here again we see that the Chinese give the name of Tatars
+to the Mongols, which confirms our opinion, that the denomination we
+give to the Mussulman subjects of Southern Russia is incorrect. We have
+substituted Tatar for the word Tartar in the MS.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> The Chinese doubtless adopted the name Torgouth, because
+the fugitive Kalmucks consisted, in a great measure, of that tribe. The
+Kalmucks that remained in Russia are almost all Derbetes and Koschoots.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Russian documents confirm the fact, that a captain of this
+name commanding a Russian detachment was carried off by the fugitive
+Kalmucks.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> There is here, evidently, a confusion of names. The
+Soongars, or Tchong-Kars, as the Chinese call them, are a branch of the
+Eleuths, and are the very nation who played the important part here
+attributed to the Eleuths in general.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> This assertion seems totally erroneous. The Torgouths
+arrived in Russia in 1630, and Aiouki was not raised to the dignity of
+khan until 1675; he could not, therefore, have acted the part here
+ascribed to him. The relation of the Chinese embassy to Aiouki
+(1712-1715) likewise confirms in all points the inaccuracy of the
+Emperor Kien Long's historical version. At that period China was a
+country almost unknown to the Kalmucks, and Aiouki, in all his
+conferences with the ambassadors, was continually asking for information
+of all kinds respecting the celestial empire.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> The part of southern Russia comprised between the Volga
+and the Ja&iuml;k. The Tatars also gave the name of Etchil to the Volga.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> Here the emperor's words are altogether at variance with
+the report of the Chinese embassy, of which Toulischin was the leader.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">THE KALMUCKS AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF OUBACHA&mdash;DIVISION OF THE
+HORDES, LIMITS OF THEIR TERRITORY&mdash;THE TURKOMAN AND TATAR
+TRIBES IN THE GOVERNMENTS OF ASTRAKHAN AND THE
+CAUCASUS&mdash;CHRISTIAN KALMUCKS&mdash;AGRICULTURAL
+ATTEMPTS&mdash;PHYSICAL, SOCIAL, AND MORAL, CHARACTERISTICS OF
+THE KALMUCKS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>After the departure of Oubacha, the Kalmucks that remained in Russia
+were deprived of their special jurisdiction, and for more than thirty
+years had neither khan nor vice-khan. It was not until 1802, that the
+Emperor Paul, in one of his inexplicable caprices, thought fit to
+re-establish the office of vice-khan, and bestowed it on Prince
+Tchoutchei, an influential Kalmuck of the race of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>Derbetes. The
+administration of the hordes, which had been under the control of the
+governor of Astrakhan since 1771, was again made independent, the
+functions of the Russian pristofs were limited, and they could no longer
+abuse their power so much as they had done. But upon the death of
+Tchoutchei, the Kalmucks again came under the Russian laws and
+tribunals; they lost all their privileges irrevocably, and the
+sovereignty of the khans and of the vice-khans disappeared for ever.</p>
+
+<p>The complete subjection of the Kalmucks was not, however, effected
+without some difficulty. Discontent prevailed among them in the highest
+degree, but their attempts at revolt were all fruitless. Hemmed in on
+all sides by lines of Cossacks, the tribes were constrained to accept
+the Russian sway in all its extent. The only remarkable incident of
+their last struggles was a partial emigration into the Cossack country.
+This insubordination excited the tzar's utmost wrath, and he despatched
+an extraordinary courier to Astrakhan, with orders to arrest the high
+priest and the principal chiefs of the hordes, and send them to St.
+Petersburg. Before leaving Astrakhan, these two Kalmucks engaged a
+certain Maximof to act as their interpreter, and plead their cause
+before the emperor.</p>
+
+<p>But when the two captives arrived in St. Petersburg, the emperor's fit
+of anger was quite over; they were received extremely well, and instead
+of being chastised, they returned to the steppes invested with a new
+Russian dignity. They took leave publicly of the tzar, and this audience
+was turned to good account by their interpreter. In presenting their
+thanks to his majesty, that very clever person, knowing he ran no risk
+of being contradicted, made Paul believe that the Kalmucks earnestly
+entreated that his imperial majesty would grant him, also, an honorary
+grade in recompense for his good services. The tzar was taken in by the
+trick, and Maximof quitted the court with the title of major. The man
+still lived in Astrakhan when we visited the town, and did not hesitate
+to tell us the story with his own lips.</p>
+
+<p>Though entirely subjected to the Russian laws, the Kalmucks have an
+administrative committee, which is occupied exclusively with their
+affairs. It resides in Astrakhan, and consists of a president, two
+Russian judges, and two Kalmuck deputies. The latter, of course, are
+appointed only for form sake, and have no influence over the decisions
+of the council. The president of the committee is what the Russians call
+the curator-general of the Kalmucks. In 1840, this post had been filled
+for many years by M. Fadiew, a man of integrity and capacity, and the
+tribes owed to his wise administration a state of tranquillity they had
+not enjoyed for a long while.</p>
+
+<p>To each camp there is also attached a superintendent, called a pristof,
+with some Cossacks under his orders. All matters of litigation are
+decided in accordance with the Russian code, but criminal cases are
+extremely rare, owing to the pacific character of the Kalmucks, and the
+interposition of their chiefs.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>The Kalmuck hordes are divided into two great classes, those belonging
+respectively to princes and to the crown; but all are amenable to the
+same laws and the same tribunals. The former pay a tax of twenty-five
+rubles to their princes, who have the right of taking from among them
+all the persons they require for their domestic service, and they are
+bound to maintain a police and good order within their camp. Every
+chief, has, at his command, several subaltern chiefs called <i>zaizans</i>,
+who have the immediate superintendence of 100 or 150 tents. Their office
+is nearly hereditary. He who fills it enjoys the title of prince, but
+this is not shared by the other members of his family. The zaizans are
+entitled to a contribution of two rubles from every kibitka under their
+command.</p>
+
+<p>The hordes of the crown come under more direct Russian surveillance.
+They paid no tax at first, and were bound to military service in the
+same way as the Cossacks; but they have been exempted from it since
+1836, and now pay merely a tax of twenty-five rubles for each family.
+The princely hordes, likewise, used to supply troops for the frontier
+service; but this was changed in 1825, and since then the Kalmucks have
+been free from all military service, and pay only twenty-five rubles per
+tent to their princes, and 2.50 to the crown.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the two great divisions we have just mentioned, the Kalmucks are
+also distinguished into various <i>oulousses</i>, or hordes, belonging to
+sundry princes. Each <i>oulousse</i> has its own camping-ground for summer
+and winter.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmuck territory has been considerably reduced since the departure
+of Oubacha; it now comprises but a small extent of country on the left
+bank of the Volga, and the Khirghis of the inner horde now occupy the
+steppes between the Ural and the Volga. The present limits of European
+Kalmuckia are to the north and east, the Volga as far as latitude 48
+deg.; a line drawn from that point to the mouths of the Volga, parallel
+with the course of the river, and at a distance from it of about forty
+miles; and, lastly, the Caspian Sea as far as the Kouma. On the south,
+the boundary is the Kouma and a line drawn from that river, below
+Vladimirofka, to the upper part of the course of the Kougoultcha. The
+Egorlik, and a line passing through the sources of the different rivers
+that fall into the Don, form the frontiers on the west.</p>
+
+<p>The whole portion of the steppes included between the Volga, the
+frontiers of the government of Saratof and the country of the Don
+Cossacks, and the 46th degree of north latitude, forms the summer
+camping-ground of the following oulousses: Karakousofsky, Iandikofsky,
+Great Derbet, belonging to Prince Otshir Kapshukof; Little Derbet,
+belonging to Prince Tondoudof, and Ikytsokourofsky, which is now without
+a proprietor; its prince having died childless, it is not known who is
+to have his inheritance.</p>
+
+<p>The whole territory comprises about 4,105,424 hectares of land; 40,000
+were detached from it in 1838 by Prince Tondoudof, and presented to the
+Cossacks, in return for which act of generosity the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>crown conferred on
+him the rank of captain. He gave a splendid ball on the occasion at
+Astrakhan, which cost upwards of 15,000 rubles. We saw him in that town
+at the governor's soir&eacute;es, where he made a very poor figure; yet he is
+the richest of all the Kalmuck princes, for he possesses 4500 tents, and
+his income amounts, it is said, to more than 200,000 rubles.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks occupy in all 10,297,587 hectares of land, of which
+8,599,415 are in the government of Astrakhan, and 1,598,172 in that of
+the Caucasus. These figures which cannot be expected to be
+mathematically exact, are the result of my own observations, and of the
+assertions of the Kalmucks, compared with some surveys made by order of
+the administrative committee.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the Kalmucks, the only legitimate proprietors of the soil, other
+nomades also intrude upon these steppes. Such are the Turcomans, called
+Troushmens by the Russians. They have their own lands in the government
+of the Caucasus, between the Kouma and the Terek; but as the countless
+swarms of gnats infesting those regions in summer render them almost
+uninhabitable for camels and other cattle, the Turcomans pass the Kouma
+of their own authority, with some Noga&iuml; hordes, who are in the same
+predicament, encamp amidst the Kalmucks, and occupy during all the fine
+weather a great part of the steppes between the Kouma and the Manitch.
+This intrusion has often been strongly resented by the Kalmucks, and the
+authorities have been obliged to interfere to appease the strife. But as
+it is absolutely requisite to allot a summer camping-ground to the
+Turcomans, the government is not a little perplexed how to cut the
+gordian knot. An expedient, however, was adopted during our stay in
+Astrakhan. It was determined to take from the Kalmucks a portion of the
+territory they possess along the Kalaous, and of which they make no use,
+and bestow it upon the Turcomans. This ground being completely isolated,
+it was furthermore decided that there should be allowed a road six
+kilometres wide (three miles six furlongs) for the passage of their
+flocks. Nothing can convey a more striking picture of these arid regions
+than this scheme of a road nearly four miles wide, extending for more
+than sixty leagues.</p>
+
+<p>The Turcomans entered Russia in the train of the Kalmucks, whose slaves
+they appear to have been. They are now much mixed up with the Noga&iuml;s,
+like whom they profess Mohammedanism. They reckon 3838 tents. The only
+obligation imposed on them is to convey the corn destined for the army
+of the Caucasus. They receive their loads at Koumskaia, where the
+vessels from Astrakhan discharge their cargoes, and thence they repair
+to the Terek and often to Tiflis in Georgia. This service is regarded by
+them as very onerous, and they have long requested permission to pay
+their taxes in money. They use in this business carts with two wheels of
+large diameter, drawn by oxen, for camels and horses are scarcely ever
+employed. The Turcomans have preserved the good old customs of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>their
+native country; they are the greatest plunderers in the steppes, and the
+only people whom there is any real cause to regard with distrust. Before
+the end of summer, in the latter part of August, the Turcomans begin to
+retire behind the Kouma, into the government of the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>A Tatar horde called Sirtof likewise encamps on the lands of the
+Kalmucks, within sixty miles of Astrakhan, on the road to Kisliar. It
+reckons but 112 tents, and as the lands it occupies are of little
+importance, no one thinks of troubling it.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly are to be enumerated 500 families of Kalmucks, improperly called
+Christians, who occupy the two banks of the Kouma, between Vladimirofka
+and the Caspian. Some Russian missionaries attempted their conversion
+towards the close of the last century, but their proselytising efforts,
+based on force, were fruitless, and produced nothing but revolts. Since
+then these Kalmucks, some of whom had suffered themselves to be
+baptised, were called Christians, chiefly for the purpose of
+distinguishing them from those who are not bound like themselves to
+military service. They are chiefly employed in guarding the salt pools,
+and belong, under the denomination of Cossacks, to the regiment of
+Mosdok. The government feeds them and their horses when they are on
+actual service, but they still pay a tax for every head of cattle, the
+amount of which goes into the regimental chest. These Kalmucks having no
+camping-ground of their own, have long been soliciting to have one
+assigned them. The government offered them ground in the environs of
+Stavropol, the capital of the Caucasian government, but they refused it
+for fear of the incursions of the Circassians. These nominal Christians
+are with the Turcomans the most dangerous people in the steppes. Their
+attacks are not at all to be feared by day; but at night it is necessary
+to keep a sharp look out after one's camels and horses; for in these
+deserts to rob a traveller of his means of transport is almost to take
+his life.</p>
+
+<p>As will be seen from what we have stated above, the summer encampments
+of the Kalmuck hordes are situated in the most northern parts of the
+country, where there is the richest pasture, and where the cattle suffer
+least from flies in the hot weather. The emigration to the north is
+almost general; only a few very needy families, who have no cattle,
+remain in the winter camp, keeping as near as possible to the post
+stations and inhabited places, in hopes of procuring employment. In the
+beginning of the cold season the hordes return to the south, along the
+banks of the Caspian and the Kouma, where they fix themselves among the
+forests of rushes that supply them with firing and fodder for their
+cattle.</p>
+
+<p>In all these regions destitute of forests, reeds are of immense
+importance, and nature has liberally distributed them along all the
+rivers of the steppes, and in all the numerous bottom lands that flank
+the Caspian. The inhabitants of Astrakhan make a regular and systematic
+use of them, employing them not only for fuel, but also for roofing
+their houses, and for thatching their waggons laden with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>salt or fish,
+which they send into the interior of the country. It is in spring,
+before the floods caused by the melting of the snow, that the reeds
+begin to sprout. Their stalks, which are as thick as a finger, soon
+shoot up to the height of twelve or thirteen feet. Those that grow on
+the banks of the Volga are never quite covered in the highest floods.
+The beginning of winter is the season for laying in a stock of reeds,
+and it is customary to burn all those that are not cut and carried off,
+in order that the dead stalks may not hinder the growth of the young
+shoots.</p>
+
+<p>The ceremony attending the departure of the hordes in spring is not
+without interest. The Kalmuck chiefs never begin a march without making
+an offering to the Bourkhan, or god of the river, as an acknowledgment
+of the protection vouchsafed to their camp during the winter. To this
+end they repair in great pomp to the banks of the Kouma, accompanied by
+their families and a large body of priests, and throw several pieces of
+silver money into the river, at the same time invoking its future
+favours.</p>
+
+<p>According to the official documents communicated to me, the Kalmuck
+population does not appear to exceed 15,000 families. On this head,
+however, it is impossible to arrive at very exact statistics, for the
+princes having themselves to pay the crown dues, have of course an
+interest in making the population seem as small as possible. I am
+inclined to believe, from sundry facts, that the number of the tents is
+scarcely under 20,000. At all events, it seems ascertained that the
+Kalmuck population has remained stationary for the last sixty years, a
+fact which is owing to the ravages of disease, such as small-pox, and
+others of the cutaneous kind.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks, all of them nomades, are exclusively engaged in rearing
+cattle, and know nothing whatever of agriculture. They breed camels,
+oxen, sheep, and above all, horses, of which they have an excellent
+description, small, but strong, agile, and of great endurance. I have
+ridden a Kalmuck horse often eighteen and even twenty-five leagues
+without once dismounting. The Russian cavalry is mounted chiefly on
+horses from the Caspian steppes: the average price of a good horse is
+from 80 to 100 rubles. Formerly the Kalmucks used to send their horses
+to the great fairs of Poland, paying a duty of 1.75 rubles on every
+horse sold; but the duty was raised to 5.25 rubles in 1828, for every
+horse arriving in the fair, and this unlucky measure immediately
+destroyed all trade with Poland. The business of horse-breeding has
+diminished immensely ever since in the Caspian steppes. The government
+afterwards returned to the old rate of duty; but the mischief was done,
+and the Kalmucks did not again appear in their old markets.</p>
+
+<p>It is impossible to know, even approximately, the amount of cattle
+belonging to the tribes, for the Kalmucks are too superstitious ever to
+acknowledge the number of their stock. From various data I collected at
+Astrakhan, and from the superintendents of the hordes, we may estimate
+that the Kalmucks possess on the whole <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>from 250,000 to 300,000 horses,
+about 60,000 camels, 180,000 kine, and nearly a million sheep.</p>
+
+<p>Prince Tumene is the only one of the Kalmucks who has engaged in
+agriculture, and his attempts have been exceedingly favoured by the
+character of the soil in his domains on the left bank of the Volga. His
+produce consists of grain, grapes, and all kinds of fruit. He has even
+tried to manufacture Champagne wine, but with little success; and when
+we visited him, he entreated me to send him a good work on the subject,
+that he might begin his operations again on an improved plan.</p>
+
+<p>Prince Tondoudof is also striving to follow in Prince Tumene's
+footsteps. He has lately marked out a large space in the steppes for the
+fixed residence of a part of his Kalmucks, but I greatly doubt that his
+wishes can ever be realised. He has for many years possessed a very
+handsome dwelling, but he has not yet been able to give up his tent, so
+strong is the attachment of all this race to a nomade life. But the most
+potent obstacle to the establishment of a permanent colony consists in
+the nature of the soil itself. We have traversed the Kalmuck steppes in
+almost all directions, and found everywhere only an argillaceous, sandy,
+or salt soil, generally unsuited to agriculture. Where there is pasture,
+the grass is so short and thin, that the ground exactly resembles the
+appearance of the steppes of the Black Sea, when the grass begins to
+grow again after the conflagrations of winter. Hence the Kalmucks are
+continually on the move to find fresh pasture for their cattle, and
+seldom remain in one spot for more than a month or six weeks. But the
+most serious obstacle to agriculture is the want of fresh water. The few
+brooks that run through the steppes are dry during the greater part of
+the year, and the summers are generally without rain. The cold, too, is
+as intolerable as the heat: for four months the thermometer is almost
+always steady at twenty-eight degrees of Reaumur in the shade, and very
+often it rises to thirty-two; then when winter sets in it falls to
+twenty-eight degrees below zero. Thus, there is a difference of nearly
+sixty degrees between the winter and the summer temperature. If in
+addition to these changes of temperature we consider the total flatness
+of the country, exposed without any shelter to the violence of the north
+and east winds, it will easily be conceived how unfavourable it must be
+to agriculture. A nomade life seems therefore to me a necessity for the
+Kalmucks, and until the development of civilisation among them shall
+make them feel the need of fixed dwellings, they must be left free to
+wander over their steppes. Moreover, in applying themselves exclusively
+to pastoral pursuits, they render much greater service to Russia than if
+they employed themselves in cultivating a stubborn and thankless soil.
+No doubt there are numerous oases scattered over these immense plains,
+just as in other deserts, and agriculture might have some success in the
+northern parts; but these favourable spots are all situated amid
+wildernesses where the cultivators would find no <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>markets for their
+produce. In spite of all these drawbacks, the Russian government still
+persists in its endeavours to colonise the Kalmucks, and strives with
+all its might to introduce among them its system of uniformity. But its
+efforts have hitherto been quite fruitless; the hordes are now, perhaps,
+more than ever attached to their vagrant way of life, in which they find
+at least a compensation for the privileges and the independence of which
+they have been deprived.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks, like most other nations, are divided into three orders,
+nobles, clergy, and commons; the members of the aristocracy assume the
+name of <i>white bones</i>, whilst the common people are called <i>black
+bones</i>. The priests belong indifferently to either class, but those that
+issue from the ranks of the people do not easily succeed in effacing the
+stain of their origin. The prejudices of noble birth are, however, much
+less deeply rooted at this day than formerly, a natural consequence of
+the destruction of the power of the khans and the princes, and the
+complete subjection of the hordes to the laws and customs of the empire.
+Bergmann's account has therefore become quite inapplicable to the
+present state of things, and can only give false notions of the
+constitution of the Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<p>Among the Asiatic races there is none whose features are so distinctly
+characterised as those of the Mongols. Paint one individual and you
+paint the whole nation. In 1815, the celebrated painter, Isabey, after
+seeing a great number of Kalmucks, observed so striking a resemblance
+between them, that having to take the likeness of Prince Tumene, and
+perceiving that the prince was very restless at the last sittings, he
+begged him to send one of his servants in his stead. In that way the
+painter finished the portrait, which turned out to be a most striking
+likeness, as I myself can testify. All the Kalmucks have eyes set
+obliquely, with eyelids little opened, scanty black eyebrows, noses
+deeply depressed near the forehead, prominent cheek-bones, spare beards,
+thin moustaches, and a brownish yellow skin. The lips of the men are
+thick and fleshy, but the women, particularly those of high rank, have
+heart-shaped mouths of no common beauty. All have enormous ears,
+projecting strongly from the head, and their hair is invariably black.
+The Kalmucks are generally small, but with figures well rounded, and an
+easy carriage. Very few deformed persons are seen among them, for with
+more good sense than ourselves, they leave the development of their
+children's frames entirely to nature, and never put any kind of garment
+on them until the age of nine or ten. No sooner are they able to walk,
+than they mount on horseback, and apply themselves with all their hearts
+to wrestling and riding, the chief amusements of the tribes.</p>
+
+<p>The portrait we have drawn of the Kalmucks is certainly not very
+engaging; but their own notions of beauty are very different from ours.
+A Kalmuck princess has been named to us, who, though <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>frightfully ugly
+in European eyes, nevertheless, passed for such a marvel of loveliness
+among her own people, that after having had a host of suitors, she was
+at last carried off by force by one of her admirers.</p>
+
+<p>Like all inhabitants of vast plains, the Kalmucks have exceedingly keen
+sight. An hour after sunset they can still distinguish a camel at a
+distance of three miles or more. Very often when I perceived nothing but
+a point barely visible on the horizon, they clearly made out a horseman
+armed with his lance and gun. They have also an extraordinary faculty
+for wending their way through their pathless wildernesses. Without the
+least apparent mark to guide them, they traverse hundreds of miles with
+their flocks, without ever wandering from the right course.</p>
+
+<p>The costume of the common Kalmucks is not marked by any very decided
+peculiarity, the cap alone excepted. It is invariably of yellow cloth
+trimmed with black lambskin, and is worn by both sexes. I am even
+tempted to think that there are some superstitious notions connected
+with it, seeing the difficulty I experienced in procuring one as a
+specimen. The trousers are wide and open below. Persons in good
+circumstances wear two long tunics, one of which is tied round the
+waist, but the usual dress consists only of trousers and a jacket of
+skin with tight sleeves. We have already described the garb of the
+women. The men shave a part of their heads, and the rest of the hair is
+gathered into a single mass, which hangs on their shoulders. The women
+wear two tresses, and this is really the only visible criterion of their
+sex. The princes have almost all adopted the Circassian costume, or the
+uniform of the Cossacks of Astrakhan, to which body some of them belong.
+The ordinary foot gear is red boots with very high heels, and generally
+much too short. The Kalmucks, like the Chinese, greatly admire small
+feet, and as they are constantly on horseback, their short boots, which
+would be torturing to us, cause them no inconvenience. But they are very
+bad pedestrians; the form of their boots obliges them to walk on their
+toes, and they are exceedingly distressed when they have not a horse to
+mount.</p>
+
+<p>They never set out on a journey unarmed. They usually carry a poniard
+and a long Asiatic gun, generally a matchlock. The camel is the beast
+they commonly ride, guiding it by a string passed through its nostrils,
+which gives them complete command over the animal. They have long quite
+abandoned the use of bows and arrows; the gun, the lance, and the dagger
+being now their only weapons. Cuirasses, too, have become useless to
+them. I saw a few admirable specimens at Prince Tumene's, which appeared
+to be of Persian manufacture, and were valued at from fifty to a hundred
+horses. In spite of the precepts of buddhism which forbid them to kill
+any sort of animal, the Kalmucks are skilful sportsmen with hawk and
+gun. They almost always shoot in the manner of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>old arquebusiers,
+resting the gun on a long fork which plays upon an axis fixed at the
+extremity of the barrel.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks, like all pastoral people, live very frugally. Dairy
+produce forms their chief aliment, and their favourite beverage is tea.
+They eat meat also, particularly horse flesh, which they prefer to any
+other, but very well done and not raw as some writers have asserted. As
+for cereal food, which the natives of Europe prize so highly, the
+Kalmucks scarcely know its use; it is only at rare intervals that some
+of them buy bread or oatcake from the neighbouring Russians. Their tea
+is prepared in a very peculiar manner. It comes to them from China, in
+the shape of very hard bricks composed of the leaves and coarsest parts
+of the plant. After boiling it a considerable time in water, they add
+milk, butter, and salt. The infusion then acquires consistency, and
+becomes of a dirty red-yellow colour. We tasted the beverage at Prince
+Tumene's, but must confess it was perfectly detestable, and instantly
+reminded us of Madame Gibou's incredible preparation. They say, however,
+that it is easy to accustom oneself to this tea, and that at last it is
+thought delicious. At all events it has one good quality. By strongly
+exciting perspiration, it serves as an excellent preservative against
+the effects of sudden chills. The Kalmucks drink their tea out of round
+shallow little wooden vessels, to which they often attach a very high
+value. I have seen several which were priced at two or three horses.
+They are generally made of roots brought from Asia. It is superfluous to
+say that the Kalmucks, knowing nothing of the use of teakettles, prepare
+their infusion in large iron pots. Next to tea there is no beverage they
+are so fond of as spirituous liquors. They manufacture a sort of brandy
+from mare's or cow's milk; but as it is very weak, and has little action
+on the brain, they seek after Russian liquors with intense eagerness, so
+that to prevent the pernicious consequences of this passion, the
+government has been obliged to prohibit the establishment of any dram
+shops among the hordes. The women are as eager after the fatal liquor as
+the men, but they have seldom an opportunity to indulge their taste, for
+their lords and masters watch them narrowly in this respect. The Kalmuck
+kitchen is disgustingly filthy. A housekeeper would think herself
+disgraced if she washed her utensils with water. When she has to clean a
+vessel, no matter of what sort, she merely empties out its contents, and
+polishes the inside with the back of her hand. Often have I had pans of
+milk brought to me that had been cleansed in this ingenious manner.
+However, as we have already remarked, the interior of the tents by no
+means exhibits the filth with which this people has been often charged.</p>
+
+<p>Among the Kalmucks, like most Oriental nations, the stronger sex
+considers all household cares derogatory to its dignity, and leaves them
+entirely to the women, whose business it is to cook, take care of the
+children, keep the tents in order, make up the garments and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>furs of the
+family, and attend to the cattle. The men barely condescend to groom
+their horses; they hunt, drink tea or brandy, stretch themselves out on
+felts, and smoke or sleep. Add to these daily occupations some games,
+such as chess, and that played with knuckle-bones, and you have a
+complete picture of the existence of a Kalmuck <i>pater familias</i>. The
+women are quite habituated to their toilsome life, and make cheerful and
+contented housewives; but they grow old fast, and after a few years of
+wedlock become frightfully ugly. Their appearance then differs not at
+all from that of the men; their masculine forms, the shape of their
+features, their swarthy complexion, and the identity of costume often
+deceive the most practised eye.</p>
+
+<p>We twice visited the Kalmucks, and the favourable opinion we conceived
+of them from the first was never shaken. They are the most pacific
+people imaginable; in analysing their physiognomy, it is impossible to
+believe that a malicious thought can enter their heads. We invariably
+encountered the frankest and most affable hospitality among them, and
+our arrival in a camp was always hailed by the joyful shouts of the
+whole tribe hurrying to meet us. According to Bergmann's book he seems
+not to have fared so well at their hands, and he revenges himself by
+painting them in a very odious light. But it must not be forgotten that
+Bergmann was, above all things, clerical, and that he could not fail to
+be looked on with dislike by the Kalmucks, who had already endured so
+many attempts of missionaries to convert them. It is, therefore, by no
+means surprising if he was not always treated with the deference he had
+a right to exact. As for that pride of the great men and that impudence
+of the vulgar, which so deeply stirred the indignation of the Livonian
+traveller, these are defects common enough in all countries, and even
+among nations that make the greatest boast of their liberality; it would
+be unjust, therefore, to visit them too severely in the case of the
+Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<p>A very marked characteristic of these tribes is their sociability. They
+seldom eat alone, and often entertain each other; it is even their
+custom, before tasting their food, to offer a part of it to strangers,
+or, if none are present, to children; the act is in their eyes both a
+work of charity, and a sort of propitiatory offering in acknowledgment
+of the bounty of the Deity.</p>
+
+<p>Their dwellings are felt tents, called <i>kibitkas</i> by the Russians. They
+are four or five yards in diameter, cylindrical to the height of a man's
+shoulder, with a conical top, open at the apex to let the smoke escape.
+The frame is light, and can be taken asunder for the convenience of
+carriage. The skeleton of the roof consists of a wooden ring, forming
+the aperture for the smoke, and of a great number of small spars
+supporting the ring, and resting on the upper circumference of the
+cylindrical frame. The whole tent is light enough to be carried by two
+camels. A kibitka serves for a whole <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>family; men, women, and children
+sleep in it promiscuously without any separation. In the centre there is
+always a trivet, on which stands the pot used for cooking tea and meat.
+The floor is partly covered with felts, carpets, and mats; the couches
+are opposite the door, and the walls of the tent are hung with arms,
+leathern vessels, household utensils, quarters of meat, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>Among the most important occupations of these people are the
+distillation of spirits, and the manufacture of felts, to which a
+certain season of the year is appropriated. For the latter operation the
+men themselves awake out of their lethargy, and condescend to put their
+hands to the work. They make two kinds of felt, grey and white. The
+price of the best is ten or twelve rubles for the piece of eight yards
+by two. The Kalmucks are also very expert in making leathern vessels for
+liquids, of all shapes and sizes, with extremely small throats. The
+women tan the skins after a manner which the curious in these matters
+will find described by the celebrated traveller, Pallas. The priests,
+moreover, manufacture some very peculiar tea-caddies; they are of wood,
+their shape a truncated cone, with numerous ornamental hoops of copper.
+In other respects industry has made no progress among the Kalmucks,
+whose wants are so limited, that none of them has ever felt the need of
+applying himself to any distinct trade. Every man can supply his own
+wants, and we never found an artisan of any kind among the hordes. At
+Astrakhan, there are some Kalmuck journeymen engaged in the fisheries,
+and many of them are in high repute as boatmen. On the whole, it is not
+for want of intelligence they are without arts, but because they have no
+need of them.</p>
+
+<p>We frequently questioned the Kalmucks respecting their wintering under a
+tent, and they always assured us that their kabitkas perfectly protected
+them from the cold. By day they keep up a fire with reeds and dried
+dung; and at night, when there remains only clear coal, they stop up all
+the openings to confine the heat. Their felts, besides, as I know from
+experience, are so well made, as to shelter them completely from the
+most furious tempests.</p>
+
+<p>We have little to say of the education of the Kalmucks. Their princes
+and priests alone boast of some learning, but it consists only in a
+knowledge of their religious works. The mass of the people grovel in
+utter ignorance. Nevertheless, a very notable intellectual movement took
+place among the tribes in the beginning of the seventeenth century, at
+which period Zaia Pandity, one of their high priests, invented a new
+alphabet, and enriched the old Mongol language with many Turkish
+elements. Thereupon the Kalmuck nation had a literature of its own, and
+soon, under the influence of its numerous traditions, and its
+historical, sacred, and political books, it exhibited all the germs of a
+hopeful, nascent civilisation; nor was it rare in those days to find men
+of decided talent among the aristocracy. But Oubacha's emigration
+blighted all these fair <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>hopes. The books were all carried off by the
+fugitives; the old traditions, so potent among Asiatic nations,
+gradually became extinct, the natural bond that knitted the various
+hordes together was broken, and the Kalmucks that remained in Europe
+soon relapsed into their old barbarian condition.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> The emperor subjoins in a note: "The nation of the
+Torgouths arrived at Ily in total destitution without victuals or
+clothing. I had foreseen this, and given orders to Chouh&eacute;d&eacute; and others,
+to lay up the necessary provisions of all kinds, that they might be
+promptly succoured. This was done. The lands were divided, and to each
+family was assigned a sufficient portion for its support by tillage or
+cattle rearing. Each individual received cloth for garments, a year's
+supply of corn, household utensils, and other necessaries, and besides
+all this several ounces of silver to provide himself with whatever might
+have been forgotten. Particular places, fertile in pasturage, were
+pointed out to them, and they were given oxen, sheep, &amp;c., that they
+might afterwards labour for their own sustenance and welfare."</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">BUDDHISM&mdash;KALMUCK COSMOGONY&mdash;KALMUCK CLERGY&mdash;RITES AND
+CEREMONIES&mdash;POLYGAMY&mdash;THE KHIRGHIS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The Kalmucks, Like most of the other offshoots of the Mongol stock, are
+Buddhists, or rather Lamites. According to the opinion of all writers,
+Buddhism began in India, and Buddha, afterwards deified by his followers
+under the name of Dchakdchamouni, was its founder and first patriarch.
+Opposed by the fanaticism of the children of Brahma, the new creed made
+little progress, and appears to have been cruelly persecuted in the
+beginning. The learned researches of M. Abel Remusat have, however,
+demonstrated that there was a succession of twenty-eight Buddhist
+patriarchs in India. It was not until about <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 495, that
+Bodhidharma, impelled no doubt by the persecutions of the Brahmins, set
+out for China, where the doctrines of Buddha had already made
+considerable progress, as well as in Thibet and great part of Tartary.
+Eight centuries, nevertheless, elapsed before the successors of
+Bodhidharma emerged from their obscure and precarious condition: it was
+to the grand fortunes of the celebrated Genghis Khan they owed that
+royal splendour they afterwards enjoyed under the name of Dalai Lama.</p>
+
+<p>According to Klaproth, the first traces of Buddhism are recorded in a
+Mongol book, entitled "The Source of the Heart," written in the time of
+Genghis Khan. It is there related that the conqueror, when about to
+enter the countries occupied by the Buddhists, sent an embassy to their
+patriarch with these words: "I have chosen thee for my high priest, and
+for that of my empire; repair to me; I give thee charge over the present
+and future weal of my people, and I will be thy protector." The desires
+of Genghis Khan were quickly fulfilled; from that time forth the
+patriarchs often resided at the conqueror's court, and their religion
+was at last adopted by the greatest Mongol warriors. In the reign of
+Genghis Khan's grandson, Buddhism was already become a power; and then
+it was that the high priests, assuming the title of Dalai Lama, fixed
+their residence in Thibet, where they continued to be treated as actual
+monarchs, until dissensions and rivalries destroyed all the prestige <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>of
+their authority, and they became confounded with the other vassals of
+the empire of China.</p>
+
+<p>When Buddhism installed itself in Thibet, that country was already
+peopled with Christians, and the Nestorians had many monasteries there.
+The religious tolerance of the Mongol monarchs was unlimited: all creeds
+enjoyed equal protection in their capital. The Christians were
+especially numerous in the imperial city, where they had a church with
+bells, and were long presided over by an Italian Archbishop. The effect
+of this general toleration, and of the potent action of the principles
+of Christianity, must necessarily have been to modify Buddhism to an
+important degree; and we believe, with M. Remusat, that we must refer to
+this period for the origin and explanation of the many points of analogy
+between it and the doctrines of Christians.</p>
+
+<p>Pallas and Bergmann have written much on the religious cosmogony of the
+Kalmucks; we will follow them in their investigations, and endeavour to
+complete them by means of our own observations.</p>
+
+<p>There was in the beginning an immense abyss, called Khoubi Saiagar,
+exceeding in length and depth 6,116,000 berez (about 12,000,000
+leagues), and out of this abyss the Taingairis, or aerial spirits,
+existing from all eternity, drew forth the world. First rose
+fiery-coloured clouds, which gathered together until they dissolved into
+a heavy rain, every drop of which was as big as a chariot wheel, and
+thus was formed the universal sea. Soon afterwards there appeared on the
+surface of the waters an immense quantity of foam, white as milk, and
+out of it issued all living creatures, including the human race. We will
+say nothing of those hurricanes which, arising from the ten parts of the
+world, produced in the upper hemisphere that fantastic column, as lofty
+as the ocean is deep, round which revolve the various worlds of the
+Buddhist universe. But we cannot forbear to mention the ingenious
+explanation by which the astronomers of Thibet accounted for the
+periodical revolutions of the day. According to their sacred books, the
+mystic column has four faces, of different colours, argent, azure, or,
+and deep red. At sunrise the rays of the sun fall on the argent side, in
+the forenoon they are reflected from the azure, at noon from the gold,
+towards the close of day from the red surface, and the concealment of
+the orb behind the column is what produces night.</p>
+
+<p>All the books of the Kalmucks speak of four great lands, which are
+sometimes spoken of as belonging to the same whole, sometimes as forming
+separate worlds. The first of these, lying eastward, is occupied by
+giants who are eight cubits high, and live for 150 years; the second,
+towards the west, has inhabitants eleven cubits high, whose lifetime is
+500 years; the third, placed in the north, is still more favoured, for
+its inhabitants, though devoid of souls, live for 1000 years exempt from
+all infirmity. Their stature is 230 cubits. When the term of their
+existence is arrived, they assemble their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>families and their friends
+around them, and expire calmly at the call of a heavenly voice summoning
+them by their name. The fourth earth is that on which we dwell, and on
+which all the favours of the Deity are profusely lavished. It has four
+great rivers bearing the mystic names of Ganga, Schilda, Baktschou, and
+Aipura, which take their rise in the heart of four great mountains,
+where dwells an elephant two leagues long, white as snow, and named
+Gasar Sakitschin Koven (protector of the earth). This fabulous animal
+has thirty-three red heads, each furnished with six trunks, whence spout
+forth as many fountains, all surmounted with six stars. On each star
+sits a virgin always young and gracefully attired. These virgins are the
+daughters of the aerial spirits, one of whom, the most potent of all,
+sits astride on the middle of the elephant's head, when the animal
+thinks fit to change his quarters.<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the beginning the inhabitants of this privileged earth lived 80,000
+years, abounding in health, and incapable of forming a desire that was
+not instantly fulfilled. Their eyes shot forth rays of light that
+supplied the place of the sun and the stars, and invisible grace stood
+them instead of all nourishment. It was during this golden age that most
+of the secondary divinities were born, and 1000 Bourkhans were taken up
+from the earth to the abode of the blessed. But those blissful times
+came to an end, for, as in Genesis, an unlucky fruit, for which mankind
+imprudently conceived a liking, was the cause of their downfal. The
+human race lost all its precious privileges; its wings failed; physical
+wants tormented it; its gigantic stature dwindled down, and the span of
+life was contracted to 40,000 years, whilst the luminous rays of the
+eyes, the only light of that period, disappeared. Darkness then covered
+the face of the earth, until four powerful deities, touched with
+compassion, squeezed the mountain hard, and forced from it the sun and
+the moon, those two great luminaries which still exist in our day.</p>
+
+<p>The evil did not stop here. To the physical woes that afflicted man was
+soon added moral depravation; adultery, homicide, and violence
+supplanted the primitive virtues, and disorder reigned over the whole
+face of the habitable earth. During this long period of decay the
+duration of life underwent successive curtailments, and many bourkhans
+descended on earth to correct and ameliorate mankind. The bourkhan
+Ebdekchi (the perturber) appeared at the time when the duration of life
+did not exceed 40,000 years. Altan <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>Dohidakti, the bourkhan of
+incorruptible gold, appeared to the world when men only lived 30,000
+years, and those whose years were but 20,000 were visited by the
+bourkhan Guerel Sakitchi (the guardian of the world). After him came
+Massouschiri. Lastly, the term of human, existence had been reduced to
+100 years, when the celebrated bourkhan Dchakdchamouni, the founder of
+the existing sect, came upon the earth and preached the faith to
+one-and-thirty nations. A great moral revolution then took place in the
+world; but unfortunately the new law was variously interpreted, and
+thence resulted this great diversity of religions and languages.</p>
+
+<p>Still, however, the degeneration of the human race is far from having
+reached its utmost limit. The life and stature of man and of all
+animals, will undergo a further considerable diminution in the course of
+ages. There will come a time when the horse will be no bigger than the
+present race of hares, and men but a few palms high, will live but ten
+years, and will marry at the age of five months. Thus the Buddhists have
+adopted notions diametrically opposed to those of certain modern
+philosophers, who think that we began as oysters and will end with being
+gods. Which is the more absurd of these two opinions? We shall not
+attempt to decide the question, but leave it to our neighbours beyond
+the Rhine, who are more competent than we to deal with such matters. The
+extreme limit of physical decay having been once attained, most living
+creatures will be destroyed by a mortal malady. But just when the world
+seems on the point of relapsing into the chaos from whence it issued,
+the voice of the celestial spirits will be heard, and some of the
+miserable dwarfs still peopling the earth will seek refuge in dark
+caverns; it will then rain swords, spears, and all sorts of deadly
+weapons; the ground will be strewed with corpses and red with blood.
+Finally, a horrible down-pour of rain will sweep all the corpses and all
+the filth into the ocean. This will be the last act of the genius of
+destruction, soon after which a fragrant rain will vivify the earth. All
+sorts of garments and food will drop from the sky; the dwarfs that have
+escaped destruction will come forth from their caverns, and men,
+regenerated and virtuous, will at once recover their gigantic stature
+and their privilege of living 80,000 years. There will then be a new
+decay, and when the bourkhan Maidari appears on earth, men will have
+again become dwarfs; but at the voice of that prophet they will be fully
+converted, and will attain a high degree of perfection. We will not
+follow Lamism through its systems regarding the various epochs of the
+world. The notions of the Kalmucks on this head are so confused, that I
+have been unable to learn any thing in addition to what is stated by the
+learned Pallas. Their sacred books speak of forty-nine epochs, ending by
+fire, or deluges, or hurricanes. They are all divided into four great
+periods. The first comprises the space of time in which human life
+begins with being 80,000 years long, and diminishes to 10,000; during
+the second period man perishes; during the third the earth remains
+desolate, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>and in the fourth occurs a hurricane which carries the souls
+from hell to the earth.</p>
+
+<p>We have already mentioned that happy epoch in which thousands of holy
+beings were raised to the heavens, and deified under the name of
+bourkhans. These bourkhans do not all hold the same rank, but differ
+from each other both in power and functions. The Kalmucks, who hold them
+in great veneration, adore them as the most beneficent deities. Their
+images are found in all the temples. The mighty Dchakdchamouni is most
+especially worshipped. The bourkhans are supposed to inhabit different
+worlds; some dwell in the planets, others in the regions of the air,
+others again in the sky; Dchakdchamouni still inhabits the earth. There
+is an infinite multitude of legends concerning these secondary
+divinities, especially the last named. The following adventure is
+related of him in all the religious books of the Lamites, and is known
+to all the Kalmucks: One day three bourkhans were praying with great
+fervour, and while their eyes were piously cast down, an infernal genius
+deposited his excrement in the sacred cup belonging to one of them.
+Great was the stupefaction of the bourkhans when they lifted up their
+heads. They consulted further what they should do. If they diffused the
+pestiferous matter through the air, it would be the destruction of all
+the beings that people that element; if they let it fall on the earth,
+all its inhabitants would, in like manner, perish. They resolved,
+therefore, for the good of mankind, to swallow the dreadful substance.
+Dchakdchamouni had the bottom of the cup for his share, and the legend
+states that so horrible was the taste, the poor bourkhan's face suddenly
+became blue all over. That god has ever since been depicted with a blue
+visage.</p>
+
+<p>The aerial spirits are next in importance to the bourkhans; some of them
+are beneficent, others malignant. The Kalmucks worship these rather than
+the others, because they alone can do harm to mortals, whilst nothing
+but good offices are to be expected from the beneficent spirits. These
+genii are not immortal, and their power is much less than that of the
+bourkhans. The manner in which their race is propagated is very simple,
+but singular: an embrace, an exchange of smiles, or of gracious looks is
+sufficient with them to produce conception. All these spirits have
+divers abodes in the world and in the air; to the malevolent among them,
+the Kalmucks attribute all the disorders of the atmosphere, and all
+pestilential diseases; the evil genii are particularly active in stormy
+weather, wherefore the Kalmucks greatly dread thunder, and always fire
+many shots when a storm blows, in order to scare away the demons.</p>
+
+<p>There are also in the Lamite religion a great many fabulous deities
+represented by monstrous idols, which appear to be old reminiscences of
+a primitive creed anterior to Buddhism. It is remarkable that these
+idols have generally female faces. They are almost always decorated with
+the scarf of honour, or the bell and sceptre, used <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>by the priests in
+their religious ceremonies, are placed in their hands. The priests are
+the makers of all these idols, some of which are of curious workmanship.
+The materials are baked earth, bronze, silver, or even gold.</p>
+
+<p>Though the Kalmucks address their worship almost exclusively to the host
+of secondary deities we have just mentioned, still they acknowledge a
+supreme being, to whom the bourkhans and the good and evil genii are but
+vassals: if they have no image or idol representing him, it is because
+the conception of the one eternal creator passes all the bounds of their
+imagination, and they rather apply their thoughts to beings less
+incomprehensible and less remote from their own nature. Pallas seems to
+think that the Kalmucks follow the system of Epicurus, but the
+conversations I have had with many learned princes and priests, have
+convinced me of the contrary.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks and the Mongols believe, like the Hindus, in the
+transmigration of souls; but Bergmann errs greatly in asserting that
+they have no other idea of immortality. I have investigated the popular
+notions on this subject, and my conviction is that the Kalmucks consider
+the transmigration only as a longer or shorter trial which the soul of
+every man, not acknowledged a saint, must pass through before appearing
+in presence of the supreme judge. As for those who have been celebrated
+for their piety and their virtues, Lamism teaches that they are raised
+to the rank of bourkhans, still preserving their former individuality.</p>
+
+<p>Erlik Khan is the great judge of the Kalmuck hell, and before his awful
+throne all souls must appear, to be rewarded according to their works.
+If they are found just and pure, they are placed on a golden seat
+supported on a cloud, and so wafted to the abode of the bourkhans; if
+their sins and their good works seem to balance each other, then Erlik
+Khan opens his great book in which all the good and evil deeds of men
+are minutely recorded, and having cast the dread balance, he finally
+pronounces sentence. On the whole this king of hell seems a good-natured
+devil enough, for very often to avoid condemning an unfortunate sinner
+who has some good qualities to recommend him, he allows him to go back
+to earth and live over again in his own form. The Kalmucks, always
+logical in their mythological notions, allege that they derive from men
+thus resuscitated all the knowledge they possess of hell and the future
+life.</p>
+
+<p>The imagination of the Lamite priests has outstripped that of the
+Christians, and of all other nations; indeed we know nothing that can be
+compared with the Kalmuck hell. Erlik Khan, the judge of the dead, is
+likewise sovereign of the realm of the damned. His palace, which always
+resounds with the clashing of immense gongs, is situated in a great town
+surrounded with white walls, within which spreads a vast sea of urine
+and excrement, in which wallow the accursed. An iron causeway traverses
+this sea, and when the guilty attempt to pass along it, it narrows
+beneath them to a hair's <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>breadth, then snaps asunder, and the wicked
+souls, thus tested and convicted, are straightway plunged into hell. Not
+far from this place of horror is a sea of blood, on which float many
+human heads; this is the place of torture for such as have excited
+quarrels and occasioned murders among relations and friends. Further on
+is seen the punishment of Tantalus, where a multitude of damned souls
+suffer hunger and thirst on a white and arid soil. They dig and turn up
+the earth without ceasing; but their unavailing labour only serves to
+wear down their arms to the shoulders, after which the stumps grow
+again, and their torments begin afresh. Such is the punishment of those
+who have neglected to provide for the wants and the jovial habits of the
+clergy. It would be tedious to pursue these details further; suffice it
+to say, that in describing the various torments of hell, the Lamites
+have employed every device which the wildest imagination could conceive.
+We must, however, give these priests credit for one thing: they do not
+admit the eternity of punishment;<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> but on the other hand, in the
+distribution of chastisement they have not forgotten the smallest
+offence that can possibly be committed against themselves. Hence they
+have immense power over the people, whom they can induce to believe what
+they will. Their cupidity is equal to their influence, and they never
+forego any opportunity of making their profit of the poor Kalmuck.</p>
+
+<p>From all these particulars of the religious notions of the Kalmucks, it
+is plain that the popular mythology of Lamism is like many other
+superstitions, only a potent instrument invented by priests to fascinate
+and command the multitude. By means of these incredible fables, the
+Lamite clergy have made themselves masters of the field, and hold great
+and small under their sway. It is to be remarked that in all religions
+ecclesiastical supremacy is inseparable from the creation of a hell, and
+that the one never exists without the other; in fact among nations where
+the idea of eternal punishments has been abandoned, the ministers of
+religion have seldom exercised an oppressive power over the people. This
+proves how large a part selfishness and the lust of sway have had in the
+construction of many religions; but in none has the priesthood evermore
+possessed a greater power than in Buddhism; in none has it more
+violently opposed all who have sought to shake its sway by proclaiming
+the infinite mercy of God.</p>
+
+<p>As a natural consequence of the great prerogatives attached to the
+priesthood, the clergy are become extremely numerous among the followers
+of Lama. Prince Tumene, whose oulousse is very <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>inconsiderable, has at
+least three hundred priests attached to his pagoda.</p>
+
+<p>During our stay in Astrakhan, we had opportunities of confirming, by our
+own observation, the truth of what Pallas remarks, that there is much
+analogy between the religious ceremonies of the Brahmins and those of
+the Kalmucks. Indeed, in studying the theological system of the Lamites,
+it becomes clear that their doctrines have been partly borrowed from
+religions still in existence. Who can fail to recognise the Biblical
+allegory in the fruit <i>shim&eacute;</i>, which the first men were imprudent enough
+to taste? Again, that period during which man was only unhappy, but not
+criminal, does it not represent the time that elapsed from Adam's
+expulsion from Paradise to the murder of Abel? The traditions of the
+Greek mythology appear also to have been made use of, for the dread
+Erlik Khan seems very like the Pluto of the ancients; and perhaps the
+loathsome sea that encompasses his palace is but another form of the
+Styx. It is unnecessary to remark that all these religious notions are
+familiar only to the priests and some princes; the common people are
+content to believe, worship, and submit blindly to the exactions of
+their spiritual guides.</p>
+
+<p>People begin, however, to observe a certain falling off in the
+observance of the precepts of Lamism. Thus, although a true follower of
+Lama has a right to destroy only the carnivorous creatures that hurt his
+flocks, the Kalmucks, nevertheless, put to death domestic animals, and
+make no scruple of hunting. They urge, it is true, in defence of these
+acts, that the prohibition against killing was not made by the gods
+themselves, but by one of their high priests who lived several centuries
+ago. Nevertheless, there are many priests who would think themselves
+guilty of murder if they put to death the smallest insect; and very
+often it occurred when we were sporting, that several of them came and
+earnestly entreated us to liberate the bird we had just caught. In so
+doing they thought they performed an act of charity, and saved a soul.</p>
+
+<p>The modern Kalmuck clergy are divided into four classes. The backshaus
+are the chief priests and religious teachers: in the Caspian steppes the
+eldest of them is improperly styled the Lama. The ghelungs are the
+ordinary priests, and may be compared in rank and functions to the
+French country <i>cur&eacute;s</i>. The ghetzuls, or deacons, constitute the third
+class; and the fourth consists of the mandshis, or musicians. Above all
+these grades stands the Dalai Lama of Thibet, the supreme head of the
+church. The Russian Kalmucks were formerly in constant communication
+with him, but since Oubacha's emigration, the government has put a stop
+to this intercourse, which could not fail to thwart its views by keeping
+up a spirit of nationality among the Kalmucks, and fostering their
+attachment to their religion.</p>
+
+<p>Both the clergy and those in their service enjoy all possible
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>immunities. They are exempt from all taxes and charges, and the people
+are bound to see that they want for nothing. It is true that the priests
+are prohibited by the rules of their religion from possessing property,
+but the restriction is evaded to a great extent, and the backshaus and
+ghelungs all possess numerous herds: if any one wants to buy a good
+horse, he must apply to them. The sloth and insolence of these priests
+passes all comparison; excepting their religious ceremonies, in which
+they chant some prayers and play on their instruments, they do
+absolutely nothing but eat, drink, and sleep. The meanest ghelung has
+always a retinue of some half dozen of deacons, who look after his
+cattle, his table, and his wardrobe.</p>
+
+<p>The ghetzuls are like our deacons, aspirants for the priesthood, and
+from their body the chief backshaus select the ghelungs, always having
+regard to the wealth of the candidates rather than to their good
+character or capacity. The ordination generally takes place towards the
+close of the great religious festivals, at which period the new ghelungs
+pass the whole night in marching round the priest's camp, chaplet in
+hand, barefooted, and with their shaven crowns uncovered. This is the
+last exercise preliminary to the commencement of their ministry.</p>
+
+<p>All the members of the clergy of every rank take vows of chastity, which
+they are far from observing; for there are few priests who do not
+indulge in illicit intercourse with married women. The poor husband does
+what he can to prevent this, but when he discovers the actual existence
+of the evil, instead of resenting it, he appears to accept his mischance
+as an honour, such is his veneration for his spiritual superiors. The
+priest, however, is forced to use stratagem for the indulgence of his
+passion. The reverend personage usually goes by night and pushes against
+the kibitka of the woman on whom his choice has fallen; whereupon she
+pretends to believe that some animal is prowling about, gets up, takes a
+stick, and goes out to drive it away. The priest then absconds with her,
+and the husband suspects nothing. The princes share these privileges
+with the priests, only they carry matters with a higher hand. When a
+woman strikes their fancy, they take possession of her without ceremony,
+and send her back when they are tired of her company. As for the
+husband, his resignation under such circumstances is almost always
+exemplary. He knows, too, that he may count thenceforth on the patronage
+of the amorous prince, and commit sundry peccadilloes on the strength of
+it with impunity. The marital policy is the same with regard to the
+priests. Pallas, therefore, is wrong to express surprise at the fact
+that the Kalmuck hell provides no punishment for the sin of wantonness.
+This omission does honour to the sly sagacity of the Lamite priests, and
+proves how much they distrust their own virtue. As marriage is forbidden
+them, they are the more liable to sin in this way, and therefore it was
+not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>reasonable that in a religious system of their own making, they
+should inflict punishment on their own souls.</p>
+
+<p>We have already described the ceremonial garb of the priests, their
+ordinary costume consists of a wide tunic with sleeves, and a flat
+broad-brimmed hat of cloth. Yellow and red are their favourite colours.</p>
+
+<p>The priests always pitch their tents at a certain distance from the
+oulousse to which they are attached, and usually range them in a circle
+round a large open space, in the centre of which stand the kibitkas that
+serve them for temples. Such a camp is called a khouroul, and every
+evening the Kalmucks assemble there in great numbers to perform their
+religious duties. The temples are generally adorned with rich silk
+hangings, and with a great number of images. Opposite the door stands
+the altar with a little bronze image of Dchakdchamouni upon it, and a
+profusion of votive cups filled with grain and beans, as customary among
+the Brahmins; and one vessel of holy water in which several peacock's
+feathers are dipped. Holy water plays an important part in the religious
+ceremonies of Lamism; the ghetzuls distribute it in the great festivals
+to the people, who swallow some of it and wash their faces with the
+rest. It appears to be an infusion of saffron and sugar, but the
+Kalmucks attribute to it very marvellous properties. A lamp burns day
+and night before the idol, which is generally clad in brilliant silks,
+the head and hands alone remaining uncovered. A silk curtain hangs
+before the other images, and is only raised at the time of prayer.</p>
+
+<p>The priests practise in a most scandalous manner on the credulity of the
+people. The first thing a Kalmuck does when he falls ill, is to have
+recourse to the prayers and invocations of his priest. If he is poor he
+is usually let off for a pelisse or a cloak, which the ghelung carries
+off on the pretext that it is the abode of some evil genius who has
+caused all the patient's suffering. But when the sick man is a prince,
+the proceedings are in accordance with his fortune. In that case it is
+not in a pelisse or a cloak the demon abides; he is lodged in the very
+body of the prince, and the business is how to provide him with another
+dwelling. The backshau must be paid handsomely for finding a man who
+will take the disaster upon himself. This is usually some poor devil who
+is brought by fair means or by force into the sick man's tent, where
+after a multitude of odd ceremonies, he receives the name of the prince,
+and so the evil spirit passes into his body. He is then driven out of
+the oulousse with his whole family, and forbidden ever to set foot
+within it again. Persons so treated are called <i>Andin</i> (fugitives). They
+may join another oulousse, but are always obliged to set up their tents
+at a distance from the general camp.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks have three great annual festivals, which they always take
+care shall last at least a fortnight each. The chief of the three
+called, <i>Zackan Zara</i>, is in celebration of the return of spring; the
+second (<i>Urus Zara</i>), which falls about June, consists in the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>benediction of the waters; and the third (<i>Souloun Zara</i>, or the feast
+of the lamp) takes place in December. An altar is then erected in the
+open air, and on it are set a great number of sacred lamps and candles,
+which are lighted by the priests at the moment the new moon is visible,
+in presence of the whole assembled clergy and laity. I borrow from
+Bergmann a description of the feast of Zackan Zara at which he was
+present.</p>
+
+<p>"About noon," he says, "the sound of instruments gave token that the
+ceremony was about to begin, and I hastened to the khouroul, where the
+priests arranged in classes, and drawn up in line, were ready to begin
+the procession. The persons who only carried the instruments formed of
+themselves a considerable group. On the flanks of all those battalions
+of ghelungs, ghetzuls, and mandshis, floated sundry kinds of flags, some
+formed of strips of silk of many colours sewn in a ring, resembled the
+Roman ensigns; others like our banners were fixed to cross rods
+supported on long poles. We had not long to wait ere the chief priests,
+carrying with them large chests, came forth from a kibitka, and put
+themselves at the head of the multitude. They were closely followed by
+many others dressed in their richest attire, who eagerly pressed forward
+to assist in carrying the chests, or even to touch them with the tips of
+their fingers. As for the instruments, the timbrels were fixed on pieces
+of wood, and the great trumpets were supported by rods carried by some
+of the common people. The multitude that closed the procession were
+scarcely more numerous than the priests, and the old women alone
+testified their piety by sighs drawn from the bottom of their hearts. At
+some hundred paces from the khouroul, a scaffolding had been erected in
+the form of an altar thirteen or fourteen feet high, braced with ropes
+before and behind. In front of the altar was a circular space covered
+with carpets, and intended for the priests, with an immense red silk
+parasol to shade the high priest who filled the functions of Lama. The
+procession having reached the altar, the sacred chests were laid at its
+foot, and the images it contained were unmuffled. Everything was now
+ready to begin the ceremony when the Lama should arrive.</p>
+
+<p>"I availed myself of this pause to examine the sanctuary. On a yellow
+cloth richly embroidered with sacred flowers of a red colour, I saw
+several votive cups, and the gilded images of some deities. Right and
+left of the altar stood the banners, and in front of it, but outside the
+carpeted circle, were the instruments. Suddenly the music struck up, and
+the Lama arrived, borne in triumph in a palanquin, from which he
+alighted at a little distance from the altar. A signal was then given;
+the curtain that hung before the images was raised, and the priests, the
+princes, and the whole people prostrated themselves three times.</p>
+
+<p>"After this ceremony, the vice-khan Tchoutchei, who was present with his
+two sons, marched thrice with his whole suit round the circular space
+where the priests were squatted, and at last took his <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>place beside the
+Grand Lama under the great parasol. His example was followed by his
+wife, only she took up her position outside the clerical circle, under a
+reserved pavilion where tea was presented to her. Large wooden vessels
+filled with tea, and cakes, were then set before the priests, and a
+great number of sheep intended for dinner were slaughtered. The repast,
+often interrupted by prayers and other ceremonies, was protracted until
+sunset. The images were then rolled up again, and the chests carried
+back in procession to the tents whence they had been taken. The same
+ceremonies were repeated on the two following days, but other bourkhans
+were exhibited to the worshippers."</p>
+
+<p>This feast of Zackan was instituted in honour of a victory achieved by
+Djackdjamouni over six false doctors with whom he contended for more
+than a week. Besides their great festivals, the Kalmucks have also three
+days in every month (the 7th, 15th, and 30th) on which they kill no sort
+of animal, but every faithful follower of Lama must live only on milk
+diet. The priests spend those days in the temple, praying from morning
+till night, and the people generally attend.</p>
+
+<p>The Kalmucks practise family devotions, consisting of prayers chanted
+with some degree of harmony, in an alternation of acute and grave sounds
+and slow and quick measures. They pray with a rosary somewhat like those
+used in Catholic countries, but oftener they perform that business by a
+mechanical process that does great honour to the inventive wit of the
+Lamites. To invoke Heaven in this way they have a drum or cylinder
+covered with Tangout characters, and containing several sacred writings
+in its interior, and the whole operation consists in making the cylinder
+revolve more or less rapidly by means of a cord. This very simple method
+of praying leaves the mind quite free, and does not hinder the Kalmucks
+from chatting, smoking, quarrelling, and abusing each other; provided
+the cylinder turns, the prayer is worked off of its own accord, and the
+bourkhans are quite satisfied. The followers of Lama believe this manual
+occupation to be highly meritorious, and imagine that the noise made by
+the sacred writings, when the cylinder revolves, rises to the throne of
+the deity and brings down his blessing. The princes have a still easier
+method of worshipping. Whenever they do not find it convenient to repeat
+their prayers orally, they plant before their tent a long pole to which
+is attached a flag inscribed with sacred verses; and thus they leave it
+to the winds to carry their homage to the throne of the bourkhans.</p>
+
+<p>Lucky or unlucky days are carefully observed by the Kalmucks. If one of
+the common people dies on a lucky day, he is buried, almost in the same
+way as among ourselves, and a small banner with a sort of epitaph is
+planted on his grave. On the contrary, if he dies on an unlucky day his
+body is laid on the ground, covered only with a felt or a mat, and the
+performance of his obsequies is left to carrion beasts and birds. In
+this case the relations or friends of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>deceased watch to see by what
+kind of creature the corpse is first attacked, and from that fact they
+draw inferences as to how the soul fares in the other world. The rule is
+different with regard to princes, whose bodies are never exposed above
+ground. If they die on an unlucky day they are buried; otherwise they
+are burned with great pomp, and on the spot where they have expired a
+small chapel is erected, in which their ashes are deposited. The priests
+are still better off than the princes: die when they will they are
+always granted the honours of burning, provided they have had some
+reputation for sanctity in their lifetime; and their ashes are moulded
+into a little statue which is carried with great pomp to one of those
+small temples, called satzas, of which I have already spoken. The
+Kalmucks who greatly venerate the tombs of their priests, try as much as
+possible to keep the lamp in each of them perpetually burning. If it
+goes out, the first person who passes that way is bound to relight it.</p>
+
+<p>The habits of private life among the Kalmucks are of course in
+accordance with their state of civilisation and religious belief, and
+are strongly marked by all their gross superstitions. Yet certain of
+their customs are serious and affecting, and cannot fail to make an
+impression on the traveller. Others are curious for their patriarchal
+simplicity. When a woman is in labour, one or more priests are sent for,
+and whilst the husband runs round the tent with a big stick to drive
+away the evil spirits, the ghelungs stand at the door reciting prayers,
+and invoking the favour of the deity on the child about to be born. When
+the babe is come into the world, one of the relations goes out of the
+tent, and gives it the name of the first object he sees. This is the
+practice among all classes. I have known a prince <i>Little Dog</i>, and
+other individuals bearing the most whimsical names. The women remain
+veiled for many days after their delivery, and a certain time must
+elapse before they can be present at the religious ceremonies.</p>
+
+<p>The customs observed in marriages are more interesting, particularly
+when the young couple belong to the aristocracy. The preliminaries
+consist in stipulating the amount in horses, camels, and money, which
+the bridegroom is to pay to the bride's father; this being settled the
+young man sets out on horseback, accompanied by the chief nobles of his
+oulousse, to carry off his bride. A sham resistance is always made by
+the people of her camp, in spite of which she fails not to be borne away
+on a richly caparisoned horse, with loud shouts and <i>feux de joie</i>. When
+the party arrive at the spot where the kibitka of the new couple is to
+stand, and where the trivet supporting their great pot is already
+placed, the bride and bridegroom dismount, kneel down on carpets, and
+receive the benediction of their priests; then they rise, and, turning
+towards the sun, address their invocations aloud to the four elements.
+At this moment the horse on which the bride has been brought home is
+stripped of saddle and bridle, and turned loose for any one to catch and
+keep <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>who can. The intention of this practice, which is observed only
+among the rich, is to signify to the bride that she is thenceforth to
+live only with her husband, and not think of returning to her parents.
+The setting up of the kibitka concludes the whole ceremony. The bride
+remains veiled until the tent is ready, and her husband taking off her
+veil, hands her into her new home. There is one curious incident in the
+marriages of the wealthy which deserves mention. The bride chooses a
+bridesmaid who accompanies her in her abduction; and when they come to
+the place for the kibitka, the bride throws her handkerchief among the
+men; whoever catches it must marry the bridesmaid. For a year after
+marriage the wife must confine herself to the tent, and during all that
+time can only receive visits on its threshold, even on the part of her
+parents. But when the year is out she is free to do just as she likes.</p>
+
+<p>All marriages are not contracted in this peaceable manner among the
+Kalmucks. When the relations cannot agree on the terms, which is no
+unusual case, the question is very often settled by force. If the young
+man is really enamoured he calls together his comrades and by force or
+cunning carries off the girl, who, after she has once entered his tent,
+cannot under any pretext be reclaimed by her parents.</p>
+
+<p>Lamism seems in the beginning to have forbidden polygamy and divorce,
+but these prohibitions have long become obsolete, and both practices are
+now legalised among all the Kalmucks. In case of infidelity on the
+wife's part, the repudiation takes place publicly, if the husband
+requires it. The most broken down horse that can be found is brought
+out, its tail is cut off, the guilty woman is mounted on its bare back,
+and hooted out of the oulousse. But these scenes occur very rarely; for
+the offended husband usually contents himself with sending his wife away
+privately, after giving her a few head of cattle for her support. The
+Kalmucks of the Caspian indulge very seldom in polygamy; indeed I never
+heard of more than one individual who had two wives. The condition of
+women among them is very different from what prevails in Turkey and
+great part of Asia; the restrictions of the harem are unknown, and both
+wives and maids enjoy the greatest independence, and may freely expose
+their faces to view on all occasions.</p>
+
+<p>I have spoken of the efforts made by the Moravian brethren of Sarepta to
+convert the Kalmucks, and of the intolerant manner in which the Russian
+clergy put a stop to them. Though we are by no means partisans of
+spiritual missions, and are of opinion that the apostles of our day
+often do more harm than good, still we cannot but regret the decision
+adopted by the synod. By their position, their industry, the simplicity
+of their religious notions, and their knowledge of the country, the
+Moravians are most favourably circumstanced for effecting the
+civilisation and social improvement of the Kalmucks; and there are some
+men among them who really understand their task. Buddhism, as practised
+among the Kalmucks <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>tends to cramp all intellectual growth. Consisting
+exclusively in gross and burlesque superstitions, though liberality and
+equality were its fundamental principles, that religion can now only
+serve to brutalise the people, and retain them under the yoke of a
+grasping and fraudulent clergy. In this point of view a conversion to
+more rational doctrines would evidently be for the welfare of the
+Kalmucks; but the change should not be accomplished under the influence
+of so ignorant and superstitious a clergy as that of the Russian church;
+for it would be better to leave the Kalmucks to their old creed, and
+trust to time for their emancipation from the control of their priests.
+After all, the civilisation of these tribes is a difficult problem.
+Looking to the arid land in which they dwell, we must confess that it
+would be fatal to them were they subjected to our rules of life. I
+resided a considerable time among them, and inured myself in a great
+degree to their habits; and when on returning to our civilised towns, I
+was again a witness of the struggles, passions, vices, and evils that
+torment most of the nations of Europe, I could not but wish from my
+heart that the Kalmucks may long retain their native habits, and very
+long remain safe from that ambitious civilisation that gnaws the souls
+of the various classes of our populations.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Oubacha's emigration left the plains of the Ural unoccupied for many
+years, and it was not until the beginning of this century that some
+Khirghis tribes of the Little Horde entered on possession of them with
+the consent of the Russian government. Few at first, their numbers
+rapidly increased by new emigrations, and at last Russia conferred upon
+the Khirghis colony the entire and authenticated possession of about
+7,075,700 hectares of land. More fortunate than the Kalmucks, this
+people still enjoys a certain degree of independence, in appearance at
+least if not in reality. They have their sovereign khan, pay no tax, and
+the only obligation imposed on them is to furnish a corps of cavalry in
+time of war.</p>
+
+<p>It is hard to know exactly the number of these Khirghis. The Russian
+government is always solicitous to persuade the world of the prosperity
+of its subject peoples, and to this end it publishes very fallacious
+documents. Thus in a supplement to the journal of the ministry of the
+interior, August 30, 1841, the population of the horde is set down at
+16,550 tents, whereas the real number is but 8000, as appears from an
+extract taken in my presence at Astrakhan from the official documents of
+the military governor. But as the editor of the St. Petersburg journal
+judiciously remarks, the tribe cannot but have augmented rapidly under
+the wise administration of Russia, and it is from his admiration for his
+government he deduces the best proof in support of his statistical
+statements. Such arguments have not much weight with us, and we even
+suspect that the number 8000 is an exaggeration, and that the Khirghis
+have remained faithful to Russia only because they cannot do otherwise,
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>since the government has taken the precaution of imprisoning them
+between two lines of Cossacks, those of the Ural and the Volga. Besides,
+if I may judge from the facts communicated to me at Astrakhan, the
+immigration of the Khirghis was not so free as the government is pleased
+to proclaim it to have been. Both force and fraud were employed to make
+them settle in regions from which Russia derived no profit since the
+flight of the Kalmucks.</p>
+
+<p>The Khirghis are nomades, living in felt tents, and employed in cattle
+rearing, like the Kalmucks. But they profess the Mahometan religion,
+belong evidently to the Turkish race, and have been from all time
+implacable foes to the Mongol hordes. Latterly, however, they appear to
+have lived in harmony with the Kalmucks of the Volga. Their khan often
+visits Prince Tumene, and in 1836 more than 2000 Khirghis encamped on
+the banks of the Volga, and took part in the grand entertainments given
+by the Kalmuck chief to the government authorities. But this state of
+peace is only the result of imperious necessity; if the hordes were
+independent, their old animosities would soon break out again.</p>
+
+<p>The present khan of the Khirghis is Giangour Boukevitch, who is reputed
+to be an able man, and desirous of introducing European civilisation
+among his people. The Emperor Nicholas had a handsome wooden house
+erected for him at the foot of the sand-hills called Ryn Peski, but he
+seldom resides in it. A few paltry buildings have been subsequently
+erected, through the strenuous intervention of the Russian <i>employ&eacute;s</i>,
+but it would be extravagant to behold in a score of cabins the elements
+of a future capital, as a certain St. Petersburg journal is pleased to
+do. The Khirghis will not so readily forsake their nomade ways. Their
+territory is hardly better than that of the Kalmucks; and their khan
+himself, obliged to camp out during the greater part of the year, in
+order to find fodder for his cattle, only returns to his pretended
+capital when the inclemency of winter drives him from his felt kibitka.
+It is necessary to exercise extreme caution and rigid criticism
+respecting all things pertaining to Russia, if we would arrive at the
+truth; for otherwise we shall be every moment in danger of mistaking for
+an indication of improvement and increased prosperity what is but the
+result of arbitrary power. We have repeatedly noticed instances of such
+mistakes on the part of travellers who have recently visited the
+southern portions of the empire. Never was any power more prodigal of
+outward decorations than the Muscovite; Russia is of all countries that
+which most lavishly expends its money to please the eye. To Potemkin
+belongs the honour of having been the first to play off these
+mystifications, when he got up extemporaneous villages and herds of
+cattle all along the road travelled by Catherine II. in her journey to
+the Crimea. He has had no lack of successors ever since. Alleys of
+acacias spring up by enchantment in the new towns; churches and houses
+with columns and porticoes; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>magnificent double eagles bearing the crown
+and the sceptre; numerous bureaucratic sign-boards with gilded
+inscriptions, &amp;c., are seen on all hands. This mania of wishing to
+appear what one is not, which has always characterised the Russians,
+seems to us one of their greatest obstacles to all real improvement, and
+to be one of the most dangerous maladies of the empire. Certainly it is
+a defect not easy to be avoided by a backward people who aspire to put
+themselves on a level with their more advanced neighbours; but in
+Russia, unhappily, artificial ostentation has been systematised; not
+only does it exist among individuals, but it forms the basis of all the
+acts of the government; from one end of the empire to the other, in the
+towns and in the steppes of the Caspian, its costly stage scenery is
+everywhere to be found; it has become the aim and the fixed idea of
+every man, from the ministers of state down to the lowest <i>employ&eacute;</i>; and
+whilst millions are uselessly expended to adorn the drapery of the
+theatre, the framework of the social edifice is allowed to go to ruin.
+The future welfare and the real progress of the country are deemed of
+little moment, provided the vanity of the day be satisfied, and the
+comedy be well played before his majesty and the strangers whom
+curiosity induces to visit Russia.</p>
+
+<p>After the Khirghis, we have also on the left bank of the Volga, near its
+mouths, a small Tatar horde, called Koundrof, an offshoot of the great
+tribe of the Kouban. These Tatars, who number about 1100 tents, were
+formerly bestowed by Russia as vassals upon the khans of the Kalmucks,
+but they were adroit enough to escape from taking part in Oubacha's
+famous emigration. Unavailing attempts have been subsequently made to
+colonise them. The governor of Astrakhan made them build two villages
+thirty years ago; but they soon abandoned those fixed dwellings, and
+resumed their old roving habits.</p>
+
+<p>Lastly, there are the black Nogais, who occupy the banks of the Terek,
+to the number of 8432 tents. We shall speak of them in detail in the
+next chapter.</p>
+
+
+<p><i>Table of the Nomade Population of the Governments of Astrakhan and the
+Caucasus.</i></p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="40%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 271">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="50%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="50%">Families.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kalmucks</td>
+  <td class="tdc">15,500</td>
+  </tr>
+   <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Khirghis</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;8,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Koundrof Tatars</td>
+  <td class="tdc">11,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Sertof Tatars</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;112</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Black Noga&iuml;s</td>
+  <td class="tdc">&nbsp;&nbsp;8,432</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Turcomans</td>
+  <td class="tdc" style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;&nbsp;3,838</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdc">36,982</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> After the curious researches of M. Ferdinand Denis,
+respecting the cosmography and the fantastic histories of the middle
+ages, we can no longer wonder at the singular conceptions of the
+Kalmucks. The world of Cosmas has likewise its four great sacred rivers,
+and he, too, like the followers of the Dalai Lama, makes the sun and the
+stars revolve round a mystic column. We might point out many other
+analogies between the Mongol myths and those of the medieval writers;
+but we will rather refer the reader to the enchanted world of M. Denis,
+to those elegant and poetic pages in which the learned librarian of
+Sainte G&eacute;nevi&egrave;ve has so ably demonstrated the historical importance of
+all those fabulous legends, which at first appear to be only the idle
+ravings of an extravagant imagination.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> The priests, however, have endeavoured to persuade the
+people that there are five sins which inevitably draw down everlasting
+punishment: these are irreverence towards the gods, thefts committed in
+the temples, disrespect to parents, murder, and, of course, offences
+against the clergy. These ideas are for all that in contradiction to the
+sacred books; but it is not surprising that the ministers of the Grand
+Lama have sought to give them vogue amongst the multitude.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">THE TATARS AND MONGOLS&mdash;THE KAPTSHAK&mdash;HISTORY AND TRADITIONS
+OF THE NOGAIS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Perhaps no people has given occasion to more discussions than the Tatars
+and Mongols, nor is the problem of their origin completely solved in our
+day, notwithstanding the most learned investigations. Some admit that
+the Tatars and Mongols formed but one nation, others allege that they
+are two essentially different races. According to Lesv&egrave;que d'Herbelot
+and Lesur<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> the Tatars are but Turks. Klaproth,<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> while he asserts
+that the Tatars and Mongols spring from the same stock, nevertheless
+regards the white Tatars, whom Genghis Khan conquered, as Turks. Lastly,
+D'Ohson in his remarkable history of the Mongols, treats the Mongols and
+Tatars as distinct races, but does not admit the theory of the Turkish
+origin. The same uncertainty that hangs over the Mongol and Tatar hordes
+of the fourteenth century, prevails with regard to the people who, under
+the name of Tatars, now dwell in the southern part of the Russian
+empire; and they have been considered sometimes as descendants of the
+Turkish tribes that occupied those regions previously to the twelfth
+century, sometimes as remnants of the conquering Mongol Tatars. Let us
+try to unravel this tangled web of opinions, and see what may be the
+least problematical origin of these various nations.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese writers for the first time make mention of the Tatar people
+in the eighth century of our era, under the name of Tata, and consider
+them as a branch of the Mongols. The general and historian, Meng
+Koung,<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> who died in 1246, and who commanded a Chinese force sent to
+aid the Mongols against the Kin, informs us in his memoirs that a part
+of the Tatar horde, formerly dispersed or subdued by the Khitans,<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a>
+quitted the In Chan mountains,<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> where they had taken refuge, and
+joined their countrymen, who dwelt north-east of the Khitans. The white
+Tatars and the savage or black Tatars then formed the most important
+tribes of those regions.</p>
+
+<p>According to D'Ohson, the Chinese comprehended under the name of Tatars
+all the nomade hordes that occupied the regions north of the desert of
+Sha No, either because the Tatars were the nearest, or because they were
+the most powerful of all those tribes. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>The intercourse of the Chinese
+with the west of Asia, would have afterwards served to give currency to
+the general denomination by which they designated their nomade vassals;
+and thus from the commencement of the power of the Genghis Khan, those
+tribes would have been already known by the name of Tatars,<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> which
+was propagated from nation to nation until it reached Europe, although
+it was repudiated with contempt by the conquerors themselves, as that of
+a nation they had exterminated. It is a fact established by the
+statements of many writers, and by D'Ohson himself, that Genghis Khan
+annihilated the white Tatars, and thus it has come to pass by a most
+curious freak of accident, that this extinguished people became
+celebrated all over the East by the conquests of its very destroyers.</p>
+
+<p>Jean du Plan de Carpin expresses himself still more positively: "The
+country of the Tatars," he says, "bears the name of Mongal,<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> and is
+inhabited by four different peoples, the Jeka Mongals, that is to say,
+the Great Mongals; the Sou Mongals, or the Fluviatile Mongals, who call
+themselves Tatars from the name of the river that flows through their
+territory; the Merkit and the Mecrit. All these peoples have the same
+personal characteristics and the same language, though belonging to
+different provinces, and ruled by divers princes."<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> He then goes on
+to speak of the birth of Genghis Khan among the Jeka Mongals, and of his
+conflicts with the Sou Mongals and the other <i>Tatar</i> tribes.</p>
+
+<p>On comparing this author with the Chinese writers mentioned and
+commented on in the works of de Guignes, Abel R&eacute;musat and D'Ohson, it
+will appear beyond all question that the Jeka Mongals are none other
+than the black Tatars, and that the Sou Mongals are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>the representatives
+of the white Tatars. As for the Merkit and the Mecrit, we confess, with
+M. d'Avezac, that our knowledge of them amounts only to conjecture; but,
+whatever was their origin, they are of but little importance with regard
+to the question we are now discussing.</p>
+
+<p>The old Mohammedan authors, such as Massoudi and Ebn Haoucal, who treat
+of the nations of Asia, appear not to have known the Tatars, for they
+never speak of them. Their name figures, however, in a Persian
+abridgment of universal history, entitled "Modjmel ut Tevarikh el
+Coussas;" and Reschyd el Dyn calls the Tatars a people famous throughout
+the world; but it would be difficult to extract from these authorities
+any precise argument for the solution of our problem. After all, as
+previously to the days of Genghis Khan, the most important tribe of
+Mongols bore the name of Tatars, it is not surprising that the Mussulman
+writers included the whole of that people under this denomination. The
+Chinese, on the contrary, being in close intercourse with the Tatars,
+their vassals, must of course have known their generic name, and
+transmitted it to us.</p>
+
+<p>Now let us recapitulate. If we reflect that Genghis Khan, though born in
+the tribe especially designated as black Tatars, yet adopted the
+denomination of Mongols for his people; that historians have been
+unanimous in calling Genghis Khan's soldiers Mongols; that the Chinese
+chroniclers, De Guignes, and many others, have considered the Tatars as
+only a branch of the Mongols; that Du Plan de Carpin himself begins his
+history with these words: "<i>Incipit historia Mongalorum quos nos
+Tartaros appellamus</i>," it will not be easy to deny, that previously to
+the twelfth century, previously to the great Asiatic invasions, the
+Tatars and Mongols were parts of one nation, belonging to one race. If
+subsequently the hordes of Genghis renounced their special name, this
+circumstance must be ascribed to the sanguinary contest which Jessoukai
+and his son, Genghis Khan, had to sustain against their oppressors, the
+white Tatars, then the principal tribe in those regions. But the term
+Tatar still prevailed in Europe, though it continued to be regarded as
+synonymous with Mongol by all the Chinese writers, and by most of those
+of other nations.</p>
+
+<p>The religious and political constitution of the various Mongol or Tatar
+branches before Genghis Khan, is very imperfectly known to us, and
+affords us no manner of ground for presuming a positive separation into
+two races. According to the Mongol work, "The Source of the Heart,"
+written in the beginning of the thirteenth century it appears that
+Lamism was first adopted by Genghis Khan, and that it became under his
+successors the prevailing religion of the Mongols proper. Marco Polo's
+narrative seems nevertheless to prove, that at the end of the thirteenth
+century the Mongols had not yet entirely adopted the creed and rites of
+Lamism; we now find it professed by all the Kalmucks of Russia.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>In later times, after the invasions by Genghis Khan and his sons, the
+Europeans, through ignorance or heedlessness, gave the name of Tatars
+not only to the tribes who had figured in those Asiatic irruptions, but
+also to the Mahometans, who had once been masters of the regions
+adjacent to the Caspian and the Black Sea, and had been subjugated by
+those conquerors; hence have arisen in a great measure all the mistakes
+and discussions respecting the origin of the Tatars. After the Mongol
+torrent had subsided, Europeans persisted in giving the appellation of
+Tatars to all those Mussulman nations originally of Turkish origin, that
+to this day occupy the territory of Kasan and Astrakhan, the Crimea and
+the region called Turcomania, situated between the Belur Mountains, Lake
+Aral, and the Caspian Sea; and as all these nations exhibited a
+religious, political, and moral character peculiar to themselves, people
+were naturally led to distinguish them from the Mongols, and to
+attribute to them a special origin. Thus Pallas and many other
+travellers, after visiting the Mahometans of Southern Russia, and
+comparing them with the Kalmucks, have made of the Tatars and Mongols
+two distinct races; and Malte Brun, in his geography, has given the name
+of Tatar to all the tribes established in our day in Turkistan, applying
+that of Mongol exclusively to the nations inhabiting the central
+tableland of Asia, from Lake Palcati and the Belur Mountains to the
+great wall of China, and to the Siolky Mountains which separate them
+from the Manchous, a tribe of the great race of the Tongouses. All these
+writers have failed to observe, that the appellation Tatar lost all
+signification in Asia under the destroying power of Genghis Khan, and
+has ever since existed only in the European vocabulary.</p>
+
+<p>Doubtless, Genghis Khan and his successors did not achieve all their
+conquests by the arms of the Mongols alone; and after having subjugated
+all the Mahometan nations occupying the vast regions of Turcomania and a
+part of Western Asia, they of course incorporated them with their
+hordes, and employed them in their European invasions.</p>
+
+<p>What, then, are we to suppose is the origin of all those tribes who,
+under the name of Tatars, now inhabit the south of Russia? We agree
+entirely with the opinion put forth in Courtin's "Encyclop&eacute;die Moderne,"
+that these Tatars are nothing but Turks, Comans, or Petshenegues, who
+having been at the commencement of the thirteenth century masters of all
+the countries north and west of the Caspian Sea as far the Dniepr, were
+afterwards subdued by the sons of Genghis Khan, and contributed towards
+the foundation of a new empire comprised between the Dniepr and the
+Emba, to which was given the name of Kaptshak, or Kiptshak, a
+designation which appears to have been originally that of the territory.</p>
+
+<p>The princes of this empire were Mongols or Tatars, but the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>majority of
+their subjects were Turks. It appears even that the latter formed a
+large portion of the armies of Genghis Khan in his late expeditions. The
+Turkish language thus remained predominant throughout the Kaptshak,
+Little and Great Bokhara, and among the Bashkirs and Tchouvaches. A few
+Mongol words are still found in the Turkish dialect of the Russian
+Mahometans, but they are extremely rare, and this may be easily
+explained. The soldiers of the Mongol army were of course bachelors, and
+when they married Kaptshak women, their children adopted the language of
+their mothers. The sovereigns themselves of this new empire soon
+embraced Mahometanism. Bereke, the brother and successor of Batou, set
+the first example; Usbeck Khan, who reigned in 1305, followed in his
+steps, and declared himself the protector of Islam, which thenceforth
+became the creed of the conquerors as well as of the conquered.</p>
+
+<p>It must not be inferred from the preceding statement that the Turks and
+Mongols may not, in more remote times, have belonged to one and the same
+race; we are not quite of that opinion; we have considered the Turkish
+race only under the conditions in which it appeared in Europe and Asia
+about the twelfth century, that is to say, modified by long contact with
+the Caucasian nations, and we have left altogether out of view what it
+may previously have been. Moreover, if De Guignes is rightly informed,
+the inhabitants of the Kaptshak are really of Mongol origin, and the
+soldiers of Genghis Khan took pains to prove to them that they were
+their countrymen.</p>
+
+<p>Towards the close of the fifteenth century, the empire of the Kaptshak
+was divided into several khanats&mdash;Kasan, Astrakhan, and the Crimea, the
+rulers of which, descended from Genghis, were all Mongols; but then they
+had no longer armies drawn from the interior of Asia, and the Turkish
+element finally prevailed throughout the whole population. Still, it
+cannot be denied that the Mahometan hordes of Russia present some
+resemblance to the Mongols, and this tends to confirm the ideas we have
+expressed above. But then it is obvious that two nations that served so
+long under the same banners, and lived under the same government, must
+have intermarried with each other, and that their blood must have been
+frequently mingled. Moreover, it is a most remarkable fact, with what
+pertinacity the Mongol type maintains its identity in spite of the
+mixture of many generations; a few marriages are sufficient to spread
+traces of it in the course of a certain time, over a whole nation. I
+have seen one example of this in the Cossacks, who have been living
+amidst the Kalmucks for about two hundred years.</p>
+
+<p>The Tatars in the mountains of the Crimea more rarely exhibit Mongol
+features; the Greek profile is frequently found among them. This
+difference is owing to their mixture with the Goths, the Greeks, and the
+remnants of other nations that have successively overrun the peninsula.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogais, who inhabit the plains of the Crimea, and the steppes <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>of
+the Sea of Azof, are unquestionably the nearest in appearance to the
+Mongols of all the Tatars, and generally their physiognomy is such as
+cannot be attributed to any other origin. Moreover, according to their
+own traditions, they never made part of the Kaptshak, nor did they
+arrive in Europe until subsequently to the death of Genghis Khan, after
+having dwelt from time immemorial, if not with the Mongols, at least in
+their vicinity.</p>
+
+<p>According to Lesv&egrave;que, the horde of the Nogais, long the most celebrated
+of the west after that of the Kaptshak, was constituted in the
+thirteenth century by Nogai, a Tatar general, who, after conquering the
+countries north of the Black Sea, succeeded in forming a state
+independent of the Kaptshak. The traditions I collected among the Nogais
+themselves, make no mention whatever of a general of that name; their
+chronicles allege that the name of the nation is derived from <i>neogai</i>
+(which may be translated by the phrase, <i>mayst thou never know
+happiness</i>), and that it was bestowed on them in their old country, on
+account of their precarious and vagabond life.<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> I am inclined to
+adopt this opinion; for considering the importance which the Nogais
+attach to nobility and to antiquity of race, it would be very
+extraordinary that they should not have preserved the name of the
+founder of their power. The same traditions relate that after the death
+of Genghis Khan, the horde whence the Nogais of the Crimea are
+descended, arrived under the command of Djanibek Khan on the Volga, the
+left bank of which it kept possession of for many years. Part of this
+horde afterwards crossed the river, and advancing to the foot of the
+Caucasus, settled on the Kouma and the Terek. The principal tribe of
+these Tatars, and the same of which we are about to speak, soon forsook
+those regions, and after crossing the Don, the Dniepr, and the Dniestr,
+finally settled in Bessarabia, in the country called Boudjiak. There it
+remained more than half a century; but being continually harassed by the
+Turks and Moldavians, it abandoned its new country, retraced its steps,
+and under the command of Jannat Bey, traversed the Crimea and the
+Straits of Kertch. After reaching the banks of the Kouban, the horde was
+broken up, by internal dissensions, into three branches, the largest of
+which remained on the Kouban, and the others recrossed the straits. One
+of these tribes fixed itself on the plains of the Crimea, and the other
+returned to Bessarabia, partly by land, partly by sea.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogais of the Kouban again divided into several tribes, some of
+which connected themselves with the Kalmuck hordes, others with the
+mountaineers of the Caucasus. During all these emigrations, they were
+successively commanded by Jam Adie, Kani Osman, and Kalil Effendi, the
+Tatar of the Crimea. The latter, at <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>the head of one of the principal
+tribes the Kouban, marched along the eastern coast of the Sea of Azof,
+crossed the Don, and encamped on the banks of the Moloshnia Vodi, where
+he died; his tomb still exists near the Nogai village of Keneges, on the
+Berda. He was succeeded by Asit Bey, who ruled for seventeen years, and
+was the last Tatar chief; he died in 1824. But long before his death, in
+the time of Catherine II., these Nogai hordes were completely subjected
+to the laws of the empire, and were under the management of Russian
+officials. Count Maison, a French emigrant, was appointed their governor
+in 1808, and he it was, who by dint of perseverance, made them renounce
+their nomade ways, and settle in villages.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogais now occupy the whole region between the Sea of Azof and the
+Moloshnia Vodi. They are about 52,000 souls, residing in seventy-six
+villages. As long as they were vagrants they remained very poor,
+cultivating no grain but millet, which was their usual food, and of this
+they could hardly procure a sufficient supply. Turbulent, fickle, and
+thievish, they had an insurmountable aversion for all steady toil, and
+particularly for agricultural labour; their occupations were tending
+cattle, hunting, riding, music, and dancing. They were fond of
+assembling and sitting in a ring, smoking and hearing the traditions of
+their forefathers. All the cares of the household fell upon the women.
+Their clothes, cooking utensils, bread, &amp;c., they procured in exchange
+for cattle. They seldom remained many months in one spot; an hour was
+enough for them to pack up wife, children, and goods in their araba,<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a>
+and then moving at random towards some other point of the horizon, they
+carried with them all they possessed. "Such is the order established by
+God himself," cried the Nogai, "to us he has given wheels, to other
+nations fixed dwellings and the plough." There was little wealth among
+them in those times, though there was a certain overbearing aristocracy
+that monopolised all the gifts of fortune and power to the detriment of
+the other members of the community, many of whom, either through
+ignorance or sloth, became even slaves of the shrewder and braver. Such
+was the origin of the authority of the Mourzas, or noble chiefs of the
+<i>aouls</i> (villages, encampments).</p>
+
+<p>The Nogais had for their emigrations, like the Kalmucks, circular tents
+of felt, three or four yards in diameter, and conical at top. In winter,
+they constructed earthen huts beside their kibitkas. Such cold and damp
+dwellings were very prejudicial to health, as was proved by the
+multitude of children that died every year.</p>
+
+<p>Under Count Maison's wise and disinterested administration, all these
+old habits disappeared by degrees, and the Nogais began to improve their
+condition. By dint of patience and zeal they were prevailed on to build
+commodious dwellings, and having once established themselves in
+villages, their prosperity went on regularly increasing, and every man
+had the means of procuring subsistence for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>his family by his own
+labour. Count Maison is still remembered by the Nogais with the most
+lively gratitude, but his honesty did not protect him from malevolence
+and intrigues; it provoked against him all the subordinate functionaries
+whose peculations he prevented; and after enduring disgusts and
+annoyances without number, he sent in his resignation to St. Petersburg
+in 1821. Since that time the Nogais have had no special governor, but
+are under the control of functionaries attached to the ministry of the
+interior, who reside in their villages. They have, however, preserved
+the judicial authority of their cadis, and the Russian tribunals only
+take cognizance of those criminal and civil cases which the cadis cannot
+decide. The Nogais are exempt from military service, but they pay money
+contributions to the crown, at the rate of thirty rubles for each
+family.</p>
+
+<p>For about fifteen years past a Mennonite of the German colonies has of
+his own accord continued the work so judiciously begun by Count Maison.
+M. Cornies, one of the most remarkable men in New Russia, deservedly
+exercises the greatest influence over the Nogais, among whom his advice
+and exertions have already produced some excellent results. The
+miserable villages of former days have been gradually superseded by
+pretty houses in the German style, surrounded with gardens, and
+agriculture has made such progress, that a large number of farmers are
+now able to export corn.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogais are rather strict observers of the precepts of Islam. Their
+country contains eleven mosques, and each village has several houses for
+prayer. Their clergy are subject to the mufti of the Crimea and of his
+representative, who resides in the aoul of Emmaout; they consist of
+effendi mollahs, mollas, and cadis. The mollahs take tithe of all grain,
+and a fortieth of the cattle. Their functions are to call the people to
+prayer, to pray for the sick, write talismans, preside at sacrifices,
+marriages, and funerals, and perform all the rites of public worship.
+The effendi mollahs draw up articles of marriage and divorce; and, in
+concert with the village elders, they decide all quarrels and suits
+between husband and wife, and all questions relative to the sale of the
+latter. They also fulfil along with the cadis the duties of interpreters
+of the law, and preceptors of the Koran. Circumcision, which boys
+undergo at ten or twelve years of age, is performed by the bab (father),
+whose office is hereditary. Hadjis, or pilgrims, who have visited the
+kaaba of Mecca, though they have no official duties, still possess great
+authority, and are consulted on almost all occasions; they are
+distinguished by a green or white shawl rolled round their woollen caps.
+The pilgrimage to Mecca, is not quite obligatory on the Nogais, who
+generally exempt themselves from it by means of offerings and
+sacrifices. The new measures adopted by the Russians render this journey
+very difficult, and the Tatars must soon renounce it altogether. Every
+individual is bound before he sets out to prove that he takes with him
+at least 120<i>l.</i>; his passport costs him nearly 8<i>l.</i>, and if he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>does
+not return, the whole village where he was born is bound to pay his
+quota of taxation until a new census of the population is made.</p>
+
+<p>Expiatory sacrifices are very common among the Nogais: they take place
+during the Kourban Bairam, on the occasion of a death, for the
+commemoration of deceased persons, on the celebration of a marriage, on
+return from a journey, and as an atonement for the omission of any
+religious duty. Those who offer them up invite to their houses their
+friends and relations, and the poor of the village, to whom they give a
+good portion of the victim, which is either a sheep or a cow, according
+to the wealth of the individual, or the importance of the occasion.</p>
+
+<p>The great forty days fast of Ramazan is strictly observed only by aged
+persons of either sex. Curiously enough the obligation of prayer is
+imposed only on persons aged forty or fifty; the seventh day of the
+Mussulman week, which corresponds to our Friday, is celebrated only by
+the priests and some devout old men. The prohibition against wine is not
+at all regarded by the young, especially in travelling. In general the
+rising generation of Nogais pay very little heed to the commandments of
+Mahomet, and by no means share this religious fanaticism of the Asiatic
+Mussulmans. Long and handsome beards are held in great veneration among
+them. Old men shave the whole head, but the young leave a small tuft
+growing on the top of the crown. This custom obliges them to wear
+woollen caps in all seasons.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogais have generally two wives, and some even three, but this is a
+very rare case. The plurality and sale of wives frequently occasion
+quarrels, brawls, and acts of bloody vengeance.</p>
+
+<p>Charity, which is regarded in the Koran as one of the greatest virtues,
+extends only to the poor who beg from door to door, and who are usually
+given a little bread and millet. Orphans and old people are left to the
+care of their friends or relations, for the Nogais have no public
+establishment for the indigent. The fidelity of the Nogais is
+proverbial; even the most thievish of them would never betray a trust
+reposed in them. As for the ancient hospitality, it is now only
+exercised from habit, and very rarely from virtue. Still they invariably
+afford the most cordial welcome to every aged Mussulman or hadji, and in
+these cases their hospitality is quite patriarchal. Reverence for the
+aged is considered by them as a sacred duty.</p>
+
+<p>One of the most striking characteristics of these Tatars is their
+excessive vanity with regard to every thing that concerns the nobility
+of their ancestors. It shows itself not only towards strangers, but also
+in their dealings with each other. They profess likewise the most
+profound contempt for the Persians, the Turks, and even for the mountain
+Tatars of the Crimea, and deem it a dishonour to intermarry with those
+nations, which yet are of the same creed, if not of the same origin with
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>The Nogai alternates between total supineness and extraordinary
+exertion, so that to make any profit of him he must be employed by task
+work and not by the day. This sloth, however, is not so much a vice
+inherent in the character of the nation as a result of its old vagrant
+and precarious existence, and of its limited wants. On the other hand,
+the nomade habits of other days have developed the capacity of this
+people in a remarkable degree, and whether as artisans or journeymen,
+agriculturists or manufacturers, the Nogais invariably give proof of
+great ability and skill.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogai is of moderate stature, but well proportioned; his movements
+are free and unembarrassed, and his attitude is never awkward under any
+circumstances. The women are, like all those of the East, comely when
+young; but when old they are horribly ugly. Neither sex exhibits any
+decided national physiognomy; countenances both of the Circassian and
+the Mongol type are very common among them.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogai constructs his own cottage with bricks dried in the sun, and
+whitewashes it regularly once a year within and without. Its dimensions
+are scarcely more than two or three-and-thirty feet by thirteen. The
+roof consists of a few rafters on which are laid reeds and branches of
+trees loaded with earth and ashes. A dwelling of this kind hardly costs
+more than 100 rubles; others of a larger size, with a floor and ceiling
+of wood, cost from 400 to 500 rubles. Each dwelling consists of two
+rooms, the kitchen, which is next the entrance, and the family room. The
+kitchen contains a fireplace, an iron pot, wooden vessels for milk and
+butter, harness and agricultural implements; the second room, which
+serves as a dormitory, is furnished with felt carpets, quilts, a pile of
+cushions, boxes containing clothes, and a dozen of napkins embroidered
+with coloured silk or cotton, according to the fortune of the family,
+and hung round the room. When the Nogai has two or more wives he
+constructs his house in such a manner that each of them may have her
+separate room.</p>
+
+<p>The costume of the Nogais is commodious. It consists of wide trousers, a
+cotton or woollen shirt, and a short caftan, fastened round the waist
+with a leathern girdle. Their head-dress is a cylindrical cap of
+lamb's-skin. In the winter they wear a sheep's-skin over the caftan, and
+in snowy weather they muffle themselves in a bashlik, or hood, which
+conceals their head and shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>The women wear a shift, a cloth caftan, belted above the hips with a
+broad girdle adorned with large metal buckles, Turkish trousers and
+slippers. Their head-dress is a white veil fastened to the crown of the
+head, with the two ends hanging gracefully on the shoulders. They wear
+little silver finger and nose rings, and heavy earrings often connected
+by a chain passing under the chin. Young girls part their hair into a
+multitude of tresses, and instead of the veil wear a little red
+skull-cap bedizened with bits of metal and all sorts of gewgaws.</p>
+
+<p>The Nogais eat mutton, beef, mares' flesh, &amp;c., fish, and dairy
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>produce. They prepare koumiss from mares' milk, and esteem it above all
+other liquors. They also kill sick horses for food, and very often do
+not disdain the flesh of one that has died a natural death. Mares'
+flesh, minced, forms the chief part of a national dish called <i>tarama</i>,
+which the men eat with their friends in token of sincerity and
+brotherhood. The women are not allowed to partake of these repasts.
+Their favourite dish is millet boiled in water, with a little sour milk
+called <i>tchourtzch</i>. Kalmuck tea is also much esteemed, and since the
+improvement of agriculture, the use of bread, which was formerly
+unknown, is gradually spreading among them.</p>
+
+<p>Their most common diseases are fever, small-pox, ulcers, itch, and
+syphilis. No one takes any means either to avoid or cure them. Charms
+are the only medicine known to the Nogais, and they are even quite
+indifferent to certain maladies which they attribute to fatality. They
+attribute great medicinal virtues to pepper, alum, sugar, and honey. The
+mortality of infants is frightful among them, and accounts for the
+stationary condition in which the population has long remained.</p>
+
+<p>No system of education as yet exists among the Nogais; their children
+grow up like the young of animals. Every village, indeed, possesses a
+cabin decorated with the name of school, in which the clergy give some
+imperfect lessons in the Tatar language and writing; but the rest of
+their teaching, which is exclusively religious, consists in the reading
+of Arabic books, which the teachers understand no better than the
+pupils.</p>
+
+<p>The rearing of cattle, particularly horses, forms the chief occupation
+of the Nogais. Their horses are of the Kalmuck Khirghis race, nimble and
+robust, though of moderate size, and usually fetch from 100 to 120
+rubles: they pass the whole year in the steppe, and have to find their
+food under the snow in winter. The horned cattle is small. The cows sell
+for twenty or thirty rubles; they give little milk, and are generally
+unprofitable. Camels are little used and seldom seen.</p>
+
+<p>In Count Maison's time the Nogais were required to sow, at least, two
+tchetverts of corn per head, which made a total of about 40,000
+tchetverts for the whole population. A year after the count's
+retirement, the seed sown in the whole territory did not exceed 19,000
+tchetverts, and the quantity went on diminishing from year to year. But
+since the disastrous winters, for cattle, of 1836 and 1837, the Nogais
+have been induced, by M. Cornies, to apply themselves again to
+agriculture, and the women have taken a part with the men in field
+labours.</p>
+
+<p>Their mode of cultivating the ground is extremely defective; they have
+bad ploughs drawn by four or five pair of oxen, whilst their neighbours,
+the Germans, do infinitely more work with but two. The harvest generally
+takes place in July, and is a season of great jollity. Gipsy musicians
+stroll over the country at that period, and collect <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>an ample store of
+wheat and millet. The corn is trodden out by horses in the open air: the
+best, which is called <i>arnaout</i>, sells at from seven to twelve rubles
+the tchetvert. The territory of the Nogais is still common property, and
+the want of finite boundaries occasions many quarrels, especially at
+harvest time.</p>
+
+<p>As usual, among eastern nations, the Nogai women do all the household
+drudgery, for the men think it beneath them to take part in it. The poor
+mother of the family is therefore obliged to prepare the victuals with
+her own hands, to wash the linen, milk the cows and mares, keep the
+house in repair, churn butter, &amp;c., and take care of the children. She
+must also gather the firewood, prepare all the drinkables, make candles
+and soap, and dress the sheep-skins to make pelisses for all the family.
+This is hard drudgery, and a few years of such married life suffice to
+make her old. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the
+Nogai cannot content himself with one wife, and that the purchase of
+young girls is so important and costly an affair among them.</p>
+
+<p>A man usually chooses his wife from a remote village; for every young
+man makes it a point of honour not to have seen his wife before
+marriage. The only particulars he is anxious to learn indirectly is
+whether the lady is plump and has long hair. When his choice is fixed,
+he bargains with the father or the relations of the girl for the price
+he is to pay for her. A handsome girl of good family costs four or five
+hundred rubles, besides a couple of score of cows and a few other
+beasts. Young widows are cheaper, and old women are to be had for
+nothing. The bride's price is paid on the spot by the wooer, and a horse
+and two oxen are reckoned equivalent to a couple of cows. The girl's
+inclinations are never consulted, and she submits to her lot with
+stoical indifference; she is given dresses, mattresses, and cushions by
+way of dower. Matches are often made when the bride is still in her
+cradle, the bridegroom's father paying down a part of the stipulated
+sum, and when the girl has attained the age of thirteen or fourteen, the
+marriage takes place without any opposition on the young man's part. But
+this traffic in girls often occasions long lawsuits between families.
+Various accidents occur to prevent the espousals, such as mutilation,
+loss of health or beauty, and, above all, bad faith, and hence arise
+animosities that are often transmitted from one generation to another.</p>
+
+<p>The women of the mountain race of Tatars of the Crimea, and the Kalmuck
+women, cost less than young Nogai girls, and are purchased by the poorer
+classes.</p>
+
+<p>On the day appointed for the wedding, the young people, who have not yet
+seen each other, choose each of them a deputy, who exchange hands on
+their behalf, and thus the marriage rite is accomplished. The day is
+spent in merriment, and in the evening the bride is veiled, and escorted
+by a troop of women to the conjugal abode, where she sees her husband
+for the first time.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>The young wife must remain shut up at home for a whole year, and see no
+men, conversing only with her husband and his relations. After this her
+emancipation is celebrated by a grand banquet. The Nogai women are very
+timid, for the jealousy of their husbands is extreme. When a married man
+dies, his brothers inherit his widows, and may keep or sell them as they
+please. A husband may repudiate his wife whenever he chooses, but she is
+entitled to marry again after the legalisation of the divorce. When a
+Nogai has many wives, the first retains peculiar privileges so long as
+she is young and handsome, but when her beauty fades, a younger rival
+always gains the good graces of the husband. Hence arise interminable
+quarrels, and domestic peace is only maintained by the kantshouk or whip
+of the lord of the mansion. On the whole, the women endure a hard
+slavery; but their ignorance of a better state of things makes their
+chains set light on them, and they are insensible of the degraded
+condition in which they are kept by their absolute lords.</p>
+
+<p>It would be difficult to predict with accuracy the fate reserved for all
+this Mahometan population. The Nogais have doubtless made great progress
+within the last twenty years; but their religious notions and their
+moral and political constitution will long impede their complete
+reformation, and it will need many a generation to eradicate from among
+them all those prejudices and all those old habits of a wandering life,
+which so fatally obstruct their prosperity and their intellectual
+growth. Besides, it is now impossible to mistake the tendency of the
+policy adopted by the Russian government towards the foreign races:
+there is every reason to think that they will at last be entirely
+absorbed by the Slavic population.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Histoire de la Russie, par Lesv&egrave;que. Biblioth&egrave;que
+Orientale, par d'Herbelot. Hist. des Cosaques, par Lesur.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Voyage au Caucase, par Klaproth, en 1807 et 1808.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> See Klaproth, Asia Polyglotta, p. 202.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> The Kitans occupied the country north of the Chinese
+provinces of Tschy Li and Ching-Ching, watered by the Charamuin, or Liao
+Ho and its confluents. Ibid.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> The chain of mountains called In Chan, begins north of the
+country of the Ordos, or of the most northern curve of the Hoang Ho, or
+Yellow River, and extends eastward to the sources of the rivers that
+fall into the western part of the Gulf of Pekin.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> We have entirely rejected from our discussion the word
+<i>Tartar</i>, which owes its origin only to a <i>jeu de mots</i>, of which St.
+Louis was the author.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> <i>Mongal</i> is the most frequent reading in the MSS.; and
+where the more exact reading, <i>Mongal</i>, occurs, it is probably a
+correction by the copyists. <i>Mongal</i> is the form prevalent among the
+Russians; and we have already had occasion to remark, that in
+transcribing proper names, Du Plan de Carpin generally adopts the
+Slavonic pronunciation, as he had it from his companion and interpreter,
+Benedict of Poland. (Extract from the interesting treatise of M.
+D'Avezac, on the travels of Du P. de C.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> Terra quadam est in partibus Orientis de qua dictum est
+supra, qu&aelig; Mongal nominatur. H&aelig;c terra quondam populos quatuor habuit:
+unus Yeka Mongal, id est magni Mongali vocabantur; secundus Su Mongal,
+id est aquatici Mongali vocabantur; sibi autem se ipsos Tartaros
+appellabant, a quodam fluvio qui currit per terram illorum qui Tatar
+nominatur. Alius appellabatur Merkit; quartus Mecrit. Hi populi omnes
+unam formani personarum et unam linguam habebant, quamvis inter se per
+provincias et principes essent divisi.
+</p><p class="noin">
+In terra Jeka Mongal fuit quidam qui vocabatur Chingis; este incepit
+esse robustus venator coram domino: dedicit enim homines furari, rapere
+pr&aelig;dam. Ibat autem ad alias terras et quoscumque poterat capere et sibi
+associare non demittebat; homines autem su&aelig; gentes ad se inclinavit, qui
+tanquam ducem ipsum sequebantur ad omnia malefacta. Hic autem incepit
+pugnare cum Su Mongal sive Tartaris, postquam plures homines
+aggregaverat sibi, et interfecit ducem eorum, et multo bello sibi omnes
+Tataros subjugavit et in suam servitutem recepit ac redegit. Post h&aelig;c
+cum omnibus istis pugnavit cum Merkitis, qui erant positi juxta terram
+Tartarorum, quas etiam sibi bello subjecit. Inde procedens pugnavit
+contra Mecritas et etiam illos devicit.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> The name <i>Noga&iuml;</i> appears to me to have occasioned the same
+mistakes as Tatar; misled by the conspicuous part played for some time
+by the Noga&iuml; hordes, most writers have comprehended under that name all
+the Mussulman tribes of the provinces of Astrakhan and Kasan.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> A large four-wheeled vehicle covered with felt. The wheels
+are never greased, and the noise they make can often be heard at a
+distance of several versts.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">BANKS OF THE KOUMA; VLADIMIROFKA&mdash;M. REBROF'S REPULSE OF A
+CIRCASSIAN FORAY&mdash;BOURGON MADJAR&mdash;JOURNEY ALONG THE
+KOUMA&mdash;VIEW OF THE CAUCASIAN MOUNTAINS&mdash;CRITICAL
+SITUATION&mdash;GEORGIEF&mdash;ADVENTURE WITH A RUSSIAN COLONEL&mdash;STORY
+OF A CIRCASSIAN CHIEF.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the dangers and hardships that had attended our desert
+wanderings, it was not without some degree of regret we bade a final
+adieu to the Kalmucks, whose patriarchal simplicity of life we had
+shared for more than a month. But as we approached Vladimirofka, and
+beheld the clear waters of the Kouma, its wooded banks, and the lovely
+scenery around, the change was indescribably delightful to eyes long
+accustomed to the blank and arid wilderness.</p>
+
+<p>In front of us stood a handsome dwelling on a gentle slope, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>flanked
+with two turrets, and surmounted by a belvedere rising above the trees.
+Behind us lay the Kalmuck camps and their herds of camels, resembling in
+the distance those effects of the mirage that are so common in the
+desert. A little to the left, the village, picturesquely situated at the
+foot of the mansion, descended in terraces to the margin of the Kouma,
+displaying its pretty workshops, and its houses parted from each other
+by plantations of mulberries, hazels, and Lombardy poplars, tinted with
+the varied hues of autumn. All the enchantments that opulence could call
+forth from a fruitful soil, were there assembled, as a bountiful
+compensation for our past fatigues. The camel-drivers and the Cossacks
+of our escort fully shared our delight, and remained like ourselves
+wonder-stricken before that brilliant apparition.</p>
+
+<p>Soon afterwards we entered the yard of the mansion, which was soon
+crowded with <i>employ&eacute;s</i> and servants, all greatly puzzled to conceive
+whence could have come so strange a caravan. Our appearance might well
+excite their astonishment. The britchka, drawn by three camels, preceded
+a little troop composed of four or five Cossacks, armed to the teeth,
+and several Kalmucks leading other camels loaded with all our nomadic
+gear. Our Cossack officer, with his falcon on his fist, and his long
+rifle slung behind him, rode close to the door of the carriage, ready,
+with Russian precision, to transmit our orders to the escort, and to
+gallop off at the slightest signal; whilst our dragoman, lolling on the
+box-seat with Italian <i>nonchalance</i>, looked down with profound disdain
+on the bustling throng around us, and did not condescend to answer one
+word to their thousand questions.</p>
+
+<p>M. Rebrof, the proprietor of Vladimirofka, having been waited on by our
+officer, came out and welcomed us in the most polite and cordial manner,
+and showed us into delightful apartments on the ground floor, looking
+out on a large, handsome garden, and containing a billiard-table and
+several numbers of the <i>Revue Etrang&egrave;re</i>. Then, after empowering us to
+make free use of his servants, his garden, his horses, and all his
+property, our host left us to ourselves, with a delicate tact not always
+displayed even by well-bred persons.</p>
+
+<p>Well, after all, it is a very good thing when one has long been deprived
+of all the comforts and conveniences of life, to come upon them again in
+full measure, and slide back into one's old habits; to pass from the
+Kalmuck kibitka to a lordly mansion,&mdash;from the horrible flat cake of
+unleavened dough to fresh bread every day&mdash;from the wearisome march of
+the camels to the repose of the divan&mdash;from the monotony of the steppes
+to all the comforts of civilised life. It is really a very good thing,
+especially if one has the rare good fortune to enjoy, in addition to all
+these pleasures, the hospitality of a most friendly and engaging family.
+In fact, what gives the most racy zest to travelling is precisely these
+contrasts that await you at every step, and which enable you to
+appreciate matters justly by comparison; for after all what is a good
+dinner to one who dines <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>well every day? What are a divan, books, music,
+pictures, to the privileged being who has them always before him? More
+than half his time is spent in yawning at the chimney corner; music
+wearies him; reading makes his eyes ache; his cook is a dull blockhead,
+and has no invention! Oh, the weary dreary lot of the wealthy man! But
+let some good genius suddenly whisk him off into the heart of the
+desert; let him be forced to wash down his biscuit with brackish water
+from the standing pool, to count on his falcon's quarry for his dinner,
+to lie on the hard ground, to bear rain, wind, and dust, to hear only
+the cries of camels, and see only Kalmuck faces; and afterwards, when he
+returns to all the good things he despised before, he will be heard
+exclaiming in the joy of his heart, "Oh! what a pleasant thing it is to
+eat, sleep, and dream; what a very comfortable life this is!"</p>
+
+<p>Vladimirofka is one of the finest properties I have seen in Russia. The
+whole economy of this magnificent establishment bespeaks the enlarged
+and enlightened views of its master. It is about fifty years since M.
+Rebrof laid the first foundations of his colony, undismayed by the
+obstacles and dangers he encountered in all shapes. He wished to make
+profitable use of the fine waters of the Kouma, which had never before
+been bridled in their course by man; and now several mills, set up by
+him, enliven the whole neighbourhood by their continual din. The
+mildness of the climate has allowed him to make numerous plantations of
+mulberries, which have perfectly succeeded, and to establish factories,
+the productions of which may vie with the finest silks of Provence.</p>
+
+<p>Another manufacture which he is carrying on with great spirit is that of
+Champagne wine. He sends every year at least 10,000 bottles to Moscow,
+and sells them at the rate of four rubles a bottle. By dint of energy
+and perseverance he has called up life and abundance in a wild
+uncultivated spot, which before had served only for the temporary halts
+of the Kalmucks and Turcomans. Many peasants whom he brought with him
+from Great Russia, and who had been habituated to an almost savage state
+of existence, have been transformed by him into good workmen,
+industrious husbandmen, and, on occasion, into soldiers devoted to their
+master.</p>
+
+<p>In 1835, some three-score Circassians, tempted by the hope of a rich
+booty, made a descent from their mountains to sack and pillage
+Vladimirofka, expecting to surprise the little village population by
+night, and to find them wholly unprepared. But though M. Rebrof had
+enjoyed complete security for many years, he had never deceived himself
+as to the dangers of his position, but always expected to be attacked
+sooner or later; and, therefore, he had from the first taken all
+possible precautions against the designs of his formidable neighbours.
+Two branches of the Kouma served as fosses for the village and the
+ch&acirc;teau; there was a small redoubt with two pieces of cannon commanding
+the most exposed side, and in a room on the ground-floor of the mansion
+there was a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>well-stocked armoury, with all things requisite for
+sustaining a siege. With these means, M. Rebrof felt confident he could
+resist any attack.</p>
+
+<p>Every night two sentinels kept watch until dawn, and it was this
+seemingly superfluous measure that saved Vladimirofka from total
+destruction. The Circassians, never reckoning on such extreme caution,
+arrived one night in face of the village, and felt sure that their
+approach was unsuspected. But the alarm had been already given, and the
+whole population, suddenly aroused out of their sleep, were ready for
+the fight. Arms were distributed to the workpeople and servants, the
+drawbridges were raised, the two cannons were loaded with grape, and the
+ch&acirc;teau was transformed into a fortress. All this was done with such
+rapidity, that when the Circassians came to the banks of the river, they
+found the village in a perfect state of defence. They attempted,
+however, to swim their horses over the Kouma, but were repulsed by a
+brisk fire. Three or four other attempts were equally unsuccessful; all
+points were so well guarded, and the men did their duty so well, that
+the Circassians were obliged to retreat at break of day. But enraged at
+their disappointment, they set fire to the village and the surrounding
+woods, and escaped unmolested, under cover of the conflagration, without
+its being discovered what direction they took.</p>
+
+<p>As an economist and administrator, M. Rebrof may be compared with the
+most eminent men of Europe, and his manufacturing enterprises are the
+more meritorious, as he is destitute of the aid of books. Knowing only
+his own language, which is very poor in such practical works as would
+suit his purposes, he has nothing but a few bad translations of French
+and German works, which would be of little avail but for his own
+superior sagacity.</p>
+
+<p>His gardens are filled with all the fruits of Europe, and with several
+kinds of grapes, from which he derives a large profit. Among these I
+particularly noticed the Schiras grape, which has no stones. Nor must I
+forget his excellent <i>&oelig;il de perdrix</i> wine, which he set before us
+every day after dinner, with the pride of a manufacturer. Nothing could
+exceed his satisfaction on hearing us compare it with the best vintages
+of France, as we did in all sincerity on our first arrival. Afterwards
+our enthusiasm cooled down a little; but it did not matter; our host was
+still persuaded that his wine could compete with the best made in
+Champagne.</p>
+
+<p>It was painful to us to quit Vladimirofka. Had the season been less
+advanced, we would willingly have remained there another week; but we
+had still to visit the Caucasus, and September was drawing to a close.
+We had, therefore, to make haste and profit by the fine weather that
+still remained for us. M. Rebrof's horses conveyed us to Bourgon Madjar,
+a property belonging to General Skaginsky. It is situated on the Kouma,
+about thirty versts from Vladimirofka, like which, it possesses fine
+woods and beautiful scenery. It was our intention only to change horses
+there, but the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>steward, who had been expecting us for two days,
+determined otherwise, and to please him we were constrained to lose two
+days in his company. Our complaisance would not have extended so far had
+our choice been free; but the moment we entered his doors he told us
+very positively we should have no horses until the day after the morrow.
+It was to no purpose we raved and entreated; we were forced to submit to
+a tyranny that was more flattering than agreeable. The difficulty of
+understanding each other without an interpreter added to our
+embarrassment and ill-humour. The whole conversation on the first day
+was made up of two words <i>mozhna</i> (you can stay), and <i>nilza</i> (it is
+impossible). But setting aside the loss of two days, which were then
+very precious, I must allow that our time passed agreeably, and our host
+did his best to entertain us.</p>
+
+<p>The first day was spent in seeing the buildings, gardens, vineyards,
+mills, and all that was under the immediate management of the steward.
+Every thing was in as excellent order as if the whole of the fine
+property had been constantly under the master's eye. But General
+Skaginsky hardly ever visits it, contenting himself with the receipt of
+the proceeds, which amount to about 20,000 rubles. The stable contains
+some capital saddle horses, that tempted us to make a long excursion
+through the forest. We also saw antelopes almost tame, and of exquisite
+beauty. Whole herds of them are sometimes found in this part of the
+steppes. The woods adjacent to the Kouma also contain deer and wild
+boars. The steward pressed hard for one day more that he might get up a
+hunt for us, but we would not hear of it, and answered with so
+peremptory a <i>nilza</i> that he was obliged to submit to what he called our
+obstinacy.</p>
+
+<p>His anxiety to retain us may be easily accounted for by the extreme
+loneliness in which he lives. He is a Pole by birth, and has known a
+different condition from that of a steward, as his tastes prove. He is a
+poet, a musician, and a wit&mdash;three qualities singularly at variance with
+his calling. But as he is alone, and has no superior to control his
+tastes, he may meditate, Virgil in hand, on the charms of rural life. A
+guitar, a few select books, and the visitations of the muse, enable him
+to nourish an intellectual existence amidst all his prosaic occupations.</p>
+
+<p>After quitting Bourgon Madjar we passed through the place where formerly
+stood the celebrated Madjar, whose past is still a problem for
+historians. Nothing remains of it, not even a few bricks to attest its
+former existence. The Russians have carried it away piecemeal to build
+their villages. We now rapidly approached the Caucasus; the Elbrouz (the
+highest mountain of the chain) from time to time gave us a glimpse of
+its majestic head, almost always wrapped in mist, as if to conceal it
+from profane eyes. Tradition informs us that Noah's dove alighted on its
+summit, and there plucked the mystic branch which afterwards became the
+Christian symbol of peace and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>hope. Hence the mountain is held in high
+veneration by all the races of the Caucasus: Christians, idolaters, and
+Mussulmans, all agree in regarding it as holy.</p>
+
+<p>We were now in an enchanted region, though but just beyond the verge of
+the steppes. The faint lines discernible in the sky assumed gradually
+more distinct form and colour; the mountains appeared to us first as
+light, transparent vapours, floating upon the wind; but by degrees this
+airy phantasmagoria changed into mountains clothed with forests, deep
+gorges and domes crowned with mists. We met several horsemen in the
+Circassian garb, whose manly beauty afforded us examples of the noble
+Caucasian race. Our minds were almost overwhelmed with a multitude of
+emotions, excited by the exuberant nature before us, the magnificent
+vegetation, and the varied hues of the forests and mountains, peaks,
+crags, ravines, and snowy summits. It was beautiful, superbly beautiful,
+and then it was the Caucasus! The Caucasus, a name associated with so
+many grand historic memories, with the earliest traditions and most
+fabulous creeds; the abode, in the morning of the world, of families
+whence issued so many great nations. Round it hangs all the vague poetry
+of the ages visible only to the imagination, through the mysterious veil
+of antiquity.</p>
+
+<p>What a sad thing it was in the midst of all our ecstatic enthusiasm, to
+be obliged to descend to the vulgar concerns of locomotion, and to be
+crossed and thwarted at every step. We were more than ten versts from
+Georgief, when we were stopped in a village by the perversity of a
+postmaster, who refused to let us have horses at any price. It was
+raining in torrents, and the mud in the village was like a quagmire. The
+Cossack and Anthony ran about among all the peasants, trying to prevail
+on them to hire us horses; but the Russians are so lazy that they would
+rather lose an opportunity of earning money than quit their sweet
+repose. At last, after four hours search, the two men came back with
+three wretched hacks they had carried off by force from different
+peasants. For want of a roof to shelter us we had been obliged to sit
+all that while in the britchka, and when the miserable team was yoked it
+could hardly draw us out of the mud in which the wheels were embedded.
+The road all the way to Georgief was the most detestable that could be
+imagined. The weather cleared up a little, but the rain had converted
+all the low plains through which we had to pass into marshes, and had
+rendered the bridges all but impassable. Steep and very narrow descents
+often obliged us to alight at the risk of leaving our boots in the mud,
+and for a long while we feared we should not reach Georgief that day.
+Finally, however, by dint of flogging, our coachman forced the horses up
+the last hill, and at seven in the evening we reached a wide plateau, at
+one end of which towered the fortress that commands the road to the
+Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>We had been told that we should find a fair going on in Georgief, and
+this accounted for the number of horsemen we saw proceeding <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>like
+ourselves in that direction. I must confess in all humility, that I did
+not feel quite at my ease whenever one of these groups passed close to
+our carriage. The bad weather, the darkness, the bold bearing of these
+mountaineers, and their arms half concealed under their black bourkas,
+made me rather nervous. We arrived, however, safe and sound in Georgief,
+where we enjoyed our repose and sipped our tea with a zest known only to
+way-worn travellers.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst we were thus enjoying ourselves, the tinkling of a pereclatnoi
+bell in the yard announced a fresh arrival. But we gave ourselves very
+little concern about the event, for in order to be the more at our ease,
+we had engaged the travellers' room for ourselves alone. In travelling,
+people grow selfish, in spite of themselves; and in Russia it is a very
+lucky chance indeed that enables you now and then to display that
+quality. We therefore paid no heed to the tinklings that seemed with
+increasing vehemence to demand shelter for the late coming pilgrim. In a
+few moments there was a loud hubbub at our door, and we heard Anthony's
+voice stoutly refusing admission into our sanctuary. The postmaster
+seemed to play but a negative part, venturing only to say now and then,
+in the humblest tone, "<i>Ne mozhna polkovnick</i>" (it is not possible,
+colonel). A deluge of <i>douraks</i>, and a few fisticuffs distributed right
+and left, put an end to the discussion; the door was flung open, and a
+tall individual, muffled up to the nose, rushed in furiously, halted
+suddenly, made an awkward bow, and skipped out of the room again,
+without attempting even to profit by his victory. Amazed at this sudden
+retreat, Anthony hastily closed the door he had so bravely defended, and
+then told us that this officer had refused to listen to a word of
+explanation, and had threatened, if they provoked him, to turn us all
+into the street, and take our places. This did not in the least surprise
+us, for in Russia it is a matter of course for a colonel to behave thus
+to his inferiors, and as this officer was not aware of our being
+foreigners, he had behaved in the usual peremptory fashion; but he had
+been taken aback on discovering that we were something else than village
+pometchiks, and his tone became changed accordingly in the comical
+manner aforesaid. We were highly diverted by his discomfiture, and to
+punish his blustering, we let him go and seek a lodging elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>He had not been gone half an hour when another officer drove into the
+yard, and with more moderation than his predecessor, took up his
+quarters in the kitchen, which was divided by a thin partition from our
+room. He was no sooner installed, than the silence was again broken by
+loud cracks of a whip, and the poor postmaster was at his wits' end. We
+paid no attention to this incident until our curiosity was excited by
+hearing some words of French, accompanied by peals of laughter; and on
+listening we heard the whole of our late adventure narrated in the most
+amusing manner, the story being interspersed with keen remarks on the
+unaccountable propensity of some women for travelling, and filling up
+every <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>hotel. Of course we recognised in the orator the hero of the
+adventure himself. Having knocked in vain at all the doors in Georgief,
+he found he could do no better than return to the confounded station,
+and take his chance of sleeping in the stable; but hearing that a
+comrade had taken up his abode in the kitchen, he had determined to beg
+leave to join him. All this, be it observed, was said in French, to
+prevent our understanding it; this was amusing enough; but the
+conversation soon became so confidential, that we were obliged to raise
+our voices, as a hint to our neighbours to speak Russian. They did
+nothing all night but smoke, drink tea, and talk.</p>
+
+<p>Next day, having ascertained that we were French, they sent the
+postmaster to us, begging we would allow them to come and apologise for
+the inconvenience they had caused us. We found them well-bred gentlemen,
+and we had a good laugh together at the strange manner in which our
+mutual acquaintance had taken place. We all left the station nearly
+together. After breakfasting with us, they set out, one of them for
+Persia, the other for the north. For ourselves, as we intended to stop
+some days in Georgief, until the roads should have become drier, we
+accepted the invitation of the governor of the fortress to reside with
+him. The mud was so deep in the yard of the post-house, that we were
+obliged to have a bridge of planks made for us to the carriage, and the
+grooms and the persons who had occasion to enter the house, had to cross
+the yard on horseback. In passing through the street we saw an
+unfortunate peasant sunk up to his middle, and making prodigious efforts
+to extricate his cart and oxen.</p>
+
+<p>Our hospitable and obliging entertainer, the general, told us many
+particulars respecting the tribes of the Caucasus, and we saw at his
+table a great number of Kabardian chiefs whom the fair had brought to
+Georgief. There was one among them whose handsome, grave features, and
+somewhat wild appearance, excited our curiosity; and the general
+perceiving this, told us all he knew about the man. I will relate the
+story as nearly as possible in his own words.</p>
+
+<p>"About two years ago I was ordered to make a tour of inspection among
+the friendly tribes of the Caucasus, and had nearly completed it, when
+arriving one evening near an aoul situated on a mountain, the summit of
+which you can see from here, I noticed that the village was in great
+commotion. Being accompanied by a detachment of Cossacks, I had no need
+to be apprehensive about the result, happen what might; still I thought
+it advisable to take some precautions, and settled with the commanding
+officer of the detachment what was to be done if we were attacked. I
+then got on a few hundred paces ahead of the party, and advanced softly,
+like an <i>&eacute;claireur</i>, to a place where the whole population was
+assembled. As it was rather dark, and I was covered with a bourka, no
+one took any notice of me, and I was allowed to make my observations
+without impediment.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>"When my eyes had grown more familiarised with the objects about me, I
+perceived that the crowd was gathered round the ruins of a house that
+seemed to have been very recently burned down. Though ignorant of what
+had happened, I felt certain that the burning was connected with some
+deed of violence and bloodshed, for I had long known these mountaineers,
+whose violent passions are kept in constant excitement by the false
+position in which they are placed both as to the Russians, whom they
+detest while they submit to their power, and with regard to the free
+tribes, who cannot forgive them for their compulsory submission. On
+inspecting the various groups more narrowly, I saw a Kabardian lying on
+the ground, with his cloak drawn over his face, while every one gazed on
+him with a respectful pity. Puzzled still more to know what this meant,
+and not seeing any reason why I might not make myself known, I was about
+to put some questions to the person next me, when the sound of
+approaching hoofs called off the attention of the crowd in another
+direction. It was my party, who had become uneasy about me, and had
+quickened their march. The mountaineers all clustered round my soldiers,
+but without any such hostile demonstrations as we had encountered in the
+other aouls. Every body seemed under the influence of some unusual
+feeling, that made him forget for the while the hatred which the mere
+sight of a Cossack awakens among these people.</p>
+
+<p>"I issued the necessary orders for the encampment of my party, and when
+all was made safe for the night, I returned to the spot where my
+curiosity had been so strongly excited; and there lay the mountaineer
+still stretched on the ground, looking like a corpse under the black
+bourka that covered him. Several women sat round him, and one of them,
+who was very young, and seemed less distressed than the others, at last
+satisfied my impatience, and told me a tale which was confirmed by the
+whole population of the village.</p>
+
+<p>"The person I saw stretched on the ground before the ashes of his own
+house, was the chief of the aoul, and belonged to a princely family,
+living independently amidst their own mountains. At the age of twenty he
+unfortunately became his elder brother's rival, and in order to possess
+the wife of his choice, he had carried her off, and settled under the
+protection of Russia. This latter act, the most infamous of which a
+mountaineer can be guilty when he commits it of his own accord, remained
+a long while unpunished during the wars between Russia and the tribes.
+For fifteen years nothing occurred to make the refugee suppose that his
+brother thought of him at all. The wife had died a few years after the
+elopement, leaving him a daughter, who grew up so beautiful, that the
+whole tribe called her the Rose of the Mountain.</p>
+
+<p>"Now on the day before my arrival in the aoul, four independent
+mountaineers had visited the chief as friends, and told him that his
+brother was dead, and that he might now return home without any fear of
+danger. The strangers spent the night under his roof, and did <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>all they
+could to persuade him to accompany them; but next day, finding they
+could make no impression on his mind, they set fire to his house,
+stabbed him in several places, and seizing his daughter, galloped away
+before any one was prepared to pursue them. Most of the inhabitants were
+a-field at the time, and when I came up at dusk it was too late to think
+of overtaking the assassins. Although I was assured that the man was
+dead, I had him carried to a house, where every possible care was
+bestowed upon him. In about an hour he became conscious, and there
+appeared some hope of saving him. Our acquaintance, which began in so
+dramatic a manner, afterwards became as intimate as it could be between
+a Russian general and a Caucasian chief.</p>
+
+<p>"But for a long while my influence over the mind of the unfortunate
+father was totally unable to overcome the despair and thirst of
+vengeance occasioned by the abduction of his daughter. At the head of
+the most determined men of his aoul and of some Cossacks, he thrice
+endeavoured to force his way into that part of the mountain where his
+kindred resided; but these attempts led to nothing but desperate
+conflicts and fierce reprisals. He was about making a fourth attempt
+about two months ago, when we were informed by a spy that the Rose of
+the Mountain had been sent to Trebisond, to become the ornament of some
+harem in Constantinople.</p>
+
+<p>"From that time a gradual change took place in the savage temper of the
+Kabardian; the idea that his daughter was no longer in the hated
+mountains, was balm to his wounds. He attached himself to the society of
+the officers of the garrison, who had become warmly interested in his
+history. At his own request I have solicited an appointment for him in
+his majesty's imperial guard, and I hope he will soon be far away from
+scenes that remind him of such terrible disasters."</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">ROAD FROM GEORGIEF TO THE WATERS OF THE CAUCASUS&mdash;A POLISH
+LADY CARRIED OFF BY
+CIRCASSIANS&mdash;PIATIGORSK&mdash;KISLOVODSK&mdash;HISTORY OF THE MINERAL
+WATERS OF THE CAUCASUS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>From Georgief we set out for Piatigorsk, the chief watering place of the
+Caucasus, and travelled for three hours over a dreary plain, with
+nothing for the eye to rest on but here and there a long conical mound,
+that scarcely broke the dull monotony of the landscape; and even these
+were scarcely visible through the foggy atmosphere. We felt, therefore,
+a depression of spirits we had never known in our <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>previous journeyings,
+and it was still more increased by the thought that we might fall in
+with those Circassians whose very name strikes terror into the Russians.</p>
+
+<p>The two Cossacks whom the commandant of Georgief had given us for
+escort, were not the sort of men to assuage our fears, for they seemed
+themselves very much possessed with a sense of the dangers we were
+incurring. Their visages grew very serious indeed when we had left the
+plain behind us, and the road began to skirt along a deep valley, with
+the waters of the Pod Kouma brawling at the bottom. They were constantly
+peering in every direction, as if they expected every moment to fall
+into an ambuscade. Presently they stopped, and called our dragoman to
+show him a spot on which their eyes seemed riveted. One of them began to
+talk with great volubility, and from his expressive gestures it was
+evident he was relating some tragic event of which that spot had been
+witness. And so, indeed, it was. Anthony informed us that on the very
+spot where we stood, a young Polish lady had been assailed the year
+before by several mountaineers, who lay in wait for her in the bed of
+the torrent. She was on her way to the waters of Kislovodsk, accompanied
+by an escort and two or three servants. Her followers were massacred or
+dispersed, her carriage was rifled, and she herself was carried off and
+never heard of again, notwithstanding the most active exertions to
+ascertain her fate. One of the Cossacks, who had escaped by miracle from
+the balls of the Circassians, galloped off to Georgief, and returned
+within a few hours to the scene of the catastrophe, accompanied by a
+detachment of cavalry. They found the carriage broken to pieces, and
+plundered of all its contents; and the ground was strewed with bodies
+horribly mutilated and stripped of their arms, but neither the body of
+the young lady nor that of her waiting-maid was among them. It is to be
+presumed that the Circassians carried them off to their aoul, as the
+richest spoils of their bloody expedition.</p>
+
+<p>The story of this recent tragedy, related on the very spot where it had
+occurred, made no slight impression upon us; my dismay, therefore, may
+be imagined, when a sudden clearing up of the fog enabled us to
+distinguish at a distance of a hundred yards from the road, what seemed
+but too palpable a realisation of my fearful fancies. There was no room
+for doubt. The men before us were those terrible Circassians I had
+trembled at the thought of meeting. The scream that escaped me, when I
+caught sight of them, was fortunately heard by one of our Cossacks, who
+immediately relieved my mind by the assurance that these were men of a
+friendly tribe. Nevertheless, in spite of my conviction that we had no
+hostilities to apprehend, it was not without some secret uneasiness I
+saw them defile past us. The troop was a small one, five or six at most,
+yet they looked dangerous enough. I shall never forget the glances they
+cast on our Cossacks as they rode by, though it was only in looks <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>they
+manifested the hatred that rankled in their hearts against every thing
+belonging to Russia. They were all fully armed. Their pistols and their
+damasked poniards glittered from beneath their black bourkas. I confess
+I was best pleased with their appearance when they were just vanishing
+from sight on the top of a hill, where their martial figures were
+relieved against the sky. Seen through the mist, they set me thinking of
+Ossian's heroes.</p>
+
+<p>We continued to wind our way slowly up a steep and narrow track, and for
+half an hour we did not see a cabin or a living creature except some
+vultures of the largest kind, flying silently above our heads. At last
+we reached the culminating point of the road, whence we could look down
+on the valley, Piatigorsk, the villas scattered over the heights, and
+all the details of a delightful landscape, that seemed as if it had
+dropped by chance amongst the stern and majestic scenes of the Caucasian
+Alps. From thence we had a gentle descent of about a verst to the
+outskirts of Piatigorsk.</p>
+
+<p>It is only within the last ten or twelve years that it has been possible
+to travel in carriages to Piatigorsk without extreme risk, partly on
+account of the hostility of the Circassians, and partly in consequence
+of the state of the roads. The latter have been improved, and a great
+number of military posts have been established on them, so that now the
+waters of the Caucasus are annually frequented by more than 1500
+persons, who visit them from all parts of the empire for health or
+pleasure. Catastrophes have become more and more rare, and since that
+which I have mentioned no other event of the kind has occurred.</p>
+
+<p>On arriving at Piatigorsk we took up our abode with the principal
+doctor, for whom we had letters, and who received us in the most
+obliging manner. Unluckily we had abominable weather during the whole
+time of our stay, and the mountains we had come so far to see were
+hidden from our eyes by an impenetrable veil of mist. We could just
+discern from our windows the base of the Bechtau, at a distance of but
+two versts. Our first visit was to the Alexandra spring, so called after
+the name of the empress. The waters are sulphurous, and their
+temperature is above 38 degrees Reaumur. The bathing establishment is on
+a very large scale, and contains every thing requisite for the
+frequenters of the waters. Other thermal springs are found on most of
+the heights about Piatigorsk, and the works that have been constructed
+to afford access to them do credit to the government. On one of the
+highest peaks there is an octagonal building, consisting of a cupola
+supported on light columns, which are surrounded at their base by an
+elegant balustrade. The interior, which is open to all the winds,
+contains an &aelig;olian harp, the melancholy notes of which descend to the
+valley, mingled with all the echoes of the mountains. Doctor Conrad, our
+host, was the author of this pretty design. Being like most Germans
+passionately fond of music, he felt assured that those airy sounds,
+coming as it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>were from the sky, would have a most salutary influence on
+the minds of his patients. The little temple, surnamed the pavilion of
+&AElig;olus, must be a favourite spot for those who are fond of reverie and
+lonely contemplation of the sublime scenes of nature. The view from it
+is of great beauty, but in order to judge of it we should have been more
+favoured by the weather; but the glowing description given us by our
+good doctor made some amends for our mischance. I must own, too, that
+the trouble we took in ascending was not altogether unrequited, for the
+vague and mysterious outlines of mountains and forests clothed in mists
+were not without their charms.</p>
+
+<p>There are several natural and artificial grottoes in various parts of
+the mountain, affording cool retreats in the sultry season, and an
+amusing spectacle to those who sit and watch the company proceeding to
+and from the baths. The physiognomist may there behold the most varied
+types of features, from those of the Tatar prince of the Crimea to those
+of the fair Georgian from Tiflis. Society in Russia has one rare
+advantage, inasmuch as it is free from that fatiguing monotony which
+pursues us in almost all European countries.</p>
+
+<p>The handsomest quarter of Piatigorsk is at the bottom of the valley,
+where there is a promenade, with fine trees and seats, flanked on either
+side by a line of handsome houses backed against the cliffs. The
+permanent population consists only of the civil servants of the
+government, the garrison, and a few incurable invalids. The crown
+buildings are numerous, including, besides the bathing establishment, a
+Greek church, a very large hotel for strangers, a concert hall, a
+charitable institution, a hospital for wounded officers from the
+Caucasus, barracks, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>On the whole, Piatigorsk is not so much a town as a delightful
+assemblage of country-houses, inhabited for some months of the year by a
+rich aristocracy. Every thing about it is pretty and trim, and displays
+those tokens of affluence which the Russian nobles like to see around
+them. There is nothing there to offend the eye or sadden the heart, no
+poor class, no cabins, no misery. It is a fortunate spot, intended to
+exhibit to the ladies and princes, courtiers, and generals of the
+empire, none but pleasing images, culled from all that is attractive in
+nature and art. What wonder, then, if the annals of the place abound in
+marvellous cures! The doctor, who is a shrewd man, having perhaps his
+doubts of the sole efficacy of the waters, has done his part to render
+Piatigorsk an earthly Paradise; but it must be admitted that his views
+have been perfectly understood and promoted by the emperor, who is
+always disposed to display magnificence in the most superficial things.
+Luxurious refinement has here been pushed so far, that the fair and
+exceedingly indolent dames of Moscow and St. Petersburg may repair to
+their baths without alighting from their stylish equipages; and yet the
+springs are almost all of them several hundred yards above the valley.
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>What peasants' <i>corv&eacute;es</i>, what an amount of toil and suffering do these
+commodious roads represent! None but the Russian government is capable
+of such acts of gallantry!</p>
+
+<p>Though the watering season was over when we arrived, the doctor had
+still a few patients residing with him, who added much, to the pleasure
+of our evening meetings. Among these was a young officer, who had
+returned with two severe wounds from an expedition against the
+Circassians. The accounts he gave us of his campaign, and of the
+terrible episodes he had witnessed, often made us shudder. The Russians
+paid dearly for the conquest of some burnt villages. They lost half
+their men, and 120 officers. One of the friends of our invalid picked up
+a pretty little Circassian girl, whose mother had been killed before his
+eyes. Pitying the fate of the poor orphan, the officer carried her away
+on his horse, and on reaching Piatigorsk, he placed her in a
+boarding-school kept by some French ladies. We went to see her, and were
+charmed with her beauty, which promised to sustain her country's
+reputation in that respect.</p>
+
+<p>As the weather was not favourable to long excursions, we passed a week
+of quiet social enjoyment in the doctor's house; but one fine morning
+the sun, which we had completely forgotten, broke out through the fog,
+and recalled us, perhaps against our will, to our adventurous habits.
+Next day we set out for Kislovodsk, situated forty versts from
+Piatigorsk, in the interior of the mountains, and possessing acid waters
+of great reputation.</p>
+
+<p>The road, on quitting Piatigorsk, passes at first along the wide and
+deep valley of the Pod Kouma, which is bounded on the right by rocks
+heaped on each other like petrified waves, and presenting, in their
+outlines and rents, all the tokens of a <i>bouleversement</i>; whilst on the
+left, beautiful wooded mountains ascend in successive stages to the
+imposing chain of the Kasbeck. At the distance of about two hours'
+travelling, the road leaves the valley, which has here become very
+narrow, and runs on a long sinuous level ledge, parallel with the course
+of the torrent, up to the point where it begins to enter the mountains,
+and where the miry soil through which our horses laboured with great
+difficulty, the grey sky and moist atmosphere that had hitherto
+accompanied us, were at once exchanged for dryness, cold, dust, and sun.
+This sudden contrast is a phenomenon peculiar to elevated regions, and
+had been foretold us by our host, who is very learned in all that
+concerns the atmospheric variations of his beloved mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing I have before attempted to describe could compare with the wild
+and picturesque scenery of this part of the Caucasus. At certain
+intervals we saw conical mounds of earth about sixty feet high, serving
+as watch-towers, on which sentinels are stationed day and night. Their
+outlines, relieved against the cloudy sky, produces a singular effect
+amidst the solitude around them. The sight of these Cossacks, with
+muskets shouldered, pacing up and down the small platform on the summit
+of each eminence, made us <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>involuntarily own our gratitude to the
+Russian government for having cleared this country, and rendered access
+to it so easy for invalids and tourists.</p>
+
+<p>Although it was the middle of October, the vegetation was still quite
+fresh. Rich green swards covering the steep slopes of the mountains,
+afforded abundant pasture for the scattered flocks of goats. Their
+keepers, dressed in sheep-skins, and, instead of crooks, carrying long
+guns slung at their backs, and two or three powder and ball cases at
+their girdles, gave a half martial, half pastoral complexion to the
+landscape. Gigantic eagles flew majestically from rock to rock, like the
+sole sovereigns of those solitary places. Here we had really before us
+what we had dreamed of in the Caspian steppes, when, with eyes scorched
+by the hot sand, and with no amusement but the sight of our camels and
+the sound of their cries, or the encounter of some Kalmuck kibitkas, we
+tried to beguile the discomforts of our situation by peopling the desert
+with a thousand fascinating images.</p>
+
+<p>Before we reached the gorge in which Kislovodsk is concealed, we fell in
+with a second party of Circassians; but fortified by the safety with
+which we had pursued our journey so far, and by our stay in Piatigorsk,
+I indulged without apprehension in the pleasure of admiring them. There
+were eight or ten of them reposing under a projecting rock, and a very
+picturesque group they formed. Their horses, saddled and bridled, were
+feeding at a little distance from their masters, who had not
+disencumbered themselves of their weapons. Some had their heads entirely
+enveloped in <i>bashliks</i>, a sort of hood made of camels' hair, which is
+worn only in travelling; others wore the national fur cap; their
+garments, of a graceful and commodious form, glittered with broad silver
+lace; they all had bourkas, a kind of mantle, indispensable to the
+Circassian as his weapons. When our carriage approached them, some of
+them sat up and looked at us with an air of scornful indifference, but
+showed no disposition to molest us.</p>
+
+<p>Our first business on reaching Kislovodsk was to visit the source of the
+acid waters, to which the place owes its celebrity. It does not break
+out like most others from the side of a mountain, or from a cleft in a
+rock, but at the bottom of a valley. Nature, who usually conceals her
+treasures in the most inaccessible spots, has made an exception in its
+favour. A square basin has been constructed for it, and there it seems
+continually boiling up, though it has no heat. It resembles
+Seltzer-water in its sparkling and its slightly acid taste.</p>
+
+<p>Kislovodsk consists of about fifteen houses, or rather little Asiatic
+palaces, adorned with long open galleries, terraces, gardens, and
+vestibules filled with flowers. All the frequenters of Piatigorsk finish
+the watering season at Kislovodsk. Behind this aristocratic abode
+extends a narrow gorge, bounded on all sides by vertical mountain crags
+that seem to cut it off from the whole world. It <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>would require several
+days to explore all the charming scenes in the neighbourhood. Among its
+natural curiosities is a celebrated cascade hidden in the very heart of
+the valley. The way to it leads for an hour along the bed its waters
+have hollowed for themselves through a thick limestone stratum, over a
+winding path that narrows continually up to the foot of the fall. At
+that spot you are imprisoned between cliffs so steep that no goat could
+find footing on them, and you have before you a dazzling sheet of water
+descending by terraces from a height of more than sixty feet, breaking
+into snowy foam where it meets with obstacles on its way, and
+disappearing for a moment under fragments of rocks, beyond which it
+re-appears as a limpid stream, flowing over a bed of moss and pebbles.</p>
+
+<p>The position of Kislovodsk exposes it much more that Piatigorsk to the
+assaults of the mountaineers, and one never feels quite safe there,
+notwithstanding the Cossack detachment that guards the heights. A
+Circassian aoul, perched like an eyrie on the highest crest of the
+adjacent mountains, is a dangerous neighbour for the water drinkers. Its
+inhabitants, though nominally subdued, forego no opportunity of wreaking
+their hatred on the Russians.</p>
+
+<p>After our return to the doctor's roof, we went to see the German colony
+of Karas at the foot of the Bechtau. Its thriving condition does honour
+both to the colonists and to the government whose protection they have
+sought. At first it was composed only of Scotchmen, and was founded by
+one Peterson, a zealous sectarian, whose chief object was the conversion
+of the Circassians. But his preaching was wholly ineffectual, and by
+degrees the laborious Germans took the place of the Scotch missionaries.
+The original intention of the establishments is now scarcely remembered:
+the colonists are simply agriculturists, and think only of enriching
+themselves at the cost of the strangers who come to drink the mineral
+waters.</p>
+
+<p>A short sketch of the history of these waters may not be unacceptable to
+the reader. It was in the reign of Catherine II., that Russia advanced
+her frontiers to the Kouban and the Terek, and forced the various tribes
+established near those rivers to retire into the mountains. In 1780,
+Potemkin invaded what at present forms the territory of Piatigorsk, and
+advanced to the Pod Kouma at the foot of the Bechtau. The fortress of
+Constantinogorsk was erected at that period, and Catherine constrained
+the neighbouring tribes to acknowledge her sovereignty. But this
+pacification of the country was hollow and fallacious. The chiefs of the
+Bechtau had submitted but in outward appearance; they kept up a secret
+understanding with the inhabitants of Kabarda, and often joined in their
+marauding expeditions against the common enemy. Hence arose continual
+conflicts between them and the Russians.</p>
+
+<p>General Marcof took command of the Caucasus in 1798, and adopted the
+most rigorous measures against the petty tribes of the Bechtau. Their
+country was invaded by a numerous army and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>iven up to pillage, and the
+mountaineers, driven from their villages, were obliged to seek refuge
+beyond the Kouban and the Terek. Thenceforth there was more quiet on the
+line of the Caucasus, and the Kabardians were less frequently seen in
+the vicinity of Piatigorsk. It was about this time the sulphurous waters
+were discovered by some soldiers of the 16th regiment of chasseurs in
+garrison at Constantinogorsk. It appears, however, that they had been
+long known and used by the people of the country, as proved by some old
+baths hollowed out of the rock.</p>
+
+<p>The discovery made by the soldiers was quickly turned to account by
+their officers, and a small house was erected near by the principal
+spring at the cost of the regiment. The sulphurous waters were soon
+known in the neighbourhood, and their fame was spread all over the
+empire through the medium of military intercourse. Several persons of
+distinction repaired to them in 1799, at which time medical advice was
+given by the regimental surgeons, and the patients resided in tents
+given up for their use by the officers and soldiers. The number of
+visitors increased every year up to 1804, and the government repeatedly
+sent chemists and physicians to the spot to study the composition and
+therapeutic qualities of the waters. Unfortunately in 1804, a contagious
+disease, which soon proved to be the plague, broke out in a Circassian
+aoul, seven versts from Georgief. It spread rapidly through all the
+adjacent countries, and caused a frightful mortality. The sanatory
+measures adopted in consequence, put an end to all communication between
+the Caucasus and the Russian provinces, and the mineral waters were
+entirely forsaken even by the inhabitants of the country. Such were the
+ravages of the plague, that in the space of five years Little Kabarda
+lost, at least, the twentieth part of its population. The Russian
+government omitted no means that could stay the contagion from crossing
+its frontiers, and it was not until 1809, that free intercourse with the
+Caucasus was again permitted. Multitude of visitors appeared in the
+following year, the ordinary tents were not sufficient for their
+accommodation, and it was necessary to make huts for them with branches
+of trees; several persons even made their abode in their carriages, and
+under felt and canvass awnings. The want of new wooden bath-rooms was
+also felt, and several little chambers were erected round the springs.</p>
+
+<p>In 1811, the concourse of visitors was so great that the Kalmucks of the
+Caspian were ordered to supply them with 100 felt tents. But even these
+were found insufficient in the following summer, and by this time the
+profits realised by the soldiers, who let out their quarters, having
+attracted the attention of some individuals, considerable stone edifices
+were soon erected. In 1814, the celebrated Greek, Warvatzi, built new
+bath-rooms at his own expense, and laid down two roads, one for
+pedestrians, the other for carriages, both leading to the principal
+spring. Three hundred Polish prisoners were placed at his disposal for
+the execution of these works. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>Thenceforth the place grew up rapidly,
+and under General Yermoloff's administration, nothing was neglected that
+could render the various edifices as complete and commodious as
+possible. Thus was gradually formed the pretty little town of
+Piatigorsk, which now contains seven principal bathing hotels, and
+eleven warm sulphurous springs, the temperature of which ranges from
+thirty to thirty-eight degrees Reaumur.</p>
+
+<p>The waters of Kislovodsk were discovered in 1790, during the war waged
+by the Russians against the Kabardians, and in 1792, they were
+numerously frequented under the protection of the imperial troops. The
+danger was great, however, for attacks were often made by the enemy, who
+even made repeated attempts to choke up the spring, or divert the
+waters. It was not until a fort was built in 1803, that the waters could
+be visited with some degree of security.</p>
+
+<p>The first houses for the reception of invalids were built in 1819;
+before that time they resided in tents. A magnificent restaurant was
+built in 1823, and a handsome alley of lindens was planted from the
+spring to the cataract, the picturesque appearance of which we so much
+admired. The ferruginous waters, near the site of the Scotch colony,
+were not made use of until long after the others, in consequence of
+their remote position, and the woods by which they were surrounded. It
+was not before 1819, that Yermoloff rendered them easy of access, and
+they began to be regularly frequented by invalids.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXX.</h2>
+
+<p class="cen">SITUATION OF THE RUSSIANS AS TO THE CAUCASUS.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">HISTORY OF THEIR ACQUISITION OF THE TRANS-CAUCASIAN
+PROVINCES&mdash;GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CAUCASUS&mdash;ARMED LINE OF
+THE KOUBAN AND THE TEREK&mdash;BLOCKADE OF THE COASTS&mdash;CHARACTER
+AND USAGES OF THE MOUNTAINEERS&mdash;ANECDOTE&mdash;VISIT TO A
+CIRCASSIAN PRINCE.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Among the various Asiatic nations which force and diplomacy are striving
+to subject to the Muscovite sceptre, there is one against which the
+whole might of Russia has hitherto been put forth in vain. The warlike
+tribes of the Caucasus have victoriously maintained their national
+independence; and in thus separating the trans-Caucasian provinces from
+the rest of the empire, they have protected Persia and Asiatic Turkey,
+and postponed indefinitely all thoughts of a Russian invasion of India.
+The cabinets of Europe have generally overlooked the importance of the
+Caucasus, and the part which its tribes are destined to play soon or
+late in eastern questions. Great Britain alone, prompted by her
+commercial instinct <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>and her restless jealousy, protested for a time
+against the encroaching career of the tzars; but the singular
+manifestation of the <i>Vixen</i> produced no slackening of the operations of
+Russia. The war has now been going on for sixteen years, yet few exact
+notions of its character and details are as yet possessed by Europe. Let
+us endeavour to complete as far as possible what we already know
+respecting the situation of the Russians in the Caucasus, and to see
+what may be the general results, political and commercial, of the
+occupation or independence of that region.</p>
+
+<p>We know that one of Peter the Great's most cherished schemes, the dream
+of his whole life, was to re-establish the trade of the East on its old
+footing, and to secure to himself a port on the Black Sea, in order to
+make it the link between the two continents. The genius of that
+sovereign must surely have been most enterprising to conceive such a
+project, at a time when its realisation required that the southern
+frontiers of the empire should first be pushed forward from 150 to 200
+leagues, as they have since been. Peter began his new political career
+by the taking of Azof and the foundation of the port of Taganrok in
+1695. The fatal campaign of the Pruth retarded the accomplishment of his
+designs; but when circumstances allowed him to return to them, he began
+again to pursue them in the direction of Persia and the Caspian. The
+restitution of Azof, and the destruction of Taganrok, stipulated in the
+treaty of the Pruth, thus became the primary cause of the Russian
+expeditions against the trans-Caucasian provinces.</p>
+
+<p>At this period Persia was suffering all the disorders of anarchy. The
+Turks had possessed themselves of all its western provinces up to the
+foot of the Caucasus; whilst the mountaineers, availing themselves of
+the distracted state of the country, made bloody inroads upon Georgia
+and the adjacent regions. The Lesghis, now one of the most formidable
+tribes of the Caucasus, ravaged the plains of Shirvan, in 1712, reduced
+the towns and villages to ashes, and massacred, according to Russian
+writers, 300 merchants, subjects of the empire, in the town of Shamaki.
+These acts of violence afforded Peter the Great an opportunity which he
+did not let slip. Under the pretence of punishing the Lesghis, and
+protecting the Shah of Persia against them, he prepared to make an armed
+intervention in the trans-Caucasian provinces. A formidable expedition
+was fitted out. A flotilla, constructed at Casan, arrived at the mouths
+of the Volga, and on the 15th of May, 1722, the emperor began his march
+at the head of 22,000 infantry, 9000 dragoons, and 15,000 Cossacks and
+Kalmucks. The transports coasted the Caspian, whilst the army marched by
+the Daghestan route, the great highway successively followed by the
+nations of the north and the south in their invasions. Thus it was that
+the Russians entered the Caucasus, and the valleys of those inaccessible
+mountains resounded, for the first time, to the war music of the
+Muscovite. The occupation of Ghilan and Derbent, and the siege of Bakou
+were the chief events of this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>campaign. Turkey, dismayed at the
+influence Russia was about to acquire in the East, was ready to take up
+arms; but Austria, taking the initiative in Europe, declared for the
+policy of the tzar, and vigorously resisted the hostile tendencies of
+the Porte. Russia was thus enabled to secure, not only Daghestan and
+Ghilan, but also the surrender of those provinces in which her armies
+had never set foot. In the midst of these events, Peter died when on the
+eve of consolidating his conquests, and before he had completed his
+negotiations with Persia and Turkey. His grand commercial ideas were
+abandoned after his death; the policy of the empire was directed solely
+towards territorial acquisition, and the tzars only obeyed the strong
+impulse, that, as if by some decree of fate, urges their subjects
+towards the south. Thenceforth the trans-Caucasian provinces were
+considered only a point gained for intervention in the affairs of Persia
+and Turkey, and for ulterior conquests in the direction of Central Asia.
+The rise of the celebrated Nadir Shah, who possessed himself of all the
+ancient dominions of Persia, for a while changed the face of things.
+Russia, crippled in her finances, withdrew her troops, gave up her
+pretensions to the countries beyond the Caucasus, acknowledged the
+independence of the two Kabardas by the treaty of Belgrade, and even
+engaged no longer to keep a fleet on the Sea of Azof.</p>
+
+<p>A religious mission sent to the Ossetans, who occupy the celebrated
+defiles of Dariel, was the only event in the reign of Elizabeth, that
+regarded the regions we are considering. Hardly any conversions were
+effected, but the Ossetans, to a certain extent, acknowledged the
+supremacy of Russia: this satisfied the real purpose of the mission, for
+the first stone was thereby laid on the line which was to become the
+great channel of communication between Russia and her Asiatic provinces.</p>
+
+<p>Schemes of conquest in the direction of Persia were resumed with vigour
+under Catherine II., and were carried out with more regularity. The
+first thing aimed at was to protect the south of the empire against the
+inroads of the Caucasians, and to this end the armed line of the Kouban
+and the Terek was organised and finished in 1771. It then numbered
+sixteen principal forts, and a great number of lesser ones and redoubts.
+Numerous military colonies of Cossacks, were next settled on the banks
+of the two rivers for the protection of the frontiers. While these
+preparations were in hand, war broke out with Turkey. Victorious both by
+sea and land, Catherine signed, in 1774, the memorable treaty of
+Koutchouk Kainardji, which secured to her the free navigation of the
+Black Sea, the passage of the Dardanelles, the entry of the Dniepr, and,
+moreover, conceded to her in the Caucasus, the sovereignty over both
+Kabardas.</p>
+
+<p>Peace being thus concluded, Catherine's first act was to send a pacific
+mission to explore the country of the Ossetans. The old negotiations
+were skilfully renewed, and a free passage through the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>defiles was
+obtained with the consent of that people. In 1781, an imperial squadron
+once more appeared in the Caspian, and endeavoured, but ineffectually,
+to make some military settlements on the Persian coasts. This expedition
+limited itself to consolidating the moral influence of Russia, and
+exciting, among the various tribes and nations of those regions,
+dissensions which afterwards afforded her a pretext for direct
+intervention. The Christian princes of Georgia, and the adjacent
+principalities, were the first to undergo the consequences of the
+Russian policy. Seduced by gold and presents, and doubtless also,
+wearied by the continual troubles that desolated their country, they
+gradually fell off from Persia and Turkey and accepted the protection of
+Catherine. The passes of the Caucasus were now free to Russia; she lost
+no time in making them practicable for an army, and so she was at last
+in a condition to realise in part the vast plans of the founder of her
+power.</p>
+
+<p>At a later period, in 1787, Russia and Turkey were again in arms, and
+the shore of the Caspian became for the first time a centre of military
+operations. Anapa, which the Turks had built for the protection of their
+trade with the mountaineers, after an unsuccessful assault, was taken by
+storm in 1791. Soudjouk Kaleh shared the same fate, but the Circassians
+blew up its fortifications before they retired. Struck by these
+conspicuous successes, the several states of Europe departed from the
+favourable policy with which they had previously treated the views of
+Russia, and the empress thought herself fortunate to conclude the treaty
+of Jassy in 1792, by which she advanced her frontiers to the Dniestr,
+and obtained the sovereignties of Georgia and the neighbouring
+countries. But Turkey had Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh restored to her, upon
+her engaging to suppress the incursions of the tribes dwelling on the
+left of the Kouban.</p>
+
+<p>Aga Mahomed Khan marched against Georgia in 1795, to punish it for
+having accepted the protectorate of Russia. Tiflis was sacked, and given
+up to fire and sword. On hearing of this bloody invasion Catherine II.
+immediately declared war against Persia, and her armies were already in
+occupation of Bakou, and a large portion of the Caspian shores, when she
+was succeeded by her son Paul I., who ordered all the recent conquests
+to be abandoned. Nevertheless, this strange beginning did not hinder the
+eccentric monarch from doing four years afterwards for Georgia what
+Catherine had done for the Crimea. Under pretext of putting an end to
+intestine discord, Georgia was united to Russia by an imperial ukase.
+Shortly after the accession of Alexander, Mingrelia shared the fate of
+Georgia; the conquests beyond the Caucasus were then regularised, and
+Tiflis became the centre of an exclusive Muscovite administration, civil
+and military.</p>
+
+<p>The immediate contact of Russia with Persia soon led to a rupture
+between these two powers. In 1806, hostilities began with Turkey also,
+and the campaign was marked like that of 1791 by the taking of Anapa and
+Soudjouk Kaleh, and the establishment of the Russians <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>on the shores of
+Circassia. The unfortunate contest which then ensued between Napoleon
+and Alexander, and the direct intervention of England, put an end to the
+war, and brought about the signature of two treaties. That of Bucharest
+stipulated the reddition of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh; but Russia
+acquired Bessarabia and the left bank of the Danube; and Koutousofs
+80,000 men marched against Napoleon. The treaty of Gulistan, in 1814,
+gave to the empire, among other countries, Daghestan, Georgia, Imeritia,
+Mingrelia, the province of Bakou, Karabaugh, and Shirvan. This latter
+treaty was no sooner ratified than endless discussions arose respecting
+the determination of the frontiers. War was renewed, and ended only in
+1828 by the treaty of Turkmantchai, which conceded to Russia the fine
+countries of Erivan and Naktchivan, advanced her frontiers to the banks
+of the Araxus, and rendered her mistress of all the passes of Persia.</p>
+
+<p>It was during these latter wars that the people of the Caucasus began to
+be seriously uneasy about the designs of Russia. The special protection
+accorded to the Christian populations, the successive downfall of the
+principal chiefs of the country, and the introduction of the Russian
+administration, with its abuses and arbitrary proceedings, excited
+violent commotions in the Caucasian provinces, and the mountaineers
+naturally took part in every coalition formed against the common enemy.
+The armed line of the Kouban and the Terek was often attacked, and many
+a Cossack post was massacred. The Lesghis, the Tchetchenzes, and the
+Circassians distinguished themselves especially by their pertinacity and
+daring. Thenceforth Russia might conceive some idea of the contest she
+would have to sustain on the confines of Asia.</p>
+
+<p>We now approach the period when Russia, at last relieved from all her
+quarrels with Persia and Turkey, definitively acquired Anapa and
+Soudjouk Kaleh by the treaty of Adrianople, and directed all her efforts
+against the mountaineers of the Caucasus. But as now the war assumed a
+totally different character, it will be necessary to a full
+understanding of it that we should first glance at the topography of the
+country, and sketch the respective positions of the mountaineers and
+their foes.</p>
+
+<p>The chain of the Caucasus exhibits a peculiar conformation, altogether
+different from that of any of the European chains. The Alps, the
+Pyrenees, and the Carpathians, are accessible only by the valleys, and
+in these the inhabitants of the country find their subsistence, and
+agriculture develops its wealth. The contrary is the case in the
+Caucasus. From the fortress of Anapa on the Black Sea, all along to the
+Caspian, the northern slope presents only immense inclined plains,
+rising in terraces to a height of 3000 or 4000 yards above the sea
+level. These plains, rent on all directions by deep and narrow valleys
+and vertical clefts, often form real steppes, and possess on their
+loftiest heights rich pastures, where the inhabitants, secure from all
+attack, find fresh grass for their cattle in the sultriest <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>days of
+summer. The valleys on the other hand are frightful abysses, the steep
+sides of which are clothed with brambles, while the bottoms are filled
+with rapid torrents foaming over beds of rocks and stones. Such is the
+singular spectacle generally presented by the northern slope of the
+Caucasus. This brief description may give an idea of the difficulties to
+be encountered by an invading army. Obliged to occupy the heights, it is
+incessantly checked in its march by impassable ravines, which do not
+allow of the employment of cavalry, and for the most part prevent the
+passage of artillery. The ordinary tactics of the mountaineers is to
+fall back before the enemy, until the nature of the ground or the want
+of supplies obliges the latter to begin a retrograde movement. Then it
+is that they attack the invaders, and, entrenched in their forests
+behind impregnable rocks, they inflict the most terrible carnage on them
+with little danger to themselves.</p>
+
+<p>On the south the character of the Caucasian chain is different. From
+Anapa to Gagra, along the shores of the Black Sea, we observe a
+secondary chain composed of schistous mountains, seldom exceeding 1000
+yards in height. But the nature of their soil, and of their rocks, would
+be enough to render them almost impracticable for European armies, even
+were they not covered with impenetrable forests. The inhabitants of this
+region, who are called Tcherkesses or Circassians, by the Russians, are
+entirely independent, and constitute one of the most warlike peoples of
+the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>The great chain begins in reality at Gagra, but the mountains recede
+from the shore, and nothing is to be seen along the coast as far as
+Mingrelia but secondary hills, commanded by immense crags, that
+completely cut off all approach to the central part of the Caucasus.
+This region, so feebly defended by its topographical conformation, is
+Abkhasia, the inhabitants of which have been forced to submit to Russia.
+To the north and on the northern slope, westward of the military road
+from Mosdok to Tiflis, dwell a considerable number of tribes, some of
+them ruled by a sort of feudal system, others constituted into little
+republics. Those of the west, dependent on Circassia and Abadza, are in
+continual war with the empire, whilst the Nogais, who inhabit the plains
+on the left bank of the Kouma, and the tribes of the Great Kabarda, own
+the sovereignty of the tzar; but their wavering and dubious submission
+cannot be relied on. In the centre, at the foot of the Elbrouz, dwell
+the Souanethes, an unsubdued people, and near them, occupying both sides
+of the pass of Dariel, are the Ingouches and Ossetans, exceptional
+tribes, essentially different from the aboriginal peoples. Finally, we
+have eastward of the great Tiflis road, near the Terek, Little Kabarda,
+and the country of the Koumicks, for the present subjugated; and then
+those indomitable tribes, the Lesghis and Tchetchenzes, of whom Shamihl
+is the Abd el Kader, and who extend over the two slopes of the Caucasus
+to the vicinity of the Caspian.</p>
+
+<p>In reality, the Kouban and the Terek, that rise from the central chain,
+and fall, the one into the Black Sea, the other into the Caspian, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>may
+be considered as the northern political limits of independent Caucasus.
+It is along those two rivers that Russia has formed her armed line,
+defended by Cossacks, and detachments from the regular army. The
+Russians have indeed penetrated those northern frontiers at sundry
+points, and have planted some forts within the country of the Lesghis
+and Tchetchenzes. But these lonely posts, in which a few unhappy
+garrisons are surrounded on all sides, and generally without a chance of
+escape, cannot be regarded as a real occupation of the soil on which
+they stand. They are in fact only so many piquets, whose business is
+only to watch more closely the movements of the mountaineers. In the
+south, from Anapa to Gagra, along the Black Sea, the imperial
+possessions are limited to a few detached forts, completely isolated,
+and deprived of all means of communication by land. A rigorous blockade
+has been established on this coast; but the Circassians, as intrepid in
+their frail barks as among their mountains, often pass by night through
+the Russian line of vessels, and reach Trebisond and Constantinople.
+Elsewhere, from Mingrelia to the Caspian, the frontiers are less
+precisely defined, and generally run parallel with the great chain of
+the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>Thus limited, the Caucasus, including the territory occupied by the
+subject tribes, presents a surface of scarcely 5000 leagues; and it is
+in this narrow region that a virgin and chivalric nation, amounting at
+most to 2,000,000 of souls, proudly upholds its independence against the
+might of the Russian empire, and has for twenty years sustained one of
+the most obstinate struggles known to modern history.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian line of the Kouban, which is exactly similar to that of the
+Terek, is defended by the Cossacks of the Black Sea, the poor remains of
+the famous Zaporogues, whom Catherine II. subdued with so much
+difficulty, and whom she colonised at the foot of the Caucasus, as a
+bulwark against the incursions of the mountaineers. The line consists of
+small forts and watch stations; the latter are merely a kind of sentry
+box raised on four posts, about fifty feet from the ground. Two Cossacks
+keep watch in them day and night. On the least movement of the enemy in
+the vast plain of reeds that fringes both banks of the river, a beacon
+fire is kindled on the top of the watch box. If the danger becomes more
+pressing, an enormous torch of straw and tar is set fire to. The signal
+is repeated from post to post, the whole line springs to arms, and 500
+or 600 men are instantly assembled on the point threatened. These posts,
+composed generally of a dozen men, are very close to each other,
+particularly in the most dangerous places. Small forts have been erected
+at intervals with earthworks, and a few pieces of cannon; they contain
+each from 150 to 200 men.</p>
+
+<p>But notwithstanding all the vigilance of the Cossacks, often aided by
+the troops of the line, the mountaineers not unfrequently cross the
+frontier and carry their incursions, which are always marked with
+massacre and pillage, into the adjacent provinces. These are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>bloody but
+justifiable reprisals. In 1835 a body of fifty horsemen entered the
+country of the Cossacks, and proceeded to a distance of 120 leagues, to
+plunder the German colony of Madjar and the important village of
+Vladimirofka, on the Kouma, and what is most remarkable, they got back
+to their mountains without being interrupted. The same year Kisliar on
+the Caspian was sacked by the Lesghis. These daring expeditions prove of
+themselves how insufficient is the armed line of the Caucasus, and to
+what dangers that part of southern Russia is exposed.</p>
+
+<p>The line of forts along the Black Sea is quite as weak, and the
+Circassians there are quite as daring. They carry off the Russian
+soldiers from beneath the fire of their redoubts, and come up to the
+very foot of their walls to insult the garrison. At the time I was
+exploring the mouths of the Kouban, a hostile chief had the audacity to
+appear one day before the gates of Anapa. He did all he could to
+irritate the Russians, and abusing them as cowards and woman-hearted, he
+defied them to single combat. Exasperated by his invectives, the
+commandant ordered that he should be fired on with grape. The horse of
+the mountaineer reared and threw off his rider, who, without letting go
+the bridle, instantly mounted again, and, advancing still nearer to the
+walls, discharged his pistol almost at point blank distance at the
+soldiers, and galloped off to the mountains.</p>
+
+<p>As for the blockade by sea, the imperial squadron is not expert enough
+to render it really effectual. It is only a few armed boats, manned by
+Cossacks, that give the Circassians any serious uneasiness. These
+Cossacks, like those of the Black Sea, are descended from the
+Zaporogues. Previously to the last war with Turkey they were settled on
+the right bank of the Danube, where their ancestors had taken refuge
+after the destruction of their Setcha. During the campaigns of 1828-9,
+pains were taken to revive their national feelings, they were brought
+again by fair means or by force under the imperial sway, and were then
+settled in the forts along the Caucasian shore, the keeping of which was
+committed to their charge. Courageous, enterprising, and worthy rivals
+of their foes, they wage a most active war against the skiffs of the
+mountaineers in their boats, which carry crews of fifty or sixty men.
+The war not having permitted us to visit the independent tribes, and
+investigate their moral and political condition for ourselves, we shall
+not enter into long details respecting the manners and institutions of
+the Circassians, but content ourselves with pointing out the principal
+traits of their character, and such of their peculiarities as may have
+most influence upon their relations with Russians.<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>Of all the peoples of the Caucasus, none more fully realise than the
+Circassians those heroic qualities with which imagination delights to
+invest the tribes of these mountains. Courage, intelligence, and
+remarkable beauty, have been liberally bestowed on them by nature; and
+what I admired above all in their character is a calm, noble dignity
+that never forsakes them, and which they unite with the most chivalric
+feelings and the most ardent passion for national liberty. I remember
+that during my stay at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the Cossacks of the
+Black Sea, being seated one morning in front of a merchant's house in
+the company of several Russian officers, I saw a very ill-dressed
+Circassian come up, who appeared to belong to the lowest class. He
+stopped before the shop, and while he was cheapening some articles, we
+examined his sabre. I saw distinctly on it the Latin inscription, <i>Anno
+Domini</i>, 1547, and the blade appeared to me to be of superior temper;
+the Russians were of a different opinion, for they handed the weapon
+back to the Circassian with disdainful indifference. The Circassian took
+it without uttering a word, cut off a handful of his beard with it at a
+stroke, as easily as though he had done it with a razor, then quietly
+mounted his horse and rode away, casting on the officers a look of such
+deep scorn as no words could describe.</p>
+
+<p>The Circassians, evermore engaged in war, are in general all well armed.
+Their equipment consists of a rifle, a sabre, a long dagger, which they
+wear in front, and a pistol stuck in their belt. Their remarkably
+elegant costume consists of tight pantaloons, and a short tunic belted
+round the waist, and having cartridge pockets worked on the breast;
+their head-dress is a round laced cap, encircled with a black or white
+border of long-wooled sheep-skin. In cold or rainy weather, they wear a
+hood (bashlik), and wrap themselves in an impenetrable felt cloak
+(bourka). Their horses are small, but of astonishing spirit and bottom.
+It has often been ascertained by the imperial garrisons that Circassian
+marauders have got over twenty-five or even thirty leagues of ground in
+a night. When pursued by the Russians, the mountaineers are not to be
+stopped by the most rapid torrents. If the horse is young, and not yet
+trained to this perilous kind of service, the rider gallops him up to
+the verge of the ravine, then covering the animal's head with his
+bourka, he plunges, almost always with impunity, down precipices that
+are sometimes from ten or fifteen yards deep.</p>
+
+<p>The Circassians are wonderfully expert in the use of fire-arms, and of
+their double-edged daggers. Armed only with the latter weapon, they have
+been known to leap their horses over the Russian bayonets, stab the
+soldiers, and rout their squared battalions. When they are surrounded in
+their forts or villages, without any chance of escape, they often
+sacrifice their wives and children, set fire to their dwellings, and
+perish in the flames rather than surrender. Like all Orientals, they do
+not abandon their dead and wounded except at the last extremity, and
+nothing can surpass the obstinacy with which <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>they fight to carry them
+off from the enemy. It was to this fact I owed my escape from one of the
+greatest dangers I ever encountered.</p>
+
+<p>In the month of April, 1841, I explored the military line of the Kouban.
+On my departure from Stavropol, the governor strongly insisted on giving
+me an escort; but I refused it, for fear of encumbering my movements,
+and resolved to trust to my lucky star. It was the season of flood, too,
+in the Kouban, a period in which the Circassians very seldom cross it. I
+accepted, however, as a guide, an old Cossack, who had seen more than
+five-and-twenty years' fighting, and was all over scars, in short, a
+genuine descendant of the Zaporogues. This man, my interpreter, and a
+postillion, whom we were to change at each station, formed my whole
+suite. We were all armed, though there is not much use in such a
+precaution in a country where one is always attacked either unawares, so
+that he cannot defend himself, or by superior forces against which all
+resistance is but a danger the more. But what of that? There was
+something imposing and flattering to one's pride in these martial
+accoutrements. A Tiflis dagger was stuck in my belt, a heavy rifle
+thumped against my loins, and my holsters contained an excellent pair of
+St. Etienne pistols. My Cossack was armed with two pistols, a rifle, a
+Circassian sabre, and a lance. As for my interpreter, an Italian, he was
+as brave as a Calabrian bandit, and what prized above all in him was an
+imperturbable coolness in the most critical positions, and a blind
+obedience to my orders. For five days we pursued our way pleasantly
+along the Kouban, without thinking of the danger of our position. The
+country, broken up by beautiful hills, was covered with rich vegetation.
+The muddy waters of the Kouban flowed on our left, and beyond the river
+we saw distinctly the first ranges of the Caucasus. We could even
+discern the smoke of the Circassian aouls rising up amidst the forests.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening of the fifth day we arrived at a little fort, where we
+passed the night. The weather next morning was cold and rainy, and every
+thing gave token of an unpleasant day. The country before us was quite
+unlike that we were leaving behind. The road wound tortuously over an
+immense plain between marshes and quagmires, that often rendered it all
+but impossible to advance. Our morning ride was therefore a dull and
+silent one. The Cossack had no tales to tell of his warlike feats; he
+was in bad humour, and never opened his lips except to rap out one of
+those thundering oaths in which the Russians often indulge. A thin rain
+beat in our faces; our tired horses slid at every step on the greasy
+clay soil, and we rode in single file, muffled up in our bourkas and
+bashliks. Towards noon, the weather cleared up, the road became less
+difficult, and towards evening we were but an hour and a half from the
+last fort on that side of Ekaterinodar. We were then proceeding slowly,
+without any thought of danger, and I paid no heed to the Cossack, who
+had halted some distance behind. But <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>our quick-eared guide had heard
+the sound of hoofs, and in a few seconds he rode up at full speed,
+shouting with all his might, "The Tcherkesses! the Tcherkesses!" Looking
+round we saw four mountaineers coming over a hill not far from the road.
+My plan was instantly formed. The state of our horses rendered any
+attempt at flight entirely useless; we were still far from the fortress,
+and, once overtaken, we could not avoid a fight, the chances of which
+were all against us. The Cossack alone had a sabre, and when once we had
+discharged our fire-arms, it would be all over with us. But I knew that
+the Circassians never abandoned their dead and wounded, and it was on
+this I founded our hope of safety. My orders were quickly given, and we
+continued to advance at a walk, riding abreast, but sufficiently wide
+apart to leave each man's movements free. Not a word was uttered by any
+of us. I had incurred many dangers in the course of my travels, but I
+had never been in a situation of more breathless anxiety. In less than
+ten minutes we distinctly heard the galloping of the mountaineers, and
+immediately afterwards their balls whizzed past us. My bourka was
+slightly touched, and the shaft of the Cossack's lance was cut in two.
+The critical moment was come; I gave the word, and we instantly wheeled
+round, and discharged our pistols at arm's length at our assailants: two
+of them fell. "Away now, and ride for your lives," I shouted, "the
+Circassians will not pursue us." Our horses, which had recovered their
+wind, and were probably inspirited by the smell of powder, carried us
+along at a sweeping pace, and never stopped until we were within sight
+of the fortress. Exactly what I had foreseen had happened. On the
+morning after that memorable day the garrison turned out and scoured the
+country, and I accompanied them to the scene of action. There were
+copious marks of blood on the sand, and among the sedges on the side of
+the road we found a shaska, or Circassian sabre, which had been dropped
+no doubt by the enemy. The commanding officer presented it to me, and I
+have kept it ever since as a remembrance of my perilous interview with
+the mountaineers. It bears the mark of a ball.</p>
+
+<p>It would be difficult to give any precise idea respecting the religious
+principles of the various nations of the Caucasus. The charge of
+idolatry has been alleged against several of them, but we think without
+any good grounds. Paganism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism, have by
+turns found access among them, and the result has been an anomalous
+medley of no clearly defined doctrines with the most superstitious
+practices of their early obsolete creeds. The Lesghis and the eastern
+tribes alone are really Mohammedans. As for the Ossetans, Circassians,
+Kabardians, and other western tribes, they seem to profess a pure deism,
+mingled with some Christian and Mussulman notions. It is thought that
+Christianity was introduced among these people by the celebrated Thamar,
+Queen of Georgia, who reigned in the latter part of the twelfth century;
+but it is much more probable that this was done by the Greek colonies of
+the Lower <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>Empire, and afterwards by those of the republic of Genoa in
+the Crimea. The Tcherkesses to this day entertain a profound reverence
+for the crosses and old churches of their country, to which they make
+frequent pilgrimages, and yearly offerings and sacrifices. It seems,
+too, that the Greek mythology has left numerous traces in Circassia; the
+story of Saturn for instance, that of the Titans endeavouring to scale
+heaven, and several others, are found among many of the tribes. A very
+marked characteristic of the Circassians is a total absence of religious
+fanaticism. Pretenders to divine inspiration have always been repulsed
+by them, and most of them have paid with their lives for their attempts
+at proselytism. This is not the case on the Caspian side of the
+mountains, where Shamihl's power is in a great measure based on his
+religious influence over the tribes.</p>
+
+<p>When two nations are at war, it usually happens that the one is
+calumniated by the other, and the stronger seeks an apology for its own
+ambition in blackening the character of its antagonist. Thus the
+Russians, wishing to make the inhabitants of the Caucasus appear as
+savages, against whom every means of extermination is allowable, relate
+the most absurd tales of the ferocious tortures inflicted by them on
+their prisoners. But there is no truth in all this. I have often met
+military men who had been prisoners in the mountains, and they
+unanimously testified to the good treatment they had received. The
+Circassians deal harshly only with those who resist, or who have made
+several attempts to escape; but in those cases their measures are fully
+justified by the fear lest the fugitives should convey important
+topographical information to the Russians. As for the story of the
+chopped horsehair inserted under the skin of the soles of the feet to
+hinder the escape of captives, it has been strangely exaggerated by some
+travellers. I never could hear of more than one prisoner of war who had
+been thus treated, and this was an army surgeon with whom I had an
+opportunity of conversing. He had not been previously ill-treated in any
+way by the mountaineers; but, distracted with the desire for freedom, he
+had made three attempts to escape, and it was not until the third that
+the Tcherkesses had recourse to the terrible expedient of the horsehair.
+During our stay at the waters of the Caucasus, I saw a young Russian
+woman who had recently been rescued by General Grabe's detachment.
+Shortly after our arrival she fled, and returned to the mountains. This
+fact speaks at least in favour of the gallantry of the Circassians.
+Indeed, there is no one in the country but well knows the deep respect
+they profess for the sex. It would be very difficult, if not impossible,
+to mention any case in which Russian female prisoners have been
+maltreated by them.</p>
+
+<p>The Circassians have been accustomed, from time immemorial, to make
+prisoners of all foreigners who land on their shores without any special
+warrant or recommendation. This custom has been denounced and censured
+in every possible way; yet it is not so <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>barbarous as has been supposed.
+Encompassed by enemies, exposed to incessant attacks, and relying for
+their defence chiefly on the nature of their country, the jealous care
+of their independence has naturally compelled the mountaineers to become
+suspicious, and not to allow any traveller to penetrate their retreats.
+What proves that this prohibitive measure is by no means the result of a
+savage temper is, that it is enough to pronounce the name of a chief, no
+matter who, to be welcomed and treated everywhere with unbounded
+hospitality. Reassured by this slender evidence of good faith, the
+mountaineers lay aside their distrust, and think only how they may do
+honour to the guest of one of their princes.</p>
+
+<p>But another and still graver charge still hangs over the Circassians,
+namely, their slave dealing, which has so often provoked the generous
+indignation of the philanthropists of Europe, and for the abolition of
+which Russia has been extolled by all journalists. We are certainly far
+from approving of that hateful trade, in which human beings are bought
+and sold as merchandise; but we are bound in justice to the people of
+Asia to remark, that there is a wide difference between Oriental slavery
+and that which exists in Russia, in the French colonies, and in America.
+In the East, slavery becomes in fact a virtual adoption, which has
+generally a favourable effect both on the moral and the physical weal of
+the individual. It is a condition by no means implying any sort of
+degradation, nor has there ever existed between it and the class of
+freemen that line of demarcation, beset by pride and prejudice, which is
+found everywhere else. It would be easy to mention the names of many
+high dignitaries of Turkey who were originally slaves; indeed, it would
+be difficult to name one young man of the Caucasus, sold to the Turks,
+who did not rise to more or less distinction. As for the women, large
+cargoes of whom still arrive in the Bosphorus in spite of the Russian
+blockade, they are far from bewailing their lot; on the contrary, they
+think themselves very fortunate in being able to set out for
+Constantinople, which offers them a prospect of every thing that can
+fascinate the imagination of a girl of the East. All this, of course,
+pre-supposes the absence of those family affections to which we attach
+so much value; but it must not be forgotten that the tribes of the
+Caucasus cannot be fairly or soundly judged by the standard of our
+European notions, but that we must make due allowance for their social
+state, their manners, and traditions. The sale of women in Circassia is
+obviously but a substitute and an equivalent for the indispensable
+preliminaries that elsewhere precede every marriage in the East; with
+this difference alone, that in the Caucasus, on account of its
+remoteness, it is an agent who undertakes the pecuniary part of the
+transaction, and acts as the medium between the girl's relations and him
+whose lawful wife she is in most cases to become. The parents, it is
+true, part with their children, and give them up to strangers almost
+always unknown to them; but they do not abandon them <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>for all that. They
+keep up a frequent correspondence with them, and the Russians never
+capture a single Circassian boat in which there are not men and women
+going to or returning from Constantinople merely to see their children.
+No one who has been in the Caucasus can be ignorant of the fact that all
+the families, not excepting even those of high rank, esteem it a great
+honour to have their children placed out in Turkey. It is to all these
+relations and alliances, as I may say, between the Circassians and the
+Turks that the latter owe the great moral influence they still exercise
+over the tribes of the Caucasus. The name of Turk is always the best
+recommendation among the mountaineers, and there is no sort of
+respectful consideration but is evinced towards those who have returned
+home after passing some years of servitude in Turkey. After all, the
+Russians themselves think on this subject precisely as we do, and were
+it not for potent political considerations, they would not by any means
+offer impediment to the Caucasian slave-trade. This is proved most
+manifestly by the proposal made by a Russian general in 1843, to
+regulate and ratify this traffic, and carry it on for the benefit of
+Russia, by granting the tzar's subjects the exclusive privilege of
+purchasing Circassian slaves. The scheme was abortive, and could not
+have been otherwise, for it is a monstrous absurdity to compare Russian
+slavery with that which prevails in Constantinople. Nothing proves more
+strongly how different are the real sentiments of the Circassians from
+those imputed to them, than the indignation with which they regard
+slavery, such as prevails in Russia. I will here relate an anecdote
+which I doubt not will appear strange to many persons; but I can
+guarantee its authenticity, since the fact occurred under my own eyes.</p>
+
+<p>A detachment of mountaineers, destined to form a guard of honour for
+Paskewitch, passed through Rostof on the Don, in 1838. The sultry season
+was then at its height, and two of the Circassians, going to bathe, laid
+their clothes in the boat belonging to the custom-house. There was
+certainly nothing very reprehensible in this; but the <i>employ&eacute;s</i> of the
+customs thought otherwise, threw the men's clothes into the river, and
+assaulted them with sticks. Immediately there was a tremendous uproar;
+all the mountaineers flocked to the spot, and threatened to set fire to
+the town, if the amplest satisfaction were not given to their comrades.
+The inhabitants were seized with alarm, and the director of the customs
+went in person to the commander of the Circassians, to beseech him not
+to put his threats in execution; and he backed his entreaties with the
+offer of a round sum of money for the officer and his men. "Money!"
+retorted the indignant chieftain; "money! it is good for base-souled,
+venal Russians! It is good for you, who sell men, women, and children
+like vile cattle; but among our people, the honour of a man made in the
+image of God is not bought and sold. Let your men kneel down before my
+soldiers, and beg their pardon; that is the only reparation we insist
+on." The chief's demand was complied with, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>and the peace of the town
+was immediately restored. The words we have reported are authentic; they
+prove that the Tcherkesses do not look on the sale of their children as
+a traffic, and that in the actual state of their national civilisation,
+that sale cannot be in anywise considered as incompatible with family
+affections, and the sentiments of honour and humanity.</p>
+
+<p>The Circassian women have been celebrated by so many writers, and their
+beauty has been made the theme of so many charming descriptions, that we
+may be allowed to say a few words about them. Unfortunately we are
+constrained to avow, that the reputation of their charms appears to us
+greatly exaggerated, and that in person they are much less remarkable
+than the men. It is true we have not been able to visit any of the great
+centres of the population: we have not been among the independent
+tribes; but we have been in several aouls on the banks of the Kouban,
+and been entertained in a princely family; but nowhere could we see any
+of those perfect beauties of whom travellers make such frequent mention.
+The only thing that really struck us in these mountain girls was the
+elegance of their shape, and the inimitable grace of their bearing. A
+Circassian woman is never awkward. Dressed in rags or in brocade, she
+never fails to assume spontaneously the most noble and picturesque
+attitudes. In this respect she is incontestably superior to the highest
+efforts of fascination which Parisian art can achieve.</p>
+
+<p>The great celebrity of the women of the Caucasus appears to have been
+derived from the bazaars of Constantinople, where the Turks, who are
+great admirers of their charms, still inquire after them with extreme
+avidity. But as their notions of beauty are quite different from ours,
+and relate chiefly to plumpness, and the shape of the feet, it is not at
+all surprising that the opinions of the Turks have misled travellers.
+But though the Circassian belles do not completely realise the ideal
+type dreamed of by Europeans, we are far from denying the brilliant
+qualities with which nature has evidently endowed them. They are
+engaging, gracious, and affable towards the stranger, and we can well
+conceive that their charming hospitality has won for them many an ardent
+admirer.</p>
+
+<p>Apropos of the conjugal and domestic habits of the Circassians; I will
+describe an excursion I made along the military line of the North,
+eighteen months after my journey to the Caspian Sea.</p>
+
+<p>During my stay at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the country of the Black
+Sea Cossacks, I heard a great deal about a Tcherkess prince, allied to
+Russia, and established on the right bank of the Kouban, a dozen versts
+from the town. I therefore gladly accepted the proposal made to me by
+the Attaman Zavadofsky to visit the chief, under the escort of an
+officer and two soldiers. Baron Kloch, of whom I have already spoken,
+accompanied me. We mounted our horses, armed to the teeth, according to
+the invariable custom of the country, and in three hours we alighted in
+the middle of the aoul. We were immediately surrounded by a crowd of
+persons <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>whose looks had nothing in them of welcome; but when they were
+informed that we were not Russians, but foreigners, and that we were
+come merely to request a few hours' hospitality of their master, their
+sour looks were changed for an expression of the frankest cordiality,
+and they hastened to conduct us to the prince's dwelling.</p>
+
+<p>It was a miserable thatched mud cabin, in front of which we found the
+noble Tcherkess, lying on a mat, in his shirt, and barefooted. He
+received us in the kindest manner, and after complimenting us on our
+arrival, he proceeded to make his toilette. He sent for his most elegant
+garments and his most stylish leg-gear, girded on his weapons, which he
+took care to make us admire, and then led us into the cabin, which
+served as his abode during the day. The interior was as naked and
+unfurnished as it could well be. A divan covered with reed matting, a
+few vessels, and a saddle, were the only objects visible. After we had
+rested a few moments, the prince begged us to pay a visit to his wife
+and daughter, who had been apprised of our arrival, and were extremely
+desirous to see us.</p>
+
+<p>These ladies occupied a hut of their own, consisting, like the prince's,
+of but one room. They rose as we entered, and saluted us very
+gracefully; then motioning us to be seated, the mother sat down in the
+Turkish fashion on her divan, whilst her daughter came and leaned
+gracefully against the sofa on which we had taken our places. When the
+ceremony of reception was over, we remarked with surprise that the
+prince had not crossed the threshold, but merely put his head in at the
+door to answer our questions and talk with his wife. Our Cossack officer
+explained the meaning of this singular conduct, telling us that a
+Circassian husband cannot, without detriment to his honour, enter his
+wife's apartment during the day. This rule is rigorously observed in all
+families that make any pretensions to distinction.</p>
+
+<p>The princess's apartments had a little more air of comfort than her
+husband's. We found in it two large divans with silk cushions
+embroidered with gold and silver, carpets of painted felt, several
+trunks and a very pretty work-basket. A little Russian mirror, and the
+chief's armorial trophies, formed the ornaments of the walls. But the
+floor was not boarded, the walls were rough plastered, and two little
+holes, furnished with shutters, barely served to let a little air into
+the interior. The princess, who seemed about five-and-thirty or forty,
+was not fitted to support the reputation of her countrywomen, and we
+were by no means dazzled by her charms. Her dress alone attracted our
+attention. Under a brocaded pelisse with short sleeves, and laced on the
+seams, she wore a silk chemise, open much lower down than decency could
+approve. A velvet cap trimmed with silver, smooth plaits of hair, cut
+heart-shape on the forehead, a white veil fastened on the top of the
+head, and crossing over the bosom, and lastly, a red shawl thrown
+carelessly over her lap, completed her toilette. As for her daughter, we
+thought her <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>charming: she was dressed in a white robe, and a red
+kazavek confined round the waist; she had delicate features, a
+dazzlingly fair complexion, and her black hair escaped in a profusion of
+tresses from beneath her cap. The affability of the two ladies exceeded
+our expectations. They asked us a multitude of questions about our
+journey, our country, and our occupations. Our European costume
+interested them exceedingly: our straw hats above all excited their
+especial wonder. And yet there was something cold and impassive in their
+whole demeanour. It was not until a long curtain falling by accident
+shut out the princess from our sight that they condescended to smile.
+After conversing for a little while, we asked permission of the princess
+to take her likeness, and to sketch the interior of her dwelling, to
+which she made no objection. When we had made our drawings, a collation
+was set before us, consisting of fruits and small cheese-cakes, to
+which, for my part, I did not do much honour. In the evening we took our
+leave, and on coming out of the hut, we found all the inhabitants of the
+aoul assembled, their faces beaming with the most sincere good will, and
+every man was eager to shake hands with us before our departure. A
+numerous body volunteered to accompany us, and the prince himself
+mounted and rode with us half-way to Ekaterinodar, where we embraced
+like old acquaintances. The Tcherkess chief turned back to his aoul, and
+it was not without a feeling of regret that we spurred our horses in the
+direction of the capital of the Black Sea Cossacks.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> For fuller details we refer our readers to the Travels of
+M. Taitbout de Marigny and of the English agent Bell, and to the works
+recently published by MM. Fonton and Dubois. There exists also another
+narrative by Mr. Spencer, which has had the honour of a long analysis in
+the <i>Revue des Deux Mondes</i>; but we know most positively that the
+honourable gentleman only made a military promenade along the coasts of
+the Black Sea, in company with Count Woronzof, and that he never
+undertook that perilous excursion into Circassia, with which he has
+filled a whole volume.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXI.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE WAR IN THE CAUCASUS&mdash;VITAL
+IMPORTANCE OF THE CAUCASUS TO RUSSIA&mdash;DESIGNS ON INDIA,
+CENTRAL ASIA, BOKHARA, KHIVA, &amp;c.&mdash;RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH
+COMMERCE IN PERSIA.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The treaty of Adrianople was in a manner the opening of a new era in the
+relations of Russia with the mountaineers; for it was by virtue of that
+treaty that the present tzar, already master of Anapa and Soudjouk
+Kaleh, pretended to the sovereignty of Circassia and of the whole
+seaboard of the Black Sea. True to the invariable principles of its
+foreign policy, the government at first employed means of corruption,
+and strove to seduce the various chiefs of the country by pensions,
+decorations, and military appointments. But the mountaineers, who had
+the example of the Persian provinces before their eyes, sternly rejected
+all the overtures of Russia, and repudiated the clauses of the
+convention of Adrianople; the political and commercial independence of
+their country became their rallying cry, and they would not treat on any
+other condition. All such ideas were totally at variance with Nicholas's
+schemes of absolute <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>dominion; therefore he had recourse to arms to
+obtain by force what he had been unable to accomplish by other means.</p>
+
+<p>Abkhasia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, and easily
+accessible, was the first invaded. A Russian force occupied the country
+in 1839, under the ordinary pretence of supporting one of its princes,
+and putting an end to anarchy. In the same year General Paskevitch, then
+governor-general of the Caucasus, for the first time made an armed
+exploration of the country of the Tcherkesses beyond the Kouban; but he
+effected absolutely nothing, and his expedition only resulted in a great
+loss of men and stores. In the following year war broke out in Daghestan
+with the Lesghis and the Tchetchenzes. The celebrated Kadi Moulah,
+giving himself out for a prophet, gathered together a considerable
+number of partisans; but unfortunately for him there was no unanimity
+among the tribes, and the princes were continually counteracting each
+other. Kadi Moulah never was able to bring more than 3000 or 4000 men
+together; nevertheless, he maintained the struggle with a courage worthy
+of a better fate, and Russia knows what it cost her to put down the
+revolt of Daghestan. As for any real progress in that part of the
+Caucasus, the Russians made none; they did no more than replace things
+on the old footing. Daghestan soon became again more hostile than ever,
+and the Tchetchenzes and Lesghis continued in separate detachments to
+plunder and ravage the adjacent provinces up to the time when the
+ascendency of the celebrated Shamihl, the worthy successor of Kadi
+Moulah, gave a fresh impulse to the warlike tribes of the mountain, and
+rendered them more formidable than ever.</p>
+
+<p>After taking possession of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh, the Russians
+thought of seizing the whole seaboard of Circassia, and especially the
+various points suitable for the establishment of military posts. They
+made themselves masters of Guelendchik and the important position of
+Gagra, which commands the pass between Circassia and Abkhasia. The
+Tcherkesses heroically defended their territory, but how could they have
+withstood the guns of the ships of war that mowed them down whilst the
+soldiers were landing and constructing their redoubts? The blockade of
+the coasts was declared in 1838, and all foreign communication with the
+Caucasus ostensibly intercepted. During the four following years Russia
+suffered heavy losses; and all her successes were limited to the
+establishment of some small isolated forts on the sea-coast. She then
+increased her army, laid down the military road from the Kouban to
+Guelendchik, across the last western offshoot of the Caucasus, set on
+foot an exploration of the enemy's whole coast, and prepared to push the
+war with renewed vigour.</p>
+
+<p>In 1837 the Emperor Nicholas visited the Caucasus. He would see for
+himself the theatre of a war so disastrous for his arms, and try what
+impression his imperial presence could make on the mountaineers. The
+chiefs of the country were invited to various conferences, to which they
+boldly repaired on the faith of the Russian <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>parole; but instead of
+conciliating them by words of peace and moderation, the emperor only
+exasperated them by his threatening and haughty language. "Do you know,"
+said he to them, "that I have powder enough to blow up all your
+mountains?"</p>
+
+<p>During the three following years there was an incessant succession of
+expeditions. Golovin, on the frontiers of Georgia, Grabe on the north,
+and Racifsky on the Circassian seaboard, left nothing untried to
+accomplish their master's orders. The sacrifices incurred by Russia were
+enormous; the greater part of her fleet was destroyed by a storm, but
+all efforts failed against the intrepidity and tactics of the
+mountaineers. Some new forts erected under cover of the ships were all
+that resulted from these disastrous campaigns. I was in the Caucasus in
+1839, when Lieutenant-General Grabe returned from his famous expedition
+against Shamihl. When the army marched it had numbered 6000 men, 1000 of
+whom, and 120 officers, were cut off in three months. But as the general
+had advanced further into the country than any of his predecessors,
+Russia sang p&oelig;ans, and Grabe became the hero of the day, although the
+imperial troops had been forced to retreat and entirely evacuate the
+country they had invaded. All the other expeditions were similar to this
+one, and achieved in reality nothing but the burning and destruction of
+a few villages. It is true the mountaineers are far from being
+victorious in all their encounters with the Russians, whose artillery
+they cannot easily withstand; but if they are obliged to give way to
+numbers or to engineering, nevertheless, they remain in the end masters
+of the ground, and annul all the momentary advantages gained by their
+enemies.</p>
+
+<p>The year 1840 was still more fatal to the arms of Nicholas. Almost all
+the new forts on the seaboard were taken by the Circassians, who bravely
+attacked and carried the best fortified posts without artillery. The
+military road from the Kouban to Guelendchik was intercepted, Fort St.
+Nicholas, which commanded it, was stormed and the garrison massacred.
+Never yet had Russia endured such heavy blows. The disasters were such
+that the official journals themselves, after many months' silence, were
+at last obliged to speak of them, and to try to gloss them over by
+publishing turgid eulogiums on the heroism of the unfortunate Black Sea
+garrisons. The following is the bulletin published in the Russian
+<i>Invalide</i> of the 7th of August, 1840:<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a></p>
+
+<p>"The annals of the Russian army present a multitude of glorious deeds of
+arms and heroic actions, the memory of which will be for ever preserved
+among posterity. The detached corps of the Caucasus has from its special
+destination more frequent opportunities than the other troops to gather
+new laurels; but there had not yet been seen in its ranks examples of so
+brilliant a valour as that recently manifested by the garrisons of
+several campaigning <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>fortifications erected on the unsubjugated
+territory of the Cossacks of the eastern shores of the Black Sea.
+Erected with a view to curb the brigandages of those semi-barbarous
+hordes, and particularly their favourite occupation, the shameful trade
+in slaves, these fortifications were during the spring of this year the
+constant objects of their attacks. In hopes to destroy the obstacles
+raised against them, at a period when by reason of their position, and
+the insurmountable difficulty of communication, the forts on the
+seaboard could not receive any aid from without, they united against
+them all their forces and all their means. And indeed three of these
+forts fell, but fell with a glory that won for their defenders the
+admiration and even the respect of their fierce enemies. The valiant
+efforts of the other garrisons were crowned with better success. They
+have all withstood the desperate and often-repeated attacks of the
+mountaineers, and held out unsubdued until it was possible to send them
+succours.</p>
+
+<p>"In this struggle between a handful of Russian soldiers and a determined
+and enterprising enemy, ten and even twenty times their superiors in
+number, the high deeds of the garrisons of the Veliaminof and Michael
+redoubts, and the defence of forts Navaguinsky and Abinsky, merit
+particular attention. The first of these redoubts was taken by the
+mountaineers on the 29th of last February. At daybreak, taking advantage
+of the localities, and concealed by the morning mist, their bands, more
+than 7000 strong, approached the entrenchments unperceived, and rushed
+impetuously to the assault. Repeatedly overthrown, they returned each
+time furiously to the charge, and after a long conflict finally remained
+masters of the rampart. The garrison, rejecting all proposals to
+surrender, continued with invincible courage a combat thenceforth
+without hope, preferring to find in it a glorious death; and all fell
+with the exception of some invalid soldiers, who were made prisoners by
+the mountaineers. The latter, in token of respect for the defenders of
+the redoubt, took home with them some of them whom there still appeared
+a chance of saving. The garrison of the Veliaminof redoubt consisted of
+400 men of all ranks. The loss of the mountaineers amounted, in killed
+alone, to 900 men.</p>
+
+<p>"On the morning of the 22nd of March, the mountaineers, to the number of
+more than 11,000 men, attacked the Michael redoubt, the garrison of
+which counted but 480 men under arms. Its brave commander,
+Second-captain Lico, of the battalion No. 5 of the Cossacks of the
+frontier line of the Black Sea, having learned the intentions of the
+enemy, had made preparations for vigorously resisting his attempts.
+Seeing the impossibility of receiving timely succour, he had nails
+prepared to spike his cannons, in case the rampart should be carried,
+and had a <i>r&eacute;duit</i> constructed in the interior of the redoubt, with
+planks, tubs, and other suitable materials. Then collecting his whole
+garrison, officers and soldiers, he proposed to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>them to blow up the
+powder magazine, if they did not succeed in repulsing the enemy. The
+proposal was received with an enthusiasm which the subsequent conduct of
+the garrison proved to be genuine. The mountaineers were received with a
+most destructive fire by the artillery of the fort, and could not make
+themselves masters of the rampart until after an hour and half of
+fighting, in which they suffered considerable loss. The heroic efforts
+of the garrison having forced them back into the ditch, they took to
+flight; but the mountain horsemen, who had remained on the watch at a
+certain distance, fell with their sabres on the fugitives; and the
+latter, seeing inevitable death on either hand, returned to the assault,
+drove the garrison from the rampart, and forced it to retire into the
+<i>r&eacute;duit</i>, after it had set fire to all the stores and provisions of
+every kind that were in the redoubt. Sharp-shooting went on for half an
+hour; the firing then ceased, and the mountaineers were beginning to
+congratulate themselves on their victory, when the powder magazine blew
+up.<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a> The garrison perished in accomplishing this act, memorable in
+military annals; but with it perished all the mountaineers who were in
+the redoubt. The details of the defence of the Veliaminof and Michael
+redoubts have been divulged by the mountaineers themselves, and by some
+soldiers who have escaped from slavery among them. The services of the
+heroes who died thus on the field of honour, have been honoured by his
+majesty the emperor, in the persons of their families; whose livelihood
+has been insured, and whose children will be brought up at the expense
+of the state. These redoubts are now once more occupied by the
+detachment of troops operating on the eastern coasts of the Black Sea.</p>
+
+<p>"The Navaguinsky fort has often been subjected to the attacks of the
+mountaineers; but they have always been repulsed with the same valour
+and steadiness. In one of these attacks, the mountaineers, availing
+themselves of the darkness of night, and the noise of a tempest,
+approached the fort without being perceived by the sentinels, surrounded
+it on all sides, sprang suddenly to the assault with ladders and hooks,
+made themselves masters of part of the rampart, and got into the fort.
+Captain Podgoursky, its brave commandant, and Lieutenant Jacovlev, then
+advanced against them with a part of the garrison. Both were killed on
+the spot, but their death in no degree checked the ardour of the
+soldiers, who fell upon the enemy with the bayonet, and drove them into
+the ditch. The fight was maintained with the same enthusiasm on all the
+other points of the fortifications, and the invalids themselves
+voluntarily turned out from the hospital and took part in it. At
+daybreak, after three hours hard fighting, the fort was cleared <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span>of the
+enemy, who left in it a considerable number of killed and wounded.</p>
+
+<p>"On the 26th of May, the Abinsky fort, situated between the Kouban and
+the shore of the Black Sea, was surrounded at two in the morning by a
+body of mountaineers 12,000 strong, who had assembled in the vicinity,
+and suddenly assaulted the fort with loud shouts, and discharges from
+their rifles. The hail of bullets, hand-grenades, and grape-shot with
+which they were received did not check their ardour. Full of temerity
+and contempt of death, they descended with marvellous promptitude and
+agility into the ditch, and began to scale the rampart, thus blindly
+seeking sure destruction. The warriors, clad in coats of mail,
+penetrated repeatedly into the entrenchment, but were each time killed
+or driven back. At last, in spite of all the efforts of the garrison, a
+numerous party found their way into the interior of a bastion, and flung
+themselves with flags unfurled into the interior of the fort. Colonel
+Vecelofsky, the commandant, retaining all his presence of mind at this
+critical moment, charged the enemy at the bayonet point, with a reserve
+he had kept, of 40 men, and drove them out of the entrenchment, after
+capturing two of their flags. This brilliant feat checked the audacity
+of the assailants, and inflamed the courage of the garrison to the
+highest pitch. The enemy, beaten on all points, took flight, carrying
+off their dead, according to the custom of the Asiatics. Ten of their
+wounded remained in the hands of the garrison, who found 685 dead in the
+interior of the fort and in the ditches. The number of those whom the
+mountaineers carried off to bury at home, was doubtless still more
+considerable. The loss on our side was nine killed and eighteen wounded.</p>
+
+<p>"At the time of the attack, the garrison of the Abinsky fort consisted
+of a superior officer, fifteen officers, and 676 soldiers. The numerical
+weakness of this force, proves of itself the extraordinary intrepidity
+of all comprised in it, officers and soldiers, and their unanimous
+resolution to defend with unswerving firmness the ramparts confided to
+their courage."</p>
+
+<p>It seems to us superfluous to offer any comment on this heroic bulletin.
+We shall merely observe, that the most serious losses, the destruction
+of the new road from the Kouban, the taking of fort St. Nicholas, and
+that of several other forts, have been entirely forgotten in the
+official statement, and no facts mentioned, but those which might be
+interpreted in favour of Russia's military glory.</p>
+
+<p>On the eastern side of the mountain the war was fully as disastrous for
+the invaders. The imperial army lost 400 petty officers and soldiers,
+and twenty-nine officers in the battle of Valrik against the
+Tchetchenzes. The military colonies of the Terek were attacked and
+plundered, and when General Golovin retired to his winter quarters at
+the end of the campaign, he had lost more than three-fourths of his
+men.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>The Great Kabarda did not remain an indifferent spectator of the
+offensive league formed by the tribes of the Caucasus; and when Russia,
+suspecting with reason the unfriendly disposition of some tribes, made
+an armed exploration on the banks of the Laba in order to construct
+redoubts, and thus cut off the subjugated tribes from the others, the
+general found the country, wherever he advanced, but a desert. All the
+inhabitants had already retired to the other side of the Laba to join
+their warlike neighbours.</p>
+
+<p>Since that time fresh defeats have been made known through the press,
+and in spite of all the mystery in which the war of the Caucasus is
+sought to be wrapt, the truth has, nevertheless, transpired. The last
+military operations of Russia have been as unproductive as those that
+preceded them, and prove that no change has taken place in the
+belligerents respectively. Thus we see that in despite of the resources
+of the empire, and of the indomitable obstinacy of the emperor, the
+position of Russia in the Caucasus has been quite stationary for sixty
+years.</p>
+
+<p>In considering this long series of disasters and unavailing efforts, we
+are naturally led to inquire what have been the causes of this want of
+success? We have already mentioned the topographical character of the
+country, and the difficulties encountered by an invading army in regions
+not accessible by the valleys, and we have given such details of the
+manners and character of the mountaineers as may enable the reader to
+conceive the obstinate and formidable nature of their resistance.
+Nevertheless, seeing the absolute power of Nicholas, and the intense
+importance he attaches to the conquest of the Caucasus, it is difficult
+to admit that obstacles arising out of the nature of the ground and the
+character of the population could not have been overcome in a region so
+limited, if there were not other and more potent causes continually at
+work to impede the military operations of Russia. These causes reside
+chiefly in the deplorable state and constitution of the imperial armies.</p>
+
+<p>In Russia there is no distinct commissariat department under
+disinterested control, whether of the government or of superior
+officers. It is the colonel himself of each regiment who provides the
+rations, and as he is subject to no control, but acts really with
+despotic authority, both he and his contractors have the amplest
+possible opportunity to cheat the government and enrich themselves at
+the expense of the troops. There are regiments in the Caucasus that
+bring in from 80,000 to 100,000 francs to the colonel. As for the
+subaltern officers, military submission on the one hand, and the
+scantiness of their pay on the other, make them always ready to
+participate in their commander's infamous speculations. What is the
+result of this wretched corruption? It is that, notwithstanding the high
+prices paid by the government, the contractors continue to send to the
+Caucasus the most unwholesome stores, and grains almost always heated or
+quite spoiled; for it is only in this way they can realise sufficient
+profits to be able to satisfy the cupidity of their <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>confederates, the
+officers. I knew several merchants of Theodosia in the Crimea, men of
+honour, who refused to have any thing to do with military supplies,
+because they found it impossible to make the colonels and generals
+accept sound articles.</p>
+
+<p>This official robbery is nowhere carried on in a more scandalous manner
+than in the Caucasus. It is there regularly established, and one may
+conjecture the hardships and privations of the soldier from seeing the
+luxurious tables of the lowest officers, most of whom have but from 1000
+or 1200 rubles yearly pay. Certainly there are few sovereigns who take
+more heed than Nicholas to the physical welfare of their soldiers, and
+we must give full credit to his generous intentions in this respect; but
+these are completely defeated by the corruption of his officers and
+civil servants, by the total want of publicity, and by that base
+servility which will always hinder an inferior from accusing his
+superior. I have been present at several military inspections made by
+general officers in the Caucasus, but never heard the least complaint
+made by the soldiers; and when the general, calling them by companies
+round him in a circle, questioned them respecting their victuals, they
+all invariably replied in chorus, that they had nothing to complain of,
+and were as well treated as possible. Their colonel's eye was upon them,
+and they knew what the least word of complaint would have cost them; yet
+they were dying by hundreds of scurvy, and other diseases engendered by
+unwholesome food.</p>
+
+<p>The government usually makes large purchases of butter in Siberia for
+the army of the Caucasus; but this butter which would be of such great
+utility in the military hospitals, and which costs as much as sixty-five
+francs the twenty kilogrammes, very seldom passes further than Taganrok,
+where it is sold in retail, and its place supplied with the worst
+substitute that can be had. Nor does the robbery end there. The butter
+fabricated in Taganrok is again made matter of speculation in the
+Caucasus, and finally not a particle reaches the sick and drooping
+soldiers. The other good provisions undergo nearly the same course.</p>
+
+<p>When I was at Theodosia in 1840, there were in the military hospital of
+the town 15,000 invalids, who were all dying for want of attendance and
+good medicine. A Courland general (whom I could name) justly incensed at
+these abuses, sent in a strong report of them directly to the emperor;
+and twenty days afterwards, a superior officer, despatched by the
+emperor himself, arrived on the spot. But the people about the hospital
+were rich; they had taken their measures, and the result of this
+mission, which looked so threatening at first, was a report extremely
+satisfactory as to the zeal of the managers and the sanatory condition
+of the establishment. The general was severely reprimanded, almost
+disgraced, and the robbers continued to merit official encomiums. I did
+not hear that they were rewarded by the government.</p>
+
+<p>The most frightful mortality prevails among the troops in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>Caucasus;
+whole divisions disappear in the space of a few months, and the army is
+used up and wholly renewed every three or four years. It is especially
+in the small forts on the seaboard, where the mischiefs of bad food are
+increased by almost total isolation, that diseases make frightful havoc,
+particularly scurvy. In the spring of 1840, the twelfth division marched
+to occupy the redoubts on the coasts of Circassia, and its effective
+number was 12,000 men, quite an extraordinary circumstance. Four months
+afterwards it was recalled to take part in the expedition at that time
+projected against the Viceroy of Egypt. When it landed at Sevastopol it
+was reduced to 1500 men. In the same year the commander-in-chief, in
+visiting the forts of the seaboard, found but nine men fit for service
+out of 300 that composed the garrison of Soukhoum Kaleh. According to
+official returns, the average deaths on the seaboard of Circassia in
+1841 and 1842, were 17,000 in each year.</p>
+
+<p>Is it to be wondered that with such a military administration, Russia
+makes no progress in the Caucasus? What can be expected of armies in
+which want of all necessaries and total disregard for the lives of men
+are the order of the day? The divisions and regiments in the Caucasus
+are in a state of permanent disorganisation, and the courage and
+activity of the troops sink altogether under the influence of the
+diseases by which they are incessantly mowed down. It needs all the
+force of discipline, all the stoic self-denial of the soldier, and,
+above all, the incessant renovation of the garrisons, to hinder the
+Russians from being driven out of all their positions.</p>
+
+<p>People often ask with surprise why Russia does not take the field with
+200,000 or even 300,000 men at once. We have already given sufficiently
+circumstantial details on the topography of the Caucasus, to enable
+every one to perceive immediately how difficult it is to employ large
+armies in regions so inaccessible, and so wonderfully defended by
+nature. Nor, on the other hand, must it be forgotten that the official
+strength of the army of the Caucasus is always at least 160,000 men. Its
+real strength, indeed, very seldom exceeds 80,000; but its proportion to
+the grand total of the imperial forces, paid as if they were at the
+full, still remains the same, and it is impossible, under existing
+circumstances, that the government should augment the number of its
+troops without most seriously increasing the already embarrassed
+condition of the finances. Another consideration of still greater weight
+is, that the movements of large armies are attended with extreme
+difficulty in Russia, to a degree unknown in any other country of
+Europe. In all the discussions that are held on the subject of the war
+in the Caucasus, the immense difficulties of the transport of men,
+military stores, and provisions, have never been taken into account, and
+people have always reasoned as if the Caucasus was situated in the midst
+of the tzar's dominions. A glance at the map of Russia will suffice to
+show, that those mountains lying on the most southern verge of the
+empire, are separated by real deserts from the great centres of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>Russian population, and that to repair to the banks of the Kouban from
+the first governments where troops are recruited, they must traverse
+more than 150 leagues of country inhabited by Cossacks and Kalmucks, in
+which the nature of the soil and of the inhabitants forbids any
+cantonment of reserves.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover we must not forget the difficulties of the climate. The fine
+season barely lasts four months in Russia. The roads are impassable for
+pedestrians in spring and autumn, and during the winter the cold is too
+severe, the days too short, the snow-storms often too prolonged to allow
+of putting regiments on the march, not to say sending them to the
+Caucasus across the uncultivated and desert plains that stretch between
+the Sea of Azof and the Caspian. The route by sea is equally
+impracticable. No use can be made of the Caspian on account of the arid
+and unproductive steppes that belt it on the Russian side. Astrakhan,
+the only town situated on that part of the coast, is obliged to fetch
+its provisions from a distance of 200 leagues. The Black Sea is, indeed,
+more favourably circumstanced; but it only affords communication with
+the forts on the Circassian side; and the mountaineers always wait to
+make their attacks in the season of rough weather, during which
+navigation is usually suspended, and it is exceedingly difficult to
+reinforce and victual the garrisons. The tediousness and difficulty of
+conveying stores is the same by land. With the exception of the forts of
+Circassia, supplied directly from the ports of Odessa, Theodosia, and
+Kertch, all the garrisons of the Caucasus receive their supplies from
+the nearly central provinces of the empire. Thus the materials destined
+for the army of the Terek and of Daghestan arrive first in Astrakhan,
+after a voyage of more than 200 leagues down the Volga; and then they
+are forwarded by sea for the most part to Koumskaia, on the mouth of the
+Kouma, where they are taken up by the Turcomans on their little
+ox-carts, impressed for the service, and reach their final destination
+after fifteen or twenty days' travelling. The mode of proceeding is
+still more tedious and expensive for the implements and <i>mat&eacute;riel</i> of
+war which arrive from Siberia only once a year, during the spring floods
+of the Volga, the Don, and the Dniepr. Such obstacles render it
+impossible to augment the forces employed on the Caucasus. France is
+infinitely better circumstanced with regard to Algeria. We have nothing
+to prevent our keeping up strong military stations on the Mediterranean
+shore. We can at any moment command the means of rapidly transporting to
+Africa whatever forces may be required by ordinary or unforeseen
+circumstances. We will by and by return to the war in Algeria, as
+compared with that which the Russians are carrying on in the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>We have yet to speak of another cause of weakness to the Russian arms,
+and one which is the more serious as it operates exclusively on the
+<i>moral</i> of the soldiers. Russia has made the Caucasus a place of
+transportation, a regular Botany Bay for all the rogues in the empire,
+and for those who by their acts or their political opinions, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>have
+incurred the wrath of the tzar. In reference to this subject, we will
+mention a fact which may seem hard to believe, but which I attest as an
+eye-witness. In 1840, the fifteenth division, commanded by
+Lieutenant-General S&mdash;&mdash;, received orders to march to the Caucasus. On
+leaving Taganrok, it was about 1200 short of its complement, and its
+deficiency was supplied from the prisons of southern Russia. Robbers,
+pickpockets, vagabonds, and soldiers that had been flogged and degraded,
+were marched into Taganrok, and incorporated with the regiments which
+were about to begin the campaign. These singular recruits were put under
+the keeping of the soldiers, and each of them, according to his supposed
+degree of rascality, was guarded by two, three, or four men. Surely the
+<i>moral</i> of the Russian troops is sufficiently jeopardised by the social
+and military institutions of the empire, and it cannot be prudent so
+deeply to debase the soldier by associating him with thieves and highway
+robbers, and to change the toilsome wars of the Caucasus into a means of
+punishment, I may say of destruction, for political offenders and real
+criminals. Furthermore, a conflict so prolonged, so disastrous, and that
+for so many years has been without any tangible result, must inevitably
+have the worst effect on the minds of troops who are not actuated either
+by the sense of glory or honour, or by the feeling that they are
+defending the right. We have visited the Caucasus at various times, and
+never did we meet one officer who was heartily attached to the service
+in which he was engaged. Despondency is universal, and many expeditions
+against the mountaineers have been marked by a total absence of
+discipline. The soldiers have often refused to march, and have suffered
+themselves to be massacred by their officers, rather than advance a
+foot.</p>
+
+<p>The Caucasus has also become a place of exile for a great number of
+Poles. After the revolution of 1831, the Russian government committed
+the blunder of sending to the Kouban most of the regiments compromised
+in that ill-fated effort. The result was very easy to foresee; desertion
+soon began in the ranks of the outlaws, and it is now known beyond a
+doubt that the Tcherkesses have Poles among them, who instruct them in
+the art of war, endeavour to create an artillery for them with the
+pieces captured from the Russians, and labour actively to allay the
+dissensions between the various tribes. General Grabe himself assured me
+that he had seen in several places fortifications which he recognised as
+quite modern. He had also in his campaign of 1840 remarked a more
+compact and better concerted resistance on the part of the Circassians,
+and often a remarkable degree of combined action in their attacks.</p>
+
+<p>We have not much to say about the military tactics employed by Russia in
+this war; in point of science it presents no very striking features, but
+on the contrary, cannot but give a very low idea of the merit of the
+imperial generals. At first it was expected that the conquest would be
+effected by hemming in the mountaineers with military lines, and
+gradually encroaching on their territory; <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>but this very costly system
+seems to me quite impracticable in a country in which the forts are
+always solitary, and cannot protect each other, or cross their fires. I
+do not know, however, whether it has been quite given up.</p>
+
+<p>Attempts were made in 1837 to set fire to the forests of the Caucasus by
+means of pitch. Three years afterwards it was hoped to effect their
+destruction by arming the men of the 15th division with axes; but these
+strange expedients only produced useless expenditure. I know a general
+of the highest personal courage, who calls in the aid of natural
+philosophy to beguile or awe the mountaineers. Whenever he receives a
+visit from chiefs whose fidelity he is inclined to suspect, he sets an
+electrical machine in play. His visitors feel violent shocks, they know
+not how, their beards and hair stand on end, and in the bewilderment
+caused by these mysterious visitations, they sometimes let out an
+important secret, and betray themselves to their enemy.</p>
+
+<p>An officer of engineers told me an anecdote of this same general which
+is worth recording. A mosque which the Russian government had built at
+its own expense for a tribe of Little Kabarda was to be inaugurated, and
+as usual there was a grand military parade in honour of the occasion.
+When the Kabardians had displayed all their address in horsemanship and
+shooting, the Russian general proceeded to give a sample of what he
+could do, and to strike the assembled tribes with amazement. He called
+for his double-barrelled gun, and having himself charged one of the
+barrels with ball, he ordered a pigeon to be let loose, which he
+instantly brought down, to the astonishment of the beholders. "That is
+not all," said he to the chiefs near him; "to shoot a pigeon flying is
+no very extraordinary feat; but to cut off his head with the ball is
+what I call good shooting." Then turning to his servant, he said
+something to him in German. The man went and picked up the bird, and
+when he held it out to view, it was seen to be beheaded just as the
+general had said. Unbounded was the admiration of the simple
+mountaineers; they looked on the general as a supernatural being, and
+nothing was talked of for many a day in the aouls, but the beheaded
+pigeon and the wonderful Russian marksman.</p>
+
+<p>Now to explain the enigma. The inhabitants of the Caucasus are ignorant
+of the use of small shot, and it was with this the general had
+accomplished his surprising exploit, having previously loaded one barrel
+with it. As for the pigeon's head, it was adroitly whipped off by the
+servant, who had received his orders to that effect in German.</p>
+
+<p>But it would be idle to expect that the shrewd good sense of the
+mountaineers will long be imposed on by the scientific accomplishments
+of the Russian generals; on the contrary, these curious expedients only
+give them increased confidence in their own strength. Yermoloff appears
+to us to have been the only governor who understood the nature of the
+war in the Caucasus, and who conducted affairs with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>the dignified and
+inflexible vigour which were fitted to make an impression on the tribes.
+Several commanders-in-chief have succeeded him in turns: Rosen, Golovin,
+Grabe, Raiefsky, Anrep, Neughart; but the government has gained nothing
+by all these changes.</p>
+
+<p>After the details we have given, comments and arguments would be almost
+superfluous: it is easy to conceive how critical is the situation of the
+Russians in the Caucasian regions. For twenty years the Emperor Nicholas
+has expended all the military genius of his empire, shrinking from no
+sacrifice of men or money, and employing generals of the highest
+reputation, and yet the might of his sovereign will has broken down
+before the difficulties we have pointed out. The tribes of the mountain
+are, on the contrary, growing stronger every day. They are making
+progress in the art of war; success fires their zeal; the old intestine
+discords are gradually disappearing, and the various tribes seem to feel
+the necessity of acting in concert, and uniting under one banner. Now
+can Russia, under existing circumstances, increase her chances of
+success? We think not, and the facts sufficiently corroborate our
+opinion. With his system of war and absolute dominion, the tzar has
+entangled himself in a hopeless maze, and the Caucasus will long remain
+a running sore to the empire, a bottomless pit to swallow up many an
+army and much treasure. It has often been proposed to renounce the
+present system, but the emperor's vanity will not admit of any pacific
+counsels. Besides, even if Russia were now willing to change the nature
+of her relations with the independent tribes, she could not do so. Her
+overtures would be regarded as tokens of weakness, and the mountaineers
+would only become so much the more enterprising.</p>
+
+<p>In Alexander's time, when warlike ideas were less in favour, it was
+proposed to establish a commercial intercourse with the Tcherkesses, and
+bring them gradually by pacific means to acknowledge the supremacy of
+Russia. A Genoese, named Scassi, proposed in 1813 to the Duc de
+Richelieu, governor of Odessa, a plan for a commercial settlement on the
+coasts of Circassia. His scheme was adopted, and a merchant vessel
+touched soon afterwards at Guelendchik and Pchiat, without meeting with
+any hindrance on the part of the inhabitants. A trade was soon
+established, but the disorderly conduct of the Russians aroused the
+jealousy of the Circassians, who soon burned and destroyed the factory
+at Pchiat, and the government, whether justly or not, treated Scassi as
+a culprit. Since that time there has been no thought of commerce or
+pacification, and the tribes of the Caucasus have been regarded only as
+rebels to be put down, not as a free people justly jealous of their
+privileges. Frequent conferences have taken place between the Russian
+generals and the mountain chiefs; but as the one party talked only of
+liberty and independence, and the other of nothing but submission and
+implicit obedience, hostilities always broke out again with fresh
+vehemence. It appears, however, from facts <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>recently communicated to me,
+that the emperor is at last disposed to give up his warlike system, and
+that his generals have at last received orders to act only on the
+defensive.<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a> But as the government, whilst adopting these new
+measures, still loudly proclaims its rights of sovereignty over the
+Caucasus, it follows that this change of policy is quite illusory, and
+cannot effect any kind of reconciliation between the Russians and the
+mountaineers.</p>
+
+<p>We now come to the point at which we may advert to a question which set
+the whole English press in a blaze in 1837; namely, the blockade of the
+Circassian coasts, and the pretensions of Russia as to that part of the
+Caucasus. It is evident that the tzar's government being at open war
+with the mountaineers, may at its pleasure intercept the foreign trade
+with the enemy's country. This is an incontestible right recognised by
+all nations, and the capture of the <i>Vixen</i> was not worth the noise that
+was made about it. As to the proprietary right to the country which
+Russia affects to have received from Turkey, through the treaty of
+Adrianople, it is totally fallacious, and is unsupported by any
+historical document or positive fact. It is fully demonstrated that
+Turkey never possessed any right over Circassia; she had merely erected
+on the seaboard, with the consent of the inhabitants, the two fortresses
+of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh, for the protection of the trade between the
+two countries. Russia herself, in the beginning, publicly acknowledged
+this state of things; and the evidence of her having done so is to be
+found in the general dep&ocirc;t of the maps of the empire. Chance threw into
+my hands a map of the Caucasus, drawn up by the Russian engineers, long
+prior to the treaty of Adrianople. The Turkish possessions are
+distinctly marked on it, and defined by a red boundary line; they
+consist solely, as we have just stated, of the two fortresses on the
+coast. This map, the existence of which one day sorely surprised Count
+Voronzof (governor-general of New Russia), was sent to England, and
+deposited in the Foreign Office during Lord Palmerston's administration.
+After all, I hardly know why Russia tries to avail herself of the treaty
+of Adrianople as a justification in the eyes of Europe of her schemes of
+conquest in the Caucasus. She is doing there only what we are doing in
+Algeria, and the English in India, and indeed with still greater reason;
+for, as we shall presently see, the possession of the Caucasus is a
+question vitally affecting her interests in her trans-Caucasian
+provinces, and her ulterior projects respecting the regions dependent on
+Persia and Central Asia.</p>
+
+<p>Here are the terms in which this subject is handled in a report printed
+at St. Petersburg, and addressed to the emperor after the expedition of
+General Emmanuel towards the Elbrouz, in 1829:</p>
+
+<p>"The Tcherkesses bar out Russia from the South, and may at their
+pleasure open or close the passage to the nations of Asia. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>At present
+their intestine dissensions, fostered by Russia, hinder them from
+uniting under one leader; but it must not be forgotten that according to
+traditions religiously preserved among them, the sway of their ancestors
+extended as far as to the Black Sea. They believe that a mighty people,
+descended from their ancestors, and whose existence is corroborated by
+the ruins of Madjar, has once already overrun the fine plains adjacent
+to the Danube, and finally settled in Pannonia. Add to this
+consideration their superiority in arms. Perfect horsemen, extremely
+well armed, inured to war by the continual freebooting they exercise
+against their neighbours, courageous, and disdaining the advantages of
+our civilisation, the imagination is appalled at the consequences which
+their union under one leader might have for Russia, which has no other
+bulwark against their ravages than a military line, too extensive to be
+very strong."</p>
+
+<p>Reflections like these, printed in St. Petersburg, can leave no doubt as
+to the dangers to which the southern provinces are exposed. They are not
+to be mistaken, and the government sees them clearly: the aggressive
+independence of the Caucasus is perilous to all Russia. Armed,
+courageous, and enterprising as they are, the mountaineers need only
+some degree of union among their chiefs, to carry the flames of revolt
+over a vast portion of the tzar's dominions.</p>
+
+<p>Let any one look fairly and impartially at the immense region comprised
+between the Danube and the Caspian, and what will he behold? To the east
+40,000 tents of Khirghis, Turcomans, and Kalmucks, robbed of all their
+ancient rights, or threatened with the loss of the remnant yet left them
+of their independence; in the centre 800,000 Cossacks bound to the most
+onerous military service, tormented by the recollection of their
+suppressed constitutions, and detesting a government whose efforts tend
+to extinguish every trace of their nationality; in the south and west
+the Tatars of the Crimea and the Sea of Azof, and the Bessarabians, who
+are far from being favourable to Russia; and lastly, beyond the
+Caucasus, in Asia, restless populations, ill-broken as yet to the
+Russian yoke, and possessions with which there exists no overland
+communication except that by way of Mozdok, a dangerous route, which
+cannot be traversed without an escort of infantry and artillery, and
+which the mountaineers may at any moment intercept.<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> Here, assuredly,
+are causes enough of disorganisation and ruin, that want only a man of
+genius to set them in action. What wonder is it that with such
+contingencies to apprehend, the empire recoils from no sacrifice!</p>
+
+<p>No one, we believe, will deny the schemes of conquest which the
+Muscovite government entertains regarding Turkey, Persia, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>even
+certain regions of India: these schemes are incontestible, and have long
+been matter of history. The fact being admitted, what is the position
+most favourable for these vast plans of aggrandisement? We have but to
+glance at the map to answer immediately: the regions beyond the
+Caucasus. There it is that Russia is in contact at once with the Caspian
+and the Black Sea, with Persia and Turkey; from thence she can with the
+same army dictate laws to the Sultan of Constantinople, and to the Shah
+of Teheran; and there her diplomacy finds an ample field to work, and
+continual pretexts to justify fresh encroachments. But this formidable
+position will never be truly and securely possessed by the tzars until
+the tribes of the Caucasus shall have been subjugated.</p>
+
+<p>When the empire acquired all those Asiatic provinces, its situation as
+to the Caucasus was far from being so critical as it now is. It is, in
+fact, only within the last fourteen or fifteen years that the fierce
+struggle has raged between Muscovite domination and the freedom of the
+mountain. I therefore much doubt that Russia would now venture to act
+towards Persia as she did in the time of Catherine II., and her
+successors. Her hostile attitude has been strikingly modified since she
+has had in her rear a foe so active and dangerous as the Caucasians.
+This is a consideration that may ease the minds of the English as to
+their possessions in India, for the road by Herat and Affghanistan will
+not be so very soon open to their rivals. There can be no question then
+respecting the great importance of the Caucasus to Russia. The
+independence of the mountaineers is perilous to her southern
+governments, compromises the safety and the future destiny of the
+trans-Caucasian provinces, and at the same time fetters and completely
+paralyses the ambition of the tzar. It is in this sense the question is
+likewise regarded by the court of Teheran, which now builds its whole
+hope of safety on the entanglements of Russia in the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>And now let us ask what is the work which Russia is doing beyond the
+Caucasus for the advantage or detriment of mankind? What, independently
+of her ambition and her tendencies, is the influence she is called to
+exercise over the actual and future lot of the nations she has subjected
+to her sway? It must be admitted that when the imperial armies appeared
+for the first time on the confines of Asia, the trans-Caucasian
+provinces were abandoned without defence or hope for the future to all
+the sanguinary horrors of anarchy. Turkey, Persia, and the mountain
+tribes rioted in the plunder of Georgia and the adjacent states. The
+advent of the Russians put an end to this sad state of things, and
+introduced a condition of peace and quiet unknown for many centuries
+before. The imperial government, it is true, brought with it its vices,
+its abuses, its vexations, and its hosts of greedy and plundering
+functionaries; and then, when the first heyday of delight at the
+enjoyment of personal safety was past, the inhabitants had other
+hardships to deplore. Nevertheless, the depredations committed by its
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>functionaries will never prevent the inevitable tendency of the
+Muscovite occupation to bring about an intellectual development, which,
+soon or late, will act most favourably on the future condition of those
+Asiatic regions. Christian populations, so active and enterprising as
+are those of the trans-Caucasian provinces, will infallibly begin a
+career of social improvement from the moment they find themselves
+released from the engrossing care of defending their bodily existence.
+Of course it will need many years to mature a movement which derives no
+aid from the too superficial and corrupt civilisation of Russia; nor has
+any thing worth mentioning been done as yet to promote the industry,
+commerce, and agriculture of a country, which only needs some share of
+freedom to be productive. Tiflis is far from having fulfilled the
+prophecy of Count Gamba, in 1820, and become a second Palmyra or
+Alexandria; on the contrary, every measure has been adopted that could
+extinguish the very germs of the national wealth. But humanity,
+mysterious in its ways, and slow in its progress, seldom keeps pace with
+the impatience of nations; and notwithstanding the new evils that in our
+day afflict the trans-Caucasian populations, we are convinced that it
+was a grand step in advance for them to have been withdrawn from the
+anarchical sway of Persia and Turkey, and to have had the personal
+safety of their inhabitants secured by the intervention and authority of
+Russia.<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a></p>
+
+<p>The conquest of India by the Russians has often been the theme of long
+discussions and elaborate hypotheses. England was very uneasy at the
+attempts on Khiva, and never meets with a single difficulty in
+Affghanistan without ascribing it to Muscovite agents. It is, therefore,
+worth while to consider what are the means and facilities at the command
+of Russia for the establishment of her dominion in the centre of
+Turkistan and on the banks of the Indus and the Ganges.</p>
+
+<p>Three points of departure and three routes present themselves to Russia
+for the invasion of Central Asia. On the eastern coast of the Caspian
+Sea, Manghishlak, Tuk Karakhan, and the Bay of Balkhan, communicate with
+Khiva by caravan routes; Orenburg to the north is in pretty regular
+communication with Khiva and Bokhara; and to the south the Caspian
+provinces trade with Affghanistan either by way of Meshed, Bokhara, and
+Balkh, or by Meshed, Bokhara, and Candahar.</p>
+
+<p>The first line that was taken by a Russian expedition was that from Tuk
+Kharakhan to Khiva. Prince Alexander Bekovitch was sent by Peter the
+Great to explore certain regions of the Khanat of Khiva, which were
+supposed to contain rich gold mines, and landed on the Caspian shore
+with about 3,000 men. The result was <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>disastrous; but the details are
+too well known to need repetition here. No new demonstration has since
+been made in that direction, and it appears to have been with good
+reason abandoned entirely. The eastern shores of the Caspian have been
+sufficiently explored to make it clear that they cannot be made the
+starting point of military operations against Turkistan. From the mouth
+of the Emba to the vicinity of Astrabad, the shore is without a river;
+and the whole seaboard, as well as the regions between the Caspian and
+Khiva, with the exception of a very small tract occupied by the Balkhan
+mountains, presents only barren desert plains, without water, occupied
+by nomade Turcomans, and affording no resources to an invading army.
+"This country," says Mouravief, "exhibits the image of death, or rather
+of the desolation left behind by a mighty convulsion of nature. Neither
+birds nor quadrupeds are found in it; no verdure or vegetation cheers
+the sight, except here and there at long intervals some spots on which
+there grow a few sickly stunted shrubs." It is reckoned that on an
+average a caravan employs from twenty-eight to thirty-five days of
+camel-marching to complete the distance of about two hundred leagues
+that divides Tuk Karakhan from Khiva. The journey is not quite so long
+from the Bay of Balkhan. This was the route taken by Captain Mouravief
+when he was sent by Yermolof to the Khan of Khiva, to propose to him an
+alliance with Russia. It would certainly be hard to conceive any
+conditions more unfavourable for an expedition towards the interior than
+are presented by this part of the coast. On the one side is the Caspian
+Sea, the navigation of which is at all times difficult, and in winter
+impossible; on the other side more than a month's march through the
+desert; and then on the coast itself there is a total impossibility of
+cantoning a reserved force. Under these circumstances, all schemes of
+conquest in this direction must be chimerical. The Russians no doubt
+might, by a clever <i>coup-de-main</i>, push forwards some thousands of men
+on Khiva, and take the town; but what would they gain thereby? How could
+they victual their troops; or how could they establish any safe line of
+transport across deserts traversed by flying hordes of warlike
+plunderers? Russia could not possibly dispense with a series of
+fortified posts to keep up a regular communication with her army of
+occupation, and how could she erect and maintain such posts in a naked
+and wholly unproductive country? The government has already tried to
+establish some small forts on the north-eastern shore of the Caspian,
+for the protection of its fisheries, against the Khirghis; but to this
+day it has effected nothing thereby, but the useless destruction of many
+thousands of its soldiers, who have perished under the most cruel
+hardships. Furthermore, the Khanat of Khiva, the state nearest the
+imperial frontiers, is but a very small part of Turkistan; nor would its
+occupation help in more than a very limited degree towards the conquest
+of Bokhara, and <i>a fortiori</i> towards that of Affghanistan.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>After the line from the eastern coast of the Caspian, that from Orenburg
+to Khiva and Bokhara appears to have attracted the particular attention
+of the tzars. But General Perofsky's fruitless expedition against Khiva,
+in 1840, has demonstrated that this line is quite as perilous and
+difficult as the other. The steppes that lie between Russia and the two
+khanats are exactly similar to those situated north and east of the
+Caspian, presenting the same nakedness and sterility, an almost total
+want of fresh water, and nomade tribes perpetually engaged in rapine.
+When State Councillor Negri was sent on an embassy to the Khan of
+Bokhara, in 1820, he set out accompanied by 200 Cossacks, 200 infantry,
+twenty-five Bashkir horsemen, two pieces of artillery, 400 horses, and
+358 camels. The government afforded him every possible facility and
+means of transport, and he took with him more than two months' rations
+for his men and cattle. Yet though he met with no obstruction on the
+part of the hordes whose steppes he traversed, he was not less than
+seventy-one days in completing the journey of 1600 kilometres (1000
+miles) from Orenburg to Bokhara.</p>
+
+<p>Perofsky, who marched at the head of 6000 infantry, with 10,000 baggage
+camels, could not even reach the territory of Khiva. The disasters
+suffered by his troops obliged him to retrace his steps without having
+advanced further than Ac Boulak, the last outpost erected by the
+Russians in 1839, at 180 kilometres from the Emba. The obstacles
+encountered by his small army were beyond all description. The cold was
+fearful, being 40 degrees below zero of the centigrade thermometer; the
+camels could scarcely advance through the snow; and the movements of the
+troops were constantly impeded by hurricanes of extraordinary violence.
+Such an expedition, undertaken in the depth of winter, solely for the
+purpose of having fresh water, may enable one to guess at the
+difficulties of a march over the same ground in summer. Spring is a
+season unknown in all those immense plains of southern Russia; intense
+frost is there succeeded abruptly by tropical heat, and a fortnight is
+generally sufficient to dry up the small streams and the stagnant waters
+produced by the melting of the snows, and to scorch up the thin coating
+of pasturage that for a brief while had covered the steppes. What chance
+then has Russia of successfully invading Turkistan from the north, and
+reigning supreme over Bokhara, which is separated from Orenburg by 400
+leagues of desert? All that has been done, and all that has been
+observed up to this day, proves that the notion is preposterous. As for
+any compact and amity between Russia and the numerous Kirghis hordes,
+such as might favour the march of the imperial armies in Bokhara, no
+such thing is to be expected. A great deal has been said of the Emperor
+Alexander's journey to Orenburg in 1824, and the efforts then made by
+the government to conciliate the Kirghis; but these proceedings have
+been greatly exaggerated, and represented as much more important than
+they really were. They have not produced any substantial <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>result, and I
+know from my own experience how hostile to Russia are all the roving
+tribes of the Caspian, and how much they detest whatever menaces their
+freedom and independence.</p>
+
+<p>We have now to consider in the last place the two great Persian routes,
+which coincide, or run parallel, with each other, as far as Meshed,
+where they branch off to Bokhara on the one hand, and on the other to
+Cabul by Herat and Candahar. The former of these routes, travelled over
+by Alexander Burnes, seems to us totally impracticable. The distance to
+Bokhara from Teheran (which we will assume for the starting point,
+though it is still the capital of Persia) is not less than 500 leagues;
+and it cannot reasonably be supposed possible to effect, and above all
+to preserve, a conquest so remote, when in order to reach the heart of
+the coveted country, it is necessary to traverse the vast deserts north
+of Meshed, occupied by nomade hordes, which are the more formidable,
+inasmuch as no kind of military tactics can be brought to bear on them.
+Moreover, it must not be forgotten that the occupation of Bokhara by no
+means infers that of Affghanistan. The distance from the former to Cabul
+is more than 250 leagues. The regions between the two towns are indeed
+less sterile and easier to traverse; but, on the other hand, an army
+marching towards India would have to penetrate the dangerous passes of
+the high mountain chain between Turkistan and Affghanistan, which are
+defended by the most indomitable tribes of Central Asia. Here would be
+repeated those struggles in which Russia has been vainly exhausting her
+strength for so many years in the Caucasus.<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> In truth, in presence of
+such obstacles, of ground, climate, population, and distance, all
+discussion becomes superfluous, and the question must appear decided in
+the negative by every impartial man who possesses any precise notions as
+to the regions of Western Asia.</p>
+
+<p>There remains the route by Meshed, Herat, and Candahar. This is
+incontestably the one which presents fewest difficulties; yet we doubt
+that it can ever serve the ambitious views attributed to Russia. Along
+the line from Teheran to Herat lie important centres of agricultural
+populations; villages are found on it surrounded by a fertile and
+productive soil. But these advantages, besides being very limited, are
+largely counterbalanced by uncultivated plains destitute of water which
+must be traversed in passing from one inhabited spot to another, and by
+the obstacles of all kinds which would be subsequently encountered in a
+march through the deserts of Affghanistan, the warlike tribes of which
+are much more formidable even than the Turcomans who infest the route
+from Teheran to Herat. Besides, as it is nearly 600 leagues from the
+capital of Persia to the centre of Affghanistan, it is exceedingly
+unlikely that Russia will <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span>ever succeed in subjugating a country in
+which its armies could only arrive by a military road maintained and
+defended through so huge a space.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt the way would be considerably smoothed for Russia along both
+the Candahar and the Bokhara lines, if by gradually extending the circle
+of her conquests she had brought the inhabitants of Khorasan and
+Turkistan to obey her. But there are obstacles to the achievement of
+this preliminary task which the empire is not by any means competent to
+surmount, nor will it be so for a very long time to come. To say nothing
+of climate, soil, and distance, all the tribes in question are animated
+with a hatred and aversion for Russia, which will long neutralise the
+projects of the tzars. We often hear of the great influence exercised by
+the cabinet of St. Petersburg at Khiva, Bokhara, and Cabul; but we
+believe it to be greatly exaggerated, and the history of the various
+Muscovite embassies proves most palpably that it is so. What did Negri
+and Mouravief effect at Khiva and Bokhara? They were both received with
+the most insulting distrust, prevented from holding any communication
+with the natives, and watched with a strictness which is only employed
+against an enemy. Mouravief even went near to pay for his embassy with
+his head. Was Russia more fortunate at Cabul? We think not. The
+remoteness of her dominions may cause her agents to be received with
+some degree of favour, especially at a time when the sovereign of Cabul
+finds himself exposed to the hostility of England. Yet it is not the
+less true that any serious attempt of Russia on Turkistan and the
+eastern regions of Persia would suddenly arouse the animosity of the
+Affghans and all their neighbours. We readily admit that the imperial
+government has it in its power, by its advice and its intrigues, to
+exercise a certain influence at Cabul, to the detriment of England; but
+that this influence can ever serve the extension of the Muscovite sway
+is what we utterly deny, knowing as we do the intense and unmitigable
+aversion to Russia which is felt by all the natives of Asia.</p>
+
+<p>The conquests of Alexander the Great and of Genghis Khan have often been
+appealed to as proving how easy it would be for the tzars to follow in
+the footsteps of those great captains. Such language bespeaks on the
+part of the writers who have put it forth the most profound ignorance of
+the actual condition of the places and the inhabitants. When Alexander
+marched towards Bactriana to subjugate the last possessions of Persia,
+he left behind him rich and fertile countries, important Greek colonies,
+and nations entirely subdued; moreover, he marched at the head of an
+army consisting of natives of the south, possessing all the
+qualifications necessary for warfare in the latitudes of Central Asia.
+Furthermore, at that period the provinces of the Oxus contained numerous
+rich and flourishing towns, with inhabitants living in luxury, and
+little capable of resistance. Nevertheless, in spite of all the
+facilities and all the supplies which the country then offered to an
+invading army, its physical <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span>conformation, broken and bounded by deserts
+both on the north and on the south, seems to have aided the efforts of
+its defenders to a remarkable degree. It was in fact in this remote part
+of Persia that the conqueror of Darius had to fight many a battle for
+the establishment of his transient sway. The same circumstances marked
+his march to India. Invasions have become still more difficult since his
+day, for all those regions once occupied by wealthy and agricultural
+nations have been ravaged and turned into deserts; scarcely do there
+exist a few traces of the ancient towns, and the populations subdued by
+Alexander have been succeeded by hordes of Khirgis, Turcomans, and
+Affghans, who would be for the Russians what the Scythians were for the
+King of Macedon and the other conquerors who tried to enslave their
+country.</p>
+
+<p>The Mongol invasions can no more than Alexander's be regarded as a
+precedent for Russia. Inured to the fatigues of emigration, carrying all
+their ordinary habits into the camp, changing their country without
+changing their ways of life, unburdened by any <i>mat&eacute;riel</i> of war, and
+never retarded by the slow and painful march of a body of infantry, the
+hordes of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane were singularly fitted for
+occupying and retaining possession of the immense plains of Turkistan,
+and realising the conquest of India.</p>
+
+<p>Russia, on the contrary, is totally devoid of those grand means of sway
+which Alexander and the Mongols enjoyed. The Russians have nothing in
+common with the soldiers of antiquity and of the middle ages, and are
+placed in very different circumstances: they are natives of the coldest
+regions of the globe; they have no possible opportunity of previous
+acclimation, and they are separated from the frontiers of India by more
+than 500 leagues of almost desert country, in which the employment of
+infantry, wherein alone consists the real superiority of Europeans over
+Orientals, is impracticable.</p>
+
+<p>And now, if we look to India, and to the people from whom the tzars
+propose to wrest its empire, we see Great Britain occupying all the
+towns on the coast and in the interior, mistress of the great rivers of
+the country, controlling millions of inhabitants by her irresistible
+political ascendency, having the richest and most productive countries
+of the world for the basis of her military operations, commanding
+acclimated European troops, and a powerful native army habituated to
+follow her banners; in a word, we see Great Britain placed in the most
+admirable position for defending her conquests, and repulsing any
+aggression of the northern nations, foreign to the soil of Hindustan and
+Central Asia. The fears of the English and the schemes of the Russians
+appear to us, therefore, alike chimerical. Undoubtedly, as we have
+already said, the intrigues of the government of St. Petersburg, may,
+like those of any other influential power, create difficulties and
+annoyances in Affghanistan and elsewhere; but the English rule will
+never be really in danger, until the time shall come when national
+ambition <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>and a desire of resistance shall have been kindled in the
+Hindu populations themselves.</p>
+
+<p>Let us turn back to the Caucasus, of which we have not spoken in this
+discussion, though the independence of its tribes is in our opinion one
+of the most important obstacles to the aggrandisement of Russia in Asia;
+and let us imagine what are the immediate palpable interests which are
+at stake in the Trans-Caucasian regions for certain powers of Europe.
+Every one knows that Persia is become of late years the point of contact
+between England and Russia, the scene of competition between the two
+nations for the disposal of their merchandise. Our readers are aware,
+that since the suppression of the transit trade and free commerce of the
+Caucasian provinces, the English have established a vast dep&ocirc;t for their
+manufactures at Trebisond, whence they have not only acquired a monopoly
+in the supply of Armenia, Eastern Turkey, and the greater part of
+Persia, but also supply the Russian provinces themselves by contraband.
+Hence it may be conceived with what wakeful jealousy England must watch
+the proceedings of Russia beyond the Caucasus, and what an interest she
+has in impeding any conquest that would close against her the great
+commercial route she has pursued by way of Erzeroum and Tauris. She
+cannot, therefore, be indifferent to the independence of the Caucasus,
+which, while serving as a bulwark to the frontiers of Turkey and Persia,
+affords also a most effectual protection to her mercantile operations in
+Trebisond. It may perhaps be said that this is a merely English
+question, very interesting to the manufacturers of London and
+Manchester, but of little concern to France. But where our neighbours
+find means to dispose annually of more than 2,000,000<i>l.</i> sterling worth
+of manufactures, there also we think our own political and commercial
+interests are concerned. Have not we, too, an influence to keep up in
+Asia? Do not we, too, possess manufactories and a numerous working
+population, and is it not carrying indifference and apathy too far, to
+let other powers engross all those regions of Asia where we could find
+such ready and profitable markets? Whose fault is it if the French flag
+is so seldom seen on the Black Sea, if Trebisond is become an English
+town, and if the commerce of Asia is monopolised by our rivals? There is
+much to blame in the indifference of our country, and in the incapacity
+of some of our consular agents. But if our commercial policy is often
+vicious, if our trade is misdirected and mismanaged, and we are often
+outstripped by our neighbours across the channel, is that any reason why
+we should, in blind selfishness, express our approval of conquests which
+would only end in the destruction of all European commerce in the Black
+Sea? Certainly if Russia, modifying her prohibitive system, and frankly
+abandoning all further designs against Turkey and the coasts of the
+Black Sea, would seek to extend her dominions solely on the side of
+Persia, we think it would be good policy not to thwart such a movement;
+for in case of a struggle between that power and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span>England, France would
+unquestionably be called on to act as a mediator, which would give her
+an admirable opportunity for dictating conditions favourable to her
+policy and her influence in the East.</p>
+
+<p>The detailed considerations into which we have entered respecting the
+situation of the Russians, the war in the Caucasus, and the political
+importance of that region, clearly indicate the differences between the
+conflict in the Caucasus and that which we have been carrying on for
+fourteen years in Algeria. The aggressive policy of Russia once
+admitted, and her possessions north, south, and east of the Caucasus not
+allowing of contestation, the submission of the mountaineers becomes for
+her a vital question, with which is connected, not only the fate of her
+Asiatic provinces, but also that of all the governments that lie between
+the Danube and the Caspian. In Algeria, on the contrary, we are not
+urged by any imperious motive to extend our conquests. Our political
+influence in Europe, and our real strength could at present gain nothing
+thereby; and it is probably reserved to another generation to derive a
+grand and useful result from our African conquests.</p>
+
+<p>Of late years some public writers, taking the defeats of Russia for
+their text, have founded on them an argument against the establishment
+of French supremacy in Algeria. This reasoning appears to us unsound,
+and it is even at variance with historical facts. In Asia, Russia has
+had to deal with two very distinct regions; the trans-Caucasian
+provinces, and the Caucasus proper. The former, easy of access, and
+comprising Georgia, Imeritia, Mingrelia, and the other provinces taken
+from Persia and Turkey, were occupied by disorganised nations, at
+variance within themselves, and differing from each other in race,
+manners, and religion; accordingly the Muscovite sway was established
+over them without difficulty, and without any conflict worth mentioning
+with the inhabitants. The case has not been the same in that immense
+mountain barrier erected between Europe and Asia, the inaccessible
+retreats of which extend from Anapa to the shores of the Caspian. The
+dwellers in those regions present no analogy with the inhabitants south
+of the chain. There has never been a moment's pause in the obstinate
+strife between them and Russia; and all the sacrifices, and all the
+efforts of the tzars against them, have for sixty years been wholly in
+vain.</p>
+
+<p>Our situation in Algeria is evidently very different. We have there had
+for our portion neither the bootless strife of the Caucasus, though
+having most warlike tribes for adversaries, nor the easy conquests of
+the trans-Caucasian provinces. It is but fourteen years since our troops
+landed in Africa, and we possess, not only all the towns of the
+seaboard, but likewise all those of the interior; numerous bodies of
+natives share actively in our operations; we are masters of all the
+lines of communication; our forces command the country to a great
+distance from the coasts: and in the opinion of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>all well-informed
+officers the pacification of the regency of Algiers would, perhaps, have
+by this time been accomplished, if the government had set its face
+against the passion for bulletins, and the too martial humour of most of
+our generals, and tried to pacify the tribes, not by arms and violence,
+but numerously ramified commercial relations which should call into play
+the natural cupidity of the Arabs.</p>
+
+<p>Nor can the topographical difficulties of Algeria be compared with those
+that defend the country of the Lesghis, the Tchetchenzes, and the
+Tcherkesses. Intersected by vast plateaux, numerous rich and fertile
+valleys, and parallel mountain ranges, almost everywhere passable and
+flanked by long lines of coast of which we possess the principal points,
+and which present at Algiers, Oran, Philippeville, and Bona, wide
+openings affording admission into the interior, our possessions afford
+free course to our armies, and nowhere exhibit that strange and singular
+conformation in which has consisted from time immemorial the safety of
+the Caucasian tribes.</p>
+
+<p>There are other circumstances likewise that facilitate our progress in
+Africa, and enable us to exercise a direct influence over all the tribes
+south of the Tel of Algiers. As has been very ably demonstrated by M.
+Carrette, captain of engineers, it is enough to occupy the extreme
+limits of the cultivated lands, and the markets in which the inhabitants
+of the oases exchange their produce for the corn and other indispensable
+commodities of the north, to oblige all the populations of the Sahara,
+fixed or nomade, immediately to acknowledge the sovereignty of France.</p>
+
+<p>It is only in case our government, impelled by ill-directed vanity,
+should decide on the absolute conquest of the mountains of the Kabyles,
+that we might encounter in the country, and in the political
+constitution of those mountaineers, some of the obstacles that
+characterise the Caucasian regions. And again, what comparison can there
+be between Kabylia, the two portions of which east and west of Algiers
+comprise but 1000 or 1200 square leagues of surface, and the great chain
+of the Caucasus which extends with a mean breadth of fifty or sixty
+leagues, over a length of more than 250 leagues?</p>
+
+<p>We say nothing of the superiority of our armies and our military system.
+It is enough to recall what we have said as to the deplorable situation
+of the troops in the Caucasus, to be aware how much France has the
+advantage over Russia in this respect.</p>
+
+<p>The diseases and the frightful mortality incident to our armies have
+been also dwelt on; but here again all the statistical returns are in
+favour of France. Out of a force of 75,000 men, our mean annual loss is
+7000 or 8000. In 1840, indeed, the most fatal year, it appears to have
+risen to 12,000; but in that same year, and likewise in the following
+year, Russia lost more than 17,000 on the coasts of Circassia alone.
+Thus physically, as well as politically, there is a total difference
+between the war in the Caucasus and that in Algeria; and instead of
+suffering ourselves to be disheartened by fourteen years of unproductive
+occupation, and despairing before <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span>hand, because the actual results do
+not keep pace with our unreasonable impatience, we ought to take example
+by that indefatigable perseverance with which Russia, in spite of her
+disasters and the fruitlessness of her efforts, has gone on in the
+pursuit of her purpose for upwards of half a century.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> M. Hommaire says he has copied the bulletin exactly as it
+appeared in French in the Russian papers.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> "Unfortunately the author of this heroic act is unknown.
+It is believed from some hearsay accounts to have been performed by a
+private soldier of the Tenguinisky regiment of infantry. The results of
+the inquiry instituted on the subject will be published hereafter."
+(<i>Note of the Russian journalist.</i>)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> This was written in 1844.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> There is indeed a road by way of Daghestan along the
+Caspian; but it is still more impracticable than that by Mozdok, and
+besides it is too long to be of use to Russia in her dealings with the
+Asiatic governments. As for the maritime routes by the Caspian and the
+Black Sea, their utility is greatly limited by the intense frosts which
+block up the ports of Odessa, Kherson, Taganrok, Kertch, and Astrakhan
+during four months of the year.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> We do not mean these remarks to apply in any respect to
+the Mussulman tribes, of whom we will speak hereafter. The Christian and
+the Mahometan population balance each other in the trans-Caucasian
+provinces; they both number about 400,000 males.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> The mountains that divide Turkistan from Affghanistan are
+covered with perpetual snow; some of their peaks are 6000 yards high.
+Hadjigak, which was crossed by A. Burnes, is 4000 yards above the sea.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">A STORM IN THE CAUCASUS&mdash;NIGHT JOURNEY; DANGERS AND
+DIFFICULTIES&mdash;STAVROPOL&mdash;HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
+GOVERNMENT OF THE CAUCASUS AND THE BLACK SEA COSSACKS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>At four o'clock on a dull morning we left Piatigorsk of charming memory,
+to strike once more into the mountains, where by the by, in less than an
+hour, we were met by one of the grandest and most violent storms I
+remember ever having witnessed. We had to endure its force for two long
+hours; and our situation was the more critical, since our <i>yemshik</i>
+(coachman), though quite familiar with the road, seemed almost at his
+wits' end. It was only by the gleam of the lightning he was able to make
+such brief observations of the ground as enabled him to guide his
+horses. This was certainly a very precarious resource, but there is a
+special providence for travellers. Lost in the midst of the mountains,
+and our sole hope of safety resting on the coolness and skill of a
+peasant, we escaped, we scarce knew how, from a seemingly inevitable
+catastrophe. A furious burst of rain, the last expiring effort of the
+storm, at last cleared the sky, which became coloured towards the west
+with purple bands, that contrasted gloriously with the darkness of the
+rest of the firmament. A magnificent rainbow, with one end springing
+from the highest peak of the Caucasus, whilst the other was lost in the
+mists of evening, gleamed before us for a few moments, and gradually
+dissolved away.</p>
+
+<p>At half-past seven we reached the station, wet, weary, stupified, and
+very much surprised to find ourselves safe and sound after having passed
+through so many dangers. Nevertheless, this recent alert by no means
+made us forego our original plan of travelling all night in order to
+reach Stavropol the next day. Nothing is so soon forgotten in travelling
+as danger. One is no sooner out of one scrape than he is ready to get
+into another, and a worse one, without giving a thought to his past
+alarms. You must get over the ground: that is your ruling thought. As
+for taking precautions, calculating the good or the bad chances of the
+journey, or troubling oneself about dangers to come, by reason of those
+already incurred, all this is quite out of the question. We were quite
+bent on travelling all night, but the idea was totally discountenanced
+by the postmaster and the Cossacks <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>whom we fell in with at the station.
+They told us there was a fair at Stavropol, and that the road was always
+somewhat dangerous on such occasions, particularly after sunset. A night
+or two before, several persons returning from the fair had been
+surprised and plundered by the Circassians, in spite of the many
+military posts along the road. Several other ugly stories were told us,
+in a tone that at last shook our resolution, and we were beginning very
+reluctantly to give up our project, when an unexpected incident made us
+recur to it again.</p>
+
+<p>A Polish officer, who until then had kept aloof in a dark corner, seeing
+the annoyance we felt at this unforeseen delay, joined in the
+conversation, and offered to set out at once with us, if his company
+would be sufficient to restore our confidence. He, too, was going to
+Stavropol, and it was all the same to him whether he travelled that
+night or next day. The proposal, which was made with the most obliging
+frankness, agreed too well with our wishes to allow of any further
+hesitation, and we at once accepted it. The Pole had with him a servant
+very well armed, and the two together were such a reinforcement to our
+little troop as almost insured our safety. With great exultation we set
+about our preparations for departure, but the more experienced
+postmaster gave with reluctance the order to put the horses to, and
+could not help crossing himself repeatedly when he saw us get into the
+britchka, whilst the two yemshiks failed not to imitate his example, and
+to lift their fur caps several times in token of devotion. The Russians
+always find means to mingle crossings with all the other acts of their
+hands, by which process they set their consciences entirely at rest. I
+am satisfied they cross themselves even when thieving, partly from
+habit, and partly in the hope of escaping without detection.</p>
+
+<p>Once out of the yard, the pleasure of travelling on a mild and dim night
+through an unknown country, that presented itself to our eyes under
+vague and mysterious forms, so engrossed our minds that we thought no
+more of Circassians, or broken ground, or danger of any kind. The Pole's
+carriage preceded ours, and his Cossack began to sing in a low tone one
+of those sweet melancholy airs which are peculiar to the Malorussians.
+The plaintive melody, mingled with the tinkling of the horses' bells,
+and the motion of the carriage lulled me into a dreamy repose, half way
+between sleeping and waking. I know not how long this state of
+hallucination lasted; but I was startled out of it by a pistol-shot
+fired close to me, and before I could collect my senses a second was
+fired, but at some distance. The carriage had stopped, the night was
+very dark, and my companions were quite silent. I was a good deal
+frightened, until my husband explained to me that the Polish officer had
+lost his way, and that our dragoman had fired his pistol as a signal to
+him, and that the second shot was an answer to the first. Being now
+satisfied that we had not half a dozen Circassians about us, I recovered
+courage enough to laugh at my first dismay. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span>Anthony left us to look for
+our travelling companion, after arranging with us that a third shot
+should be the token of his having found him. We passed half an hour in a
+state of painful anxiety, teasing ourselves with a thousand alarming
+conjectures, and dreading lest the report of fire-arms should bring down
+on us some of the Circassians who might be prowling in the
+neighbourhood. What would I not have then given to be far away from that
+road which we had been told was so terrible, and of which my imagination
+still more magnified the dangers!</p>
+
+<p>At last the preconcerted signal was heard, and Anthony soon afterwards
+returned, but alone, and told us that we must go on without the Pole,
+whose pereclatnoi had stuck fast in a bad spot, and could not be
+extricated until daylight. The night was so dark, and the ground so
+dangerous, that notwithstanding his wish to ease our minds, the officer
+could not venture to come to us. This news was not calculated to abate
+our anxiety; we might in a moment be in the same predicament as the
+officer, supposing nothing worse should happen. The road, as the yemshik
+told us, wound round a rock, and what proved that it was dangerous was
+that it was flanked in places with slight posts and rails. Such a
+precaution is so rare in Russia, that it may be taken as a certain
+indication of no common danger. We debated awhile whether it would not
+be more prudent to remain where we were until daybreak; but the coachman
+was so terrified at the thought of passing a night in the mountains,
+that he gave us no peace till we moved forward. The prospect of tumbling
+down a precipice was decidedly less terrible to him than the thought of
+having to do with the Circassians. Alighting and leading his horses, he
+followed Anthony, who carefully sounded one side of the road. As we
+advanced on our perilous descent, the sound of a torrent roaring at the
+bottom smote our ears, as if to increase our perplexity; but in an
+hour's time we found ourselves safe and sound on the plain, and soon
+afterwards we reached the station, where our arrival excited great
+astonishment. The postmaster was enraged against his colleague, and
+could not conceive how he had come to give us horses at night, in
+defiance of the strict rules of the police. For his part he assured us
+that his duty forbade him to do any such thing, and that it was useless
+to ask him. I need not say, however, that this declaration itself was
+useless, for we had had quite enough of the road for that night. I never
+enjoyed the most comfortable chamber in a French or German hotel so much
+as I did the miserable lodging in which I then lay down on a bench
+covered only with a carpet.</p>
+
+<p>We did not quit the station next day until the arrival of our travelling
+companion, whom we had reluctantly left in so unpleasant a predicament.
+He was severely bruised by his fall, but laughed heartily at his mishap.
+We set out together, very glad to get away from those fine mountains
+that were then gleaming in the rays of the morning. The events of the
+preceding night, though after all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>not very dramatic, had left so
+painful an impression on our mind, that the very sight of the mountains
+still caused us a secret dread. Instead, therefore, of quitting with
+regret so picturesque a region, the more homely and commonplace the
+country became, the more we admired it. We were just in the humour to be
+delighted with the steppes of the Black Sea; so much does the
+appreciation of scenery depend on the state of the mind.</p>
+
+<p>During all this day's journey the road was covered with carriages,
+horsemen, and pedestrians, repairing to the fair of Stavropol, and
+affording samples of all the motley population of the vicinity,
+Circassians, Cossacks, Turcomans, Georgians, and Tatars; some in
+brilliant costume, caracoling on their high-bred Kalmuck or Persian
+horses, others stowed away with their families in carts covered with
+hides; others driving before them immense flocks of sheep or swine, that
+encompassed the carriages and horsemen, and occasioned some very comical
+incidents. Among all those whom business or pleasure was calling to the
+fair, we particularly noticed a very handsome young Circassian mounted
+on a richly caparisoned horse, and riding constantly beside a pavosk of
+more elegance than the rest, and the curtains of which were let down.
+This was enough to stimulate our curiosity, for in these romantic
+regions the slightest incident affords matter for endless conjectures. I
+would have given something to be allowed to lift one of the curtains of
+the mysterious pavosk, or at the least to keep it in view until our
+arrival in Stavropol, but our postilion did not partake in our
+curiosity, and putting his horses to a gallop, he soon made us lose
+sight of the group. The last low range of the Caucasus, which gradually
+diminishes in height to Stavropol, formed an irregular line on our left,
+in which we caught many hasty glimpses of charming scenery. The
+vegetation still retained a great degree of freshness, in consequence of
+the mildness of the temperature, which at this season would have
+appeared to us extraordinary even in more southern countries.</p>
+
+<p>It was late in the evening when we reached Stavropol, so that we could
+not avail ourselves of our letters of introduction, and were obliged to
+hunt for a lodging in the hotels of the principal street. But they were
+all full, and with great difficulty we succeeded, with the help of our
+Polish friend, in getting admission to the Great Saint Nicholas, a
+shabby inn, the common room of which was already tenanted by a dozen
+travellers. Nevertheless, we secured a little corner, and there we
+contrived to form a tolerable sort of divan with our cushions and
+pelisses. I had now an opportunity of remarking how little notice
+travellers take of each other in this country. In this room, filled with
+people whose habits were so different from ours, we were as much at our
+ease as if the apartment belonged to us alone; and neither our language,
+behaviour, nor dress, appeared to attract any undue attention.</p>
+
+<p>Stavropol, the capital of the whole Caucasus, is a very agreeable <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span>town,
+and appeared to us so much the more so from the animation lent it by the
+fair. But I perceive that in the course of these travels I have not
+named one town without immediately joining the word <i>fair</i> to it. It
+must be owned that chance was most bountiful to us in throwing in our
+way so many occasions for conceiving a high idea of the commerce of
+Russia. At Stavropol, however, the fair occupied our attention much less
+than General Grabe, who was just a week returned from an expedition
+against the Circassians. His staff filled the whole town with the noise
+of their martial deeds. Every officer had his story of some glorious
+exploit, whereof of course he was himself the hero. Though so recently
+returned, General Grabe was already in busy preparation for another
+campaign, on which he built the greatest hopes. The good gentleman even
+pressed my husband very strongly to accompany him, as if it were a mere
+party of pleasure. He offered him his tent, instruments, and every thing
+necessary to render the excursion beneficial to science. Under any other
+circumstances my husband would no doubt have yielded to the temptation
+of visiting the tribes of the Caucasus in the very heart of their
+mountains, under the protection of a whole army, but it would have been
+madness to undertake such a journey after those we had but just
+completed.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Before we finally take leave of the Caucasian regions, it will not be
+amiss to give some historical account of that part of the empire, and of
+the Cossacks of the Black Sea, to whom is committed the perilous task of
+protecting the frontiers against the incessant attacks of the formidable
+mountain tribes.</p>
+
+<p>It was by virtue of an ukase promulgated by Catherine II. in 1783, that
+Russia took full and entire possession of all the countries north of the
+Kouban and the Terek, which of yore formed the almost exclusive
+dominions of numerous hordes of black Nogais, some of them independent,
+others acknowledging the authority of the Tatar khans of the Crimea. But
+previously to this period the tzars were already in military occupation
+of the country, for it was in 1771 that they completed the armed line of
+the Caucasus, begun by Peter the Great, at the mouth of the Terek.</p>
+
+<p>At first the new conquest was put under the direction of the military
+governor of Astrakhan; but the state of the southern frontiers soon
+became so serious in consequence of the war with the mountaineers, that
+it was found advisable to form all the provinces conquered by Catherine
+II. north of the Caucasus, into a distinct province. The government of
+the Caucasus thus constituted, is bounded on the north by the Kouma and
+the Manitch, which divide it from the territory of Astrakhan and from
+that of the Don Cossacks; on the west by the country of the Black Sea
+Cossacks; on the east by the Caspian, and on the south by the armed line
+of the Kouban and the Terek.</p>
+
+<p>At the foot of the Caucasus, as everywhere else, the Russian occupation
+occasioned great migrations. All the black Nogais of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>the right bank of
+the Kouban, who had fought against Russia, withdrew beyond the river
+among the tribes of the mountain. The Kabardians forsook the environs of
+Georgief, and sought refuge deeper in the Caucasian chain, and it was
+only the black Nogais of the barren plains between the Terek and the
+Kouma that remained in their old abodes. Cut off from the independent
+tribes since the erection of the fortresses of Kisliar and Mosdok, they
+took no part in the events of the war, and so they remained in peaceable
+possession of their territory. As for the Kalmucks, who had been very
+bold and active auxiliaries of Russia, they preserved intact all the
+pasturages they now possess in the government of the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>The Muscovite sway once established, and the frontiers put in a state of
+defence, the next step was to occupy the country along the northern
+verge of the Caucasus in some other way than by light troops. It was
+therefore determined to form numerous colonies of Muscovites and
+Cossacks, a project which the absolute power of the tzars enabled them
+quickly to fulfil. The present villages in the centre of the province
+along the banks of the Kouban, the Terek, the Kouma, the Egorlik and the
+Kalaous, were erected, and the military colonies of the Black Sea
+Cossacks were founded; several large proprietors seconded the efforts of
+the government, and prompted either by the spirit of speculation, or by
+the superabundance of their slaves, formed large establishments on the
+lands that had been gratuitously conferred upon them. Attempts, too,
+were made to settle some of the German families of Saratof on the Kouma.</p>
+
+<p>But the results were far from realising the hopes of the government.
+Compressed between the narrow limits in the districts of Stavropol and
+Georgief, bounded on the north and east by the uncultivated lands of the
+Turcomans and Kalmucks, on the south by the armed lines, continually
+attacked and overrun by the mountaineers, the colonies soon ceased to
+wear a thriving appearance; many sacked and burnt villages never rose
+again from their ashes, the German colony on the Kouma was destroyed,
+and now there remains no hope that the number of agricultural
+inhabitants will ever become sufficient to lend any real aid to the
+projects of the tzars. We have been in a great many villages on the
+Kouma, and the confluents of the Manitch, and found them scarcely able
+to supply their own wants. Their contributions to the commissariat are
+almost nothing, and the armies are always obliged to procure their
+stores from the central provinces of Russia.</p>
+
+<p>Some settlements, indeed, such as Vladimirofka and Bourgon Madjar on the
+Kouma, directed by able men, have attained a high degree of prosperity;
+but these are exceptions, and they owe their wealth to the cultivation
+of the mulberry and the pine, and their numerous corn-mills, which
+constitute for them a virtual monopoly. The cultivation of corn has had
+no share in the welfare of these colonies, the nature of the climate
+having always been unfavourable to it: the people of Vladimirofka and
+the neighbouring villages <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>think themselves fortunate if they can raise
+corn enough for their own consumption.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, while we cordially approve of the principle that suggested the
+foundation of these advanced posts of the Slavic population, and that
+strives to enlarge their growth, we are nevertheless convinced that in
+the present state of things, with the war in the Caucasus becoming every
+day more formidable, these colonies can never be conducive to the
+progress of Russia; unless, indeed, that should happen, which we think
+most unlikely, namely, that the government should so extend its
+conquests as to become undisputed possessor of the fertile regions
+beyond the Kouban, where the colonist could command sufficient natural
+resources.</p>
+
+<p>The Cossacks better fulfilled the purpose for which they were settled on
+the frontier. Active, enterprising, and accustomed to partisan warfare,
+they were admirably adapted for resisting the incursions of the
+mountaineers. If they have been less efficient of late years, the blame
+must be laid on the inordinate demands of the government, the extreme
+contempt with which they are treated by the Russian generals, and, above
+all, the extinction of the privileges which had been wisely conferred on
+them in the beginning, and which alone could guarantee to the empire the
+maintenance of their vigorous military organisation.</p>
+
+<p>The Black Sea Cossacks, as every one is aware, are descended from the
+Zaporogues of the Dniepr, whose famous military corporation appears to
+have been established towards the end of the fifteenth century.
+Continually engaged against the Tatars of the Crimea, the Ukraine
+Cossacks founded at this period a sort of colony near the mouths of the
+Dniepr, consisting exclusively of unmarried men, whose special avocation
+it was to guard the frontiers. Their numbers rapidly increased,
+deserters from all nations being attracted to them by the hope of booty,
+and their setcha, or head-quarters, on an island of the Dniepr, became
+famous throughout the land for the military services and the valour of
+its inhabitants. In 1540, such was the importance of these colonies to
+Poland, that King Sigismund granted a large tract of land above the
+cataracts to the Zaporogues, in order to strengthen the barrier erected
+by them between his dominions and the Tatars.</p>
+
+<p>The new settlements on the Dniepr for a long time followed the fortune
+of the Cossacks of Little Russia. But as their strength augmented
+continually, they at last detached themselves from the mother country,
+and became an independent military state. The supremacy of the tzars was
+imposed on Little Russia in 1664, and from that time the Zaporogues,
+deprived of their allies, and left entirely to their own resources,
+owned allegiance, according to circumstances, to the Turks or the
+Tatars, to Poland or Russia, until the rebellion of Mazeppa, in which
+they took part, led to the total destruction of their power. Some years
+afterwards we find them again rallied under the protection of the khans
+of the Crimea; but Russia soon <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>assumed so formidable an attitude in
+those parts, that they were at last constrained, in 1737, to acknowledge
+themselves vassals of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>But the political decline of the unfortunate Zaporogues did not stop
+there. During the war that preceded the treaty of Koutchouk Kainardji, a
+strong desire for independence was excited among them by the arbitrary
+acts of Russia. Many of their detachments fought even in the ranks of
+the Turks. Then it was that Catherine determined on completely rooting
+out the military colony of the Dniepr. The Zaporogues were expelled by
+force from their territory, which was given to other cultivators; and
+some of them emigrated beyond the Danube, while others were transported
+to the neighbourhood of Bielgorod. Ten years afterwards, when war broke
+out again with Turkey, a great number of the latter volunteered into the
+Russian armies. After the peace of Jassy, Prince Potemkin, who had
+formed them into regiments, was so pleased with their valour and
+fidelity, that he induced Catherine to settle them beyond the strait of
+the Kertch, and intrust them with the defence of the Circassian border.
+They were also granted, along with the peninsula of Taman, the whole
+territory comprised between the Kouban and the Sea of Azof, and
+extending eastward to the confluent of the Laba, and northward to the
+river Eia. The Zaporogues then took the appellation of Cossacks of the
+Black Sea, and their organisation was assimilated to that of their
+brethren of the Don. They had an attaman, nominated for life by the
+emperor, out of a list of candidates chosen by themselves; and the civil
+and military affairs of the community were directed, under this supreme
+chief, by two permanent functionaries, and four assessors changed every
+three years. Other privileges were likewise accorded to them, consisting
+chiefly in exemption from all taxes, the free use of the salt-pools, the
+right of terminating all litigations without having recourse to the St.
+Petersburg courts of appeal, and in the pledge given to them by the
+government, that their regiments should never be required to serve
+beyond their own territory.</p>
+
+<p>Under the influence of Catherine's liberal institutions, the military
+colony completely fulfilled the hopes of the government, and made rapid
+progress. The rich pastures of the Kouban were covered with immense
+multitudes of cattle, and agriculture, too, attained some degree of
+importance. The population also augmented considerably. The lands of the
+Kouban, as formerly those of the Don, became an asylum for a great
+number of fugitives, and the neighbouring provinces had often to
+complain of the escape of their slaves. But for the last twenty years
+the Black Sea Cossacks have been suffering from the effects of the new
+measures for equalisation and uniformity, and, like the Cossacks of the
+Don, they are now on the eve of being subjected to the ordinary laws and
+institutions of the provinces of the empire. The first encroachment on
+their privileges, was their employment on active service during the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>late wars with Turkey and Persia. They were obliged to furnish four
+regiments, which lost an enormous number of men, and nearly all their
+horses. This first step taken, the government advanced rapidly in its
+course of reform, and in a few years the Cossacks were deprived of their
+right of electing their own functionaries, who were thenceforth
+nominated by the emperor alone. These administrative changes, conjoined
+with the military duties, which have increased to a most onerous extent
+in the course of the war against the mountaineers, have had a very
+depressing effect on the spirits of the population; and at this day the
+Cossacks of the Kouban are far different men from those fiery
+Zaporogues, whose vigorous aid was so eagerly sought by Russia, Poland,
+and Turkey. The military life is become a loathsome burden to them, and
+they now only fight by constraint or in self-defence. The Russians,
+accordingly, accuse them of cowardice; but the government, by destroying
+their privileges, and the commanders-in-chief by the scorn with which
+they treat them and the continual activity they impose on them, do all
+that in them lies to dishearten and debase them. It is they who are
+always put foremost in every expedition; every commanding officer
+sacrifices them without scruple, and makes targets of them for the balls
+of the mountaineers. Is it reasonable, then, to expect alacrity and high
+courage on the part of men for whom military service is the breaking of
+every family tie, the destruction of all domestic prosperity, and who
+have not been left, in exchange for so many sacrifices, even the shadow
+of national independence?</p>
+
+<p>At the time of my last journey to the Caucasus in 1840, the Cossacks of
+the Black Sea numbered about 112,000 souls, of whom 68,000 were males,
+residing in sixty-four villages, and on 36,000,000 hectares of land held
+in common property, like the country of the Don in former times. The
+colonial army counted at that period according to the registers, eleven
+regiments of cavalry, ten of infantry, of 800 men each, and two
+batteries of artillery, one of them mounted, making altogether a total
+of 20,000 men, nearly the third of the male population. No doubt, the
+army can never in any case reach the official amount of force, its ranks
+being continually thinned by disease and war; and although young men are
+forced to enter the service at the age of seventeen, and are often kept
+in it thirty or forty years, still it would be quite impossible to bring
+more than 12,000 or 14,000 into the field at once, without endangering
+the total destruction of the population. In a pecuniary point of view,
+no men could well be more unfortunate than the Cossacks of the Kouban,
+whether in campaign against the mountaineers, or merely cantoned as
+reserves in their villages, they receive absolutely nothing for their
+services. The regulations, indeed, declare that the regiments actually
+called out shall receive pay at the rate of six rubles annually for each
+private, thirty-five rubles for every non-commissioned officer, and 250
+for every subaltern officer; but infallible means have been found for
+preventing these moderate allowances from ever reaching <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>those to whom
+they are promised. The posting establishment throughout the Cossack
+country costs the government just as little as the maintenance of the
+troops, since horses, harness, hay, and corn are all furnished gratis by
+the colony. The postilions even receive no pay whatever; they are only
+allowed a little flour and groats, and for every thing else they and
+their families must shift for themselves during their whole term of
+service. As for the progon (the posting-money paid by travellers), it
+belongs to the Cossack exchequer, and composes, with the proceeds of the
+farm of brandy, salt, and the fisheries, the sole revenues of the
+country.</p>
+
+<p>When I was at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the country, during the
+season of field-work, and in a time of quiet, they reckoned fourteen
+regiments on active service. Accordingly, as might have been expected,
+agriculture had been long neglected, and the country was in a miserable
+state. Nothing was to be seen in the villages but infirm old men,
+invalids, widows, and orphans; and the existence of the colony depended
+on the toil of the women alone. The distress then became so great as to
+excite the uneasiness of the government, and commissioners were sent to
+examine into the state of things; but unfortunately the mission, like
+every thing of the kind, did no good. The truth remained completely
+concealed from the emperor. The blame was cast entirely on the Cossacks
+themselves, and nothing was done to remedy the sufferings of the
+population.</p>
+
+<p>We do not know what measures have been adopted since our departure by
+the imperial government with respect to the present and future situation
+of the military colony of the Kouban. For our own parts, having had
+opportunities of appreciating the good qualities of the Tchornomorskie
+Cossacks, and all the capabilities which a wise administration would
+find in them, we cannot but heartily wish that the government may, with
+a better understanding of its own true interests, at least adopt towards
+them a line of conduct more in accordance with their wants and their
+laborious services.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">RAPID JOURNEY FROM STAVROPOL&mdash;RUSSIAN WEDDING&mdash;PERILOUS
+PASSAGE OF THE DON; ALL SORTS OF DISASTERS BY
+NIGHT&mdash;TAGANROK; COMMENCEMENT OF THE COLD SEASON&mdash;THE GERMAN
+COLONIES REVISITED.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>It would have been impossible to travel more rapidly than we did from
+Stavropol to the Don. The steppe is as smooth as a mirror, and the
+posting better conducted than in any other part. We no sooner reached a
+station, than horses, which had been brought out the moment we were
+descried, were put to, and galloped away with us without a moment's
+check to the next station. A <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>temperature of at least 20&deg; Reaumer, the
+beauty of the sky, and something light and joyous in the atmosphere,
+kept us in the highest spirits. In no country have I ever seen such
+multitudes of gossamer threads. The carriage, the horses, and our
+clothes were covered with those glistening prognostics of fair weather.</p>
+
+<p>As we advanced towards the abodes of civilisation, our thoughts were all
+about the pleasure of arriving at Taganrok, to find our letters, our
+friends, our European habits again, and the comforts of which for many
+months we had enjoyed but casual snatches. We rejoiced, therefore, in
+the speed with which we got over the ground, and scarcely cared to
+bestow a glance on the stanitzas that fled away behind us. In passing
+through a Russian village, however, we were constrained to bestow some
+attention on outward objects, our carriage being stopped by a wedding
+party that filled the whole street. We counted a dozen pavosks filled
+with young people of both sexes. The girls, with their heads bedizened
+with ribbons, screamed almost like savages, and rivalled the young men
+in impudence and coarseness. It was a disgusting spectacle. The bride
+differed from the rest only by the greater profusion of ribbons and
+flowers that formed her head-gear; her face was as red, her gestures as
+indelicate, and her voice as loud and shrill as those of her companions.</p>
+
+<p>It may seem scarcely credible, but we were but two-and-twenty hours
+travelling 316 versts, between Stavropol and the Don. We ate and slept
+in the carriage, and only alighted at the river side, where all sorts of
+tribulations awaited us. I cannot at this moment think of that memorable
+night without wondering at the pertinacity with which ill-luck clings to
+us when once it has fastened upon us. At ten at night, when we were some
+little way from the Don, we were told that the bridge was in a very bad
+state, and that we should probably be obliged to wait till the next day,
+before we could cross it. Such a delay was not what we had bargained
+for, especially as we had reckoned on enjoying that very night a good
+supper and a good bed under a friendly roof in Rostof. Then the weather,
+which had been so mild, had suddenly turned chill, and this was another
+motive to haste; so we went on without heeding what was told us; but
+when we came to the river, the tokens that the bridge was out of order,
+were but too manifest. Several carts stood there unyoked, and peasants
+lay beside them, patiently waiting the daylight. These men reiterated
+the bad news we had already heard; but then it was only eleven o'clock;
+if we waited we should have to pass nearly seven hours in the britchka,
+exposed to the cold night air, whereas once on the other side, we should
+reach Rostof in two hours. This consideration was too potent to allow of
+our receding from our purpose. At the same time we neglected no
+precaution that prudence required. The coachman and the Cossack were
+sent forward with a lantern to make a reconnaissance, and returning in
+half an hour, they reported that the passage was not quite
+impracticable, only it <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>would be necessary to be very cautious, for some
+parts of the bridge were so weak, that any imprudence might be fatal to
+us.</p>
+
+<p>Without calculating the risks we were about to run, we at once alighted,
+and followed the carriage, which the coachman drove slowly, whilst the
+Cossack went ahead with the lantern, pointing out the places he ought to
+avoid. I do not think that in the whole course of my travels we were
+ever in so alarming a situation. The danger was imminent and
+indubitable. The cracking of the woodwork, the darkness, the noise of
+the water dashing through the decayed floor, that bent under our feet,
+and the cries of alarm uttered every moment by the coachman and the
+Cossack, were enough to fill us with dismay: yet the thought of death
+did not occur to me, or rather my mind was too confused to have any
+distinct thought at all. Frequently the wheels sank between the broken
+planks, and those were moments of racking anxiety; but at last by dint
+of perseverance we reached the opposite bank in safety. The passage had
+lasted more than an hour; it was time for it to end, for I could hold
+out no longer; the water on the bridge was over our ancles. It may be
+imagined with what satisfaction we took our places again in the
+carriage. The dangers we had just incurred, and which we were then
+better able fully to understand, almost made us doubt our actual safety.
+For a long while we seemed to hear the noise of the waves breaking
+against the bridge; but this feeling was soon dispelled by others; for
+our nocturnal adventures were by no means at an end.</p>
+
+<p>At some versts from the Don our unlucky star put us into the hands of a
+drunken coachman, who after losing his way, I know not how often, and
+bumping us over ditches and ploughed fields, actually brought us back in
+sight of the dreadful bridge which we still could not think of without
+shuddering. We tried in our distress to persuade ourselves we were
+mistaken, but the case was too plain; there was the Don in front of us,
+and there stood Axai, the village we had passed through after getting
+into the britchka. Fancy our rage after floundering about for two hours
+to find ourselves just at the point from which we started. The only
+thing we could think of was to pass the night in a peasant's cabin; but
+our abominable coachman, whom the sight of the river had suddenly
+sobered, and who had reason to expect a sound drubbing, threw himself on
+his knees and so earnestly implored us to try the road to Rostof again,
+that we yielded to his entreaties. The difficulty was how to get back
+into the road, and we had many a start before we found it. The carriage
+was so violently shaken in crossing a ditch, that the coachman and
+Anthony were pitched from their seats, and the latter fell upon the
+pole, and became entangled in such a way that he was not easily
+extricated. His shouts for help, and his grimaces when my husband and
+the Cossack had set him on his legs were so desperate, that one would
+have thought half his bones were broken, though he had only a few
+trifling bruises. As for the yemshik, he picked himself up very <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span>coolly,
+and climbed into his seat again as if nothing extraordinary had
+happened. To see the quiet way in which he resumed the reins, one would
+have supposed he had just risen from a bed of roses; such is the usual
+apathy of the Russian peasants.</p>
+
+<p>It was four in the morning when we came in sight of Rostof, which is but
+twelve versts distant from the Don. Thus we spent a great part of the
+night in wandering about that town, like condemned ghosts, without
+deriving much advantage from our rash passage of the river. It was well
+worth while to run the risk of drowning, when our calculations and
+efforts could be baffled by so vulgar a cause as the drunkenness of a
+coachman! But the sight of Rostof, where good cheer and hospitality
+awaited us, consoled us for all our mishaps. Yet even here, when we
+almost touched the goal, our patience was put to further trial; for
+alighting at the post station two versts from the town, our rascally
+coachman positively refused to drive us a foot beyond it. This was too
+much for the Cossack's endurance, so drawing out a long knout from his
+belt, he paid the fellow on the spot the whole reckoning he had intended
+to settle with him at the journey's end. The yemshik's shouts brought
+all the people of the station about us, and the wife of the postmaster
+came and scolded him at such a rate, that at last he was forced to drive
+us to the town; but it was more than an hour before he set us down at
+Mr. Yeams's house. His drunkenness had now passed into the sleepy stage,
+and he could only be kept to his work by constant thumping.</p>
+
+<p>The house where we intended to lodge contained a corn store belonging to
+Mr. Yeams, English consul at Taganrok, who had obligingly invited us to
+use it when we quitted that town, and had sent orders to that effect to
+his clerk, M. Grenier: and so pleased were we with our quarters on our
+first visit to Rostof, that now the thought of going anywhere else never
+entered our heads. To have done so would have seemed an affront to Mr.
+Yeams's cordial hospitality. While we were unpacking the carriage,
+Anthony went and knocked at the door, and the coachman, unyoking his
+horses, in a trice went off as fast as he could, without even waiting to
+ask for drink money. Some minutes elapsed; Hommaire, losing patience,
+knocks again, when at last out comes Anthony with a very long face, and
+tells us that M. Grenier, clerk and Proven&ccedil;al into the bargain, refused
+of his own authority to receive us, pretending that he had not a room
+for us. Unable to comprehend such conduct, and believing that there was
+some mistake in the case, my husband went himself to the man, who
+putting his nose out from under the blankets, told him impudently, we
+must go and look for a lodging elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>All comment on such behaviour would be superfluous. To shut the door at
+night against one's own country people, and one of them a woman, rather
+than incur a little personal trouble, was a proceeding that could enter
+the head of none but a Proven&ccedil;al. The Kalmucks might have given a lesson
+in politeness to this boor, who <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span>rolled himself up snugly to sleep,
+whilst we spent the night, benumbed and shivering, under his windows in
+his court-yard. It may be conceived in what a state I passed the night;
+drenched with wet, worn down with mental and bodily fatigue, hungry,
+sleepy, and chilled by the sharp cold that at that season precedes
+sunrise, I was really unconscious of what was passing around me. As soon
+as it was light the Cossack procured horses, and took us to the best
+hotel in Rostof, where a warm room, an excellent bowl of soup, and a
+large divan, soon set us to rights again. On our arrival at Taganrok all
+the Yeams family were indignant at the behaviour of our Proven&ccedil;al, and,
+had we been disposed to pay him in his own coin we might have done so.
+They would have sent him his discharge forthwith, had we not interceded
+for him; the French consul wrote him a threatening letter, and with this
+our vengeance remained satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>We learned at Taganrok that the strangest rumours had gone abroad
+respecting us. Some said that the Circassians had made us prisoners,
+others that we had perished of hunger and thirst in the Caspian steppes.
+In short, every one had had his own melodramatic version of our supposed
+fate. I cannot describe all the kind interest that was shown on our safe
+return from so hazardous a journey. In spite of our wish to arrive as
+soon as possible in Odessa, we could not refrain from bestowing a week
+on friends who received us with such warm sympathy.</p>
+
+<p>The winds from the Ural swept away in one night all that October had
+spared. The weather was still sunny when we arrived on the shores of the
+Sea of Azof; but on the next day the sky assumed that sombre chilly hue
+that always precedes the metels or snow-storms. The whole face of nature
+seemed prepared for the reception of winter, that eternal sovereign of
+northern lands. The sea-beach covered with a thin coating of ice, the
+harsh winds, the ground hardened by the frost, and the increasing
+lividness of the atmosphere, all betokened its coming, and made us
+keenly apprehensive of what we should have to suffer on our way to
+Odessa, where we were to take up our winter quarters, and from whence we
+were still 900 versts distant. With the rapidity of the Russian post the
+journey might be accomplished in ten days, if the weather were not
+unfavourable; but after the threatening symptoms I have mentioned, we
+might expect soon to have a fall of snow, and perhaps to be kept
+prisoners by it in some village.</p>
+
+<p>Unfortunately for us it was the most dangerous season for travelling in
+Russia. The first snows, which are not firm enough to bear a sledge, are
+much feared by travellers, and almost every year cause many accidents.
+At this period, too, the winds are very violent, and produce those
+frightful snow-storms which we have already described. It was a very
+cheerless prospect for persons so way-worn and weary as we were, to have
+incessantly to fight against the elements and other obstacles. I
+remember that in this last journey our <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>need of rest was so urgent, that
+the poorest peasant seated by his stove was an object of envy to us.</p>
+
+<p>We once more passed through all the German colonies I had so much
+admired a few months before. But the pleasing verdure of May had
+disappeared beneath the icy winds of the north, and all was dreary and
+dull of hue. Even the houses, no longer glistening in the sunshine, had
+a sombre appearance in harmony with the withered leaves of the orchards.
+A metel that broke out one night forced us to pass two days in a German
+village, in the house of a worthy old Prussian couple. The wife had lost
+the use of one side, and could not leave her chair, but her husband
+supplied her place in all the domestic concerns with a skill that
+surprised us. As in all the German houses, the principal room was
+adorned with a handsome porcelain stove, and a large tester bed which
+our hosts insisted on giving up to us. From morning till night the
+husband, aided by a stout servant girl, exerted all his culinary powers
+for our benefit. The table was laid out all day until dinner hour with
+coffee, pastry, bottles of wine, ham, and other appetising commodities.</p>
+
+<p>There is nothing I think more delightful in travelling than to watch the
+proceedings of a somewhat rustic cuisine. In such cases all the marvels
+of Car&ecirc;me's art fade before two or three simple dishes prepared under
+your own eyes. The ear is pleasingly titillated by the tune of the
+frying-pan, the smell of good things stimulates desire and quickens the
+imagination, and the very preliminaries are so agreeable, that the
+traveller would not exchange them for the most magnificent banquet in
+the world.</p>
+
+<p>The quantity of snow that had fallen during those two days retarded our
+speed. A man rode on before the carriage and carefully sounded the
+ground, for the metel had filled up the holes and ditches, and
+obliterated all landmarks. Nothing can be more frightful than those
+snowy wastes recently swept and tossed by furious winds. All trace of
+man's existence and his works, have disappeared beneath those white
+billows heaped upon each other like those of the ocean in a storm. How
+well we could appreciate, in those long days we spent in plodding
+through the snow, the horrible sufferings of our poor soldiers,
+perishing by thousands in the fatal retreat of 1812! The thought of
+their misery smote upon our hearts, and forbade us to complain, warmly
+clad as we were, drawn by stout horses, and having all we required done
+for us by others.</p>
+
+<p>As we approached Kherson post-sledges began to show themselves; several
+of them shot by us with travellers wrapped up to the eyes in their fur
+cloaks. These sledges are very low, and hold at most two persons. It
+very often happens that the body part upsets without the driver's
+perceiving it; the accident is not at all dangerous; but it must be
+exceedingly annoying to the traveller, as he rolls in the snow, to see
+his sledge borne away from him at full speed, leaving him no help for it
+but to follow on foot. If the driver does not take the precaution to
+look back from time to time, the traveller may <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>chance to run all the
+way to the next station, and it may be imagined in what a plight he
+arrives there. When the accident happens by night the case is still more
+serious. Many Russians have told us that they had thus lost their way,
+and only after a day or two's search had found the station where their
+sledge had arrived empty. Nothing, indeed, is more common than to lose
+one's way in the steppes, nor is it at all necessary to that end that
+one should fall out of his sledge. We ourselves were once in danger of
+roaming about all night in the neighbourhood of Kherson in search of our
+road, which we could not find. A very dense fog surprised us at sunset,
+scarcely five versts from the town. For a long time we went on at
+random, not knowing whether we were going north or south, and Heaven
+knows where we should have found ourselves at last, if we had not caught
+the sound of horses' bells. The travellers put us on the right way, and
+told us it was ten o'clock, and we had twelve versts between us and
+Kherson.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">DEPARTURE FOR THE CRIMEA&mdash;BALACLAVA&mdash;VISIT TO THE MONASTERY
+OF ST. GEORGE&mdash;SEVASTOPOL&mdash;THE IMPERIAL FLEET.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>After a winter spent in the pleasures of repose, we left Odessa at the
+end of April to visit the Crimea, on board the <i>Julia</i>, a handsome brig,
+owned and commanded by M. Taitbout de Marigny. Our departure was
+extremely brilliant. The two cannons of the <i>Julia</i>, and those of the
+<i>Little Mary</i>, that was to sail in company with us, announced to the
+whole town that we were about to weigh anchor. Our passage could not
+fail to be agreeable under such a captain as ours. M. Taitbout de
+Marigny, consul of the Netherlands, joins to the varied acquirements of
+the man of science all the accomplishments of the artist and man of the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>The voyage was very short, but full of chances and incidents; we had
+sea-sickness, squalls, clear moonlight nights, and a little of all the
+pains and pleasures of the sea. On the second morning, the sun shining
+brightly, we began to discern the coast of that land, surnamed
+inhospitable by the ancients, by reason of the horrible custom of its
+inhabitants to massacre every stranger whom chance or foul weather led
+thither. The woes of Orestes alone would suffice to render the Tauris
+celebrated. Who is there that has not been moved by that terrible and
+pathetic drama, of which the brother and sister were the hero and
+heroine on this desert shore! As soon as I could distinguish the line of
+rocks that vaguely marked the horizon, I began to look for Cape
+Parthenike, on which tradition <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>places the temple of the goddess of whom
+Iphigenia was the priestess, and where she was near immolating her
+brother. With the captain's aid I at last descried on a point of rock at
+a great distance from us a solitary chapel, which I was informed was
+dedicated to the Virgin. What a contrast between the gentle worship of
+Mary and that of the sanguinary Taura, who exacted for offerings not the
+simple prayers and <i>ex voto</i> of the mariner, but human victims! All this
+part of the coast is sterile and desert: a wall of rock extended before
+us, and seemed to shut us out from the peninsula so often conquered and
+ravaged by warlike and commercial nations. Richly endowed by nature, the
+Tauris, Chersonese, or Crimea, has always been coveted by the people of
+Europe and Asia. Pastoral nations have contended for possession of its
+mountains; commercial nations for its ports and its renowned Bosphorus;
+warlike peoples have pitched their tents amid its magnificent valleys;
+all have coveted a footing on that soil, to which Greek civilisation has
+attached such brilliant memories.</p>
+
+<p>During a part of the day the wind was contrary, and obliged us to make
+short tacks in view of the rocky wall; but at four o'clock a change of
+wind allowed the brig to approach the coast. The sea was like a
+magnificent basin reflecting in its transparent waters the great
+calcareous masses that overhung it. It was a fine spectacle; but our
+captain's serious expression of countenance, and the intentness with
+which he watched the sails, and directed the man&oelig;uvres, plainly
+showed that our situation was one of difficulty, if not of danger. A
+boat was manned and sent off to explore the coast, and as its white sail
+gleamed at a distance in the sun, it looked like a seabird in search of
+its nest in the hollow of some rock. The <i>Little Mary</i> imitated all our
+evolutions, skimming over the waves like a sea swallow. She shortened
+her trip at every tack, and kept closer and closer to us; and our
+captain's face grew more and more grave, until all at once to our great
+surprise the rock opened before us like a scene in a theatre, and
+afforded us a passage which two vessels could not have entered abreast.
+Having got fairly through the channel, M. Taitbout was himself again.
+This entrance he told us is very dangerous in stormy weather, and often
+impracticable even when the wind is but moderately fresh. The scene,
+however, on which it opens is extremely beautiful. The port is
+surrounded with mountains, the highest of which still bear traces of the
+old Genoese dominion, and in front of the entrance is the pretty Greek
+town of Balaclava, with its balconied houses and trees rising in
+terraces one above the other. A ruined fortress overlooks the town: from
+that elevated point the Genoese, once masters of this whole coast,
+scanned the sea like birds of prey, and woe to the foreign vessels
+tempest driven within their range! Balaclava, with its Greek population,
+its girdle of rocks, and its mild climate, resembles those little towns
+of the Archipelago that are seen specking the horizon as one sails
+towards Constantinople.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>While we remained on board waiting for the completion of the
+custom-house formalities, we were entertained with the most picturesque
+and animated scene imaginable. It was Sunday, and the whole population
+was scattered over the shore and the adjoining heights. Groups of
+sailors, Arnaouts, and girls as gracefully formed as those of the
+Grecian isles, were ascending the steep path to the fortress, or were
+dancing to the shrill music of a balalaika. All the balconies were
+filled with spectators, who were busy, no doubt, discussing the
+apparition of a brig in their port; for the trade of Balaclava, so
+flourishing under the Genoese, is now fallen to such a degree that the
+arrival of a single vessel is an event for the whole town.</p>
+
+<p>Balaclava, the Cembalo of the Genoese, is now the humble capital of a
+little Greek colony founded in the reign of Catherine II., and now
+numbering several villages with 600 families. During her wars with the
+Porte, the empress thought of appealing to the national sentiments of
+the Greeks, and their hatred of the Turks. The result answered her
+expectations, and Russia soon had a large naval force that displayed the
+most signal bravery in all its encounters with the enemy. When the
+campaign against Turkey was ended, the Greek auxiliaries took part in
+the military operations in the Crimea; and after the conquest of the
+peninsula, they were employed in suppressing the revolts of the Tatars,
+and striking terror into them by the sanguinary cruelty of their
+expeditions. It was at that period the Mussulmans of the Crimea gave
+them the name of Arnaouts, which they have retained ever since.</p>
+
+<p>The peninsula having been finally subjugated, the Greeks were formed
+into a regimental colony, with the town and territory of Balaclava for
+their residence. They now number 600 fighting men, who are only employed
+in guarding the coasts. The colonist is only liable to be called out for
+active service during four months in the year; the other eight he has at
+his own disposal for the cultivation of his lands. Each soldier has
+twenty-eight rubles yearly pay, and finds his own equipment.</p>
+
+<p>The day after our arrival at Balaclava we made a boating excursion to
+examine the geology of the coast, and landed in a beautiful little cove
+lined with flowering trees and shrubs. On our return the boatmen made
+themselves coronals of hawthorn and blossoming apple sprays, and
+decorated the boat with garlands of the same, and in this festive style
+we made our entry into Balaclava. In our poetic enthusiasm as we looked
+on the lovely sky, the placid sea, and the Greek mariners, who thus
+retained on a foreign shore, and after the lapse of so many centuries,
+the cheerful customs of their ancestors, we could not help comparing
+ourselves to one of the numerous deputations that used every year to
+enter the Pyr&aelig;us, with their vessels' prows festooned with flowers, to
+take part in the brilliant festivals of Athens.</p>
+
+<p>We bade adieu that day to our excellent friend M. Taitbout de Marigny,
+who continued his cruise to Ialta, where we were again to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span>meet him. We
+set out for the convent of St. George, our minds filled with classical
+reminiscences, which fortified us to endure the horrible bumping of our
+pereclatnoi. This vehicle is a sort of low four-wheeled cart, so narrow
+as barely to accommodate two persons, who have nothing to sit on but
+boxes and packages laid on a great heap of hay. It is no easy matter to
+keep one's balance on such a seat, especially when the frail equipage is
+galloped along from post to post at the full speed of three stout
+horses. Yet this is the manner in which most Russians travel, and often
+for a week together, day and night.</p>
+
+<p>The road from Balaclava to the monastery presents no striking features;
+it runs over a vast plateau, as barren as the steppes. A little before
+sunset we were quite close to the convent, but saw nothing indicative of
+its existence, and were, therefore, not a little surprised when the
+driver jumped down and told us to alight. We thought he was making game
+of us, when he led the way into an arched passage, but when we reached
+the further end a cry of admiration escaped our lips, as we beheld the
+monastery with its cells backed against the rock, its green-domed
+church, its terraces and blooming gardens, suspended several hundred
+feet above the sea. Long did we remain wrapt in contemplation of the
+magic effect produced by man's labour on a scene that looked in its
+savage and contorted aspect as if it had been destined only to be the
+domain of solitude.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian and Greek monasteries are far from displaying the monumental
+appearance of the western convents. They consist only of a group of
+small houses of one story, built without symmetry, and with nothing
+about them denoting the austere habits of a religious community. Those
+poetic souls who find such food for meditation in the long galleries of
+the cloisters, could not easily be reconciled to such a disregard for
+form. The monks received us not like Christians, but like downright
+pagans. The bishop, for whom we had letters, happening to be absent, we
+fell into the hands of two or three surly-looking friars, whose dirty
+dress and red faces indicated habits any thing but monastic. They
+confined us in a disgustingly filthy hole, where a few crazy chairs, two
+or three rough planks on tressels, and a nasty candle stuck in a bottle,
+were all the accommodation we obtained from their munificence. Our
+dragoman could not even get coals to boil the kettle without paying for
+it double what it was worth. When we remonstrated with the monks their
+invariable answer was, that they were not bound to provide us with any
+thing but the bare furniture of the table. Such was their notion of the
+duties of hospitality.</p>
+
+<p>With our bones aching from the pereclatnoi we were obliged to content
+ourselves with a few cups of tea by way of supper, and to lie down on
+the execrable planks they had the assurance to call a bed. Fortunately,
+the bishop returned next day, and we got a cleaner room, mattresses,
+pillows, plenty to eat, and more respectful <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>treatment on the part of
+the monks; but all this could not reconcile us to men who had such a
+curious way of practising the precepts of the gospel. The few days we
+spent among them were enough to enable us to judge of the degree of
+ignorance and moral degradation in which they live. Religion which, in
+default of instruction, ought at least to mould their souls to the
+Christian virtues, and to love of their neighbours, has no influence
+over them. They do not understand it, and their gross instincts find few
+impediments in the statutes of their order. Sloth, drunkenness, and
+fanaticism, stand them instead of faith, love, and charity.</p>
+
+<p>The great steepness of this part of the coast renders the descent to the
+sea extremely difficult. We tried it, however, and with a good deal of
+hard work we scrambled down to the beach, which is here only a few yards
+wide. Magnificent volcanic rocks form in this place a natural colonnade,
+the base of which is constantly washed by the sea, whilst every craggy
+point is tenanted by marine birds, the only living creatures to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>On our return to the convent we found it full of beggars who had come
+for the annual festival that was to be held on the day but one
+following. Cake and fruit-sellers, gipsies and Tatars, had set up their
+booths and tents on the plateau; every thing betokened that the
+solemnity would be very brilliant, but we had not the curiosity to wait
+for it. We set out that evening for Stavropol, glad to get away from a
+convent in which hospitality is not bestowed freely, but sold.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving the monastery we proceeded first of all in the direction of
+Cape Khersonese, the most western point of this classic land, where
+flourished, for more than twelve centuries, the celebrated colony of
+Kherson, founded by the Heracleans 600 years <span class="smcap">B. C.</span> At present
+the only remains of all its greatness are a few heaps of shapeless
+stones; and strange to relate, the people who put the last hand to the
+destruction of whatever had escaped the barbarian invasions and the
+Mussulman sway, was the same whose conversion to Christianity in the
+person of the Grand Duke Vladimir, was celebrated by Kherson in 988.
+When the Russians entered the Crimea some considerable architectural
+remains were still standing, among which were the principal gate of the
+town and its two towers, and a large portion of the walls; besides which
+there were shafts and capitals of columns, numerous inscriptions and
+three churches of the Lower Empire, half buried under the soil. But
+Muscovite vandalism quickly swept away all these remains. A quarantine
+establishment for the new port of Sevastopol was constructed on the site
+of the ancient Heraclean town, and all the existing vestiges of its
+monuments were rapidly demolished and carried away stone by stone; and
+but for the direct interference of the Emperor Alexander, who caused a
+few inscriptions to be deposited in the museum of Nicolaief, there would
+be nothing remaining in our day to attest the existence of one of the
+most opulent cities of the northern coasts of the Black Sea.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>At a short distance from Cape Khersonese begins that succession of ports
+which render this point of the Crimea so important to Russia; one of
+them is Sevastopol, whence the imperial fleet commands the whole of the
+Black Sea, and incessantly threatens the existence of the sultan's
+empire. Between Cape Khersonese and the Sevastopol roads which comprise
+three important ports, there are six distinct bays running inland
+parallel to each other. First come the Double Bay (<i>Dvoinaia</i>) and the
+Bay of the Cossack (<i>Cozatchaia</i>), between which the Heracleans founded
+their first establishment, no trace of which now exists. Then comes the
+Round Bay (<i>Kruglaia</i>), that of the Butts (<i>Strelezkaia</i>), and that of
+the Sands (<i>Pestchannaia</i>). These five are all abandoned, and are only
+used by vessels driven by stress of weather to seek shelter in them. It
+was in the space between the Bay of the Sands and that more to the west
+where the quarantine is established, that the celebrated Kherson once
+stood.</p>
+
+<p>A little beyond the quarantine cove, the traveller discovers Sevastopol,
+situated on the slope of a hill between Artillery and South bays, the
+first two ports on the right hand as you enter the main roads. The
+position of the town thus built in an amphitheatre, renders its whole
+plan discernible at one view, and gives it a very grand appearance from
+a distance. Its barracks and stores, the extensive buildings of the
+admiralty, the numerous churches, and vast ship-building docks and
+yards, attest the importation of this town, the creation of which dates
+only from the arrival of the Russians in the Crimea. The interior,
+though not quite corresponding to the brilliant panorama it presents
+from a distance, is yet worthy of the great naval station. The streets
+are large, the houses handsome, and the population, in consequence of an
+imperial ukase which excludes the Jews from its territory, is much less
+repulsive than that of Odessa, Kherson, Iekaterinoslav, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p>The port of Sevastopol is unquestionably one of the most remarkable in
+Europe. It owes all its excellence to nature, which has here, without
+the aid of art, provided a magnificent roadstead with ramifications,
+forming so many basins admirably adapted for the requirements of a naval
+station. The whole of this noble harbour may be seen at once from the
+upper part of the town. The great roadstead first attracts attention. It
+lies east and west, stretching seven kilometres (four miles and
+three-quarters) inland, with a mean breadth of 1000 yards, and serves as
+a station for all the active part of the fleet. It forms the medium of
+communication between Sevastopol and the interior of the peninsula. The
+northern shore presents only a line of cliffs of no interest, but on the
+southern shore the eye is detained by the fine basins formed there by
+nature. To the east, at the very foot of the hill on which the town
+stands, is South Bay, in length upwards of 3000 m&egrave;tres, and completely
+sheltered by high limestone cliffs. It is here the vessels are rigged
+and unrigged; and here, too, lies a long range of pontoons and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span>vessels
+past service, some of which are converted into magazines, and others
+into lodgings for some thousand convicts who are employed in the works
+of the arsenal. Among these numerous veterans of a naval force that is
+almost always idle, the traveller beholds with astonishment the colossal
+ship, the <i>Paris</i>, formerly mounting 120 guns, and which was, down to
+1829, the finest vessel in the imperial fleet.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond South Bay, and communicating with it, is the little creek in
+which the government is constructing the most considerable works of the
+port, and has been engaged for many years in forming an immense dock
+with five distinct basins, capable of accommodating three ships of the
+line and two frigates, while simultaneously undergoing repairs. The
+original plan for this great work was devised by M. Raucourt, a French
+engineer, who estimated the total cost at about 6,000,000 rubles. The
+magnitude of this sum alarmed the government, but at the instance of
+Count Voronzof, they accepted the proposals of an English engineer, who
+asked only 2,500,000, and promised to complete the whole within five
+years. The work was begun on the 17th of June, 1832; but when we visited
+Sevastopol, some years after the first stone had been laid, the job was
+not half finished, and the expenses already exceeded 9,000,000 rubles.
+The execution of the basins seems, however, to be very far from
+corresponding to the enormous expenses they have already occasioned, and
+it is strange, indeed, that a weak and friable limestone should have
+been employed in hydraulic constructions of such importance. The angles
+of the walls, it is true, are of granite or porphyry, but this odd
+association of heterogeneous materials conveys, in itself, the severest
+condemnation of the mode of construction which has been adopted.</p>
+
+<p>Highly favoured as is the port of Sevastopol with regard to the form and
+the security of its bays, it yet labours under very serious
+inconveniences. The waters swarm with certain worms that attack the
+ships' bottoms, and often make them unserviceable in two or three years.
+To avoid this incurable evil, the government determined to fill the
+basins with fresh water, by changing the course of the little river,
+Tchernoi Retchka, which falls into the head of the main gulf. Three
+aqueducts and two tunnels, built like the rest of the works in chalk,
+and forming part of the artificial channel, were nearly completed in
+1841; but about that period the engineers endured a very sad
+discomfiture, it being then demonstrated that the worms they wanted to
+get rid of were produced by nothing else than the muddy waters which the
+Tchernoi Retchka pours into the harbour.<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a></p>
+
+<p>Artillery Bay, which bounds the town on the west, is used only by
+trading vessels. This and Careening Bay, the most eastern of all, are
+not inferior in natural advantages to the two others we have <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>been
+speaking of; but we have nothing more particular to mention respecting
+them.</p>
+
+<p>After discussing the harbours and the works belonging to them, we are
+naturally led to glance at the war-fleet, and the famous fortifications
+of which the Russians are so proud, and which they regard as a marvel of
+modern art. In 1831, when the July revolution was threatening to upset
+the whole <i>status quo</i> of Europe, a London journal stated in an article
+on the Black Sea and Southern Russia, that nothing could be easier than
+for a few well-appointed vessels to set fire to the imperial fleet in
+the port of Sevastopol. The article alarmed the emperor's council to the
+highest degree, and orders were immediately issued for the construction
+of immense defensive works.</p>
+
+<p>Four new forts were constructed, making a total of eleven batteries.
+Forts Constantine and Alexander were erected for the defence of the
+great harbour, the one on the north, the other on the west side of
+Artillery Bay; and the Admiralty and the Paul batteries were to play on
+vessels attempting to enter South Bay, or Ships' Bay. These four forts,
+consisting each of three tiers of batteries, and each mounting from 250
+to 300 pieces of artillery, constitute the chief defences of the place,
+and appear, at first sight, truly formidable. But here again, the
+reality does not correspond with the outer appearance, and we are of
+opinion that all these costly batteries are more fitted to astonish the
+vulgar in time of peace, than to awe the enemy in war. In the first
+place their position at some height above the level of the sea, and
+their three stories appear to us radically bad, and practical men will
+agree with us that a hostile squadron might make very light of the three
+tiers of guns which, when pointed horizontally, could, at most, only hit
+the rigging of the ships. The internal arrangements struck us as equally
+at variance with all the rules of military architecture: each story
+consists of a suite of rooms opening one upon the other, and
+communicating by a small door, with an outer gallery that runs the whole
+length of the building. All these rooms, in which the guns are worked,
+are so narrow, and the ventilation is so ill-contrived, that we are
+warranted by our own observation in asserting that a few discharges
+would make it extremely difficult for the artillerymen to do their duty.
+But a still more serious defect than those we have named, and one which
+endangers the whole existence of the works, consists in the general
+system adopted for their construction.</p>
+
+<p>Here the improvidence of the government has been quite as great as with
+regard to the dock basins: for the imperial engineers have thought
+proper to employ small pieces of coarse limestone in the masonry of
+three-storied batteries, mounting from 250 to 300 guns. The works, too,
+have been constructed with so little care, and the dimensions of the
+walls and arches are so insufficient, that it is easy to see at a
+glance, that all these batteries must inevitably be shaken to pieces
+whenever their numerous artillery shall be brought into play. The trials
+that have been made in Fort Constantine, have already <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span>demonstrated the
+correctness of this opinion, wide rents having been there occasioned in
+the walls by a few discharges.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, all the forts labour under the disadvantage of being utterly
+defenceless on the land side. Thinking only of attacks by sea, the
+government has quite overlooked the great facility with which an enemy
+may land on any part of the coast of the Khersonese. So, besides that
+the batteries are totally destitute of artillery and ditches on the land
+side, the town itself is open on all points, and is not defended by a
+single redoubt. We know not what works have been planned or executed
+since 1841; but at the period of our visit a force of some thousand men,
+aided by a maritime demonstration, would have had no sort of difficulty
+in forcing their way into the interior of the place, and setting fire to
+the fleet and the arsenals.</p>
+
+<p>We have now to speak of the offensive strength of the Port of
+Sevastopol, that famous fleet always in readiness to sail against
+Constantinople. The effective of the Black Sea fleet, in 1841, was as
+follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="60%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png365">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="40%">Ships of the line</td>
+  <td class="tdl" width="60%">13, 2 of 120 guns, the rest of 84</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Frigates</td>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;6 mounting 60 guns</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Corvettes</td>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;6 mounting 20 guns</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Brigs</td>
+  <td class="tdl">10 mounting 10 to 20 guns</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Schooners</td>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;5</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cutters</td>
+  <td class="tdl">10</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Steamers</td>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;5</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Tenders</td>
+  <td class="tdl">25</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>The largest tenders are of 750 tons' burden, the smallest thirty. The
+crews, making together fourteen battalions, ought to be 14,000 strong.
+But we know that in Russia official figures are always much higher than
+the reality. We think we cannot be far wrong in setting down the actual
+strength at 6000 or 8000 men.</p>
+
+<p>Like every thing else in Russia, the ships of war look very imposing at
+first sight, but will not bear a very close scrutiny. After what we have
+stated respecting the venality of the administrative departments, it is
+easy to conceive the malversations that must abound in the naval
+arsenals. In vain may the government lavish its money and order the
+purchase of the needful materials; its intentions are sure to be baffled
+by the corruption and rapacity of its servants. The vessels are
+generally built of worthless materials, and there is no kind of
+peculation but is practised in their construction. We have mentioned the
+<i>Paris</i> as an instance of the short duration of Russian ships: and all
+the vessels of the same period are in nearly as bad a plight. A single
+cruise has been enough to make them unserviceable. We must, however,
+admit that the naval boards are not alone to blame for this rapid
+destruction. According to the information we have received, it appears
+that the ships are built generally of pine or fir; but every one knows
+that these kinds of wood, produced in moist places and low bottoms,
+cannot possess the solidity required in naval architecture.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span>Before quitting Sevastopol we made an excursion to the head of the great
+bay, to visit the remains of a once celebrated town, of which nothing
+now remains but some ruins known under the name Inkermann. We explored
+with some interest a long suite of crypts, some of which seem to belong
+to the remotest antiquity, while others evidently date from the Lower
+Empire. Among the latter we particularly noticed a large chapel,
+excavated wholly in the rock, and presenting in its interior all the
+characteristics of the Byzantine churches. Above all these subterraneous
+edifices, on the highest part of the rocks, stand some fragments of
+walls, the sole remains of the castle and town that formerly crowned
+those heights. The ruins appear to occupy the site of the ancient
+Eupatorion of Strabo, which afterwards, under the name of Theodori,
+became the seat of a little Greek principality dependent on the Lower
+Empire. It was taken by the Turks in 1475, and soon afterwards totally
+destroyed.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> See notes at the end of the volume.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXV.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">BAGTCHE SERAI&mdash;HISTORICAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA&mdash;THE
+PALACE OF THE KHANS&mdash;COUNTESS POTOCKI.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>After our excursion to Inkermann we left Sevastopol the same day, glad
+to quit the Russians and their naval capital for Bagtche Serai, that
+ancient city, which previously to the Muscovite conquest might still vie
+in power and opulence with the great cities of the East. Even now,
+though much decayed, Bagtche Serai is the most interesting town in the
+Crimea.</p>
+
+<p>The road which leads to it runs parallel with a mountain chain, and
+commands very beautiful scenery, which we beheld in all the fresh
+luxuriance of May. The hills and valleys were clothed with forests of
+peach, almond, apple, and apricot trees in full blossom, and the south
+wind came to us loaded with their fragrance. We had many a flying
+glimpse of landscapes we would willingly have paused to admire in
+detail, but the pereclatnoi whirled us along, and towns, hillsides,
+winding brooks, farms, meadows, and Tatar villages shot past us with
+magic rapidity.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding a temperature of 25&deg; Reaumer, the day appeared to us
+very short. Yet we were impatient to see Bagtche Serai, its palace and
+its fountains which have been sung by Pushkin, the Russian nightingale;
+and this impatience, which increased as we approached our journey's end,
+prevented us from visiting different spots which less hasty travellers
+would not have disdained. Every mountain, valley, or village has some
+peculiar interest of its own. There were aqueducts, old bridges, and
+half-ruined towers in every <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>direction to tell of an ancient
+civilisation; but all these interested us less, perhaps, than the modest
+dwelling in which Pallas long resided, and where he ended his days.</p>
+
+<p>Bagtche Serai has completely retained its national character in
+consequence of an ukase of Catherine II., empowering the Tatars to
+retain exclusive possession of their own capital. You would fancy
+yourself in the heart of the East, in walking through the narrow streets
+of the town, the mosques, shops, and cemeteries of which so much
+resemble those of the old quarters of Constantinople. But it is
+especially in the courts, gardens, and kiosks of the harem of the old
+palace, that the traveller may well believe himself transported into
+some delicious abode of Aleppo or Bagdad.</p>
+
+<p>It was in 1226, that the Mongol or Tatar hordes led by Batu Khan,
+grandson of Genghis Khan, after invading Russia, Poland, and Hungary,
+made their first appearance in the Crimea, and laid the foundations of
+the Tatar kingdom, which was soon to attain a high degree of power. The
+Genoese about the same time took possession of several important points
+on the southern coast, and founded Caffa and other towns, which became
+extremely flourishing seats of commerce. Their prosperity lasted until
+1473, when the Turks, already masters of Constantinople, drove the
+Genoese out of the Crimea, and took under their protection the Khans of
+little Tatary, who became vassals of the Porte, whilst retaining their
+absolute sway over the Crimea. From that time until the eighteenth
+century, the history of the peninsula is but a long series of contests
+between the Ottomans, the Tatars, and the Muscovites.</p>
+
+<p>Russia, coveting this fine country, took advantage of its continual
+revolutions, and sent a large army thither in 1771, for the purpose of
+putting the young prince Saheb Guerai on the throne. By this stroke of
+policy, she took the Crimea out of the hands of the Porte, and brought
+it under her own sole protection. In return for the empress's good
+offices, Saheb Guerai ceded to her the towns of Kertch, Yeni Kaleh, and
+Kalbouroun, very advantageously situated on the Dniepr. In this way
+Russia took the first steps towards the celebrated treaty of Kainardji
+of 1774, which conceded to her the free navigation of all the seas
+dependent on the Turkish dominions. But it was not until 1783, that her
+sway was irrevocably established in the peninsula, and the Tatars
+submitted to a yoke against which they had so often and so boldly
+struggled.</p>
+
+<p>During the brilliant period in which the khans reigned in the Crimea,
+the seat of government alternated between Eski Krim and Tchoufout Kaleh,
+until the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Bagtche Serai was
+made the capital.</p>
+
+<p>One would hardly recognise in the simple and orderly Tatars of the
+present day, the descendants of those fierce Mongols who imposed their
+sway on a part of western Europe. There is a great difference between
+the Tatars of the coast and those of the mountains. The former have been
+rendered covetous, knavish, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>treacherous by their continual
+intercourse with the Russians; whilst their mountain brethren have
+retained the patriarchal manners that distinguish the Asiatic peoples.
+Their hospitality is most generous. The Tatar's best room, and the best
+which his house and his table can afford, are offered to his guest with
+a cordial alacrity that forbids the very idea of a refusal; and he would
+deem it an insult to be offered any other payment than a friendly grasp
+of the hand.</p>
+
+<p>The Tatar women, without being handsome, display a timid grace that
+makes them singularly engaging. In public they wear a long white veil,
+the two ends of which hang over their shoulders, and they are
+particularly remarkable for their complete freedom from every appearance
+of vulgarity. We saw none at Bagtche Serai, but those of the poorer
+classes; the women of the mourzas (nobles), and beys (princes) live
+quite retired and never show themselves in public.</p>
+
+<p>But to return to the palace of Bagtche Serai. It is no easy task to
+describe the charm of this mysterious and splendid abode, in which the
+voluptuous khans forgot all the cares of life: it is not to be done, as
+in the case of one of our palaces, by analysing the style, arrangement,
+and details of the rich architecture, and reading the artist's thought
+in the regularity, grace, and noble simplicity of the edifice: all this
+is easy to understand and to describe: such beauties are more or less
+appreciable by every one. But one must be something of a poet to
+appreciate a Turkish palace; its charms must be sought, not in what one
+sees, but in what one feels. I have heard persons speak very
+contemptuously of Bagtche Serai. "How," said they, "can any one apply
+the name of palace to that assemblage of wooden houses, daubed with
+coarse paintings, and furnished only with divans and carpets?" And these
+people were right in their way. The positive cast of their minds
+disabling them from seeing beauty in any thing but rich materials,
+well-defined forms and highly-finished workmanship, Bagtche Serai must
+be to them only a group of shabby houses adorned with paltry ornaments,
+and fit only for the habitation of miserable Tatars.</p>
+
+<p>Situated in the centre of the town, in a valley enclosed between hills
+of unequal heights, the palace (Serai) covers a considerable space, and
+is enclosed within walls, and a small stream deeply entrenched. The
+bridge which affords admission into the principal court is guarded by a
+post of Russian veterans. The spacious court is planted with poplars and
+lilacs, and adorned with a beautiful Turkish fountain, shaded by
+willows; its melancholy murmur harmonises well with the loneliness of
+the place. To the right as you enter are some buildings, one of which is
+set apart for the use of those travellers who are fortunate enough to
+gain admittance into the palace. To the left are the mosque, the
+stables, and the trees of the cemetery, which is divided from the court
+by a wall.</p>
+
+<p>We first visited the palace properly so called. Its exterior <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>displays
+the usual irregularity of Eastern dwellings; but its want of symmetry is
+more than compensated for by its wide galleries, its bright decorations,
+its pavilions so lightly fashioned that they seem scarcely attached to
+the body of the building, and by a profusion of large trees that shade
+it on all sides. These all invest it with a charm, that in my opinion
+greatly surpasses the systematic regularity of our princely abodes. The
+interior is an embodied page out of the Arabian Nights. The first hall
+we entered contains the celebrated Fountain of Tears, the theme of
+Pushkin's beautiful verses. It derives its melancholy name from the
+sweet sad murmur of its slender jets as they fall on the marble of the
+basin. The sombre and mysterious aspect of the hall, further augments
+the tendency of the spectator's mind to forget reality for the dreams of
+the imagination. The foot falls noiselessly on fine Egyptian mats; the
+walls are inscribed with sentences from the Koran, written in gold on a
+black ground in those odd-looking Turkish characters, that seem more the
+caprices of an idle fancy than vehicles of thought. From the hall we
+entered a large reception-room with a double row of windows of stained
+glass, representing all sorts of rural scenes. The ceiling and doors are
+richly gilded, and the workmanship of the latter is very fine. Broad
+divans covered with crimson velvet run all round the room. In the middle
+there is a fountain playing in a large porphyry basin. Every thing is
+magnificent in this room, except the whimsical manner in which the walls
+are painted. All that the most fertile imagination could conceive in the
+shape of isles, villages, harbours, fabulous castles, and so forth, is
+huddled together promiscuously on the walls, without any more regard for
+perspective than for geography. Nor is this all: there are niches over
+the doors in which are collected all sorts of children's toys, such as
+wooden houses a few inches high, fruit trees, models of ships, little
+figures of men twisted into a thousand contortions, &amp;c. These singular
+curiosities are arranged on receding shelves for the greater facility of
+inspection, and are carefully protected by glass cases. One of the last
+khans, we were assured, used to shut himself up in this room every day
+to admire these interesting objects. Such childishness, common among the
+Orientals, would lead us to form a very unfavourable opinion of their
+intelligence, if it was not redeemed by their instinctive love of
+beauty, and the poetic feeling which they possess in a high degree. For
+my part I heartily forgave the khans for having painted their walls so
+queerly, in consideration of the charming fountain that plashed on the
+marble, and the little garden filled with rare flowers adjoining the
+saloon.</p>
+
+<p>The hall of the divan is of royal magnificence; the mouldings of the
+ceiling, in particular, are of exquisite delicacy. We passed through
+other rooms adorned with fountains and glowing colours, but that which
+most interested us was the apartment of the beautiful Countess Potocki.
+It was her strange fortune to inspire with a violent passion one of the
+last khans of the Crimea, who carried <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>her off and made her absolute
+mistress of his palace, in which she lived ten years, her heart divided
+between her love for an infidel, and the remorse that brought her
+prematurely to the grave. The thought of her romantic fate gave a magic
+charm to every thing we beheld. The Russian officer who acted as our
+cicerone pointed out to us a cross carved on the chimney of the
+bed-room. The mystic symbol, placed above a crescent, eloquently
+interpreted the emotions of a life of love and grief. What tears, what
+inward struggles, and bitter recollections had it not witnessed!</p>
+
+<p>We passed through I know not how many gardens and inner yards,
+surrounded with high walls, to visit the various pavilions, kiosks, and
+buildings of all sorts comprised within the limits of the palace. The
+part occupied by the harem contains such a profusion of rose-trees and
+fountains as to merit the pleasing name of The Little Valley of Roses.
+Nothing can be more charming than this Tatar building, surrounded by
+blossoming trees. I felt a secret pleasure in pressing the divans on
+which had rested the fair forms of Mussulman beauties, as they breathed
+the fresh air from the fountains in voluptuous repose. No sound from
+without can reach this enchanted retreat, where nothing is heard but the
+rippling of the waters, and the song of the nightingales. We counted
+more than twenty fountains in the courts and gardens; they all derive
+their supply from the mountains, and the water is of extreme coolness.</p>
+
+<p>A tower of considerable height, with a terrace fronted with gratings
+that can be raised or lowered at pleasure, overlooks the principal
+court. It was erected to enable the khan's wives to witness, unseen, the
+martial exercises practised in the court. The prospect from the terrace
+is admirable; immediately below it you have a bird's-eye view of the
+labyrinth of buildings, gardens, and other enclosures. Further on the
+town of Bagtche Serai rises gradually on a sloping amphitheatre of
+hills. The sounds of the whole town, concentrated and reverberated
+within the narrow space, reach you distinctly. The panorama is
+peculiarly pleasing at the close of the day, when the voices of the
+muezzins, calling to prayer from the minarets, mingle with the bleating
+of the flocks returning from pasture, and the cries of the shepherds.</p>
+
+<p>After seeing the palace we repaired to the mosque and to the cemetery in
+which are the tombs of all the khans who have reigned in the Crimea.
+There as at Constantinople, I admired the wonderful art with which the
+Orientals disguise the gloomy idea of death under fresh and gladsome
+images. Who can yield to dismal thoughts as he breathes a perfumed air,
+listens to the waters of a sparkling fountain, and follows the little
+paths, edged with violets, that lead to lilac groves bending their
+flagrant blossoms over tombs adorned with rich carpets and gorgeous
+inscriptions?</p>
+
+<p>The Tatar who has charge of this smiling abode of death, prompted by the
+poetic feeling that is lodged in the bosom of every Oriental, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>brought
+me a nosegay plucked from the tomb of a Georgian, the beloved wife of
+the last khan. Was it not a touching thing to see this humble guardian
+of the cemetery comprehend instinctively that flowers, associated with
+the memory of a young woman, could not be indifferent to another of her
+sex and age?</p>
+
+<p>Some isolated pavilions contain the tombs of khans of most eminent
+renown. They are much more ornate than the others, and the care with
+which they are kept up testifies the pious veneration of the Tatars.
+Carpets, cashmeres, lamps burning continually, and inscriptions in
+letters of gold, combine to give grandeur to these monuments, which yet
+are intended to commemorate only names almost forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>Such is a brief sketch of this ancient abode of the khans, which was
+carefully repaired by the Emperor Alexander. He found it in such a state
+of disorder and neglect, that it was probable nothing would remain in a
+few years of a dwelling with which is associated almost the whole past
+history of the Crimea. But Alexander, whose temperament was so well
+adapted to appreciate the melancholy beauty of the spot, immediately on
+his return to St. Petersburg sent a very able man to Bagtche Serai, with
+orders to restore the palace to the state in which it had been in the
+time of the khans. Since then the imperial family has sometimes
+exchanged the dreary magnificence of the St. Petersburg palaces for the
+rosy bowers and sunny clime of the Tatar Serai.</p>
+
+<p>In speaking of this Tatar town, I must not forget to mention a man known
+throughout the Crimea for his eccentricity. It is about twelve years
+since a Dutchman of the name of Vanderschbrug, a retired civil engineer
+in the imperial service, arrived in the Tatar capital with the intention
+of settling there. His motive for this act of misanthropy has never been
+ascertained; all that is known is, that his resolution has remained
+unshaken. Since his installation among the Tatars, Major Vanderschbrug
+has never set his foot outside the town, though his family reside in
+Simpheropol. His retiring pension, amounting to some hundred rubles,
+allows him to lead a life, which to many persons would seem very
+uninviting, but which is not devoid of a certain charm. The complete
+independence he has secured for himself, makes up to him, in some sort,
+for the void he must feel in the loss of family affection. He lives like
+a philosopher in his little cottage, with his cow, his poultry, his
+pencils, some books, and an old housekeeper. He speaks the language of
+the Tatars like one of themselves, and his thorough knowledge of the
+country, and the originality of his mind render his conversation very
+agreeable. All over the country he is known only by the name of the
+hermit of Bagtche Serai. The Tatars hold him in great respect, often
+refer their disputes to his decision, and implicitly follow his advice.</p>
+
+<p>We breakfasted with him, and seeing him apparently so contented with his
+lot, we thought how little is sufficient to make a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span>man happy when his
+desires are limited. Major Vanderschbrug beguiles his solitude with
+reading and the arts, for which he has preserved a taste. He showed us
+some fine water-coloured drawings he had made, and an old volume of Jean
+Jacques Rousseau, which he has kept for many years as a precious
+treasure. To all the objections we raised against the strange exile to
+which he condemned himself, he replied that ennui had not yet invaded
+his humble dwelling.</p>
+
+<p>Before bidding farewell to Bagtche Serai, we went in company with our
+recluse to visit the Valley of Jehoshaphat and the famous mountain of
+Tchoufout Kaleh,<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> which has been for several centuries the exclusive
+property of certain Jews, known by the name of Kara&iuml;mes or Kara&iuml;tes.
+They are a sect who still adhere to the law of Moses, but who separated
+from the general body, as some writers suppose, several centuries before
+the Christian era. According to other authorities, the separation did
+not occur until <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 750. There is a marked difference between
+them and the other Jews. The simplicity of their manners, their probity
+and industry give them a strong claim to the traveller's respect.</p>
+
+<p>At six in the morning we mounted our little Tatar horses, and began to
+ascend the steep road that winds through a vast cemetery, covering the
+whole side of the mountain. The melancholy aspect of the tombs, covered
+with Hebrew inscriptions, accords with the desolation of the scene. Of
+the whole population, that during the lapse of ages have lived and died
+on this rock, nothing remains but tombs, and a dozen families that
+persist, from religious motives, in dwelling among ruins.</p>
+
+<p>In the time of the khans, the Kara&iuml;tes of Tchoufout Kaleh were stoutly
+confined to their rock, being only allowed to pass the business hours of
+the day in the Tatar capital, returning every evening to their mountain.
+When one of them arrived opposite the palace on horseback, he was bound
+to alight and proceed on foot until he was out of sight. But since the
+conquest by the Russians, the Kara&iuml;tes are free to reside in Bagtche
+Serai, and they have gradually left the mountain, with the exception, as
+I have stated, of a few families who regard it as a sacred duty to abide
+on the spot where their forefathers dwelt.</p>
+
+<p>Considering the almost inaccessible position of the town, its want of
+water, the sterility of the soil, and the loneliness of the inhabitants,
+we cannot fail to be struck by the thirst for freedom that made the
+Kara&iuml;tes of yore choose such a site, and the constancy of the families
+that still cling to it. Tchoufout Kaleh is built entirely on the bare
+rock, and the mountain is so steep that in the only place where it
+admits of access, it has been necessary to cut flights of steps several
+hundred feet long. As you ascend, huge masses of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span>overhanging rocks seem
+to threaten you with destruction, and when you enter the ruined town,
+the sepulchral silence and desolation of its dilapidated streets make a
+painful impression on the mind. No inhabitant comes forth to greet the
+stranger or direct him on his way. The only living beings we saw abroad
+were famished dogs that howled most dismally.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the interest we felt in this acropolis of the middle ages, we
+had a still stronger motive for our journey to Tchoufout Kaleh; namely,
+to see a poet who has resided from his youth upwards on that dreary
+rock. We had heard a great deal about it from M. Taitbout de Marigny and
+from Major Vanderschbrug; the first point, therefore, towards which we
+bent our steps was the rabbi's dwelling, built like an eagle's nest on
+the point of a rock. Being shown into a small room furnished with books
+and maps, we found ourselves in presence of a little old man with a long
+white beard who received us with the grave and easy dignity of the
+Orientals. His features were of the most purely Jewish cast. With the
+help of the major, who acted as our interpreter, we were enabled to
+carry on a long conversation, and to admire the varied knowledge
+possessed by a man so completely cut off from the world. Is it not
+wonderful that a person in such a position, and so totally deprived of
+all necessary appliances, should undertake the gigantic task of writing
+the history of the Kara&iuml;tes from the time of Moses to our days? Yet thus
+our rabbi has been employed for upward of twenty years, undismayed by
+the difficulties of all kinds that lie in his way. It was not a little
+moving to see a man of great intellect, vast erudition, and poetic
+imagination, wearing out on a desolate rock the remains of a life which
+would have been so fair and so productive if passed in more active
+scenes. He showed us several sacred poems in manuscript written in his
+youth. How much I regretted that I could not read the productions of
+such a poet.</p>
+
+<p>He lives like a patriarch surrounded by ten or a dozen children of all
+ages who enliven and embellish his solitude. Several little rooms
+communicating together by galleries form his dwelling. It is very
+humble, but the rabbi's remarkable physiognomy, and the Oriental costume
+of his wife and daughters, impart a charm even to so rude a tenement. He
+escorted us to the synagogue, a small building, long left to solitude.
+We saw, too, not without a lively interest, the grave of a khan's
+daughter, who, in the time of the Genoese rule, forsook the Koran for
+the law of the Christians, and died at the age of eighteen among those
+who had converted her. Like every thing else about it, it was in a state
+of neglect and decay.</p>
+
+<p>All the lower part of the mountain, and also a deep narrow valley
+stretching eastward of Tchoufout Kaleh are covered with tombs, to which
+circumstance the situation owes its name of Valley of Jehoshaphat.
+Opposite the Kara&iuml;te town is the celebrated convent of the Assumption,
+which is annually visited in the month of August by more than twenty
+thousand pilgrims. Its cells excavated in the rock <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>have a very curious
+appearance from a distance. Some wooden flights of stairs on the outside
+of the rock lead to the several stages of this singular convent
+inhabited only by a few monks.</p>
+
+<p>On our return to Bagtche Serai we noticed several crypts in the rock
+which are the haunt of a large number of Tsiganes. Nowhere does this
+vagrant people present a more disgusting aspect than in this locality.
+Their horrible infirmities, distorted limbs, and indescribable
+wretchedness make one almost doubt that they can belong to humanity.</p>
+
+<p>We proceeded the next day to Simpheropol where we were to pass some
+days.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> Tchoufout Kaleh, formerly called Kirkov, was for a long
+series of years the residence of the khans, until Mengle Gherai quitted
+it for Bagtche Serai, in 1475.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVI.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">SIMPHEROPOL&mdash;KAKOLEZ&mdash;VISIT TO PRINCESS ADEL BEY&mdash;EXCURSION
+TO MANGOUP KALEH.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Under the Tatars Simpheropol was the second town of the Crimea, and the
+residence of the Kalga Sultan, whose functions were nearly equivalent to
+those of vice-khan. He exercised the regency of the country on the death
+of the khan, until his successor was nominated by the Porte. The Kalga's
+court was composed of the same functionaries as that of Bagtche Serai,
+and his authority extended over all the regions north of the Crimea
+mountains. Simpheropol was then adorned with palaces, mosques, and fine
+gardens, few traces of which now remain. The tortuous streets, high
+walls, and rose thickets of the old city, have given place to the cold
+monotony of the Russian towns. It is the capital of the government of
+the Crimea, with a population of about 8000 souls, of whom 1700 are
+Russians, 5000 Tatars, 400 strangers, and 900 gipsies. Its plan is large
+enough to comprise ten times as many houses as it possesses; but, at
+least, it retains its Salghir, the banks of which are covered with the
+finest orchards in the Crimea. But instead of building the new town in
+the valley, it has been set at the top of a great plateau where its few
+houses and its disproportionately wide streets present no kind of
+character. It is with extreme pleasure, therefore, that after wandering
+through the streets in which the sun's rays beat down without any thing
+to break their force, one finds himself under the cool verdant shades
+that fringe the Salghir, with the pretty country houses that peep out
+from the orchards.</p>
+
+<p>We made many excursions in the vicinity, and were above all pleased with
+the beautiful landscapes in the valley of the Alma. In a ride on
+horseback to visit some rocks of an interesting geological character, we
+crossed the river eighteen times in the space of three <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span>hours: this may
+afford an idea of the multitude of meanders it makes before continuing
+its course to the Black Sea.</p>
+
+<p>Bagtche Serai being on the road to Karolez, we could not resist the
+pleasure of once more seeing its delightful palace. We passed the
+evening in one of the large galleries, admiring the magic appearance of
+the buildings and gardens by moonlight. The deep stillness of the place;
+the mysterious aspect of the principal edifice, one part of which was
+completely in the shade, whilst the other, with its coloured windows and
+its open balconies, received the full rays of the moon; the masses of
+foliage in the gardens, and the melancholy sounds of the fountain; all
+this accompanied by the imaginative relations of our eccentric friend,
+the major, made an indelible impression on our minds.</p>
+
+<p>At Bagtche Serai we finally exchanged the pereclatnoi for Tatar horses,
+the serviceable qualities of which had commended themselves to us in
+many trials. Our cavalcade made a grotesque appearance as we rode out of
+the palace. For my own part I looked oddly enough, perched on an
+enormously high Tatar saddle in my Caspian costume, with my parasol in
+my hand. Hommaire wore with Oriental gravity the Persian cap, the girdle
+and the weapons, to which he had become accustomed in his long
+wanderings. But the queerest figure of all was our dragoman.
+Half-a-dozen leather bags containing provisions dangled at his horse's
+flanks; my poor straw bonnet, which I had been obliged to abandon for a
+round hat, hung at the pummel of his saddle, and in addition to all this
+accoutrement he carried in his hand a large white canvass umbrella to
+screen him from the sun. Two Tatar horsemen followed us, carrying
+likewise their contingent of baggage.</p>
+
+<p>After some hours' riding through a lovely country, intersected with
+streams, valleys, and numerous orchards, we arrived in the evening at
+Karolez, a Tatar village, lost among mountains, in the valley of the
+same name, which is one of the most delightful spots in the beautiful
+Crimea, so rich in picturesque scenes.</p>
+
+<p>Though it does not belong to the southern coast, and consequently has no
+maritime traffic, Karolez, nevertheless, possesses a romantic
+attraction, which every year brings to it numerous visitors. This is
+owing to its vicinity to Mangoup Kaleh, the abundance of its waters, the
+mountains that encompass the valley with a line of battlemented walls,
+as if Nature had been pleased in a sportive mood to imitate art, whilst
+yet retaining her own more majestic proportions; and, lastly, the merit
+of belonging to the Princess Adel Bey, whose beauty, though invisible
+has inspired many a poet.</p>
+
+<p>I had taken care before leaving Simpheropol to furnish myself with a
+letter from the governor to the princess, in order to obtain an
+interview which might enable me to judge whether the beauty of this
+Tatar lady and her daughters was as great as fame reported. The question
+had been often agitated since our arrival in the Crimea; it may,
+therefore, be imagined how desirous I was to resolve it. But in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>spite
+of my letter of introduction, my admission to the palace was still very
+problematical. Many Russian ladies had tried in vain to enter it; for
+the princess, while exercising the noblest hospitality, was seldom
+disposed to satisfy the curiosity of her guests. Though the law of
+Mahomet respecting the seclusion of women is less rigidly observed among
+the Tatars of the Crimea than among the Turks of Constantinople, rich
+ladies do not often pass the threshold of their own dwellings, and when
+they do they are always closely veiled.</p>
+
+<p>One of my friends from Simpheropol, who had proceeded the day before to
+the princess's, having giving notice of our coming, we were received in
+the most brilliant style. The guest house was prepared with the
+ostentation which the Orientals are fond of displaying on all occasions.
+A double line of servants of all ages was drawn up in the vestibule when
+we dismounted; and one of the oldest and most richly dressed ushered us
+into a saloon arranged in the fashion of the East, with gaily painted
+walls and red silk divans that reminded us of the delightful rooms in
+the palace of the khans. The princess's son, an engaging boy of twelve
+years of age, who spoke Russian very well, attached himself to us,
+obligingly translated our orders to the domestics, and took care that we
+wanted for nothing. I gave him my letter, which he immediately carried
+to his mother, and soon afterwards he came and told me, to my great
+satisfaction, that she would receive me when she had finished her
+toilette. In the eagerness of my curiosity I now counted every minute,
+until an officer, followed by an old woman in a veil, came to introduce
+me into the mysterious palace of which I had as yet seen only the lofty
+outer wall.</p>
+
+<p>My husband, as arranged between us beforehand, attempted to follow us,
+and seeing that no impediment was offered, he stepped without ceremony
+through the little door into the park, crossed the latter, boldly
+ascended a terrace adjoining the palace, and, at last, found himself,
+not without extreme surprise at his good fortune, in a little room that
+seemed to belong to the princess's private apartments. Until then no
+male stranger except Count Voronzof had ever entered the palace; the
+flattering and unexpected exception which the princess made in favour of
+my husband, might, therefore, lead us to hope that her complaisance
+would not stop there. But we were soon undeceived. The officer who had
+ushered us into the palace, after having treated us to iced water,
+sweetmeats and pipes, took my husband by the hand, and led him out of
+the room with very significant celerity. He had no sooner disappeared
+than a curtain was raised at the end of the room, and a woman of
+striking beauty entered, dressed in a rich costume. She advanced to me
+with an air of remarkable dignity, took both my hands, kissed me on the
+two cheeks, and sat down beside me, making me many demonstrations of
+friendship. She wore a great deal of rouge; her eyelids were painted
+black and met over the nose, giving her countenance a certain sternness,
+that, nevertheless, did not destroy its pleasing effect. A furred velvet
+vest fitted tight to her still elegant figure. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span>Altogether her
+appearance surpassed what I had conceived of her beauty. We spent a
+quarter of an hour closely examining each other, and interchanging as
+well as we could a few Russian words that very insufficiently conveyed
+our thoughts. But in such cases, looks supply the deficiencies of
+speech, and mine must have told the princess with what admiration I
+beheld her. Hers, I must confess, in all humility, seemed to express
+much more surprise than admiration at my travelling costume. What would
+I not have given to know the result of her purely feminine analysis of
+my appearance! I was even crossed in this <i>t&ecirc;te-&agrave;-t&ecirc;te</i> by a serious
+scruple of conscience for having presented myself before her in male
+attire, which must have given her a strange notion of the fashions of
+Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding my desire to prolong my visit in hopes of seeing her
+daughters, the fear of appearing intrusive prompted me to take my leave;
+but checking me with a very graceful gesture, she said eagerly "<i>Pastoy,
+Pastoy</i>" (stay, stay), and clapped her hands several times. A young girl
+entered at the signal, and by her mistress's orders threw open a folding
+door, and immediately I was struck dumb with surprise and admiration by
+a most brilliant apparition. Imagine, reader, the most exquisite
+sultanas of whom poetry and painting have ever tried to convey an idea,
+and still your conception will fall far short of the enchanting models I
+had then before me. There were three of them, all equally beautiful and
+graceful. Two were clad in tunics of crimson brocade, adorned in front
+with broad gold lace. The tunics were open and disclosed beneath them
+cashmere robes, with very tight sleeves terminating in gold fringes. The
+youngest wore a tunic of azure blue brocade, with silver ornaments: this
+was the only difference between her dress and that of her sisters. All
+three had magnificent black hair escaping in countless tresses from a
+fez of silver filigree, set like a diadem over their ivory foreheads;
+they wore gold embroidered slippers and wide trousers drawn close at the
+ankle.</p>
+
+<p>I had never beheld skins so dazzlingly fair, eyelashes so long, or so
+delicate a bloom of youth. The calm repose that sat on the countenances
+of these lovely creatures, had never been disturbed by any profane
+glance. No look but their mother's had ever told them they were
+beautiful; and this thought gave them an inexpressible charm in my eyes.
+It is not in our Europe, where women, exposed to the gaze of crowds, so
+soon addict themselves to coquetry, that the imagination could conceive
+such a type of beauty. The features of our young girls are too soon
+altered by the vivacity of their impressions, to allow the eye of the
+artist to discover in them that divine charm of purity and ignorance
+with which I was so struck in beholding my Tatar princesses. After
+embracing me they retired to the end of the room where they remained
+standing in those graceful Oriental attitudes which no woman in Europe
+could imitate. A dozen attendants muffled in white muslin, were gathered
+round the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span>door, gazing with respectful curiosity. Their profiles, shown
+in relief on a dark ground, added to the picturesque character of the
+scene. This delightful vision lasted an hour. When the princess saw that
+I was decided on going away, she signified to me by signs that I should
+go and see the garden; but though grateful to her for this further mark
+of attention, I preferred immediately rejoining my husband, being
+impatient to relate to him all the details of this interview, with which
+I was completely dazzled.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning we set out on horseback for Mangoup Kaleh, a mountain
+renowned throughout the country, and of which the inhabitants never
+speak but with veneration. Goths, Turks, and Tatars have been by turns
+its possessors. Owing to its almost impregnable position, it has played
+an important part in all the revolutions of the Crimea. The town of
+Mangoup, which appears to have been the residence of the Gothic princes,
+was formerly a very considerable place. It had a bishop in 754. The
+Turks took it and put a garrison in it in 1745. Twenty years afterwards
+it was entirely burnt down. The khans of the Crimea next took possession
+of it, and let it gradually fall into decay. At the close of the last
+century, the population of this ancient town still consisted of some
+Kara&iuml;te families; at present there remains no other trace of their
+existence than the tombs spread over the mountain side.</p>
+
+<p>For three hours we ascended the mountain by scarcely marked bridle
+roads, astonished at the confidence with which our horses walked up
+those steep slopes where there seemed hardly any hold for their feet.
+But the horses of the Crimea are wonderfully surefooted, and if they can
+set down their feet anywhere, it is alike to them whether it is on a
+smooth plain or on the verge of a precipice. Here, as at Tchoufout
+Kaleh, the mountain was covered with tombs; but these bore inscriptions
+in Tatar as well as Hebrew, showing that this deserted soil had formerly
+been trodden by more than one people. The ascent ended at a broad
+triangular plateau on the summit of the mountain, where the town once
+stood. It is now a barren spot, strewed all over with ruins. Two sides
+of the plateau are perpendicular; the third was defended by a fortress,
+part of which is still standing.</p>
+
+<p>Every thing on this mountain wears a grand and melancholy character.
+Desolation has long taken it for its domain. Nothing meets the eye but
+ruins, tombs, and a naked soil. And yet, notwithstanding the stern
+aspect of the place, it does not fill the soul with the same feelings of
+painful awe as Tchoufout Kaleh. This is because the ancient town of the
+Kara&iuml;tes, all mutilated as it is by time and events, still retains a
+semblance of existence, and this alliance between life and death
+necessarily impresses the mind with a superstitious dread. At Mangoup
+Kaleh all human traces have been too long effaced to awaken painful
+thoughts. There one thinks not so much of men as of remote epochs, of
+the great events and numerous revolutions of which this rock has been
+the theatre.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span>The fa&ccedil;ade of the fortress has withstood the slow attacks of time,
+though full of cracks, and the lofty walls appear still from a distance
+to protect Mangoup Kaleh. Herds of Tatar horses graze in complete
+freedom on the plateau, and drink from a large reservoir supplied by a
+spring that never fails in any season. As we were exploring the interior
+of what must have been the citadel, we came upon a clump of lilacs in
+full bloom among the ruins. I cannot tell the impression made on me by
+those flowers thus unfolding their sweets under the dew of Heaven far
+from every human eye. Besides the fortress we found another edifice
+partly spared by time. Its construction and the graves about it showed
+it to be an old Christian church. The chancel was in tolerably good
+preservation, and even the windows had not suffered much dilapidation.</p>
+
+<p>The view from Mangoup Kaleh is very extensive and varied. On the one
+side is the sea with its islands and capes, its vessels, and Sevastopol,
+which can be distinctly perceived in clear weather. To the west,
+magnificent orchards, vine-clad hills, and broad meadows, intersected
+with streams, stretch away as far as the eye can reach in the direction
+of Simpheropol; then, at the foot of the mountain, the valley of
+Karolez, its forests, its rocky girdle, its Tatar village, and the
+palace of the princess Adel Bey, disclosing its Moorish architecture
+from behind a screen of poplars.</p>
+
+<p>At the earnest recommendation of our guides, I ventured to explore some
+grottoes hollowed in the rock, the descent to which is rather difficult
+and dangerous. There are about a dozen of them opening one into the
+other, and separated only by shapeless pillars. The Tatars could give us
+no sort of explanation as to these subterraneous chambers. They seem
+like those of Inkermann to belong to very remote antiquity, but their
+origin and history are quite unknown.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">ROAD TO BAIDAR&mdash;THE SOUTHERN COAST; GRAND SCENERY&mdash;MISKHOR
+AND ALOUPKA&mdash;PREDILECTION OF THE GREAT RUSSIAN NOBLES FOR
+THE CRIMEA.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+
+<p>The country we passed over, next day, on our way to the southern coast,
+had a wild sylvan appearance strikingly in contrast with what we had
+hitherto seen. Between the valley of Karolez and that of Baidar near the
+coast, lies a chain of mountains with deep gorges filled with forests.
+Sometimes the road passed along the bottom of one of these gorges, where
+we were constantly obstructed by watercourses and thickets; sometimes we
+pursued a track barely discernible along the flank of the mountain, and
+then the summits of the hills that had seemed so high when we looked up
+to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span>them from below, were hidden beneath us in dense vapours. At last,
+by dint of ascending and descending, we reached the wide plain of
+Baidar, with the village in its centre. Early next morning we were again
+on horseback, and breathing with delight the wild odours exhaled by the
+still dewy forest.</p>
+
+<p>Our road ascended gently to the culminating point of the mountain, and
+then we stood rooted for a while to the spot in admiration of the
+magnificent sea view that burst upon us. But our thoughts were suddenly
+called off in another direction by the music of a military band, and
+looking down we were surprised to see several groups of soldiers posted
+some hundred feet below the point where we stood. It was a whole
+regiment employed in making a new road between Sevastopol and Ialta.
+Some were blowing up rocks, and filling the air with something like the
+din and smoke of battle; others were busy round a great fire preparing
+the morning meal; the musicians were waking the mountain echoes with
+their martial strains, and the officers were lounging in front of a tent
+smoking their pipes.</p>
+
+<p>When we had sufficiently indulged our admiration of the scene, we turned
+with some dismay to contemplate the descent before us. The mountain
+which we had found so gently sloping on the western side, here fell so
+precipitously that I could not imagine how our horses were to make their
+way down. For my part I thought it safest to alight and lead my horse.
+The band of the regiment, as if they had guessed we were French, saluted
+us with the overture of the <i>Fianc&eacute;e</i>. After we had already reached the
+seaside, we still heard that charming music, weakened by distance, but
+kindling our recollections of home in the most unexpected manner.</p>
+
+<p>We spent some days at Moukhalatka, the residence of Colonel Olive, a
+Frenchman, formerly page to Louis XVIII., who entered the service of the
+Grand-duke Constantine shortly after the return of the Bourbons to
+France. Beyond Moukhalatka our way lay over mountains, the scenery of
+which partly compensated for the incessant toil of climbing up broken
+rocks, and passing through glens where we could only advance in single
+file. But with the exception of these difficulties, the whole journey to
+Aloupka was a continual enchantment. Talk of the isles of the
+Archipelago with their naked rocks! Here a luxuriant vegetation descends
+to the water's edge, and the coast everywhere presents an amphitheatre
+of forests, gardens, villages, and country houses, over which the eye
+wanders with delight. The almond, the cythesus, the wild chestnut, the
+Judas-tree, the olive, and the cypress, and all the vegetation of a
+southern clime, thrives there with a vigour that attests the potency of
+the sun. On our left we had gigantic masses towering vertically, sombre
+tints, and an inconceivable chaos of rocky fragments; on our right a
+brilliant mosaic bordered by the sea. But the beauty of the scenery
+about Aloupka is even still more striking. The eye takes in at once the
+majestic Tchatir Dagh, Cape A&iuml;todor, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>with its lighthouse, the Aiou
+Dagh, the brow of which, by a curious freak of nature, seems crowned
+with bastions and half-ruined towers, the Ai Petri, and the Megabi, with
+its gilded dome surmounted by a cross which was erected by the
+celebrated Princess Gallitzin, whose memory is still fresh in the
+Crimea. All these objects are clothed in a rich and varied garb of light
+such as belongs only to the warm atmosphere of southern lands.</p>
+
+<p>Aristocracy has set its seal on this favoured portion of the coast. The
+change in the appearance of the roads indicates the neighbourhood of
+wealthy landowners. They have been made expressly for the dashing
+four-horse equipages that are continually traversing it. We observed
+that the limits of each estate were marked by a post bearing the
+blazonry of the proprietor.</p>
+
+<p>We were most agreeably surprised in the neighbourhood of Aloupka, where
+we fell in on the road with our friend M. Marigny. In consequence of
+this welcome encounter we put off our visit to Aloupka to the next day,
+and proceeded with the consul to Mishkor, the estate of General
+Narishkin, adjoining that of Count Voronzof.</p>
+
+<p>We were greatly pleased with this fine property, on the maintenance of
+which the general annually expends 100,000 francs. It comprises forests,
+a park, a ch&acirc;teau, a church, and a great number of ornamental buildings,
+that bespeak the exquisite taste of the proprietor. Mishkor has this
+great advantage, that its costly artificial arrangements are so well
+disguised under an appearance of rural simplicity, that one is almost
+tempted to attribute its perfections to the hand of nature.</p>
+
+<p>The reverse is the case at Aloupka where art reigns supreme. This almost
+royal residence, which has excited the envy even of the Emperor
+Nicholas, has already cost Count Voronzof between 4,000,000 and
+5,000,000 of francs, although it is not yet finished. All epochs and all
+styles are represented in its architecture and embellishments. Its lofty
+walls, its massive square tower and belfry, its vaulted passages and the
+mysterious aspect of its long galleries, give it a considerable
+resemblance to a feudal manor; but the Oriental style is exhibited in
+its small columns, its chimneys, and its profusion of pinnacles and
+domes. To justify the construction of such a porphyry ch&acirc;teau, the count
+should have been able to retrograde some centuries: in our own times
+such a dwelling is an anachronism. What is the use of such walls when
+there is no fear of being attacked by a neighbour? What is the use of
+those vaulted passages without men-at-arms to fill them? An old castle
+speaks to the imagination, recalling the chronicles, the fortunes and
+events connected with it, but a modern construction like this is a thing
+of no meaning. Its towers, battlements, and threatening walls seem a
+parody on the past. What have they seen? of what combats, feuds, loves,
+and revenges have they been witnesses?</p>
+
+<p>In addition to this total want of fitness of character, the ch&acirc;teau has
+besides the grievous defect of being very disadvantageously <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>situated.
+The coast is so narrow at this spot that there are but a few paces'
+breadth between the fa&ccedil;ade of the building and the sea, so that, in
+order to have a fair view of the whole, one must take a boat and put out
+from the shore until the proper point of view is found. Now it is not
+every one who will be disposed to take this trouble solely for the
+purpose of appreciating the effect of a fa&ccedil;ade.</p>
+
+<p>The park displays a charming labyrinth of broken rocks, and a variety of
+natural picturesque and extraordinary features. Art has had nothing to
+do but to make paths and alleys between the accumulated volcanic masses,
+and to adorn the sides of the cascades with flowers. In the hollow of a
+rock there is a deep grotto with a little babbling spring, inviting to
+repose and meditation. At the eastern end of the ch&acirc;teau there is a
+lofty cypress wood, which the countess calls her Scutari.</p>
+
+<p>The general aspect of this magnificent abode is too grave to delight the
+eye; we admire but do not covet it. The gigantic shadow of the Ai Petri,
+which hangs like a veil over the whole domain, adds still more to its
+sternness.</p>
+
+<p>The reputation of the southern coast dates only from the arrival of
+Count Voronzof in the Crimea, previously to which no one thought of
+residing on it, except some speculators who were beginning to try the
+cultivation of the vine there. The count, who is a man of much taste,
+was at once struck with the beauty of the country, and soon became the
+purchaser of several estates in it. His example was followed by numbers
+of wealthy nobles whose eyes were immediately opened to the charms of
+the landscapes when once the count had proclaimed their attractions.
+Numerous villas were erected in the course of a few years along all the
+coast from Balaclava to Theodosia. A fleet of steamers was established,
+with the port of Ialta for their head quarters. The imperial family
+itself gave into the fashion and purchased Oreanda, one of the most
+beautiful sites on the coast; and many foreigners, infected by the
+prevailing fever, turned all they had into money and settled in the
+Crimea to cultivate the vine, a pursuit which Count Voronzof was then
+encouraging to the utmost of his power. But this was the reverse of the
+medal; most of them were ruined, and are now expiating in extreme
+poverty the cupidity with which they plunged into foolish enterprises.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout its whole extent the coast presents only a narrow strip,
+seldom half a league wide, traversed by deep ravines, and backed by a
+range of calcareous cliffs that shelter it from the north wind. It is
+only on this <i>detritus</i> that the handsomest domains are situated. Among
+these are Koutchouk Lampat, belonging to General Borosdine; Parthenit,
+where is still to be seen the great hazel under which the Prince de
+Ligne wrote to Catherine II.; Kisil Tasch, the proprietor of which bears
+a name famous in France, that of Poniatowski; Oudsouf, lying close under
+the forest shades of Aiou Dagh; Arteck the estate of Prince Andrew
+Gallitzin; Ai <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span>Daniel, the property of the late Duc de Richelieu;
+Marsanda; Oreanda, an imperial domain; Mishkor and Nikita; Gaspra where
+Madame de Krudener died in the arms of her daughter, Baroness Berckheim;
+and Koreis where Princess Gallitzin, exiled from court, ended her days.</p>
+
+<p>All these properties, adjoining each other, are, in the fine season, the
+rendezvous of a numerous society eagerly intent on pleasure. Aloupka is
+the great centre of amusement. Foreigners of distinction who are for the
+moment at Odessa, are <i>ex officio</i> the guests of Count Voronzof; but
+many of them have on their return complained of paying somewhat too
+dearly for the governor-general's hospitality. As the ch&acirc;teau,
+notwithstanding its imposing appearance, can contain only a small number
+of the select, the majority are compelled to find a lodging at the inn
+of the Two Cypresses near Aloupka, the landlord of which, by way of
+doing honour to his noble patron, practises unsparing extortion on all
+who have need of his apartments.</p>
+
+<p>On our way to Ialta, about a dozen versts from Mishkor we visited the
+country houses best worth seeing, particularly Gaspra, which interested
+us for Madame de Krudener's sake. Perhaps the reader will not be
+unwilling to peruse the details I collected respecting the motives that
+induced that celebrated woman to settle in the peninsula, and which
+connected her name with that of two other women equally remarkable for
+their strange fortunes.</p>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVIII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="cen">THREE CELEBRATED WOMEN.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Every one is aware of the mystic influence which Madame de Krudener
+exercised for many years over the enthusiastic temperament of the
+Emperor Alexander. This lady who has so charmingly portrayed her own
+character in <i>Val&eacute;rie</i>, who was pre-eminently distinguished in the
+aristocratic <i>salons</i> of Paris by her beauty, her talents, and her
+position as an ambassadress, who was by turns a woman of the world, a
+heroine of romance, a remarkable writer, and a prophetess, will not soon
+be forgotten in France. The lovers of mystic poetry will read <i>Val&eacute;rie</i>,
+that charming work, the appearance of which made so much noise,
+notwithstanding the bulletins of the grand army (for it appeared in the
+most brilliant period of the empire); those who delight in grace,
+combined with beauty and mental endowments, will recall to mind that
+young woman who won for herself so distinguished a place in French
+society; and those whose glowing imaginations love to dwell on exalted
+sentiments and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>religious fervour, united to the most lively faith,
+cannot refuse their admiration to her who asked of the mighty of the
+earth only the means of freely exercising charity, that evangelical
+virtue, of which she was always one of the most ardent apostles.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Lettres de Mademoiselle Cochelet</i> make known to us with what zeal
+Madame de Krudener applied herself to seeking out and comforting the
+afflicted. Her extreme goodness of heart was such that she was called,
+in St. Petersburg, the Mother of the Poor. All the sums she received
+from the emperor were immediately distributed to the wretched, and her
+own fortune was applied in the same way, so that her house was besieged
+from morning till night by mujiks and mothers of families, to whom she
+gave food both for soul and body.</p>
+
+<p>With so much will and power to do good, Madame de Krudener by and by
+acquired so great an influence in St. Petersburg, that the government at
+last became alarmed. She was accused of entertaining tendencies of too
+liberal a cast, religious notions of no orthodox kind, extreme ambition
+cloaked under the guise of charity, and therewith too much compassion
+for those miserable mujiks of whom she was the unfailing friend. But the
+chief cause of the displeasure of the court was the baroness's connexion
+with two other ladies, whose religious sentiments were by all means
+exceedingly questionable. They were the Princess Gallitzin and Countess
+Guacher (we will give the real name of the latter by and by).</p>
+
+<p>The publicity which these ladies affected in all their acts could not
+but be injurious to the meek Christian enterprise of Madame de Krudener.
+The princess was detested at court. Too superior to disguise her
+opinions, and renowned for her beauty, her caustic wit, and her
+philosophic notions, she had excited against her a host of enemies, who
+were sure to take the first opportunity of injuring her with the
+emperor. As for the Countess Guacher, the chief heroine of our tale, her
+rather equivocal position at the court furnished a weapon against her,
+when suddenly issuing from the extreme retirement in which she had
+previously lived, she became one of Madame de Krudener's most
+enthusiastic adepts. But before we proceed further it will be necessary
+to give a brief account of her arrival in Russia.</p>
+
+<p>Two years before the period I am speaking of, a lady of high rank
+arrived in St. Petersburg, accompanied by a numerous retinue, and giving
+herself out for one of the victims of the French revolution. In that
+quality she was received with alacrity in the society of the capital,
+and the Emperor Alexander himself was one of the foremost to notice her.
+It appeared that she came last from England, where she had taken shelter
+during the revolutionary troubles; but the motive which had induced her,
+after so long a residence among the English, to quit their country for
+Russia, remained an impenetrable secret. She always evinced an extreme
+repugnance to meet the French emigrants, who resided in St. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span>Petersburg,
+and they on their part declared that the name she bore was entirely
+unknown to them. It soon began to be whispered about, that the lady was,
+perhaps, a personage of illustrious birth who desired to be <i>incognita</i>;
+but what her real name was no one could tell, not even the emperor. The
+wit of the courtiers was baffled by the lofty reserve of the countess,
+who always affected a total silence whenever France was mentioned in
+conversation. Alexander, always prompt to declare himself a champion of
+dames, respected the fair stranger's <i>incognito</i> with chivalric loyalty,
+and declared that any attempt to penetrate the mystery would exceedingly
+displease him. This was enough to cool the fever of curiosity that had
+infected the courtiers since Madame Guacher's first appearance; her name
+was thenceforth mentioned only with a circumspection that would have
+seemed very curious to any one unacquainted with the Russians, and she
+soon became a stranger to the court, where she appeared only on rare
+occasions.</p>
+
+<p>The emperor alone, stimulated no doubt by the mystery she observed
+respecting her past history, and struck by her high-bred demeanour, kept
+up an intercourse with her to which he seemed to attach much value.
+There was nothing of ordinary gallantry in this, at least there never
+was any thing to indicate that their intimacy had led to so commonplace
+a result. The romantic spirit of Alexander, delighted to build all sorts
+of hypotheses on a person whose noble presence and lofty airs exercised
+a peculiar prestige upon his imagination.</p>
+
+<p>When the Princess Gallitzin returned to St. Petersburg after a journey
+to Italy, the emperor, who sincerely admired her, took upon himself to
+make two ladies acquainted whom he thought so fitted to appreciate each
+other. As he had foreseen, a close intimacy grew up between them, but to
+the great mortification of the court, this intimacy was, through Madame
+de Krudener's influence, the basis of an association which aimed at
+nothing less than the conversion of the whole earth to the holy law of
+Christ.</p>
+
+<p>At first the scheme was met with derision, then alarm was felt, and at
+last, by dint of intrigues, the emperor, whom these ladies had half made
+a proselyte, was forced to banish them from court, and confine them for
+the rest of their days to the territory of the Crimea. It is said that
+this decision, so contrary to the kind nature of Alexander, was
+occasioned by an article in an English newspaper, in which the female
+trio and his imperial majesty were made the subjects of most biting
+sarcasms. Enraged at being accused of being held in leading strings by
+three half-crazed women, the emperor signed the warrant for their exile
+to the great joy of the envious courtiers. The victims beheld in the
+event only the manifestation of the divine will, that they should
+propagate the faith among the followers of Mahomet. In a spirit of
+Christian humility they declined receiving any other escort than that of
+a non-commissioned officer, whose duty should be only to see to their
+personal <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span>safety, and transmit their orders to the persons employed in
+the journey. Their departure produced a great sensation in St.
+Petersburg; and every one was eager to see the distinguished ladies in
+their monastic costume. The court laughed, but the populace, always
+sensitive where religion is concerned, and who, besides, were losing a
+most generous protectress in Madame de Krudener, accompanied the
+pilgrims with great demonstrations of respect and sorrow to the banks of
+the Neva, where they embarked on the 6th of September, 1822.</p>
+
+<p>Two months after that date, on a cold November morning, when the Sea of
+Azof was already beginning to be covered near shore with a thin coat of
+ice, there arrived in Taganrok one of those large boats called lodkas,
+which ply on all the navigable rivers of the empire, and are used for
+the transport of goods. This one seemed to have been fitted up for the
+temporary accommodation of passengers. The practised eyes of the sailors
+in the port soon noticed the peculiar arrangement of the deck, the care
+with which the bales of merchandise were ranged along the gangways, and
+above all, the great carpet that covered the whole quarter-deck. These
+circumstances excited much curiosity in the port, especially as at that
+advanced season arrivals were very rare; but conjecture was exerted in
+vain, as to who might be the mysterious passengers, for the whole day
+passed without one of them appearing. It was ascertained, indeed, that a
+non-commissioned officer landed from the lodka, and waited on the
+police-master and the English consul, and that those functionaries
+repaired on board the lodka; but that was all, and the public remained
+for ever in ignorance whence the lodka came, whither it was bound, and
+who were the persons on board of it.</p>
+
+<p>The same evening the English consul was waiting with some curiosity for
+the visit of a foreigner, who, as he had been informed by the
+non-commissioned officer of the lodka, would call on him at eight
+o'clock; but her name and her business remained a mystery for him. At
+the appointed time the door opened, and a person entered whose
+appearance at first sight did not seem to justify the curiosity which
+the consul had felt about her. Dressed in a long, loose, grey robe, and
+a white hood with lappets falling on the bosom, she had all the
+appearance of those Russian nuns who go about to rich houses and beg for
+their convents. Taking her for one of these persons, Mr. Y&mdash;&mdash; was about
+to give her a very expeditious answer, when to his surprise she accosted
+him in excellent English. The appearance and manners of the visitor soon
+convinced him she was a person of superior station. The conversation
+turned at first on England. The unknown told him that having long
+resided in that country, she had felt desirous of seeing its
+representative in Taganrok; she then went on to discuss English society,
+mentioning the most aristocratic names, and talking in such a manner as
+to show that she must have been long familiar with the London world of
+fashion. After this she proceeded to the main object of her visit, which
+was to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span>procure from the consul a podoroshni, to continue her journey by
+land instead of by water as before.</p>
+
+<p>All this while the consul was scrutinising his strange visitor with
+increasing astonishment. She appeared to be about fifty years of age;
+her features, which were still very well preserved, must have been once
+very handsome. She had a Bourbon countenance, large blue eyes, grave
+lineaments, and a somewhat haughty ease in her demeanour, that
+altogether produced a singularly imposing effect. The conversation
+gradually becoming more familiar, the lady confessed that having been
+converted by the Baroness de Krudener and the Princess Gallitzin, she
+had been exiled with those ladies to the Crimea, where she purposed to
+preach the faith.</p>
+
+<p>This unexpected communication of course increased the surprise of Mr.
+Y&mdash;&mdash;, and drew from him some observations on the nature of such a
+project. After lauding the zeal of the fair missionary, he hinted a
+doubt that she would find many proselytes among the Mahometans, and
+asked her had she no family or friends who had a more direct claim on
+her charity than strangers, who were too barbarous to appreciate her
+motives. This question produced an extraordinary effect on the lady. She
+grew pale and confused, and muttered indistinctly that all her earthly
+ties were broken, and that the wrath of Heaven had long rested on her
+head! A silence of some minutes followed that avowal. The consul
+remained with his eyes fixed on the strange being before him, and in
+spite of all his address and knowledge of the world, he was quite at a
+loss how to behave or how to renew the conversation. His visitor,
+however, relieved him by taking her leave, after repeating her request
+that he would supply her with a podoroshni on the following morning.</p>
+
+<p>It may easily be imagined that Mr. Y&mdash;&mdash; did not wait until the next day
+to satisfy his curiosity respecting the ladies whose invincible spirit
+of proselytism had sent them from the banks of the Neva to the shores of
+the Black Sea, and soon after the departure of his visitor he was on his
+way to the port. He had no difficulty in finding the lodka; the deck was
+deserted, but a light shone through one of the skylights. Looking down
+he saw three phantom-like females standing at a table covered with
+papers, and reading out of large books. When their prayers were ended
+they began to chant hymns in a slow measure. The solemn religious
+harmony, suddenly breaking the deep silence, made so intense an
+impression on the consul, that twenty years afterwards he still spoke of
+it with enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>Countess Guacher stood with her back towards him, but he had a full view
+of the faces of the two other ladies. Madame de Krudener was small,
+delicate, and fair haired; her inspired looks and the gentleness of her
+countenance bespoke her boundless beneficence of soul. The Princess
+Gallitzin, on the contrary, had an imposing countenance, the expression
+of which presented a strange mixture of shrewdness, asceticism,
+sternness, and raillery. For a long while the pilgrims continued
+chanting Sclavonic psalms, the mysterious <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span>impart of which accorded with
+the enthusiastic disposition of their souls. Before they had ended, the
+sound of footsteps on the deck woke Mr. Y&mdash;&mdash; from his trance of wonder.
+The new comer was the non-commissioned officer, and Mr. Y&mdash;&mdash; desired
+the man to announce him, although he hardly expected to be admitted at
+so late an hour. His visit was nevertheless accepted, and the ladies
+received him with as much ease as if they had been doing the honours of
+a drawing-room.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of their religious enthusiasm, and the apostolic vocation which
+they attributed to themselves, it may easily be imagined that these
+three high-bred ladies, accustomed to all the refinements of luxury,
+should now and then have had their tempers a little ruffled by the
+hardships of their journey, and that their mutual harmony should have
+suffered somewhat in consequence. Their wish, therefore, to separate on
+their arrival at Taganrok was natural enough. Countess Guacher
+especially, having made less progress than her companions in the path of
+perfection, had often revolted against the austere habits imposed on
+her; but these ebullitions of carnal temper were always brief and
+transient; and on the day after her visit to the consul, when he
+returned to the port to announce that the podoroshni was ready, the boat
+and its passengers had disappeared, and no one could give any
+information about them.</p>
+<br />
+
+<p class="cen">II.</p>
+
+<p>The apparition of these ladies in the Crimea threw the whole peninsula
+into commotion. Eager to make proselytes, they were seen toiling in
+their <i>b&eacute;guine</i> costume, with the cross and the gospel in their hands,
+over mountains and valleys, exploring Tatar villages, and even carrying
+their enthusiasm to the strange length of preaching in the open air to
+the amazed and puzzled Mussulmans. But as the English consul had
+predicted, in spite of their mystic fervour, their persuasive voices,
+and the originality of their enterprise, our heroines effected few
+conversions. They only succeeded in making themselves thoroughly
+ridiculous not only in the eyes of the Tatars, but in those also of the
+Russian nobles of the vicinity, who instead of seconding their efforts,
+or at least giving them credit for their good intentions, regarded them
+only as feather-witted <i>illuminat&aelig;</i>, capable at most of catechising
+little children. The police, too, always prompt to take alarm, and
+having besides received special instructions respecting these ladies,
+soon threw impediments in the way of all their efforts, so that two
+months had scarcely elapsed before they were obliged to give up their
+roving ways, their preachings, and all the fine dreams they had indulged
+during their long and painful journey. It was a sore mortification for
+them to renounce the hope of planting a new Thebaid in the mountains of
+the Crimea. Madame de Krudener could not endure the loss of her
+illusions; her health, already impaired by many years of an ascetic
+life, declined rapidly, and within a year from the time of her arrival
+in the peninsula, there remained no hope of saving her life. She died
+in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[Pg 381]</a></span>1823, in the arms of her daughter, the Baroness Berckheim, who had
+been for some years resident on the southern coast, and became possessed
+of many documents on the latter part of a life so rich in romantic
+events: but unfortunately these documents are not destined to see the
+light.</p>
+
+<p>Princess Gallitzin, whose religious sentiments were perhaps less
+sincere, thought no more of making conversions after she had installed
+herself in her delightful villa on the coast. Throwing off for ever the
+coarse <i>b&eacute;guine</i> robe, she adopted a no less eccentric costume which she
+retained until her death. It was an Amazonian petticoat, with a cloth
+vest of a male cut. A Polish cap trimmed with fur completed her attire,
+that accorded well with the original character of the princess. It is in
+this dress she is represented in several portraits still to be seen in
+her villa at Koreis.</p>
+
+<p>The caustic wit that led to her disgrace at the court of St. Petersburg,
+her stately manners, her name, her prodigious memory, and immense
+fortune, quickly attracted round her all the notable persons in Southern
+Russia. Distinguished foreigners eagerly coveted the honour of being
+introduced to her, and she was soon at the head of a little court, over
+which she presided like a real sovereign. But being by nature very
+capricious, the freak sometimes seized her to shut herself up for whole
+months in total solitude. Although she relapsed into philosophical and
+Voltairian notions, the remembrance of Madame de Krudener inspired her
+with occasional fits of devotion that oddly contrasted with her usual
+habits. It was during one of these visitations that she erected a
+colossal cross on one of the heights commanding Koreis. The cross being
+gilded is visible to a great distance.</p>
+
+<p>Her death in 1839 left a void in Russian society which will not easily
+be filled. Reared in the school of the eighteenth century, well versed
+in the literature and the arts of France, speaking the language with an
+entire command of all that light, playful raillery that made it so
+formidable of yore; having been a near observer of all the events and
+all the eminent men of the empire; possessing moreover a power of
+apprehension and discernment that gave equal variety and point to her
+conversation; a man in mind and variety of knowledge, a woman in grace
+and frivolity; the Princess Gallitzin belonged by her brilliant
+qualities and her charming faults to a class that is day by day becoming
+extinct.</p>
+
+<p>Now that conversation is quite dethroned in France, and exists only in
+some few salons of Europe, it is hard to conceive the influence formerly
+exercised by women of talent. Those of our day, more ambitious of
+obtaining celebrity through the press than of reigning over a social
+circle, guard the treasures of their imagination and intellect with an
+anxious reserve that cannot but prove a real detriment to society. To
+write feuilletons, romances, and poetry, is all very well; but to
+preside over a drawing-room, like the women of the eighteenth century,
+has also its merit. But we must not blame <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[Pg 382]</a></span>the female sex alone for the
+loss of that supremacy which once belonged to French society. The men of
+the present day, more serious than their predecessors, more occupied
+with positive, palpable interests, seem to look with cold disdain on
+what but lately commanded their warmest admiration.</p>
+
+<p>But we have lost sight of the Countess Guacher, who is not for all that
+the least interesting of our heroines. Resigning herself with much more
+equanimity than her companions to the necessity of leaving the Tatars
+alone, she hired for herself, even before their complete separation, a
+small house standing by itself on the sea shore; and there she took up
+her abode with only one female attendant. Following the example of the
+Princess Gallitzin, she threw off the <i>b&eacute;guine</i> robe and assumed a kind
+of male attire. For some time her existence was almost unknown to her
+neighbours; so retired were her habits. The only occasions when she was
+visible was during her rides on horseback on the beach, and it was
+noticed that she chose the most stormy weather for these excursions.</p>
+
+<p>But her recluse habits did not long conceal her from curious inquiry. A
+certain Colonel Ivanof, who had noticed the strange proceedings of the
+pilgrims from their first arrival in the Crimea, set himself to watch
+the countess, and at last took a house near her retreat; but in order
+that his presence might not scare her, he contented himself for some
+weeks with following her at a distance during her lonely promenades,
+trusting to chance for an opportunity of becoming more intimately
+acquainted with her. His perseverance was at last rewarded with full
+success.</p>
+
+<p>One evening, as the colonel stood at his window observing the tokens of
+an approaching storm, he perceived a person on horseback galloping in
+the direction of his house, evidently with the intention of seeking
+shelter. Before this could be accomplished the storm broke out with
+great fury, and just then the colonel was startled by the discovery that
+the stranger was his mysterious neighbour. The sequel will be best told
+in his own words:</p>
+
+<p>"Full of surprise and curiosity I hastened to meet the countess, who
+entered my doors without honouring me with a single look. She seemed in
+very bad humour, and concentrated her whole attention upon a tortoise
+she carried in her left hand. Without uttering a word or caring for the
+water that streamed from her clothes, she sat down on the divan, and
+remained for some moments apparently lost in thought. For my part, I
+continued standing before her, waiting until she should address me, and
+glad of the opportunity to scrutinise her appearance at my ease. She
+wore an Amazonian petticoat, a green cloth vest, buttoned over the
+bosom, a broad-brimmed felt hat, with a pair of pistols in her girdle,
+and, as I have said, a tortoise in her hand. Her handsome, grave
+countenance excited my admiration. Below her hat appeared some grey
+locks, that seemed whitened not so much by years as by sorrow, of which
+her visage bore the impress.</p>
+
+<p>"Without taking off her hat, the flap of which half concealed her <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[Pg 383]</a></span>face,
+she began to warm the tortoise with her breath, calling it by the pet
+name <i>Dushinka</i> (little soul), which duty being performed she deigned to
+look up, and perceived me. Her first gesture bespoke extreme surprise.
+Until then, supposing she was in a Tatar house, she had taken no notice
+of the objects around her, but the sight of my drawing-room, my library,
+my piano, and myself, struck her with stupefaction. 'Where am I?' she
+exclaimed, in hurried alarm. 'Madam,' I replied, 'you are in the house
+of a man who has long lived as a hermit&mdash;a man who like you loves
+solitude, the sea, and meditation&mdash;who has renounced like you the
+society of his kind to live after his own way in this wilderness.' These
+words struck her forcibly. 'You, too,' she ejaculated, 'you, too, have
+divorced yourself from the world, and why? Ay, why?' she repeated, as if
+conversing with her own thoughts, 'why bury yourself alive here, without
+friends, without relations, without a heart to respond to yours? Why die
+this lingering death, when the world is open to you&mdash;the world with its
+delights, its balls and spectacles, its passionate adorations, with the
+fascinations of the court, the favour of a queen?' Imagine my
+astonishment to hear her thus in a sort of hallucination, revealing her
+secret thoughts and recollections. In these few words her whole life was
+set forth, the life of a beautiful woman, rich, flattered, habituated to
+the atmosphere of courts.</p>
+
+<p>"After a pause of some duration she entered into conversation with me,
+questioned me at great length on the way in which I passed my time, on
+my tastes, the few resources I enjoyed for cultivating the arts, &amp;c. We
+chatted for more than an hour like old acquaintances, and she seemed
+quite to have forgotten the strange words she had uttered in the
+beginning of the interview. Being very much puzzled to know what
+pleasure she took in carrying the tortoise about with her, I asked her
+some questions on the subject; but with a solemnity that seemed to me
+strangely disproportioned to the subject, she told me she had made a vow
+never to separate from it. 'It is a present from the Emperor Alexander,'
+she said, 'and as long as I have it near me I shall not utterly despair
+of my destiny.' Availing myself of this opening I tried to make her talk
+of the motives that had brought her to the peninsula, but she cut me
+short by saying that since she had become acquainted with the character
+of the Tatars she had given up all thought of making converts among
+them. 'They are men of pure feelings and pure consciences,' she said,
+impressively; 'why insist on their changing their creed, since they live
+in accordance with the principles of morality and religion? After all it
+matters little whether one adores Jesus Christ, Mahomet, or the Grand
+Lama, if one is charitable, humble, and hospitable.'</p>
+
+<p>"I laughed, and said she spoke rank heresy, and that if she preached
+such doctrines, she ran great risk of having a bull of excommunication
+fulminated against her. 'It is since I have given up preaching,' she
+replied, 'that I have begun to think in this way; solitude makes one
+regard things in quite a different aspect from that in which they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[Pg 384]</a></span>are
+seen by the world. Only three months ago I set Catholicism above all
+religions, and now I meditate one still more perfect and sublime. Will
+you be my first disciple?' she said, in a tone between jest and earnest,
+that left me very uncertain whether she was serious or not. When she
+left my house I escorted her to her own door, and promised I would call
+on her the next day."</p>
+
+<p>The second interview was not less curious than the first: the colonel
+found his neighbour busily at work with a glass spinner's lamp and a
+blowpipe, making glass beads. She did not allow her visitor's presence
+to interrupt her operations, but finished before him enough to make a
+necklace. She then showed him several boxes filled with beads of all
+sorts, made by her own hands, and said very seriously, "If ever I return
+to the world I will wear no other ornaments than such pearls as these.
+It is a stupid thing to wear true ones. See how bright, clear, and large
+these are! Would any one suppose they were not the produce of the Indian
+Ocean? So it is with every thing else: what matters the substance if the
+form is beautiful and pleasing to the eye?" The colonel was about to
+enter into a grave discussion of this very questionable moral doctrine,
+very common in the eighteenth century, when suddenly changing the
+subject, the countess took down a sword that hung at the head of her bed
+and laid it on his lap. "You see this weapon, colonel: it was given me
+by a Vendean chief in admiration of my courage; for though a woman I
+have fought for the good cause, and many a time smelt powder among the
+bushes and heaths of Bretagne. You need not wonder at my partiality for
+weapons and for male costume; it is a reminiscence of my youth. A
+Vendean at heart, I long made part in the heroic bands that withstood
+the republican armies, and the dangers, hardships, and fiery emotions of
+partisan warfare are no secrets to me." "But," observed the colonel,
+"how is it that thus devoted as you are to the royal cause you do not
+return to your country, where monarchy is again triumphant?" "Hush!" she
+answered, lowering her voice, "hush! let us say no more of the present
+or the past. Would you ask the shrub broken by the storm why the breath
+of spring does not reanimate its mutilated form? Let us leave things as
+they are, and not strive to repair what is irreparable. Man's justice
+has pronounced its decree; let us trust in that of God, merciful and
+infinite, like all that is eternally just and good!"</p>
+
+<p>It was in vain the colonel endeavoured by further questions to become
+acquainted with that mysterious past to which she could not make any
+allusion without extreme perturbation of mind; she remained silent, and
+retired to another room without renewing the conversation.</p>
+
+<p>After these two interviews, Colonel Ivanof had no other opportunity of
+gathering any hints that could lead him towards a definite conclusion
+respecting this extraordinary woman, although he saw her almost daily
+for more than two months. She often talked to him of her residence in
+London, her friendly relations with the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[Pg 385]</a></span>Emperor of Russia, her travels,
+and her fortune; but of France not a word. Not an expression of regret,
+not a name or allusion of any sort, afforded the colonel reason to
+suspect that his neighbour had left behind her in her native land any
+objects on which her memory still dwelt. His brain was almost turned at
+last by the romantic acquaintance he had made. His vanity was piqued,
+and his desire to solve so difficult an enigma gave him no rest. He
+diligently perused the history of the French Revolution, in hopes to
+find in it a clue to his inquiry, but it was to no purpose. He felt
+completely astray in such a labyrinth. Many great names successively
+occurred to him as likely to belong to his mysterious neighbour, but
+there were always some circumstances connected with them that refuted
+such a supposition.</p>
+
+<p>Perhaps a more matter-of-fact person would at last have discovered the
+truth; but the colonel's lively imagination led him to embrace the
+oddest hypothesis. It was his belief that the countess was the
+illegitimate offspring of a royal amour. Setting out from this principle
+he put aside all the names proscribed by the revolution, and stuck
+obstinately to a myth. But tired at last of this pursuit of shadows, he
+resolved to trust to that chance which had already been so favourable
+for the clearing up of his uncertainty. Assiduously noting all the
+lady's eccentricities, he knew not whether to pity or admire her, though
+very certain that her wits wandered at times.</p>
+
+<p>She frequently received despatches from St. Petersburg, and seemed,
+notwithstanding her exile, to have retained a certain influence over the
+mind of the tzar. One day she showed her neighbour a letter from a lady
+of the court, who thanked her warmly for having obtained from the
+emperor a regiment which that lady had long been ineffectually
+soliciting for her son.</p>
+
+<p>So absorbed was the Russian officer by the interest he took in the
+countess, that he seemed to have forgotten all the world besides; but an
+unexpected event suddenly put an end to his romantic loiterings, and
+sent him back to the realities of life. A Frenchman, calling himself
+Baron X&mdash;, arrived one fine morning from St. Petersburg, and established
+himself without ceremony as the countess's factotum. From that moment
+all intimacy was broken off between the latter and Colonel Ivanof. The
+cold, astute behaviour of the baron, and his continual presence, obliged
+the colonel to retire. It may seem strange that he surrendered the field
+so quickly to an unknown person, but it was time for him to return to
+his military duties, and besides, what could he do with a man whose
+connexion with the countess seemed of old standing, and who watched her
+with a jealous vigilance enough to discourage the most intrepid
+curiosity? His departure was scarcely noticed by Madame Guacher, whose
+habits had undergone an entire change since the arrival of the baron.
+The incoherence of her mind became more and more visible; it was only at
+long and uncertain intervals she rode out on horseback; the rest of her
+time was spent in enduring all sorts of extraordinary mortifications.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[Pg 386]</a></span>Baron X&mdash;remained in the Crimea until the death of the countess, which
+took place in 1823. Being fully acquainted with all her affairs he was
+her sole heir, not legally, perhaps, but <i>de facto</i>. On leaving the
+peninsula he proceeded to England, where a large part of our heroine's
+property was invested, and he afterwards returned to Russia with a
+considerable fortune.</p>
+
+<p>A curious incident occurred after the death of the countess. As soon as
+the emperor was informed of the event he despatched a courier to the
+Crimea, with orders to bring him a casket, the form, size, and materials
+of which were described with the most minute exactness. The messenger,
+assisted by the chief of the police, at first made a fruitless search;
+but at last, through the information of a waiting woman, the casket was
+found sealed up, under the bed of the deceased lady. The courier took
+possession of it and returned with the utmost speed. In ten days he was
+in St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>The precious casket was delivered to the emperor in his private cabinet,
+in the presence of two or three courtiers. Alexander was so impatient to
+open it that he had the lock forced. But alas! what a sad
+disappointment! The casket contained only&mdash;a pair of scissors. It surely
+was not for the sake of a pair of scissors that Alexander had made one
+of his Cossacks gallop 4000 versts in a fortnight. Be that as it may,
+Baron X&mdash;was accused of having purloined papers of the highest
+importance, and unfairly possessed himself of Madame Guacher's fortune.
+But as he was then on his road to London, the emperor's anger was of no
+avail.</p>
+
+<p>At a subsequent period, the disclosures made by this man, and the
+discovery of a curious correspondence, at last revealed the real name of
+the countess; but the tardy information arrived when there was no longer
+any one to be interested in it; the emperor was dead, and Colonel
+Ivanhof was fighting in the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>Interred in a corner of the garden belonging to her house, that
+mysterious woman who had been the subject of so many contradictory
+rumours, had not even a stone to cover her grave, and to mark to the
+stranger the spot where rest the remains of the <i>Countess de Lamothe</i>,
+who had been whipped and branded in the Place de Gr&egrave;ve, as an accomplice
+in the scandalous affair of the diamond necklace.<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a></p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> All the facts we have related respecting Madame de Lamothe
+are positive and perfectly authentic: they were reported to us by
+persons who had known that lady particularly, and who moreover possessed
+substantial proofs of her identity. It is chiefly to Mademoiselle
+Jacquemart, mentioned in "Marshal Marmont's Travels," that we are
+indebted for the details we have given respecting the arrival of our
+three heroines in the Crimea. We have ourselves seen in that lady's
+possession the sword which the countess alleged she had used in the wars
+of La Vend&eacute;e, and sundry letters attesting the great influence she
+exercised over the Emperor Alexander.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[Pg 387]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIX.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">IALTA&mdash;KOUTCHOUK LAMPAT&mdash;PARTHENIT&mdash;THE PRINCE DE LIGNE'S
+HAZEL&mdash;OULOU OUZEN; A GARDEN CONVERTED INTO AN AVIARY&mdash;TATAR
+YOUNG WOMEN&mdash;EXCURSION TO SOUDAGH&mdash; MADEMOISELLE JACQUEMART.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The proximity of Ialta to the most remarkable places on the coast, its
+harbour, and its delightful situation, make it the rendezvous of all the
+travellers who flock to the Crimea in the fine season. A packet-boat
+from Odessa brings every week a large number of passengers, and the
+harbour is further enlivened by a multitude of small vessels from all
+parts of the coast. Nothing can be more charming than the sight of that
+white Ialta, seated at the head of a bay like a beautiful sultana
+bathing her feet in the sea, and sheltering her fair forehead from the
+sun under rocks festooned with verdure. Elegant buildings, handsome
+hotels, and a comfortable, cheerful population, indicate that opulence
+and pleasure have taken the town under their patronage; its prosperity,
+indeed, depends entirely on the travellers who fill its hotels for
+several months of the year. When it belonged to the Greeks it was
+counted among the most important towns on the coast; but the successive
+revolutions of the Crimea were fatal to it, and for a long while it
+remained only a wretched village. At present a custom-house and a
+garrison complete its pretensions to the style and dignity of a grand
+town. But nature has been so liberal to it, that instead of wondering at
+its rapid rise one is rather disposed to think it much inferior to what
+it might be.</p>
+
+<p>We left Ialta in a tolerably large body, some on horseback, others in
+carriages. Leaving behind us Aloupka, Mishkor, Koreis, and Oreanda, we
+soon forgot their sumptuous displays of art for the inexhaustible
+marvels of nature. Our road lay parallel to the coast, and the continual
+variations of its admirable scenery made us think the way too short. A
+storm of rain overtook us in the fine forest of Koutchouk Lampat, and
+made us all run for shelter. The more advanced of the party easily
+reached the house of General Borosdin the owner of the property; but
+those in the rear, of whom I was one, were obliged to take refuge in a
+pavilion. Whilst we were quietly waiting there until the storm should
+blow over, the people of the house were seeking for us on all sides,
+having been sent out by our companions. Several times we saw them
+passing along at a distance armed with large umbrellas; but as there was
+a billiard-table in the pavilion we never showed ourselves until we had
+finished an interesting game. The ch&acirc;telain of Koutchouk Lampat,
+delighted to receive so numerous a party, entertained us with an
+excellent collation, in which figured all the wines of France and Spain.</p>
+
+<p>A few leagues from Koutchouk Lampat lies Parthenit, a village where, for
+the first time, I received a mark of civility from Tatar <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[Pg 388]</a></span>females. As I
+entered the place, keeping in the rear of the others according to my
+usual custom, I passed in front of a house in the large balcony of which
+there were three veiled women. Just as I passed beneath the balcony I
+slackened my horse's pace and made some friendly signals to them,
+whereupon, one of them, and I make no doubt the prettiest, repeatedly
+kissed a large bouquet of lily of the valley she held, and threw it to
+me so adroitly that it fell into my hand. Delighted with the present, I
+hastened up to my companions and showed it to them; but they were all
+malicious enough to assure me that the gift had been addressed not to
+myself but to my clothes. The reader will remember that I travelled in
+male costume.</p>
+
+<p>At Parthenit we failed not to sit under the famous hazel-tree of the
+Prince de Ligne. Its foliage is so thick and spreading that it
+overshadows a whole <i>place</i>. The trunk is not less than eight yards in
+circumference, and is surrounded by a large wooden divan, almost always
+occupied by travellers, who use it as a tavern. The inhabitants of
+Parthenit regard this tree with great affection, and beneath its shade
+they discuss all the important affairs of the village. A limpid
+fountain, the waters of which are distributed through several channels,
+adds to the charm of the spot. Our whole cavalcade was completely
+sheltered under the dome of the magnificent hazel. The Tatars brought us
+sweetmeats, coffee, and fresh eggs, and obstinately refused to take
+payment for them. Almost the whole population came to see us, but their
+curiosity was not at all obtrusive. Such of them as had no immediate
+business with us kept a respectful distance.</p>
+
+<p>On leaving Parthenit we passed very close to some old fortifications
+covering a whole hill with their imposing ruins. At evening we arrived
+at the post station of Alouchta,<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> where our party was to break up.
+Some of our companions returned to Ialta, others proceeded towards
+Simpheropol; whilst we ourselves, accompanied by a single Tatar and our
+dragoman, set out by the sea-coast for Oulou Ouzen. The distance was but
+twelve versts, but we spent several hours upon it, in consequence of the
+difficulty of the ground and the steepness of the cliffs which we were
+often obliged to ascend. We met no one on the way; this part of the
+coast is quite deserted and sterile.</p>
+
+<p>Oulou Ouzen, our point of destination, is a narrow valley opening on the
+sea, and belonging to Madame Lang, who has covered it with vineyards and
+orchards. A week passed quickly away in the agreeable society of our
+hostess, whose residence is one of the prettiest in the country. Being
+very fond of birds, she has succeeded by a very simple process in
+converting her garden into a great aviary. On <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[Pg 389]</a></span>the day we arrived we
+were surprised to see her continually assailed by a flock of pretty
+titmice that pecked at her hair and hands with extraordinary
+familiarity. They were the progeny in the third and fourth generation of
+a pair she had reared two years before, and had liberated in the
+beginning of spring. Next year they returned with a young brood that
+grew used by degrees to feed on the balcony, and at last to eat out of
+her hands. These in their turn brought her their young ones; other birds
+followed their example, and thus she has always a flock of gay dwellers
+of the air perching and fluttering about her balcony, which is covered
+with nets to protect them from birds of prey.</p>
+
+<p>At Madame Lang's we met a very agreeable gentleman and a great admirer
+of the Crimea, M. Montandon, who has written an excellent itinerary of
+the country. We talked a great deal with him about a French lady,
+Mademoiselle Jacquemart, whose acquaintance my husband had made some
+months previously. She has resided for the last fifteen years in
+Soudagh, a valley near Oulou Ouzen. The Duc de Raguse speaks at great
+length of her in his <i>Excursion en Crim&eacute;e</i>, and relates the tragic
+adventure of which she was the heroine some years ago, but he assigns
+for it a romantic cause which Mademoiselle Jacquemart has absolutely
+contradicted.</p>
+
+<p>Few ladies have passed through a more eccentric life than Mademoiselle
+Jacquemart. In her young days, her beauty, her talents, and her wit
+invested her with a celebrity, such as rarely falls to the lot of one in
+the humble position of a governess. After having lived long in the great
+world of St. Petersburg and of Vienna, she suddenly withdrew to the
+Crimea, where, having like many others almost ruined herself by vintage
+speculations, she purchased the little property in which she now
+resides. Her history and her unusual energy of character led to a close
+intimacy between her and the old Princess Gallitzin, who was herself
+enough of an original character to like every thing uncommon, and
+Mademoiselle Jacquemart was an habitual guest at Koreis.</p>
+
+<p>Before we left Oulou Ouzen we went to spend a day with Madame Lang's
+only neighbour, an old bachelor, who lives quite alone, not out of
+misanthropy, but that he may devote himself without interruption to his
+favourite pursuit of botany. A deep ravine between the two properties,
+and a steep descent overlooking the sea, render the road so dangerous
+that ladies can venture to traverse it only in a vehicle drawn by oxen.
+It was in this strange equipage, guided by a Tatar armed with a long
+goad, that we reached the house of M. Faviski, who was quite delighted,
+but greatly puzzled to receive ladies. He did the honours of his
+bachelor's dwelling, nevertheless, like a very well-bred gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>While we were waiting for dinner, Madame Lang conceived the happy
+thought of sending for all the Tatar beauties of the village that I
+might see them. When they arrived, the gentlemen were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[Pg 390]</a></span>obliged to leave
+the room, which was immediately entered by a dozen of pretty bashful
+young women, looking like a herd of scared gazelles. But after a few
+words from Madame Lang, who speaks Tatar very well, they soon became
+familiarised with our strange faces, and grew very merry. They took off
+their veils and papouches at our request, and favoured us with an
+Oriental dance. One of them quite astonished me by the magnificent
+lineaments of her face, which reminded me of the head of an empress on
+an ancient medal. They examined all the details of our toilette with
+childlike curiosity, and exacted from us the same attentive notice of
+the embroidery on their bodices and veils. Meanwhile, so amused were we
+by this scene, that we had quite forgotten the gentlemen whom we had
+turned out, and who now began to thump lustily at the door. The Tatar
+women were now thrown into the most picturesque and comical disorder,
+and ran about in all directions looking for their veils. In the midst of
+the confusion I was wicked enough to hide the veil and slippers of the
+young beauty, and then throw the door wide open. It was curious to see
+the dismay of the poor blushing creature who knew not how to escape from
+the bold admiration of several men. She had never in her life been in
+such a situation before; so when I thought the gentlemen had
+sufficiently indulged their curiosity, I hastened to relieve her by
+returning her veil.</p>
+
+<p>Next day, after a fatiguing journey, we reached Soudagh in the evening.
+It was with no little interest I beheld the humble abode of a woman of
+talent, who, through some unaccountable whim, had quitted the world
+while still young, and retired to almost absolute solitude. She was glad
+to receive the visit of compatriots, and talked frankly to us of the
+hardships and discomforts of a life she had not the courage to abandon.
+The extreme loneliness of her dwelling exposed her to frequent attacks
+by night, and obliged her to have a brace of pistols always at the head
+of her bed. People stole her fruit, her poultry, and even her vines; she
+was kept continually on the alert, and had the fear before her of
+repetition of the horrible attempt to which she was once near falling a
+victim.</p>
+
+<p>The account she herself gave us of that affair was as follows. Two days
+before it happened, a Greek applied to her for work and food. Not having
+any employment for him, she gave him some provisions, and advised him to
+look elsewhere for work. The next day but one, as she was returning in
+the evening from a geological excursion, carrying in her hand a small
+hatchet she used for breaking pebbles, she perceived the same man
+walking behind her in silence. Feeling some uneasiness, she turned round
+to look in the Greek's face; but at that moment she felt herself grasped
+round the waist, the hatchet was snatched out of her hand, and she
+received several blows with it on the head that deprived her of all
+consciousness. When her senses returned the assassin had disappeared.
+How she reached home with her skull fractured, she never could <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[Pg 391]</a></span>explain.
+For many months her life was in imminent danger, and her reason was
+impaired. At the time we saw her she still suffered acutely from some
+splinters of a comb that remained in her head. This is a much less
+romantic story than that told by Marmont.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> About <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 465, the Khersonites invoked the
+protection of the emperors of the East against the Huns. Justinian
+seized the opportunity to erect the two fortresses of Alouchta and
+Oursouf, by means of which he subsequently rendered the republic of
+Kherson tributary to the empire. There still exist at Alouchta three
+large towers that formed part of the imperial castle.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XL.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">RUINS OF SOLDAYA&mdash;ROAD TO THEODOSIA&mdash;CAFFA&mdash;MUSCOVITE
+VANDALISM&mdash;PENINSULA OF KERTCH&mdash;PANTICAPEA AND ITS TOMBS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>Leaving my wife to return with Mademoiselle Jacquemart to Oulou Ouzen, I
+took my way by the lower part of the valley of Soudagh through a
+labyrinth of vineyards and meadows covered with blossoming peach and
+apricot trees. Passing the paltry village that has borrowed one of the
+names of the celebrated Soldaya, we soon arrived at the sea beach at the
+foot of the triple castle erected by the intrepid Genoese, in 1365, on
+the site of a city they had just conquered, and which had flourished
+under the successive dominion of the Greeks, the Komans, and the Tatars.</p>
+
+<p>The origin of Soldaya, or Sougdai, belongs to the most remote periods of
+Crimean history. In the eighth century it was a bishop's see, and though
+then dependent on the Greek empire it boasted not the less of its own
+sovereigns. Four centuries afterwards, in 1204, the Komans, an Asiatic
+people, expelled from their own territories, and driven westward by the
+hordes of Genghis Khan, entered the Crimea, where they were the
+precursors of that terrible Mongol invasion that was soon to overwhelm
+all the east of Europe. The arrivals of these fugitives was fatal to the
+Greek settlements; the princes of Soldaya were exterminated, and the
+victors took possession of their capital. But the Komans did not long
+enjoy their conquests. Overtaken a second time by the rapid current of
+the Mongol invasion, they were obliged to abandon the Crimea after
+thirty years' possession, and seek an asylum in the most western regions
+of Thrace.</p>
+
+<p>Under the Mongol dominion the Greeks returned to Soldaya, which again
+became a Christian town, and the most important port of the peninsula.
+It was tributary, indeed, to the Tatars, but it had a bishop and its own
+administration.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Tatars of the
+Kaptchak adopted the religion of Mahomet, Mussulman fanaticism prevailed
+for a while in the Crimea, the Christians were expelled from Soldaya and
+their numerous churches were converted into mosques. But it is a
+remarkable fact that the word of a pope, John XXII., was of such force
+in 1323, that Ousbeck Khan <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[Pg 392]</a></span>allowed the exiles to resume possession of
+their city with the enjoyment of their ancient privileges.</p>
+
+<p>But twenty years had elapsed when a fresh revolution, occasioned by
+intestine disorder and dissensions, finally extinguished all trace of
+the Greek sway in Soldaya. The Genoese, who had for nearly a century
+been masters of Caffa, incorporated the ancient capital of the Komans
+with their own territory on the 18th of June, 1365.<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> Then it was that
+in order to secure their possession of the fertile territory of Soudagh
+and defend it against the Tatars, the enterprising merchant princes
+erected, on the most inaccessible rock at the entrance of the valley,
+that formidable fortress of three stories, crowned by the gigantic
+Maiden Tower (<i>Kize Kouleh</i>) whence the warders could overlook the fort,
+the sea, and the adjacent regions.</p>
+
+<p>The Genoese remained in quiet possession of their castle for more than a
+century; but after the taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II., and the
+almost immediate destruction of Caffa, the capital of the Crimean
+colonies, Soldaya, shared the same fate. The Turks laid siege to the
+fortress in 1475. It made a long and obstinate resistance, and famine
+alone overcame the valour of the garrison.<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a></p>
+
+<p>With the Genoese sway, fell all that had constituted the glory and
+prosperity of Soldaya during so many centuries; the population of the
+town was driven out and scattered; the once animated harbour was
+deserted, and grass grew in the streets trodden of yore by the elegant
+Greeks of the Lower Empire, the victorious Komans and the proud citizens
+of Genoa. A feeble Turkish garrison became the tenants of the place, and
+for nearly three centuries continued the unmoved spectators of the decay
+and desolation of one of the oldest and most remarkable cities of the
+Pontus Euxinus.</p>
+
+<p>The imperial eagle of the tzars floated over the towers of Soldaya in
+1781, and from that time began for the monuments of the Genoese colony
+that rapid destruction which everywhere characterises the Russian
+conquests. All the beautiful public and private buildings which Pallas
+so much admired in his first journey, disappeared, and out of their
+precious remains, Muscovite vandalism erected great useless barracks,
+the unmeaning ruins of which have, for many years, strewed the ground.
+At present Soldaya, erased from the list of towns and fortresses, has
+not even a watchman to guard its walls and its magnificent towers with
+their proud inscriptions. Every year the sight is saddened by fresh
+mutilations, and ere long <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[Pg 393]</a></span>there will remain nothing of those marble
+tablets with their elegant arabesques that adorned every tower and
+doorway, and recorded its origin and history. The only thing that could
+save the Genoese castle from total destruction, would be to leave it
+quite alone, and to remove far from it every body of Russian
+authorities. Unfortunately, the government seems willing to take upon
+itself the care of its preservation, and there can be no doubt that
+demolition awaits the remains of Soldaya from the moment an <i>employ&eacute;</i>,
+without salary enough to live on, shall be invested with the right of
+protecting them against the ravages of time and of men.<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p>
+
+<p>On leaving Soldaya we proceeded towards Theodosia, the Caffa of the
+Genoese. We will not weary the reader with a monotonous description of
+our route. This part of the country is less diversified, less beautiful
+and picturesque, and the population much more thinly spread than in the
+other mountainous parts of the Crimea. The great calcareous chain
+recedes considerably from the coast, and from its precipitous sides it
+sends off blackish schistous offshoots, scarcely covered by a meagre
+vegetation, enclosing between them in their course to the sea some
+valleys in which the Tatars have established the only villages in the
+country. Completely abandoned by the aristocracy, destitute of roads,
+and unadorned by any of those elegant dwellings with which luxury and
+fashion have embellished the hill sides of Ialta, the whole coast
+between Alouchta and Theodosia is neglected by most tourists, and is
+only visited at rare intervals by scientific travellers. But if the
+Soudagh coasts are disdained by the Russian nobles, and display no
+Italian villas or porphyry gothic manors, the traveller finds there the
+most frank reception and truly Oriental hospitality. Far from all the
+centres of the elegant and partly corrupt civilisation which the
+Russians have imported into the Crimea within the last twenty years, the
+Tatars of these regions retain unaltered their ancient usages, and the
+prominent features of their primitive character. I could not easily
+describe the kindly good-will with which I was received in all the
+villages where I stopped. The fact that I was a Frenchman, who had
+nothing to do with any branch of Russian administration, had a really
+marvellous effect on the mountaineers. Wherever I went the best house,
+the handsomest divan, cushions, and carpets were assigned for my use;
+and in an instant I found myself sipping my coffee and smoking my
+chibouk, surrounded with all those comforts the want of which is so
+sorely felt by those who travel in certain parts of the East.</p>
+
+<p>In Toklouk, Kooz, and Otouz, which we passed through successively, the
+flat-roofed Tatar houses are, as everywhere else, backed against the
+hills that flank the valley. By this means the inhabitants are enabled
+to keep up a communication with each other by <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[Pg 394]</a></span>the terrace tops of their
+houses, where they regularly carry on their work, and which are formed
+of stout carpentry covered with a thick bed of clay. Nothing can be more
+picturesque than the appearance, at evening, of all these terraces
+rising in gradations one above the other. At that period of the day the
+whole population of each village is on the alert; and quitting the dark
+rooms in which they had sheltered from the heat of the day, men, women,
+and children gather on the roofs; animation, mirth, and the din of
+tongues, takes place of the silence of day, and the observer is never
+weary of watching the picturesque scenes formed by the various groups
+engaged in their household occupations.</p>
+
+<p>At Koktebel, a little village on the sea shore, twenty-nine versts from
+Soudagh, the sombre headland Kara Dagh terminates the bolder scenery of
+the Crimea. Beyond that point the country presents no picturesque
+features; vast plains gradually succeed the hills, and as the traveller
+advances he is forewarned by various tokens of his approach to the
+steppes, which form all the northern part of the peninsula, and extend
+eastward of the old Genoese colony to the shores of the Cimmerian
+Bosphorus. Along the whole line from Soudagh to Theodosia there is not
+one point, not one monument or ruin to interest the historian or the
+antiquarian. Indeed the nature of the coast, now abrupt, now formed of
+great unsheltered flats, does not seem to favour the foundation of a
+town or of a harbour, whether for war or commerce.</p>
+
+<p>We are now arrived at Theodosia or Caffa, formerly the splendid
+metropolis of the Genoese dominion in the Black Sea, now a Russian town,
+stripped of all political and commercial importance. The genius of
+barbarous destruction has wrought still more deplorable effects here
+than at Soldaya or any other spot in the Crimea.</p>
+
+<p>Theodosia was founded by the Milesians in the early times of their
+expedition to the Pontus Euxinus, and long prospered as an independent
+colony. It was afterwards incorporated into the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus, and shared its destinies for many centuries. The Alans, a
+barbarous people from the heart of Asia, appeared in the Crimea about
+the middle of the first century of our era; Theodosia was sacked by
+them, and sixty years afterwards Arrian speaks of it in his <i>Periplus of
+the Black Sea</i> as a town entirely deserted. The Huns subsequently
+completed what the Alans had begun, and left not a vestige to indicate
+the true position of the old Milesian colony.</p>
+
+<p>Ten centuries after the destruction of Theodosia, other navigators not
+less intelligent or enterprising than the Milesians, landed on the
+Crimean coasts; and soon there arose on the site of the Greek city
+another equally remarkable city, the annals of which form unquestionably
+one of the finest chapters in the political and commercial history of
+the Black Sea. It was in the middle of the thirteenth century, after the
+conquest of the Crimea by the Mongols, when <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[Pg 395]</a></span>three potent republics were
+contending for the empire of the seas, that the Genoese, entering the
+bay of Theodosia, obtained from Prince Oran Timour the grant of a small
+portion of ground on the coast. The colony of Caffa was regularly
+founded in 1280, and so rapid was its rise, that in nine years from that
+date it was able, without impairing its own means of defence, to send
+nine galleys to the succour of Tripoli, then besieged by the
+Saracens.<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a></p>
+
+<p>The foundation of Caffa increased the rancorous strife between Genoa and
+her potent rival of the Adriatic. The Crimean colony was surprised by
+twenty Venetian galleys in the year 1292, and totally destroyed. In the
+following year the Genoese again took possession of their territory;
+Caffa quickly rose from its ruins, and twenty years afterwards Pope John
+XXII. made it a bishop's see. War having broke out with the Tatars in
+1343, Djanibeck Khan, sovereign of Kaptchak, laid siege to Caffa. The
+Genoese came off victorious in this warfare, but the dangers to which
+they were exposed made them feel the need of a strong system of
+fortifications. The earthen ramparts and the palisades of the town were,
+therefore, replaced by thick and lofty walls, flanked by towers, and
+surrounded by a deep, wide ditch, faced with solid masonry. These
+magnificent works, whose excellence and gigantic proportions may still
+be admired by the traveller, were begun in 1353, and finished in 1386.
+The most remarkable tower, that at the southern corner which commands
+the whole town, was dedicated to the memory of Pope Clement VI., in an
+inscription relating to the crusade preached by that pontiff at the time
+when the Tatars were invading the colony.</p>
+
+<p>From that period the prosperity of Caffa augmented incessantly; it
+attracted to itself the trade of the most remote regions of Asia, and
+according to the statement of its historians it soon equalled in extent
+and population the capital of the Greek empire, which it surpassed in
+industry and opulence. The Genoese colony had thus reached the apogee of
+its glory and might in the middle of the fifteenth century, when the
+taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II. cut it off from the metropolis,
+and prepared its entire destruction.</p>
+
+<p>On the 1st of June, 1475, a fleet of 482 vessels, commanded by the high
+admiral Achmet Pacha, appeared before Caffa, which was immediately
+bombarded by the formidable Ottoman artillery. The attack was of short
+duration; large portions of the walls, erected at a period when the use
+of cannons was unknown, were rapidly dismantled; breaches were made in
+all directions, and the besieged were forced to surrender at discretion
+on the 6th of June, 1475, after ineffectually attempting to obtain terms
+of capitulation.</p>
+
+<p>Achmet Pacha entered Caffa as an incensed victor and an enemy of the
+Christian name. After taking possession of the consular palace, he
+disarmed the population, imposed an enormous fine on the town, and then
+seized half the property of the inhabitants, and all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[Pg 396]</a></span>the slaves of both
+sexes. The Latin Catholics were shipped on board the Turkish fleet and
+carried to Constantinople, where the sultan, established them by force
+in the suburbs of his new capital, after taking from them 1500 male
+children to be brought up as members of his guard. Thus was annihilated
+in the space of a few days, after 200 years of glorious existence, that
+magnificent establishment which the genius of Europe had erected on
+those remote shores, and which had shed such lustre on the commerce of
+the Black Sea.</p>
+
+<p>Caffa, the destruction of which was immediately followed by that of
+Soldaya and Cembalo, was annexed to the Turkish dominions, and for
+upwards of 550 years had no other importance than what it derived from
+its Turkish garrison and its military position on the shore of a
+Mussulman region, the absolute conquest of which never ceased to be an
+object of the Porte's ambition. In the middle of the seventeenth
+century, the old Genoese city awoke from its long trance, and in
+consequence of the commercial and industrial movement which then took
+place among the Tatars, it again became the great trading port of the
+Black Sea. Chardin, on his journey to Persia in 1663, found more than
+400 vessels in the bay of Caffa. The town, to which the Turks then gave
+the name of Koutchouk Stamboul (Little Constantinople) contained 4000
+houses, with a population exceeding 80,000 souls.</p>
+
+<p>The new prosperity of Caffa was short lived. From the time of Peter the
+Great Russia pursued her threatening advance towards the regions of the
+Black Sea, and in 1783, in the reign of the Empress Catherine II., the
+Crimea was finally incorporated with the Muscovite empire. Caffa now
+accomplished the last stage of its destinies; it lost even officially
+its time-honoured name, and under the pompous appellation of the Greek
+Colony, bestowed on it by the Emperor Alexander, it became a paltry
+district town, to which authentic documents assign at the present day
+scarcely 4500 inhabitants. At Caffa, just as at Soldaya, the
+construction of useless barracks occasioned the demolition of the
+Genoese edifices. The facings of the ditches were first carried off, and
+then, emboldened by the deplorable indifference of the government, the
+destroyers laid hands on the walls themselves. The magnificent towers
+that defended them were pulled down, and there now remain only three
+fragments of walls belonging to the remarkable bastion erected in honour
+of Pope Clement VI. When the Genoese fortifications had been destroyed,
+the civil monuments next fell under the ruthless vandalism of the
+authorities. At the time the Russians took possession, two imposing
+edifices adorned the principal square of Caffa, the great Turkish baths,
+an admirable model of Oriental architecture, and the ancient episcopal
+church of the Genoese, built in the beginning of the fourteenth century,
+and converted into a mosque after the Turkish conquest. It was decided
+in the reign of Catherine II. that the mosque should be restored to the
+Greek church, but unfortunately instead of preserving it unaltered, the
+fatal project of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[Pg 397]</a></span>adorning it with wretched doric porticoes was adopted.
+The elegant domes that so gracefully encompassed the main building were,
+therefore, demolished; but scarcely were the bases of the columns laid
+when a trifling deficit occurred in the funds, as M. Dubois relates, and
+thenceforth the government refused to make any further advances.</p>
+
+<p>The beautiful mosque which had been quickly stripped of its lead, to be
+sold, of course, for the benefit of the Russian officials, was thus
+abandoned to the mutilations of time and of the population, and soon
+became a mere ruin. In 1833, the ignorance of a civil governor,
+Kasnatcheief, completed this afflicting work of destruction, which
+extended at the same time to the great baths that still remained
+untouched. A fortnight's work with the pickaxe and gunpowder razed to
+the ground the two admirable monuments with which the Genoese and the
+Turks had adorned the town. When I visited Theodosia in 1840, the great
+square was still obstructed with their precious materials, which the
+local administration was eager to dispose of at a low price to whoever
+would buy them.</p>
+
+<p>Of all the splendid edifices of the Genoese colony two churches alone
+have escaped the destroyer; art owes their preservation to the Catholics
+and the Armenians. For a very long time those two foreign communities
+struggled against the indifference of the government, and strove to
+obtain its aid for the repair of their edifices; but their applications
+were all unsuccessful, and it was by great personal sacrifices that they
+succeeded in recent times in themselves effecting the restoration of
+their temples.</p>
+
+<p>If we turn our attention from the interior of the town to its environs,
+we are still afflicted by the same spectacle of destruction. All the
+thriving fields and orchards that encompassed the town in the time of
+the Tatars have disappeared. Two Muscovite regiments annihilated in a
+single winter all trace of the rich cultivation that formerly clothed
+the hills.</p>
+
+<p>There is a museum in Theodosia, but except some Genoese inscriptions,
+foremost among which is that of the famous tower of Clement VI., it
+contains no remains belonging to the ancient Milesian colony. All the
+antiquities it possesses come exclusively from Kertsch (Panticapea), and
+were brought to Theodosia at a period when that town was still the chief
+seat of the administration of the Crimea. Dr. Grapperon, a Frenchman, is
+the director of the museum. He never fails to mystify the antiquaries
+who pass through his town, by exhibiting to them a pretended female
+torso, found in the heart of the Crimean mountains; but the cunning old
+man knows very well that his chef-d'&oelig;uvre is only a <i>lusus natur&aelig;</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding all the depredations of the authorities, and the stupid
+ignorance of a governor, Caffa has not been entirely metamorphosed into
+a Russian town. Its chief edifices have been demolished, its walls
+razed, its Tatar population expelled, and solitude has succeeded to its
+former animation, yet the general appearance of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[Pg 398]</a></span>the city, its various
+private buildings, and its streets paved with large flags, all bespeak a
+foreign origin and a foreign rule. Long may the town preserve this
+picturesque aspect, which reminds the traveller of that of the little
+Mediterranean seaports.</p>
+
+<p>After three days spent in exploring the ruins of the Genoese colony,
+days rendered doubly agreeable by the varied and instructive
+conversation of my kind cicerone, M. Felix Lagorio,<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> I set out again
+to continue my investigations as far as the most eastern point of the
+Crimea. It is from the point where the last hills of the Crimean chain
+subside at the foot of the walls of Theodosia that the celebrated
+peninsula of Kertch begins, which extends between the Black Sea and the
+Sea of Azof to the shores of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. As I traversed its
+now deserted and arid plains, where nothing seems formed to arrest the
+attention for a single moment, my mind went back with astonishment to
+those glorious times when flourished the numerous opulent towns which
+the colonising genius of the Milesians erected in these regions.
+Theodosia, Nimphea, Mirmikione, and on the other side of the strait
+Phanagoria, crowded the brilliant historic scene called up by my
+recollections; but above them all stood Panticapea, the celebrated
+capital of the kingdom of the Bosphorus, where Greek elegance and
+civilisation reigned for so many ages, and where Mithridates died after
+having for a while menaced the existence of the Roman empire. While my
+imagination was thus reconstructing the splendid panorama which the
+peninsula must have presented when the Bosphorians had covered it with
+their rich establishments, the Russian pereclatnoi was carrying me along
+through vast solitudes, where I sought in vain to discover some traces
+of that ancient Greek dominion, the grandeur and prosperity of which
+were extolled by Herodotus five centuries before the Christian era.
+Towards evening only, as I approached the Bosphorus, my curiosity was
+strongly excited by the singular indentations which the steppe exhibited
+along the line of the horizon, and soon afterwards I found myself in the
+midst of one of the chief necropolises of the ancient Milesian city.
+Huge cones of earth rose around me, and numerous coral crags, mingled
+with the mounds erected by the hands of men, enhanced the grandeur of
+this singular cemetery. On reaching the extremity of the plateau, I
+could overlook the whole extent of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. The last
+rays of the setting sun were colouring the cliffs on the Asiatic side,
+and the triangular sails of some fishing boats; the many tumuli of
+Phanagoria stood in full relief against the blue sky, and whilst the
+melancholy hue of evening was gradually stealing upon the smooth waters
+of the channel, the deeply-marked shadow of Cape Akbouroun was already
+spreading far over them. I had but a few seconds to admire these
+magnificent effects of light <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[Pg 399]</a></span>and shade: the sun dipped below the
+horizon, and twilight immediately invested the scene with its uniform
+hues. Ten minutes afterwards I entered Kertch, a Russian town of
+yesterday, stretching along the sea at the foot of the celebrated rock
+which popular tradition has decked with the name of Mithridates' Chair.
+It was on the side of this mountain, formerly crowned by an acropolis,
+that the capital of the kingdom of the Bosphorus expanded like an
+amphitheatre. A few mutilated fragments are all that now exist of
+Panticapea; the hill on which it stood is parched, bare, and rent by
+deep ravines, and modern arch&aelig;ologists have had much difficulty in
+positively determining the site of the most celebrated of the Milesian
+colonies.</p>
+
+<p>Having taken up my quarters in Kertch under the hospitable roof of M.
+Menestrier, one of the most agreeable of my countrymen I have met in my
+travels, I set earnestly about my excursions, and through the obliging
+kindness of Prince Kherkeoulitchev, the governor of the town, I was soon
+in possession of all the data requisite to guide me in my researches. I
+shall not, however, obtrude upon the reader all the arch&aelig;ological notes
+with which I enriched my journal, while exploring the tombs and
+monuments of Panticapea, since I have been anticipated in this respect
+by others more competent in such matters, especially M. Dubois
+Montperreux.</p>
+
+<p>In roaming about the environs of Kertch, among the innumerable tumuli,
+that served as tombs for the sovereigns and wealthy citizens of
+Panticapea, one is instantly struck by the exceedingly slovenly and
+mischievous manner in which every opening of these mounds has been
+performed during the last twenty years. Instead of seeking to preserve
+these precious monuments bequeathed unaltered to them by so many
+generations, the Russians have been only bent on destroying them, in
+order to arrive the sooner at the discovery of the valuable contents
+thought to be enclosed within them. All the tumuli <i>against</i> which
+official exploratory operations have been directed, have been totally
+demolished, or cut in four by wide trenches from the summit to the base,
+and no one has even thought of effecting the required researches by
+means either of a vertical shaft or by tunnelling.</p>
+
+<p>I have visited all the chief points where the destructive genius of the
+Muscovite arch&aelig;ologists has been exercised; but it would be impossible
+for me to describe the grief I felt at the sight of such horrible
+devastation. They have not contented themselves with destroying the form
+of the monuments; the inner chambers and the mortal remains within them
+have been no more respected than the earth and stones that had protected
+them for so many ages from all profanation. The bones have everywhere
+been taken out of the tombs, and exposed on the surface of the ground to
+the inclemency of the weather. M. Menestrier, of whom I have spoken
+above, and whose generous indignation has not spared the directors of
+these operations, had one day to bury with his own hands the still
+entire skeleton of a young <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[Pg 400]</a></span>woman. I have myself seen soldiers warming
+themselves at large fires which they fed with the precious fragments of
+wooden sarcophagi they had just discovered.</p>
+
+<p>Among the various tumuli, that situated near the quarantine
+establishment north of the town, unquestionably deserved especial
+attention on the part of the local administration. Considering the
+gigantic dimensions of its central chamber and gallery, both having
+corbelled ceilings, it was a truly unique monument, which the government
+should have been solicitous to transmit unimpaired to future
+generations. The entrance gallery is 36.25 m&egrave;tres long, 2.80 wide, and
+7.50 high. The five lower courses forming the basement are each 0.45
+thick. Then come twelve other courses, only 0.40 high, and rising in
+corbels so as to form a series of regular projections on the interior of
+0.12. The two upper courses, which have an interval of 0.25 between
+them, instead of being joined by keystones, are merely covered with
+large flags laid flat in mortar. The stability of such ceilings is
+evidently contrary to all the rules of art, and it is probable that in
+erecting them the builders must have used numerous wooden props and
+trusts, until the whole structure was consolidated by a sufficient load
+of earth. A rectangular opening at the end of the gallery three m&egrave;tres
+high and 2.35 wide, gives admission into the interior of the central
+chamber or cupola.</p>
+
+<p>The base of the cupola consists of four courses, of 0.40 to 0.45 in
+thickness, forming a total height of 1.85. The ground plan of this part
+is an irregular square, the sides of which are 4.50, 4.40, 4.45 and
+4.30. Above the fifth course the four angles are filled in by stones
+forming a circular projection of 0.30 in the line of the diagonal. The
+same thing is repeated in the succeeding courses. The curved portions
+thus gradually increase in extent, until at the ninth course they form
+together a complete circle, the diameter of which diminishes with each
+succeeding course, until at top there is only a circular opening of 0.70
+diameter, which is closed in the same manner as the upper part of the
+entrance gallery. The total height of the cupola is 9.10. The material
+is tertiary shell limestone, large quarries of which exist in the
+neighbourhood. Of all the tombs recently explored by the Russians, that
+of the quarantine is the only one which had been previously opened. It
+was found completely empty. The first examination appears to have
+occurred at a very early date; perhaps at the time when the Genoese
+possessed the small fort of Cerco, at the foot of the mountain of
+Panticapea.</p>
+
+<p>Of the tombs with semi-circular arches, that discovered in the summer of
+1841 is among the most remarkable. It consists of two distinct chambers
+communicating with each other. In the centre of the inner one was found
+a wooden sarcophagus with a male skeleton having a crown of dead gold on
+the skull. It was from this sarcophagus that the wooden target was taken
+representing a fight between a stag and a griffin, which I have
+presented <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[Pg 401]</a></span>to the Cabinet of Antiquities of the Biblioth&egrave;que du Roi.
+Another coffin found in the centre of the outer chamber contained a
+female skeleton in a wonderful state of preservation. The smallest bones
+of the fingers and toes were perfect, and where the skull lay was seen a
+large quantity of light brown hair. The garments even retained their
+form and colour, but they fell to pieces at the least touch. In this
+chamber, to the right on entering, there was a small niche, in which had
+been deposited the body of a child, with a bronze lamp and two
+lacrymatories, one of them of glass, beside it. I have the last two in
+my possession.</p>
+
+<p>In 1841, when I first explored the remains of Panticapea, this
+remarkable tomb, which excited the admiration of all artists, served as
+a place of shelter for the cattle of the neighbourhood, and its fine
+entrance gallery was falling to ruin. Some months after my departure the
+work of destruction was carried on in the face of day, and the
+magnificent pavement of the chamber was shamelessly carried off. At
+Soudagh and Theodosia, I could in some degree account for the disastrous
+effects of administrative recklessness; the ignorant governors to whom
+was committed the sole custody of the antiquities of those towns, could
+see in the buildings of past ages only a quarry to be worked for their
+own profit. But at Kertch, which possesses a museum, and a committee of
+<i>savans</i> to superintend the processes for exploring its antiquities,
+such destruction appeared to me quite incomprehensible. It is true the
+Russian government cares little about the preservation of monuments,
+even of such as directly concern its own history; it granted only 4000
+paper rubles for the investigations, and seems in reality to be
+interested only about objects of art, such as Etruscan vases, gold
+ornaments, small statues, &amp;c., which may serve to decorate the rooms of
+the Hermitage; but there exists in Southern Russia a numerous society of
+antiquaries, officially constituted, and there cannot be a question,
+that if it would or could fulfil in some small degree the nominal
+purpose of its creation, it would immediately obtain from the emperor
+all the necessary supplies for the conservation of the monuments in the
+peninsula of Kertch. Unhappily, that general indifference to
+intellectual pursuits, which we have dwelt on in a preceding chapter,
+prevails as much with regard to archeology as any thing else. When I
+examined the exploring works, and conversed with the learned gentlemen
+that directed them, I could not help seeing before me, instead of the
+love of knowledge, palpable evidence of private interest and ambition
+employing all means to rise in the nobiliary scale of the empire; and
+whilst the Russian journals trumpeted forth the admirable discoveries
+made in the name of the history of mankind, every man of those who were
+disturbing the ashes of the ancient Panticapea thought only of
+augmenting his own income, or gaining a grade or a decoration.</p>
+
+<p>Another proof how secondary a consideration in these researches is the
+interest of learning and history, is the scandalous neglect of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[Pg 402]</a></span>the
+sarcophagi, the bas-reliefs, the architectural fragments, and, in a
+word, all the large sculptures that cannot be sent to St. Petersburg and
+laid before his majesty. When I visited the museum of Kertch, I found
+the approaches to the building filled with antiques, which lay on the
+ground without any shelter. The noses and chins of the principal figures
+on the bas-reliefs had just been broken, perhaps that very morning; yet
+the learned committee had not thought of making the least complaint, so
+little importance did it attach to the matter. In passing through the
+various halls of the museum, I everywhere noticed the same negligence,
+and tokens of incessant pillage. Among other relics the destruction of
+which I had to deplore, I was shown the remains of a magnificent wooden
+sarcophagus, which had been found in perfect condition. It was enriched
+with Greek carvings, the prominent parts of which were gilded, and the
+hollow parts painted red, and it was in my opinion the most interesting
+piece in the museum. Thanks, however, to the obliging disposition shown
+by the keepers towards strangers, I doubt if a fragment or two of it yet
+remain at this moment. We should never have done, if we were to recite
+all the acts of vandalism and depredation of which the museum of Kertch
+has been the theatre. The details which we have given will sufficiently
+indicate the value of the archeological labours carried on upon the site
+of the ancient Panticapea; may the remonstrances we here put forth in
+the name of art, literature, and science, attract the notice of all
+those Russians who take a real interest in the historical monuments of
+their country.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> Superbi discordes et desides Gr&aelig;ci a Genuensibus Italis
+fracti et debilitati civitatem eam amiserant (Martini Briniovii
+Tartaria, 1575).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> Cum obsidionem diuturnam ac famem, Genuenses diutius ferre
+nee impetum tam numerosi exercitus Turcorum sustinere amplius possent,
+in maximum tempum illud, quod adhuc ibi integrum est, centeni aliquot
+vel mille fere viri egregii sese receperant, et per dies aliquot in arce
+inferiori in quam Turc&aelig; irruperant fortiter et animose sese defendentes,
+insigni et memorabili Turcarum strage edita tandem in templo illo
+universi concidere.&mdash;Ibid.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> For a more detailed description of the ruins of Soudagh,
+see the remarkable work of M. Dubois de Montperreux. Paris, 1843.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Giust. Ann. di Genova, lib. iii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> Formerly French Consul at Theodosia; deprived of his place
+for his opinions upon the return of the Bourbons, and now filling the
+humble functions of Neapolitan consular agent. He is the author of a
+valuable work on the political revolutions of the Crimea.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XLI.</h2>
+
+<p class="cen">POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA.</p>
+<br />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF SURFACE&mdash;MILESIAN AND HERACLEAN
+COLONIES&mdash;KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS&mdash;EXPORT AND IMPORT TRADE
+IN THE TIMES OF THE GREEK REPUBLICS&mdash;MITHRIDATES&mdash;THE
+KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS UNDER THE ROMANS&mdash;THE ALANS AND
+GOTHS&mdash;SITUATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KHERSON&mdash;THE HUNS;
+DESTRUCTION OF THE KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS&mdash;THE KHERSONITES
+PUT THEMSELVES UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BYZANTINE
+EMPIRE&mdash;DOMINION OF THE KHAZARS&mdash;THE PETCHENEGUES AND
+KOMANS&mdash;THE KINGDOM OF LITTLE TATARY&mdash;RISE AND FALL OF THE
+GENOESE COLONIES&mdash;THE CRIMEA UNDER THE TATARS&mdash;ITS CONQUEST
+BY THE RUSSIANS.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>The Crimea comprises a surface of about 1100 square geographic leagues,
+divided into two distinct regions. The first of these is mountainous,
+and forms a strip of about ninety-five English miles in length along the
+southern coast, with a mean breadth of from twelve to sixteen miles; the
+second, the region of the plains, presents all <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[Pg 403]</a></span>the characters of the
+steppes of Southern Russia, and extends northward to the isthmus of
+Perecop, which connects the peninsula with the continent. The Crimea now
+forms part of the government called the Taurid, the territory of which
+extends beyond Perecop, between the Dniepr and the Sea of Azof, to the
+47th degree of latitude. Simpheropol is its chief town.</p>
+
+<p>In order to give a clear conception of the political and commercial
+importance of the Crimea, which, by its almost central position in the
+Black Sea, commands at once the coasts of Asia, the mouths of the
+Danube, and the entrance to the Constantinopolitan Bosphorus, it is
+indispensable to present a rapid sketch of the numerous revolutions
+which the march of time and the invasions of peoples have effected in
+that important peninsula. It was in the middle of the seventh century
+before Christ, that the Milesians made their appearance on the northern
+shores of the Euxine. The eastern part of the Tauris, an open country
+and easy of occupation, having attracted their attention, they founded
+their first colonies there, possessing themselves at the same time of
+all the little region which we now call the peninsula of Kertch. The
+agricultural prosperity which they soon attained, was quickly known in
+Greece, whence it occasioned fresh and important emigrations. Theodosia,
+Nymphea, Panticapea, and Mermikion, were erected on the shore of the
+little peninsula, and served as seaports for the thriving colonists.</p>
+
+<p>The success of the Milesians stimulated the Heracleans to follow their
+example. They chose the most western part of the country, landed not far
+from the celebrated Cape Perthenica, and after having beaten the savage
+natives and driven them back into the mountains, they settled in the
+little peninsula of Trachea, known in our day by the name of the ancient
+Khersonesus. Thus were laid the foundations of the celebrated republic
+of Kherson, which subsisted, great and prosperous, for more than 1500
+years, and the capital of which having become the temporary conquest of
+a Grand Duke of Russia, in the tenth century, was the starting point of
+that great religious revolution which completely changed the face and
+the destinies of the Muscovite empire.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst the Heracleans were consolidating their power by improving their
+trade, the Milesian settlements on the Bosphorus were growing up with
+magic rapidity, and were spreading even beyond the strait to the Asiatic
+coast, where the towns of Phanagoria, Hermonassa, and Kepos were
+founded. At first all these Milesian colonies were independent of each
+other, but at last they became united into the kingdom of the Bosphorus,
+<span class="smcap">B.C.</span> 480.</p>
+
+<p>As agriculture formed the basis of the public wealth of the Milesians,
+it became the object of the new government's peculiar attention. On his
+accession to the throne, Leucon relieved the Athenians of the thirtieth
+imposed on exported corn, in consequence of which liberal measure those
+exports increased prodigiously; the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[Pg 404]</a></span>Cimmerian peninsula became the
+granary of Greece, and merchants flocked to Theodosia and Panticapea,
+where they procured at the same time wool, furs, and all those salted
+provisions, which still constitute one of the chief riches of Southern
+Russia. As for the import trade, of which history says little, it is
+easy to conceive the nature of its operations from the important
+archeological discoveries of Panticapea.</p>
+
+<p>The Bosphorians undoubtedly received in exchange for their produce, all
+the manufactured goods which wealth and luxury had brought into vogue in
+Athens, and it was probably Greek artists who executed all those
+magnificent objects of art which are contained in the museum of Kertch,
+and which prove that the agricultural colonists of the Tauris did not
+fall short of the opulence of their brilliant mother city. Building
+materials seem to have formed an important item of importation. There is
+no trace of white marble either in the Crimea or on the northern coasts
+of the Black Sea; nevertheless, large quantities have been found in the
+excavations made at Kertch, and there is every reason to presume that
+the huge masses of cut marble employed in the public and private
+buildings, were imported ready wrought from Greece.</p>
+
+<p>Despite the dangerous vicinity of the Sarmatians, the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus enjoyed perfect tranquillity for above three hundred years,
+and through a steady and rational policy increased in prosperity and
+riches, until the conquest of Greece by the Romans subverted all the
+commercial relations of the East. At that period the Bosphorians,
+attacked by the Scythians, and too weak to resist them, threw themselves
+into the arms of the celebrated Mithridates, who turned their state into
+a province of the Pontus, and bestowed it as an appanage on his son
+Makhares.</p>
+
+<p>After the defeat and death of her implacable enemy, Rome maintained the
+traitor Pharnaces in possession of the crown of the Bosphorus; but the
+new prince's sovereignty was merely nominal, and the successors of the
+son of Mithridates, powerless and despoiled of all the Milesians had
+possessed on the Asiatic shore of the strait, reigned only in accordance
+with the caprice of the Roman emperors.</p>
+
+<p>About the middle of the first century after Christ, the Alans entered
+the Tauris, devastated the greater part of the country, and entirely
+destroyed Theodosia, which had offered them some resistance. They were
+followed by the Goths, who in their turns became masters of the
+peninsula. But far from abusing their victory, they blended their race
+with that of the vanquished, founded numerous colonies on the vast
+plains north of the mountainous region, and followed their natural bent
+for a sedentary life and rural occupations. The Tauric Khersonese now
+entered on a fresh period of tranquillity and agricultural prosperity.
+Unfortunately, Greece was at this period rapidly declining under the
+Roman yoke; Rome having become the capital of the whole world, Egypt,
+Sicily, and Africa had naturally acquired to themselves the monopoly of
+the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[Pg 405]</a></span>supply of corn; so that with all its efforts the Tauris could not
+emerge from the depression into which it had been plunged by the
+political events of the first Christian century.</p>
+
+<p>The remote and inaccessible position of the little republic of Kherson,
+preserved its independence during all these early barbarian invasions.
+In Diocletian's time, the Khersonites, whose dominions extended over
+nearly the whole of the elevated country, had concentrated in their own
+hands almost all the commerce that still existed between the Tauris and
+some parts of the shores of the Black Sea.<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a> Their republic was the
+most powerful state of the peninsula, when war broke out between them
+and the Sarmatians, who had already seized the kingdom of the Bosphorus,
+and given it a king of their own nation. The struggle between the two
+rival nations lasted nearly a century, and the Sarmatians having been at
+last expelled, the Bosphorians again enjoyed some years of freedom and
+quiet. But the peace was not of long duration. The unfortunate peninsula
+was soon visited by the most violent tempest that had yet desolated it.
+The Huns, from the heart of Asia, came down to the Asiatic side of the
+strait, and soon the terrified Bosphorians beheld those furious hordes
+traversing the Sea of Azof, which had for a while arrested their
+progress. The ancient kingdom of the Milesians was then extinguished for
+ever. (<span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 375.) The numerous colonies of united Goths and
+Alans shared the same fate, and all the rich agricultural establishments
+of the country were reduced to ashes. Still protected by their isolated
+position, the Khersonites alone escaped the devastation, in consequence
+of the rapidity with which the torrent of the invaders rushed forth
+towards the western regions of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>The Tauris was still suffering under the effects of the frightful
+disasters inflicted on it by the Huns, when it was again ravaged by
+their disbanded hordes, after the death of Attila. The Khersonites were
+now in jeopardy, and in their alarm, they sought the protection of the
+Eastern Empire. Justinian, who then reigned at Constantinople, acceded
+to their request, but he made them pay dear for the imperial protection.
+Under pretence of providing for the defence of the country, he erected
+the two strong fortresses of Alouchta and Gourzoubita, on the southern
+coast, and the republic of Kherson became tributary to the empire.</p>
+
+<p>In the latter part of the seventh century (<span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 679) the
+Tauris was invaded by the Khazars, hordes that having accompanied the
+Huns, had settled in Bersilia (Lithuania), and had been formed into an
+independent kingdom by Attila himself. The apparition of these new
+conquerors, already masters of a vast territory, made such a sensation
+at Constantinople, that their alliance was courted by the sovereigns of
+the East, and the Emperor Leo even asked for his son the hand of the
+daughter of the kalgan, or chief of the nation. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[Pg 406]</a></span>forebodings of the
+imperial government were soon realised, for in the short space of 150
+years the Khazars, who had given their own name to the peninsula,
+founded a vast monarchy, the limits of which extended in Europe beyond
+the Danube, and in Asia to the foot of the Caucasus.</p>
+
+<p>After the Khazars, whose fall was caused chiefly by the attacks of the
+Russians, and who thenceforth disappeared entirely from the records of
+history, the victorious Petchenegues ruled over the whole land except
+the southern territory of Kherson, which was incorporated with the
+Empire of the East. Under the sway of this other Asiatic people, the
+trade and commerce of the peninsula revived, its intercourse with
+Constantinople resumed activity, and the Tauric ports supplied the
+merchants of the Lower Empire with purple, fine stuffs, embroidered
+cloths, ermines, leopard skins, furs of all kinds, pepper, and spices,
+which the Petchenegues purchased in Eastern Russia, south of the Kouban,
+and in the Transcaucasian regions that extend to the banks of the Cyrus
+and the Araxes. Thus began again for this unfortunate country a new era
+of prosperity, unexampled for many previous centuries.</p>
+
+<p>The dominion of the Petchenegues lasted 150 years, and then they
+themselves endured the fate they had inflicted on the Khazars. Assailed
+by the Comans, whom the growth of the Mongol power had expelled from
+their own territory, they were beaten and forced to return into Asia.
+The Comans, a warlike people, made Soldaya their capital; but they had
+scarcely consolidated their power when they were obliged to give place
+to other conquerors, and seek an abode in regions further west. With the
+expulsion of the Comans ceased all those transient invasions which dyed
+the soil of the Tauris with blood during ten centuries. The various
+hordes that have left nothing but their name in history, were succeeded
+by two remarkable peoples: the one, victorious over Asia, had just
+founded the most gigantic empire of the middle ages; the other, issuing
+from a trading city of Italy, was destined to make Khazaria the nucleus
+of all the commercial relations between Europe and Asia.</p>
+
+<p>With the Mongol invasion of 1226, the empire of the tzars entered on
+that fatal period of servitude and oppression which has left such
+pernicious traces in the national character of the Muscovites. Russia,
+Poland, and Hungary, were successively overrun by the hordes of the
+celebrated grandson of Genghis Khan; Khazaria was added to their
+enormous conquests, and became, under the name of Little Tatary, the
+cradle of a potent state, which maintained its independence down to the
+end of the eighteenth century. Under the yoke of the Mongols the Tauris,
+after being oppressed at first, soon recovered; Soldaya was restored to
+the Christians, and soon proved that the resources of the country were
+not exhausted, and that nothing but peace and quiet were wanted to
+develop the elements of wealth with which nature had so liberally
+endowed it. In a few years Soldaya became the most important port of the
+Black Sea, and one <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[Pg 407]</a></span>of the great termini of the commercial lines between
+Europe and Asia.</p>
+
+<p>The greatness of Soldaya was, however, of short duration: another
+people, more active, and endowed with a bolder spirit of mercantile
+enterprise than the Greeks, came forward about the same period, and
+concentrated in its own hands the whole heritage of the great epochs
+that had successively shed lustre on the peninsula from the day when the
+Milesians founded their first colonies on the Cimmerian Bosphorus. Being
+already possessed of important factories in Constantinople, the Genoese
+had long been aware of the circumstances of the Black Sea, and the
+immense resources it would place at the disposal of enterprising men who
+should there centralise for their own profit all the commercial
+relations of Europe with Russia, Persia, and the Indies. The rivalry
+which then existed between them and the Venetians, accelerated the
+execution of their projects, and in 1820, after having secured the
+territory of the ancient Theodosia, partly by fraud, partly by force,
+they laid the foundation of the celebrated Caffa, through which they
+became sure masters of the Black Sea, and sole proprietors of its
+commerce. With the arrival of the Genoese the Tauris saw the most
+brilliant epochs of its history revived. Caffa became by its greatness,
+its population, and its opulence, in some degree the rival of
+Constantinople, and its consuls, possessing themselves of Cerco,
+Soldaya, and Cembalo, made themselves masters of all the southern coast
+of the Crimea. Other equally profitable conquests were subsequently made
+beyond the peninsula. The galleys of the republic entered the Palus
+M&aelig;otis; Tana, on the mouth of the Don, was wrested from the Tatars; a
+fortress was erected at the mouth of the Dniestr; several factories were
+established in Colchis, and on the Caucasian coast, and even the
+imperial town of Trebisond was forced to admit one of the most important
+factories of the republic on the Black Sea. The Genoese colonies thus
+became the general emporium of the rich productions of Russia, Asia
+Minor, Persia, and the Indies; they monopolised for more than two
+centuries all the traffic between Europe and Asia, and presented a
+marvellous spectacle of thriving greatness. All this glory had an end.
+Mahomet's standard was planted over the dome of St. Sophia in 1453, and
+the intercourse of the Crimea with the Mediterranean was broken off. The
+destruction of the Genoese settlements was then inevitable; and the
+republic, despairing of their preservation, assigned them over to the
+bank of St. George, on the 15th of November, 1453. The consequences of
+this cession which put an end to the political connexion of the colonies
+with the mother state, were of course disastrous. Despair and loss of
+public spirit fell upon the colonists, individual selfishness
+predominated in all their councils, and the consular government, before
+remarkable for its integrity and its virtues, instead of uniting with
+the Tatars, and rendering its own position with regard to the Porte less
+perilous, completely disgusted them by a total want of honesty, and by
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[Pg 408]</a></span>selling its aid for gold to all the parties that were desolating the
+Crimea. So many faults were followed by the natural catastrophe. Caffa
+was forced to surrender at discretion to the Turks on the 6th of June,
+1473, and some months afterwards all the points occupied by the Genoese
+fell one by one into the hands of the Ottomans.</p>
+
+<p>After the disaster of the Genoese colonies, the great lines of
+communication of the trans-Caucasian regions, the Caspian, the Volga,
+the Don, and the Kouban, were broken, having lost their feeders, and all
+the commercial relations with Central Asia were for a while suspended.
+The Venetians, who had obtained from the Turks the right of navigating
+the Black Sea, in consideration of a yearly tribute of 10,000 ducats,
+strove in vain to take the place their rivals had lost; they were
+expelled in their turn from the Black Sea, the Dardanelles were closed
+against all the nations of the West, and the Turks and their subjects,
+the Greeks of the Archipelago, alone possessed the privilege of passing
+through the strait. In our remarks on the Caspian we have already
+pointed out the new outlets which the Eastern trade procured for itself
+by way of Smyrna, and the great revolution which followed Vasco de
+Gama's discovery.</p>
+
+<p>Under the reign of the first khans, who were tributary to the Porte, the
+Crimea lost all its commercial and agricultural importance. Continual
+wars, and incessant revolts, sometimes favoured, sometimes punished by
+the Porte, added to the still deeply-rooted habits of a nomade and
+vagabond existence, for many years precluded the regeneration of the
+country. But a rich fertile soil, and a country abundantly provided with
+all the resources necessary to man, triumphed over the natural indolence
+of the Tatars, just as they had done before by the savage hordes that
+successively invaded the Tauris. The hill sides and valleys became
+covered with villages, and all branches of native industry increased
+rapidly with the internal tranquillity of the country. The corn, cattle,
+timber, resins, fish, and salt of Little Tatary furnished freights for a
+multitude of vessels. The commerce of Central Asia, it is true, was lost
+for it beyond recovery, but the exportation of its native produce and of
+that which Russia sent to it by the Don and the Sea of Azof, was more
+than sufficient to keep its people in a very thriving, if not an opulent
+condition. Caffa shared in the general improvement; it rose again from
+its ruins, became the commercial centre of the country, as in the time
+of the Genoese, and its advancement was such, that the Turks bestowed on
+it the flattering name of Koutchouk Stamboul (Little Constantinople).</p>
+
+<p>The dominion of the khans extended at this period, in Europe and Asia,
+from the banks of the Danube to the foot of the mountains of the
+Caucasus, and the indomitable mountaineers of Circassia themselves often
+did homage to the sovereigns of the Tauris. The Mussulman population was
+divided in those days into two great classes: the descendants of the
+first conquerors, known by the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[Pg 409]</a></span>special designation of Tatars; and the
+Nogais, nomade tribes who, subsequently to the conquest, had come and
+put themselves under the protection of the illustrious Batou khan. The
+former, mixed up with the remains of the ancient possessors, formed the
+civilised part of the nation. Possessing the mountainous regions, and
+residing in towns and villages, they were both agriculturists and
+manufacturers; whilst the Nogais, who lived in a manner independently in
+Southern Russia, applied themselves solely to cattle rearing. They were
+at that time divided into five principal hordes: the Boudjiak occupied
+the plains of Bessarabia from the mouths of the Danube to the Dniestr;
+the Yedisan, the largest, which could bring into the field 80,000
+horsemen, encamped between the Dniestr and the Dniepr; the Djamboiluk
+and Jedickhoul, the remnants of which still inhabit the territory of
+their ancestors, extended from the banks of the Dniepr to the western
+coasts of the Sea of Azof; lastly, the tribes of the Kouban, nomadised
+in the steppes between that river and the Don, which now form the domain
+of the Black Sea Cossacks. All these tribes collectively could, in case
+of urgent necessity, bring into the field upwards of 400,000 men. Such
+was the political condition of Little Tatary, when the Russian conquest
+of the provinces of the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea destroyed all the
+fruits of the great social revolution which had been effected in the
+habits of the Mussulmans by the new development of trade and commerce.</p>
+
+<p>The first Muscovite invasion took place in 1736. A hundred thousand men,
+commanded by Field-marshal Munich forced the Isthmus of Perecop, entered
+the peninsula, and laid waste the whole country, up to the northern
+slope of the Tauric chain. The peace of Belgrade put an end to this
+first inroad, but the political existence of Little Tatary was,
+nevertheless, violently shaken; and from that time forth the khans were
+kept in continual perplexity by the secret or armed interventions of
+Russia, their subjects were stimulated to revolt, and they themselves
+were but puppets moved by the court of St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>In 1783, Sahem Guerai abdicated in favour of the Empress Catherine II.,
+and the kingdom of the Tatars, exhausted by extensive emigrations and
+bloody insurrections, finally ceased to exist; and then perished rapidly
+the last elements of the prosperity of a land that had been so often
+ravaged, and had always emerged victoriously from its disasters.
+Previously to this period, in 1778, the irresistible command of Russia
+had determined the emigration of all the Greek and Armenian families of
+the peninsula, and an agricultural and trading population had been seen
+to quit, voluntarily as Russia pretends, fertile regions, and a
+favouring climate, to settle in the savage steppes of the Don and the
+Sea of Azof. About the same period, and under the same influence, began
+the emigration of the Tatars and Nogais, some of whom retired into
+Turkey, others joined the mountaineers of the Caucasus. The Russian
+occupation accelerated this disastrous movement, and on the day when the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[Pg 410]</a></span>tzars extended their frontiers to the banks of the Dniestr, the
+celebrated horde of Yedisan disappeared entirely from the soil of the
+empire. The Tatars of the region between the Dniepr and the Sea of Azof
+did not emigrate in such numbers as the others, for the imperial
+government had hemmed them in, even previously to the conquest, by
+formidable military lines on the east and on the west. The heaviest
+calamities fell, of course, on the peninsula, which was covered with
+fixed settlements, and was the centre of the Tatar civilisation and
+power, and there the scenes of carnage and devastation which had marked
+the irruption of the barbarians from Asia were renewed in all their
+horrors. The peninsula lost at least nine-tenths of its population; its
+towns were given up to pillage, its fields laid waste; and in the space
+of a few months that region which had been still so nourishing under its
+last khan, exhibited but one vast spectacle of oppression, misery, and
+devastation.</p>
+
+<p>Since that period there have elapsed sixty years, during which the
+Russian domination has never had any resistance to encounter or revolt
+to quell; and yet, notwithstanding the opening of the Dardanelles, the
+Tauris has been unable, to this day, to rise from the deep depression
+into which it was sunk by the political events of the close of the
+eighteenth century. It is true, no doubt, that very handsome villas have
+been erected on the southern coast, and that luxurious opulence has made
+that region its chosen seat; but the vital and productive forces of the
+peninsula have been smothered, its trade and agriculture have been
+destroyed; and that bootless quietude in which the dwindled population
+of the Tatars now vegetates, results, in fact, only from the destruction
+of all material resources, and the extinction of all moral and
+intellectual energy which have come to pass under the sway of the
+Russian administration.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTE:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Const. Porph. de adm. Imp., c. xiii.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XLII.</h2>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">COMMERCIAL POLITY OF RUSSIA IN THE CRIMEA&mdash;CAFFA SACRIFICED
+IN FAVOUR OF KERTCH&mdash;THESE TWO PORTS COMPARED&mdash;THE
+QUARANTINE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE SEA OF AZOF, AND ITS
+CONSEQUENCES&mdash;COMMERCE OF KERTCH&mdash;VINEYARDS OF THE CRIMEA;
+THE VALLEY OF SOUDAK&mdash;AGRICULTURE&mdash;CATTLE&mdash; HORTICULTURE&mdash;MANUFACTURES;
+MOROCCO LEATHER&mdash; DESTRUCTION OF THE GOATS&mdash;DECAY OF THE
+FORESTS&mdash;SALT WORKS&mdash;GENERAL TABLE OF THE COMMERCE OF THE
+CRIMEA&mdash;PROSPECTS OF THE TATAR POPULATION.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>When the Russian authority was fully established in the Crimea, and the
+inevitable disasters attending the occupation of a country by Muscovite
+troops had subsided, the imperial government seemed for a while disposed
+to rekindle the embers of the peninsular prosperity. The Emperor
+Alexander was personally acquainted with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[Pg 411]</a></span>the intrinsic value of the
+country, and manifested the best and most earnest intentions in its
+favour; but unfortunately he could not overcome the inveterate habits of
+the Russian functionaries, and their utter indifference to the true
+interests of the empire. Half measures, therefore, were all that was
+effected; custom-houses and quarantines were established, Caffa
+exchanged its name for that of the Milesian colony, German villages were
+founded,<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a> large grants of land were made to Russians and strangers,
+vines were planted, and the cultivation of the olive was attempted; but
+all capital questions were overlooked or misconceived; no thought was
+given to the matter of markets or to commercial relations; and the
+government persisting in its prohibitive system, assimilated the Crimea
+to the other provinces, in spite of strong remonstrances, and repudiated
+all thoughts of mercantile freedom, the only means by which it could
+have given new life to the Crimea, and created an active and industrious
+population in the place of the Tatar tribes, of whom war and emigration
+had deprived the country.</p>
+
+<p>But in lieu of such privileges Caffa was from the first endowed with a
+tribunal of commerce, a quarantine, and a custom-house of the first
+class; and if it could not recover its old greatness under the new
+domination, it might at least have expected to become one of the chief
+places of export and import in southern Russia, within the bounds
+prescribed by the exigencies of the customs. Situated at the extremity
+of the Tauric chain, not far from the Cimmerian Bosphorus, possessing
+the only trading port open to vessels in all seasons, in easy
+communication with rich and productive regions, this town possessed
+every possible claim to the peculiar attention of the Russian
+government. But the hopes which had been at first conceived, were
+entirely disappointed, and the unfortunate Theodosia was positively
+devoted to abandonment and destruction.</p>
+
+<p>It is not easy to determine the real motives for which the old Genoese
+city was abandoned in favour of its rival on the Cimmerian Bosphorus.
+The ostensible reasons were sanatory measures, the necessity of having a
+general quarantine at the entrance of the Sea of Azof, encouragement of
+coasters and lighters, and the utility of a vast emporium opened to the
+productions of all Russia. We believe, however, that all these arguments
+were in reality of very secondary weight, and that the downfall of
+Theodosia is to be ascribed to nothing else than an absurd vanity. To
+resuscitate the ancient name of <i>Odessus</i>; to found a town called
+<i>Ovidiopol</i> in a country where Ovid never resided; to lead our
+geographers into error by giving the name of <i>Tiraspol</i> to a mean
+village on the Dniestr, in the front of Bender; to substitute the name
+of <i>Theodosia</i> for that of Caffa; all these innovations might have
+pleased certain arch&aelig;ologists, but how was it possible to resist the
+thought of rebuilding the celebrated capital of the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus? How <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[Pg 412]</a></span>irresistible the temptation to raise a new and great
+city at the foot of Mithridates' rock! The memory of the Milesians had,
+therefore, to fade before that of the illustrious sovereign of Pontus;
+Theodosia was despoiled of its privileges and its revenues, its tribunal
+of commerce was transferred to Kertch, and double arbour dues were
+imposed on vessels touching there before arriving at the latter port.
+Assuredly no stronger testimony could be borne to the superiority of
+Theodosia than that which was embodied in these arbitrary measures, nor
+could there be a more incontestible proof of the caprice to which the
+Genoese town was sacrificed. Caffa was infinitely better fitted than
+Kertch to satisfy those conditions which the official orders announced
+as the grounds for destroying its commercial position. The Kertch roads
+are often closed against vessels for three or four months continuously;
+the anchorage is unsafe, and often disastrous, both from the want of
+shelter and from the shallowness of the water. The port of Theodosia, on
+the contrary, is always open, and shipwrecks are unknown there. During
+the fine season an active service of lighters might have concentrated
+there all the freights brought by the Don and the Sea of Azof. In this
+way the commercial intercourse with Russia by the Black Sea would never
+have suffered the least interruption; and, what is an incalculable
+advantage in those latitudes, foreign vessels, being no longer
+constrained to make the long and difficult passage to Taganrok, or to
+run the risk of wintering in the ice, might, if they failed to obtain
+freight at Theodosia, have proceeded in search of one without loss of
+time to the southern shores of the Black Sea. All these grand
+considerations, which had raised the prosperity of Caffa so high, were
+superseded by the dictates of vanity.</p>
+
+<p>Kertch then was declared, in 1827, a port of the first class, with a
+custom-house of entry and exit. A vast lazaret was immediately
+constructed, and five years afterwards appeared the famous sanatory
+orders which still regulate the navigation of the Sea of Azof. The
+duration of the quarantine was fixed at thirty days, but before that
+time can begin to run, the vessel must be moored within the lazaret, and
+every thing on board, including the effects of the crew, must be
+subjected to a fumigation of twenty-four hours. This operation being
+ended the sailors land, after having first divested themselves of all
+their dress and portable articles; the sails are plunged in water by the
+servants of the establishment, and the hull of the vessel is
+disinfected. After these preliminaries, which often occupy from ten to
+fifteen days, the sailors return to their vessels, and their days of
+quarantine begin to count. All these regulations are in curious contrast
+with those of the lazaret of Odessa, where the quarantine lasts only
+fifteen days.</p>
+
+<p>This new system, which was in fact an interdict upon the Sea of Azof,
+told of course in favour of Kertch. But the factitious prosperity of
+that town appears to us to have already reached its utmost limit, and we
+doubt much that the best devised or most <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[Pg 413]</a></span>stringent orders can ever give
+to its port those elements of commercial prosperity which nature has
+refused to it. Hence we see, that to avoid the delay and cost of the
+Kertch quarantine, the merchants of Taganrok and the neighbouring towns,
+use lighters almost exclusively to carry their goods to the vessels
+moored in the Cimmerian Bosphorus. On their arrival in the channel,
+these lighters are put into the hands of the crew belonging to the
+vessel to be freighted, and their men remain on shore during the
+trans-shipment. This being accomplished, the lighters are fumigated for
+twenty-four hours, and then taken back by the lightermen to the Sea of
+Azof. All these operations, however, are tedious, costly, and uncertain;
+and the only reason why the merchants have adopted this plan of
+proceeding is, that they all are reluctant to incur the great expenses
+of storing their goods in Kertch, and that the paucity of lighters,
+together with the irregularity of the winds, and the many shoals in the
+Sea of Azof, render shipments extremely expensive, so that no additional
+charge could be easily borne. At the opening of the navigation in 1839,
+freight between Taganrok and Kertch cost as much as four rubles per
+tchetvert of wheat, and 1-1/2 in the course of the summer. M. Taitbout
+de Marigny, who has paid great attention to all these matters, estimates
+the freight charges in question as equivalent on the average to those
+usually paid to Black Sea vessels bound for the Archipelago.<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a></p>
+
+<p>A remarkable result of this whole system of quarantine and customs is as
+follows. Suppose two vessels start simultaneously from the
+Mediterranean, the one for Taganrok, the other for Odessa, and that the
+latter failing to obtain a cargo, shall quit Odessa after its fifteen
+days' quarantine, and sail for the Sea of Azof: there is every
+probability that after remaining at Taganrok long enough to take in its
+cargo, it will on its return still find the first vessel in the Kertch
+roads, waiting to complete the formalities required before it can enter
+the Sea of Azof. Such measures as these, would inevitably keep aloof
+from the ports of the Sea of Azof, and even from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[Pg 414]</a></span>that of Kertch, every
+vessel that was sure of its cargo beforehand. It is needless to insist
+afresh in this place on the superiority of Theodosia, considered as a
+general entrep&ocirc;t of the goods arriving in the Sea of Azof, and of those
+which might have flowed directly into its port through the Isthmus of
+Arabat.</p>
+
+<p>As for the commercial resources belonging intrinsically to the town of
+Kertch, it is enough to look at its situation at the extremity of a
+long, depopulated, and sterile peninsula, and its distance from every
+route, whether political or commercial, to be assured that they must be
+quite futile. Seven years after the creation of its port, the annual
+customs' revenue had not risen above 1200 rubles. In 1840, the whole
+quantity of corn that had issued from the town of Kertch since its
+origin, whether directly or through the medium of its entrep&ocirc;ts,
+scarcely amounted to 5000 tchetverts, and the receipts of the
+custom-house for the same year were but 695,130. If from this sum we
+deduct 551,108, the amount of the excise on salt destined exclusively
+for Russian consumption, and a further considerable sum produced by
+other imposts, there will remain an exceedingly small amount to
+represent the nett commercial revenue. The port of Kertch has,
+therefore, by no means fulfilled the grand expectations so foolishly
+conceived of it; it has ruined the great city of Theodosia, robbed the
+Crimea of its commercial importance, cut off all chances of prosperity
+from the ports of the Sea of Azof, and crippled navigation; and all this
+without any profit worth speaking of to itself, and without the least
+prospect of ever rising above the low condition in which it is doomed to
+vegetate, both by its geographical situation, and the nature and
+configuration of the adjacent regions.</p>
+
+<p>The results have not been much more satisfactory as regards the growth
+of the Russian mercantile navy. According to official reports, which we
+believe exaggerated, there were, in 1840, in the Sea of Azof, 323
+vessels measuring about 26,000,000 of kilogrammes, and manned by 1517
+individuals. If we recollect that the Sea of Azof is but a marsh, the
+greatest depth of which does not exceed fourteen m&egrave;tres, that the crafts
+which ply in it, pursuing always the same invariable track, hardly
+require the simplest rudiments of nautical skill for their management,
+and that the navigation of the sea is usually interrupted during four or
+five months of the year, it will be easily conceived that the maritime
+advantages which may accrue to Russia, from the closing of the Sea of
+Azof, must be very insignificant, not to say quite illusory.</p>
+
+<p>We have now to examine the manufacturing and agricultural resources of
+the Crimea, and the measures which have been taken by the imperial
+government to further them. The cultivation of the vine may be
+considered as at present the most important, if not the most productive
+branch of industry in the country. When Russia took possession of it,
+the vineyards were concentrated in the southern valleys of Soudak,
+Kobsel, Koze, and Toklouk, and in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[Pg 415]</a></span>those of the Katch, the Alma, &amp;c., on
+the northern slope of the Tauric chain. These vineyards which seem to
+have existed from very remote antiquity, were all in the plain, where
+they were subjected to continual irrigations after the system of the
+Greeks and Tatars. The consequence of this mode of culture was that the
+crops were extremely abundant, and the wine of a very poor quality.<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a>
+After the Russian occupation, however, the business of vine-growing
+increased considerably in the northern valleys, which were soon
+frequented by the merchants of the interior, who were attracted both by
+the extraordinary cheapness of the produce, and by the facilities of
+transport. Thus the wines of the Crimea found their way into the
+interior of the empire, but they were chiefly used for mixing and
+adulteration; the small quantity that was sold in its original state was
+always of very bad quality, so that the peninsular wines were in very
+bad repute, and for a long while lost all chance of sale. This
+well-merited depreciation was such that even in our own day a merchant
+of eminence in Moscow or St. Petersburg would have thought it a serious
+disgrace to him to admit into his cellars a few bottles of Crimean wine.</p>
+
+<p>Such was the state of the vine cultivation in the Crimea, when Count
+Voronzof was named governor-general of New Russia. Under his active and
+enterprising administration, a bold attempt was made to change the whole
+system of cultivation, so as to produce wines capable of competing
+advantageously with those of foreign countries.<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a> The valleys, with
+their method of irrigation, were therefore abandoned, and the preference
+was given to the long strip of schistous and <i>&eacute;boulement</i> grounds which
+stretches along the seaside between Balaklava and Alouchta, on the
+southern coast. Count Voronzof set the example with his characteristic
+ardour; his first operations took place in 1826 at Aidaniel,<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> and six
+years afterwards he was the owner of 72,000 vine plants. The example of
+the governor-general was quickly followed, and in 1834, there were
+already 2,000,000 stocks in the country, from cuttings brought chiefly
+from the Rhenish and the French provinces.</p>
+
+<p>When the vines were in full bearing, the next thing to be considered was
+to find a market for their produce; but here arose a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[Pg 416]</a></span>great and
+unforeseen difficulty, and the brilliant expectations of the planters
+were soon miserably disappointed. In spite of the difficulties of the
+route, some merchants yielded to the earnest solicitations of the
+governor-general and his imitators, and arrived on the coast to
+purchase; but the demands of the proprietors were exorbitant; their
+first outlay had been very great, and their produce small, yet they were
+bent on realising at once the amount of their investments. They thought,
+too, that by setting a high price on their wines, they would secure
+their reputation; accordingly they fixed it at twenty to twenty-five
+rubles the vedro (0.1229 hectolitres), and immediately they lost all
+chance of sale.</p>
+
+<p>The business prospered better in the valley of the Soudak, where the
+same modifications had been introduced into the culture of the vine. The
+hill wines were sold at the rate of twelve to fifteen rubles the vedro,
+and those of the plain at five and six. But this did not last long; in
+1840 the wine growers of Soudak could no longer dispose of their stock,
+though they had reduced their prices to two and three rubles for the
+best qualities, and to one and one and a half for the lowland wines. As
+to the wine-growers of the southern coasts, they were very glad at that
+time if they could find purchasers at the rate of five or six rubles the
+vedro.</p>
+
+<p>Several causes contributed to these unfortunate results. The southern
+coast, as we have already said, consists of a long narrow strip of
+argillaceous schist and detritus, with a very steep inclination, and
+overtopped throughout its length by high cliffs of jura limestone. In
+consequence of these topographical conditions, the heat is very great in
+summer; the soil, which is quite destitute of watercourses, dries
+rapidly, and the many ravines by which it is intersected, completely
+deprives it of any little moisture that may remain in it. The scarcity
+of rain augments these disadvantages, so that the vine plants procured
+from abroad degenerate rapidly; as the grapes cannot ripen before
+autumn, the wine loses much in quality; and, moreover, the quantity is
+far from abundant, in proportion to the extent of the ground. These
+circumstances, combined with those occasioned by the desire to exalt the
+wines of the Crimea in public opinion, inflame both the pretensions of
+the proprietors and the indifference of the merchants, who could never
+have disposed of the coast wine at the high prices asked for it. These
+were afterwards considerably diminished, but not sufficiently to produce
+any effect. Whatever be said to the contrary, it is certain that the
+wines of the southern Crimea can never sustain any sort of comparison
+with those of France or the Rhine; hence they continued to be held in
+low repute, and the merchants of the interior still found it more to
+their advantage to make their purchases in the northern valleys, which
+were easy of access, and where the wine was incomparably cheaper. In
+spite of all their efforts, therefore, the wine-growers of the southern
+coast could not find a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[Pg 417]</a></span>market for their produce, and were obliged to
+consume the chief part of it themselves.</p>
+
+<p>It may, perhaps, excite surprise that no attempt has been made to evade
+the difficulties of land-carriage by seeking outlets by sea, and
+procuring customers in the great maritime towns of Russia. But unluckily
+there exists between Russia and Greece an ancient treaty, which the
+tzars, for political considerations no doubt, persist in religiously
+observing, and by virtue of which Greek wines are received almost free
+of duty in the imperial ports. Whoever is aware of the prodigious
+quantity and incredible cheapness of the wines of the Archipelago, and
+of the great facilities they afford for effecting mixtures and
+adulterations, will easily conceive, that with such a competition to
+encounter, the sale of Crimean wines became absolutely impossible. If
+the culture of the vine in the Crimea was induced by encouragements on
+the part of the government, then the landowners were grossly duped. But,
+as we shall explain by and by, the ministry seem never to have looked
+favourably on this branch of industry, and the vine-growers have only
+their own extreme want of forethought to blame for all the disasters
+that have befallen them.</p>
+
+<p>At Soudak, however, the mischief appears to us attributable solely to
+the misconduct of the authorities. We have already stated that the
+vintage speculations of Soudak were at first much more prosperous than
+those of the southern coast. The situation of the valley, which is of
+very easy access for northern traffic, and the decided preference of the
+German colonists for white wines, for many years kept the fine plain of
+Soldaya in a thriving if not an opulent condition. But unfortunately,
+that western part of the coast not being within the region which the
+governor-general and the great landowners had taken under their special
+protection, Soudak was completely abandoned to her own resources; her
+roads were left without repairs, and the local administration took no
+measures whatever for the preservation of order and the security of
+individuals. When I visited the coast in 1840, the roads of this
+district were in the most deplorable condition;<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> they were strewed
+with fragments of carts and casks; a German waggoner was killed in my
+presence <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[Pg 418]</a></span>by the breaking down of his waggon; thieving and pillage were
+the order of the day in the valley, and the proprietors could only
+preserve their chattels by keeping a close personal watch upon them day
+and night.</p>
+
+<p>The consequences of this culpable neglect may readily be imagined.
+Purchasers diminished in number year by year, the wines lost their
+value, and the unfortunate proprietors with large stocks on hand were
+reduced to great poverty. All sorts of expedients were adopted under the
+pressure of the calamity; the wines were turned into vinegar, but again
+the speculation failed for want of a market. We heartily desire that our
+reasonable remonstrances in favour of Soudak may reach the imperial
+government, so that effectual measures may be taken to revive the great
+natural wealth of that magnificent valley. We do not know the intentions
+of the present finance minister, but it is to be hoped that he will not
+partake the narrow views of his predecessor. Count Cancrini was a
+fanatic partisan of the consumption of foreign wines, and at the same
+time the declared enemy of the home growth, which he regarded as most
+injurious to the customs' revenue of the empire.</p>
+
+<p>In the present state of things it is not easy to predict the future
+fortunes of the Crimean wine production. For our own part, we are
+thoroughly convinced that France has no sort of competition to fear on
+the part of those regions. Whether the cultivation of the vine be
+concentrated in the valleys or on the hill sides, we do not think that
+the vintage can ever rival ours. It has been very justly remarked that
+wherever the vine and the olive grow together, the wines cannot have
+that delicacy and that <i>bouquet</i> which belong only to our temperate
+climates. We believe, however, that if the wines of the Archipelago were
+subjected to higher duties, if the means of transport were rendered more
+facile, and increased cultivation were given to the more open hill sides
+that extend towards the east of the Tauric chain, the Crimea would soon
+be enabled to supply the demand of the whole empire for the commoner
+sorts of wine, and the result would, perhaps, be extremely advantageous
+in diminishing the mischievous use of ardent spirits. Such a change as
+this would evidently be not at all prejudicial to French commerce, which
+sends only wines of the first quality to the south of Russia.</p>
+
+<p>According to a report printed in the Russian journals of 1834, and cited
+by M. Dubois, the 7,100,000 vine plants, contained in that year on the
+old and new plantations, were distributed as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="50%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 426">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="80%">South-west coast of the Crimea</td>
+  <td class="tdr" width="20%">1,600,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Soudak and south-east coast</td>
+  <td class="tdr">2,000,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Valley of the Katch</td>
+  <td class="tdr">2,000,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Valley of the Alma</td>
+  <td class="tdr">500,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Valley of the Belek</td>
+  <td class="tdr">500,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">German colonies</td>
+  <td class="tdr">500,000</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>The wine yielded by the vintage of 1832, was 32,307 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[Pg 419]</a></span>hectolitres, of
+which 1694 were the produce of the south-west coast, 6050 that of
+Soudak, and 7865 that of the valley of the Katch.</p>
+
+<p>The plantations have augmented considerably since that time; we cannot
+venture, however, to accept as authentic, the following statistics of
+the annual production of the Crimea, given us by landowners in 1840:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 427">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" width="33%">Valley of Soudak</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="33%">&nbsp;&nbsp;80,000 vedros</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="33%">&nbsp;&nbsp;9,760 hectolitres</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Southern coast</td>
+  <td class="tdc">120,000 vedros</td>
+  <td class="tdc">14,640 hectolitres</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Northern valleys</td>
+  <td class="tdc">750,000 vedros</td>
+  <td class="tdc">91,500 hectolitres</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>We have not much to say of the other branches of agriculture; they are
+all in the most deplorable state. The magnificent forests, yielding such
+quantities of timber, that formerly clothed the mountains, are rapidly
+disappearing. Camel breeding, formerly very productive to the Tatars of
+the plain, has given place to lank flocks of merinos. The most fertile
+valleys are in the same state of desolation in which they were left by
+the great calamities at the close of the last century, and the peninsula
+now produces scarcely corn enough for its own consumption. Horticulture
+alone has made any real progress. Some foreigners practise it with
+profit in the northern valleys, which for many years past have enjoyed
+the privilege of supplying all the fruit used at the tables of Moscow
+and St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>Manufactories are almost in the same state of decay as agriculture.
+Morocco and other leathers formerly constituted an important part of the
+exports from the Crimea; at present the value of these exports is no
+more than 129,646 rubles. It is about five years since this branch of
+industry was ruined. All that time there existed on the mountains of the
+peninsula a great quantity of goats, which being left at liberty,
+caused, it must be confessed, much damage to the forests, by nipping off
+the young shoots. According to the usual Russian practice of attacking
+secondary causes rather than going at once to the root of any evil, the
+local administration could devise nothing better in the case than to
+proclaim a war of extermination, by giving every one the right of
+hunting and killing goats, in all places and at all seasons. The goats
+were almost all destroyed, and with them fell of necessity the greater
+part of the manufactories for morocco leather. It would certainly have
+been easy for authorities, possessed of any practical ability, to
+preserve the forests without exterminating the goats; but as they would
+not, or could not, deal with the real destroyers, the noble landowners,
+they wreaked their spite on the quadrupeds. It is really inconceivable
+with what rapidity the finest forests of the Crimea are disappearing;
+year by year whole hills are totally stripped, and the government, stern
+as it has shown itself against the goats, takes no means to check this
+fatal devastation. Several great landowners are engaged in lawsuits
+gravely affecting their rights, and meanwhile, until their causes shall
+have been decided, they use their opportunity to cut timber as <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[Pg 420]</a></span>fast as
+possible. Foremost in those proceedings is Admiral Mordvinof, who has
+already destroyed the exceedingly rich forests that clothed the hills
+above the valley of Baidar. The effects of this clearing away of the
+forests are already felt severely; the rivers are diminishing in volume,
+a great number of springs have run dry, and fire wood, now costs as much
+as forty rubles the fathom at Ialta.</p>
+
+<p>Another branch of industry, likewise very profitable in former times,
+was the working of the rich salt-pits in the environs of Kozlov
+(Eupatoria). Only a few years ago eighty vessels used to come to the
+port from Anatolia, to take in cargo. The price of the salt was then
+very low, but the trade was nevertheless a source of employment and
+profit for all the surrounding population. The minister of finance was
+jealous of the profits realised by individuals in this trade, and
+therefore laid a considerable export duty on the salt. In the following
+year not a single vessel came from Anatolia, and it was soon ascertained
+that, prompted by necessity, the people of the southern shores of the
+Black Sea had found rich salt-pits in their own territory.</p>
+
+<p>The following table of the commerce of the Crimea in 1838 and 1839, is
+taken from official documents. The figures contained in it are in our
+opinion exaggerated, for they do not by any means agree with those
+resulting from the detailed table we shall give further on.</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 428">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdct">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">IMPORTS.</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">EXPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" width="20%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="20%">1838.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="20%">1839.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="20%">1838.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="20%">1839.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Kertch</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;175,321</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;250,887</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;226,999</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;123,082</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Theodosia</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;673,535</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;695,130</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">1,281,244</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;955,108</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Eupatoria</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;185,480</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;131,222</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">2,299,365</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">2,394,867</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Balaclava</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6,695</td>
+  <td class="tdclb"></td>
+  <td class="tdclb"></td>
+  <td class="tdclb"></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdlb" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">1,040,941</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">1,077,239</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">3,807,608</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">3,473,057</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Be it remarked that among the exports corn alone figured in 1839 for
+835,486 rubles for Theodosia, and 1,755,052 rubles for Eupatoria; and as
+all this corn came from countries beyond the Crimea, the nullity of the
+peninsular exportation is apparent. Moreover, the gross total of three
+and a half millions is scarcely the fifteenth part of the annual
+exportation of the town of Odessa alone. In order to give a more exact
+idea of the industrial and commercial situation of the Crimea, we set
+down the details of its exports and imports in 1839.</p>
+<br /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[Pg 421]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 429">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdctb" colspan="4">IMPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" width="55%" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">ARTICLES.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">KERTCH.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">THEODOSIA.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">EUPATORIA.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cotton</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;49,993</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;33,650</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cotton thread</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,080</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,986</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Turkish cotton cloths</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;14,164</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">532,976</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Chairs</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5,750</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Wooden vessels</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,645</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,441</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Woollen caps</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,504</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;29,218</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Oil</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;20,636</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,589</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;16,997</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Sickles</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5,000</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Wines</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;12,069</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,190</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,342</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Porter</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,600</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,171</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cassonade</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;14,354</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Fresh and dried fruit</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">100,402</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;15,107</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;27,464</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Fine pearls</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,000</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Coffee</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,319</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;25,102</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Linen thread</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,204</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Nard juice and grapes</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6,269</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Turkish tobacco</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,345</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7,823</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Olives</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,467</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Raw silk</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9,008</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Dyed silk thread</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;20,915</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Oak galls</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;20,387</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Colours</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;13,814</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Vegetables</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,122</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">Pepper</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,063</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 429b">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdctb" colspan="4">EXPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" width="55%" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">ARTICLES.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">KERTCH.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">THEODOSIA.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">EUPATORIA.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Raw hides</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;15,152</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;22,653</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;68,312</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Fish</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7,310</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Red caviar</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;13,113</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Linseed</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6,100</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Rapeseed</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;6,600</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Wheat</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;31,040</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">745,031</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">1,544,313</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Wool</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;41,185</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;19,087</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;344,997</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cordage</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,275</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Woollen felt</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;7,670</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;31,424</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Tanned leather</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;18,375</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5,150</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Flax, hemp, and stuffs</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;11,323</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;27,065</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Butter</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8,133</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;61,445</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Bar iron</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,340</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;14,700</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Salt</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8,813</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5,700</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Soda</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,691</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Rye</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;48,157</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;66,600</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Barley</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;39,485</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">1,333,640</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Millet</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,870</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1,910</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Glue</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,494</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Raw Hemp</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,264</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Locks</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;22,296</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Copper utensils</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,050</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Brass, and brass wire</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4,650</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Cutlery</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;13,509</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Swords and epaulettes</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,000</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Sheep skins</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,650</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Suet</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;11,893</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Turpentine</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,100</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Beans</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;8,589</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Flour</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2,120</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">Raw silk</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3,200</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[Pg 422]</a></span>We do not at all coincide in opinion with those who attribute the
+decadence we have just described to the general character of the people
+of the East. The Orientals, it is true, have none of that feverish
+activity which characterises the people of our climes; besides which
+their wants are so limited and so easily satisfied, that they can never,
+in their present social condition, become strenuous workers. Yet we have
+seen that the Tatars, when they first occupied the country, were
+distinguished for their agricultural and industrial labours, whether it
+was in consequence of their mixture with the old races, or merely of the
+propitious climate; they also employed themselves with such success in
+gardening and the cultivation of the vine and of corn, that the Crimea
+under the khans was considered one of the chief regions whence
+Constantinople drew its supplies. It was only the steppe tribes, whose
+sole wealth was their cattle, that remained true to their primitive
+habits and their nomade life. In like manner there exists to this day a
+very striking difference, both intellectual and physical, between the
+two fractions of the Mussulman race of the Crimea.</p>
+
+<p>We believe, therefore, that under a better system it would have been
+easy to revive the laborious disposition of the Tatars by facilitating
+and encouraging commercial transactions, and gradually effacing the
+disheartening apprehensions under which the Mussulman population have
+naturally laboured since their great calamities befel them. Assuredly we
+cannot blame Russia for that depopulation of the country which was the
+first cause of its decadence. As victors, the Russians used all the
+rights of the strong hand to consolidate their conquest and extinguish
+all chance of insurrection. The means no doubt were violent, disastrous,
+and often even exceeded all the bounds of humanity; yet it was scarcely
+possible but that excesses should be committed in a war between Russian
+Christians and Mussulman Tatars, who had so often braved, triumphed
+over, and swayed the Muscovite power. In fairness, therefore, we can
+only criticise the measures adopted by the Russian government
+subsequently to the conquest, from the day when the country was
+completely pacified, and the Tatars submitted implicitly to the new
+yoke, and lost all hope of deliverance.</p>
+
+<p>We have already seen how an act of caprice annihilated the commercial
+prosperity of Theodosia, which would naturally have had the greatest
+influence over the industrial development of the peninsula; and we have
+pointed out the mischievous measures that ruined various branches of the
+native trade. To these depressing causes, for which the government with
+its fatal system of prohibition and its half measures is alone
+responsible, we must add others no less active, because they principally
+affect the agricultural population who stand most in need of
+encouragement. We have already repeatedly mentioned the countless
+depredations of the inferior government agents. In the Crimea the
+difference of religion and language, and the difficulty of making any
+kind of appeal for redress, naturally <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[Pg 423]</a></span>rendered the local administration
+more troublesome and rapacious than in any other province. The
+consequence was that the Tatars led a life of fear and distrust,
+agriculture languished, and every man cultivated yearly only as much as
+was necessary for the subsistence of his family, that he might not
+excite the cupidity of the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>.</p>
+
+<p>On his accession to the government, Count Voronzof, with his natural
+kindness, applied himself strenuously to improve the condition of the
+Tatars; he took them under his special protection, and prevented the
+rapacity of his underlings as far as in him lay. Unfortunately, his
+efforts could hardly avail beyond the limits of his own estates, and all
+his generous intentions were baffled or worn out by the incessant
+pettyfogging arts of the <i>employ&eacute;s</i>. Nothing could more signally
+exemplify the distrustful feelings of the Tatars, than the events which
+occurred during the famine of 1833, which was so great that whole
+families perished of hunger. Moved by these misfortunes the government
+offered aid to the Tatars, but incredible as it may appear, the
+proffered succours were generally refused, so much did the Mussulmans
+dread the price which would be afterwards exacted for such assistance.</p>
+
+<p>Towards 1840, after the creation of the ministry of the domains of the
+crown under Count Kizilev, the imperial government set about the task in
+which Count Voronzof had failed. Men of the best character for
+intelligence and probity were sent to the Crimea, but their efforts were
+all ineffectual, and they soon retired in disgust from the useless
+struggle. The unfortunate Crimea was again surrendered to the unlimited
+power and endless knaveries of the captain <i>ispravniks</i>, and of the
+worthy subaltern agents of the local administration.</p>
+
+<p>What are the destinies ultimately reserved for the Mussulman population
+of the Crimea,<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> now numbering barely 100,000 souls?<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a> We are
+strongly inclined to anticipate its total extinction at a more or less
+remote date. The tribes are rapidly degenerating; the moral and physical
+forces of the nation are daily declining; the territorial wealth of the
+Tatars has been destroyed, sold, or divided; the native families
+distinguished for their past history or for their fortunes have
+disappeared; the population, instead of increasing, diminishes. There
+remains, therefore, no element of vitality to revive the effete remains
+of a power that made Russia tremble during so many centuries, and that
+even menaced for a while the political existence of all Europe.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> These colonies now consist of nine villages, with a
+population of 1800 souls.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> <i>Trade of the Sea of Azof, in 1838 and 1839.</i>
+</p>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="90%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 431">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdct">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdct">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">IMPORTS.</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">EXPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" width="22%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdc" width="18%">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">1838.<br />Rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">1839.<br />Rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">1838.<br />Rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl" width="15%">1839.<br />Rubles.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Taganrok</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Goods</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">5,887,901</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">5,334,369</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">7,666,943</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">13,813,323</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Cash</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,414,596</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,885,279</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Marcoupol</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Goods</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">300</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">987</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,422,107</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">6,276,882</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Cash</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">640,660</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">1,515,525</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Rostof on</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Goods</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">3,205,406</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">6,078,037</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;the Don</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Cash</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Bordiansk</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Goods</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">2,971,426</td>
+  <td class="tdrl">4,107,638</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdl">Cash</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">768,722</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">825,113</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdl" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">8,712,179</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">10,561,273</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">17,265,882</td>
+  <td class="tdrly">30,275,880</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> De La Mottraye, who visited the Crimea in 1711, speaks of
+a Soudak wine the flavour of which he compares with Burgundy. At that
+period the wines of the northern valleys sold at 2-1/2 centimes the
+bottle. In Peyssonel's time, in 1762, the Soudak wines fetched from 32
+to 38 centimes the bottle; those of Belbek 22 to 25, and those of Katch,
+of which De La Mottraye speaks, 13 to 15. The Ukraine Cossacks and the
+Zaporogues consumed the greatest portion of these wines; about 1210
+hectolitres annually according to Peyssonel. In 1784, at the time of the
+Russian occupation, the price of Soudak wine was 5 to 6 centimes the
+litre; it rose to 65 centimes in 1793, during the war with Turkey.&mdash;(See
+Pallas, Voyage dans la Russie M&eacute;ridionale.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Previously to Count Voronzof, M. Rouvier, who introduced
+the breed of merino sheep into Russia, had planted vines from Malaga on
+the hill sides of Laspi, at the western extremity of the chain; but his
+example had not many imitators.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> Aidaniel is north-east of Ialta, a little town, the chief
+station for steamboats.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Of roads perfectly practicable for wheeled vehicles there
+exist in the Crimea: 1. The road leading from Simpheropol to Sevastopol,
+skirting the northern slope of the Tauric chain; its length is
+thirty-nine English miles; 2. That from Simpheropol to Ialta, crossing
+the mountains at the foot of the Tchatir Dagh, forty-nine miles; 3. That
+from Ialta to Balaclava, proceeding along the southern coast as far as
+Foros, where it passes on to the northern side of the mountains; its
+length is forty miles between Ialta and Foros; the second portion was in
+course of construction in 1840. This line of road seems to us extremely
+ill-contrived. It has been carried along the very foot of the
+jura-limestone cliffs, for the purpose of avoiding expense in crossing
+the ravines; and thus it is completely exterior to the vine-growing and
+cultivable district, and every proprietor who desires to use it must
+make a private road at his own expense, in order to reach the elevated
+level of the highway. We say nothing of the roads in the plains, the
+construction of which, just as in the interior of Russia, consists
+merely in tracing the breadth and direction by a ditch on either side.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> Hitherto the Tatars have been exempted from military
+service; they are merely required to furnish one squadron to the
+imperial guard, to be discharged every five years. As for the taxes
+imposed on them they amount to the illusory sum of 8<i>s.</i> 4<i>d.</i> for every
+male individual, not including duty work on roads, transports, &amp;c.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> The total population of the Crimea is about 200,000,
+including Russians, Greeks, Armenians, Kara&iuml;tes, Germans, and other
+foreigners.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[Pg 424]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>CHAPTER XLIII.</h2>
+
+<p class="cen">HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BESSARABIA.</p>
+<br />
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang" style="margin-left: 2em;">TOPOLOGY&mdash;ANCIENT FORTRESSES&mdash;THE RUSSIAN POLICY IN
+BESSARABIA&mdash;EMANCIPATION OF THE
+SERFS&mdash;COLONIES&mdash;CATTLE&mdash;EXPORTS AND IMPORTS&mdash;MIXED
+POPULATION OF THE PROVINCE.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<p>To complete our account of the southern regions of Russia, it remains
+for us to speak of Bessarabia, the most remote province which the tzars
+possess on the shores of the Black Sea, and the country which formed,
+down to the commencement of the present century, one of the most
+valuable possessions of the principality of Moldavia. We will not now
+endeavour to withdraw the veil that covers the history of past ages, or
+discuss the effects produced upon this province by the expeditions of
+Darius and of Alexander, the Roman conquests, the Tatar invasions, and
+the Mussulman dominion: we will confine ourselves to contemporaneous
+facts, the only ones which can have some chance of exciting, if not
+interest, at least curiosity.</p>
+
+<p>Bessarabia is bounded on the south by the Danube, north and east by the
+Dniepr and the Black Sea, and west by the Pruth, which separates it from
+Moldavia, and by Bukovine, a dependency of Austria. It thus forms
+between two rivers which might easily be rendered navigable, a strip of
+more than 375 English miles in length, with an average breadth not
+exceeding fifty. This strip, which expands gradually as it approaches
+the sea, is divided into two regions, totally distinct both in
+population and in topographical character. The southern part, to which
+the Tatars have given the name of Boudjiak, consists of the flat country
+which extends to the sea between the mouths of the Danube and lower part
+of the Dniestr. It has all the characteristics of the Russian steppes,
+possesses but a few insignificant streams, and is chiefly fitted for
+rearing cattle; it yields little to tillage, except in some localities
+along the watercourses, where numerous colonies of Germans and
+Bulgarians are settled. The northern part adjoining Austria is, on the
+contrary, a hill country, beautifully diversified, covered with
+magnificent forests, and rich in all the productions of the most
+favoured temperate climates.</p>
+
+<p>At the period when the Russians appeared on the banks of the Dniestr,
+the Boudjiak steppes were occupied by Nogai Tatars, nomades for the most
+part, who after having been at first tributary to the khans of the
+Crimea, had placed themselves under the protection of the Porte; whilst
+the northern region was possessed by a numerous Moldavian population,
+essentially agricultural, subjected to the laws of serfdom, and
+acknowledging the authority of the hospodars of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[Pg 425]</a></span>Jassy. The Ottoman
+power was represented solely by military garrisons holding peaceful
+possession of the two fortresses of Ismael and Kilia on the Danube, and
+those of Khotin, Bender, and Ackerman, on the Dniestr.</p>
+
+<p>The fortress of Ismael is famous for the sieges sustained in it by the
+Turks against Souvarof. Its fortifications have not been much increased
+by Russia; she keeps in it a numerous garrison, and a considerable
+amount of artillery. The little flotilla of the Danube is stationed at
+the foot of the walls. The fort of Kilia is now quite abandoned.</p>
+
+<p>The fortress of Khotin is half of Genoese, half of Turkish construction.
+The citadel or castle is an irregular square, flanked by enormous
+towers. The Turks and the Russians have added new fortifications to the
+old works, without however increasing the strength of the position. In
+the present state of military art, Khotin is of no importance whatever.
+Commanded on all sides by hills, and situated on the very edge of the
+Dniestr, it would not resist a regular siege of a few hours. The walls
+consist of courses of brick and cut stone, and bear numerous Genoese
+inscriptions. Over the principal gate are seen a lion and a leopard,
+chained beside an elephant bearing a tower. These figures are in the
+Eastern style, and date from the time of the Turks. The doors and the
+uprights of the windows are adorned with verses from the Koran. The
+great mosque of the fortress has unfortunately been demolished, and
+nothing remains of it but its minaret, which stands alone in the midst
+of the place, as if to protest against the vandalism of the conquerors.
+On the other side of the Dniestr, at a short distance from the river, is
+Kaminietz, the capital of Podolia.</p>
+
+<p>Bender and Ackerman likewise possess two castles of Genoese and Turkish
+construction: the latter situated on the liman of the Dniestr, has been
+abandoned; the former, which stands on the main road to Turkey, has a
+garrison. Between Bender and Khotin, on the banks of the Dniestr, are
+the ruins of a fourth fortress called Soroka, which merits a special
+description, inasmuch, as it is altogether different from the other
+edifices we have noticed in Southern Russia. It forms a circular
+enclosure of thirty-one m&egrave;tres, interior diameter. At four equidistant
+points of the circumference, stand as many towers, projecting externally
+in a semi-cylindrical form, whilst on the interior they are prismatic.
+Between the two towers on the river side, there is a fifth which
+commands the single gate of the castle. The interior diameter of the
+towers is 5.5 m&egrave;tres; the thickness of the walls is 3.8 m&egrave;tres. They
+have embrasures in the upper parts, and a few openings at various
+heights. All round the walls in the inner court there is a circular
+range of apartments on the ground, in tolerable preservation, and
+consisting of ten casemates seven m&egrave;tres deep, lighted only from within.
+They formed probably, the stables of the fortress. Above this range are
+the remains of an upper story, which, of course, served with the towers
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[Pg 426]</a></span>for lodging the garrison. The whole building exhibits the greatest
+solidity, and the mortar is wonderfully hard. But it is a bitter
+disappointment to the traveller that there are no inscriptions on the
+walls, or sculpture of any kind to fix the date of the edifice. The
+fortress never had ditches; its strength consists only in the height and
+thickness of its walls. The only entrance is towards the Dniestr, four
+or five yards from the scarp that flanks the river. This arrangement was
+probably adopted in order to secure a means of retreat, and of receiving
+provisions by way of the river.&mdash;The general appearance of the castle
+reminded me of the Roman fortresses erected against the barbarians,
+remains of which exist in many parts of Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Bessarabia was justly considered, at the period referred to above, as
+one of the most fertile and productive provinces of the Black Sea.
+Ismael and Remy were its two great export markets for corn; Ackerman
+sent numerous cargoes of fruit and provisions of all kinds yearly to
+Constantinople; the magazines of the fortresses were profusely filled
+with wheat and maize; the countless flocks of the Boudjiak steppes
+supplied wool to the East and to Italy; and Austria alone drew from them
+annually upwards of 60,000 heads of cattle. Such were the circumstances
+of Bessarabia at the time when the Russians, in the worst moment of
+their disasters, at the very time when Napoleon was entering their
+ancient capital, had the courageous cleverness to obtain the cession of
+that province, and advance their frontier to the Danube, at the same
+time securing the inestimable advantage of being free to withdraw their
+troops from it, and march them against the invader.</p>
+
+<p>When the Russians took possession, the Nogais, many tribes of whom had
+previously emigrated, completely forsook their old possessions, and
+withdrew beyond the Danube, and thus there remained in Bessarabia only
+the Moldavian population, who were Greek Christians, like the Russians.
+The conduct of the government towards the Bessarabians was at first as
+accommodating and liberal as possible. Official pledges were given them,
+that they should retain their own language, laws, tribunals, and
+administrative forms of all kinds. The governors of the country were
+chosen from among the natives, and the province remained in the full
+enjoyment of its commercial immunities and franchises, which were the
+grand bases of its agricultural prosperity. But these valuable
+privileges soon begot jealousies; the old administration fell into
+discredit through its own injudicious pretensions, and perhaps also in
+consequence of political intrigues against it, and it became exposed to
+the incessant hostility even of the boyars. The outcry was so great,
+that the Emperor Alexander, wishing to satisfy the population,
+determined that a new constitution should be framed, which should be
+more in harmony with the habits, the wants, and the state of
+civilisation of the country.</p>
+
+<p>A committee of twenty-eight was appointed to draw up this <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[Pg 427]</a></span>constitution,
+conspicuous among whom was M. Pronkoul, one of the most eminent boyars
+of the country. He had the chief hand in framing the constitution, and
+he promoted the adoption of its most liberal articles, with a very
+laudable spirit and much cleverness, no doubt, but with by no means a
+just discernment of the state of things. As soon as the commission had
+completed its task, Alexander visited Bessarabia, in 1818, and was
+welcomed with the most cordial gladness, and the most sumptuous
+rejoicings. He received from the province a national present of 5000
+horses, and was quite amazed at the prosperity and the inexhaustible
+resources of his new conquest. It was naturally desired to take the
+opportunity of his presence for the ratification of the new
+constitution; but that was not to be had so readily, since it brought in
+question the principle of the political unity of the empire. It was
+rightly represented to Alexander that it would be imprudent and
+impolitic to give a final and decisive sanction to a system, the real
+value and fitness of which could only be made known by time. The emperor
+yielded to these considerations, and merely ordered that the
+constitution should be put in force, without prejudice to the future.</p>
+
+<p>The fundamental principles of this constitution were as liberal as
+possible; too liberal, indeed, to have had the slightest chance of
+enduring. Bessarabia retained all its nationality; the governor and the
+vice-governor alone could be Russians, all the other functionaries were
+to be Moldavians; the province continued to enjoy all commercial
+immunities, and the finances, too, were under the immediate inspection
+and control of the natives. To any man of common sense and foresight,
+the maintenance of such a constitution was a chimera. Was it to be
+imagined that Russia would allow the subsistence of a conquered province
+on its extreme frontiers, in contact with Turkey, governing itself by
+its own laws, and possessing an administration diametrically opposed to
+that which controls the other governments of the empire?</p>
+
+<p>The Moldavian boyars nevertheless considered the promulgation of the
+constitution as a victory, and thought in their infatuation they might
+defy all the chances of the future. But events soon undeceived them, and
+the mismanagement of their own institutions provoked the first blow
+against their privileges. In accordance with old customs the government
+continued to sell the taxes by auction, and they were generally farmed
+by the great landowners of the province. This vicious system of finance,
+which had been practised under the Oriental regimen of the hospodars,
+could not fail to have fatal consequences under the new system of
+things. As we have already said, Bessarabia had retained her commercial
+freedom in its full extent after her union with Russia. It rapidly
+degenerated into an abuse, through the improvident prodigality of the
+Moldavians, and the extravagant ideas of civilisation and progress that
+fermented in all their brains; luxury increased beyond measure among the
+nobles, and Kichinev, the capital, became famous through <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[Pg 428]</a></span>all the
+country for its sumptuous festivities, and the wealth of its ware-rooms.
+The consequence was that the receipts of the treasury proceeded in the
+inverse ratio of the progress of luxury; and the farmers, whose expenses
+swallowed up more than the revenue, were last unable to pay the sums
+they had contracted for. The imperial government was of course indulgent
+during the first years, and had not recourse to any severe measures.
+This conduct encouraged the defaulters, and the disorder of the finances
+at last reached such a pass as called indispensably for the strenuous
+intervention of the imperial government. The commercial franchises of
+the province were suppressed therefore in 1822, the prohibitive system
+of the imperial customs was introduced, and the payment of all arrears
+was rigorously exacted. This last measure of course gave occasion to
+endless suits and executions, and so the ruin of the principal families
+was accomplished at the same time as the destruction of all their
+political influence, and the government had then only to fix the day
+when its principles of political unity should have complete force in its
+new conquest.</p>
+
+<p>The constitution thus impaired, subsisted, however, until the death of
+Alexander; but on the accession of Nicholas it was completely
+suppressed; Bessarabia was deprived of all its privileges, and even of
+its language, and was assimilated in all points of administration to the
+other provinces of the empire; with the exception, however, that the
+government, in order to ensure the ulterior success of its measures,
+took from the inhabitants the right of electing their captain
+ispravniks, or officers of rural police.<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a></p>
+
+<p>So radical a revolution could not be effected without bringing with it
+serious perturbations. It is enough to recollect what we have said of
+the venality of the public functionaries, in order to guess what the
+Bessarabians must have had to endure at the hands of that multitude of
+Russian <i>employ&eacute;s</i> who took up their quarters in the towns and villages.
+The intrigues and pettyfogging artifices of these men complicated more
+and more the already numerous lawsuits; and the daily increasing
+perplexities in the relations between the landowners, the freedmen, and
+the serfs, overthrew all the elements of the national wealth. To all
+these causes of disorganisation were added the military occupation of
+the country in the time of the Turkish war, and this was the more
+onerous because the rich procured themselves exemption for money, and
+the whole burden fell on the petty proprietors and the peasants.</p>
+
+<p>When the country fell into this state of exhaustion, the boyars <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[Pg 429]</a></span>were
+not slow to remonstrate: and they did so with such vehemence, on the
+occasion of the journey of the Emperor Nicholas, in 1827, that he
+resolved to have a commission appointed, to report to him at St.
+Petersburg, on the grievances of the province. The election of the
+commissioners took place immediately; but as the boyars revived their
+old pretensions, whilst the government strenuously adhered to its system
+of political unity, it was not possible to come to an understanding
+respecting the ameliorations to be introduced into the administrative
+regimen. The elections, after being frequently annulled and recommenced,
+produced no result, and the last commission named was finally dissolved
+without having been able to repair to St. Petersburg.</p>
+
+<p>All these long altercations necessarily produced asperity in the
+relations of Bessarabia with the superior administration, and at last
+the imperial government, weary of these discussions, was ready to take
+any measure to reduce the Moldavians to the most absolute political and
+administrative nullity, even to the prejudice of the national
+prosperity. To this end it was determined to cut off the last means of
+influence which serfdom afforded to the boyars, by issuing an ukase, by
+virtue of which all serfs were declared free, with the right of residing
+where they pleased. The consequences of this abrupt emancipation were,
+of course, disastrous to agriculture. Urged by intrigues, or by the
+chimerical hope of bettering their physical condition, the serfs
+abandoned their old abodes to settle elsewhere, and chiefly on the lands
+recently acquired by the Russians. In this way many villages were left
+deserted, the lands remained untilled, and the landowners found
+themselves suddenly deprived of the hands necessary for their work.</p>
+
+<p>Putting aside all political considerations, this measure of the
+government was unquestionably premature. Nothing in the moral or
+physical condition of the Bessarabians could as yet justify so radical a
+destruction of all that belonged to the old system. The state of the
+serfs was in fact very tolerable, and quite in harmony with the
+civilisation of the country. The peasants were no further bound to the
+soil, than inasmuch as a certain portion of it was placed at their
+disposal. Their duties to their lords were defined by rule, and
+consisted generally of eighteen days' labour in the year, some haulages,
+and the tithes of their produce. The landowners, no doubt, occasionally
+abused their power in a cruel manner; but these abuses were not without
+remedy. A resolute and conscientious administration might easily have
+put an end to them. Under the present system, the peasants possessing no
+lands appeared to us in reality much more enslaved, and in a far less
+satisfactory physical condition. Formerly, the interests of the lords
+and the serfs were closely united, the prosperity of either necessarily
+inferred that of the others; but now that the emancipated serfs,
+possessing no means of subsistence of their own, cultivate the land only
+in virtue of a contract, the landowners think only how to get as much
+profit out of them as possible, during the time the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[Pg 430]</a></span>engagement lasts,
+and care nothing what becomes of them afterwards. The peasants, it is
+true, have a right of appealing to the tribunals; but in consequence of
+the venality of the latter, their complaints generally serve only to put
+them to expense, and make their condition worse. A rich boyar said very
+na&iuml;vely to me on this subject, "How do you suppose the husbandman can
+obtain justice, when for every egg he gives we give a silver ruble?"
+Again, the frequent changes of abode are very pernicious, from the loss
+of time and the expense they occasion. Other dwellings must be built,
+new habits must be contracted; the peasant is soon reduced to
+destitution, and finds himself obliged to accept whatever terms are
+offered him. In this way the dependence of the rural population is but
+the more grievous for being limited, and their situation towards the
+landlords is without security for the present, or guarantee for the
+future. Nor have their duty labours undergone any modification, and the
+abuses are exactly the same as under the old r&eacute;gime. Without exceeding
+the limits of the regulations, a peasant pays his master tithes of all
+agricultural produce, besides 1<span class="super">r.</span>20 for every head of large cattle,
+0.16 for each sheep, and one hive of honey out of every fifty he
+possesses. He takes upon himself, moreover, all repairs of buildings,
+enclosures, &amp;c., supplies night watchers, executes annually at least
+three haulages over thirty-eight miles of ground, and seldom works less
+than twenty-eight or thirty days for his landlord, often as much as
+fifty or even sixty. In point of physical welfare, therefore, the
+results of emancipation are quite illusory, and the more so as the
+peasants enjoy no political rights, and support all the burdens and
+<i>corv&eacute;es</i>. In fine, the new system has as yet produced only loss,
+trouble, and embarrassment, both to large and small fortunes. As to
+hopes for the future, none can be seriously conceived, except for very
+distant times. It will require many years even for a wise and
+enlightened administration to rectify the state of a country whose
+population consists of a scanty body of landowners, and a mass of
+peasants without fixed domicile, possessing no other resources than the
+chance of a limited engagement, and the labour of their hands.</p>
+
+<p>We will not go into details of all the measures adopted by the Russian
+government with reference to the agricultural and commercial affairs of
+Bessarabia: they were as contradictory and as irrational as those we
+have noticed in our account of the Crimea. The immigrations of the
+Bulgarians<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> and Germans,<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> it is true, were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[Pg 431]</a></span>favoured, and they
+were granted the most fertile lands of the Boudjiak; several villages of
+Cossacks<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a> and of Great Russians<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> were settled in the same regions;
+and attempts were even made with some success to colonise a few nomade
+tribes of gipsies.<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> But all these excellent creations, the first idea
+of which belongs to the head of the state, were largely counterbalanced
+by the mischievous measures of the local boards. Thus, for instance, in
+consequence of the division among the great landlords of all the immense
+meadows formerly possessed by the hospodars, and which they used to rent
+out in pasture, the national business of rearing zigai sheep was
+destroyed, and gave place to some ruinous attempts to introduce the
+merino breed. Extreme injury was done at the same time to the breeding
+of horses and horned cattle, a business which the government had already
+seriously damaged by forcing the proprietors of such stock to become
+Russian subjects or give up their employment, and by impeding by
+countless vexatious formalities the entrance of foreign merchants into
+the province, and their sojourn in it. In 1839, Bessarabia sold only
+2365 horses, whereas formerly Austria alone drew from it from 12,000 to
+15,000 every year for her cavalry.<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a></p>
+
+<p>The following general table of the exports and imports of Bessarabia by
+the Danube and by land is drawn up from official documents. It cannot,
+however, indicate precisely the commercial situation of Bessarabia,
+since a considerable portion of the goods declared in five places named
+belongs only to the transit trade through the province, which, moreover,
+receives a quantity of manufactured and other goods from Southern Russia
+that are not mentioned at all in the table. Our figures would require a
+certain reduction to make them accurately represent the true state of
+the case.</p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[Pg 432]</a></span>
+
+<div class="centered">
+<table border="0" width="75%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="png 440">
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="5">BY THE DANUBE.&mdash;IMPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdct">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">1838.</td>
+  <td class="tdctlb" colspan="2">1839.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" width="40%">NAMES OF PLACES.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">Goods.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">Cash.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">Goods.</td>
+  <td class="tdclb" width="15%">Cash.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">rubles.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Ismael</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;253,697</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">1,632,996</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;238,996</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;820,035</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Reny</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;50,193</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;797,497</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;85,429</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;553,174</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;303,890</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">2,430,493</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;324,425</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">1,373,209</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="5">EXPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Ismael</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">3,913,494</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;9,915</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">2,793,244</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Reny</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;718,040</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;50,773</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;609,541</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;77,745</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">4,631,534</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;60,688</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">3,402,785</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;77,745</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="5">BY LAND.&mdash;IMPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Novo Selitza, Austrian frontier</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;221,324</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">1,939,604</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;245,198</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">3,048,064</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Skouleni on the Pruth</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;222,507</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;497,209</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;195,088</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;721,015</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Leovo on the Pruth</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;52,336</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;29,932</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;55,664</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;26,291</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;496,167</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">2,466,745</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;495,950</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">3,795,370</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdc" colspan="5">EXPORTS.</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Novo Selitza</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">1,978,172</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;163,868</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">3,277,660</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;81,868</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Skouleni</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;829,692</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;525,638</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;737,462</td>
+  <td class="tdcl">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;540,618</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl">Leovo</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;96,832</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;60,537</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;59,906</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;36,709</td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+  <td class="tdl" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Total</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">2,904,696</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;750,043</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">4,075,028</td>
+  <td class="tdclb">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;659,195</td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+
+<p>Total of the customs and other duties realised in 1838, in the five
+localities above-named, 360,332 rubles, and in 1839, 319,134 rubles.</p>
+
+<p>From some scattered details we have already given, the reader may
+conjecture that the population of Bessarabia is exceedingly mixed. The
+Boudjiak numbers among its inhabitants, Great Russians, Cossacks,
+Germans, Bulgarians, Swiss vine-dressers, gipsies, and Greek and
+Armenian merchants. The northern part of the province, on the contrary,
+is occupied almost exclusively by the Moldavian race, whose villages
+extend even along the Dniestr to the vicinity of Ackerman. Jews abound
+in the northern part; there are very few in the towns of the Boudjiak;
+leaving them out of the account the Bessarabian population may be
+divided into four great classes: the nobles, the free peasants who
+possess lands, the newly emancipated peasants, and the gipsies. The
+nobles consist of the ancient Moldavian aristocracy, the public
+functionaries, retired officers, and a great number of Russians, who
+have become landowners in the province. To this class we must join the
+Mazils, who are descendants of the ancient boyars, but whom war and the
+numerous revolutions that have desolated the land have reduced to
+penury. They form at present an <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[Pg 433]</a></span>intermediate class between the new
+nobles and the peasantry, and differ from the aristocracy only in not
+taking part in the elections of the judges and marshals of the nobles.
+The free peasants are those, who, having been emancipated in times more
+or less remote, possess lands, and depend neither on the great landlords
+nor on the crown, though subject to ordinary imposts and <i>corv&eacute;es</i>. The
+newly liberated peasants consist of those who are settled, by virtue of
+a contract or agreement, on lands belonging to individuals or to the
+crown; they form the majority of the population. The Bohemians are still
+subjected to the laws of slavery. Some of them, to the number of 900
+families, belong to the crown, and the rest to Moldavian landowners, who
+usually employ them as servants, workmen, and musicians.</p>
+
+<p>In Bessarabia, as throughout Russia and the principalities of the
+Danube, the new generation of nobles have completely renounced the
+habits of former days. They have of course adopted the straight coat,
+trousers, cravat, and all the rest of our Western costume; there is
+nothing striking in their outward appearance. The old boyars alone
+adhere to their ancestral customs; a broad divan, pipes, coffee, dolces,
+and the kieff after dinner, are indispensable for them; and to some of
+them shampooing is a delicious necessity. I know a certain nobleman who
+cannot fall asleep without having his feet rubbed by his Bohemian. But
+what above all strikes and delights every stranger, especially a
+Frenchman, is the eager and cordial hospitality and kindness he
+encounters in every Moldavian house. One is sure of meeting everywhere
+with men who sympathise heartily with every thing great and useful to
+mankind which our civilisation and our efforts have produced in these
+latter times. It is only to be regretted that these brilliant qualities
+are often tarnished by the corruption which administrative venality and
+rapacity, supervening upon long military occupations, have insensibly
+diffused through all classes of the population.</p>
+
+<p>The Bessarabian of the lower class is by nature a husbandman; he very
+rarely plies a trade. To know his real worth he must be seen in the
+interior of the country, far from the towns. The Moldavian peasant is
+brave, gay, and hospitable; he delights to welcome the stranger, and
+generally would be ashamed to receive the slightest present from him.
+The Russians accuse him of excessive sloth, but the charge appears
+unfounded. The Moldavian peasant seldom, indeed, thinks of accumulating
+money, but he always works with zeal until he has attained the position
+he had aspired to, the amount of comfort he had set his heart on; and,
+in reality, it is not until after the fulfilment of his desires that he
+becomes lazy, and that his efforts are generally limited to procuring
+his family the few sacks of maize necessary for its subsistence. But
+increase his wants, make him understand that there are other enjoyments
+than those in which he indulges so cheaply, and you will infallibly see
+him shake off his natural apathy, and rise to the level of the new ideas
+he has adopted.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[Pg 434]</a></span>The most charming thing in the Moldavian villages is the extreme
+cleanliness of the houses, which are generally surrounded by gardens and
+thriving orchards. Enter the forest dwelling, and you will almost always
+find a small room perfectly clean, furnished with a bed, and broad
+wooden divans covered with thick woollen stuffs. Bright parti-coloured
+carpets, piles of cushions, with open work embroideries, long red and
+blue napkins, often interwoven with gold and silver thread, are
+essential requisites in every household, and form a principal portion of
+the dowery of young women.</p>
+
+<p>In general, the women take little part in field labours, but they are
+exceedingly industrious housewives. They are all clever weavers, and
+display great art and taste in making carpets, articles of dress, and
+linen. The great object of emulation among the women of every village,
+is to have the neatest and most comfortable house, and the best supplied
+with linen and household utensils.</p>
+
+<p>Such was Bessarabia, when I visited it in detail, on my return from my
+long journeys in the steppes of the Caspian. I visited it a second time
+when about to quit Russia for the principalities of the Danube; and when
+I crossed the Pruth, I could not help reiterating my earnest prayers
+that the inexhaustible resources of this province may at last be duly
+appreciated, and that effectual measures may be taken to put an end to
+that languor and depression in which it has been sunk for so many years.</p>
+
+<h4>FOOTNOTES:</h4>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> Bessarabia now includes nine districts, the capitals of
+which, beginning from the south, are Ismael, Ackerman, Kahoul, Bender,
+Kichinev, Orgeiev, Beltz, Soroka, and Khotin. Kichinev is the capital of
+the government; it was formerly a poor borough on the Bouik, a little
+river that falls into the Dniestr; the preference was given it on
+account of its central position. Its population is now 42,636, of whom
+from 15,000 to 18,000 are Jews. It is to the administration of
+Lieutenant-general F&oelig;derof that the town owes the numerous
+embellishments, and the principal public edifices it presents to the
+traveller's view.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> The Bulgarian colonies, the most prosperous of all those
+that have been established in the Boudjiak, numbered in 1840, 10,153
+families, comprising 32,916 males, and 29,314 females. The surface of
+their lands has been estimated at 585,463 hectares, of which 527,590 are
+fit for tillage and hay crops, and 57,873 are waste. The Bulgarian
+colonists pay the crown 50 rubles per family. The corn harvest amounted,
+in 1839, to 211,337 tchetverts. They have contrived to preserve among
+them the breed of zigai sheep, the long strong wool of which is in
+demand in the East, and formed, previously to the Russian occupation,
+the chief wealth of the Bessarabians: they now possess about 343,479.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> The German colonies include nineteen villages and 1736
+families. They are in a very backward condition.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> After the destruction of the celebrated Setcha of Dniepr,
+the Zaporogue Cossacks withdrew in great numbers beyond the Danube, and
+settled with the permission of the Turks on that secondary branch of the
+Balkan which runs between Isaktchy and Toultcha. During the wars of 1828
+and 1829, the Russian government contrived to gain the allegiance of
+many of the descendants of these Zaporogues who served it as spies.
+Their number was so considerable that after the campaign Russia formed
+them into military colonies in the Boudjiak. These colonies increased
+greatly in consequence of the asylum they afforded to all the refugees
+and vagabonds of Russia, and presented, in 1840, an effective of two
+regiments of cavalry of 600 men each, with a total population of 3000
+families, having eight villages and 50,000 hectares of land.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> We have no exact data respecting these villages, the
+situation of which is wretched enough. Their population consists
+entirely of fugitives, to whom the government had for many years granted
+an asylum in Bessarabia to the detriment of the neighbouring
+government.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> The gipsies have three villages containing 900 families.
+The establishment of these colonies was not effected without difficulty,
+and it required all the severity of a military administration to make
+them sow their grounds.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p class="noin"><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> Since our departure, the Russian government seems disposed
+to interest itself on behalf of Bessarabia. We are informed that it is
+at present turning its attention to the navigation of the Dniestr, a
+matter of the more importance since the Dniestr washes Bessarabia
+throughout its whole length, and there is not yet in that province any
+means of communication practicable at all seasons.</p></div>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[Pg 435]</a></span>
+<br />
+
+<hr />
+<br />
+<h2>NOTE.</h2>
+<br />
+
+<p>To complete our author's account of Sevastopol, we subjoin an abstract
+of a paper by Mr. Shears, C.E., which was read at the meeting of the
+Institution of Civil Engineers, January 12, 1847.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Sevastopol is very peculiarly situated, amidst rocky
+ground, rising so abruptly from the shore, that there was
+not space for the buildings necessary for a dockyard. On
+account of the depth of water close in shore, and other
+natural advantages, the emperor determined to make it the
+site of an extensive establishment, and as there is not any
+rise of tide in the Black Sea, and the construction of
+cofferdams would have been very expensive and difficult in
+such a rocky position, it was decided to build three locks,
+each having a rise of ten feet, and at this level of thirty
+feet above the sea to place a main dock with lateral docks,
+into which vessels of war could be introduced, and the gates
+being closed, the water could be discharged by subterranean
+conducts to the sea, and the vessel, being left dry, could
+be examined and repaired, even beneath the keel. A stream
+was conducted from a distance of twelve miles to supply the
+locks, and to keep the docks full; this, however, has been
+found insufficient, and a pumping-engine has since been
+erected by Messrs. Maudsley and Field, for assisting.</p>
+
+<p>"The original intention was to have made the gates for the
+docks of timber, but on account of the ravages of a worm,
+which it appears does not, as in the case of the Teredo
+navalis or the Tenebranes, confine itself to the salt water,
+it was resolved to make them with cast iron frames covered
+with wrought iron plates.</p>
+
+<p>"There are nine pairs of gates, whose openings vary from 64
+feet in width and 34 feet 4 inches in height for ships of
+120 guns, to 46 feet 7 inches in width, and 21 feet in
+height, for frigates.</p>
+
+<p>"The manipulation of such masses of metal as composed these
+gates demanded peculiar machines; accordingly, Messrs.
+Rennie fitted up a building expressly, with machines
+constructed by Mr. Whitworth, by which all the bearing
+surfaces could be planed, and the holes bored in the ribs,
+and all the other parts, whether their surfaces were curved
+or plane. The planing was effected by tools which travelled
+over the surface, backward and forward, cutting each way;
+the piece of metal being either held in blocks, if the
+surface was plane, or turned on centres, if the surface was
+curved. The drilling was performed by machines, so fixed,
+that the pieces could be brought beneath or against the
+drills, in the required direction, and guided so as to
+insure perfect uniformity and accordance between them.</p>
+
+<p>"Travelling cranes were so arranged, as to take the largest
+pieces from the wharf, and place them in the various
+machines, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[Pg 436]</a></span>by the agency of a very few men, notwithstanding
+their formidable dimensions; the heelposts in some cases
+being upwards of 34 feet long. Each endless screw, for
+giving progressive motion to the cutting tools, was 45 feet
+long. Some idea may be formed of the manual labour avoided
+by the machines, when it is stated, that the surface planed
+or turned in the nine pairs of gates equals 717,464 square
+inches; and in some cases a thickness of three-quarters of
+an inch was cut off. The surface in the drilled bolt holes
+equals 120,000 square inches."</p>
+
+<p>The paper gave all the details of the construction of the
+gates, and the machinery for making them; and was
+illustrated by a series of detailed drawings.</p></div>
+<br />
+
+<h3>THE END.</h3>
+
+<hr style="width: 15%" />
+<br />
+<h4>C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.</h4>
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+
+<div class="tr">
+<p class="cen"><a name="TN" id="TN"></a>Transcriber's Note</p>
+<br />
+Some inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in
+the original document has been preserved.<br />
+<br />
+Typographical errors corrected in the text:<br />
+<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    v&nbsp;  Debats changed to D&eacute;bats<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    v&nbsp;  Ickaterinoslav changed to Iekaterinoslav<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;    6&nbsp;  accomodation changed to accommodation<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   20&nbsp;  etsablished changed to established<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   26&nbsp;  bord changed to board<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   27&nbsp;  that changed to than<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   55&nbsp;  DEBATS changed to D&Eacute;BATS<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   59&nbsp;  orgie changed to orgy<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   70&nbsp;  porticos changed to porticoes<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   71&nbsp;  satify changed to satisfy<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   77&nbsp;  party changed to parti<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   78&nbsp;  Alsacian changed to Alsatian<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   84&nbsp;  Azor changed to Azov<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   87&nbsp;  guerillero changed to guerrillero<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   93&nbsp;  "Every thing is matter of surprise" changed to "Every thing is a matter of surprise"<br />
+Page&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;   93&nbsp;  cassino changed to casino<br />
+Page&nbsp;  113&nbsp;  choses changed to chooses<br />
+Page&nbsp;  114&nbsp;  subsistance changed to subsistence<br />
+Page&nbsp;  117&nbsp;  bead changed to head<br />
+Page&nbsp;  120&nbsp;  acording changed to according<br />
+Page&nbsp;  141&nbsp;  Gengis changed to Genghis<br />
+Page&nbsp;  153&nbsp;  Gengis changed to Genghis<br />
+Page&nbsp;  157&nbsp;  Alsacean changed to Alsacian<br />
+Page&nbsp;  159&nbsp;  it changed to its<br />
+Page&nbsp;  173&nbsp;  stupified changed to stupefied<br />
+Paqe&nbsp;  174&nbsp;  vieing changed to vying<br />
+Page&nbsp;  176&nbsp;  rareties changed to rarities<br />
+Page&nbsp;  180&nbsp;  Tibetian changed to Tibetan<br />
+Page&nbsp;  185&nbsp;  Tondoutof changed to Tondoudof<br />
+Page&nbsp;  194&nbsp;  Samarcand changed to Samarkand<br />
+Page&nbsp;  196&nbsp;  hectrolitres changed to hectolitres<br />
+Page&nbsp;  207&nbsp;  semovar changed to samovar<br />
+Page&nbsp;  214&nbsp;  gaolors changed to gaolers<br />
+Page&nbsp;  217&nbsp;  wo-begone changed to woe-begone<br />
+Page&nbsp;  218&nbsp;  semovar changed to samovar<br />
+Page&nbsp;  223&nbsp;  downfal changed to downfall<br />
+Page&nbsp;  224&nbsp;  predecesssors chaned to  predecessors<br />
+Page&nbsp;  235&nbsp;  Tourgouth changed to Torgouth<br />
+Page&nbsp;  237&nbsp;  latitiude changed to latitude<br />
+Page&nbsp;  257&nbsp;  batallions changed to battalions<br />
+Page&nbsp;  267&nbsp;  Ghenghis changed to Genghis<br />
+Page&nbsp;  269&nbsp;  Boudjak changed to Boudjiak<br />
+Page&nbsp;  270&nbsp;  earthern changed to earthen<br />
+Page&nbsp;  282&nbsp;  fistycuffs changed to fisticuffs<br />
+Page&nbsp;  282&nbsp;  suprise changed to surprise<br />
+Page&nbsp;  297&nbsp;  Bukharest changed to Bucharest<br />
+Page&nbsp;  307&nbsp;  Caucausus changed to Caucasus<br />
+Page&nbsp;  322&nbsp;  Emmaneul changed to Emmanuel<br />
+Page&nbsp;  325&nbsp;  Manghislak changed to Manghishlak<br />
+Page&nbsp;  326&nbsp;  incontestibly changed to incontestably<br />
+Page&nbsp;  349&nbsp;  Taibout changed to Taitbout<br />
+Page&nbsp;  351&nbsp;  formalties changed to formalitiev<br />
+Page&nbsp;  363&nbsp;  cashmires changed to cashmeres<br />
+Page&nbsp;  364&nbsp;  Bagtchte changed to Bagtche<br />
+Page&nbsp;  367&nbsp;  moolight changed to moonlight<br />
+Page&nbsp;  369&nbsp;  filagree changed to filigree<br />
+Page&nbsp;  373&nbsp;  belfrey changed to belfry<br />
+Page&nbsp;  380&nbsp;  ebulitions changed to ebullitions<br />
+Page&nbsp;  384&nbsp;  thngs changed to things<br />
+Page&nbsp;  388&nbsp;  fhe changed to the<br />
+Page&nbsp;  388&nbsp;  sweatmeats changed to sweetmeats<br />
+Page&nbsp;  391&nbsp;  Ghenghis changed to Genghis<br />
+Page&nbsp;  392&nbsp;  Soudah changed to Soudagh<br />
+Page&nbsp;  400&nbsp;  griffen changed to griffin<br />
+Page&nbsp;  409&nbsp;  Guerei changed to Guerai<br />
+Page&nbsp;  411&nbsp;  recuscitate changed to resuscitate<br />
+Page&nbsp;  423&nbsp;  Cossaks changed to Cossacks<br />
+Page&nbsp;  432&nbsp;  Skoulein changed to Skouleni<br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian
+Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c., by Xavier Hommaire de Hell
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea,
+the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c., by Xavier Hommaire de Hell
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c.
+
+Author: Xavier Hommaire de Hell
+
+Release Date: June 24, 2011 [EBook #36505]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN STEPPES OF CASPIAN SEA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Julia Miller, Barbara Kosker and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+    |             Transcriber's Note:                     |
+    |                                                     |
+    | Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the        |
+    | original document have been preserved.              |
+    |                                                     |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+  TRAVELS
+
+  IN THE
+
+  STEPPES OF THE CASPIAN SEA,
+
+  THE CRIMEA, THE CAUCASUS, &c.
+
+
+
+
+  BY
+
+  XAVIER HOMMAIRE DE HELL,
+
+  CIVIL ENGINEER,
+  MEMBER OF THE SOCIETE GEOLOGIQUE OF FRANCE, AND KNIGHT OF THE ORDER
+  OF ST. VLADIMIR OF RUSSIA.
+
+
+
+
+  WITH ADDITIONS FROM VARIOUS SOURCES.
+
+
+
+
+  LONDON:
+  CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186, STRAND.
+  MDCCCXLVII.
+
+
+
+
+C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
+
+When I left Constantinople for Odessa my principal object was to
+investigate the geology of the Crimea and of New Russia, and to arrive
+by positive observations at the solution of the great question of the
+rupture of the Bosphorus. Having once entered on this pursuit, I was
+soon led beyond the limits of the plan I had marked out for myself, and
+found it incumbent on me to examine all the vast regions that extend
+between the Danube and the Caspian Sea to the foot of the northern slope
+of the Caucasus. I spent, therefore, nearly five years in Southern
+Russia, traversing the country in all directions, exploring the course
+of rivers and streams on foot or on horseback, and visiting all the
+Russian coasts of the Black Sea, the Sea of Azof and the Caspian. Twice
+I was intrusted by the Russian government with important scientific and
+industrial missions; I enjoyed special protection and assistance during
+all my travels, and I am happy to be able to testify in this place my
+gratitude to Count Voronzof, and to all those who so amply seconded me
+in my laborious investigations.
+
+Thus protected by the local authorities, I was enabled to collect the
+most authentic information respecting the state of men and things. Hence
+I was naturally led to superadd to my scientific pursuits considerations
+of all kinds connected with the history, statistics, and actual
+condition of the various races inhabiting Southern Russia. I was,
+moreover, strongly encouraged in my new task by the desire to make known
+in their true light all those southern regions of the empire which have
+played so important a part in the history of Russia since the days of
+Peter the Great.
+
+My wife, who braved all hardships to accompany me in most of my
+journeys, has also been the partner of my literary labours in France. To
+her belongs all the descriptive part of this book of travels.
+
+Our work is published under no man's patronage; we have kept ourselves
+independent of all extraneous influence; and in frankly pointing out
+what struck us as faulty in the social institutions of the Muscovite
+empire, we think we evince our gratitude for the hospitable treatment we
+received in Russia, better than some travellers of our day, whose pages
+are only filled with exaggerated and ridiculous flatteries.
+
+  XAVIER HOMMAIRE DE HELL.
+
+
+
+
+DEFINITIONS.
+
+
+_Geographic miles_ are of 15 to a degree of the equator.
+
+A Russian Verst (104-3/10 to a degree), is 1/7 of a geographical mile,
+1/4 of a French league of 25 to a degree. It is equal to 3484.9 English
+feet, or nearly 2/3 of a statute mile. It is divided into 500
+_sazhenes_, and each of these into 3 _arshines_.
+
+A _deciatine_ (superficial measure) is equivalent to 2 acres, 2 roods,
+32 perches, English.
+
+A _pood_ is equal to 40 Russian or 36 English pounds.
+
+100 _tchetverts_ (corn measure) are equal to about 74-1/2 English
+quarters.
+
+A _vedro_ (liquid measure) contains 3-1/4 English gallons, or 12-1/4
+Litres.
+
+Since 1839 the paper ruble has been suppressed, and has given place to
+the silver ruble. But the former is always to be understood wherever the
+word ruble occurs in the following pages. The paper ruble is worth from
+1 fr. 10c. to 1 fr. 18c. according to the course of exchange; the silver
+ruble is equal to 3-1/2 paper rubles.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+A French _hectare_ is equal to 2 acres, 1 rood, 33 perches, English.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+                                                                    PAGE
+
+  CHAPTER I.
+
+  Departure from Constantinople--Arrival in Odessa--Quarantine         1
+
+
+  CHAPTER II.
+
+  Streets of Odessa--Jews--Hotels--Partiality of the Russians for
+    Odessa--Hurricane, Dust, Mud, Climate, &c.--Public Buildings       5
+
+
+  CHAPTER III.
+
+  The Imperial Family in Odessa--Church Music--Society of the
+    Place, Count and Countess Voronzof--Anecdote of the Countess
+    Braniska--The Theatre--Theatrical Row                             10
+
+
+  CHAPTER IV.
+
+  Commerce of the Black Sea--Prohibitive System and its Pernicious
+  Results--Depressed State of Agriculture--Trade of Odessa--Its
+  Bank                                                                14
+
+
+  CHAPTER V.
+
+  Navigation, Charge for Freight, &c. in the Black Sea                26
+
+
+  CHAPTER VI.
+
+  Agriculture and Manufactures of Southern Russia--Mineral
+  Productions--Russian Workmen                                        28
+
+
+  CHAPTER VII.
+
+  Departure from Odessa--Travelling in Russia--Nikolaief, Olvia,
+  Otshakof--Kherson--The Dniepr--General Potier--Ancient
+  Tumuli--Steppes of the Black Sea--A Russian Village--Snow
+  Storm--Narrow Escape from Suffocation--A Russian Family--
+  Appendix                                                            32
+
+
+  CHAPTER VIII.
+
+  An Earthquake--Ludicrous Anecdote--Sledging--Sporting--Dangerous
+  Passage of the Dniepr--Thaw; Spring-Time--Manners and Customs
+  of the Little Russians--Easter Holidays--The Clergy                 45
+
+
+  CHAPTER IX.
+
+  Excursion on the Banks of the Dniepr--Doutchina--Election of
+  the Marshals and Judges of the Nobility at Kherson--Horse-Racing
+  --Strange Story in the "Journal des Debats"--A Country House and
+  its Visiters--Traits of Russian Manners--The Wife of Two Husbands
+  --Servants--Murder of a Courier--Appendix                           55
+
+
+  CHAPTER X.
+
+  Departure for the Caspian--Iekaterinoslav--Potemkin's Ruined
+  Palace--Paskevitch's Caucasian Guard--Sham Fight--Intolerable
+  Heat--Cataracts of the Dniepr--German Colonies--The Setcha of the
+  Zaporogues--A French Steward--Night Adventure--Colonies of the
+  Moloshnia Vodi--Mr. Cornies--The Doukoboren, a Religious Sect       69
+
+
+  CHAPTER XI.
+
+  Marioupol--Berdiansk--Knavish Jew Postmaster--Taganrok--Memorials
+  of Peter the Great and Alexander--Great Fair--The General with
+  Two Wives--Morality in Russia--Adventures of a Philhellene--A
+  French Doctor--The English Consul--Horse Races--A First Sight of
+  the Kalmucks                                                        82
+
+
+  CHAPTER XII.
+
+  Departure from Taganrok--Sunset in the Steppes--A Gipsy Camp
+  --Rostof; a Town unparalleled in the Empire--Navigation of the
+  Don--Azof; St. Dimitri--Aspect of the Don--Nakitchevane, and
+  its Armenian Colony                                                 89
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIII.
+
+  General Remarks on New Russia--Antipathy between the Muscovites
+  and Malorossians--Foreign Colonies--General aspect of the
+  Country, Cattle, &c.--Want of Means of Communication--River
+  Navigation; Bridges--Character of the Minister of Finance--
+  History of the Steamboat on the Dniestr--The Board of Roads
+  and Ways--Anecdote--Appendix                                        96
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIV.
+
+  The different Conditions of Men in Russia--The Nobles--Discontent
+  of the Old Aristocracy--The Merchant Class--Serfdom--Constitution
+  of the Empire; Governments--Consequences of Centralisation;
+  Dissimulation of Public Functionaries--Tribunals--The Colonel
+  of the Gendarmerie--Corruption--Pedantry of Forms--Contempt of
+  the Decrees of the Emperor and the Senate--Singular Anecdote;
+  Interpretation of a Will--Radical Evils in the Judicial
+  Organisation--History and present State of Russian Law             102
+
+
+  CHAPTER XV.
+
+  Public Instruction--Corps of Cadets--Universities and
+  Elementary Schools; Anecdote--Plan of Education--Motives for
+  attending the Universities--Statistics--Professors; their
+  Ignorance--Exclusion of Foreign Professors--Engineering--
+  Obstacles to Intellectual Improvement--Characteristics of the
+  Sclavonic Race                                                     127
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVI.
+
+  Entry into the Country of the Don Cossacks--Female Pilgrims of
+  Kiev; Religious Fervour of the Cossacks--Novo Tcherkask, Capital
+  of the Don--Street-lamps guarded by Sentinels--The Streets on
+  Sunday--Cossack Hospitality and Good Nature--Their Veneration
+  for Napoleon's Memory                                              134
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVII.
+
+  Origin of the Don Cossacks--Meaning of the Name--The Khirghis
+  Cossacks--Races anterior to the Cossacks--Sclavonic Emigrations
+  towards the East                                                   137
+
+
+  CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+  Journey from Novo Tcherkask along the Don--Another Knavish
+  Postmaster--Muscovite Merchants--Cossack Stanitzas                 154
+
+
+  CHAPTER XIX.
+
+  First Kalmuck Encampments--The Volga--Astrakhan--Visit to a
+  Kalmuck Princess--Music, Dancing, Costume, &c.--Equestrian
+  Feats--Religious Ceremony--Poetry                                  162
+
+
+  CHAPTER XX.
+
+  Historical Notice of Astrakhan--Mixed Population; Armenians,
+  Tatars--Singular Result of a Mixture of Races--Description of
+  the Town--Hindu Religious Ceremonies--Society                      178
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXI.
+
+  Commercial Position of Astrakhan--Its Importance in the Middle
+  Ages--Its Loss of the Overland Trade from India--Commercial
+  Statistics--Fisheries of the Caspian--Change of the Monetary
+  System in Russia--Bad State of the Finances--Russian Political
+  Economy                                                            187
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXII.
+
+  Departure from Astrakhan--Coast of the Caspian--Hawking--
+  Houidouk--Three Stormy Days passed in a Post-house--Armenian
+  Merchants--Robbery committed by Kalmucks--Camels--Kouskaia--
+  Another Tempest--Tarakans--A reported Gold Mine                    202
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+  Another Robbery at Houidouk--Our Nomade Life--Camels--Kalmuck
+  Camp--Quarrel with a Turcoman Convoy, and Reconciliation--Love
+  of the Kalmucks for their Steppes; Anecdote--A Satza--Selenoi
+  Sastava--Fleeced by a Lieutenant-Colonel--Camel-drivers beaten
+  by the Kalmucks--Alarm of a Circassian Incursion--Sources of
+  the Manitch--The Journey arrested--Visit to a Kalmuck Lady--
+  Hospitality of a Russian Officer                                   208
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+  Review of the History of the Kalmucks                              229
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXV.
+
+  The Kalmucks after the Departure of Oubacha--Division of the
+  Hordes, Limits of their Territory--The Turcoman and Tatar
+  Tribes in the Governments of Astrakhan and the Caucasus--
+  Christian Kalmucks--Agricultural Attempts--Physical, Social,
+  and Moral Characteristics of the Kalmucks                          235
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+  Buddhism--Kalmuck Cosmogony--Kalmuck Clergy--Rites and
+  Ceremonies--Polygamy--The Kirghis                                  247
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+  The Tatars and Mongols--The Kaptshak--History and Traditions
+  of the Nogais                                                      264
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+  Banks of the Kouma; Vladimirofka--M. Rebrof's Repulse of a
+  Circassian Foray--Bourgon Madjar--Journey along the Kouma--
+  View of the Caucasian Mountains--Critical Situation--Georgief
+  --Adventure with a Russian Colonel--Story of a Circassian Chief    276
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+  Road from Georgief to the Waters of the Caucasus--A Polish Lady
+  carried off by Circassians--Piatigorsk--Kislovodsk--History
+  of the Mineral Waters of the Caucasus                              285
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXX.
+
+  SITUATION OF THE RUSSIANS AS TO THE CAUCASUS.
+
+  History of their Acquisition of the Trans-Caucasian Provinces
+  --General Topography of the Caucasus--Armed Line of the Kouban
+  and the Terek--Blockade of the Coasts--Character and Usages of
+  the Mountaineers--Anecdote--Visit to a Circassian Prince           293
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+  Retrospective View of the War in the Caucasus--Vital Importance
+  of the Caucasus to Russia--Designs on India, Central Asia,
+  Bokhara, Khiva, &c.--Russian and English Commerce in Persia        309
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+  A Storm in the Caucasus--Night Journey; Dangers and Difficulties
+  --Stavropol--Historical Sketch of the Government of the Caucasus
+  and the Black Sea Cossacks                                         334
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+  Rapid Journey from Stavropol--Russian Wedding--Perilous Passage
+  of the Don; all sorts of Disasters by Night--Taganrok;
+  Commencement of the Cold Season--The German Colonies revisited     343
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+  Departure for the Crimea--Balaclava--Visit to the Monastery of
+  St. George--Sevastopol--The Imperial Fleet                         349
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+  Bagtche Serai--Historical Revolutions of the Crimea--The Palace
+  of the Khans--Countess Potocki                                     358
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+  Simpheropol--Karolez--Visit to Princess Adel Bey--Excursion to
+  Mangoup Kaleh                                                      366
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+  Road to Baidar--The Southern Coast; Grand Scenery--Miskhor and
+  Aloupka--Predilection of the Great Russian Nobles for the Crimea   371
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+  Three Celebrated Women                                             375
+
+
+  CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+  Ialta--Koutchouk Lampat--Parthenit--The Prince de Ligne's Hazel
+  --Oulou Ouzen; a Garden converted into an Aviary--Tatar Young
+  Women--Excursion to Soudagh--Mademoiselle Jacquemart               387
+
+
+  CHAPTER XL.
+
+  Ruins of Soldaya--Road to Theodosia--Caffa--Muscovite Vandalism
+  --Peninsula of Kertch--Panticapea and its Tombs                    391
+
+
+  CHAPTER XLI.
+
+  POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA.
+
+  Extent and Character of Surface--Milesian and Heraclean Colonies
+  --Kingdom of the Bosphorus--Export and Import Trade in the Times
+  of the Greek Republics--Mithridates--The Kingdom of the Bosphorus
+  under the Romans--The Alans and Goths--Situation of the Republic
+  of Kherson--The Huns; Destruction of the Kingdom of the Bosphorus
+  --The Khersonites put themselves under the Protection of the
+  Byzantine Empire--Dominion of the Khazars--The Petchenegues and
+  Romans--The Kingdom of Little Tatary--Rise and Fall of the
+  Genoese Colonies--The Crimea under the Tatars--Its Conquest by
+  the Russians                                                       402
+
+
+  CHAPTER XLII.
+
+  Commercial Polity of Russia in the Crimea--Caffa sacrificed in
+  Favour of Kertch--These two Ports compared--The Quarantine at
+  the Entrance of the Sea of Azof, and its Consequences--Commerce
+  of Kertch--Vineyards of the Crimea; the Valley of Soudak--
+  Agriculture--Cattle--Horticulture--Manufactures; Morocco Leather
+  --Destruction of the Goats--Decay of the Forests--Salt Works--
+  General Table of the Commerce of the Crimea--Prospects of the
+  Tatar Population                                                   410
+
+
+  CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+  HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BESSARABIA.
+
+  Topology--Ancient Fortresses--The Russian Policy in Bessarabia
+  --Emancipation of the Serfs--Colonies--Cattle--Exports and
+  Imports--Mixed Population of the Province                          424
+
+  Note                                                               435
+
+
+
+
+  THE
+  STEPPES OF THE CASPIAN SEA, &c.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM CONSTANTINOPLE--ARRIVAL, IN ODESSA--
+      QUARANTINE.
+
+
+On the 15th of May, 1838, we bade adieu to Constantinople, and standing
+on the deck of the Odessa steamer, as it entered the Bosphorus, we could
+not withdraw our eyes from the magnificent panorama we were leaving
+behind us.
+
+Constantinople then appeared to us in all its grandeur and beauty.
+Seated like Rome on its seven hills, exercising its sovereignty like
+Corinth over two seas, the vast city presented to our eyes a superb
+amphitheatre of palaces, mosques, white minarets and green plane-trees
+glistening in an Asiatic sunshine. What description could adequately
+depict this marvellous spectacle, or even give an idea of it? Would it
+not be wronging creation, as Lamartine has said, to compare
+Constantinople with any thing else in this world?
+
+Meanwhile, we were advancing up the Bosphorus, and the two shores,
+fringed all along to the Black Sea with cypress groves, and half hidden
+beneath their sombre shade, invited a share of that attentive gaze we
+had hitherto bestowed only on the great city that was vanishing in our
+wake. The Bosphorus itself presented a very animated scene. A thousand
+white-sailed caiques glided lightly over the waves, coming and going
+incessantly from shore to shore. As we advanced, the Bosphorus widened
+more and more, and we soon entered that Black Sea, whose ominous name so
+well accords with the storms that perpetually convulse it. A multitude
+of vessels of all kinds and dimensions, were anchored at the entrance of
+the channel, waiting for a favourable wind to take them out of the
+straits, which alone present more dangers than the whole navigation of
+the Black Sea. The difficulties of this passage are further augmented in
+the beginning of spring and the end of autumn by dense fogs, which have
+caused an incalculable number of vessels to be wrecked on the steep
+rocks of these iron-bound coasts.
+
+The passage from Constantinople to Odessa is effected in fifty hours in
+the Russian steamers, which ply twice a month from each of these ports.
+Those who are accustomed to the comfort, elegance, and scrupulous
+cleanliness of the Mediterranean and Atlantic steamers, must be
+horrified at finding themselves on board a Russian vessel. It is
+impossible to express the filth and disorder of that in which we were
+embarked. The deck, which was already heaped from end to end with goods
+and provisions, was crowded besides with a disgusting mob of pilgrims,
+mendicant monks, Jews, and Russian or Cossack women, all squatting and
+lying about at their ease without regard to the convenience of the other
+passengers. Most of them were returning from Jerusalem. The Russian
+people are possessed in the highest degree with the mania for
+pilgrimages. All these beggars set off barefooted, with their wallets on
+their backs, and their rosaries in their hands, to seek Heaven's pardon
+for their sins; appealing on their way to the charity of men, to enable
+them to continue that vagabond and miserable life which they prefer to
+the fulfilment of homely duties.
+
+It was a sorry specimen of the people we were going to visit that we had
+thus before our eyes, and our repugnance to these Muscovites was all the
+stronger from our recollections of the Turks, whose noble presence and
+beauty had so lately engaged our admiration.
+
+On the morning of the second day, we saw on our left a little island
+called by the sailors the Island of Serpents. The Russians have retained
+its Greek name of Fidonisi. It was anciently called Leucaia, or Makaron
+Nesos (Island of the Blest), was sacred to Achilles, and contained a
+temple, in which mariners used to deposit offerings. It is a calcareous
+rock, about thirty yards high and not more than 600 in its greatest
+diameter, and has long been uninhabited. Some ruins still visible upon
+it would probably be worth exploring, if we may judge from an
+inscription already discovered.
+
+Soon afterwards we were made aware of our approach to Odessa, our place
+of destination, by the appearance of the Russian coast with its cliffs
+striated horizontally in red and white. Nothing can be more dreary than
+these low, deserted, and monotonous coasts, stretching away as far as
+the eye can reach, until they are lost in the hazy horizon. There is no
+vegetation, no variety in the scene, no trace of human habitation; but
+everywhere a calcareous and argillaceous wall thirty or forty yards
+high, with an arid sandy beach at its foot, continually swept bare by
+the waves. But as we approached nearer to Odessa, the shore assumed a
+more varied appearance. Huge masses of limestone and earth, separated
+ages ago from the line of the cliffs, form a range of hills all along
+the sea border, planted with trees and studded with charming
+country-houses.
+
+A lighthouse, at some distance from the walls of Odessa, is the first
+landmark noted by mariners. An hour after it came in sight, we were in
+front of the town. Europe was once more before our eyes, and the aspect
+of the straight lines of street, the wide fronted houses, and the sober
+aspect of the buildings awoke many dear recollections in our minds.
+Every object appeared to us in old familiar hues and forms, which time
+and absence had for a while effaced from our memories. Even
+Constantinople, which so lately had filled our imaginations, was now
+thought of but as a brilliant mirage which had met our view by chance,
+and soon vanished with all its illusive splendours.
+
+Odessa looks to great advantage from the quarantine harbour, where the
+steamer moored. The eye takes in at one view the boulevard, the
+Exchange, Count Voronzof's palace, the _pratique_ harbour, and the
+Custom-house; and, in the background, some churches with green roofs and
+gilded domes, the theatre, Count de Witt's pretty Gothic house, and some
+large barracks, which from their Grecian architecture, one would be
+disposed to take for ancient monuments.
+
+Behind the Custom-house, on some steep calcareous rocks, sixty or
+seventy feet high, stands the quarantine establishment, looking proudly
+down on all Odessa. A fortress and bastions crowning the height, protect
+the town. All the remarkable buildings are thus within view of the port,
+and give the town at first sight an appearance of grandeur that is very
+striking.
+
+The day of our arrival was a Sunday; and when we entered the harbour, it
+was about four in the afternoon, the hour of the promenade, and all that
+portion of the town adjoining the port presented the most picturesque
+appearance imaginable. We had no difficulty in distinguishing the
+numerous promenaders that filled the alleys of the boulevard, and we
+heard the noise of the droshkys and four-horse equipages that rolled in
+every direction. The music, too, of a military band stationed in the
+middle of the promenade, distinctly reached our ears, and heightened the
+charms of the scene. It was, indeed, a European town we beheld, full of
+affluence, movement, and gaiety. But, alas! our curiosity and our
+longings, thus strongly excited, were not for a long while to be
+satisfied. The dreaded quarantine looked down on us, as if to notify
+that its rights were paramount, and assuredly it was not disposed to
+abrogate them in our favour. One of the officers belonging to it had
+already come down to receive the letters, journals, and passports, and
+to order us into a large wooden house, placed like a watchful sentinel
+on the verge of the sea. So we were forced to quit the brilliant
+spectacle on which we had been gazing, and go and pass through certain
+preliminary formalities in a smoky room, filled with sailors and
+passengers, waiting their turn with the usual apathy of Russians.
+
+We had no sooner entered the quarantine, than we were separated from
+each other, and every one made as much haste to avoid us, as if we were
+unfortunate pariahs whose touch was uncleanness. All our baggage was put
+aside for four-and-twenty hours, and we were accommodated in the
+meantime with the loan of garments, so grotesque and ridiculous, that
+after we had got into them, we could not look at each other without
+bursting into laughter. We made haste to inspect our chambers, which we
+found miraculously furnished with the most indispensable things. But
+what rejoiced us above all, was a court-yard adorned with two beautiful
+acacias, the flowery branches of which threw their shade upon our
+windows. Our guardian, who had been unable to preserve the usual gravity
+of a Russian soldier at the sight of our ludicrous _travestissement_,
+surprised us greatly by a few words of French which he addressed to us.
+By dint of mangling our mother tongue, he managed to inform us that he
+had made the campaign of 1815, and that he was never so happy as when he
+met Frenchmen. On our part we had every reason to be satisfied with his
+attentive services.
+
+The first hours we passed in quarantine, were extremely tedious and
+unpleasant, in consequence of the want of our baggage. Our books, our
+papers, and every thing we had most urgent need of, were carried off to
+undergo two whole days' fumigation. But afterwards the time passed away
+glibly enough, and I should never have supposed it possible to be so
+contented in prison. But for the iron bars and the treble locks which
+had to be opened every time we had occasion to leave our rooms, we might
+have fancied we were rusticating for our pleasure. A handsome garden, a
+capital cook, books, a view of the sea--what more could any one desire?
+We were allowed to walk about the whole establishment, on condition only
+that we kept at a respectful distance from all who came in our way, and
+that we were constantly accompanied by our guardian. On one of the
+angles of the rock there is a little platform, with seats and trees,
+looking down on the sea, the harbour, and part of the town. In this
+delightful lounging-place we often passed hours together, in
+contemplating the beautiful spectacle before us.
+
+What a lively source of endless enjoyment does the imagination find in a
+broad extent of sea animated by numerous vessels! The bustle of the
+harbour, the boats plying with provisions and passengers; the various
+flags flying from the mast-heads; the brig preparing to sail, with
+canvass unfurled, and the crew singing out as they tramp round the
+capstan; a sail suddenly appearing on the horizon, like a bird on the
+wing, gleaming in the sun, and gradually enlarging on the sight; the
+zones of light and shade, that scud athwart the sea's surface, and give
+it a thousand varying aspects; the coast, with its headlands, its
+lighthouse, its sinuous and indented lines, its broad beach and belt of
+rocks; all these things form a panorama, that completely absorbs the
+faculties. You envy the good fortune of those who are outward bound, and
+whose course lies over yon smooth expanse of water, limited only by the
+sky, in search of other shores and other scenes. You bid them farewell
+with voice and gesture as familiar friends, and wish them fair winds and
+good speed, as though they could hear you.
+
+We were then in the beautiful month of June; the placid sea was as
+limpid and bright as the sky; the acacia was coming into full bloom, and
+embalmed the air far over sea and shore with its delicious perfume.
+Odessa is full of these trees, and when they are covered with their
+odorous blossoms, the streets, the squares, and even the meanest
+quarters, put on a charming gala aspect; the whole town is metamorphosed
+into a smiling garden.
+
+We feel bound to testify to the excellent arrangements of the quarantine
+establishment, and to the ready, obliging disposition of its officers.
+Though placed in such propinquity to Constantinople, the Odessa lazaret
+may serve as a model of its kind, and the excellence of the system
+observed in it is proved by the happy results obtained. Travellers are
+subjected to a quarantine of a fortnight only, and merchandise, after
+undergoing forty-eight hours' fumigation with preparations of chlorine,
+is immediately set free; yet since the existence of this establishment,
+there has not occurred in Odessa a single case of plague which could be
+ascribed to any defect in the sanatory regulations of the place. There
+is no denying the fact that in matters of quarantine, France remains in
+the extreme background. The lazaret of Marseilles, is at this day
+exactly what it was at the beginning of the last century. All our
+discoveries in chemistry and medicine have been of no avail against the
+inveterate force of old habits; and up to the present time,
+notwithstanding all the remonstrances of commercial men, it has been
+impossible to modify the sanatory regulations enforced in our
+Mediterranean ports. Marseilles is 600 leagues away from the countries
+ravaged by the plague, and yet vessels are subjected there, after
+five-and-twenty days' navigation, to a quarantine of forty-five days,
+and their cargoes are exposed in the open air for the same period. It
+has been frequently proposed to establish a new system, more in
+accordance with the advanced state of our knowledge; but it seems that
+the efforts of the government have always been defeated by the
+prejudices of the inhabitants of the south.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+      STREETS OF ODESSA--JEWS--HOTELS--PARTIALITY OF THE RUSSIANS
+      FOR ODESSA--HURRICANE, DUST, MUD, CLIMATE, &C.--PUBLIC
+      BUILDINGS.
+
+
+The day of our release from quarantine, was as full of bustle and
+annoyances as that of our arrival, the _spolio_ alone excepted. How we
+regretted the freedom of the East! There the traveller's movements are
+shackled by no formalities, but he is free from the moment he quits his
+vessel, to roam about the town as he pleases, without being pestered
+with the custom-house and police officers, and the _employes_ of all
+sorts that assail him in lands calling themselves civilised. But it is
+in Russia especially that he has most reason to pour out his wrathful
+imprecations on that army of birds of prey that pounce on him with an
+avidity truly intolerable. I can't tell how many formalities we had to
+go through from the hour appointed for our leaving the lazaret, until we
+finally got out of the clutches of the Custom-house, and could breathe
+freely. But our feelings of vexation, strong as they were, gave way to
+downright stupefaction, when we entered the town. Was this really that
+Odessa which had seemed so brilliant when we saw it from the lazaret,
+and which now presented itself to our eyes under so mean and wretched an
+aspect? Could we even grace with the name of town the place where we
+then were and the streets we beheld? It was a great open space without
+houses, filled with carts, and oxen rolling in the dust, in company with
+a mob of Russian and Polish peasants, all sleeping together in the sun,
+in a temperature of more than 90 deg.
+
+Whirlwinds of dust exactly like waterspouts in all but the material
+composing them, darkened the air every moment, and swept the ground with
+incredible fury. Further on, we entered a street wider than our highways
+in France, and flanked with little houses, one story high, and separated
+from each other by uncultivated gardens. The population consisting of
+Jews, whose filth is become proverbial in Russia, completed our disgust,
+and we knew not which way to turn our eyes to escape the sight of such
+loathsome objects. However, as we approached the heart of the town the
+streets began to show shops and houses, and the appearance of the
+inhabitants grew more diversified. But notwithstanding the carriages and
+droshkys that passed us rapidly, notwithstanding the footways of cut
+stone, and the Grecian architecture of the corn stores, we reached the
+Hotel de la Nouvelle Russie without having been able to reconcile
+ourselves to the aspect of the town; and there again we encountered
+fresh disappointments. We had been told by many of our acquaintances in
+Constantinople that the hotels of Odessa were among the best in Europe;
+great, therefore, was our surprise at not finding any one of the
+commonest requisites for travellers in the one at which we stopped. No
+linen, no bells, no servants to wait on us; it was with difficulty we
+could get a carafe of water after waiting for it half an hour. Our
+single apartment looked due south, and all the furniture in it consisted
+of a bedstead, a chest of drawers, and a few chairs, without a scrap of
+curtain to mitigate the blazing sunshine that scorched our eyes. And for
+such accommodation as this we had to pay eight rubles a day. But our
+amazement reached the highest pitch, when, after giving orders to fit up
+the bedstead which made so piteous a figure in this agreeable lodging,
+we were informed by the hotel keeper that every article was charged for
+separately. "What!" I exclaimed, in great indignation, "do we not pay
+eight rubles a day?" "Certainly, madame, but accessories are never
+included in the charge for the room. But if madame don't like, there is
+no need to have a bed furnished completely. We have generals and
+countesses that are satisfied with a plain mattress." We had no desire
+to follow the example of their Excellencies, so we were obliged to
+submit to our host's terms. It is fair to add, however, that
+circumstances to a certain extent justified some exorbitance of charge,
+for the Emperor Nicholas and his family were hourly expected, and the
+hotels were of course thronged with military men and strangers.
+
+Odessa now lays claim to a respectable rank among the towns of Europe.
+Its position on the Black Sea, the rapid increase of its population, its
+commercial wealth, and its brilliant society, all concur to place it
+next in Russia after the two capitals of the empire. Though but forty
+years have elapsed since its foundation, it has far outstripped those
+half-Sclavonic, half-Tartar cities, Kiev the holy, the great Novgorod,
+and Vladimir, all celebrated in the bloody annals of the tzars, and
+already old before Moscow and St. Petersburg were yet in existence.
+
+Odessa is not at all like any of the other towns in the empire. In it
+you hear every language and see all kinds of usages except those of the
+country. Nevertheless, the Russians prefer it even to St. Petersburg,
+for they enjoy greater liberty in it, and are relieved from the rigorous
+etiquette that engrosses three-fourths of their time in the capital.
+Besides this, Odessa possesses one grand attraction for the Russian and
+Polish ladies in the freedom of its port, which enables them to indulge
+their taste for dress and other luxuries without the ruinous expense
+these entail on them in St. Petersburg. Odessa is their Paris, which
+they are all bent on visiting at least once in their lives, whatever be
+the distance they have to travel. The reputation of the town has even
+passed the Russian frontiers, and people have been so obliging as to
+bestow on it the flattering name of the _Russian Florence_; but for what
+reason I really cannot tell. Odessa possesses neither arts nor artists;
+even the dilettante class is scarcely known there; the predominant
+spirit of trade leaves little room for a love of the beautiful, and the
+commercial men care very little about art. It is true that M. Vital, a
+distinguished French painter, has endeavoured to establish a
+drawing-academy under the patronage of Count Voronzof, but the success
+of his efforts may be doubted.
+
+The infatuated admiration of the Russians for Odessa is carried to the
+utmost extreme, and they cannot understand how a stranger can fail to
+share in it. How indeed can any one refuse to be enraptured with a town
+that possesses an Italian opera, fashionable shops, wide footways, an
+English club, a boulevard, a statue, two or three paved streets, &c.?
+Barbarian taste or envy could alone behold all this without admiration.
+After all, this enthusiasm of the Russians may be easily accounted for:
+accustomed as they are to their wildernesses of snow and mud, Odessa is
+for them a real Eldorado comprising all the seductions and pleasures of
+the world.
+
+If you will believe the Russians, snow is a thing of rare occurrence
+there, and every winter they wonder in all sincerity at the reappearance
+of sledges in the streets. But this does not hinder the thermometer from
+remaining steadily for several months at 25 deg. or 26 deg. R. below zero, and
+the whole sea from becoming one polished sheet of ice; nor does it
+dispense with the necessity of having double windows, stoves, and
+pelisses, just as in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Great, therefore, is the
+surprise of the traveller, who, on the strength of its flattering
+_sobriquet_, expects to find an Italian sun in Odessa, and who meets at
+every step nothing but frost-bitten faces and sledges. Besides these
+wintry rigours, there are the hurricanes that continually desolate the
+whole region, during what is elsewhere called the fine season. And these
+vicissitudes of the atmosphere are aggravated by another evil still more
+distressing, the dust, namely, which makes the town almost uninhabitable
+during a part of the year. Dust is here a real calamity, a fiend-like
+persecutor, that allows you not a moment's rest. It spreads out in seas
+and billows that rise with the least breath of wind, and envelop you
+with increasing fury, until you are stifled and blinded, and incapable
+of a single movement. The gusts of wind are so violent and sudden as to
+baffle every precaution. It is only at sunset that one can venture out
+at last to breathe the sea air on the boulevard, or to walk in the Rue
+Richelieu, the wide footways of which are then thronged by all the
+fashion of the place.
+
+Many natural causes combine to keep up this terrible plague. First, the
+argillaceous soil, the dryness of the air, the force of the wind, and
+the width of the streets; then the bad paving, the great extent of
+uncultivated ground still within the town, and the prodigious number of
+carriages. The local administration has tried all imaginable systems,
+with the hope of getting rid of the dust, and has even had stones
+brought from Italy to pave certain streets, but all its efforts have
+been ineffectual. At last, in a fit of despair, it fell upon the notable
+device of macadamising the well-paved Rue Italienne and Rue Richelieu.
+The only result of this operation was, of course, prodigiously to
+increase the evil. A wood paving, to be laid down by a Frenchman, is now
+talked of, and it appears that his first attempts have been quite
+successful.
+
+In order to give some idea of the violence of the hurricanes to which
+the country is subject, I will mention a phenomenon of which I was
+myself a witness. After a very hot day in 1840, the air of Odessa
+gradually darkened about four in the afternoon, until it was impossible
+to see twenty paces before one. The oppressive feel of the atmosphere,
+the dead calm, and the portentous colour of the sky, filled every one
+with deep consternation, and seemed to betoken some fearful catastrophe.
+For an hour and a half the spectator could watch the progress of this
+novel eclipse, which as yet was without a precedent in those parts. The
+thermometer attained the enormous height of 104 deg. F. The obscurity was
+then complete; presently the most furious tempest imagination can
+conceive, burst forth, and when the darkness cleared off, there was seen
+over the sea, what looked like a waterspout of prodigious depth and
+breadth, suspended at a height of several feet above the water, and
+moving slowly away until it dispersed at last at a distance of many
+miles from the shore. The eclipse and the waterspout were nothing else
+than dust, and that day Odessa was swept cleaner than it will probably
+ever be again.
+
+During the winter the dust is changed into liquid mud, in which the
+pedestrian sinks up to mid-leg, and in which he might soon drown
+himself, if his humour so disposed him. A long pole to take soundings
+with, would not come amiss to one who had to steer his course between
+the slimy abysses with which some streets are filled. Formerly, that is
+to say some fifteen years ago, ladies used to repair to the ball-room in
+carts, drawn each by a numerous team of oxen. At present the principal
+streets are paved and lighted, and one may proceed to an evening party
+in a rather more elegant equipage; but the poor pedestrian,
+nevertheless, finds it a most difficult task to drag his feet out of the
+adhesive mud that meets him whichever way he turns; those, therefore,
+who have no carriages in Odessa, are obliged to live in absolute
+solitude. The distances are as great as in Paris, and the only vehicle
+for hire is what is called in Russia a droshky; that is to say, a sort
+of saddle mounted on four wheels, on which men sit astride, and ladies
+find it very difficult to seat themselves with decorum. The droshky
+affords you no protection from either mud, dust, or rain, and at most is
+only suitable to men of business and Russians, who never go out of doors
+without their cloaks, even in the height of summer.
+
+Odessa contains no remarkable building. In many private houses and in
+most of the corn warehouses, a lavish use has been made of the Greek
+style of architecture, which accords neither with the climate, nor above
+all with the materials employed. All those columns, pediments, and
+regular facades, with which the eye is so soon satiated, are in plaster,
+and they begin to spoil even before the building is finished. The
+mouldings must be renewed every year, and notwithstanding this care,
+most of the houses and churches have an air of dilapidation, that makes
+them resemble ruins rather than palaces and temples. The cathedral
+itself has nothing to distinguish it but its bulk. One must not look for
+the rules of architecture, or for elegance of form, or pleasing details
+in the religious edifices. They are monotonous in character, and shabby
+in structure and fittings. Their interiors are glaring with pictures and
+gilding, but all in the spurious taste of the Lower Empire. The
+oddly-accoutred saints, the biblical scenes so grotesquely travestied,
+the profusion of tinsel, and the reds, greens, and blues, laid one upon
+the other, in the coarsest discordance, far too disagreeably shock the
+sight to inspire any serious and pious thoughts.
+
+Odessa has also some synagogues, a Catholic church, and one or two
+Protestant places of worship, which from their humble appearance might
+rather be taken for private houses. It has but one promenade, the
+Boulevard, which overlooks the whole harbour, and is exposed, from its
+situation, to frequent landslips. The vicinity of this promenade is the
+most fashionable quarter. The theatre, the exchange, the mansions of
+Count Voronzof and the Princess Narishkin; a line of very elegant
+houses, and the throng of carriages, all bespeak the presence of the
+aristocracy. Workmen have been employed for the last two or three years
+in constructing a gigantic staircase, to lead by a very gentle descent
+from the Boulevard to the sea-beach. This expensive and useless toy, is
+likely to cost nearly forty-thousand pounds. It is intended to be
+ornamented with vases and statues; but some considerable fissures
+already give reason to fear the speedy destruction of this great
+staircase, which after all can never be of any use, except to the
+promenaders on the Boulevard.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+      THE IMPERIAL FAMILY IN ODESSA--CHURCH MUSIC--SOCIETY OF THE
+      PLACE, COUNT AND COUNTESS VORONZOF--ANECDOTE OF THE COUNTESS
+      BRANISKA--THE THEATRE--THEATRICAL ROW.
+
+
+The brilliant fetes that took place on the arrival of the imperial
+family, happened most opportunely for us, and enabled us to see many
+celebrated personages. All the foreigners of distinction who had been
+present at the famous review of Vosnecensk, followed the emperor to
+Odessa, and prolonged their stay there after his departure. The whole
+town was in revolution. The houses of dubious colour were most carefully
+re-coated, and even old tumbling walls were plastered and coloured. Te
+Deum was chanted in the cathedral the day their majesties arrived; the
+emperor and his eldest son attended, and were met at the great doors by
+the whole Russian clergy dressed in their richest robes, and headed by
+the archbishop. The emperor was accompanied by a long-train of courtiers
+and officers, whose golden embroideries and glittering decorations vied
+in splendour with the magnificent costumes of the popes and choristers.
+The Te Deum appeared to me incomparably beautiful. Whoever would know
+the full power of harmony, should hear the religious music of the
+Russians. The notes are so full, so grave, of such thrilling sweetness,
+and such extraordinary volume, and all the voices, seeming as though
+they issued from the depths of the building, accord so admirably with
+each other, that no language can express the effect of that mighty music
+and the profound emotion it excites. I had often heard enthusiastic
+accounts of the Russian church-singing, but all fell far short of what I
+then heard. After the Te Deum the archbishop presented his episcopal
+ring to the tzar and the grand duke, who kissed it respectfully. The
+imperial party then left the cathedral, which was filled with clouds of
+incense. The vast throng, assembled in front of the building, dispersed
+in silence, without pressure or confusion; and the interference of the
+Cossacks, appointed to maintain order, was not for a moment requisite.
+
+In the evening there was a grand illumination, the empress held a
+drawing-room, and there was an extraordinary representation at the
+theatre, at which the whole imperial family was present. It was noticed
+that during the whole evening, the emperor sat behind the empress and
+did not once advance to the front of the box. There was therefore not a
+single hurrah, but every one seemed to affect ignorance of his majesty's
+presence. Next day the merchants gave a grand ball to the imperial
+family. It was a very brilliant assemblage: the exchange-rooms were all
+full of Highnesses and Excellencies, and the poor merchants cut but a
+sorry figure amongst all the embroidered uniforms, the wearers of which
+elbowed and pushed them aside contemptuously. With an excessive devotion
+to etiquette, they had adopted knee-breeches, cocked-hats, and a
+_soi-disant_ uniform, with swords at their sides; but this costume was
+far less becoming than the black dress which they would certainly have
+done better in retaining. A boudoir all lined with vines had been
+constructed for the empress, and the fine clusters of grapes hung from
+the branches as if to invite her royal hand to pluck them.
+
+The imperial family remained but five or six days in Odessa, and then
+proceeded in a steamer to the Crimea. Their presence in the town
+produced on the whole a very favourable impression.
+
+It remains for us to say a few words respecting the society to be met
+with in Odessa. It consists of so many heterogeneous elements, that it
+possesses no distinctive character of its own; French, Germans,
+Russians, English, Greeks, and Italians, all bring to it their
+respective opinions, habits, language, interests, and prejudices. The
+Countess Voronzof's drawing-rooms are the general rendezvous of that
+aristocratic, commercial, and travelling world, which is to be found in
+similar admixture only in some of the towns of Italy. The same confusion
+prevails among the women; the noble and proud Narishkin may be seen
+there side by side with a broker's wife: pure blood, mixed blood, all
+shades, all tones, all possible physiognomies are there assembled
+together.
+
+Count Voronzof is a veritable _grand seigneur_, and spends more than
+L6000 a year in pomps and entertainments. His name, his immense fortune,
+and his influence at court give him the predominance over most of the
+emperor's favourites. Brought up in England, where his father was
+ambassador for more than forty years, he seems more an Englishman than a
+Russian, and has retained nothing of his nationality except his devoted
+loyalty to the emperor, and the exquisite politeness that distinguishes
+the Russian nobles. His talents, his affability, and great facility of
+character, secure him numerous admirers amongst the Odessians and
+foreigners. Nicholas could not have made a better choice than in
+selecting him for governor of New Russia. His sumptuous tastes and vast
+wealth give great _eclat_ to the rank he fills, and put him on a par
+with the most magnificent lords of Europe. His wife is the daughter of
+the celebrated Countess Braniska, whose gigantic fortune was long an
+object of astonishment to the Russians themselves. She died but recently
+at the age of ninety-five, leaving her immense fortune to her only son,
+with the exception only of a fourteenth part, which was all that
+devolved, according to the laws of Russia, on her two daughters. Her
+avarice was as notorious as her wealth, and stories are told of her,
+that far out-do all that is related of the most famous misers. I will
+mention but one of them, the authenticity of which was warranted to me
+by an eye-witness.
+
+Mr. Dantz, one of our friends, having had occasion to call on the
+countess, on matters of business, left his britchka in a court-yard of
+her house, in which there was some cattle. A large bundle of hay,
+intended for his horses, was hung behind the carriage, according to the
+usual custom in Russia. Being shown into a room that looked out into the
+court-yard, he became engaged in a brisk discussion with the countess,
+who would not yield to any of his arguments, and soon losing patience
+rose, as if to put an end to the interview, and walked to a window. But
+no sooner had she looked down into the court-yard than she again took up
+all the points of the discussion, one after the other, seeming
+half-disposed to yield, and keeping Mr. Dantz in suspense for more than
+a half an hour. Exceedingly puzzled by this sudden change in the lady's
+temper, which he knew not how to account for, he narrowly watched all
+her movements, and observed that from time to time she cast a rapid
+glance into the court-yard; whereupon he went with affected carelessness
+to the window, and what did he see? Two or three horribly lean cows
+busily devouring the hay behind his carriage. The countess had prolonged
+the interview in order to gain time for her cows to feed at her
+visitor's expense; and, accordingly, as soon as the last blade of hay
+was eaten up, she resumed all her stateliness, cut short the discussion
+with a word, and gave Mr. Dantz his conge.
+
+Odessa is a town of pleasure and luxury, where the ladies, it is said,
+ruin their husbands by their profusion and extravagant love of dress. In
+addition to the balls, concerts, and soirees of all sorts, performances
+for the benefit of the poor are given every year in the great theatre,
+by the _court_, as the Countess Voronzof's establishment is called. All
+the _elite_ of Odessa, take part in these amusements, which bring in
+considerable sums. The countess at first set the example, by herself
+performing a part; but an order from the emperor forbade her thus
+exhibiting in public, and since that time she confines herself to the
+business of managing behind the curtain. The house is always well
+filled, and each performance brings in four or five thousand rubles. The
+skill displayed by these noble actors is not to be surpassed by any
+professional company; but this is not surprising, for every one knows in
+how high a degree the Russians possess the talent for imitation;
+whatever they see they mimic with ease, and without preparation. It is
+needless to add that the performances are in French, and that the
+pieces are taken from our stock. M. Scribe is almost the sole
+contributor. Nowhere, perhaps, is our witty vaudevillist so much prized
+as in Russia.
+
+Odessa possesses the only Italian theatre in Russia. The company is
+generally well composed, and gives, during the whole year, performances,
+which are but scantily attended, notwithstanding the passionate
+admiration which the Odessians affect for Italian music. It is only in
+the bathing season, when the Poles fill the town, that the house
+presents a somewhat more animated appearance. All the rest of the year
+the boxes are almost deserted, and the Jews alone frequent the pit. In
+1840, Mademoiselle Georges entered into a six months' engagement with
+the manager of the Odessa theatre, and arrived with a numerous company,
+including some really superior actors. Yet, notwithstanding her European
+celebrity and her ample _repertoire_, she would scarcely have covered
+her expenses, but for the strenuous exertions of her quondam admirer,
+General N., who welcomed her as though fifteen years had not interrupted
+their liaison, and placed his mansion, his equipages, his purse, and his
+credit, at her disposal, with all the chivalric gallantry of a Russian
+magnifico.
+
+But all his efforts were unable to reverse the very unfavourable
+sentence which public opinion had, from the first, pronounced upon his
+protege. Notwithstanding the superior talent with which she still plays
+certain parts, she was appreciated but by a very small number of
+persons; and she left Odessa with sentiments of deep disdain for a
+public that so much preferred the paltriest vaudeville to all her bursts
+of passion as to make almost open war upon her. A thing till then almost
+unheard-of in Russia took place at the last performance of the French
+company: a regular cabal was formed, attended with an explosion of very
+stormy passions. The whole town was divided into two factions, the one
+for Mademoiselle Georges, the other for M. Montdidier, one of her best
+actors. Our tragedy queen, it is said, was exceedingly jealous of this
+preference, and lost no opportunity of mortifying her rival.
+Accordingly, she purposely selected for the last performance, two pieces
+in which he had no part. The public, greatly dissatisfied at not seeing
+the name of their favourite actor in the bills, repaired to the theatre
+in an ill-humour, of which they soon gave very intelligible symptoms.
+Things passed off, however, tolerably well until the end of the last
+piece; but then there was a call for Montdidier, which was taken up, and
+vehemently sustained by the whole pit, notwithstanding all the efforts
+of the police, General N's coterie, and the presence of the
+governor-general. This incident which had been altogether unforeseen by
+the managers, caused them extreme perplexity; no one knew where
+Montdidier was to be found. At last, seeing the row increase, Count
+Voronzof himself ordered the commissioner of police to go to
+Montdidier's hotel, and fetch him alive or dead. The commissioner found
+him fast asleep, and quite unconscious of all the agitation he was
+causing in the theatre. He hurried thither, and was proceeding to show
+himself on the stage, but was stopped by the whole company with
+Mademoiselle Georges at their head, under pretext that such a course
+would be an infraction of all the rules of the theatre. In short, there
+was, for a while, an indescribable tumult. The whole pit stood up and
+never ceased shouting until they saw Montdidier rush on the stage, with
+his dress in a state of disorder that showed what a hard battle he had
+sustained behind the scenes. The angry shouts were now succeeded by an
+explosion of applause; the boxes rang with prolonged bravos, and even
+Count Voronzof himself was seen clapping his hands and laughing with all
+his might. The whole audience seemed to have lost their wits. General
+N., quite disconcerted, slunk back into the rear of his box, and said to
+one of his friends as he pointed to the stage, "Look at those Frenchmen;
+they have only to show themselves to upset all established usages and
+principles. They bring with them disorder, rebellion, and the spirit of
+revolution; and the contagion soon spreads even among the most sensible
+people." In truth nothing of the kind had ever before been seen in
+Odessa; and all the jealousies of the _primissime donne_ had never
+caused the twentieth part of the confusion that marked that memorable
+night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+      COMMERCE OF THE BLACK SEA--PROHIBITIVE SYSTEM AND ITS
+      PERNICIOUS RESULTS--DEPRESSED STATE OF AGRICULTURE--TRADE
+      OF ODESSA--ITS BANK.
+
+
+From the destruction of the Genoese colonies in the Crimea, in 1476,
+down to the treaty of Kainardji, a period of 300 years, the Black Sea
+remained closed against the nations of the West, and was the privileged
+domain of Turkey. Its whole coast belonged to the sultans of
+Constantinople, and the khans of the Crimea. The Turks, and the Greeks
+of the Archipelago, subjects of the Ottoman Porte, had the sole right of
+navigating those waters, and all the commerce of Europe with that
+portion of the East was exclusively in the hands of the latter people.
+The conquests of Peter the Great, and subsequently those of the
+celebrated Catherine II., changed this state of things. The Russians
+advanced towards the south, and soon made themselves masters of the Sea
+of Azof, the Crimea, and all the northern coasts of the Black Sea.
+Nevertheless, it was not until July 21, 1774, after six consecutive
+campaigns, and many victories achieved by the Russians, by sea and land,
+that the treaty of Kainardji was signed, which by throwing open the
+Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, effected a real revolution in the
+commercial relations of Europe, and definitively secured to Russia that
+immense influence which it exercises to this day over the destinies of
+the East. The treaty of Kainardji ere long received a more ample
+extension. Austria, France, and successively all the other powers,
+partook in the advantages of the Black Sea navigation. Russia was,
+therefore, justly entitled to the gratitude of Europe, for the new
+channels she had opened to its commerce.
+
+Once mistress of the Black Sea, and free to communicate with the
+Mediterranean, Catherine earnestly applied herself to the foundation of
+a port, which should be at once military and commercial. The mouth of
+the Dniepr, one of the largest rivers of Russia, at first attracted her
+attention. General Hannibal founded the town of Kherson upon it, in
+1788, by her orders; and in 1783, a Frenchman, afterwards ennobled by
+Louis XVI., established the first foreign commercial house there, and
+contracted to supply the arsenals of Toulon with the hemp and timber
+conveyed down the Dniepr. Kherson, however, did not prosper as might
+have been expected. The empress's intentions were defeated by the
+exigencies of the system of customs prevailing in the empire, and it was
+impossible to obtain for the port of Kherson the franchises so necessary
+for a new town, and for the extension of its commerce.
+
+The dismemberment of Poland gave a new turn to Catherine's commercial
+ideas. The port of Kherson was abandoned, or nearly so, in 1796, and the
+preference was given to Odessa, which, by its more western position,
+considerably facilitated the exportation of agricultural produce,
+wherein consisted the chief wealth of the palatinates of Podolia,
+Volhynia, and the other provinces newly incorporated with the Russian
+possessions. No change, however, was made in the system of customs, and
+it was not until 1803, in the reign of Alexander, that a reduction of
+one-fourth was made in the duties imposed by the general tariff on all
+exports and imports in the harbours of the Black Sea. In 1804, Odessa
+was made an entrepot for sea-borne goods, the entrance of which was
+permitted into Russia. They might remain there in bond for eighteen
+months; a favour which was the more important at that period, because,
+as the import duties were considerable, the merchants would have been
+obliged to draw heavily on their capital, had they been obliged to
+defray them at once. An ukase of the 5th of March, in the same year,
+allowed transit, free of duty, to all foreign goods which were not
+prohibited in Odessa, or which arrived there from other towns of Russia;
+such goods if destined for Moldavia and Wallachia, were to pass through
+the custom-houses of Mohelef and Dubassar; for Austria, through those of
+Radzivilof; for Prussia, through those of Kezinsky; and foreign goods
+sent through these four establishments to Odessa, were allowed free
+transit there by sea. These liberal and very enlightened arrangements
+vastly augmented the prosperity of Odessa, and soon attracted the
+attention of all speculators to that port.
+
+About the year 1817 an increased duty was laid on all foreign goods in
+the Black Sea; but at the same period Odessa was definitively declared
+to be a free port, without restriction. Things continued thus until
+1822; and it was during this interval that all those great foreign
+houses were established in Odessa, some of which exist to this day. The
+commerce of Southern Russia had then reached its apogee. After the long
+wars of the French empire the agriculture of Europe was in a very
+depressed condition, and it was necessary to have recourse to Russia for
+the corn which other countries could not raise in sufficient quantity
+for their own subsistence. Odessa thus became, under the wise
+administration of the Duc de Richelieu, one of the most active
+commercial cities of eastern Europe; its population increased
+prodigiously; the habits induced by prosperity gave a new stimulus to
+its import trade, and every year hundreds of vessels entered its port to
+take in agricultural freights of all kinds.
+
+Dazzled by this commercial prosperity, till then unexampled in Russia,
+and, doubtless believing it unalterably established, the government then
+chose to return to its prohibitive system, and, whether through
+ignorance or incapacity, the ministry deliberately ruined with their own
+hands the commercial wealth of Southern Russia. In 1822, at the moment
+when it was least expected, an ukase suppressed the freedom of the port
+of Odessa, and made it obligatory on the merchants to pay the duties on
+all goods then in the warehouses. This excited intense alarm, and as it
+was totally impossible to pay immediately such enormous duties as those
+imposed by the general tariff of the empire, the merchants remonstrated
+earnestly and threatened, all of them, to commit bankruptcy. The
+governor of the town, dismayed at the disasters which the enforcement of
+the law would occasion, took it on his own responsibility to delay; and
+commissioners were sent to St. Petersburg to acquaint the emperor with
+the state of commerce in Odessa. Alexander, whose intentions were always
+excellent, and who had no doubt been deceived by false reports, promptly
+annulled the ukase. The freedom of the port of Odessa was therefore
+re-established, but not to the same extent as before. Concessions were
+made to the board of customs, a fifth of the duties exacted in other
+Russian ports was imposed on goods entering Odessa, and the other
+four-fifths were to be paid on their departure for the interior. The
+limits of the free port were also considerably reduced, and two lines of
+custom-houses were formed, the one round the port, the other round the
+town. These lines still subsist.
+
+The victories of the board of customs did not stop here, and new
+measures, suggested and supported no doubt by fraud, were put in force.
+We have spoken of the free transit traffic through the towns of
+Doubassar, Radzivilov, and Odessa. This traffic was increasing rapidly;
+all the merchants of western Asia were beginning to take the Odessa
+route to make their purchases in the great fairs of Germany. There was
+every probability that Odessa would be one of the principal points of
+arrival and exchange for all the produce of Europe and Asia. The
+Transcaucasian provinces enjoyed very extensive commercial freedom at
+this period by virtue of an ukase promulgated, October 20, 1821.
+Redoutkale, at the mouth of the Phasis, on the shores of Mingrelia, was
+then the port to which all the goods from Leipsic were conveyed by sea;
+from thence they passed to Tiflis and Erivan, and were then distributed
+over all the adjacent countries, through Turkey, Armenia, and even as
+far as Persia. The Armenians had secured this traffic almost exclusively
+to themselves. They appeared for the first time in Odessa in 1823. The
+next year they advanced as far as Leipsic, where they bought European
+manufactures to the amount of more than 600,000 francs; in 1825 their
+purchases rose to 1,200,000 francs, and in 1826 to 2,800,000. All these
+goods were conveyed by land to Odessa, and there embarked on the Black
+Sea for Redoutkaleh. It may easily be conceived what a happy influence
+such a traffic would have exercised over the agriculture and cattle
+rearing of Southern Russia, and eventually on the prosperity of the
+population engaged in this carrying trade. But all these promising
+elements of prosperity were to be annihilated by the narrow views of the
+minister of finance. The commercial franchise of the Caucasian
+provinces, after having lasted for ten years, was suddenly suppressed on
+the first of January, 1832. The most rigorous prohibitive system was put
+in force; Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, more than 220 miles from the
+Black Sea, was made the centre of the customs administration, and all
+goods destined for that part of Asia had to pass through that town to be
+examined there and pay duty.
+
+By these arbitrary and exclusive measures, the government thought to
+encourage native manufactures; and by prohibiting the goods of Germany,
+France, and England, it hoped to force the productions of Russia on the
+trans-Caucasian provinces. The transit trade was, of course, proscribed
+at the same period. By a first ukase, the merchants were forced to
+deposit at the frontier in Radzivilof, double the value of their goods,
+and the money was only to be returned to them at Odessa, upon
+verification of their bales. It is obviously not to be thought of that
+merchants, however wealthy, should carry with them, in addition to the
+capital to be expended on their purchases, double the value of their
+goods _in transitu_. This new measure, therefore, was sufficient of
+itself alone to put an entire stop to the transit trade. The Persians
+and Armenians forsook this route, and chose another, to the great
+detriment of Russia. At present the value of the transit is from 180,000
+to 200,000 francs, the goods being chiefly yellow amber, sent from
+Prussia to Turkey. For a charge of fifteen francs per twenty
+kilogrammes, the Jews undertake to give security to the customs in
+title-deeds, which they hire at the rate of five or six per cent., and
+they despatch the goods directly to Odessa.
+
+England, always so prompt to seize opportunities, took advantage of the
+blunders of Russia. She secured a position in Trebizond, and her
+merchants, recoiling from no sacrifice, formed there an immense
+entrepot, from which they soon sent out the manufactures of their
+country into all the provinces of Asia. Business to the amount of more
+than 2,000,000_l._ sterling, is now carried on in Trebizond, and two
+sets of steamboats ply between it and Constantinople.
+
+Thus Russia lost one of the most important commercial lines in the
+world, and by her extravagant increase of duties she completely
+extinguished the lawful import trade of the Caucasian provinces. But
+English and other foreign goods still find their way there by
+contraband, and the government officers are themselves the first to
+profit by this system; for they are still more desirous than the native
+inhabitants to procure manufactured goods, and, above all, at a moderate
+price. The prohibitive measures of Russia have, therefore, really
+recoiled on the government itself, and the treasury loses considerably
+by them, not only in the Caucasus, but also on the European frontiers.
+Owing to the freedom of its port, the town of Odessa, of course, suffers
+less from the disastrous effects of this prohibitive system, and finds
+some commercial resources in its own consumption, and in that of its
+environs. Nevertheless, as this consumption, (which notwithstanding the
+contraband trade is kept in full vigour by the Jews, and even by the
+highest classes,) is out of all proportion to the exportation, and as
+there is very little exchange traffic, foreign vessels are gradually
+deserting the Black Sea; and, besides this, their charges for freight
+are necessarily too high, in consequence of their being obliged in
+almost every instance to repair in ballast to the harbours of South
+Russia. Then we must take into account the remoteness of the Black Sea;
+the dread, not yet quite effaced, with which it is regarded; the
+impossibility of finding freights anywhere except in Odessa; the
+excessive severity of the winter, and the usual obstructions of the
+harbours by ice during three or four months every year. All these things
+combine to repel mariners; so that nothing, except extraordinary
+cheapness and great profits, could induce merchants to send their
+vessels for freight to the ports of Southern Russia.
+
+Thus driven away by the prohibitive system of Russia, many nations are
+seeking to establish markets for their productions elsewhere. It is also
+to be remarked that agriculture has made very great progress in Europe
+since the re-establishment of peace; and consequently the exportation of
+corn from Russia has considerably diminished. Nevertheless, we are of
+opinion that Southern Russia would have lost little of its agricultural
+importance, notwithstanding its system of customs, if the government,
+instead of remaining stationary, had sincerely entered on a course of
+improvement.
+
+All circumstances seem to combine in New Russia to make the productions
+of the soil as economical as possible, and to enable them to compete
+successfully with those of all other countries. The soil is virgin and
+very abundant; labour is cheap and the price of cattle extraordinarily
+low; whilst serfdom, by obliging thousands of men to employ at least
+half their time for the benefit of their lords, ought naturally to tend
+to diminish the price of bread stuffs. Unfortunately the means of
+communication have been totally neglected, and the government has taken
+no steps to facilitate transport; in consequence of this the price of
+grain, instead of falling is constantly increasing, and merchants are no
+longer willing to purchase except in seasons of scarcity. The wheat
+sent to Odessa from Khivia, Volhynia, Podolia, and Bessarabia, arrives
+in carts drawn by oxen. The journeys are tedious, the extreme rate of
+travelling being not more than fifteen miles a day; and they are costly,
+for the carriage of a tchetvert or seven bushels of corn varies from
+four to six rubles; moreover, the transport can only be effected between
+May and September in consequence of the deplorable state of the roads
+during the other seven months of the year. The result of all this is
+that wheat, though very cheap in the provinces we have mentioned, is
+quoted at very high prices comparatively at Odessa, so as not to leave
+foreign speculators a sufficient profit to compensate for the length of
+the voyage to the Black Sea, the outlay of capital, and the enormous
+expenses caused by the quarantines to which many goods are subject.
+Besides this, Odessa is the only port that offers any facilities for
+commerce; Kherson situated in the midst of a fertile and productive
+region, is only a harbour of export, and its commerce cannot possibly
+extend; for the ships destined to take in freight at that port must
+previously perform quarantine in Odessa. All the landowners are
+therefore forced to send their produce to Odessa, if they would have any
+chance of sale. But, as we have already observed, the means of
+communication are everywhere wanting. It must, indeed, be owned that the
+construction of stone-faced roads is attended with great difficulty, for
+throughout all the plains of Southern Russia the materials, are scarce
+and for the most part of bad quality, being limestone of a friable
+character. But might not the produce of a great part of Poland, and of
+all new Russia, be conveyed to Odessa by the Pruth, the Dniestr, and the
+Dniepr?
+
+The only goods conveyed down the Dniestr consist at present of some
+rafts of timber and firewood from the mountains of Austrian Gallicia.
+The Russian government has repeatedly been desirous of improving the
+navigation of the river in compliance with the desire of the inhabitants
+of its banks. A survey was made in 1827, and again in 1840.
+Unfortunately all these investigations being made by men of no capacity
+led to nothing. An engineer was commissioned in 1829 to make a report on
+the works necessary for rendering the river practicable at Jampol, where
+it is obstructed by a small chain of granite. He estimated the expense
+at 185,000 francs, whereas it was secretly ascertained that 10,000 would
+be more than enough. The project was then abandoned. Thus with the best
+and most laudable intentions, the government is constantly crippled in
+its plans of amelioration whether by the incapacity or by the bad faith
+and cupidity of its functionaries. Last year the subject of the
+navigation of the Dniestr was again taken up, and it is even alleged
+that the Russian government has given orders for two steam-vessels
+destined to ply on that river.
+
+The works on the Dniepr are scarcely in a more forward state than those
+of the Dniestr. It is known that below Iekaterinoslaf the course of the
+river is traversed by a granite chain, which extends between that town
+and Alexandrof, a distance of more than fifteen leagues. At the time of
+the conquest of the Crimea and the shores of the Black Sea, it was
+proposed to render navigable the thirteen rapids that form what has been
+improperly denominated the cataracts of the Dniepr. Works were begun at
+various times, but always abandoned. They were resumed under Nicholas
+with new ardour, but the government was soon discouraged by the enormous
+cost, and, above all, by the peculations of its servants. The whole
+amount of work done up to the present time is a wretched canal 300 yards
+long, more dangerous for barges to pass through than the rapids
+themselves. This canal was finished in 1838. The works had not yet been
+resumed when we left Russia in 1841. The rapids of the Dniepr are
+therefore still as impracticable as ever, and it is only during the
+spring floods, a period of a month or six weeks, that barges venture to
+pass them; and even then it rarely happens that they escape without
+accident. More than eighty men were lost in them in 1839, and a
+multitude of barges and rafts were knocked to pieces on the rocks. The
+goods that thus descend the Dniepr consist almost exclusively of timber
+and firewood, and Siberian iron. Corn never makes any part of the cargo,
+because in case of accident it would be lost beyond recovery. But what
+will really seem incredible is, that the German colonists settled below
+the rapids, are obliged to convey their produce to the Sea of Azov in
+order to find any market for it; hence the greater part of the
+government of Iekaterinoslaf, and those of Poltava and Tchernikof,
+watered by the Dniepr, are in a perpetual state of distress, though they
+have wheat in abundance; and the peasants sunk into the deepest
+wretchedness, are compelled every year to make journeys of 300 miles,
+and often more, to earn from six to seven francs a month in the service
+of the landowners on the borders of the Black Sea. The eastern part of
+the government of Iekaterinoslaf profits by the vicinity of the Sea of
+Azov, and tries to dispose of its corn in Taganrok, Marioupol, and
+Berdiansk, a port newly established by Count Voronzof.
+
+This general survey of the means of transport possessed by Russia, is
+enough to show that the corn-trade of these regions owes its vast
+development in a great measure to fortuitous circumstances; and that the
+absence of easy communication, and the prohibitive system, both tend to
+bring it down lower and lower every year. Here follows a statement of
+the price of corn at Tulzin, one of the least remote points of Volhynia,
+and the cost of carriage to Odessa, during the years 1828-30, and 1839,
+40, 41.
+
+                    1828-30.                Rubles.      1839-40-41.
+
+  Price of 100 kilogrammes of wheat
+    on the spot                              15.30          63.70
+  Cost of carriage to Odessa                  1.56           2.50
+  Export Duties                               0.39           0.39
+                                            -------        --------
+                          Total              17.25          66.59
+                          Or               _15s. 9d._     _61s. 3d._
+
+From this table we see that prices rose remarkably during the latter
+years. We must remark, however, that the years 1828-29-30, were
+unusually productive, and the prices prevailing in them are by no means
+an average. But it is altogether obvious that with such prices, and an
+absolute blank in importation, the commerce of Southern Russia must
+necessarily perish. In 1841, the merchants could only offer the masters
+of merchant vessels two-and-a-half francs per sack for freight to
+Marseilles, while the latter can hardly realise any profit even at the
+rate of four francs. For Trieste they offered only twenty, and even
+eighteen kreutzers, whereas not less than sixty will yield any
+remuneration. Ship owners will not henceforth be tempted to visit Odessa
+in quest of gain. The English alone have obtained tolerable freights.
+
+To all these causes of ruin are to be added the enormous charges to
+which merchants are subject; those of the first class pay 300 rubles for
+their licence, always in advance; the postage charges for letters are
+exorbitant; there are persons whose yearly correspondence costs 10,000,
+15,000, 20,000 rubles. An ordinary letter to London pays seven and even
+eight rubles. Again, the great merchants not choosing to sit idle, keep
+up the high prices by their purchases: they may no doubt gain
+occasionally by these speculations, but they generally lose. Witness the
+disasters and failures of the year 1841. What chance of prosperity can
+there be for a trade that at the moment of the departure of the goods,
+hardly ever promises any profit at the current prices in the place of
+destination, and which consequently lives only on the hope of an
+eventual rise? How will it be with it in a few years, when the canals
+and railroads projected in Germany, shall have been finished? At this
+day the wheat of Nuremberg and Bamberg, reaches England by way of
+Amsterdam.
+
+But without going so far, Southern Russia now sees growing up against it
+in the Black Sea a competition, which is daily becoming more formidable.
+The principalities of the Danube, have made immense progress in ten
+years, in consequence of the franchises and privileges bestowed on them
+by the treaty of Adrianople. Galatz and Ibraila, now furnish a
+considerable quantity of corn to the foreigner; and in spite of the
+disadvantages of having to ascend the Danube, masters of vessels now
+prefer repairing to those ports on account of their administrative
+facilities, and above all by reason of the commercial resources which
+importation offers there. In 1839, Marseilles bought more than 4000
+hectolitres of wheat in the markets of Galatz and Ibraila, whilst the
+port of Odessa hardly supplied it with twice that quantity. We will
+return by and by to the question of the Danube, when we come to speak of
+Bessarabia.
+
+Another measure fatal to the corn-trade, was the decision of the
+government with respect to the confiscated lands of the Poles. After the
+revolution of 1831, more than 423,000 peasants were sequestrated to the
+crown. These peasants occupied extremely fertile regions lying very near
+Odessa: Ouman, the property of Alexander Potocki, made part of them. The
+government committed the management of these lands to public servants,
+selected chiefly from among the retired veteran officers, or those who
+had been incapacitated for service by their wounds. Under such
+management, pillage and the most utter neglect were the order of the
+day, and the consequence was, that the lands produced literally nothing
+to the crown, and served only to enrich their administrators. Weary of
+this disorder, the government determined in 1836 to detach nearly 93,000
+peasants from these lands, and incorporate them with the military
+colonies. Nor did it stop there, but under pretext of removing all
+opportunity for extortion on the part of its servants, it issued an
+order in 1840, confining the new colonists to the cultivation of oats
+and barley, and forbidding them to sow wheat for exportation. These
+regulations, occasioned by the general corruption of the public
+servants, which the imperial will is powerless to check, produced
+melancholy results for the trade of Odessa, and that town was suddenly
+deprived of the agricultural produce it used to draw from the fertile
+soil of Ouman.
+
+We must now enter into some considerations, bearing more immediately on
+Odessa itself. The credit that town enjoys abroad is extremely limited
+by the inordinate privileges of the imperial bank. In cases of
+bankruptcy, that establishment is entitled to disregard all competing
+claims, and to pay itself immediately by the sale of the real and
+personal property of its debtor, without reference to his other
+creditors; it is entitled to pay itself: 1st. the capital lent; 2nd. A
+surcharge of eight per cent., called re-exchange, arising out of the
+cost of brokerage and renewal of bills every three months; and, 3rd.
+Interest on the capital and surcharge, at the rate of 1-1/2 per cent,
+per month, until the whole debt is liquidated. The fatal effects of such
+a system may easily be conceived; the merchants of Odessa can seldom
+establish a credit with foreign houses.
+
+As for the uses of the bank, they consist: 1st. In discounting town
+bills that have not more than four months to run; 2nd. In making
+advances on goods; 3rd. In serving as a bank of deposit for the
+mercantile houses; 4th. In giving drafts on the other banks of the
+empire, and paying their drafts on itself; 5th. In receiving deposits on
+interest.
+
+The drafts were of great use in commerce, particularly for the payments
+between St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Odessa: the charge upon them was a
+quarter per cent., whilst the conveyance of money through the post costs
+one per cent., besides postage. This convenient system was unfortunately
+put an end to in 1841. The charge on drafts now amounting to five per
+cent., operations of this kind have consequently become impossible. It
+was, probably, with a view to the revenues of the post-office, that this
+sage measure was adopted by the minister of finance.
+
+Every one knows, that in order that a bank of discount should carry on
+business profitably for itself and for the commerce it is intended to
+assist, it must deal only in genuine commercial bills. Merchants
+recognise as genuine and discountable bills, only those drawn by other
+places for banking operations, and home bills drawn in consideration of
+goods sold for payment at a determinate future date. Now the Odessa bank
+not being a bank of issue, does not practise acceptance properly so
+called; Constantinople is almost the only town that draws on Odessa, and
+that but for small amounts, and as these acceptances are at twenty-one
+days' date, they are rarely discounted. Sales of goods for bills are
+also seldom practised, and from all we could learn, we believe they make
+but a very small part of the business of the Odessa bank. Goods are
+generally bought in that town on trust and without bills.
+
+On what bases then have the operations of the Odessa bank hitherto
+rested? Rather, we are disposed to think, on fictitious than on real
+commerce. From its first establishment, the bank, strong in its
+privileges, thought to serve trade by encouraging discounts; and the
+facilities it afforded, induced many persons to avail themselves of this
+means of credit. Every one in Odessa knows how many disasters have been
+the consequence. Suppose a merchant wished to make a speculation, to buy
+for instance, a ship-load of wheat, amounting to 12,000_l._; if he had
+only 80,000 or 100,000 rubles capital, he obtained the indorsement of
+one or more of his friends, and the bank immediately advanced him the
+whole sum necessary, at three months. The merchant was, therefore,
+forced to dispose of his goods as fast as possible, in order to meet his
+engagements with the bank: clogged and disturbed in his operations, and
+fearing lest he should involve his friends, he must often have incurred
+great losses, and after a few similar speculations, his ruin, and that
+of his friends were inevitable. Such has been the fate of many a
+merchant, in consequence of the unfortunate facility they found in
+obtaining money. The bank ought to have been aware, that instead of
+genuine commercial bills, it was discounting mere accommodation paper,
+and that there is an immense difference between discount for the
+realisation of business actually done, and discount for the realisation
+of business yet to be done. Unquestionably, the bank ought to have
+modified its system, after seeing the mischiefs it led to; but it has
+persisted in its original course, and were it to desist from it without
+a radical change of institutions, the operations of an establishment
+constructed on so vast a scale would become quite insignificant.
+
+Hitherto, then, the bank of Odessa has completely failed to answer the
+purpose for which it was founded; it has done infinitely more harm than
+good to trade, and its enormous privileges have, moreover discredited
+Odessa abroad. The abolition of these privileges could repair the errors
+and mischiefs of the first establishment. The bank would thereby be
+compelled to discount only genuine commercial paper, and to do business
+on a much smaller scale; but its operations, though restricted, would be
+but the more advantageous for itself and for commerce; every one would
+then conduct his business with, reasonable regard to the extent of his
+means; failures would no longer be so ruinous to creditors; and this new
+bank, in correspondence with those of St. Petersburg and Moscow, by
+continuing to make transfers as in the beginning, and by accepting
+deposits at four per cent., would suffice for all the wants of the
+place. Unfortunately, judging from the last measure adopted with respect
+to transfers, there is no hope whatever that a new bank will be
+established, or that the existing one will undergo the requisite
+reforms. Yet if the Russian government, which persists in its
+prohibitive system, wishes to avoid the complete destruction of the
+commerce of Southern Russia, it must absolutely change its line of
+conduct, it must devote its strenuous attention to the means of internal
+communication, and render the commercial transactions of Odessa as easy
+and economical as possible. What is most deplorable in Russia is, that
+the truth never finds its way to the head of the state, and that a
+public functionary would think himself undone if he disclosed the real
+state of things; hence in the memoirs, reports, and tables laid before
+the emperor, the good only is acknowledged, and the evil is always
+disguised. Once committed to this course of dissimulation and lying, the
+public functionaries render all improvements impossible; and by always
+sacrificing the future to the present, do incalculable mischief to the
+country. The question is now entertained, of depriving Odessa of its
+last franchises, and putting its port on the same footing with the other
+commercial places of the empire. If Count Cancrine has not yet succeeded
+in doing this, the town has to thank the protection and the influence of
+Count Voronzof.
+
+The following table shows the exports and imports at the different ports
+and custom-houses of Southern Russia, during the years 1838 and 1839,
+the value being set down in paper rubles.
+
+                                   EXPORTS.
+  --------------------------+---------------------+----------------------
+             PORTS.         |        1838.        |        1839.
+  --------------------------+----------+----------+----------+-----------
+                            |  Goods.  |  Specie. |  Goods.  |   Specie.
+                            |          |          |          |
+  Odessa                    |38,300,872|     3,730|48,551,077|    56,406
+  Ismael (on the Danube)    | 3,913,494|     9,915| 2,793,244|
+  Reny (on the Danube)      |   718,040|    50,773|   609,541|    77,745
+                {Novoselitza| 1,978,172|   163,868| 3,277,660|    81,868
+  In Bessarabia {Skouliany  |   829,602|   525,638|   737,462|   540,618
+                {Leovo      |    96,832|    60,537|    59,906|    36,709
+  Taganrok                  | 7,666,943|      "   | 8,219,648|
+  Marioupol                 | 4,152,710|      "   | 6,808,526|
+  Berdiansk                 | 2,971,426|      "   | 4,107,638|
+  Kertsch                   |   226,999|      "   |   123,082|
+  Theodosia                 | 1,281,244|      "   |   955,108|
+  Eupatoria                 | 9,299,365|      "   | 2,394,867|
+  Balouclava                |          |          |          |
+                            |----------+----------+----------+-----------
+                Total       |64,435,699|   814,461|78,637,759|   793,346
+
+                                   IMPORTS.
+
+  --------------------------+---------------------+----------------------
+            PORTS.          |         1838.       |        1839.
+  --------------------------+----------+----------|----------+-----------
+                            |  Goods.  |  Specie. |  Goods.  |  Specie.
+                            |          |          |          |
+  Odessa                    |17,483,635| 3,825,258|19,297,201| 3,994,799
+  Ismael (on the Danube)    |   253,697| 1,632,996|   238,996|   820,035
+  Reny (on the Danube)      |    50,193|   797,497|    85,429|   553,174
+                {Novoselitza|   221,324| 1,939,604|   245,198| 3,048,064
+  In Bessarabia {Skouliany  |   222,507|   497,200|   195,088|   721,015
+                {Leovo      |    52,336|    29,932|    55,664|    26,291
+  Taganrok                  | 5,887,901| 1,415,596| 5,334,369| 2,885,279
+  Marioupol                 |       300|   640,660|       987| 1,515,525
+  Berdiansk                 |     "    |   768,722|     "    |   825,113
+  Kertsch                   | { 175,321|          | { 250,887|
+  Theodosia                 | { 673,535| 1,678,658| { 695,130| 1,891,947
+  Eupatoria                 | { 185,480|          | { 131,222|
+  Balouclava                |     6,605|          |          |
+                            +----------+----------+----------+----------
+             Total          |25,212,834|13,226,132|26,520,171|16,281,242
+             Total of Duties|     "    | 8,492,074|     "    | 8,215,426
+  --------------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------
+
+The foreign goods that entered the interior of the empire in 1839, by
+way of Odessa, amounted in value to 9,130,148 paper rubles, which,
+curiously enough, was not even half the total importation of that port.
+From this we may judge of the consumption of Odessa, and at the same
+time of the extent of the contraband trade.
+
+From these tables we see that there is no equilibrium in the trade of
+Odessa. Southern Russia absorbs every year more than 15,000,000 of
+foreign specie, and its exports are treble its imports. It is evident
+that such a trade rests on no solid basis; that its prosperity is due
+only to accidental circumstances, and that ships will gradually abandon
+the Black Sea, and seek some other destination, wherever agriculture
+flourishes, and is accompanied by a less exclusive system of customs. In
+the present state of things, the cultivation of corn in Egypt would be
+enough to ruin immediately all the ports of Southern Russia. With such
+contingencies before it, the government of Russia ought to ponder well
+before obstinately persevering in its present system. Mariners do not
+like the northern parts of the Black Sea, and once they shall have left
+them, they will return to them no more.
+
+The year 1839 was most memorable in the commercial history of Odessa.
+The exports, consisting almost entirely of corn, amounted to 48,000,000
+paper rubles. The harvests in the country had been very abundant, and as
+those of the rest of Europe were very unpromising, the demand was at
+first so encouraging that the merchants launched out into the boldest
+speculations. These were successful for a while, but disasters soon
+followed, and the houses which were supposed to have realised profits to
+the amount of millions, failed a year or eighteen months afterwards.
+Since that time trade has always been in a perilous state. In 1840,
+under the still subsisting influence of the movement of the preceding
+year, there was a diminution of 7,184,021 rubles; and in 1841 the first
+quarter alone presented a decrease of 6,891,332 rubles in comparison
+with the corresponding quarter in 1840.
+
+On examining a general table of the exportation of Odessa, we see that
+during Napoleon's wars its commerce, completely stationary, did not
+exceed five or six millions of rubles. After the events of 1815, during
+the horrible dearth that afflicted all western Europe, the exports rose
+in 1817 to more than 38,000,000. In 1818 they fell without any
+transition to 20,000,000. During the war of 1828-29 they sank to
+1,673,000. After the treaty of Adrianople, Southern Russia, being
+encumbered with an excess of produce, the exports again rose to
+27,000,000. After this they varied from twenty to thirty, until 1839
+when they reached the highest point they ever attained, namely,
+48,000,000. We have already explained the causes of this factitious
+augmentation. From these data we see that the activity of the trade of
+Odessa has always arisen out of fortuitous circumstances, which are
+becoming more and more rare, and that it is by no means the result of
+the progressive development of agricultural resources: the country is,
+therefore, completely stationary.
+
+It is also easy to convince ourselves, by simple comparison, that the
+commerce of Southern Russia is far from prosperous. In 1839, the most
+productive year, the custom-houses yield but 8,215,426 rubles; and ten
+seaports distributed over more than 400 leagues of coast, together with
+three land custom-houses, show on an average but from forty-five to
+fifty-five millions of exports, and hardly a third of that amount of
+imports; whilst Trebizond alone annually sends out more than 50,000,000
+worth of English goods into the various adjoining countries.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+      NAVIGATION, CHARGE FOR FREIGHT, &C. IN THE BLACK SEA.
+
+
+Of all the seaboard of the East, the coasts of the Black Sea are those
+from which the expense of freight are the greatest. Different
+circumstances combine in producing this effect. 1. The amount of
+importation being inconsiderable, most of the vessels must arrive in
+ballast, or with a very scanty cargo. 2. The vessels are exposed to long
+delays in the Archipelago, and still more so in the Dardanelles and the
+Bosphorus. Fifty days may be taken as the average duration of the voyage
+from Marseilles, Genoa, Leghorn, or Trieste, to Odessa. It does not take
+longer to reach America from the same ports, by a voyage at once less
+difficult and more lucrative. 3. The Black Sea is situated at the
+extremity of the inland seas of Europe, and its coasts, which have
+little traffic, especially with each other, offer few resources to
+merchant vessels; so that if there is nothing profitable to be done at
+Odessa or Taganrok, a ship has no alternative but to take freight at
+ruinously low prices, or to return in ballast, and retrace some hundred
+miles of a route on which it has already incurred such delays. Certain
+merchants often take advantage of the distressing position of the
+masters, and for many years past, a part of the profits on some goods
+sent to the Mediterranean, has regularly consisted in the sacrifices to
+which the shipowner has been compelled. 4. The passage through the
+Straits of Constantinople subjects vessels freighted in the Russian
+ports for those of the Mediterranean, to a quarantine which, besides
+consuming from thirty-five to forty days, always entails considerable
+expense. It is generally reckoned that it takes a vessel fully six
+months to accomplish the voyage both ways between a Mediterranean port
+and Odessa, and to get _pratique_ again, even supposing it to have
+tolerably favourable winds, and to obtain cargo almost immediately in
+the Black Sea, a thing which unhappily occurs very seldom. Now a
+Mediterranean brig of 275 tons, or 200,000 tchetverts' burden, has a
+crew that costs at least 800 rubles a month for wages and keep. If we
+add to this, for wear of rigging, insurance, and harbour-dues 400
+rubles, we shall have more than 1200 rubles a month for ordinary
+expenses, without reckoning what storms and other casualties may
+occasion. Thus the cost of a six months' voyage will amount to 7200
+rubles.
+
+Before 1838, the average price of freight in paper rubles was as
+follows:
+
+                          Per          Per 2000 Tchetverts,
+                       Tchetvert.           or 275 Tons.
+
+  For Constantinople      1.40                 2,800
+      Trieste             2.33                 4,666
+      Leghorn             2.66                 5,332
+      Genoa               4.25                 8,500
+      Marseilles          2.40                 4,800
+      Holland             5.75                11,500
+      England             7.00                14,000
+
+From this table it appears that the freights did not pay the ordinary
+expenses of the vessels, with the exception of those bound for England,
+Holland, and Genoa, under the Sardinian flag.
+
+Odessa has hardly any intercourse with the portion of the Black Sea
+coast subject to the Sultan, but it often furnishes cargoes for the
+banks of the Danube, to vessels of not more than twelve feet draught.
+These vessels usually proceed to Galatz and Ibraila. Those which have no
+return cargo, touch at Toultcha and Isacktcha, to take in firewood;
+others ship a cargo at Galatz and Ibraila, for Constantinople and the
+Mediterranean. Good prices for freight are generally procured in the
+Danube, particularly of late years. The progress of agriculture in the
+principalities, and the facilities met with in their ports, attract
+foreign captains, and many of them have entirely forsaken Odessa for
+Galatz.
+
+The government supplies, the war in the Caucasus, and private
+speculations likewise afford employment to a certain number of vessels
+between Odessa and the Russian provinces of the Black Sea, and the Sea
+of Azov. The prices of freight in these cases depend on the greater or
+less demand, but they are always kept very low by the competition of
+Kherson _lodkas_ (large coasting vessels). These lodkas ply at a very
+cheap rate, but they are exposed to risks which ought to make them less
+sought after than better built and better commanded vessels. The passage
+from Odessa to Taganrok, is tedious and expensive, above all for vessels
+which are obliged to be accompanied with lighters, in order to pass the
+Straits of Kertch where the waters are low, and must then anchor in the
+Taganrok-roads, at a distance of ten from the shore. We may confidently
+estimate the voyage between Taganrok and Odessa both ways, as of two
+months' duration.
+
+Thus navigation is hardly more prosperous than trade itself. If it Has
+hitherto maintained a part of its activity, this must be attributed to
+the great number of vessels belonging to the Mediterranean, to the
+influence of a past period, fertile in profit, and to commercial
+routine. Nevertheless, a revolution is gradually taking place, and
+already many vessels that formerly frequented the Russian ports, have
+found means to employ themselves advantageously on the Ocean. We find
+their names mentioned in foreign journals, in the shipping intelligence
+from America and India, and it is probable they are quite as successful
+there as others that have not yet chosen to visit the coasts of Southern
+Russia.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+      AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA--MINERAL
+      PRODUCTIONS--RUSSIAN WORKMEN.
+
+
+In justification of its prohibitive system, the government alleges the
+protection and encouragement it owes to native industry. Now it is
+evident that absolute exclusion cannot favour industry. The high tariff,
+it is true, seems to secure a certain market for Russian manufactures;
+but it results from it that those manufactures, being kept clear of all
+competition, are worse than stationary; for the manufacturers, whose
+number is very limited, agree among themselves to turn out exactly the
+same sort of workmanship, and in the same proportion. Moscow is now the
+centre of all the manufactures of silk, cotton, and woollen stuffs,
+shawls, &c.; yet, in spite of all the privileges secured to those
+establishments by the tariff, a great number of them have failed of late
+years. Their goods have become so bad that they could no longer compete
+in sale with smuggled articles. In 1840, or 1841, the emperor made a
+journey to Moscow, on purpose to preside over the meeting of
+manufacturers; but unfortunately ukases and proclamations are
+inefficient to create a body of manufacturers; the imperial desires in
+nowise altered the face of things.
+
+There are at this day, in Russia, two great branches of manufacturing
+industry, one of which, employing the raw materials furnished by the
+soil, such as iron, copper, and other metals, belongs properly to
+Russia, and has no need to fear foreign competition. It is true we
+cannot speak very highly of the Russian hardware and cutlery, but they
+find a sure sale, the inhabitants caring more for cheapness than
+quality. The most important manufactures of this sort are established at
+Toula, and in the government of Nijni Novgorod; the materials are
+furnished by Siberia.
+
+The Ural is one of the most remarkable mountain chains on the globe, for
+the extent and variety of its mineral wealth. I say nothing of its gold,
+silver, and platina ores; they add too little to the real prosperity of
+the country to call for mention here. The iron ores of Siberia are
+generally of superior quality; but as the processes to which they are
+subjected, are somewhat injudicious, the iron produced from them is
+seldom as good as it might be. The working of the iron mines has been a
+good deal neglected of late years, landowners having turned their
+attention chiefly to the precious metals; hence the prices of wrought
+and cast iron have risen considerably in Southern Russia, which employs
+those of Siberia exclusively. The carriage is effected for this part of
+the empire by land; in one direction by the Volga, the Don, and the Sea
+of Azov, in another by the Dniepr. The journeys are long and expensive,
+and often they cannot be effected at all in consequence of
+irregularities either in the arrivals, or in the river floods. The
+present price of pig-iron is from eighteen to twenty francs for the 100
+kilogrammes, and of bar-iron from forty-four to forty-five francs, in
+Kherson and Odessa. I do not know the prices at the places where the
+iron is produced, but whatever they may be, these figures show how much
+Russia has yet to do towards facilitating the means of internal
+communication. Of copper, lead, &c., notwithstanding the cost of
+carriage, Russia exports a considerable quantity to foreign countries.
+
+Not content with these valuable sources of wealth, which alone would
+suffice for the support of a vast and truly national industry, Russia
+has thought it desirable to create for herself a manufacturing industry
+such as exists in other countries of Europe, and to arrive at this end
+she has devised a system of the most absolute prohibition. How far has
+she been successful? Of all European countries Russia is unquestionably
+placed in the most unfavourable circumstances for contending with
+foreign manufactures. Situated as she is at the extremity of Europe, she
+can only be reached by long, difficult, and expensive routes; and as her
+manufactures of stuffs, silks, &c., are all concentrated in Moscow, the
+expenses of carriage are enormous. Thus the cottons landed in Odessa
+are first carried to Moscow, and then return, after being wrought, to
+the governments of the Black Sea. The want of capable and intelligent
+workmen is also one of the most serious obstacles to the establishment
+of manufactures; the Russian peasant is essentially agricultural, and
+knows nothing of handicraft trades, except so far as they are of service
+to him in his daily labours; and then, by constitution and by the
+effects of that long slavery that has weighed and still weighs upon him,
+his ideas are naturally contracted and can never apply themselves to
+more than a single object. The sole talent he possesses in a really
+remarkable degree is that of imitation. The black enamelled work of the
+Caucasus is admirably imitated at Toula; and at Lughan, in the
+government of Iekaterinoslaf, they make very pretty things in Berlin
+iron, copied from Prussian models. This talent for imitation is no doubt
+valuable in the workshops where they are constantly making the same set
+of things, and in the same way; but it becomes completely inefficient in
+the manufactories for piece-goods, in which there must be incessant
+innovation and improvement: hence we find all the great manufactories,
+after being at first managed by foreign superintendents and workmen,
+fall gradually into decay from the moment they are transferred to native
+hands. The Russians are essentially destitute of imagination and the
+spirit of invention; and then the proneness of the workmen to laziness
+and drunkenness cannot but be fatal to industry. The workman is always
+seeking some pretext to escape from labour; he has his own calendar, in
+which the number of holidays is doubled; these he employs in getting
+drunk, and the days following them in sleeping off his liquor. The
+result is, that he passes half the year in doing nothing, that he
+strives to sell his day's work at the dearest possible rate, and that
+the working time being thus indefinite, it is impossible to fix
+punctually the time of production. This unhappy moral condition of the
+labouring classes is the same throughout all Russia, and may be regarded
+as one of the worst evils incidental to the native industry. To these
+obstacles, proceeding from the very nature of the people, are superadded
+physical difficulties no less imperious. In France, England, and
+Germany, when any new manufacture is established, it always rests on
+other branches already in existence, and about which it has no need to
+employ itself. In Russia, on the contrary, in order to succeed in any
+branch of manufactures, it is necessary at the same time to create all
+the accessories connected with it. Every one knows what a vast quantity
+of merino and other wools Southern Russia supplies, and it would seem at
+first sight that of all manufactures that of woollen cloths ought to
+offer the fairest chances of success in that country. But it is not so:
+I have visited two or three cloth factories on the banks of the Dniepr
+belonging to foreigners, and managed by them with an ability beyond all
+praise; yet it was with the utmost difficulty and through the personal
+labour of their proprietors that they were able to subsist. The
+government itself, some years ago, erected at Iekaterinoslaf one of the
+largest cloth manufactories I am acquainted with; the looms were set in
+motion by two steam-engines, and several hundred workmen were employed.
+The establishment, nevertheless, was closed after three years'
+existence, and I myself saw all the materials sold at a great
+depreciation.
+
+The number of manufacturing establishments of all sorts in Russia
+amounted in 1839 to 6855, and that of the workmen employed to 412,931,
+not including those engaged in the mines and in the smelting-houses,
+forges, &c., belonging to them. We will enumerate as the most important
+branches of Russian industry:--
+
+                                                Establishments.
+
+  Manufactories of Cloth and Woollen Stuffs          606
+                   Silks                             227
+                   Cottons                           467
+                   Canvass and other Linen Goods     216
+  Tan Yards                                         1918
+  Tallow-melting Houses                              554
+  Manufactories of Candles                           444
+                   Soap                              270
+                   Metal Ware                        486
+
+In this table the manufactories of woollen cloths, silks, and cottons,
+together figure but as 1300; and yet it is in a great measure to the
+supposed encouragement which the government desires to afford these
+branches of industry, that Russia owes her system of customs; for
+setting aside a few objects of luxury, Russia has no need to fear
+foreign competition with regard to any other articles. Certainly, if the
+silk and cotton manufactures could exercise a beneficial influence upon
+the prosperity of the country, if they were necessary to supply the
+wants of the whole population, in that case we could to a certain extent
+understand the sentence of exclusion pronounced on foreign goods; but
+the productions of the Moscow factories are destined only for the
+aristocracy and the trading classes, and the 40,000,000 of slaves that
+constitute the European population of Russia, consume but an
+insignificant portion of them, all their clothes being wrought by their
+own hands.
+
+It is not surprising then that all the manufacturing establishments are
+concentrated in Moscow, that being the place where the aristocratic and
+trading part of the community exist in most considerable numbers, and
+where there is most certainty of finding customers. Everywhere else the
+chances of success would be few or none: witness Southern Russia where
+all manufacturing attempts have hitherto failed, notwithstanding the
+advantages it derives from its seaports. The three governments composing
+it reckon at this day but 2000 workmen, even including those who work in
+the rope walks and the tallow houses.
+
+According to authentic documents the numbers of the nobility and
+tradespeople do not exceed 3,000,000. Without a complete alteration,
+therefore, in the manners and habits of the peasants, it is impossible
+to hope that the manufacture of piece-goods can ever attain a great
+development, and it would have been infinitely better to have left the
+supply of these articles to importation; the imperial treasury would
+thereby have been a gainer, and more active relations with the foreigner
+would have afforded valuable guarantees for the prosperity of the
+country. But Russia suffered herself to be seduced by the most brilliant
+branch of industry of our times; she, too, wished to have her cachemires
+and her silks; and not considering that agriculture is for her the most
+lucrative, the most positive of all branches of industry, she recoiled
+from no prohibitive measure in order to favour some indigenous
+manufactures. I say again, Russia is before all things a country for the
+production of raw materials. Agriculture, including therein the breeding
+of cattle, evidently forms the basis of the national prosperity, and it
+is only by facilitating its extension and its outlets that Russia can
+hope to secure the future welfare of its people.
+
+If at this day the establishment of new villages in Southern Russia is
+becoming so difficult, it is not for want of land, but because the
+peasants have no means of ready transport for their produce, and because
+also the want of importation, naturally exercising a great influence
+upon the price of corn, signally restricts the demand from abroad. Is it
+not indeed deplorable to see the most fertile and productive governments
+of New Russia sunk in extreme penury by the want of roads, and by the
+culpable neglect of the administration which deprives them of the
+navigation of the rivers! Will the government at last open its eyes to
+the mischiefs of the course it is pursuing? We can scarcely hope so. All
+the commercial reports of the empire dress up things in so fair a light,
+and the public functionaries agree so well together in falsifying public
+opinion, that the emperor, beguiled by the brilliant picture incessantly
+laid before his eyes, cannot but persevere in the fatal course adopted
+by his predecessors.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM ODESSA--TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA--NIKOLAIEF,
+      OLVIA, OTSHAKOF--KHERSON--THE DNIEPR--GENERAL POTIER--
+      ANCIENT TUMULI--STEPPES OF THE BLACK SEA--A RUSSIAN
+      VILLAGE--SNOW STORM--NARROW ESCAPE FROM SUFFOCATION--A
+      RUSSIAN FAMILY--APPENDIX.
+
+
+After some months' stay in Odessa, we left it in company with General
+Potier, a Frenchman by birth, to pass the winter at his country-house.
+Travelling would nowhere be more rapid than in Russia, if the
+posting-houses were a little better conducted and more punctual in
+supplying horses. The country is perfectly flat, and you may traverse
+several hundred leagues without meeting a single hill. Besides this, the
+Russian driver has no mercy on his horses; they must gallop
+continually, though they should drop dead under the whip. Another reason
+that contributes to the rapidity of posting, is, that there are never
+less than three or four horses yoked to the lightest vehicle. The
+general's carriage being rather heavy, we had six horses, that carried
+us along at the rate of fifteen versts (ten miles) an hour. We found the
+rooms in the posting-stations much more elegant than we had expected;
+but this was owing to the journey of the imperial family, for whom they
+had been completely metamorphosed. The walls and ceilings were fresh
+painted with the greatest care, and we found everywhere handsome
+mirrors, divans, and portraits of the emperor and empress. Thanks,
+therefore, to the transit of their majesties, our journey was effected
+in the most agreeable manner, though on ordinary occasions, one must
+make up his mind to encounter all sorts of privations and annoyances in
+a long excursion through Russia. The towns are so few, and the villages
+are so destitute of all requisites, that one is in sore danger of being
+starved to death by the way, unless he has had the precaution to lay in
+a stock of provisions at starting. The post-houses afford you literally
+nothing more than hot water for tea, and a bench to rest on. The Russian
+and Polish grandees never omit to carry with them on their journeys a
+bed with all its appurtenances, a whole range of cooking implements, and
+plenty of provisions. In this way they pass from town to town, without
+ever suspecting the unfortunate position in which the foreigner is
+placed who traverses their vast wildernesses. The latter, it may be
+said, is free to follow their example; but the thing is not so easy.
+Supposing even that he was possessed of all this travelling apparatus,
+still the expense of carriage would imperatively forbid his taking it
+with him, whereas the Russians, who generally travel with their own
+horses, may have a dozen without adding to their expenses. As for those
+who have recourse to the post, they care very little about economy, and
+provided they have a good dinner prepared by their own cooks, a soft bed
+and all other physical comforts, they never trouble themselves to
+calculate the cost. But as for the foreigner who travels in this
+country, the inconvenience I have just mentioned is nothing in
+comparison with the countless vexations he must endure, simply because
+he is a foreigner. Having no legal right to lay his cane over the
+shoulders of the clerks of the post, he must make up his mind to endure
+the most scandalous impositions and annoyances at their hands, and very
+often he will be obliged to pass forty-eight hours in a station, because
+he cannot submit to the conditions imposed on him. Neither threats nor
+entreaties can prevail on the clerk to make him furnish horses if it
+does not suit his humour. The epithet _particularnii tcheloviek_ which
+is applied in Russia to all who do not wear epaulettes, and which
+signifies something less than a nobody, is a categorical reply to the
+traveller's utmost eloquence.
+
+Before we reached Kherson, we stopped at Nicolaief, a pretty town, which
+has been for some years the seat of the Admiralty formerly established
+in Kherson, and which is daily increasing at its rival's expense. Its
+vast dockyards attract a whole population of workmen, whose presence
+swells its wealth and importance. Its position on the Bug, its new
+houses and pretty walks planted with poplars, make it the most agreeable
+town in the government. When we passed through it, a splendid ship of
+the line of three decks had just been completed, and was waiting only
+for the ceremony of being christened to take its place in the Black Sea
+fleet.
+
+Four or five leagues below Nicolaief, on the right bank of the Bug, near
+its embouchure in the liman[1] of the Dniepr, are the ruins of Olvia or
+Olviopolis, a Milesian colony founded about 500 B.C. There have
+been found inscriptions and medals which put the origin of these remains
+beyond all doubt. Lower down on the liman of the Dniepr, not far from
+the sea, is the fortress of Otchakov, which formerly belonged to the
+Turks, and then formed a considerable town, known by the name of Ozou.
+It was twice taken by the Russian troops on the 13th of June, 1737,
+under the command of Marshal Munich, and on the 6th of December, 1788,
+under Potemkin. At present, not a trace of the Turkish sway remains in
+the village. All the Mussulman buildings have been pulled down to give
+place to a steppe, on which some Russian cabins and about fifty
+miserable shops have been set up. The environs of Otchakov also present
+traces of the abode of the ancient Greeks. In 1833 there were found here
+a fragment of a bas-relief in tolerable preservation, a male torso, and
+an offering with an inscription from certain Greek military chiefs to
+Achilles, ruler of the Pontus.
+
+Otchakof was founded at the close of the fifteenth century, by Mengli
+Cherei, khan of the Crimea, on the ruins of Alektor, a little town
+belonging to a queen of the Sauromatians, and which was destroyed
+probably by the Getae at the same time as Olvia, 100 B.C.
+Alektor must have possessed specimens of Greek workmanship, but they
+disappeared under the hands of the Turks, who employed them in building
+Otchakov.
+
+Kherson, where we arrived in the evening, retains no relics of its
+ancient opulence, or of the importance it derived scarcely fifty years
+ago from its commerce, its port, and its admiralty; at present, it
+exhibits the melancholy spectacle of a town entirely ruined; its
+population does not exceed 6000 or 8000 souls. Odessa and Nicolaief have
+dealt it mortal blows, and it now subsists only by its entrepot for the
+various productions of the empire, which are conveyed to it by the
+Dniepr, and forwarded by lighters to Odessa. It has even lost its
+custom-house for imports, retaining only the privilege of exporting; and
+beside this, the vessels which take in cargo at Kherson, must first
+perform quarantine in Odessa. Fevers and the Jews are likewise
+formidable foes to its prosperity. Expelled from Nicolaief and
+Sevastopol, the Israelites swarm like locusts in Kherson, and form
+almost its whole population. Nothing can be more hideous than the
+appearance of the Russian Jews. Dressed in a uniform garb, consisting of
+a long robe of black calico, fastened with a woollen girdle, canvass
+drawers, and a broad-brimmed black hat, they all present so degraded a
+type of humanity, that the eye turns from them with deep disgust. Their
+filthiness is indescribable; the entrance of a single Jew into an
+apartment is enough suddenly to vitiate the atmosphere.
+
+We had already had occasion in Odessa to see into what an abject state
+this people is fallen in Russia; but it was not until we came to Kherson
+that we beheld them in all their vileness. What a contrast between their
+sallow faces, disgusting beards, and straggling locks, plastered flat on
+the skin, their brutified air, and crawling humility, and the easy,
+dignified bearing, the noble features, and the elegant costume of the
+Jews of Constantinople! It is impossible to bring oneself to believe
+there is any thing in common between them, that they belong to the same
+race, and have the same rules and usages, the same language and
+religion. But the cause which has produced such a difference between two
+branches of one people, is a question involving political and
+philosophical considerations of too high an order, to be discussed here;
+all we can say, is that, in seeing the Jews of Kherson, and comparing
+them with their brethren of the East, we had evidence before us of the
+depth to which governments and institutions can debase mankind.
+
+The streets of Kherson are thronged with these miserable Israelites, who
+carry on every kind of trade, and recoil from no species of occupation,
+provided it be lucrative. Their penury is so great, that they will run
+from one end of the town to the other for a few kopeks, and in this
+respect they are of much use to the stranger, who would be greatly
+embarrassed if they were not at hand, ready to render him every possible
+service. The moment a traveller arrives at an inn, in New Russia, he is
+beset and persecuted without ceasing by these officious agents, who
+place at his disposal their goods, their persons, all they have and all
+they have not. It is to no purpose he threatens them and turns them out
+a hundred times; they care little for abuse; and do what you will, they
+sit themselves down on the ground opposite your door, and remain there
+with imperturbable phlegm, waiting their opportunity to walk in again,
+and renew their offer. Many a time have we seen Jews thus spend four or
+five hours consecutively, without evincing the least impatience, or
+seeming to regret the waste of time they might have employed more
+profitably, and go away at last satisfied with having gained a few
+kopeks.
+
+It was in the government of Kherson that the plan of forming Jewish
+colonies was first tried. Several were established in the districts of
+Kherson and Bobrinetz, and in 1824 these contained nine villages, with a
+population of 8000 souls, settled on 55,333 _hectares_ of land. All the
+new colonists are wholly exempt from taxation for ten years; but after
+the lapse of that time, they are placed on the same footing as the other
+crown peasants, except that they remain free from military service for
+fifty years.
+
+The colonisation of these Jews was no easy matter; at first, it was
+necessary to keep the most rigorous watch over them, to prevent them
+from leaving their villages. The colonists are all dependent on the
+governor-general of New Russia, and each of their villages is under the
+control of a non-commissioned officer of the army. I have not the least
+idea of the object for which the government founded these colonies,
+which, as far as agriculture is concerned, can be of no use to the
+country. Was its motive one of a philanthropic kind? I do not think so.
+I should rather suspect that the prospective advantages in a military
+point of view may have been the inducement, an opinion, which seems
+justified by the fact, that the Russian government has found it
+necessary, for some years past, to enrol the Jews by force in the naval
+service. The unfortunate men are chiefly employed as workmen, and I have
+seen great numbers of them in the arsenals of Sevastopol and Nicolaief.
+
+The aspect of Kherson is as dismal as that of Nicolaief is brilliant and
+lively. Nothing is to be seen but dilapidated houses and abandoned
+sites, which give it the appearance of a town devastated by war. But
+viewing it from a distance, as it rises in an amphitheatre on the banks
+of the Dniepr, with its numerous belfries, its barracks, and its
+gardens, one would be far from suspecting the sort of spectacle its
+interior presents. Above all, one cannot conceive why a town in such a
+position, with a river close at hand, navigable for ships of war, should
+have been thus abandoned; but such has been the imperial will, and
+Kherson, completely sacrificed to Odessa, now shows scarcely any signs
+of life, excepting its great wool washing establishments, which employ
+hundreds of workmen, and its retail trade, which the Jews monopolise.
+The only remains of its past greatness the town has preserved, are its
+title as capital of the government, and its tribunals. The governor
+resides in it, no doubt much against his will; but many great families
+have forsaken it on account of the fevers prevailing in it during a part
+of the year, with more fatal violence than in any other region. They are
+occasioned by the wide sheets of water left behind by the inundations of
+the Dniepr, and which, finding no issue when the river returns to its
+bed, stagnate among the reeds, until the rays of the sun are strong
+enough to make them evaporate. Fetid and pestilential exhalations then
+rise, and produce malignant and typhoid fevers that almost always prove
+mortal.
+
+The population of Kherson, like that of all the other towns in Southern
+Russia, is a medley of Jews, Armenians, Russians, Greeks, Italians, &c.;
+a few French have been long settled there, and have acquired some
+wealth; some deal in wood, others are at the head of the wool-washing
+establishments I have already mentioned. Among the latter, there is a
+Parisian, who, by dint of washing and rewashing wool, and that too on
+another's account, has managed to amass nearly 12,000_l._ in less than
+eight years. The _lavoirs_ of MM. Vassal and Potier are the most
+considerable in Kherson, giving daily employment to more than 600 men.
+
+The Dniepr seen from Kherson, resembles a vast lake studded with
+islands; the views it presents are very beautiful, and partake very much
+of the character of maritime scenery. The estate we were going to lay on
+the other side of the river, and we had the pleasure of travelling about
+fifteen versts by water, through the labyrinth of islands, and a
+constant succession of the most enchanting views. We found horses
+waiting for us on the opposite bank, and in less than four hours we were
+at Clarofka, our journey's end.
+
+M. Potier, the proprietor of Clarofka, is an ex-pupil of the Polytechnic
+School, who was sent to St. Petersburg by Napoleon, with three
+colleagues, to establish a school of civil engineering. In 1812, the
+government fearing lest they should join the French, sent them away to
+the confines of China, where they were detained more than two years.
+When our troops had evacuated Russia, and the presence of these young
+men was no longer to be feared, the Emperor Alexander recalled them, and
+gave them each a pension of 6000 rubles, to indemnify them for their
+exile. From that time forth, they all made rapid progress in fortune and
+in honours. M. Potier was for a long while director of the civil
+engineering institution. He is highly esteemed by the Emperor Nicholas,
+who wished to attach him completely to his court, by conferring on him a
+post of the highest importance, but M. Potier always refused, and at
+last succeeded in obtaining permission to retire. He is the son-in-law
+of M. Rouvier, who made himself popular in Russia and even in France, by
+being the first to introduce the breed of Merino sheep into Southern
+Russia. M. Potier followed his father-in-law's example, and has more
+than 20,000 sheep on his estate.
+
+The estate of M. Vassal, another son-in-law and successor of M. Rouvier,
+is but a dozen versts from Clarofka. It is larger than many a German
+duchy; but instead of the fertile fields and thriving villages that
+adorn Germany, it presents to view only a vast desert with numerous
+tumuli, salt lakes, and a few sheep folds. These tumuli exact models of
+mole-hills, from ten to fifteen yards high, are the only hills in the
+country, and appear to be the burial-places of its old masters, the
+Scythians. Several of them have been opened, and nothing found in them
+but some bones, copper coins of the kings of Bosphorus, and coarse
+earthen utensils. Similar tombs in the Crimea have been found to contain
+objects of more value, both as regards material and workmanship. This
+difference is easily accounted for; the Milesian colonies that occupied
+part of the Crimea 200 years ago, spread a taste for opulence and the
+fine arts all through the peninsula; their tombs would, therefore, bear
+token of the degree of civilisation they had reached. They had a regular
+government, princes, and all the elements and accessories of a kingdom;
+whilst our poor Scythians, divided into nomade tribes like the Kirghises
+and Kalmucks of the present day, led a rude life in the midst of the
+herds of cattle that constituted their sole wealth.
+
+Agriculture could never have yielded much in these steppes, where rain
+is extremely rare in summer, where there are neither brooks nor wells
+for irrigation, and where hot winds scorch up every thing during the
+greater part of the fine season. It is only on the banks of the rivers
+that vegetation makes its appearance and the eye rests on cultivated
+fields and green pastures. There are indeed here and there a few
+depressions, where the grass retains its verdure during a part of the
+year, and some stunted trees spread their meagre branches over a less
+unkindly soil than that of the steppe; but these are unusual
+circumstances, and one must often travel hundreds of versts to find a
+single shrub. Such being the general configuration of the country, it
+may easily be imagined how cheerless is the aspect of those vast plains
+with nothing to vary their surface except the tumuli, and with no other
+boundaries than the sea. No one who is unaccustomed to that monotonous
+nature can long endure its influence. Those dreary wastes seem to him a
+boundless prison in which he vainly exerts himself without a hope of
+escape. And yet that flat and barren soil from which the eye turns away
+so contemptuously, has become a source of wealth to its present
+proprietors by the great success of the first experiments in Merino
+sheep-breeding. It was M. Rouvier, who first conceived the happy idea of
+turning the unproductive steppes into pasture. The Emperor Alexander,
+always ready to encourage liberal ideas, not only advanced the projector
+a sum of a hundred thousand rubles, but gave him even a man-of-war to go
+and make his first purchases in Spain, and on his return, granted him an
+immense extent of land, where the flocks, increasing rapidly, brought in
+a considerable fortune to M. Rouvier in a few years. His sons-in-law,
+General Potier and M. Vassal inherited it, and formed those great
+establishments of which we have spoken. Thenceforth the stock of merinos
+increased with incredible rapidity in New Russia; but an enormous fall
+in the price of wool soon occurred, and many proprietors have now reason
+to regret their outlay in that branch of rural economy, and are
+endeavouring to get rid of their flocks. The rams which fetched 500 or
+600 francs in 1834 and 1835, were not worth more than 250 or 300 in
+1841. In 1842, a landowner of our acquaintance had made up his mind to
+part with his best thorough-bred rams for 140 and even 100 francs a
+head. The exportation of wool increased, nevertheless, during the last
+years of our stay in Russia; but this was only because the landowners,
+after holding out a long while, found themselves at last constrained to
+accept prices one-half lower than those current a few years before, and
+to dispose of the wools they had long kept in their warehouses. Here was
+another instance of the disastrous consequences of the Russian
+prohibitive system; it has been as fatal to the wool-trade as to that in
+corn.
+
+Clarofka is a village consisting of fifteen or twenty houses, each
+containing two families of peasants. It is some distance from the farm,
+which alone contains more dwellings and inmates than the whole village.
+
+The steward resides in a very long, low house, with small windows in the
+Russian fashion, and an earthen roof, and standing at the edge of a
+large pond, the fetid exhalations from which are very unwholesome during
+the hot season. A few weeping-willows wave their branches over the
+stagnant water, and increase still more the melancholy appearance of the
+spot. The pond is frequented by a multitude of water-fowl, such as teal,
+gulls, ducks, pelicans, and kourlis, that make their nests in the thick
+reeds on the margin. Beside the house, according to the Russian custom,
+stand the kitchens and other offices, the icehouse, poultry-yard,
+wash-house, cellar for fruit and vegetables, &c. A little further on are
+the stables and coach-houses, containing a great number of carriages,
+caleches, droshkies, and a dozen horses; other buildings, including the
+workmen's barracks, the forge, the gardener's and the miller's dwellings
+are scattered irregularly here and there. Two great wind-mills lift
+their huge wings above the road leading to the village. All this is not
+very handsome; but there is one thing indicative of princely
+sumptuousness, namely, an immense garden that spreads out behind the
+house, and almost makes one forget the steppes, so thick is the foliage
+of its beautiful alleys. One is at a loss to conceive by what miracle
+this park, with its large trees, its fine fruit, and its charming walks,
+can have thus sprung up out of the scorched and arid soil, that waits
+whole months for a few drops of water to clothe it in transient verdure.
+And indeed to create such an oasis in the heart of so barren a land,
+there needed not one miracle, but a series of miracles of perseverance,
+toil, and resolution, seconded by all the means at the disposal of a
+Russian lord. All kinds of fruit are here collected together; we counted
+more than fifty varieties of the pear in one alley. Grapes of all kinds,
+strawberries, beds of asparagus of incomparable flavour, every thing in
+short that the most capricious taste can desire, grows there in such
+abundance, that seeing all these things one really feels transported
+into the midst of regions the most favoured by nature.
+
+No one but a Russian lord could have effected such metamorphoses. Master
+of a whole population of slaves, he has never to pay for labour; and
+whims which would be ruinous to others, cost him only the trouble of
+conceiving them. In the dry season, which often lasts for more than five
+months, chain pumps worked by horses supply water to every part of this
+extensive garden, and thus afford what the unkind skies deny it. The
+work to be done in the spring season generally requires the labour of
+more than 200 pair of hands daily, and during the rest of the year
+three-score peasants are constantly employed in pruning the trees,
+plucking up the weeds that rapidly spring up in the walks, training the
+vines, and attending to the flowers. In return for all this expenditure
+the general has the satisfaction of seeing his table covered with the
+finest fruits and most exquisite preserves; and for one who inhabits a
+desert these things unquestionably have their value. On the whole
+Clarofka is a real _pays de cocagne_ for good cheer: the steppes abound
+with game of every kind, from grouse to the majestic bustard. A hunter
+is attached to the farm, and daily supplies the table with all the
+delicacies of this sort which the country affords. The sea also
+contributes abundance of excellent fish. It is evident, therefore, that
+in a gastronomic point of view it would be difficult to find a more
+advantageous residence; but this merit, important as it is, fails to
+make amends for the intolerable ennui one labours under in Clarofka.
+Thanks to the garden, one may forget the steppe during the fine season;
+and then there is the amusement of fishing, and of picking up shells on
+the sea-shore, so that one may contrive to kill time passably well. But
+what are you to do in winter, when the snow falls so thickly that you
+cannot see the houses, particularly when the _metel_ turns the whole
+country topsy-turvy? No language can give an idea of these _metels_ or
+hurricanes. They come down on the land with such whirling and driving
+gusts, such furious and continuous tempests, such whistlings and
+groanings of the wind, and a sky so murky and threatening, that no
+hurricane at sea can be more alarming. The snow is now piled up like a
+mountain, now hollowed into deep valleys, and now spread out into
+rushing and heaving billows; or else it is driven through the air like a
+long white veil expanding and folding on itself until the wind has
+scattered its last shreds before it. In order to pass from one house to
+another, people are obliged to dig paths through the snow often two
+yards deep. Whole flocks of sheep, surprised by the tempest not far from
+their folds, and even herds of horses, have been driven into the sea and
+drowned. When beset by such dangers their instinct usually prompts them
+to cluster together in a circle and form a compact mass, so as to
+present less surface to the _metel_. But the force of the wind gradually
+compelling them forwards, they approach the shore, the ground fails
+them, and finally they all disappear beneath the waves. These tempests
+are generally succeeded by a dead calm, and an intense cold that soon
+changes the surface of the Dniepr and the sea-shore into a vast mirror.
+This is the most agreeable part of the winter. The communications
+between neighbours are renewed; sporting expeditions on a great scale,
+excursions in sledges, and entertainments within doors follow each other
+almost without interruption. Despite the intensity of the cold, the
+Russians infinitely prefer it to a milder temperature, which would put a
+stop to their business as well as to their pleasures. The great fairs of
+the empire generally take place in winter; for then the frozen lakes and
+rivers serve the inhabitants as a safe and rapid means of communication.
+In this way they traverse immense distances without quitting their
+sledges, and even without perceiving whether they are on land or water.
+Wrapped up in their furs they encounter with impunity a temperature of
+35 deg. for several consecutive days, without any other auxiliaries than
+brandy and tea, which they consume in fearful quantities. During our
+winter residence in Clarofka, we had an opportunity of convincing
+ourselves that people suffer much less from cold in northern than in
+southern countries.
+
+In Constantinople, where we had passed the preceding winter, the cold
+and the snow appeared to us insupportable in the light wooden houses,
+open to every wind, and furnished with no other resource against the
+inclemency of the weather than a manghal, which served at best only to
+roast the feet and hands, whilst it left the rest of the body to freeze.
+But in Russia even the mujik has constantly a temperature of nearly 77 deg.
+in his cabin in the very height of winter, which he obtains in a very
+simple and economical manner. A large brickwork stove or oven is formed
+in the wall, consisting of a fireplace and a long series of quadrangular
+flues ending in the chimney and giving passage to the smoke. The fire is
+made either of _kirbitch_[2] or of reeds. When these materials are
+completely consumed, the pipe by which the flues communicate with the
+chimney is hermetically closed, and the hot air passes into the room by
+two openings made for that purpose. Exactly the same apparatus is used
+in the houses of the wealthy. The stoves are so contrived that one of
+them serves to heat two or three rooms. The halls, staircases, and
+servants' rooms, are all kept at the same temperature. But great caution
+is necessary to avoid the dangers to which this method of warming may
+give rise. I myself was saved only by a providential chance from falling
+a victim to them. I had been asleep for some hours one night, when I was
+suddenly awakened by my son, who was calling to me for drink. I got up
+instantly, and without waiting to light a candle I was proceeding to
+pour out a glass of water, but I had scarcely moved a few steps when the
+glass dropped from my hand and I fell, as if struck with lightning, and
+in a state of total insensibility. I had afterwards a confused
+recollection of cries that seemed to me to have come from a great
+distance; but for two minutes I remained completely inanimate, and only
+recovered consciousness after my husband had carried me into an icy room
+and laid me on the floor. My son suffered still more than myself, but it
+happened most strangely that my husband was not in the smallest degree
+affected, and this it was that saved us. The cause of this nocturnal
+alarm was the imprudence of a servant who had closed the stove before
+all the kirbitch was consumed; this was quite enough to make the
+atmosphere deadly. All the inmates of the house were more or less
+indisposed.
+
+The hothouse temperature kept up in all the apartments cannot fail to
+act injuriously on the health. For more than ten months the outer air
+is never admitted into the house, and foreigners are affected in
+consequence with an uneasy sense of oppression and a sort of torpor that
+almost incapacitates them for thinking. As for the Russians, who are
+habituated to the thing from their childhood, they suffer little
+inconvenience from it; nevertheless many maladies probably owe their
+origin to this artificial warmth, which is equally enervating for body
+and mind. To this cause, no doubt, we must attribute the utter absence
+of blooming freshness from the cheeks of the Russian ladies. Incapable
+of enduring the slightest change of temperature, they have not the least
+idea of the pleasure derived from inhaling the fresh air, and braving
+the cold by means of brisk exercise. But for dancing, of which they are
+passionately fond, their lives would pass away in almost absolute
+immobility, for lolling in a carriage is not what I call putting oneself
+in motion. There is scarcely any country where women walk less than in
+Russia, and nowhere do they lead more artificial lives. We had a Russian
+family for two months at Clarofka, returning from the waters of the
+Caucasus, and waiting until the sledging season was fully set in, to get
+back to Moscow. This family, consisting of a husband and wife and the
+sister of the latter, was a great godsend for us during part of the
+winter. Madame Bougainsky is a very clever young woman, equally well
+acquainted with our literary works as with our Parisian frivolities. But
+dress and play are for her the two grand concerns of life, and all the
+rest are but accessories. I do not think she went out of doors three
+times during her two months' stay in Clarofka. The habit of living in
+the world of fashion and in a perpetual state of parade had taken such
+inveterate hold on her, that, without thinking of it, she used to dress
+three or four times a day, just as if she were among the salons of
+Moscow. I learned from her that the Russian ladies are as fond of play
+as of dancing, and that many ruin themselves thereby. On the whole,
+there is little poetry or romance in the existence of Russian women of
+fashion. The men, though treating them with exquisite politeness and
+gallantry, in reality think little about them, and find more pleasure in
+hunting, smoking, gaming, and drinking, than in lavishing on them those
+attentions to which they have many just claims. The Russian ladies have
+generally little beauty; their bloom, as I have said, is gone at twenty;
+but if they can boast neither perfect features nor dazzlingly fair
+complexions, there is, on the other hand, in all their manners
+remarkable elegance, and an indescribable fascination that sometimes
+makes them irresistible. With a pale face, a somewhat frail figure,
+careless attitudes, and a haughty cast of countenance, they succeed in
+making more impression in a drawing-room than many women of greater
+beauty.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] _Liman_, a Tartar word signifying harbour, is the name given to the
+gulfs formed by the principal rivers of Southern Russia before their
+entrance into the sea.
+
+[2] Kirbitch consists of dung kneaded into little bricks, and dried in
+summer. Along with straw and reeds, it forms the only firing used for
+domestic purposes. At Odessa, however, they procure firewood from
+Bessarabia, but it costs as much as ninety francs the cube fathom.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+A propensity to sedentary habits is not peculiarly a female failing in
+Russia, as will appear from the following extract: "The Russian has as
+little taste for promenading on foot as any Oriental. Hence, with the
+exception of the two capitals, and the north-west provinces, in which
+German usages prevail, there are no public walks or gardens for
+recreation. True enjoyment, according to the notions of the genuine
+Muscovite, consists in sitting down to a well-furnished table, either in
+his own house or a neighbour's, and indulging after the repast in some
+game which requires the least possible exertion of body. Soon after my
+arrival in Kasan, I was glad to employ the early days of summer, which
+there begins at the end of May, in making pedestrian excursions in the
+neighbourhood, to the great and general surprise of my new friends, who
+could not conceive why I thus roamed like an idiot about the country, in
+which I had no business, as they very well knew. It was conjectured that
+I was ill, and had adopted this laborious discipline as a mode of cure;
+but even under this interpretation my proceedings seemed very strange to
+them, for their own invariable practice when they feel unwell, is to go
+to bed immediately. In one of my walks I fell in with an acquaintance,
+who asked me what took me to the village, to which he supposed I was
+going. On my replying, that I had nothing whatever to do there, and that
+as yet I had neither seen the village nor any of its inhabitants, he
+said then of course I was going to look at it. No, I told him, that was
+not my intention, for I knew very well I should see nothing there
+different from any of the other villages in the vicinity. 'Well, then,
+Daddy (_batiushka_),' said my puzzled and curious friend, 'do tell me,
+what is it you are afoot for?' 'I am afoot, simply for the sake of being
+afoot,' was my answer, 'for the pleasure of a little exercise in the
+open air.' My friend burst into a loud fit of laughter at this
+explanation of my rambling habits, which had so long been an enigma to
+himself and every body else. To walk for walking sake! He had never
+heard any thing like that in all his life, and it was not long before
+this most novel and extraordinary phrase ran the round of the whole
+town, so that even to the following year it remained a standing joke
+against me in every company I entered."--_Von Littrow._
+
+_Suffocating vapours._--Accidents like that which befel Madame Hommaire,
+are unavoidably frequent under such a system of warming, and with
+servants so negligent as those in Russia; but happily they do not often
+end fatally. The worst result of them is generally a violent headache,
+all trace of which disappears the following day. Incredible as it may
+appear, the common people take pleasure in the sort of intoxication
+produced by the inhalation of diluted carbonic acid, and purposely
+procure themselves that strange enjoyment on leisure days. "They close
+the stoves before the usual time, and lie down on them; for in the
+peasants' houses the stoves are so constructed as to present a platform,
+on which the family sleep in winter. On entering a cabin on these
+occasions, you see the inmates lying close together on their bellies,
+chatting pleasantly with one another. Their faces are tumid and of a
+deep red hue, from the effects of the noxious gas. There is an unusual
+lustre in their protruding eyeballs, and in short, they have all the
+outward appearance of intoxication, though the intellectual functions
+are not affected by the gas. The headache they suffer may, indeed, be a
+drawback to their pleasure, but the increased warmth thus obtained, is
+so delightful to them, that they are content to purchase it even at that
+price. There is no mistaking their evident enjoyment and satisfaction,
+though one may not be tempted to partake in their joy."
+
+Another mode of obtaining artificial heat is practised in what the
+Russian peasants call their smoke-rooms. These rooms have but a few very
+small windows, just large enough to pass the head through, and seldom
+glazed, except with talc, where that mineral is abundant and cheap.
+Where this is not the case they are stopped up, in winter only, with
+moss and rags. When the fire is lighted, the chimney is closed, and the
+smoke escapes through the stove-door into the room. Being lighter than
+the cold air, it ascends at first, and hangs overhead in a thick cloud.
+But as its mass increases, it gradually descends, until there is no
+standing upright in the room without danger of suffocation. As the smoke
+approaches the floor, so too do the inmates, first stooping, then
+kneeling, sitting, and at last lying prone. If the smoke threatens quite
+to reach the ground, they open the windows or air-holes, which are not
+quite level with a man's head, and the black vapour rushes out. The
+under part of the room is thus left free, the prostrate inmates
+gradually rise, and set about their occupations in the clear warm space
+below. The first time I entered one of these dark sooty dens, I was so
+disgusted with it, that I should not have hesitated in my choice between
+a prison and so horrible an abode. I was, therefore, not a little
+surprised when I saw the inmates lying on the floor, gossiping quite at
+their ease, and bandying about jokes that will hardly bear repeating,
+but which manifested a degree of mirthfulness in these people I had,
+until then, thought quite impossible."--_Idem._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+      AN EARTHQUAKE--LUDICROUS ANECDOTE--SLEDGING--SPORTING--
+      DANGEROUS PASSAGE OF THE DNIEPR--THAW; SPRING-TIME--MANNERS
+      AND CUSTOMS OF THE LITTLE RUSSIANS--EASTER HOLIDAYS--THE
+      CLERGY.
+
+
+That same winter at 10 P.M. on the 11th of January, we had a
+smart shock of earthquake, but which happily did no mischief in that
+part of the steppes. We were seated at the whist table, when we were
+suddenly startled by a loud rolling noise, that seemed rapidly
+approaching us, and the cards dropped from our hands. The sound was like
+that of a large heavily-laden waggon rattling over the pavement.
+Scarcely two seconds after our first surprise the whole house received a
+sudden shock, that set all the furniture in motion, before the idea of
+an earthquake had occurred to our minds. This first shock was followed
+by another of longer duration, but less alarming character; it was like
+the undulation of the waves when they are seeking to recover their
+equilibrium. The whole house was filled with dismay, except the party in
+the drawing-room; with us surprise prevailed over fear, and we remained
+motionless as statues, whilst every one else was running out of doors.
+The earthquake, of which mention has been made in several journals, gave
+occasion to a ludicrous story that was related to us some days after.
+
+One of the general's peasants, an old fellow whose conscience was no
+doubt burthened with some weighty sin, imagined when he felt his house
+dancing like a boat on the waves, that the devil in person was come to
+bid him prepare to accompany him to the bottomless pit. Tearing out his
+hair by the roots, bawling, roaring, and crossing himself, he begins to
+confess his sins aloud, and gives himself up to the most violent terror
+and despair. His wife, who was no less alarmed, accused her husband of
+all sorts of wickedness; the husband retorted on the wife, and the whole
+night was passed in unspeakable confusion. The day dawned, but brought
+no comfort to the unfortunate sinner, whose spirits were all in a
+ferment, like new wine. Fully assured that the devil would soon come and
+lay his claws on him, he had no thought of going to his daily work. His
+wife was equally regardless of her household cares; what was the use of
+her preparing the porridge, when she and her husband were sure of
+breakfasting with Lucifer? So there they sat, waiting the fatal moment,
+with an anxiety that would have petrified them at last, but for an
+unexpected incident. All the other peasants, probably having less on
+their consciences, had been a-field since dawn. The head man of the
+village missed Petrovitch and his wife; he waited for them some hours,
+and at last bent his steps towards their cabin, calculating as he went
+how many stripes of the knout he should administer to them for their
+unpardonable neglect of duty. He steps in, but no one seems to notice
+his presence. Petrovitch sits huddled together in a corner, staring
+before him with glassy eyes; whilst his wife, on her knees before a
+picture of St. Nicholas, never for a moment interrupts her crossings and
+lamentations. "Hallo! what's all this?" cries the overseer, "have you
+lost your wits, and don't you know that you ought to have been at work
+hours ago?" "Oh Ivan Ivanovitch, it's all over; I shall never work
+again." "Not work again, wont you? we shall see. Come, start, booby!"
+And down comes the knout on the back of the peasant, who receives the
+blows with the most stoical composure. "O beat me if you like; it's all
+the same. What signify a few blows more or less, when a body is going to
+be roasted with the fiends?" "What on earth do you mean?" said the
+puzzled overseer; "what has happened to you to make you talk such
+nonsense?" "Nonsense here, or nonsense there, I have had a warning in
+the night." Ivan now recollected the earthquake, and suspecting he had
+found a clue to the mystery, burst into a hearty fit of laughter. "Oh,
+you may laugh; but you don't know that I am a great sinner, and that the
+devil came last night to claim my soul." After amusing himself
+sufficiently with the man's terrors, the overseer had the utmost
+difficulty in convincing him that all the other houses had been shaken
+like his own, and that the devil had nothing to do with the matter.
+
+Sledge driving is one of the greatest amusements of the Russian winter.
+The horses, stimulated by the cold, sweep with you over the plain with
+the most mettlesome impetuosity. In the twinkling of an eye, you have
+left behind you the whole surface of a frozen lake, measuring several
+versts in length. It is a downright steeplechase: the keenness of the
+air, the rapid motion, the shouts of the driver urging the willing
+steeds, the vast plain that seems to enlarge as you advance, all produce
+an intense excitement, and pleasurably dispel the torpor caused by the
+indolent life of the steppes. We frequently crossed the Dniepr in this
+manner, to drive about the streets of Kherson, where all the fashion of
+the neighbourhood rendezvous from noon to two o'clock. It is an exercise
+which has as much charm for the Russians as for foreigners; the smallest
+landowner, or the lowest clerk in a public office, though he earns but a
+few rubles a year, must have his sledge and his two horses, if he
+starves for it half the year. At the usual hour you may reckon more than
+a hundred sledges of every form, most of them covered with rich rugs and
+furs, chasing each other through the streets, and each containing a
+gentleman and lady, and a driver furred from head to foot. This sort of
+amusement is an admirable aid to coquetry. Nothing can be more
+fascinating than those female figures wrapped up in pelisses, and with
+their faces dimly seen through their blonde veils; appearing for an
+instant, and then vanishing into the vaporous atmosphere, followed by
+many a tender glance.
+
+I must say a few words as to the field sports of the steppes. Shooting
+parties use a very long low carriage called a _dolgushka_, and
+accommodating more than fifteen persons seated back to back. The feet
+rest on a board on each side about a foot from the ground. Behind the
+driver is a large box for holding provisions and all the accoutrements
+of the sportsmen; and the game is received in another box fixed at the
+end of the carriage. Nothing can be more convenient for country parties.
+The _dolgushka_ is drawn by four horses yoked abreast; birds are much
+less afraid of it than of a man on foot, and come near enough to allow
+the sportsman to shoot without alighting. Parties often amounting to
+many hundreds, both nobles and peasants, assemble for the pursuit of
+wolves, foxes, and hares. The usual scene of these hunts is a desert
+island belonging to General Potier. They begin by a general beating of
+the steppes, whereupon the wild animals cross the ice to the little
+island, thinking to be safe there from the balls of their pursuers; but
+their retreat is soon invaded. The hunters form a circle round the
+island, and then begins a slaughter that for some time clears the
+country of those sheep devourers. Two or three battues of this kind take
+place every year, chiefly for the purpose of destroying the wolves that
+come in flocks and carry dismay into the sheep-folds.
+
+Among the peculiarities presented by the plains of the Black Sea, I must
+not omit to mention the extensive conflagrations that regularly take
+place in winter, and remind one of the scenes witnessed by many
+travellers in the prairies of America. In Russia, it is the inhabitants
+themselves who set fire to the steppes, thinking that by thus clearing
+away the withered herbage from the surface, they favour the growth of
+the new grass. But the flames being often driven by the winds in all
+directions, and over immense surfaces, now and then occasion great
+disasters; and there have been instances in which sheep-folds and whole
+flocks have been consumed.
+
+The thaw begins on the Dniepr, about the end of March. It is preceded by
+dull cracklings and muffled sounds, giving token that the river is
+awakening from its long icy sleep, and is about to burst its prison. All
+communication between the farms and Kherson is interrupted for more than
+six weeks; posts of Cossacks stationed along the banks, give notice of
+the danger of crossing; but as the temperature is continually changing
+at that season, the final break-up does not take place for a long while.
+
+At the beginning of the thaw we persisted in going to Kherson, in
+opposition to all advice. When we came to the banks of the Dniepr and
+manifested our intention of crossing, all the boatmen stared at us in
+amazement, and not one of them would let us hire his sledge. We were
+therefore about to give up our project, when we saw two or three
+gentlemen coming towards us on foot across the Dniepr, followed by an
+empty sledge. They told us that the river was partially clear of ice
+opposite Kherson, and that it would be extremely dangerous to attempt
+crossing in a sledge. They had left Kherson at six in the morning, (it
+was then ten) and had been all that time engaged in effecting their
+passage. They united with the boatmen in dissuading us from undertaking
+such a journey, the danger of which was now the greater, inasmuch as
+the sun had acquired much power since the morning; but all was of no
+avail; their sledge which they placed at our disposal decided the
+business, and we embarked gaily, preceded by a boatman, whom our example
+had encouraged, and who was to sound the ice before us. A glowing sun
+streamed over the vast sheet of ice, raising from it a bluish vapour,
+which the driver and the guide watched with lively anxiety.
+Notwithstanding their looks of uneasiness we pushed on rapidly, and the
+boatman was oftener on the sledge than in advance of it. By and by,
+however, the sounds of cracking ice growing more and more frequent,
+rather cast a gloom over our imaginations, and made us begin to fear
+that we should meet with more serious obstacles further on. We saw the
+ice melting in some degree beneath the rays of the sun, and gradually
+parting from the shores of the islands we were coasting; and what still
+more augmented our uneasiness, was the elasticity of the ice, which bent
+very visibly under the motion of our sledge. Its gradual rise and fall
+seemed like the breathing of the river, becoming more and more distinct
+as the ice diminished in thickness. As our guide still continued to
+advance, we had no other course than to follow him, and so we came to an
+arm of the Dniepr, which is much dreaded on account of its current, the
+rapidity of which does not allow the ice to acquire much solidity even
+in the most intense frosts. We all proceeded to cross it on foot, each
+maneuvering as best he could on a surface as smooth as a mirror. At
+last, notwithstanding our zigzags, our tumbles, and the splitting of the
+ice, we found ourselves safe over the perilous passage, very much
+delighted at having escaped so well, and at feeling solid ground under
+our feet. We had then more than two versts to travel over an island,
+before we came to the branch of the river opposite Kherson. With the
+utmost confidence, then, we seated ourselves once more in the sledge,
+and bounded away at full speed over a soft surface of snow melting
+rapidly in the sun. But it is always when the mind is most at ease, that
+accidents seem to take a malicious pleasure in surprising us. A wide
+crevice, which the driver had not time to avoid, suddenly yawned athwart
+our course; the sledge was immediately upset, and we were all pitched
+out. My husband, who was seated on the top of the baggage, was quite
+stunned by the blow; the driver and the guide, who were thrown a
+considerable distance from the sledge, remained motionless likewise; and
+as for me, I found myself rolled up in my pelisse in the middle of a
+bush. When I cast a look on my companions in misfortune, they were
+beginning to stir and to feel themselves all over. They seemed in no
+hurry to get up, and they cut such piteous figures, that I could not
+help laughing most heartily. Notwithstanding our bruises we were soon on
+our legs, with the certainty that none of our bones were broken. The
+driver limped back to his seat, in great amazement at not receiving a
+severe castigation for his awkwardness. Had this mishap occurred to
+Russians, the poor fellow would not have escaped with less than a sound
+drubbing. We were more magnanimous, and imputed wholly to fortune an
+accident which, indeed, could not easily have been avoided.
+
+Our journey continued without much to alarm us, until we were just about
+to commit ourselves to the wide arm of the Dniepr, that still lay
+between us and the town. Its surface presented an appearance that was
+really frightful. Enormous banks of ice were beginning to move, and had
+already left a great part of the river exposed. Besides this, the ice
+that still remained fixed, was so intersected with clefts, that we could
+not advance without serious danger. Our position was becoming more and
+more critical, and we were thinking of returning to the island we had
+just left, and waiting until a boat could take us across to Kherson; but
+as there would probably have been as much risk in returning as in
+proceeding, we continued our route but with the utmost caution. The
+first glow of exulting boldness was over, and we sorely regretted our
+temerity. The floor that separated us from the waters seemed so
+treacherous, that we every moment despaired of escape. This state of
+perplexity lasted more than an hour; but at last we reached the vessels
+that were ice-locked at some distance from the harbour. We were now in
+safety, and we finished our perilous expedition in a boat.
+
+Two days afterwards a southerly wind had almost completely swept away
+the immense sheet of ice that for so many months had imprisoned the
+waters of the Dniepr. The thaw took place so rapidly, that the river was
+free before any one could have noted the progress of its deliverance. In
+eight days there was not a vestige of ice, and we returned to Clarofka,
+without experiencing any of the emotions we had felt on our first rash
+and picturesque expedition. But this mild weather, very unusual in the
+month of March, soon gave place to sharp frosts, which renewed the
+winter mantle of the Dniepr, and did not entirely cease until the
+beginning of April. At this season the steppes begin to be clothed with
+a magnificent vegetation, and in a few days they have the appearance of
+a boundless meadow, full of thyme, hyacinths, tulips, pinks, and an
+infinity of other wild flowers of great sweetness and beauty. Thousands
+of larks nestle in the grass, and carol everywhere over the traveller's
+head. The sea, too, partakes in the common gladness of the general
+season. Its shells are more beautiful and more numerous; its hues are
+more varied, and its murmurs gentler. Plants and animals seem all in
+haste to live and reproduce their kind, as if they foresaw the brief
+duration of these pleasant days. Elsewhere, summer is often but a
+continuation of spring; fresh blossoms come forth, and nature retains
+her vital power for a long period; but here a fortnight or three weeks
+are enough to change the vernal freshness of the landscape into a
+sun-burnt waste. In all these countries there are really but two
+seasons; you pass from intense cold to a Senegal heat; without the body
+having time to accustom itself to this sudden change of temperature. The
+sea-breezes alone make it possible to endure the heat which in July and
+August almost always amounts to 94 deg. or 95 deg.
+
+The thing to which the stranger finds it most difficult to accustom his
+eyes in Russia, is the horrible sheep-skins in which men, women, and
+children are muffled at all times of the year. These half-tanned skins,
+which are worn with the wool inwards, give them a savage appearance,
+which is increased in the men by the long beard and moustaches they
+invariably wear. Yet there are handsome faces to be seen among the
+Russian peasants, and in this respect Nature has been much more liberal
+to the men than to the women, who are generally very ugly. The dress of
+the latter consists in a shift with wide sleeves, fitting tight round
+the throat, and trimmed with coloured cotton, and a petticoat fastened
+below the bosom. Instead of a petticoat, girls commonly wear a piece of
+woollen stuff, which laps across in front, without forming a single
+plait, and is fastened by a long, narrow scarf, embroidered at the ends.
+Their legs are quite bare, and any rather sudden movement may open their
+singular garment more than is consistent with decorum. On holidays they
+add to their ordinary attire a large muslin cap, and an apron of the
+same material, adorned with a wide flounce. Their hair is tied up with
+ribands, into two tresses, that fall on their shoulders, or are twisted
+into a crown on the top of the head. When they marry, they cease to wear
+their hair uncovered; a handkerchief of a glaring colour is then their
+usual head-dress. We are now speaking only of the women of Little
+Russia; but those of Great Russia retain the national costume called
+_serafine_, which is very picturesque, and is still worn at court on
+special occasions.
+
+The women of Little Russia, accustomed to field labour from their
+childhood, and usually marrying at the age of fifteen or sixteen, are
+old before they have reached their thirtieth year; indeed, one can
+hardly say when they cease to be young, since they never exhibit the
+bloom of youth. Whether a Russian woman's age be fifteen, twenty, or
+thirty, it is all one in the end. Immediately after childhood, her limbs
+are as masculine, her features as hard, her skin as tanned, and her
+voice as rough as at a more advanced age. So much has been written about
+the relaxed morals and the drunkenness of the Russian peasants, that we
+need not dwell on the subject. We shall only say that their deplorable
+passion for strong liquors, is continually on the increase, and that
+most of the young women are as much addicted to them as the old. It
+frequently happens that a peasant and his wife go on Sunday to a
+_kabak_, drench themselves with brandy, and on their way back fall dead
+drunk into some gully, where they pass the whole night without being
+aware of their change of domicile.
+
+A fondness for dancing is another distinguishing characteristic of this
+people. You often see a party of both sexes assemble after work, and
+continue dancing all the evening. The Ruthenians are remarkable for
+their gaiety and extreme indifference to worldly cares. Leaving to
+their masters the whole trouble of providing for their lodging and
+maintenance, they never concern themselves about the future. Their tasks
+once ended, they think only of repose, and seldom entertain any idea of
+working for themselves. When you pass through their villages, you never
+see the peasants busy in repairing their hedges, cultivating their
+gardens, mending their implements, or doing any thing else that bespeaks
+any regard for domestic comforts. No--the Russian works only because he
+is forced to do so; when he returns from his labour, he stretches
+himself out to sleep on his stove, or goes and gets drunk at the next
+_kabak_. A curious custom I have noticed in Southern Russia, and which
+is common to all classes, is that of chewing the seeds of the melon or
+the sunflower, from morning till night. In order to indulge this taste,
+every one dries in the sun the seeds of all the melons he eats during
+the summer, and puts by his stock for the winter. I have seen many wives
+of _pometchiks_ (landowners) pass their whole day in indulging this
+queer appetite.
+
+In Russia, as in all imperfectly civilised countries, religious
+ceremonies still retain all their ancient influence. They afford the
+peasant a season of pleasure and emancipation, that makes him for a
+moment forget his thraldom, to revel in intoxication. Full of
+superstition, and indolent to an extreme degree, he longs impatiently
+for the interval of relaxation that allows him to indulge his favourite
+propensities. For him the whole sum and substance of every religious
+festival consists in cessation from toil, and in outward practices of
+devotion that bear a strong impress of gross idolatry. The Russian
+thinks he perfectly understands and fulfils his religion, if he makes
+innumerable signs of the cross and genuflections before the smoky
+picture that adorns his isbas, and scrupulously observes those two
+commandments of the Church, to fast and make lenten fare. His conscience
+is then quite at ease, even though it should be burdened with the most
+atrocious crimes. Theft, drunkenness, and even murder, excite in him
+much less horror than the mere idea of breaking fast or eating animal
+food on Friday.
+
+Nothing can exceed the depravity of the Russian clergy; and their
+ignorance is on a par with their vicious propensities. Most of the monks
+and priests pass their lives in disgraceful intoxication, that renders
+them incapable of decently discharging their religious duties. The
+priestly office is regarded in Russia, not as a sacred calling, but as a
+means of escaping from slavery and attaining nobility. The monks,
+deacons, and priests, that swarm in the churches and monasteries, are
+almost all sons of peasants who have entered the Church, that they may
+no longer be liable to the knout, and above all to the misfortune of
+being made soldiers. But though thereby acquiring the right to plunder
+the serfs, and catechise them after their own fashion, they cannot
+efface the stain of their birth, and they continue to be regarded by the
+nobility with that sovereign disdain which the latter profess for all
+who are not sprung from their own caste. The great and the petty nobles
+are perfectly agreed in this respect, and it is not uncommon to see a
+pometshik raise his hand to strike a pope, whilst the latter humbly bows
+his head to receive the chastisement. This resignation, which would be
+exemplary if it were to be ascribed to evangelical humility, is here but
+the result of the base and crouching character of the slave, of which
+the Russian priest cannot divest himself, even in the midst of the
+highest functions of his spiritual life.
+
+The appearance of the popes provokes equal disgust and astonishment. To
+see those men, whose neglected beards, besotted faces, and filthy dress,
+indicate a total want of all decent self-respect, it is impossible to
+persuade oneself that such persons can be apostles of the divine word.
+As usual in the Greek Church, they are all married and have large
+families. You may look in vain in their dwellings for any indication of
+their sacred character. A few coarsely-coloured pictures of saints, and
+a few books flung into a corner of the room, in which the whole family
+are huddled together, are the only marks of the profession exercised by
+the master of the house. As they receive nothing from the state, it is
+the unfortunate serfs who must support their establishments, and even
+supply them with the means of indulging their gluttony and drunkenness.
+It is particularly on the eve of a great Church festival, that the
+Russian priest is sure of an abundant harvest of poultry, eggs, and
+meal. Easter is the most remarkable of these festivals, and lasts a
+whole week. During the preceding seven weeks of Lent, the Russian must
+not eat either eggs, meat, fish, oil, butter, or cheese. His diet
+consists only of salted cucumbers, boiled vegetables, and different
+kinds of porridge. The fortitude with which he endures so long a
+penance, proves the mighty influence which religious ideas possess over
+such rude minds. During the last few days that precede the festival, he
+is not allowed to take any food before sunset, and then it may be fairly
+admitted that brandy is a real blessing for him.
+
+It is impossible to imagine all the discussions that take place between
+the popes and the peasants on these occasions. As the Russian must then
+fulfil his religious duties, whether he will or not, he is at the mercy
+of the priest, who of course makes him pay as dearly as he can for
+absolution, and keeps a regular tariff, in which offences and
+punishments are set down with minute precision. Thus for a theft, so
+many dozens of eggs; for breach of a fast, so many chickens, &c. If the
+serf is refractory, the punishment is doubled, and nothing can save him
+from it. The thought of complaining to his lord of the pope's
+extortionate cupidity never enters his head; for assuredly, if he were
+to adopt such a course, he would think himself damned to all eternity.
+
+As long as the holidays last, the lords keep open table, and every one
+is free to enter and take part in the banquet. Such was the practice of
+the _knias_ (princes) and boyards of old, who lived as sovereigns in
+their feudal mansions, and extended their hospitality to all strangers,
+without distinction of country or lineage. Many travellers allege that
+this patriarchal custom still prevails in some families of Great Russia.
+But here, except on gala days, most of the pometshiks live in such a
+shabby style, as gives but a poor idea of their means or of their
+dispositions.
+
+To return to our Easter holidays: the last week of Lent is employed in
+making an immense quantity of cakes, buns, and Easter bread, and in
+staining eggs with all sorts of colours. A painter was brought expressly
+from Kherson to our entertainer's mansion for this purpose, and he
+painted more than 1000 eggs, most of them adorned with cherubims,
+fat-cheeked angels, virgins, and all the saints in paradise. The whole
+farm was turned topsy-turvy, the work was interrupted, and the steward's
+authority suspended. Every one was eager to assist in the preparations
+for merry making; some put up the swings, others arranged the ball-room;
+some were intent on their devotions, others half-smothered themselves in
+the vapour baths, which are one of the most favourite indulgences of the
+Russian people: all in short were busy in one way or other. A man with a
+barrel organ had been engaged for a long while beforehand, and when he
+arrived every face beamed with joy. The Russians are passionately fond
+of music. Often in the long summer evenings, after their tasks are
+ended, they sit in a circle and sing with a precision and harmony that
+evince a great natural aptitude for music. Their tunes are very simple
+and full of melancholy; and as their plaintive strains are heard rising
+at evening from some lonely spot in the midst of the desert plain, they
+often produce emotions, such as more scientific compositions do not
+always awaken.
+
+At last Easter day was come. In the morning we were greatly surprised to
+find our sitting-room filled with men who were waiting for us, and were
+meanwhile refreshing themselves with copious potations of brandy. The
+evening before we had been sent two bottles of that liquor, and a large
+basket of cakes and painted eggs, but without any intimation of the use
+they were to be put to; but we at once understood the meaning of this
+measure, when we saw all these peasants in their Sunday trim, and a
+domestic serving out drink to them, by way I suppose of beguiling the
+time until we made our appearance.
+
+The moment my husband entered the room, all those red-bearded fellows
+surrounded him, and each with great gravity presented him with a painted
+egg, accompanying the gift with three stout kisses. In compliance with
+the custom of the country my husband had to give each of them an egg in
+return, and a glass of brandy, after first putting it to his own lips.
+But the ceremony did not end there: _Kooda barinya? kooda barinya?_
+(where is madame), _nadlegit_ (it must be so), and so I was forced to
+come among them and receive my share of the eggs and embraces. During
+all Easter week the peasant has a right to embrace whomsoever he
+pleases, not even excepting the emperor and the empress. This is a relic
+of the old patriarchal manners which prevailed so long unaltered all
+over northern Europe. In Russia, particularly, where extremes meet, the
+peasant to this day addresses the czar with _thou_ and _thee_, and calls
+him father in speaking to him.
+
+When we had got rid of these queer visitors we repaired to the parlour,
+where the morning repast was served up with a profusion worthy of the
+times of Pantagruel. In the centre of the table stood a sucking pig
+flanked with small hams, German sausages, chitterlings, black puddings,
+and large dishes of game. A magnificent pie containing at least a dozen
+hares, towered like a fortress at one end of the table, and seemed quite
+capable of sustaining the most vehement onslaught of the assailants. The
+sondag and the sterlet, those choice fish of Southern Russia, garnished
+with aromatic herbs, betokened the vicinity of the sea. Imagine, in
+addition to all these things, all sorts of cordial waters, glass vases
+filled with preserves, and a multitude of sponge cake castles, with
+their platforms frosted and heaped with bonbons, and the reader will
+have an idea of the profuse good cheer displayed by the Russian lords on
+such occasions.
+
+General Potier, surrounded by all his household retinue, and by some
+other guests, impatiently awaited the arrival of the pope, whose
+benediction was an indispensable preliminary to the banquet. He arrived
+at ten o'clock precisely, accompanied by a monk, and began to chant a
+hallelujah, walking two or three times round the table; then blessing
+each dish separately, he concluded by bravely attacking the sucking pig,
+to the best part of which he helped himself. This was the signal to
+begin; every one laid hold on what he liked without ceremony; the pie,
+the hams, and the fish, all vanished. For more than a quarter of an hour
+nothing was to be heard but a continual noise of knives and forks, jaws
+munching, and glasses hobnobbing. The pope set a bright example, and his
+rubicund face fully declared the pleasure he took in fulfilling such
+functions of his office.
+
+The Russians in general are remarkable for gluttony, such as perhaps is
+without a parallel elsewhere. The rudeness of their climate and their
+strong digestive powers would account for this. They make five meals
+daily, and those so copious and substantial that one of them would alone
+be amply sufficient for an inhabitant of the south.
+
+During the repast a choir of girls stood before the windows and sang
+several national airs in a very pleasing style; after which they
+received the usual gratuity of nuts with tokens of the liveliest glee.
+The Russians are strict observers of all ancestral customs, and Easter
+would be no Easter for them if it came without eggs or nuts.
+
+On leaving the breakfast table we proceeded to the place where the
+sports were held; but there I saw nothing of that hearty merriment that
+elsewhere accompanies a popular holiday. The women, in their best
+attire, clung to the swings, I will not say gracefully, but very bodily,
+and in a manner to shame the men, who found less pleasure in looking at
+them than in gorging themselves with brandy in their smoky _kabaks_.
+Others danced to the sound of the organ with cavaliers, whose zigzag
+movements told of plenteous libations. Some old women nearly dead drunk
+went from one group to another singing obscene songs, and falling here
+and there in the middle of the road, without any one thinking of picking
+them up.
+
+We noticed on this occasion an essential characteristic of the Russian
+people. In this scene of universal drunkenness there was no quarrelling;
+not a blow was struck. Nothing can rouse the Russians from their apathy;
+nothing can quicken the dull current of their blood; they are slaves
+even in drink.
+
+Next day we went to dine with one of the general's neighbours, who gave
+us a most sumptuous reception. Before we sat down to table, we were
+shown into a small room with a side-board loaded with cold meat, caviar,
+salted cucumbers, and liqueurs, all intended to whet our appetites. This
+collation, which the Russians call _sagouska_, always precedes their
+meals; they are not content with their natural appetite, but have
+recourse to stimulants that they may the better perform their parts at
+table.
+
+All the time of dinner we were entertained by a choir of forty young men
+who sang some fine harmonised pieces, and some Cossack airs that pleased
+us much. Our entertainer was one of the richest landowners in New
+Russia, and his manner of living partakes of many of the old national
+usages. His musicians are slaves taught by an Italian long attached to
+the establishment in the capacity of chapel master.
+
+Such are the Easter festivities. As the reader will perceive, they
+consist on the whole in eating and drinking inordinately. The whole week
+is spent in this way, and during all that time the authority of the
+master is almost in abeyance; the coachman deserts the stables, the cook
+the kitchen, the housekeeper her store-room; all are drunk, all are
+merry-making, all are intent on enjoying a season of liberty so long
+anticipated with impatience.
+
+The rejoicings in the town are of the same character. The _katchellni_,
+a sort of fair lasting three days, brings together all classes of
+society. The nobles and the government servants ride about in carriages,
+but the populace amuse themselves just as they do in the country, only
+they have the pleasure of getting drunk in better company.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+      EXCURSION ON THE BANKS OF THE DNIEPR--DOUTCHINA--ELECTION OF
+      THE MARSHALS AND JUDGES OF THE NOBILITY AT KHERSON--HORSE-RACING
+      --STRANGE STORY IN THE "JOURNAL DES DEBATS"--A COUNTRY HOUSE
+      AND ITS VISITERS--TRAITS OF RUSSIAN MANNERS--THE WIFE OF TWO
+      HUSBANDS--SERVANTS--MURDER OF A COURIER--APPENDIX.
+
+
+We left Clarofka in May, to explore the banks of the Dniepr, and the
+shores of the Sea of Azov. The object we had in view was purely
+scientific, but the journey became doubly interesting by affording us a
+closer insight into the habits of Russian society, and the manner in
+which noble families live on their estates. I had intended to visit
+Taganrok, but on this occasion I proceeded no further than Doutchina,
+the property of a Baroness de Bervick, who most hospitably insisted on
+my remaining with her whilst my husband was continuing his geological
+researches in the country of the Cossacks.
+
+Doutchina is situated on the post-road from Kherson to Iekaterinoslav,
+in a broad ravine formed by a brook that falls into the Dniepr a little
+way from the village. From the high ground over which the road passes,
+the eye suddenly looks down on a beautiful landscape--a most welcome
+surprise for the traveller who has just passed over some hundred versts
+of uncultivated plains.
+
+In Russia, travelling is not, as elsewhere, synonymous with seeing new
+sights. In vain your _troika_ bears you along with dizzy speed; in vain
+you pass hours, days, and nights in posting; still you have before your
+eyes the same steppe that seems to lengthen out before you as you
+advance, the same horizon, the same cold stern lines, the same snow or
+sunshine; and nothing either in the temperature or the aspect of the
+ground indicates that you have accomplished any change of place.
+
+It is only in the vicinity of the great rivers that the country assumes
+a different aspect, and the wearied eye at last enjoys the pleasure of
+encountering more limited horizons, a more verdant vegetation, and a
+landscape more varied in its outlines. Among these rivers, the Dniepr
+claims one of the foremost places, from the length of its course, the
+volume of its waters, and the deep bed it has excavated for itself
+athwart the plains of Southern Russia. But nowhere does it present more
+charming views than from the height I have just mentioned and its
+vicinity. After having spread out to the breadth of nearly a league, it
+parts into a multitude of channels, that wind through forests of oaks,
+alders, poplars, and aspens, whose vigorous growth bespeaks the richness
+of a virgin soil. The groups of islands capriciously breaking the
+surface of the waters, have a melancholy beauty and a primitive
+character scarcely to be seen except in those vast wildernesses where
+man has left no traces of his presence. Nothing in our country at all
+resembles this kind of landscape. With us, the creature has everywhere
+refashioned the work of the Creator; the mark of his hand appears even
+on the most inaccessible mountains; whereas, in Russia, where the nobles
+are the sole proprietors, nature still remains, in many places, just as
+God created it. Thus these plavniks[3] of the Dniepr, seldom touched by
+the woodman's axe, have all the wild majesty of the forests of the new
+world. For some time after my arrival at Doutchina, I found an endless
+source of delight in contemplating those majestic scenes, lighted by a
+pale sky, and veiled in light mists, that gave them a tinge of sadness,
+sometimes more pleasing than the glare of noon.
+
+Doutchina, situated, as I have said, on a ledge of a ravine that ends in
+the plavniks, is altogether unlike the other villages of Russia. Its
+pretty cottages, separated by gardens and groups of fruit-trees, its
+picturesque site and magnificent environs, strikingly remind one of the
+Danube, near Vienna. The whole country, as far as one can see from the
+highest point of the road, belongs to the Baroness of Bervick, and forms
+one of the most valuable estates in the neighbourhood. But her residence
+is strangely unsuited to her fortune, being a mere cabin, open to every
+wind, and fit, at most, for a sporting lodge. As we looked on this
+shabby abode, we were amazed that a wealthy lady, still young and
+handsome, should be content to inhabit it, and to endure a multitude of
+privations, which we should have thought intolerable to a person of her
+station. At the time we became this lady's guest, she had left France
+about eighteen months, to reside on this property, bequeathed to her by
+her late husband.
+
+Some days after my husband's departure we set out for Kherson, where the
+elections of the marshals and judges of the nobility were soon to take
+place. All the great families of the government of Kherson were already
+assembled in the town, and gave it an appearance of animation to which
+it had long been a stranger. These elections, which take place only
+every three years, are occasions for balls and parties, to which the
+pometchiks and their wives look forward with eager anticipation. For
+more than a fortnight the town is thronged with officers of all ranks,
+and elegant equipages with four horses, that give the streets and
+promenades an unusually gay appearance. The Russians spare no expense on
+these occasions of display. Many a petty proprietor's wife, who lives
+all the year on _kash_[4] and dried fish, contrives at this period to
+out-do the ladies of the town in costly finery.
+
+The amusements began with a horse-race, which made some noise in the
+world in consequence of an article in the _Journal des Debats_. Those
+who have any curiosity to know how one may mystify a newspaper, and
+amuse oneself at the expense of a credulous public, have but to read a
+certain number of the year 1838, which positively alleges, that forty
+ladies, headed by the young and beautiful Narishkin, appeared on the
+course as jockeys, rode their own horses, &c., and a thousand other
+things still more absurd and incredible. All I can say of this race, at
+which I was present, is, that it was like every other affair of the
+kind, and was not distinguished by any remarkable incident or romantic
+adventure. Eight horses started, one of which belonged to the Countess
+Voronzof and another to General Narishkin, and the riders were not
+lovely ladies, but rather clumsy grooms. The first prize, a large
+silver cup worth 1500 rubles, was won by the Countess Voronzof's
+Atalanta: the second was carried off by the general's horse. Such is the
+way in which these things always end, and the consequence may very
+likely be, that the races will cease altogether. The landowners know
+very well that their horses stand no chance against those belonging to
+great people, and as they are sure of being beaten they will at last
+grow tired of the mock contest. The Countess Voronzof ought to consider
+that these races are not merely an amusement, but that they were
+instituted for the purpose of encouraging the improvement of the breed
+of horses.
+
+After the race there was a grand dinner at the general commandant's,
+which was attended by all the rank and fashion then assembled in
+Kherson. It was at this dinner I first remarked the custom observed by
+the Russians of placing the gentlemen on one side of the table and the
+ladies on the other, a custom both unsightly and injurious to
+conversation. It has almost fallen into disuse in Odessa, like all the
+other national practices; but in the provincial towns it would still be
+thought a deadly insult to a lady to help her after a gentleman, and no
+doubt it is in order to avoid such a breach of politeness that the
+ladies are all ranged together in one row.
+
+The nobility of the district gave a grand ball that evening in one of
+the club-rooms, and there I noticed all the contrasts that form the
+ground-work of Russian manners. The mixture of refinement and barbarism,
+of gallantry and grossness, which this people exhibits on all occasions,
+shows how young it still is in civilisation. Here were officers in
+splendid uniforms and ladies blazing with diamonds, dancing and playing
+cards in a very ugly room with old patched and plastered walls, dimly
+lighted by a few shabby lamps, and they were as intent on their
+pleasures as if they were in a court drawing-room, and never seemed to
+think that there was any thing at all offensive to the sight in the
+accommodations around them. The refreshments, consisting of dried fruits
+and _eau sucree_, were in as much demand as the best ices and sherbets
+could have been. The same inconsistency was displayed in the behaviour
+of the gentlemen towards the ladies. Though ready, like the Poles, to
+drink every man of them to his fancy's queen out of the heel of her
+shoe, they did not think it unbecoming to take their places alone in the
+quadrilles, neither troubling themselves to go in search of their
+partners nor escorting them back to their seats after the dance. Setting
+aside, however, this total want of tact, they perfectly imitate all the
+outward shows and forms of politeness.
+
+A final ball, given by the governor at the conclusion of the election,
+was much more brilliant than those of the noblesse, and satisfied my
+critical eye in every respect. Every thing testified the taste and
+opulence of our entertainer. A splendid supper was served up at
+midnight, and a chorus of young lads sang some national airs, full of
+that grave and melancholy sweetness that constitutes the charm of
+Russian music. When the champagne was sent round the governor rose and
+made a speech in Russian, which was responded to by a general hurrah:
+the healths of the emperor, the empress, and the rest of the imperial
+family, were then drunk with shouts of joy; the married ladies were next
+toasted, then the unmarried, who were cheered with frantic acclamations.
+These duties being accomplished, the company returned to the ball-room,
+where dancing was kept up until morning. This entertainment was perfect
+in its kind; but, in accordance with the national habits, it was
+destined to end in an orgy. We learned the next day that the dawn had
+found the gentlemen eating, drinking, and fighting lustily. It was
+reckoned that 150 bottles of champagne were emptied on this occasion,
+and as the price of each bottle is eighteen francs, the reader may hence
+form some idea of Russian profusion.
+
+Two days afterwards we left Kherson for the country seat of the marshal
+of the nobles, where a large party was already assembled. The manner in
+which hospitality is exercised in Russia is very convenient, and entails
+no great outlay in the matter of upholstery. Those who receive visiters
+give themselves very little concern as to whether their guests are well
+or ill lodged, provided they can offer them a good table; it never
+occurs to them that a good bed, and a room provided with some articles
+of furniture, are to some persons quite as acceptable as a good dinner.
+Whatever has no reference to the comfort of the stomach, lies beyond the
+range of Russian politeness, and the stranger must make up his account
+accordingly. As we were the last comers, we fared very queerly in point
+of lodging, being thrust four or five of us into one room, with no other
+furniture than two miserable bedsteads; and there we were left to shift
+for ourselves as we could. The house is very handsome in appearance; but
+for all its portico, its terrace, and its grand halls, it only contains
+two or three rooms for reception, and a few garrets, graced with the
+name of bed-rooms. Ostentation is inherent in the Russian character, but
+it abounds especially among the petty nobles, who lavish away their
+whole income in outward show. They must have equipages with four horses,
+billiard-rooms, grand drawing-rooms, pianos, &c. And if they can procure
+all these superfluities, they are quite content to live on mujik's fare,
+and to sleep in beds without any thing in the shape of sheets.
+
+Articles of furniture, the most indispensable, are totally unknown in
+the dwellings of most of the second-rate nobles. Notwithstanding the
+vaunted progress of Russian civilisation, it is almost impossible to
+find a basin and ewer in a bed-room. Bedsteads are almost as great
+rarities, and almost invariably you have nothing but a divan on which
+you may pass the night. You may deem yourself singularly fortunate if
+the mistress of the mansion thinks of sending you a blanket and a
+pillow; but this is so unusual a piece of good luck that you must never
+reckon upon it. In their own persons the Russians set an example of
+truly Spartan habits, as I had many opportunities of perceiving during
+my stay in the marshal's house. No one, the marshal himself not
+excepted, had a private chamber; his eldest daughter, though a very
+elegant and charming young lady, lay on the floor, wrapped up in a cloak
+like an old veteran. His wife, with three or four young children, passed
+the night in a closet that served as boudoir by day, and he himself made
+his bed on one of the divans of the grand saloon. As for the visiters,
+some slept on the billiard-table; others, like ourselves, scrambled for
+a few paltry stump bedsteads, whilst the most philosophical wore away
+the night in drinking and gambling.
+
+I say nothing as to the manner in which the domestic servants are
+lodged; a good guess as to this matter may be easily made from what I
+have just said of their masters. Besides, it is a settled point in
+Russia never to take any heed for servants; they eat, drink, and sleep,
+how and where they can, and their masters never think of asking a word
+about the matter. The family whose guests we were was very large, and
+furnished us with themes for many a remark on the national usages, and
+the notions respecting education that are in vogue in the empire. A
+Swiss governess is an indispensable piece of furniture in every house in
+which there are many children. She must teach them to read, write, and
+speak French, and play a few mazurkas on the piano. No more is required
+of her; for solid instruction is a thing almost unknown among the petty
+nobles. A girl of fifteen has completed her education if she can do the
+honours of the drawing-room, and warble a few French romances. Yet I
+have met with several exceptions to this rule, foremost among which I
+must note our host's pretty daughter Loubinka, who, thanks to a sound
+understanding and quick apprehension, has acquired such a stock of
+information as very few Russian ladies possess.
+
+It is only among those families that constantly reside on their estates
+that we still find in full vigour all those prejudices, superstitions,
+and usages of old Russia, that are handed down as heir-looms from
+generation to generation, and keep strong hold on all the rustic
+nobility. No people are more superstitious than the Russians; the sight
+of two crossed forks, or of a salt-cellar upset, will make them turn
+pale and tremble with terror. There are unlucky days on which nothing
+could induce them to set out on a journey or begin any business. Monday
+especially is marked with a red cross in their calendar, and woe to the
+man who would dare to brave its malign influence.
+
+Among the Russian customs most sedulously preserved is that of mutual
+salutations after meals. Nothing can be more amusing than to see all the
+persons round the table bowing right and left with a gravity that proves
+the importance they attach to a formality so singular in our eyes. The
+children set the example by respectfully kissing the hands of their
+parents. In all social meetings etiquette peremptorily requires that the
+young ladies, instead of sitting in the drawing-room, shall remain by
+themselves in an adjoining apartment, and not allow any young man to
+approach them. If there is dancing the gravest matron in the company
+goes and brings them almost by force into the ball-room. Once there they
+may indulge their youthful vivacity without restraint; but on no pretext
+are they to withdraw from beneath the eyes of their mothers or
+chaperons. It would be ruinous to a young lady's reputation to be caught
+in a _tete-a-tete_ with a young man within two steps of the ball-room.
+But all this prudery extends no further than outward forms, and it would
+be a grand mistake to suppose that there is more morality in Russia than
+elsewhere. Genuine virtue, such as is based on sound principles and an
+enlightened education is not very common there. Young girls are
+jealously guarded, because the practice is in accordance with the
+general habits and feelings of the country, and little reliance is
+placed in their own sense of propriety. But once married, they acquire
+the right of conducting themselves as they please, and the husband would
+find it a hard matter to control their actions. Though divorces are
+almost impossible to obtain, it does not follow that all wives remain
+with their husbands; on the contrary, nothing is more common than
+amicable arrangements between married people to wink at each other's
+peccadilloes; such conventions excite no scandal, and do not exclude the
+wife from society. One of these divorces I will mention, which is
+perhaps without a parallel in the annals of the civilised world.
+
+A very pretty and sprightly young Polish lady was married to a man of
+great wealth, but much older than herself, and a thorough Muscovite in
+coarseness of character and habits. After two or three years spent in
+wrangling and plaguing each other, the ill-assorted pair resolved to
+travel, in the hopes of escaping the intolerable sort of life they led
+at home. A residence in Italy, the chosen land of intrigues and illicit
+amours, soon settled the case. The young wife eloped with an Italian
+nobleman, whose passion ere long grew so intense that nothing would
+satisfy him short of a legal sanction of their union. Divorces, as every
+one knows, are easily obtained in the pope's dominions. Madame de K. had
+therefore no difficulty in causing her marriage to be annulled,
+especially with the help of her lord and master, who, for the first time
+since they had come together, agreed with her, heart and soul. Every
+thing was promptly arranged, and _Monsieur_ carried his complaisance so
+far as to be present as an official witness at _Madame's_ wedding,
+doubtless for the purpose of thoroughly making sure of its validity.
+Three or four children were the fruit of this new union; but the lady's
+happiness was of short duration. Her domestic peace was destroyed by the
+intrigues of her second husband's family; perhaps, too, the Italian's
+love had cooled; be this as it may, after some months of miserable
+struggles and humiliations, sentence of separation was finally
+pronounced against her, and she found herself suddenly without fortune
+or protector, burdened with a young family, and weighed down with
+fearful anticipations of the future. Her first step was to leave a
+country where such cruel calamities had befallen her, and to return to
+Podolia, the land of her birth. Hitherto her story is like hundreds of
+others, and I should not have thought of narrating it had it ended
+there; but what almost surpasses belief, and gives it a stamp of
+originality altogether out of the common line, is the conduct of her
+first husband when he heard of her return. That brutal, inconstant man,
+who had trampled on all social decencies in attending at the marriage of
+his wife with another, did all in his power to induce her to return to
+his house. By dint of unwearied efforts and entreaties he succeeded in
+overcoming her scruples, and bore her home in triumph along with her
+children by the Italian, on whom he settled part of his fortune. From
+that time forth the most perfect harmony subsists between the pair, and
+seems likely long to continue. I saw a letter written by the lady two or
+three months after her return beneath the conjugal roof; it breathed the
+liveliest gratitude and the fondest affection for him whom she called
+_her beloved husband_.
+
+The Russians pique themselves greatly on having a large retinue of
+servants; the smallest proprietor never keeps fewer than five or six;
+yet this does not prevent their houses from being, without exception,
+disgustingly dirty. Except the state-rooms, which the servants make a
+show of cleaning, all the rest of the house is left in a state of filth
+beyond description. The condition of these domestic servants is much
+less pitiable than one would suppose; they are so numerous that they
+have hardly any thing to do, and spend half the day in sleeping. The
+canings they receive from time to time do not at all ruffle their good
+humour. It is true they fare horribly as to victuals, and have no other
+bed than the bare ground; but their robust constitutions enable them
+easily to endure the greatest privations, and if they have salted
+cucumbers, arbutus berries, and _kash_, they scarcely envy their masters
+their more nutritious viands.
+
+After some ten days spent very agreeably in the house of the marshal of
+the nobles, we at last set out on our return for Doutchina, where my
+husband was soon to meet us again. On arriving at the third
+post-station, we were surprised to find the house filled with Cossacks
+and police-officers. Neither postmaster, horses, nor coachmen, were to
+be seen, and it was plain some extraordinary event had taken place. We
+were presently informed that a murder had been committed two days
+before, at a very short distance from the station, on the person of a
+courier, who had a sum of 40,000 rubles in his charge. The following are
+the details communicated to us on the subject. A courier arrived at the
+post-station in the evening, having with him a small valise containing a
+considerable amount of property. He drank a few glasses of brandy with
+the postmaster before he resumed his journey, and told him he was not
+going further than Kherson, and would return that way next day.
+
+That same night some peasants found a deserted carriage on the highway,
+near Kherson, and were soon satisfied on examining it, that a crime had
+been committed in it. Several pieces of silver coin were scattered in
+the straw, as if some one had forgotten them there in his haste, and
+copious marks of blood were discernible on the ground and in the
+carriage. These facts were communicated to the police, inquiries were
+instituted, and the courier's body, with a deep gash in the head, was
+found in a ditch two or three versts from the station. The driver had
+disappeared, and the postmaster, an unfortunate Jew, who was perhaps
+innocent of all participation in the crime, was immediately taken to
+prison. Such was the state of the case when we arrived at the station
+and found it all in confusion, and filled with Cossacks.
+
+This tragic event threw the whole country into agitation, but it was not
+until six weeks afterwards that the police at last succeeded in
+arresting the perpetrator of the deed, in consequence of quite new
+information, which gave a still stranger complexion to the whole story.
+By the murderer's own statement, it appeared that he belonged to a
+family of shopkeepers, and that he had given up his business only to
+execute a long cherished project. Some months before the murder he had
+gone into the Crimea, where he had taken pains to conceal his identity
+and baffle any attempt to track his steps, by letting his beard grow,
+adopting the habits and appearance of a mujik, and frequently changing
+his place of abode. When he thought his measures complete in this
+respect, he went and hired himself as postillion to the Jew, who kept
+the post-station before mentioned. He had been waiting more than a month
+for a favourable opportunity, when the unfortunate courier, who was his
+victim, arrived. He confessed he had hesitated for some moments before
+committing the murder, not from horror of the deed itself, but because
+he recognised in the courier an old companion of his boyhood. Twice,
+perceiving that the man was asleep, he had left his seat and got up
+behind the carriage with the intention of knocking him on the head; but
+twice his courage failed him; the third time, however, he drew the
+courier's own sabre and cleft his skull with it at a blow. Having
+secured the valise, he threw the corpse into a ditch, and continued his
+journey to within a short distance of Kherson, where he left the
+kibitka, changed his dress, cut off his beard, and then entered the city
+on foot. His family received him without the least suspicion, never
+doubting but that he came straight from the Crimea, and for more than
+six weeks he lived quite at his ease, making like every body else
+numberless conjectures respecting the event which was the constant theme
+of conversation. Meanwhile, several persons having been struck by the
+resemblance of his features to those of the postillion who had
+disappeared, they put the police on the alert, and he was arrested just
+as he was setting out for Bessarabia. He was condemned to a hundred
+strokes of the knout, and the postmaster was sent to Siberia. The
+children of the latter were enrolled as soldiers, and all he was worth
+became the booty of the police.
+
+With such penal laws, Russia has little to fear from malefactors.
+Notwithstanding its vast extent and its thinly scattered population,
+the traveller is safer there than in any other country. But this state
+of things is to be ascribed rather to the political situation of the
+people, than to the strict administration of the police, and it is easy
+to conceive that in a country, in which there are none but slaves bound
+to the soil, highway robberies, generally speaking, are morally
+impossible, because they can scarcely ever yield any gain to their
+authors. There existed, nevertheless, in Bessarabia, from 1832 to 1836,
+a very formidable gang of robbers, of which the police found it
+extremely difficult to rid the country. The captain, of whom a thousand
+extraordinary tales are told, was a revolted slave, unconsciously
+playing the part of Fra Diavolo, in a corner of Russia. He waged war not
+against individuals, but against society. It is alleged, that he never
+killed any one, and that many a peasant found with him an asylum and
+protection. He was a daring fellow, beloved by his gang, and a merciless
+plunderer of landlords, and above all of Jews. It was not until the
+close of 1836 that he was taken, through the treachery of a girl he was
+attached to, who betrayed him to the officers of justice. He died under
+the knout; the death of their leader dispersed his gang, and they fell
+one by one into the hands of the police.
+
+Some days after my husband's return, we took our leave of the baroness
+to return to Clarofka. Our main journey through the Kalmuck steppes and
+to the Caucasus, being fixed for the following spring, part of the
+winter was spent in making preparations for our departure. Count
+Voronzof most obligingly furnished us with letters for the governors and
+authorities of the countries we were to pass through.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[3] The name applied collectively to the islands and channels formed by
+all the great rivers of Southern Russia.
+
+[4] A favourite Russian dish, a sort of porridge of buckwheat or Indian
+corn.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO CHAPTER IX.
+
+_Petty Larceny._--"Highway robbery and burglary, with violence, are
+things wholly unknown in the greater part of Russia. The peasants laugh
+when they see foreigners travelling about with swords, pistols, and a
+whole arsenal of weapons. The Russian trader journeys from one end of
+the empire to the other, often with all he is worth in the world, and
+does not think it necessary even to carry a knife in his pocket; yet one
+never hears of their being robbed by force on the highways, at least in
+the parts of the country with which I was more intimately acquainted.
+Cases of the kind do indeed occur in the southern provinces, adjoining
+the Turkish dominions, and in Siberia, where so many malefactors are
+settled, and where there is often extreme distress. Some may be disposed
+to ascribe this unfrequency of highway robbery to the great remoteness
+of the villages from each other, and to the severity of the climate,
+which must deter rogues from remaining much in the open air, especially
+at night. But even in summer, and in the more populous regions, where
+the villages are tolerably close together, highway robbery is equally
+rare, and the absence of this crime seems to me attributable rather to
+the character of the people themselves, to whom the practice seems
+repugnant and unnatural. It were to be wished that they had the same
+instinctive aversion to robbery without violence, but this unfortunately
+is not the case. As I was a frequent sufferer from the nimbleness of
+their fingers, I had occasion enough to ponder on the causes of this
+striking propensity of theirs, and I came to the conclusion, paradoxical
+as it may perhaps seem, that it arises not so much from want of moral
+feeling as from want of intellectual cultivation. Most of the common
+folk who are given to this vice (for among educated persons it is as
+rare and is reputed as infamous as in any other country) see no harm at
+all in pilfering, and are, therefore, prone to practise it whenever they
+have an opportunity. I am fully persuaded that these people, who are
+often the most good-natured and even honest-hearted fellows, would
+desist from the practice if they were once taught to regard it in a
+different light, and were made conscious of its impropriety. This is a
+case as to which primary instruction, village schools, and church
+sermons, in the vernacular tongue, would deal most happily and
+beneficially for the morals of the nation. But village schools are rare,
+and sermons or religious instruction of any kind, are rarer still; books
+there are none, and if there were any the populace could not read them.
+What means then have they of becoming enlightened as to themselves and
+the things around them, and of correcting the views and notions handed
+down to them from generation to generation? Centuries ago they worked
+out for themselves their own system of ethics, if I may so speak, and
+they now make the best they can of it. Certain things, for instance,
+such as household furniture and the like, are regarded as sacred; the
+owners may leave them all night in the street, and be sure of finding
+them again in the morning, whereas there are a thousand other things
+which they cannot watch too carefully, though far less serviceable, and
+consequently less tempting. On the former there is a sort of interdict
+laid by tacit consent, whereas the latter are looked upon as common
+property. The same man who will not hesitate to pick another's pocket,
+or to filch something from his table, will never, even though quite safe
+from detection, open a closed door, or put his hand in at an open window
+to take any thing out of a room. He would call this 'stealing'
+(_vorit_,) and that has an ugly sound even in Russian ears, and is
+considered a great sin. But the first-mentioned little matters he looks
+on as allowed, or at least not forbidden, and he applies to them the
+endearing diminutive _vorovat_, a pretty, harmless word, not at all
+associated with the odious idea of thieving properly so called. To put
+this matter in a clearer light I will relate two little incidents that
+came under my own personal observation.
+
+"I was once in the house of a common chapman on an affair of business,
+in which he behaved like an upright worthy man. We had finished the
+transaction between us, and were sipping our tea, when an old man with
+an open, honest-looking countenance, but very poorly clad, came in and
+offered the chapman a silver spoon for sale. After some chaffering the
+latter bought the spoon at a price much below its worth, and said,
+banteringly, as he paid over the money: '_Sukin tu sin, tu vorovat_.'
+'You pilfered it, you son of a b----.' (This last phrase, as I have
+elsewhere remarked, is practically equivalent to 'my good friend,' or
+the like.) The old man looked at him with a roguish twinkle of the eye,
+laid his hand on his breast, and said very gravely: '_Niet sudar, Bog
+podal_,' 'No, sir, God bestowed it,' and then went quietly about his
+business. I often took pains to come at the special meaning of this
+'_Bog podal_,' by a series of indirect questions, and every time I
+became more and more assured that by many persons the phrase was
+understood as signifying a sort of divine permission to steal.
+
+"The second anecdote is perhaps still more characteristic. In the year
+1816 I was on my way with a German friend to the country-seat of Count
+S. We thought we were the only persons in our little open carriage who
+understood the German language, in which we conversed, when, to our
+surprise, our long-bearded _ishvorshtik_ (coachman) joined in the
+discourse with great fluency, though his German was somewhat broken.
+Observing our astonishment, he told us that he had been in Germany, and
+had served in a detached corps of the army, which had been organised in
+the form of a _landwehr_, or local militia: he had passed a summer in
+Saxony, and seen Leipsig, Dresden, Wittenberg, &c. All this he told us
+with an air of no small self-complacency. 'And how did you like
+Germany?' said I. 'Why, pretty well,' he answered, 'only for one thing
+that I could not abide at all.' He might have settled there
+advantageously, and his colonel would have given him his discharge, as
+the corps was to be disbanded; but this _one thing_ he talked of was not
+to be got over, and so he had preferred to return home. 'And what was
+this thing that stuck so in your stomach?' 'Sir,' said he, turning to us
+with one eye half shut, and speaking almost in a whisper, '_Sudar,
+vorovat ne velat_,' 'Sir, they won't allow a body to do a wee bit of
+pilfering.' We were not a little confounded by this unexpected reply,
+and my friend, who had not been long in Russia, was beginning to lecture
+him on the enormity of such principles, when the coachman, who had no
+mind to hear a long sermon, laughingly cut short the preacher's
+harangue, and gave him to understand that he was wandering wide of the
+mark. 'O, you don't understand me, _sudar_, I don't mean stealing; of
+course not; I know very well it is a bad thing; I only mean _vorovat_,
+which surely ought to be allowed everywhere; leastways it ought to be
+allowed to a poor soldier.'
+
+"The world is ruled by opinion: we should therefore try to set this
+governing power right, where we can, and where that may not be one, we
+should at least make the best use we can of it in the state in which we
+find it. Russia affords one striking exemplification of this wise system
+of compromise with reference to the subject we have been discussing. It
+is a received opinion among the populace, as I have said, that a man may
+filch a little from a stranger without being guilty of downright
+dishonesty, but to rob one's own master, is a grievous and unpardonable
+sin. Hence, the surest way of protecting yourself against a house-thief,
+when you once know him, is to take him into your service. From that
+moment you are not only safe from any larceny on his part, but you have
+secured besides the best watch against all other thieves, since it is a
+point of honour with him to prevent all acts of peculation that might
+entail suspicion on himself; and he knows practically all the tricks and
+stratagems against which he must be on his guard. An officer of high
+rank in the Russian army, a German by birth, told me, that once when his
+battalion had to encamp for several weeks together along with a Cossack
+pult, he and his men had like to be stripped of all they had by a
+continual course of thieving. Every morning brought a disastrous list of
+clothes missing, horse trappings carried off, &c. &c. More sentinels
+were placed, strict vigilance was observed, but every precaution failed.
+Almost at his wit's end, the officer complained to the hetman of the
+pult, and was advised by him to withdraw all his own sentries, and to
+make one of the Cossacks mount guard in his own quarters, and in every
+division of those occupied by his men. The German could not help
+thinking the proposed measure very like committing the fold to the
+custody of the wolf, but as he knew nothing better he could do, he
+adopted it, and from that moment all the thieving was at an end. The
+Cossacks always laid themselves down at nightfall right before the doors
+of the quarters and stables, and the officer never again heard even of
+any attempt to annoy him or his men. Such is the force of opinion, and
+of the manner in which these people (and all of us, too, if we will but
+own it) are in the habit of seeing things."--_Von Littrow._
+
+Von Littrow remarks that we ought not to be too hasty in laying to the
+account of moral depravity the nimbleness of finger of the Russian
+peasant, but consider whether even among the most civilised people there
+are not some relics of the olden barbarism, some striking deviations
+from moral propriety, which OPINION is pleased to look on with
+indulgence. Books change owners in the German universities by a
+surreptitious process, for which a slang word has been adopted. This
+kind of _vorovat_ is called "shooting" (_schiessen_) and some very
+learned professors we are told, plume themselves on the skill with which
+they contrive to "shoot" rare specimens of natural history, &c. There
+are men otherwise of great probity and worth, who we fear are not always
+scrupulously careful to return a borrowed umbrella.
+
+_Russian Servants._--"Where a German would think himself very well off
+with the attendance of one woman servant, a Russian tradesman, in like
+pecuniary circumstances, keeps at least four; but the German's one
+servant does quite as much as the Russian's four put together. In the
+houses of the wealthy, the number of menservants amounts to fifty,
+sixty, and even a hundred or more. There is an intendant and a
+_maitre-d'hotel_, a couple of dozen of pages and footmen, the master of
+the house's own men, the lady's own men, and again own men for the young
+gentlemen and for the young ladies; then come the butlers, caterers,
+hunters, doorkeepers, porters, couriers, coachmen, and stable-boys,
+grooms and outriders, cooks and under-cooks, confectioners,
+stove-lighters, and chamber-cleaners, &c. &c., not to mention the female
+servants of all sorts. But the worst of the thing is the continual
+increase of this numerous body; for it is a matter of course in Russia
+that every married man who enters service takes his wife with him; his
+children, too, belong to the house and remain in it; nay, his kith and
+kin, if not actually domesticated in the establishment, take up their
+abode in it for days and weeks together, without demur; besides which,
+the friends and acquaintances of the servants may drop in when they
+please, and partake of bed and board. 'When I married,' said a wealthy
+Russian to me, 'I made up my mind to have no more of these
+good-for-nothing people in my house than were unavoidably necessary for
+myself and my wife, and I therefore restricted myself to forty, but
+after the lapse of three or four years, I remarked, to my great
+astonishment, that this number was already almost doubled.' In any other
+country, some three or four of these fellows would be thought enough to
+wait at table even in the best appointed houses; but in Russia, where
+dinner parties often consist of forty or fifty persons, there must be a
+servant behind every chair, or the whole set out would be considered
+extremely shabby. It was formerly the custom generally, and it is so
+still in the country-houses of the great, to have a footman constantly
+stationed in each of the rooms of the numerous suite of apartments, and
+one or two lads outside, their business being to do the office now
+performed by bells. An order given by the lord of the mansion in the
+innermost apartment, was transmitted from room to room, and from door to
+door, until it reached the last of the train, who fetched the article
+called for, and so it was passed from hand to hand until it reached the
+_gosudar_ (the lord).
+
+"A Polish countess told me, that she once called on Count Orloff on
+business, and while they were conversing, the count desired the servant
+who stood by the door, to call for a glass of water. The man disappeared
+for a moment to speak to his next neighbour, and immediately returned to
+his post; half-an-hour elapsed, and no water came. The thirsty count had
+to repeat the order, and turning to the countess, he said, 'See what a
+poor man I am; I have more than a hundred and twenty servants in this
+house alone, and if I want a glass of water, I cannot have it.' The
+countess smiled at the poor man, and told him that if he was a good deal
+poorer, and had but one servant, he would be better attended on. The
+Countess Orloff, his daughter, who inherited his whole fortune, is said
+to have upwards of 800 servants of both sexes in her palace at Moscow,
+and to maintain a special hospital for them."--_Von Littrow._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+      DEPARTURE FOR THE CASPIAN--IEKATERINOSLAV--POTEMKIN'S RUINED
+      PALACE--PASKEVITCH'S CAUCASIAN GUARD--SHAM FIGHT--INTOLERABLE
+      HEAT--CATARACTS OF THE DNIEPR--GERMAN COLONIES--THE SETCHA OF
+      THE ZAPOROGUES--A FRENCH STEWARD--NIGHT ADVENTURE--COLONIES
+      OF THE MOLOSHNIA VODI--MR. CORNIES--THE DOUKOBOREN, A RELIGIOUS
+      SECT.
+
+
+About the middle of May, 1839, we left the shores of the Black Sea,
+accompanied by a Cossack and an excellent dragoman, who spoke all the
+dialects current in Southern Russia. After we had travelled more than
+100 leagues upwards along the banks of the Dniepr, we reached
+Iekaterinoslav, a new town, which about fifty years ago consisted only
+of some wretched fishermen's cabins, scattered along the margin of the
+river.
+
+Iekaterinoslav, founded in 1784 by the great Catherine, who laid the
+first stone in the presence of the Emperor Joseph II., is built on such
+a gigantic plan as makes it a perfect wilderness, in which the sparse
+houses and scanty population seem lost, as it were. Its wide and regular
+streets, marked out only by a few dwellings at long intervals, seem to
+have been planned for a million of souls; a whole government would have
+to be unpeopled to fill them, and give them that life and movement so
+necessary to a capital. But there seems no likelihood that time will
+fill up the void spaces of this desert, for the number of its
+inhabitants has not much increased within forty years; it is a
+stationary town, which will probably never realise the expectations
+formed by the empress when she gave it her name. It contains, however,
+some large buildings, numerous churches, bazaars, and charming gardens.
+But for the absurd mania of the Russians for planning their towns on an
+enormous scale, it would be a delightful abode, rich in its beautiful
+Dniepr and the fertile hills around it.
+
+But Iekaterinoslav possesses one thing that distinguishes it from all
+the towns with which Russian civilisation is beginning to cover the
+south of the empire; and that is Potemkin's palace and garden. The
+palace is in ruins though it was built for Catherine II., barely sixty
+years ago. The indifference of the Russians for their historical
+monuments is so great, that they hasten to destroy them, merely to clear
+the ground of things that have ceased to be of use.
+
+The government, despotic as it is, unfortunately has not the power to
+stay the instinctive vandalism of its people. We will give melancholy
+proofs of this by and by, when we come to speak of the ancient tombs of
+the Crimea, so rich in objects of art, and so precious for their
+antiquity, yet which, in spite of the pretended care of the police, are
+day by day disappearing before the barbarous cupidity of the peasants,
+and still more of the _employes_.
+
+To judge from its remains, Potemkin's palace appears to have been one of
+truly royal magnificence; on each side are still standing wings which
+must have contained a great number of apartments. There is a profusion
+of colonnades, porticoes, capitals, and beautiful cornices in the
+Italian style of the period; but all is at the mercy of the first
+peasant who wants stones or wood to repair his cabin. The ground is all
+strewed over with shapeless fragments, blocks of stone, and broken
+shafts. Nothing can look more sad than such skeletons of monuments which
+no accumulated ages have hallowed, and which have not even a veil of ivy
+to hide their decrepitude, nor any thing to throw a cast of dignity over
+their blank disorder. The feeling they impart is like that produced by
+the effects of an earthquake: no lesson given by the past, nothing for
+the imagination to feed on: no chronicles, no poetry.
+
+The haughty Catherine little suspected that one day the serfs would
+carry away piecemeal that magnificent edifice planned by the inventive
+genius of her favourite, at the most brilliant period of her life. It
+was there she rested from the fatigues of her fantastic journey, and
+prepared herself for the new wonders that awaited her in the Crimea.
+
+The amorous sovereign of the largest empire in the world, left the ices
+of St. Petersburg, and performed a journey of 1800 versts, to visit the
+richest jewel added to her imperial crown, that enchanting Tauris which
+Potemkin laid at her feet.
+
+At intervals all along the route from Iekaterinoslav to Kherson, stand
+little pyramids surrounded by a balustrade, to mark the spots where the
+empress halted, changed horses, &c. In many places are still to be seen
+palaces that suddenly sprang up on her way, as if at the touch of an
+enchanter's wand. The whole tract of country is stamped with
+reminiscences of her grandeur, though she but passed rapidly through
+these deserts, which were metamorphosed beneath her glance into smiling
+and populous plains.
+
+Of all these ephemeral palaces, that of Iekaterinoslav was the most
+worthy to harbour the imperial beauty. It stands on a gentle slope
+descending to the Dniepr, and is still surrounded with a magnificent
+park, presenting an admirable variety of sites and views: forests,
+labyrinths, and granite rocks, clothed with rich vegetation, with paths
+so capricious, thickets so dense, and resting-places so mysterious, that
+every step reveals some token of the genius of a courtier, and the power
+of an empress.
+
+Opposite the palace a little granite island lifts itself above the
+waters of the Dniepr like a Nereid. Its sole inhabitants are some white
+albatrosses and an old forest-keeper, whose cabin is hidden among trees.
+He leads a true hermit life. His gun and his fishing-tackle supply his
+food; the bushes and briars yield him firing, and thus he finds every
+thing requisite for his wants within the limits of his retreat. He has a
+nutshell of a boat, in which he can visit every nook of the island
+shore, which he shares with the fowls of the air. Except a few
+fishermen, no one ventures to thread that labyrinth of rocks and
+whirlpools that render the Dniepr so dangerous hereabouts.
+
+Besides Potemkin's Park, the town has another of great beauty, which
+serves as a public promenade. It is crowded twice a week, when a
+military band performs. Its extent, its broad sheets of water, its shady
+alleys and fine expanse of lawn, make it one of the handsomest gardens I
+have seen in Russia.
+
+We spent a week in Iekaterinoslav under the roof of an excellent French
+family long settled in the country. The cloth factory of Messrs. Neumann
+is the only industrial establishment in the town. Their machines,
+imported from France and England, and their thorough knowledge of their
+business, enable them to give the utmost perfection to their goods,
+notwithstanding which M. Neumann assured us that he should certainly be
+obliged to shut up his establishment before the lapse of two years. We
+have already set forth the causes that obstruct the progress of
+manufactures in Russia, and completely paralyse the industrial efforts
+of the ablest men.
+
+During our stay in Iekaterinoslav, we had all the pleasure of an
+excursion into the mountains of Asia, without the trouble of changing
+our place. It is only in Russia one can encounter such lucky chances.
+Three hundred mountaineers of the Caucasus arrived in the town, and by
+the governor's desire entertained the inhabitants with a display of
+their warlike games and exercises. They were on their way to Warsaw, to
+serve as a guard of honour for Paskevitch, the hero of the day. This
+whim of a man spoiled by fortune and the emperor, is tolerably
+characteristic of the Russians: merely to satisfy it, some hundreds of
+mountaineers had to quit their families, and traverse vast distances to
+go and parade on the great square of a capital.
+
+The sight of those half-barbarians arriving like a torrent, and taking
+possession of the town as of a conquered place, was well calculated to
+excite our curiosity. We forgot time and place as we gazed on this
+unwonted spectacle, and seemed carried back among the gigantic invasions
+of Tamerlane, and his exterminating hordes of Asia, with their wild
+cries and picturesque costumes, swooping down with long lances and fiery
+steeds on old Europe, just as they appeared some centuries before, when
+they subjected all the wide domains of Russia to their sway.
+
+These mountaineers are small, agile, and muscular. There is no saying
+how they walk, for their life is passed on horseback. There is in the
+expression of their countenances, an inconceivable mixture of boldness,
+frankness, and fierce rapacity. Their bronzed complexion, dazzlingly
+white teeth, black eyes, every glance of which is a flash of lightning,
+and regular features, compose a physiognomy that terrifies more than
+great ugliness.
+
+Their manoeuvres surpass every thing an European can imagine. How
+cold, prim, and faded seem our civilised ways compared with those
+impassioned countenances, those picturesque costumes, those furious
+gallops, that grace and impetuosity of movement, that belong only to
+them. They discharge their carbines on horseback at full speed, and
+display inimitable address in the exercise of the djereed. Every rider
+decks his steed with a care he does not always bestow on his own
+adornment, covering it with carpets, strips of purple stuffs, cashmere
+shawls, and all the costly things with which the plunder of the caravans
+can supply him.
+
+The manoeuvres lasted more than two hours, and afforded us an exact
+image of Asiatic warfare. They concluded with a general _melee_, which
+really terrified not a few spectators, so much did the smoke, the
+shouts, the ardour of the combatants, the discharges of musketry, and
+the neighings of the horses complete the vivid illusion of the scene. It
+was at last impossible to distinguish any thing through the clouds of
+dust and smoke that whirled round the impetuous riders.
+
+Paskevitch will perhaps be more embarrassed with them than he expects.
+From the moment these lions of the desert arrived, the town was in a
+state of revolution. The shopkeepers complained of their numerous
+thefts, and husbands and fathers were shocked at their cavalier manners
+towards the fair sex.
+
+Though it was but the beginning of June, the heat had attained an
+intensity that made it literally a public calamity. The hospitals were
+crowded with patients, most of them labouring under cerebral fevers, a
+class of affections exceedingly dangerous in this country. The dust lay
+so thick in the street, that the foot sank in it as in snow, and for
+more than a fortnight the thermometer had remained invariably at 84 deg. R.
+You have but to visit Russia to know what is the heat of the tropics. We
+nevertheless carried away not a few agreeable recollections of
+Iekaterinoslav, thanks to its charming position, and some distinguished
+_salons_ of which it has reason to be proud.
+
+On leaving Iekaterinoslav we proceeded to the famous cataracts of the
+Dniepr, on which attempts have been ineffectually made for more than a
+hundred years to render them navigable, and in the vicinity of which
+there are several German colonies.
+
+My husband having in the preceding year discovered a rich iron mine in
+this locality, we had to stop some time to make fresh investigations. I
+have already spoken so much of the Dniepr, that I am almost afraid to
+return to the subject. In this part of its course, however, there is
+nothing like the maritime views of Kherson, the plavnicks of the
+Doutchina, or the cheerful bold aspect of the vicinity of
+Iekaterinoslav. Near the cataracts, the river has all the depth and
+calmness of a beautiful lake; not a ripple breaks its dark azure
+surface. Its bed is flanked by huge blocks of granite, that seem as
+though they had been piled up at random by the hands of giants. Every
+thing is grand and majestic in these scenes of primeval nature; nothing
+in them reminds us of the flight and the ravages of time. There are no
+trees shedding their leaves on the river's margin, no turf that withers,
+no soil worn away by the flood: the scene is an image of eternal
+changelessness.
+
+The Dniepr has deeps here which no plummet has ever fathomed, and the
+inhabitants allege that it harbours real marine monsters in its abysses.
+All the fishermen have seen the silurus, a sort of fresh water shark,
+capable of swallowing a man or a horse at a mouthful, and they relate
+anecdotes on this head, that transport you to the Nile or the Ganges,
+the peculiar homes of the voracious crocodile and alligator. One of
+these stories is of very recent date, and there are many boatmen who
+pretend to speak of the fact from personal knowledge. They positively
+aver, that a young girl, who was washing linen on the margin of the
+water, was carried down to the bottom of the Dniepr, and that her body
+never again rose to the surface.
+
+A German village is visible on the other side of the river, at some
+distance from the house of Mr. Masure, the proprietor of the mine. Its
+pretty red factories with their green window-shutters, the surrounding
+forest, and a neighbouring island with cliffs glistening in the sun,
+fill the mind with thoughts of tranquil happiness. On the distant
+horizon the eye discerns the rent and pointed rocks, and the fleecy
+spray of the cataracts. Here and there some rocks just rising above the
+water, one of which, surnamed the Brigand, is the terror of boatmen, are
+the haunts of countless water-fowl, whose riotous screams long pursue
+the traveller as he ferries across from bank to bank. All this scene is
+cheerful and pastoral, like one of Greuze's landscapes; but the bare
+hills that follow the undulations of the left bank show only dreariness
+and aridity.
+
+The Germans settled below the cataracts of the Dniepr are the oldest
+colonists of Southern Russia: their colony was founded by Catherine II.,
+in 1784, after the expulsion of the Zaporogue Cossacks, who were removed
+to the banks of the Kouban. It is composed solely of Prussian
+Mennonites, and comprises sixteen villages, numbering 4251 inhabitants,
+very industrious people, generally in the enjoyment of an ample
+competence. Corn and cattle form the staple of their wealth, but they
+are also manufacturers, and have two establishments for making cotton
+goods, and one for cloth. These Mennonites, however, have remained
+stationary since their arrival in Russia: full of prejudices, and
+intensely self-willed, they have set their faces against all innovation
+and all intellectual development. One of their villages stands on the
+island of Cortetz, in the Dniepr, once the seat of the celebrated Setcha
+of the Zaporogue Cossacks. The Setcha, as the reader is perhaps aware,
+was at first only a fortified spot, where the young men were trained to
+arms, and where the public deliberations and the elections of the chiefs
+were held. Afterwards it became the fixed abode of warriors who lived in
+celibacy; and all who aspired to a reputation for valour were bound to
+pass at least three years there. I went over the island of Cortetz, and
+saw everywhere numerous traces of fortifications and entrenched camps.
+It would not have been easy to select a position more suited to the
+purpose the Cossacks had in view. The island is a natural fortress,
+rising more than 150 feet above the water, and defended on all sides by
+masses of granite, that leave scarcely any thing for art to do to render
+it impregnable.
+
+We made our first halt, after our departure from the cataracts, at the
+house of a village superintendent, in whom we discovered, with surprise,
+a young Frenchman, with the most Parisian accent I ever heard. He is
+married to a woman of the country, and has been two years _prigatchik_
+(superintendent) in one of General Markof's villages. He placed his
+whole cabin at our disposal, with an alacrity that proved how delighted
+he was to entertain people from his native land. We had excellent honey,
+cream, and water-melons, set before us in profusion; but in spite of all
+our urgent entreaties, we could not prevail on him to partake with us.
+This made a painful impression on us. Is the air of slavery so
+contagious that no one can breathe it without losing his personal
+dignity? This man, born in a land where social distinctions are almost
+effaced, voluntarily degraded himself in our eyes, by esteeming himself
+unworthy to sit by our side, just as though he were a born serf, and had
+been used from his childhood to servility.
+
+He gave us a brief history of his life, a melancholy tissue of
+disappointments and wretchedness, the narration of which deeply affected
+us. His ardour and his Parisian wilfulness, his efforts and his hopes,
+all the exuberance of his twenty years, were cast into a withering
+atmosphere of disgusts and humiliations, which at last destroyed in him
+all feeling of nationality: he is become a slave through his intercourse
+alike with the masters and with the serfs; and what completely proves
+this, is the cold-blooded cruelty with which he chastises the peasants
+under him. The whole village is struck with consternation at the
+punishments he daily inflicts for the most trivial offences. While he
+was conversing with us, word was brought him that two women and three
+men had arrived at the place of punishment in pursuance to his orders.
+Notwithstanding our entreaties, and the repugnance we felt at being so
+near such a scene, he ordered that they should each receive fifty blows
+of the stick, and double the number if they made any resistance. The
+wretched man thus avenges himself on the mujiks, for what he has
+himself endured at the hands of the Russian aristocracy, and it is at
+best a hazardous revenge; even for his own sake he ought not to
+exasperate the peasants, who sometimes make fearful reprisals; frequent
+attempts have already been made to assassinate him, and although the
+criminals have paid dearly for their temerity, he may one day fall a
+victim to some more cunning or more fortunate aggressor. Only the week
+before our visit, as his wife told us, a more daring attempt than any
+preceding one, had been made by a peasant who from the first had
+declared himself his enemy.
+
+After a long walk in the fields, the superintendent sat down under the
+shade of some trees in a ravine. Overcome with heat and fatigue, he at
+last fell asleep, after placing his two pistols by his side. An
+instinctive fear possessed him even in sleep, and kept him sensible of
+the least noise around him. The body slept, but not the mind. Suddenly
+his ear catches a suspicious sound; he opens his eyes, and sees a mujik
+stooping down softly in the act of picking up one of his pistols. There
+was so much ferocity in the man's looks, and such a stealthiness in his
+movements, that there could be no doubt of his intentions. The
+superintendent, with admirable presence of mind, raised himself on his
+elbow, and asked, with a yawn, what he was going to do with the pistol;
+to which the mujik, instantly putting on an air of affected stolidity
+peculiar to the Russian serf, answered, that he was curious to see how a
+pistol was made. So saying, he handed the weapon to his master, without
+appearing in the least disconcerted. The unfortunate man nearly died
+under the knout, and the superintendent's wife remarked, with a
+_naivete_, thoroughly Russian, that he would have done much better to
+die outright.
+
+We had further opportunities in this village for remarking how little
+compassion the Russian peasants have for each other. They look on at the
+beating of a comrade without evincing the least sympathy, or being moved
+by so degrading a sight to any reflection on their unhappy condition; it
+seems as though humanity has lost all claim on their hearts, so
+completely has servitude destroyed in them all capability of feeling,
+and all human dignity.
+
+We left this station about six in the evening, having still some twenty
+versts to travel before arriving at the first village of the German
+colonies of the Moloshnia, where we intended to pass the night. Thanks
+to the bad horses and the stupid driver our countryman had given us, we
+had scarcely got over a quarter of the ground when we were in total
+darkness.
+
+The coachman was all black and blue from the brutal treatment of his
+master, who had given him half a dozen blows in our presence. The fellow
+was every moment changing his road at random, without regard to the
+fresh corrections of the same sort, which Antoine showered thickly upon
+him by way of admonition. He made us lose a great deal of time on the
+way, besides wearing out the strength of his cattle to no purpose.
+
+Nothing can be more wearisome and monotonous than travelling in the
+steppes; but it is, above all, by night that the uniformity of the
+country is truly discouraging, for then you are every moment in danger
+of turning your back on the point you want to reach: you have an
+immensity like that of the sea around you, and a compass would be of
+real service. Such, however, is the instinct of the peasants, that they
+find their way with ease, in the darkest night or the most violent
+snow-storm, through tracks crossing each other in every direction.
+
+Our driver was an exception to the general rule, but sulkiness had more
+to do than inability with his apparent embarrassment. Our perplexity
+increased considerably when we found that the horses at last refused to
+move. The night was very gloomy; there was not a twinkling of light, nor
+any sound or sign of human habitations; every fresh question we put to
+our driver only elicited the laconic answer, "_nesnai_" (I don't know);
+and when a Russian has said _he does not know_, no power of tongue or
+stick can make him say _he knows_. Of this we had a proof that night.
+Our Cossack, tired of vainly questioning the unlucky driver, began to
+tickle his shoulders with a long whip he carried at his girdle; but it
+was all to no purpose; and but one course remained to us, if we would
+not pass the night in the open air. The Cossack unharnessed one of the
+horses, and set off to reconnoitre. After an absence of two hours, he
+came back and told us we were not very far from a German village, and
+that we might reach it in two hours; that is to say, provided our horses
+would move; but they were dead beat.
+
+Here, again, the Cossack relieved us from our difficulty, by yoking to
+the carriage a poor little colt that had followed its mother, without
+suspecting that it was that night to begin its hard apprenticeship. Weak
+as was this reinforcement, it enabled us to advance, though very slowly;
+but at last the barking of dogs revived the mettle of our horses, and
+they broke into a trot for the first time.
+
+A forest of handsome trees and distant lights gave indubitable assurance
+of a village. It was not like the ordinary villages, collections of
+mean-looking _kates_ rising like mushrooms out of the arid ground,
+without a shrub to screen them; we were entering the German colonies,
+and the odours from the blossoming fruit-trees, and the sight of the
+pretty little red houses of which we caught glimpses through the trees,
+soon carried us in imagination far away from the Russian steppes.
+
+With as keen delight as ever oasis caused the desert wanderer, we
+entered this pretty village, the name of which (_Rosenthal_, Rosedale)
+gives token of the poetic feeling of the Germans. Its extensive gardens
+obliged us to make a long _detour_. The people were all in bed when we
+arrived, and we had much difficulty in finding the house of the
+_schultz_ (the headborough). At last we discovered it, and the
+hospitable reception we met with soon made us forget the events of this
+memorable night.
+
+The region occupied by these colonies is unlike the steppes, though the
+form of the ground is the same. The villages are very close to each
+other, are all built on the same plan, and are for the most part
+sheltered in ravines. The houses have only a ground-floor, and are built
+with wood or with red and blue bricks, and have very projecting roofs.
+Their parti-coloured walls, their carved wooden chimneys, and pretty
+straw roofs, that seem as neatly finished as the finest Egyptian mats,
+produce a charming effect as seen through the green trees of the gardens
+that surround them. They are almost all exactly similar, even to the
+most minute details: a few only are distinguished from the rest by a
+little more colouring or carving, and a more elegant balustrade next the
+garden.
+
+The fields are in excellent cultivation; the pastures are stocked with
+fine cattle; and sheep-folds and wells placed here and there enliven the
+landscape, and break the fatiguing monotony of the plain; the whole face
+of the country tells of the thriving labours of the colonists. But one
+must enter their houses to appreciate the habits of order and industry
+to which they owe not only an ample supply for the necessaries of life,
+but almost always a degree of comfort rarely to be found in the
+dwellings of the Russian nobles. One might even accuse the good
+housewives of a little sensuality, to see their eider-down beds and
+pillows heaped almost up to the ceiling. You may be certain of finding
+in every house a handsome porcelain stove, a glazed cupboard, containing
+crockery, and often plate, furniture carefully scrubbed and polished,
+curtains to the windows, and flowers in every direction.
+
+We passed two days in Orlof with the wealthiest and most philanthropic
+proprietor in all the German villages. M. Cornies came into the country
+about forty years ago, and started without capital, having like the
+others only a patch of land and some farming implements. After the lapse
+of a few years every one already envied his fortune, but all
+acknowledged his kindly solicitude for those who had been less
+prosperous than himself. Endowed with an active and intelligent
+character, and strongly interested in the cause of human improvement, he
+afterwards became the leader in the work of civilising the Nogai
+Tartars, and he now continues with very great success the work so ably
+begun by one of our own countrymen, Count Maison. M. Cornies is a
+corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy, and has contributed
+to its Transactions several papers of learned research, and remarkable
+for the comprehensive scope of their ideas; hence he enjoys a great
+reputation not only among his countrymen, but likewise throughout all
+Southern Russia. His flocks, his nurseries, and his wools, are objects
+of interest to all persons engaged in trade, and his plans for the
+improvement of agriculture and cattle rearing, are generally adopted as
+models.
+
+Though M. Cornies is worth more than 40,000_l._, his way of life is in
+strict conformity with the rigorism and simplicity of the Mennonites, to
+which sect he belongs. The habits of these sectarians are of an extreme
+austerity that strips domestic life of all its ordinary charms. The wife
+and daughters of a Mennonite, whatever be his fortune, are the only
+female servants in his house, and Madame Cornies and her daughters
+waited humbly on us at table, as though they had no right to sit at it
+with the head of the family. Notwithstanding this apparent inequality of
+the sexes, there is a great deal of happiness in the married life of the
+Mennonites; nor should it be forgotten that in judging of all matters
+appertaining to foreigners, we should endeavour to behold things in the
+peculiar light in which education and custom invest them for native
+eyes.
+
+The dress of the women is like their habits of life, plain and simple.
+It consists invariably of a gown of blue printed cotton, the bodice of
+which ends just below the bosom, an apron of the same material, and a
+white collar with a flat hem; the hair is combed back _a la Chinoise_,
+and on it sits a little black cap without trimming, tied under the chin.
+This head-dress, which has some resemblance to that of the Alsatian
+women, sets off a young and pretty face to advantage, but increases the
+ugliness of an ugly one. The dress of the men is the same as that of the
+German peasants, with the exception of some slight modifications.
+
+One dish of meat and two of vegetables, compose the whole dinner of a
+Mennonite; each person at table has a large goblet of milk set before
+him instead of wine, the use of which is altogether prohibited in their
+sect.
+
+There are no regular priests in these colonies; the oldest and most
+esteemed members of each community, are elected to fulfil the office of
+the ministry. These elders read the Bible every Sunday, preach, and give
+out the hymns, which are sung by the whole congregation.
+
+The Mennonites are generally well educated; but their information has no
+more than their wealth the effect of impairing the patriarchal
+simplicity of their habits. We happened to see a young man, belonging to
+one of the wealthiest families, on his return from a long foreign tour;
+he had visited France, Switzerland, and Germany, and yet it was with a
+most cordial alacrity he returned to share in the agricultural labours
+of his father and his brothers.
+
+All these German colonies are divided into two distinct groups: the one
+established on the right bank of the Moloshnia Vodi[5] is composed of
+people from Baden and Swabia, and comprises twenty-three villages, with
+6649 inhabitants; the other seated on the left coast of the Black Sea,
+and along the little rivulet Joushendli, contains forty-three Mennonite
+villages. As the latter is unquestionably the most important and
+thriving colony in Southern Russia, we will direct our attention to it
+almost exclusively.
+
+The Mennonites, so called after the name of the founder of their sect,
+profess nearly the same religious principles as the Anabaptists of
+France. They first arose in Holland, the language of which country they
+still speak, and settled towards the close of the last century in
+Northern Prussia, in the vicinity of Dantzig. Attempts having been made
+about that time, to force them into military service, contrary to their
+tenets, a first migration took place, and the colony of Cortetz, below
+the cataract of the Dniepr, was founded under the auspices of Catherine
+II. That of Moloshnia Vodi, was founded in 1804, by a fresh body of
+emigrants; it was greatly enlarged in 1820, and at the end of the year
+1837, it covered 100,000 hectares of land, and contained forty-three
+villages, with 9561 inhabitants, including 984 families of proprietors.
+
+The non-agricultural population is composed of handicraftsmen of all
+sorts, some of whom are very skilful. Alpstadt, the chief place of the
+colony, has a cloth manufactory, in which seven looms are at work. Wages
+are very high; for almost all the workmen as soon as they have saved any
+money, give up their trade and addict themselves to agriculture.
+
+Each village is under the control of a headborough, called the
+_schultz_, and two assistants. They are elected every three years, but
+one of them remains in office a year after the two others, that he may
+afford their successors the necessary current information. An
+_oberschultz_ (mayor), who likewise has two assistants, resides in the
+chief place of the colony. These magistrates decide without appeal, in
+all the little differences that may arise between the colonists.
+Important cases are carried before the central committee. As for
+criminal cases, of which there has yet been no example, they fall under
+the jurisdiction of the Russian tribunals. Laziness is punished by fine
+and forced labour for the benefit of the community.
+
+The inspector, who represents the government, resides in the Swabian
+colony, on the right bank of the Moloshnia. Odessa is the seat of the
+administrative council, which consists of a president and three judges,
+all Russians, nominated by the emperor. The committee exercises a
+general control over all the colonies, and ratifies the elections of the
+schultzes and their assistants. Its last president was the infantry
+general Inzof, a man remarkable for his personal character and the deep
+interest he took in the establishments under his direction.
+
+Every proprietor has sixty-five hectares of land, for which he pays an
+annual quit-rent to the crown of fifteen kopeks per hectare; besides
+which he pays four rubles a year towards defraying the general expenses
+of the colony, the salaries of the committee, the inspector, the
+schoolmasters, &c. Each village has a granary for reserve against
+seasons of dearth; it must always contain two tchetverts of wheat for
+every male head.
+
+The cattle is all under the management of one chief herdsman, at whose
+call they leave their stalls in the morning, and return in the evening
+to the village.
+
+Every five or six years one or more new villages are established. A
+newly-established family does not at once receive its sixty-five
+hectares of land; if the young couple do not choose to reside with their
+parents, they generally build themselves a little house beyond the
+precincts of the village. But when the young families are become so
+numerous that their united allotments shall form a space sufficient for
+the pasture of their flocks in common, and for the execution of the
+agricultural works enjoined by the regulations, then, and not till then,
+the new colonists obtain permission to establish themselves on the
+uncultivated lands. At present the Mennonite colony possesses nearly
+30,000 hectares of land not yet brought under the plough. Thus these
+Germans, transplanted to the extremity of Southern Russia, have
+successfully realised some of the ideas of the celebrated economist,
+Fourrier.
+
+It will readily be conceived that under such a system of administration,
+and, above all, with their simple habits, their sobriety and industry,
+these Mennonites must naturally have outstripped the other colonists in
+prosperity. Those from Swabia and Baden, though subjected to precisely
+the same regulations, will never attain to the same degree of wealth.
+They are generally fond of good cheer, and addicted to drink; but they
+have, perhaps, the merit of understanding life better than their
+Puritanical neighbours, and of making the most of the gifts Providence
+has bestowed on them.
+
+The Mennonite colony possessed at the close of 1837:--
+
+  Horned cattle                      7,719
+  Horses                             6,029
+  Merino sheep                     412,274
+  Fruit-trees in the gardens       316,011
+  Forest trees                     609,096
+
+These last have since perished for the most part. The sale of wheat in
+1838, amounted to 600,000 rubles. The provisions for public instruction
+are highly satisfactory. The colony numbers forty schools, attended by
+2390 pupils of both sexes, who are taught the German language,
+arithmetic, history, and geography. Russian is also taught in two of the
+schools.
+
+The Mennonites, as well as the other German colonists of Southern
+Russia, for a long while enjoyed a very special protection on the part
+of the government; and both the present sovereign and his predecessor
+have on several occasions given them signal proofs of their favour. But
+unhappily their committee was suppressed eighteen months ago, and this
+measure will be fatal to them. They had long looked forward with alarm
+to a change in their affairs, and sent many deputations to St.
+Petersburg, to solicit a continuance of the original system: their
+efforts were ineffectual; the work of centralization and unity has
+involved them in their turn, and they are now in immediate dependence on
+the newly-constituted ministry of the domains of the crown. No doubt the
+government had a full right to act in this manner; and after having
+allowed the colonists to enjoy their peculiar privileges for such a long
+series of years, it may now, without incurring any obloquy, subject them
+to the ordinary system of administration prevalent in the empire. But it
+is not the less certain, seeing the corruption and venality of the
+Russian functionaries, that this change of system will lead to the ruin
+of the colonists, and that, notwithstanding all the efforts and the good
+intentions of the government, when once the Germans are put under the
+same management as the crown serfs, they will be unable to save their
+property from the rapacity of their new controlers. The colonies have
+been but a few months under the direction of the ministry of the
+domains, and already several hundred families have abandoned their
+dwellings and their lands, and retired to Germany. I saw a great number
+of them arrive in 1842, in Moldavia, where they thought to form some
+settlements; but they did not succeed.
+
+Besides the German colonies of which we have been speaking, there are
+others in the environs of Nicolaief and Odessa, in Bessarabia and the
+Crimea, and about the coasts of the sea of Azov. Altogether these
+foreign colonies in New Russia, number upwards of 160 villages,
+containing more than 46,000 souls. In the midst of them are several
+villages inhabited by Russian dissenters, entertaining nearly the same
+religious views as the Mennonites and Anabaptists. These are the
+Douckoboren and Molokaner, who separated from the national church about
+160 years ago, at which time they were resident in several of the
+central provinces; but the government being alarmed at the spread of
+their doctrines, transported them forcibly to New Russia, where it
+placed them under military supervision. Here they admirably availed
+themselves of the examples set them by the Germans, and soon attained a
+high degree of prosperity. In 1839, they amounted to a population of
+6617 souls, occupying thirteen villages. Most of their houses were in
+the German style, and every thing about them was indicative of plenty.
+Two years after this first visit to them, I met on the road from
+Taganrok to Rostof, two large detachments of exiles escorted by two
+battalions of infantry. They were the unfortunate dissenters of the
+Moloshnia, who had been expelled from their villages, and were on their
+way to the military lines of the Caucasus. The most perfect decorum and
+the most touching resignation appeared in the whole body. The women
+alone showed signs of anger, whilst the men sang hymns in chorus. I
+asked several of them whither they were going; their answer was "God
+only knows."
+
+After leaving the German colonies, we passed through several villages of
+Nogai Tatars. We shall reserve what we have to say of these people for
+another place.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[5] The Moloshnia Vodi (Milk River) is a little stream emptying itself
+between Berdiansk and Guenitshky into the liman of a lake which no
+longer communicates with the Sea of Azov.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+      MARIOUPOL--BERDIANSK--KNAVISH JEW POSTMASTER--TAGANROK--
+      MEMORIALS OF PETER THE GREAT AND ALEXANDER--GREAT FAIR--THE
+      GENERAL WITH TWO WIVES--MORALITY IN RUSSIA--ADVENTURES OF A
+      PHILHELLENE--A FRENCH DOCTOR--THE ENGLISH CONSUL--HORSE
+      RACES--A FIRST SIGHT OF THE KALMUCKS.
+
+
+Our arrival in Marioupol unpleasantly reminded us that we were no longer
+in the German colonies. A dirty inn-room, horses not forthcoming, bread
+not to be had, nor even fresh water, rude _employes_--every thing in
+short was in painful contrast with the comfort and facilities to which
+we became accustomed in our progress through the thriving villages of
+the Mennonites.
+
+Marioupol is the chief place of an important colony founded on the
+shores of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmious, by the Greeks
+whom Catherine II. removed thither from the Crimea in 1784. It now
+reckons eighty villages, a population of about 30,000, occupying 450,000
+_hectares_[6] of land. The taxes paid by these colonists amount to ten
+kopeks per _hectare_; in addition to which, each family contributes one
+ruble fifty kopeks towards the salary of the government officers in
+their district. They enjoy several privileges, have their own
+magistrates and subordinate judges, elected by themselves, and are
+exempt from military service. Criminal cases and suits not terminated
+before their own tribunals, come under the general laws and regulations
+of the empire.
+
+Agriculture and commerce are the chief resources of the colony, but I
+have seen no trace of the mulberry plantations attributed to it.
+
+Having been for a long series of ages subject to the khans of the
+Crimea, all these Greeks speak a corrupt Tatar dialect among themselves.
+They are on the whole a degenerate and thoroughly unprincipled race,
+particularly in Marioupol, the traders of which enrich themselves by
+robbing the agriculturists, who are forced to sell them their produce.
+
+Marioupol is a large dirty village, and its port, which has only a
+custom-house of exit, is nothing but a paltry roadstead of little depth,
+in which vessels are sheltered from none but western winds. With the
+exception of a solitary brig, there were only some small coasting
+vessels in it when we visited the place. Its export trade is
+considerable notwithstanding, amounting to the annual value of four or
+five millions of francs.
+
+Marioupol is infallibly destined to lose all its commercial importance
+since the foundation of the new and more advantageously-situated harbour
+of Berdiansk, to which the greater part of the produce of the
+surrounding country already takes its way. As a general rule, one town
+of Southern Russia can prosper only at the expense and by the
+abandonment of another; thus Kherson has been sacrificed to Odessa,
+Theodosia to Kertch, &c. It must, however, be owned that the preference
+given to Berdiansk is well grounded. Placed at the mouth of the Berda,
+that town is unquestionably the best port on the Sea of Azov. Its
+population in 1840 was 1258, and during the year 1839 it exported
+187,761 tchetverts of wheat; its importation is a blank as yet.
+
+After waiting several hours we at last procured horses that conveyed us
+rapidly to the next post; but there we had another stoppage. The clerk
+had a fancy to squeeze our purses, and knew no better way of doing so
+than by refusing us horses. Commands, threats, and abuse, never for a
+moment ruffled his dogged composure. Unfortunately our Cossack had been
+seized with a violent fever, and remained behind at Marioupol; had he
+been with us the clerk would hardly have ventured on his tricks, for he
+would have been sure of a sound drubbing. But this manner of enforcing
+compliance was not in our way, and as we had written authority to hire
+horses from the peasants wherever we found them, we sent Anthony to the
+next village, and thought no more about being supplied by the
+postmaster. Our unconcern began to alarm the clerk; gangs of horses were
+every moment returning from pasture, and he saw plainly that his
+position was becoming critical. After an hour's absence Anthony appeared
+in the distance with three stout horses and a driver. I will not attempt
+to depict the consternation of the Jew when he was assured that the team
+was really for us. He threw himself at our feet, knocked his head
+against the ground, and in short, evinced such a passion of grovelling
+fear, that disgusted and wearied with his importunities, we at last
+promised not to make any complaint against him. We made all haste to
+quit the spot, and in five hours afterwards we were in Taganrok.
+
+The town, situated on the bay of the same name at the northern extremity
+of the Sea of Azov, is the chief place of a distinct administrative
+district, dependent on Iekaterinoslav only as regards the courts of law,
+and comprising within its limits, Rostof, Marioupol, Nakitchevane, and a
+little territory lying round the northern end of the sea, and
+encompassed by the country of the Don. Its boundaries are, on one side,
+the Mious, which falls into the Sea of Azov, and on the other side, the
+Government of the Cossacks of the Black Sea.
+
+Taganrok was founded in 1706, by Peter the Great, after the taking of
+Azov, and was demolished in pursuance of the treaty of the Pruth. War
+with Turkey having been renewed, it was rebuilt in 1709, and fortified;
+and a harbour was constructed, surrounded with a mole, the remains of
+which are still seen just level with the surface of the water.
+
+This harbour is a long rectangle, with a single entrance towards the
+west. There is some idea of renovating it, by reconstructing its mole,
+and clearing it of the sand with which it has been long choked; but
+this project, if carried into effect, will not remove the natural
+defects of the Taganrok roadstead. The water is so low, that vessels are
+obliged to lie from four to six leagues off the shore, and to load and
+unload their cargoes in a curious round-about, and very expensive
+manner. Waggons surmounted with platforms loaded with grain, perform the
+first part of the process, and advance in files, often to a distance of
+half a league into the sea. There they are unloaded into large barges,
+and these almost always require the aid of a third auxiliary, before
+their freight is finally shipped.
+
+On approaching Taganrok, one almost fancies the town before him is
+Odessa. Its position on the Sea of Azov, the character of the landscape,
+its churches, its great extent, and every feature of the place, even to
+the fortress commanding it, combine to favour the illusion.
+
+Taganrok has thriven rapidly, as Peter the Great foresaw it would do,
+and has become one of the most commercial towns of Southern Russia. Its
+trade, however, has considerably diminished since the suppression of its
+lazaret, and the closure of the Sea of Azov, in consequence of a fifty
+days' quarantine established at Kertch. The town now contains 16,000
+inhabitants.
+
+Peter the Great's sojourn in Taganrok, is commemorated by an oak wood of
+his own planting. Such a memorial of a great prince is certainly better
+than a pompous monument; more durable, and more philanthropic,
+particularly in a country destitute of forests.
+
+It was at Taganrok that the Emperor Alexander died, far away from the
+splendours of St. Petersburg. As we visited the modest dwelling that
+served him for his last abode, all the events of the great epoch in
+which he was one of the most illustrious actors crowded on our memories.
+The bed-room where he died has been converted into a _chapelle ardente_,
+but in every other respect the house has been preserved with religious
+care, just as he left it.
+
+There was a fair in the town when we arrived. The suffocating heat, the
+clouds of dust, and the crowded state of all the hotels, at first made
+us look unfavourably on the place, but the diversions of the fair soon
+reconciled us to the inconveniences of our lodgings.
+
+In Russia, fairs still retain an importance they scarcely any longer
+possess in our more civilised countries. Every town has its own, which
+is more or less frequented; that of Nijni Novgorod is reputed the most
+considerable on the European continent; all the nations of Europe and
+Asia, send their representatives to it. Next after it, the fair of
+Karkhof, is in high esteem among merchants for its rich furs. These
+fairs often last more than a month, and they are impatiently looked
+forward to by all the country nobles, whom they enable for a while to
+breathe as it were the odour of fashionable town life. Balls, theatres,
+shopping, music, horse races--what a world of pleasures in the compass
+of a few days! And every one sets about enjoying them with feverish
+ardour. Every thing else is interrupted; the fair to-day, all other
+concerns to-morrow. At some little distance from Taganrok, there are
+huge bazaars filled with oriental merchandise, and the covered alleys
+are crowded with fashionable loungers in the evening. A very curious
+spectacle indeed is this labyrinth of Persian cloths, slippers, furs,
+Parisian bonnets and caps, shawls from Kashmir, and a thousand other
+articles too numerous to detail. Every thing is arranged to the best
+advantage, and the eye is delighted with the picturesque and fantastic
+medley of colours and forms.
+
+Europe and Asia are matched against each other, and exert all their arts
+of fascination to allure purchasers. In spite of all the elegance of the
+French fashions, it must be owned that our little bonnets and our scanty
+mantillas cut but a sorry figure beside the muslins interwoven with gold
+and silver, the rich termalamas and the furs that adorn the shops of the
+country. And yet all eyes, all desires, all purses turn towards the
+productions of France. Some faded ribands and trumpery bonnets attract a
+greater number of pretty customers than all the gorgeous wares of Asia.
+
+During our stay at Taganrok, we were invited to a ball at the mansion of
+General Khersanof, son-in-law of the celebrated Hetman Platof. The
+general possesses the handsomest residence in the town, and keeps his
+state like a real prince, amidst the motley society of a commercial
+town. All his apartments are stuccoed and decorated with equal taste and
+magnificence. The windows consist of single panes of plate glass more
+than three yards high. The furniture, lustres, ceilings, and pictures,
+all display a feeling for the fine arts, and a sumptuosity governed by
+good taste, which may well surprise us in a Cossack.
+
+In front of the mansion lies a handsome garden, which was lighted up
+with coloured lamps for the occasion. The whole front of the dwelling
+was brilliantly illuminated. It was a magic _coup d'oeil_,
+particularly as it was aided by the transparent atmosphere of a
+beautiful summer night, that vied in purity with the clearest of those
+of the south.
+
+On entering the first _salon_, we were met by the general, who
+immediately presented us to his two wives. But the reader will say, is
+bigamy allowed among the Cossacks? Not exactly so; but if the laws and
+public opinion are against it, still a man of high station may easily
+evade both; and General Khersanof has been living for many years in
+open, avowed bigamy, without finding that his _salons_ are the less
+frequented on account of such a trifle. In Russia, wealth covers every
+thing with its glittering veil, and sanctions every kind of
+eccentricity, however opposed to the usages of the land, provided it
+redeem them by plenty of balls and entertainments. Public opinion, such
+as exists in France, is here altogether unknown. The majority leave
+scruples of conscience to timorous souls, without even so much as
+acknowledging their merit.
+
+A man the slave of his word, and a woman of her reputation, could not be
+understood in a country where caprice reigns as absolute sovereign. A
+Russian lady, to whom I made some remarks on this subject, answered
+_naively_, that none but low people could be affected by scandal,
+inasmuch as censure can only proceed from superiors. She was perfectly
+right, for, situated as the nobility are, who would dare to criticise
+and condemn their faults? In order that public opinion should exist,
+there must be an independent class, capable of uttering its judgments
+without fearing the vengeance of those it calls before its bar; there
+must be a free country in which the acts of every individual may be
+impartially appreciated; in short, the words justice, honour, honesty,
+and delicacy of feeling must have a real meaning, instead of being the
+sport of an elegant and corrupt caste, that systematically makes a mock
+of every thing not subservient to its caprices and passions.
+
+Notwithstanding their opulence, and the society that frequents their
+_salons_, Mesdames Khersanof retain a simplicity of manners and costume
+in curious contrast with every thing around them. An embarrassed air,
+vulgar features, an absence of all dignity in bearing and in
+conversation, and an ungainly style of dress--this was all that struck
+us as most remarkable about them. The younger wore a silk gown of a
+sombre colour, with a short body and straight sleeves, and so narrow
+that it might be taken for a bag. A silk kerchief covered her shoulders
+and part of her neck, and her little cap put me strongly in mind of the
+head-gear of our master-cooks. The whole costume was mean, awkward, and
+insipid. Except a few brilliants in her girdle and her cap, she showed
+no other trace of that Asiatic splendour which is still affected by many
+other women of this country.
+
+It is said that the two co-wives live on the best possible terms with
+each other. The general seems quite at his ease with respect to them,
+and goes from the one to the other with the same marks of attention and
+affection. His first wife is very old, and might be taken for the mother
+of the second. We were assured that being greatly distressed at having
+no children, she had herself advised her husband to make a new choice.
+The general fixed on a very pretty young peasant working on his own
+property. In order to diminish the great disparity of rank between them,
+he married her to one of his officers, who, on coming out of church,
+received orders to depart instantly on a distant mission, from which he
+never returned. Some time afterwards the young woman was installed in
+the general's brilliant mansion, and presented to all his acquaintance
+as Madame Khersanof.
+
+Two charming daughters are the fruit of this not very orthodox union.
+Dressed in seraphines of blue silk, they performed the Russian and the
+Cossack dances with exquisite grace, and enchanted us during the whole
+continuance of the ball. The Russian dance fascinates by its simplicity
+and poetry, and differs entirely from all other national dances: it
+consists not so much in the steps, as in a pensive, natural pantomime,
+in which northern calmness and gravity are tempered by a charming grace
+and timidity. Less impassioned than the dances of Spain, it affects the
+senses with a gentle langour which it is not easy to resist.
+
+We met with a Frenchman at Taganrok, a real hero of romance. At eighteen
+his adventurous temper impelled him to quit the service to go and play a
+part in the Greek revolution. He participated in all the chances and
+dangers of the struggle against the Turks; and battling sometimes as a
+guerrillero, sometimes as a seaman, and sometimes as a diplomatist, he
+was thrown into more or less immediate contact with all those who shed
+such a lustre on the war of independence. In one of his campaigns he
+chanced to save the life of a young and pretty Smyrniote, whom he lost
+no time in marrying and bearing far away from the scenes of massacre
+with which the whole archipelago then abounded. A Russian nobleman
+advised him to repair to Moscow, and furnished him with the means. His
+wife's magnificent Greek costume, her youth and beauty, produced an
+intense sensation in that capital. The whole court, which was then in
+Moscow, was full of interest for the young Smyrniote, and the empress
+even sought to attach her to her person by the most tempting offers.
+Madame de V. refused them, preferring to remain with her husband, whose
+conduct, however, was far from irreproachable. Being young, very
+handsome, and of an enterprising character, his successes among the
+Muscovite ladies were very numerous; and he was everywhere known by the
+name of the handsome Frenchman.
+
+An adventure that made a great deal of noise, and in which a lady of the
+court had completely compromised her reputation for his sake, obliged
+him to quit Moscow in the midst of his triumphs. He then led his wife
+from one capital to another, presenting her everywhere as an interesting
+victim of the Greek revolution. After this European tour, he returned to
+Paris, where he passed some years. Many eminent artists of that city
+painted the portrait of his wife, who is still very beautiful. In 1838
+he left Paris and settled in Taganrok as a teacher of the French
+language; and there this poet, traveller, man of the world, and _beau
+cavalier_ is throwing away almost all his advantages, which are of
+little service to him in the walk he has chosen, and in a town where
+there are so few persons capable of appreciating him.
+
+Our whole colony in Taganrok consists of Doctor Meunier, who acts as
+consul; M. de V., and a Provencal lady, who keeps a boarding-school.
+
+This Doctor Meunier is another original. He passed I know not how many
+years in the service of the Shah of Persia, who had a great regard for
+him, and invested him on his departure with the order of the sun, a
+magnificent decoration, more brilliant than that of a grand cordon.
+
+Having shrewdly availed himself of his extensive opportunities for
+observation, his acquaintance is highly to be prized by all who love to
+give their imagination free scope: his graphic and marvellous stories
+are like pages from the Arabian Nights. In an instant, he sets before
+his hearers palaces of gold and azure, bewitching almehs, towns ruined
+to their foundations, towers of human heads, a French milliner
+superintending the education of Persian ladies, princes, beggars,
+dervishes, unbounded luxury side by side with the most hideous poverty,
+and all that the East can show to move, allure, or terrify the soul.
+
+One of the houses that offer most attractions for foreigners, is that of
+Mr. Yeams, brother of the English consul-general of Odessa. We found him
+possessed of all his brother's amiable qualities and perfect tact. When
+the English can shake off the stiffness with which they are so justly
+reproached, and their immoderate pride, they are perhaps the most
+agreeable of all acquaintances. They generally possess strong powers of
+observation and analysis, large and sound information, genuine dignity
+of conduct, and above all, a good-humoured kindliness, that is more
+winning for the pains they take to conceal it.
+
+While looking over Mr. Yeams' English, French, and German library, and
+the journals of all nations that lie on the tables, it is not easy to
+believe oneself on the shores of the Sea of Azov, and on the outskirts
+of Europe. The "Journal des Debats," the "Times," and the "Augsburg
+Gazette," put you _au courant_ of the affairs of Europe, as though Paris
+and London were not a thousand leagues away from you.
+
+It is not to be conceived into what a confusion of ideas one is cast at
+first, by the sight of a room filled with books, maps, journals,
+familiar articles of furniture, and people talking French: you ask
+yourself what is become of the days and nights you have spent in
+galloping post, the vast extent of sea you have crossed, the leagues of
+land and water, the regions and the climes you have left between you and
+your native country.
+
+With the advances civilisation is daily making, distances will soon be
+annulled; for distance to my thinking, consists not in difference of
+longitude, but in diversity of manners and ideas. I certainly felt
+myself nearer to France in Taganrok than I should have been in certain
+cantons of Switzerland or Germany.
+
+On the eve of our departure we attended some horse-races, that
+interested us only by the number and the variety of the spectators.
+There we began to make acquaintance with the Kalmucks, some of whom had
+come to the fair to sell their horses, the breed of which is in great
+request throughout the south of Russia. There was nothing very
+captivating in the Mongol features and savage appearance of these
+worshippers of the Grand Lama; and when I saw the jealous and disdainful
+looks they cast on those around them, and heard their loud yells
+whenever a horse passed at full speed before them, I could not help
+feeling some apprehension at the thought that I should soon have to
+throw myself on their hospitality.
+
+Taganrok has the strongest resemblance to a Levantine town, so much are
+its Greek and Italian inhabitants in a majority over the rest of the
+population. Such was the perpetual hubbub, that we could hardly persuade
+ourselves we were in Russia, where the people usually make as little
+noise as possible, lest the echo of their voices should reach St.
+Petersburg. The Greeks, though subjected to the imperial _regime_, are
+less circumspect, and retain under the northern sky the vivacity and
+restless temperament that characterise their race. We particularly
+admired that day, a number of young Greek women, whose black eyes and
+elegant figures attracted every gaze. A string of carriages was drawn up
+round part of the race-course, and enabled us to review all the
+aristocratic families of the town and neighbourhood. The ladies were
+dressed as for a ball, with short sleeves, their heads uncovered and
+decked with flowers.
+
+A blazing sun and whirlwinds of dust, such as would be thought fabulous
+in any other country, soon dimmed all this finery, and drove away most
+of the spectators: we were not the last to seek refuge in the covered
+alleys of a neighbouring bazaar, where we had ices and delicious
+water-melons set before us in the Armenian cafe for a few kopeks.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[6] A _hectare_ is a little more than two acres.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM TAGANROK--SUNSET IN THE STEPPES--A GIPSY CAMP
+      --ROSTOF; A TOWN UNPARALLELED IN THE EMPIRE--NAVIGATION OF
+      THE DON--AZOV; ST. DIMITRI--ASPECT OF THE DON--NAKITCHEVANE,
+      AND ITS ARMENIAN COLONY.
+
+
+As we turned our backs on Taganrok, we could easily foresee what we
+should have to suffer during our journey. A long drought and a
+temperature of 99 deg. had already changed the verdant plains of the Don
+into an arid desert. At times the wind raised such billows of dust
+around us, that the sky was completely veiled from our eyes; our breath
+failed us, and the blood boiled in our ears; our sufferings for the
+moment were horrible. The hot air of a conflagration does not cause a
+more painful sense of suffocation than that produced by the wind of the
+desert. The horses could not stand against it, but stopped and hung down
+their heads, seeming as much distressed as ourselves.
+
+As we approached the Don the country was not quite such a dead, unbroken
+flat as before; a few Cossack stanitzas began to show themselves among
+the clumps of trees on the banks of the river. Deep gullies lined with
+foliage, and the traces of several streams, show how agreeable this part
+of the steppes must be in spring; but at the period of our journey every
+thing had been dried up and almost calcined by the rays of a sun which
+no cloud had obscured for two months.
+
+Before reaching Rostof, we passed through a large Armenian village. Its
+picturesque position, in the midst of a ravine, and the oriental fashion
+of its houses, give some interest and variety to these lonely regions,
+and transiently busy the imagination. The evening promised to be very
+beautiful; something serene, calm, and melancholy, had succeeded to the
+enervating heat of the day.
+
+Sunset in the steppes is like sunset nowhere else. In a country of
+varied surface, the gradually lengthening shadows give warning long
+beforehand that the sun is approaching the horizon. But here there is
+nothing to intercept its rays until the moment it sinks below the line
+of the steppe; then the night falls with unequalled rapidity; in a few
+moments all trace is gone of that brilliant luminary that just before
+was making the whole west ablaze. It is a magnificent transformation, a
+sudden transition to which the grandeur of the scene adds almost
+supernatural majesty and strangeness.
+
+Fatigued by the rapidity with which we had been travelling since we left
+Taganrok, I took advantage of our halt at a post station, not far from
+the village, to ascend the rising ground that concealed the road from my
+view.
+
+As I have said, the night had come down suddenly, and there remained in
+the west but a few pale red stripes that were fading away with every
+second. At the opposite point of the horizon the broad red glowing moon,
+such as it appears when it issues from the sea, was climbing
+majestically towards the zenith, and already filled that region of the
+heavens with a soft and mysterious radiance. The greater part of the
+steppe was still in gloom, whilst a golden fringe marked the limits of
+earth and sky: the effect was very singular and splendid.
+
+When I reached the summit of the hill an involuntary cry of surprise and
+alarm escaped me. I remained motionless before the unexpected scene that
+presented itself to my eyes--a whole gipsy camp, realising one of Sir
+Walter Scott's most striking fictions. Dispersed over the whole surface
+of the globe, and placed at the bottom of the social scale, this vagrant
+people forms in Russia, as elsewhere, a real tribe of pariahs, whose
+presence is regarded with disgust, even by the peasants. The government
+has attempted to settle a colony of these Bedouins of Europe in
+Bessarabia, but with little success hitherto. True to the traditional
+usages of their race, the Tsigans abhor every thing belonging to
+agriculture and regular habits. No bond has ever been found strong
+enough to check that nomade humour they inherit from their forefathers,
+and which has resisted the rude climate of Russia and the despotism of
+its government. Just as in Italy and Spain, they roam from village to
+village, plying various trades, stealing horses, poultry, and fruit,
+telling fortunes, procuring by fraud or entreaty the means of barely
+keeping themselves alive, and infinitely preferring such a vagabond and
+lazy existence to the comfort they might easily secure with a moderate
+amount of labour.
+
+Their manner of travelling reminds one of the emigrations of barbarous
+tribes. Marching always in numerous bodies, they pass from place to
+place with all they possess. The women, children, and aged persons, are
+huddled together in a sort of cart called _pavoshk_, drawn each by one
+or two small horses with long manes. All their wealth consists of a few
+coarse brown blankets, which form their tents by night, and in some
+tools employed in their chief trade, that of farriery.
+
+All travellers who have visited Russia, speak with enthusiasm of the
+gipsy singing heard in the Moscow _salons_. No race perhaps possesses an
+aptitude for music in a higher degree than these gipsies. In many other
+respects too, their intelligence appeared to us remarkable. A long abode
+in Moldavia, where there are said to be more than 100,000 Tsigans,
+enabled us to study with facility the curious habits of this people, and
+to collect a great number of facts, which would not perhaps be without
+interest for the majority of readers.[7]
+
+The Tsigans pass the fine season in travelling from fair to fair,
+encamping for some weeks in the neighbourhood of the towns, and living,
+heedless of the future, in thorough Asiatic indolence; but when the
+snows set in, and the northern blasts sweep those vast plains as level
+as the sea, the condition of these wretched creatures is such, as may
+well excite the strongest pity. But half clad, cowling in huts sunk
+below the surface of the ground, and destitute of the commonest
+necessaries, it is inconceivable how they live through the winter.
+Horrible as such a state of existence must be, they never give it a
+thought from the moment the breath of the south enables them to resume
+their vagrant career. Recklessness is the predominant feature in their
+character, and the most frightful sufferings cannot force them to bestow
+a moment's consideration on the future.
+
+The singular apparition that had suddenly arrested my steps by the road
+side, was that of a troop of gipsies encamped for the night in that
+lonely spot, about thirty yards from the road, near a field of
+water-melons. Their _pavoshks_ were arranged in a circle, with the
+shafts turned upwards, and support the cloths of their tents, which
+could only be entered by creeping on all fours. Two large fires burned
+at a little distance from the tents, and round them sat about fifty
+persons of the most frightful appearance. Their sooty colour, matted
+hair, wild features, and the rags that scarcely covered them, seen by
+the capricious light of the flames, that sometimes glared up strongly,
+and at other moments suddenly sank down and left every thing in
+darkness, produced a sort of demoniacal spectacle, that recalled to the
+imagination those sinister scenes of which they have so long been made
+the heroes.
+
+The history of all that is most repulsive in penury and the habits of a
+vagrant life, was legible in their haggard faces, in the restless
+expression of their large black eyes, and the sort of voluptuousness
+with which they grovelled in the dust; one would have said it was their
+native element, and that they felt themselves born for the mire with all
+swarming creatures of uncleanness. The women especially appeared hideous
+to me. Covered only with a tattered petticoat, their breasts, arms, and
+part of their legs bare, their eyes haggard, and their faces almost
+hidden under their straggling locks, they retained no semblance of their
+sex, or even of humanity.
+
+The faces of some old men struck me, however, by their perfect
+regularity of features, and by the contrast between their white hair and
+the olive hue of their skins. All were smoking, men, women, and
+children. It is a pleasure they esteem almost as much as drinking
+spirits. What painter's imagination ever conceived a wilder or more
+fantastic picture!
+
+Hitherto they had not perceived me, but the noise of our carriage, which
+was rapidly advancing, and my husband's voice, put them on the alert.
+The whole gang instantly started to their feet, and I found myself, not
+without some degree of dread, surrounded by a dozen of perfectly naked
+children, all bawling to me for alms. Some young girls seeing the fright
+I was in began to sing in so sweet and melodious a manner, that even our
+Cossack seemed affected. We remained a long while listening to them, and
+admiring the picturesque effect of their encampment in the steppes,
+under the beautiful and lucid night sky. No thought of serious danger
+crossed our minds, and, indeed, it would have been quite absurd; but in
+any other country than Russia such an encounter would have been far from
+agreeable.
+
+In the course of the following day we reached Rostof, a pretty little
+town on the Don, entirely different in appearance from the other Russian
+towns. You have here none of the cold, monotonous straight lines that
+afflict the traveller's sight from one end of the empire to the other;
+but the inequality of the ground, and the wish to keep near the harbour,
+have obliged the inhabitants to build their houses in an irregular
+manner, which has a very picturesque effect.
+
+The population, too, a mixture of Russians, Greeks, and Cossacks, have
+in their ways and habits nothing at all analogous to the systematic
+stiffness and military drill that seem to regulate all the actions of
+the Russians. The influence of a people long free has changed even the
+character of the chancery _employes_, who are here exempt from that
+arrogance and self-sufficiency that distinguish the petty nobles of
+Russia. Hence society is much more agreeable in Rostof than in most of
+the continental towns. The ridiculous pretensions of _tchin_ (rank) do
+not there assail you at every step; there is a complete fusion of
+nationality, tastes, and ideas, to the great advantage of all parties.
+
+This secret influence exercised by the Cossacks on the Russians, is
+worthy of note, and seems to prove that the defects of the latter are
+attributable rather to their political system, than to the inherent
+character of the nation.
+
+Their natural gaiety, kept down by the secret inquisition of a sovereign
+power, readily gets the upper hand when opportunity offers. The public
+functionaries associate freely in Rostof, with the Cossacks and the
+Greek merchants, without any appearance of the haughty exclusiveness
+elsewhere conspicuous in their class.
+
+One thing that greatly surprised us, and that shows how much liberal
+ideas are in favour in this town, is the establishment of a sort of
+casino, where all grades of society assemble on Sunday, to dance and
+hold parties of pleasure. This is without a parallel elsewhere.
+
+This casino contains a large ball-room, handsome gardens, billiard and
+refreshment-rooms, and every thing else that can be desired in an
+establishment of the sort. Though all persons are at liberty to enter
+without payment, it is nevertheless frequented by the best society, who
+dance there as heartily as in the most aristocratic _salons_. All
+distinctions vanish in the casino: public functionaries, shopkeepers,
+officers' wives, work-girls, foreigners, persons, in short, of all ranks
+and conditions mingle together, forming an amusing pell-mell, that
+reminds one, by its unceremonious gaiety, of the _bals champetres_ of
+the environs of Paris. Every thing is a matter of surprise to the
+traveller in this little town, so remote from all civilisation: the
+hotels are provided with good restaurants, clean chambers, each
+furnished with a bed, and all appurtenances complete (a thing unheard of
+everywhere else in the interior of Russia), besides many other things
+that are hardly to be found even in Odessa.
+
+Rostof is the centre of all the commerce of the interior of the empire,
+with the Sea of Azov, and with a large portion of the Russian coasts of
+the Black Sea. Through this town pass all the productions of Siberia,
+and the manufactured goods intended for consumption throughout the
+greater part of Southern Russia. These goods are floated down the Volga
+as far as Doubofka, in the vicinity of Saritzin. They are then carried
+by land, a distance of about thirty-eight miles to Kahilnitzkaia, where
+they are embarked on the Don, and conveyed to Rostof, their general
+_entrepot_. The barges on the Don and the Volga are flat; 112 feet long,
+from twenty to twenty-six wide, and about six feet deep. They draw only
+two feet of water, and cost from 300 to 500 rubles. They are freighted
+with timber and firewood, mats, bark, pitch, tar, hemp, cables, and
+cordage, pig and wrought iron, pieces of artillery, anchors, lead,
+copper, butter, &c. The whole traffic and navigation of the Don, down
+stream, from Kahalnitzkaia, depends on the arrivals from the Volga. The
+barges employed on the latter river, being put together with wooden
+bolts, are taken asunder at Doubofka, and laid with their cargoes in
+carts, on which they are conveyed to the banks of the Don.[8] Seven or
+eight days are sufficient for this operation, the expense of which
+amounts nearly to a quarter of the capital employed. Thus every year the
+crown and the merchants spend from 850,000 to 1,000,000 rubles at
+Doubofka. It is reckoned that 10,000 pairs of oxen, on an average, are
+employed on the road connecting the two rivers. The charge for heavy
+goods is from sixty to sixty-five kopeks the 100 kilogrammes. The
+vessels that ascend the Upper Don convey the goods above-named to the
+government of Voronege and the adjoining ones; besides which, some are
+freighted with the fruits and wines of the Don. Scarcely any traffic
+ascends the lower part of the river.
+
+The coasting trade of Rostof is, therefore, brisk, and particularly so
+since the establishment of the quarantine at Kertch. There were exported
+from the town, in 1840, for Russian ports, more than 3,500,000 rubles'
+worth of domestic goods of various kinds, and about 700,000 rubles'
+worth of provisions, chiefly intended for the armies. Flax-seed and
+common wool have also become, within the last three years, rather
+important articles of export to foreign countries. The population of
+Rostof is about 8000.
+
+Azov, on the other side of the Don, a little below Rostof, is now only a
+large village. Its long celebrated fortress has been abandoned, and is
+falling into ruin. It is said to occupy the site of the ancient Tana,
+built by the Greeks of the Bosphorus.
+
+The fort of Saint Dimitri, built by Peter the Great, between Rostof and
+Nakhitchevane, has had the same fate as Azov. It was formerly destined
+to protect the country against the incursions of the Turks, who were
+then masters of the opposite bank. The post-road traverses its whole
+length, and then continues all the way to Nakhitchevane, along a raised
+causeway, and overlooks the whole basin of the river. Nothing can be
+more varied than the wide landscapes through which one travels along
+this extended ridge. Behind lies Rostof, with its harbour full of
+vessels, and its houses rising in terrace rows, one above the other, its
+Greek churches, and its hanging gardens. On the right is the calm and
+limpid mirror of the river, spreading out into a broad basin, with banks
+shaded with handsome poplars. Fishing-boats, rafts, and barges diversify
+its surface, and give the most picturesque appearance to this part of
+the landscape. Then in front, Nakhitchevane, the elegant Armenian town,
+towers before you, the glazed windows of its great bazaars glittering in
+the sun. Enter the town, and you are surprised by a vision of the East,
+as you behold the capricious architecture of the buildings, and the
+handsome Asiatic figures that pass before you.
+
+Impelled by our recollections of Constantinople, we visited every
+quarter of the town without delay. At the sight of the veiled women,
+trailing their yellow slippers along the ground with inimitable
+_nonchalance_, the Oriental costumes, the long white beards, the
+merchants sitting on their heels before their shops, and the bazaars
+filled with the productions of Asia, we fancied ourselves really
+transported to one of the trading quarters of Stamboul; the illusion was
+complete. The shops abound with articles, many of which appeared to us
+very curious. The Armenians are excellent workers in silver. We were
+shown some remarkably beautiful saddles, intended for Caucasian chiefs.
+One of them covered with blue velvet, adorned with black enamelled
+silver plates, and with stirrups of massive silver, and a brilliantly
+adorned bridle, had been ordered for a young Circassian princess. Here,
+as in Constantinople, each description of goods has its separate bazaar,
+and the shops are kept by men only.
+
+This Armenian town, seated on the banks of the Don, in the heart of a
+country occupied by the Cossacks, is still one of those singularities
+which are only to be met with in Russia. One cannot help asking what can
+have been the cause why these children of the East have transplanted
+themselves into a region, where nothing is in harmony with their manner
+of being; where the language, habits, and wants of the inhabitants are
+diametrically opposite to their own, and where nature herself reminds
+them, by stern tokens, that their presence there is but an accident. It
+is true that the Armenians are essentially cosmopolitan, and accommodate
+themselves to all climates and governments, when their pecuniary
+interests require it. Industrious, intelligent, and frugal, they thrive
+everywhere, and commerce springs up with their presence, in every place
+where they settle. Thus it was that Nakhitchevane, the town of traffic
+_par excellence_, to which purchasers resort from the distance of
+twenty-five leagues all round it, arose amidst the wilderness of the
+Don. It was only Armenians who could have effected such a prodigy, and
+found the means of prosperity in a retail trade. But nothing has escaped
+their keen sagacity; every source of profit is largely employed by them.
+They do not confine themselves to the local trade; on the contrary,
+there is not a fair in all Southern Russia that is not attended by
+dealers from Nakhitchevane. The supply of dress and arms to the
+inhabitants of the Caucasus, still forms one of the principal branches
+of commerce for these Armenians. They maintain a pretty close
+correspondence with the mountaineers, and are even accused of serving
+them as spies. As to their social habits, the Armenians are in
+Nakhitchevane what they are everywhere else; they may change their
+country and their garb, but their manners and their usages never undergo
+any alteration. Their race is like a tree whose trunk is almost
+destroyed, but which throws up at every point new shoots, invariable in
+their nature, and differing from each other only in some outward
+particulars.
+
+The colony of Nakhitchevane dates from the year 1780, when Catherine II.
+had the greater part of the Armenians of the Crimea transported to the
+banks of the Don. The colonists are divided into agriculturists and
+shopkeepers. The former inhabit five villages, containing a population
+of 4600; the others reside exclusively in the town, which is the chief
+place of their establishment, and contains about 6000 souls. These
+Armenians enjoy the same privileges as the Greeks of Marioupol, already
+mentioned. They are under the control of functionaries chosen by
+themselves, and it happens very rarely that they are obliged to have
+recourse to the Russian tribunals.
+
+The following was the decision adopted by the Council of the Empire, in
+1841, relatively to the Armenians of New Russia. "The descendants of the
+Armenians settled at the invitation of the government, in the towns of
+Karasson Bazar, Starikrim in the Crimea, Nakhitchevane, and
+Gregorioupol, in the government of Kherson, will continue to pay, not
+the poll-tax, but the land-tax, and that on houses, according to the
+privileges granted to their fathers by an ukase of October 28, 1799;
+whilst those who have settled since that time, as well as all Armenians
+generally, shall be liable to the poll-tax, in pursuance of an ukase of
+May 21, 1836; in addition to which they shall pay from January 1, 1841;
+viz., townspeople and artisans, seven rubles per house, and
+agriculturists seventeen and a half kopeks per deciatine of land."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[7] As the plan of the present work does not allow of our entering on
+the subject in this place, we reserve it for our "Travels in the
+Principalities of the Danube," to be hereafter published.
+
+[8] The construction of a canal or a railroad between the Don and the
+Volga has long been talked of. Peter I. began a canal, but the works
+were soon abandoned. A new project was laid before the government in
+1820, the expense of which was estimated at 7,500,000., but it remains
+still to be realised.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+      GENERAL REMARKS ON NEW RUSSIA--ANTIPATHY BETWEEN THE
+      MUSCOVITES AND MALOROSSIANS--FOREIGN COLONIES--GENERAL ASPECT
+      OF THE COUNTRY, CATTLE, &C.--WANT OF MEANS OF COMMUNICATION
+      --RIVER NAVIGATION; BRIDGES--CHARACTER OF THE MINISTER OF
+      FINANCE--HISTORY OF THE STEAMBOAT ON THE DNIESTR--THE BOARD
+      OF ROADS AND WAYS--ANECDOTE.
+
+
+New Russia, which we have now traversed in its whole length, from west
+to east, consists of the three governments of Kherson, Taurid, and
+Iekaterinoslav. It is bounded on the north by the governments of
+Podolia, Kiev, Poltava, and Kharkov; on the east by the country of the
+Don Cossacks, the Sea of Azov, and the Straits of Kertch; on the south
+by the Black Sea, and on the west by the Dniestr, which divides it from
+Bessarabia. Its surface may be estimated at 1882 square myriametres. It
+contains a population of 1,346,515, which makes about 715 inhabitants to
+a square myriametre.
+
+The existing organisation of the three governments dates from the year
+1802. Their territory was successively annexed to the empire, by the
+treaty of Koutchouk Kainardji, the conquest of the Crimea, and the
+convention concluded at Jassy, in 1791.
+
+The population of these regions is extremely mixed. The Malorossians
+(Little Russians) formerly known by the appellation of Cossacks of the
+Ukraine, form its principal nucleus; then come numerous villages of
+Muscovites (Great Russians) belonging to the crown and to individuals;
+colonies of Germans, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Bulgarians; the
+military establishments of Vosnecensk, formed with the Cossacks of the
+Boug and fugitives from all the neighbouring nations; and lastly the
+Tatars, who occupy the greater part of the Crimea and the western shores
+of the Sea of Azov.
+
+Here are certainly very various and heterogeneous elements; nor can
+there exist between them any religious or political sympathy. The
+Muscovites and the Malorossians are even very hostile to each other,
+though professing the same creed and subject to the same laws. In spite
+of all the efforts of the government, and notwithstanding all the
+Muscovite colonies disseminated through the country, no blending of the
+two races has yet been effected. The old ideas of independence of the
+Cossacks of the Ukraine, are very far from being entirely extinguished,
+and the Malorossians, who have not forgotten the liberty and the
+privileges they enjoyed down to the end of the last century, always bear
+in mind that serfdom was established amongst them only by an imperial
+ukase of Catherine II. When the Emperor Alexander travelled through the
+Crimea, in 1820, it is said that he received more than 60,000 petitions
+from peasants claiming their freedom. Two years afterwards an
+insurrection broke out at Martinofka, in the environs of Taganrok; but
+it was speedily put down, and led to nothing but the transportation of
+some hundreds of unhappy serfs to Siberia.
+
+As for the foreign colonies established in New Russia, the government
+adapted its regulations at first in strict accordance with their wants.
+Each of them possessed a constitution in harmony with its manners, its
+usages, and its state of civilisation, and nothing had been neglected
+that could prompt the development of their prosperity.
+
+But within the last few years, the principles of political unity have
+been gaining the upper hand, and all the government measures are tending
+to assimilate the foreign populations to the free peasants of the crown.
+It is with this view that the special administrative committees have
+been suppressed, and the ministry of the domains of the crown has been
+created. Undoubtedly, as we have already said, when speaking of the
+German colonies, Russia has an incontestible right to strive to render
+herself homogeneous; the interests of her policy and her nationality
+require that she should neglect no means of arriving at a uniform
+administrative system. Unfortunately, generalisations are still
+impossible in the empire. Where there are so many conflicting forms of
+civilisation, the attempt to impose one unvarying system of rule upon so
+many dissimilar peoples, cannot be unattended with danger, particularly
+when that system is an exclusive one, and belongs only to one of the
+least enlightened portions of the population. It is, at this day, quite
+as impolitic to apply to the German colonists the administrative system
+practised with the Russian peasants, as it would be absurd to govern the
+latter like the Germans.
+
+The government would act more wisely if it tried, in the first place, to
+raise its native subjects to the level of the foreigners, instead of
+depressing the latter by subjecting them to the same conditions as its
+40,000,000 of serfs. The difficulties would no doubt be great; but
+obstinately to persist in establishing a forced administrative unity by
+dint of ukases, is nothing short of ruin to those thriving and
+industrious foreign colonies, which for more than half a century have
+done so much for the prosperity of the country, by bringing the soil of
+Southern Russia into productive cultivation; and it is well known, that
+already, several hundred families have abandoned their settlements and
+returned to Germany.
+
+The whole of Southern Russia from the banks of the Dniestr to the Sea of
+Azov, and to the foot of the mountains of the Crimea, consists
+exclusively of vast plains called steppes, elevated from forty to fifty
+yards above the level of the sea. The soil is completely bare of
+forests; it is only in some sheltered localities along the banks of the
+Dniepr and the other rivers, and in their islands, that we find a few
+woods of oak, birch, aspen, and willow. The inhabitants of the country
+are obliged to use for firing, reeds, straw, and the dung of cattle
+kneaded into little masses like bricks. In Odessa, they import wood from
+Bessarabia, the Crimea, and the banks of the Danube; but it costs as
+much as eighty rubles the fathom. English coal is also consumed, and as
+the merchant vessels carry it as ballast, its cost is very moderate.
+Within the last few years the native coal from the government of
+Iekaterinoslav and the Don country, is also beginning to be used
+throughout Southern Russia.
+
+The growth of wheat and the rearing of cattle, chiefly Merino sheep, are
+the main sources of wealth in these regions. The best cultivated tracts
+are, in the first place, those occupied by the German colonies, and
+next, the environs of Podolia and Khivia. But the most productive soil
+is, unquestionably, that of the north-east of the government of
+Iekaterinoslav, where the surface of the country is more varied and
+better irrigated. Unfortunately, the inhabitants have scarcely any
+markets for their produce.
+
+The grand want of this part of the empire is, the means of transport.
+Within the sixty years or thereabouts, during which the Russians have
+been in possession of these regions, they have founded many towns and
+erected many edifices to accommodate the public functionaries; but they
+have completely forgotten the most important thing, the thing without
+which agriculture and trade can make no progress worth speaking of.
+There are no causeways anywhere; the roads are mere tracks marked out by
+two ditches a few inches deep, and a line of posts set up from verst to
+verst to mark the distance. But usually no account is made of the
+imperial track, and the wheel-ruts vary laterally over a space of half a
+league and more. With every fall of rain the course of the road is
+changed. In winter, when snow-storms and fogs prevail, travelling in New
+Russia is beset with serious perils. It is then so easy to wander from
+the route, that travellers are often in danger of losing themselves in
+the steppes, and dying of cold.
+
+Bridges over the streams and rivers are as rare as causeways, and where
+any exist they are so defective, that drivers always try to avoid them,
+and so save their vehicles from the chance of being broken. Whenever the
+traveller is suddenly roused up from a sound sleep by a violent shock,
+he may be certain he is passing over a bridge or a fragment of a
+causeway. Spring and autumn are the seasons when he has most reason to
+curse the bad management of the Board of Bridges and Roads, for then the
+roads are impracticable: the smallest gully becomes the bed of a
+torrent, and communications are often totally interrupted. The
+consequence is that the transport of goods can only be effected in
+winter and during four months of summer. Nor must we allow ourselves to
+imagine that sledging is a very safe mode of carriage; the snow-storms
+cause great disasters, and if the winter be at all rigorous, an enormous
+number of draught oxen are lost.
+
+Every one knows what fine rivers nature has bestowed on New Russia. The
+Dniestr and the Dniepr are two admirable canals, which, after having
+traversed the central parts of the empire and its most fertile regions,
+terminate in the Black Sea. Their navigation, if well managed, would
+certainly compensate largely for the difficulties in the way of
+constructing roads, and might amply suffice for the wants of the
+population. But, as we have said in our chapter on the commerce of the
+Black Sea, every thing in Russia bears deplorable proof of the
+supineness of the government. It must, however, be owned that it is not
+to be reproached in every case with want of the will to do better; for
+recently, upon the enlightened solicitation of Count Voronzof, it was
+determined to establish on the Donetz, one of the confluents of the Don,
+a steam-tug to take in tow the coal-barges of the government of
+Iekaterinoslav.
+
+The two grand obstacles which, in our opinion, impede the accomplishment
+of useful works in Russia, consist in the self-sufficient incapacity of
+the ministry of finance, and in the peculation of the functionaries.
+Count Cancrine[9] may be an excellent bookkeeper; we grant that he
+possesses no ordinary talent in matters of account; but we believe, and
+facts demonstrate it, that his administration has greatly diminished the
+financial resources of the empire. The man possesses not one enlarged
+idea, no forecast; he sacrifices every thing to the present moment.
+Every item of expenditure must bring in an immediate profit, or he looks
+on it as money mis-spent; he can never be brought to understand that all
+capital expended in promoting agriculture and trade, returns sooner or
+later to the exchequer with large interest.
+
+In 1840, a landowner, deeply interested in the navigation of the liman
+of the Dniestr, after many fruitless efforts, at last succeeded by
+stratagem in inducing him to establish a small steamer on those waters,
+in order to facilitate the commercial intercourse between Akermann and
+Ovidiopol. The salt works of Touzla, situated in the vicinity, were to
+advance the necessary funds to the directory of the steamer, and
+although that directory was entirely dependent on the government, it
+was, nevertheless, obliged to enter into an engagement for the repayment
+of the small sum advanced, within a specified time. The steamboat was
+set plying; but whether from mismanagement or from other causes, no
+profit was realised in the first few years; on the contrary, there was
+some loss. Angry expostulations on the part of the ministry soon
+followed; and for a while there was an intention of suppressing the new
+means of communication, though so highly important to both banks. Such
+is the behaviour of the ministry on all industrial or commercial
+questions. We shall have many other facts of the same kind to mention,
+when we come to speak of Bessarabia and the Crimea.
+
+Now for an anecdote exemplifying the proceedings of the Board of Roads
+and Ways.[10] It was proposed by Count Voronzof in 1838, to have a
+bridge constructed over a brook that crosses the road from Ovidiopol to
+Odessa, and which is twice every year converted into a torrent. The
+chief engineer of the district having estimated the expense at 36,750
+rubles, the scheme was discountenanced by the ministry, and the bridge
+remained unbuilt for four years. In 1841, Count Voronzof visited
+Bessarabia, and his carriage was near being overturned on the little old
+bridge by which the brook is crossed. "It is very much to be regretted,"
+said he to M----i, who accompanied him, "that there is not a suitable
+bridge here; the ministry would not, perhaps, have refused to sanction
+it, if the engineers had been more moderate in their demands."
+
+Some days afterwards M----i sent for an Italian engineer, and put into
+his hands a statement of all the measurements on which the government
+engineers had founded their estimate. The Italian asked at first 8400
+rubles, and finally reduced his demand to 6475. M----i hastened to lay
+his proposal before Count Voronzof, who was amazed, and instantly
+accepted the terms. The bridge was to be forthwith constructed. It was
+not long before the chief engineer visited M----i, and beset him with
+reproaches and remonstrances, to which the former replied thus: "My good
+sir, I have not slandered you, nor do I bear you the least enmity. I
+wanted a bridge that I might visit my estate without danger. It is not
+enough to have a steamer on the liman of the Dniestr, unless one has
+also the means of making use of it. Your demand for the execution of the
+works was 36,750 rubles; another person, who has no desire to lose by
+the job, is content to perform it for 6475. I am sorry you think he has
+asked too little. Be that as it may, I shall have the bridge, and that
+was a thing I had set my mind on. Excuse me this once."
+
+We see by this, with what difficulty useful improvements are effected in
+Russia. The most earnest and laudable purposes are constantly frustrated
+by the vices of the administrative system. Unhappily there never can be
+an end to the fatal influence and the tyranny everywhere exercised by
+the public functionaries, until a radical reform shall have taken place
+in the social institutions of the empire; but nothing indicates as yet
+that there is any serious intention of effecting such a system.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[9] See Appendix, p. 101.
+
+[10] It is needless to say that our remarks do not apply to all the
+Russian engineers without exception, for we ourselves have known many
+upright and worthy men amongst them; and these men were the more
+deserving of esteem, as they always ended by being the victims of their
+own integrity.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX TO CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+"Count Cancrine was the only statesman in Russia who possessed some
+share of learning and general information, though somewhat deficient in
+the knowledge specially applicable to his own department. He was a very
+good bookkeeper; but chemistry, mechanics, and technology were quite
+unknown to him. His sense of duty overbore all feelings of German
+nationality; he really desired the good of Russia, while at the same
+time he did not neglect his own affairs, for the care of which his post
+afforded him peculiar facilities. Colbert's fortune was made matter of
+reproach to him; a similar reproach may be fairly made against M.
+Cancrine, even though he leaves to his children the care of expending
+his wealth. He has amassed a yearly income of 400,000 rubles. 'It will
+all go,' he says, 'my children will take care of that.'
+
+"He was the most ardent partisan both of the prohibitive and of the
+industrial system; and the feverish development he gave to manufactures
+does not redeem the distress of agriculture to which he denied his
+solicitude. A true Russian would never have fallen into this error, but
+would have comprehended that Russia is pre-eminently an agricultural
+country. The question of serfdom found this minister's knowledge at
+fault. His monetary measures were but gropings in the dark, with many an
+awkward fall, and sometimes a lucky hit. He deserves credit, however,
+for having opposed the emperor's wasteful profusion, with a perseverance
+which the tsar called wrongheadedness, though he did not venture to
+break with him. It was Mazarine's merit that he gave Colbert to Louis
+XIV. In appointing M. Vrontshenko as his successor, Count Cancrine has
+rendered a very ill service to Russia."--_Ivan Golovine, Russia under
+Nicholas I._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+      THE DIFFERENT CONDITIONS OF MEN IN RUSSIA--THE NOBLES--
+      DISCONTENT OF THE OLD ARISTOCRACY--THE MERCHANT CLASS--
+      SERFDOM.
+
+
+The Russian nation is divided into two classes: the aristocracy, who
+enjoy all the privileges; and the people who bear all the burdens of the
+state.
+
+We must not, however, form to ourselves an idea of the Russian nobility
+at all similar to those we entertain of the aristocracies of Germany, or
+of ante-revolutionary France. In Russia, nobility is not exclusively
+conferred by birth, as in the other countries of Europe. There every
+freeman may become noble by serving the state either in a military or a
+civil capacity; with this difference only, that the son of a nobleman is
+advanced one step shortly after he enters the service, whilst the son of
+a commoner must wait twelve years for his first promotion, unless he
+have an opportunity of distinguishing himself in the meanwhile. Such
+opportunities indeed are easily found by all who have the inclination
+and the means to purchase them.
+
+The first important modifications in the constitution of the noblesse
+were anterior to Peter the Great; and Feodor Alexievitch, by burning the
+charters of the aristocracy, made the first attempt towards destroying
+the distinction which the boyars wanted to establish between the great
+and the petty nobles. It is a curious fact, that at the accession of the
+latter monarch to the throne, most offices of state were hereditary in
+Russia, and it was not an uncommon thing to forego the services of a man
+who would have made an excellent general, merely because his ancestors
+had not filled that high post, which men of no military talent obtained
+by right of birth. Frequent mention has of late been made of the
+celebrated phrase, _The boyars have been of opinion and the tzar has
+ordained_, and it has been made the theme of violent accusations against
+the usurpation of the Muscovite sovereigns. But historical facts
+demonstrate that the supposed power of the nobility was always illusory,
+and that the so much vaunted and regretted institution served, in
+reality, only to relieve the tzars from all personal responsibility. The
+spirit of resistance, whatever may be said to the contrary, was never a
+characteristic of the Russian nobility. No doubt there have been
+frequent conspiracies in Russia; but they have always been directed
+against the life of the reigning sovereign, and never in any respect
+against existing institutions. The facility with which Christianity was
+introduced into the country, affords a striking proof of the blind
+servility of the Russian people. Vladimir caused proclamation to be made
+one day in the town of Kiev, that all the inhabitants were to repair
+next day to the banks of the Dniepr and receive baptism; and
+accordingly at the appointed hour on the morrow, without the least
+tumult or show of force, all the inhabitants of Kiev were Christians.
+
+The existing institutions of the Russian noblesse date from the reign of
+Peter the Great. The innovation of that sovereign excited violent
+dissatisfaction, and the nobles, not yet broken into the yoke they now
+bear, caused their monarch much serious uneasiness. The means which
+appeared to Peter I. best adapted for cramping the old aristocracy, was
+to throw open the field of honours to all his subjects who were not
+serfs. But in order to avoid too rudely shocking established prejudices,
+he made a difference between nobles and commoners as to the period of
+service, entitling them respectively to obtain that first step which was
+to place them both on the same level. Having then established the
+gradations of rank and the conditions of promotion, and desirous of
+ratifying his institutions by his example, he feigned submission to them
+in his own person, and passed successively through all the steps of the
+scale he had appointed.
+
+The rank of officer in the military service makes the holder a gentleman
+in blood, that is, confers hereditary nobility; but in the civil
+service, this quality is only personal up to the rank of college
+assessor, which corresponds to that of major.
+
+The individual once admitted into the fourteenth or lowest class,
+becomes noble, and enjoys all the privileges of nobility as much as a
+count of the empire, with this exception only, that he cannot have
+slaves of his own before he has attained the grade of college assessor,
+unless he be noble born.
+
+It results from this system that consideration is attached in Russia,
+not to birth, but merely to the grade occupied. As promotion from one
+rank to another is obtained after a period of service, specified by the
+statutes, or sooner through private interest, there is no college
+registrar (fourteenth class) whatever be his parentage, but may aspire
+to attain precedence over the first families in the empire; and the
+examples of these elevations are not rare. It must be owned, however,
+that the old families have more chance of advancement than the others:
+but they owe this advantage to their wealth rather than to their
+personal influence.
+
+With all the apparent liberality of this scheme of nobility, it has,
+nevertheless, proved admirably subservient to the policy of the
+Muscovite sovereigns. The old aristocracy has lost every kind of
+influence, and its great families, most of them resident in Moscow, can
+now only protest by their inaction and their absence from court, against
+the state of insignificance to which they have been reduced, and from
+which they have no chance of recovery.
+
+Had it been necessary for all aspirants to nobility to pass through the
+wretched condition of the common soldier, it is evident that the empire
+would not possess one-tenth of its present number of nobles.
+Notwithstanding their abject and servile condition, very few commoners
+would have the courage to ennoble themselves by undergoing such a
+novitiate, with the stick hanging over them for many years. But they
+have the alternative of the civil service, which leads to the same
+result by a less thorny path, and offers even comparatively many more
+advantages to them than to the nobles by blood. Whereas the latter, on
+entering the military service, only appear for a brief while for form's
+sake in the ranks, become non-commissioned officers immediately, and
+officers in a few months; they are compelled in the civil service to act
+for two or three years as supernumeraries in some public office before
+being promoted to the first grade. It is true, the preliminary term of
+service is fixed for commoners at twelve years, but we have already
+spoken of the facilities they possess for abridging this apprenticeship.
+
+But this excessive facility for obtaining the privileges of nobility has
+given rise to a subaltern aristocracy, the most insupportable and
+oppressive imaginable; and has enormously multiplied the number of
+_employes_ in the various departments. Every Russian, not a serf, takes
+service as a matter of course, were it only to obtain rank in the
+fourteenth class; for otherwise he would fall back almost into the
+condition of the slaves, would be virtually unprotected, and would be
+exposed to the continual vexations of the nobility and the public
+functionaries. Hence, many individuals gladly accept a salary of sixty
+francs a year, for the permission of acting as clerks in some
+department; and so it comes to pass that the subaltern _employes_ are
+obliged to rob for the means of subsistence. This is one of the chief
+causes of the venality and of the defective condition of the Russian
+administrative departments.
+
+Peter the Great's regulations were excellent no doubt in the beginning,
+and hardly could that sovereign have devised a more efficacious means of
+mastering the nobility, and prostrating them at his feet. But now that
+the intended result has been amply obtained, these institutions require
+to be modified; for, under the greatly altered circumstances of the
+country, they only serve to augment beyond measure the numbers of a
+pernicious bureaucracy, and to impede the development of the middle
+class. To obtain admission into the fourteenth class, and become a
+noble, is the sole ambition of a priest's or merchant's son, an ambition
+fully justified by the unhappy condition of all but the privileged
+orders. There is no country in which persons engaged in trade are held
+in lower esteem than in Russia. They are daily subjected to the insults
+of the lowest clerks, and it is only by dint of bribery they can obtain
+the smallest act of justice. How often have I seen in the post stations,
+unfortunate merchants, who had been waiting for forty-eight hours and
+more, for the good pleasure of the clerk, without daring to complain. It
+mattered nothing that their papers were quite regular, the noble of the
+fourteenth class did not care for that, nor would he give them horses
+until he had squeezed a good sum out of the _particularnii tchelovieks_,
+as he called them in his aristocratic pride. The same annoyances await
+the foreigner, who, on the strength of his passport, undertakes a
+journey without a decoration at his buttonhole, or any title to give
+him importance. I speak from experience: for more than two years spent
+in traversing Russia as a private individual, enabled me fully to
+appreciate the obliging disposition of the fourteenth class nobles. At a
+later period, being employed on a scientific mission by the government,
+I held successively the rank of major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel;
+and then I had nothing to complain of; the posting-clerks, and the other
+_employes_ received me with all the politeness imaginable. I never had
+to wait for horses, and as the title with which I was decked authorised
+me to distribute a few cuts of the whip with impunity, my orders were
+fulfilled with quite magical promptitude.
+
+Under such a system, the aristocracy would increase without end in a
+free country. But it is not so in Russia, where the number of those who
+can arrive at a grade is extremely limited, the vast majority of the
+population being slaves. Thus the hereditary and personal nobility
+comprise no more than 563,653 males; though all free-born Russians enter
+the military or civil service, and remain at their posts as long as
+possible; for once they have returned into private life they sink into
+mere oblivion. From the moment he has put on plain clothes, the most
+deserving functionary is exposed to the vexations of the lowest
+subalterns, who then omit no opportunity of lording over their former
+superior.
+
+Such social institutions have fatally contributed to excite a most
+decided antipathy between the old and the new aristocracy; and the
+emperor naturally accords his preference and his favours to those who
+owe him every thing, and from whom he has nothing to fear. In this way
+the new nobles have insensibly supplanted the old boyars. But their
+places and pecuniary gains naturally attach them to the established
+government, and consequently they are quite devoid of all revolutionary
+tendencies. Equally disliked by the old aristocracy whom they have
+supplanted, and by the peasants whom they oppress, they are, moreover,
+too few in numbers to be able to act by themselves; and, in addition to
+this, the high importance attached to the distinctions of rank, prevent
+all real union or sympathy between the members of this branch of Russian
+society. The tzar, who perfectly understands the character of this body,
+is fully aware of its venality and corruption; and if he honours it with
+his special favour, this is only because he finds in it a more absolute
+and blind submission than in the old aristocracy, whose ambitious
+yearnings after their ancient prerogatives cannot but be at variance
+with the imperial will. As for any revolutions which could possibly
+arise out of the discontent of this latter order, we may be assured they
+will never be directed against the political and moral system of the
+country; they will always be, as they have always been, aimed solely
+against the individual at the head of the government. Conspiracies of
+this kind are the only ones now possible in Russia; and what proves this
+fact is, the impotence of that resentment the tzars have provoked on the
+part of the old aristocracy, whenever they have touched on the question
+of emancipating the serfs.
+
+The tzars have shown no less dexterity than the kings of France in their
+struggles against the aristocracy, and they have been much more favoured
+by circumstances. We see the Russian sovereigns bent, like Louis XI., on
+prostrating the great feudatories of the realm; but there was this
+difference between their respective tasks, that the French nobles could
+bring armies into the field, and often did so, whereas the Russian
+nobles can only counteract the power of their ruler by secret
+conspiracies, and will never succeed in stirring up their peasants
+against the imperial authority.
+
+What may we conclude are the destinies in store for the Russian
+nobility, and what part will it play in the future history of the
+country? It seems to us to possess little inherent vigour and vitality,
+and we doubt that a radical regeneration of the empire is ever to be
+expected at its hands. The influence of Europe has been fatal to it. It
+has sought to assimilate itself too rapidly with our modern
+civilisation, and to place itself too suddenly on a level with the
+nations of the west. Its efforts have necessarily produced only
+corruption and demoralisation, which, by bastardising the country, have
+deprived it of whatever natural strength it once possessed.
+
+No doubt there are in Russia as elsewhere, men of noble and patriotic
+sentiments, who feel a lively interest in the greatness and the future
+destinies of their native land; but they are, perhaps, committed to an
+erroneous course; and it is to be feared that by adopting our liberal
+principles in their full extent, and seeking to apply them at home, they
+will do still more mischief than the obstinate conservatives who suffer
+themselves to be borne along passively by the current of time and
+circumstances.
+
+Hence, after having studied the influence of European civilisation on
+Russia, we are fully prepared to understand the efforts which the
+Emperor Nicholas is making to isolate his empire as much as possible,
+and to restore its primitive nationality. Despairing of the destinies of
+his aristocracy, he, no doubt, wishes to preserve the middle class
+(whose development will infallibly be effected sooner or later) from the
+rock on which the former class have made shipwreck of their hopes. And
+certainly it is not among a few thousand nobles he can hope to find
+sufficient elements of greatness and prosperity for the present and for
+future times.
+
+After the nobles come the merchants and burghers, about a million and a
+half in number, and now constituting the first nucleus of a middle
+class. They are wholly engrossed with commerce and their pecuniary
+interests. Among them there are some very wealthy men, and they are
+allowed to discharge the inoffensive functions of mayors in the towns.
+The nobility profess almost as much contempt for this class as for the
+slaves, and are not sparing towards it of injustice and extortion. But
+the Russian merchant is the calmest and most patient being imaginable,
+and in comparison with slavery and the sad condition of the soldier, he
+regards his own lot as the very ideal of good fortune. Down to the reign
+of Ivan IV., merchants enjoyed tolerably extensive privileges in Russia.
+They were, it is true, placed below the lowest class of the nobility,
+just as in our days; but they were considered as a constituent part of
+the government, were summoned to the great assemblies of the nation, and
+voted in them like the boyars.
+
+The Emperor Nicholas has sought of late years to raise their body in
+public estimation, by granting them many prerogatives of nobility; but
+his efforts have hitherto not been very successful. The only means of
+giving outward respectability to this important class, would be to
+afford it admission into the body of the nobles without compelling it to
+enter the government service. And surely an individual who contributes
+to develop the trade and commerce of the land, has as strong claims to
+honorary distinctions as a petty clerk, whose whole life is passed in
+cheating his superiors, and robbing those who are so unfortunate as to
+have any dealings with him. Should the emperor ever adopt such a course,
+there would follow from it another advantage still more important,
+namely, that it would gradually extinguish the abuses of the present
+nobiliary system, and would immediately rid the public departments of
+all those useless underlings, who now encumber the various offices
+solely with a view to acquire a footing among the privileged orders.
+
+The Russian and foreign merchants, established in the country, are
+divided into three classes, or guilds. Those of the first guild must
+give proof of possessing a capital of 50,000 rubles. They have a right
+to own manufactories, town and country houses, and gardens. They may
+trade with the interior of the empire, and with foreign countries; they
+are exempt from corporal punishments, and are privileged like the
+hereditary nobility to drive four horses in their carriages; but they
+must pay 3000 rubles for their licence.
+
+Those of the second guild are required to prove only a capital of 20,000
+rubles, and their trade is confined to the interior of the empire. They
+may be proprietors of factories, hotels and boats; but they are not
+allowed to have more than two horses to their carriages.
+
+The third guild merchants, whose capital needs not exceed 8000 rubles,
+are the retail dealers of the towns and villages, they keep inns and
+workshops, and hold booths in the fairs.
+
+The peasants who engage in trade, are not required to prove any capital.
+The statistics of these several classes, in 1839, were as follows:--
+
+  First guild merchants                      889
+  Second        "                          1,874
+  Third         "                         33,808
+  Peasants having permission to trade      5,299
+  Clerks                                   8,345
+                                          ------
+                               Total      50,215
+
+The slaves form by far the most considerable part of the population;
+their numbers, exclusive of those belonging to the crown and to private
+proprietors, exceed 45,000,000; an enormous amount in comparison with
+the numbers of the nobles.
+
+We will not enter into any historical details respecting the origin of
+serfdom in Russia; every one knows that the institution is one of
+somewhat modern date, and that servitude, though long existing
+virtually, was established legally in the empire only by an ukase of
+Boris Godounof. We will confine our remarks to the institution as it
+exists at the present day.
+
+The slaves are divided into two classes, those belonging respectively to
+the crown, and to private individuals. The former are under the control
+of the ministry of the domains of the crown, a special board created
+January 1st, 1838, and presided over by General Count Kizelev. By law
+they are required to pay to the crown a capitation tax of fifteen rubles
+yearly for every male, but this tax is almost always raised to thirty or
+thirty-five rubles by the rapacity of the government servants. Besides
+these money contributions, they are subjected to _corvees_ for the
+repair of the roads and public works, and they may also be required to
+furnish means of conveyance and food for the troops. For these latter
+services, it is true, they receive a nominal compensation in the shape
+of orders payable by treasury, but these are never cashed. Lastly, they
+are liable to military recruitment, which of late years has annually
+taken off six out of every 1000 male inhabitants in the governments of
+New Russia.
+
+In exchange for all these burdens, the peasant receives from the crown
+the land necessary for his subsistence, the quantity of which varies
+from ten or eleven deciatines, to one or two, according to the density
+of the population. Whatever may have been said on the subject, the
+condition of the crown serf is neither miserable nor destitute, and his
+slavery cannot but be favourable to physical and animal life, the only
+life as yet understood by the bulk of the Russian people. Except in
+years of great dearth, such as often desolate the country, the peasant
+has his means of existence secured; his dwelling, his cattle, and his
+little field of buckwheat; and as far as freedom from moral and physical
+sufferings constitute happiness, he may be considered much better off
+than the free peasants of the other European states. With plenty of
+food, his dwelling well warmed in winter, his mind disencumbered of all
+those anxieties for the future that harass our labouring poor; and
+endowed by nature with a vigorous constitution, he possesses all the
+elements of that negative happiness which is founded on ignorance and
+the want of all awakened sense of man's dignity. The slave besides is so
+frugal, he needs so little to live, his wants and desires are so
+circumscribed, that poverty, as it exists in our civilised lands, is one
+of the rarest exceptions in Russia. But all these conditions of
+existence constitute a life essentially brutish; and the most wretched
+being in France would certainly not exchange his lot for that of the
+Muscovite peasant.
+
+It cannot, however, be questioned that the crown serfs enjoy almost
+complete liberty. Simply attached to the soil, they are masters of
+their own time, and may even obtain permission to go and seek employment
+in the towns, or on the estates of private landowners. Hence, were it
+not for the difficulties connected with the emancipation of the private
+serfs, the crown peasants might be declared independent to-morrow,
+without any sort of danger to the empire. Their physical condition is in
+perfect harmony with the present state of civilisation, and in this
+respect the system established by the crown, does not deserve the outcry
+raised against it. The penury and distress in which the imperial serfs
+are plunged in some districts, are ascribable solely to the cupidity and
+corruption of the public functionaries, or to the want of outlets for
+the produce of the soil, and not to the laws regulating serfdom.
+
+The condition of the slaves on seignorial lands is both morally and
+physically less satisfactory than that of the crown serfs. They are
+subject to arbitrary caprice, and to countless vexations, particularly
+when they belong to small proprietors, or are immediately dependant on
+stewards. There exist, indeed, very strict regulations for their
+protection against the undue exactions of their lords; but the latter
+are, nevertheless, all-powerful through their social position and the
+posts they fill, and however they may abuse their authority, they are
+always sure of impunity. Thanks to judicial venality, they know that all
+appeals to justice against them are futile. There is only one case in
+which the peasant can hope for a favourable hearing, namely, where there
+is any ill-will between his master and the higher powers; but his wrongs
+must be very cruel indeed if they goad him to seek legal redress, for he
+well knows that sooner or later he will be made to pay dearly for his
+rebellion. We are bound, however, to acknowledge that the lords often
+act with the greatest humanity towards the serfs, and they have at last
+come to understand that in caring for the welfare of their peasants,
+they are taking the best means to augment their own fortunes. It is only
+to be regretted that their benevolent efforts are almost constantly
+paralysed by the rapine and insatiable cupidity of their stewards and
+agents.
+
+The private slaves, who number about 23,000,000, pay a poll tax of eight
+rubles for every male to the crown, and must give half their time to
+their masters. They usually work three days in the week for the latter,
+and the other three for themselves. Their lord grants them five or six
+hectares of land, and often more, and all the produce they raise from
+them is their own. They are required furthermore to supply out of their
+numbers all the domestic servants requisite for their master's
+establishment, and to do extra duty labour of various kinds, dependent
+solely on the caprice of the latter. A peasant cannot quit his village
+without his master's permission, and if he exercises any handicraft
+trade whatever, he is bound to pay an annual sum proportioned to his
+presumed profits. This sum is called his _obrok_, and is often very
+considerable; in the case of agricultural and other peasants, it
+averages fifty rubles. But whatever be the position the serf may have
+attained to by his talents and his skill, he never shakes off his
+absolute dependence on his master, one word from whom may compel him to
+abandon all his business and his prospects, and return to his village.
+Many of the wealthiest merchants of Moscow have been named to me, who
+are slaves by birth, and who have in vain offered hundreds of thousands
+of rubles for their freedom. It flatters the pride of the great
+patrician families to have men of merit among their serfs, and many of
+them send young slaves into the towns, and supply them with all the
+means necessary for pursuing a creditable and lucrative calling.
+
+All the hawkers and pedlars that go from village to village, and from
+mansion to mansion, from the banks of the Neva to the extremity of
+Siberia, are slaves, who bring in large profits to their masters; it
+frequently happens that a _pometchik_ has no other income than that
+which he thus derives from his peasants.
+
+Marriages between serfs can only take place with the consent of the
+lord. They are usually consummated at a very early age, and are arranged
+by the steward, who never consults the parties, and whose sole object is
+to effect a rapid increase in the population of his village. The average
+price of a whole family is estimated as ranging from 25_l._ to 40_l._
+
+A great deal has been often said of the boundless attachment of the
+serfs to their lords; I doubt that it ever existed; at any rate, it
+exists no longer. The slaves no longer regard with the same resignation
+and apathy the low estate which Providence has assigned them in this
+world; the more liberal treatment enjoyed by the imperial serfs, has
+inoculated them with ideas of independence, and they are all now
+ambitious of passing into the domain of the crown--a good fortune, which
+in their eyes is equivalent to emancipation. This tendency of the serfs
+to detach themselves from the aristocracy is a most important fact, and
+if the emperor succeeds in regulating this great social movement so that
+it may be effected without turbulence, he will have rendered a signal
+service to Russia, and have mightily contributed to the regeneration and
+future welfare of her people.
+
+Every village has its mayor, called _golova_, and its _starosts_, whose
+number depends on that of the population, there being usually one for
+every ten families. They are all elected by the community, and to them
+it belongs to regulate the various labours performed by it, and to
+apportion and collect the taxes. Whatever petty differences may arise
+between the peasants, are settled before the _starosts_ or council of
+elders, whose decisions are always received with blind submission.
+
+Military service is the only _corvee_ which the Russian peasants regard
+with real horror. Their antipathy to it is universal, and the regiments
+can only be recruited by main force. There is no conscription in Russia,
+but whenever men are wanted, an imperial ukase is issued, commanding a
+certain number to be raised in such or such a government. In the crown
+lands, it is the head man of the village aided by the district
+authorities, who selects the future heroes, and this is usually done in
+secret, in order to prevent desertion. The young men chosen are
+forthwith arrested, generally in the middle of the night, and remain
+fettered until they have been inspected by the surgeon, after which they
+are sent off in small detachments to the regiments, under the guard of
+armed soldiers. In the seignorial villages, the selection is made by the
+steward. But the business is here of more difficult execution than in
+the domains of the crown, and the unfortunate recruit is often chained
+to an aged peasant, who acts as his keeper, and cannot quit him day or
+night. I saw two young peasants thus chained to two old men, in a
+village belonging to General Papof; they spent their time quietly in
+drinking in the dram-shops, without exciting any surprise in the
+spectators. When we reflect on the privations and sufferings that await
+the Muscovite soldier, we cannot wonder at the intense repugnance the
+peasants entertain for the service.
+
+The military spirit, so potent elsewhere, scarcely exists in the empire.
+Glory and honour are things for which the Russian serfs care very
+little, nor have they any conception of the magic that lies in the words
+"Our country," "Our native land." The only country they know is their
+village, their stove, their _kasha_, the patch of ground they daily
+cultivate, and that mud which a French grenadier lifted up with his
+foot, exclaiming, "And this they call a country!" "_ils appellent cela
+une patrie!_" At the same time, it is evident that this antipathy of the
+Russians for military service, is to be attributed as much to the
+political constitution of the empire, as to the character of the
+inhabitants; and as that constitution has hitherto been a national
+necessity, it would be unjust to charge as a crime upon the government,
+the unhappy moral condition of its armies. We shall speak at more length
+in another place, on the subject of the Russian soldiery.
+
+Moral and intellectual instruction have hitherto made very little way
+among the slave population. Attempts indeed have been made to found
+schools in some of the crown villages, but these attempts have been
+always ill-directed, and necessarily unsuccessful. Religion which
+everywhere else constitutes the most potent instrument of civilisation,
+can have in Russia no favourable effect on the improvement of the
+people. Consisting solely in fasts, crossings, and outward ceremonies,
+it leaves the mind totally uninfluenced, and in no respect acts as a bar
+to the demoralisation which is gradually pervading the immense class of
+the serfs. The peculiar circumstances of the Russian towns and villages
+are also perhaps among the greatest obstacles to intellectual progress.
+The advance of civilisation depends in a great measure on facility of
+intercourse. When a population is compact, and its several members are
+continually in presence of each other, each man's knowledge is
+propagated among his compatriots, facts and opinions are discussed, and
+men become mutually enlightened as to what is thought and done around
+them. From this continual interchange of mental wealth, there naturally
+arises an amount of enlightenment and capacity that tends greatly to
+extend the domain of thought. But let any one cast his eyes on Russia,
+and he will be struck by the unfavourable manner in which its population
+is distributed. Not only are the great centres of population very thinly
+scattered over the surface, but the several dwellings too in the towns
+are placed very wide apart, and those of the villages still more so.
+Every man is isolated, every man lives by and for himself, or at least
+within a very contracted sphere. Social meetings are rare, and in winter
+almost impossible; in a word, it is not at all unusual for people not to
+know their neighbours on the opposite side of the street; hence the
+invariable _nesnai_ (I do not know) with which the Russian replies to
+every question the traveller puts to him, ought not to astonish or
+incense the latter. At first I was disposed to think this ignorance was
+pretended, and to attribute it to sulkiness and indolence; but I
+afterwards perceived that it was occasioned in much greater measure by
+the absurd style of building adopted in the country.
+
+Another thing that tends to enervate the Russians and keep them in their
+brutified condition, is the immoderate use of brandy, to which both men
+and women are addicted. It is truly deplorable that the government feels
+constrained to favour the sale of that pernicious liquor which forms its
+most important source of revenue. How often have I seen the dram-shops
+full of women dead drunk, who had left their poultry yards tenantless,
+and sold their household furniture to gratify their fatal passion.
+
+A thing by which I have always been much struck in Russia, is the
+stationary uniformity which prevails over the whole surface of the
+empire, both in ideas and in physical productions. You see everywhere
+the same plans and arrangements of the buildings, the same implements,
+and the same agricultural practices and modes of carriage. Contact with
+foreigners has as yet had no influence on the Sclavonic population, and
+the prosperity generally enjoyed for sixty years by the German colonies
+has done little in the way of example. Is this intellectual
+insensibility the result of servitude exclusively? I think not.
+Servitude may indeed repress, but it cannot extinguish, the various
+qualities with which nature has endowed us; and if the Russians are
+still so backward, and give so little promise of improvement, we must
+explain the fact by the nature of their race, by their still infant
+state as a nation, and their want of precedents in civilisation. At the
+same time there is no reason to despair of them. In our opinion, the
+future civilisation of Russia rests in a great measure on the
+contingency of a religious reformation; but as that reformation could
+not but be hazardous to absolute power by awakening ideas of
+independence and resistance to oppression, the government impedes it by
+every means in its power, and labours unceasingly to reduce all the
+inhabitants of the empire to religious uniformity, as is proved by its
+conduct towards the United Greeks of Poland, and towards the
+Douckoboren and the Molokaner. I had opportunities of observing among
+the members of the two latter communities, how great an influence a
+change of religion may have on the character and intellect of the
+Russians. The Douckoboren and the Molokaner differ essentially in this
+respect from the other subjects of the empire. Activity, probity,
+intelligence, desire of improvement, all these qualities are developed
+among them to the highest degree, and after having consorted with the
+Germans for fifteen years, they have completely appropriated all the
+agricultural ameliorations, and even the social habits of those foreign
+colonists. Among the Russian peasants on the contrary, whether slave or
+free, a complete immobility prevails, and nothing can force them out of
+the old inevitable rut. All the efforts and all the encouragements of
+the government have hitherto been of no avail.
+
+The emancipation of the slaves seems earnestly to occupy the Emperor
+Nicholas; and the measures adopted of late years testify in favour of
+his generous intentions. Unfortunately, the task is beset with
+difficulties for the legislator, and an abrupt attempt to make the
+Russian people independent, would infallibly expose the empire to the
+greatest dangers.
+
+There are in the Russian slave two natures, essentially distinct: the
+one, destitute of all energy, of all vitality, is the result of the
+servitude under which the nation has bent for ages; the other, a bequest
+of barbarism, starting into action at the breath of liberty, is prompt
+to the most alarming excesses, and inspires the revolted serf with the
+desire, above all things, to massacre his master. Emancipation,
+therefore, is not so easy as certain philanthropists would believe it to
+be, and the details we have just given may enable one to conceive all
+the mischiefs that might ensue from it.
+
+The greatest obstacle to this social metamorphosis is presented by the
+private slaves, the majority of whom belong to the hereditary
+aristocracy; it is especially on the part of this class that premature
+liberty might occasion fatal and bloody reactions, which would endanger
+the empire itself, though immediately directed against the lords only.
+Accordingly the tzar, who is not ignorant of these facts, does all in
+his power to withdraw the serfs from their proprietors, and bring them
+into the crown domain: hence the position of the serfs has been
+considerably altered within the last few years. Slaves can now no longer
+be purchased without the lands to which they are attached. Formerly
+owners often hired out their slaves: they can now only grant them
+passports for three years, and the serf himself chooses the master he
+will serve, and the kind of labour to which he will apply himself.
+
+It was evidently with a view to the same end that a bank was created
+some years ago in St. Petersburg, for the purpose of rendering pecuniary
+assistance to the aristocracy. Every proprietor can borrow from the bank
+at eight per cent., on a mortgage of his lands. But by the rules of the
+institution, when the term of payment is past, the property of a
+defaulting creditor may be immediately sequestrated to the crown. What
+the government foresaw has happened, and does happen daily, and it has
+acquired numerous private estates, and incorporated them with the
+imperial domains.
+
+A new ukase respecting the emancipation of the slaves which was issued
+in 1842, fixed the relative position of freedmen and their former lords.
+The measure was shaped so as to give the government a direct influence
+conducive to the gradual emancipation of the population. The owners were
+left, as before, the power of emancipating their serfs; but by the terms
+of the ukase, they could only do so in accordance with certain rules,
+and with the express sanction of the emperor. This ukase excited so much
+dissatisfaction among the old _noblesse_, that the tzar was induced
+subsequently to neutralise its effect by a police enactment. The primary
+end was, nevertheless, obtained, and the ukase dealt a heavy blow to the
+subsisting relations between lord and serf.[11] We believe,
+nevertheless, that the course adopted by the Emperor Nicholas (by the
+advice, no doubt, of Count Kizilev) is erroneous, and that the last
+ukases are impolitic. Do what it will, the government will never succeed
+in liberating the private slaves without the co-operation of their
+owners. It is impossible to think of making all the peasants exclusively
+serfs of the crown; such a means of emancipation is impracticable, for
+it implies that the government should remain, in the last result, sole
+possessor of all the lands in the empire, and that the nobility, great
+and small, should be infallibly ruined. In our opinion, the last ukases
+have only served to make emancipation more difficult, by exciting hatred
+between masters and slaves, and fostering the germs of a dangerous
+rebellious spirit. The Russians are still so backward in civilisation,
+that ideas of independence, abruptly and incautiously introduced amongst
+them, would be very likely to cause disastrous convulsions. Liberty must
+reach them gradually; and above all, it is absolutely necessary that
+they should be prepared, by instruction, to exchange their slavery for a
+better state of things. Otherwise, with their present character,
+liberty, after being first summed up by them in the privilege of doing
+nothing, in pillage and massacre, would inevitably end in wretchedness
+and destitution. In the treatment of this great social question, it is
+before all things necessary that the government should come to a fair
+understanding with the nobles, and labour conjointly with them for the
+regeneration of the slave population: it is only by earnest mutual aid
+that those two powers will ever succeed in advancing the cause of
+emancipation without imminent peril to the empire. But in any case,
+there is no denying the many difficulties of this enterprise, no
+answering for all future contingencies. Considerations connected with
+landed property will probably long defeat all efforts in this direction,
+unless the peasants be freely permitted to become landowners, on payment
+of a certain sum for the redemption of their persons, and the purchase
+of the land requisite for their subsistence. This seems to us the only
+rational, nay, the only possible means, of arriving at complete
+emancipation without violence. No doubt if such a privilege be granted
+to the peasants, the present improvident and prodigal race of nobles
+will be rapidly dispossessed; but this will not occasion the country any
+serious inconvenience, and the new order of things will but favour the
+development of the middle class, in which really reside, in our day, all
+the strength and prosperity of a nation.
+
+As for the clergy, whose numbers amount to about 500,000, both males and
+females, we mention them here only to repeat our declaration of their
+nullity and immorality. Utterly unacquainted with any thing pertaining
+to polity and administration, having nothing to do with public
+instruction, and being in their own persons ignorant to excess, the
+priests enjoy no sort of influence or consideration, and are occupied
+solely with corporeal things. We will not enter further into this
+subject. We are loath to unveil completely the vices and ignoble habits
+that distinguish the priests of the orthodox Russian church.
+
+The following is a general table of the Russian population as published
+by the ministry in 1836:
+
+                   _Clergy._                  |   Males.    |  Females.
+                                              |             |
+  Orthodox Greek clergy of all grades,        |             |
+    including the families of ecclesiastics   |   254,057   |   240,748
+  United Greek                                |     7,823   |     7,318
+  Catholic                                    |     2,497   |
+  Armenian                                    |       474   |       343
+  Lutheran                                    |     1,003   |       955
+  Reformed                                    |        51   |        37
+  Mahommedan Mollahs                          |     7,850   |     6,701[A]
+  Buddhist Lamas                              |       150[B]|
+                                              |             |
+                  _Nobility._                 |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Hereditary nobles                           |   284,731   |   253,429
+  Personal nobles, including the children     |             |
+    of officers                               |    78,922   |    74,273
+  Subaltern functionaries, retired soldiers,  |             |
+    and their families                        |   187,047   |   237,443
+                                              |             |
+        _Populations bound to military_       |             |
+           _service in time of war._          |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Cossacks of the Don, the Black Sea, the     |             |
+    Caucasus, Astrakhan, Azov, and the        |             |
+    Danube, Orenburg and the Ural, and of     |             |
+    Siberia, Bashkirs, and Mestcheriaks       |   950,698   |   981,467
+                                              |             |
+       _Inhabiting towns, or included_        |             |
+          _in the municipalities._            |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Merchants of the three guilds, including    |             |
+    notable _bourgeois_.                      |   131,347   |   120,714
+  Bourgeois and artisans                      | 1,339,434   | 1,433,982
+  Bourgeois in the towns of the               |             |
+    western provinces                         |     7,522   |     6,966
+  Greeks of Nejine, armourers of Toula,       |             |
+    apprentices in the pharmacies, and        |             |
+    others, brokers in the towns, and         |             |
+    functionaries in the service of the       |             |
+    municipalities                            |    10,882   |    10,940
+  Inhabitants of the towns of Bessarabia      |    57,905   |    56,176
+                                              |             |
+       _Inhabiting the rural districts._      |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Serfs of the crown and the apanages         |10,441,399   |11,022,595
+  Serfs of the seignorial lands               |11,403,722   |11,958,873
+                                              |             |
+            _Nomade races, such as_           |             |
+                                              |             |
+  Kalmucks, Khirghis, Turkmans, Tatars        |   254,715   |   261,982
+  Inhabitants of the Transcaucasian Provinces |   689,147   |   689,150
+  Kingdom of Poland                           | 2,077,311   | 2,110,911
+  Grand Duchy of Finland                      |   663,658   |   708,464
+  Russian colonies in America                 |    30,761   |    30,292
+                                              +-------------+----------
+                            Total             |28,883,106   |30,213,759
+
+  [A: These figures are evidently misplaced. Ought they to stand for
+  Catholic nuns?--_Translator._]
+
+  [B: This number is quite erroneous, for we ourselves found several
+  hundred priests among the Kalmucks of the Volga. The encampment of
+  Prince Tumene, which we visited, alone possesses more than 200.]
+
+Soldiers and sailors in actual service, their wives and families, not
+having been included in this total, the gross amount of the population
+of the empire appears to be about 61,000,000,--at least if we may judge
+from the ministerial table, the correctness of which we by no means
+guarantee.
+
+According to the report of the ministry of the interior, the part of the
+population of European Russia not belonging to the orthodox Greek
+church, was, in 1839, as follows:
+
+  Catholics              2,235,586
+  Gregorian Armenians       39,927
+  Catholic Armenians        28,145
+  Protestants            1,500,000
+  Mohammedans            1,530,726
+  Jews                   1,069,440
+  Buddhists                 65,000
+                         ---------
+              Total      6,868,824
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[11] We have not the honour of being acquainted with the Emperor of
+Russia's secret thoughts, and we willingly ascribe to a certain
+liberalism all the ukases concerning the emancipation of the slaves; it
+is possible, however, that the tzar's measures may have been prompted,
+in a great degree, by the fears with which he regards an aristocracy
+still possessing more than 20,000,000 of slaves.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+      CONSTITUTION OF THE EMPIRE; GOVERNMENTS--CONSEQUENCES OF
+      CENTRALISATION; DISSIMULATION OF PUBLIC FUNCTIONARIES--
+      TRIBUNALS--THE COLONEL OF THE GENDARMERIE--CORRUPTION--
+      PEDANTRY OF FORMS--CONTEMPT OF THE DECREES OF THE EMPEROR
+      AND THE SENATE--SINGULAR ANECDOTE; INTERPRETATION OF A WILL
+      --RADICAL EVILS IN THE JUDICIAL ORGANISATION--HISTORY AND
+      PRESENT STATE OF RUSSIAN LAW.
+
+
+The existing division of the Russian empire into fifty-six governments
+dates from the reign of the Emperor Paul. A nearly similar organisation
+existed indeed in the time of Catherine II., but the functions of the
+governors had a much wider range at that period than in our days, and
+those administrators, called by the empress her stewards, enjoyed nearly
+sovereign power.
+
+The Russian governments correspond to the French departments, the
+districts to sub-prefectures; each government has its chief town, which
+is the seat of the different civil and military administrations.
+
+The governor, who has the exclusive charge of the civil administration,
+nominates to various secondary places, is the head of the college of
+_prevoyance_, and ex-officio inspector of the schools, can demand an
+account of their proceedings of all the provincial authorities except
+the high court, and determines administrative questions with the aid of
+a council of regency composed of two councillors and a secretary,
+nominated by the emperor.
+
+At first sight the governor's power seems unlimited; and indeed he has
+all the authority requisite to do mischief, but very little to do good.
+In Russia the most laudable intentions and the most brilliant
+capabilities are completely paralysed, and the chief administrators
+must, whether they will or not, undergo the disastrous consequences of
+the venality and corruption of their subordinates. Distrust and
+suspicion have been made the essential basis of the organisation of the
+bureaucracy. By surrounding the high functionaries with a multitude of
+_employes_, and subjecting them to countless formalities, it was thought
+the abuses of power would be hindered; and all that is come of it is the
+creation of an odious class, who use the weapons put into their hands to
+cheat the government, rob individuals, and prevent honest men from
+labouring for the prosperity of their country. The governors have not
+even the right of inquest in judicial questions, and the judges may, by
+entrenching themselves behind the text of the rules, pronounce the most
+iniquitous sentences with impunity. I have known some true-hearted and
+generous administrators, but all after struggling for long years to
+arrive at some sage reforms, at last gave up their efforts in despair,
+and most of them fell into disgrace through the multiplied intrigues of
+their subordinates. In each chief town it is the secretary, the head of
+the chancery, who is the real wielder of the power of government. He
+alone is regarded as knowing the text of the Russian laws; so that, in
+order to oppose any measure of the governor's, he has but to cite a few
+phrases, more or less obscure, from the code of regulations, and it very
+rarely happens that his principal ventures, without his approbation, to
+take on himself the responsibility of any administrative act. There have
+been instances in which governors, disregarding bureaucratic
+formalities, and acting for themselves, have impeded the execution of a
+decree of the tribunals; but they have never failed to expiate their
+audacity by dismissal, unless they were supported by a high social
+position and potent protectors.
+
+Furthermore, the representatives of government are so cramped in their
+powers, that a governor-general, who often rules over several millions
+of men, cannot dispose of 200_l._ without the sanction of the ministry.
+
+Centralisation, no doubt, has its advantages; but in a country so vast,
+and of such varied wants as Russia, it is impossible that a minister, be
+his talents what they may, can ever satisfy the reasonable demands of
+all parts of the empire. The consequence is that the most useful
+projects are almost always neglected or rejected in the provinces remote
+from the capital.
+
+Another evil, not less deplorable, is the necessity of practising mutual
+deception, under which the public functionaries labour. A public servant
+never thinks of making known to his superior the real situation of the
+country he governs: either he ridiculously exaggerates the good, or he
+is absolutely silent as to what is bad. In the latter case, he acts only
+in accordance with the imperative dictates of prudence, for if he
+declared the truth he would infallibly incur disgrace, and would even
+run the risk of being dismissed. So whenever a public calamity happens,
+it is only at the last extremity, and when the mischief is become
+irremediable, that he makes up his mind to call for an aid that usually
+comes not at all, or else is sure to come too late.
+
+This profound dissimulation, joined with the jealousy which the
+distinctions of rank excite among the _employes_, does incalculable
+damage to the empire by impeding every useful reform. However, of all
+the sovereigns of the empire, the Tzar Nicholas is, perhaps, the one to
+whom truth and plain dealing are most welcome, and with whom
+well-grounded censure finds most acceptance. Unfortunately, since
+Potemkin's mystifications, falsehood has become a normal thing with the
+Russian _employes_, and the basis of all their proceedings, and hitherto
+the imperial will has been incapable of eradicating this fatal evil.
+
+The superior court of justice sitting in the chief place of each
+government, and comprising a civil and a criminal section, consists of
+two presidents, two councillors, two secretaries, and eight assessors,
+four of whom are burghers. The emperor endeavoured in 1835 to extend the
+rights of the nobility, by making the offices of president and judge in
+these tribunals elective, but this change appears to have produced but
+very unfavourable results. As all the great proprietors had very little
+inclination to fill such offices, the electors had no opportunity of
+making a good choice, and at last it was found necessary to return to
+the old institutions.
+
+The superior court of justice decides finally in all civil cases, in
+which the sum in dispute does not exceed 500 rubles. Over it are the
+various departments of the senate and the general assembly, resident
+partly in St. Petersburg, and partly in Moscow, and constituting two
+courts to which appeals lie from the governmental courts. There is no
+appeal from the decisions of the general assembly of the senate, or from
+those of the council of the empire approved by the emperor, except on
+the ground of misrepresentations in the evidence.
+
+In the district courts (corresponding to the French _tribunaux de
+premiere instance_) there are also two sections, civil and criminal,
+consisting each of a president, a secretary, having under him several
+_employes_ who constitute the chancery, and four assessors, two of whom
+are chosen from among the inhabitants of the rural district. These
+latter sit only in cases where peasants are concerned.
+
+There is likewise in each governmental chief town, and in each district
+town, an inferior court, specially charged with the affairs of the rural
+police, the taking of informations in criminal affairs, summary
+jurisdiction as to minor offences, and the execution of sentences. This
+court consists of a president, called _ispravnik_, and four assessors,
+two of them nobles, two peasants. These judges, who are all elected by
+the nobles, are assisted by a secretary, the only _employe_ directly
+dependent on the government.
+
+The chief towns and the district towns have also a sort of municipal
+council, consisting of a mayor (_golova_), and four assistants, elected
+by the municipality, and afterwards approved of by the government. This
+council acts also as a tribunal, and takes cognizance of all the petty
+cases of litigation that may arise among the townsfolk. A nearly similar
+institution exists among the peasants of the empire.
+
+We will not speak of the colleges of wards, the committees of the nobles
+presided over by the marshals of the nobles, the courts of conscience
+which try cases between parents and children, &c. The members of all
+these institutions are elected, but their functions are too
+insignificant to demand mention here.
+
+One of the most influential personages in each government, is the
+colonel of the gendarmerie, who is completely independent of the
+governor. He is the head of the secret police, corresponds directly with
+the minister, and has it in his power, if he is an honest man, to do
+much good by the rigorous control he can exercise over all the
+_employes_ of a province.
+
+This justiciary scheme is in itself very liberal, and ought, one would
+suppose, to satisfy the wants of the population; but like the governors,
+the judges of the different tribunals are in fact but puppets, moved at
+the discretion of the subordinate clerks, who alone are masters of the
+tricks and quibbles of Russian jurisprudence, and legal practice. The
+lowest clerk in a chancery has often more influence than the president
+himself, and the suitor who refuses to be squeezed by him may be quite
+certain that he will never see the termination of his cause. It is
+impossible to imagine with what adroitness all these fellows, many of
+whom receive for salary only sixty or a hundred rubles a year, manage to
+sweat the purses of those who require their assistance. Justice is
+continually violated in favour of the highest bidder, and thanks to the
+number of contradictory ukases which pass for laws, the most audacious
+robberies are unblushingly committed without the possibility of redress.
+It may be asserted with truth, that the jurisdictional authority in
+Russia resides in the offices of court rather than in the persons of the
+judges. The secretary is the omnipotent arbiter of sentences, and
+dictates them under the influence of money and the bureaucracy.
+
+Nothing can give an idea of the arts of knavery and chicane put in
+practice to fleece the unfortunates who have to do with the underlings
+of justice. The rigorous stickling for forms, and the multitude of
+papers, are a curse to the country; no business is done by word of mouth
+in Russia.[12] All law proceedings are carried on in writing; the
+slightest question and the most trivial explanation must be put down on
+stamped paper according to the appointed forms. Hence it may be
+conceived that with the horrible spirit of chicanery that characterises
+the _employes_, and the readiness with which they can find a flaw (a
+_krutchuk_ as they call it), in every paper, legal proceedings are spun
+out to an indefinite length, and scarcely end until both parties are
+ruined, or until the one prevails over the other by dint of money and
+corruption. I have often known a document to be sent back from St.
+Petersburg after a lapse of six months, merely because this or that
+phrase was not written according to rule. The government of Bessarabia
+alone paid 63,000_l._ for stamps, in the course of four years, and the
+population of that province does not exceed 500,000. The want of
+publicity, moreover, has the most pernicious influence on the
+administration of justice. All judgments are made up in secret; there
+are no open pleadings; law processes consist from first to last in piles
+of paper, which enrich the judges and their subordinates, but in no-wise
+affect their opinions, which are always based on the most advantageous
+offers.
+
+This woful state of things is further aggravated by the fact that the
+judges are secure from all responsibility; in whatever manner they
+decide a cause, they always do so in accordance with the laws, provided
+they observe the due forms; but what is really incredible, is the
+impudence with which the lowest tribunal of a district town presumes to
+annul both the decrees of the emperor and those of the general assembly
+of the senate. I will mention in illustration a certain suit brought
+against the heirs of a rich landowner in Podolia, who was deeply
+indebted at his death to the imperial bank of St. Petersburg and to
+several foreign bankers. These latter having become creditors before the
+bank, naturally claimed to be paid in the first instance. The
+consequence was a suit, which had been going on for twelve years when I
+arrived in Russia. The foreigners were defeated in the district court,
+but they gained their cause successively in the governmental court and
+the general assembly of the senate, and finally they obtained a decree
+in their favour from the emperor himself; but the district tribunal,
+under pretext that certain regulations had been violated, took upon
+itself to annul all the decisions of the senate, and to make the whole
+suit be begun over again.
+
+It sometimes happens, however, that the imperial will is declared in so
+positive a manner, that all the tricks and subterfuges of judges and
+secretaries must give way to it. Here is an anecdote that conveys a
+perfect notion of what law means in Russia. In Alexander's reign the
+Jesuits had made themselves all-powerful in some parts of Poland. A rich
+landowner and possessor of 6000 peasants at Poltzk, the Jesuit
+head-quarters, was so wrought on by the artful assiduities of the
+society that he bequeathed his whole fortune to it at his death, with
+this stipulation, that the Jesuits should bring up his only son, and
+afterwards give him whatever portion of the inheritance _they should
+choose_. When the young man had reached the age of twenty, the Jesuits
+bestowed on him 300 peasants. He protested vehemently against their
+usurpation, and began a suit against the society; but his father's will
+seemed clear and explicit, and after having consumed all his little
+fortune, he found his claims disowned by every tribunal in the empire,
+including even the general assembly of the senate. In this seemingly
+hopeless extremity he applied to a certain attorney in St. Petersburg,
+famous for his inexhaustible fertility of mind in matters of cunning and
+chicanery. After having perused the will and the documents connected
+with the suit, the lawyer said to his client, "Your business is done; if
+you will promise me 10,000 rubles I will undertake to procure an
+imperial ukase reinstating you in possession of all your father's
+property." The young man readily agreed to the bargain, and in eight
+days afterwards he was master of his patrimony. The decision which led
+to this singular result rested solely on the interpretation of the
+phrase _they shall give him whatever portion they shall choose_, which
+plainly meant, as the lawyer maintained, that the young man was entitled
+exclusively to such portion as the Jesuits _chose_, _i. e._, to that
+which they chose and retained for themselves. The emperor admitted this
+curious explanation; the son became proprietor of 5700 peasants, and the
+Jesuits were obliged to content themselves with the 300 they had
+bestowed on their ward in the first instance. Assuredly the most adroit
+cadi in Turkey could not have decided the case better.
+
+We have already seen that litigants can appeal to the governmental
+court, and again to the general assembly of the senate, in all suits for
+more than five hundred rubles. This privilege instead of being
+advantageous, appears to us to be highly the reverse. In France, where
+distances are short, and where justice is administered with a
+promptitude and impartiality elsewhere unexampled, the appeal to the
+court of cassation affords the most precious guarantee for the equitable
+application of the laws. Besides this, it only gives occasions to a
+revision of the documents in the case, and to a new trial before another
+tribunal if there have been any error of form; but in Russia, where
+distances are immense, and where all things conspire to render suits
+interminable, litigants from the provinces can only ruin themselves by
+using their right of recourse to the tribunals of St. Petersburg. I have
+known landowners who spent twenty years of their lives in prosecuting a
+suit in the capital, and who died without having obtained judgment. It
+must be acknowledged, however, that appeals to St. Petersburg are
+justified to a certain extent by the deplorable nature of governmental
+justice.
+
+The last radical vice we have to mention has its origin in the nobiliary
+system of Peter the Great, in inadequate salaries and the want of a
+special body of magistrates. We have seen the necessity entailed on all
+freemen of entering the service of the state and acquiring a more or
+less elevated rank, the consequence is, that all the public departments
+are overburdened with _employes_; and as most of them have no patrimony
+and are very scantily paid, sometimes not paid at all, they are of
+course driven to dishonest shifts for their livelihood. Even the heads
+of departments are not sufficiently remunerated to be safe from the many
+temptations that beset them. The government has indeed augmented their
+salaries at various times, but never in a sufficient degree to produce
+any desirable reform in their conduct. The office of judge, too, is not
+regarded with sufficient respect and consideration to make it an object
+of ambition to the high nobility; it is filled in all instances by the
+lowest privileged class in the empire, or bestowed as a recompense on
+retired military men. This will no doubt appear extraordinary; but it
+must be remembered that there exists as yet in Russia no distinct corps
+of magistrates, nor any official class of lawyers; the members of the
+several tribunals, whether elected by the nobles, or nominated by the
+emperor, are by no means expected to be acquainted with jurisprudence
+and the laws, and if any among them have studied law in the universities
+this is a mere accident. Those of them who are honest, judge according
+to their conscience and their common sense; the others give their voices
+for those who have bought them.
+
+It is the same with the senate, the supreme judicial court in the
+empire. It consists only of military veterans, and superannuated
+servants of the state; in a word, of men who know nothing whatever of
+law. Hence it is easy to conceive the unlimited power exercised in all
+these courts by the government secretaries, who, when they know by heart
+the some thousands of ukases that form what is called the imperial code,
+pass for eminent lawyers in the eyes of the Russians.
+
+The same evil affects, to an equal degree, all the administrative
+departments. In Russia, no calling or profession has its limits strictly
+defined; a man passes indifferently from one service to another. A
+cavalry officer, for instance, will be nominated as director of a high
+school, an old colonel as head of a custom-house, and so forth.
+
+In addition to the laws which are peculiar to it, Russian legislation
+evidently comprises two foreign elements, the German and the Roman.
+Germanic law was introduced into Russia by the Varengians, a branch of
+the Northman stock. To the leaders of those warriors the country owes
+the origin of its feudal system. Subsequently, when the Russians were
+converted to Christianity, Vladimir adopted certain parts of the Roman
+law as modified by the Byzantines. But if we may judge from the
+documents furnished by the Nestorian chronicle, it would appear, that
+previously to that epoch, the Russians had already borrowed some
+particulars from the Roman code, and blended them with their customary
+law of indigenous and German origin.
+
+The first written code mentioned in Russian history, is that of
+Jaroslav, who reigned in the beginning of the thirteenth century; from
+that period the country remained quite stationary, in consequence of the
+continual wars and troubles occasioned by its territorial division; and
+more than a century of suffering and anarchy prepared the nation to
+submit without resistance to a foreign yoke.
+
+It was in 1218 that the Tatars crossed the Volga and seized the
+dominions of the tzars; and whilst Europe, under the energetic influence
+of the crusades and of the lights of the Lower Empire, was sapping the
+edifice of feudalism, and labouring towards its future glorious
+emancipation, Russia remained for more than 300 years in ignominious
+thraldom, taking no part in the great intellectual movement of the
+fifteenth century, retrograding rather than advancing, debasing its
+national character day by day, and thus heaping up against the progress
+of civilisation, obstacles which the genius of its modern sovereigns has
+not yet been able to annihilate.
+
+In the ever memorable reign of Ivan III. the Tatars were expelled from
+the greater part of Russia, the dissensions caused by the parcelling out
+of the empire were extinguished, the several principalities were united
+into a single body, and legislative labours were resumed after four
+hundred years of inaction.
+
+Ivan III. had a collection made of all the old judicial constitutions,
+and published, with the assistance of the metropolitan Jerome, a
+collection of laws, which is not without merit, considering the period
+when it was made. But this code allowed wager of battle; and murder,
+arson, and highway robbery, continued to be judged in the lists.
+
+About 1550, Ivan IV. surnamed the Terrible, completed the code of laws
+promulgated by his grandfather, Ivan III. and put a check upon the
+territorial aggrandisements of the clergy. The new code, known by the
+name of _Sudebnick_, remained in force almost without any change, until
+the accession of the tzar Alexis Michaelovitz (father of Peter the
+Great), who, having collected the laws of the several provinces of the
+empire, published them in 1649, under the title of _Ulogenie_. This
+collection, the first printed in Russia, was begun and completed within
+the space of two months and a half; but notwithstanding its
+imperfection, it has nevertheless, served as the foundation on which all
+subsequent improvements have been based.
+
+Since the reign of Peter the Great, ten commissions have been
+successively employed in the codification of the Russian laws. We will
+not enter into the details of the changes introduced by them: on this
+subject, the work published by M. Victor Foucher, and the "Coup d'oeil
+sur la legislation Russe," by M. Tolstoi, may be consulted with
+advantage. The tenth commission was appointed in 1804, and sat until
+1826. It applied itself earnestly to the construction of the civil,
+penal, and criminal codes; but numerous difficulties prevented it from
+completing its task.
+
+On his accession to the throne, the Emperor Nicholas promised at first a
+new code which should correct and complete its predecessors. But the
+difficulties were too great, and he ended by adopting a digest, which
+merely classified according to their subjects all the existing laws
+promulgated since the general regulation of 1649, effected by Alexis
+Michaelovitz. In 1826, he laid down the following rules for this
+revision.
+
+1. Enactments fallen into desuetude to be excluded.
+
+2. All repetitions to be suppressed, by choosing among statutes to the
+same effect that one which is most complete.
+
+3. The spirit of the law to be preserved by expressing in a single rule
+the substance of all those that treat of the same matter.
+
+4. The acts from which each law is drawn are to be exactly set forth.
+
+5. Between two contradictory laws, the preference to be given to the
+more recent.
+
+The design of the Emperor Nicholas was speedily carried into effect. The
+complete collection of the laws of the empire was published in 1830; and
+on the 31st of January, the tzar announced in a manifesto that the
+classification of the law as a systematic body was terminated. The
+matter was then spoken of in the Russian journals in 1830:
+
+"The second section of the private chancery of his majesty the emperor
+has just finished printing the first collection of the laws of the
+Russian empire from 1649 to December 12, 1825 in forty-five volumes,
+4to.
+
+"This collection consists of four principal parts: 1, the text of the
+laws from the general regulation of 1649 to the first manifesto of the
+Emperor Nicholas (December 12, 1825), in forty volumes. This part
+comprises 30,920 laws, rules, treaties, and acts of various kinds; 2, a
+general index containing a chronological table, which is in some sort a
+juridical dictionary for Russia; 3, a book of the appointments of civil
+functionaries and of the administrative expenditure and the tariffs from
+1711 to 1825, to the number of 1351; 4, a book of the plans and designs
+pertaining to the several laws.
+
+"The laws and acts belonging to the reign of his majesty the Emperor
+Nicholas, will form the second collection beginning on the 12th of
+December, 1825. The printing is already begun, and it will appear in the
+course of the year. A supplement to it will afterwards be published
+every year.
+
+"The laws anterior to the year of 1649, which are generally considered
+as obsolete, but which are nevertheless of high importance as regards,
+history, will form a separate collection under the name of the ancient
+laws.
+
+"This first collection was begun in 1826, and finished on the 1st of
+March, 1830. The printing began on the 21st of May, 1828, and ended on
+the 1st of April last, at the press of the second section of his
+majesty's chancery. For the composition of this collection, it has been
+necessary to collate and extract from 3396 books of laws. The forty
+volumes of the text, and the volume of the chronological index, contain
+5284 printed sheets.
+
+"This book will be ready for sale on the 1st of June at the
+printing-office. The price of the forty-five volumes is 500 paper
+rubles.
+
+"By a rescript of the 5th of April last, addressed to the
+privy-councillor Dashkof, adjunct of the minister of justice and
+director of that ministry, his majesty the emperor notifies to him the
+order he has given to furnish copies of the collection to all the
+departments of the senate, and to all the tribunals and administrations
+of the government, and directs him to concert with the ministers of
+finance and of the interior for the prompt delivery of these books in
+all the governments, so that they may be kept and employed in due
+manner."
+
+Thus the code of the Emperor Nicholas is, in fact, but a systematic
+collection of all the laws promulgated within the last 200 years, or
+thereabouts. It contains not one new idea, not one modification required
+by the actual situation of the empire, not one thought for the future.
+Now if we reflect that the study of 3396 books of laws, and the revision
+of 50,000 laws or ukases, have taken place within the short period of
+two years, and that the men who had to perform this task, were far from
+being jurisconsults, we shall perceive that such a work must be very
+imperfect, and that it must have been totally impossible to fulfil the
+intentions of the tzar, as expressed in the instructions above cited.
+The empire, indeed, possesses fifty-five bulky volumes of laws, but the
+inconveniences resulting from the multiplicity of contradictory ukases,
+and from others ill adapted to the necessities of the country, have been
+retained in them to a great extent; and the experience of thirteen years
+has shown the insufficiency of this collection, and its little influence
+on the course and conduct of lawsuits. Another defective point in this
+improvisated legislation, is its pretension to satisfy the requirements
+of the future by admitting, as a complement to the body of the statutes,
+all the ukases issued, or to be issued by the emperor. If to these
+30,920 laws already existing, this palladium of justice already so
+formidable, there be added every year a supplementary volume equal in
+capacity to the average legislative contributions of the last 180 years,
+every year will then supply its battalion of 172 new laws; and I am at a
+loss to conceive where there will be found by-and-by a lawyer
+sufficiently patient to study this new levy of justice, when with all
+the good will imaginable the most indefatigable reader can hardly once
+in his life pass in review the body of the veterans.
+
+In the space of five years since the emperor's manifesto (January 31,
+1833), five new volumes have been already added to the collection.
+
+Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that the emperor's performance is
+extremely meritorious. To him belongs the honour of having been the
+first to bestow a regular body of laws on his country. Before his time
+Russia had but a confused and fluctuating legislation, encumbered with
+an infinity of statutes, the study of which was the more difficult, as
+no printed collection of them existed. At present it possesses at least
+a complete digest, within reach of all, and which all may consult and
+appeal to. Surely a man of the emperor's perseverance and great capacity
+would not have shrunk from accomplishing a more perfect work, could he
+have indulged the hope of being seconded by abler and better instructed
+jurisconsults. But he was compelled of necessity to take the
+consequences of the want of any thing like a corps of magistrature, and
+finding he could not do any thing better, he resolved to make no change
+in the spirit of the laws promulgated during the preceding 200 years,
+and to follow exactly the course marked out in 1700 by Peter the Great.
+In this way the codification of the laws became a mere effort of
+compilation and arrangement, and setting aside the collation of the
+ukases, the clerks of the second section of the imperial chancery were
+quite competent to the task.
+
+It will not be altogether uninteresting to place here a detailed table
+of the population in a governmental chief town. An examination of such
+documents may lead to very curious comparisons and reflections. The town
+we have chosen is Kichinev, the capital of Bessarabia, and the figures
+we give have been extracted directly from the books of the provincial
+governor's chancery.
+
+                                                  |   Men. | Women.
+                                                  |        |
+  Monks                                           |    16  |
+  Priests                                         |    89  |    126
+  Servants                                        |   114  |     59
+  Military officers[A] in active service          |   139  |     53
+  Superior officers in the civil service, ditto   |   339  |    236
+  Officers of the fourteenth class, ditto         |   419  |    163
+                                                  |        |
+         _Military officers on leave._            |        |
+  Generals                                        |     1  |      1
+  Staff-officers of every grade                   |    42  |     31
+                                                  |        |
+            _Civil officers on leave._            |        |
+  Generals                                        |     2  |      2
+  Superior officers and others                    |   107  |    104
+
+                  ~~~~~~~~~~
+                                                  |        |
+  Persons employed in the theatre                 |    15  |      9
+  First guild merchants                           |     6  |     10
+  Second ditto                                    |    35  |     31
+  Third ditto                                     |   736  |    623
+  Foreigners                                      |    194 |    144
+  Burghers                                        | 18,092 | 15,973
+  Government employes of all kinds                |  2,121 |    237
+  Young people reared at the expense of the crown |     32 |
+  Soldiers on furlough                            |     31 |     12
+  Workpeople                                      |    415 |    511
+  Gipsy slaves                                    |     54 |     63
+  German colonists                                |     37 |     24
+  Pupils of all kinds                             |    996 |     17
+                                                  |--------|--------
+                                 Total            | 24,032 | 18,429
+
+  [A: Neither the officers nor the soldiers of the garrison are included
+  in this list.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[12] The official correspondence of the ministers, and of the civil and
+military authorities, amounts annually to nearly 15,000,000 of letters,
+whilst that of all private Russians does not exceed 7,000,000.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+      PUBLIC INSTRUCTION--CORPS OF CADETS--UNIVERSITIES AND
+      ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS; ANECDOTE--PLAN OF EDUCATION--MOTIVES FOR
+      ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITIES--STATISTICS--PROFESSORS; THEIR
+      IGNORANCE--EXCLUSION OF FOREIGN PROFESSORS--ENGINEERING--
+      OBSTACLES TO INTELLECTUAL IMPROVEMENT--CHARACTERISTICS OF
+      THE SCLAVONIC RACE.
+
+
+In contemplating the development and organisation of public instruction
+in Russia from the time of Peter the Great to these days, one cannot
+help thinking that the Russians attach infinitely more value to the
+appearance of progress, than to its real existence. One would say they
+care very little about scientific and intellectual results, provided
+their universities and schools be complete in all physical details, and
+provided they have numerous educational halls graced with the names of
+all the sciences professed in Europe.
+
+Nevertheless, the sovereigns of Russia have all laboured more or less
+actively for the propagation of public instruction. Unfortunately they
+would never suffer themselves to admit that civilisation is a long and
+difficult work; and incapable of forgetting, even amidst the liberal
+ideas on which they based their projects, that they were before all
+things absolute princes, they fancied they could civilise their nation
+as they had disciplined their soldiers; and then, swayed by vanity and
+self-conceit, they graciously suffered themselves to be deceived by all
+the brilliant reports laid before them by the administrative
+departments.
+
+It was in the reign of Feodor Alexievitz that the first academy was
+founded in Moscow. The Sclavonic, Greek, and Latin languages were taught
+there. A university was afterwards established in the same city, and in
+the reign of Catherine II. St. Petersburg possessed an academy of
+sciences and the fine arts, and a society of rural economy. But even at
+that period the spirit of ostentation, which forms the substratum of the
+Russian character, already revealed itself; and while forming those
+grand institutions, not a thought had been given to the opening of a
+single elementary school in either capital. Some writers indeed allege
+that Peter I. left behind him, at his death, fifty-one schools for the
+people, and fifty-six for the military; but I have always been disposed
+to think that those establishments existed but in name, and my
+researches have but confirmed that opinion.
+
+The first elementary institution of any importance founded in the new
+capital, dates only from the beginning of the eighteenth century: it is
+the school of the cadet corps, exclusively reserved for the young
+nobility, and intended to form officers for the land and sea service,
+and for the engineers. In order to judge of the instruction afforded in
+it, one ought to be able at least to mention some of its pupils who have
+been distinguished for their talents, and who have acquired a certain
+degree of celebrity; but it is as difficult to name any such, as to
+discover men of learning and science among the members of the various
+academies mentioned above. Be this as it may, we cannot help
+entertaining a very mean opinion of the spirit and organisation of all
+these establishments founded by Peter the Great, and by the sovereigns
+who succeeded him during the latter part of the eighteenth century.
+
+The first institution in favour of the people was created in St.
+Petersburg in 1764: it was an educational establishment for the
+daughters of burghers and gentlemen of scanty fortune. It was founded by
+Catherine II., who in taking measures by preference for the education of
+women, seems to have intended to prepare them for usurping in their
+domestic circle the same absolute sway which she was herself about to
+exercise over the whole empire.
+
+Elementary schools were not actually opened to the public until 1783,
+and that only in some of the great towns of the empire. As all these
+ill-contrived early institutions possess little interest, I will pass on
+to the consideration of the present state of public instruction. The
+existing system dates from Alexander's reign. The course adopted in the
+beginning was on all points similar to that pursued by Peter the Great
+and Catherine II. The first thing thought of was the establishment of
+universities; those of Dorpat and Vilna were re-established; that of
+Moscow was reformed, and new ones were founded in Kasan and Kharkof. As
+for elementary schools, they were completely overlooked. The following
+anecdote will give an idea of the primitive state of the great colleges
+of the empire.
+
+A German gentleman in the Russian service travelled in the Crimea, in
+1803. On passing through Kharkof, curiosity induced him to visit the
+university, which had been opened in the town about a year before. While
+looking over the cabinet of natural philosophy, he perceived with
+amazement that the professor of that branch of science did not even know
+the names of the few instruments at his command. Unable to conceal his
+surprise, he asked his guide where he had been professor before he
+became attached to the university. "I never was a professor before," was
+the reply. "Where did you study?" "I learned to read and write in
+Moscow." "How did you obtain the rank of professor of natural
+philosophy?" "I was an officer of police; my age no longer allowed me to
+support the fatigues of my duty; so hearing that a place which would
+suit me better was vacant in the academy, I applied for it. Thirty
+years' service, good certificates, and the influence of a patron,
+enabled me to obtain it." "And what are the duties belonging to your
+place?" "I have to inspect the instruments, and keep them in order, and
+I am directed to show them to such persons of distinction as may please
+to visit the university."
+
+This happened, it is true, in 1803, and I only mention the fact to show
+the spirit that prevailed in the establishment of these learned
+institutions. The university of Kharkof is now in a better condition,
+and I know many professors there of real merit, distinguished among whom
+are Doctor Vancetti, equally remarkable for his acquirements and his
+philanthropy, and Professor Kalenitchikov, who devotes himself with
+success to all branches of natural history.
+
+At last, however, it was felt that universities were insufficient, and
+could not exist without elementary schools. Some years after the
+accession of Alexander, gymnasiums were therefore established in all the
+governmental chief towns; and the district towns had their primary
+institutions, in which were to be taught reading and writing, the
+elements of grammar and arithmetic, the history of Russia, sacred
+history, geography, geometry, and the rudiments of Latin.
+
+The course of instruction in the gymnasia was more extensive, and
+embraced special mathematics, logic, rhetoric, and physics. Lastly, the
+pupil was advanced to the university, where he went through a complete
+course of study, comprising the sciences, the liberal arts, literature.
+
+At first sight it would appear that this well conceived plan of studies
+ought to have had the most satisfactory results; but this was not
+altogether the case. The nobiliary system of the empire, and certain
+regulations of detail and discipline combined to destroy the reasonable
+hopes founded on such liberal institutions.
+
+The Russian universities unquestionably number among their professors
+some distinguished men, equally devoted to science and to the duties of
+their calling; but the social ideas prevalent in the country render
+their efforts almost always unavailing, and they find themselves
+compelled to restrict their course of instruction within the narrow
+routine prescribed to them.
+
+Now and always the universities and gymnasia are and have been for the
+most part attended only by pupils of the class of petty nobles, or of
+those of the priests and burghers. As for the sons of the aristocratic
+families, they are generally educated at home by private tutors, and as
+they are almost all intended for the army, they enter at once into the
+corps of cadets established in St. Petersburg.
+
+According to a table published by the ministry of the interior, all the
+first class establishments for public instruction, that is to say the
+universities, the two medico-chirurgical academies, the pedagogic
+institute and the three lycea, contained in 1840 only 612 functionaries
+and professors, and 3809 pupils, the numbers being thus made up:
+
+                                         | Functionaries |
+                                         | and Teachers. | Students.
+                                         |               |
+  St. Petersburg                         |      59       |    433
+  Moscow                                 |      82       |    932
+  Dorpat                                 |      66       |    530
+  Kharkof                                |      79       |    468
+  Kasan                                  |      74       |    237
+  St. Vladimir (Kiev)                    |      55       |    140
+  Richelieu Lyceum (Odessa)              |      25       |     52
+  Demidof ditto                          |      20       |     33
+  Bezborodko ditto                       |      15       |     19
+  Medico-chirurgical academies of        |               |
+    Moscow and Vilna                     |      94       |    797
+  Pedagogic institute of St. Petersburg  |      43       |     68
+
+According to the same report the Russian empire possessed at the close
+of the year 1840, 3230 establishments under the superior direction of
+the ministry of public instruction, and containing 103,450 pupils.
+
+The young men who attend the university courses, have all but one single
+object in view, that of acquiring a grade of nobility; and the
+examinations are too slight to make industry and proficiency in their
+studies really requisite to the attainment of their purpose. Besides,
+they are most of them educated at the cost of the government, and as the
+latter does not like to lose its money, they must all enter the imperial
+service, whether well taught or not. In this manner are formed all the
+physicians, surgeons, and subordinate professors of gymnasia.
+
+As for the civil departments the sole condition required for admission
+into them, is the knowledge of writing and arithmetic; accordingly the
+common class Russian thinks he has completed his education when he can
+read, write, and cypher; and he is indeed sufficiently erudite to get a
+footing in some chancery office, a common clerkship in which admits him
+to the first grade as a civil officer, and from thence he may arrive at
+the highest rank in the service.
+
+Many young men on leaving the universities, are of course employed in
+the public offices; but then, whatever talents they may possess, and
+whatever fruit they may have gathered from their studies become utterly
+useless to them. From the moment they enter any office whatever, they
+perceive with astonishment that they know nothing of what it is
+essential they should know. They have stepped into a new world of which
+they do not even know the language. They hear nothing talked of around
+them but forms, rules, tricks for evading the laws and ordinances,
+artifices for giving a legal colouring to abuses and extortions, and all
+sorts of inventions for squeezing money out of those who have the
+misfortune to need the help of the _employes_.
+
+They soon see that the greatest adepts in those frauds which are
+conveniently styled office usages, the least scrupulous, or, in plain
+terms, the greatest rogues, are considered clever fellows, and make
+their way rapidly; whilst those who still retain some sense of honesty
+and a lingering respect for the principles of morality, are laughed at
+as fools. What then does the novice, who has perhaps carried off the
+prize of eloquence at the university? Finding himself obliged to defer
+to the lowest pupil of an elementary school, who has already gained some
+knowledge of office practice, he tries to forget all he has learned, and
+applies himself to a new course of study. His conscientious scruples are
+soon silenced; prompted by emulation he gradually becomes as
+accomplished as his mates, and by dint of this second education the
+clever fellow at last quite effaces the honest man.
+
+It is also from the universities that the young men are taken who are
+designed for the business of public instruction; and as we have already
+stated, they are for the most part educated at the expense of the state.
+When their studies are completed they are appointed professors in the
+gymnasia and other schools. The government has neglected no means of
+making their calling as advantageous as possible, both as to salary and
+honorary advancement. These encouragements would have the happiest
+effect anywhere else than in Russia, but there they have quite the
+contrary result. It follows from the existing system of nobility with
+its graduated scale, the privileges it confers, and the means of fortune
+its offers, that a man's whole status in life resolves itself into a
+question of official rank. Now, as no calling presents a greater chance
+of rapid advancement than that of the public instructor, in which
+capacity a young man rarely fails to obtain the rank of major
+(hereditary nobility) after five or six years' service, the consequence
+is that all the sons of the petty nobles, burghers, and priests, eagerly
+rush into this thriving profession. This, however, is not the real
+mischief; on the contrary, the great number of competitors might produce
+a very salutary rivalry; but unfortunately the little power and
+influence exercised by the professors, who after all, can only command
+boys, and still more than this, their want of opportunity to enrich
+themselves under cover of their office, strip the business of public
+instruction of all prestige, and cause it to be considered,
+notwithstanding its high pay, as much less advantageous than many other
+posts the fixed salary of which is almost nothing, but which enable the
+holders to levy almost unlimited contributions on those who come under
+their hands. What follows? As soon as the professors have obtained the
+rank of major, they quit the universities and enter the civil
+administrations, where they can fatten on law suits, chicanery, and
+exactions, and all the countless means by which the law enables them to
+make fraudulent fortunes. And here we may remark that this state of
+things is another consequence of the want of definite callings and
+professions in Russia. The career of official rank is the only one known
+to the Russian; for him there exists none other.
+
+We must not wonder, therefore, if the instruction given in the
+elementary schools, and the gymnasia is incomplete and almost barren of
+good effect. The teachers are almost always mere boys without experience
+or sound knowledge. They content themselves with going through their
+routine of business according to the letter of the rules, and the
+military discipline imposed on them; but once escaped from their
+classes, they think of nothing but enjoying themselves, eating,
+drinking, and playing cards. I have visited many gymnasia in Russia, and
+I have always seen in them the same effects flowing from the same
+causes.
+
+Besides the great universities and high schools, all the leading towns
+of the empire formerly contained numerous boarding schools, most of them
+kept by strangers; but these were suppressed by ukase in the year 1842.
+The means of instruction are at present confined to the imperial
+establishments, from which all foreigners not naturalised in Russia are
+excluded. These new regulations dictated by false vanity, will
+infallibly have a disastrous influence, and render the progress of
+education more and more difficult.
+
+There still exist in Russia several establishments for the education of
+officers and civil and military engineers. The Institute of Ways and
+Communications was established in the reign of Alexander, under the
+superintendence of four pupils of the Ecole Polytechnique of France, MM.
+Potier, Fabre, Destreme, and Bazain, who entered the service of Russia,
+at the request to that effect preferred by the tzar to Napoleon. This
+school (which I have not visited) might have rendered great service to
+the empire, had the government been discreet enough to leave it its
+foreign professors, and not subject it to the absurd interference of the
+Russian military drill. Very few able men have issued from this
+institution, and the profound ignorance I have seen exhibited in all the
+great works executed at a distance from the capital, attests the decay
+of a school which at first promised so fairly. Again, it must be owned,
+that from the time when engineers enter on active service, they have no
+leisure to complete their studies; as soon as they receive an
+appointment, their whole time is taken up with reports, accounts,
+writings without end, and all the countless formalities devised by the
+quibbling and captious spirit of the Russians. I have known several
+engineers at the head of important works; they had not a moment to
+themselves, their whole day being spent in writing and signing heaps of
+paper. The same observations apply to the military, for whom secondary
+manoeuvres and minute costume observances form a never relaxing and
+stultifying slavery. Under such a system, all the germs of instruction
+implanted in the schools, soon disappear in service.
+
+Besides, it must be admitted that the generality of Russians have a
+natural indifference to the sciences and the arts, which will long
+defeat the efforts of sovereigns desirous of effecting an intellectual
+regeneration. Though I have gone over a large portion of the empire, I
+have found very few persons, young or old, who were really studious and
+well-informed, and too often I have met with nothing but the most utter
+apathy, where I had a right to expect interest and enthusiasm. It
+matters not that the emperor showers tokens of favour and respect on his
+_savans_, the Russians themselves continue, notwithstanding, to treat
+them with great disdain. The reason is, that the arts and sciences do
+not lead to fortune in Russia, and as they fall exclusively to the lot
+either of foreigners, or of the petty nobles, they cannot enjoy high
+consideration in a form of society which respects only might and
+authority, and consequently recognises but two vocations worthy of
+ambition, viz., the military profession and the civil service.
+
+But independently of the influence of a bad social organisation, the
+Russians seem to me to be at this day the least apt by nature of all the
+nations of Europe to receive solid instruction. The Sclavonic race may
+be divided into two great branches: the first of these, which contains
+the Poles among others, has felt the influence of the west, with which
+it has been in long and immediate contact, and so enabled to adopt its
+civilisation more or less closely; the second, on the contrary, has
+acknowledged the paramount influence of Asia, and the Russians who
+compose it, are still in our day under the action of the Mongol hordes,
+to which they were enslaved for more than three centuries. Again, Russia
+is absolutely and entirely a novice in civilisation; go over her whole
+history, and you will not find a single page which gives proof of a
+really progressive tendency. It is a very remarkable fact that her
+political and commercial relations with the Lower Empire were entirely
+barren of result upon her civilisation, which remained completely
+stationary, even in circumstances most favourable to its development: it
+is therefore by no means surprising, that despite all the efforts of her
+sovereigns, she has been unable to place herself on the level of the
+other nations of Europe within the space of a hundred years.
+
+The results of our civilisation, more than twenty centuries old, are not
+to be inculcated so rapidly: there needs we think, a long series of
+progressive initiations, so that the moral constitution reacting on the
+physical, may render the perceptions and the organs of the latter more
+delicate, and more suited to intellectual development: and this period
+of transition must necessarily be very long for a nation to which the
+past has bequeathed only reminiscences of slavery and destruction. Look,
+on the other hand, at Greece, Moldavia, and Wallachia, countries which
+have all had glorious periods in history; they have made great strides
+within ten years, and have in that short space of time established their
+claim to rank as members of the European family of nations. To their
+past history belongs in part the honour of their present advancement.
+That thirst for instruction, that incredible aptitude to seize and
+understand every thing, which is characteristic above all of the Greeks,
+are evidently but old faculties long sunk in torpor under the pressure
+of slavery, and which waited but for a little freedom to break forth
+with new energy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+      ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY OF THE DON COSSACKS--FEMALE PILGRIMS
+      OF KIEV; RELIGIOUS FERVOUR OF THE COSSACKS--NOVO TCHERKASK,
+      CAPITAL OF THE DON--STREET-LAMPS GUARDED BY SENTINELS--THE
+      STREETS ON SUNDAY--COSSACK HOSPITALITY AND GOOD
+      NATURE--THEIR VENERATION FOR NAPOLEON'S MEMORY.
+
+
+Beyond Nakhitchevane, several valleys abutting on the basin of the Don,
+isolated hamlets, and a few stanitzas, diversify the country, and make
+one forget the sterility of the steppes, that spread out their gray and
+scarcely undulating surface to the westward. The banks of the Don which
+are seldom out of sight, are enlivened by clumps of trees, fishermen's
+huts, and herds of horses that seek there a fresher pasture than the
+desert affords. But except these animals, we saw not a single living
+creature; the heat was so intense, and the country is still so little
+inhabited, that most of the fields appeared to us in a state of wild
+nature. Nothing around us indicated the presence of man. In the country
+of the Don Cossacks, as elsewhere throughout Russia, the post road is
+barely marked out by two ditches so called, which you often drive over
+without perceiving them, and by distance posts two or three yards high.
+This is all the outlay the government chooses to incur for the imperial
+post roads leading to the principal towns of the empire.
+
+Before arriving in Novo Tcherkask, the capital of the Cossacks, we
+encountered another wandering party at least as curious as our gipsies.
+
+Imagine our surprise when having passed through a wide ravine, which for
+a long while shut in the road, we saw defiling over the steppes a
+countless string of small cars, escorted by I know not how many hundreds
+of women. We advanced, puzzled and curious to the last degree; and the
+more we gazed the more the numbers of these women seemed to multiply.
+They were everywhere, in the cars, on the road, and over the steppes; it
+was like a swarm of locusts suddenly dropped from the sky. Most of them
+walked barefoot, holding their shoes in one hand, and with the other
+picking up fragments of wood and straw, for what purpose we could not
+conceive. Their carts were just like barrels with two openings, and were
+driven by themselves, for there was not the shadow of a beard among
+them. They were all returning, as they told us, from the catacombs of
+Kiev, to which they had been making a pilgrimage. Among them I remarked
+some old women who had scarcely a breath of life remaining. They seemed
+dreadfully fatigued, but at the same time very well pleased with their
+pious expedition.
+
+Further on we met another procession of the same kind, which had already
+arranged its encampment for the night. Two fires, fed with those little
+chips of wood that had so much perplexed us, served to prepare the
+evening meal. All the pilgrims were busy, and formed the most varied
+groups. Some were fetching water in earthen pitchers, which they
+carried on their heads; others were kneeling devoutly, making the sign
+of the cross; and the genuflexions so frequent among the Russians and
+Cossacks; the oldest were feeding the fire and telling stories. It was
+an indescribable scene of bustle and noise, displaying a variety of the
+most picturesque attitudes and physiognomies.
+
+All the women were of Cossack race. There is much more of pious fervour
+in this nation than in the Muscovites. A slight difference of text
+between the Bibles of the two people has occasioned a very great one in
+their religious sentiments. The Cossacks call themselves the true
+believers, and abstain on religious grounds from the pipe, and from many
+other things which the Muscovites allow themselves without scruple. The
+natural integrity of their character is rarely sullied by hypocrisy.
+They love and believe with equal ardour and sincerity.
+
+At the extremity of a plateau, on the verge of a wide and deep valley,
+the town of Novo Tcherkask suddenly appeared to us, rising in an
+amphitheatre, and embracing in its huge extent several hills, the broad
+slopes of which descend to the bottom of the valley. All the towns we
+had previously seen, and which had shocked us by the extravagant breadth
+of their streets and their dearth of houses, were nothing in comparison
+with what now met our eyes. Seen from the point where we then stood, the
+whole town was like an enormous chess board, with the lines formed by
+avenues broader than the Place du Carousel in Paris. These lines,
+bordered at intervals by a few shabby dwellings, and separated from each
+other by open spaces in which whole regiments might manoeuvre quite at
+their ease, some churches, and a triumphal arch erected in 1815 in
+honour of Alexander, are the only salient points of this desert which
+they call a capital, and the superficial dimensions of which are,
+without exaggeration, as great as those of Paris.
+
+Novo Tcherkask, now the seat of all the public offices of the Don
+country, was founded in 1806 by Count Platof, who became so celebrated
+through the unfortunate French campaign of Moscow. Its very ill-chosen
+position forbids all chance of future prosperity. It is situated nearly
+eight miles from the Don, on a hill surrounded on all sides by the Axai
+and the Touzlof, small confluents of the river from which it is so
+fatally remote. Platof is said to have selected this site for the
+purpose of building a fortress; but his intentions have not been
+realised. Another most serious inconvenience for the town is the
+absolute want of good water. Wealthy persons use melted ice to make tea.
+
+In the great square there are two very large bazaars with wooden roofs,
+in which are found all sorts of goods, and especially an abundant
+collection of military equipments for the use of the Cossacks. There is
+also a great arsenal, but quite destitute of arms. As for the other
+edifices, they are not worth mentioning, notwithstanding all the fine
+descriptions given of them by geographers.
+
+But Novo Tcherkask has one precious thing to boast of--a thing unique in
+Russia--and that is an excellent hotel kept by a Frenchman, in which the
+traveller finds all the comforts he can desire. The nobility who have
+strongly encouraged this establishment, have formed in it a casino, in
+which many balls are given in the winter.
+
+The Emperor Nicholas visited the Don Cossacks in 1837, and to this
+auspicious event the capital owed the good fortune of being supplied
+with lamps in the streets. But the lights went out when his majesty
+departed; and it is said, that in order to save the lamps from being
+stolen, the authorities had been obliged to make an armed Cossack stand
+sentry over each of them.
+
+The population of Novo Tcherkask, formed by the union of four stanitzas,
+amounts to about 10,000. Staro Tcherkask, the old capital, now
+abandoned, has nothing to attract the traveller's attention, though Dr.
+Clarke has bestowed on it the pompous title of the Russian Venice.
+
+Our arrival in the Cossack capital fell on a Sunday. As the windows of
+our hotel looked full on the only promenade in the town, the greater
+part of the population passed in review before us. Every thing here
+bespeaks the nomade and warlike temper of the Cossacks. There is no
+copying of European fashion, no Frank costumes, no mixed population;
+every thing is Cossack, except a few Kalmuck figures, telling us of the
+vicinity of the Volga.
+
+The Cossacks we had seen at Taganrok, had given us but a poor opinion of
+the beauty of the women of the country; we were, therefore, agreeably
+surprised at the sight of all the pretty girls that passed continually
+before our windows. Even their costume, which we had thought ugly, now
+seemed not wanting in originality, and even in a certain piquancy. The
+young girls let their braided hair fall on their shoulders, and usually
+tie the braids with bright ribbons, that hang down to their heels. Some
+of them confine their tresses in a long bag made of a silk handkerchief,
+a style of head-dress by no means unbecoming.
+
+It was really a very pretty sight to see the crowd of elegant officers
+and young women in gala attire that filled the footways, exchanging
+looks, smiles, and even soft discourse, as if they were in a ball-room.
+The men are tall and handsome, and look remarkably well in uniform.
+Bravery and noble pride are legible in their features and their eyes, as
+if they were still those fiery children of the steppes, who, before the
+days of Catherine II. acknowledged no other power than that of their
+ataman, freely chosen by themselves. Arms are at this day their sole
+occupation, just as they were a hundred years ago, and their
+organisation is still altogether military, as we shall see by and by.
+
+What erroneous notions are entertained in France, of these good-natured,
+inoffensive, and hospitable Cossacks! The events of 1814 and 1815, have
+left a deep repugnance towards them in all French minds, and indeed it
+could hardly be expected it should be otherwise. But speaking of them as
+we found them in their own land, they do not deserve the aversion with
+which our countrymen regard them. There is no part of Russia where the
+traveller is more safe than in their country, nor does he anywhere meet
+with a more kindly welcome. The name of Frenchman, especially, is an
+excellent recommendation there. The portrait of Napoleon is found in
+every house, and sometimes it is placed above that of the great St.
+Nicholas himself. All the old veterans who have survived the great wars
+of the empire, profess the greatest veneration for the French emperor,
+and these sentiments are fully shared by the present generation.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+      ORIGIN OF THE DON COSSACKS--MEANING OF THE NAME--THE
+      KHIRGHIS COSSACKS--RACES ANTERIOR TO THE COSSACKS--SCLAVONIC
+      EMIGRATIONS TOWARDS THE EAST.
+
+
+The origin of the Don Cossacks has, like that of the Tatars of Southern
+Russia, given rise to interminable discussions. Some have represented
+this people as an offshoot of the great Sclavonic stock; others consider
+it as only a medley of Turks, Tatars, and Circassians. Vsevolojsky
+adopts the former of these opinions, in his Geographical and Historical
+Dictionary of the Russian Empire. M. Schnitzler boldly decides the
+question, in his Statistics of Russia, by declaring that the Cossacks of
+the Don have proceeded from the Caucasus, and belong for the most part
+to the Tcherkess or Circassian nation.
+
+Constantino Porphyrogenitus, a writer of the ninth century, mentions a
+country called _Kasachia_. "On the other side of the Papagian country,"
+he says, "is Kasachia, and immediately afterwards are discovered the
+tops of the Caucasus." The Russian chronicles likewise mention a
+Circassian people subjugated in 1021 by Prince Mstizlav, of Tmoutarakan.
+These, it must be owned, are very vague data, and the resemblance
+between two names is not warrant for our concluding that the Cossacks of
+our day and the Kasachians of the ninth century, are one and the same
+nation. Except the few words we have just cited, we have no other
+information respecting the latter people, and all the historical
+researches hitherto made, have failed to determine the real situation of
+Tmoutarakan. This town has been placed sometimes at Riazan, sometimes at
+the mouth of the Volga, on the site of Astrakhan, sometimes on the
+Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus. A stone, with a Sclavonic inscription,
+discovered at Taman, seemed for a while to have solved the problem. But
+it was afterwards fully demonstrated, that this grand historical
+discovery was only a hoax practised on the credulous antiquarians.
+
+The Kasachia of the ninth century is thus but very imperfectly known to
+us; even with the help of Constantino Porphyrogenitus, it would be
+difficult to determine its position with any real precision; and when
+the Cossacks, now known to us, appear for the first time, 600 years
+afterwards, it would be rash and arbitrary in the extreme to declare
+them the descendants of a people so briefly mentioned by the Byzantine
+writer. This opinion will appear the less admissible, when it is
+considered that the country of the Cossacks, situated around the Sea of
+Azov, lay directly in the route of all those conquering hordes that
+issued from Asia to overrun and ravage Europe, and afterwards
+disappeared successively, without leaving any other trace of their
+existence than their name in the pages of history.
+
+Is it likely that Kasachia was more fortunate? Is there any probability
+that its people, after 600 years of absolute obscurity, again arose out
+of the chaos of all those revolutions, to produce the Cossacks of our
+day? We cannot think so. Historical inquiries, and above all a knowledge
+of the regions extending between the Sea of Azov and the Caspian, prove
+beyond question that all those countries were never occupied by a nation
+having fixed habitations. We have ourselves traversed those Russian
+deserts, up to the northern foot of the Caucasus; and except the
+somewhat modern remains of Madjar, on the borders of the Kouma, we
+nowhere found any vestige of human occupancy, or any trace of
+civilisation. It is, therefore, by no means likely, that amidst all the
+convulsions of the Asiatic invasions, from the ninth to the fifteenth
+century, whilst so many races were disappearing completely, that a
+little remote nomade people shall have preserved for 600 years its
+nationality and its territory, without being swept away and absorbed by
+all those warlike hordes that must have passed over it in torrents. This
+would be an historical fact perfectly unique in that part of the world;
+to us it appears in flagrant contradiction with historical experience.
+We are of opinion then, that the Cossacks of our day have nothing in
+common with the Kasachia of Constantino Porphyrogenitus, and that we
+must look elsewhere for their origin and for the reason of their
+appellation.
+
+Let us in the first place examine this word _Cossack_. According to the
+use in which it was formerly and is still employed, it seems evidently
+not to belong to a special people, but simply to express the generic
+character of every nation, having certain distinct manners and customs.
+Thus in Russia, at this day, the name of Cossacks is given to all those
+persons who are under military organisation: there are Turcomans,
+Kalmuks, and Tatars so called in the steppes of the Caspian; and in
+Bessarabia, some gipsies and a medley of nondescript people constitute
+the Cossacks of the Dniestr. The Don Cossacks, themselves, attach no
+historical significance to their designation, which they seem to regard
+merely as a by-name given to them in former times, and they readily
+share it with the nomade tribes around them, whose organisation is the
+same as their own. The only appellation they assume among themselves, is
+that of true believers.
+
+The existence of the Khirghis Kaissacks of our day, can be traced back
+to more remote times; but there is certainly no analogy between this
+Mussulman people and our Cossacks. Furthermore, it seems proved that the
+Tatars before their invasions of Europe, used to give the appellation of
+Cossacks to all those individuals of their own race, who, having no
+property, were obliged to subsist by pillage, or to sell their services
+to some military leader. _Cossack_ then, according to our apprehension,
+signifies only a nomade and a vagabond people, and it is likely that the
+Tatars on their arrival in Europe, gave that name to all the wandering
+tribes they found in the steppes of Azov and of the Don. What tends
+still more to confirm this opinion is, that no mention of Cossacks is
+made by Rubruquis and Du Plan de Carpin, who traversed all the regions
+of Southern Russia, on their embassy to the grand khan, in the beginning
+of the thirteenth century.
+
+And now let us ask whence came those nomade people that preceded the
+modern Cossacks in the steppes of the Don and the Sea of Azov? Here
+again we must dissent from the views of Dr. Edmund Clarke and Lesur
+which have been generally adopted in Schnitzler's statistics.
+
+According to the testimony of all historians the Slaves already occupied
+various parts of Southern Russia, during the first period of the
+decadence of the Lower Empire: every one knows indeed that the
+descendants of Rurik often carried their attacks on the emperors of the
+East up to the very gates of their capital. The annals of Russia also
+demonstrate the existence of the Slaves at the same period, in all
+Little Russia, and even in the country of the Don. This region was then
+called Severa. Its inhabitants, after a long contest with the
+Petchenegues, emigrated in part, and we now find their name attached to
+one of the principalities of the Danube, viz., Servia.
+
+Again, it is universally admitted even by the adversaries of our
+opinions that the Don country was occupied previously to the Tatar
+invasions by a nomade and warlike people, the Polovtzis, who, there is
+every reason to think, were no other than Slaves.[13]
+
+It may well be conceived that the dissensions and continual wars between
+the numerous chieftains, among whom the Russian soil was formerly
+parceled out, must naturally have produced numerous emigrations; and
+these partial emigrations being too weak to act against the west, must
+of course have turned eastward towards those remote regions of the
+steppes where the fugitives might find freedom and independence. It
+would be difficult then to disprove that a Slavic people existed on the
+banks of the Don when the Tatars arrived; and that people was apparently
+the Polovtzis, an agglomeration of fugitives and malcontents, who,
+during the convulsions of the Russian empire, under Vladimir the Great's
+successors, seem to have laid the first foundations of the Cossack power
+in the steppes of the Sea of Azov and the Don.[14]
+
+The name of the Polovtzis disappeared completely under the Tatar sway;
+but it would be illogical thence to infer that the people itself utterly
+perished, and did not share the destiny of the other Sclavonic tribes of
+Russia. We agree, therefore, with some historians in thinking that the
+Polovtzis merely exchanged their appellation for that of Cossacks,
+imposed on them by the Tatars, and made permanent by a servitude of more
+than three centuries. We have besides already remarked that the Tatars
+used among themselves to call all adventurers and vagabonds Cossacks: it
+is not, therefore, surprising that they should on their arrival in
+Russia, have given this designation to the nomade hordes of the
+Polovtzis. This historical version seems far more rational than the
+supposition that the Polovtzis completely disappeared, and were entirely
+supplanted by a Caucasian race, which had taken part in the expeditions
+of Batou Khan.
+
+The traveller, who has studied the Cossacks and the mountaineers of the
+Caucasus, can never admit the doctrine that would make but one nation of
+these two. Our notions on this subject are corroborated in every point
+by physiological observations. In the first place, considerations
+founded on religion and language, are not so lightly to be rejected as
+Clarke and Lesur assert. The conversion of the Cossacks would not
+certainly have been passed over unnoticed in the history of the Lower
+Empire; the Byzantine writers would have been sure to record such a
+triumph of their creed; but they say not a word about it; and every one
+knows perfectly well in what manner Christianity was categorically
+introduced into Russia. Moreover, if the Cossacks had been nothing but
+Circassians at the beginning of the thirteenth century, it would be hard
+to account for their ready adoption of a foreign language and religion,
+at a time when that language and that religion were, if not proscribed,
+at least much discredited under the Tatar sway. The last Russian
+expeditions into the Caucasus, towards the sources of the Kouban, have,
+it is true, given birth to new historical ideas as to that part of Asia.
+Thus, there have been discovered two churches in a perfect state of
+preservation, the origin of which is evidently Genoese or Venetian, and
+we can scarcely fail to recognise in the Circassians some traces of
+Christianity in the profound respect they bear to the cross. But, on the
+other hand, nothing indicates that this people was ever Christian; on
+the contrary, every thing proves that its primitive religion, if its
+religious notions may be so called, has undergone no alteration. Those
+Christian edifices, too, which we have alluded to, belong to a later
+period than the inroads of the Tatar hordes, consequently they can only
+testify in favour of our views.
+
+No chronicle speaks of the emigration of a Tcherkess people in the
+middle ages. The only tradition relating to any thing of the kind, is
+that of a strong tribe from the Caucasus, which, after occupying the
+plains of the Danube, is said to have settled at last in Pannonia. Every
+one is aware that mountain tribes are the least migratory of all, and
+the most attached to their native soil; it is, therefore, natural to
+suppose that the Circassians, so proud of their independence and so
+often ineffectually attacked, did not receive the warriors of Genghis
+Khan as friends, or take part in their sanguinary expeditions.[15] Hence
+M. Schnitzler appears to me to propound a more than questionable fact
+when he alleges, following Karamsin, that the Circassians entered Russia
+with Batou Khan, and so formed by degrees that new people, which, to
+borrow the language of this statician, _on the breaking up of the Tatar
+rule and the dispersion of the clouds, which till then had hung over
+their country, appears to us as Russian and Christian, but with
+Circassian features, with Tatar manners and customs, and hating the
+Muscovites_.
+
+How can we assign such an origin to the Don Cossacks when there exists
+neither among them, nor among their supposed brethren, any tradition of
+so modern a fact? Besides, if the Cossacks had really come from the
+Caucasus, would they not have retained some neighbourly relations with
+the mountaineers? Is it not a singular notion to take Circassians, the
+most indomitable of all men, and the most attached to their hereditary
+usages and manners, to subject them to the Tatars for more than 300
+years, and then to transform them at once, and without transition, into
+a people speaking pure unmixed Sclavonic, and professing the Greek
+religion? This is certainly one of the most curious of metamorphoses;
+before it could happen there must have been a combination of
+circumstances exactly the reverse of those which have really existed.
+The Circassians, one would think, would have been much more disposed to
+adopt the religion of the victors, than of the vanquished, the more so
+as islamism having already at that period made considerable progress in
+Eastern Caucasus, would give them a much stronger bias towards the
+Tatars, than towards the wandering hordes of the Polovtzis, from which
+we derive the Cossacks.
+
+Notwithstanding the assertions of Dr. Clarke, it is not easy to trace
+much resemblance between the Circassians and the Cossacks. At present we
+see all the people who dwell at the foot of the Caucasus, generally
+adopting the habits of the mountain tribes. A great number of Nogai
+Tatars have become completely blended with them. The Cossacks of the
+Black Sea have borrowed from them their costume and their arms. The
+Muscovites and the German colonists themselves have not escaped the
+energetic influence of the Caucasian tribes; and yet some would have us
+believe that the Don Cossacks, a Tcherkess tribe, separated from the
+parent stock not more than 400 years, have undergone a contrary impulse
+during all that time, and now present, in a manner, no resemblance to
+their ancestors. The two peoples differ in costume, arms, industry, and
+every other particular. The Circassians are extremely apt in
+manufactures, and excel in all sorts of handicraft productions, to which
+they give a very marked and original character. The Cossacks, on the
+contrary, have little or no turn for manufactures; in this respect they
+exhibit no trace of what characterises the Caucasian tribes in so high a
+degree. As for the Tatar habits, of which M. Schnitzler speaks, I know
+not where to look for them, unless they consist in the trousers
+generally worn by the Cossack women. After all, the Tatars must
+necessarily have left some traces of their habits in the countries over
+which they ruled for so many centuries.
+
+The real point of contact between the Cossacks and the Circassians,
+consists in their love of freedom, and their intense hatred for every
+thing Russian. But these sentiments evidently flow from their ancient
+and primitive constitution; and if they detest the Russians, it is
+because the Muscovite sovereigns, who have never ceased to attack their
+privileges, have at last succeeded in annihilating their whole political
+existence.
+
+Undoubtedly the Cossacks are not pure Sclavonians, like the people of
+Great Russia, but are mixed up with many other races. The Don country
+long remained a soil of freedom, a real land of asylum for all refugees.
+The Circassians have probably not been strangers to their past history,
+and the adventurous life of the Cossack must have fascinated many a
+mountain chief. History, too, informs us that the Sclavons of Poland
+have mingled their blood with that of the inhabitants of the Don
+country. It is this medley of races, and the combination of all these
+various influences, added to the thoroughly republican character of
+their primitive constitution, that give the Cossacks their intellectual
+superiority, and make them a nation apart. But the principle stock is
+nevertheless Sclavonic.
+
+The partisans of the Circassian origin have also dwelt on the
+resemblance between the name of the capital of the Don country, and
+that of a Caucasian tribe. But really when a historical question of this
+importance is under discussion, such a resemblance cannot be of much
+weight. We know that some fugitives from the Boristhenes, about the
+year 1569, fell in with Cossacks on the Don, and joined with them in an
+attack on Azov, which then belonged to the Turks. It was just about this
+period, 1570, that Staro Tcherkask was founded. We should hence be
+disposed to believe that the fugitives from the Ukraine had a great
+share in the creation of that town, and that they called it Tcherkask,
+in memory of the name of the old capital of their native land.
+
+The Don Cossacks appear to us for the first time in the thirteenth
+century, on the ruins of the Tatar empire. Not till then did they begin
+to make a certain figure in the history of the Muscovite empire. In the
+reign of Ivan IV. the Terrible, they put themselves under the protection
+of Russia. From that time until near the end of the last century, we see
+them sometimes marching under the banners of the Muscovite sovereigns,
+sometimes rising against them, and often bringing the empire to the very
+verge of ruin. Their political condition was in those days a real
+republic, founded on a basis of absolute equality. The head of the
+government, styled ataman, was selected by the whole assembled nation,
+and retained his office but for five years; but his power was
+dictatorial, and no one could call him to account for his acts, even
+after the expiration of his office. All the subaltern leaders were
+likewise elected, and retained their posts for a greater or less time,
+according to circumstances. Equality, however, resumed its sway at the
+end of each military campaign; each officer, on returning into private
+life, enjoyed only the rights common to all; and the colonel or
+starshine often made the ensuing campaign as a private soldier.
+Aristocracy was totally unknown to the Don Cossacks in those days; if
+some families were distinguished from the rest by their greater
+influence, they owed this solely to their courage and their exploits. So
+strong was then the sense of independence, that the Cossacks despised as
+vile mercenaries those who took permanent service under the Russian
+sovereigns. As for the imperial suzerainty, it was limited to the right
+of calling for a military contingent in case of war, and of disposing of
+a small body of troops to defend the frontiers against the nomades of
+the steppes.
+
+Cossack freedom was doomed to perish when brought into collision with
+the principles of absolutism and servitude which rule in the Russian
+empire; accordingly, as soon as the Empress Catherine II. felt strong
+enough to make the attempt, she decided on a radical change in the
+political constitution of the Don country.
+
+The first of her ukases to this effect enacted that all the Cossack
+officers in the service of Russia should retain their rank and
+privileges on their return to their own country; a regulation directly
+opposed to the habits and usages of that republican people. How,
+indeed, could that haughty soldiery have endured that slave-officers,
+as it called them, should be put on the same footing with its own,
+elected by the acclamations of the nation? A revolt ensued, but it was
+promptly put down. The illustrious Potemkin could not understand that
+insurrection, for it seemed to him incredible that the Cossacks should
+rebel because they were granted almost all the privileges of Russian
+officers. After these unhappy troubles, their elections were abolished,
+and their political system was gradually changed, until it came to
+resemble that of a Russian government. Count Platof was the last ataman
+of the Cossacks, and he owed the authority he was allowed to enjoy, in a
+great measure to the peculiar circumstances in which he was placed by
+the wars of the empire.
+
+The Don country continued through the last century as before, to be a
+land of asylum and freedom for all refugees. This led to the settlement
+of a great number of Russians among the Cossacks. The Emperor Paul took
+advantage of this circumstance to secure the attachment of the principal
+families by publishing an ukase, in which he at once, and without
+warning, declared all the Russian fugitives slaves of the landowners,
+whose patronage they had accepted. This first partition of the people
+was not the last; another ukase of the same sovereign completed the work
+of Catherine II., abolished equality, and constituted an aristocracy by
+ennobling all the officers and _employes_ of the government. The
+nobility at present amount to a considerable number, and all the
+officers are taken from that body. The young Cossacks, like the
+Russians, enter the St. Petersburg corps as cadets, at ten or twelve
+years of age; after some years they join a regiment as _junker_, and two
+or three months afterwards they become officers.
+
+The political power of the Cossacks being annihilated, active means were
+taken to deprive them of all military strength, by dispersing them all
+over the empire, and stationing them wherever there were quarantines,
+custom-house lines, and hostile frontiers to guard. Cossack posts were
+simultaneously established on the frontiers of Poland, and at the foot
+of the Caucasus. Lastly, every means of enfeeblement was largely
+employed, and after the death of Platof, under pretext of rewarding the
+nation for its devotedness during the campaign of Moscow, the functions
+of ataman-in-chief were suppressed, and the title was conferred on the
+heir-apparent.
+
+All these arbitrary measures, which, after all cannot be blamed, have
+naturally excited the most violent discontent in the country of the Don,
+and the Cossacks would undoubtedly cause the empire serious uneasiness
+in case of war. The government is not ignorant of this hostile temper.
+In recent times it did not dare to trust the Cossacks with real pieces
+of artillery, and the regiments were compelled to exercise with wooden
+cannons. It is certain that the campaign of 1812 would not have been so
+disastrous for France, if Napoleon had taken care to send emissaries
+among the inhabitants of the Don with promises to re-establish their
+ancient political constitution. I have questioned a great number of
+military men on this subject, and all were unanimous in assuring me of
+the alacrity with which the Cossacks would then have joined the French
+army. Nothing can give an idea of the antipathy they cherish to their
+masters; the feeling pervades all classes, in spite of every effort of
+the government. The Russians affect so much disdain for the Cossack
+nobles, that the latter, notwithstanding their epaulettes and their
+decorations, cannot but bitterly regret the old republican constitution.
+Furthermore, the military service is so onerous, that it checks all
+agricultural and industrial activity; for be it observed, that the
+Cossacks of the present day are far from being the plunderers they were
+in former times. The service is to them but a profitless task, and they
+all long eagerly for a sedentary life, which would allow them to attend
+to rural occupations, and to trade.
+
+The country of the Don Cossacks is now definitively a Russian
+government. All the laws of the empire are there in full force, and the
+administrative forms are the same, under other names. Nevertheless, the
+still free attitude of the Cossacks has not hitherto permitted the
+installation of the Russian _employes_ among them. Within the last three
+years only, the government has succeeded in having itself represented at
+Novo Tcherkask, by a general placed at the head of the military staff of
+the country. The Cossacks regard this innovation with dislike, and spare
+their new military superior no annoyance. The following is the present
+organisation of the Don Cossacks:--
+
+The ataman (_locum tenens_) holding the grade of lieutenant-general, is
+the military and civil head of the government, and at the same time the
+president of the various tribunals of the capital. The functions of
+vice-president having been conferred since 1841 on the general of the
+staff before mentioned, the latter is in fact the sole influential
+authority in the country.
+
+The province of the Don Cossacks is divided into seven civil and four
+military districts; the courts are similar to those of the other
+governments.
+
+The army amounts at present, to fifty-four regiments, of 850 men each
+(not including the two regiments of the emperor and the grand duke) and
+nine companies of artillery, having each eight pieces of cannon. In
+1840, there were twenty-eight regiments in active service, fifteen of
+them in the Caucasus, with three companies of artillery. At the same
+time, nine other regiments were under orders to march for the lines of
+the Kouban.
+
+All the Cossacks are soldiers born: their legal term of service is
+twenty years abroad, or twenty-five at home. But no regard is paid to
+this regulation, for most of them remain in active service for thirty or
+even forty years. They pay no taxes, but are obliged to equip themselves
+at their own expense, and receive the ordinary pay of Russian troops
+only from the day they cross their native frontiers.[16]
+
+The organisation of the regiments is effected in rather a curious
+manner. When a regiment is to be sent to the Caucasus, each district
+receives notice how many soldiers and officers it is to supply, and then
+the first names on the military books are taken without distinction. The
+place of muster is usually near the frontier, and every one arrives
+there as he pleases, without concerning himself about others. When all
+the men are assembled, they are classed by squadrons, the requisite
+officers are set over them, and the detachment begins its march. Hence
+we see there is nothing fixed in the composition of the regiments. The
+Cossacks are subjected nevertheless to the European discipline, and
+formed into regular corps; but this innovation seems likely to be fatal
+to them, by completely destroying their valuable aptitude for acting as
+skirmishers. The Emperor Nicholas visited the Don country in 1837, and
+reviewed the Cossack troops at Novo Tcherkask, but it appears that he
+was exceedingly displeased with the condition of the regulars.
+Accordingly, that he might not expose them to the criticism of
+foreigners, he took care not to be accompanied by the brilliant cortege
+of European officers who had been present at the grand military parades
+of Vosnecensk.
+
+The population of the Don Cossacks amounts to about 600,000, occupying
+14,000,000 hectares of land, and divided into four very distinct
+classes: 1. The aristocracy founded by the Emperor Paul; 2. The free
+Cossacks; 3. The merchants; 4. The slaves. The free Cossacks form the
+mass of the population, and furnish the horse soldiers; they have
+however the opportunity of acquiring nobility by military service, but
+to this end, they must serve for twelve years as non-commissioned
+officers.
+
+The merchants form a peculiar class, which can hardly exceed 500 in
+number. They are not bound to do military service, but in lieu of this,
+they pay taxes to the government. The slaves, whose origin we have
+described, amount to about 85,000 souls.
+
+The revenues of the government of the Cossacks, are about 2,000,000
+rubles, more than sufficient for the expenditure, that is to say, for
+the payment of the _employes_. The spirit duties produce 1,500,000
+rubles, the rest is made up by the salt works of the Manitch, and the
+pasturage dues.
+
+The country of the Don Cossacks is bounded on the north by the two
+governments of Voroneje and Saratof; on the east by the latter, and that
+of Astrakhan; on the south by the government of the Caucasus, the
+country of the Cossacks of the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov; on the
+west, by the governments of Voroneje and Iekaterinoslav and the Ukraine
+slobodes. All this territory forms a vast extent, no part of which is
+detached as M. Schnitzler asserts; on the contrary, the regency of
+Taganrok is completely encompassed by it.
+
+The country of the Cossacks may be divided into two very distinct parts:
+that situated to the north and west, presenting lofty plains intersected
+by many rivers and ravines, is admirably adapted for agriculture, and
+possesses excellent pastures. Among its numerous rivers, are the Donetz,
+the Mious, and the Kalmious, which marks its frontier on the west, and
+the Khoper and the Medveditza on the north-east. It is principally along
+the two latter streams, that the Cossacks have established their most
+celebrated studs, among the foremost of which, are those of Count
+Platof. The second division of the country, consists of all the steppes
+that extend along the left bank of the Don, to the confines of the
+government of the Caucasus, and along the Manitch to the frontier of
+Astrakhan. The soil is here unvaried; it is the Russian desert in all
+its uniformity, and the basin of the muddy and brackish Manitch, is
+perfectly in harmony with the regions it traverses. But those monotonous
+plains are a source of wealth to the Cossacks, who rear vast herds of
+horses and other cattle; several thousands of Kalmucks too find
+subsistence in them.
+
+Until 1841, the government of the Cossacks exhibited one very singular
+peculiarity. Its whole territory formed but one vast communal domain,
+without any individual owners or ownership. After several fruitless
+attempts, the Russian government finally determined on dividing the
+lands, and the work must by this time have been completed. Besides the
+new arrangements adopted, there have been granted to each family thirty
+hectares of land for each male, and fifteen additional for each slave.
+After this distribution, there will remain to the government, 2,000,000
+hectares of land, on which it will no doubt establish Muscovite
+colonies. This division of the land is a final blow to the old Cossack
+institutions, and ere long the population will consist only of nobles
+and peasants, just as in the rest of Russia. The peasants are free it is
+true, but their properties will soon be absorbed by the wealthier and
+more powerful: and then an ukase will do the work of establishing
+slavery in the country. The community of landed property was hitherto
+the only obstacle to a complete severance between the new nobles and the
+other Cossacks. It was another remnant of the old republican equality,
+and was naturally doomed to fall before the principles of unity and
+centralisation of the Russian government. When we see Russia laying her
+hand on all the free populations of the southern part of the empire, and
+bringing them gradually under the yoke of serfdom, we cannot but be
+struck with astonishment, and compare the revolution it is now effecting
+before our eyes, with that which so deplorably signalised the Roman
+sway.
+
+It may easily be conceived how fatal the military organisation of the
+Cossacks must be to their prosperity and well-being. Never sure of what
+the morrow may bring forth, and liable at any moment to be called to
+arms, they have of necessity fallen into indifference and sloth. Their
+domestic ties are broken, for they are often many years without seeing
+their wives and children. Under such a system, all intellectual
+improvement becomes impossible; and there has also resulted from it an
+incipient demoralisation, compressed as yet by the force of primitive
+manners, but which will not fail at last to spread over the whole
+population. Yet the Cossacks are eminently intelligent. I saw thirty
+young men at Novo Tcherkask execute topographical plans extremely well,
+after a few weeks' study. The Russian generals themselves could not
+refrain from expressing their surprise to me at so rapid a progress. Let
+Russia renounce the oppressive system she is forcing on the Cossacks;
+let the latter, on their part, make up their mind to admit that their
+ancient constitution is in our day become an utopia; and the Don country
+will soon make rapid advances in colonisation, and exhibit all that
+constitutes the prosperity and wealth of a nation.
+
+The means of instruction enjoyed by the Cossacks are still extremely
+limited. In the whole country there is but one gymnasium, very recently
+established in Novo Tcherkask; but the wealthier Cossacks have long been
+used to have their children educated in the neighbouring governments,
+particularly in Taganrok, where the private schools kept by foreigners
+afford them great advantages.
+
+The rearing of cattle, especially of horses, is now the chief source of
+gain to the Cossacks. Count Platof's studs, as we have already said, are
+reputed the best: they are descended from the trans-Kouban races,
+crossed by Persian and Khivian stallions, procured by the late count
+during the war of 1796 with Persia. Very good cavalry horses are also
+produced by Platof's stallions out of Tatar and Kalmuck mares. Count
+Platof's horses fetch from 250 to 350 rubles; but in the steppes of the
+Manitch, where there are very extensive herds, the price seldom exceeds
+150. The care of the herds is chiefly committed to Kalmucks; usually 100
+horses are kept by one family, five hundred by three, a thousand by
+five, and from 1500 to 2000 by six. Except a few proprietors, who are
+careful about the improvement of the breed, the Cossacks allow their
+vast herds to wander about the steppes without any care or
+superintendence. The horses of the Don never enter a stable; summer and
+winter they are in the open air, and must procure their own food, for
+which they have often to strive against the snow; hence they become
+extremely vigorous, and support the most trying campaigns with
+remarkable hardiness. Nothing can be more simple and expeditious than
+the way in which they are broken in. The horse selected is caught with a
+noose; he is saddled and bridled; the rider mounts him, and he is
+allowed to gallop over the steppe until he falls exhausted. From that
+moment he is almost always perfectly tamed, and may be used without
+danger. I rode a mare thus broken, in one of my longest journeys on
+horseback. Six days before my departure she was completely free; yet I
+never rode a more docile animal.
+
+The Cossacks have three sorts of horned cattle, the Kalmuck, the
+Hungarian, and the Dutch breeds. The first is generally preferred
+because it does not require to be stalled either winter or summer, or to
+receive any particular care, and always can pick up its feed in the
+steppes. At the same time the loss of cattle is enormous in long and
+severe winters, for the proprietors can never procure hay for more than
+six weeks' consumption, on account of the great numbers of their herds.
+At the end of the year 1839, the Don country possessed in cattle:
+
+  Horned cattle               1,013,106
+  Sheep                       2,310,445
+  Goats                          53,221
+  Camels                          1,692
+  Horses                        326,788
+                              ---------
+                  Total       3,705,252
+
+In that year the sheep produced 5,698,000 kilogrammes of wool, which was
+exported. Of the above number of sheep, only 308,652 are merinos. The
+wool of the latter fetched 156 rubles the 100 kilogrammes, whilst that
+of the native sheep did not sell for more than 58 to 62. But the merinos
+require too much care, and I much doubt that they will ever be reared on
+a large scale by the Cossacks. Besides, as we have already seen, the
+breeding of merinos is far from being as profitable at this day as it
+was formerly.
+
+Agriculture, properly so called, must naturally be in a depressed
+condition in a country of which the tenth part of the population is
+continually either in active service, or in readiness to be called out.
+No more corn is cultivated than is sufficient for the subsistence of the
+inhabitants. The crop of 1839 was 6,953,814 hectolitres, a quantity
+considerably too small for seed, and for the consumption of a nation
+that annually consumes 6.18 hectolitres per head. The Cossacks were,
+therefore, obliged to draw on the reserved stores and on the
+neighbouring governments. In general, whatever M. Schnitzler may say to
+the contrary, their agriculture produces no more than is barely
+necessary; notwithstanding the advantages of a great navigable river,
+and its position on the Sea of Azov, the Don country has not yet been
+able to export any corn.
+
+The cultivation of the vine is the only one that has prospered in any
+remarkable degree among the Cossacks; it prevails in the southern
+regions on the banks of the Don and of the Axai. They now reckon 4514
+vineyards, yielding annually, on an average, from 20,000 to 25,000
+hectolitres of wine, and 300 to 400 of brandy. In 1841, the production
+amounted to nearly 62,500; and when I was in Novo Tcherkask, grapes were
+selling there for three rubles the 100 kilogrammes. Sparkling wines are
+made, of which the Don country now exports more than a million of
+bottles yearly. The best wine of a certain Abrahamof is usually charged
+for at the rate of six rubles in the inns of Novo Tcherkask. The reader
+will, no doubt, be surprised to hear of such quantities of sparkling
+wines; but Russia is unquestionably the country in which that sort of
+beverage is most esteemed; and as the petty nobles and the _employes_
+cannot afford to drink champagne, they have recourse to the Cossack
+vintage. The latter is consumed in incredible quantity, principally in
+the fairs, where no bargain can be concluded without a case of Don wine.
+It is very agreeable, and is much liked, even by foreigners. It is to
+Frenchmen the Cossacks owe this branch of industry.
+
+Fishing also forms an important source of income for the Cossacks. It is
+carried on chiefly at the mouths of the Don. In 1838, it produced
+304,000 kilogrammes of sturgeons yielding caviare, and more than
+20,000,000 of fish of different kinds, which they salt and send to the
+neighbouring governments. Bees must also be enumerated among the sources
+of wealth in the country. The Mious district, which possesses nearly
+31,000 hives, produced in 1839, 124,336 kilogrammes of honey, and 21,056
+kilogrammes of wax.
+
+From these hints it will be seen how rich is the country of the
+Cossacks, and how high a degree of prosperity it might reach under an
+enlightened and liberal administration. Manufacturing industry is the
+only one that, as yet, has made no progress in it. It is said not to
+possess a single manufactory, which is natural enough, considering the
+military organisation of the nation. There is an extreme want of
+workmen; the few found in the country, who come from the neighbouring
+governments, demand very high pay, as much as two rubles and a half a
+day, which is exorbitant in Russia. As for mineral wealth, the Don
+country possesses abundance of coal and anthracite, the latter of which
+is worked in the neighbourhood of Novo Tcherkask.
+
+Among the tribes incorporated with the Don Cossacks, the Kalmucks demand
+especial mention. In the reign of the Emperor Paul, an ukase was issued,
+commanding a census to be taken of all the nomade tribes subject to
+Russia. This certain presage of some tax or other, spread consternation
+among the Kalmucks; their hordes began to break up, and great numbers of
+them took refuge with the Cossacks. But the fatal ukase soon pursued
+them to their new asylum, whereupon some returned to the steppes of the
+Caspian, whilst the rest being retained by the Cossacks, were put under
+the same military and civil system of administration as the inhabitants
+of the Don. These Kalmucks now form a population of about 15,000, and
+encamp on both banks of the Manitch, about 100 miles from the confluence
+with the Don. In order to give some notion of the manners and customs of
+this people, I will here copy some fragments from an account of a
+scientific journey I made along the Manitch, to determine the difference
+of level between the Black Sea and the Caspian.
+
+It was towards the end of May, 1841, I set out from Novo Tcherkask, to
+explore the Manitch, a paltry stream, but which, nevertheless, had for a
+long while the honour of marking the boundary between Europe and Asia. I
+was accompanied by my friend, Baron Kloch, a German by birth, and a most
+agreeable man, lately arrived for the first time in Russia. His
+intelligent conversation was a great source of enjoyment to me. Six
+hours' travel brought us to Axai, a charming stanitza, built like an
+amphitheatre on the right bank of the Don. It is the great trading place
+of the Cossacks, and but for the vicinity of Rostof, a Russian, and of
+course a privileged town, it would have been made the capital of the Don
+country, and the general entrepot of all the traffic from the north of
+the empire. The project was even entertained at first, but it was
+defeated partly by intrigue, and partly I believe by the obstinacy of
+Count Platof. Axai is, nevertheless, the handsomest stanitza in the
+country. Its balconied houses, painted in different colours, its port,
+the activity prevailing in it, its lively and bustling population, all
+excite the traveller's attention and curiosity. When I arrived in the
+town the inundations of the Don were at their height, and as far as the
+eye could reach the waters covered the low plain that stretches along
+its left bank. We were soon furnished with a boat having on board a
+pilot and four excellent rowers, and at nine in the evening, we embarked
+to cross the river. The evening was perfectly calm and beautiful; and I
+shall never forget the lodkas with bellied sails, gliding down with the
+current, the melancholy songs of the Russian boatmen, the sounds from
+Axai gradually dying away in the distance, and our boat skimming across
+the smooth surface of the water, which broke in thousands of sparks from
+the oars. At midnight we landed before Makinskaia, where we passed the
+remainder of the night on heaps of hay, in the court-yard of a paltry
+inn.
+
+At daybreak next morning, the saddle horses were ready, and we started
+for Manitchkaia on the confluence of the Manitch with the Don. After
+some hours' riding we were brought to a halt by the overflow of the
+latter river; and for want of a better road to reach the stanitza, we
+were obliged to betake ourselves to wading through the temporary lake.
+This was the most unpleasant part of our journey. For a distance of more
+than four leagues our horses plodded on through thick mud with the water
+up to their bellies; and sometimes they were forced to swim. Besides
+this, we were tormented by clouds of gnats. At last our situation became
+quite intolerable; for in the very middle of this passage we were
+assailed by a violent hurricane, the rain came down in torrents; our
+baggage waggon broke down, and we very nearly lost all its contents. The
+whole day was consumed in making the six leagues to Manitchkaia. Our
+Kalmucks only succeeded in extricating the waggon from the hole in which
+it was stuck fast, by yoking one of their horses to it by the tail. This
+is an infallible means as we often found by experience; nothing can
+resist the violent efforts of the unfortunate horse when he finds
+himself in that predicament.
+
+Leaving Manitchkaia, we skirted along the basin of the Manitch. The
+first dwellings we descried were some miserable Tatar cabins, surrounded
+with brambles and thistles. We found in them an old Tatar captain, a
+relic of the French campaign. He amused us a good deal by his pompous
+encomiums on the valour and tall stature of the Prussians. A Frenchman,
+said he, does not fear ten Russians, but a Prussian would settle at
+least ten Frenchmen.
+
+For three days our journey was without interest. No traces of buildings
+were to be seen; at intervals there appeared in the middle of the
+steppes, a Kalmuck tent, the inhabitants of which kept a large herd of
+horses; then here and there some strayed camels, and these were the only
+objects that broke the dreary monotony of the wilderness. But on the
+fourth day, we reached the vicinity of the great Khouroul of the
+Kalmucks, the residence of their high priest. One of our Cossacks was
+sent forward to announce our visit, and an hour after his departure two
+priests came galloping up to us. After complimenting us in the name of
+the grand Lama, they presented us with brandy distilled from mare's
+milk, in token of welcome, and fell in to line with our party. Some
+minutes afterwards we descried the white tents of the Khouroul. Our
+party was every moment swelled by fresh reinforcements, and we had soon
+fifty horsemen caracoling by our sides. Having reached the centre of the
+Khouroul, we alighted, and then walking between two lines of priests
+dressed in garments of the most glaring colours, we were conducted to
+the high priest's tent. This venerable representative of the great Dalai
+Lama, was an old man upwards of seventy, entirely bald, and with
+features of a much less Kalmuck cast than his countrymen. He was wrapped
+in a wide tunic of yellow brocade, lined with cherry red silk, and his
+fingers were busy with the beads of his chaplet. After many salutations
+on both sides we sat down on a sofa, and then, according to the
+invariable Kalmuck usage, we were helped to brandy and koumis, a
+beverage at which my friend Kloch made very queer faces. Next, I
+presented the high priest with two pounds of bad tobacco, purchased at
+Novo Tcherkask, which I passed off as genuine Latakieh. He was so
+delighted with my present that he did honour to it on the spot, with
+every mark of extreme satisfaction. This high priest will have the
+honour to be burned after his death, and his ashes, formed into a paste
+with a certain ingredient, will be worked into a little statue, which
+will adorn the temple to be erected to his memory. His successor is
+already nominated; he looks like a stupid fanatic, puffed up with the
+importance of his future dignity; we afterwards saw him acquit himself
+of his religious duties, with a conscientiousness quite rare among the
+Cossack Kalmucks. All the priests of this khouroul, appeared to us
+incomparably less devout than those of the Volga and the Caspian. They
+have very little reverence for their spiritual chief; they seem fully
+aware of the absurdities of their religious notions and ceremonies, and
+if they set any value by their functions, it is because they enable them
+to lead a life of indolence and sensuality, and exempt them from
+military service. The laity seems to be very indifferent as to religious
+matters. The women alone seem attached to their ancient principles; one
+of them burst into a fury because her husband allowed us to see and
+touch the leaves of her prayer-book. It is to their intercourse with the
+Cossacks that we must attribute the lapse of these Kalmucks from the
+strictness of the primitive rule, which has been preserved almost
+unimpaired among the Kalmucks of the Caspian.
+
+After leaving the high priest's tent we attended the religious
+ceremonies, in which there was nothing very striking. A sheep was
+afterwards killed in honour of our visit, and was served up, cut into
+small pieces, in a huge cast-iron pan. The ragout was black and
+detestable, but hunger made it seem delicious.
+
+The women of the vicinity arrived in the evening, and began to sing in
+chorus, parading round the khouroul. Their strains were profoundly
+melancholy; nothing like them had ever yet struck my ears. Their voices
+were so sonorous and vibrating, that the sound was like that of brazen
+instruments; and heard in that vast solemn wilderness, it produced the
+most singular impression. After walking half-a-dozen times round the
+khouroul the singers halted, and forming line with their faces towards
+the temple, they stretched out their arms and prostrated themselves
+repeatedly. The women having ended, next came the mandjis or musicians,
+who made the air resound with the braying of their trumpets at the
+moment when the sun was descending below the horizon.
+
+Next day we left the khouroul to return to the banks of the Manitch; I
+then continued my levelling along the course of that stream up to the
+point, where eighteen months before, on my way back from the Caspian, I
+had been stopped by want of water and pasture. In our return journey we
+passed through numerous Kalmuck camps on the right bank of the Manitch,
+and were everywhere received with the liveliest delight. As all these
+nomades are exclusively engaged in rearing cattle, our curiosity was
+greatly excited by the prodigious herds of camels, horses, and oxen that
+covered the plain.
+
+Before we reached the Don we spent the last two nights in the lonely
+steppe, under the open sky. But six hours afterwards we were in
+Taganrok, in the drawing-room of the amiable English consul, surrounded
+by all the comforts of civilised life.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[13] We are quite convinced that the Comans mentioned by the Byzantine
+writers, are identical with the Kaptschaks of the Oriental historians.
+Rubruck's narrative supplies proof of this; moreover both peoples spoke
+Turkish. But in spite of all Klaproth's assertions, we do not believe
+that the Polovtzis of the Slavic chroniclers were Comans; for it seems
+to us far more rational to look for the descendants of the Comans among
+the Mussulman inhabitants of the south of the empire, who, as we learn
+from historic records, were already established in the same regions
+under the name of Kaptschak, at the arrival of Genghis Khan's Mongols.
+
+[14] Note that in our day the Cossack population though augmented during
+a succession of ages, by numerous emigrations, does not exceed 600,000
+souls; it must, therefore, in all probability, have been much less
+considerable in the fifteenth century, a supposition which further
+confirms our opinion that the Cossacks never formed a distinct nation.
+
+[15] According to Du Plan de Carpin, the Circassians do not appear to
+have escaped unscathed from the attacks of the Mongols; but there seems
+no reason to think that they were really subjugated.
+
+[16] Since we left Russia it has been proposed to equip the Cossack
+regiments at the cost of the government. The country would, of course,
+in that case be taxed, and would cease to differ in any respect from the
+other provinces.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+      JOURNEY FROM NOVO TCHERKASK ALONG THE DON--ANOTHER KNAVISH
+      POSTMASTER--MUSCOVITE MERCHANTS--COSSACK STANITZAS.
+
+
+Beyond Novo Tcherkask the road to Astrakhan runs northward along the
+right bank of the Don; the country still continuing the same naked and
+monotonous appearance; it is only in the neighbourhood of the river that
+its desolation is here and there relieved by a few clumps of trees in
+the ravines.
+
+It is certainly not without reason that the Russians boast of the rapid
+travelling in their country; its posts would be unrivalled in Europe
+were it not for the vexations practised by the _employes_ at the
+stations. On the whole we had hitherto had no great reason to complain;
+the official papers with which we were furnished smoothed many
+difficulties; but at the first station beyond Novo Tcherkask we endured
+the common fate of all who travel without titular grade or decoration,
+and were mercilessly fleeced. We arrived towards evening followed by
+another carriage of which we were but a few minutes in advance. A
+caleche without horses seemed a bad omen to us as we entered the
+court-yard; and the first answer given to our Cossack was, that we could
+not have horses until the next morning. The prospect of passing the
+night in a miserable hovel was disagreeable enough; but what remedy had
+we with a postmaster, who opening all his stables, showed that he had no
+horses? After waiting a full half hour to no purpose our interpreter
+explored the vicinity of the station, and on his return, some rubles
+bestowed on the head of the establishment procured us all the horses we
+wanted. We put to and started immediately, leaving our companions behind
+us; but they overtook us an hour afterwards, having done like ourselves;
+and so it appeared at last, that there were horses enough for us all.
+
+The travellers who followed us were young Muscovite merchants returning
+from some fair in the Caucasus. They amused themselves all night with
+letting off rockets and all kinds of fireworks, the sudden flash of
+which, lighting up the deep darkness of the steppes, produced a most
+striking effect.
+
+We passed on the following day through several stanitzas. These Cossack
+hamlets have a far more pleasing appearance than the Russian villages.
+The houses of which they consist are small, almost all of them built of
+painted wood, with green window-shutters. They have only a ground-floor,
+surrounded by a miniature gallery, and look as if they were merely
+intended for pretty toys. The interiors are extremely neat, and show an
+appreciation of domestic comfort of which the Russians betray no trace.
+You find in them table-linen, delf plates, forks, and all the most
+necessary utensils. The Cossacks have usually two dwellings adjoining
+each other. One of these, that which we have been speaking of, is
+occupied in summer, and almost always contains one handsome apartment,
+adorned with stained paper, images, flowers, and groups of arms; it is
+the room used on grand occasions, and for the accommodation of
+strangers. The other dwelling is built of earth, and resembles the
+_kates_ of the Muscovite peasants; it contains but one room, in which
+the whole family huddle themselves together in winter for the more
+warmth.
+
+In general, only women and children are to be seen in the stanitzas. The
+whole male population is under arms, with the exception of some veterans
+who have purchased, by forty years' service, the right of returning home
+to die. All the burden of labour falls on the women; it is they who must
+repair the houses, whitewash them, dress the furs, take care of the
+children, and tend the cattle. It is really inconceivable how they can
+accomplish so many laborious tasks.
+
+At Piatisbanskaia, a charming stanitza, shaded by handsome trees, and
+rising in an amphitheatre on the banks of the Don, we turned off from
+the post-road, and after crossing the river, entered on a sea of sand,
+through which we worked our way with immense difficulty. The peasants'
+horses are less used than those of the post to such toilsome marches,
+and it was really piteous to see their panting distress. The reflected
+glare of the sun, and the absence of any breath of wind, made this day's
+journey one of the most oppressive we encountered. It took us four hours
+to get over nine versts (less than six English miles). Though I wore a
+thick veil and blue spectacles, my eyelids were so swollen I could
+scarcely open them. Towards noon we at last reached a poor lonely
+village, where we rested until nightfall.
+
+The country from Piatisbanskaia is dreary, and void of vegetation. The
+stanitzas are few and far between, the land lies waste, and the
+sand-hills and hot winds betoken the approach to the deserts of the
+Caspian. Nothing is more saddening to the imagination, than the lifeless
+aspect and uniform hues of these endless plains. One is surprised to
+meet in them, from time to time, some miserable Cossack villages, and
+cannot tell how the inhabitants can exist amidst such desolation. This
+sad sterility is the work of men, rather than of nature. The present
+system of government of the Don Cossacks is an insuperable bar to
+agricultural improvement; and so long as it exists, the land must remain
+uncultivated.
+
+But, as we have already remarked, all is contrast in Russia. Extremes of
+all kinds meet there without any transition: from a desert you pass into
+a populous town, from a cabin to a palace, from a Tatar mosque into an
+ancient Christian cathedral, from an arid plain into the cheerful German
+colonies. Surprises follow one upon the other without end, and give a
+peculiar zest to travelling, scarcely to be experienced in any other
+part of Europe.
+
+It is particularly in approaching Sarepta that one feels the force of
+these reflections: the novel impressions that there await the traveller
+who arrives benumbed in soul from the dreary wilderness, come upon him
+with the bewildering effect of a marvellous dream. Even were Sarepta
+whisked away, and set down in the middle of Switzerland, one could not
+fail to be delighted with so charming a place; but to feel all its real
+excellence, one should come to it weary and worn as we were, one should
+have known what it was to long for a little shade and water, as for
+manna from the skies, and have plodded on for many days through a
+country like that we have described, under the unmitigating rays of a
+roasting sun.
+
+Picture to yourself a pretty little German town, with its high gabled
+houses, its fruit trees, fountains, and promenades, its scrupulous
+neatness, and its comfortable and happy people, and you will have an
+idea of Sarepta: industry, the fine arts, morality, sociability,
+commerce, are all combined in that favoured spot.
+
+The Moravian colony, shut in within a bend of the Volga, in the midst of
+the Kalmuck hordes, eloquently demonstrates what miracles decision and
+perseverance can effect. It is the first shoot planted by Europe in that
+remote region, amidst those pastoral tribes so jealous of their
+independence; and the changes wrought by the Moravian brethren on the
+rude soil they have fertilised, and on the still ruder character of the
+inhabitants, give striking evidence of the benefits of our civilisation.
+
+Every thing breathes of peace and contentment in this little town, on
+which rests the blessing of God. It is the only place I know in Russia
+in which the eye is never saddened by the sight of miserable penury. No
+bitter thought mingles there with the interesting observations gleaned
+by curiosity. Every house is a workshop, every individual a workman.
+During the day every one is busy; but in the evening the thriving and
+cheerful population throng the walks and the square, and give a most
+pleasing air of animation to the town.
+
+Like most Germans, the Moravian brethren are passionately fond of music.
+The piano, heard at evening in almost every house, reminds them of their
+fatherland, and consoles them for the vicinity of the Kalmucks.
+
+We visited the establishments of the Moravian sisters, where, by a
+fortunate chance, we met a German lady who spoke French very well. The
+life of the sisters is tranquil, humble, and accordant with the purest
+principles of morality and religion. They are forty in number, and
+appear happy, as much so at least as it is possible to be in a perfectly
+monastic state of existence. Consummate order, commodious apartments,
+and a handsome garden, make the current of their lives flow with
+unruffled smoothness, as far as outward things are concerned. Music,
+too, is a great resource for them. We observed in the prayer-room three
+pianos, with which they accompany the hymns they sing in chorus. They
+execute very pretty work in pearls and tapestry, which they sell for the
+benefit of the community. There would be nothing very extraordinary in
+these details, if any other country were in question; we are afraid
+they will even be thought too commonplace; but if the reader will only
+reflect for a moment on the position of this oasis of civilisation on
+the far verge of Europe, in the midst of the Kalmucks and on the
+confines of the country of the Khirghis, he will think our enthusiasm
+very natural and excusable.
+
+The only thing that rather offended our eyes was the would-be finery of
+the women's dress. Would any one imagine that in this remote little
+corner of the earth they should be ridiculous enough to ape French
+fashions and wear bonnets with flowers? How preferable are the simple
+demure costume of the Mennonite women and their little Alsacian caps, to
+the mingled elegance and shabbiness of the Moravian sisters. Their dress
+is quite out of character, and makes them look like street
+ballad-singers.
+
+To give an idea of it, here follows an exact description of the costume
+of a fashionably-dressed young lady of Sarepta (our host's
+daughter.):--A flowered muslin gown, short and narrow; a black apron; a
+large Madras handkerchief on the neck; a patch-work ridicule carried in
+the hand; thick-soled shoes, bare arms, and a pink bonnet with flowers.
+To complete the portrait, we must add a very pretty face, and plump,
+well-rounded arms. The women here are much handsomer than in any other
+part of Russia; many of them are remarkable specimens of the North
+German style of beauty.
+
+On the evening of our arrival we were advised to attend the funeral
+music performed as a last honour to one of the principal inhabitants of
+Sarepta. The body was laid out in a mortuary chapel, with the family and
+numerous friends around it, and was not to be removed to the cemetery
+until the fourth day; an excellent custom, which may prevent horrible
+accidents.
+
+It would be difficult to imagine any thing more melancholy than the
+harmony produced by the voices and the brass instruments that
+alternately answered each other, and seemed the echoes of the saddest
+and most profound emotions of the heart. A great number of persons were
+present, and all the solemnity of the occasion did not hinder those
+worthy Germans from gathering round us with the liveliest curiosity, and
+putting a thousand questions to us about the purport of our travels.
+
+The association of the Moravian brethren dates from the celebrated John
+Huss, who was burnt at Constance, in 1419. Their history is but a long
+series of persecutions. The issue of the Thirty Years' War, so
+disastrous for Frederick, the elector palatine, and king of Bohemia, was
+particularly fatal to them. At that period most of the Protestants of
+Bohemia fled their country, and spread themselves through Saxony,
+Brandenburg, Poland, and Hungary. The vengeance of the Emperor Frederick
+II. pursued them without ceasing, and great numbers of them perished in
+want and wretchedness. In 1722, Christian David, a carpenter, and some
+others of the proscribed, obtained permission from the Count of
+Zinzendorf, in Lusace, to settle on his lands. They reached their place
+of refuge in secret, with their wives and children, and David struck his
+axe into a tree, exclaiming: "Here shall the bird find a dwelling, and
+the swallow a nest." His hopes were not disappointed. The new
+establishment assumed the name of _Herrenhut_ (The Lord's Keeping), and
+its members were soon known in Germany only by that appellation. Such
+was the beginning of the new evangelical society of the Brethren of the
+Unity of the Confession of Augsburg. Herrenhut, the central
+establishment, throve rapidly, and became known all over Europe for its
+industry and its manufactures; and by and by, when the proselytising
+spirit had possessed the brethren, they extended their relations over
+all parts of the world.
+
+Shortly after the Empress Catherine II. had made known to Europe that
+Russia was open to foreigners, and that she would bestow lands the
+immigrants, a deputation from Herrenhut to St. Petersburg decided on the
+formation of a Moravian colony in the government of Astrakhan. Five of
+the brethren visited the banks of the Volga in 1769, and on the 3rd of
+September of the same year, the colony was settled at the confluence of
+the Sarpa with the Volga, and consisted at that time of thirty persons
+of both sexes. Its name was borrowed from the Bible, and an olive and a
+wheatsheaf were chosen for its arms.
+
+It was only by dint of courage and perseverance that these first
+colonists succeeded in their enterprise, surrounded as they were on all
+sides by the savage hordes of the Kalmucks, having no knowledge of the
+language of the country, and situated at more than 120 versts from any
+Russian town. But after the first difficulties were surmounted, their
+prosperity was rapid. As we have already said, the Moravian brethren
+form a vast society, spread throughout all parts of the world for the
+propagation of the Gospel; but, moreover, for the better fulfilment of
+their mission they are all required by the rules of their order to know
+some trade, so as to be able to support themselves by the work of their
+own hands. Hence Sarepta soon became a seat of manufactures of all
+sorts, and an industrial school for the surrounding country, and
+Catherine's intentions were realised.
+
+As for the brethren themselves, the establishment of an industrial town
+in a land so remote and so destitute of resources and markets, was for
+them but a secondary object. Their chief aim was the conversion of the
+Kalmucks, to accomplish which they thought rightly that it was
+indispensable to have a permanent settlement among those people. All
+their proselytising efforts, however, remained fruitless; the Kalmucks
+were deaf to their instruction. It was not till 1820 that they succeeded
+in converting a few families, and inducing them to receive baptism. But
+now the Russian clergy interposed, and insisted on the converts being
+baptised according to the Greek rite, and finally, all the Moravian
+missions were suppressed. Ever since then Sarepta has been a purely
+manufacturing town.
+
+The colony of Sarepta endured great calamities in the beginning. In
+1771, the period of the famous emigration of the Kalmucks, the brethren
+had a narrow escape of being carried into captivity, and were saved only
+by the mildness of the winter, which prevented their enemies from
+crossing the Volga and joining the great horde. The Cossack Pougatchef
+ravaged the whole country in 1773, and the colonists, 200 in number,
+including women, were obliged to retreat to Astrakhan. The defeat of the
+rebel shortly afterwards enabled them to return home. Their town had
+been destroyed, but they were not disheartened, and it soon rose again
+from its ruins. A whole street was burned down in Sarepta in 1812, and
+in the same year they lost their warehouses in Moscow, containing an
+immense stock of goods, in the great conflagration. But the most
+terrible disaster was that of 1823, when two-thirds of the colony and
+the largest establishments were reduced to ashes; the loss was estimated
+at upwards of 40,000_l._ The Emperor Alexander and the Moravian
+Association afforded the poor colonists generous aid, but they could
+never restore the old prosperity of Sarepta.
+
+All these heavy blows falling successively on the unfortunate community,
+did not, however, prevent the development of its industry. Great
+activity prevailed in its very various manufactories down to the
+beginning of the present century, and their productions continued to be
+in request in all parts of Russia. Some of the brethren established in
+the great towns of the empire were the active and honest correspondents
+of the Volga colonists. The silks and cottons of Sarepta were so
+successful that the weavers of that town formed establishments at their
+own cost among the German colonies of the government of Saratof.[17] But
+all these elements of wealth were annihilated by the new customs'
+regulations; most of the manufactories were closed; as for the rest,
+with one or two exceptions, being obliged to confine themselves to the
+production of a small number of articles, they can only subsist by dint
+of great economy and skill. The difficulty, too, of procuring workmen
+makes labour extremely dear in Sarepta; and besides this the colonists
+instead of importing the raw materials direct from the foreigner, are
+obliged to purchase them in the markets of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
+The decrease in the waters of the Sarpa has also been disastrous to the
+trade of Sarepta. The brethren had set up a great number of saw and
+other mills on the banks, and these brought them large profits; but the
+want of water caused them all to be abandoned in 1800. In noticing this
+continual struggle of man against nature and events, we cannot but pay
+the tribute of our admiration to those intrepid colonists, who, on the
+furthest verge of Europe, in the arid steppes of the Volga, have never
+suffered themselves to be overcome by their mischances, but have always
+found fresh resources in their own energy and perseverance.
+
+The manufacture of mustard is at present the most important branch of
+business in Sarepta, producing nearly 16,000 kilogrammes yearly, besides
+4800 kilogrammes of oil. This trade is not unimportant to the
+neighbouring villages, since it uses upon an average every year 160,000
+kilogrammes of mustard seed, for which the manufacturer pays the peasant
+at the rate of 1.60 rubles the poud or thirty-three pounds.
+
+The other trades that are still carried on with some degree of success
+are the manufactures of silk and cotton tissues, stockings and caps,
+tobacco and tanned leather, but these are all upon a greatly reduced
+scale and at a greatly diminished rate of profit. There is also a very
+clever optician in Sarepta, and there are several confectioners who
+travel to Moscow. The colony possesses also warehouses of manufactured
+goods, and offers almost all the resources and conveniences of a good
+European town.
+
+Agriculture can only be a secondary matter in the colony; of the 17,000
+deciatines of land possessed by it 2000 are quite unfit for cultivation,
+10,000 are salt, and only 4000 are really good. There is, however, a
+little village named Schoenbrunn, not far from the town, in which there
+are some families engaged in agriculture and cattle rearing. Merino
+sheep have not done well with them hitherto. They had a large stock some
+years ago, but it dwindled away either from mismanagement, or from the
+severity of the climate, and at present does not exceed 1000 head.
+
+The brethren possess also numerous gardens along the Sarpa, irrigated by
+water wheels, and producing all sorts of fruits and plants, but chiefly
+tobacco, and latterly indigo, which will no doubt become of great
+importance to the colony.
+
+The little town of Sarepta has not changed much within the last eighty
+years: its buildings still present the same appearance as they did some
+years after the foundation of the colony; but the great industrial
+movements of former times have deserted it, and its streets are become
+lonely and silent. The fountain still flows on the same spot, and is
+still shaded by the same trees; but the blackened walls of the two
+finest manufactories, burnt down in the terrible fire of 1823, and which
+the colonists have never been able to rebuild, make a singularly painful
+impression on the beholder, and tell too plainly that in spite of their
+courage and industry, events have been too strong for the Moravians. All
+travellers who visit Sarepta, and have an opportunity of appreciating
+the worth of its inhabitants, will certainly desire from their hearts a
+return of prosperity to this interesting colony: unhappily it is not
+probable that these wishes will be very speedily realised.
+
+The Moravian community has augmented but little since 1769; for in 1837
+it comprised but 380 souls, viz., 160 men and 220 women; and even of
+these, only one half were natives of Sarepta, the remainder being
+immigrants from abroad. Many causes combine to keep down the population.
+In the first place, no colonist is allowed to marry, until he can prove
+the sufficiency of his means; both men and women, therefore, marry late
+in life, and large families are extremely rare. Again, no brother can
+marry, if his doing so would cause any detriment to another; and all
+those who, by their misconduct, in any degree disturb the order and
+tranquillity of the colony, are banished and put out of the association.
+A sort of passport is given them for the government of Saratof, and then
+they are at liberty either to enrol themselves as government colonists,
+or to enjoy their privileges as foreigners. Lastly, after the great fire
+of 1823, many of the brethren, discouraged by the loss of their all,
+left Sarepta, and went to reside elsewhere. All these reasons,
+sufficiently account for the stationary condition of the population. Of
+strangers to the association, there are in Sarepta, thirty families of
+work people from the German colonies of Saratof, forty Russians, and
+twenty Tatars; some fifty Kalmuck kibitkas (tents) supply labourers for
+the gardens and for other works.
+
+There are now fifty-six stone and 136 wooden houses in Sarepta, and
+outside it, one stone and forty-nine wooden. Its public buildings, are a
+church, with an organ and a belfry, and three large workhouses for
+bachelors, widows, and girls. These serve at the same time as asylums
+for orphans, and for all persons who have no families. There are also
+schools for the young of both sexes, in which the course of instruction
+is rather extensive, and includes the German, Russian, and French
+languages, history, geography, and elementary mathematics.
+
+At first, Sarepta was surrounded with ditches and ramparts, supplied
+with artillery and defended by a detachment of Cossacks; but these
+military displays have long disappeared, and the worthy Moravians are
+left alone to their own peaceful pursuits. In describing this
+interesting colony, we must not forget its numerous and delicious
+fountains. Every street, every house has its own, the water being
+conveyed by wooden pipes underground into a common reservoir, whence it
+is distributed to all parts. Nor will it be without a keen feeling of
+satisfaction that the weary traveller will stop at the Sarepta hotel,
+where he will find a good bed and a good table, excellent wine, and all
+the comforts he can desire.
+
+The Moravian brethren of Sarepta justly enjoy much more extensive
+privileges than all the other colonists of Russia: they pay to the crown
+but a slight tax per deciatine of land; and they have the right of
+trading in all parts of the empire and to foreign parts, as first guild
+merchants without paying any dues. They have their own perfectly
+separate administration, and all litigated affairs among them are
+settled by themselves, without the interference of any Russian tribunal:
+if any disputes arise between them and their neighbours, they have
+recourse to the general committee of the German colonies of Saratof, or
+in matters of weight, to the ministry in St. Petersburg, through one of
+their brethren, who resides there as their agent. In cases of murder
+alone, they deliver over the criminal to the Russian authorities.
+Banishment is usually the sentence pronounced for other offences by the
+tribunal of the association, which consists of a mayor and two
+assistants, elected by the community, and who act also as administrators
+of the colony, and have under their orders an officer, who is
+responsible for all things pertaining to the town and country police.
+The public revenue is 20,000 rubles, produced by the rent of the
+fisheries and by special taxes; this money is spent in keeping up the
+public buildings, the schools, workhouses, &c.
+
+The habits of these colonists, their amount of education, and their
+religious principles, make a marked distinction between them and all the
+other Germans in Russia. We have seen few sectarians whose religious
+views are characterised by so much sound sense. While discharging their
+duties with the most scrupulous exactness, they avail themselves of the
+good things granted them by Providence, live in a liberal and commodious
+manner, and surround themselves with all that can render life easy and
+agreeable. What struck us most of all, was to find invariably in the
+mere workman as well as in the wealthy manufacturer, a well-bred,
+well-informed man, of elegant manners and appearance, and engaging
+conversation. We spent but a few days in the colony, but our knowledge
+of the German language, enabled us quickly to acquire the friendship of
+the principal inhabitants; and when we left the town, our carriage was
+surrounded by a great number of those worthy people who came to bid us a
+last farewell, and to wish us a pleasant journey through the wild
+steppes of the Kalmucks.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[17] The German colonies of the government of Saratof consist of 102
+villages, with a population of 81,271; in 1820 they produced 242,830
+hectolitres of wheat, worth 555,263 paper rubles, and tobacco to the
+value of 260,485.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+      FIRST KALMUCK ENCAMPMENTS--THE VOLGA--ASTRAKHAN--VISIT TO A
+      KALMUCK PRINCE--MUSIC, DANCING, COSTUME, &c.--EQUESTRIAN
+      FEATS--RELIGIOUS CEREMONY--POETRY.
+
+
+At eight in the evening we left Sarepta, delighted in the highest degree
+with the good Moravian brethren, and the cordial hospitality they had
+shown us.
+
+At some distance from the colony, a dull white line, scarcely
+distinguishable through the gloom, announced the presence of the Volga.
+We followed its course all night, catching a glimpse of it from time to
+time by the faint glimmering of the stars, and by numerous lights along
+its banks; these were fishermen's lanterns. There was an originality in
+the whole region that strongly impressed our imaginations. Those
+numerous lights, flitting every moment from place to place, were like
+the will o' the wisp that beguiles the benighted traveller; and then the
+Kalmuck encampments with their black masses that seemed to glide over
+the surface of the steppe; the darkness of the night; the speed with
+which our troika bore us over the boundless plain; the shrill tinklings
+of the horse bells, and above all, the thought that we were in the land
+of the Kalmucks, wrought us up to a state of nervous excitement that
+made us see every thing in the hues of fancy.
+
+At daybreak, our eyes were bent eagerly on the Volga, that gleamed in
+the colours of the morning sky. From the plateau where we were, we could
+see the whole country, and it may easily be conceived with what
+admiration we gazed on the calm majestic stream, and its multitude of
+islands clothed with alders and aspens. On the other side of the river,
+the steppes where the Khirgises and Kalmucks encamp, stretched away as
+far as the eye could reach, till bounded by a horizon as even as that of
+the ocean. It would have been difficult to conceive a more majestic
+spectacle, or one more in harmony with the ideas evoked by the Volga, to
+which its course of more than six hundred leagues assigns the foremost
+rank among the great rivers of Europe.
+
+The post-road, which skirts the river as far as Astrakhan, is difficult,
+and often dangerous. Our driver was constantly turning his horses into
+the water, to prevent their sinking in a soil that undulates like the
+sea with every breath of wind. At intervals we encountered Cossack
+villages almost buried under sandy billows, and many cabins entirely
+abandoned. This encroachment of the sands, which increases every year in
+extent, will soon change the already dreary banks of the Volga into a
+real desert. No one can behold the sterility and desolation of these
+regions, without marvelling at the patience with which the Cossacks
+endure a visitation that from year to year drives them from their
+cabins, and compels them to build new ones. For a length of more than
+sixty versts, the traveller finds his route shut in between the bed of
+the river, and moving hills of sand, whose dead monotony has a most
+depressing effect on the spirits. It is still worse at night, for then
+he seems surrounded with perils. No wonder if fear possesses him when he
+thinks that a plundering nomade horde may be lying in ambush behind
+those defiles which the darkness renders still more menacing; the
+Cossack posts, however, which he meets from time to time along his road,
+contribute greatly to quiet his apprehensions.
+
+These Cossacks were originally from the Don, and were sent by the
+government to defend the frontiers of the Volga against the incursions
+of the nomades. Settling with their families, they founded several
+villages, and afterwards peopled Samara, Saratof, and other towns. There
+remains of these colonists only a military population, whose duty is
+limited to watching the movements of the Khirgises from a distance, and
+protecting travellers. The soil affords them no means of practising
+agriculture, but they supply their wants by fishing.
+
+Since our departure from Sarepta, we were much surprised to find on this
+little frequented route much better horses than are met with on the main
+post-roads; the stations too seemed larger, more commodious and
+elegant, and every thing about them betokened attentive care on the part
+of the government.
+
+As we approached Astrakhan, the sand-hills diminished insensibly in
+height, until they no longer confined the view. All this part of the
+steppe is bare of wood, and the salt sandy waste is only spotted here
+and there with pools of water and patches of wormwood. No sound is heard
+but the shrill cries of the petrels and wild geese that haunt the edges
+of the pools. Here and there only we encountered numerous herds of
+camels going to drink the clear water of the Volga, or wandering among
+the Kalmuck kibitkas scattered over the steppes.
+
+At the last station but one, we were startled from our breakfast by the
+sound of military music, which for a moment threw the whole house into a
+state of revolution. We were ourselves very much puzzled to know what it
+meant, and jumping up from table we ran and saw--what? A steamer, no
+less, puffing and smoking, and lashing the astonished waters of the calm
+Volga into foam. Gay flags flaunted over its deck, which was crowded
+with passengers, and whence proceeded the sounds that had so surprised
+us. It passed before us, I will not say proudly, but very clumsily, by
+no means skimming along the water like a swallow.
+
+When we saw the crowded state of the deck, a thought struck us that the
+matter in some degree concerned ourselves, for as the steamer was from
+Astrakhan, it was to be presumed that it carried several persons we had
+expected to see there. But our conjectures fell short of the reality,
+and our consternation was extreme, when the postmaster told us that the
+boat was conveying all the good society of Astrakhan on a visit to a
+Kalmuck prince, whose custom it was to give splendid entertainments at
+that season of the year. What made the thing still more vexatious, was,
+that many persons had already talked to us about the said prince, and
+strongly recommended us to go and see him.
+
+There could not have been a more favourable opportunity for indulging
+our curiosity; but we were compelled to forego it for want of a
+_podoroshni_[18] entitling us to have horses on our way back. The
+Russians are such rigid sticklers for forms, that nothing but strong
+motives of interest can make them swerve from the letter of their
+instructions. Now it happened by a singular piece of ill-luck that our
+postmaster was an honest man after his fashion; that is to say, he would
+not depart a hair's breadth from his regulations to please any one. His
+stupid obstinacy was proof against all solicitations and bribes, and we
+gave up the tempting project of visiting the prince, whose palace we had
+passed a few hours before, about forty versts from the station.
+
+Our best course under the circumstances would have been to hail the
+steamer, and go on board of it, but we did not think of this until we
+had lost much time with the postmaster, and then it was too late to
+overtake the steamer, notwithstanding its slow rate of moving. When we
+afterwards related our mischances to the governor of Astrakhan, he
+blamed us much for not having at once thought of so simple an expedient.
+
+About four o'clock P.M. the same day, we came in sight of
+Astrakhan. I cannot describe our sensations when from a large boat in
+which we embarked, we beheld the fine panorama of the city, its
+churches, cupolas, and ruined forts gradually coming forth to the view.
+Situated in an island of the Volga, its environs are not covered like
+those of most great cities, with villages and cultivated fields: no, it
+stands alone, surrounded by water and sand, proud of its sovereignty
+over the noble river, and of the name of Star of the Desert, with which
+the poetic imagination of the Orientals has graced it.
+
+We had great difficulty in finding a lodging after we had landed, and
+though assisted by a police officer, we spent more than two hours in
+wandering from place to place, everywhere meeting with refusals. We were
+about cutting short our perplexities by taking refuge in a Persian
+caravanserai, when chance came to our aid. A Polish lady whom we fell in
+with, offered us the accommodation of her house, and with such good
+grace, that we could not hesitate to accept her civility. Besides, our
+travels in Russia had accustomed us to the sympathy with which every
+thing French is greeted by the Poles. The last political events have not
+yet been able to weaken their good will towards us; they regard us as
+brethren, and are ready to prove it on all occasions.
+
+Except some crown buildings occupied by the _employes_, there is nothing
+in Astrakhan to remind us of its being under foreign sway. The town has
+completely preserved the Asiatic physiognomy it owes to its climate, its
+past history, and its diversified population. It is built partly on a
+hill, partly on the plain, and several of its oldest portions stand on
+low spots intersected with marshes, and are exposed to very unwholesome
+exhalations during the summer, after the river floods. A canal with
+quays runs through its whole length.
+
+My husband's first proceeding after a hurried installation in our new
+quarters, was to call on M. Fadier, the curator-general of the Kalmucks,
+and try to obtain a _podoroshni_ as quickly as possible. He came back in
+an hour, and told me that we were to start that evening in a boat
+belonging to the admiralty, which was placed at our disposal. The
+governor, M. Fadier, the port-admiral, and all the superior society of
+the place were visiting the prince, as we had before been told; but
+Madame Fadier had been kept at home by indisposition, and that lady,
+whose name will frequently appear in our reminiscences of Astrakhan,
+obligingly removed all our difficulties.
+
+We embarked in the evening in the boat, with a crew of six stout Kalmuck
+rowers and a Tatta pilot. We expected to arrive at the prince's in the
+morning; but by some unaccountable chance I was seized all at once with
+a dread that obliged us to halt, in spite of our eager desire to reach
+our journey's end. The night was very dark, and the river, the waves of
+which made our boat reel, seemed to me boundless; yet all this was not
+enough to account for the insurmountable terror that took hold of me so
+capriciously. Many sea-voyages and long excursions on the Bosphorus in
+those light caiques that threaten to upset with the slightest movement,
+ought to have seasoned me against such emotions; but fear is a sentiment
+that cannot reason, and that comes upon us unawares, without any real
+danger to justify it. I must add, however, in palliation of my conduct,
+that the frequent lightning and the heaviness of the atmosphere foretold
+a storm; and no doubt had something to do with the nervous state in
+which I found myself.
+
+Be this as it may, I could not rest until I had heard my husband give
+orders to put back into port, and the sequel proved that this was really
+the best thing we could do. The night was horrible: one of those
+terrific squalls that are so frequent and so dangerous on the Volga,
+came on soon after we landed, and made me bless that terror of which I
+was at first ashamed, and which I was now tempted to regard as a secret
+presentiment of the danger that threatened us.
+
+At sunrise next day we set out by the post, and travelled till evening
+along that river on which I had been so much agitated. Its appearance in
+the fresh, calm morning was little in accordance with my terror on the
+preceding day. The weather showed that brilliancy that always follows a
+storm in southern lands, and our spirits were such as to make our little
+trip exceedingly agreeable. The postmaster who had annoyed us so much
+the preceding day, could not help showing great surprise at our
+reappearance. He examined our new _podoroshni_ with scrupulous care, and
+having satisfied himself that it was quite as it ought to be, he was
+suddenly seized with great respect for us. The quickness with which we
+had obtained the paper, was plain proof to him that we were persons of
+importance.
+
+We left our post-carriage in the evening, and embarked; for we had still
+a dozen versts to travel on the river before reaching the prince's; but
+all the phantoms of the previous night had fled before the bright sun,
+and I stepped gaily into the boat thinking only of the pleasure of a
+long row over the limpid waves of the Volga. But now a last vexation
+befel us; one would have fancied some evil genius was amusing himself
+with baffling all our arrangements, merely for the purpose of preventing
+our paying that visit on which we were so eagerly bent.
+
+Our whole desire was to arrive at the prince's before the departure of
+the steamer; for as for the fetes, we had already given up all thought
+of them. From what Madame Fadier had told us we were quite at ease, and
+never doubted but that we should find the whole company assembled in the
+Kalmuck palace. Fancy our dismay then, when our boatman suddenly called
+out 'the steamer!' pointing at the same time to a light smoke that rose
+above the trees. I am not very prone to superstition, but this obvious
+fatality was too much for my philosophy. Here was the best part of the
+pleasure we had anticipated from this unlucky trip, struck from us at
+one blow, and that at the very moment when we flattered ourselves we had
+overcome all obstacles! the steamer passed proudly and triumphantly at a
+little distance from us, with its joyous music that seemed to insult our
+disappointment, and our poor little boat, tossed about like a nutshell
+by the surge of the confounded vessel, had not even the honour of being
+seen at first. Some one at last condescended to notice us; a telescope
+was pointed in our direction, and we afterwards learned that our
+appearance gave rise to a multitude of conjectures, which, of course,
+were solved only in Astrakhan.
+
+Nothing remained for us but to bear our fate with philosophical
+composure; and we did so with the confident belief that luck, which had
+hitherto run so decidedly against us, must soon take a turn in our
+favour. Forgetting, therefore, the steamboat, its music, and its
+brilliant company, we applied all our attention to the spectacle before
+us, which was certainly much better worth seeing than the prosaic
+steamer.
+
+The little island belonging to Prince Tumene stands alone in the middle
+of the river. From a distance it looks like a nest of verdure resting on
+the waves, and waiting only a breath of wind to send it floating down
+the rapid course of the Volga; but, as you advance, the land unfolds
+before you, the trees form themselves into groups, and the prince's
+palace displays a portion of its white facade, and the open galleries of
+its turrets. Every object assumes a more decided and more picturesque
+form, and stands out in clear relief, from the cupola of the mysterious
+pagoda which you see towering above the trees, to the humble kibitka
+glittering in the magic tints of sunset. The landscape, as it presented
+itself successively to our eyes, with the unruffled mirror of the Volga
+for its framework, wore a calm, but strange and profoundly melancholy
+character. It was like nothing we had ever seen before; it was a new
+world which fancy might people as it pleased; one of those mysterious
+isles one dreams of at fifteen after reading the "Arabian Nights;" a
+thing, in short, such as crosses the traveller's path but once in all
+his wanderings, and which we enjoyed with all the zest of unexpected
+pleasure. But we were soon called back from all these charming phantoms
+of the imagination to the realities of life? we were arrived. Our
+boatman moored his little craft in a clump of thornbroom; and whilst my
+husband proceeded to the palace with his interpreter, I remained in the
+boat, divided between the pleasure I anticipated from the extraordinary
+things to be seen in a Kalmuck palace, and the involuntary apprehension
+awakened in me by all the incidents of this visit.
+
+The latter feeling did not last long. Not many minutes had elapsed after
+the departure of my companions, when I saw them returning with a young
+man, who was presented to me as one of the princes Tumene. It was with
+equal elegance and good breeding he introduced me to the palace, where
+every step brought me some new surprise. I was quite unprepared for what
+I saw; and really in passing through two salons which united the most
+finished display of European taste with the gorgeousness of Asia, on
+being suddenly accosted by a young lady who welcomed me in excellent
+French, I felt such a thrill of delight, that I could only answer by
+embracing her heartily! In this manner an acquaintance is quickly made.
+
+The room where we took tea was soon filled with Russian and Cossack
+officers, guests of the prince's, and thus assumed a European aspect
+which we had not at all expected after the departure of the steamer. But
+was this what we had come to see? was it to look at Russian officers,
+and articles of furniture of well known fashion, to take caravan tea off
+a silver tray, and talk French, that we had left Astrakhan? These
+reflections soon yielded to the secret pleasure of meeting the image of
+Europe even among the Kalmucks, and being able without the aid of a
+dragoman to testify to the charming Polish lady who did the honours of
+the drawing-room, the gratification her presence afforded us. The old
+Prince Tumene, the head of the family, joined us by and by, and thanked
+us with the most exquisite politeness for our obliging visit.
+
+After the first civilities were over, I was conducted to a very handsome
+chamber, with windows opening on a large verandah. I found in it a
+toilette apparatus in silver, very elegant furniture, and many objects
+both rare and precious. My surprise augmented continually as I beheld
+this aristocratic sumptuousness. In vain I looked for any thing that
+could remind me of the Kalmucks; nothing around me had a tinge of
+_couleur locale_; all seemed rather to bespeak the abode of a rich
+Asiatic nabob; and with a little effort of imagination, I might easily
+have fancied myself transported into the marvellous world of the
+fairies, as I beheld that magnificent palace encircled with water, with
+its exterior fretted all over with balconies and fantastic ornaments,
+and its interior all filled with velvets, tapestries, and crystals, as
+though the touch of a wand had made all these wonders start from the
+bosom of the Volga! And what completed the illusion was the thought that
+the author of these prodigies was a Kalmuck prince, a chief of those
+half-savage tribes that wander over the sandy plains of the Caspian Sea,
+a worshipper of the Grand Lama, a believer in the metempsychosis; in
+short, one of those beings whose existence seems to us almost fabulous,
+such a host of mysterious legends do their names awaken in the mind.
+
+Madame Zakarevitch soon made me acquainted with all I wished to know
+respecting the princes Tumene and herself. Her husband, who had long
+been curator of the Kalmucks, died some years ago, a victim to the
+integrity with which he discharged his office. The employes, enraged at
+not being able to rob at their ease, combined together to have him
+brought to trial and persecuted him to his last moment with their base
+intrigues. His wife, who has all the impassioned character of the Poles,
+has ever since been actively engaged in vindication of his memory,
+devoting time, money, and toilsome journeys, with admirable perseverance
+to that sacred task. A friendship of long standing subsists between her
+and Prince Tumene, with whose daughter and a lady companion she usually
+passes part of the summer.
+
+Prince Tumene is the wealthiest and most influential of all the Kalmuck
+chiefs. In 1815 he raised a regiment at his own expense, and led it to
+Paris, for which meritorious service he was rewarded with numerous
+decorations. He has now the rank of colonel, and he was the first of
+this nomade people who exchanged his kibitka for an European dwelling.
+Absolute master in his own family (among the Kalmucks the same respect
+is paid to the eldest brother as to the father), he employs his
+authority only for the good of those around him. He possesses about a
+million deciatines of land, and several hundred families, from which he
+derives a considerable revenue. His race, which belongs to the tribe of
+the Koshots, is one of the most ancient and respected among the
+Kalmucks. Repeatedly tried by severe afflictions, his mind has taken an
+exclusively religious bent, and the superstitious practices to which he
+devotes himself give him a great reputation for sanctity among his
+countrymen. An isolated pavilion at some distance from the palace is his
+habitual abode, where he passes his life in prayer and religious
+conference with the most celebrated priests of the country. No one but
+these latter is allowed admission into his mysterious sanctuary; even
+his brothers have never entered it. This is assuredly a singular mode of
+existence, especially if we compare it with that which he might lead
+amidst the splendour and conveniences with which he has embellished his
+palace, and which betoken a cast of thought far superior to what we
+should expect to find in a Kalmuck. This voluntary sacrifice of earthly
+delights, this asceticism caused by moral sufferings, strikingly reminds
+us of Christianity and the origin of our religious orders. Like the most
+fervent Catholics, this votary of Lama seeks in solitude, prayer,
+austerity, and the hope of another life, consolations which all his
+fortune is powerless to afford him! Is not this the history of many a
+Trappist or Carthusian?
+
+The position of the palace is exquisitely chosen, and shows a sense of
+the beautiful as developed as that of the most civilised nations. It is
+built in the Chinese style, and is prettily seated on the gentle slope
+of a hill about a hundred feet from the Volga. Its numerous galleries
+afford views over every part of the isle, and the imposing surface of
+the river. From one of the angles the eye looks down on a mass of
+foliage, through which glitter the cupola and golden ball of the pagoda.
+Beautiful meadows, dotted over with clumps of trees, and fields in high
+cultivation, unfold their carpets of verdure on the left of the palace,
+and form different landscapes which the eye can take in at once. The
+whole is enlivened by the presence of Kalmuck horsemen, camels wandering
+here and there through the rich pastures, and officers conveying the
+chief's orders from tent to tent. It is a beautiful spectacle, various
+in its details, and no less harmonious in its assemblage.
+
+After learning the reasons why we had not arrived two days sooner,
+Madame Zakarevitch very agreeably surprised us with the assurance that
+it was the prince's intention to have the _fetes_ repeated for us.
+Couriers had already been despatched to bring back the priests who had
+been engaged in the solemnities of the occasion, in order that we might
+have an opportunity of seeing their religious ceremonies. The day being
+now far advanced, we spent the remainder of it in visiting the palace in
+detail, and resting from the fatigues of our journey.
+
+At an early hour next day, Madame Zakarevitch came to accompany us to
+the prince's sister-in-law, who, during the fine season, resides in the
+kibitka in preference to the palace. Nothing could be more agreeable to
+us than this proposal. At last then I was about to see Kalmuck manners
+and customs without any foreign admixture. On the way I learned that the
+princess was renowned among her people for extreme beauty and
+accomplishments, besides many other details which contributed further to
+augment my curiosity. We formed a tolerably large party when we reached
+her tent, and as she had been informed of our intended visit, we
+enjoyed, on entering, a spectacle that far surpassed our anticipations.
+When the curtain at the doorway of the kibitka was raised, we found
+ourselves in a rather spacious room, lighted from above, and hung with
+red damask, the reflection from which shed a glowing tint on every
+object; the floor was covered with a rich Turkey carpet, and the air was
+loaded with perfumes. In this balmy atmosphere and crimson light we
+perceived the princess seated on a low platform at the further end of
+the tent, dressed in glistening robes, and as motionless as an idol.
+Some twenty women in full dress, sitting on their heels, formed a
+strange and parti-coloured circle round her. It was like nothing I could
+compare it to but an opera scene suddenly got up on the banks of the
+Volga. When the princess had allowed us time enough to admire her, she
+slowly descended the steps of the platform, approached us with dignity,
+took me by the hand, embraced me affectionately, and led me to the place
+she had just left. She did the same by Madame Zakarevitch and her
+daughter, and then graciously saluting the persons who accompanied us,
+she motioned them to be seated on a large divan opposite the platform.
+No mistress of a house in Paris could have done better. When every one
+had found a place, she sat down beside me, and through the medium of an
+Armenian, who spoke Russian and Kalmuck extremely well, she made me a
+thousand compliments, that gave me a very high opinion of her capacity.
+With the Armenian's assistance we were able to put many questions to
+each other, and notwithstanding the awkwardness of being obliged to have
+recourse to an interpreter, the conversation was far from growing
+languid, so eager was the princess for information of every kind. The
+Armenian, who was a merry soul, constituted himself, of his own
+authority, grand master of the ceremonies, and commenced his functions
+by advising the princess to give orders for the opening of the ball.
+Immediately upon a sign from the latter, one of the ladies of honour
+rose and performed a few steps, turning slowly upon herself; whilst
+another, who remained seated, drew forth from a balalaika (an Oriental
+guitar) some melancholy sounds, by no means appropriate to the occasion.
+Nor were the attitudes and movements of her companion more accordant
+with our notions of dancing. They formed a pantomime, the meaning of
+which I could not ascertain, but which, by its languishing monotony,
+expressed any thing but pleasure or gaiety. The young _figurante_
+frequently stretched out her arms and knelt down as if to invoke some
+invisible being. The performance lasted a considerable time, during
+which I had full opportunity to scrutinise the princess, and saw good
+reason to justify the high renown in which her beauty was held among her
+own people. Her figure is imposing, and extremely well-proportioned, as
+far as her numerous garments allowed me to judge. Her mouth, finely
+arched and adorned with beautiful teeth, her countenance, expressive of
+great sweetness, her skin, somewhat brown, but remarkably delicate,
+would entitle her to be thought a very handsome woman, even in France,
+if the outline of her face and the arrangement of her features were only
+a trifle less Kalmuck. Nevertheless, in spite of the obliquity of her
+eyes and the prominence of her cheek-bones, she would still find many an
+admirer, not in Kalmuckia alone, but all the world over. Her looks
+convey an expression of the utmost gentleness and good-nature, and like
+all the women of her race, she has an air of caressing humility, which
+makes her appearance still more winning.
+
+Now for her costume. Over a very rich robe of Persian stuff, laced all
+over with silver, she wore a light silk tunic, reaching only to the knee
+and open in front. The high corsage was quite flat, and glittered with
+silver embroidery and fine pearls that covered all the seams. Round her
+neck she had a white cambric habit shirt, the shape of which seemed to
+me like that of a man's shirt collar. It was fastened in front by a
+diamond button. Her very thick, deep black hair fell over her bosom in
+two magnificent tresses of remarkable length. A yellow cap, edged with
+rich fur, and resembling in shape the square cap of a French judge, was
+set jauntily on the crown of her head. But what surprised me most in her
+costume was an embroidered cambric handkerchief and a pair of black
+mittens. Thus, it appears, the productions of our workshops find their
+way even to the toilette of a great Kalmuck lady. Among the princess's
+ornaments I must not forget to enumerate a large gold chain, which,
+after being wound round her beautiful tresses, fell over her bosom,
+passing on its way through her gold earrings. Her whole attire, such as
+I have described it, looked much less barbarous than I had expected. The
+ladies of honour, though less richly clad, wore robes and caps of the
+same form; only they had not advanced so far as to wear mittens.
+
+The dancing lady, after figuring for half an hour, went and touched the
+shoulder of one of her companions, who took her place, and began the
+same figures over again. When she had done, the Armenian urged the
+princess that her daughter, who until then had kept herself concealed
+behind a curtain, should also give a specimen of her skill; but there
+was a difficulty in the case. No lady of honour had a right to touch
+her, and this formality was indispensable according to established
+usage. Not to be baffled by this obstacle, the Armenian sprang gaily
+into the middle of the circle, and began to dance in so original a
+manner, that every one enthusiastically applauded. Having thus satisfied
+the exigency of Kalmuck etiquette, he stepped up to the curtain and laid
+his finger lightly on the shoulder of the young lady, who could not
+refuse an invitation thus made in all due form. Her dancing appeared to
+us less wearisome than that of the ladies of honour, thanks to her
+pretty face and her timid and languishing attitudes. She in her turn
+touched her brother, a handsome lad of fifteen, dressed in the Cossack
+costume, who appeared exceedingly mortified at being obliged to put a
+Kalmuck cap on his head, in order to exhibit the dance in all its
+nationality. Twice he dashed his cap on the ground with a most comical
+air of vexation; but his mother rigidly insisted on his putting it on
+again.
+
+The dancing of the men is as imperious and animated as that of the women
+is tame and monotonous; the spirit of domination displays itself in all
+their gestures, in the bold expression of their looks and their noble
+bearing. It would be impossible for me to describe all the evolutions
+the young prince went through with equal grace and rapidity. The
+elasticity of his limbs was as remarkable as the perfect measure
+observed in his complicated steps.
+
+After the ball came the concert. The women played one after the other on
+the balalaika, and then sang in chorus. But there is as little variety
+in their music as in their dancing. At last we were presented with
+different kinds of koumis and sweetmeats on large silver trays.
+
+When we came out from the kibitka, the princess's brother-in-law took us
+to a herd of wild horses, where one of the most extraordinary scenes
+awaited us. The moment we were perceived, five or six mounted men, armed
+with long lassoes, rushed into the middle of the _taboun_ (herd of
+horses), keeping their eyes constantly fixed on the young prince, who
+was to point out the animal they should seize. The signal being given,
+they instantly galloped forward and noosed a young horse with a long
+dishevelled mane, whose dilated eyes and smoking nostrils betokened
+inexpressible terror. A lightly-clad Kalmuck, who followed them on foot,
+immediately sprang upon the stallion, cut the thongs that were
+throttling him, and engaged with him in an incredible contest of daring
+and agility. It would be impossible, I think, for any spectacle more
+vividly to affect the mind than that which now met our eyes. Sometimes
+the rider and his horse rolled together on the grass; sometimes they
+shot through the air with the speed of an arrow, and then stopped
+abruptly, as if a wall had all at once risen up before them. On a sudden
+the furious animal would crawl on its belly, or rear in a manner that
+made us shriek with terror, then plunging forward again in his mad
+gallop he would dash through the taboun, and endeavour in every possible
+way to shake off his novel burden.
+
+But this exercise, violent and dangerous as it appeared to us, seemed
+but sport to the Kalmuck, whose body followed all the movements of the
+animal with so much suppleness, that one would have fancied that the
+same thought possessed both bodies. The sweat poured in foaming streams
+from the stallion's flanks, and he trembled in every limb. As for the
+rider, his coolness would have put to shame the most accomplished
+horsemen in Europe. In the most critical moments he still found himself
+at liberty to wave his arms in token of triumph; and in spite of the
+indomitable humour of his steed, he had sufficient command over it to
+keep it almost always within the circle of our vision. At a signal from
+the prince, two horsemen, who had kept as close as possible to the
+daring centaur, seized him with amazing quickness, and galloped away
+with him before we had time to comprehend this new manoeuvre. The
+horse, for a moment stupefied, soon made off at full speed, and was lost
+in the midst of the herd. These performances were repeated several times
+without a single rider suffering himself to be thrown.
+
+But what was our amazement when we saw a boy of ten years come forward
+to undertake the same exploit! They selected for him a young white
+stallion of great size, whose fiery bounds and desperate efforts to
+break his bonds, indicated a most violent temper.
+
+I will not attempt to depict our intense emotions during this new
+conflict. This child, who, like the other riders, had only the horse's
+mane to cling to, afforded an example of the power of reasoning over
+instinct and brute force. For some minutes he maintained his difficult
+position with heroic intrepidity. At last, to our great relief, a
+horseman rode up to him, caught him up in his outstretched arm, and
+threw him on the croup behind him.
+
+The Kalmucks, as the reader will perceive, are excellent horsemen, and
+are accustomed from their childhood to subdue the wildest horses. The
+exercise we had witnessed is one of their greatest amusements: it is
+even practised by the women, and we have frequently seen them vying
+with each other in feats of equestrian daring.
+
+The lateness of the hour recalled us to the palace where a splendid
+dinner was prepared for us. Two large tables were laid in two adjoining
+rooms, and at the head of each sat one of the princes. We took our
+places at that of the elder brother, who did the honours in the most
+finished style.
+
+The cookery, which was half Russian, half French, left us nothing to
+desire as regarded the choice or the savour of the dishes. Every thing
+was served up in silver, and the wines of France and Spain, champagne
+especially, were supplied in princely profusion. Many toasts were given,
+foremost among which were those in honour of the Emperor of Russia and
+the King of the French.
+
+I remarked with much surprise, that during the whole dinner, the
+princess seemed very ill at ease in presence of her brother-in-law; she
+did not sit down until he had desired her to do so, and her whole
+demeanour manifested her profound respect for the head of her family.
+Her husband, the prince's younger brother, had been absent upwards of
+two months. The repast was very lengthened and great animation
+prevailed; whilst for our parts, we could hardly reconcile to our minds
+the idea that the giver of so sumptuous and so well-appointed an
+entertainment was a Kalmuck. The prince put many questions to us about
+France, and talked with enthusiasm of his residence in our country, and
+the agreeable acquaintances he had made there. Though he did not much
+make our current politics his study, he was not ignorant of our last
+revolution, and he expressed great admiration for Louis Philippe.
+
+After dinner we went in his carriage to visit the mysterious pagoda
+which had so much excited our curiosity.
+
+The moment we set foot on the threshold of the temple, our ears were
+assailed with a _charivari_, compared with which a score or two of great
+bells set in motion promiscuously, would have been harmony itself. It
+almost deprived us of the power of perceiving what was going on around
+us. The noise was so piercing, discordant, and savage that we were
+completely stupified, and there was no possibility of exchanging a word.
+
+The perpetrators of this terrible uproar, in other words the musicians,
+were arranged in two parallel lines facing each other; at their head, in
+the direction of the altar, the high-priest knelt quite motionless on a
+rich Persian carpet, and behind them towards the entrance stood the
+_ghepki_, or master of the ceremonies, dressed in a scarlet robe and a
+deep yellow hood, and having in his hand a long staff, the emblem, no
+doubt, of his dignity. The other priests, all kneeling as well as the
+musicians, and looking like grotesque Chinese in their features and
+attitudes, wore dresses of glaring colours, loaded with gold and silver
+brocade, consisting of wide tunics, with open sleeves, and a sort of
+mitre with several broad points. Their head-dress somewhat resembled
+that of the ancient Peruvians, except that instead of feathers they had
+plates covered with religious paintings, besides which there rose from
+the centre a long straight tuft of black silk, tied up so as to form a
+series of little balls, diminishing from the base to the summit. Below,
+this tuft spread out into several tresses which fell down on the
+shoulders. But what surprised us most of all were the musical
+instruments. Besides enormous timbrels and the Chinese tamtam, there
+were large sea-shells used as horns, and two huge tubes, three or four
+yards long, and each supported on two props. My husband ineffectually
+endeavoured to sound these trumpets; none but the stentorian lungs of
+the vigorous Mandschis could give them breath. If there is neither tune,
+nor harmony, nor method in the religious music of the Kalmucks, by way
+of amends for this every one makes as much noise as he can in his own
+way and according to the strength of his lungs. The concert began by a
+jingling of little bells, then the timbrels and tamtams struck up, and
+lastly, after the shrill squeakings of the shells, the two great
+trumpets began to bellow, and made all the windows of the temple shake.
+It would be impossible for me to depict all the oddity of this ceremony.
+Now indeed we felt that we were thousands of leagues away from Europe,
+in the heart of Asia, in a pagoda of the Grand Dalai Lama of Thibet.
+
+The temple, lighted by a row of large windows, is adorned with slender
+columns of stuccoed brickwork, the lightness of which reminds one of the
+graceful Moorish architecture. A gallery runs all round the dome, which
+is also remarkable for the extreme delicacy of its workmanship.
+Tapestries, representing a multitude of good and evil genii, monstrous
+idols and fabulous animals, cover all parts of the pagoda, and give it
+an aspect much more grotesque than religious. The veneration of the
+worshippers of Lama for their images is so great, that we could not
+approach these mis-shapen gods without covering our mouths with a
+handkerchief, lest we should profane them with an unhallowed breath.
+
+The priests showed how much they disliked our minute examination of
+every thing, by the uneasiness with which they continually watched all
+our movements. Their fear as we afterwards learned, was lest we should
+take a fancy to purloin some of those mystic images we scrutinised so
+narrowly; certainly they had good reason to be alarmed, for the will was
+not wanting on our part. But we were obliged to content ourselves with
+gazing at them with looks of the most profound respect, consoling
+ourselves with the hope of having our revenge on a more favourable
+occasion.
+
+When we returned to the palace, we found the old prince in a little
+room, of which he is particularly fond, and where he has collected a
+great quantity of arms and curiosities. Among other things, we admired
+some Circassian chaskas (sabres), richly adorned with black enamelled
+silver; Damascus swords, no less valuable for the temper of the blades,
+than for the rich incrustations of the hilts and scabbards; Florentine
+pistols of the fifteenth century; a jaspar cup of antique form,
+purchased for 4000 rubles of a Persian nobleman; Circassian coats of
+mail, like those of our knights of old, and a thousand other rarities,
+the artistic worth of which testify the good taste of a prince, whom
+many persons might consider a barbarian. He also keeps in this cabinet,
+as a thing of great price, the book in which are inscribed the names of
+those travellers who visit him. Among the names, most of them
+aristocratic, we observed those of Baron Humboldt, some English lords,
+and sundry Russian and German savans.
+
+We finished our _soiree_ with an extemporaneous ball that lasted all
+night. The Armenian, who first proposed the scheme, had to undertake the
+business of getting up an orchestra. I know not how he set about it, but
+in a few minutes he brought us triumphantly a violin, a guitar, and a
+flageolet. Such instruments among the Kalmucks--is it not really
+prodigious? We had quickly arranged a _soiree dansante_, as complete as
+any drawing-room could exhibit; and the merriment soon became so
+contagious, that the princess and her daughter, after much hesitation,
+at last overcame all bashfulness, and bravely threw themselves into a
+heady gallop, in which, by the by, one of them lost her cap. The
+wondering and delighted princess, stuck to me for the rest of the night,
+like my shadow, and incessantly assured me, through the Armenian, that
+she had never in her life passed so pleasant an evening, and that she
+would never forget it. She expressed a strong desire to hear me sing,
+and found the French _romances_ so much to her taste, that I had to
+promise I would copy out some of them for her. On her part, she gave me
+two Kalmuck songs of her own composition, and transcribed with her own
+hand.[19] According to Russian custom, the officers did full justice to
+the champagne, which was sent round all night at a fearful rate.
+
+We spent the next day in promenades about the island, and in hawking.
+This sport is a great favourite with the Kalmucks, and they practise it
+in as grand a style as the chatelains of the middle ages. Prince Tumene
+has a very well appointed falconry, and his hawks are trained by the
+same methods as were adopted by our ancestors. The hawk we had that day
+was a small one, of astonishing spirit. The Kalmuck who held it
+hoodwinked on his fist had the utmost difficulty in restraining it when
+its head was uncovered. He let it fly at a magnificent grey heron, which
+it struck down in less than a minute. Several wild ducks were also
+killed by it with incredible rapidity.
+
+The succeeding days were filled up with varied and novel amusements; nor
+can I describe the assiduous efforts of our entertainers, to let us see
+every particular of their manners and customs that might be interesting
+to us. Every day some new surprise was adroitly brought forward to delay
+our departure. But, alas! every thing must have an end in this world,
+and we felt at last constrained to bid adieu to those brilliant and
+varied scenes which we found so much to our taste.
+
+On the day fixed for our departure we all breakfasted together, while
+the final preparations were going on. The party was a sad one, for all
+were occupied with the same thought. Our host's elegant four-in-hand
+equipage, lined with white satin, was drawn up before the door, with an
+escort of fifteen horsemen. There was a large crowd assembled, who
+looked up eagerly to the large balcony, where we were receiving the
+stirrup-cup from the old prince. The whole formed a striking and
+splendid picture. The refinements of western luxury, mixed up with
+Kalmuck faces and costumes, the officers in brilliant uniforms, the
+handsome horses champing the bit, and, above all, the noble figure of
+the old prince waving a last farewell to us from the balcony, left an
+indelible impression on our memories. Young Tumene put himself at the
+head of the cavalcade, and continued during all the while he was with us
+to astonish us with his feats of horsemanship. The day was splendid, and
+every thing concurred to awaken in us a throng of sensations, such as we
+shall never, perhaps, experience again.
+
+Madame Zakarevitch and her daughter, whom we had carried off from Prince
+Tumene, embarked with us, opposite the posting station, in the boat
+provided for us. On the shore, too, we found our carriages ready to
+receive us, horses having been ordered by an express sent forward the
+day before by the prince.
+
+On finding ourselves again on that route which we had twice already
+traversed within less than twenty-four hours, the recollection of our
+past annoyances after recurred to us, and we could not help thinking how
+unwisely many travellers allow themselves to be swayed by what they call
+inauspicious omens; a person, for instance, with a slight leaning to
+superstition, would have given up all thoughts of a visit which seemed
+forbidden by such a run of unlucky accidents, and would have lost the
+opportunity of seeing the extraordinary things I have endeavoured to
+describe, and which so much exceeded our expectations.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[18] A sort of passport licensing you to hire post-horses. You pay a sum
+for it proportioned to the distance you wish to travel, and the number
+of horses to your carriage.
+
+[19] Here is a translation of one of these songs, which will certainly
+not give a high idea of the poetic talents of a Kalmuck princess:--
+
+"Mon cheval roux qui dispute le prix de la course au chameau, bronte
+l'herbe des champs du Don. Dieu notre seigneur, tu nous feras la grace
+de nous retrouver dans une autre contree. Et toi charmante herbette
+agitee par le vent, tu t'etends sur la terre. Et toi, o coeur le plus
+tendre volant vers ma mere, dis lui: qu'entre deux montagnes et des
+vallees, dans un vallon uni demeurent cinquante braves qui s'approchent
+avec courage pour tuer une outarde bien grasse. Et toi, tendre mere
+nature, sois nous propice."
+
+[It is with much hesitation and doubt, that I venture to translate this
+incomprehensible translation:--_Tr._]
+
+"My bright bay horse, which vies in swiftness with the camel, browses on
+the grass of the Don. God, our Lord, thou wilt grant us of thy grace to
+meet in another country. And thou charming little grass shaken by the
+wind, thou stretchest thyself out on the ground. And thou, O fondest
+heart, flying to my mother, tell her that between two mountains and
+valleys, in an even strath, dwell fifty braves, who draw together
+courageously to kill a very fat bustard. And thou, fond Mother Nature be
+propitious to us."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+      HISTORICAL NOTICE OF ASTRAKHAN--MIXED POPULATION; ARMENIANS,
+      TATARS--SINGULAR RESULT OF A MIXTURE OF RACES--DESCRIPTION
+      OF THE TOWN--HINDU RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES--SOCIETY.
+
+
+The history of Astrakhan is so well known that the reader will no doubt
+thank us for not recapitulating the various political revolutions that
+have taken place in the regions of which this town has been for so many
+ages the brilliant metropolis. After having made part of the empire of
+the Kaptshak, founded by Batou Khan, and after a long series of
+intestine commotions, Astrakhan at last became an independent state in
+the beginning of the fifteenth century. One hundred and fifty years
+later there broke out between the Russians and the Tatars that obstinate
+strife which was to end by delivering the country of the tsars from the
+yoke of its oppressors. In 1554, Ivan the Terrible, partly by treachery,
+and partly by force of arms, possessed himself of the khanat of the
+Caspian, and was the first to assume the title of King of Casan and
+Astrakhan. This valuable conquest was incorporated with the empire, and
+led to the submission or emigration of all the adjacent tribes.
+Astrakhan has ever since belonged to Russia; but it soon lost the
+prosperity that had rendered it so celebrated of yore under the Tatars
+of the Golden Horde. Fifteen years after the Russian conquest, the Turks
+directed an expedition against Astrakhan, in concert with the Tatars of
+the Crimea; but the effort was abortive, and the bulk of the Ottoman
+army perished in the deserts of the Manitch. Towards the end of the
+seventeenth century, Astrakhan again underwent a brief but bloody
+revolution: the rebel Stenko Razin, made himself master of the town,
+gave it up to horrible massacres, and for a while caused serious alarm
+to Russia. At present the ancient capital of the Tatar kingdom is merely
+the chief town of a government, which though presenting a surface of
+more than 4000 geographical square miles, yet possesses only 285,000
+inhabitants, of whom 200,000 are nomades. It contains a great number of
+squares, churches, and mosques. Its old embattled towers and its walls,
+which still include a considerable space of ground, remind the traveller
+of its ancient warlike renown. Its population, a medley of all the races
+of Asia, amounts in number to 45,703, the bulk of whom are Russians,
+Kalmucks, and Tatars. The Armenians are shopkeepers here, just as they
+are in all countries in the world; notwithstanding their religion, which
+should make them coalesce with the Westerns, they retain in their
+manners and customs every thing belonging to the East. The Armenian
+carries everywhere with him that spirit of traffic which is common to
+him with the Jew; always at work on some stroke of business, always
+ready to seize a flying opportunity; discounting, computing, figuring,
+with indefatigable patience. Meet him where you will, in the fertile
+valleys of Armenia, in the snowy North, or beneath a southern sky,
+everywhere he exhibits that intense selfishness which stands him in
+lieu of the patriotic feelings so potent in most other branches of the
+human family. This nation, dispersed over the whole world like the Jews,
+presents one of those distinctive types of feature characteristic of an
+unmixed race, which are to be found in full preservation only among
+Eastern nations. The brown mantle in which the Armenian women wrap
+themselves at Constantinople, is here replaced by long black veils that
+cover them from head to foot. This garment, which displays the shape
+very well, and falls in graceful folds to the feet, when well put on,
+reminds one of the elegant lines of certain Grecian statues; and what
+makes the resemblance the more striking, is that the Armenian women are
+particularly remarkable for their stately carriage and the severe
+dignity of their features.
+
+The Tatars, upwards of 5000 in number, are engaged in trade, and chiefly
+in that of cattle. The numerous mosques and the cupolas of their baths
+contribute to give Astrakhan quite an oriental appearance.
+
+The Indians who were formerly rather numerous in this city, have long
+since abandoned the trade for which they frequented it, and none of them
+remain but a few priests who are detained by interminable lawsuits. But
+from the old intercourse between the Hindus and the Kalmucks has sprung
+a half-breed now numbering several hundred individuals, improperly
+designated Tatars. The mixed blood of these two essentially Asiatic
+races has produced a type closely resembling that of European nations.
+It exhibits neither the oblique eyes of the Kalmucks, nor the bronzed
+skin of the Indians; and nothing in the character or habits of the
+descendants of these two races indicates a relationship with either
+stock. In striking contrast with the apathy and indolence of the
+population among which they live, these half-breeds exhibit in all they
+do, the activity and perseverance of the men of the north. They serve as
+porters, waggoners, or sailors, as occasion may require, and shrink from
+no kind of employment however laborious. Their white felt hats, with
+broad brims and pointed conical crowns, their tall figures, and bold,
+cheerful countenances, give them a considerable degree of resemblance to
+the Spanish muleteers.
+
+This result of the crossing of two races both so sharply defined is
+extremely remarkable, and cannot but interest ethnologists. The Mongol
+is perhaps above all others the type that perpetuates itself with most
+energy, and most obstinately resists the influence of foreign admixture
+continued through a long series of generations. We have found it in all
+its originality among the Cossacks, the Tatars, and every other people
+dwelling in the vicinity of the Kalmucks. Is it not then a most curious
+fact to see it vanish immediately under the influence of the Hindu
+blood, and produce instead of itself a thoroughly Caucasian type? Might
+we not then conclude that the Caucasian is not a primitive type, as
+hitherto supposed, but that it is simply the result of a mixture, the
+two elements of which we must seek for in Central Asia, in those
+mysterious regions of the great Tibetan chain which have so much
+occupied the inventive genius of ancient and modern writers?
+
+The Persians, like the Indians, are gradually deserting Astrakhan. The
+prohibitive system of Russia has destroyed all their commercial
+resources, and now only some hundreds of them, for the most part
+detained by penury, are to be found in their adopted country, employed
+in petty retail dealings. We went over the vast Persian khans of
+Astrakhan, but saw none of those gorgeous stuffs for which they were
+formerly so celebrated. The ware rooms are empty, and it is but with
+great difficulty the traveller can now and then obtain cashmeres, silky
+termalamas, or any other of those productions of Asia which so much
+excite our curiosity, and which were formerly a source of prosperity to
+the town.
+
+Astrakhan has for some years had a lazaret on the mouths of the Volga at
+seventy-five versts from its walls. The history of this establishment is
+curious enough. Before it was built on the site it now occupies,
+building had been carried on to a considerable extent at two other spots
+which were successively abandoned as unsuitable. It was not until much
+time and money had been spent, that an engineer took notice of a little
+island exceedingly well adapted to the purpose, and on which the lazaret
+was finally erected. Some years afterwards there was found in the town
+archives a manuscript note left by Peter the Great at his departure from
+Astrakhan, and in which he mentioned that very island as well suited for
+the site of a lazaret. A glance had enabled the tsar to perceive the
+importance of a locality which many engineering commissions discovered
+only after repeated search.
+
+Paving is a luxury quite unknown in Astrakhan, and the streets are as
+sandy as the soil of the environs. Though they are almost deserted
+during the day, on account of the intense heat, few spectacles are more
+lively and picturesque than that which they present in the evening, when
+the whole town awakes from the somnolency into which it had been cast by
+a temperature of 100. Every one then hastens to enjoy the refreshing air
+of the twilight; people sit at the doors amusing themselves with the
+sight of whatever passes; business is resumed, and the shops are in a
+bustle; a numerous population of all races and tongues spreads rapidly
+along the bridges and the quays bordered with trees; the canal is
+covered with caiques laden with fruit and arbutus berries; elegant
+droshkies, caleches, and horsemen rush about in all directions, and the
+whole town wears a gala aspect that astonishes and captivates the
+traveller. He finds there collected into a focus all the picturesque
+items that have struck him singly elsewhere. Alongside of a Tatar
+dwelling stretches a great building blackened by time, and by its
+architecture and carvings carrying you back to the middle ages. A
+European shop displays its fashionable haberdashery opposite a
+caravanserai; the magnificent cathedral overshadows a pretty mosque with
+its fountain; a Moorish balcony contains a group of young European
+ladies who set you thinking of Paris, whilst a graceful white shadow
+glides mysteriously under the gallery of an old palace. All contrasts
+are here met together; and so it happens that in passing from one
+quarter to another you think you have but made a short promenade, and
+you have picked up a stock of observations and reminiscences belonging
+to all times and places. The Russians ought to be proud of a town which
+did not spring up yesterday, like all the others in their country, and
+where one is not plagued with the cold, monotonous regularity that meets
+you without end in every part of the empire.
+
+The churches in Astrakhan are not built in the invariable Greek style of
+all the other religious buildings of Russia: they have carvings, spires,
+and balustrades, something to attract the gaze, and details to fix it.
+The cathedral, built towards the end of the seventeenth century, is a
+large square edifice, surmounted by five cupolas, gilded and starred
+with azure, and presenting a style midway between those of Asia and
+Europe. The interior is hung with pictures of no value in point of art,
+but attractive to the eye from the richness of their frames, most of
+which are of massive silver curiously chased. The most interesting
+monument in Astrakhan is a small church concealed in Peter the Great's
+fort. It is attributed to Ivan IV. Its architecture is purely Moorish,
+and it is fretted all over with details exceedingly interesting to an
+artist. Unfortunately, it has long been abandoned, and is now used as a
+warehouse.
+
+The climate of Astrakhan is dry, and very hot. For three months the
+thermometer seldom falls in the day below 95. This great heat enervates
+both mind and body, and sufficiently accounts for the extreme sloth of
+the inhabitants. But in consequence of its dryness the atmosphere
+possesses a transparent purity that would enchant a painter, giving as
+it does to every object a warmth and lucidity worthy of Italy.
+
+A very serious source of annoyance to the Astrakhaners, and still more
+to the foreigner, is the swarm of gnats and other insects that fill the
+air at certain seasons. Their pertinacious attacks baffle all
+precautions; it is in vain you surround yourself with gauze at night,
+and resign yourself to total darkness during the day, you are not the
+less persecuted by them, and you exhaust yourself with ineffectual
+efforts against an invisible enemy.
+
+They are sinking an artesian well in the upper part of the town. They
+had reached, when we were there, a depth of 166 yards; but instead of
+water there escaped a jet of carburretted hydrogen, which had been
+burning for three weeks with great brilliancy.
+
+Astrakhan now contains 146 streets, 46 squares, 8 market-places, a
+public garden, 11 wooden and 9 earthen bridges, 37 churches (34 of
+stone, 3 wooden), 2 of which are cathedrals; 15 mosques, 2 of them of
+stone; 3883 houses, 288 of which are of stone, the rest of wood. All
+narratives of travels tell of the gardens of Astrakhan, and the
+magnificent fruit produced in them. Unfortunately, these are pure
+fictions, for there are but 75 gardens or vineyards around the town, and
+it is only by means of irrigation with Persian wheels that they are
+rendered productive. All the fruit of the place, moreover, is very poor,
+if not decidedly bad. The grapes alone are tolerable and of very various
+kinds, suitable for the table, but none of them fit for making wine. As
+for the celebrated water-melons, they are held in very low esteem in the
+country, and the people of the town talk only of those of Kherson and
+the Crimea. It is very possible, however, that the fruit of Astrakhan
+may have deserved its high reputation previously to the Muscovite
+domination. Here, as everywhere else, the Russian population, in taking
+the place of the Tatars, can only have destroyed the agricultural
+resources of the country. The Russian townspeople being exclusively
+traders and shopkeepers, and never engaging in rural pursuits, the
+gardens almost all belong to Tatars and Armenians.
+
+As for the government of Astrakhan, its territory is one of the most
+sterile in the empire. Agriculture is there wholly unproductive; in
+general nothing is sowed but a little maize and barley, provisions of
+all kinds being procured from Saratof, by way of the Volga. It is this
+that gives some little briskness to the navigation of that river; for
+besides the corn consumed by Astrakhan, and the towns dependent on its
+jurisdiction, Saratof and the adjoining regions send supplies also to
+Gourief, on the mouth of the Ural, to the army cantoned on the Terek,
+and even to the Transcaucasian countries. Nevertheless, there are no
+boats plying regularly on the Volga; it is only at the period of the
+fair of Nijni Novgorod, that the clumsy steamer we saw proceeding to
+Prince Tumene's condescends to dawdle up the stream.
+
+The day after our arrival in Astrakhan we were taken to the house of
+some Hindu brahmins, where we were to be present at the evening prayers.
+We were received by the chief among them in the most courteous and
+obliging manner. The room into which he led us looked to the west, and
+had no other furniture than large Turkish divans, and the only thing
+capable of attracting our attention was a little chapel let into the
+wall, and which two priests were in the act of arranging for the
+ceremony. One of them kept his eyes constantly turned towards the west,
+watching with religious attention the descent of the sun's disc to the
+horizon. These brahmins were dressed in long brown robes, crossed in
+front by a white scarf, the two ends of which swept the ground. Their
+bronzed and antiquely moulded visages were surmounted by white muslin
+turbans with large folds. The leader, who was much less absorbed in his
+devotions than the rest, was continually smiling upon us, and waving a
+monstrous Persian fan that had the effect of a smart breeze. Meanwhile
+the sun was fast declining; at last its total disappearance was
+announced by the harsh sound of a conch-shell, whereupon one of the
+priests lighted several tapers and placed them before an image in the
+chapel. Another began to wash curiously-shaped vessels, filled them
+with water of lustration, and prostrated himself before them with great
+unction. A large grey stone set in the wall, appeared to be the
+principal object of their adorations. According to the explanation given
+to us by the chief priest, the soul of a celebrated saint, grown weary
+of the world and of men, had retired within that mystical covering;
+hence the stone is sacred in the eyes of the Hindus, and the mere sight
+of it, as they declare, is capable of working miracles. After
+worshipping in silence for some minutes, the chief priest began to burn
+perfumes, and the room was soon filled with a cloud of smoke, seen
+through which every object assumed a vaguer and more mysterious form,
+the pungent aromatic odour, combined with the heat and the strangeness
+of the scene before our eyes, acted so strongly upon us that we were
+soon unable to distinguish what was real from what was fantastic. In
+fact, our semi-ecstatic condition was in remarkable accordance with the
+moral state of our brahmins. Their religious enthusiasm soon ceased to
+content itself with mere prostrations. Hitherto every thing had passed
+in complete silence, but at a given signal two priests knelt down before
+the holy stone and recited a prayer, in slow and guttural accents.
+Another with his arms crossed on his breast, stood a few steps off from
+the chapel, and now and then blew upon a shrill whistle. The fourth,
+armed with a conch-shell, stood upon one of the divans, and added his
+voice to the sounds which his companions gave out with increasing
+loudness. Presently their eyes kindled, the muscles of their frames grew
+tense, the conch vibrated, a bell was rapidly agitated by the leader,
+and then began so strange and infernal a din, a scene so grotesque and
+wild, that one would really have thought the brahmins were all possessed
+by devils. Their attitudes and frantic gestures conveyed the idea of
+exorcism rather than of prayer. What we felt it would be impossible to
+describe; it was a mixture of surprise, curiosity, disgust, and fright.
+Had not fatigue compelled the actors in this sabbat to stop after ten
+minutes' exertion, I doubt that we should have been able to support a
+longer continuance of such a spectacle. One would almost be disposed to
+say that men take pains to worship God in the least religious manner
+possible. I have seen the whirling and howling dervishes at
+Constantinople, whose strange and frightful performances can be compared
+only to those of the medieval convulsionaries. The religious music of
+the Kalmucks is not behind-hand with these aberrations of the human
+mind; and here is the Hindu, worship, which seems to vie with whatever
+is most demented and extravagant in other religions.
+
+When the abominable concert was ended, the leader took a handful of
+yellow flowers, like marigolds, dipped them in Ganges water, and
+presented one to each of us. Then he kneaded a piece of dough in his
+hands, and gave it a symbolic form, stuck seven small tapers in it,
+waved it in every direction before the chapel, and then turning towards
+us, repeated the same ceremony. Lastly, he took a small white shell,
+which had been lying until then on the sacred stone, filled it with
+sacred water from the Ganges, and sprinkled us with it very devoutly.
+Meanwhile, his companions were setting out a table with a collation of
+fine fruit and pastry, of which the leader did the honours to us with
+much politeness and gallantry. So ended a scene as difficult to describe
+well as to forget.
+
+Now let us leave the Indians and their odd ceremonies, and recur to the
+European usages, which, to our great surprise we found in many _salons_
+of Astrakhan.
+
+A singular thing, and one which must strike the traveller strongly, is
+the moral influence which France exercises in all countries of the
+world. Wherever you find any trace of civilisation, you are sure to
+discern the effect of that influence, whether in manners, dress, or
+political opinions, and that, even among rulers the most distant.
+
+Most of our romance-writers are probably not aware that their works are
+read with avidity even on the banks of the Caspian, and are criticised
+there with as much acuteness as in the great capitals of Europe. All who
+call themselves Russians, in Astrakhan, speak French, and receive every
+month our newest publications from Brussels. In many of the libraries I
+found Lamartine, Balzac, Alexandra Dumas, Eugene Sue, George Sand, De
+Musset, &c., and many other names less known perhaps in Paris than in
+Astrakhan.
+
+The Russian ladies read a great deal; they are generally gifted with
+natural talent, and converse with tact and to the purpose. Their only
+fault in this respect is, that they confine their reading to romances
+and novels, which almost always warp their judgment, and give them quite
+erroneous notions of our habits and our literature. Paul de Kock and
+Pigault Lebrun are especial favourites throughout the empire, and their
+pictures of low life are read much more eagerly than the elegant and
+chastened pages of our best writers. I must acknowledge, however, that
+many Russian ladies are capable of appreciating the gravest works. I saw
+on many a table in Astrakhan, "Les Ducs de Bourgogne," "L'Histoire du
+Bas Empire," "La Conquete des Normands," and even treatises on geology.
+It is needless to add, that our fashions and the prodigies of our
+civilisation are adopted with the same avidity as our literature.
+
+I had some difficulty in believing myself on the verge of the Caspian,
+when listening to conversation on the fine arts, and on industrial
+economy, just as in Vienna or Paris. Music, too, is in high vogue in
+Astrakhan, and many of Donizetti's pieces are sung there by brilliant
+and cultivated voices. Our quadrilles, too, are all the rage there, and
+so are the charming melodies of Loiza Puget.
+
+On the faith of some travellers who have been, or are reported to have
+been in Astrakhan, we expected to find a good many English, Italians,
+and even French in the town; but the fact is, it does not even contain a
+single individual of those nations, and its society consists solely of
+Russians and Germans, sent thither as _employes_. I could hear of but
+one Belgian, formerly a prisoner of war, who became a tailor, and now
+enjoys a very handsome fortune. Astrakhan pretends to have a theatre,
+but I have little to say for it. Imagine a very ugly and very black hall
+furnished with some thirty niches in double row; a pit adorned with a
+few dirty caftans; an orchestra composed of a paltry violin and
+half-a-dozen trumpets, the whole lighted up by a row of candles on the
+proscenium, and you have an idea of what presumes to call itself a
+theatre on the Caspian shores. As for the pieces and the actors, they
+are altogether beneath criticism.
+
+The governor gave a grand ball and some soirees during our stay in
+Astrakhan. Though the heat was intolerable, the rooms were every time
+filled with a fashionable throng, always eager for pleasure. The Russian
+governors of provinces play the part of petty kings, and exercise over
+all classes an influence, which has its source in the very constitution
+of the country. Under an absolute government, every superior employe
+exercises unbounded authority in his own sphere. He has his courtiers,
+his favourites, his numerous chancery, his orderly officers, and his
+etiquette modelled on that of St. Petersburg, in short all that
+constitutes the outward tokens of power. But all these appearances of
+grandeur and might are but relative, for above these petty kings stands
+a sovereign will, that can by one word strip them of their privileges,
+and send them to Siberia. We must not imagine that slavery exists in
+Russia only for the people; whether you go east or west, into the
+brilliant salons of St. Petersburg, or into the isbas of the Muscovite
+peasant, you find it everywhere; only it is commonly disguised under
+forms that deceive many travellers, whose judgments are beguiled by the
+glittering varnish with which the Russian contrives to invest himself,
+by his numerous staff, his princely abode, and the pomp of his official
+life. And yet what is all this in reality? Something like the soap
+bubbles that glisten with all the colours of the rainbow, but vanish
+with the least breath.
+
+The magnificence of the governor's palace astonished us. On our arrival
+for the ball, after passing through several rooms sumptuously furnished,
+we were led into a boudoir, where we found Madame Timirasif, the
+governor's lady, surrounded by all the _elite_ of the place. She
+introduced me to several ladies who spoke French very well, and with
+whom I was soon engaged in a conversation as frivolous and varied as the
+chit-chat of the Parisian world of fashion. But the music soon began,
+and we repaired to a very large ball-room, most splendidly lighted, and
+already thronged with officers. The orchestra, placed on a raised
+platform, played French quadrilles in excellent style. I took advantage
+of an interminable mazurka, to learn the names of various personages:
+General Brigon, a Livonian, hetman of all the Cossacks; Count Pushkin,
+curator of the university of Casan; Admiral Lazaref; the Kalmuck prince,
+Tondoudof; the Princess Dolgoruky; and a young Persian, who occupied the
+attention of all the ladies during the ball. His handsome Oriental
+countenance, his rich costume, the grace with which he danced French
+quadrilles and mazurkas, and above all, his title of traveller, gave him
+an extraordinary eclat, which seemed in no wise to astonish him. I will
+say nothing of a collection of colonels and aides-de-camp, an inevitable
+and always profuse element of every Russian party, nor of a battalion of
+excellencies loaded with more stars and decorations than are commonly
+seen in the court balls of France or England.
+
+The governor's wife is a specimen of the Russian lady in the highest
+perfection of the class. Elegant, lively, fascinating, and _pleine de
+distinction_, she possesses all the qualities requisite in the queen of
+a drawing-room. She did the honours of that remarkable _soiree_ with
+charming grace. The ball ended with a grand supper, which was prolonged
+until morning.
+
+We passed fifteen well-spent days in Astrakhan. Notwithstanding the
+heat, we were running about from morning till night, escorted by an
+aide-de-camp, whom his excellency had assigned to us as cicerone. This
+very obliging officer being perfectly well acquainted with the country,
+and being incessantly on the look-out for any thing that could interest
+us, it came to pass that in eight days we had a much better knowledge of
+the town than the governor himself. One thing alone escaped our search,
+namely, one or two families of Parsees, who still inhabit Astrakhan, but
+whom our guide could not succeed in ferreting out. It was in vain he
+hunted about and questioned every body; no one could give him any
+precise information on the subject. _Soirees_, cavalcades, numerous
+dinners, and above all, a pleasing intimacy with many agreeable
+families, filled up our tourist existence in the most charming manner,
+and made us postpone as long as possible a departure, which was to snap
+asunder such pleasing social ties.
+
+It would be impossible to surpass the active kindness shown us by the
+governor and all the best society of Astrakhan. During our whole stay
+the governor put his caleche at our disposal, and was imitated in this
+by many other persons. But notwithstanding all these temptations to
+prolong our abode, we were obliged at last to set in earnest about
+arrangements for our journey across the Kalmuck steppes. Our first care
+was to provide all that was indispensable to prevent our dying of hunger
+on the way. An expedition of this kind is like a long sea voyage; the
+previous cares are the same; one must enter into the same sort of
+details as the sailor who is bound for a distant shore.
+
+We laid in a great stock of biscuits, rice, oil, candles, dry fruit,
+tea, coffee, and sugar, and sent them forward with our escort to
+Houidouk, a post station near the Caspian, where my husband was to begin
+his series of levels.
+
+This escort, consisting of ten camels with their drivers and some
+Cossacks fully armed, had been selected by the governor and M. Fadiew,
+with a carefulness that proved how much they were both concerned for our
+safety. I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude for all the kindness
+they showed us on this occasion; their anxiety about the result of so
+hazardous a journey betrayed itself by numberless precautions and
+recommendations, which might have had some influence on our
+determination if it had not been irrevocably fixed.
+
+The governor chose from among his best officers, a Tatar prince to
+command our escort. This young man, who was an excellent sportsman, had
+a hawk, from which he was inseparable, and to this circumstance was
+owing the orders he received to accompany us. General Timirasif, always
+mindful of the privations that awaited us, thought he could not do
+better than furnish us with so clever a purveyor; who, indeed, proved to
+be of immense assistance to us. When he presented the officer to us,
+with his hawk on his fist, his face beamed with satisfaction. "Now," he
+said, laughing, "my conscience is at ease; here I give you a brave
+soldier for your champion, and a travelling companion, who will not let
+you be starved to death in the wilderness."
+
+Orders were sent forward in advance, along all the line we were to
+traverse as far as Haidouk, that we should be supplied with horses at
+every station without delay.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+      COMMERCIAL POSITION OF ASTRAKHAN--ITS IMPORTANCE IN THE
+      MIDDLE AGES--ITS LOSS OF THE OVERLAND TRADE FROM INDIA--
+      COMMERCIAL STATISTICS--FISHERIES OF THE CASPIAN--CHANGE
+      OF THE MONETARY SYSTEM IN RUSSIA--BAD STATE OF THE
+      FINANCES--RUSSIAN POLITICAL ECONOMY.
+
+
+There is no city, perhaps, of eastern Europe, which has played a more
+important part than Astrakhan in the commercial relations between Europe
+and Asia. Situated at the lower extremity of the largest navigable river
+of Europe, it communicates on the one side by the Caspian with
+Turcomania and the northern regions of Persia; on the other side, by
+means of the Volga and the Don, it is in direct intercourse with the
+central provinces of the Muscovite empire, and the whole coast of the
+Black Sea. With such facilities for traffic, Astrakhan would naturally
+be one of the chief points of transit for Indian goods during the middle
+ages, when the passage by the Cape of Good Hope was unknown, and
+European navigators had not yet appeared in the Persian Gulf. It was
+towards the middle of the thirteenth century, after the foundation of
+the Kaptshak empire, and of the kingdom of Little Tartary, that the
+Caspian Sea became a highway for the Indian trade, with which, in still
+earlier times, the Petchenegues, the predecessors of the Tatars in the
+Tauris, appear not to have been altogether unacquainted. Astrakhan on
+one side, and Soldaia on the Black Sea on the other, became the two
+great maritime places of the Tatars, and exchanged between them the
+merchandise of Europe and Asia, by means of the caravans of the Kouban
+and the Volga.[20] From Soldaia the Indian goods were next conveyed to
+Constantinople, where they were sold either for the provinces of the
+empire, or to foreigners trading in that capital. Afterwards, about
+1280, when the Genoese took possession of the coasts of the Tauris,
+Soldaia lost its commercial importance, and the splendid colony of Caffa
+became the centre of all the Asiatic commerce. Mercantile relations with
+India assumed fresh activity at that period, particularly when, after
+the dissolution of the empire of the Kaptshak, in the reign of Hadji
+Devlet Cherii, the Genoese became masters of Tana, on the Don. The whole
+trade in spices, aromatic and medicinal drugs, perfumes, silks, and
+other productions of the East in request in Europe, fell thus into the
+hands of those intrepid Italian speculators, whose connexions by way of
+the Caspian, the Persian Gulf, and the caravans, extended as far as the
+Indies.
+
+But soon a new tempest burst forth, more terrible than any of those
+which had before shaken the soil of the East. In 1453, Mahomed II.
+seized Constantinople, and twenty years later all the Genoese colonies
+fell one after another into the power of the Ottomans. It was in vain
+the Venetians strove to appropriate the commerce of the Black Sea and
+the East; their efforts were fruitless, and the closing of the
+Dardanelles was peremptorily declared. The old communications between
+Europe and Asia were thus severed, and for many years the precious
+commodities of the East ceased to find their way towards Europe. But as
+they were in great demand, and were very costly, merchants contrived to
+find a new passage for them, and Smyrna became their entrepot. The
+situation of that town, however, was far from compensating for the
+disadvantage of a long, perilous, and expensive land carriage. Hence the
+Indian trade remained in a languid state, until Vasco de Gama's
+discovery opened a new route for the people of the West.
+
+Smyrna retained the monopoly of the Eastern trade for more than 250
+years; and until the middle of the seventeenth century, Persia was the
+first entrepot for Indian productions, which arrived there by way of the
+Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Beloochistan. They were partly consumed
+in the country, and the rest was conveyed either to Smyrna by Erzeroum
+and Bagdad, or into Russia by the Caspian Sea and Georgia. In
+consequence of this great commercial revolution, the regions now
+constituting the south-eastern provinces of Russia, lost all their
+importance with regard to the traffic between Europe and Asia. The great
+entrepots of Caffa and Tana having fallen into decay, all the routes
+leading to them were forsaken. The great caravans of the Volga and the
+Kouban disappeared, the navigation of the Caspian was almost
+annihilated, and Astrakhan was reduced exclusively to local commerce
+with the adjoining districts of Russia.
+
+A hundred years after the taking of Constantinople, Ivan the Terrible
+planted his victorious banner on the shores of the Caspian, and the old
+city of the Tatars of the Golden Horde fell under the Muscovite sway.
+Ever since that event, historians have had to record but a long series
+of disasters, mistakes, and decadence. It appears, however, that under
+the reign of Ivan the Terrible and his next successors, Astrakhan still
+continued to supply Russia with the productions of Persia, and with some
+of those of Central Asia. An English company even attempted, about the
+year 1560, to open up a commercial intercourse with Persia and
+Turcomania by way of the Caspian, but failed completely; and
+subsequently the appearance of the Dutch and British flags in the
+Persian Gulf, and the immense development of the maritime commerce with
+India, for ever extinguished, for Astrakhan, the hope of recovering its
+former position. The navigation of the Caspian was completely abandoned,
+and the few Asiatic goods which Russia could not dispense with were
+conveyed to that country by expensive and perilous overland routes.
+Accordingly, when Alexis Michaelovitz ascended the throne about the
+middle of the seventeenth century, how to arrive at Persia by sea was
+almost become an unsolved problem. To this prince belongs, however, the
+honour of the first effort made by Russia to re-establish the commerce
+of the Caspian. A maritime expedition was undertaken from Astrakhan in
+1660, under the direction of Dutch seamen; but it failed completely, in
+consequence of the revolt of the Cossacks, and the successes achieved by
+their leader, Stenko Razin. After this ineffectual attempt, things
+reverted to their old state, and the commercial history of this part of
+the empire presents nothing remarkable until the accession of Peter the
+Great.
+
+The trade with Asia was not forgotten under that illustrious regenerator
+of the Muscovite nation, who bent all the force of his genius upon the
+affairs of the East. Filled with the grand design of making the
+merchandise of Asia pass through his dominions, he repaired in person
+to Astrakhan, inspected the mouths of the Volga, selected a site for a
+quarantine establishment, and set Dutchmen to work to turn the shores of
+the Caspian to profitable account, until such time as political
+circumstances should enable him to found establishments by force of arms
+on the Russian coast. But the brilliant expeditions beyond the Caucasus
+subsequently made by Russia led to no commercial result. Central Asia
+continued as of old to communicate with Europe by way of Smyrna and the
+Indian Ocean; and after Peter's death Russia gave up all her pretensions
+to the southern shores of the Caspian, over which she had entertained
+strong hopes of establishing her dominion.
+
+Eventually the extension of the Russian possessions southward to the
+Kouban and the Terek, and eastward to the Ural, was not without its
+fruits. The safety secured to travellers caused the trade with Persia by
+way of Georgia to revive in some degree. Astrakhan was again visited by
+Persian and Hindu merchants, and by caravans from Khiva and Bokhara; the
+western and eastern shores of the Caspian were again frequented by
+vessels, and the numerous nomade hordes, of Asiatic habits, that then
+occupied the steppes of the Volga and the Kouma, contributed not a
+little to give animation to the commercial interchange between Russia
+and the Transcaucasian regions.[21]
+
+In the reign of Catherine II. the Russians reappeared once more beyond
+the Caucasus on the Caspian shores; but it was not until Alexander's
+time that their sway was definitively established in those Asiatic
+regions. Once mistress of a vast country conterminous with Persia and
+Turkey, and washed both by the Caspian and the Black Sea, Russia
+evidently commanded every possible means for developing to her own
+advantage a trade between Europe and most of the western regions of
+Asia. By way of the Caspian and the Volga she could supply all her
+central provinces with Persian silks and cottons, dye-stuffs, and drugs;
+besides which she could monopolise the profit on the transit of goods to
+the fairs of Germany and down the Danube.
+
+At first the Russian government seemed disposed to favour the
+establishment of all these great mercantile relations; but it did not
+long persist in its liberal course. It soon began to practise
+restrictive measures, thus paving the way for the grand system of
+proscription which it afterwards adopted. In the beginning of
+Alexander's reign the old trade with Persia still subsisted, and the
+Russians continued to buy cottons of excellent quality, at very low
+prices, in Mazanderan, a province situated on the Caspian.[22] The
+merchants used then to make their payments in ducats, that gold coinage
+being a _sine qua non_ in all bargains. But the exportation of ducats
+was prohibited in 1812 and 1813, and thenceforth the Persians refused to
+trade, not choosing to accept silver coin. The English merchants, always
+prompt to seize advantageous opportunities, immediately entered the
+markets of Mazanderan, the cottons of which, purchased by them at low
+prices, reached Europe by way of the Persian Gulf. At first they paid in
+ducats; but England soon substituted for specie cloths, and all other
+kinds of goods suitable to the inhabitants of that part of Persia. It
+was especially during the war of 1813 that the English led the Persians
+to adopt their various manufactures. The stop put to the Russian trade
+opened the eyes of the ministry, who soon revoked the measure concerning
+ducats, but the mischief was done; commerce had already run into a new
+channel. Severe as was this lesson it produced no lasting effect. In
+order to favour a single Moscow manufacture, a duty equivalent to a
+prohibition was imposed on foreign velvets _in transitu_ for Persia, and
+thenceforth an article for which there was so important a demand, ceased
+to be an item in the Russian traffic with Persia.
+
+In 1821, the Russian government seemed to be disposed to wiser views,
+and allowed European goods free entrance into the ports of Georgia.
+Thereupon, a great transit trade rapidly sprang up between Turkey,
+Persia, and the great German fairs, by way of Radzivilov, Odessa, Redout
+Kaleh, and Tiflis. This new and very promising line of communication had
+but a brief duration, for ten years afterwards, Russia, in her
+infatuation, destroyed all these magnificent commercial elements, as we
+have already shown. She closed the Transcaucasian provinces against
+European goods, and thus gave an immediate impulse to the prosperity of
+her formidable competitors in Trebisond, which soon surpassed the
+establishments on the Persian Gulf, and became the principal port in
+Persia and the point of destination for English goods, to the annual
+value at present of more than two millions sterling.
+
+The Trebisond route having been once adopted, the trade in drugs and
+dye-stuffs was likewise lost for Russia.
+
+It is scarcely conceivable with what perverse obstinacy the Russian
+government has persisted in its course, in defiance of all warning; and
+whilst the people of Persia and Turkey in Asia, were forsaking their old
+commercial routes for new markets, Russia has gone on making her
+prohibitive system more and more stringent, even to the extent of
+excluding the common pottery, an immense quantity of which was formerly
+sent from Khiva and Bokhara to Astrakhan, for the use of the Tatars and
+Kalmucks.
+
+It was through the effect of such measures as these that Astrakhan lost
+all trace of its former greatness. In 1839 it contained only forty-eight
+merchants of the first guild, including women and children, and had but
+forty-eight vessels belonging to its port. Of these forty-eight vessels,
+having a total tonnage of about nine millions of kilogrammes, eleven
+belonged to the crown, twenty-five were the property of private
+individuals, and were employed as government transports; there remained,
+therefore, for trade only twelve vessels, one-third of which were
+unemployed. The vessels belonging to the other ports of the Caspian in
+connexion with Astrakhan, such as Baku and Salian, were eight in number,
+with a tonnage of 387,000 kilogrammes, besides about sixty coasters,
+tonnage unknown. Such is the deplorable condition to which the trade and
+navigation of the Caspian have been reduced by an exclusive government,
+which would never consent to understand the reciprocal nature of
+traffic, but foolishly hoped to preserve its commercial intercourse with
+nations whose productions it rejects, and to which it refuses even the
+transit of the foreign goods they require. Do what she will, Russia will
+never succeed in adequately replacing for the Mussulmans of the south of
+the empire the manufactures of Asia, which are peculiarly adapted to
+their habits and their wants, or in inducing the Transcaucasian
+countries to adopt her own sorry manufactures. The spread of English
+commerce, moreover, in the western regions of Asia is now a historical
+fact, and Russia cannot possibly check it unless she become mistress,
+some time or other, of Constantinople. It is true she may compete in
+some hardware goods with the higher-priced productions of England; but
+the Asiatics are excellent judges of such matters; they are seldom
+tempted by mere cheapness; on the contrary, experience proves that they
+prefer the English goods, the soundness and high finish of which they
+fully appreciate. But even though the Russian goods were as well made as
+the English, the prohibitive system of the empire, and the refusal of
+transit to European merchandise, would still be sufficient to deprive
+the country of all export trade in the Caspian; for the people of Asia
+will always give the preference to those commercial relations which
+afford them opportunities for exchanges suitable to their wants, along
+with the advantages of a more extensive demand.
+
+The trade of the two Russian ports of the Caspian in 1835, was as
+follows:--
+
+                   Exports.       Imports.      Duties.
+                   rubles.        rubles.       rubles.
+  Astrakhan       2,235,514      2,235,514      127,241
+  Baku              556,016      1,564,924       81,735
+                  ---------      ---------      -------
+                  2,791,530      3,800,438      208,976
+
+Which gives for the whole Caspian a general circulation of about
+6,500,000 rubles. The trade has still continued to decline since 1835.
+We find it stated in the journal of the ministry of the interior, that
+the whole exports of the Russian Transcaucasian provinces, by the Black
+Sea, the Caspian, and overland, amounted in 1839, to but 3,889,707
+rubles,[23] whilst the imports by the Caspian, did not exceed 2,896,008
+rubles, nearly a million less than in 1835. In the same year Persia
+supplied, by the overland route, goods to the amount of 8,545,035 rubles
+to the Caucasian provinces. Now these goods consisted, according to the
+documents of the government itself, not of raw materials, but almost
+entirely in silk and cotton fabrics. The fact is, that notwithstanding
+the high duties of the imperial tariff, the people of Asia, who know
+nothing of the fantastic changes of fashion, always prefer the durable
+productions of the Persian looms to the flimsy tissues which Russia
+offers them, at very high prices, in consequence of the great remoteness
+of Moscow, the only seat of manufactures in the empire. Again, the
+Persians, finding that Russia can supply them with but few articles
+suited to them, keep all the raw materials produced in their country,
+and those which reach them from Central Asia, to exchange them for the
+European goods, which are now briskly and abundantly supplied in
+Trebisond and Tauris. Thus the Ghilan[24] silks, the Mazanderan cottons,
+the gall-nuts of Kurdistan, the tobaccoes of Shiraz, the gums,
+dye-stuffs, saffron, &c., have completely deserted the Caspian, and the
+route from Tiflis to Redout-Kaleh, for that by way of Erzeroum and
+Trebisond. Another circumstance in favour of this new line is the low
+rate of carriage and duties in Turkey; the latter never exceed three per
+cent. for Europeans, and four per cent. for Persians; but in reality
+merchants seldom pay more than half that amount. Altogether the transit
+from Constantinople does not augment the first cost of goods by more
+than ten per cent. Hence it is easy to infer how difficult it is for
+Russia, whose manufacturing power is still so inconsiderable, to contend
+with the other European states in the markets of Persia, and how grossly
+it blundered when it voluntarily annihilated all transit trade through
+its dominions, in the vain hope of forcing its own productions on the
+Transcaucasian countries.
+
+One of the most curious things connected with the destruction of all
+these elements of wealth is the petty artifices practised by the
+ministry to make Europe, and the head of the government, believe that
+the extension of commerce is nowhere more sedulously pursued than in
+Russia. For instance, the fort of Alexandrof has been built on the
+north-east coast of the Caspian, under the pretence of providing a
+receptacle for the imaginary caravans from Khiva and Bokhara.
+Unfortunately, the locality affords neither fresh water nor wood, nor
+any one necessary; accordingly, as might have been foreseen, it has not
+been visited by a single caravan. The garrison consists of 600 men, and
+requires to be constantly renewed in consequence of its suffering by
+scurvy; the commandant is obliged to procure fresh water from the mouths
+of the Ural, which is conveyed to him in packet-boats. The fort has not
+even proved of use for the protection of the fishery which is carried on
+not far from its site. The soldiers cannot venture from their redoubts
+without incurring the risk of being carried off by the Khirghis. More
+than eighty Russian fishermen were made prisoners in 1839 by those
+nomades, and sold in Khiva and Bokhara.
+
+It is well known what hopes Peter the Great built on the Black Sea, the
+Caspian, and the countries situated beyond the Caucasus. It remains for
+us briefly to discuss the question, whether it will ever be possible for
+Russia to make the Indian trade return to its old route.
+
+Now that navigation has made such amazing progress, now that the
+establishment of steamboats on the Euphrates and the Red Sea, is a
+solved problem, and the cost of freight by sea is exceedingly reduced,
+we think there is no longer a chance for Russia to divert the course of
+the Indian trade, and make it pass through her own dominions. Russia is
+conterminous with the Chinese empire, and has long enjoyed certain and
+regular communication with it; and yet the English find it very
+profitable to sell in Odessa, and all the south of Russia, tea brought
+them by ships that double the Cape of Good Hope. It is evident that
+Russia is in a still worse position with regard to India than to China.
+Should the Russians ever become masters of the Sea of Azof, they might,
+perhaps, penetrate to Bokhara and Samarkand by way of the rivers Sir
+Daria (Iaxartes) and Amore Daria (Oxus). This was one of Peter the
+Great's grand conceptions. But the reiterated attempts that have been
+made in Khiva, always to no purpose, prove plainly that conquests are
+not easily to be made in those regions, and that such armies as those of
+our day are not fitted to traverse the steppes of the Khirghis and
+Turcomans. And how were it possible, besides, to establish as regular
+and cheap communications with India, by way of Persia or Bokhara, as
+those which now exist by sea? It seems, therefore, evident that Peter
+the Great's projects are become chimerical at this day, and that all the
+efforts Russia can ever make by herself, will be unable to change the
+course of the Indian trade. It is only in case of a long maritime war
+that she could hope to bring the productions of Central Asia to the
+Black Sea, thence to be distributed over continental Europe. But apart
+from this trade, there was still a vast field to be wrought: in like
+manner as the East Indies are become, commercially speaking,
+dependencies of Great Britain, so Persia and Turcomania might have
+become tributaries to Russia, had not the latter, blinded by her vanity
+and jealous ambition, to adopt her deplorable system of prohibition, and
+destroyed the whole European transit trade which was establishing itself
+by way of the ports she possesses on the Black Sea.
+
+Our facts and figures have clearly proved that the decay of the
+navigation of the Caspian has accompanied that of the Asiatic trade; it
+is important, however, to give some notion of the nature and employment
+of the vessels actually in use on the Caspian and the Volga. These
+vessels are divided into five classes, according to the character of
+their build. The first comprises ships that visit all the ports of the
+Caspian indiscriminately; the second, those that ply only in the
+neighbourhood of Astrakhan; the third, those that confine themselves to
+the mouths of the Volga from Astrakhan to the sea; the fourth, the river
+boats that never quit the Volga; and the fifth, those belonging to the
+Persian provinces.
+
+The ships that visit the ports of the Caspian are called _shkooutes_,
+and their hulls are not unlike those of Dutch vessels. They are built of
+bad timber, and in defiance of all rules. Their number, though greatly
+exceeding the demands of commerce, is not above eighty; they gauge from
+1000 to 2000 _hectolitres_. Shipowners generally buy old hulls in Nijni
+Novgorod, and turn them into shkooutes, without ever reflecting that
+their craziness and want of regularity makes them exceedingly dangerous
+as sea-going vessels. And then the command of them is given to ignorant
+pilots, who fill the office of captains in all but the name. The crews
+consist of from ten to sixteen, and these being chosen by the sole test
+of cheapness, the result is that the navigation of the squally and
+formidable Caspian is in very bad repute among merchants, and will
+inevitably be abandoned altogether.
+
+The shkooutes are employed in conveying Russian and Persian goods, and
+the workmen, materials, provisions, and produce, belonging to the
+fisheries situated between Salian,[25] Siphitourinsk, Akhrabat, and
+Astrabad,[26] and in carrying victuals and stores to the garrisons in
+the eastern parts of the Caucasus.
+
+Of all these transports, those of the crown alone afford the shippers
+any chance of profit. The Russian authorities and merchants themselves
+confess that there is no longer any thing to be got by conveying
+merchandise from Astrakhan to Persia. Twenty years ago the freights
+obtained for heavy goods were from 1.30 rubles, to 3 per pood, and from
+6 to 10 rubles for light and bulky goods. Now the freight for the former
+does not exceed from 40 to 70 copeks, and that of the latter never
+amounts to one ruble. The return charges cannot be stated with accuracy,
+since they depend on the quantity of goods to be shipped, and the number
+of vessels ready to load. It often happens that the captains put up
+their services to auction, and end with losing instead of gaining. This
+diminution in the charges for freight is evidently the consequence of
+the superabundance of vessels, of the frequent shipwrecks which cause a
+preference for land carriage, and of the small amount of importation
+into the Persian provinces.
+
+The vessels that ply on the Caspian in the vicinity of Astrakhan are
+known in the country by the name of _razchiva_. They differ very little
+from the shkooutes, and cost from 1500 to 4000 rubles. Sailors
+distinguish them into two classes, _manghishlaks_ and _aslams_, the
+former of which take the name from the port[27] whence they formerly
+carried to Astrakhan the goods brought by the Khiva and Bokhara
+caravans. This traffic was monopolised by Tatars, who alone had nothing
+to fear from the Khirghis and Turkmans, when they landed. In 1832, there
+were but eight manghishlaks, half of which were unemployed. These little
+vessels carry from 700 to 1200 hectolitres.
+
+The other class of razchivas, designated by the Tartar word _aslam_
+(carrier--_voiturier_), are used to convey household vessels, victuals,
+timber, and articles requisite for the fisheries. They ply to
+Kisliar,[28] Gourief,[29] and Tchetchenze,[30] and traverse all the
+north-western parts of the Caspian, from the Volga to Terek, their
+principal cargoes being commissariat stores for the troops in the
+Caucasian provinces. They bring back wine, rice, and Kisliar brandy,
+which is much esteemed in the country. The number of these razchivas
+does not, however, exceed fifty. They can make five trips in the year.
+
+These vessels are much more profitable to their owners than are
+shkooutes. In reality they are but coasters, and as they seldom venture
+out of sight of the shore, they are much less exposed to wreck.
+Moreover, in addition to their Astrakhan freights, they keep up an
+exchange trade in eatable commodities with the nomades of the Caspian
+shores. They are also employed in the fisheries of the Emba and of
+Tchetchenze, though the fishermen generally prefer smaller vessels.
+
+The vessels that ply in the mouths of the Volga are some of them decked,
+some open. The former, which need to be of a certain strength, carry
+goods directly on board the shkooutes in the offing, whereas the latter
+stop a little distance from the mouth of the river. Both are really
+lighters. The water is so low near the mouths of the Volga, as well as
+in all the northern part of the Caspian, that the shkooutes are obliged
+to put to sea empty from the port of Astrakhan. About twenty miles from
+the shore they take in half their cargo, which is brought to them in
+open lighters, nor can they complete their loading until they are 100 or
+120 miles from the embouchure, where they are met by decked vessels
+whose draught of water does not exceed thirteen feet. The lighters
+generally belong to petty captains, who realise a good profit by them;
+but a large proportion of them are lost every year.
+
+The boats that float down the Volga to Astrakhan from the interior, are
+of extreme diversity of construction. The most remarkable are the
+_kladnyas_, which are distinguished above all the rest by their solidity
+and their Dutch build. They have but one enormously tall mast with two
+sails, one of which is attached to a boom twice as long as the hull of
+the vessel. Next after them come the _beliangs_, flat boats built
+entirely of deal, and not pitched either within or without. Besides
+these there are an infinity of smaller boats, which it is unnecessary to
+describe. All these boats convey goods from Astrakhan to Nijni Novgorod,
+Saratof, and other places, and _vice versa_, charging for freight from
+ten to thirty kopeks per pood, according to distance. They arrive at
+Astrakhan at stated times, namely, in May, July, and September. The
+steamboat that makes one trip every year between Astrakhan and Nijni
+Novgorod, takes from forty to fifty days to ascend the river, and a
+fortnight to return. The navigation of the Volga, appears by the
+sailors' accounts, to be growing more difficult every year; some parts
+of the river are already impracticable for boats of a certain draught.
+Indeed the fact seems clearly ascertained that the Volga has undergone a
+great diminution of volume within the last century.
+
+The vessels belonging to the Persian provinces resemble the Russian
+shkooutes, with this difference, that no pitch is used in their
+construction, but their timbers are so accurately joined as to admit no
+water. It is superfluous to say that the Persian shipping is in a still
+worse position than that of Russia. If to these statistical details we
+add that all the Russian goods are conveyed by land to the Caucasian
+provinces of the empire, no more will be wanting to show how deserted is
+the Caspian Sea.
+
+The manual industry of Astrakhan shares, of course, the decay of its
+commerce. The metropolis reckoned fifty-two manufacturing establishments
+in 1838, viz.: one for silks, two for cotton cloths, twenty
+dyeing-houses, ten tanyards, two candle manufactories, three soap
+manufactories, twelve tile manufactories, one tallow melting-house, one
+rope-walk; 615 workmen were employed in all these establishments. It was
+the fisheries of the Volga that in reality furnished the population with
+all the means of subsistence; they are still the chief resource of the
+country, and it would seem as though nature had wished to compensate
+Astrakhan for the sterility of its soil, by rendering the waters that
+wash it more prolific than any others in fish.[31] The waters in which
+the fishing is carried on are private property, or farmed out by the
+crown and the towns, or they are free to all comers. The most
+productive spots belong to the princes Kourakin, Youssoupof, Besborodko,
+&c. The crown fisheries were formerly commercial property; they are now
+leased to one individual, along with those belonging to the district
+capitals of the government of Astrakhan. The waters of Astrakhan, though
+belonging to Prince Kourakin, have nevertheless been gratuitously
+conceded to the town. They yield for the most part only small kinds of
+fish, which are consumed by the inhabitants themselves.
+
+The fisheries of the Emba have been free since 1803. They comprise 300
+miles of the Caspian coast, from the mouth of the Ural to Mentvoi
+Koultouk, and take their name from the river Emba. They belonged
+formerly to the counts Koutussof and Soltykov.
+
+By virtue of a decree, dated March 31, 1803, fishery of all sorts,
+including that of seals, is free in the maritime waters of Tchetchenze.
+The island of that name, lying not far from the gulf and cape of
+Agrakhan, contains vast establishments for smoking, salting, and drying
+fish, and numerous dwellings occupied by the fishermen. The fishery here
+lasts all the year through, and yields beluga,[32] common sturgeon,
+salmon trout, silurus,[33] and two varieties of carp. It has been the
+custom of the seal-fishers from time immemorial not to destroy any of
+those animals before the 13th of April; whoever infringes this rule is
+deprived of all his booty by his comrades, who divide it among
+themselves. War is waged upon the seals in five different ways. In
+summer they are hunted on the islands and netted in the sea; in winter
+they are shot, or killed with clubs on the ice, or at the
+breathing-holes they break through it. In summer the seals weigh thirty
+pounds, in autumn about sixty, and in winter often ninety-six.
+
+The permanent fisheries are called _vataghis_ and _outshoughis_; the
+places where they are temporary are called _stania_. An outshoughi
+consists in a barrier of stakes planted across the river, and sometimes
+wattled. Below this barrier the apparatus called in Russian _samoloff_,
+is placed in the current. It is a cord hung with short lines and hooks,
+and the business of the fisherman consists in examining the lines, and
+taking off the fish that are hooked. These are immediately taken to a
+shed built on piles at the waterside, where they are cut up; the roes,
+the fat, and the nerves are afterwards conveyed to places where they
+undergo the processes necessary to fit them for commerce.
+
+As the lines of stakes hinder the fish from ascending the river, the
+government has for some time prohibited the use of outshoughis, and also
+of the lines and hooks, by which it is found that scarcely one fish is
+taken out of a hundred that swallow the bait; the rest escape though
+wounded, and thus perish uselessly.
+
+The invention of these barriers is ascribed to the Tatars of the khanat
+of Astrakhan. As fish was an important article of commerce between them
+and the Russians, it may be presumed that they adopted this means to
+keep the fish from ascending to the upper portions of the Volga.
+
+The vataghis, usually placed on the heights above the shore, are cellars
+in which fish is salted and dried. Before the door there is always a
+platform sheltered by a screen of reeds, where the fish are cut up and
+cleaned. Nets, some of them several hundred yards in length, are
+exclusively used in these establishments. It is forbidden, however, to
+stretch them across the entire width of the river.
+
+The fishing season is divided into several distinct periods. The first,
+which extends from March till May, that is from the breaking up of the
+ice to the time of flood, is called the caviar season; it is the most
+important and most productive of the caviar and isinglass. The second
+occurs in July when the waters have sunk within their ordinary bed, and
+the fish having spawned, are returning to the sea. The third, from
+September to November, is the season when the beluga, sturgeon, and
+sevriuga[34] return to the deepest parts of the river. These fish are
+also taken in winter by nets of a peculiar form. At that time of year
+the fishermen of the coasts often travel over the ice for dozens of
+miles from the land. Every two men have a horse and sledge, and carry
+with them 3000 yards of net, with which they capture belugas, sturgeons,
+silures, and even seals under the ice. These expeditions are very
+dangerous. The wind often drives the ice-blocks on a sudden out to sea,
+and then the loss of the fishermen is inevitable, unless the wind chops
+round and drives them back to land. Old experienced fishermen allege
+that the instinct of the horses forewarns them of these atmospheric
+changes, and that their uneasiness puts their masters on their guard
+against the danger; according to the same authorities, the moment the
+animals are yoked they turn of their own accord towards the shore, and
+set off thither with extraordinary speed.
+
+The fishermen of Astrakhan reckon three classes of fish. The first they
+call red fish, which includes the beluga, the sevriuga, and the
+sturgeon. The second consists of white fish, such as the salmon-trout,
+the bastard beluga, the sterlet,[35] the carp or sazan, the soudak,[36]
+and the silure. To the third class belong all those designated by the
+general name of _tchistia_, _kovaya_ or _riba_, either on account of the
+closeness of the nets employed to take them, or of their habits of
+entering rivers in very dense shoals. They are small fish, which are
+little prized, and are salted for the consumption of the interior of the
+empire.
+
+The government fishing board has the general control of the fisheries,
+grants the requisite licences, superintends the election of the headmen,
+sends out inspectors to maintain order, and collects information as to
+the produce of the fisheries. In 1828, 8887 men employed in fishing, and
+254 in taking seals, with 3219 boats, brought in 43,033 sturgeons,
+653,164 sevriugas, and 23,069 belugas: these yielded 330 tons of caviar,
+and about 34 tons of isinglass. There were also taken 8335 soudaks, and
+the enormous quantity of 98,584 seals. The sturgeon fishery alone
+produces about 2,000,000 of rubles annually, but the expenses are very
+considerable. The revenue derived by the government from the fisheries
+of the Volga amounts to 800,000 paper rubles.
+
+The celebrated imperial ukase appointing a uniform monetary system
+throughout the empire, was promulgated during our stay in Astrakhan, and
+afforded us a fresh opportunity of beholding the amazing impassiveness
+of the Russians, and their extreme incapability of self-assertion. The
+change was certainly excellent in itself, and loudly called for by the
+circumstances of the country, but the manner of carrying it into effect
+caused a loss of eighteen per cent, to all holders of coin. In
+Astrakhan, the voice of the public crier sufficed at once, and without
+warning, to reduce the 4 ruble piece to 3.5, that of 1.20 to 1.05, that
+of 1 ruble to 0.87, and that of 0.62 to 0.52; and immediately after beat
+of drum, the law was carried into full force on all commercial
+transactions. It must not be supposed, however, that this inert
+resignation of the tzar's subjects is merely the result of their
+profound reverence for whatever emanates from the omnipotence of their
+sovereign. Every one of them is fully and keenly sensible of his loss,
+and if no voice is uplifted against such ministerial spoliations, the
+cause abides in that total absence of will and reflection which we have
+already had many occasions to point out as a distinguishing trait of the
+Russian character. For our own part we cannot but highly approve of the
+idea of establishing a complete uniformity in the value of coinage, for
+the variations of value which the same coin formerly underwent in
+passing from one government to another were exceedingly injurious to
+trade. We think, however, that the change might have been accomplished
+by more legal and less violent means. It is true, that by acting as he
+did, Count Cancrine was sure of realising a gain of eighteen per cent.,
+and this, it may be presumed, was the principal motive that actuated
+him. Be this as it may, this was not the first time the Russian
+government took such a course; every one knows that in 1812, the silver
+ruble fell abruptly to the value of a paper ruble, entailing a loss of
+seventy-one per cent. on all holders of government bills, who received
+but a paper ruble for every silver ruble represented by the bills. This
+state of things lasted until 1839, when the old system was restored. The
+present government paper, having for its basis a real coin, the silver
+ruble, worth 3.50 paper rubles (about 3_s._ 2_d._), consists of notes
+for 5, 10, 20, and even 10,000 rubles. These notes are extremely small,
+and the government must inevitably realise a large profit annually by
+their wear and tear and loss. It is likewise very possible that the
+ministry of finance had no other motive for creating these new notes,
+than that of preparing means to repeat the bankruptcy of 1812; and
+seeing the actual state of the imperial treasury, there is no doubt that
+such an act of bankruptcy would be committed in case of war. Never was
+the state so oppressed with debt as it is at this day. The war in the
+Caucasus, the grand military parades, and the payment of a countless
+host of diplomatic agents, avowed and secret, all absorb immense sums,
+and the ministry is consequently reduced to miserable shifts to make up
+the deficit, and restore the balance of the finances. The proposal of a
+great military expenditure was discussed in the imperial council of
+1841, and was opposed with reason by Cancrine, on the too real ground of
+want of money. The emperor, chafed by an opposition to his wishes such
+as he was not used to, ordered the grand treasurer to produce all his
+accounts, that the matter might be investigated in council. Next day the
+accounts were examined in presence of the tzar and his ministers. One
+item excited great surprise; an enormous sum was set down as expended,
+but how or wherefore it was spent was not stated. The emperor yielding
+without reflection to a sudden impulse of anger, commanded Cancrine to
+explain what had become of the money, and the minister, who had taken
+his precautions beforehand, instantly laid before his master a note in
+which were revealed some singular mysteries. It was, they say, after
+this memorable sitting that all public works were immediately stopped,
+the stamp duties were quadrupled, the charge for passports centupled,
+and new notes payable to the bearer, were issued for more than
+100,000,000 of silver rubles. Such are the expedients that constitute
+the genius of the ministry, and which Count Cancrine thought it right to
+employ to augment the financial resources of the country. I recollect an
+anecdote that exactly typifies the notions of that statesman. I was once
+in the house of a Moldavian landowner of Bessarabia, whose lands bring
+him in about 10,000 rubles a year. The conversation turned on
+agriculture. "What!" exclaimed a Russian who was present, "your estate
+yields you but 10,000 rubles a-year? Nonsense; put it into my hands and
+I warrant you twice as much."--"That would be a very agreeable thing, if
+it could be done," said the landlord; "I flatter myself I am tolerably
+well versed in these matters, and yet I have never been able to discover
+any possible means of increasing my income."--"How many days do your
+peasants work?" said the Russian.--"Thirty."--"That's not enough: make
+them work sixty. What breadth of land do they till for you?"--"So
+much."--"Double it." And so he went on through the other items of the
+inquiry, crying, "Double it! double it!" We could not help heartily
+laughing. But the Russian remained perfectly serious, and I am sure he
+thought himself as great a man as Cancrine himself; I really regret that
+I did not ask him, had he taken lessons in economics in the office of
+that illustrious financier.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[20] Notwithstanding the assertions of most geographers, we are of
+opinion that the communications between Soldaia, Kaffa, and Astrakhan
+generally took place by way of the Don and the Volga. Many reasons seem
+to confirm this opinion. Had it been otherwise, the Genoese would not
+have attached so much importance to the possession of Tana, on the mouth
+of the Don. Furthermore, the route by the banks of the Terek and the
+Kouban, skirting the northern slope of the Caucasus, being much longer
+as well as more dangerous, by reason of the neighbourhood of the
+Caucasian tribes, preference would naturally have been given to the
+route by the Don and the Volga, which passed only through Tatar
+countries, inhabited by the same people as the traders, and subjected to
+the same government. It seems confirmatory of this opinion that in the
+expedition of Sultan Selim against Astrakhan, in 1560, part of the
+Turkish army marched by that very route. The line of the Manitch must
+have been little frequented on account of its almost total want of
+drinkable water.
+
+[21] Among the various nomade hordes then encamped on the soil of
+Southern Russia, the Kalmucks alone numbered more than 120,000 families;
+at the same period the Crimea alone had a population of more than
+600,000. But these regions have undergone a remarkable change since
+Peter the Great's time. A large portion of the Kalmucks have emigrated
+to China, and the Mussulman tribes have lost at least nine-tenths of
+their population. It may easily be conceived how injurious to the trade
+with Persia and Central Asia has been the disappearance of these Asiatic
+races.
+
+[22] The best cotton of Persia is grown on the slopes of the Elbrouz.
+These regions might easily supply Russia annually with an average of
+1,500,000 kilogrammes of cotton, at 65 to 70 centimes the kilogramme on
+the spot.
+
+[23] Among the articles exported by Russia, the following are to be
+estimated at the approximative values annexed to them: cotton cloths,
+700,000 rubles; woollens, 40,000; linens, 30,000; iron, 200,000 to
+400,000; various metal wares, 200,000, and wheat 100,000.
+
+[24] In 1836, Ghilan exported more than 9,000,000 rubles worth of silk
+to Trebisond.
+
+[25] Salian is a port on the Caspian, at the mouth of the Coura (the
+ancient Cyrus). The roadstead is tolerably good, and the fisheries are
+important. An immense quantity of sturgeons are caught.
+
+[26] Astrabad on the southern coast of the Caspian, between Persia and
+Turkistan, is in regular and easy communication with all the regions of
+Persia, Khiva, and Bokhara. It is the true key to all the commerce of
+Asia by way of the Caspian; hence it was an object of special attention
+for Peter the Great and Catherine II.
+
+[27] Manghishlak is not a town but merely a port, at which vessels used
+formerly to touch to trade with the nomades of that part of the coast.
+It is now entirely abandoned; the few vessels which still visit these
+parts, stop at Tuk Karakhan, near the old landing place, whence goods
+are conveyed on camels to Khiva in twenty-eight days.
+
+[28] A town on the Caspian, at the mouth of Terek, celebrated for its
+brandy.
+
+[29] A town at the mouth of the Ural. It belongs to the Cossacks of the
+Ural, and contains upwards of a hundred houses.
+
+[30] An island not far from the Gulf of Agrakhan.
+
+[31] The particulars that follow as to the fisheries of the Caspian,
+were communicated to us at Astrakhan. Neither the weather nor the season
+allowed us to be present at those interesting operations.
+
+[32] The _beluga_ of the Russians is the great sturgeon (_Piscis
+ichthyocolla, Accipenser Huso_), its weight often amounts to 1400 lbs.
+
+[33] _Silurus glanis_, a fish unknown in France. I have found it in the
+Danube, the Volga, and the Dniepr, where its voracity and strength make
+it formidable to bathers.
+
+[34] Accipenser stellatus.
+
+[35] A. ruthenus.
+
+[36] Perca asper.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+      DEPARTURE FROM ASTRAKHAN--COAST OF THE CASPIAN--HAWKING--
+      HOUIDOUK--THREE STORMY DAYS PASSED IN A POST-HOUSE--ARMENIAN
+      MERCHANTS--ROBBERY COMMITTED BY KALMUCKS--CAMELS--KOUSKAIA--
+      ANOTHER TEMPEST--TARAKANS--A REPORTED GOLD MINE.
+
+
+We left Astrakhan at eight in the evening, and were ferried across the
+Volga in a four-oared boat. It took us more than an hour to cross the
+river, its breadth opposite the town being more than 2000 yards. When we
+reached the opposite bank we might have fancied ourselves transported
+suddenly to a distance of a hundred versts from Astrakhan. Kalmucks,
+sand, felt tents, camels, in a word, the desert and its tenants were all
+that now met our view. We found our britchka waiting for us; our officer
+and the dragoman got into a telega or post chariot, and the bells began
+their merry jingling.
+
+Nothing can be more dismal than the route from Astrakhan to Kisliar. For
+two days and two nights our journey lay through a horrid tract of loose
+sand, with nothing to be seen but some half-buried Kalmuck kibitkas,
+serving for post stations, and a few patches of wormwood, the melancholy
+foliage of which was in perfect harmony with the desolate aspect of the
+landscape. The heaps of sand we passed between exhibited the most
+capricious mimicry of natural scenery. We had before our eyes hills,
+ravines, cascades, narrow valleys, and tumuli; but nothing remained in
+its place; an invisible power was ceaselessly at work, changing every
+shape too quickly for the eye to follow the rapid transformation.
+
+On the evening of the day after our departure, we had an opportunity of
+testing the prowess of our travelling companion, the hawk. The first
+theatre of his exploits was a little pond covered with wild ducks and
+geese, that promised a rich booty.
+
+At a signal from my husband the Tatar officer unhooded the bird, and
+cast him off. Instantly the hawk darted off like an arrow, close along
+the surface of the ground, towards the pond, and was soon hidden from us
+among the reeds, where his presence was saluted with a deafening
+clamour, and a scared multitude of wild geese rose up out of the sedges.
+Their screams of rage and terror, and their bewildered flight backwards
+and forwards, and in all directions, were utterly indescribable, until
+the arrival of the officer put them to the route, and delivered their
+assailant from their obstreperous resentment. The moment the hawk flew
+off, the Tatar followed him at a gallop, all the while beating a small
+drum that was fastened to his saddle. When he reached the pond he found
+the bird planted stoutly on the back of a most insubmissive victim, and
+waiting with philosophic patience until his master should come and
+release him from his critical position.
+
+The officer told us, that but for his presence, and the noise of the
+drum, the geese would in all probability have pummelled the hawk to
+death with their beaks, in order to rescue their companion. In such
+cases, however, the hawk braves the storm with imperturbable coolness,
+and adopts a curious expedient when the attacks are too violent, and his
+master is too slow in appearing. Without quitting hold of his victim, he
+slips himself under the broad wings of the goose, which then become his
+buckler. Once in that position he is invincible, and the blows aimed at
+him fall only on the poor prisoner, whose cruel fate it is to be forced
+to protect its mortal enemy. When the falconer comes up, the first thing
+he does is to cut off its head and give the brains to the hawk. Until
+that operation is completed, the latter keeps fast hold on the quarry,
+and no efforts of its master can induce it to relax its gripe.
+
+The hawk made two or three more successful flights before we reached
+Houidouk, and supplied us with a good stock of provisions, which were
+not a little needful to us in that miserable post station.
+
+During this journey we passed several times very close to the Caspian,
+but without perceiving it.
+
+At Houidouk, on the mouth of the Kouma, we found our escort, which had
+been waiting two days for us. Every thing was ready for our departure,
+but a violent fall of rain detained us three mortal days in the most
+detestable cabin we had yet entered. Two rooms, one for travellers, and
+the other for the master of the station and his family, composed the
+whole dwelling. We installed ourselves as well as we could in the
+former, the whole furniture of which consisted of a long table and two
+benches. The walls of this wretched hole were made of ill-jointed
+boards, that gave admission to the wind and the rain, and to add to our
+discomfort, it served as an ante-chamber to the other room, and was thus
+common to the whole household. Hens, children, and the master of the
+house, were perpetually passing through it, and left us not a moment's
+rest. Our situation was intolerable; the violence of the tempest
+increased at such a rate, that we knew not how the miserable wooden
+fabric could stand against it. All the elements seemed confounded
+together; there was no distinguishing earth or sky; but the terrible
+disorder of nature appeared to me more tolerable than the scene within
+doors. Outside there was at least something for the imagination; the
+mind was exalted in contemplating the swelling uproar that threatened a
+renewal of chaos; but the scene within was enough to drive us to
+despair--children fighting and screaming, fowls fluttering and perching
+on the table and benches, squalor all around us, and a frowsy
+atmosphere! To complete our distress, some Armenian merchants on their
+way to the fair of Tiflis, finding it impossible to continue their
+journey, came to share with us the den in which we were already so
+uncomfortable.
+
+But this new incident was a sort of lesson in philosophy for us. When we
+saw these men conversing quietly as they smoked their tchibouks, without
+the least show of impatience, and talking of the heavy losses the
+unseasonable weather might occasion them, as calmly as if their own
+interests were not concerned, we could not help envying the stoic
+resignation of which the men of the East alone possess the secret. There
+is nothing like their fatalism for enabling one to take all things as
+they come; is not that the acme of human wisdom?
+
+Our escort passed the three days of this deluge in a corner of the shed
+adjoining the house. Wrapped up in their sheep-skins, those iron men
+slept as quietly through wind and rain as if they had been in a snug
+room. One must have lived among the Russians to have any idea of the
+apathy with which they bear all kinds of privations. Their bodies,
+inured to the rigours of their climate, to the coarsest food, and most
+Spartan habits, grow so hardened, that what would be mortal to others
+makes no injurious impression on them.
+
+At last the rain ceased towards the end of the third day. A west wind
+followed it, and dispersed the dark threatening clouds that had so long
+obscured the sky. Though the weather seemed still unsettled, we
+determined to make for the Caspian, which lay but thirty versts from us.
+My husband's anxiety to commence his surveying operations, and our
+eagerness to quit our detestable abode, gave us courage to risk the
+chance of another storm in the open steppe.
+
+But a very unexpected incident threw the station into confusion just as
+we were departing, and delayed us some hours longer. A Kalmuck Cossack,
+mounted on a camel, arrived in great haste and informed us that the
+Armenian merchants, who had started the day before, had been attacked
+some distance from the station by a band of Kalmucks and plundered of
+the greater part of their merchandise.
+
+Our Cossack officer, after listening with great indignation to this
+story, asked permission of my husband to pursue the robbers. The whole
+escort set off with him at a hard gallop, but the pursuit was
+ineffectual. The robbers, having had some hours' start, had already
+reached the sedges of the Caspian. In consequence of this delay it was
+the afternoon before we could make a start, and even then we had great
+difficulty in getting away, for the terrified postmaster entreated us
+not to forsake him at a moment so critical. His dismay, for which indeed
+there was little reason, almost infected me too, and it was not without
+some apprehension of disaster that I left the station.
+
+The appearance of our caravan was curious and grotesque. Our britchka
+was drawn by three camels, taken in tow by a man on foot, and several
+other animals of the same species, besides sumpter-horses, were mounted
+by Kalmucks and Cossacks. Our escort followed, and all the men composing
+it, armed with sabres, guns, and pistols, looked martial enough to scare
+away the most daring thieves. The leader of the troop, the Tatar prince,
+rode with his falcon on his fist, every now and then showing off his
+skill in horsemanship and venery. Thinking no more of the morning alarm,
+I gave myself up to the liveliest anticipations of the extraordinary
+things which this excursion promised us. At last I was about to behold
+that Caspian Sea which, ever since men have been engaged with
+geographical questions, has been the object of their researches and
+conjectures. Besides, it had a much more potent interest for us, for it
+was in a manner the sole aim and end of our journey; it was to solve an
+immemorial question concerning it, that we had abandoned the comforts of
+civilised life, and encountered so many annoyances and privations.
+Notwithstanding my ignorance of science, I felt that in sharing my
+husband's toils, I was in some sort a partner in his learned researches,
+and that I too, like him, had my claims upon the Caspian. I was,
+therefore, impatient to see it; but our camels, who had no such motives
+for hurrying themselves, crawled along at a provokingly slow rate. They
+did not at all correspond with what we had read of the ships of the
+desert, creatures insensible to hunger, thirst, and fatigue, and as
+obedient to the will of man as the dry leaf is to the breath of the
+wind. In spite of a thick cord passed through one of their nostrils,
+which caused them sharp pain whenever they were unruly, our camels
+scarcely marched more than two hours at a stretch without lying down.
+The men had to battle with them continually to rouse them from their
+torpor, or hinder them from biting one another. Whenever one of the
+drivers pulled the halter of his camel roughly, we heard loud cries, the
+more hideous from their resemblance to the human voice. In short our
+camels behaved so badly during this short trip, as largely to abate the
+good opinion of their species, which we had conceived in reading the
+more poetical than true descriptions of our great naturalist.
+
+At some distance from Houidouk we met two camps of Kalmucks, improperly
+called Christians. These tribes are reputed to be addicted to theft, and
+are generally despised by the other Kalmucks. We will speak of them
+again in another place. This whole region, as far as the Caspian, is
+extremely arid, with only here and there a few pools of brackish water,
+the edges of which swarm with countless birds, the most remarkable of
+which are the white herons, whose plumage forms such beautiful
+_aigrettes_. Unfortunately, these birds are so wary, that our companion
+could not take one of them, notwithstanding all his address and the
+power of his falcon.
+
+A ludicrous misadventure that befel our dragoman, Anthony, amused us a
+good deal. Curiosity prompting him to ride a camel, he asked one of the
+Kalmucks to lend him his beast, and the request being complied with, he
+bestrode the saddle, pleased with the novelty of the experiment, and
+quite at a loss to know why the Cossacks and camel-drivers laughed among
+themselves as he mounted. But as soon as the beast began to move, a
+change came over his face, and he speedily began to bawl out for help.
+The fact is, one must be almost a Kalmuck to be able to endure the
+trotting of a camel; the shaking is so violent as to amount to downright
+torture for those who are not accustomed to it. The unlucky Anthony,
+left in the rear of the party, strove in vain to come up with us, and
+was obliged, in spite of himself, to continue his ride to the Caspian,
+where we arrived two hours before him. I never saw a man so cut up. He
+groaned so piteously when he was lifted down, that we began to be really
+alarmed for him.
+
+There are in nature two opposite types, beauty and ugliness; the
+elements of which vary infinitely, though imagination always erroneously
+supposes it can fix their boundaries. How often are we fully persuaded
+we can never meet again an object so beautiful as that before us; yet no
+sooner have we lavished all our enthusiasm upon it, than a more charming
+face, a sublimer landscape, or a more graceful form makes us forget what
+we had regarded as the model of perfection; and itself is soon, in turn,
+dethroned by other objects which we declare superior to all our former
+idols. Just so it is with ugliness. It matters not that we have before
+us the lowest grade we believe it can attain, we have but to turn our
+heads another way to be amazed and confounded by new discoveries
+revealing to us the inexhaustible combinations of nature. These
+reflections occurred to me more and more strongly as we approached
+Koumskaia. The aridity of the steppes round Odessa, the wilderness of
+the Volga, the parched and dismal soil of the environs of Astrakhan, in
+a word all we had heretofore seen that was least engaging, seemed lovely
+in comparison with what met our view on the banks of the Caspian.
+
+A grey, sickly sky, crossed from time to time by heavy black clouds,
+threw an indescribably sad and revolting hue over the lonely, sandy
+plain, and low, broken shore. The same funereal pall seemed to hang over
+the wooden houses, the gangs of Turkmans and Kalmucks loading their
+carts with salt, and the camels that roamed along the shore mingling
+their dismal cries with the sound of the waves.
+
+Yet hideous as it seemed to us, this part of the coast is not
+unimportant in a commercial point of view. It supplies large quantities
+of salt, and has a port where vessels unload their cargoes of corn for
+the army of the Caucasus. We counted at least a score of vessels which
+had been driven in there by the late storm.
+
+The population of Koumskaia consists of a Russian functionary, a Cossack
+post, and a few Kalmuck families, that appear very miserable. The
+_employe_ gave us the use of his house; that is to say, of two
+dilapidated rooms without glass windows or furniture. One can scarcely
+conceive how the mind can have strength to endure so very wretched an
+existence. An unwholesome climate, brackish water, excessive heat in
+summer, rigorous cold in winter, huts and kibitkas buried in the sand,
+the Caspian Sea with its squalls and tempests--all these things combine
+to make this region the most horrible abode imaginable. The major, who
+welcomed us to Koumskaia, had a slow fever, which he owed still less
+perhaps to the insalubrity of the climate than to the hardships and
+mortal ennui he had endured for eighteen months. His wife, more
+stout-hearted, and amused in some degree by her household occupations,
+had still preserved a certain cheerfulness, which was no less than
+heroic in her situation. Their exile was to last in all two years. The
+government, perceiving that many _employes_ died in Koumskaia, has
+limited the time of service there to that short period, and as some
+compensation for what those suffer who are sent thither, their two years
+are counted as four of ordinary service.
+
+The weather had been louring since we left Houidouk, and we had a
+regular hurricane the evening we reached the Caspian. It lasted
+four-and-twenty hours, and such was the noise of the wind and waves,
+that we could hardly hear each other speak in our room. We saw two or
+three kibitkas blown away into the sea, and we expected every moment to
+share the same fate, for our frail tenement creaked like the cabin of a
+ship; the boarded window let in such a current of air, as soon drove
+into the room all the garments with which we strove to stop the chinks.
+
+But the saddest chapter of our history remains to be narrated. As soon
+as our servant had prepared the samovar, and lighted the candles, a
+multitude of black creatures crept out of the chinks of the walls and
+ceilings, and dropped from all sides like a living rain. Imagine our
+consternation at the sight of that legion of black demons swarming
+around us, and leaving us no alternative but to put out the candles that
+attracted them. These insects, called in the country _tarakans_, though
+disgusting in appearance, are very inoffensive, and seldom climb on the
+person; but they are fond of light and heat, and hence they are a
+grievous nuisance in these regions, where their number is prodigious. I
+had already seen them in some post-houses, but in small numbers, and
+though I had always disliked them, I had never been so horrified by them
+as in the house of the major, where they kept me awake all night.
+
+Next morning, the wind having fallen somewhat, we went, in spite of the
+rain, to gather shells on the shore. The vessels in the harbour all
+showed signs of having suffered severely by the storm. The waters of the
+Caspian had a livid, muddy colour I never observed in any other sea in
+the most boisterous weather.
+
+When we returned to our cabin, the Cossack officer presented to us a
+Tatar, who asserted he had found gold in a spot forty versts from
+Koumskaia. Having heard of our arrival, he had walked all that horrible
+night to ask my husband to accompany him to the spot where he had made
+the discovery. But in spite of the gold ear and finger-rings he
+exhibited as tokens of his veracity, my husband was not tempted to lose
+four or five days in a search that would have led to nothing, to judge
+from the nature of the ground in which the Tatar reported that the
+precious ore was to be found.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+      ANOTHER ROBBERY AT HOUIDOUK--OUR NOMADE LIFE--CAMELS--KALMUCK
+      CAMP--QUARREL WITH A TURCOMAN CONVOY, AND RECONCILIATION--
+      LOVE OF THE KALMUCKS FOR THEIR STEPPES; ANECDOTE--A SATZA--
+      SELENOI SASTAVA--FLEECED BY A LIEUTENANT-COLONEL--CAMEL-DRIVERS
+      BEATEN BY THE KALMUCKS--ALARM OF A CIRCASSIAN INCURSION--
+      SOURCES OF THE MANITCH--THE JOURNEY ARRESTED--VISIT TO A KALMUCK
+      LADY--HOSPITALITY OF A RUSSIAN OFFICER.
+
+
+On returning to Houidouk, we found the postmaster in still greater
+perturbation than he had been cast into by the disaster of the Armenian
+merchants. One of his postillions had been seized but two versts from
+the station by Turkmans, who, after robbing him of his sheep-skin and
+his tobacco, had beaten him and left him half dead, and then made off
+with the three horses he was taking back to the station. The strangest
+part of the adventure was, that on the morning of the next day, which
+happened to be that of our arrival, the three horses returned quietly to
+their stable, as if nothing extraordinary had befallen. This proved, at
+least, that the robbers were not very confident, but chose rather to
+lose their booty than expose themselves to the vengeance of the
+Cossacks.
+
+Though such stories were not very encouraging to us, we nevertheless set
+out early next morning, entirely forsaking the post road we had till
+then pursued, and striking across the steppes with a weak escort, very
+insufficient to resist a serious attack. My husband, who had already
+begun his course of levels, resumed his operations from the station at
+Houidouk. Having to make one every ten minutes, he proceeded on foot, as
+well as the Kalmucks and Cossacks who carried the instruments and
+measured the distances. All the men were occupied except the camel
+drivers and the officer, who amused himself with flying his falcon now
+and then at wild ducks and geese. Besides its positive and gastronomic
+results, this sport did me the further service of withdrawing my mind
+from the monotony of a slow march across the desert, in which I had
+often no other pastime than watching the grotesque movements of the
+three camels that drew my carriage, or the capricious evolutions of the
+flocks of birds that were already assembling for their autumnal
+emigration.
+
+Yet the impression made on me by this first day did not tend much to
+alarm me at the prospect of wandering, like a veritable Kalmuck, for
+several weeks across the steppe. The novelty of my sensations, and the
+secret pleasure of escaping for awhile from the round of prescribed
+habits that make up the chief part of civilised life, banished from my
+mind every sombre thought. The excursion was an experimental glimpse of
+those natural ways of life which are no longer possible in our
+thickly-peopled lands; and in spite of my prejudices, a nomade existence
+no longer seemed to me so absurd or wearisome as I had supposed it to
+be. The quiet and the immensity of space around us imparted a deep
+serenity to my mind, and fortified it against any remains of fear
+occasioned by the late events at Houidouk.
+
+We made our first halt about noon, not at all too soon for our Cossacks,
+a race not accustomed to long walking. They immediately made a great
+fire, whilst our camel-drivers were busy setting up the tents and
+arranging a regular encampment. The sun had reappeared with more force
+than before, as usually happens after violent storms. The heat of the
+vertical sunshine, increased by the bare parched soil and by the
+extraordinary dryness of the air, had so overcome us that we could
+scarcely attend to the picturesque group presented by our halt in the
+desert, over which we appeared to reign as absolute masters.
+
+The britchka, unyoked and unladen, was placed a little way from, the
+tent, on the carpet of which were heaped portfolios, cushions, and
+boxes, in a manner which a painter would have thought worth notice.
+Whilst we were taking tea our men were making preparations for dinner,
+some plucking a fine wild goose and half-a-dozen kourlis, others
+attending to the fire, round which were ranged two or three pots for the
+pilau and the bacon soup, of which the Cossacks are great admirers; and
+Anthony with a little barrel of brandy under his arm, distributed the
+regular dram to every man, with the gravity of a German major-domo. As
+for the officer, he lay on his back under the britchka, for sake of the
+shade, amusing himself with his hawk, which he had unhooded, after
+fastening it with a stout cord to the carriage. Though the creature's
+sparkling eyes were continually on the look out for a quarry, it seemed
+by the continual flapping of its wings to enjoy its master's caresses.
+The camels, rejoicing in their freedom, browsed at a little distance
+from the tent, and contributed by their presence to give an oriental
+aspect to our first essay in savage life; wherein I myself figured in my
+huge bonnet, dressed as usual in wide pantaloons, with a Gaulish tunic
+gathered round my waist by a leathern belt. By dint of wondering at
+every thing, our wonderment at last wore itself out, and we regarded
+ourselves as definitively naturalised Kalmucks.
+
+Three hours before we halted, the last kibitkas had disappeared below
+the horizon: we were absolutely alone on the whole surface of the vast
+plain. There was no vestige to tell us that other men had encamped where
+we were. The steppe is like the sea; it retains no trace of those who
+have traversed it.
+
+At two o'clock Hommaire gave the word to march: the tent was struck; the
+camels knelt to receive their burdens; the officer was in the saddle
+with his hawk on his fist; and I was again alone in the carriage, slowly
+following our little troop as it resumed its operations.
+
+My first night under a tent proved to me that I was not so acclimated to
+the steppe as my vanity had led me to suppose. The felt cone under which
+I was to sleep; the Kalmucks moving about the fire; the camels sending
+their plaintive cries through the immensity of the desert; in a word,
+every thing I saw and heard, was so at variance with my habits and ways
+of thought, that I almost fancied I was in an opium dream.
+
+We spent part of the night seated before the tent, our reveries unbroken
+by any inclination to sleep. The moon, larger and more brilliant than it
+ever appears in the west, lighted the whole sky and part of the steppe,
+over which it cast a luminous line like that which a vessel leaves in
+its wake at sea. Absolute silence reigned in the air, and produced upon
+us an effect which no words can describe. Hardly did we dare to break
+it, so solemn did it seem, and so in harmony with the infinite grandeur
+of the waste. It would be in vain to look for a stillness so complete,
+even in the most sequestered solitudes of our regions. There is always
+some murmuring brook there, some rustling leaves; and even in the
+silence of night, some low sounds are heard, that give an object to the
+thoughts. But here nature is petrified, and one has constantly before
+him the image of that eternal repose which our minds can so hardly
+conceive.
+
+We marched for several days without meeting one living creature. This
+part of the steppes is inhabited only in Winter; for during the rest of
+the year it is completely destitute of fresh water. At last, towards the
+close of the fourth day, we saw a black object in motion on the horizon.
+The officer instantly galloped off to reconnoitre, waving his cap in the
+air, for a signal of command. In a few seconds we were sure he was
+perceived, for we distinguished the form of a Kalmuck mounted on a camel
+approaching us. He was hailed with shouts of joy by our men, who soon
+fastened on him, and overwhelmed him with questions. The eagerness of
+nomades to hear news is unbounded, and it is wonderful with what
+rapidity the knowledge of the most trivial event is conveyed from one
+tribe to another. The new comer told us that our journey was already
+known all over the steppes, and that we should soon fall in with an
+encampment of Kalmucks, who had moved forward on purpose to see us.
+
+The presence of this man put all our men in the gayest humour. Desirous
+of doing due honour to his arrival, they deputed Anthony to solicit from
+us a double ration of spirits. They passed all the early part of the
+night sitting round the fire, smoking their tchibouks, and telling
+stories, as grave and as entranced in the charms of conversation as
+Bedouins.
+
+Next day our little caravan was in motion before sunrise; the Kalmuck
+set off alone for the fair of Kisliar, and we took the opposite
+direction, pursuing the invisible line which science traced for us
+across the desert, and which was to lead us to the sources of the
+Manitch.
+
+It was on this morning I took my first ride on the back of a camel, and
+I vowed it should be the last. Decidedly the camel is the most
+detestable quadruped to ride in the world. From the moment you mount
+until you descend from that murderous perch you have to endure an
+incessant series of shocks, so violent and sudden, that every joint in
+your body feels dislocated. I could now feel for the sufferings of our
+poor dragoman during his long trot from Houidouk to the Caspian. Though
+my experiment was limited to a trip of two versts at the most, I was
+totally exhausted when I dismounted.
+
+Not long afterwards I had an opportunity of observing a curious instance
+of the vindictive temper of these rough trotters. The camel, as every
+one knows, is a ruminating animal, but few, perhaps, are aware that he
+has the cunning to make his rumination subservient to his vengeance in a
+very extraordinary and ingenious manner.
+
+I had noticed in the morning that one of our camel-drivers seemed to be
+on very bad terms with his beast. In vain he strove to master it by
+severity, and by pulling the cord passed through its nostril; the brute
+was obstinate, and threw itself every moment rebelliously on the ground.
+At last the Kalmuck, incensed beyond endurance, took advantage of a
+general halt, and alighted to give the camel a sound drubbing. But the
+creature, disdainfully lifting up its long neck, followed all its
+master's movements with so spiteful an eye, that I was sure it had some
+wicked scheme in its head. It waited patiently till the Kalmuck stood in
+front of it, and then, opening its great mouth, it let fly a charge of
+chewed grass mixed with mucus and all sorts of nastiness, and hit the
+poor driver full in the face. To tell with what an air of satisfied
+vengeance the camel again reared its neck and turned its head from side
+to side, as if looking round for applause, would be totally impossible.
+But what astonished me the most was the moderation of the master after
+such an outrage. He wiped his face very coolly, got into the saddle
+again, and patted the neck of his ill-bred brute, as if it had played
+the most amiable and innocent little trick imaginable. Good fellowship
+was thenceforth re-established between them, and they jogged peaceably
+along together, without thinking any more of what had happened.
+
+It happens by a rare good fortune, that no noxious insect is found in
+the steppes between the Caspian and the Caucasus. Of course it was not
+until I was quite sure of this that I could sleep in peace. Our tent,
+made of felt like those of the Kalmucks, was at most five feet high and
+as many wide. It was supported by a bundle of sticks tied together at
+the ends; the interior, furnished with a carpet and cushions laid on the
+ground, contained, besides, some boxes belonging to the britchka. A flap
+of felt formed the door. As the tent narrowed toward the top, we could
+not stand within it, but were obliged to kneel. Such was our dwelling
+for six weeks; and I can aver, that notwithstanding the hardness of our
+bed on the ground, and the strangeness of our situation, I never slept
+so soundly as during that period of my life. Nothing is better for the
+health than living in the open air; the appetite, the sleep, the
+unutterable serenity of mind, and the free circulation of the blood
+which it procures, sufficiently attest its happy influence on our
+organisation. Few functional maladies, I suspect, would resist a two or
+three months' excursion like that which we accomplished.
+
+As the Kalmuck had foretold, we arrived at night in a Kalmuck camp,
+consisting of a score of tents. All the men came to meet us, took the
+camels from the britchka, and would not allow our people to lend a hand;
+then having pitched our tent a little way off from their own, at the
+foot of a tumulus, they began to dance with their women, in token of
+rejoicing. One of the latter went down on her knees and begged some
+tobacco of my husband, and when she had got it she became an object of
+envy to her companions, before whom she hastened to display and smoke
+it.
+
+When night had fallen, the camp was lighted up with numerous fires,
+which gave a still more curious aspect to the kibitkas, and the dancing
+figures of the Kalmucks and Cossacks, whose exuberant gaiety was in part
+owing to an extraordinary distribution of food and brandy. The women
+advanced in their turn, and several of them forming a circle, danced in
+the same manner as the ladies of honour of the Princess Tumene. But they
+all seemed to me extremely ugly, though some of them were very young.
+
+Two days afterwards we arrived at the edge of a pond, where we arranged
+to pass the night. The sight of the water, and of the thousands of birds
+on its surface, afforded us real delight; there needed but such a little
+thing, under such circumstances as ours, to constitute an event, and
+occupy the imagination! All that evening was spent in shooting and
+hawking, bathing, and walking round and round the pool. We could not
+satiate ourselves with the pleasure of beholding that brackish mud, and
+the forest of reeds that encompassed it. No landscape on the Alps or the
+Tyrol was probably ever hailed with so much enthusiasm.
+
+Beyond this pond, the appearance of the steppes gradually changed; water
+grew less rare, the vegetation less scorched. We saw from time to time
+herds of more than five hundred camels, grazing in freedom on the short
+thick grass. Some of them were of gigantic height. I shall never forget
+the amazement they manifested at beholding us. The moment they perceived
+us they hurried towards, then stopped short, gazing at us with
+outstretched necks until we were out of sight.
+
+The eighth day after our departure from Houidouk our fresh water was so
+sensibly diminished, that we were obliged to use brackish water in
+cooking. This change in our kitchen routine fortunately lasted but a few
+days; but it was enough to give me a hearty aversion for meats so
+cooked: they had so disagreeable a taste, that nothing but necessity and
+long habit can account for their ordinary use. The Kalmucks and
+Cossacks, however, use no other water during a great part of the year.
+
+That same day we had a very singular encounter, which went near to be
+tragical. Shortly before encamping, we saw a very long file of small
+carts approaching us; our Kalmucks recognised them as belonging to
+Turkmans, a sort of people held in very bad repute, by reason of their
+quarrelsome and brutal temper. Every untoward event that happens in the
+steppes is laid to their account, and there is perpetual warfare between
+them and the Cossacks, to whom they give more trouble than all the other
+tribes put together. As we advanced, an increased confusion was manifest
+in the convoy, and suddenly all the oxen, as if possessed by the fiend,
+exhibited the most violent terror, and began to run away in wild
+disorder, dashing against each other, upsetting and breaking the carts
+loaded with salt, wholly regardless of the voices and blows of their
+drivers. Some moments elapsed before we could account for this strange
+disaster, and comprehend the meaning of the furious abuse with which the
+Turkmans assailed our escort. The camel-drivers were the real culprits
+in this affair, for they knew by experience how much horses and oxen are
+frightened by the sight of a camel, and they ought to have moved out of
+the direct line of march, and not exposed us to the rage of the fierce
+carters.
+
+The moment immediately after the catastrophe was really critical. All
+the Turkmans, incensed at the sight of the broken carts and their salt
+strewed over the ground, seemed, by their threatening gestures and
+vociferations, to be debating whether or not they should attack us. A
+single imprudent gesture might have been fatal to us, for they were more
+than fifty, and armed with cutlasses; but the steady behaviour of the
+escort gradually quieted them. Instead of noticing their hostile
+demonstrations, all our men set to work to repair the mischief, and the
+Turkmans soon followed their example; in less than an hour all was made
+right again, and the scene of confusion ended much more peaceably than
+we had at first ventured to hope. All parties now thought only of the
+comical part of the adventure, and hearty laughter supplanted the tokens
+of strife. To seal the reconciliation, Hommaire ordered a distribution
+of brandy, which completely won the hearts of the fellows, who a little
+before had been on the point of murdering us.
+
+The more we became accustomed to the stillness and grandeur of the
+desert, the better we understood the Kalmuck's passionate love for the
+steppes and his kibitka. If happiness consist in freedom, no man is more
+happy than he. Habituated as he is to gaze over a boundless expanse, to
+endure no restriction, and to pitch his tent wherever his humour
+dictates, it is natural that he should feel ill at ease, cribbed,
+cabined, and confined, when removed from his native wastes, and that he
+should rather die by his own hand than live in exile. During our stay at
+Astrakhan, every one was talking of a recent event which afforded us an
+instance of the strong attachment of those primitive beings to the natal
+soil.
+
+A Kalmuck chief killed his Cossack rival in a fit of jealousy, and
+instead of attempting to escape punishment by flight, he augmented his
+guilt by resisting a detachment which was sent to arrest him. Several
+of his servants aided him, but numbers prevailed; all were made
+prisoners and conveyed to a fort, where they were to remain until their
+sentence should have been pronounced. A month afterwards, an order
+arrived for their transportation to Siberia, but by that time
+three-fourths of the captives had ceased to exist. Some had died of
+grief, others had eluded the vigilance of their gaolers, and killed
+themselves. The chief, however, had been too closely watched to allow of
+his making any attempt on his own life, but his obstinate silence, and
+the deep dejection of his haggard features, proved plainly that his
+despair was not less than that which had driven his companions to
+suicide.
+
+When he was placed in the car to begin his journey, some Kalmucks were
+allowed to approach and bid him farewell. "What can we do for thee?"
+they whispered; the chief only replied, "You know." Thereupon one of the
+Kalmucks drew a pistol from his pocket, and before the bystanders had
+time to interpose, he blew out the chief's brains. The faces of the two
+other prisoners beamed with joy. "Thanks for him," they cried; "as for
+us, we shall never see Siberia."
+
+I have not yet spoken of the Kalmuck _satzas_, and the desire we felt to
+become acquainted with them. From the moment we had entered the waste,
+we had never ceased to sweep the horizon in hopes to discover one of
+these mysterious tombs, from which the Kalmucks always keep aloof, in
+order not to profane them by their presence. These satzas are small
+temples erected on purpose to contain the remains of the high priests.
+When one of them dies, his body is burned, and his ashes are deposited
+with great pomp in the mausoleum prepared to receive them, along with a
+quantity of sacred images, which are so many good genii placed there to
+keep watch eternally over the dust of the holy personage.
+
+Before we left Astrakhan, we had taken care to collect all possible
+information respecting these satzas, in order to visit one of them
+during our journey through the steppes, and rifle it, if possible, of
+its contents. But as the religious jealousy of our Kalmucks had hitherto
+prevented us from making any researches of the kind, we determined at
+last to trust to chance for the gratification of our wishes.
+
+It was at one day's journey from Selenoi Sastava that we had for the
+first time the satisfaction of perceiving one of these monuments. Great
+was our delight, notwithstanding the difficulty of approaching it, and
+eluding the keen watch of our camel-drivers; nay, the obstacles in our
+way did but give the more zest to our pleasure. There were precautions
+to be taken, a secret to be kept, and novelty to be enjoyed; all this
+gave enhanced interest to the satza, and delightfully broke the monotony
+that had oppressed us for so many days. All our measures were therefore
+taken with extreme prudence and deliberation. We halted for breakfast at
+a reasonable distance from the satza, so that our camel-drivers might
+not conceive any suspicion; and during the repast Anthony and the
+officer, who had received their instructions from us, took care to say
+that we intended to catch a few white herons before we resumed our
+march. The Kalmucks, being aware of the value we attached to those
+birds, heard the news as a matter of course, and rejoiced at the
+opportunity of indulging in a longer doze.
+
+The satza stood in the midst of the sands, five or six versts from our
+halting-place. To reach it we had to make a long detour, in order to
+deceive the Kalmucks, in case they conceived any suspicion of our
+design. All this was difficult enough, and extremely fatiguing; still I
+insisted on making one in the expedition, and was among the first
+mounted.
+
+After two hours' marching and countermarching over the sands, in a
+tropical temperature that quite dispirited our beasts, we arrived in
+front of the satza, the appearance of which was any thing but
+attractive, and seemed far from deserving the pains we had taken to see
+it. It was a small square building, of a grey colour, with only two
+holes by way of windows. Fancy our consternation when we found that
+there was no door. We all marched round and round the impenetrable
+sanctuary in a state of ludicrous disappointment. Some means or other
+was to be devised for getting in, for the thought of returning without
+satisfying our curiosity never once entered our heads. The removal of
+some stones from one of the windows afforded us a passage, very
+inconvenient indeed, but sufficient.
+
+Like conquerors we entered the satza through a breach, like Mahomet
+entering the capital of the Lower Empire; but we had not thought of the
+standard, which was indispensable for the strict accomplishment of the
+usual ceremonies. Instead thereof, Hommaire had recourse to his silk
+handkerchief, and planting it on the summit of the mausoleum, he took
+possession of it in the name of all present and future travellers.
+
+This ceremony completed, we made a minute inspection of the interior of
+the tomb, but found in it nothing extraordinary: it appeared to be of
+great antiquity. Some idols of baked clay, like those we had seen at
+Prince Tumene's, were ranged along the wall. Several small notches, at
+regular intervals, contained images half decayed by damp. The floor of
+beaten earth, and part of the walls were covered with felt: such were
+the sole decorations we beheld.
+
+Like generous victors we contented ourselves with taking two small
+statues, and a few images. According to the notions of the Kalmucks, no
+sacrilege can compare with that of which we were now guilty. Yet no
+celestial fire reduced us to ashes, and the Grand Llama allowed us to
+return in peace to our escort. But a great vexation befel us, for one of
+the idols was broken by the way, and we had to supplicate the Boukhans
+of the steppe to extend their protection to the other, during the rest
+of the journey.
+
+Anthony and the officer were questioned at great length by the Kalmucks,
+who seemed possessed by some uneasy misgivings. On awaking, they had
+seen us return in the direction that led from the satza, and this
+circumstance had much annoyed them. The display of some game, however,
+with which we had taken care to furnish ourselves, and the peremptory
+tone of the officer, cut short all their observations.
+
+On the day after this memorable adventure, Anthony informed us that
+there was no more bread. The news obliged my husband to suspend his
+scientific operations, and proceed to Selenoi Sastava, from which we
+were distant only thirty-five versts. I cannot express the delight with
+which the Kalmucks and Cossacks again took possession of their camels.
+We need not wonder at any eccentricity of taste when we see men
+preferring the dislocating torture of riding those detestable trotters
+to the fatigue of walking fifteen or twenty versts a day. Hommaire, too,
+did not seem at all dissatisfied at taking his place again in the
+britchka. In short, we were all like a set of schoolboys that had got an
+unexpected holiday.
+
+Before reaching the salt-works, where we intended to ask for
+hospitality, we passed some Kalmuck camps; carts loaded with salt
+appeared in different directions. The desert was assuming a more
+animated aspect, and we were no longer alone between the sky and the
+steppe.
+
+On arriving at Selenoi, we were taken to the house of the sub-inspector
+of the salt-works (the inspector was absent). We found that functionary
+in a most miserable hole, compared with which the hut at Houidouk was a
+palace. We had never seen such horrid deficiency of all needful
+accommodation even among the poorest Russian peasants.
+
+We were received by a little weasel-faced man in a uniform so old and
+tarnished, that neither the colour of the cloth nor the lace was
+distinguishable. His manifestations of bewildered joy--his volubility
+that savoured almost of insanity--and his incessant importunity,
+completed our disgust. The house, a heap of ruins, kept from falling by
+a few half-rotten posts, was abominably filthy. We were assigned the
+least dilapidated chamber, but it took more than two hours to clear away
+the clouds of dust raised by Anthony in sweeping it. The windows were
+without frames, the doors were broken, and furniture there was none. How
+we regretted that we had not encamped as usual on the steppe. We tried
+to quit the house, but the lieutenant-colonel (for our host bore that
+title in addition to that of sub-inspector) made such an outcry, that we
+were obliged, whether we would or not, to resign ourselves to his
+singular hospitality. To make up for the want of furniture, we did like
+the Turks, and made a carpet and cushions on the ground serve us for a
+bed and a divan.
+
+Having completed these first arrangements, we proceeded to ask our host
+if he had bread enough to spare us some. Having learned from our escort
+the reason of our coming, he was prepared with his answer. Our presence
+was too great a piece of good luck for a man in his extreme state of
+destitution to allow of our escaping out of his hands until he had made
+the most of us. Accordingly, he protested he could not possibly provide
+what we wanted in less than three or four days, and we had every reason
+to think we should be fortunate enough if we got out of his clutches so
+cheaply. The event proved that our suspicions were not unjust, and his
+conduct towards us, his indecorous demands, his cupidity and his thefts
+sufficiently explained the motives of his extravagant delight at our
+arrival.
+
+On the first day of our sojourn with him, tempted by a fine wild goose
+which Anthony had roasted in the tent of his Kalmuck cook, he sent to
+beg permission to dine with us, and presently arrived, holding in his
+hand a plate of paltry crusts dried in the oven, which he presented to
+us as excellent _zouckari_. During all the time of dinner he diverted us
+exceedingly by his insatiable gluttony and continual babbling: nor was
+it the least amusing part of the performance to see him despatch to his
+own share a half mouldy loaf he had sold us that morning for a ruble and
+a half.
+
+The camel-drivers proceeded, during our stay at Selenoi, to a
+neighbouring camp to get fresh camels instead of their own, which had
+been fatigued by more than a fortnight's marching. They promised to
+return within twenty-four hours, but we did not see them again till two
+days had elapsed, and then in a very sorry plight. According to the
+account given by one of them, who was the first to arrive in great
+tribulation, they had behaved rather roughly to the Kalmucks who were to
+furnish them with the camels, and the latter had retaliated by beating
+them, tieing them hand and foot, and carrying them before one of their
+inspectors, who kept them in confinement until the next day. I never saw
+a more woe-begone set than these unfortunate camel-drivers appeared on
+their return: one of them had his head bandaged, another wore his arm in
+a sling, a third limped, and all had been very roughly handled. This
+adventure, and the gross cupidity of the lieutenant-colonel, were not
+the only things that occurred to amuse or interest us at Selenoi. On the
+third day of our stay, a great number of Kalmuck families suddenly
+arrived in strange disorder, and announced that the Circassians had just
+shown themselves three versts from the salt-works, on the borders of the
+Kouma.
+
+Terrible was the consternation produced by this news. Both Kalmucks and
+Cossacks were terrified at the thought of having the Circassians so near
+them. Our whole escort came and implored us on their knees not to set
+out until something positive was known of the matter. But after many
+inquiries we were satisfied that the alarm was groundless, and we did
+not delay our preparations to depart.
+
+Our host was surely the oddest being this world ever produced. In spite
+of ourselves, he was the sole object of our thoughts every moment in the
+day. Anthony, who had taken no little aversion to him, lost no
+opportunity of informing us of what he called his turpitudes. For
+instance, every morning he was sure to be seen in ambush behind the
+door until our samovar was ready, when he would come in smiling with his
+cup and spoon in his hand, without even waiting for an invitation, seat
+himself at the table, and wash down his zouckaris with three or four
+cups of tea.
+
+One day he begged a few spoonfuls of rum of my husband, for a sick
+person, as he said; but that evening his jollity and the redness of his
+face told us plainly what had become of our liquor. He even found it so
+much to his taste, that he entreated Anthony next day to give him a few
+more spoonfuls on the sly, telling him very seriously that the cat had
+spilled the first cup.
+
+He gave us no peace night or day. Not content with deafening us by his
+incessant babbling, not a word of which we understood, the whim would
+sometimes seize him to sing all the Malorussian airs that came into his
+head. Long after we were in bed one night, we heard him pacing up and
+down the corridor like a sentinel. We tried hard to guess what might be
+the meaning of this new freak; but next day we discovered that it
+proceeded from his excessive vigilance and forethought. He failed not
+himself to tell us, that feeling uneasy at the news that the Circassians
+were abroad, he had kept guard over us with his musket shouldered, and
+that he was ready to perform the same duty every night.
+
+Could we remain untouched by such conduct? Could we refuse such a man
+the parcels of coffee, tea, and sugar he had been so long soliciting
+with looks and hints? Unfortunately his requests followed so close on
+each other, that our gratitude was worn out at last. Anthony was furious
+every time we yielded to his importunities, and ceased not in revenge to
+torment him in a thousand ways.
+
+One day the jealous dragoman, of his own authority, served up dinner an
+hour before the usual time, in order to baffle our host, who accordingly
+did not arrive until we were just quitting the table. I never saw a man
+more disappointed; he stood at the door, not knowing whether to enter or
+not; at last, doomed to forego his dinner, he knew nothing better to do
+in his despair than to go and cudgel his Kalmuck.
+
+On the eve of our departure we learned that he had charged us for the
+bread he sold us more than double the price paid at the barracks. This
+occasioned a very lively altercation between him and Anthony, who was
+delighted to have such an opportunity of speaking out his mind. But the
+honourable functionary was not to be disconcerted by such a trifle;
+after listening with imperturbable coolness to the dragoman's
+reproaches, he replied in a very off-hand manner that the thing was not
+worth talking about, for when people travel, they must make up their
+minds to pay a ducat in most cases for what is not worth more than
+twenty copeks.
+
+He became extremely sulky when he observed our preparations to depart.
+He no longer talked, but contented himself with restlessly watching all
+that was going on in the room; peering at every article of our baggage,
+as if he would look through and through it. Whenever our men carried any
+thing to the carriage, he followed them with angry looks, as if they
+were committing a robbery upon him. At last, on the sixth day after our
+arrival at Selenoi Sastava, we had the pleasure to turn our backs on the
+lieutenant-colonel and his miserable cabin. I doubt if the fear of the
+Circassians would have been able to detain us longer in such a spot.
+
+The dryness of the atmosphere, which had lasted from the time we left
+Houidouk, was succeeded by heavy rain when we reached Selenoi, and this
+was the chief cause of our long stay there. On the day of our departure
+the sky looked rather threatening, notwithstanding which we stepped into
+the carriage with inexpressible delight. I would rather have taken my
+chance of ten deluges in the open steppe, than have spent twenty-four
+hours more in Selenoi; but fortune was pleased to compensate us in some
+degree for our recent vexations by affording us the most agreeable
+weather that travellers could desire. The rain had given the sand a
+pleasant degree of solidity, and had, besides, spread a mild and subdued
+tone over the steppes that was peculiarly agreeable. Autumn was now
+come, with its sharp morning air and its melancholy tints; and
+accustomed as we had been to the scorching reverberation of the
+sunshine, we felt as if an earthly paradise was opening before us. In
+one day more the sky was cleared of its last vapours, and reappeared in
+all its azure purity, streaked only with a few rich and warm-coloured
+clouds, that seemed to take away the aridity of the desert. But the sun
+had lost much of its power, and though it shone down on us without
+obstruction, we reached the sources of the Manitch without being much
+inconvenienced by the heat.
+
+These sources are formed by a depression of about twenty-five versts in
+diameter, towards which converge several small ravines. They were quite
+dry when we arrived at them, and all the vicinity, intercepted by small
+brackish lakes, displayed no kind of vegetation. The total want of water
+and fodder hindered us from proceeding to the Don, as we had intended,
+and my husband was obliged to suspend his levelling operations. It was
+not, of course, without sore regret that he put off the solution of his
+great scientific problem until the following year. Our men were in good
+spirits, our health excellent, and we were by no means prepared to
+expect such an obstacle as that which now stopped us in a course we had
+pursued with such perseverance; but nature commanded, and we were forced
+to obey.
+
+We passed the night near the sources in the midst of a total solitude,
+and early next morning we retraced our steps, and proceeded towards the
+Kouma, distant about seventy-five versts; the men were all mounted again
+on their camels, and seemed well pleased to have no more pedestrian
+labours in prospect; for with all their willingness, they had not been
+able to accustom their limbs to that sort of service. We encamped for
+two nights successively among Kalmucks, for the steppes grew less lonely
+as we departed from our first course. These good people heard the story
+of our journey through their plains with eager curiosity. As soon as
+supper was over they squatted themselves round our kibitka, lending a
+religious attention to the most improbable tales, for our men, who took
+upon them the office of historiographers, paid very little respect to
+truth in their compositions. One of our camel-drivers, especially, had
+been endowed by Heaven with an imagination of extraordinary fecundity.
+It was his peculiar office to amuse the whole escort during the bivouac,
+and when he had to do with a new audience, his captivating eloquence
+attained the utmost limits of possibility, enchanting even those who
+heard him every day.
+
+The last encampment in which we passed the night was one of the most
+considerable we had seen up to that time. The country, indeed, had
+entirely changed its aspect; we had left the dreary sands behind us,
+with the Caspian and the Manitch. An abundant vegetation, and
+undulations of the ground that became more and more decided as we
+proceeded, gladdened the sight, and accounted for the numerous
+encampments we discovered in all directions. Herds of horses, camels,
+and oxen spotted all the surface of the steppe, and bespoke the wealth
+of the hordes to which they belonged. We were not in the least molested
+by the latter. These good Kalmucks were delighted to receive us in their
+tents, and never attempted to steal the least thing from us. Their
+desires and their wants are so very limited! To tame a wild horse, to
+roam from steppe to steppe on their camels, to smoke and drink koumis,
+to shut themselves up in winter in the midst of ashes and smoke, and to
+addict themselves to the superstitious practices of a religion they
+cannot understand,--such is the whole sum of their lives.
+
+I had the curiosity frequently to enter their kibitkas, but I never saw
+in any of them the dirt I had been told of. The Russian kates are
+infinitely more untidy and squalid that the interiors of these tents.
+Among other visits we made one to the wife of a subaltern chief, and as
+she had been warned of our coming, she was dressed in her best finery.
+She sat with her legs tucked under her on a piece of felt, with a child
+before her, and a servant-woman motionless at her side. She was
+delighted to receive us, and thanked us with much cordiality. We
+complimented her on the neatness and good order of her tent, at which
+she seem gratified in the highest degree.
+
+We remarked with surprise that there was not one priest in all the camps
+we passed through, but we afterwards learned that they were all gone
+northwards to the Sarpa, where there were much finer pastures, and where
+one was not tormented by the myriads of gnats that abound in those
+countries in autumn. We ourselves had much to endure from those terrible
+insects all the way to Vladimirofka, and we were often so annoyed by
+them as to wish ourselves back among the sands of the Manitch.
+
+Even if the want of water had not put a stop to our journey, the state
+of our provisions was such that I hardly know what we could have done.
+Our bacon, rice, coffee, and biscuits had long disappeared; we had
+nothing left but a small stock of tea and sugar, and for the rest we
+were dependent on the hawk, which did wonders daily in supplying the
+deficiencies of our commissariat. Our last repast under the tent
+consisted only of game cooked in all sorts of ways. Anthony, who to his
+functions as dragoman, added those of butler, cook, and scullion, put
+forth all his powers on that occasion: but we had been surfeited with
+game; we had lived upon it so long that the sight of a wild goose was
+enough to give us a fit of indigestion. It was, therefore, with
+exceeding joy that on reaching the house of an inspector of Kalmucks, we
+found ourselves seated at a table covered with vegetables and pastry.
+
+The house of that officer (a very agreeable young Russian who spoke
+Kalmuck like a native) was situated at a little distance from the Kouma
+in a magnificent meadow. For a long while we had beheld no such
+landscape, and though we were still on the verge of the desert, that
+little white house with green window blinds, and the two or three
+handsome trees around it, completely changed the physiognomy of the
+country in our eyes.
+
+The inspector gave us a good deal of information respecting the
+proprietor of Vladimirofka, of whom we had already heard at Astrakhan,
+and he offered to accompany us to the establishment, which was barely
+ten versts distant. It was there we proposed to rest and recruit
+ourselves after the fatigues of our journey, and to take a final leave
+of our escort.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+      REVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF THE KALMUCKS.
+
+
+The account we have given of our journey on the banks of the Volga, and
+the steppes of the Caspian, will have afforded the reader an idea of the
+strange and striking habits of the nomade hordes that wander with their
+flocks over those vast deserts, and worship their Llamite deities with
+all the pomp and fervour of the nations of Thibet. Our historical and
+political sketch will serve as a complement to those primary notions. It
+is by no means our intention, however, to give a complete history of the
+Kalmucks; such a work would be too extensive, and would require too long
+and arduous researches to be compressed within our limits. At present we
+shall only cast a rapid glance over the past history of the great Mongol
+families; we shall dwell principally upon their actual condition, and
+then comparing our own observations with the statements of preceding
+writers, we shall try to cast some new light on the history of the
+Asiatic races that occupy the south of Russia.
+
+Pallas and B. Bergmann, the only travellers who have taken pains to
+investigate the history of the Kalmucks in the government of Astrakhan,
+have left us some valuable details respecting their manners and customs,
+and their religion. But Pallas travelled in 1769, and circumstances have
+greatly changed since his day. B. Bergmann visited the Kalmucks in the
+early part of this century, and it is to be regretted that his work,
+which contains such important information respecting the languages and
+the religious books of the Mongols, takes no notice whatever of any
+matter connected with their political administration and organisation.
+
+It is not surprising that so little is yet known of the Kalmuck hordes,
+for excursions through the remote Steppes of the Caspian Sea present
+difficulties and hardships which few travellers can withstand. One must
+unquestionably be impelled by a strong motive, to traverse those immense
+plains which are almost everywhere destitute of fresh water, where one
+often marches 100 leagues without seeing a trace of human life, and
+where the soil, bare of vegetation, offers no other variety than sands
+and brackish lakes. Yet in order to form an exact idea of the
+inhabitants of these deserts, of their character, and ways of life, it
+is necessary to dwell beneath their tents. It is in the vicinity of
+Sarepta that the traveller arriving from the north meets the first
+Kalmuck kibitkas. The camps then stretch away across the Manitch and the
+Kouma towards the foot of the great Caucasian chain. We have explored
+all that extent of country, have visited the remotest parts of the
+steppes, and seen the Kalmucks in an advanced social stage at Prince
+Tumene's, and in a primitive condition beneath their tents. It is thus
+we have been enabled to collect our information respecting the history
+and present condition of this unique people of Europe.
+
+According to the unanimous opinion of all historians, the regions
+adjoining the Altai mountains, and especially those south of that great
+chain, appear to have been from time immemorial the cradle and domain of
+the Mongol tribes. At first divided into two branches, always at war
+with each other, the Mongols were at last united into one great nation
+under the celebrated Genghis Khan, and thus was laid the basis of that
+formidable power which was to invade almost the whole of eastern Europe.
+But after the death of Genghis Khan, the old discord broke out with
+renewed violence, and only ended with the mutual destruction of the two
+great Mongol tribes. The Mongols proper were forced to submit to the
+Chinese, whom they had formerly vanquished, and the four nations that
+formed the Doerboen OEroet, scattered themselves over all the
+north of Asia. The Koites, after long wars, spread over Mongolia and
+Thibet; the Touemmoites or Toummouts settled along the great wall of
+China, where they remain to this day; the Bourga Burates, who already in
+the time of Genghis Khan inhabited the mountains adjacent to Lake
+Barkal, are now beneath the Russian sceptre; the Eleuthes, the last of
+the four, are better known in Europe and Western Asia under the
+appellation of Kalmucks.
+
+According to ancient national traditions, the greater part of the
+Eleuthes made an expedition westward, and were lost in the Caucasus,
+long before the time of Genghis Khan. It is to that epoch that some
+historians refer the origin of the word Kalmuck, which they derive from
+_kalimak_, _severed_, _left behind_, and they suppose this designation
+was applied to all those Eleuthes who did not accompany their brethren
+westward. According to Bergmann, _kalimak_ signifies likewise
+_unbeliever_, and this name may very naturally have been given by the
+people of Asia who adhered to the primitive religion, to the Eleuthes,
+when they had become converts to Buddhism. We leave to competent judges
+the task of deciding which is the more rational or probable explanation.
+
+The Eleuthes or Kalmucks allege that they dwelt in old times in the
+countries lying between Koho Noor (Blue Lake) and Thibet. Their division
+into four great tribes, each under an independent prince, dates probably
+from the dissolution of the Mongol power. These tribes, whose remains
+exist to this day, are the Koshotes, Derbetes, Soongars, and Torghouts.
+The Koshotes, whose chiefs consider themselves to be lineally descended
+from a brother of Genghis Khan, were partly destroyed in intestine wars
+with the Torghouts and Soongars, and partly subjugated by China. Only a
+small remnant of them accompanied the Derbetes to the banks of the
+Volga.
+
+The Soongars originally united with the Derbetes, constituted the most
+formidable tribe in Asia, in the beginning of the seventeenth century.
+Their princes, who resided on the river Ily, had then subdued all the
+other Kalmucks; they could bring 60,000 fighting men into the field, and
+the Khirghis and Turkmans paid them tribute. Their pride augmented with
+their success, and a war they undertook against the Chinese Mongols
+became the cause of their downfall. The Soongars were enslaved or
+scattered, and a branch of the Derbetes shared their fate. It was about
+this period that the first emigration of Kalmucks took place into
+Russia; 50,000 Soongar or Torgout families encamped on the banks of the
+Volga, in 1630, and Astrakhan owed its safety only to the death of their
+prince Cho Orloek, who was slain in an assault on the town.
+Subsequently, however, about 1665, Daitchink, the son of Cho Orloek, was
+forced to acknowledge himself a vassal of the empire, and to swear
+fealty. His example was followed by his son. But this submission was
+merely nominal, and did not at all affect the real independence of the
+Mongol hordes.
+
+The first Kalmuck emigrations towards the west were speedily followed by
+others. The Derbetes and other Torghouts arrived in the steppes of the
+Caspian and Volga to the number of more than 10,000 tents. In 1665,
+Aiouki Khan, grandson of Daitchink, an enterprising and ambitious man,
+succeeded, in defiance of Russia, in extending his sway over all the
+Kalmuck tribes. This chief pushed his excursions up to the foot of the
+Caucasus, and being opposed on his march by the Nogais of the Kouban, he
+completely defeated them in a general engagement. The bodies of his
+slain foes were cast by his orders into a pit dug under a great tumulus,
+situated on the field of battle, and still known in the country by the
+name of _Bairin Tolkon_ (Mountain of Joy), bestowed on it by the
+victorious khan in memory of his triumph.
+
+Aiouki's forces then took part in Peter the Great's famous expedition
+against Persia, in which they rendered great services to Russia. The
+Kalmuck prince had a brilliant interview on this occasion with the Tzar.
+Peter received him on board his galley on the Volga, near Saratof, and
+treated him and his wife with all the honours due to sovereigns. Aiouki
+was then at the height of his power, and cared little for the oath of
+allegiance to Russia taken by his predecessors. Peter required 10,000
+men of him, and he furnished 5000. It was about this period that an
+embassy, under the special protection of Russia, arrived from China, by
+way of Siberia, and waited on Aiouki Khan, ostensibly for the purpose of
+treating with him for the restoration of one of his nephews, who was
+detained at the imperial court for reasons unknown to us. But we believe
+that the principal object of the embassy was to keep up political
+relations with the Kalmucks, whom the Chinese government wished to bring
+back under its own sway. Aiouki, following the example of his
+predecessors, had not broken off all communication with the celestial
+empire, and had even sent rich presents to the emperor in 1698. It was,
+therefore, important to cherish this favourable disposition, of which
+the Chinese hoped to avail themselves sooner or later. Of course it is
+not to be supposed that these views were avowed officially; and we
+cannot but wonder at the indifference of the Russian government, or the
+adroitness with which the Chinese availed themselves of the aid of
+Russia herself to compass their ends. But in the various interviews
+between Aiouki and Toulichen, the head of the embassy, the question of
+keeping up an intimacy between the two nations was largely discussed,
+and all necessary measures were arranged to avoid awakening the
+suspicions of Russia, and thus closing the only means of communication
+that lay open to them.[37]
+
+Aiouki reigned about fifty years. After his death, in 1724, the old
+dissensions broke out again among the Kalmucks; Russia made good use of
+the opportunity to break down the independence of the hordes by directly
+interfering in their domestic affairs, and their princes soon became
+subject to the imperial sceptre. Thenceforth the dignity of khan was
+conferred only by the Muscovite tzars, and the tribes were put under the
+special control of a Russian commander called a _pristof_.
+
+After a long series of contests and intrigues, Dondouk Ombo, the
+son-in-law of Aiouki, was named khan, to the prejudice of Aiouki's
+grandson. Under this prince internal peace was restored among the
+hordes, and the Kalmucks did good service to Russia in the campaigns
+against the Nogais, and other inhabitants of the Kouban. But quarrels
+broke out again on the death of Dondouk Ombo in 1741. His children, who
+were minors, were set aside, and his ambitious and intriguing widow
+contrived to have Dondouk Dachi, her youngest brother, and grandson of
+the celebrated Aiouki, declared vice-khan. The new chief was entirely
+devoted to Russia, and his submissiveness was rewarded after the lapse
+of fifteen years by promotion to the rank of khan; but he enjoyed that
+dignity only four years. His son Oubacha succeeded him as vice-khan in
+January, 1761.
+
+In Oubacha's reign new hordes arrived in Europe, and the Kalmucks were
+reinforced by 10,000 tents, commanded by Chereng Taidchi. The various
+tribes, which consisted of more than 80,000 families, and possessed
+innumerable herds of cattle, extended at that time from the shores of
+the Jaik to the Don, and from Zaritzin, on the Volga, to the foot of the
+northern slopes of the Caucasus. Oubacha paid no tribute to Russia; he
+was regarded rather as an ally than a vassal, and was only required to
+supply cavalry to the imperial armies in time of war.
+
+Oubacha vigorously seconded the Russians in their expedition against the
+Turks and Nogais. His army amounted to 30,000 horse, and one of its
+detachments figured even in the celebrated siege of Otchakof. It was on
+the return of the Kalmucks from these campaigns that their celebrated
+emigration took place, when nearly half a million of men, women, and
+children, headed by their prince, quitted the banks of the Volga with
+their cattle, and set out across the most arid regions in quest of their
+old country.
+
+The flight of the Kalmucks has been variously explained. B. Bergmann
+attributes it solely to the vindictiveness of Zebeck Dorchi, a relation
+of Oubacha's, who had been frustrated in his attempt to raise himself to
+sovereign power. After fruitless attempts at the court of the Empress
+Elizabeth, he had nevertheless been named first _sargatchi_, or
+councillor at the court of his rival. The imperial government hoped by
+this means to curb the ambition of Oubacha, whose power it had abridged
+in 1761, by deciding that the sargatchis, or members of the khan's
+council, should be attached to the ministry of foreign affairs, with an
+annual salary of 100 rubles. According to Bergmann, Zebeck Dorchi made
+no account of his new dignity, and unable to forgive Russia for not
+having favoured his pretensions, he joined the hordes with a full
+determination to take signal vengeance. He would induce the Kalmucks to
+go over to China, and thus deprive the empire of more than 500,000
+subjects, and the army of the greater part of its best cavalry, and make
+all the neighbouring towns feel severely the loss of their cattle. Such,
+according to Bergmann, was Zebeck Dorchi's project, to realise which he
+counted solely on the natural fickleness of the Kalmucks, and his own
+active intrigues. This was certainly a very extraordinary scheme of
+vengeance, and one we can hardly credit, notwithstanding Bergmann's
+assertions. Zebeck Dorchi's aim being to secure the supreme power, it
+would have been folly for him to choose such means. It would have been
+much more to the purpose to have informed against Oubacha at the moment
+when the latter was making his arrangements for quitting Russia. Such a
+service would have had its reward, and the informer would undoubtedly
+have supplanted his rival. This whole explanation of the affair given by
+Bergmann, rests on no one positive fact, and can only have been devised
+by a man writing under Russian influence, and consequently forced to
+disguise the truth.
+
+At the period of the Kalmuck emigration Catherine II. filled the throne,
+and the Russian government was beginning to adopt those principles of
+uniformity which so highly characterise its present policy. Moreover, it
+was really impossible to allow that the whole southern portion of the
+empire should be given up to turbulent hordes, which, though nominally
+subjected to the crown, still indulged their propensity to pillage
+without scruple. Placed as they were between the central and the
+southern provinces, and occupying almost all the approaches to the
+Caucasus, the Kalmucks were destined, of necessity, to lose their
+independence, and fall beneath the immediate yoke of Russia. Catherine's
+intentions were soon no secret, and Oubacha saw that he must escape by
+flight from the encroachments of his powerful neighbours, if he would
+save what remained to him of the primitive authority of the khans. If we
+reflect, moreover, that the power of the Kalmuck princes had been
+considerably abridged by the new organisation of their administrative
+council; that Colonel Kitchinskoi, then grand pristof, had excited the
+general indignation of the tribes by his harsh conduct; that the
+political and military exigencies of Russia were continually on the
+increase; we shall have no difficulty in comprehending the real causes
+of the emigration of these Mongol tribes. Certainly it required all
+these combined motives to induce the Kalmucks to undertake such a
+journey through desert regions, the inhabitants of which were their
+natural enemies. Nevertheless, we believe the Chinese government was not
+altogether unconcerned in bringing about Oubacha's determination; for,
+as we shall see by and by, the emperor had already, in Aiouki's time,
+sent the mandarin Toulischin to the Kalmucks, to assure them of his
+protection, in case they would return to their native country.[38]
+
+It was on the 5th of January, 1771, the day appointed by the high
+priests, that Oubacha began his march, with 70,000 families. Most of the
+hordes were then assembled in the steppes on the left bank of the Volga,
+and the whole multitude followed him. Only 15,000 families remained in
+Russia, because the Volga remained unfrozen to an unusual late period,
+and prevented them from crossing over to the rendezvous. Oubacha
+arrived, without impediment, beyond the Jaik, but was afterwards
+vigorously assailed by the Cossacks of the Ural and the Khirghis, and
+lost many men. After two months' marching, the exhausted hordes encamped
+on the Irguitch, which falls into Lake Aksakal, to the north of the sea
+of Aral. Next they had to cross the frightful desert of Chareh Ousoun,
+where they were exposed to all the torments of thirst, and suffered
+indescribable disasters; after which they arrived at Lake Palkache Nor,
+where many of them fell in a last encounter with the Khirghis. Oubacha
+then forced a passage through the country of the Burats, and at last
+reached China, after a march of eight months. Strange to say, the
+Muscovite government took no energetic means to arrest the fugitives,
+and detain them in Russia. General Traubenberg, indeed, who was in
+command at Orenberg, was sent in pursuit of them, but failed totally,
+whether from incapacity or otherwise. Thus was accomplished the most
+extraordinary emigration of modern times; the empire was suddenly
+deprived of a pastoral and warlike people, whose habits accorded so well
+with the Caspian steppes, and the regions in which many thousand
+families had fed their innumerable flocks and herds for a long series of
+years, were left desolate and unpeopled.
+
+We will now extract that portion of the Memoirs of the Jesuits, Vol. I.,
+in which Father Amiot recounts the arrival of the Kalmucks in China,
+dated Pekin, November 8th, 1772. I copy this curious document from
+Father Amiot's original manuscript.[39]
+
+"In the thirty-sixth year of Kien Long, that is to say, in the year of
+Jesus Christ, 1771, all the Tatars[40] composing the nation of the
+Torgouths[41] arrived, after encountering a thousand perils, in the
+plains watered by the Ily, entreating the favour to be admitted among
+the vassals of the great Chinese empire. By their own account, they
+have abandoned for ever, and without regret, the sterile banks of the
+Volga and the Jaik, along which the Russians had formerly allowed them
+to settle, near where the two rivers empty themselves into the Caspian.
+They have abandoned them, they say, _to come and admire more closely the
+brilliant lustre of the heavens, and at last to enjoy, like so many
+others, the happiness of having henceforth for master the greatest
+prince in the world_. Notwithstanding the many battles in which they
+have been obliged to engage, defensively or offensively, with those
+through whose country they had to pass, and at whose expense they were
+necessarily compelled to live; notwithstanding the depredations
+committed on them by the vagrant Tatars, who repeatedly attacked and
+plundered them on their march; notwithstanding the enormous fatigues
+endured by them in traversing more than 10,000 leagues, through one of
+the most difficult countries; notwithstanding hunger, thirst, misery,
+and an almost general scarcity of common necessaries, to which they were
+exposed during their eight months' journey, their numbers still amounted
+to 50,000 families when they arrived, and these 50,000 families, to use
+the language of the country, counted 300,000 mouths, without sensible
+error. Among the Russians carried off by them at their departure, were
+100 soldiers, at the head of whom was a Monsieur Dudin, Doudin, or
+Toutim,[42] as the name is pronounced here. This name is probably not
+unknown in our part of the world. It is not at all like the common
+Russian names. Is it not that of some expatriated Frenchman, who had
+found employment among the Russians? Be this as it may, had this officer
+been still alive in last August, when the emperor gave evidence to the
+Torgouth princes whom he had summoned to Ge Ho, where he was enjoying
+the pleasures of the chase, he would certainly have been sent back with
+honour to Muscovy. His majesty did not disdain to inquire personally as
+to this fact. 'Is it true,' said he to one of the chiefs of the nation,
+'that before your departure you plundered the possessions of the
+Russians, and carried off one of their officers and 100 of their
+soldiers?' 'We did so,' replied the Torgouth prince, 'and could not help
+doing so, under the circumstances in which we were placed. As for the
+Russian officer and his 100 and odd soldiers, there is every reason to
+think that they all perished by the way. I remember that when the
+division was made, eight of them fell to me. I will inquire of my people
+whether any of these Russians are still alive, and if so, I will send
+them to your majesty immediately on my return to Ily.'
+
+"This year, 1772, the thirty-seventh of the reign of Kien Long, those of
+the Eleuths who were formerly dispersed over the vast regions known by
+the general name of Tartary, some hordes of Pourouths, and the rest of
+the nation of the Torgouths, came like the others, and voluntarily
+submitted to a yoke which no one sought to impose on them. They were in
+number 30,000 families, which, added to the 50,000 of the preceding
+year, make a total of 480,000 mouths, who will unite their voices with
+those of the other subjects of the empire in proclaiming the marvels of
+one of the most glorious reigns that has been since the foundation of
+the monarchy.
+
+"So extraordinary and unexpected an event, happening when the empress
+mother's eighty-sixth year was celebrated here with a pomp becoming all
+the majesty of him who gives law to this empire, has been regarded by
+the emperor as an infallible mark of the goodness of that supreme
+heaven, of which he calls himself the son, and from which he glories in
+having unceasingly received the most signal favours since his accession
+to the throne: it is in this spirit he has caused the fact to be
+enrolled in the private archives of his nation, archives which, in the
+course of ages, will, perhaps, contrast in many points with those which
+will be published by the Chinese historians, and with those, too, which
+some neighbouring nations may publish with reference to the same facts.
+The latter will, perhaps, impute political views and manoeuvres which
+have had no existence, whilst the former, in spite of certain
+appearances which may suggest the probability of intrigues and
+negotiations practised for the accomplishment of a preconcerted design,
+nevertheless state nothing but the truth, which will be somewhat hard to
+believe. If the testimony of a contemporary, and, as it were, ocular
+witness, who has no prejudice or interest in the matter, were necessary
+to establish that the fact I am about to speak of is among the number of
+those which are true in all circumstances, I would freely give it
+without fearing that any man, of the least information, could ever
+accuse me of error or partiality. Be this as it may, until such time as
+history shall acquaint posterity with an event which he regards as one
+of the most glorious of his reign, the emperor has caused the statement
+and the date to be inscribed on stone in four languages spoken by the
+various nations subject to him, viz., the Mantchous, Mongols, Torgouths,
+and Chinese. This lapidary monument is to be erected at Ily before the
+eyes of the Torgouths, that it may be seen by all those nations I have
+named. Having had an opportunity of procuring a copy from the original,
+taken by one of those who were employed in making the Mantchou
+inscription, I have ventured to translate it. It would doubtless be very
+acceptable even as a literary specimen, had I been able to preserve in
+our language that noble simplicity, that energy and precision, which the
+emperor has given it in his own tongue. Its contents are nearly as
+follows:
+
+"'_Records of the transmigration of the Torgouths, who voluntarily, and
+of their own full accord, came bodily as a nation, and submitted
+themselves to the empire of China._
+
+"'Those who, after having revolted, reflecting uneasily on a crime
+which they cannot yet be made to expiate, but for which they see full
+well that they will be punished sooner or later, beg permission to
+return beneath the yoke of obedience, are men who submit through fear;
+they are constrained subjects; those who having the option to undergo
+the yoke or not, yet come and submit themselves to it voluntarily, and
+of their own full accord, even when there is no thought of imposing it
+upon them, are men who have submitted only because such is their
+pleasure; they are subjects who have freely given themselves to him whom
+they have chosen to govern them.
+
+"'All those who now compose the nation of the Torgouths, undismayed by
+the dangers of a long and toilsome journey, filled with the sole desire
+of procuring for the future a better manner of life and a happier lot,
+have abandoned the places where they dwelt far beyond our frontier, have
+traversed with unshakable courage a space of more than ten thousand
+leagues, and have ranged themselves, of their own accord, among the
+number of my subjects. Their submission to me is not a submission
+inspired by fear, but a voluntary and free submission, if ever such
+there was.
+
+"'After having pacified the western frontiers of my dominions, I caused
+the lands of my domain which are on the Ily to be put under tillage, and
+I diminished the tribute heretofore imposed on the neighbouring
+Mahometans. I enacted that the Hasacks and the Pourouths should together
+form the external limits of the empire on that side, and should be
+governed on the footing of the foreign hordes. As regards the nations of
+the Antchiyen and the Badakchan, as they are still more remote, I
+determined to leave them free to pay or not to pay tribute.
+
+"'No one needs blush when he can limit his desires; no one has occasion
+to fear when he knows how to desist in due time. Such are the sentiments
+that actuate me. In all places under heaven, to the remotest corners
+beyond the sea, there are men who obey under the names of slaves or
+subjects. Shall I persuade myself that they are all submitted to me, and
+that they own themselves my vassals? Far from me be so chimerical a
+pretension. What I persuade myself, and what is strictly true, is that
+the Torgouths, without any interference on my part, have come of their
+own full accord to live henceforth under my laws. Heaven has, no doubt,
+inspired them with this design; they have only obeyed Heaven in putting
+it in force. I should do wrong not to commemorate this event in an
+authentic monument.
+
+"'The Torgouths are a branch of the Eleuths. Four branches formerly
+constituted the entire nation of the Tchong Kars.[43] It would be
+difficult to explain their common origin, respecting which moreover
+nothing very certain is known. These four branches separated, and each
+formed a distinct nation. That of the Eleuths, the chief of them all,
+gradually subdued the others, and continued until the time of Kang Hi,
+to exercise over them the pre-eminence it had usurped. Tse Ouang Raptan
+then reigned over the Eleuths, and Aiouki over the Torgouths. These two
+leaders, at variance with each other, had disputes, to which Aiouki, the
+weaker of the two, feared he should be the unhappy victim. He conceived
+the design of withdrawing for ever from beneath the sway of the
+Eleuths.[44] He took secret measures to secure the flight he meditated,
+and escaped with all his followers to the lands under the sway of the
+Russians, who permitted him to settle in the country of Etchil.[45]
+
+"'Cheng Tsou Jin Hoang Ty, my grandfather, wishing to be informed of the
+true reasons that had induced Aiouki thus to expatriate himself, sent
+him the mandarin Toulichen[46] and some others to assure him of his
+protection in case he desired to return to the country where he had
+formerly dwelt. The Russians, to whom Toulichen was ordered to apply for
+permission to pass through their country, granted it without difficulty;
+but as they gave him no information as to what he was in quest of, it
+took him three years and some months to fulfil his commission. It was
+not until after his return that the desired information respecting
+Aiouki and his people was at last possessed.
+
+"'Oubacha, who is now khan of the Torgouths, is great grandson of
+Aiouki. The Russians, never ceasing to require soldiers of him to be
+incorporated in their troops, having at last taken his own son from him
+as a hostage, and being besides of a different religion from himself,
+and making no account of that of the Lamas which the Torgouths profess,
+Oubacha and his people finally determined to shake off a yoke which was
+daily becoming more and more insupportable.
+
+"'After having secretly deliberated among themselves, they resolved to
+quit an abode where they had to suffer so much, and come and dwell in
+the countries subject to China, where the religion of Fo is professed.
+
+"'In the beginning of the eleventh moon of last year, they began their
+march with their women and children and all their baggage, traversed the
+country of the Hasacks, passed along the shores of Lake Palkache Nor
+and through the adjoining deserts; and towards the close of the sixth
+moon of this year, after having completed more than 10,000 leagues in
+the eight months of their wayfaring, they at last arrived on the
+frontiers of Chara Pen, not far from the banks of the Ily. I was already
+aware that the Torgouths were on their march to submit themselves to me,
+the news having been brought me shortly after their departure from
+Etchil. I then reflected that Iletou, general of the troops at Ily,
+having already been charged with other very important affairs, it was to
+be feared that he could not regulate those of the new comers with all
+the requisite attention.
+
+"'Chouhede, one of the general's councillors, was at Ouche, employed in
+maintaining order among the Mahometans. As he was at hand to attend to
+the Torgouths, I ordered him to repair to Ily, that he might use his
+best efforts to establish them solidly.
+
+"'Those who fancy they see danger everywhere, failed not to make their
+representations to me on this matter. 'Among those who are come to make
+their submission,' said they, with one voice, 'is the perfidious
+Chereng. That traitor, after having deceived Tangalou, put him to death
+miserably, and took refuge among the Russians. He who has once deceived
+may do so again. Let us beware; we cannot be too much on our guard. To
+give welcome to one who comes of his own accord to make submission, is
+to give reception to an enemy.' Upon these representations I conceived
+some distrust, and gave orders that some preparations should be made to
+meet every contingency. I reflected, however, with all the maturity
+required by an affair of such importance, and my reiterated reflections
+at last convinced me that what I was told to fear could not possibly
+come to pass. Could Chereng alone have been able to persuade a whole
+nation? Could he have put Oubacha and all the Torgouths, his subjects,
+in motion? What likelihood is there that so many men would willingly
+have inconvenienced themselves to follow a private individual--would
+have entered into his views--and run the risk of perishing of hunger and
+wretchedness with him? Besides this, the Russians, from whose sway they
+have ventured to withdraw themselves, are like myself, masters of a
+great realm. If the Torgouths were come with the intention of insulting
+my frontiers, and settling there by force, could they hope that I would
+leave them undisturbed there? Can they have persuaded themselves that I
+would not stir to expel them? And if they are expelled, whither can they
+retire? Can they dare to hope that the Russians, whom they have treated
+with ingratitude in abandoning them as they have done, will condescend
+to receive them back with impunity, and allow them to resume possession
+of the ground they accorded to them formerly? Had the Torgouths been
+actuated by any other motive than that of wishing to submit sincerely to
+me, they would be without support on either side; they would be between
+two fires. Of ten arguments for and against, there are nine to show that
+there is nothing in their proceeding to excite suspicion. Among these
+ten arguments is there one tending to prove that they entertain any
+secret views? If so, the future will unmask them, and then I will act as
+circumstances shall require. What was to happen at the time I made these
+reflections, has happened at last. It has proved the accuracy of my
+reasoning, and exactly verified what I had predicted.
+
+"'Nevertheless I neglected none of the precautions that seemed to me
+necessary. I ordered Chouhede to erect forts and redoubts in the most
+important places, and have all the passes strictly guarded. I enjoined
+him to exert himself personally in procuring necessary provisions of all
+kinds in the interior, whilst fit persons, carefully chosen by him,
+should make every arrangement for securing quiet without.
+
+"'The Torgouths arrived; and at once found lodging, food, and all the
+conveniences they could have enjoyed each in his own dwelling. Nor was
+this all; the principal men among them, who were to come in person and
+pay homage to me, were conducted with honour and free of expense by the
+imperial post-roads to the place where I then was. I saw them, spoke to
+them, and was pleased that they should enjoy the pleasures of the chase
+with me; and after the days allotted to that recreation were ended, they
+repaired in my suite to Ge Ho. There I gave them the banquet of
+ceremony, and made them the ordinary presents with the same pomp and
+state as I am accustomed to employ when I give solemn audience to
+Tchering and the chiefs of the Tourbeths (_the Derbetes of the
+Russians_), of whom he is the leader.
+
+"'It was at Ge Ho, in those charming scenes where Kang Hi, my
+grandfather, made himself an abode to which he might retire during the
+hot season, and at the same time put himself in a position to watch more
+closely over the welfare of the people beyond the western frontiers of
+the empire; it was, I say, in that delightful spot, that having
+conquered the whole of the country of the Eleuths, I received the
+sincere homage of Tchering and his Tourbeths, who alone among the
+Eleuths, had remained true to me. It is not necessary to go back many
+years to reach the term of that epoch; the memory of it is still quite
+recent.
+
+"'Who would have said it! When I had the least reason to expect it--when
+I was not even thinking of it--that branch of the Eleuths which had been
+the first to separate from the trunk, the Torgouths who had voluntarily
+expatriated themselves to live under an alien and remote dominion, those
+very Torgouths came of themselves and submitted to me of their own free
+will; and it was at Ge Ho, near the venerable spot where rest the ashes
+of my grandfather, that I had the unsought opportunity of solemnly
+admitting them among the number of my subjects.
+
+"'Now, indeed, it may be said, without fear of overstepping the truth,
+that the whole nation of the Mongols is subject to our dynasty of Tay
+Tsing, since it is from it in fact that all the hordes composing it now
+receive laws. My august grandfather conjectured this result; he foresaw
+that it would happen one day; what would have been his delight to know
+that that day was actually come!
+
+"'It is under the reign of my humble person that the conjectures of that
+great prince are realised, and what he had foreseen is fully
+accomplished. What token can I give him of gratitude proportioned to
+what I owe him! What profound homage, what respectful sentiments can
+clear my account with Heaven for the constant protection with which it
+deigns to honour me! I tremble under the apprehension of not bearing
+sufficiently at heart those obligations with which I ought to be wholly
+filled, or of not being sufficiently attentive to fulfil them entirely.
+After all I have no thought of imputing to my own virtue and merits the
+voluntary submission, or the arrival of the Torgouths in my dominions. I
+will strive to behave, in this respect, as well as I possibly can. No
+sooner were the Torgouths arrived than the representations began anew.
+'These people,' I was told 'are rebels who have withdrawn from the sway
+of the Russians; we are not free to receive them. It is to be feared
+that if we gave them a favourable reception it would occasion
+animosities and some troubles on our frontiers.' 'Let not that alarm
+you,' I replied. 'Chereng was formerly my subject; he revolted and took
+refuge among the Russians, and they received him. Repeatedly did I
+request them to give him up to me, but they would not. And now Chereng,
+acknowledging his fault, comes and surrenders voluntarily. What I here
+say, I have already said to the Russians in the fullest detail, and I
+have completely reduced them to silence.'
+
+"'What! was it to be supposed that for considerations no way binding
+upon me, I should have suffered so many thousand human beings to perish,
+after they had arrived on the verge of our frontiers almost half dead
+with wretchedness and famine! 'But,' it was objected, 'they have
+plundered by the way; they have carried off provisions and cattle.' And
+suppose they have, how could they have preserved their lives without
+doing so? Who would have supplied them with the means of existence?
+'Watch so well,' says an old Chinese proverb, 'that you may never be
+surprised; keep such careful guard that perfect security may reign even
+in your deserts.'
+
+"'With regard to the Ily country where I have allowed them to take up
+their abode, though I have very recently caused a town to be built
+there, that place is not yet strong enough to protect the frontiers in
+that direction, and hinder the brigands from continuing to insult them.
+Those who inhabit the country are employed only in tilling the ground
+and feeding cattle. How could they protect themselves? How could they
+secure the peace of those deserts? General Iletou being informed of the
+approach of the Torgouths, failed not to acquaint me with the fact. If
+through fear of the uncertain future, or considerations unsuited to the
+circumstances of the case, I had determined to have the border strictly
+guarded, and to have a stop put to the march of the Torgouths, what
+should I have gained thereby? Driven to despair, would they not have
+rushed into the most violent excesses? An ordinary private individual
+would be justly stigmatised as inhuman, were he to behold strangers from
+a far country exhausted with fatigue, bowed down by wretchedness, and
+ready to breathe out their last gasp, and not take the trouble to
+succour them; and shall a great prince, whose first duty it is to try to
+imitate Heaven in his manner of governing men, shall he leave a whole
+nation that implores his clemency to perish for want of aid? Far from us
+be such vile thoughts! farther still be conduct conformable to them! No,
+we will never adopt such cruel sentiments. The Torgouths came, I
+received them; they wanted even the commonest necessaries of life; I
+provided them with every thing abundantly; I opened for them my
+granaries and my coffers, my stalls and my studs. Out of the former I
+bestowed on them what was requisite for their present wants; from the
+latter I desired that they should be supplied with the means of
+providing for themselves in time to come. I intrusted the management of
+this important affair to those of my grandees whose disinterestedness
+and enlightenment were already known to me. I hope and trust that every
+thing will be done to the entire satisfaction of the Torgouths. It is
+needless to say more in this place. My intention has only been to give a
+summary of what has come to pass."[47]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[37] "Narrative of the Chinese Embassy to the Khan of Torgouth Tartars,
+in the years 1712, '13, '14 and '15, by the Chinese Ambassador, and
+published by the emperor's authority at Pekin." London. I am indebted to
+the kindness of Baron Walckenaer for an acquaintance with this work.
+
+[38] The flight of the Kalmucks has also been attributed to Prince
+Chereng Taidchi, of whom mention has been made above. This version of
+the matter seems to us improbable. Chereng had left China as an outlaw,
+and it is not to be supposed that he was favourable to the emigration,
+notwithstanding the impatience with which he endured the yoke of Russia.
+It appears, on the contrary, that he never ceased to protest against the
+resolution adopted by Oubacha.
+
+[39] The MS. belongs to M. Ternaux Compans, who has obligingly placed at
+my disposal all the rich stores of his valuable library.
+
+[40] Here again we see that the Chinese give the name of Tatars to the
+Mongols, which confirms our opinion, that the denomination we give to
+the Mussulman subjects of Southern Russia is incorrect. We have
+substituted Tatar for the word Tartar in the MS.
+
+[41] The Chinese doubtless adopted the name Torgouth, because the
+fugitive Kalmucks consisted, in a great measure, of that tribe. The
+Kalmucks that remained in Russia are almost all Derbetes and Koschoots.
+
+[42] Russian documents confirm the fact, that a captain of this name
+commanding a Russian detachment was carried off by the fugitive
+Kalmucks.
+
+[43] There is here, evidently, a confusion of names. The Soongars, or
+Tchong-Kars, as the Chinese call them, are a branch of the Eleuths, and
+are the very nation who played the important part here attributed to the
+Eleuths in general.
+
+[44] This assertion seems totally erroneous. The Torgouths arrived in
+Russia in 1630, and Aiouki was not raised to the dignity of khan until
+1675; he could not, therefore, have acted the part here ascribed to him.
+The relation of the Chinese embassy to Aiouki (1712-1715) likewise
+confirms in all points the inaccuracy of the Emperor Kien Long's
+historical version. At that period China was a country almost unknown to
+the Kalmucks, and Aiouki, in all his conferences with the ambassadors,
+was continually asking for information of all kinds respecting the
+celestial empire.
+
+[45] The part of southern Russia comprised between the Volga and the
+Jaik. The Tatars also gave the name of Etchil to the Volga.
+
+[46] Here the emperor's words are altogether at variance with the report
+of the Chinese embassy, of which Toulischin was the leader.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+      THE KALMUCKS AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF OUBACHA--DIVISION OF THE
+      HORDES, LIMITS OF THEIR TERRITORY--THE TURKOMAN AND TATAR
+      TRIBES IN THE GOVERNMENTS OF ASTRAKHAN AND THE CAUCASUS--
+      CHRISTIAN KALMUCKS--AGRICULTURAL ATTEMPTS--PHYSICAL, SOCIAL,
+      AND MORAL, CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KALMUCKS.
+
+
+After the departure of Oubacha, the Kalmucks that remained in Russia
+were deprived of their special jurisdiction, and for more than thirty
+years had neither khan nor vice-khan. It was not until 1802, that the
+Emperor Paul, in one of his inexplicable caprices, thought fit to
+re-establish the office of vice-khan, and bestowed it on Prince
+Tchoutchei, an influential Kalmuck of the race of the Derbetes. The
+administration of the hordes, which had been under the control of the
+governor of Astrakhan since 1771, was again made independent, the
+functions of the Russian pristofs were limited, and they could no longer
+abuse their power so much as they had done. But upon the death of
+Tchoutchei, the Kalmucks again came under the Russian laws and
+tribunals; they lost all their privileges irrevocably, and the
+sovereignty of the khans and of the vice-khans disappeared for ever.
+
+The complete subjection of the Kalmucks was not, however, effected
+without some difficulty. Discontent prevailed among them in the highest
+degree, but their attempts at revolt were all fruitless. Hemmed in on
+all sides by lines of Cossacks, the tribes were constrained to accept
+the Russian sway in all its extent. The only remarkable incident of
+their last struggles was a partial emigration into the Cossack country.
+This insubordination excited the tzar's utmost wrath, and he despatched
+an extraordinary courier to Astrakhan, with orders to arrest the high
+priest and the principal chiefs of the hordes, and send them to St.
+Petersburg. Before leaving Astrakhan, these two Kalmucks engaged a
+certain Maximof to act as their interpreter, and plead their cause
+before the emperor.
+
+But when the two captives arrived in St. Petersburg, the emperor's fit
+of anger was quite over; they were received extremely well, and instead
+of being chastised, they returned to the steppes invested with a new
+Russian dignity. They took leave publicly of the tzar, and this audience
+was turned to good account by their interpreter. In presenting their
+thanks to his majesty, that very clever person, knowing he ran no risk
+of being contradicted, made Paul believe that the Kalmucks earnestly
+entreated that his imperial majesty would grant him, also, an honorary
+grade in recompense for his good services. The tzar was taken in by the
+trick, and Maximof quitted the court with the title of major. The man
+still lived in Astrakhan when we visited the town, and did not hesitate
+to tell us the story with his own lips.
+
+Though entirely subjected to the Russian laws, the Kalmucks have an
+administrative committee, which is occupied exclusively with their
+affairs. It resides in Astrakhan, and consists of a president, two
+Russian judges, and two Kalmuck deputies. The latter, of course, are
+appointed only for form sake, and have no influence over the decisions
+of the council. The president of the committee is what the Russians call
+the curator-general of the Kalmucks. In 1840, this post had been filled
+for many years by M. Fadiew, a man of integrity and capacity, and the
+tribes owed to his wise administration a state of tranquillity they had
+not enjoyed for a long while.
+
+To each camp there is also attached a superintendent, called a pristof,
+with some Cossacks under his orders. All matters of litigation are
+decided in accordance with the Russian code, but criminal cases are
+extremely rare, owing to the pacific character of the Kalmucks, and the
+interposition of their chiefs.
+
+The Kalmuck hordes are divided into two great classes, those belonging
+respectively to princes and to the crown; but all are amenable to the
+same laws and the same tribunals. The former pay a tax of twenty-five
+rubles to their princes, who have the right of taking from among them
+all the persons they require for their domestic service, and they are
+bound to maintain a police and good order within their camp. Every
+chief, has, at his command, several subaltern chiefs called _zaizans_,
+who have the immediate superintendence of 100 or 150 tents. Their office
+is nearly hereditary. He who fills it enjoys the title of prince, but
+this is not shared by the other members of his family. The zaizans are
+entitled to a contribution of two rubles from every kibitka under their
+command.
+
+The hordes of the crown come under more direct Russian surveillance.
+They paid no tax at first, and were bound to military service in the
+same way as the Cossacks; but they have been exempted from it since
+1836, and now pay merely a tax of twenty-five rubles for each family.
+The princely hordes, likewise, used to supply troops for the frontier
+service; but this was changed in 1825, and since then the Kalmucks have
+been free from all military service, and pay only twenty-five rubles per
+tent to their princes, and 2.50 to the crown.
+
+Besides the two great divisions we have just mentioned, the Kalmucks are
+also distinguished into various _oulousses_, or hordes, belonging to
+sundry princes. Each _oulousse_ has its own camping-ground for summer
+and winter.
+
+The Kalmuck territory has been considerably reduced since the departure
+of Oubacha; it now comprises but a small extent of country on the left
+bank of the Volga, and the Khirghis of the inner horde now occupy the
+steppes between the Ural and the Volga. The present limits of European
+Kalmuckia are to the north and east, the Volga as far as latitude 48
+deg.; a line drawn from that point to the mouths of the Volga, parallel
+with the course of the river, and at a distance from it of about forty
+miles; and, lastly, the Caspian Sea as far as the Kouma. On the south,
+the boundary is the Kouma and a line drawn from that river, below
+Vladimirofka, to the upper part of the course of the Kougoultcha. The
+Egorlik, and a line passing through the sources of the different rivers
+that fall into the Don, form the frontiers on the west.
+
+The whole portion of the steppes included between the Volga, the
+frontiers of the government of Saratof and the country of the Don
+Cossacks, and the 46th degree of north latitude, forms the summer
+camping-ground of the following oulousses: Karakousofsky, Iandikofsky,
+Great Derbet, belonging to Prince Otshir Kapshukof; Little Derbet,
+belonging to Prince Tondoudof, and Ikytsokourofsky, which is now without
+a proprietor; its prince having died childless, it is not known who is
+to have his inheritance.
+
+The whole territory comprises about 4,105,424 hectares of land; 40,000
+were detached from it in 1838 by Prince Tondoudof, and presented to the
+Cossacks, in return for which act of generosity the crown conferred on
+him the rank of captain. He gave a splendid ball on the occasion at
+Astrakhan, which cost upwards of 15,000 rubles. We saw him in that town
+at the governor's soirees, where he made a very poor figure; yet he is
+the richest of all the Kalmuck princes, for he possesses 4500 tents, and
+his income amounts, it is said, to more than 200,000 rubles.
+
+The Kalmucks occupy in all 10,297,587 hectares of land, of which
+8,599,415 are in the government of Astrakhan, and 1,598,172 in that of
+the Caucasus. These figures which cannot be expected to be
+mathematically exact, are the result of my own observations, and of the
+assertions of the Kalmucks, compared with some surveys made by order of
+the administrative committee.
+
+Besides the Kalmucks, the only legitimate proprietors of the soil, other
+nomades also intrude upon these steppes. Such are the Turcomans, called
+Troushmens by the Russians. They have their own lands in the government
+of the Caucasus, between the Kouma and the Terek; but as the countless
+swarms of gnats infesting those regions in summer render them almost
+uninhabitable for camels and other cattle, the Turcomans pass the Kouma
+of their own authority, with some Nogai hordes, who are in the same
+predicament, encamp amidst the Kalmucks, and occupy during all the fine
+weather a great part of the steppes between the Kouma and the Manitch.
+This intrusion has often been strongly resented by the Kalmucks, and the
+authorities have been obliged to interfere to appease the strife. But as
+it is absolutely requisite to allot a summer camping-ground to the
+Turcomans, the government is not a little perplexed how to cut the
+gordian knot. An expedient, however, was adopted during our stay in
+Astrakhan. It was determined to take from the Kalmucks a portion of the
+territory they possess along the Kalaous, and of which they make no use,
+and bestow it upon the Turcomans. This ground being completely isolated,
+it was furthermore decided that there should be allowed a road six
+kilometres wide (three miles six furlongs) for the passage of their
+flocks. Nothing can convey a more striking picture of these arid regions
+than this scheme of a road nearly four miles wide, extending for more
+than sixty leagues.
+
+The Turcomans entered Russia in the train of the Kalmucks, whose slaves
+they appear to have been. They are now much mixed up with the Nogais,
+like whom they profess Mohammedanism. They reckon 3838 tents. The only
+obligation imposed on them is to convey the corn destined for the army
+of the Caucasus. They receive their loads at Koumskaia, where the
+vessels from Astrakhan discharge their cargoes, and thence they repair
+to the Terek and often to Tiflis in Georgia. This service is regarded by
+them as very onerous, and they have long requested permission to pay
+their taxes in money. They use in this business carts with two wheels of
+large diameter, drawn by oxen, for camels and horses are scarcely ever
+employed. The Turcomans have preserved the good old customs of their
+native country; they are the greatest plunderers in the steppes, and the
+only people whom there is any real cause to regard with distrust. Before
+the end of summer, in the latter part of August, the Turcomans begin to
+retire behind the Kouma, into the government of the Caucasus.
+
+A Tatar horde called Sirtof likewise encamps on the lands of the
+Kalmucks, within sixty miles of Astrakhan, on the road to Kisliar. It
+reckons but 112 tents, and as the lands it occupies are of little
+importance, no one thinks of troubling it.
+
+Lastly are to be enumerated 500 families of Kalmucks, improperly called
+Christians, who occupy the two banks of the Kouma, between Vladimirofka
+and the Caspian. Some Russian missionaries attempted their conversion
+towards the close of the last century, but their proselytising efforts,
+based on force, were fruitless, and produced nothing but revolts. Since
+then these Kalmucks, some of whom had suffered themselves to be
+baptised, were called Christians, chiefly for the purpose of
+distinguishing them from those who are not bound like themselves to
+military service. They are chiefly employed in guarding the salt pools,
+and belong, under the denomination of Cossacks, to the regiment of
+Mosdok. The government feeds them and their horses when they are on
+actual service, but they still pay a tax for every head of cattle, the
+amount of which goes into the regimental chest. These Kalmucks having no
+camping-ground of their own, have long been soliciting to have one
+assigned them. The government offered them ground in the environs of
+Stavropol, the capital of the Caucasian government, but they refused it
+for fear of the incursions of the Circassians. These nominal Christians
+are with the Turcomans the most dangerous people in the steppes. Their
+attacks are not at all to be feared by day; but at night it is necessary
+to keep a sharp look out after one's camels and horses; for in these
+deserts to rob a traveller of his means of transport is almost to take
+his life.
+
+As will be seen from what we have stated above, the summer encampments
+of the Kalmuck hordes are situated in the most northern parts of the
+country, where there is the richest pasture, and where the cattle suffer
+least from flies in the hot weather. The emigration to the north is
+almost general; only a few very needy families, who have no cattle,
+remain in the winter camp, keeping as near as possible to the post
+stations and inhabited places, in hopes of procuring employment. In the
+beginning of the cold season the hordes return to the south, along the
+banks of the Caspian and the Kouma, where they fix themselves among the
+forests of rushes that supply them with firing and fodder for their
+cattle.
+
+In all these regions destitute of forests, reeds are of immense
+importance, and nature has liberally distributed them along all the
+rivers of the steppes, and in all the numerous bottom lands that flank
+the Caspian. The inhabitants of Astrakhan make a regular and systematic
+use of them, employing them not only for fuel, but also for roofing
+their houses, and for thatching their waggons laden with salt or fish,
+which they send into the interior of the country. It is in spring,
+before the floods caused by the melting of the snow, that the reeds
+begin to sprout. Their stalks, which are as thick as a finger, soon
+shoot up to the height of twelve or thirteen feet. Those that grow on
+the banks of the Volga are never quite covered in the highest floods.
+The beginning of winter is the season for laying in a stock of reeds,
+and it is customary to burn all those that are not cut and carried off,
+in order that the dead stalks may not hinder the growth of the young
+shoots.
+
+The ceremony attending the departure of the hordes in spring is not
+without interest. The Kalmuck chiefs never begin a march without making
+an offering to the Bourkhan, or god of the river, as an acknowledgment
+of the protection vouchsafed to their camp during the winter. To this
+end they repair in great pomp to the banks of the Kouma, accompanied by
+their families and a large body of priests, and throw several pieces of
+silver money into the river, at the same time invoking its future
+favours.
+
+According to the official documents communicated to me, the Kalmuck
+population does not appear to exceed 15,000 families. On this head,
+however, it is impossible to arrive at very exact statistics, for the
+princes having themselves to pay the crown dues, have of course an
+interest in making the population seem as small as possible. I am
+inclined to believe, from sundry facts, that the number of the tents is
+scarcely under 20,000. At all events, it seems ascertained that the
+Kalmuck population has remained stationary for the last sixty years, a
+fact which is owing to the ravages of disease, such as small-pox, and
+others of the cutaneous kind.
+
+The Kalmucks, all of them nomades, are exclusively engaged in rearing
+cattle, and know nothing whatever of agriculture. They breed camels,
+oxen, sheep, and above all, horses, of which they have an excellent
+description, small, but strong, agile, and of great endurance. I have
+ridden a Kalmuck horse often eighteen and even twenty-five leagues
+without once dismounting. The Russian cavalry is mounted chiefly on
+horses from the Caspian steppes: the average price of a good horse is
+from 80 to 100 rubles. Formerly the Kalmucks used to send their horses
+to the great fairs of Poland, paying a duty of 1.75 rubles on every
+horse sold; but the duty was raised to 5.25 rubles in 1828, for every
+horse arriving in the fair, and this unlucky measure immediately
+destroyed all trade with Poland. The business of horse-breeding has
+diminished immensely ever since in the Caspian steppes. The government
+afterwards returned to the old rate of duty; but the mischief was done,
+and the Kalmucks did not again appear in their old markets.
+
+It is impossible to know, even approximately, the amount of cattle
+belonging to the tribes, for the Kalmucks are too superstitious ever to
+acknowledge the number of their stock. From various data I collected at
+Astrakhan, and from the superintendents of the hordes, we may estimate
+that the Kalmucks possess on the whole from 250,000 to 300,000 horses,
+about 60,000 camels, 180,000 kine, and nearly a million sheep.
+
+Prince Tumene is the only one of the Kalmucks who has engaged in
+agriculture, and his attempts have been exceedingly favoured by the
+character of the soil in his domains on the left bank of the Volga. His
+produce consists of grain, grapes, and all kinds of fruit. He has even
+tried to manufacture Champagne wine, but with little success; and when
+we visited him, he entreated me to send him a good work on the subject,
+that he might begin his operations again on an improved plan.
+
+Prince Tondoudof is also striving to follow in Prince Tumene's
+footsteps. He has lately marked out a large space in the steppes for the
+fixed residence of a part of his Kalmucks, but I greatly doubt that his
+wishes can ever be realised. He has for many years possessed a very
+handsome dwelling, but he has not yet been able to give up his tent, so
+strong is the attachment of all this race to a nomade life. But the most
+potent obstacle to the establishment of a permanent colony consists in
+the nature of the soil itself. We have traversed the Kalmuck steppes in
+almost all directions, and found everywhere only an argillaceous, sandy,
+or salt soil, generally unsuited to agriculture. Where there is pasture,
+the grass is so short and thin, that the ground exactly resembles the
+appearance of the steppes of the Black Sea, when the grass begins to
+grow again after the conflagrations of winter. Hence the Kalmucks are
+continually on the move to find fresh pasture for their cattle, and
+seldom remain in one spot for more than a month or six weeks. But the
+most serious obstacle to agriculture is the want of fresh water. The few
+brooks that run through the steppes are dry during the greater part of
+the year, and the summers are generally without rain. The cold, too, is
+as intolerable as the heat: for four months the thermometer is almost
+always steady at twenty-eight degrees of Reaumur in the shade, and very
+often it rises to thirty-two; then when winter sets in it falls to
+twenty-eight degrees below zero. Thus, there is a difference of nearly
+sixty degrees between the winter and the summer temperature. If in
+addition to these changes of temperature we consider the total flatness
+of the country, exposed without any shelter to the violence of the north
+and east winds, it will easily be conceived how unfavourable it must be
+to agriculture. A nomade life seems therefore to me a necessity for the
+Kalmucks, and until the development of civilisation among them shall
+make them feel the need of fixed dwellings, they must be left free to
+wander over their steppes. Moreover, in applying themselves exclusively
+to pastoral pursuits, they render much greater service to Russia than if
+they employed themselves in cultivating a stubborn and thankless soil.
+No doubt there are numerous oases scattered over these immense plains,
+just as in other deserts, and agriculture might have some success in the
+northern parts; but these favourable spots are all situated amid
+wildernesses where the cultivators would find no markets for their
+produce. In spite of all these drawbacks, the Russian government still
+persists in its endeavours to colonise the Kalmucks, and strives with
+all its might to introduce among them its system of uniformity. But its
+efforts have hitherto been quite fruitless; the hordes are now, perhaps,
+more than ever attached to their vagrant way of life, in which they find
+at least a compensation for the privileges and the independence of which
+they have been deprived.
+
+The Kalmucks, like most other nations, are divided into three orders,
+nobles, clergy, and commons; the members of the aristocracy assume the
+name of _white bones_, whilst the common people are called _black
+bones_. The priests belong indifferently to either class, but those that
+issue from the ranks of the people do not easily succeed in effacing the
+stain of their origin. The prejudices of noble birth are, however, much
+less deeply rooted at this day than formerly, a natural consequence of
+the destruction of the power of the khans and the princes, and the
+complete subjection of the hordes to the laws and customs of the empire.
+Bergmann's account has therefore become quite inapplicable to the
+present state of things, and can only give false notions of the
+constitution of the Kalmucks.
+
+Among the Asiatic races there is none whose features are so distinctly
+characterised as those of the Mongols. Paint one individual and you
+paint the whole nation. In 1815, the celebrated painter, Isabey, after
+seeing a great number of Kalmucks, observed so striking a resemblance
+between them, that having to take the likeness of Prince Tumene, and
+perceiving that the prince was very restless at the last sittings, he
+begged him to send one of his servants in his stead. In that way the
+painter finished the portrait, which turned out to be a most striking
+likeness, as I myself can testify. All the Kalmucks have eyes set
+obliquely, with eyelids little opened, scanty black eyebrows, noses
+deeply depressed near the forehead, prominent cheek-bones, spare beards,
+thin moustaches, and a brownish yellow skin. The lips of the men are
+thick and fleshy, but the women, particularly those of high rank, have
+heart-shaped mouths of no common beauty. All have enormous ears,
+projecting strongly from the head, and their hair is invariably black.
+The Kalmucks are generally small, but with figures well rounded, and an
+easy carriage. Very few deformed persons are seen among them, for with
+more good sense than ourselves, they leave the development of their
+children's frames entirely to nature, and never put any kind of garment
+on them until the age of nine or ten. No sooner are they able to walk,
+than they mount on horseback, and apply themselves with all their hearts
+to wrestling and riding, the chief amusements of the tribes.
+
+The portrait we have drawn of the Kalmucks is certainly not very
+engaging; but their own notions of beauty are very different from ours.
+A Kalmuck princess has been named to us, who, though frightfully ugly
+in European eyes, nevertheless, passed for such a marvel of loveliness
+among her own people, that after having had a host of suitors, she was
+at last carried off by force by one of her admirers.
+
+Like all inhabitants of vast plains, the Kalmucks have exceedingly keen
+sight. An hour after sunset they can still distinguish a camel at a
+distance of three miles or more. Very often when I perceived nothing but
+a point barely visible on the horizon, they clearly made out a horseman
+armed with his lance and gun. They have also an extraordinary faculty
+for wending their way through their pathless wildernesses. Without the
+least apparent mark to guide them, they traverse hundreds of miles with
+their flocks, without ever wandering from the right course.
+
+The costume of the common Kalmucks is not marked by any very decided
+peculiarity, the cap alone excepted. It is invariably of yellow cloth
+trimmed with black lambskin, and is worn by both sexes. I am even
+tempted to think that there are some superstitious notions connected
+with it, seeing the difficulty I experienced in procuring one as a
+specimen. The trousers are wide and open below. Persons in good
+circumstances wear two long tunics, one of which is tied round the
+waist, but the usual dress consists only of trousers and a jacket of
+skin with tight sleeves. We have already described the garb of the
+women. The men shave a part of their heads, and the rest of the hair is
+gathered into a single mass, which hangs on their shoulders. The women
+wear two tresses, and this is really the only visible criterion of their
+sex. The princes have almost all adopted the Circassian costume, or the
+uniform of the Cossacks of Astrakhan, to which body some of them belong.
+The ordinary foot gear is red boots with very high heels, and generally
+much too short. The Kalmucks, like the Chinese, greatly admire small
+feet, and as they are constantly on horseback, their short boots, which
+would be torturing to us, cause them no inconvenience. But they are very
+bad pedestrians; the form of their boots obliges them to walk on their
+toes, and they are exceedingly distressed when they have not a horse to
+mount.
+
+They never set out on a journey unarmed. They usually carry a poniard
+and a long Asiatic gun, generally a matchlock. The camel is the beast
+they commonly ride, guiding it by a string passed through its nostrils,
+which gives them complete command over the animal. They have long quite
+abandoned the use of bows and arrows; the gun, the lance, and the dagger
+being now their only weapons. Cuirasses, too, have become useless to
+them. I saw a few admirable specimens at Prince Tumene's, which appeared
+to be of Persian manufacture, and were valued at from fifty to a hundred
+horses. In spite of the precepts of buddhism which forbid them to kill
+any sort of animal, the Kalmucks are skilful sportsmen with hawk and
+gun. They almost always shoot in the manner of the old arquebusiers,
+resting the gun on a long fork which plays upon an axis fixed at the
+extremity of the barrel.
+
+The Kalmucks, like all pastoral people, live very frugally. Dairy
+produce forms their chief aliment, and their favourite beverage is tea.
+They eat meat also, particularly horse flesh, which they prefer to any
+other, but very well done and not raw as some writers have asserted. As
+for cereal food, which the natives of Europe prize so highly, the
+Kalmucks scarcely know its use; it is only at rare intervals that some
+of them buy bread or oatcake from the neighbouring Russians. Their tea
+is prepared in a very peculiar manner. It comes to them from China, in
+the shape of very hard bricks composed of the leaves and coarsest parts
+of the plant. After boiling it a considerable time in water, they add
+milk, butter, and salt. The infusion then acquires consistency, and
+becomes of a dirty red-yellow colour. We tasted the beverage at Prince
+Tumene's, but must confess it was perfectly detestable, and instantly
+reminded us of Madame Gibou's incredible preparation. They say, however,
+that it is easy to accustom oneself to this tea, and that at last it is
+thought delicious. At all events it has one good quality. By strongly
+exciting perspiration, it serves as an excellent preservative against
+the effects of sudden chills. The Kalmucks drink their tea out of round
+shallow little wooden vessels, to which they often attach a very high
+value. I have seen several which were priced at two or three horses.
+They are generally made of roots brought from Asia. It is superfluous to
+say that the Kalmucks, knowing nothing of the use of teakettles, prepare
+their infusion in large iron pots. Next to tea there is no beverage they
+are so fond of as spirituous liquors. They manufacture a sort of brandy
+from mare's or cow's milk; but as it is very weak, and has little action
+on the brain, they seek after Russian liquors with intense eagerness, so
+that to prevent the pernicious consequences of this passion, the
+government has been obliged to prohibit the establishment of any dram
+shops among the hordes. The women are as eager after the fatal liquor as
+the men, but they have seldom an opportunity to indulge their taste, for
+their lords and masters watch them narrowly in this respect. The Kalmuck
+kitchen is disgustingly filthy. A housekeeper would think herself
+disgraced if she washed her utensils with water. When she has to clean a
+vessel, no matter of what sort, she merely empties out its contents, and
+polishes the inside with the back of her hand. Often have I had pans of
+milk brought to me that had been cleansed in this ingenious manner.
+However, as we have already remarked, the interior of the tents by no
+means exhibits the filth with which this people has been often charged.
+
+Among the Kalmucks, like most Oriental nations, the stronger sex
+considers all household cares derogatory to its dignity, and leaves them
+entirely to the women, whose business it is to cook, take care of the
+children, keep the tents in order, make up the garments and furs of the
+family, and attend to the cattle. The men barely condescend to groom
+their horses; they hunt, drink tea or brandy, stretch themselves out on
+felts, and smoke or sleep. Add to these daily occupations some games,
+such as chess, and that played with knuckle-bones, and you have a
+complete picture of the existence of a Kalmuck _pater familias_. The
+women are quite habituated to their toilsome life, and make cheerful and
+contented housewives; but they grow old fast, and after a few years of
+wedlock become frightfully ugly. Their appearance then differs not at
+all from that of the men; their masculine forms, the shape of their
+features, their swarthy complexion, and the identity of costume often
+deceive the most practised eye.
+
+We twice visited the Kalmucks, and the favourable opinion we conceived
+of them from the first was never shaken. They are the most pacific
+people imaginable; in analysing their physiognomy, it is impossible to
+believe that a malicious thought can enter their heads. We invariably
+encountered the frankest and most affable hospitality among them, and
+our arrival in a camp was always hailed by the joyful shouts of the
+whole tribe hurrying to meet us. According to Bergmann's book he seems
+not to have fared so well at their hands, and he revenges himself by
+painting them in a very odious light. But it must not be forgotten that
+Bergmann was, above all things, clerical, and that he could not fail to
+be looked on with dislike by the Kalmucks, who had already endured so
+many attempts of missionaries to convert them. It is, therefore, by no
+means surprising if he was not always treated with the deference he had
+a right to exact. As for that pride of the great men and that impudence
+of the vulgar, which so deeply stirred the indignation of the Livonian
+traveller, these are defects common enough in all countries, and even
+among nations that make the greatest boast of their liberality; it would
+be unjust, therefore, to visit them too severely in the case of the
+Kalmucks.
+
+A very marked characteristic of these tribes is their sociability. They
+seldom eat alone, and often entertain each other; it is even their
+custom, before tasting their food, to offer a part of it to strangers,
+or, if none are present, to children; the act is in their eyes both a
+work of charity, and a sort of propitiatory offering in acknowledgment
+of the bounty of the Deity.
+
+Their dwellings are felt tents, called _kibitkas_ by the Russians. They
+are four or five yards in diameter, cylindrical to the height of a man's
+shoulder, with a conical top, open at the apex to let the smoke escape.
+The frame is light, and can be taken asunder for the convenience of
+carriage. The skeleton of the roof consists of a wooden ring, forming
+the aperture for the smoke, and of a great number of small spars
+supporting the ring, and resting on the upper circumference of the
+cylindrical frame. The whole tent is light enough to be carried by two
+camels. A kibitka serves for a whole family; men, women, and children
+sleep in it promiscuously without any separation. In the centre there is
+always a trivet, on which stands the pot used for cooking tea and meat.
+The floor is partly covered with felts, carpets, and mats; the couches
+are opposite the door, and the walls of the tent are hung with arms,
+leathern vessels, household utensils, quarters of meat, &c.
+
+Among the most important occupations of these people are the
+distillation of spirits, and the manufacture of felts, to which a
+certain season of the year is appropriated. For the latter operation the
+men themselves awake out of their lethargy, and condescend to put their
+hands to the work. They make two kinds of felt, grey and white. The
+price of the best is ten or twelve rubles for the piece of eight yards
+by two. The Kalmucks are also very expert in making leathern vessels for
+liquids, of all shapes and sizes, with extremely small throats. The
+women tan the skins after a manner which the curious in these matters
+will find described by the celebrated traveller, Pallas. The priests,
+moreover, manufacture some very peculiar tea-caddies; they are of wood,
+their shape a truncated cone, with numerous ornamental hoops of copper.
+In other respects industry has made no progress among the Kalmucks,
+whose wants are so limited, that none of them has ever felt the need of
+applying himself to any distinct trade. Every man can supply his own
+wants, and we never found an artisan of any kind among the hordes. At
+Astrakhan, there are some Kalmuck journeymen engaged in the fisheries,
+and many of them are in high repute as boatmen. On the whole, it is not
+for want of intelligence they are without arts, but because they have no
+need of them.
+
+We frequently questioned the Kalmucks respecting their wintering under a
+tent, and they always assured us that their kabitkas perfectly protected
+them from the cold. By day they keep up a fire with reeds and dried
+dung; and at night, when there remains only clear coal, they stop up all
+the openings to confine the heat. Their felts, besides, as I know from
+experience, are so well made, as to shelter them completely from the
+most furious tempests.
+
+We have little to say of the education of the Kalmucks. Their princes
+and priests alone boast of some learning, but it consists only in a
+knowledge of their religious works. The mass of the people grovel in
+utter ignorance. Nevertheless, a very notable intellectual movement took
+place among the tribes in the beginning of the seventeenth century, at
+which period Zaia Pandity, one of their high priests, invented a new
+alphabet, and enriched the old Mongol language with many Turkish
+elements. Thereupon the Kalmuck nation had a literature of its own, and
+soon, under the influence of its numerous traditions, and its
+historical, sacred, and political books, it exhibited all the germs of a
+hopeful, nascent civilisation; nor was it rare in those days to find men
+of decided talent among the aristocracy. But Oubacha's emigration
+blighted all these fair hopes. The books were all carried off by the
+fugitives; the old traditions, so potent among Asiatic nations,
+gradually became extinct, the natural bond that knitted the various
+hordes together was broken, and the Kalmucks that remained in Europe
+soon relapsed into their old barbarian condition.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[47] The emperor subjoins in a note: "The nation of the Torgouths
+arrived at Ily in total destitution without victuals or clothing. I had
+foreseen this, and given orders to Chouhede and others, to lay up the
+necessary provisions of all kinds, that they might be promptly
+succoured. This was done. The lands were divided, and to each family was
+assigned a sufficient portion for its support by tillage or cattle
+rearing. Each individual received cloth for garments, a year's supply of
+corn, household utensils, and other necessaries, and besides all this
+several ounces of silver to provide himself with whatever might have
+been forgotten. Particular places, fertile in pasturage, were pointed
+out to them, and they were given oxen, sheep, &c., that they might
+afterwards labour for their own sustenance and welfare."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+      BUDDHISM--KALMUCK COSMOGONY--KALMUCK CLERGY--RITES AND
+      CEREMONIES--POLYGAMY--THE KHIRGHIS.
+
+
+The Kalmucks, Like most of the other offshoots of the Mongol stock, are
+Buddhists, or rather Lamites. According to the opinion of all writers,
+Buddhism began in India, and Buddha, afterwards deified by his followers
+under the name of Dchakdchamouni, was its founder and first patriarch.
+Opposed by the fanaticism of the children of Brahma, the new creed made
+little progress, and appears to have been cruelly persecuted in the
+beginning. The learned researches of M. Abel Remusat have, however,
+demonstrated that there was a succession of twenty-eight Buddhist
+patriarchs in India. It was not until about A.D. 495, that
+Bodhidharma, impelled no doubt by the persecutions of the Brahmins, set
+out for China, where the doctrines of Buddha had already made
+considerable progress, as well as in Thibet and great part of Tartary.
+Eight centuries, nevertheless, elapsed before the successors of
+Bodhidharma emerged from their obscure and precarious condition: it was
+to the grand fortunes of the celebrated Genghis Khan they owed that
+royal splendour they afterwards enjoyed under the name of Dalai Lama.
+
+According to Klaproth, the first traces of Buddhism are recorded in a
+Mongol book, entitled "The Source of the Heart," written in the time of
+Genghis Khan. It is there related that the conqueror, when about to
+enter the countries occupied by the Buddhists, sent an embassy to their
+patriarch with these words: "I have chosen thee for my high priest, and
+for that of my empire; repair to me; I give thee charge over the present
+and future weal of my people, and I will be thy protector." The desires
+of Genghis Khan were quickly fulfilled; from that time forth the
+patriarchs often resided at the conqueror's court, and their religion
+was at last adopted by the greatest Mongol warriors. In the reign of
+Genghis Khan's grandson, Buddhism was already become a power; and then
+it was that the high priests, assuming the title of Dalai Lama, fixed
+their residence in Thibet, where they continued to be treated as actual
+monarchs, until dissensions and rivalries destroyed all the prestige of
+their authority, and they became confounded with the other vassals of
+the empire of China.
+
+When Buddhism installed itself in Thibet, that country was already
+peopled with Christians, and the Nestorians had many monasteries there.
+The religious tolerance of the Mongol monarchs was unlimited: all creeds
+enjoyed equal protection in their capital. The Christians were
+especially numerous in the imperial city, where they had a church with
+bells, and were long presided over by an Italian Archbishop. The effect
+of this general toleration, and of the potent action of the principles
+of Christianity, must necessarily have been to modify Buddhism to an
+important degree; and we believe, with M. Remusat, that we must refer to
+this period for the origin and explanation of the many points of analogy
+between it and the doctrines of Christians.
+
+Pallas and Bergmann have written much on the religious cosmogony of the
+Kalmucks; we will follow them in their investigations, and endeavour to
+complete them by means of our own observations.
+
+There was in the beginning an immense abyss, called Khoubi Saiagar,
+exceeding in length and depth 6,116,000 berez (about 12,000,000
+leagues), and out of this abyss the Taingairis, or aerial spirits,
+existing from all eternity, drew forth the world. First rose
+fiery-coloured clouds, which gathered together until they dissolved into
+a heavy rain, every drop of which was as big as a chariot wheel, and
+thus was formed the universal sea. Soon afterwards there appeared on the
+surface of the waters an immense quantity of foam, white as milk, and
+out of it issued all living creatures, including the human race. We will
+say nothing of those hurricanes which, arising from the ten parts of the
+world, produced in the upper hemisphere that fantastic column, as lofty
+as the ocean is deep, round which revolve the various worlds of the
+Buddhist universe. But we cannot forbear to mention the ingenious
+explanation by which the astronomers of Thibet accounted for the
+periodical revolutions of the day. According to their sacred books, the
+mystic column has four faces, of different colours, argent, azure, or,
+and deep red. At sunrise the rays of the sun fall on the argent side, in
+the forenoon they are reflected from the azure, at noon from the gold,
+towards the close of day from the red surface, and the concealment of
+the orb behind the column is what produces night.
+
+All the books of the Kalmucks speak of four great lands, which are
+sometimes spoken of as belonging to the same whole, sometimes as forming
+separate worlds. The first of these, lying eastward, is occupied by
+giants who are eight cubits high, and live for 150 years; the second,
+towards the west, has inhabitants eleven cubits high, whose lifetime is
+500 years; the third, placed in the north, is still more favoured, for
+its inhabitants, though devoid of souls, live for 1000 years exempt from
+all infirmity. Their stature is 230 cubits. When the term of their
+existence is arrived, they assemble their families and their friends
+around them, and expire calmly at the call of a heavenly voice summoning
+them by their name. The fourth earth is that on which we dwell, and on
+which all the favours of the Deity are profusely lavished. It has four
+great rivers bearing the mystic names of Ganga, Schilda, Baktschou, and
+Aipura, which take their rise in the heart of four great mountains,
+where dwells an elephant two leagues long, white as snow, and named
+Gasar Sakitschin Koven (protector of the earth). This fabulous animal
+has thirty-three red heads, each furnished with six trunks, whence spout
+forth as many fountains, all surmounted with six stars. On each star
+sits a virgin always young and gracefully attired. These virgins are the
+daughters of the aerial spirits, one of whom, the most potent of all,
+sits astride on the middle of the elephant's head, when the animal
+thinks fit to change his quarters.[48]
+
+In the beginning the inhabitants of this privileged earth lived 80,000
+years, abounding in health, and incapable of forming a desire that was
+not instantly fulfilled. Their eyes shot forth rays of light that
+supplied the place of the sun and the stars, and invisible grace stood
+them instead of all nourishment. It was during this golden age that most
+of the secondary divinities were born, and 1000 Bourkhans were taken up
+from the earth to the abode of the blessed. But those blissful times
+came to an end, for, as in Genesis, an unlucky fruit, for which mankind
+imprudently conceived a liking, was the cause of their downfal. The
+human race lost all its precious privileges; its wings failed; physical
+wants tormented it; its gigantic stature dwindled down, and the span of
+life was contracted to 40,000 years, whilst the luminous rays of the
+eyes, the only light of that period, disappeared. Darkness then covered
+the face of the earth, until four powerful deities, touched with
+compassion, squeezed the mountain hard, and forced from it the sun and
+the moon, those two great luminaries which still exist in our day.
+
+The evil did not stop here. To the physical woes that afflicted man was
+soon added moral depravation; adultery, homicide, and violence
+supplanted the primitive virtues, and disorder reigned over the whole
+face of the habitable earth. During this long period of decay the
+duration of life underwent successive curtailments, and many bourkhans
+descended on earth to correct and ameliorate mankind. The bourkhan
+Ebdekchi (the perturber) appeared at the time when the duration of life
+did not exceed 40,000 years. Altan Dohidakti, the bourkhan of
+incorruptible gold, appeared to the world when men only lived 30,000
+years, and those whose years were but 20,000 were visited by the
+bourkhan Guerel Sakitchi (the guardian of the world). After him came
+Massouschiri. Lastly, the term of human, existence had been reduced to
+100 years, when the celebrated bourkhan Dchakdchamouni, the founder of
+the existing sect, came upon the earth and preached the faith to
+one-and-thirty nations. A great moral revolution then took place in the
+world; but unfortunately the new law was variously interpreted, and
+thence resulted this great diversity of religions and languages.
+
+Still, however, the degeneration of the human race is far from having
+reached its utmost limit. The life and stature of man and of all
+animals, will undergo a further considerable diminution in the course of
+ages. There will come a time when the horse will be no bigger than the
+present race of hares, and men but a few palms high, will live but ten
+years, and will marry at the age of five months. Thus the Buddhists have
+adopted notions diametrically opposed to those of certain modern
+philosophers, who think that we began as oysters and will end with being
+gods. Which is the more absurd of these two opinions? We shall not
+attempt to decide the question, but leave it to our neighbours beyond
+the Rhine, who are more competent than we to deal with such matters. The
+extreme limit of physical decay having been once attained, most living
+creatures will be destroyed by a mortal malady. But just when the world
+seems on the point of relapsing into the chaos from whence it issued,
+the voice of the celestial spirits will be heard, and some of the
+miserable dwarfs still peopling the earth will seek refuge in dark
+caverns; it will then rain swords, spears, and all sorts of deadly
+weapons; the ground will be strewed with corpses and red with blood.
+Finally, a horrible down-pour of rain will sweep all the corpses and all
+the filth into the ocean. This will be the last act of the genius of
+destruction, soon after which a fragrant rain will vivify the earth. All
+sorts of garments and food will drop from the sky; the dwarfs that have
+escaped destruction will come forth from their caverns, and men,
+regenerated and virtuous, will at once recover their gigantic stature
+and their privilege of living 80,000 years. There will then be a new
+decay, and when the bourkhan Maidari appears on earth, men will have
+again become dwarfs; but at the voice of that prophet they will be fully
+converted, and will attain a high degree of perfection. We will not
+follow Lamism through its systems regarding the various epochs of the
+world. The notions of the Kalmucks on this head are so confused, that I
+have been unable to learn any thing in addition to what is stated by the
+learned Pallas. Their sacred books speak of forty-nine epochs, ending by
+fire, or deluges, or hurricanes. They are all divided into four great
+periods. The first comprises the space of time in which human life
+begins with being 80,000 years long, and diminishes to 10,000; during
+the second period man perishes; during the third the earth remains
+desolate, and in the fourth occurs a hurricane which carries the souls
+from hell to the earth.
+
+We have already mentioned that happy epoch in which thousands of holy
+beings were raised to the heavens, and deified under the name of
+bourkhans. These bourkhans do not all hold the same rank, but differ
+from each other both in power and functions. The Kalmucks, who hold them
+in great veneration, adore them as the most beneficent deities. Their
+images are found in all the temples. The mighty Dchakdchamouni is most
+especially worshipped. The bourkhans are supposed to inhabit different
+worlds; some dwell in the planets, others in the regions of the air,
+others again in the sky; Dchakdchamouni still inhabits the earth. There
+is an infinite multitude of legends concerning these secondary
+divinities, especially the last named. The following adventure is
+related of him in all the religious books of the Lamites, and is known
+to all the Kalmucks: One day three bourkhans were praying with great
+fervour, and while their eyes were piously cast down, an infernal genius
+deposited his excrement in the sacred cup belonging to one of them.
+Great was the stupefaction of the bourkhans when they lifted up their
+heads. They consulted further what they should do. If they diffused the
+pestiferous matter through the air, it would be the destruction of all
+the beings that people that element; if they let it fall on the earth,
+all its inhabitants would, in like manner, perish. They resolved,
+therefore, for the good of mankind, to swallow the dreadful substance.
+Dchakdchamouni had the bottom of the cup for his share, and the legend
+states that so horrible was the taste, the poor bourkhan's face suddenly
+became blue all over. That god has ever since been depicted with a blue
+visage.
+
+The aerial spirits are next in importance to the bourkhans; some of them
+are beneficent, others malignant. The Kalmucks worship these rather than
+the others, because they alone can do harm to mortals, whilst nothing
+but good offices are to be expected from the beneficent spirits. These
+genii are not immortal, and their power is much less than that of the
+bourkhans. The manner in which their race is propagated is very simple,
+but singular: an embrace, an exchange of smiles, or of gracious looks is
+sufficient with them to produce conception. All these spirits have
+divers abodes in the world and in the air; to the malevolent among them,
+the Kalmucks attribute all the disorders of the atmosphere, and all
+pestilential diseases; the evil genii are particularly active in stormy
+weather, wherefore the Kalmucks greatly dread thunder, and always fire
+many shots when a storm blows, in order to scare away the demons.
+
+There are also in the Lamite religion a great many fabulous deities
+represented by monstrous idols, which appear to be old reminiscences of
+a primitive creed anterior to Buddhism. It is remarkable that these
+idols have generally female faces. They are almost always decorated with
+the scarf of honour, or the bell and sceptre, used by the priests in
+their religious ceremonies, are placed in their hands. The priests are
+the makers of all these idols, some of which are of curious workmanship.
+The materials are baked earth, bronze, silver, or even gold.
+
+Though the Kalmucks address their worship almost exclusively to the host
+of secondary deities we have just mentioned, still they acknowledge a
+supreme being, to whom the bourkhans and the good and evil genii are but
+vassals: if they have no image or idol representing him, it is because
+the conception of the one eternal creator passes all the bounds of their
+imagination, and they rather apply their thoughts to beings less
+incomprehensible and less remote from their own nature. Pallas seems to
+think that the Kalmucks follow the system of Epicurus, but the
+conversations I have had with many learned princes and priests, have
+convinced me of the contrary.
+
+The Kalmucks and the Mongols believe, like the Hindus, in the
+transmigration of souls; but Bergmann errs greatly in asserting that
+they have no other idea of immortality. I have investigated the popular
+notions on this subject, and my conviction is that the Kalmucks consider
+the transmigration only as a longer or shorter trial which the soul of
+every man, not acknowledged a saint, must pass through before appearing
+in presence of the supreme judge. As for those who have been celebrated
+for their piety and their virtues, Lamism teaches that they are raised
+to the rank of bourkhans, still preserving their former individuality.
+
+Erlik Khan is the great judge of the Kalmuck hell, and before his awful
+throne all souls must appear, to be rewarded according to their works.
+If they are found just and pure, they are placed on a golden seat
+supported on a cloud, and so wafted to the abode of the bourkhans; if
+their sins and their good works seem to balance each other, then Erlik
+Khan opens his great book in which all the good and evil deeds of men
+are minutely recorded, and having cast the dread balance, he finally
+pronounces sentence. On the whole this king of hell seems a good-natured
+devil enough, for very often to avoid condemning an unfortunate sinner
+who has some good qualities to recommend him, he allows him to go back
+to earth and live over again in his own form. The Kalmucks, always
+logical in their mythological notions, allege that they derive from men
+thus resuscitated all the knowledge they possess of hell and the future
+life.
+
+The imagination of the Lamite priests has outstripped that of the
+Christians, and of all other nations; indeed we know nothing that can be
+compared with the Kalmuck hell. Erlik Khan, the judge of the dead, is
+likewise sovereign of the realm of the damned. His palace, which always
+resounds with the clashing of immense gongs, is situated in a great town
+surrounded with white walls, within which spreads a vast sea of urine
+and excrement, in which wallow the accursed. An iron causeway traverses
+this sea, and when the guilty attempt to pass along it, it narrows
+beneath them to a hair's breadth, then snaps asunder, and the wicked
+souls, thus tested and convicted, are straightway plunged into hell. Not
+far from this place of horror is a sea of blood, on which float many
+human heads; this is the place of torture for such as have excited
+quarrels and occasioned murders among relations and friends. Further on
+is seen the punishment of Tantalus, where a multitude of damned souls
+suffer hunger and thirst on a white and arid soil. They dig and turn up
+the earth without ceasing; but their unavailing labour only serves to
+wear down their arms to the shoulders, after which the stumps grow
+again, and their torments begin afresh. Such is the punishment of those
+who have neglected to provide for the wants and the jovial habits of the
+clergy. It would be tedious to pursue these details further; suffice it
+to say, that in describing the various torments of hell, the Lamites
+have employed every device which the wildest imagination could conceive.
+We must, however, give these priests credit for one thing: they do not
+admit the eternity of punishment;[49] but on the other hand, in the
+distribution of chastisement they have not forgotten the smallest
+offence that can possibly be committed against themselves. Hence they
+have immense power over the people, whom they can induce to believe what
+they will. Their cupidity is equal to their influence, and they never
+forego any opportunity of making their profit of the poor Kalmuck.
+
+From all these particulars of the religious notions of the Kalmucks, it
+is plain that the popular mythology of Lamism is like many other
+superstitions, only a potent instrument invented by priests to fascinate
+and command the multitude. By means of these incredible fables, the
+Lamite clergy have made themselves masters of the field, and hold great
+and small under their sway. It is to be remarked that in all religions
+ecclesiastical supremacy is inseparable from the creation of a hell, and
+that the one never exists without the other; in fact among nations where
+the idea of eternal punishments has been abandoned, the ministers of
+religion have seldom exercised an oppressive power over the people. This
+proves how large a part selfishness and the lust of sway have had in the
+construction of many religions; but in none has the priesthood evermore
+possessed a greater power than in Buddhism; in none has it more
+violently opposed all who have sought to shake its sway by proclaiming
+the infinite mercy of God.
+
+As a natural consequence of the great prerogatives attached to the
+priesthood, the clergy are become extremely numerous among the followers
+of Lama. Prince Tumene, whose oulousse is very inconsiderable, has at
+least three hundred priests attached to his pagoda.
+
+During our stay in Astrakhan, we had opportunities of confirming, by our
+own observation, the truth of what Pallas remarks, that there is much
+analogy between the religious ceremonies of the Brahmins and those of
+the Kalmucks. Indeed, in studying the theological system of the Lamites,
+it becomes clear that their doctrines have been partly borrowed from
+religions still in existence. Who can fail to recognise the Biblical
+allegory in the fruit _shime_, which the first men were imprudent enough
+to taste? Again, that period during which man was only unhappy, but not
+criminal, does it not represent the time that elapsed from Adam's
+expulsion from Paradise to the murder of Abel? The traditions of the
+Greek mythology appear also to have been made use of, for the dread
+Erlik Khan seems very like the Pluto of the ancients; and perhaps the
+loathsome sea that encompasses his palace is but another form of the
+Styx. It is unnecessary to remark that all these religious notions are
+familiar only to the priests and some princes; the common people are
+content to believe, worship, and submit blindly to the exactions of
+their spiritual guides.
+
+People begin, however, to observe a certain falling off in the
+observance of the precepts of Lamism. Thus, although a true follower of
+Lama has a right to destroy only the carnivorous creatures that hurt his
+flocks, the Kalmucks, nevertheless, put to death domestic animals, and
+make no scruple of hunting. They urge, it is true, in defence of these
+acts, that the prohibition against killing was not made by the gods
+themselves, but by one of their high priests who lived several centuries
+ago. Nevertheless, there are many priests who would think themselves
+guilty of murder if they put to death the smallest insect; and very
+often it occurred when we were sporting, that several of them came and
+earnestly entreated us to liberate the bird we had just caught. In so
+doing they thought they performed an act of charity, and saved a soul.
+
+The modern Kalmuck clergy are divided into four classes. The backshaus
+are the chief priests and religious teachers: in the Caspian steppes the
+eldest of them is improperly styled the Lama. The ghelungs are the
+ordinary priests, and may be compared in rank and functions to the
+French country _cures_. The ghetzuls, or deacons, constitute the third
+class; and the fourth consists of the mandshis, or musicians. Above all
+these grades stands the Dalai Lama of Thibet, the supreme head of the
+church. The Russian Kalmucks were formerly in constant communication
+with him, but since Oubacha's emigration, the government has put a stop
+to this intercourse, which could not fail to thwart its views by keeping
+up a spirit of nationality among the Kalmucks, and fostering their
+attachment to their religion.
+
+Both the clergy and those in their service enjoy all possible
+immunities. They are exempt from all taxes and charges, and the people
+are bound to see that they want for nothing. It is true that the priests
+are prohibited by the rules of their religion from possessing property,
+but the restriction is evaded to a great extent, and the backshaus and
+ghelungs all possess numerous herds: if any one wants to buy a good
+horse, he must apply to them. The sloth and insolence of these priests
+passes all comparison; excepting their religious ceremonies, in which
+they chant some prayers and play on their instruments, they do
+absolutely nothing but eat, drink, and sleep. The meanest ghelung has
+always a retinue of some half dozen of deacons, who look after his
+cattle, his table, and his wardrobe.
+
+The ghetzuls are like our deacons, aspirants for the priesthood, and
+from their body the chief backshaus select the ghelungs, always having
+regard to the wealth of the candidates rather than to their good
+character or capacity. The ordination generally takes place towards the
+close of the great religious festivals, at which period the new ghelungs
+pass the whole night in marching round the priest's camp, chaplet in
+hand, barefooted, and with their shaven crowns uncovered. This is the
+last exercise preliminary to the commencement of their ministry.
+
+All the members of the clergy of every rank take vows of chastity, which
+they are far from observing; for there are few priests who do not
+indulge in illicit intercourse with married women. The poor husband does
+what he can to prevent this, but when he discovers the actual existence
+of the evil, instead of resenting it, he appears to accept his mischance
+as an honour, such is his veneration for his spiritual superiors. The
+priest, however, is forced to use stratagem for the indulgence of his
+passion. The reverend personage usually goes by night and pushes against
+the kibitka of the woman on whom his choice has fallen; whereupon she
+pretends to believe that some animal is prowling about, gets up, takes a
+stick, and goes out to drive it away. The priest then absconds with her,
+and the husband suspects nothing. The princes share these privileges
+with the priests, only they carry matters with a higher hand. When a
+woman strikes their fancy, they take possession of her without ceremony,
+and send her back when they are tired of her company. As for the
+husband, his resignation under such circumstances is almost always
+exemplary. He knows, too, that he may count thenceforth on the patronage
+of the amorous prince, and commit sundry peccadilloes on the strength of
+it with impunity. The marital policy is the same with regard to the
+priests. Pallas, therefore, is wrong to express surprise at the fact
+that the Kalmuck hell provides no punishment for the sin of wantonness.
+This omission does honour to the sly sagacity of the Lamite priests, and
+proves how much they distrust their own virtue. As marriage is forbidden
+them, they are the more liable to sin in this way, and therefore it was
+not reasonable that in a religious system of their own making, they
+should inflict punishment on their own souls.
+
+We have already described the ceremonial garb of the priests, their
+ordinary costume consists of a wide tunic with sleeves, and a flat
+broad-brimmed hat of cloth. Yellow and red are their favourite colours.
+
+The priests always pitch their tents at a certain distance from the
+oulousse to which they are attached, and usually range them in a circle
+round a large open space, in the centre of which stand the kibitkas that
+serve them for temples. Such a camp is called a khouroul, and every
+evening the Kalmucks assemble there in great numbers to perform their
+religious duties. The temples are generally adorned with rich silk
+hangings, and with a great number of images. Opposite the door stands
+the altar with a little bronze image of Dchakdchamouni upon it, and a
+profusion of votive cups filled with grain and beans, as customary among
+the Brahmins; and one vessel of holy water in which several peacock's
+feathers are dipped. Holy water plays an important part in the religious
+ceremonies of Lamism; the ghetzuls distribute it in the great festivals
+to the people, who swallow some of it and wash their faces with the
+rest. It appears to be an infusion of saffron and sugar, but the
+Kalmucks attribute to it very marvellous properties. A lamp burns day
+and night before the idol, which is generally clad in brilliant silks,
+the head and hands alone remaining uncovered. A silk curtain hangs
+before the other images, and is only raised at the time of prayer.
+
+The priests practise in a most scandalous manner on the credulity of the
+people. The first thing a Kalmuck does when he falls ill, is to have
+recourse to the prayers and invocations of his priest. If he is poor he
+is usually let off for a pelisse or a cloak, which the ghelung carries
+off on the pretext that it is the abode of some evil genius who has
+caused all the patient's suffering. But when the sick man is a prince,
+the proceedings are in accordance with his fortune. In that case it is
+not in a pelisse or a cloak the demon abides; he is lodged in the very
+body of the prince, and the business is how to provide him with another
+dwelling. The backshau must be paid handsomely for finding a man who
+will take the disaster upon himself. This is usually some poor devil who
+is brought by fair means or by force into the sick man's tent, where
+after a multitude of odd ceremonies, he receives the name of the prince,
+and so the evil spirit passes into his body. He is then driven out of
+the oulousse with his whole family, and forbidden ever to set foot
+within it again. Persons so treated are called _Andin_ (fugitives). They
+may join another oulousse, but are always obliged to set up their tents
+at a distance from the general camp.
+
+The Kalmucks have three great annual festivals, which they always take
+care shall last at least a fortnight each. The chief of the three
+called, _Zackan Zara_, is in celebration of the return of spring; the
+second (_Urus Zara_), which falls about June, consists in the
+benediction of the waters; and the third (_Souloun Zara_, or the feast
+of the lamp) takes place in December. An altar is then erected in the
+open air, and on it are set a great number of sacred lamps and candles,
+which are lighted by the priests at the moment the new moon is visible,
+in presence of the whole assembled clergy and laity. I borrow from
+Bergmann a description of the feast of Zackan Zara at which he was
+present.
+
+"About noon," he says, "the sound of instruments gave token that the
+ceremony was about to begin, and I hastened to the khouroul, where the
+priests arranged in classes, and drawn up in line, were ready to begin
+the procession. The persons who only carried the instruments formed of
+themselves a considerable group. On the flanks of all those battalions
+of ghelungs, ghetzuls, and mandshis, floated sundry kinds of flags, some
+formed of strips of silk of many colours sewn in a ring, resembled the
+Roman ensigns; others like our banners were fixed to cross rods
+supported on long poles. We had not long to wait ere the chief priests,
+carrying with them large chests, came forth from a kibitka, and put
+themselves at the head of the multitude. They were closely followed by
+many others dressed in their richest attire, who eagerly pressed forward
+to assist in carrying the chests, or even to touch them with the tips of
+their fingers. As for the instruments, the timbrels were fixed on pieces
+of wood, and the great trumpets were supported by rods carried by some
+of the common people. The multitude that closed the procession were
+scarcely more numerous than the priests, and the old women alone
+testified their piety by sighs drawn from the bottom of their hearts. At
+some hundred paces from the khouroul, a scaffolding had been erected in
+the form of an altar thirteen or fourteen feet high, braced with ropes
+before and behind. In front of the altar was a circular space covered
+with carpets, and intended for the priests, with an immense red silk
+parasol to shade the high priest who filled the functions of Lama. The
+procession having reached the altar, the sacred chests were laid at its
+foot, and the images it contained were unmuffled. Everything was now
+ready to begin the ceremony when the Lama should arrive.
+
+"I availed myself of this pause to examine the sanctuary. On a yellow
+cloth richly embroidered with sacred flowers of a red colour, I saw
+several votive cups, and the gilded images of some deities. Right and
+left of the altar stood the banners, and in front of it, but outside the
+carpeted circle, were the instruments. Suddenly the music struck up, and
+the Lama arrived, borne in triumph in a palanquin, from which he
+alighted at a little distance from the altar. A signal was then given;
+the curtain that hung before the images was raised, and the priests, the
+princes, and the whole people prostrated themselves three times.
+
+"After this ceremony, the vice-khan Tchoutchei, who was present with his
+two sons, marched thrice with his whole suit round the circular space
+where the priests were squatted, and at last took his place beside the
+Grand Lama under the great parasol. His example was followed by his
+wife, only she took up her position outside the clerical circle, under a
+reserved pavilion where tea was presented to her. Large wooden vessels
+filled with tea, and cakes, were then set before the priests, and a
+great number of sheep intended for dinner were slaughtered. The repast,
+often interrupted by prayers and other ceremonies, was protracted until
+sunset. The images were then rolled up again, and the chests carried
+back in procession to the tents whence they had been taken. The same
+ceremonies were repeated on the two following days, but other bourkhans
+were exhibited to the worshippers."
+
+This feast of Zackan was instituted in honour of a victory achieved by
+Djackdjamouni over six false doctors with whom he contended for more
+than a week. Besides their great festivals, the Kalmucks have also three
+days in every month (the 7th, 15th, and 30th) on which they kill no sort
+of animal, but every faithful follower of Lama must live only on milk
+diet. The priests spend those days in the temple, praying from morning
+till night, and the people generally attend.
+
+The Kalmucks practise family devotions, consisting of prayers chanted
+with some degree of harmony, in an alternation of acute and grave sounds
+and slow and quick measures. They pray with a rosary somewhat like those
+used in Catholic countries, but oftener they perform that business by a
+mechanical process that does great honour to the inventive wit of the
+Lamites. To invoke Heaven in this way they have a drum or cylinder
+covered with Tangout characters, and containing several sacred writings
+in its interior, and the whole operation consists in making the cylinder
+revolve more or less rapidly by means of a cord. This very simple method
+of praying leaves the mind quite free, and does not hinder the Kalmucks
+from chatting, smoking, quarrelling, and abusing each other; provided
+the cylinder turns, the prayer is worked off of its own accord, and the
+bourkhans are quite satisfied. The followers of Lama believe this manual
+occupation to be highly meritorious, and imagine that the noise made by
+the sacred writings, when the cylinder revolves, rises to the throne of
+the deity and brings down his blessing. The princes have a still easier
+method of worshipping. Whenever they do not find it convenient to repeat
+their prayers orally, they plant before their tent a long pole to which
+is attached a flag inscribed with sacred verses; and thus they leave it
+to the winds to carry their homage to the throne of the bourkhans.
+
+Lucky or unlucky days are carefully observed by the Kalmucks. If one of
+the common people dies on a lucky day, he is buried, almost in the same
+way as among ourselves, and a small banner with a sort of epitaph is
+planted on his grave. On the contrary, if he dies on an unlucky day his
+body is laid on the ground, covered only with a felt or a mat, and the
+performance of his obsequies is left to carrion beasts and birds. In
+this case the relations or friends of the deceased watch to see by what
+kind of creature the corpse is first attacked, and from that fact they
+draw inferences as to how the soul fares in the other world. The rule is
+different with regard to princes, whose bodies are never exposed above
+ground. If they die on an unlucky day they are buried; otherwise they
+are burned with great pomp, and on the spot where they have expired a
+small chapel is erected, in which their ashes are deposited. The priests
+are still better off than the princes: die when they will they are
+always granted the honours of burning, provided they have had some
+reputation for sanctity in their lifetime; and their ashes are moulded
+into a little statue which is carried with great pomp to one of those
+small temples, called satzas, of which I have already spoken. The
+Kalmucks who greatly venerate the tombs of their priests, try as much as
+possible to keep the lamp in each of them perpetually burning. If it
+goes out, the first person who passes that way is bound to relight it.
+
+The habits of private life among the Kalmucks are of course in
+accordance with their state of civilisation and religious belief, and
+are strongly marked by all their gross superstitions. Yet certain of
+their customs are serious and affecting, and cannot fail to make an
+impression on the traveller. Others are curious for their patriarchal
+simplicity. When a woman is in labour, one or more priests are sent for,
+and whilst the husband runs round the tent with a big stick to drive
+away the evil spirits, the ghelungs stand at the door reciting prayers,
+and invoking the favour of the deity on the child about to be born. When
+the babe is come into the world, one of the relations goes out of the
+tent, and gives it the name of the first object he sees. This is the
+practice among all classes. I have known a prince _Little Dog_, and
+other individuals bearing the most whimsical names. The women remain
+veiled for many days after their delivery, and a certain time must
+elapse before they can be present at the religious ceremonies.
+
+The customs observed in marriages are more interesting, particularly
+when the young couple belong to the aristocracy. The preliminaries
+consist in stipulating the amount in horses, camels, and money, which
+the bridegroom is to pay to the bride's father; this being settled the
+young man sets out on horseback, accompanied by the chief nobles of his
+oulousse, to carry off his bride. A sham resistance is always made by
+the people of her camp, in spite of which she fails not to be borne away
+on a richly caparisoned horse, with loud shouts and _feux de joie_. When
+the party arrive at the spot where the kibitka of the new couple is to
+stand, and where the trivet supporting their great pot is already
+placed, the bride and bridegroom dismount, kneel down on carpets, and
+receive the benediction of their priests; then they rise, and, turning
+towards the sun, address their invocations aloud to the four elements.
+At this moment the horse on which the bride has been brought home is
+stripped of saddle and bridle, and turned loose for any one to catch and
+keep who can. The intention of this practice, which is observed only
+among the rich, is to signify to the bride that she is thenceforth to
+live only with her husband, and not think of returning to her parents.
+The setting up of the kibitka concludes the whole ceremony. The bride
+remains veiled until the tent is ready, and her husband taking off her
+veil, hands her into her new home. There is one curious incident in the
+marriages of the wealthy which deserves mention. The bride chooses a
+bridesmaid who accompanies her in her abduction; and when they come to
+the place for the kibitka, the bride throws her handkerchief among the
+men; whoever catches it must marry the bridesmaid. For a year after
+marriage the wife must confine herself to the tent, and during all that
+time can only receive visits on its threshold, even on the part of her
+parents. But when the year is out she is free to do just as she likes.
+
+All marriages are not contracted in this peaceable manner among the
+Kalmucks. When the relations cannot agree on the terms, which is no
+unusual case, the question is very often settled by force. If the young
+man is really enamoured he calls together his comrades and by force or
+cunning carries off the girl, who, after she has once entered his tent,
+cannot under any pretext be reclaimed by her parents.
+
+Lamism seems in the beginning to have forbidden polygamy and divorce,
+but these prohibitions have long become obsolete, and both practices are
+now legalised among all the Kalmucks. In case of infidelity on the
+wife's part, the repudiation takes place publicly, if the husband
+requires it. The most broken down horse that can be found is brought
+out, its tail is cut off, the guilty woman is mounted on its bare back,
+and hooted out of the oulousse. But these scenes occur very rarely; for
+the offended husband usually contents himself with sending his wife away
+privately, after giving her a few head of cattle for her support. The
+Kalmucks of the Caspian indulge very seldom in polygamy; indeed I never
+heard of more than one individual who had two wives. The condition of
+women among them is very different from what prevails in Turkey and
+great part of Asia; the restrictions of the harem are unknown, and both
+wives and maids enjoy the greatest independence, and may freely expose
+their faces to view on all occasions.
+
+I have spoken of the efforts made by the Moravian brethren of Sarepta to
+convert the Kalmucks, and of the intolerant manner in which the Russian
+clergy put a stop to them. Though we are by no means partisans of
+spiritual missions, and are of opinion that the apostles of our day
+often do more harm than good, still we cannot but regret the decision
+adopted by the synod. By their position, their industry, the simplicity
+of their religious notions, and their knowledge of the country, the
+Moravians are most favourably circumstanced for effecting the
+civilisation and social improvement of the Kalmucks; and there are some
+men among them who really understand their task. Buddhism, as practised
+among the Kalmucks tends to cramp all intellectual growth. Consisting
+exclusively in gross and burlesque superstitions, though liberality and
+equality were its fundamental principles, that religion can now only
+serve to brutalise the people, and retain them under the yoke of a
+grasping and fraudulent clergy. In this point of view a conversion to
+more rational doctrines would evidently be for the welfare of the
+Kalmucks; but the change should not be accomplished under the influence
+of so ignorant and superstitious a clergy as that of the Russian church;
+for it would be better to leave the Kalmucks to their old creed, and
+trust to time for their emancipation from the control of their priests.
+After all, the civilisation of these tribes is a difficult problem.
+Looking to the arid land in which they dwell, we must confess that it
+would be fatal to them were they subjected to our rules of life. I
+resided a considerable time among them, and inured myself in a great
+degree to their habits; and when on returning to our civilised towns, I
+was again a witness of the struggles, passions, vices, and evils that
+torment most of the nations of Europe, I could not but wish from my
+heart that the Kalmucks may long retain their native habits, and very
+long remain safe from that ambitious civilisation that gnaws the souls
+of the various classes of our populations.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Oubacha's emigration left the plains of the Ural unoccupied for many
+years, and it was not until the beginning of this century that some
+Khirghis tribes of the Little Horde entered on possession of them with
+the consent of the Russian government. Few at first, their numbers
+rapidly increased by new emigrations, and at last Russia conferred upon
+the Khirghis colony the entire and authenticated possession of about
+7,075,700 hectares of land. More fortunate than the Kalmucks, this
+people still enjoys a certain degree of independence, in appearance at
+least if not in reality. They have their sovereign khan, pay no tax, and
+the only obligation imposed on them is to furnish a corps of cavalry in
+time of war.
+
+It is hard to know exactly the number of these Khirghis. The Russian
+government is always solicitous to persuade the world of the prosperity
+of its subject peoples, and to this end it publishes very fallacious
+documents. Thus in a supplement to the journal of the ministry of the
+interior, August 30, 1841, the population of the horde is set down at
+16,550 tents, whereas the real number is but 8000, as appears from an
+extract taken in my presence at Astrakhan from the official documents of
+the military governor. But as the editor of the St. Petersburg journal
+judiciously remarks, the tribe cannot but have augmented rapidly under
+the wise administration of Russia, and it is from his admiration for his
+government he deduces the best proof in support of his statistical
+statements. Such arguments have not much weight with us, and we even
+suspect that the number 8000 is an exaggeration, and that the Khirghis
+have remained faithful to Russia only because they cannot do otherwise,
+since the government has taken the precaution of imprisoning them
+between two lines of Cossacks, those of the Ural and the Volga. Besides,
+if I may judge from the facts communicated to me at Astrakhan, the
+immigration of the Khirghis was not so free as the government is pleased
+to proclaim it to have been. Both force and fraud were employed to make
+them settle in regions from which Russia derived no profit since the
+flight of the Kalmucks.
+
+The Khirghis are nomades, living in felt tents, and employed in cattle
+rearing, like the Kalmucks. But they profess the Mahometan religion,
+belong evidently to the Turkish race, and have been from all time
+implacable foes to the Mongol hordes. Latterly, however, they appear to
+have lived in harmony with the Kalmucks of the Volga. Their khan often
+visits Prince Tumene, and in 1836 more than 2000 Khirghis encamped on
+the banks of the Volga, and took part in the grand entertainments given
+by the Kalmuck chief to the government authorities. But this state of
+peace is only the result of imperious necessity; if the hordes were
+independent, their old animosities would soon break out again.
+
+The present khan of the Khirghis is Giangour Boukevitch, who is reputed
+to be an able man, and desirous of introducing European civilisation
+among his people. The Emperor Nicholas had a handsome wooden house
+erected for him at the foot of the sand-hills called Ryn Peski, but he
+seldom resides in it. A few paltry buildings have been subsequently
+erected, through the strenuous intervention of the Russian _employes_,
+but it would be extravagant to behold in a score of cabins the elements
+of a future capital, as a certain St. Petersburg journal is pleased to
+do. The Khirghis will not so readily forsake their nomade ways. Their
+territory is hardly better than that of the Kalmucks; and their khan
+himself, obliged to camp out during the greater part of the year, in
+order to find fodder for his cattle, only returns to his pretended
+capital when the inclemency of winter drives him from his felt kibitka.
+It is necessary to exercise extreme caution and rigid criticism
+respecting all things pertaining to Russia, if we would arrive at the
+truth; for otherwise we shall be every moment in danger of mistaking for
+an indication of improvement and increased prosperity what is but the
+result of arbitrary power. We have repeatedly noticed instances of such
+mistakes on the part of travellers who have recently visited the
+southern portions of the empire. Never was any power more prodigal of
+outward decorations than the Muscovite; Russia is of all countries that
+which most lavishly expends its money to please the eye. To Potemkin
+belongs the honour of having been the first to play off these
+mystifications, when he got up extemporaneous villages and herds of
+cattle all along the road travelled by Catherine II. in her journey to
+the Crimea. He has had no lack of successors ever since. Alleys of
+acacias spring up by enchantment in the new towns; churches and houses
+with columns and porticoes; magnificent double eagles bearing the crown
+and the sceptre; numerous bureaucratic sign-boards with gilded
+inscriptions, &c., are seen on all hands. This mania of wishing to
+appear what one is not, which has always characterised the Russians,
+seems to us one of their greatest obstacles to all real improvement, and
+to be one of the most dangerous maladies of the empire. Certainly it is
+a defect not easy to be avoided by a backward people who aspire to put
+themselves on a level with their more advanced neighbours; but in
+Russia, unhappily, artificial ostentation has been systematised; not
+only does it exist among individuals, but it forms the basis of all the
+acts of the government; from one end of the empire to the other, in the
+towns and in the steppes of the Caspian, its costly stage scenery is
+everywhere to be found; it has become the aim and the fixed idea of
+every man, from the ministers of state down to the lowest _employe_; and
+whilst millions are uselessly expended to adorn the drapery of the
+theatre, the framework of the social edifice is allowed to go to ruin.
+The future welfare and the real progress of the country are deemed of
+little moment, provided the vanity of the day be satisfied, and the
+comedy be well played before his majesty and the strangers whom
+curiosity induces to visit Russia.
+
+After the Khirghis, we have also on the left bank of the Volga, near its
+mouths, a small Tatar horde, called Koundrof, an offshoot of the great
+tribe of the Kouban. These Tatars, who number about 1100 tents, were
+formerly bestowed by Russia as vassals upon the khans of the Kalmucks,
+but they were adroit enough to escape from taking part in Oubacha's
+famous emigration. Unavailing attempts have been subsequently made to
+colonise them. The governor of Astrakhan made them build two villages
+thirty years ago; but they soon abandoned those fixed dwellings, and
+resumed their old roving habits.
+
+Lastly, there are the black Nogais, who occupy the banks of the Terek,
+to the number of 8432 tents. We shall speak of them in detail in the
+next chapter.
+
+
+_Table of the Nomade Population of the Governments of Astrakhan and the
+Caucasus._
+
+                            Families.
+
+  Kalmucks                   15,500
+  Khirghis                    8,000
+  Koundrof Tatars            11,000
+  Sertof Tatars                 112
+  Black Nogais                8,432
+  Turcomans                   3,838
+                             ------
+           Total             36,982
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[48] After the curious researches of M. Ferdinand Denis, respecting the
+cosmography and the fantastic histories of the middle ages, we can no
+longer wonder at the singular conceptions of the Kalmucks. The world of
+Cosmas has likewise its four great sacred rivers, and he, too, like the
+followers of the Dalai Lama, makes the sun and the stars revolve round a
+mystic column. We might point out many other analogies between the
+Mongol myths and those of the medieval writers; but we will rather refer
+the reader to the enchanted world of M. Denis, to those elegant and
+poetic pages in which the learned librarian of Sainte Genevieve has so
+ably demonstrated the historical importance of all those fabulous
+legends, which at first appear to be only the idle ravings of an
+extravagant imagination.
+
+[49] The priests, however, have endeavoured to persuade the people that
+there are five sins which inevitably draw down everlasting punishment:
+these are irreverence towards the gods, thefts committed in the temples,
+disrespect to parents, murder, and, of course, offences against the
+clergy. These ideas are for all that in contradiction to the sacred
+books; but it is not surprising that the ministers of the Grand Lama
+have sought to give them vogue amongst the multitude.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+      THE TATARS AND MONGOLS--THE KAPTSHAK--HISTORY AND TRADITIONS
+      OF THE NOGAIS.
+
+
+Perhaps no people has given occasion to more discussions than the Tatars
+and Mongols, nor is the problem of their origin completely solved in our
+day, notwithstanding the most learned investigations. Some admit that
+the Tatars and Mongols formed but one nation, others allege that they
+are two essentially different races. According to Lesveque d'Herbelot
+and Lesur[50] the Tatars are but Turks. Klaproth,[51] while he asserts
+that the Tatars and Mongols spring from the same stock, nevertheless
+regards the white Tatars, whom Genghis Khan conquered, as Turks. Lastly,
+D'Ohson in his remarkable history of the Mongols, treats the Mongols and
+Tatars as distinct races, but does not admit the theory of the Turkish
+origin. The same uncertainty that hangs over the Mongol and Tatar hordes
+of the fourteenth century, prevails with regard to the people who, under
+the name of Tatars, now dwell in the southern part of the Russian
+empire; and they have been considered sometimes as descendants of the
+Turkish tribes that occupied those regions previously to the twelfth
+century, sometimes as remnants of the conquering Mongol Tatars. Let us
+try to unravel this tangled web of opinions, and see what may be the
+least problematical origin of these various nations.
+
+The Chinese writers for the first time make mention of the Tatar people
+in the eighth century of our era, under the name of Tata, and consider
+them as a branch of the Mongols. The general and historian, Meng
+Koung,[52] who died in 1246, and who commanded a Chinese force sent to
+aid the Mongols against the Kin, informs us in his memoirs that a part
+of the Tatar horde, formerly dispersed or subdued by the Khitans,[53]
+quitted the In Chan mountains,[54] where they had taken refuge, and
+joined their countrymen, who dwelt north-east of the Khitans. The white
+Tatars and the savage or black Tatars then formed the most important
+tribes of those regions.
+
+According to D'Ohson, the Chinese comprehended under the name of Tatars
+all the nomade hordes that occupied the regions north of the desert of
+Sha No, either because the Tatars were the nearest, or because they were
+the most powerful of all those tribes. The intercourse of the Chinese
+with the west of Asia, would have afterwards served to give currency to
+the general denomination by which they designated their nomade vassals;
+and thus from the commencement of the power of the Genghis Khan, those
+tribes would have been already known by the name of Tatars,[55] which
+was propagated from nation to nation until it reached Europe, although
+it was repudiated with contempt by the conquerors themselves, as that of
+a nation they had exterminated. It is a fact established by the
+statements of many writers, and by D'Ohson himself, that Genghis Khan
+annihilated the white Tatars, and thus it has come to pass by a most
+curious freak of accident, that this extinguished people became
+celebrated all over the East by the conquests of its very destroyers.
+
+Jean du Plan de Carpin expresses himself still more positively: "The
+country of the Tatars," he says, "bears the name of Mongal,[56] and is
+inhabited by four different peoples, the Jeka Mongals, that is to say,
+the Great Mongals; the Sou Mongals, or the Fluviatile Mongals, who call
+themselves Tatars from the name of the river that flows through their
+territory; the Merkit and the Mecrit. All these peoples have the same
+personal characteristics and the same language, though belonging to
+different provinces, and ruled by divers princes."[57] He then goes on
+to speak of the birth of Genghis Khan among the Jeka Mongals, and of his
+conflicts with the Sou Mongals and the other _Tatar_ tribes.
+
+On comparing this author with the Chinese writers mentioned and
+commented on in the works of de Guignes, Abel Remusat and D'Ohson, it
+will appear beyond all question that the Jeka Mongals are none other
+than the black Tatars, and that the Sou Mongals are the representatives
+of the white Tatars. As for the Merkit and the Mecrit, we confess, with
+M. d'Avezac, that our knowledge of them amounts only to conjecture; but,
+whatever was their origin, they are of but little importance with regard
+to the question we are now discussing.
+
+The old Mohammedan authors, such as Massoudi and Ebn Haoucal, who treat
+of the nations of Asia, appear not to have known the Tatars, for they
+never speak of them. Their name figures, however, in a Persian
+abridgment of universal history, entitled "Modjmel ut Tevarikh el
+Coussas;" and Reschyd el Dyn calls the Tatars a people famous throughout
+the world; but it would be difficult to extract from these authorities
+any precise argument for the solution of our problem. After all, as
+previously to the days of Genghis Khan, the most important tribe of
+Mongols bore the name of Tatars, it is not surprising that the Mussulman
+writers included the whole of that people under this denomination. The
+Chinese, on the contrary, being in close intercourse with the Tatars,
+their vassals, must of course have known their generic name, and
+transmitted it to us.
+
+Now let us recapitulate. If we reflect that Genghis Khan, though born in
+the tribe especially designated as black Tatars, yet adopted the
+denomination of Mongols for his people; that historians have been
+unanimous in calling Genghis Khan's soldiers Mongols; that the Chinese
+chroniclers, De Guignes, and many others, have considered the Tatars as
+only a branch of the Mongols; that Du Plan de Carpin himself begins his
+history with these words: "_Incipit historia Mongalorum quos nos
+Tartaros appellamus_," it will not be easy to deny, that previously to
+the twelfth century, previously to the great Asiatic invasions, the
+Tatars and Mongols were parts of one nation, belonging to one race. If
+subsequently the hordes of Genghis renounced their special name, this
+circumstance must be ascribed to the sanguinary contest which Jessoukai
+and his son, Genghis Khan, had to sustain against their oppressors, the
+white Tatars, then the principal tribe in those regions. But the term
+Tatar still prevailed in Europe, though it continued to be regarded as
+synonymous with Mongol by all the Chinese writers, and by most of those
+of other nations.
+
+The religious and political constitution of the various Mongol or Tatar
+branches before Genghis Khan, is very imperfectly known to us, and
+affords us no manner of ground for presuming a positive separation into
+two races. According to the Mongol work, "The Source of the Heart,"
+written in the beginning of the thirteenth century it appears that
+Lamism was first adopted by Genghis Khan, and that it became under his
+successors the prevailing religion of the Mongols proper. Marco Polo's
+narrative seems nevertheless to prove, that at the end of the thirteenth
+century the Mongols had not yet entirely adopted the creed and rites of
+Lamism; we now find it professed by all the Kalmucks of Russia.
+
+In later times, after the invasions by Genghis Khan and his sons, the
+Europeans, through ignorance or heedlessness, gave the name of Tatars
+not only to the tribes who had figured in those Asiatic irruptions, but
+also to the Mahometans, who had once been masters of the regions
+adjacent to the Caspian and the Black Sea, and had been subjugated by
+those conquerors; hence have arisen in a great measure all the mistakes
+and discussions respecting the origin of the Tatars. After the Mongol
+torrent had subsided, Europeans persisted in giving the appellation of
+Tatars to all those Mussulman nations originally of Turkish origin, that
+to this day occupy the territory of Kasan and Astrakhan, the Crimea and
+the region called Turcomania, situated between the Belur Mountains, Lake
+Aral, and the Caspian Sea; and as all these nations exhibited a
+religious, political, and moral character peculiar to themselves, people
+were naturally led to distinguish them from the Mongols, and to
+attribute to them a special origin. Thus Pallas and many other
+travellers, after visiting the Mahometans of Southern Russia, and
+comparing them with the Kalmucks, have made of the Tatars and Mongols
+two distinct races; and Malte Brun, in his geography, has given the name
+of Tatar to all the tribes established in our day in Turkistan, applying
+that of Mongol exclusively to the nations inhabiting the central
+tableland of Asia, from Lake Palcati and the Belur Mountains to the
+great wall of China, and to the Siolky Mountains which separate them
+from the Manchous, a tribe of the great race of the Tongouses. All these
+writers have failed to observe, that the appellation Tatar lost all
+signification in Asia under the destroying power of Genghis Khan, and
+has ever since existed only in the European vocabulary.
+
+Doubtless, Genghis Khan and his successors did not achieve all their
+conquests by the arms of the Mongols alone; and after having subjugated
+all the Mahometan nations occupying the vast regions of Turcomania and a
+part of Western Asia, they of course incorporated them with their
+hordes, and employed them in their European invasions.
+
+What, then, are we to suppose is the origin of all those tribes who,
+under the name of Tatars, now inhabit the south of Russia? We agree
+entirely with the opinion put forth in Courtin's "Encyclopedie Moderne,"
+that these Tatars are nothing but Turks, Comans, or Petshenegues, who
+having been at the commencement of the thirteenth century masters of all
+the countries north and west of the Caspian Sea as far the Dniepr, were
+afterwards subdued by the sons of Genghis Khan, and contributed towards
+the foundation of a new empire comprised between the Dniepr and the
+Emba, to which was given the name of Kaptshak, or Kiptshak, a
+designation which appears to have been originally that of the territory.
+
+The princes of this empire were Mongols or Tatars, but the majority of
+their subjects were Turks. It appears even that the latter formed a
+large portion of the armies of Genghis Khan in his late expeditions. The
+Turkish language thus remained predominant throughout the Kaptshak,
+Little and Great Bokhara, and among the Bashkirs and Tchouvaches. A few
+Mongol words are still found in the Turkish dialect of the Russian
+Mahometans, but they are extremely rare, and this may be easily
+explained. The soldiers of the Mongol army were of course bachelors, and
+when they married Kaptshak women, their children adopted the language of
+their mothers. The sovereigns themselves of this new empire soon
+embraced Mahometanism. Bereke, the brother and successor of Batou, set
+the first example; Usbeck Khan, who reigned in 1305, followed in his
+steps, and declared himself the protector of Islam, which thenceforth
+became the creed of the conquerors as well as of the conquered.
+
+It must not be inferred from the preceding statement that the Turks and
+Mongols may not, in more remote times, have belonged to one and the same
+race; we are not quite of that opinion; we have considered the Turkish
+race only under the conditions in which it appeared in Europe and Asia
+about the twelfth century, that is to say, modified by long contact with
+the Caucasian nations, and we have left altogether out of view what it
+may previously have been. Moreover, if De Guignes is rightly informed,
+the inhabitants of the Kaptshak are really of Mongol origin, and the
+soldiers of Genghis Khan took pains to prove to them that they were
+their countrymen.
+
+Towards the close of the fifteenth century, the empire of the Kaptshak
+was divided into several khanats--Kasan, Astrakhan, and the Crimea, the
+rulers of which, descended from Genghis, were all Mongols; but then they
+had no longer armies drawn from the interior of Asia, and the Turkish
+element finally prevailed throughout the whole population. Still, it
+cannot be denied that the Mahometan hordes of Russia present some
+resemblance to the Mongols, and this tends to confirm the ideas we have
+expressed above. But then it is obvious that two nations that served so
+long under the same banners, and lived under the same government, must
+have intermarried with each other, and that their blood must have been
+frequently mingled. Moreover, it is a most remarkable fact, with what
+pertinacity the Mongol type maintains its identity in spite of the
+mixture of many generations; a few marriages are sufficient to spread
+traces of it in the course of a certain time, over a whole nation. I
+have seen one example of this in the Cossacks, who have been living
+amidst the Kalmucks for about two hundred years.
+
+The Tatars in the mountains of the Crimea more rarely exhibit Mongol
+features; the Greek profile is frequently found among them. This
+difference is owing to their mixture with the Goths, the Greeks, and the
+remnants of other nations that have successively overrun the peninsula.
+
+The Nogais, who inhabit the plains of the Crimea, and the steppes of
+the Sea of Azof, are unquestionably the nearest in appearance to the
+Mongols of all the Tatars, and generally their physiognomy is such as
+cannot be attributed to any other origin. Moreover, according to their
+own traditions, they never made part of the Kaptshak, nor did they
+arrive in Europe until subsequently to the death of Genghis Khan, after
+having dwelt from time immemorial, if not with the Mongols, at least in
+their vicinity.
+
+According to Lesveque, the horde of the Nogais, long the most celebrated
+of the west after that of the Kaptshak, was constituted in the
+thirteenth century by Nogai, a Tatar general, who, after conquering the
+countries north of the Black Sea, succeeded in forming a state
+independent of the Kaptshak. The traditions I collected among the Nogais
+themselves, make no mention whatever of a general of that name; their
+chronicles allege that the name of the nation is derived from _neogai_
+(which may be translated by the phrase, _mayst thou never know
+happiness_), and that it was bestowed on them in their old country, on
+account of their precarious and vagabond life.[58] I am inclined to
+adopt this opinion; for considering the importance which the Nogais
+attach to nobility and to antiquity of race, it would be very
+extraordinary that they should not have preserved the name of the
+founder of their power. The same traditions relate that after the death
+of Genghis Khan, the horde whence the Nogais of the Crimea are
+descended, arrived under the command of Djanibek Khan on the Volga, the
+left bank of which it kept possession of for many years. Part of this
+horde afterwards crossed the river, and advancing to the foot of the
+Caucasus, settled on the Kouma and the Terek. The principal tribe of
+these Tatars, and the same of which we are about to speak, soon forsook
+those regions, and after crossing the Don, the Dniepr, and the Dniestr,
+finally settled in Bessarabia, in the country called Boudjiak. There it
+remained more than half a century; but being continually harassed by the
+Turks and Moldavians, it abandoned its new country, retraced its steps,
+and under the command of Jannat Bey, traversed the Crimea and the
+Straits of Kertch. After reaching the banks of the Kouban, the horde was
+broken up, by internal dissensions, into three branches, the largest of
+which remained on the Kouban, and the others recrossed the straits. One
+of these tribes fixed itself on the plains of the Crimea, and the other
+returned to Bessarabia, partly by land, partly by sea.
+
+The Nogais of the Kouban again divided into several tribes, some of
+which connected themselves with the Kalmuck hordes, others with the
+mountaineers of the Caucasus. During all these emigrations, they were
+successively commanded by Jam Adie, Kani Osman, and Kalil Effendi, the
+Tatar of the Crimea. The latter, at the head of one of the principal
+tribes the Kouban, marched along the eastern coast of the Sea of Azof,
+crossed the Don, and encamped on the banks of the Moloshnia Vodi, where
+he died; his tomb still exists near the Nogai village of Keneges, on the
+Berda. He was succeeded by Asit Bey, who ruled for seventeen years, and
+was the last Tatar chief; he died in 1824. But long before his death, in
+the time of Catherine II., these Nogai hordes were completely subjected
+to the laws of the empire, and were under the management of Russian
+officials. Count Maison, a French emigrant, was appointed their governor
+in 1808, and he it was, who by dint of perseverance, made them renounce
+their nomade ways, and settle in villages.
+
+The Nogais now occupy the whole region between the Sea of Azof and the
+Moloshnia Vodi. They are about 52,000 souls, residing in seventy-six
+villages. As long as they were vagrants they remained very poor,
+cultivating no grain but millet, which was their usual food, and of this
+they could hardly procure a sufficient supply. Turbulent, fickle, and
+thievish, they had an insurmountable aversion for all steady toil, and
+particularly for agricultural labour; their occupations were tending
+cattle, hunting, riding, music, and dancing. They were fond of
+assembling and sitting in a ring, smoking and hearing the traditions of
+their forefathers. All the cares of the household fell upon the women.
+Their clothes, cooking utensils, bread, &c., they procured in exchange
+for cattle. They seldom remained many months in one spot; an hour was
+enough for them to pack up wife, children, and goods in their araba,[59]
+and then moving at random towards some other point of the horizon, they
+carried with them all they possessed. "Such is the order established by
+God himself," cried the Nogai, "to us he has given wheels, to other
+nations fixed dwellings and the plough." There was little wealth among
+them in those times, though there was a certain overbearing aristocracy
+that monopolised all the gifts of fortune and power to the detriment of
+the other members of the community, many of whom, either through
+ignorance or sloth, became even slaves of the shrewder and braver. Such
+was the origin of the authority of the Mourzas, or noble chiefs of the
+_aouls_ (villages, encampments).
+
+The Nogais had for their emigrations, like the Kalmucks, circular tents
+of felt, three or four yards in diameter, and conical at top. In winter,
+they constructed earthen huts beside their kibitkas. Such cold and damp
+dwellings were very prejudicial to health, as was proved by the
+multitude of children that died every year.
+
+Under Count Maison's wise and disinterested administration, all these
+old habits disappeared by degrees, and the Nogais began to improve their
+condition. By dint of patience and zeal they were prevailed on to build
+commodious dwellings, and having once established themselves in
+villages, their prosperity went on regularly increasing, and every man
+had the means of procuring subsistence for his family by his own
+labour. Count Maison is still remembered by the Nogais with the most
+lively gratitude, but his honesty did not protect him from malevolence
+and intrigues; it provoked against him all the subordinate functionaries
+whose peculations he prevented; and after enduring disgusts and
+annoyances without number, he sent in his resignation to St. Petersburg
+in 1821. Since that time the Nogais have had no special governor, but
+are under the control of functionaries attached to the ministry of the
+interior, who reside in their villages. They have, however, preserved
+the judicial authority of their cadis, and the Russian tribunals only
+take cognizance of those criminal and civil cases which the cadis cannot
+decide. The Nogais are exempt from military service, but they pay money
+contributions to the crown, at the rate of thirty rubles for each
+family.
+
+For about fifteen years past a Mennonite of the German colonies has of
+his own accord continued the work so judiciously begun by Count Maison.
+M. Cornies, one of the most remarkable men in New Russia, deservedly
+exercises the greatest influence over the Nogais, among whom his advice
+and exertions have already produced some excellent results. The
+miserable villages of former days have been gradually superseded by
+pretty houses in the German style, surrounded with gardens, and
+agriculture has made such progress, that a large number of farmers are
+now able to export corn.
+
+The Nogais are rather strict observers of the precepts of Islam. Their
+country contains eleven mosques, and each village has several houses for
+prayer. Their clergy are subject to the mufti of the Crimea and of his
+representative, who resides in the aoul of Emmaout; they consist of
+effendi mollahs, mollas, and cadis. The mollahs take tithe of all grain,
+and a fortieth of the cattle. Their functions are to call the people to
+prayer, to pray for the sick, write talismans, preside at sacrifices,
+marriages, and funerals, and perform all the rites of public worship.
+The effendi mollahs draw up articles of marriage and divorce; and, in
+concert with the village elders, they decide all quarrels and suits
+between husband and wife, and all questions relative to the sale of the
+latter. They also fulfil along with the cadis the duties of interpreters
+of the law, and preceptors of the Koran. Circumcision, which boys
+undergo at ten or twelve years of age, is performed by the bab (father),
+whose office is hereditary. Hadjis, or pilgrims, who have visited the
+kaaba of Mecca, though they have no official duties, still possess great
+authority, and are consulted on almost all occasions; they are
+distinguished by a green or white shawl rolled round their woollen caps.
+The pilgrimage to Mecca, is not quite obligatory on the Nogais, who
+generally exempt themselves from it by means of offerings and
+sacrifices. The new measures adopted by the Russians render this journey
+very difficult, and the Tatars must soon renounce it altogether. Every
+individual is bound before he sets out to prove that he takes with him
+at least 120_l._; his passport costs him nearly 8_l._, and if he does
+not return, the whole village where he was born is bound to pay his
+quota of taxation until a new census of the population is made.
+
+Expiatory sacrifices are very common among the Nogais: they take place
+during the Kourban Bairam, on the occasion of a death, for the
+commemoration of deceased persons, on the celebration of a marriage, on
+return from a journey, and as an atonement for the omission of any
+religious duty. Those who offer them up invite to their houses their
+friends and relations, and the poor of the village, to whom they give a
+good portion of the victim, which is either a sheep or a cow, according
+to the wealth of the individual, or the importance of the occasion.
+
+The great forty days fast of Ramazan is strictly observed only by aged
+persons of either sex. Curiously enough the obligation of prayer is
+imposed only on persons aged forty or fifty; the seventh day of the
+Mussulman week, which corresponds to our Friday, is celebrated only by
+the priests and some devout old men. The prohibition against wine is not
+at all regarded by the young, especially in travelling. In general the
+rising generation of Nogais pay very little heed to the commandments of
+Mahomet, and by no means share this religious fanaticism of the Asiatic
+Mussulmans. Long and handsome beards are held in great veneration among
+them. Old men shave the whole head, but the young leave a small tuft
+growing on the top of the crown. This custom obliges them to wear
+woollen caps in all seasons.
+
+The Nogais have generally two wives, and some even three, but this is a
+very rare case. The plurality and sale of wives frequently occasion
+quarrels, brawls, and acts of bloody vengeance.
+
+Charity, which is regarded in the Koran as one of the greatest virtues,
+extends only to the poor who beg from door to door, and who are usually
+given a little bread and millet. Orphans and old people are left to the
+care of their friends or relations, for the Nogais have no public
+establishment for the indigent. The fidelity of the Nogais is
+proverbial; even the most thievish of them would never betray a trust
+reposed in them. As for the ancient hospitality, it is now only
+exercised from habit, and very rarely from virtue. Still they invariably
+afford the most cordial welcome to every aged Mussulman or hadji, and in
+these cases their hospitality is quite patriarchal. Reverence for the
+aged is considered by them as a sacred duty.
+
+One of the most striking characteristics of these Tatars is their
+excessive vanity with regard to every thing that concerns the nobility
+of their ancestors. It shows itself not only towards strangers, but also
+in their dealings with each other. They profess likewise the most
+profound contempt for the Persians, the Turks, and even for the mountain
+Tatars of the Crimea, and deem it a dishonour to intermarry with those
+nations, which yet are of the same creed, if not of the same origin with
+themselves.
+
+The Nogai alternates between total supineness and extraordinary
+exertion, so that to make any profit of him he must be employed by task
+work and not by the day. This sloth, however, is not so much a vice
+inherent in the character of the nation as a result of its old vagrant
+and precarious existence, and of its limited wants. On the other hand,
+the nomade habits of other days have developed the capacity of this
+people in a remarkable degree, and whether as artisans or journeymen,
+agriculturists or manufacturers, the Nogais invariably give proof of
+great ability and skill.
+
+The Nogai is of moderate stature, but well proportioned; his movements
+are free and unembarrassed, and his attitude is never awkward under any
+circumstances. The women are, like all those of the East, comely when
+young; but when old they are horribly ugly. Neither sex exhibits any
+decided national physiognomy; countenances both of the Circassian and
+the Mongol type are very common among them.
+
+The Nogai constructs his own cottage with bricks dried in the sun, and
+whitewashes it regularly once a year within and without. Its dimensions
+are scarcely more than two or three-and-thirty feet by thirteen. The
+roof consists of a few rafters on which are laid reeds and branches of
+trees loaded with earth and ashes. A dwelling of this kind hardly costs
+more than 100 rubles; others of a larger size, with a floor and ceiling
+of wood, cost from 400 to 500 rubles. Each dwelling consists of two
+rooms, the kitchen, which is next the entrance, and the family room. The
+kitchen contains a fireplace, an iron pot, wooden vessels for milk and
+butter, harness and agricultural implements; the second room, which
+serves as a dormitory, is furnished with felt carpets, quilts, a pile of
+cushions, boxes containing clothes, and a dozen of napkins embroidered
+with coloured silk or cotton, according to the fortune of the family,
+and hung round the room. When the Nogai has two or more wives he
+constructs his house in such a manner that each of them may have her
+separate room.
+
+The costume of the Nogais is commodious. It consists of wide trousers, a
+cotton or woollen shirt, and a short caftan, fastened round the waist
+with a leathern girdle. Their head-dress is a cylindrical cap of
+lamb's-skin. In the winter they wear a sheep's-skin over the caftan, and
+in snowy weather they muffle themselves in a bashlik, or hood, which
+conceals their head and shoulders.
+
+The women wear a shift, a cloth caftan, belted above the hips with a
+broad girdle adorned with large metal buckles, Turkish trousers and
+slippers. Their head-dress is a white veil fastened to the crown of the
+head, with the two ends hanging gracefully on the shoulders. They wear
+little silver finger and nose rings, and heavy earrings often connected
+by a chain passing under the chin. Young girls part their hair into a
+multitude of tresses, and instead of the veil wear a little red
+skull-cap bedizened with bits of metal and all sorts of gewgaws.
+
+The Nogais eat mutton, beef, mares' flesh, &c., fish, and dairy
+produce. They prepare koumiss from mares' milk, and esteem it above all
+other liquors. They also kill sick horses for food, and very often do
+not disdain the flesh of one that has died a natural death. Mares'
+flesh, minced, forms the chief part of a national dish called _tarama_,
+which the men eat with their friends in token of sincerity and
+brotherhood. The women are not allowed to partake of these repasts.
+Their favourite dish is millet boiled in water, with a little sour milk
+called _tchourtzch_. Kalmuck tea is also much esteemed, and since the
+improvement of agriculture, the use of bread, which was formerly
+unknown, is gradually spreading among them.
+
+Their most common diseases are fever, small-pox, ulcers, itch, and
+syphilis. No one takes any means either to avoid or cure them. Charms
+are the only medicine known to the Nogais, and they are even quite
+indifferent to certain maladies which they attribute to fatality. They
+attribute great medicinal virtues to pepper, alum, sugar, and honey. The
+mortality of infants is frightful among them, and accounts for the
+stationary condition in which the population has long remained.
+
+No system of education as yet exists among the Nogais; their children
+grow up like the young of animals. Every village, indeed, possesses a
+cabin decorated with the name of school, in which the clergy give some
+imperfect lessons in the Tatar language and writing; but the rest of
+their teaching, which is exclusively religious, consists in the reading
+of Arabic books, which the teachers understand no better than the
+pupils.
+
+The rearing of cattle, particularly horses, forms the chief occupation
+of the Nogais. Their horses are of the Kalmuck Khirghis race, nimble and
+robust, though of moderate size, and usually fetch from 100 to 120
+rubles: they pass the whole year in the steppe, and have to find their
+food under the snow in winter. The horned cattle is small. The cows sell
+for twenty or thirty rubles; they give little milk, and are generally
+unprofitable. Camels are little used and seldom seen.
+
+In Count Maison's time the Nogais were required to sow, at least, two
+tchetverts of corn per head, which made a total of about 40,000
+tchetverts for the whole population. A year after the count's
+retirement, the seed sown in the whole territory did not exceed 19,000
+tchetverts, and the quantity went on diminishing from year to year. But
+since the disastrous winters, for cattle, of 1836 and 1837, the Nogais
+have been induced, by M. Cornies, to apply themselves again to
+agriculture, and the women have taken a part with the men in field
+labours.
+
+Their mode of cultivating the ground is extremely defective; they have
+bad ploughs drawn by four or five pair of oxen, whilst their neighbours,
+the Germans, do infinitely more work with but two. The harvest generally
+takes place in July, and is a season of great jollity. Gipsy musicians
+stroll over the country at that period, and collect an ample store of
+wheat and millet. The corn is trodden out by horses in the open air: the
+best, which is called _arnaout_, sells at from seven to twelve rubles
+the tchetvert. The territory of the Nogais is still common property, and
+the want of finite boundaries occasions many quarrels, especially at
+harvest time.
+
+As usual, among eastern nations, the Nogai women do all the household
+drudgery, for the men think it beneath them to take part in it. The poor
+mother of the family is therefore obliged to prepare the victuals with
+her own hands, to wash the linen, milk the cows and mares, keep the
+house in repair, churn butter, &c., and take care of the children. She
+must also gather the firewood, prepare all the drinkables, make candles
+and soap, and dress the sheep-skins to make pelisses for all the family.
+This is hard drudgery, and a few years of such married life suffice to
+make her old. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the
+Nogai cannot content himself with one wife, and that the purchase of
+young girls is so important and costly an affair among them.
+
+A man usually chooses his wife from a remote village; for every young
+man makes it a point of honour not to have seen his wife before
+marriage. The only particulars he is anxious to learn indirectly is
+whether the lady is plump and has long hair. When his choice is fixed,
+he bargains with the father or the relations of the girl for the price
+he is to pay for her. A handsome girl of good family costs four or five
+hundred rubles, besides a couple of score of cows and a few other
+beasts. Young widows are cheaper, and old women are to be had for
+nothing. The bride's price is paid on the spot by the wooer, and a horse
+and two oxen are reckoned equivalent to a couple of cows. The girl's
+inclinations are never consulted, and she submits to her lot with
+stoical indifference; she is given dresses, mattresses, and cushions by
+way of dower. Matches are often made when the bride is still in her
+cradle, the bridegroom's father paying down a part of the stipulated
+sum, and when the girl has attained the age of thirteen or fourteen, the
+marriage takes place without any opposition on the young man's part. But
+this traffic in girls often occasions long lawsuits between families.
+Various accidents occur to prevent the espousals, such as mutilation,
+loss of health or beauty, and, above all, bad faith, and hence arise
+animosities that are often transmitted from one generation to another.
+
+The women of the mountain race of Tatars of the Crimea, and the Kalmuck
+women, cost less than young Nogai girls, and are purchased by the poorer
+classes.
+
+On the day appointed for the wedding, the young people, who have not yet
+seen each other, choose each of them a deputy, who exchange hands on
+their behalf, and thus the marriage rite is accomplished. The day is
+spent in merriment, and in the evening the bride is veiled, and escorted
+by a troop of women to the conjugal abode, where she sees her husband
+for the first time.
+
+The young wife must remain shut up at home for a whole year, and see no
+men, conversing only with her husband and his relations. After this her
+emancipation is celebrated by a grand banquet. The Nogai women are very
+timid, for the jealousy of their husbands is extreme. When a married man
+dies, his brothers inherit his widows, and may keep or sell them as they
+please. A husband may repudiate his wife whenever he chooses, but she is
+entitled to marry again after the legalisation of the divorce. When a
+Nogai has many wives, the first retains peculiar privileges so long as
+she is young and handsome, but when her beauty fades, a younger rival
+always gains the good graces of the husband. Hence arise interminable
+quarrels, and domestic peace is only maintained by the kantshouk or whip
+of the lord of the mansion. On the whole, the women endure a hard
+slavery; but their ignorance of a better state of things makes their
+chains set light on them, and they are insensible of the degraded
+condition in which they are kept by their absolute lords.
+
+It would be difficult to predict with accuracy the fate reserved for all
+this Mahometan population. The Nogais have doubtless made great progress
+within the last twenty years; but their religious notions and their
+moral and political constitution will long impede their complete
+reformation, and it will need many a generation to eradicate from among
+them all those prejudices and all those old habits of a wandering life,
+which so fatally obstruct their prosperity and their intellectual
+growth. Besides, it is now impossible to mistake the tendency of the
+policy adopted by the Russian government towards the foreign races:
+there is every reason to think that they will at last be entirely
+absorbed by the Slavic population.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[50] Histoire de la Russie, par Lesveque. Bibliotheque Orientale, par
+d'Herbelot. Hist. des Cosaques, par Lesur.
+
+[51] Voyage au Caucase, par Klaproth, en 1807 et 1808.
+
+[52] See Klaproth, Asia Polyglotta, p. 202.
+
+[53] The Kitans occupied the country north of the Chinese provinces of
+Tschy Li and Ching-Ching, watered by the Charamuin, or Liao Ho and its
+confluents. Ibid.
+
+[54] The chain of mountains called In Chan, begins north of the country
+of the Ordos, or of the most northern curve of the Hoang Ho, or Yellow
+River, and extends eastward to the sources of the rivers that fall into
+the western part of the Gulf of Pekin.
+
+[55] We have entirely rejected from our discussion the word _Tartar_,
+which owes its origin only to a _jeu de mots_, of which St. Louis was
+the author.
+
+[56] _Mongal_ is the most frequent reading in the MSS.; and where the
+more exact reading, _Mongal_, occurs, it is probably a correction by the
+copyists. _Mongal_ is the form prevalent among the Russians; and we have
+already had occasion to remark, that in transcribing proper names, Du
+Plan de Carpin generally adopts the Slavonic pronunciation, as he had it
+from his companion and interpreter, Benedict of Poland. (Extract from
+the interesting treatise of M. D'Avezac, on the travels of Du P. de C.)
+
+[57] Terra quadam est in partibus Orientis de qua dictum est supra, quae
+Mongal nominatur. Haec terra quondam populos quatuor habuit: unus Yeka
+Mongal, id est magni Mongali vocabantur; secundus Su Mongal, id est
+aquatici Mongali vocabantur; sibi autem se ipsos Tartaros appellabant, a
+quodam fluvio qui currit per terram illorum qui Tatar nominatur. Alius
+appellabatur Merkit; quartus Mecrit. Hi populi omnes unam formani
+personarum et unam linguam habebant, quamvis inter se per provincias et
+principes essent divisi.
+
+In terra Jeka Mongal fuit quidam qui vocabatur Chingis; este incepit
+esse robustus venator coram domino: dedicit enim homines furari, rapere
+praedam. Ibat autem ad alias terras et quoscumque poterat capere et sibi
+associare non demittebat; homines autem suae gentes ad se inclinavit, qui
+tanquam ducem ipsum sequebantur ad omnia malefacta. Hic autem incepit
+pugnare cum Su Mongal sive Tartaris, postquam plures homines
+aggregaverat sibi, et interfecit ducem eorum, et multo bello sibi omnes
+Tataros subjugavit et in suam servitutem recepit ac redegit. Post haec
+cum omnibus istis pugnavit cum Merkitis, qui erant positi juxta terram
+Tartarorum, quas etiam sibi bello subjecit. Inde procedens pugnavit
+contra Mecritas et etiam illos devicit.
+
+[58] The name _Nogai_ appears to me to have occasioned the same mistakes
+as Tatar; misled by the conspicuous part played for some time by the
+Nogai hordes, most writers have comprehended under that name all the
+Mussulman tribes of the provinces of Astrakhan and Kasan.
+
+[59] A large four-wheeled vehicle covered with felt. The wheels are
+never greased, and the noise they make can often be heard at a distance
+of several versts.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+      BANKS OF THE KOUMA; VLADIMIROFKA--M. REBROF'S REPULSE OF A
+      CIRCASSIAN FORAY--BOURGON MADJAR--JOURNEY ALONG THE KOUMA--
+      VIEW OF THE CAUCASIAN MOUNTAINS--CRITICAL SITUATION--GEORGIEF
+      --ADVENTURE WITH A RUSSIAN COLONEL--STORY OF A CIRCASSIAN CHIEF.
+
+
+Notwithstanding the dangers and hardships that had attended our desert
+wanderings, it was not without some degree of regret we bade a final
+adieu to the Kalmucks, whose patriarchal simplicity of life we had
+shared for more than a month. But as we approached Vladimirofka, and
+beheld the clear waters of the Kouma, its wooded banks, and the lovely
+scenery around, the change was indescribably delightful to eyes long
+accustomed to the blank and arid wilderness.
+
+In front of us stood a handsome dwelling on a gentle slope, flanked
+with two turrets, and surmounted by a belvedere rising above the trees.
+Behind us lay the Kalmuck camps and their herds of camels, resembling in
+the distance those effects of the mirage that are so common in the
+desert. A little to the left, the village, picturesquely situated at the
+foot of the mansion, descended in terraces to the margin of the Kouma,
+displaying its pretty workshops, and its houses parted from each other
+by plantations of mulberries, hazels, and Lombardy poplars, tinted with
+the varied hues of autumn. All the enchantments that opulence could call
+forth from a fruitful soil, were there assembled, as a bountiful
+compensation for our past fatigues. The camel-drivers and the Cossacks
+of our escort fully shared our delight, and remained like ourselves
+wonder-stricken before that brilliant apparition.
+
+Soon afterwards we entered the yard of the mansion, which was soon
+crowded with _employes_ and servants, all greatly puzzled to conceive
+whence could have come so strange a caravan. Our appearance might well
+excite their astonishment. The britchka, drawn by three camels, preceded
+a little troop composed of four or five Cossacks, armed to the teeth,
+and several Kalmucks leading other camels loaded with all our nomadic
+gear. Our Cossack officer, with his falcon on his fist, and his long
+rifle slung behind him, rode close to the door of the carriage, ready,
+with Russian precision, to transmit our orders to the escort, and to
+gallop off at the slightest signal; whilst our dragoman, lolling on the
+box-seat with Italian _nonchalance_, looked down with profound disdain
+on the bustling throng around us, and did not condescend to answer one
+word to their thousand questions.
+
+M. Rebrof, the proprietor of Vladimirofka, having been waited on by our
+officer, came out and welcomed us in the most polite and cordial manner,
+and showed us into delightful apartments on the ground floor, looking
+out on a large, handsome garden, and containing a billiard-table and
+several numbers of the _Revue Etrangere_. Then, after empowering us to
+make free use of his servants, his garden, his horses, and all his
+property, our host left us to ourselves, with a delicate tact not always
+displayed even by well-bred persons.
+
+Well, after all, it is a very good thing when one has long been deprived
+of all the comforts and conveniences of life, to come upon them again in
+full measure, and slide back into one's old habits; to pass from the
+Kalmuck kibitka to a lordly mansion,--from the horrible flat cake of
+unleavened dough to fresh bread every day--from the wearisome march of
+the camels to the repose of the divan--from the monotony of the steppes
+to all the comforts of civilised life. It is really a very good thing,
+especially if one has the rare good fortune to enjoy, in addition to all
+these pleasures, the hospitality of a most friendly and engaging family.
+In fact, what gives the most racy zest to travelling is precisely these
+contrasts that await you at every step, and which enable you to
+appreciate matters justly by comparison; for after all what is a good
+dinner to one who dines well every day? What are a divan, books, music,
+pictures, to the privileged being who has them always before him? More
+than half his time is spent in yawning at the chimney corner; music
+wearies him; reading makes his eyes ache; his cook is a dull blockhead,
+and has no invention! Oh, the weary dreary lot of the wealthy man! But
+let some good genius suddenly whisk him off into the heart of the
+desert; let him be forced to wash down his biscuit with brackish water
+from the standing pool, to count on his falcon's quarry for his dinner,
+to lie on the hard ground, to bear rain, wind, and dust, to hear only
+the cries of camels, and see only Kalmuck faces; and afterwards, when he
+returns to all the good things he despised before, he will be heard
+exclaiming in the joy of his heart, "Oh! what a pleasant thing it is to
+eat, sleep, and dream; what a very comfortable life this is!"
+
+Vladimirofka is one of the finest properties I have seen in Russia. The
+whole economy of this magnificent establishment bespeaks the enlarged
+and enlightened views of its master. It is about fifty years since M.
+Rebrof laid the first foundations of his colony, undismayed by the
+obstacles and dangers he encountered in all shapes. He wished to make
+profitable use of the fine waters of the Kouma, which had never before
+been bridled in their course by man; and now several mills, set up by
+him, enliven the whole neighbourhood by their continual din. The
+mildness of the climate has allowed him to make numerous plantations of
+mulberries, which have perfectly succeeded, and to establish factories,
+the productions of which may vie with the finest silks of Provence.
+
+Another manufacture which he is carrying on with great spirit is that of
+Champagne wine. He sends every year at least 10,000 bottles to Moscow,
+and sells them at the rate of four rubles a bottle. By dint of energy
+and perseverance he has called up life and abundance in a wild
+uncultivated spot, which before had served only for the temporary halts
+of the Kalmucks and Turcomans. Many peasants whom he brought with him
+from Great Russia, and who had been habituated to an almost savage state
+of existence, have been transformed by him into good workmen,
+industrious husbandmen, and, on occasion, into soldiers devoted to their
+master.
+
+In 1835, some three-score Circassians, tempted by the hope of a rich
+booty, made a descent from their mountains to sack and pillage
+Vladimirofka, expecting to surprise the little village population by
+night, and to find them wholly unprepared. But though M. Rebrof had
+enjoyed complete security for many years, he had never deceived himself
+as to the dangers of his position, but always expected to be attacked
+sooner or later; and, therefore, he had from the first taken all
+possible precautions against the designs of his formidable neighbours.
+Two branches of the Kouma served as fosses for the village and the
+chateau; there was a small redoubt with two pieces of cannon commanding
+the most exposed side, and in a room on the ground-floor of the mansion
+there was a well-stocked armoury, with all things requisite for
+sustaining a siege. With these means, M. Rebrof felt confident he could
+resist any attack.
+
+Every night two sentinels kept watch until dawn, and it was this
+seemingly superfluous measure that saved Vladimirofka from total
+destruction. The Circassians, never reckoning on such extreme caution,
+arrived one night in face of the village, and felt sure that their
+approach was unsuspected. But the alarm had been already given, and the
+whole population, suddenly aroused out of their sleep, were ready for
+the fight. Arms were distributed to the workpeople and servants, the
+drawbridges were raised, the two cannons were loaded with grape, and the
+chateau was transformed into a fortress. All this was done with such
+rapidity, that when the Circassians came to the banks of the river, they
+found the village in a perfect state of defence. They attempted,
+however, to swim their horses over the Kouma, but were repulsed by a
+brisk fire. Three or four other attempts were equally unsuccessful; all
+points were so well guarded, and the men did their duty so well, that
+the Circassians were obliged to retreat at break of day. But enraged at
+their disappointment, they set fire to the village and the surrounding
+woods, and escaped unmolested, under cover of the conflagration, without
+its being discovered what direction they took.
+
+As an economist and administrator, M. Rebrof may be compared with the
+most eminent men of Europe, and his manufacturing enterprises are the
+more meritorious, as he is destitute of the aid of books. Knowing only
+his own language, which is very poor in such practical works as would
+suit his purposes, he has nothing but a few bad translations of French
+and German works, which would be of little avail but for his own
+superior sagacity.
+
+His gardens are filled with all the fruits of Europe, and with several
+kinds of grapes, from which he derives a large profit. Among these I
+particularly noticed the Schiras grape, which has no stones. Nor must I
+forget his excellent _oeil de perdrix_ wine, which he set before us
+every day after dinner, with the pride of a manufacturer. Nothing could
+exceed his satisfaction on hearing us compare it with the best vintages
+of France, as we did in all sincerity on our first arrival. Afterwards
+our enthusiasm cooled down a little; but it did not matter; our host was
+still persuaded that his wine could compete with the best made in
+Champagne.
+
+It was painful to us to quit Vladimirofka. Had the season been less
+advanced, we would willingly have remained there another week; but we
+had still to visit the Caucasus, and September was drawing to a close.
+We had, therefore, to make haste and profit by the fine weather that
+still remained for us. M. Rebrof's horses conveyed us to Bourgon Madjar,
+a property belonging to General Skaginsky. It is situated on the Kouma,
+about thirty versts from Vladimirofka, like which, it possesses fine
+woods and beautiful scenery. It was our intention only to change horses
+there, but the steward, who had been expecting us for two days,
+determined otherwise, and to please him we were constrained to lose two
+days in his company. Our complaisance would not have extended so far had
+our choice been free; but the moment we entered his doors he told us
+very positively we should have no horses until the day after the morrow.
+It was to no purpose we raved and entreated; we were forced to submit to
+a tyranny that was more flattering than agreeable. The difficulty of
+understanding each other without an interpreter added to our
+embarrassment and ill-humour. The whole conversation on the first day
+was made up of two words _mozhna_ (you can stay), and _nilza_ (it is
+impossible). But setting aside the loss of two days, which were then
+very precious, I must allow that our time passed agreeably, and our host
+did his best to entertain us.
+
+The first day was spent in seeing the buildings, gardens, vineyards,
+mills, and all that was under the immediate management of the steward.
+Every thing was in as excellent order as if the whole of the fine
+property had been constantly under the master's eye. But General
+Skaginsky hardly ever visits it, contenting himself with the receipt of
+the proceeds, which amount to about 20,000 rubles. The stable contains
+some capital saddle horses, that tempted us to make a long excursion
+through the forest. We also saw antelopes almost tame, and of exquisite
+beauty. Whole herds of them are sometimes found in this part of the
+steppes. The woods adjacent to the Kouma also contain deer and wild
+boars. The steward pressed hard for one day more that he might get up a
+hunt for us, but we would not hear of it, and answered with so
+peremptory a _nilza_ that he was obliged to submit to what he called our
+obstinacy.
+
+His anxiety to retain us may be easily accounted for by the extreme
+loneliness in which he lives. He is a Pole by birth, and has known a
+different condition from that of a steward, as his tastes prove. He is a
+poet, a musician, and a wit--three qualities singularly at variance with
+his calling. But as he is alone, and has no superior to control his
+tastes, he may meditate, Virgil in hand, on the charms of rural life. A
+guitar, a few select books, and the visitations of the muse, enable him
+to nourish an intellectual existence amidst all his prosaic occupations.
+
+After quitting Bourgon Madjar we passed through the place where formerly
+stood the celebrated Madjar, whose past is still a problem for
+historians. Nothing remains of it, not even a few bricks to attest its
+former existence. The Russians have carried it away piecemeal to build
+their villages. We now rapidly approached the Caucasus; the Elbrouz (the
+highest mountain of the chain) from time to time gave us a glimpse of
+its majestic head, almost always wrapped in mist, as if to conceal it
+from profane eyes. Tradition informs us that Noah's dove alighted on its
+summit, and there plucked the mystic branch which afterwards became the
+Christian symbol of peace and hope. Hence the mountain is held in high
+veneration by all the races of the Caucasus: Christians, idolaters, and
+Mussulmans, all agree in regarding it as holy.
+
+We were now in an enchanted region, though but just beyond the verge of
+the steppes. The faint lines discernible in the sky assumed gradually
+more distinct form and colour; the mountains appeared to us first as
+light, transparent vapours, floating upon the wind; but by degrees this
+airy phantasmagoria changed into mountains clothed with forests, deep
+gorges and domes crowned with mists. We met several horsemen in the
+Circassian garb, whose manly beauty afforded us examples of the noble
+Caucasian race. Our minds were almost overwhelmed with a multitude of
+emotions, excited by the exuberant nature before us, the magnificent
+vegetation, and the varied hues of the forests and mountains, peaks,
+crags, ravines, and snowy summits. It was beautiful, superbly beautiful,
+and then it was the Caucasus! The Caucasus, a name associated with so
+many grand historic memories, with the earliest traditions and most
+fabulous creeds; the abode, in the morning of the world, of families
+whence issued so many great nations. Round it hangs all the vague poetry
+of the ages visible only to the imagination, through the mysterious veil
+of antiquity.
+
+What a sad thing it was in the midst of all our ecstatic enthusiasm, to
+be obliged to descend to the vulgar concerns of locomotion, and to be
+crossed and thwarted at every step. We were more than ten versts from
+Georgief, when we were stopped in a village by the perversity of a
+postmaster, who refused to let us have horses at any price. It was
+raining in torrents, and the mud in the village was like a quagmire. The
+Cossack and Anthony ran about among all the peasants, trying to prevail
+on them to hire us horses; but the Russians are so lazy that they would
+rather lose an opportunity of earning money than quit their sweet
+repose. At last, after four hours search, the two men came back with
+three wretched hacks they had carried off by force from different
+peasants. For want of a roof to shelter us we had been obliged to sit
+all that while in the britchka, and when the miserable team was yoked it
+could hardly draw us out of the mud in which the wheels were embedded.
+The road all the way to Georgief was the most detestable that could be
+imagined. The weather cleared up a little, but the rain had converted
+all the low plains through which we had to pass into marshes, and had
+rendered the bridges all but impassable. Steep and very narrow descents
+often obliged us to alight at the risk of leaving our boots in the mud,
+and for a long while we feared we should not reach Georgief that day.
+Finally, however, by dint of flogging, our coachman forced the horses up
+the last hill, and at seven in the evening we reached a wide plateau, at
+one end of which towered the fortress that commands the road to the
+Caucasus.
+
+We had been told that we should find a fair going on in Georgief, and
+this accounted for the number of horsemen we saw proceeding like
+ourselves in that direction. I must confess in all humility, that I did
+not feel quite at my ease whenever one of these groups passed close to
+our carriage. The bad weather, the darkness, the bold bearing of these
+mountaineers, and their arms half concealed under their black bourkas,
+made me rather nervous. We arrived, however, safe and sound in Georgief,
+where we enjoyed our repose and sipped our tea with a zest known only to
+way-worn travellers.
+
+Whilst we were thus enjoying ourselves, the tinkling of a pereclatnoi
+bell in the yard announced a fresh arrival. But we gave ourselves very
+little concern about the event, for in order to be the more at our ease,
+we had engaged the travellers' room for ourselves alone. In travelling,
+people grow selfish, in spite of themselves; and in Russia it is a very
+lucky chance indeed that enables you now and then to display that
+quality. We therefore paid no heed to the tinklings that seemed with
+increasing vehemence to demand shelter for the late coming pilgrim. In a
+few moments there was a loud hubbub at our door, and we heard Anthony's
+voice stoutly refusing admission into our sanctuary. The postmaster
+seemed to play but a negative part, venturing only to say now and then,
+in the humblest tone, "_Ne mozhna polkovnick_" (it is not possible,
+colonel). A deluge of _douraks_, and a few fisticuffs distributed right
+and left, put an end to the discussion; the door was flung open, and a
+tall individual, muffled up to the nose, rushed in furiously, halted
+suddenly, made an awkward bow, and skipped out of the room again,
+without attempting even to profit by his victory. Amazed at this sudden
+retreat, Anthony hastily closed the door he had so bravely defended, and
+then told us that this officer had refused to listen to a word of
+explanation, and had threatened, if they provoked him, to turn us all
+into the street, and take our places. This did not in the least surprise
+us, for in Russia it is a matter of course for a colonel to behave thus
+to his inferiors, and as this officer was not aware of our being
+foreigners, he had behaved in the usual peremptory fashion; but he had
+been taken aback on discovering that we were something else than village
+pometchiks, and his tone became changed accordingly in the comical
+manner aforesaid. We were highly diverted by his discomfiture, and to
+punish his blustering, we let him go and seek a lodging elsewhere.
+
+He had not been gone half an hour when another officer drove into the
+yard, and with more moderation than his predecessor, took up his
+quarters in the kitchen, which was divided by a thin partition from our
+room. He was no sooner installed, than the silence was again broken by
+loud cracks of a whip, and the poor postmaster was at his wits' end. We
+paid no attention to this incident until our curiosity was excited by
+hearing some words of French, accompanied by peals of laughter; and on
+listening we heard the whole of our late adventure narrated in the most
+amusing manner, the story being interspersed with keen remarks on the
+unaccountable propensity of some women for travelling, and filling up
+every hotel. Of course we recognised in the orator the hero of the
+adventure himself. Having knocked in vain at all the doors in Georgief,
+he found he could do no better than return to the confounded station,
+and take his chance of sleeping in the stable; but hearing that a
+comrade had taken up his abode in the kitchen, he had determined to beg
+leave to join him. All this, be it observed, was said in French, to
+prevent our understanding it; this was amusing enough; but the
+conversation soon became so confidential, that we were obliged to raise
+our voices, as a hint to our neighbours to speak Russian. They did
+nothing all night but smoke, drink tea, and talk.
+
+Next day, having ascertained that we were French, they sent the
+postmaster to us, begging we would allow them to come and apologise for
+the inconvenience they had caused us. We found them well-bred gentlemen,
+and we had a good laugh together at the strange manner in which our
+mutual acquaintance had taken place. We all left the station nearly
+together. After breakfasting with us, they set out, one of them for
+Persia, the other for the north. For ourselves, as we intended to stop
+some days in Georgief, until the roads should have become drier, we
+accepted the invitation of the governor of the fortress to reside with
+him. The mud was so deep in the yard of the post-house, that we were
+obliged to have a bridge of planks made for us to the carriage, and the
+grooms and the persons who had occasion to enter the house, had to cross
+the yard on horseback. In passing through the street we saw an
+unfortunate peasant sunk up to his middle, and making prodigious efforts
+to extricate his cart and oxen.
+
+Our hospitable and obliging entertainer, the general, told us many
+particulars respecting the tribes of the Caucasus, and we saw at his
+table a great number of Kabardian chiefs whom the fair had brought to
+Georgief. There was one among them whose handsome, grave features, and
+somewhat wild appearance, excited our curiosity; and the general
+perceiving this, told us all he knew about the man. I will relate the
+story as nearly as possible in his own words.
+
+"About two years ago I was ordered to make a tour of inspection among
+the friendly tribes of the Caucasus, and had nearly completed it, when
+arriving one evening near an aoul situated on a mountain, the summit of
+which you can see from here, I noticed that the village was in great
+commotion. Being accompanied by a detachment of Cossacks, I had no need
+to be apprehensive about the result, happen what might; still I thought
+it advisable to take some precautions, and settled with the commanding
+officer of the detachment what was to be done if we were attacked. I
+then got on a few hundred paces ahead of the party, and advanced softly,
+like an _eclaireur_, to a place where the whole population was
+assembled. As it was rather dark, and I was covered with a bourka, no
+one took any notice of me, and I was allowed to make my observations
+without impediment.
+
+"When my eyes had grown more familiarised with the objects about me, I
+perceived that the crowd was gathered round the ruins of a house that
+seemed to have been very recently burned down. Though ignorant of what
+had happened, I felt certain that the burning was connected with some
+deed of violence and bloodshed, for I had long known these mountaineers,
+whose violent passions are kept in constant excitement by the false
+position in which they are placed both as to the Russians, whom they
+detest while they submit to their power, and with regard to the free
+tribes, who cannot forgive them for their compulsory submission. On
+inspecting the various groups more narrowly, I saw a Kabardian lying on
+the ground, with his cloak drawn over his face, while every one gazed on
+him with a respectful pity. Puzzled still more to know what this meant,
+and not seeing any reason why I might not make myself known, I was about
+to put some questions to the person next me, when the sound of
+approaching hoofs called off the attention of the crowd in another
+direction. It was my party, who had become uneasy about me, and had
+quickened their march. The mountaineers all clustered round my soldiers,
+but without any such hostile demonstrations as we had encountered in the
+other aouls. Every body seemed under the influence of some unusual
+feeling, that made him forget for the while the hatred which the mere
+sight of a Cossack awakens among these people.
+
+"I issued the necessary orders for the encampment of my party, and when
+all was made safe for the night, I returned to the spot where my
+curiosity had been so strongly excited; and there lay the mountaineer
+still stretched on the ground, looking like a corpse under the black
+bourka that covered him. Several women sat round him, and one of them,
+who was very young, and seemed less distressed than the others, at last
+satisfied my impatience, and told me a tale which was confirmed by the
+whole population of the village.
+
+"The person I saw stretched on the ground before the ashes of his own
+house, was the chief of the aoul, and belonged to a princely family,
+living independently amidst their own mountains. At the age of twenty he
+unfortunately became his elder brother's rival, and in order to possess
+the wife of his choice, he had carried her off, and settled under the
+protection of Russia. This latter act, the most infamous of which a
+mountaineer can be guilty when he commits it of his own accord, remained
+a long while unpunished during the wars between Russia and the tribes.
+For fifteen years nothing occurred to make the refugee suppose that his
+brother thought of him at all. The wife had died a few years after the
+elopement, leaving him a daughter, who grew up so beautiful, that the
+whole tribe called her the Rose of the Mountain.
+
+"Now on the day before my arrival in the aoul, four independent
+mountaineers had visited the chief as friends, and told him that his
+brother was dead, and that he might now return home without any fear of
+danger. The strangers spent the night under his roof, and did all they
+could to persuade him to accompany them; but next day, finding they
+could make no impression on his mind, they set fire to his house,
+stabbed him in several places, and seizing his daughter, galloped away
+before any one was prepared to pursue them. Most of the inhabitants were
+a-field at the time, and when I came up at dusk it was too late to think
+of overtaking the assassins. Although I was assured that the man was
+dead, I had him carried to a house, where every possible care was
+bestowed upon him. In about an hour he became conscious, and there
+appeared some hope of saving him. Our acquaintance, which began in so
+dramatic a manner, afterwards became as intimate as it could be between
+a Russian general and a Caucasian chief.
+
+"But for a long while my influence over the mind of the unfortunate
+father was totally unable to overcome the despair and thirst of
+vengeance occasioned by the abduction of his daughter. At the head of
+the most determined men of his aoul and of some Cossacks, he thrice
+endeavoured to force his way into that part of the mountain where his
+kindred resided; but these attempts led to nothing but desperate
+conflicts and fierce reprisals. He was about making a fourth attempt
+about two months ago, when we were informed by a spy that the Rose of
+the Mountain had been sent to Trebisond, to become the ornament of some
+harem in Constantinople.
+
+"From that time a gradual change took place in the savage temper of the
+Kabardian; the idea that his daughter was no longer in the hated
+mountains, was balm to his wounds. He attached himself to the society of
+the officers of the garrison, who had become warmly interested in his
+history. At his own request I have solicited an appointment for him in
+his majesty's imperial guard, and I hope he will soon be far away from
+scenes that remind him of such terrible disasters."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+      ROAD FROM GEORGIEF TO THE WATERS OF THE CAUCASUS--A POLISH
+      LADY CARRIED OFF BY CIRCASSIANS--PIATIGORSK--KISLOVODSK--
+      HISTORY OF THE MINERAL WATERS OF THE CAUCASUS.
+
+
+From Georgief we set out for Piatigorsk, the chief watering place of the
+Caucasus, and travelled for three hours over a dreary plain, with
+nothing for the eye to rest on but here and there a long conical mound,
+that scarcely broke the dull monotony of the landscape; and even these
+were scarcely visible through the foggy atmosphere. We felt, therefore,
+a depression of spirits we had never known in our previous journeyings,
+and it was still more increased by the thought that we might fall in
+with those Circassians whose very name strikes terror into the Russians.
+
+The two Cossacks whom the commandant of Georgief had given us for
+escort, were not the sort of men to assuage our fears, for they seemed
+themselves very much possessed with a sense of the dangers we were
+incurring. Their visages grew very serious indeed when we had left the
+plain behind us, and the road began to skirt along a deep valley, with
+the waters of the Pod Kouma brawling at the bottom. They were constantly
+peering in every direction, as if they expected every moment to fall
+into an ambuscade. Presently they stopped, and called our dragoman to
+show him a spot on which their eyes seemed riveted. One of them began to
+talk with great volubility, and from his expressive gestures it was
+evident he was relating some tragic event of which that spot had been
+witness. And so, indeed, it was. Anthony informed us that on the very
+spot where we stood, a young Polish lady had been assailed the year
+before by several mountaineers, who lay in wait for her in the bed of
+the torrent. She was on her way to the waters of Kislovodsk, accompanied
+by an escort and two or three servants. Her followers were massacred or
+dispersed, her carriage was rifled, and she herself was carried off and
+never heard of again, notwithstanding the most active exertions to
+ascertain her fate. One of the Cossacks, who had escaped by miracle from
+the balls of the Circassians, galloped off to Georgief, and returned
+within a few hours to the scene of the catastrophe, accompanied by a
+detachment of cavalry. They found the carriage broken to pieces, and
+plundered of all its contents; and the ground was strewed with bodies
+horribly mutilated and stripped of their arms, but neither the body of
+the young lady nor that of her waiting-maid was among them. It is to be
+presumed that the Circassians carried them off to their aoul, as the
+richest spoils of their bloody expedition.
+
+The story of this recent tragedy, related on the very spot where it had
+occurred, made no slight impression upon us; my dismay, therefore, may
+be imagined, when a sudden clearing up of the fog enabled us to
+distinguish at a distance of a hundred yards from the road, what seemed
+but too palpable a realisation of my fearful fancies. There was no room
+for doubt. The men before us were those terrible Circassians I had
+trembled at the thought of meeting. The scream that escaped me, when I
+caught sight of them, was fortunately heard by one of our Cossacks, who
+immediately relieved my mind by the assurance that these were men of a
+friendly tribe. Nevertheless, in spite of my conviction that we had no
+hostilities to apprehend, it was not without some secret uneasiness I
+saw them defile past us. The troop was a small one, five or six at most,
+yet they looked dangerous enough. I shall never forget the glances they
+cast on our Cossacks as they rode by, though it was only in looks they
+manifested the hatred that rankled in their hearts against every thing
+belonging to Russia. They were all fully armed. Their pistols and their
+damasked poniards glittered from beneath their black bourkas. I confess
+I was best pleased with their appearance when they were just vanishing
+from sight on the top of a hill, where their martial figures were
+relieved against the sky. Seen through the mist, they set me thinking of
+Ossian's heroes.
+
+We continued to wind our way slowly up a steep and narrow track, and for
+half an hour we did not see a cabin or a living creature except some
+vultures of the largest kind, flying silently above our heads. At last
+we reached the culminating point of the road, whence we could look down
+on the valley, Piatigorsk, the villas scattered over the heights, and
+all the details of a delightful landscape, that seemed as if it had
+dropped by chance amongst the stern and majestic scenes of the Caucasian
+Alps. From thence we had a gentle descent of about a verst to the
+outskirts of Piatigorsk.
+
+It is only within the last ten or twelve years that it has been possible
+to travel in carriages to Piatigorsk without extreme risk, partly on
+account of the hostility of the Circassians, and partly in consequence
+of the state of the roads. The latter have been improved, and a great
+number of military posts have been established on them, so that now the
+waters of the Caucasus are annually frequented by more than 1500
+persons, who visit them from all parts of the empire for health or
+pleasure. Catastrophes have become more and more rare, and since that
+which I have mentioned no other event of the kind has occurred.
+
+On arriving at Piatigorsk we took up our abode with the principal
+doctor, for whom we had letters, and who received us in the most
+obliging manner. Unluckily we had abominable weather during the whole
+time of our stay, and the mountains we had come so far to see were
+hidden from our eyes by an impenetrable veil of mist. We could just
+discern from our windows the base of the Bechtau, at a distance of but
+two versts. Our first visit was to the Alexandra spring, so called after
+the name of the empress. The waters are sulphurous, and their
+temperature is above 38 degrees Reaumur. The bathing establishment is on
+a very large scale, and contains every thing requisite for the
+frequenters of the waters. Other thermal springs are found on most of
+the heights about Piatigorsk, and the works that have been constructed
+to afford access to them do credit to the government. On one of the
+highest peaks there is an octagonal building, consisting of a cupola
+supported on light columns, which are surrounded at their base by an
+elegant balustrade. The interior, which is open to all the winds,
+contains an aeolian harp, the melancholy notes of which descend to the
+valley, mingled with all the echoes of the mountains. Doctor Conrad, our
+host, was the author of this pretty design. Being like most Germans
+passionately fond of music, he felt assured that those airy sounds,
+coming as it were from the sky, would have a most salutary influence on
+the minds of his patients. The little temple, surnamed the pavilion of
+AEolus, must be a favourite spot for those who are fond of reverie and
+lonely contemplation of the sublime scenes of nature. The view from it
+is of great beauty, but in order to judge of it we should have been more
+favoured by the weather; but the glowing description given us by our
+good doctor made some amends for our mischance. I must own, too, that
+the trouble we took in ascending was not altogether unrequited, for the
+vague and mysterious outlines of mountains and forests clothed in mists
+were not without their charms.
+
+There are several natural and artificial grottoes in various parts of
+the mountain, affording cool retreats in the sultry season, and an
+amusing spectacle to those who sit and watch the company proceeding to
+and from the baths. The physiognomist may there behold the most varied
+types of features, from those of the Tatar prince of the Crimea to those
+of the fair Georgian from Tiflis. Society in Russia has one rare
+advantage, inasmuch as it is free from that fatiguing monotony which
+pursues us in almost all European countries.
+
+The handsomest quarter of Piatigorsk is at the bottom of the valley,
+where there is a promenade, with fine trees and seats, flanked on either
+side by a line of handsome houses backed against the cliffs. The
+permanent population consists only of the civil servants of the
+government, the garrison, and a few incurable invalids. The crown
+buildings are numerous, including, besides the bathing establishment, a
+Greek church, a very large hotel for strangers, a concert hall, a
+charitable institution, a hospital for wounded officers from the
+Caucasus, barracks, &c.
+
+On the whole, Piatigorsk is not so much a town as a delightful
+assemblage of country-houses, inhabited for some months of the year by a
+rich aristocracy. Every thing about it is pretty and trim, and displays
+those tokens of affluence which the Russian nobles like to see around
+them. There is nothing there to offend the eye or sadden the heart, no
+poor class, no cabins, no misery. It is a fortunate spot, intended to
+exhibit to the ladies and princes, courtiers, and generals of the
+empire, none but pleasing images, culled from all that is attractive in
+nature and art. What wonder, then, if the annals of the place abound in
+marvellous cures! The doctor, who is a shrewd man, having perhaps his
+doubts of the sole efficacy of the waters, has done his part to render
+Piatigorsk an earthly Paradise; but it must be admitted that his views
+have been perfectly understood and promoted by the emperor, who is
+always disposed to display magnificence in the most superficial things.
+Luxurious refinement has here been pushed so far, that the fair and
+exceedingly indolent dames of Moscow and St. Petersburg may repair to
+their baths without alighting from their stylish equipages; and yet the
+springs are almost all of them several hundred yards above the valley.
+What peasants' _corvees_, what an amount of toil and suffering do these
+commodious roads represent! None but the Russian government is capable
+of such acts of gallantry!
+
+Though the watering season was over when we arrived, the doctor had
+still a few patients residing with him, who added much, to the pleasure
+of our evening meetings. Among these was a young officer, who had
+returned with two severe wounds from an expedition against the
+Circassians. The accounts he gave us of his campaign, and of the
+terrible episodes he had witnessed, often made us shudder. The Russians
+paid dearly for the conquest of some burnt villages. They lost half
+their men, and 120 officers. One of the friends of our invalid picked up
+a pretty little Circassian girl, whose mother had been killed before his
+eyes. Pitying the fate of the poor orphan, the officer carried her away
+on his horse, and on reaching Piatigorsk, he placed her in a
+boarding-school kept by some French ladies. We went to see her, and were
+charmed with her beauty, which promised to sustain her country's
+reputation in that respect.
+
+As the weather was not favourable to long excursions, we passed a week
+of quiet social enjoyment in the doctor's house; but one fine morning
+the sun, which we had completely forgotten, broke out through the fog,
+and recalled us, perhaps against our will, to our adventurous habits.
+Next day we set out for Kislovodsk, situated forty versts from
+Piatigorsk, in the interior of the mountains, and possessing acid waters
+of great reputation.
+
+The road, on quitting Piatigorsk, passes at first along the wide and
+deep valley of the Pod Kouma, which is bounded on the right by rocks
+heaped on each other like petrified waves, and presenting, in their
+outlines and rents, all the tokens of a _bouleversement_; whilst on the
+left, beautiful wooded mountains ascend in successive stages to the
+imposing chain of the Kasbeck. At the distance of about two hours'
+travelling, the road leaves the valley, which has here become very
+narrow, and runs on a long sinuous level ledge, parallel with the course
+of the torrent, up to the point where it begins to enter the mountains,
+and where the miry soil through which our horses laboured with great
+difficulty, the grey sky and moist atmosphere that had hitherto
+accompanied us, were at once exchanged for dryness, cold, dust, and sun.
+This sudden contrast is a phenomenon peculiar to elevated regions, and
+had been foretold us by our host, who is very learned in all that
+concerns the atmospheric variations of his beloved mountains.
+
+Nothing I have before attempted to describe could compare with the wild
+and picturesque scenery of this part of the Caucasus. At certain
+intervals we saw conical mounds of earth about sixty feet high, serving
+as watch-towers, on which sentinels are stationed day and night. Their
+outlines, relieved against the cloudy sky, produces a singular effect
+amidst the solitude around them. The sight of these Cossacks, with
+muskets shouldered, pacing up and down the small platform on the summit
+of each eminence, made us involuntarily own our gratitude to the
+Russian government for having cleared this country, and rendered access
+to it so easy for invalids and tourists.
+
+Although it was the middle of October, the vegetation was still quite
+fresh. Rich green swards covering the steep slopes of the mountains,
+afforded abundant pasture for the scattered flocks of goats. Their
+keepers, dressed in sheep-skins, and, instead of crooks, carrying long
+guns slung at their backs, and two or three powder and ball cases at
+their girdles, gave a half martial, half pastoral complexion to the
+landscape. Gigantic eagles flew majestically from rock to rock, like the
+sole sovereigns of those solitary places. Here we had really before us
+what we had dreamed of in the Caspian steppes, when, with eyes scorched
+by the hot sand, and with no amusement but the sight of our camels and
+the sound of their cries, or the encounter of some Kalmuck kibitkas, we
+tried to beguile the discomforts of our situation by peopling the desert
+with a thousand fascinating images.
+
+Before we reached the gorge in which Kislovodsk is concealed, we fell in
+with a second party of Circassians; but fortified by the safety with
+which we had pursued our journey so far, and by our stay in Piatigorsk,
+I indulged without apprehension in the pleasure of admiring them. There
+were eight or ten of them reposing under a projecting rock, and a very
+picturesque group they formed. Their horses, saddled and bridled, were
+feeding at a little distance from their masters, who had not
+disencumbered themselves of their weapons. Some had their heads entirely
+enveloped in _bashliks_, a sort of hood made of camels' hair, which is
+worn only in travelling; others wore the national fur cap; their
+garments, of a graceful and commodious form, glittered with broad silver
+lace; they all had bourkas, a kind of mantle, indispensable to the
+Circassian as his weapons. When our carriage approached them, some of
+them sat up and looked at us with an air of scornful indifference, but
+showed no disposition to molest us.
+
+Our first business on reaching Kislovodsk was to visit the source of the
+acid waters, to which the place owes its celebrity. It does not break
+out like most others from the side of a mountain, or from a cleft in a
+rock, but at the bottom of a valley. Nature, who usually conceals her
+treasures in the most inaccessible spots, has made an exception in its
+favour. A square basin has been constructed for it, and there it seems
+continually boiling up, though it has no heat. It resembles
+Seltzer-water in its sparkling and its slightly acid taste.
+
+Kislovodsk consists of about fifteen houses, or rather little Asiatic
+palaces, adorned with long open galleries, terraces, gardens, and
+vestibules filled with flowers. All the frequenters of Piatigorsk finish
+the watering season at Kislovodsk. Behind this aristocratic abode
+extends a narrow gorge, bounded on all sides by vertical mountain crags
+that seem to cut it off from the whole world. It would require several
+days to explore all the charming scenes in the neighbourhood. Among its
+natural curiosities is a celebrated cascade hidden in the very heart of
+the valley. The way to it leads for an hour along the bed its waters
+have hollowed for themselves through a thick limestone stratum, over a
+winding path that narrows continually up to the foot of the fall. At
+that spot you are imprisoned between cliffs so steep that no goat could
+find footing on them, and you have before you a dazzling sheet of water
+descending by terraces from a height of more than sixty feet, breaking
+into snowy foam where it meets with obstacles on its way, and
+disappearing for a moment under fragments of rocks, beyond which it
+re-appears as a limpid stream, flowing over a bed of moss and pebbles.
+
+The position of Kislovodsk exposes it much more that Piatigorsk to the
+assaults of the mountaineers, and one never feels quite safe there,
+notwithstanding the Cossack detachment that guards the heights. A
+Circassian aoul, perched like an eyrie on the highest crest of the
+adjacent mountains, is a dangerous neighbour for the water drinkers. Its
+inhabitants, though nominally subdued, forego no opportunity of wreaking
+their hatred on the Russians.
+
+After our return to the doctor's roof, we went to see the German colony
+of Karas at the foot of the Bechtau. Its thriving condition does honour
+both to the colonists and to the government whose protection they have
+sought. At first it was composed only of Scotchmen, and was founded by
+one Peterson, a zealous sectarian, whose chief object was the conversion
+of the Circassians. But his preaching was wholly ineffectual, and by
+degrees the laborious Germans took the place of the Scotch missionaries.
+The original intention of the establishments is now scarcely remembered:
+the colonists are simply agriculturists, and think only of enriching
+themselves at the cost of the strangers who come to drink the mineral
+waters.
+
+A short sketch of the history of these waters may not be unacceptable to
+the reader. It was in the reign of Catherine II., that Russia advanced
+her frontiers to the Kouban and the Terek, and forced the various tribes
+established near those rivers to retire into the mountains. In 1780,
+Potemkin invaded what at present forms the territory of Piatigorsk, and
+advanced to the Pod Kouma at the foot of the Bechtau. The fortress of
+Constantinogorsk was erected at that period, and Catherine constrained
+the neighbouring tribes to acknowledge her sovereignty. But this
+pacification of the country was hollow and fallacious. The chiefs of the
+Bechtau had submitted but in outward appearance; they kept up a secret
+understanding with the inhabitants of Kabarda, and often joined in their
+marauding expeditions against the common enemy. Hence arose continual
+conflicts between them and the Russians.
+
+General Marcof took command of the Caucasus in 1798, and adopted the
+most rigorous measures against the petty tribes of the Bechtau. Their
+country was invaded by a numerous army and given up to pillage, and the
+mountaineers, driven from their villages, were obliged to seek refuge
+beyond the Kouban and the Terek. Thenceforth there was more quiet on the
+line of the Caucasus, and the Kabardians were less frequently seen in
+the vicinity of Piatigorsk. It was about this time the sulphurous waters
+were discovered by some soldiers of the 16th regiment of chasseurs in
+garrison at Constantinogorsk. It appears, however, that they had been
+long known and used by the people of the country, as proved by some old
+baths hollowed out of the rock.
+
+The discovery made by the soldiers was quickly turned to account by
+their officers, and a small house was erected near by the principal
+spring at the cost of the regiment. The sulphurous waters were soon
+known in the neighbourhood, and their fame was spread all over the
+empire through the medium of military intercourse. Several persons of
+distinction repaired to them in 1799, at which time medical advice was
+given by the regimental surgeons, and the patients resided in tents
+given up for their use by the officers and soldiers. The number of
+visitors increased every year up to 1804, and the government repeatedly
+sent chemists and physicians to the spot to study the composition and
+therapeutic qualities of the waters. Unfortunately in 1804, a contagious
+disease, which soon proved to be the plague, broke out in a Circassian
+aoul, seven versts from Georgief. It spread rapidly through all the
+adjacent countries, and caused a frightful mortality. The sanatory
+measures adopted in consequence, put an end to all communication between
+the Caucasus and the Russian provinces, and the mineral waters were
+entirely forsaken even by the inhabitants of the country. Such were the
+ravages of the plague, that in the space of five years Little Kabarda
+lost, at least, the twentieth part of its population. The Russian
+government omitted no means that could stay the contagion from crossing
+its frontiers, and it was not until 1809, that free intercourse with the
+Caucasus was again permitted. Multitude of visitors appeared in the
+following year, the ordinary tents were not sufficient for their
+accommodation, and it was necessary to make huts for them with branches
+of trees; several persons even made their abode in their carriages, and
+under felt and canvass awnings. The want of new wooden bath-rooms was
+also felt, and several little chambers were erected round the springs.
+
+In 1811, the concourse of visitors was so great that the Kalmucks of the
+Caspian were ordered to supply them with 100 felt tents. But even these
+were found insufficient in the following summer, and by this time the
+profits realised by the soldiers, who let out their quarters, having
+attracted the attention of some individuals, considerable stone edifices
+were soon erected. In 1814, the celebrated Greek, Warvatzi, built new
+bath-rooms at his own expense, and laid down two roads, one for
+pedestrians, the other for carriages, both leading to the principal
+spring. Three hundred Polish prisoners were placed at his disposal for
+the execution of these works. Thenceforth the place grew up rapidly,
+and under General Yermoloff's administration, nothing was neglected that
+could render the various edifices as complete and commodious as
+possible. Thus was gradually formed the pretty little town of
+Piatigorsk, which now contains seven principal bathing hotels, and
+eleven warm sulphurous springs, the temperature of which ranges from
+thirty to thirty-eight degrees Reaumur.
+
+The waters of Kislovodsk were discovered in 1790, during the war waged
+by the Russians against the Kabardians, and in 1792, they were
+numerously frequented under the protection of the imperial troops. The
+danger was great, however, for attacks were often made by the enemy, who
+even made repeated attempts to choke up the spring, or divert the
+waters. It was not until a fort was built in 1803, that the waters could
+be visited with some degree of security.
+
+The first houses for the reception of invalids were built in 1819;
+before that time they resided in tents. A magnificent restaurant was
+built in 1823, and a handsome alley of lindens was planted from the
+spring to the cataract, the picturesque appearance of which we so much
+admired. The ferruginous waters, near the site of the Scotch colony,
+were not made use of until long after the others, in consequence of
+their remote position, and the woods by which they were surrounded. It
+was not before 1819, that Yermoloff rendered them easy of access, and
+they began to be regularly frequented by invalids.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+SITUATION OF THE RUSSIANS AS TO THE CAUCASUS.
+
+      HISTORY OF THEIR ACQUISITION OF THE TRANS-CAUCASIAN
+      PROVINCES--GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF THE CAUCASUS--ARMED LINE OF
+      THE KOUBAN AND THE TEREK--BLOCKADE OF THE COASTS--CHARACTER
+      AND USAGES OF THE MOUNTAINEERS--ANECDOTE--VISIT TO A
+      CIRCASSIAN PRINCE.
+
+
+Among the various Asiatic nations which force and diplomacy are striving
+to subject to the Muscovite sceptre, there is one against which the
+whole might of Russia has hitherto been put forth in vain. The warlike
+tribes of the Caucasus have victoriously maintained their national
+independence; and in thus separating the trans-Caucasian provinces from
+the rest of the empire, they have protected Persia and Asiatic Turkey,
+and postponed indefinitely all thoughts of a Russian invasion of India.
+The cabinets of Europe have generally overlooked the importance of the
+Caucasus, and the part which its tribes are destined to play soon or
+late in eastern questions. Great Britain alone, prompted by her
+commercial instinct and her restless jealousy, protested for a time
+against the encroaching career of the tzars; but the singular
+manifestation of the _Vixen_ produced no slackening of the operations of
+Russia. The war has now been going on for sixteen years, yet few exact
+notions of its character and details are as yet possessed by Europe. Let
+us endeavour to complete as far as possible what we already know
+respecting the situation of the Russians in the Caucasus, and to see
+what may be the general results, political and commercial, of the
+occupation or independence of that region.
+
+We know that one of Peter the Great's most cherished schemes, the dream
+of his whole life, was to re-establish the trade of the East on its old
+footing, and to secure to himself a port on the Black Sea, in order to
+make it the link between the two continents. The genius of that
+sovereign must surely have been most enterprising to conceive such a
+project, at a time when its realisation required that the southern
+frontiers of the empire should first be pushed forward from 150 to 200
+leagues, as they have since been. Peter began his new political career
+by the taking of Azof and the foundation of the port of Taganrok in
+1695. The fatal campaign of the Pruth retarded the accomplishment of his
+designs; but when circumstances allowed him to return to them, he began
+again to pursue them in the direction of Persia and the Caspian. The
+restitution of Azof, and the destruction of Taganrok, stipulated in the
+treaty of the Pruth, thus became the primary cause of the Russian
+expeditions against the trans-Caucasian provinces.
+
+At this period Persia was suffering all the disorders of anarchy. The
+Turks had possessed themselves of all its western provinces up to the
+foot of the Caucasus; whilst the mountaineers, availing themselves of
+the distracted state of the country, made bloody inroads upon Georgia
+and the adjacent regions. The Lesghis, now one of the most formidable
+tribes of the Caucasus, ravaged the plains of Shirvan, in 1712, reduced
+the towns and villages to ashes, and massacred, according to Russian
+writers, 300 merchants, subjects of the empire, in the town of Shamaki.
+These acts of violence afforded Peter the Great an opportunity which he
+did not let slip. Under the pretence of punishing the Lesghis, and
+protecting the Shah of Persia against them, he prepared to make an armed
+intervention in the trans-Caucasian provinces. A formidable expedition
+was fitted out. A flotilla, constructed at Casan, arrived at the mouths
+of the Volga, and on the 15th of May, 1722, the emperor began his march
+at the head of 22,000 infantry, 9000 dragoons, and 15,000 Cossacks and
+Kalmucks. The transports coasted the Caspian, whilst the army marched by
+the Daghestan route, the great highway successively followed by the
+nations of the north and the south in their invasions. Thus it was that
+the Russians entered the Caucasus, and the valleys of those inaccessible
+mountains resounded, for the first time, to the war music of the
+Muscovite. The occupation of Ghilan and Derbent, and the siege of Bakou
+were the chief events of this campaign. Turkey, dismayed at the
+influence Russia was about to acquire in the East, was ready to take up
+arms; but Austria, taking the initiative in Europe, declared for the
+policy of the tzar, and vigorously resisted the hostile tendencies of
+the Porte. Russia was thus enabled to secure, not only Daghestan and
+Ghilan, but also the surrender of those provinces in which her armies
+had never set foot. In the midst of these events, Peter died when on the
+eve of consolidating his conquests, and before he had completed his
+negotiations with Persia and Turkey. His grand commercial ideas were
+abandoned after his death; the policy of the empire was directed solely
+towards territorial acquisition, and the tzars only obeyed the strong
+impulse, that, as if by some decree of fate, urges their subjects
+towards the south. Thenceforth the trans-Caucasian provinces were
+considered only a point gained for intervention in the affairs of Persia
+and Turkey, and for ulterior conquests in the direction of Central Asia.
+The rise of the celebrated Nadir Shah, who possessed himself of all the
+ancient dominions of Persia, for a while changed the face of things.
+Russia, crippled in her finances, withdrew her troops, gave up her
+pretensions to the countries beyond the Caucasus, acknowledged the
+independence of the two Kabardas by the treaty of Belgrade, and even
+engaged no longer to keep a fleet on the Sea of Azof.
+
+A religious mission sent to the Ossetans, who occupy the celebrated
+defiles of Dariel, was the only event in the reign of Elizabeth, that
+regarded the regions we are considering. Hardly any conversions were
+effected, but the Ossetans, to a certain extent, acknowledged the
+supremacy of Russia: this satisfied the real purpose of the mission, for
+the first stone was thereby laid on the line which was to become the
+great channel of communication between Russia and her Asiatic provinces.
+
+Schemes of conquest in the direction of Persia were resumed with vigour
+under Catherine II., and were carried out with more regularity. The
+first thing aimed at was to protect the south of the empire against the
+inroads of the Caucasians, and to this end the armed line of the Kouban
+and the Terek was organised and finished in 1771. It then numbered
+sixteen principal forts, and a great number of lesser ones and redoubts.
+Numerous military colonies of Cossacks, were next settled on the banks
+of the two rivers for the protection of the frontiers. While these
+preparations were in hand, war broke out with Turkey. Victorious both by
+sea and land, Catherine signed, in 1774, the memorable treaty of
+Koutchouk Kainardji, which secured to her the free navigation of the
+Black Sea, the passage of the Dardanelles, the entry of the Dniepr, and,
+moreover, conceded to her in the Caucasus, the sovereignty over both
+Kabardas.
+
+Peace being thus concluded, Catherine's first act was to send a pacific
+mission to explore the country of the Ossetans. The old negotiations
+were skilfully renewed, and a free passage through the defiles was
+obtained with the consent of that people. In 1781, an imperial squadron
+once more appeared in the Caspian, and endeavoured, but ineffectually,
+to make some military settlements on the Persian coasts. This expedition
+limited itself to consolidating the moral influence of Russia, and
+exciting, among the various tribes and nations of those regions,
+dissensions which afterwards afforded her a pretext for direct
+intervention. The Christian princes of Georgia, and the adjacent
+principalities, were the first to undergo the consequences of the
+Russian policy. Seduced by gold and presents, and doubtless also,
+wearied by the continual troubles that desolated their country, they
+gradually fell off from Persia and Turkey and accepted the protection of
+Catherine. The passes of the Caucasus were now free to Russia; she lost
+no time in making them practicable for an army, and so she was at last
+in a condition to realise in part the vast plans of the founder of her
+power.
+
+At a later period, in 1787, Russia and Turkey were again in arms, and
+the shore of the Caspian became for the first time a centre of military
+operations. Anapa, which the Turks had built for the protection of their
+trade with the mountaineers, after an unsuccessful assault, was taken by
+storm in 1791. Soudjouk Kaleh shared the same fate, but the Circassians
+blew up its fortifications before they retired. Struck by these
+conspicuous successes, the several states of Europe departed from the
+favourable policy with which they had previously treated the views of
+Russia, and the empress thought herself fortunate to conclude the treaty
+of Jassy in 1792, by which she advanced her frontiers to the Dniestr,
+and obtained the sovereignties of Georgia and the neighbouring
+countries. But Turkey had Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh restored to her, upon
+her engaging to suppress the incursions of the tribes dwelling on the
+left of the Kouban.
+
+Aga Mahomed Khan marched against Georgia in 1795, to punish it for
+having accepted the protectorate of Russia. Tiflis was sacked, and given
+up to fire and sword. On hearing of this bloody invasion Catherine II.
+immediately declared war against Persia, and her armies were already in
+occupation of Bakou, and a large portion of the Caspian shores, when she
+was succeeded by her son Paul I., who ordered all the recent conquests
+to be abandoned. Nevertheless, this strange beginning did not hinder the
+eccentric monarch from doing four years afterwards for Georgia what
+Catherine had done for the Crimea. Under pretext of putting an end to
+intestine discord, Georgia was united to Russia by an imperial ukase.
+Shortly after the accession of Alexander, Mingrelia shared the fate of
+Georgia; the conquests beyond the Caucasus were then regularised, and
+Tiflis became the centre of an exclusive Muscovite administration, civil
+and military.
+
+The immediate contact of Russia with Persia soon led to a rupture
+between these two powers. In 1806, hostilities began with Turkey also,
+and the campaign was marked like that of 1791 by the taking of Anapa and
+Soudjouk Kaleh, and the establishment of the Russians on the shores of
+Circassia. The unfortunate contest which then ensued between Napoleon
+and Alexander, and the direct intervention of England, put an end to the
+war, and brought about the signature of two treaties. That of Bucharest
+stipulated the reddition of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh; but Russia
+acquired Bessarabia and the left bank of the Danube; and Koutousofs
+80,000 men marched against Napoleon. The treaty of Gulistan, in 1814,
+gave to the empire, among other countries, Daghestan, Georgia, Imeritia,
+Mingrelia, the province of Bakou, Karabaugh, and Shirvan. This latter
+treaty was no sooner ratified than endless discussions arose respecting
+the determination of the frontiers. War was renewed, and ended only in
+1828 by the treaty of Turkmantchai, which conceded to Russia the fine
+countries of Erivan and Naktchivan, advanced her frontiers to the banks
+of the Araxus, and rendered her mistress of all the passes of Persia.
+
+It was during these latter wars that the people of the Caucasus began to
+be seriously uneasy about the designs of Russia. The special protection
+accorded to the Christian populations, the successive downfall of the
+principal chiefs of the country, and the introduction of the Russian
+administration, with its abuses and arbitrary proceedings, excited
+violent commotions in the Caucasian provinces, and the mountaineers
+naturally took part in every coalition formed against the common enemy.
+The armed line of the Kouban and the Terek was often attacked, and many
+a Cossack post was massacred. The Lesghis, the Tchetchenzes, and the
+Circassians distinguished themselves especially by their pertinacity and
+daring. Thenceforth Russia might conceive some idea of the contest she
+would have to sustain on the confines of Asia.
+
+We now approach the period when Russia, at last relieved from all her
+quarrels with Persia and Turkey, definitively acquired Anapa and
+Soudjouk Kaleh by the treaty of Adrianople, and directed all her efforts
+against the mountaineers of the Caucasus. But as now the war assumed a
+totally different character, it will be necessary to a full
+understanding of it that we should first glance at the topography of the
+country, and sketch the respective positions of the mountaineers and
+their foes.
+
+The chain of the Caucasus exhibits a peculiar conformation, altogether
+different from that of any of the European chains. The Alps, the
+Pyrenees, and the Carpathians, are accessible only by the valleys, and
+in these the inhabitants of the country find their subsistence, and
+agriculture develops its wealth. The contrary is the case in the
+Caucasus. From the fortress of Anapa on the Black Sea, all along to the
+Caspian, the northern slope presents only immense inclined plains,
+rising in terraces to a height of 3000 or 4000 yards above the sea
+level. These plains, rent on all directions by deep and narrow valleys
+and vertical clefts, often form real steppes, and possess on their
+loftiest heights rich pastures, where the inhabitants, secure from all
+attack, find fresh grass for their cattle in the sultriest days of
+summer. The valleys on the other hand are frightful abysses, the steep
+sides of which are clothed with brambles, while the bottoms are filled
+with rapid torrents foaming over beds of rocks and stones. Such is the
+singular spectacle generally presented by the northern slope of the
+Caucasus. This brief description may give an idea of the difficulties to
+be encountered by an invading army. Obliged to occupy the heights, it is
+incessantly checked in its march by impassable ravines, which do not
+allow of the employment of cavalry, and for the most part prevent the
+passage of artillery. The ordinary tactics of the mountaineers is to
+fall back before the enemy, until the nature of the ground or the want
+of supplies obliges the latter to begin a retrograde movement. Then it
+is that they attack the invaders, and, entrenched in their forests
+behind impregnable rocks, they inflict the most terrible carnage on them
+with little danger to themselves.
+
+On the south the character of the Caucasian chain is different. From
+Anapa to Gagra, along the shores of the Black Sea, we observe a
+secondary chain composed of schistous mountains, seldom exceeding 1000
+yards in height. But the nature of their soil, and of their rocks, would
+be enough to render them almost impracticable for European armies, even
+were they not covered with impenetrable forests. The inhabitants of this
+region, who are called Tcherkesses or Circassians, by the Russians, are
+entirely independent, and constitute one of the most warlike peoples of
+the Caucasus.
+
+The great chain begins in reality at Gagra, but the mountains recede
+from the shore, and nothing is to be seen along the coast as far as
+Mingrelia but secondary hills, commanded by immense crags, that
+completely cut off all approach to the central part of the Caucasus.
+This region, so feebly defended by its topographical conformation, is
+Abkhasia, the inhabitants of which have been forced to submit to Russia.
+To the north and on the northern slope, westward of the military road
+from Mosdok to Tiflis, dwell a considerable number of tribes, some of
+them ruled by a sort of feudal system, others constituted into little
+republics. Those of the west, dependent on Circassia and Abadza, are in
+continual war with the empire, whilst the Nogais, who inhabit the plains
+on the left bank of the Kouma, and the tribes of the Great Kabarda, own
+the sovereignty of the tzar; but their wavering and dubious submission
+cannot be relied on. In the centre, at the foot of the Elbrouz, dwell
+the Souanethes, an unsubdued people, and near them, occupying both sides
+of the pass of Dariel, are the Ingouches and Ossetans, exceptional
+tribes, essentially different from the aboriginal peoples. Finally, we
+have eastward of the great Tiflis road, near the Terek, Little Kabarda,
+and the country of the Koumicks, for the present subjugated; and then
+those indomitable tribes, the Lesghis and Tchetchenzes, of whom Shamihl
+is the Abd el Kader, and who extend over the two slopes of the Caucasus
+to the vicinity of the Caspian.
+
+In reality, the Kouban and the Terek, that rise from the central chain,
+and fall, the one into the Black Sea, the other into the Caspian, may
+be considered as the northern political limits of independent Caucasus.
+It is along those two rivers that Russia has formed her armed line,
+defended by Cossacks, and detachments from the regular army. The
+Russians have indeed penetrated those northern frontiers at sundry
+points, and have planted some forts within the country of the Lesghis
+and Tchetchenzes. But these lonely posts, in which a few unhappy
+garrisons are surrounded on all sides, and generally without a chance of
+escape, cannot be regarded as a real occupation of the soil on which
+they stand. They are in fact only so many piquets, whose business is
+only to watch more closely the movements of the mountaineers. In the
+south, from Anapa to Gagra, along the Black Sea, the imperial
+possessions are limited to a few detached forts, completely isolated,
+and deprived of all means of communication by land. A rigorous blockade
+has been established on this coast; but the Circassians, as intrepid in
+their frail barks as among their mountains, often pass by night through
+the Russian line of vessels, and reach Trebisond and Constantinople.
+Elsewhere, from Mingrelia to the Caspian, the frontiers are less
+precisely defined, and generally run parallel with the great chain of
+the Caucasus.
+
+Thus limited, the Caucasus, including the territory occupied by the
+subject tribes, presents a surface of scarcely 5000 leagues; and it is
+in this narrow region that a virgin and chivalric nation, amounting at
+most to 2,000,000 of souls, proudly upholds its independence against the
+might of the Russian empire, and has for twenty years sustained one of
+the most obstinate struggles known to modern history.
+
+The Russian line of the Kouban, which is exactly similar to that of the
+Terek, is defended by the Cossacks of the Black Sea, the poor remains of
+the famous Zaporogues, whom Catherine II. subdued with so much
+difficulty, and whom she colonised at the foot of the Caucasus, as a
+bulwark against the incursions of the mountaineers. The line consists of
+small forts and watch stations; the latter are merely a kind of sentry
+box raised on four posts, about fifty feet from the ground. Two Cossacks
+keep watch in them day and night. On the least movement of the enemy in
+the vast plain of reeds that fringes both banks of the river, a beacon
+fire is kindled on the top of the watch box. If the danger becomes more
+pressing, an enormous torch of straw and tar is set fire to. The signal
+is repeated from post to post, the whole line springs to arms, and 500
+or 600 men are instantly assembled on the point threatened. These posts,
+composed generally of a dozen men, are very close to each other,
+particularly in the most dangerous places. Small forts have been erected
+at intervals with earthworks, and a few pieces of cannon; they contain
+each from 150 to 200 men.
+
+But notwithstanding all the vigilance of the Cossacks, often aided by
+the troops of the line, the mountaineers not unfrequently cross the
+frontier and carry their incursions, which are always marked with
+massacre and pillage, into the adjacent provinces. These are bloody but
+justifiable reprisals. In 1835 a body of fifty horsemen entered the
+country of the Cossacks, and proceeded to a distance of 120 leagues, to
+plunder the German colony of Madjar and the important village of
+Vladimirofka, on the Kouma, and what is most remarkable, they got back
+to their mountains without being interrupted. The same year Kisliar on
+the Caspian was sacked by the Lesghis. These daring expeditions prove of
+themselves how insufficient is the armed line of the Caucasus, and to
+what dangers that part of southern Russia is exposed.
+
+The line of forts along the Black Sea is quite as weak, and the
+Circassians there are quite as daring. They carry off the Russian
+soldiers from beneath the fire of their redoubts, and come up to the
+very foot of their walls to insult the garrison. At the time I was
+exploring the mouths of the Kouban, a hostile chief had the audacity to
+appear one day before the gates of Anapa. He did all he could to
+irritate the Russians, and abusing them as cowards and woman-hearted, he
+defied them to single combat. Exasperated by his invectives, the
+commandant ordered that he should be fired on with grape. The horse of
+the mountaineer reared and threw off his rider, who, without letting go
+the bridle, instantly mounted again, and, advancing still nearer to the
+walls, discharged his pistol almost at point blank distance at the
+soldiers, and galloped off to the mountains.
+
+As for the blockade by sea, the imperial squadron is not expert enough
+to render it really effectual. It is only a few armed boats, manned by
+Cossacks, that give the Circassians any serious uneasiness. These
+Cossacks, like those of the Black Sea, are descended from the
+Zaporogues. Previously to the last war with Turkey they were settled on
+the right bank of the Danube, where their ancestors had taken refuge
+after the destruction of their Setcha. During the campaigns of 1828-9,
+pains were taken to revive their national feelings, they were brought
+again by fair means or by force under the imperial sway, and were then
+settled in the forts along the Caucasian shore, the keeping of which was
+committed to their charge. Courageous, enterprising, and worthy rivals
+of their foes, they wage a most active war against the skiffs of the
+mountaineers in their boats, which carry crews of fifty or sixty men.
+The war not having permitted us to visit the independent tribes, and
+investigate their moral and political condition for ourselves, we shall
+not enter into long details respecting the manners and institutions of
+the Circassians, but content ourselves with pointing out the principal
+traits of their character, and such of their peculiarities as may have
+most influence upon their relations with Russians.[60]
+
+Of all the peoples of the Caucasus, none more fully realise than the
+Circassians those heroic qualities with which imagination delights to
+invest the tribes of these mountains. Courage, intelligence, and
+remarkable beauty, have been liberally bestowed on them by nature; and
+what I admired above all in their character is a calm, noble dignity
+that never forsakes them, and which they unite with the most chivalric
+feelings and the most ardent passion for national liberty. I remember
+that during my stay at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the Cossacks of the
+Black Sea, being seated one morning in front of a merchant's house in
+the company of several Russian officers, I saw a very ill-dressed
+Circassian come up, who appeared to belong to the lowest class. He
+stopped before the shop, and while he was cheapening some articles, we
+examined his sabre. I saw distinctly on it the Latin inscription, _Anno
+Domini_, 1547, and the blade appeared to me to be of superior temper;
+the Russians were of a different opinion, for they handed the weapon
+back to the Circassian with disdainful indifference. The Circassian took
+it without uttering a word, cut off a handful of his beard with it at a
+stroke, as easily as though he had done it with a razor, then quietly
+mounted his horse and rode away, casting on the officers a look of such
+deep scorn as no words could describe.
+
+The Circassians, evermore engaged in war, are in general all well armed.
+Their equipment consists of a rifle, a sabre, a long dagger, which they
+wear in front, and a pistol stuck in their belt. Their remarkably
+elegant costume consists of tight pantaloons, and a short tunic belted
+round the waist, and having cartridge pockets worked on the breast;
+their head-dress is a round laced cap, encircled with a black or white
+border of long-wooled sheep-skin. In cold or rainy weather, they wear a
+hood (bashlik), and wrap themselves in an impenetrable felt cloak
+(bourka). Their horses are small, but of astonishing spirit and bottom.
+It has often been ascertained by the imperial garrisons that Circassian
+marauders have got over twenty-five or even thirty leagues of ground in
+a night. When pursued by the Russians, the mountaineers are not to be
+stopped by the most rapid torrents. If the horse is young, and not yet
+trained to this perilous kind of service, the rider gallops him up to
+the verge of the ravine, then covering the animal's head with his
+bourka, he plunges, almost always with impunity, down precipices that
+are sometimes from ten or fifteen yards deep.
+
+The Circassians are wonderfully expert in the use of fire-arms, and of
+their double-edged daggers. Armed only with the latter weapon, they have
+been known to leap their horses over the Russian bayonets, stab the
+soldiers, and rout their squared battalions. When they are surrounded in
+their forts or villages, without any chance of escape, they often
+sacrifice their wives and children, set fire to their dwellings, and
+perish in the flames rather than surrender. Like all Orientals, they do
+not abandon their dead and wounded except at the last extremity, and
+nothing can surpass the obstinacy with which they fight to carry them
+off from the enemy. It was to this fact I owed my escape from one of the
+greatest dangers I ever encountered.
+
+In the month of April, 1841, I explored the military line of the Kouban.
+On my departure from Stavropol, the governor strongly insisted on giving
+me an escort; but I refused it, for fear of encumbering my movements,
+and resolved to trust to my lucky star. It was the season of flood, too,
+in the Kouban, a period in which the Circassians very seldom cross it. I
+accepted, however, as a guide, an old Cossack, who had seen more than
+five-and-twenty years' fighting, and was all over scars, in short, a
+genuine descendant of the Zaporogues. This man, my interpreter, and a
+postillion, whom we were to change at each station, formed my whole
+suite. We were all armed, though there is not much use in such a
+precaution in a country where one is always attacked either unawares, so
+that he cannot defend himself, or by superior forces against which all
+resistance is but a danger the more. But what of that? There was
+something imposing and flattering to one's pride in these martial
+accoutrements. A Tiflis dagger was stuck in my belt, a heavy rifle
+thumped against my loins, and my holsters contained an excellent pair of
+St. Etienne pistols. My Cossack was armed with two pistols, a rifle, a
+Circassian sabre, and a lance. As for my interpreter, an Italian, he was
+as brave as a Calabrian bandit, and what prized above all in him was an
+imperturbable coolness in the most critical positions, and a blind
+obedience to my orders. For five days we pursued our way pleasantly
+along the Kouban, without thinking of the danger of our position. The
+country, broken up by beautiful hills, was covered with rich vegetation.
+The muddy waters of the Kouban flowed on our left, and beyond the river
+we saw distinctly the first ranges of the Caucasus. We could even
+discern the smoke of the Circassian aouls rising up amidst the forests.
+
+On the evening of the fifth day we arrived at a little fort, where we
+passed the night. The weather next morning was cold and rainy, and every
+thing gave token of an unpleasant day. The country before us was quite
+unlike that we were leaving behind. The road wound tortuously over an
+immense plain between marshes and quagmires, that often rendered it all
+but impossible to advance. Our morning ride was therefore a dull and
+silent one. The Cossack had no tales to tell of his warlike feats; he
+was in bad humour, and never opened his lips except to rap out one of
+those thundering oaths in which the Russians often indulge. A thin rain
+beat in our faces; our tired horses slid at every step on the greasy
+clay soil, and we rode in single file, muffled up in our bourkas and
+bashliks. Towards noon, the weather cleared up, the road became less
+difficult, and towards evening we were but an hour and a half from the
+last fort on that side of Ekaterinodar. We were then proceeding slowly,
+without any thought of danger, and I paid no heed to the Cossack, who
+had halted some distance behind. But our quick-eared guide had heard
+the sound of hoofs, and in a few seconds he rode up at full speed,
+shouting with all his might, "The Tcherkesses! the Tcherkesses!" Looking
+round we saw four mountaineers coming over a hill not far from the road.
+My plan was instantly formed. The state of our horses rendered any
+attempt at flight entirely useless; we were still far from the fortress,
+and, once overtaken, we could not avoid a fight, the chances of which
+were all against us. The Cossack alone had a sabre, and when once we had
+discharged our fire-arms, it would be all over with us. But I knew that
+the Circassians never abandoned their dead and wounded, and it was on
+this I founded our hope of safety. My orders were quickly given, and we
+continued to advance at a walk, riding abreast, but sufficiently wide
+apart to leave each man's movements free. Not a word was uttered by any
+of us. I had incurred many dangers in the course of my travels, but I
+had never been in a situation of more breathless anxiety. In less than
+ten minutes we distinctly heard the galloping of the mountaineers, and
+immediately afterwards their balls whizzed past us. My bourka was
+slightly touched, and the shaft of the Cossack's lance was cut in two.
+The critical moment was come; I gave the word, and we instantly wheeled
+round, and discharged our pistols at arm's length at our assailants: two
+of them fell. "Away now, and ride for your lives," I shouted, "the
+Circassians will not pursue us." Our horses, which had recovered their
+wind, and were probably inspirited by the smell of powder, carried us
+along at a sweeping pace, and never stopped until we were within sight
+of the fortress. Exactly what I had foreseen had happened. On the
+morning after that memorable day the garrison turned out and scoured the
+country, and I accompanied them to the scene of action. There were
+copious marks of blood on the sand, and among the sedges on the side of
+the road we found a shaska, or Circassian sabre, which had been dropped
+no doubt by the enemy. The commanding officer presented it to me, and I
+have kept it ever since as a remembrance of my perilous interview with
+the mountaineers. It bears the mark of a ball.
+
+It would be difficult to give any precise idea respecting the religious
+principles of the various nations of the Caucasus. The charge of
+idolatry has been alleged against several of them, but we think without
+any good grounds. Paganism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism, have by
+turns found access among them, and the result has been an anomalous
+medley of no clearly defined doctrines with the most superstitious
+practices of their early obsolete creeds. The Lesghis and the eastern
+tribes alone are really Mohammedans. As for the Ossetans, Circassians,
+Kabardians, and other western tribes, they seem to profess a pure deism,
+mingled with some Christian and Mussulman notions. It is thought that
+Christianity was introduced among these people by the celebrated Thamar,
+Queen of Georgia, who reigned in the latter part of the twelfth century;
+but it is much more probable that this was done by the Greek colonies of
+the Lower Empire, and afterwards by those of the republic of Genoa in
+the Crimea. The Tcherkesses to this day entertain a profound reverence
+for the crosses and old churches of their country, to which they make
+frequent pilgrimages, and yearly offerings and sacrifices. It seems,
+too, that the Greek mythology has left numerous traces in Circassia; the
+story of Saturn for instance, that of the Titans endeavouring to scale
+heaven, and several others, are found among many of the tribes. A very
+marked characteristic of the Circassians is a total absence of religious
+fanaticism. Pretenders to divine inspiration have always been repulsed
+by them, and most of them have paid with their lives for their attempts
+at proselytism. This is not the case on the Caspian side of the
+mountains, where Shamihl's power is in a great measure based on his
+religious influence over the tribes.
+
+When two nations are at war, it usually happens that the one is
+calumniated by the other, and the stronger seeks an apology for its own
+ambition in blackening the character of its antagonist. Thus the
+Russians, wishing to make the inhabitants of the Caucasus appear as
+savages, against whom every means of extermination is allowable, relate
+the most absurd tales of the ferocious tortures inflicted by them on
+their prisoners. But there is no truth in all this. I have often met
+military men who had been prisoners in the mountains, and they
+unanimously testified to the good treatment they had received. The
+Circassians deal harshly only with those who resist, or who have made
+several attempts to escape; but in those cases their measures are fully
+justified by the fear lest the fugitives should convey important
+topographical information to the Russians. As for the story of the
+chopped horsehair inserted under the skin of the soles of the feet to
+hinder the escape of captives, it has been strangely exaggerated by some
+travellers. I never could hear of more than one prisoner of war who had
+been thus treated, and this was an army surgeon with whom I had an
+opportunity of conversing. He had not been previously ill-treated in any
+way by the mountaineers; but, distracted with the desire for freedom, he
+had made three attempts to escape, and it was not until the third that
+the Tcherkesses had recourse to the terrible expedient of the horsehair.
+During our stay at the waters of the Caucasus, I saw a young Russian
+woman who had recently been rescued by General Grabe's detachment.
+Shortly after our arrival she fled, and returned to the mountains. This
+fact speaks at least in favour of the gallantry of the Circassians.
+Indeed, there is no one in the country but well knows the deep respect
+they profess for the sex. It would be very difficult, if not impossible,
+to mention any case in which Russian female prisoners have been
+maltreated by them.
+
+The Circassians have been accustomed, from time immemorial, to make
+prisoners of all foreigners who land on their shores without any special
+warrant or recommendation. This custom has been denounced and censured
+in every possible way; yet it is not so barbarous as has been supposed.
+Encompassed by enemies, exposed to incessant attacks, and relying for
+their defence chiefly on the nature of their country, the jealous care
+of their independence has naturally compelled the mountaineers to become
+suspicious, and not to allow any traveller to penetrate their retreats.
+What proves that this prohibitive measure is by no means the result of a
+savage temper is, that it is enough to pronounce the name of a chief, no
+matter who, to be welcomed and treated everywhere with unbounded
+hospitality. Reassured by this slender evidence of good faith, the
+mountaineers lay aside their distrust, and think only how they may do
+honour to the guest of one of their princes.
+
+But another and still graver charge still hangs over the Circassians,
+namely, their slave dealing, which has so often provoked the generous
+indignation of the philanthropists of Europe, and for the abolition of
+which Russia has been extolled by all journalists. We are certainly far
+from approving of that hateful trade, in which human beings are bought
+and sold as merchandise; but we are bound in justice to the people of
+Asia to remark, that there is a wide difference between Oriental slavery
+and that which exists in Russia, in the French colonies, and in America.
+In the East, slavery becomes in fact a virtual adoption, which has
+generally a favourable effect both on the moral and the physical weal of
+the individual. It is a condition by no means implying any sort of
+degradation, nor has there ever existed between it and the class of
+freemen that line of demarcation, beset by pride and prejudice, which is
+found everywhere else. It would be easy to mention the names of many
+high dignitaries of Turkey who were originally slaves; indeed, it would
+be difficult to name one young man of the Caucasus, sold to the Turks,
+who did not rise to more or less distinction. As for the women, large
+cargoes of whom still arrive in the Bosphorus in spite of the Russian
+blockade, they are far from bewailing their lot; on the contrary, they
+think themselves very fortunate in being able to set out for
+Constantinople, which offers them a prospect of every thing that can
+fascinate the imagination of a girl of the East. All this, of course,
+pre-supposes the absence of those family affections to which we attach
+so much value; but it must not be forgotten that the tribes of the
+Caucasus cannot be fairly or soundly judged by the standard of our
+European notions, but that we must make due allowance for their social
+state, their manners, and traditions. The sale of women in Circassia is
+obviously but a substitute and an equivalent for the indispensable
+preliminaries that elsewhere precede every marriage in the East; with
+this difference alone, that in the Caucasus, on account of its
+remoteness, it is an agent who undertakes the pecuniary part of the
+transaction, and acts as the medium between the girl's relations and him
+whose lawful wife she is in most cases to become. The parents, it is
+true, part with their children, and give them up to strangers almost
+always unknown to them; but they do not abandon them for all that. They
+keep up a frequent correspondence with them, and the Russians never
+capture a single Circassian boat in which there are not men and women
+going to or returning from Constantinople merely to see their children.
+No one who has been in the Caucasus can be ignorant of the fact that all
+the families, not excepting even those of high rank, esteem it a great
+honour to have their children placed out in Turkey. It is to all these
+relations and alliances, as I may say, between the Circassians and the
+Turks that the latter owe the great moral influence they still exercise
+over the tribes of the Caucasus. The name of Turk is always the best
+recommendation among the mountaineers, and there is no sort of
+respectful consideration but is evinced towards those who have returned
+home after passing some years of servitude in Turkey. After all, the
+Russians themselves think on this subject precisely as we do, and were
+it not for potent political considerations, they would not by any means
+offer impediment to the Caucasian slave-trade. This is proved most
+manifestly by the proposal made by a Russian general in 1843, to
+regulate and ratify this traffic, and carry it on for the benefit of
+Russia, by granting the tzar's subjects the exclusive privilege of
+purchasing Circassian slaves. The scheme was abortive, and could not
+have been otherwise, for it is a monstrous absurdity to compare Russian
+slavery with that which prevails in Constantinople. Nothing proves more
+strongly how different are the real sentiments of the Circassians from
+those imputed to them, than the indignation with which they regard
+slavery, such as prevails in Russia. I will here relate an anecdote
+which I doubt not will appear strange to many persons; but I can
+guarantee its authenticity, since the fact occurred under my own eyes.
+
+A detachment of mountaineers, destined to form a guard of honour for
+Paskewitch, passed through Rostof on the Don, in 1838. The sultry season
+was then at its height, and two of the Circassians, going to bathe, laid
+their clothes in the boat belonging to the custom-house. There was
+certainly nothing very reprehensible in this; but the _employes_ of the
+customs thought otherwise, threw the men's clothes into the river, and
+assaulted them with sticks. Immediately there was a tremendous uproar;
+all the mountaineers flocked to the spot, and threatened to set fire to
+the town, if the amplest satisfaction were not given to their comrades.
+The inhabitants were seized with alarm, and the director of the customs
+went in person to the commander of the Circassians, to beseech him not
+to put his threats in execution; and he backed his entreaties with the
+offer of a round sum of money for the officer and his men. "Money!"
+retorted the indignant chieftain; "money! it is good for base-souled,
+venal Russians! It is good for you, who sell men, women, and children
+like vile cattle; but among our people, the honour of a man made in the
+image of God is not bought and sold. Let your men kneel down before my
+soldiers, and beg their pardon; that is the only reparation we insist
+on." The chief's demand was complied with, and the peace of the town
+was immediately restored. The words we have reported are authentic; they
+prove that the Tcherkesses do not look on the sale of their children as
+a traffic, and that in the actual state of their national civilisation,
+that sale cannot be in anywise considered as incompatible with family
+affections, and the sentiments of honour and humanity.
+
+The Circassian women have been celebrated by so many writers, and their
+beauty has been made the theme of so many charming descriptions, that we
+may be allowed to say a few words about them. Unfortunately we are
+constrained to avow, that the reputation of their charms appears to us
+greatly exaggerated, and that in person they are much less remarkable
+than the men. It is true we have not been able to visit any of the great
+centres of the population: we have not been among the independent
+tribes; but we have been in several aouls on the banks of the Kouban,
+and been entertained in a princely family; but nowhere could we see any
+of those perfect beauties of whom travellers make such frequent mention.
+The only thing that really struck us in these mountain girls was the
+elegance of their shape, and the inimitable grace of their bearing. A
+Circassian woman is never awkward. Dressed in rags or in brocade, she
+never fails to assume spontaneously the most noble and picturesque
+attitudes. In this respect she is incontestably superior to the highest
+efforts of fascination which Parisian art can achieve.
+
+The great celebrity of the women of the Caucasus appears to have been
+derived from the bazaars of Constantinople, where the Turks, who are
+great admirers of their charms, still inquire after them with extreme
+avidity. But as their notions of beauty are quite different from ours,
+and relate chiefly to plumpness, and the shape of the feet, it is not at
+all surprising that the opinions of the Turks have misled travellers.
+But though the Circassian belles do not completely realise the ideal
+type dreamed of by Europeans, we are far from denying the brilliant
+qualities with which nature has evidently endowed them. They are
+engaging, gracious, and affable towards the stranger, and we can well
+conceive that their charming hospitality has won for them many an ardent
+admirer.
+
+Apropos of the conjugal and domestic habits of the Circassians; I will
+describe an excursion I made along the military line of the North,
+eighteen months after my journey to the Caspian Sea.
+
+During my stay at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the country of the Black
+Sea Cossacks, I heard a great deal about a Tcherkess prince, allied to
+Russia, and established on the right bank of the Kouban, a dozen versts
+from the town. I therefore gladly accepted the proposal made to me by
+the Attaman Zavadofsky to visit the chief, under the escort of an
+officer and two soldiers. Baron Kloch, of whom I have already spoken,
+accompanied me. We mounted our horses, armed to the teeth, according to
+the invariable custom of the country, and in three hours we alighted in
+the middle of the aoul. We were immediately surrounded by a crowd of
+persons whose looks had nothing in them of welcome; but when they were
+informed that we were not Russians, but foreigners, and that we were
+come merely to request a few hours' hospitality of their master, their
+sour looks were changed for an expression of the frankest cordiality,
+and they hastened to conduct us to the prince's dwelling.
+
+It was a miserable thatched mud cabin, in front of which we found the
+noble Tcherkess, lying on a mat, in his shirt, and barefooted. He
+received us in the kindest manner, and after complimenting us on our
+arrival, he proceeded to make his toilette. He sent for his most elegant
+garments and his most stylish leg-gear, girded on his weapons, which he
+took care to make us admire, and then led us into the cabin, which
+served as his abode during the day. The interior was as naked and
+unfurnished as it could well be. A divan covered with reed matting, a
+few vessels, and a saddle, were the only objects visible. After we had
+rested a few moments, the prince begged us to pay a visit to his wife
+and daughter, who had been apprised of our arrival, and were extremely
+desirous to see us.
+
+These ladies occupied a hut of their own, consisting, like the prince's,
+of but one room. They rose as we entered, and saluted us very
+gracefully; then motioning us to be seated, the mother sat down in the
+Turkish fashion on her divan, whilst her daughter came and leaned
+gracefully against the sofa on which we had taken our places. When the
+ceremony of reception was over, we remarked with surprise that the
+prince had not crossed the threshold, but merely put his head in at the
+door to answer our questions and talk with his wife. Our Cossack officer
+explained the meaning of this singular conduct, telling us that a
+Circassian husband cannot, without detriment to his honour, enter his
+wife's apartment during the day. This rule is rigorously observed in all
+families that make any pretensions to distinction.
+
+The princess's apartments had a little more air of comfort than her
+husband's. We found in it two large divans with silk cushions
+embroidered with gold and silver, carpets of painted felt, several
+trunks and a very pretty work-basket. A little Russian mirror, and the
+chief's armorial trophies, formed the ornaments of the walls. But the
+floor was not boarded, the walls were rough plastered, and two little
+holes, furnished with shutters, barely served to let a little air into
+the interior. The princess, who seemed about five-and-thirty or forty,
+was not fitted to support the reputation of her countrywomen, and we
+were by no means dazzled by her charms. Her dress alone attracted our
+attention. Under a brocaded pelisse with short sleeves, and laced on the
+seams, she wore a silk chemise, open much lower down than decency could
+approve. A velvet cap trimmed with silver, smooth plaits of hair, cut
+heart-shape on the forehead, a white veil fastened on the top of the
+head, and crossing over the bosom, and lastly, a red shawl thrown
+carelessly over her lap, completed her toilette. As for her daughter, we
+thought her charming: she was dressed in a white robe, and a red
+kazavek confined round the waist; she had delicate features, a
+dazzlingly fair complexion, and her black hair escaped in a profusion of
+tresses from beneath her cap. The affability of the two ladies exceeded
+our expectations. They asked us a multitude of questions about our
+journey, our country, and our occupations. Our European costume
+interested them exceedingly: our straw hats above all excited their
+especial wonder. And yet there was something cold and impassive in their
+whole demeanour. It was not until a long curtain falling by accident
+shut out the princess from our sight that they condescended to smile.
+After conversing for a little while, we asked permission of the princess
+to take her likeness, and to sketch the interior of her dwelling, to
+which she made no objection. When we had made our drawings, a collation
+was set before us, consisting of fruits and small cheese-cakes, to
+which, for my part, I did not do much honour. In the evening we took our
+leave, and on coming out of the hut, we found all the inhabitants of the
+aoul assembled, their faces beaming with the most sincere good will, and
+every man was eager to shake hands with us before our departure. A
+numerous body volunteered to accompany us, and the prince himself
+mounted and rode with us half-way to Ekaterinodar, where we embraced
+like old acquaintances. The Tcherkess chief turned back to his aoul, and
+it was not without a feeling of regret that we spurred our horses in the
+direction of the capital of the Black Sea Cossacks.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[60] For fuller details we refer our readers to the Travels of M.
+Taitbout de Marigny and of the English agent Bell, and to the works
+recently published by MM. Fonton and Dubois. There exists also another
+narrative by Mr. Spencer, which has had the honour of a long analysis in
+the _Revue des Deux Mondes_; but we know most positively that the
+honourable gentleman only made a military promenade along the coasts of
+the Black Sea, in company with Count Woronzof, and that he never
+undertook that perilous excursion into Circassia, with which he has
+filled a whole volume.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+      RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE WAR IN THE CAUCASUS--VITAL
+      IMPORTANCE OF THE CAUCASUS TO RUSSIA--DESIGNS ON INDIA,
+      CENTRAL ASIA, BOKHARA, KHIVA, &C.--RUSSIAN AND ENGLISH
+      COMMERCE IN PERSIA.
+
+
+The treaty of Adrianople was in a manner the opening of a new era in the
+relations of Russia with the mountaineers; for it was by virtue of that
+treaty that the present tzar, already master of Anapa and Soudjouk
+Kaleh, pretended to the sovereignty of Circassia and of the whole
+seaboard of the Black Sea. True to the invariable principles of its
+foreign policy, the government at first employed means of corruption,
+and strove to seduce the various chiefs of the country by pensions,
+decorations, and military appointments. But the mountaineers, who had
+the example of the Persian provinces before their eyes, sternly rejected
+all the overtures of Russia, and repudiated the clauses of the
+convention of Adrianople; the political and commercial independence of
+their country became their rallying cry, and they would not treat on any
+other condition. All such ideas were totally at variance with Nicholas's
+schemes of absolute dominion; therefore he had recourse to arms to
+obtain by force what he had been unable to accomplish by other means.
+
+Abkhasia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, and easily
+accessible, was the first invaded. A Russian force occupied the country
+in 1839, under the ordinary pretence of supporting one of its princes,
+and putting an end to anarchy. In the same year General Paskevitch, then
+governor-general of the Caucasus, for the first time made an armed
+exploration of the country of the Tcherkesses beyond the Kouban; but he
+effected absolutely nothing, and his expedition only resulted in a great
+loss of men and stores. In the following year war broke out in Daghestan
+with the Lesghis and the Tchetchenzes. The celebrated Kadi Moulah,
+giving himself out for a prophet, gathered together a considerable
+number of partisans; but unfortunately for him there was no unanimity
+among the tribes, and the princes were continually counteracting each
+other. Kadi Moulah never was able to bring more than 3000 or 4000 men
+together; nevertheless, he maintained the struggle with a courage worthy
+of a better fate, and Russia knows what it cost her to put down the
+revolt of Daghestan. As for any real progress in that part of the
+Caucasus, the Russians made none; they did no more than replace things
+on the old footing. Daghestan soon became again more hostile than ever,
+and the Tchetchenzes and Lesghis continued in separate detachments to
+plunder and ravage the adjacent provinces up to the time when the
+ascendency of the celebrated Shamihl, the worthy successor of Kadi
+Moulah, gave a fresh impulse to the warlike tribes of the mountain, and
+rendered them more formidable than ever.
+
+After taking possession of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh, the Russians
+thought of seizing the whole seaboard of Circassia, and especially the
+various points suitable for the establishment of military posts. They
+made themselves masters of Guelendchik and the important position of
+Gagra, which commands the pass between Circassia and Abkhasia. The
+Tcherkesses heroically defended their territory, but how could they have
+withstood the guns of the ships of war that mowed them down whilst the
+soldiers were landing and constructing their redoubts? The blockade of
+the coasts was declared in 1838, and all foreign communication with the
+Caucasus ostensibly intercepted. During the four following years Russia
+suffered heavy losses; and all her successes were limited to the
+establishment of some small isolated forts on the sea-coast. She then
+increased her army, laid down the military road from the Kouban to
+Guelendchik, across the last western offshoot of the Caucasus, set on
+foot an exploration of the enemy's whole coast, and prepared to push the
+war with renewed vigour.
+
+In 1837 the Emperor Nicholas visited the Caucasus. He would see for
+himself the theatre of a war so disastrous for his arms, and try what
+impression his imperial presence could make on the mountaineers. The
+chiefs of the country were invited to various conferences, to which they
+boldly repaired on the faith of the Russian parole; but instead of
+conciliating them by words of peace and moderation, the emperor only
+exasperated them by his threatening and haughty language. "Do you know,"
+said he to them, "that I have powder enough to blow up all your
+mountains?"
+
+During the three following years there was an incessant succession of
+expeditions. Golovin, on the frontiers of Georgia, Grabe on the north,
+and Racifsky on the Circassian seaboard, left nothing untried to
+accomplish their master's orders. The sacrifices incurred by Russia were
+enormous; the greater part of her fleet was destroyed by a storm, but
+all efforts failed against the intrepidity and tactics of the
+mountaineers. Some new forts erected under cover of the ships were all
+that resulted from these disastrous campaigns. I was in the Caucasus in
+1839, when Lieutenant-General Grabe returned from his famous expedition
+against Shamihl. When the army marched it had numbered 6000 men, 1000 of
+whom, and 120 officers, were cut off in three months. But as the general
+had advanced further into the country than any of his predecessors,
+Russia sang poeans, and Grabe became the hero of the day, although the
+imperial troops had been forced to retreat and entirely evacuate the
+country they had invaded. All the other expeditions were similar to this
+one, and achieved in reality nothing but the burning and destruction of
+a few villages. It is true the mountaineers are far from being
+victorious in all their encounters with the Russians, whose artillery
+they cannot easily withstand; but if they are obliged to give way to
+numbers or to engineering, nevertheless, they remain in the end masters
+of the ground, and annul all the momentary advantages gained by their
+enemies.
+
+The year 1840 was still more fatal to the arms of Nicholas. Almost all
+the new forts on the seaboard were taken by the Circassians, who bravely
+attacked and carried the best fortified posts without artillery. The
+military road from the Kouban to Guelendchik was intercepted, Fort St.
+Nicholas, which commanded it, was stormed and the garrison massacred.
+Never yet had Russia endured such heavy blows. The disasters were such
+that the official journals themselves, after many months' silence, were
+at last obliged to speak of them, and to try to gloss them over by
+publishing turgid eulogiums on the heroism of the unfortunate Black Sea
+garrisons. The following is the bulletin published in the Russian
+_Invalide_ of the 7th of August, 1840:[61]
+
+"The annals of the Russian army present a multitude of glorious deeds of
+arms and heroic actions, the memory of which will be for ever preserved
+among posterity. The detached corps of the Caucasus has from its special
+destination more frequent opportunities than the other troops to gather
+new laurels; but there had not yet been seen in its ranks examples of so
+brilliant a valour as that recently manifested by the garrisons of
+several campaigning fortifications erected on the unsubjugated
+territory of the Cossacks of the eastern shores of the Black Sea.
+Erected with a view to curb the brigandages of those semi-barbarous
+hordes, and particularly their favourite occupation, the shameful trade
+in slaves, these fortifications were during the spring of this year the
+constant objects of their attacks. In hopes to destroy the obstacles
+raised against them, at a period when by reason of their position, and
+the insurmountable difficulty of communication, the forts on the
+seaboard could not receive any aid from without, they united against
+them all their forces and all their means. And indeed three of these
+forts fell, but fell with a glory that won for their defenders the
+admiration and even the respect of their fierce enemies. The valiant
+efforts of the other garrisons were crowned with better success. They
+have all withstood the desperate and often-repeated attacks of the
+mountaineers, and held out unsubdued until it was possible to send them
+succours.
+
+"In this struggle between a handful of Russian soldiers and a determined
+and enterprising enemy, ten and even twenty times their superiors in
+number, the high deeds of the garrisons of the Veliaminof and Michael
+redoubts, and the defence of forts Navaguinsky and Abinsky, merit
+particular attention. The first of these redoubts was taken by the
+mountaineers on the 29th of last February. At daybreak, taking advantage
+of the localities, and concealed by the morning mist, their bands, more
+than 7000 strong, approached the entrenchments unperceived, and rushed
+impetuously to the assault. Repeatedly overthrown, they returned each
+time furiously to the charge, and after a long conflict finally remained
+masters of the rampart. The garrison, rejecting all proposals to
+surrender, continued with invincible courage a combat thenceforth
+without hope, preferring to find in it a glorious death; and all fell
+with the exception of some invalid soldiers, who were made prisoners by
+the mountaineers. The latter, in token of respect for the defenders of
+the redoubt, took home with them some of them whom there still appeared
+a chance of saving. The garrison of the Veliaminof redoubt consisted of
+400 men of all ranks. The loss of the mountaineers amounted, in killed
+alone, to 900 men.
+
+"On the morning of the 22nd of March, the mountaineers, to the number of
+more than 11,000 men, attacked the Michael redoubt, the garrison of
+which counted but 480 men under arms. Its brave commander,
+Second-captain Lico, of the battalion No. 5 of the Cossacks of the
+frontier line of the Black Sea, having learned the intentions of the
+enemy, had made preparations for vigorously resisting his attempts.
+Seeing the impossibility of receiving timely succour, he had nails
+prepared to spike his cannons, in case the rampart should be carried,
+and had a _reduit_ constructed in the interior of the redoubt, with
+planks, tubs, and other suitable materials. Then collecting his whole
+garrison, officers and soldiers, he proposed to them to blow up the
+powder magazine, if they did not succeed in repulsing the enemy. The
+proposal was received with an enthusiasm which the subsequent conduct of
+the garrison proved to be genuine. The mountaineers were received with a
+most destructive fire by the artillery of the fort, and could not make
+themselves masters of the rampart until after an hour and half of
+fighting, in which they suffered considerable loss. The heroic efforts
+of the garrison having forced them back into the ditch, they took to
+flight; but the mountain horsemen, who had remained on the watch at a
+certain distance, fell with their sabres on the fugitives; and the
+latter, seeing inevitable death on either hand, returned to the assault,
+drove the garrison from the rampart, and forced it to retire into the
+_reduit_, after it had set fire to all the stores and provisions of
+every kind that were in the redoubt. Sharp-shooting went on for half an
+hour; the firing then ceased, and the mountaineers were beginning to
+congratulate themselves on their victory, when the powder magazine blew
+up.[62] The garrison perished in accomplishing this act, memorable in
+military annals; but with it perished all the mountaineers who were in
+the redoubt. The details of the defence of the Veliaminof and Michael
+redoubts have been divulged by the mountaineers themselves, and by some
+soldiers who have escaped from slavery among them. The services of the
+heroes who died thus on the field of honour, have been honoured by his
+majesty the emperor, in the persons of their families; whose livelihood
+has been insured, and whose children will be brought up at the expense
+of the state. These redoubts are now once more occupied by the
+detachment of troops operating on the eastern coasts of the Black Sea.
+
+"The Navaguinsky fort has often been subjected to the attacks of the
+mountaineers; but they have always been repulsed with the same valour
+and steadiness. In one of these attacks, the mountaineers, availing
+themselves of the darkness of night, and the noise of a tempest,
+approached the fort without being perceived by the sentinels, surrounded
+it on all sides, sprang suddenly to the assault with ladders and hooks,
+made themselves masters of part of the rampart, and got into the fort.
+Captain Podgoursky, its brave commandant, and Lieutenant Jacovlev, then
+advanced against them with a part of the garrison. Both were killed on
+the spot, but their death in no degree checked the ardour of the
+soldiers, who fell upon the enemy with the bayonet, and drove them into
+the ditch. The fight was maintained with the same enthusiasm on all the
+other points of the fortifications, and the invalids themselves
+voluntarily turned out from the hospital and took part in it. At
+daybreak, after three hours hard fighting, the fort was cleared of the
+enemy, who left in it a considerable number of killed and wounded.
+
+"On the 26th of May, the Abinsky fort, situated between the Kouban and
+the shore of the Black Sea, was surrounded at two in the morning by a
+body of mountaineers 12,000 strong, who had assembled in the vicinity,
+and suddenly assaulted the fort with loud shouts, and discharges from
+their rifles. The hail of bullets, hand-grenades, and grape-shot with
+which they were received did not check their ardour. Full of temerity
+and contempt of death, they descended with marvellous promptitude and
+agility into the ditch, and began to scale the rampart, thus blindly
+seeking sure destruction. The warriors, clad in coats of mail,
+penetrated repeatedly into the entrenchment, but were each time killed
+or driven back. At last, in spite of all the efforts of the garrison, a
+numerous party found their way into the interior of a bastion, and flung
+themselves with flags unfurled into the interior of the fort. Colonel
+Vecelofsky, the commandant, retaining all his presence of mind at this
+critical moment, charged the enemy at the bayonet point, with a reserve
+he had kept, of 40 men, and drove them out of the entrenchment, after
+capturing two of their flags. This brilliant feat checked the audacity
+of the assailants, and inflamed the courage of the garrison to the
+highest pitch. The enemy, beaten on all points, took flight, carrying
+off their dead, according to the custom of the Asiatics. Ten of their
+wounded remained in the hands of the garrison, who found 685 dead in the
+interior of the fort and in the ditches. The number of those whom the
+mountaineers carried off to bury at home, was doubtless still more
+considerable. The loss on our side was nine killed and eighteen wounded.
+
+"At the time of the attack, the garrison of the Abinsky fort consisted
+of a superior officer, fifteen officers, and 676 soldiers. The numerical
+weakness of this force, proves of itself the extraordinary intrepidity
+of all comprised in it, officers and soldiers, and their unanimous
+resolution to defend with unswerving firmness the ramparts confided to
+their courage."
+
+It seems to us superfluous to offer any comment on this heroic bulletin.
+We shall merely observe, that the most serious losses, the destruction
+of the new road from the Kouban, the taking of fort St. Nicholas, and
+that of several other forts, have been entirely forgotten in the
+official statement, and no facts mentioned, but those which might be
+interpreted in favour of Russia's military glory.
+
+On the eastern side of the mountain the war was fully as disastrous for
+the invaders. The imperial army lost 400 petty officers and soldiers,
+and twenty-nine officers in the battle of Valrik against the
+Tchetchenzes. The military colonies of the Terek were attacked and
+plundered, and when General Golovin retired to his winter quarters at
+the end of the campaign, he had lost more than three-fourths of his
+men.
+
+The Great Kabarda did not remain an indifferent spectator of the
+offensive league formed by the tribes of the Caucasus; and when Russia,
+suspecting with reason the unfriendly disposition of some tribes, made
+an armed exploration on the banks of the Laba in order to construct
+redoubts, and thus cut off the subjugated tribes from the others, the
+general found the country, wherever he advanced, but a desert. All the
+inhabitants had already retired to the other side of the Laba to join
+their warlike neighbours.
+
+Since that time fresh defeats have been made known through the press,
+and in spite of all the mystery in which the war of the Caucasus is
+sought to be wrapt, the truth has, nevertheless, transpired. The last
+military operations of Russia have been as unproductive as those that
+preceded them, and prove that no change has taken place in the
+belligerents respectively. Thus we see that in despite of the resources
+of the empire, and of the indomitable obstinacy of the emperor, the
+position of Russia in the Caucasus has been quite stationary for sixty
+years.
+
+In considering this long series of disasters and unavailing efforts, we
+are naturally led to inquire what have been the causes of this want of
+success? We have already mentioned the topographical character of the
+country, and the difficulties encountered by an invading army in regions
+not accessible by the valleys, and we have given such details of the
+manners and character of the mountaineers as may enable the reader to
+conceive the obstinate and formidable nature of their resistance.
+Nevertheless, seeing the absolute power of Nicholas, and the intense
+importance he attaches to the conquest of the Caucasus, it is difficult
+to admit that obstacles arising out of the nature of the ground and the
+character of the population could not have been overcome in a region so
+limited, if there were not other and more potent causes continually at
+work to impede the military operations of Russia. These causes reside
+chiefly in the deplorable state and constitution of the imperial armies.
+
+In Russia there is no distinct commissariat department under
+disinterested control, whether of the government or of superior
+officers. It is the colonel himself of each regiment who provides the
+rations, and as he is subject to no control, but acts really with
+despotic authority, both he and his contractors have the amplest
+possible opportunity to cheat the government and enrich themselves at
+the expense of the troops. There are regiments in the Caucasus that
+bring in from 80,000 to 100,000 francs to the colonel. As for the
+subaltern officers, military submission on the one hand, and the
+scantiness of their pay on the other, make them always ready to
+participate in their commander's infamous speculations. What is the
+result of this wretched corruption? It is that, notwithstanding the high
+prices paid by the government, the contractors continue to send to the
+Caucasus the most unwholesome stores, and grains almost always heated or
+quite spoiled; for it is only in this way they can realise sufficient
+profits to be able to satisfy the cupidity of their confederates, the
+officers. I knew several merchants of Theodosia in the Crimea, men of
+honour, who refused to have any thing to do with military supplies,
+because they found it impossible to make the colonels and generals
+accept sound articles.
+
+This official robbery is nowhere carried on in a more scandalous manner
+than in the Caucasus. It is there regularly established, and one may
+conjecture the hardships and privations of the soldier from seeing the
+luxurious tables of the lowest officers, most of whom have but from 1000
+or 1200 rubles yearly pay. Certainly there are few sovereigns who take
+more heed than Nicholas to the physical welfare of their soldiers, and
+we must give full credit to his generous intentions in this respect; but
+these are completely defeated by the corruption of his officers and
+civil servants, by the total want of publicity, and by that base
+servility which will always hinder an inferior from accusing his
+superior. I have been present at several military inspections made by
+general officers in the Caucasus, but never heard the least complaint
+made by the soldiers; and when the general, calling them by companies
+round him in a circle, questioned them respecting their victuals, they
+all invariably replied in chorus, that they had nothing to complain of,
+and were as well treated as possible. Their colonel's eye was upon them,
+and they knew what the least word of complaint would have cost them; yet
+they were dying by hundreds of scurvy, and other diseases engendered by
+unwholesome food.
+
+The government usually makes large purchases of butter in Siberia for
+the army of the Caucasus; but this butter which would be of such great
+utility in the military hospitals, and which costs as much as sixty-five
+francs the twenty kilogrammes, very seldom passes further than Taganrok,
+where it is sold in retail, and its place supplied with the worst
+substitute that can be had. Nor does the robbery end there. The butter
+fabricated in Taganrok is again made matter of speculation in the
+Caucasus, and finally not a particle reaches the sick and drooping
+soldiers. The other good provisions undergo nearly the same course.
+
+When I was at Theodosia in 1840, there were in the military hospital of
+the town 15,000 invalids, who were all dying for want of attendance and
+good medicine. A Courland general (whom I could name) justly incensed at
+these abuses, sent in a strong report of them directly to the emperor;
+and twenty days afterwards, a superior officer, despatched by the
+emperor himself, arrived on the spot. But the people about the hospital
+were rich; they had taken their measures, and the result of this
+mission, which looked so threatening at first, was a report extremely
+satisfactory as to the zeal of the managers and the sanatory condition
+of the establishment. The general was severely reprimanded, almost
+disgraced, and the robbers continued to merit official encomiums. I did
+not hear that they were rewarded by the government.
+
+The most frightful mortality prevails among the troops in the Caucasus;
+whole divisions disappear in the space of a few months, and the army is
+used up and wholly renewed every three or four years. It is especially
+in the small forts on the seaboard, where the mischiefs of bad food are
+increased by almost total isolation, that diseases make frightful havoc,
+particularly scurvy. In the spring of 1840, the twelfth division marched
+to occupy the redoubts on the coasts of Circassia, and its effective
+number was 12,000 men, quite an extraordinary circumstance. Four months
+afterwards it was recalled to take part in the expedition at that time
+projected against the Viceroy of Egypt. When it landed at Sevastopol it
+was reduced to 1500 men. In the same year the commander-in-chief, in
+visiting the forts of the seaboard, found but nine men fit for service
+out of 300 that composed the garrison of Soukhoum Kaleh. According to
+official returns, the average deaths on the seaboard of Circassia in
+1841 and 1842, were 17,000 in each year.
+
+Is it to be wondered that with such a military administration, Russia
+makes no progress in the Caucasus? What can be expected of armies in
+which want of all necessaries and total disregard for the lives of men
+are the order of the day? The divisions and regiments in the Caucasus
+are in a state of permanent disorganisation, and the courage and
+activity of the troops sink altogether under the influence of the
+diseases by which they are incessantly mowed down. It needs all the
+force of discipline, all the stoic self-denial of the soldier, and,
+above all, the incessant renovation of the garrisons, to hinder the
+Russians from being driven out of all their positions.
+
+People often ask with surprise why Russia does not take the field with
+200,000 or even 300,000 men at once. We have already given sufficiently
+circumstantial details on the topography of the Caucasus, to enable
+every one to perceive immediately how difficult it is to employ large
+armies in regions so inaccessible, and so wonderfully defended by
+nature. Nor, on the other hand, must it be forgotten that the official
+strength of the army of the Caucasus is always at least 160,000 men. Its
+real strength, indeed, very seldom exceeds 80,000; but its proportion to
+the grand total of the imperial forces, paid as if they were at the
+full, still remains the same, and it is impossible, under existing
+circumstances, that the government should augment the number of its
+troops without most seriously increasing the already embarrassed
+condition of the finances. Another consideration of still greater weight
+is, that the movements of large armies are attended with extreme
+difficulty in Russia, to a degree unknown in any other country of
+Europe. In all the discussions that are held on the subject of the war
+in the Caucasus, the immense difficulties of the transport of men,
+military stores, and provisions, have never been taken into account, and
+people have always reasoned as if the Caucasus was situated in the midst
+of the tzar's dominions. A glance at the map of Russia will suffice to
+show, that those mountains lying on the most southern verge of the
+empire, are separated by real deserts from the great centres of the
+Russian population, and that to repair to the banks of the Kouban from
+the first governments where troops are recruited, they must traverse
+more than 150 leagues of country inhabited by Cossacks and Kalmucks, in
+which the nature of the soil and of the inhabitants forbids any
+cantonment of reserves.
+
+Moreover we must not forget the difficulties of the climate. The fine
+season barely lasts four months in Russia. The roads are impassable for
+pedestrians in spring and autumn, and during the winter the cold is too
+severe, the days too short, the snow-storms often too prolonged to allow
+of putting regiments on the march, not to say sending them to the
+Caucasus across the uncultivated and desert plains that stretch between
+the Sea of Azof and the Caspian. The route by sea is equally
+impracticable. No use can be made of the Caspian on account of the arid
+and unproductive steppes that belt it on the Russian side. Astrakhan,
+the only town situated on that part of the coast, is obliged to fetch
+its provisions from a distance of 200 leagues. The Black Sea is, indeed,
+more favourably circumstanced; but it only affords communication with
+the forts on the Circassian side; and the mountaineers always wait to
+make their attacks in the season of rough weather, during which
+navigation is usually suspended, and it is exceedingly difficult to
+reinforce and victual the garrisons. The tediousness and difficulty of
+conveying stores is the same by land. With the exception of the forts of
+Circassia, supplied directly from the ports of Odessa, Theodosia, and
+Kertch, all the garrisons of the Caucasus receive their supplies from
+the nearly central provinces of the empire. Thus the materials destined
+for the army of the Terek and of Daghestan arrive first in Astrakhan,
+after a voyage of more than 200 leagues down the Volga; and then they
+are forwarded by sea for the most part to Koumskaia, on the mouth of the
+Kouma, where they are taken up by the Turcomans on their little
+ox-carts, impressed for the service, and reach their final destination
+after fifteen or twenty days' travelling. The mode of proceeding is
+still more tedious and expensive for the implements and _materiel_ of
+war which arrive from Siberia only once a year, during the spring floods
+of the Volga, the Don, and the Dniepr. Such obstacles render it
+impossible to augment the forces employed on the Caucasus. France is
+infinitely better circumstanced with regard to Algeria. We have nothing
+to prevent our keeping up strong military stations on the Mediterranean
+shore. We can at any moment command the means of rapidly transporting to
+Africa whatever forces may be required by ordinary or unforeseen
+circumstances. We will by and by return to the war in Algeria, as
+compared with that which the Russians are carrying on in the Caucasus.
+
+We have yet to speak of another cause of weakness to the Russian arms,
+and one which is the more serious as it operates exclusively on the
+_moral_ of the soldiers. Russia has made the Caucasus a place of
+transportation, a regular Botany Bay for all the rogues in the empire,
+and for those who by their acts or their political opinions, have
+incurred the wrath of the tzar. In reference to this subject, we will
+mention a fact which may seem hard to believe, but which I attest as an
+eye-witness. In 1840, the fifteenth division, commanded by
+Lieutenant-General S----, received orders to march to the Caucasus. On
+leaving Taganrok, it was about 1200 short of its complement, and its
+deficiency was supplied from the prisons of southern Russia. Robbers,
+pickpockets, vagabonds, and soldiers that had been flogged and degraded,
+were marched into Taganrok, and incorporated with the regiments which
+were about to begin the campaign. These singular recruits were put under
+the keeping of the soldiers, and each of them, according to his supposed
+degree of rascality, was guarded by two, three, or four men. Surely the
+_moral_ of the Russian troops is sufficiently jeopardised by the social
+and military institutions of the empire, and it cannot be prudent so
+deeply to debase the soldier by associating him with thieves and highway
+robbers, and to change the toilsome wars of the Caucasus into a means of
+punishment, I may say of destruction, for political offenders and real
+criminals. Furthermore, a conflict so prolonged, so disastrous, and that
+for so many years has been without any tangible result, must inevitably
+have the worst effect on the minds of troops who are not actuated either
+by the sense of glory or honour, or by the feeling that they are
+defending the right. We have visited the Caucasus at various times, and
+never did we meet one officer who was heartily attached to the service
+in which he was engaged. Despondency is universal, and many expeditions
+against the mountaineers have been marked by a total absence of
+discipline. The soldiers have often refused to march, and have suffered
+themselves to be massacred by their officers, rather than advance a
+foot.
+
+The Caucasus has also become a place of exile for a great number of
+Poles. After the revolution of 1831, the Russian government committed
+the blunder of sending to the Kouban most of the regiments compromised
+in that ill-fated effort. The result was very easy to foresee; desertion
+soon began in the ranks of the outlaws, and it is now known beyond a
+doubt that the Tcherkesses have Poles among them, who instruct them in
+the art of war, endeavour to create an artillery for them with the
+pieces captured from the Russians, and labour actively to allay the
+dissensions between the various tribes. General Grabe himself assured me
+that he had seen in several places fortifications which he recognised as
+quite modern. He had also in his campaign of 1840 remarked a more
+compact and better concerted resistance on the part of the Circassians,
+and often a remarkable degree of combined action in their attacks.
+
+We have not much to say about the military tactics employed by Russia in
+this war; in point of science it presents no very striking features, but
+on the contrary, cannot but give a very low idea of the merit of the
+imperial generals. At first it was expected that the conquest would be
+effected by hemming in the mountaineers with military lines, and
+gradually encroaching on their territory; but this very costly system
+seems to me quite impracticable in a country in which the forts are
+always solitary, and cannot protect each other, or cross their fires. I
+do not know, however, whether it has been quite given up.
+
+Attempts were made in 1837 to set fire to the forests of the Caucasus by
+means of pitch. Three years afterwards it was hoped to effect their
+destruction by arming the men of the 15th division with axes; but these
+strange expedients only produced useless expenditure. I know a general
+of the highest personal courage, who calls in the aid of natural
+philosophy to beguile or awe the mountaineers. Whenever he receives a
+visit from chiefs whose fidelity he is inclined to suspect, he sets an
+electrical machine in play. His visitors feel violent shocks, they know
+not how, their beards and hair stand on end, and in the bewilderment
+caused by these mysterious visitations, they sometimes let out an
+important secret, and betray themselves to their enemy.
+
+An officer of engineers told me an anecdote of this same general which
+is worth recording. A mosque which the Russian government had built at
+its own expense for a tribe of Little Kabarda was to be inaugurated, and
+as usual there was a grand military parade in honour of the occasion.
+When the Kabardians had displayed all their address in horsemanship and
+shooting, the Russian general proceeded to give a sample of what he
+could do, and to strike the assembled tribes with amazement. He called
+for his double-barrelled gun, and having himself charged one of the
+barrels with ball, he ordered a pigeon to be let loose, which he
+instantly brought down, to the astonishment of the beholders. "That is
+not all," said he to the chiefs near him; "to shoot a pigeon flying is
+no very extraordinary feat; but to cut off his head with the ball is
+what I call good shooting." Then turning to his servant, he said
+something to him in German. The man went and picked up the bird, and
+when he held it out to view, it was seen to be beheaded just as the
+general had said. Unbounded was the admiration of the simple
+mountaineers; they looked on the general as a supernatural being, and
+nothing was talked of for many a day in the aouls, but the beheaded
+pigeon and the wonderful Russian marksman.
+
+Now to explain the enigma. The inhabitants of the Caucasus are ignorant
+of the use of small shot, and it was with this the general had
+accomplished his surprising exploit, having previously loaded one barrel
+with it. As for the pigeon's head, it was adroitly whipped off by the
+servant, who had received his orders to that effect in German.
+
+But it would be idle to expect that the shrewd good sense of the
+mountaineers will long be imposed on by the scientific accomplishments
+of the Russian generals; on the contrary, these curious expedients only
+give them increased confidence in their own strength. Yermoloff appears
+to us to have been the only governor who understood the nature of the
+war in the Caucasus, and who conducted affairs with the dignified and
+inflexible vigour which were fitted to make an impression on the tribes.
+Several commanders-in-chief have succeeded him in turns: Rosen, Golovin,
+Grabe, Raiefsky, Anrep, Neughart; but the government has gained nothing
+by all these changes.
+
+After the details we have given, comments and arguments would be almost
+superfluous: it is easy to conceive how critical is the situation of the
+Russians in the Caucasian regions. For twenty years the Emperor Nicholas
+has expended all the military genius of his empire, shrinking from no
+sacrifice of men or money, and employing generals of the highest
+reputation, and yet the might of his sovereign will has broken down
+before the difficulties we have pointed out. The tribes of the mountain
+are, on the contrary, growing stronger every day. They are making
+progress in the art of war; success fires their zeal; the old intestine
+discords are gradually disappearing, and the various tribes seem to feel
+the necessity of acting in concert, and uniting under one banner. Now
+can Russia, under existing circumstances, increase her chances of
+success? We think not, and the facts sufficiently corroborate our
+opinion. With his system of war and absolute dominion, the tzar has
+entangled himself in a hopeless maze, and the Caucasus will long remain
+a running sore to the empire, a bottomless pit to swallow up many an
+army and much treasure. It has often been proposed to renounce the
+present system, but the emperor's vanity will not admit of any pacific
+counsels. Besides, even if Russia were now willing to change the nature
+of her relations with the independent tribes, she could not do so. Her
+overtures would be regarded as tokens of weakness, and the mountaineers
+would only become so much the more enterprising.
+
+In Alexander's time, when warlike ideas were less in favour, it was
+proposed to establish a commercial intercourse with the Tcherkesses, and
+bring them gradually by pacific means to acknowledge the supremacy of
+Russia. A Genoese, named Scassi, proposed in 1813 to the Duc de
+Richelieu, governor of Odessa, a plan for a commercial settlement on the
+coasts of Circassia. His scheme was adopted, and a merchant vessel
+touched soon afterwards at Guelendchik and Pchiat, without meeting with
+any hindrance on the part of the inhabitants. A trade was soon
+established, but the disorderly conduct of the Russians aroused the
+jealousy of the Circassians, who soon burned and destroyed the factory
+at Pchiat, and the government, whether justly or not, treated Scassi as
+a culprit. Since that time there has been no thought of commerce or
+pacification, and the tribes of the Caucasus have been regarded only as
+rebels to be put down, not as a free people justly jealous of their
+privileges. Frequent conferences have taken place between the Russian
+generals and the mountain chiefs; but as the one party talked only of
+liberty and independence, and the other of nothing but submission and
+implicit obedience, hostilities always broke out again with fresh
+vehemence. It appears, however, from facts recently communicated to me,
+that the emperor is at last disposed to give up his warlike system, and
+that his generals have at last received orders to act only on the
+defensive.[63] But as the government, whilst adopting these new
+measures, still loudly proclaims its rights of sovereignty over the
+Caucasus, it follows that this change of policy is quite illusory, and
+cannot effect any kind of reconciliation between the Russians and the
+mountaineers.
+
+We now come to the point at which we may advert to a question which set
+the whole English press in a blaze in 1837; namely, the blockade of the
+Circassian coasts, and the pretensions of Russia as to that part of the
+Caucasus. It is evident that the tzar's government being at open war
+with the mountaineers, may at its pleasure intercept the foreign trade
+with the enemy's country. This is an incontestible right recognised by
+all nations, and the capture of the _Vixen_ was not worth the noise that
+was made about it. As to the proprietary right to the country which
+Russia affects to have received from Turkey, through the treaty of
+Adrianople, it is totally fallacious, and is unsupported by any
+historical document or positive fact. It is fully demonstrated that
+Turkey never possessed any right over Circassia; she had merely erected
+on the seaboard, with the consent of the inhabitants, the two fortresses
+of Anapa and Soudjouk Kaleh, for the protection of the trade between the
+two countries. Russia herself, in the beginning, publicly acknowledged
+this state of things; and the evidence of her having done so is to be
+found in the general depot of the maps of the empire. Chance threw into
+my hands a map of the Caucasus, drawn up by the Russian engineers, long
+prior to the treaty of Adrianople. The Turkish possessions are
+distinctly marked on it, and defined by a red boundary line; they
+consist solely, as we have just stated, of the two fortresses on the
+coast. This map, the existence of which one day sorely surprised Count
+Voronzof (governor-general of New Russia), was sent to England, and
+deposited in the Foreign Office during Lord Palmerston's administration.
+After all, I hardly know why Russia tries to avail herself of the treaty
+of Adrianople as a justification in the eyes of Europe of her schemes of
+conquest in the Caucasus. She is doing there only what we are doing in
+Algeria, and the English in India, and indeed with still greater reason;
+for, as we shall presently see, the possession of the Caucasus is a
+question vitally affecting her interests in her trans-Caucasian
+provinces, and her ulterior projects respecting the regions dependent on
+Persia and Central Asia.
+
+Here are the terms in which this subject is handled in a report printed
+at St. Petersburg, and addressed to the emperor after the expedition of
+General Emmanuel towards the Elbrouz, in 1829:
+
+"The Tcherkesses bar out Russia from the South, and may at their
+pleasure open or close the passage to the nations of Asia. At present
+their intestine dissensions, fostered by Russia, hinder them from
+uniting under one leader; but it must not be forgotten that according to
+traditions religiously preserved among them, the sway of their ancestors
+extended as far as to the Black Sea. They believe that a mighty people,
+descended from their ancestors, and whose existence is corroborated by
+the ruins of Madjar, has once already overrun the fine plains adjacent
+to the Danube, and finally settled in Pannonia. Add to this
+consideration their superiority in arms. Perfect horsemen, extremely
+well armed, inured to war by the continual freebooting they exercise
+against their neighbours, courageous, and disdaining the advantages of
+our civilisation, the imagination is appalled at the consequences which
+their union under one leader might have for Russia, which has no other
+bulwark against their ravages than a military line, too extensive to be
+very strong."
+
+Reflections like these, printed in St. Petersburg, can leave no doubt as
+to the dangers to which the southern provinces are exposed. They are not
+to be mistaken, and the government sees them clearly: the aggressive
+independence of the Caucasus is perilous to all Russia. Armed,
+courageous, and enterprising as they are, the mountaineers need only
+some degree of union among their chiefs, to carry the flames of revolt
+over a vast portion of the tzar's dominions.
+
+Let any one look fairly and impartially at the immense region comprised
+between the Danube and the Caspian, and what will he behold? To the east
+40,000 tents of Khirghis, Turcomans, and Kalmucks, robbed of all their
+ancient rights, or threatened with the loss of the remnant yet left them
+of their independence; in the centre 800,000 Cossacks bound to the most
+onerous military service, tormented by the recollection of their
+suppressed constitutions, and detesting a government whose efforts tend
+to extinguish every trace of their nationality; in the south and west
+the Tatars of the Crimea and the Sea of Azof, and the Bessarabians, who
+are far from being favourable to Russia; and lastly, beyond the
+Caucasus, in Asia, restless populations, ill-broken as yet to the
+Russian yoke, and possessions with which there exists no overland
+communication except that by way of Mozdok, a dangerous route, which
+cannot be traversed without an escort of infantry and artillery, and
+which the mountaineers may at any moment intercept.[64] Here, assuredly,
+are causes enough of disorganisation and ruin, that want only a man of
+genius to set them in action. What wonder is it that with such
+contingencies to apprehend, the empire recoils from no sacrifice!
+
+No one, we believe, will deny the schemes of conquest which the
+Muscovite government entertains regarding Turkey, Persia, and even
+certain regions of India: these schemes are incontestible, and have long
+been matter of history. The fact being admitted, what is the position
+most favourable for these vast plans of aggrandisement? We have but to
+glance at the map to answer immediately: the regions beyond the
+Caucasus. There it is that Russia is in contact at once with the Caspian
+and the Black Sea, with Persia and Turkey; from thence she can with the
+same army dictate laws to the Sultan of Constantinople, and to the Shah
+of Teheran; and there her diplomacy finds an ample field to work, and
+continual pretexts to justify fresh encroachments. But this formidable
+position will never be truly and securely possessed by the tzars until
+the tribes of the Caucasus shall have been subjugated.
+
+When the empire acquired all those Asiatic provinces, its situation as
+to the Caucasus was far from being so critical as it now is. It is, in
+fact, only within the last fourteen or fifteen years that the fierce
+struggle has raged between Muscovite domination and the freedom of the
+mountain. I therefore much doubt that Russia would now venture to act
+towards Persia as she did in the time of Catherine II., and her
+successors. Her hostile attitude has been strikingly modified since she
+has had in her rear a foe so active and dangerous as the Caucasians.
+This is a consideration that may ease the minds of the English as to
+their possessions in India, for the road by Herat and Affghanistan will
+not be so very soon open to their rivals. There can be no question then
+respecting the great importance of the Caucasus to Russia. The
+independence of the mountaineers is perilous to her southern
+governments, compromises the safety and the future destiny of the
+trans-Caucasian provinces, and at the same time fetters and completely
+paralyses the ambition of the tzar. It is in this sense the question is
+likewise regarded by the court of Teheran, which now builds its whole
+hope of safety on the entanglements of Russia in the Caucasus.
+
+And now let us ask what is the work which Russia is doing beyond the
+Caucasus for the advantage or detriment of mankind? What, independently
+of her ambition and her tendencies, is the influence she is called to
+exercise over the actual and future lot of the nations she has subjected
+to her sway? It must be admitted that when the imperial armies appeared
+for the first time on the confines of Asia, the trans-Caucasian
+provinces were abandoned without defence or hope for the future to all
+the sanguinary horrors of anarchy. Turkey, Persia, and the mountain
+tribes rioted in the plunder of Georgia and the adjacent states. The
+advent of the Russians put an end to this sad state of things, and
+introduced a condition of peace and quiet unknown for many centuries
+before. The imperial government, it is true, brought with it its vices,
+its abuses, its vexations, and its hosts of greedy and plundering
+functionaries; and then, when the first heyday of delight at the
+enjoyment of personal safety was past, the inhabitants had other
+hardships to deplore. Nevertheless, the depredations committed by its
+functionaries will never prevent the inevitable tendency of the
+Muscovite occupation to bring about an intellectual development, which,
+soon or late, will act most favourably on the future condition of those
+Asiatic regions. Christian populations, so active and enterprising as
+are those of the trans-Caucasian provinces, will infallibly begin a
+career of social improvement from the moment they find themselves
+released from the engrossing care of defending their bodily existence.
+Of course it will need many years to mature a movement which derives no
+aid from the too superficial and corrupt civilisation of Russia; nor has
+any thing worth mentioning been done as yet to promote the industry,
+commerce, and agriculture of a country, which only needs some share of
+freedom to be productive. Tiflis is far from having fulfilled the
+prophecy of Count Gamba, in 1820, and become a second Palmyra or
+Alexandria; on the contrary, every measure has been adopted that could
+extinguish the very germs of the national wealth. But humanity,
+mysterious in its ways, and slow in its progress, seldom keeps pace with
+the impatience of nations; and notwithstanding the new evils that in our
+day afflict the trans-Caucasian populations, we are convinced that it
+was a grand step in advance for them to have been withdrawn from the
+anarchical sway of Persia and Turkey, and to have had the personal
+safety of their inhabitants secured by the intervention and authority of
+Russia.[65]
+
+The conquest of India by the Russians has often been the theme of long
+discussions and elaborate hypotheses. England was very uneasy at the
+attempts on Khiva, and never meets with a single difficulty in
+Affghanistan without ascribing it to Muscovite agents. It is, therefore,
+worth while to consider what are the means and facilities at the command
+of Russia for the establishment of her dominion in the centre of
+Turkistan and on the banks of the Indus and the Ganges.
+
+Three points of departure and three routes present themselves to Russia
+for the invasion of Central Asia. On the eastern coast of the Caspian
+Sea, Manghishlak, Tuk Karakhan, and the Bay of Balkhan, communicate with
+Khiva by caravan routes; Orenburg to the north is in pretty regular
+communication with Khiva and Bokhara; and to the south the Caspian
+provinces trade with Affghanistan either by way of Meshed, Bokhara, and
+Balkh, or by Meshed, Bokhara, and Candahar.
+
+The first line that was taken by a Russian expedition was that from Tuk
+Kharakhan to Khiva. Prince Alexander Bekovitch was sent by Peter the
+Great to explore certain regions of the Khanat of Khiva, which were
+supposed to contain rich gold mines, and landed on the Caspian shore
+with about 3,000 men. The result was disastrous; but the details are
+too well known to need repetition here. No new demonstration has since
+been made in that direction, and it appears to have been with good
+reason abandoned entirely. The eastern shores of the Caspian have been
+sufficiently explored to make it clear that they cannot be made the
+starting point of military operations against Turkistan. From the mouth
+of the Emba to the vicinity of Astrabad, the shore is without a river;
+and the whole seaboard, as well as the regions between the Caspian and
+Khiva, with the exception of a very small tract occupied by the Balkhan
+mountains, presents only barren desert plains, without water, occupied
+by nomade Turcomans, and affording no resources to an invading army.
+"This country," says Mouravief, "exhibits the image of death, or rather
+of the desolation left behind by a mighty convulsion of nature. Neither
+birds nor quadrupeds are found in it; no verdure or vegetation cheers
+the sight, except here and there at long intervals some spots on which
+there grow a few sickly stunted shrubs." It is reckoned that on an
+average a caravan employs from twenty-eight to thirty-five days of
+camel-marching to complete the distance of about two hundred leagues
+that divides Tuk Karakhan from Khiva. The journey is not quite so long
+from the Bay of Balkhan. This was the route taken by Captain Mouravief
+when he was sent by Yermolof to the Khan of Khiva, to propose to him an
+alliance with Russia. It would certainly be hard to conceive any
+conditions more unfavourable for an expedition towards the interior than
+are presented by this part of the coast. On the one side is the Caspian
+Sea, the navigation of which is at all times difficult, and in winter
+impossible; on the other side more than a month's march through the
+desert; and then on the coast itself there is a total impossibility of
+cantoning a reserved force. Under these circumstances, all schemes of
+conquest in this direction must be chimerical. The Russians no doubt
+might, by a clever _coup-de-main_, push forwards some thousands of men
+on Khiva, and take the town; but what would they gain thereby? How could
+they victual their troops; or how could they establish any safe line of
+transport across deserts traversed by flying hordes of warlike
+plunderers? Russia could not possibly dispense with a series of
+fortified posts to keep up a regular communication with her army of
+occupation, and how could she erect and maintain such posts in a naked
+and wholly unproductive country? The government has already tried to
+establish some small forts on the north-eastern shore of the Caspian,
+for the protection of its fisheries, against the Khirghis; but to this
+day it has effected nothing thereby, but the useless destruction of many
+thousands of its soldiers, who have perished under the most cruel
+hardships. Furthermore, the Khanat of Khiva, the state nearest the
+imperial frontiers, is but a very small part of Turkistan; nor would its
+occupation help in more than a very limited degree towards the conquest
+of Bokhara, and _a fortiori_ towards that of Affghanistan.
+
+After the line from the eastern coast of the Caspian, that from Orenburg
+to Khiva and Bokhara appears to have attracted the particular attention
+of the tzars. But General Perofsky's fruitless expedition against Khiva,
+in 1840, has demonstrated that this line is quite as perilous and
+difficult as the other. The steppes that lie between Russia and the two
+khanats are exactly similar to those situated north and east of the
+Caspian, presenting the same nakedness and sterility, an almost total
+want of fresh water, and nomade tribes perpetually engaged in rapine.
+When State Councillor Negri was sent on an embassy to the Khan of
+Bokhara, in 1820, he set out accompanied by 200 Cossacks, 200 infantry,
+twenty-five Bashkir horsemen, two pieces of artillery, 400 horses, and
+358 camels. The government afforded him every possible facility and
+means of transport, and he took with him more than two months' rations
+for his men and cattle. Yet though he met with no obstruction on the
+part of the hordes whose steppes he traversed, he was not less than
+seventy-one days in completing the journey of 1600 kilometres (1000
+miles) from Orenburg to Bokhara.
+
+Perofsky, who marched at the head of 6000 infantry, with 10,000 baggage
+camels, could not even reach the territory of Khiva. The disasters
+suffered by his troops obliged him to retrace his steps without having
+advanced further than Ac Boulak, the last outpost erected by the
+Russians in 1839, at 180 kilometres from the Emba. The obstacles
+encountered by his small army were beyond all description. The cold was
+fearful, being 40 degrees below zero of the centigrade thermometer; the
+camels could scarcely advance through the snow; and the movements of the
+troops were constantly impeded by hurricanes of extraordinary violence.
+Such an expedition, undertaken in the depth of winter, solely for the
+purpose of having fresh water, may enable one to guess at the
+difficulties of a march over the same ground in summer. Spring is a
+season unknown in all those immense plains of southern Russia; intense
+frost is there succeeded abruptly by tropical heat, and a fortnight is
+generally sufficient to dry up the small streams and the stagnant waters
+produced by the melting of the snows, and to scorch up the thin coating
+of pasturage that for a brief while had covered the steppes. What chance
+then has Russia of successfully invading Turkistan from the north, and
+reigning supreme over Bokhara, which is separated from Orenburg by 400
+leagues of desert? All that has been done, and all that has been
+observed up to this day, proves that the notion is preposterous. As for
+any compact and amity between Russia and the numerous Kirghis hordes,
+such as might favour the march of the imperial armies in Bokhara, no
+such thing is to be expected. A great deal has been said of the Emperor
+Alexander's journey to Orenburg in 1824, and the efforts then made by
+the government to conciliate the Kirghis; but these proceedings have
+been greatly exaggerated, and represented as much more important than
+they really were. They have not produced any substantial result, and I
+know from my own experience how hostile to Russia are all the roving
+tribes of the Caspian, and how much they detest whatever menaces their
+freedom and independence.
+
+We have now to consider in the last place the two great Persian routes,
+which coincide, or run parallel, with each other, as far as Meshed,
+where they branch off to Bokhara on the one hand, and on the other to
+Cabul by Herat and Candahar. The former of these routes, travelled over
+by Alexander Burnes, seems to us totally impracticable. The distance to
+Bokhara from Teheran (which we will assume for the starting point,
+though it is still the capital of Persia) is not less than 500 leagues;
+and it cannot reasonably be supposed possible to effect, and above all
+to preserve, a conquest so remote, when in order to reach the heart of
+the coveted country, it is necessary to traverse the vast deserts north
+of Meshed, occupied by nomade hordes, which are the more formidable,
+inasmuch as no kind of military tactics can be brought to bear on them.
+Moreover, it must not be forgotten that the occupation of Bokhara by no
+means infers that of Affghanistan. The distance from the former to Cabul
+is more than 250 leagues. The regions between the two towns are indeed
+less sterile and easier to traverse; but, on the other hand, an army
+marching towards India would have to penetrate the dangerous passes of
+the high mountain chain between Turkistan and Affghanistan, which are
+defended by the most indomitable tribes of Central Asia. Here would be
+repeated those struggles in which Russia has been vainly exhausting her
+strength for so many years in the Caucasus.[66] In truth, in presence of
+such obstacles, of ground, climate, population, and distance, all
+discussion becomes superfluous, and the question must appear decided in
+the negative by every impartial man who possesses any precise notions as
+to the regions of Western Asia.
+
+There remains the route by Meshed, Herat, and Candahar. This is
+incontestably the one which presents fewest difficulties; yet we doubt
+that it can ever serve the ambitious views attributed to Russia. Along
+the line from Teheran to Herat lie important centres of agricultural
+populations; villages are found on it surrounded by a fertile and
+productive soil. But these advantages, besides being very limited, are
+largely counterbalanced by uncultivated plains destitute of water which
+must be traversed in passing from one inhabited spot to another, and by
+the obstacles of all kinds which would be subsequently encountered in a
+march through the deserts of Affghanistan, the warlike tribes of which
+are much more formidable even than the Turcomans who infest the route
+from Teheran to Herat. Besides, as it is nearly 600 leagues from the
+capital of Persia to the centre of Affghanistan, it is exceedingly
+unlikely that Russia will ever succeed in subjugating a country in
+which its armies could only arrive by a military road maintained and
+defended through so huge a space.
+
+No doubt the way would be considerably smoothed for Russia along both
+the Candahar and the Bokhara lines, if by gradually extending the circle
+of her conquests she had brought the inhabitants of Khorasan and
+Turkistan to obey her. But there are obstacles to the achievement of
+this preliminary task which the empire is not by any means competent to
+surmount, nor will it be so for a very long time to come. To say nothing
+of climate, soil, and distance, all the tribes in question are animated
+with a hatred and aversion for Russia, which will long neutralise the
+projects of the tzars. We often hear of the great influence exercised by
+the cabinet of St. Petersburg at Khiva, Bokhara, and Cabul; but we
+believe it to be greatly exaggerated, and the history of the various
+Muscovite embassies proves most palpably that it is so. What did Negri
+and Mouravief effect at Khiva and Bokhara? They were both received with
+the most insulting distrust, prevented from holding any communication
+with the natives, and watched with a strictness which is only employed
+against an enemy. Mouravief even went near to pay for his embassy with
+his head. Was Russia more fortunate at Cabul? We think not. The
+remoteness of her dominions may cause her agents to be received with
+some degree of favour, especially at a time when the sovereign of Cabul
+finds himself exposed to the hostility of England. Yet it is not the
+less true that any serious attempt of Russia on Turkistan and the
+eastern regions of Persia would suddenly arouse the animosity of the
+Affghans and all their neighbours. We readily admit that the imperial
+government has it in its power, by its advice and its intrigues, to
+exercise a certain influence at Cabul, to the detriment of England; but
+that this influence can ever serve the extension of the Muscovite sway
+is what we utterly deny, knowing as we do the intense and unmitigable
+aversion to Russia which is felt by all the natives of Asia.
+
+The conquests of Alexander the Great and of Genghis Khan have often been
+appealed to as proving how easy it would be for the tzars to follow in
+the footsteps of those great captains. Such language bespeaks on the
+part of the writers who have put it forth the most profound ignorance of
+the actual condition of the places and the inhabitants. When Alexander
+marched towards Bactriana to subjugate the last possessions of Persia,
+he left behind him rich and fertile countries, important Greek colonies,
+and nations entirely subdued; moreover, he marched at the head of an
+army consisting of natives of the south, possessing all the
+qualifications necessary for warfare in the latitudes of Central Asia.
+Furthermore, at that period the provinces of the Oxus contained numerous
+rich and flourishing towns, with inhabitants living in luxury, and
+little capable of resistance. Nevertheless, in spite of all the
+facilities and all the supplies which the country then offered to an
+invading army, its physical conformation, broken and bounded by deserts
+both on the north and on the south, seems to have aided the efforts of
+its defenders to a remarkable degree. It was in fact in this remote part
+of Persia that the conqueror of Darius had to fight many a battle for
+the establishment of his transient sway. The same circumstances marked
+his march to India. Invasions have become still more difficult since his
+day, for all those regions once occupied by wealthy and agricultural
+nations have been ravaged and turned into deserts; scarcely do there
+exist a few traces of the ancient towns, and the populations subdued by
+Alexander have been succeeded by hordes of Khirgis, Turcomans, and
+Affghans, who would be for the Russians what the Scythians were for the
+King of Macedon and the other conquerors who tried to enslave their
+country.
+
+The Mongol invasions can no more than Alexander's be regarded as a
+precedent for Russia. Inured to the fatigues of emigration, carrying all
+their ordinary habits into the camp, changing their country without
+changing their ways of life, unburdened by any _materiel_ of war, and
+never retarded by the slow and painful march of a body of infantry, the
+hordes of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane were singularly fitted for
+occupying and retaining possession of the immense plains of Turkistan,
+and realising the conquest of India.
+
+Russia, on the contrary, is totally devoid of those grand means of sway
+which Alexander and the Mongols enjoyed. The Russians have nothing in
+common with the soldiers of antiquity and of the middle ages, and are
+placed in very different circumstances: they are natives of the coldest
+regions of the globe; they have no possible opportunity of previous
+acclimation, and they are separated from the frontiers of India by more
+than 500 leagues of almost desert country, in which the employment of
+infantry, wherein alone consists the real superiority of Europeans over
+Orientals, is impracticable.
+
+And now, if we look to India, and to the people from whom the tzars
+propose to wrest its empire, we see Great Britain occupying all the
+towns on the coast and in the interior, mistress of the great rivers of
+the country, controlling millions of inhabitants by her irresistible
+political ascendency, having the richest and most productive countries
+of the world for the basis of her military operations, commanding
+acclimated European troops, and a powerful native army habituated to
+follow her banners; in a word, we see Great Britain placed in the most
+admirable position for defending her conquests, and repulsing any
+aggression of the northern nations, foreign to the soil of Hindustan and
+Central Asia. The fears of the English and the schemes of the Russians
+appear to us, therefore, alike chimerical. Undoubtedly, as we have
+already said, the intrigues of the government of St. Petersburg, may,
+like those of any other influential power, create difficulties and
+annoyances in Affghanistan and elsewhere; but the English rule will
+never be really in danger, until the time shall come when national
+ambition and a desire of resistance shall have been kindled in the
+Hindu populations themselves.
+
+Let us turn back to the Caucasus, of which we have not spoken in this
+discussion, though the independence of its tribes is in our opinion one
+of the most important obstacles to the aggrandisement of Russia in Asia;
+and let us imagine what are the immediate palpable interests which are
+at stake in the Trans-Caucasian regions for certain powers of Europe.
+Every one knows that Persia is become of late years the point of contact
+between England and Russia, the scene of competition between the two
+nations for the disposal of their merchandise. Our readers are aware,
+that since the suppression of the transit trade and free commerce of the
+Caucasian provinces, the English have established a vast depot for their
+manufactures at Trebisond, whence they have not only acquired a monopoly
+in the supply of Armenia, Eastern Turkey, and the greater part of
+Persia, but also supply the Russian provinces themselves by contraband.
+Hence it may be conceived with what wakeful jealousy England must watch
+the proceedings of Russia beyond the Caucasus, and what an interest she
+has in impeding any conquest that would close against her the great
+commercial route she has pursued by way of Erzeroum and Tauris. She
+cannot, therefore, be indifferent to the independence of the Caucasus,
+which, while serving as a bulwark to the frontiers of Turkey and Persia,
+affords also a most effectual protection to her mercantile operations in
+Trebisond. It may perhaps be said that this is a merely English
+question, very interesting to the manufacturers of London and
+Manchester, but of little concern to France. But where our neighbours
+find means to dispose annually of more than 2,000,000_l._ sterling worth
+of manufactures, there also we think our own political and commercial
+interests are concerned. Have not we, too, an influence to keep up in
+Asia? Do not we, too, possess manufactories and a numerous working
+population, and is it not carrying indifference and apathy too far, to
+let other powers engross all those regions of Asia where we could find
+such ready and profitable markets? Whose fault is it if the French flag
+is so seldom seen on the Black Sea, if Trebisond is become an English
+town, and if the commerce of Asia is monopolised by our rivals? There is
+much to blame in the indifference of our country, and in the incapacity
+of some of our consular agents. But if our commercial policy is often
+vicious, if our trade is misdirected and mismanaged, and we are often
+outstripped by our neighbours across the channel, is that any reason why
+we should, in blind selfishness, express our approval of conquests which
+would only end in the destruction of all European commerce in the Black
+Sea? Certainly if Russia, modifying her prohibitive system, and frankly
+abandoning all further designs against Turkey and the coasts of the
+Black Sea, would seek to extend her dominions solely on the side of
+Persia, we think it would be good policy not to thwart such a movement;
+for in case of a struggle between that power and England, France would
+unquestionably be called on to act as a mediator, which would give her
+an admirable opportunity for dictating conditions favourable to her
+policy and her influence in the East.
+
+The detailed considerations into which we have entered respecting the
+situation of the Russians, the war in the Caucasus, and the political
+importance of that region, clearly indicate the differences between the
+conflict in the Caucasus and that which we have been carrying on for
+fourteen years in Algeria. The aggressive policy of Russia once
+admitted, and her possessions north, south, and east of the Caucasus not
+allowing of contestation, the submission of the mountaineers becomes for
+her a vital question, with which is connected, not only the fate of her
+Asiatic provinces, but also that of all the governments that lie between
+the Danube and the Caspian. In Algeria, on the contrary, we are not
+urged by any imperious motive to extend our conquests. Our political
+influence in Europe, and our real strength could at present gain nothing
+thereby; and it is probably reserved to another generation to derive a
+grand and useful result from our African conquests.
+
+Of late years some public writers, taking the defeats of Russia for
+their text, have founded on them an argument against the establishment
+of French supremacy in Algeria. This reasoning appears to us unsound,
+and it is even at variance with historical facts. In Asia, Russia has
+had to deal with two very distinct regions; the trans-Caucasian
+provinces, and the Caucasus proper. The former, easy of access, and
+comprising Georgia, Imeritia, Mingrelia, and the other provinces taken
+from Persia and Turkey, were occupied by disorganised nations, at
+variance within themselves, and differing from each other in race,
+manners, and religion; accordingly the Muscovite sway was established
+over them without difficulty, and without any conflict worth mentioning
+with the inhabitants. The case has not been the same in that immense
+mountain barrier erected between Europe and Asia, the inaccessible
+retreats of which extend from Anapa to the shores of the Caspian. The
+dwellers in those regions present no analogy with the inhabitants south
+of the chain. There has never been a moment's pause in the obstinate
+strife between them and Russia; and all the sacrifices, and all the
+efforts of the tzars against them, have for sixty years been wholly in
+vain.
+
+Our situation in Algeria is evidently very different. We have there had
+for our portion neither the bootless strife of the Caucasus, though
+having most warlike tribes for adversaries, nor the easy conquests of
+the trans-Caucasian provinces. It is but fourteen years since our troops
+landed in Africa, and we possess, not only all the towns of the
+seaboard, but likewise all those of the interior; numerous bodies of
+natives share actively in our operations; we are masters of all the
+lines of communication; our forces command the country to a great
+distance from the coasts: and in the opinion of all well-informed
+officers the pacification of the regency of Algiers would, perhaps, have
+by this time been accomplished, if the government had set its face
+against the passion for bulletins, and the too martial humour of most of
+our generals, and tried to pacify the tribes, not by arms and violence,
+but numerously ramified commercial relations which should call into play
+the natural cupidity of the Arabs.
+
+Nor can the topographical difficulties of Algeria be compared with those
+that defend the country of the Lesghis, the Tchetchenzes, and the
+Tcherkesses. Intersected by vast plateaux, numerous rich and fertile
+valleys, and parallel mountain ranges, almost everywhere passable and
+flanked by long lines of coast of which we possess the principal points,
+and which present at Algiers, Oran, Philippeville, and Bona, wide
+openings affording admission into the interior, our possessions afford
+free course to our armies, and nowhere exhibit that strange and singular
+conformation in which has consisted from time immemorial the safety of
+the Caucasian tribes.
+
+There are other circumstances likewise that facilitate our progress in
+Africa, and enable us to exercise a direct influence over all the tribes
+south of the Tel of Algiers. As has been very ably demonstrated by M.
+Carrette, captain of engineers, it is enough to occupy the extreme
+limits of the cultivated lands, and the markets in which the inhabitants
+of the oases exchange their produce for the corn and other indispensable
+commodities of the north, to oblige all the populations of the Sahara,
+fixed or nomade, immediately to acknowledge the sovereignty of France.
+
+It is only in case our government, impelled by ill-directed vanity,
+should decide on the absolute conquest of the mountains of the Kabyles,
+that we might encounter in the country, and in the political
+constitution of those mountaineers, some of the obstacles that
+characterise the Caucasian regions. And again, what comparison can there
+be between Kabylia, the two portions of which east and west of Algiers
+comprise but 1000 or 1200 square leagues of surface, and the great chain
+of the Caucasus which extends with a mean breadth of fifty or sixty
+leagues, over a length of more than 250 leagues?
+
+We say nothing of the superiority of our armies and our military system.
+It is enough to recall what we have said as to the deplorable situation
+of the troops in the Caucasus, to be aware how much France has the
+advantage over Russia in this respect.
+
+The diseases and the frightful mortality incident to our armies have
+been also dwelt on; but here again all the statistical returns are in
+favour of France. Out of a force of 75,000 men, our mean annual loss is
+7000 or 8000. In 1840, indeed, the most fatal year, it appears to have
+risen to 12,000; but in that same year, and likewise in the following
+year, Russia lost more than 17,000 on the coasts of Circassia alone.
+Thus physically, as well as politically, there is a total difference
+between the war in the Caucasus and that in Algeria; and instead of
+suffering ourselves to be disheartened by fourteen years of unproductive
+occupation, and despairing before hand, because the actual results do
+not keep pace with our unreasonable impatience, we ought to take example
+by that indefatigable perseverance with which Russia, in spite of her
+disasters and the fruitlessness of her efforts, has gone on in the
+pursuit of her purpose for upwards of half a century.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[61] M. Hommaire says he has copied the bulletin exactly as it appeared
+in French in the Russian papers.
+
+[62] "Unfortunately the author of this heroic act is unknown. It is
+believed from some hearsay accounts to have been performed by a private
+soldier of the Tenguinisky regiment of infantry. The results of the
+inquiry instituted on the subject will be published hereafter." (_Note
+of the Russian journalist._)
+
+[63] This was written in 1844.
+
+[64] There is indeed a road by way of Daghestan along the Caspian; but
+it is still more impracticable than that by Mozdok, and besides it is
+too long to be of use to Russia in her dealings with the Asiatic
+governments. As for the maritime routes by the Caspian and the Black
+Sea, their utility is greatly limited by the intense frosts which block
+up the ports of Odessa, Kherson, Taganrok, Kertch, and Astrakhan during
+four months of the year.
+
+[65] We do not mean these remarks to apply in any respect to the
+Mussulman tribes, of whom we will speak hereafter. The Christian and the
+Mahometan population balance each other in the trans-Caucasian
+provinces; they both number about 400,000 males.
+
+[66] The mountains that divide Turkistan from Affghanistan are covered
+with perpetual snow; some of their peaks are 6000 yards high. Hadjigak,
+which was crossed by A. Burnes, is 4000 yards above the sea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+      A STORM IN THE CAUCASUS--NIGHT JOURNEY; DANGERS AND
+      DIFFICULTIES--STAVROPOL--HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
+      GOVERNMENT OF THE CAUCASUS AND THE BLACK SEA COSSACKS.
+
+
+At four o'clock on a dull morning we left Piatigorsk of charming memory,
+to strike once more into the mountains, where by the by, in less than an
+hour, we were met by one of the grandest and most violent storms I
+remember ever having witnessed. We had to endure its force for two long
+hours; and our situation was the more critical, since our _yemshik_
+(coachman), though quite familiar with the road, seemed almost at his
+wits' end. It was only by the gleam of the lightning he was able to make
+such brief observations of the ground as enabled him to guide his
+horses. This was certainly a very precarious resource, but there is a
+special providence for travellers. Lost in the midst of the mountains,
+and our sole hope of safety resting on the coolness and skill of a
+peasant, we escaped, we scarce knew how, from a seemingly inevitable
+catastrophe. A furious burst of rain, the last expiring effort of the
+storm, at last cleared the sky, which became coloured towards the west
+with purple bands, that contrasted gloriously with the darkness of the
+rest of the firmament. A magnificent rainbow, with one end springing
+from the highest peak of the Caucasus, whilst the other was lost in the
+mists of evening, gleamed before us for a few moments, and gradually
+dissolved away.
+
+At half-past seven we reached the station, wet, weary, stupified, and
+very much surprised to find ourselves safe and sound after having passed
+through so many dangers. Nevertheless, this recent alert by no means
+made us forego our original plan of travelling all night in order to
+reach Stavropol the next day. Nothing is so soon forgotten in travelling
+as danger. One is no sooner out of one scrape than he is ready to get
+into another, and a worse one, without giving a thought to his past
+alarms. You must get over the ground: that is your ruling thought. As
+for taking precautions, calculating the good or the bad chances of the
+journey, or troubling oneself about dangers to come, by reason of those
+already incurred, all this is quite out of the question. We were quite
+bent on travelling all night, but the idea was totally discountenanced
+by the postmaster and the Cossacks whom we fell in with at the station.
+They told us there was a fair at Stavropol, and that the road was always
+somewhat dangerous on such occasions, particularly after sunset. A night
+or two before, several persons returning from the fair had been
+surprised and plundered by the Circassians, in spite of the many
+military posts along the road. Several other ugly stories were told us,
+in a tone that at last shook our resolution, and we were beginning very
+reluctantly to give up our project, when an unexpected incident made us
+recur to it again.
+
+A Polish officer, who until then had kept aloof in a dark corner, seeing
+the annoyance we felt at this unforeseen delay, joined in the
+conversation, and offered to set out at once with us, if his company
+would be sufficient to restore our confidence. He, too, was going to
+Stavropol, and it was all the same to him whether he travelled that
+night or next day. The proposal, which was made with the most obliging
+frankness, agreed too well with our wishes to allow of any further
+hesitation, and we at once accepted it. The Pole had with him a servant
+very well armed, and the two together were such a reinforcement to our
+little troop as almost insured our safety. With great exultation we set
+about our preparations for departure, but the more experienced
+postmaster gave with reluctance the order to put the horses to, and
+could not help crossing himself repeatedly when he saw us get into the
+britchka, whilst the two yemshiks failed not to imitate his example, and
+to lift their fur caps several times in token of devotion. The Russians
+always find means to mingle crossings with all the other acts of their
+hands, by which process they set their consciences entirely at rest. I
+am satisfied they cross themselves even when thieving, partly from
+habit, and partly in the hope of escaping without detection.
+
+Once out of the yard, the pleasure of travelling on a mild and dim night
+through an unknown country, that presented itself to our eyes under
+vague and mysterious forms, so engrossed our minds that we thought no
+more of Circassians, or broken ground, or danger of any kind. The Pole's
+carriage preceded ours, and his Cossack began to sing in a low tone one
+of those sweet melancholy airs which are peculiar to the Malorussians.
+The plaintive melody, mingled with the tinkling of the horses' bells,
+and the motion of the carriage lulled me into a dreamy repose, half way
+between sleeping and waking. I know not how long this state of
+hallucination lasted; but I was startled out of it by a pistol-shot
+fired close to me, and before I could collect my senses a second was
+fired, but at some distance. The carriage had stopped, the night was
+very dark, and my companions were quite silent. I was a good deal
+frightened, until my husband explained to me that the Polish officer had
+lost his way, and that our dragoman had fired his pistol as a signal to
+him, and that the second shot was an answer to the first. Being now
+satisfied that we had not half a dozen Circassians about us, I recovered
+courage enough to laugh at my first dismay. Anthony left us to look for
+our travelling companion, after arranging with us that a third shot
+should be the token of his having found him. We passed half an hour in a
+state of painful anxiety, teasing ourselves with a thousand alarming
+conjectures, and dreading lest the report of fire-arms should bring down
+on us some of the Circassians who might be prowling in the
+neighbourhood. What would I not have then given to be far away from that
+road which we had been told was so terrible, and of which my imagination
+still more magnified the dangers!
+
+At last the preconcerted signal was heard, and Anthony soon afterwards
+returned, but alone, and told us that we must go on without the Pole,
+whose pereclatnoi had stuck fast in a bad spot, and could not be
+extricated until daylight. The night was so dark, and the ground so
+dangerous, that notwithstanding his wish to ease our minds, the officer
+could not venture to come to us. This news was not calculated to abate
+our anxiety; we might in a moment be in the same predicament as the
+officer, supposing nothing worse should happen. The road, as the yemshik
+told us, wound round a rock, and what proved that it was dangerous was
+that it was flanked in places with slight posts and rails. Such a
+precaution is so rare in Russia, that it may be taken as a certain
+indication of no common danger. We debated awhile whether it would not
+be more prudent to remain where we were until daybreak; but the coachman
+was so terrified at the thought of passing a night in the mountains,
+that he gave us no peace till we moved forward. The prospect of tumbling
+down a precipice was decidedly less terrible to him than the thought of
+having to do with the Circassians. Alighting and leading his horses, he
+followed Anthony, who carefully sounded one side of the road. As we
+advanced on our perilous descent, the sound of a torrent roaring at the
+bottom smote our ears, as if to increase our perplexity; but in an
+hour's time we found ourselves safe and sound on the plain, and soon
+afterwards we reached the station, where our arrival excited great
+astonishment. The postmaster was enraged against his colleague, and
+could not conceive how he had come to give us horses at night, in
+defiance of the strict rules of the police. For his part he assured us
+that his duty forbade him to do any such thing, and that it was useless
+to ask him. I need not say, however, that this declaration itself was
+useless, for we had had quite enough of the road for that night. I never
+enjoyed the most comfortable chamber in a French or German hotel so much
+as I did the miserable lodging in which I then lay down on a bench
+covered only with a carpet.
+
+We did not quit the station next day until the arrival of our travelling
+companion, whom we had reluctantly left in so unpleasant a predicament.
+He was severely bruised by his fall, but laughed heartily at his mishap.
+We set out together, very glad to get away from those fine mountains
+that were then gleaming in the rays of the morning. The events of the
+preceding night, though after all not very dramatic, had left so
+painful an impression on our mind, that the very sight of the mountains
+still caused us a secret dread. Instead, therefore, of quitting with
+regret so picturesque a region, the more homely and commonplace the
+country became, the more we admired it. We were just in the humour to be
+delighted with the steppes of the Black Sea; so much does the
+appreciation of scenery depend on the state of the mind.
+
+During all this day's journey the road was covered with carriages,
+horsemen, and pedestrians, repairing to the fair of Stavropol, and
+affording samples of all the motley population of the vicinity,
+Circassians, Cossacks, Turcomans, Georgians, and Tatars; some in
+brilliant costume, caracoling on their high-bred Kalmuck or Persian
+horses, others stowed away with their families in carts covered with
+hides; others driving before them immense flocks of sheep or swine, that
+encompassed the carriages and horsemen, and occasioned some very comical
+incidents. Among all those whom business or pleasure was calling to the
+fair, we particularly noticed a very handsome young Circassian mounted
+on a richly caparisoned horse, and riding constantly beside a pavosk of
+more elegance than the rest, and the curtains of which were let down.
+This was enough to stimulate our curiosity, for in these romantic
+regions the slightest incident affords matter for endless conjectures. I
+would have given something to be allowed to lift one of the curtains of
+the mysterious pavosk, or at the least to keep it in view until our
+arrival in Stavropol, but our postilion did not partake in our
+curiosity, and putting his horses to a gallop, he soon made us lose
+sight of the group. The last low range of the Caucasus, which gradually
+diminishes in height to Stavropol, formed an irregular line on our left,
+in which we caught many hasty glimpses of charming scenery. The
+vegetation still retained a great degree of freshness, in consequence of
+the mildness of the temperature, which at this season would have
+appeared to us extraordinary even in more southern countries.
+
+It was late in the evening when we reached Stavropol, so that we could
+not avail ourselves of our letters of introduction, and were obliged to
+hunt for a lodging in the hotels of the principal street. But they were
+all full, and with great difficulty we succeeded, with the help of our
+Polish friend, in getting admission to the Great Saint Nicholas, a
+shabby inn, the common room of which was already tenanted by a dozen
+travellers. Nevertheless, we secured a little corner, and there we
+contrived to form a tolerable sort of divan with our cushions and
+pelisses. I had now an opportunity of remarking how little notice
+travellers take of each other in this country. In this room, filled with
+people whose habits were so different from ours, we were as much at our
+ease as if the apartment belonged to us alone; and neither our language,
+behaviour, nor dress, appeared to attract any undue attention.
+
+Stavropol, the capital of the whole Caucasus, is a very agreeable town,
+and appeared to us so much the more so from the animation lent it by the
+fair. But I perceive that in the course of these travels I have not
+named one town without immediately joining the word _fair_ to it. It
+must be owned that chance was most bountiful to us in throwing in our
+way so many occasions for conceiving a high idea of the commerce of
+Russia. At Stavropol, however, the fair occupied our attention much less
+than General Grabe, who was just a week returned from an expedition
+against the Circassians. His staff filled the whole town with the noise
+of their martial deeds. Every officer had his story of some glorious
+exploit, whereof of course he was himself the hero. Though so recently
+returned, General Grabe was already in busy preparation for another
+campaign, on which he built the greatest hopes. The good gentleman even
+pressed my husband very strongly to accompany him, as if it were a mere
+party of pleasure. He offered him his tent, instruments, and every thing
+necessary to render the excursion beneficial to science. Under any other
+circumstances my husband would no doubt have yielded to the temptation
+of visiting the tribes of the Caucasus in the very heart of their
+mountains, under the protection of a whole army, but it would have been
+madness to undertake such a journey after those we had but just
+completed.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Before we finally take leave of the Caucasian regions, it will not be
+amiss to give some historical account of that part of the empire, and of
+the Cossacks of the Black Sea, to whom is committed the perilous task of
+protecting the frontiers against the incessant attacks of the formidable
+mountain tribes.
+
+It was by virtue of an ukase promulgated by Catherine II. in 1783, that
+Russia took full and entire possession of all the countries north of the
+Kouban and the Terek, which of yore formed the almost exclusive
+dominions of numerous hordes of black Nogais, some of them independent,
+others acknowledging the authority of the Tatar khans of the Crimea. But
+previously to this period the tzars were already in military occupation
+of the country, for it was in 1771 that they completed the armed line of
+the Caucasus, begun by Peter the Great, at the mouth of the Terek.
+
+At first the new conquest was put under the direction of the military
+governor of Astrakhan; but the state of the southern frontiers soon
+became so serious in consequence of the war with the mountaineers, that
+it was found advisable to form all the provinces conquered by Catherine
+II. north of the Caucasus, into a distinct province. The government of
+the Caucasus thus constituted, is bounded on the north by the Kouma and
+the Manitch, which divide it from the territory of Astrakhan and from
+that of the Don Cossacks; on the west by the country of the Black Sea
+Cossacks; on the east by the Caspian, and on the south by the armed line
+of the Kouban and the Terek.
+
+At the foot of the Caucasus, as everywhere else, the Russian occupation
+occasioned great migrations. All the black Nogais of the right bank of
+the Kouban, who had fought against Russia, withdrew beyond the river
+among the tribes of the mountain. The Kabardians forsook the environs of
+Georgief, and sought refuge deeper in the Caucasian chain, and it was
+only the black Nogais of the barren plains between the Terek and the
+Kouma that remained in their old abodes. Cut off from the independent
+tribes since the erection of the fortresses of Kisliar and Mosdok, they
+took no part in the events of the war, and so they remained in peaceable
+possession of their territory. As for the Kalmucks, who had been very
+bold and active auxiliaries of Russia, they preserved intact all the
+pasturages they now possess in the government of the Caucasus.
+
+The Muscovite sway once established, and the frontiers put in a state of
+defence, the next step was to occupy the country along the northern
+verge of the Caucasus in some other way than by light troops. It was
+therefore determined to form numerous colonies of Muscovites and
+Cossacks, a project which the absolute power of the tzars enabled them
+quickly to fulfil. The present villages in the centre of the province
+along the banks of the Kouban, the Terek, the Kouma, the Egorlik and the
+Kalaous, were erected, and the military colonies of the Black Sea
+Cossacks were founded; several large proprietors seconded the efforts of
+the government, and prompted either by the spirit of speculation, or by
+the superabundance of their slaves, formed large establishments on the
+lands that had been gratuitously conferred upon them. Attempts, too,
+were made to settle some of the German families of Saratof on the Kouma.
+
+But the results were far from realising the hopes of the government.
+Compressed between the narrow limits in the districts of Stavropol and
+Georgief, bounded on the north and east by the uncultivated lands of the
+Turcomans and Kalmucks, on the south by the armed lines, continually
+attacked and overrun by the mountaineers, the colonies soon ceased to
+wear a thriving appearance; many sacked and burnt villages never rose
+again from their ashes, the German colony on the Kouma was destroyed,
+and now there remains no hope that the number of agricultural
+inhabitants will ever become sufficient to lend any real aid to the
+projects of the tzars. We have been in a great many villages on the
+Kouma, and the confluents of the Manitch, and found them scarcely able
+to supply their own wants. Their contributions to the commissariat are
+almost nothing, and the armies are always obliged to procure their
+stores from the central provinces of Russia.
+
+Some settlements, indeed, such as Vladimirofka and Bourgon Madjar on the
+Kouma, directed by able men, have attained a high degree of prosperity;
+but these are exceptions, and they owe their wealth to the cultivation
+of the mulberry and the pine, and their numerous corn-mills, which
+constitute for them a virtual monopoly. The cultivation of corn has had
+no share in the welfare of these colonies, the nature of the climate
+having always been unfavourable to it: the people of Vladimirofka and
+the neighbouring villages think themselves fortunate if they can raise
+corn enough for their own consumption.
+
+Thus, while we cordially approve of the principle that suggested the
+foundation of these advanced posts of the Slavic population, and that
+strives to enlarge their growth, we are nevertheless convinced that in
+the present state of things, with the war in the Caucasus becoming every
+day more formidable, these colonies can never be conducive to the
+progress of Russia; unless, indeed, that should happen, which we think
+most unlikely, namely, that the government should so extend its
+conquests as to become undisputed possessor of the fertile regions
+beyond the Kouban, where the colonist could command sufficient natural
+resources.
+
+The Cossacks better fulfilled the purpose for which they were settled on
+the frontier. Active, enterprising, and accustomed to partisan warfare,
+they were admirably adapted for resisting the incursions of the
+mountaineers. If they have been less efficient of late years, the blame
+must be laid on the inordinate demands of the government, the extreme
+contempt with which they are treated by the Russian generals, and, above
+all, the extinction of the privileges which had been wisely conferred on
+them in the beginning, and which alone could guarantee to the empire the
+maintenance of their vigorous military organisation.
+
+The Black Sea Cossacks, as every one is aware, are descended from the
+Zaporogues of the Dniepr, whose famous military corporation appears to
+have been established towards the end of the fifteenth century.
+Continually engaged against the Tatars of the Crimea, the Ukraine
+Cossacks founded at this period a sort of colony near the mouths of the
+Dniepr, consisting exclusively of unmarried men, whose special avocation
+it was to guard the frontiers. Their numbers rapidly increased,
+deserters from all nations being attracted to them by the hope of booty,
+and their setcha, or head-quarters, on an island of the Dniepr, became
+famous throughout the land for the military services and the valour of
+its inhabitants. In 1540, such was the importance of these colonies to
+Poland, that King Sigismund granted a large tract of land above the
+cataracts to the Zaporogues, in order to strengthen the barrier erected
+by them between his dominions and the Tatars.
+
+The new settlements on the Dniepr for a long time followed the fortune
+of the Cossacks of Little Russia. But as their strength augmented
+continually, they at last detached themselves from the mother country,
+and became an independent military state. The supremacy of the tzars was
+imposed on Little Russia in 1664, and from that time the Zaporogues,
+deprived of their allies, and left entirely to their own resources,
+owned allegiance, according to circumstances, to the Turks or the
+Tatars, to Poland or Russia, until the rebellion of Mazeppa, in which
+they took part, led to the total destruction of their power. Some years
+afterwards we find them again rallied under the protection of the khans
+of the Crimea; but Russia soon assumed so formidable an attitude in
+those parts, that they were at last constrained, in 1737, to acknowledge
+themselves vassals of the empire.
+
+But the political decline of the unfortunate Zaporogues did not stop
+there. During the war that preceded the treaty of Koutchouk Kainardji, a
+strong desire for independence was excited among them by the arbitrary
+acts of Russia. Many of their detachments fought even in the ranks of
+the Turks. Then it was that Catherine determined on completely rooting
+out the military colony of the Dniepr. The Zaporogues were expelled by
+force from their territory, which was given to other cultivators; and
+some of them emigrated beyond the Danube, while others were transported
+to the neighbourhood of Bielgorod. Ten years afterwards, when war broke
+out again with Turkey, a great number of the latter volunteered into the
+Russian armies. After the peace of Jassy, Prince Potemkin, who had
+formed them into regiments, was so pleased with their valour and
+fidelity, that he induced Catherine to settle them beyond the strait of
+the Kertch, and intrust them with the defence of the Circassian border.
+They were also granted, along with the peninsula of Taman, the whole
+territory comprised between the Kouban and the Sea of Azof, and
+extending eastward to the confluent of the Laba, and northward to the
+river Eia. The Zaporogues then took the appellation of Cossacks of the
+Black Sea, and their organisation was assimilated to that of their
+brethren of the Don. They had an attaman, nominated for life by the
+emperor, out of a list of candidates chosen by themselves; and the civil
+and military affairs of the community were directed, under this supreme
+chief, by two permanent functionaries, and four assessors changed every
+three years. Other privileges were likewise accorded to them, consisting
+chiefly in exemption from all taxes, the free use of the salt-pools, the
+right of terminating all litigations without having recourse to the St.
+Petersburg courts of appeal, and in the pledge given to them by the
+government, that their regiments should never be required to serve
+beyond their own territory.
+
+Under the influence of Catherine's liberal institutions, the military
+colony completely fulfilled the hopes of the government, and made rapid
+progress. The rich pastures of the Kouban were covered with immense
+multitudes of cattle, and agriculture, too, attained some degree of
+importance. The population also augmented considerably. The lands of the
+Kouban, as formerly those of the Don, became an asylum for a great
+number of fugitives, and the neighbouring provinces had often to
+complain of the escape of their slaves. But for the last twenty years
+the Black Sea Cossacks have been suffering from the effects of the new
+measures for equalisation and uniformity, and, like the Cossacks of the
+Don, they are now on the eve of being subjected to the ordinary laws and
+institutions of the provinces of the empire. The first encroachment on
+their privileges, was their employment on active service during the
+late wars with Turkey and Persia. They were obliged to furnish four
+regiments, which lost an enormous number of men, and nearly all their
+horses. This first step taken, the government advanced rapidly in its
+course of reform, and in a few years the Cossacks were deprived of their
+right of electing their own functionaries, who were thenceforth
+nominated by the emperor alone. These administrative changes, conjoined
+with the military duties, which have increased to a most onerous extent
+in the course of the war against the mountaineers, have had a very
+depressing effect on the spirits of the population; and at this day the
+Cossacks of the Kouban are far different men from those fiery
+Zaporogues, whose vigorous aid was so eagerly sought by Russia, Poland,
+and Turkey. The military life is become a loathsome burden to them, and
+they now only fight by constraint or in self-defence. The Russians,
+accordingly, accuse them of cowardice; but the government, by destroying
+their privileges, and the commanders-in-chief by the scorn with which
+they treat them and the continual activity they impose on them, do all
+that in them lies to dishearten and debase them. It is they who are
+always put foremost in every expedition; every commanding officer
+sacrifices them without scruple, and makes targets of them for the balls
+of the mountaineers. Is it reasonable, then, to expect alacrity and high
+courage on the part of men for whom military service is the breaking of
+every family tie, the destruction of all domestic prosperity, and who
+have not been left, in exchange for so many sacrifices, even the shadow
+of national independence?
+
+At the time of my last journey to the Caucasus in 1840, the Cossacks of
+the Black Sea numbered about 112,000 souls, of whom 68,000 were males,
+residing in sixty-four villages, and on 36,000,000 hectares of land held
+in common property, like the country of the Don in former times. The
+colonial army counted at that period according to the registers, eleven
+regiments of cavalry, ten of infantry, of 800 men each, and two
+batteries of artillery, one of them mounted, making altogether a total
+of 20,000 men, nearly the third of the male population. No doubt, the
+army can never in any case reach the official amount of force, its ranks
+being continually thinned by disease and war; and although young men are
+forced to enter the service at the age of seventeen, and are often kept
+in it thirty or forty years, still it would be quite impossible to bring
+more than 12,000 or 14,000 into the field at once, without endangering
+the total destruction of the population. In a pecuniary point of view,
+no men could well be more unfortunate than the Cossacks of the Kouban,
+whether in campaign against the mountaineers, or merely cantoned as
+reserves in their villages, they receive absolutely nothing for their
+services. The regulations, indeed, declare that the regiments actually
+called out shall receive pay at the rate of six rubles annually for each
+private, thirty-five rubles for every non-commissioned officer, and 250
+for every subaltern officer; but infallible means have been found for
+preventing these moderate allowances from ever reaching those to whom
+they are promised. The posting establishment throughout the Cossack
+country costs the government just as little as the maintenance of the
+troops, since horses, harness, hay, and corn are all furnished gratis by
+the colony. The postilions even receive no pay whatever; they are only
+allowed a little flour and groats, and for every thing else they and
+their families must shift for themselves during their whole term of
+service. As for the progon (the posting-money paid by travellers), it
+belongs to the Cossack exchequer, and composes, with the proceeds of the
+farm of brandy, salt, and the fisheries, the sole revenues of the
+country.
+
+When I was at Ekaterinodar, the capital of the country, during the
+season of field-work, and in a time of quiet, they reckoned fourteen
+regiments on active service. Accordingly, as might have been expected,
+agriculture had been long neglected, and the country was in a miserable
+state. Nothing was to be seen in the villages but infirm old men,
+invalids, widows, and orphans; and the existence of the colony depended
+on the toil of the women alone. The distress then became so great as to
+excite the uneasiness of the government, and commissioners were sent to
+examine into the state of things; but unfortunately the mission, like
+every thing of the kind, did no good. The truth remained completely
+concealed from the emperor. The blame was cast entirely on the Cossacks
+themselves, and nothing was done to remedy the sufferings of the
+population.
+
+We do not know what measures have been adopted since our departure by
+the imperial government with respect to the present and future situation
+of the military colony of the Kouban. For our own parts, having had
+opportunities of appreciating the good qualities of the Tchornomorskie
+Cossacks, and all the capabilities which a wise administration would
+find in them, we cannot but heartily wish that the government may, with
+a better understanding of its own true interests, at least adopt towards
+them a line of conduct more in accordance with their wants and their
+laborious services.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+      RAPID JOURNEY FROM STAVROPOL--RUSSIAN WEDDING--PERILOUS
+      PASSAGE OF THE DON; ALL SORTS OF DISASTERS BY NIGHT--
+      TAGANROK; COMMENCEMENT OF THE COLD SEASON--THE GERMAN
+      COLONIES REVISITED.
+
+
+It would have been impossible to travel more rapidly than we did from
+Stavropol to the Don. The steppe is as smooth as a mirror, and the
+posting better conducted than in any other part. We no sooner reached a
+station, than horses, which had been brought out the moment we were
+descried, were put to, and galloped away with us without a moment's
+check to the next station. A temperature of at least 20 deg. Reaumer, the
+beauty of the sky, and something light and joyous in the atmosphere,
+kept us in the highest spirits. In no country have I ever seen such
+multitudes of gossamer threads. The carriage, the horses, and our
+clothes were covered with those glistening prognostics of fair weather.
+
+As we advanced towards the abodes of civilisation, our thoughts were all
+about the pleasure of arriving at Taganrok, to find our letters, our
+friends, our European habits again, and the comforts of which for many
+months we had enjoyed but casual snatches. We rejoiced, therefore, in
+the speed with which we got over the ground, and scarcely cared to
+bestow a glance on the stanitzas that fled away behind us. In passing
+through a Russian village, however, we were constrained to bestow some
+attention on outward objects, our carriage being stopped by a wedding
+party that filled the whole street. We counted a dozen pavosks filled
+with young people of both sexes. The girls, with their heads bedizened
+with ribbons, screamed almost like savages, and rivalled the young men
+in impudence and coarseness. It was a disgusting spectacle. The bride
+differed from the rest only by the greater profusion of ribbons and
+flowers that formed her head-gear; her face was as red, her gestures as
+indelicate, and her voice as loud and shrill as those of her companions.
+
+It may seem scarcely credible, but we were but two-and-twenty hours
+travelling 316 versts, between Stavropol and the Don. We ate and slept
+in the carriage, and only alighted at the river side, where all sorts of
+tribulations awaited us. I cannot at this moment think of that memorable
+night without wondering at the pertinacity with which ill-luck clings to
+us when once it has fastened upon us. At ten at night, when we were some
+little way from the Don, we were told that the bridge was in a very bad
+state, and that we should probably be obliged to wait till the next day,
+before we could cross it. Such a delay was not what we had bargained
+for, especially as we had reckoned on enjoying that very night a good
+supper and a good bed under a friendly roof in Rostof. Then the weather,
+which had been so mild, had suddenly turned chill, and this was another
+motive to haste; so we went on without heeding what was told us; but
+when we came to the river, the tokens that the bridge was out of order,
+were but too manifest. Several carts stood there unyoked, and peasants
+lay beside them, patiently waiting the daylight. These men reiterated
+the bad news we had already heard; but then it was only eleven o'clock;
+if we waited we should have to pass nearly seven hours in the britchka,
+exposed to the cold night air, whereas once on the other side, we should
+reach Rostof in two hours. This consideration was too potent to allow of
+our receding from our purpose. At the same time we neglected no
+precaution that prudence required. The coachman and the Cossack were
+sent forward with a lantern to make a reconnaissance, and returning in
+half an hour, they reported that the passage was not quite
+impracticable, only it would be necessary to be very cautious, for some
+parts of the bridge were so weak, that any imprudence might be fatal to
+us.
+
+Without calculating the risks we were about to run, we at once alighted,
+and followed the carriage, which the coachman drove slowly, whilst the
+Cossack went ahead with the lantern, pointing out the places he ought to
+avoid. I do not think that in the whole course of my travels we were
+ever in so alarming a situation. The danger was imminent and
+indubitable. The cracking of the woodwork, the darkness, the noise of
+the water dashing through the decayed floor, that bent under our feet,
+and the cries of alarm uttered every moment by the coachman and the
+Cossack, were enough to fill us with dismay: yet the thought of death
+did not occur to me, or rather my mind was too confused to have any
+distinct thought at all. Frequently the wheels sank between the broken
+planks, and those were moments of racking anxiety; but at last by dint
+of perseverance we reached the opposite bank in safety. The passage had
+lasted more than an hour; it was time for it to end, for I could hold
+out no longer; the water on the bridge was over our ancles. It may be
+imagined with what satisfaction we took our places again in the
+carriage. The dangers we had just incurred, and which we were then
+better able fully to understand, almost made us doubt our actual safety.
+For a long while we seemed to hear the noise of the waves breaking
+against the bridge; but this feeling was soon dispelled by others; for
+our nocturnal adventures were by no means at an end.
+
+At some versts from the Don our unlucky star put us into the hands of a
+drunken coachman, who after losing his way, I know not how often, and
+bumping us over ditches and ploughed fields, actually brought us back in
+sight of the dreadful bridge which we still could not think of without
+shuddering. We tried in our distress to persuade ourselves we were
+mistaken, but the case was too plain; there was the Don in front of us,
+and there stood Axai, the village we had passed through after getting
+into the britchka. Fancy our rage after floundering about for two hours
+to find ourselves just at the point from which we started. The only
+thing we could think of was to pass the night in a peasant's cabin; but
+our abominable coachman, whom the sight of the river had suddenly
+sobered, and who had reason to expect a sound drubbing, threw himself on
+his knees and so earnestly implored us to try the road to Rostof again,
+that we yielded to his entreaties. The difficulty was how to get back
+into the road, and we had many a start before we found it. The carriage
+was so violently shaken in crossing a ditch, that the coachman and
+Anthony were pitched from their seats, and the latter fell upon the
+pole, and became entangled in such a way that he was not easily
+extricated. His shouts for help, and his grimaces when my husband and
+the Cossack had set him on his legs were so desperate, that one would
+have thought half his bones were broken, though he had only a few
+trifling bruises. As for the yemshik, he picked himself up very coolly,
+and climbed into his seat again as if nothing extraordinary had
+happened. To see the quiet way in which he resumed the reins, one would
+have supposed he had just risen from a bed of roses; such is the usual
+apathy of the Russian peasants.
+
+It was four in the morning when we came in sight of Rostof, which is but
+twelve versts distant from the Don. Thus we spent a great part of the
+night in wandering about that town, like condemned ghosts, without
+deriving much advantage from our rash passage of the river. It was well
+worth while to run the risk of drowning, when our calculations and
+efforts could be baffled by so vulgar a cause as the drunkenness of a
+coachman! But the sight of Rostof, where good cheer and hospitality
+awaited us, consoled us for all our mishaps. Yet even here, when we
+almost touched the goal, our patience was put to further trial; for
+alighting at the post station two versts from the town, our rascally
+coachman positively refused to drive us a foot beyond it. This was too
+much for the Cossack's endurance, so drawing out a long knout from his
+belt, he paid the fellow on the spot the whole reckoning he had intended
+to settle with him at the journey's end. The yemshik's shouts brought
+all the people of the station about us, and the wife of the postmaster
+came and scolded him at such a rate, that at last he was forced to drive
+us to the town; but it was more than an hour before he set us down at
+Mr. Yeams's house. His drunkenness had now passed into the sleepy stage,
+and he could only be kept to his work by constant thumping.
+
+The house where we intended to lodge contained a corn store belonging to
+Mr. Yeams, English consul at Taganrok, who had obligingly invited us to
+use it when we quitted that town, and had sent orders to that effect to
+his clerk, M. Grenier: and so pleased were we with our quarters on our
+first visit to Rostof, that now the thought of going anywhere else never
+entered our heads. To have done so would have seemed an affront to Mr.
+Yeams's cordial hospitality. While we were unpacking the carriage,
+Anthony went and knocked at the door, and the coachman, unyoking his
+horses, in a trice went off as fast as he could, without even waiting to
+ask for drink money. Some minutes elapsed; Hommaire, losing patience,
+knocks again, when at last out comes Anthony with a very long face, and
+tells us that M. Grenier, clerk and Provencal into the bargain, refused
+of his own authority to receive us, pretending that he had not a room
+for us. Unable to comprehend such conduct, and believing that there was
+some mistake in the case, my husband went himself to the man, who
+putting his nose out from under the blankets, told him impudently, we
+must go and look for a lodging elsewhere.
+
+All comment on such behaviour would be superfluous. To shut the door at
+night against one's own country people, and one of them a woman, rather
+than incur a little personal trouble, was a proceeding that could enter
+the head of none but a Provencal. The Kalmucks might have given a lesson
+in politeness to this boor, who rolled himself up snugly to sleep,
+whilst we spent the night, benumbed and shivering, under his windows in
+his court-yard. It may be conceived in what a state I passed the night;
+drenched with wet, worn down with mental and bodily fatigue, hungry,
+sleepy, and chilled by the sharp cold that at that season precedes
+sunrise, I was really unconscious of what was passing around me. As soon
+as it was light the Cossack procured horses, and took us to the best
+hotel in Rostof, where a warm room, an excellent bowl of soup, and a
+large divan, soon set us to rights again. On our arrival at Taganrok all
+the Yeams family were indignant at the behaviour of our Provencal, and,
+had we been disposed to pay him in his own coin we might have done so.
+They would have sent him his discharge forthwith, had we not interceded
+for him; the French consul wrote him a threatening letter, and with this
+our vengeance remained satisfied.
+
+We learned at Taganrok that the strangest rumours had gone abroad
+respecting us. Some said that the Circassians had made us prisoners,
+others that we had perished of hunger and thirst in the Caspian steppes.
+In short, every one had had his own melodramatic version of our supposed
+fate. I cannot describe all the kind interest that was shown on our safe
+return from so hazardous a journey. In spite of our wish to arrive as
+soon as possible in Odessa, we could not refrain from bestowing a week
+on friends who received us with such warm sympathy.
+
+The winds from the Ural swept away in one night all that October had
+spared. The weather was still sunny when we arrived on the shores of the
+Sea of Azof; but on the next day the sky assumed that sombre chilly hue
+that always precedes the metels or snow-storms. The whole face of nature
+seemed prepared for the reception of winter, that eternal sovereign of
+northern lands. The sea-beach covered with a thin coating of ice, the
+harsh winds, the ground hardened by the frost, and the increasing
+lividness of the atmosphere, all betokened its coming, and made us
+keenly apprehensive of what we should have to suffer on our way to
+Odessa, where we were to take up our winter quarters, and from whence we
+were still 900 versts distant. With the rapidity of the Russian post the
+journey might be accomplished in ten days, if the weather were not
+unfavourable; but after the threatening symptoms I have mentioned, we
+might expect soon to have a fall of snow, and perhaps to be kept
+prisoners by it in some village.
+
+Unfortunately for us it was the most dangerous season for travelling in
+Russia. The first snows, which are not firm enough to bear a sledge, are
+much feared by travellers, and almost every year cause many accidents.
+At this period, too, the winds are very violent, and produce those
+frightful snow-storms which we have already described. It was a very
+cheerless prospect for persons so way-worn and weary as we were, to have
+incessantly to fight against the elements and other obstacles. I
+remember that in this last journey our need of rest was so urgent, that
+the poorest peasant seated by his stove was an object of envy to us.
+
+We once more passed through all the German colonies I had so much
+admired a few months before. But the pleasing verdure of May had
+disappeared beneath the icy winds of the north, and all was dreary and
+dull of hue. Even the houses, no longer glistening in the sunshine, had
+a sombre appearance in harmony with the withered leaves of the orchards.
+A metel that broke out one night forced us to pass two days in a German
+village, in the house of a worthy old Prussian couple. The wife had lost
+the use of one side, and could not leave her chair, but her husband
+supplied her place in all the domestic concerns with a skill that
+surprised us. As in all the German houses, the principal room was
+adorned with a handsome porcelain stove, and a large tester bed which
+our hosts insisted on giving up to us. From morning till night the
+husband, aided by a stout servant girl, exerted all his culinary powers
+for our benefit. The table was laid out all day until dinner hour with
+coffee, pastry, bottles of wine, ham, and other appetising commodities.
+
+There is nothing I think more delightful in travelling than to watch the
+proceedings of a somewhat rustic cuisine. In such cases all the marvels
+of Careme's art fade before two or three simple dishes prepared under
+your own eyes. The ear is pleasingly titillated by the tune of the
+frying-pan, the smell of good things stimulates desire and quickens the
+imagination, and the very preliminaries are so agreeable, that the
+traveller would not exchange them for the most magnificent banquet in
+the world.
+
+The quantity of snow that had fallen during those two days retarded our
+speed. A man rode on before the carriage and carefully sounded the
+ground, for the metel had filled up the holes and ditches, and
+obliterated all landmarks. Nothing can be more frightful than those
+snowy wastes recently swept and tossed by furious winds. All trace of
+man's existence and his works, have disappeared beneath those white
+billows heaped upon each other like those of the ocean in a storm. How
+well we could appreciate, in those long days we spent in plodding
+through the snow, the horrible sufferings of our poor soldiers,
+perishing by thousands in the fatal retreat of 1812! The thought of
+their misery smote upon our hearts, and forbade us to complain, warmly
+clad as we were, drawn by stout horses, and having all we required done
+for us by others.
+
+As we approached Kherson post-sledges began to show themselves; several
+of them shot by us with travellers wrapped up to the eyes in their fur
+cloaks. These sledges are very low, and hold at most two persons. It
+very often happens that the body part upsets without the driver's
+perceiving it; the accident is not at all dangerous; but it must be
+exceedingly annoying to the traveller, as he rolls in the snow, to see
+his sledge borne away from him at full speed, leaving him no help for it
+but to follow on foot. If the driver does not take the precaution to
+look back from time to time, the traveller may chance to run all the
+way to the next station, and it may be imagined in what a plight he
+arrives there. When the accident happens by night the case is still more
+serious. Many Russians have told us that they had thus lost their way,
+and only after a day or two's search had found the station where their
+sledge had arrived empty. Nothing, indeed, is more common than to lose
+one's way in the steppes, nor is it at all necessary to that end that
+one should fall out of his sledge. We ourselves were once in danger of
+roaming about all night in the neighbourhood of Kherson in search of our
+road, which we could not find. A very dense fog surprised us at sunset,
+scarcely five versts from the town. For a long time we went on at
+random, not knowing whether we were going north or south, and Heaven
+knows where we should have found ourselves at last, if we had not caught
+the sound of horses' bells. The travellers put us on the right way, and
+told us it was ten o'clock, and we had twelve versts between us and
+Kherson.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+      DEPARTURE FOR THE CRIMEA--BALACLAVA--VISIT TO THE MONASTERY
+      OF ST. GEORGE--SEVASTOPOL--THE IMPERIAL FLEET.
+
+
+After a winter spent in the pleasures of repose, we left Odessa at the
+end of April to visit the Crimea, on board the _Julia_, a handsome brig,
+owned and commanded by M. Taitbout de Marigny. Our departure was
+extremely brilliant. The two cannons of the _Julia_, and those of the
+_Little Mary_, that was to sail in company with us, announced to the
+whole town that we were about to weigh anchor. Our passage could not
+fail to be agreeable under such a captain as ours. M. Taitbout de
+Marigny, consul of the Netherlands, joins to the varied acquirements of
+the man of science all the accomplishments of the artist and man of the
+world.
+
+The voyage was very short, but full of chances and incidents; we had
+sea-sickness, squalls, clear moonlight nights, and a little of all the
+pains and pleasures of the sea. On the second morning, the sun shining
+brightly, we began to discern the coast of that land, surnamed
+inhospitable by the ancients, by reason of the horrible custom of its
+inhabitants to massacre every stranger whom chance or foul weather led
+thither. The woes of Orestes alone would suffice to render the Tauris
+celebrated. Who is there that has not been moved by that terrible and
+pathetic drama, of which the brother and sister were the hero and
+heroine on this desert shore! As soon as I could distinguish the line of
+rocks that vaguely marked the horizon, I began to look for Cape
+Parthenike, on which tradition places the temple of the goddess of whom
+Iphigenia was the priestess, and where she was near immolating her
+brother. With the captain's aid I at last descried on a point of rock at
+a great distance from us a solitary chapel, which I was informed was
+dedicated to the Virgin. What a contrast between the gentle worship of
+Mary and that of the sanguinary Taura, who exacted for offerings not the
+simple prayers and _ex voto_ of the mariner, but human victims! All this
+part of the coast is sterile and desert: a wall of rock extended before
+us, and seemed to shut us out from the peninsula so often conquered and
+ravaged by warlike and commercial nations. Richly endowed by nature, the
+Tauris, Chersonese, or Crimea, has always been coveted by the people of
+Europe and Asia. Pastoral nations have contended for possession of its
+mountains; commercial nations for its ports and its renowned Bosphorus;
+warlike peoples have pitched their tents amid its magnificent valleys;
+all have coveted a footing on that soil, to which Greek civilisation has
+attached such brilliant memories.
+
+During a part of the day the wind was contrary, and obliged us to make
+short tacks in view of the rocky wall; but at four o'clock a change of
+wind allowed the brig to approach the coast. The sea was like a
+magnificent basin reflecting in its transparent waters the great
+calcareous masses that overhung it. It was a fine spectacle; but our
+captain's serious expression of countenance, and the intentness with
+which he watched the sails, and directed the manoeuvres, plainly
+showed that our situation was one of difficulty, if not of danger. A
+boat was manned and sent off to explore the coast, and as its white sail
+gleamed at a distance in the sun, it looked like a seabird in search of
+its nest in the hollow of some rock. The _Little Mary_ imitated all our
+evolutions, skimming over the waves like a sea swallow. She shortened
+her trip at every tack, and kept closer and closer to us; and our
+captain's face grew more and more grave, until all at once to our great
+surprise the rock opened before us like a scene in a theatre, and
+afforded us a passage which two vessels could not have entered abreast.
+Having got fairly through the channel, M. Taitbout was himself again.
+This entrance he told us is very dangerous in stormy weather, and often
+impracticable even when the wind is but moderately fresh. The scene,
+however, on which it opens is extremely beautiful. The port is
+surrounded with mountains, the highest of which still bear traces of the
+old Genoese dominion, and in front of the entrance is the pretty Greek
+town of Balaclava, with its balconied houses and trees rising in
+terraces one above the other. A ruined fortress overlooks the town: from
+that elevated point the Genoese, once masters of this whole coast,
+scanned the sea like birds of prey, and woe to the foreign vessels
+tempest driven within their range! Balaclava, with its Greek population,
+its girdle of rocks, and its mild climate, resembles those little towns
+of the Archipelago that are seen specking the horizon as one sails
+towards Constantinople.
+
+While we remained on board waiting for the completion of the
+custom-house formalities, we were entertained with the most picturesque
+and animated scene imaginable. It was Sunday, and the whole population
+was scattered over the shore and the adjoining heights. Groups of
+sailors, Arnaouts, and girls as gracefully formed as those of the
+Grecian isles, were ascending the steep path to the fortress, or were
+dancing to the shrill music of a balalaika. All the balconies were
+filled with spectators, who were busy, no doubt, discussing the
+apparition of a brig in their port; for the trade of Balaclava, so
+flourishing under the Genoese, is now fallen to such a degree that the
+arrival of a single vessel is an event for the whole town.
+
+Balaclava, the Cembalo of the Genoese, is now the humble capital of a
+little Greek colony founded in the reign of Catherine II., and now
+numbering several villages with 600 families. During her wars with the
+Porte, the empress thought of appealing to the national sentiments of
+the Greeks, and their hatred of the Turks. The result answered her
+expectations, and Russia soon had a large naval force that displayed the
+most signal bravery in all its encounters with the enemy. When the
+campaign against Turkey was ended, the Greek auxiliaries took part in
+the military operations in the Crimea; and after the conquest of the
+peninsula, they were employed in suppressing the revolts of the Tatars,
+and striking terror into them by the sanguinary cruelty of their
+expeditions. It was at that period the Mussulmans of the Crimea gave
+them the name of Arnaouts, which they have retained ever since.
+
+The peninsula having been finally subjugated, the Greeks were formed
+into a regimental colony, with the town and territory of Balaclava for
+their residence. They now number 600 fighting men, who are only employed
+in guarding the coasts. The colonist is only liable to be called out for
+active service during four months in the year; the other eight he has at
+his own disposal for the cultivation of his lands. Each soldier has
+twenty-eight rubles yearly pay, and finds his own equipment.
+
+The day after our arrival at Balaclava we made a boating excursion to
+examine the geology of the coast, and landed in a beautiful little cove
+lined with flowering trees and shrubs. On our return the boatmen made
+themselves coronals of hawthorn and blossoming apple sprays, and
+decorated the boat with garlands of the same, and in this festive style
+we made our entry into Balaclava. In our poetic enthusiasm as we looked
+on the lovely sky, the placid sea, and the Greek mariners, who thus
+retained on a foreign shore, and after the lapse of so many centuries,
+the cheerful customs of their ancestors, we could not help comparing
+ourselves to one of the numerous deputations that used every year to
+enter the Pyraeus, with their vessels' prows festooned with flowers, to
+take part in the brilliant festivals of Athens.
+
+We bade adieu that day to our excellent friend M. Taitbout de Marigny,
+who continued his cruise to Ialta, where we were again to meet him. We
+set out for the convent of St. George, our minds filled with classical
+reminiscences, which fortified us to endure the horrible bumping of our
+pereclatnoi. This vehicle is a sort of low four-wheeled cart, so narrow
+as barely to accommodate two persons, who have nothing to sit on but
+boxes and packages laid on a great heap of hay. It is no easy matter to
+keep one's balance on such a seat, especially when the frail equipage is
+galloped along from post to post at the full speed of three stout
+horses. Yet this is the manner in which most Russians travel, and often
+for a week together, day and night.
+
+The road from Balaclava to the monastery presents no striking features;
+it runs over a vast plateau, as barren as the steppes. A little before
+sunset we were quite close to the convent, but saw nothing indicative of
+its existence, and were, therefore, not a little surprised when the
+driver jumped down and told us to alight. We thought he was making game
+of us, when he led the way into an arched passage, but when we reached
+the further end a cry of admiration escaped our lips, as we beheld the
+monastery with its cells backed against the rock, its green-domed
+church, its terraces and blooming gardens, suspended several hundred
+feet above the sea. Long did we remain wrapt in contemplation of the
+magic effect produced by man's labour on a scene that looked in its
+savage and contorted aspect as if it had been destined only to be the
+domain of solitude.
+
+The Russian and Greek monasteries are far from displaying the monumental
+appearance of the western convents. They consist only of a group of
+small houses of one story, built without symmetry, and with nothing
+about them denoting the austere habits of a religious community. Those
+poetic souls who find such food for meditation in the long galleries of
+the cloisters, could not easily be reconciled to such a disregard for
+form. The monks received us not like Christians, but like downright
+pagans. The bishop, for whom we had letters, happening to be absent, we
+fell into the hands of two or three surly-looking friars, whose dirty
+dress and red faces indicated habits any thing but monastic. They
+confined us in a disgustingly filthy hole, where a few crazy chairs, two
+or three rough planks on tressels, and a nasty candle stuck in a bottle,
+were all the accommodation we obtained from their munificence. Our
+dragoman could not even get coals to boil the kettle without paying for
+it double what it was worth. When we remonstrated with the monks their
+invariable answer was, that they were not bound to provide us with any
+thing but the bare furniture of the table. Such was their notion of the
+duties of hospitality.
+
+With our bones aching from the pereclatnoi we were obliged to content
+ourselves with a few cups of tea by way of supper, and to lie down on
+the execrable planks they had the assurance to call a bed. Fortunately,
+the bishop returned next day, and we got a cleaner room, mattresses,
+pillows, plenty to eat, and more respectful treatment on the part of
+the monks; but all this could not reconcile us to men who had such a
+curious way of practising the precepts of the gospel. The few days we
+spent among them were enough to enable us to judge of the degree of
+ignorance and moral degradation in which they live. Religion which, in
+default of instruction, ought at least to mould their souls to the
+Christian virtues, and to love of their neighbours, has no influence
+over them. They do not understand it, and their gross instincts find few
+impediments in the statutes of their order. Sloth, drunkenness, and
+fanaticism, stand them instead of faith, love, and charity.
+
+The great steepness of this part of the coast renders the descent to the
+sea extremely difficult. We tried it, however, and with a good deal of
+hard work we scrambled down to the beach, which is here only a few yards
+wide. Magnificent volcanic rocks form in this place a natural colonnade,
+the base of which is constantly washed by the sea, whilst every craggy
+point is tenanted by marine birds, the only living creatures to be seen.
+
+On our return to the convent we found it full of beggars who had come
+for the annual festival that was to be held on the day but one
+following. Cake and fruit-sellers, gipsies and Tatars, had set up their
+booths and tents on the plateau; every thing betokened that the
+solemnity would be very brilliant, but we had not the curiosity to wait
+for it. We set out that evening for Stavropol, glad to get away from a
+convent in which hospitality is not bestowed freely, but sold.
+
+On leaving the monastery we proceeded first of all in the direction of
+Cape Khersonese, the most western point of this classic land, where
+flourished, for more than twelve centuries, the celebrated colony of
+Kherson, founded by the Heracleans 600 years B. C. At present
+the only remains of all its greatness are a few heaps of shapeless
+stones; and strange to relate, the people who put the last hand to the
+destruction of whatever had escaped the barbarian invasions and the
+Mussulman sway, was the same whose conversion to Christianity in the
+person of the Grand Duke Vladimir, was celebrated by Kherson in 988.
+When the Russians entered the Crimea some considerable architectural
+remains were still standing, among which were the principal gate of the
+town and its two towers, and a large portion of the walls; besides which
+there were shafts and capitals of columns, numerous inscriptions and
+three churches of the Lower Empire, half buried under the soil. But
+Muscovite vandalism quickly swept away all these remains. A quarantine
+establishment for the new port of Sevastopol was constructed on the site
+of the ancient Heraclean town, and all the existing vestiges of its
+monuments were rapidly demolished and carried away stone by stone; and
+but for the direct interference of the Emperor Alexander, who caused a
+few inscriptions to be deposited in the museum of Nicolaief, there would
+be nothing remaining in our day to attest the existence of one of the
+most opulent cities of the northern coasts of the Black Sea.
+
+At a short distance from Cape Khersonese begins that succession of ports
+which render this point of the Crimea so important to Russia; one of
+them is Sevastopol, whence the imperial fleet commands the whole of the
+Black Sea, and incessantly threatens the existence of the sultan's
+empire. Between Cape Khersonese and the Sevastopol roads which comprise
+three important ports, there are six distinct bays running inland
+parallel to each other. First come the Double Bay (_Dvoinaia_) and the
+Bay of the Cossack (_Cozatchaia_), between which the Heracleans founded
+their first establishment, no trace of which now exists. Then comes the
+Round Bay (_Kruglaia_), that of the Butts (_Strelezkaia_), and that of
+the Sands (_Pestchannaia_). These five are all abandoned, and are only
+used by vessels driven by stress of weather to seek shelter in them. It
+was in the space between the Bay of the Sands and that more to the west
+where the quarantine is established, that the celebrated Kherson once
+stood.
+
+A little beyond the quarantine cove, the traveller discovers Sevastopol,
+situated on the slope of a hill between Artillery and South bays, the
+first two ports on the right hand as you enter the main roads. The
+position of the town thus built in an amphitheatre, renders its whole
+plan discernible at one view, and gives it a very grand appearance from
+a distance. Its barracks and stores, the extensive buildings of the
+admiralty, the numerous churches, and vast ship-building docks and
+yards, attest the importation of this town, the creation of which dates
+only from the arrival of the Russians in the Crimea. The interior,
+though not quite corresponding to the brilliant panorama it presents
+from a distance, is yet worthy of the great naval station. The streets
+are large, the houses handsome, and the population, in consequence of an
+imperial ukase which excludes the Jews from its territory, is much less
+repulsive than that of Odessa, Kherson, Iekaterinoslav, &c.
+
+The port of Sevastopol is unquestionably one of the most remarkable in
+Europe. It owes all its excellence to nature, which has here, without
+the aid of art, provided a magnificent roadstead with ramifications,
+forming so many basins admirably adapted for the requirements of a naval
+station. The whole of this noble harbour may be seen at once from the
+upper part of the town. The great roadstead first attracts attention. It
+lies east and west, stretching seven kilometres (four miles and
+three-quarters) inland, with a mean breadth of 1000 yards, and serves as
+a station for all the active part of the fleet. It forms the medium of
+communication between Sevastopol and the interior of the peninsula. The
+northern shore presents only a line of cliffs of no interest, but on the
+southern shore the eye is detained by the fine basins formed there by
+nature. To the east, at the very foot of the hill on which the town
+stands, is South Bay, in length upwards of 3000 metres, and completely
+sheltered by high limestone cliffs. It is here the vessels are rigged
+and unrigged; and here, too, lies a long range of pontoons and vessels
+past service, some of which are converted into magazines, and others
+into lodgings for some thousand convicts who are employed in the works
+of the arsenal. Among these numerous veterans of a naval force that is
+almost always idle, the traveller beholds with astonishment the colossal
+ship, the _Paris_, formerly mounting 120 guns, and which was, down to
+1829, the finest vessel in the imperial fleet.
+
+Beyond South Bay, and communicating with it, is the little creek in
+which the government is constructing the most considerable works of the
+port, and has been engaged for many years in forming an immense dock
+with five distinct basins, capable of accommodating three ships of the
+line and two frigates, while simultaneously undergoing repairs. The
+original plan for this great work was devised by M. Raucourt, a French
+engineer, who estimated the total cost at about 6,000,000 rubles. The
+magnitude of this sum alarmed the government, but at the instance of
+Count Voronzof, they accepted the proposals of an English engineer, who
+asked only 2,500,000, and promised to complete the whole within five
+years. The work was begun on the 17th of June, 1832; but when we visited
+Sevastopol, some years after the first stone had been laid, the job was
+not half finished, and the expenses already exceeded 9,000,000 rubles.
+The execution of the basins seems, however, to be very far from
+corresponding to the enormous expenses they have already occasioned, and
+it is strange, indeed, that a weak and friable limestone should have
+been employed in hydraulic constructions of such importance. The angles
+of the walls, it is true, are of granite or porphyry, but this odd
+association of heterogeneous materials conveys, in itself, the severest
+condemnation of the mode of construction which has been adopted.
+
+Highly favoured as is the port of Sevastopol with regard to the form and
+the security of its bays, it yet labours under very serious
+inconveniences. The waters swarm with certain worms that attack the
+ships' bottoms, and often make them unserviceable in two or three years.
+To avoid this incurable evil, the government determined to fill the
+basins with fresh water, by changing the course of the little river,
+Tchernoi Retchka, which falls into the head of the main gulf. Three
+aqueducts and two tunnels, built like the rest of the works in chalk,
+and forming part of the artificial channel, were nearly completed in
+1841; but about that period the engineers endured a very sad
+discomfiture, it being then demonstrated that the worms they wanted to
+get rid of were produced by nothing else than the muddy waters which the
+Tchernoi Retchka pours into the harbour.[67]
+
+Artillery Bay, which bounds the town on the west, is used only by
+trading vessels. This and Careening Bay, the most eastern of all, are
+not inferior in natural advantages to the two others we have been
+speaking of; but we have nothing more particular to mention respecting
+them.
+
+After discussing the harbours and the works belonging to them, we are
+naturally led to glance at the war-fleet, and the famous fortifications
+of which the Russians are so proud, and which they regard as a marvel of
+modern art. In 1831, when the July revolution was threatening to upset
+the whole _status quo_ of Europe, a London journal stated in an article
+on the Black Sea and Southern Russia, that nothing could be easier than
+for a few well-appointed vessels to set fire to the imperial fleet in
+the port of Sevastopol. The article alarmed the emperor's council to the
+highest degree, and orders were immediately issued for the construction
+of immense defensive works.
+
+Four new forts were constructed, making a total of eleven batteries.
+Forts Constantine and Alexander were erected for the defence of the
+great harbour, the one on the north, the other on the west side of
+Artillery Bay; and the Admiralty and the Paul batteries were to play on
+vessels attempting to enter South Bay, or Ships' Bay. These four forts,
+consisting each of three tiers of batteries, and each mounting from 250
+to 300 pieces of artillery, constitute the chief defences of the place,
+and appear, at first sight, truly formidable. But here again, the
+reality does not correspond with the outer appearance, and we are of
+opinion that all these costly batteries are more fitted to astonish the
+vulgar in time of peace, than to awe the enemy in war. In the first
+place their position at some height above the level of the sea, and
+their three stories appear to us radically bad, and practical men will
+agree with us that a hostile squadron might make very light of the three
+tiers of guns which, when pointed horizontally, could, at most, only hit
+the rigging of the ships. The internal arrangements struck us as equally
+at variance with all the rules of military architecture: each story
+consists of a suite of rooms opening one upon the other, and
+communicating by a small door, with an outer gallery that runs the whole
+length of the building. All these rooms, in which the guns are worked,
+are so narrow, and the ventilation is so ill-contrived, that we are
+warranted by our own observation in asserting that a few discharges
+would make it extremely difficult for the artillerymen to do their duty.
+But a still more serious defect than those we have named, and one which
+endangers the whole existence of the works, consists in the general
+system adopted for their construction.
+
+Here the improvidence of the government has been quite as great as with
+regard to the dock basins: for the imperial engineers have thought
+proper to employ small pieces of coarse limestone in the masonry of
+three-storied batteries, mounting from 250 to 300 guns. The works, too,
+have been constructed with so little care, and the dimensions of the
+walls and arches are so insufficient, that it is easy to see at a
+glance, that all these batteries must inevitably be shaken to pieces
+whenever their numerous artillery shall be brought into play. The trials
+that have been made in Fort Constantine, have already demonstrated the
+correctness of this opinion, wide rents having been there occasioned in
+the walls by a few discharges.
+
+Finally, all the forts labour under the disadvantage of being utterly
+defenceless on the land side. Thinking only of attacks by sea, the
+government has quite overlooked the great facility with which an enemy
+may land on any part of the coast of the Khersonese. So, besides that
+the batteries are totally destitute of artillery and ditches on the land
+side, the town itself is open on all points, and is not defended by a
+single redoubt. We know not what works have been planned or executed
+since 1841; but at the period of our visit a force of some thousand men,
+aided by a maritime demonstration, would have had no sort of difficulty
+in forcing their way into the interior of the place, and setting fire to
+the fleet and the arsenals.
+
+We have now to speak of the offensive strength of the Port of
+Sevastopol, that famous fleet always in readiness to sail against
+Constantinople. The effective of the Black Sea fleet, in 1841, was as
+follows:--
+
+  Ships of the line      13, 2 of 120 guns, the rest of 84
+  Frigates                6 mounting 60 guns
+  Corvettes               6    "     20
+  Brigs                  10    "     10 to 20
+  Schooners               5
+  Cutters                10
+  Steamers                5
+  Tenders                25
+
+The largest tenders are of 750 tons' burden, the smallest thirty. The
+crews, making together fourteen battalions, ought to be 14,000 strong.
+But we know that in Russia official figures are always much higher than
+the reality. We think we cannot be far wrong in setting down the actual
+strength at 6000 or 8000 men.
+
+Like every thing else in Russia, the ships of war look very imposing at
+first sight, but will not bear a very close scrutiny. After what we have
+stated respecting the venality of the administrative departments, it is
+easy to conceive the malversations that must abound in the naval
+arsenals. In vain may the government lavish its money and order the
+purchase of the needful materials; its intentions are sure to be baffled
+by the corruption and rapacity of its servants. The vessels are
+generally built of worthless materials, and there is no kind of
+peculation but is practised in their construction. We have mentioned the
+_Paris_ as an instance of the short duration of Russian ships: and all
+the vessels of the same period are in nearly as bad a plight. A single
+cruise has been enough to make them unserviceable. We must, however,
+admit that the naval boards are not alone to blame for this rapid
+destruction. According to the information we have received, it appears
+that the ships are built generally of pine or fir; but every one knows
+that these kinds of wood, produced in moist places and low bottoms,
+cannot possess the solidity required in naval architecture.
+
+Before quitting Sevastopol we made an excursion to the head of the great
+bay, to visit the remains of a once celebrated town, of which nothing
+now remains but some ruins known under the name Inkermann. We explored
+with some interest a long suite of crypts, some of which seem to belong
+to the remotest antiquity, while others evidently date from the Lower
+Empire. Among the latter we particularly noticed a large chapel,
+excavated wholly in the rock, and presenting in its interior all the
+characteristics of the Byzantine churches. Above all these subterraneous
+edifices, on the highest part of the rocks, stand some fragments of
+walls, the sole remains of the castle and town that formerly crowned
+those heights. The ruins appear to occupy the site of the ancient
+Eupatorion of Strabo, which afterwards, under the name of Theodori,
+became the seat of a little Greek principality dependent on the Lower
+Empire. It was taken by the Turks in 1475, and soon afterwards totally
+destroyed.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[67] See notes at the end of the volume.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+      BAGTCHE SERAI--HISTORICAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA--THE
+      PALACE OF THE KHANS--COUNTESS POTOCKI.
+
+
+After our excursion to Inkermann we left Sevastopol the same day, glad
+to quit the Russians and their naval capital for Bagtche Serai, that
+ancient city, which previously to the Muscovite conquest might still vie
+in power and opulence with the great cities of the East. Even now,
+though much decayed, Bagtche Serai is the most interesting town in the
+Crimea.
+
+The road which leads to it runs parallel with a mountain chain, and
+commands very beautiful scenery, which we beheld in all the fresh
+luxuriance of May. The hills and valleys were clothed with forests of
+peach, almond, apple, and apricot trees in full blossom, and the south
+wind came to us loaded with their fragrance. We had many a flying
+glimpse of landscapes we would willingly have paused to admire in
+detail, but the pereclatnoi whirled us along, and towns, hillsides,
+winding brooks, farms, meadows, and Tatar villages shot past us with
+magic rapidity.
+
+Notwithstanding a temperature of 25 deg. Reaumer, the day appeared to us
+very short. Yet we were impatient to see Bagtche Serai, its palace and
+its fountains which have been sung by Pushkin, the Russian nightingale;
+and this impatience, which increased as we approached our journey's end,
+prevented us from visiting different spots which less hasty travellers
+would not have disdained. Every mountain, valley, or village has some
+peculiar interest of its own. There were aqueducts, old bridges, and
+half-ruined towers in every direction to tell of an ancient
+civilisation; but all these interested us less, perhaps, than the modest
+dwelling in which Pallas long resided, and where he ended his days.
+
+Bagtche Serai has completely retained its national character in
+consequence of an ukase of Catherine II., empowering the Tatars to
+retain exclusive possession of their own capital. You would fancy
+yourself in the heart of the East, in walking through the narrow streets
+of the town, the mosques, shops, and cemeteries of which so much
+resemble those of the old quarters of Constantinople. But it is
+especially in the courts, gardens, and kiosks of the harem of the old
+palace, that the traveller may well believe himself transported into
+some delicious abode of Aleppo or Bagdad.
+
+It was in 1226, that the Mongol or Tatar hordes led by Batu Khan,
+grandson of Genghis Khan, after invading Russia, Poland, and Hungary,
+made their first appearance in the Crimea, and laid the foundations of
+the Tatar kingdom, which was soon to attain a high degree of power. The
+Genoese about the same time took possession of several important points
+on the southern coast, and founded Caffa and other towns, which became
+extremely flourishing seats of commerce. Their prosperity lasted until
+1473, when the Turks, already masters of Constantinople, drove the
+Genoese out of the Crimea, and took under their protection the Khans of
+little Tatary, who became vassals of the Porte, whilst retaining their
+absolute sway over the Crimea. From that time until the eighteenth
+century, the history of the peninsula is but a long series of contests
+between the Ottomans, the Tatars, and the Muscovites.
+
+Russia, coveting this fine country, took advantage of its continual
+revolutions, and sent a large army thither in 1771, for the purpose of
+putting the young prince Saheb Guerai on the throne. By this stroke of
+policy, she took the Crimea out of the hands of the Porte, and brought
+it under her own sole protection. In return for the empress's good
+offices, Saheb Guerai ceded to her the towns of Kertch, Yeni Kaleh, and
+Kalbouroun, very advantageously situated on the Dniepr. In this way
+Russia took the first steps towards the celebrated treaty of Kainardji
+of 1774, which conceded to her the free navigation of all the seas
+dependent on the Turkish dominions. But it was not until 1783, that her
+sway was irrevocably established in the peninsula, and the Tatars
+submitted to a yoke against which they had so often and so boldly
+struggled.
+
+During the brilliant period in which the khans reigned in the Crimea,
+the seat of government alternated between Eski Krim and Tchoufout Kaleh,
+until the beginning of the sixteenth century, when Bagtche Serai was
+made the capital.
+
+One would hardly recognise in the simple and orderly Tatars of the
+present day, the descendants of those fierce Mongols who imposed their
+sway on a part of western Europe. There is a great difference between
+the Tatars of the coast and those of the mountains. The former have been
+rendered covetous, knavish, and treacherous by their continual
+intercourse with the Russians; whilst their mountain brethren have
+retained the patriarchal manners that distinguish the Asiatic peoples.
+Their hospitality is most generous. The Tatar's best room, and the best
+which his house and his table can afford, are offered to his guest with
+a cordial alacrity that forbids the very idea of a refusal; and he would
+deem it an insult to be offered any other payment than a friendly grasp
+of the hand.
+
+The Tatar women, without being handsome, display a timid grace that
+makes them singularly engaging. In public they wear a long white veil,
+the two ends of which hang over their shoulders, and they are
+particularly remarkable for their complete freedom from every appearance
+of vulgarity. We saw none at Bagtche Serai, but those of the poorer
+classes; the women of the mourzas (nobles), and beys (princes) live
+quite retired and never show themselves in public.
+
+But to return to the palace of Bagtche Serai. It is no easy task to
+describe the charm of this mysterious and splendid abode, in which the
+voluptuous khans forgot all the cares of life: it is not to be done, as
+in the case of one of our palaces, by analysing the style, arrangement,
+and details of the rich architecture, and reading the artist's thought
+in the regularity, grace, and noble simplicity of the edifice: all this
+is easy to understand and to describe: such beauties are more or less
+appreciable by every one. But one must be something of a poet to
+appreciate a Turkish palace; its charms must be sought, not in what one
+sees, but in what one feels. I have heard persons speak very
+contemptuously of Bagtche Serai. "How," said they, "can any one apply
+the name of palace to that assemblage of wooden houses, daubed with
+coarse paintings, and furnished only with divans and carpets?" And these
+people were right in their way. The positive cast of their minds
+disabling them from seeing beauty in any thing but rich materials,
+well-defined forms and highly-finished workmanship, Bagtche Serai must
+be to them only a group of shabby houses adorned with paltry ornaments,
+and fit only for the habitation of miserable Tatars.
+
+Situated in the centre of the town, in a valley enclosed between hills
+of unequal heights, the palace (Serai) covers a considerable space, and
+is enclosed within walls, and a small stream deeply entrenched. The
+bridge which affords admission into the principal court is guarded by a
+post of Russian veterans. The spacious court is planted with poplars and
+lilacs, and adorned with a beautiful Turkish fountain, shaded by
+willows; its melancholy murmur harmonises well with the loneliness of
+the place. To the right as you enter are some buildings, one of which is
+set apart for the use of those travellers who are fortunate enough to
+gain admittance into the palace. To the left are the mosque, the
+stables, and the trees of the cemetery, which is divided from the court
+by a wall.
+
+We first visited the palace properly so called. Its exterior displays
+the usual irregularity of Eastern dwellings; but its want of symmetry is
+more than compensated for by its wide galleries, its bright decorations,
+its pavilions so lightly fashioned that they seem scarcely attached to
+the body of the building, and by a profusion of large trees that shade
+it on all sides. These all invest it with a charm, that in my opinion
+greatly surpasses the systematic regularity of our princely abodes. The
+interior is an embodied page out of the Arabian Nights. The first hall
+we entered contains the celebrated Fountain of Tears, the theme of
+Pushkin's beautiful verses. It derives its melancholy name from the
+sweet sad murmur of its slender jets as they fall on the marble of the
+basin. The sombre and mysterious aspect of the hall, further augments
+the tendency of the spectator's mind to forget reality for the dreams of
+the imagination. The foot falls noiselessly on fine Egyptian mats; the
+walls are inscribed with sentences from the Koran, written in gold on a
+black ground in those odd-looking Turkish characters, that seem more the
+caprices of an idle fancy than vehicles of thought. From the hall we
+entered a large reception-room with a double row of windows of stained
+glass, representing all sorts of rural scenes. The ceiling and doors are
+richly gilded, and the workmanship of the latter is very fine. Broad
+divans covered with crimson velvet run all round the room. In the middle
+there is a fountain playing in a large porphyry basin. Every thing is
+magnificent in this room, except the whimsical manner in which the walls
+are painted. All that the most fertile imagination could conceive in the
+shape of isles, villages, harbours, fabulous castles, and so forth, is
+huddled together promiscuously on the walls, without any more regard for
+perspective than for geography. Nor is this all: there are niches over
+the doors in which are collected all sorts of children's toys, such as
+wooden houses a few inches high, fruit trees, models of ships, little
+figures of men twisted into a thousand contortions, &c. These singular
+curiosities are arranged on receding shelves for the greater facility of
+inspection, and are carefully protected by glass cases. One of the last
+khans, we were assured, used to shut himself up in this room every day
+to admire these interesting objects. Such childishness, common among the
+Orientals, would lead us to form a very unfavourable opinion of their
+intelligence, if it was not redeemed by their instinctive love of
+beauty, and the poetic feeling which they possess in a high degree. For
+my part I heartily forgave the khans for having painted their walls so
+queerly, in consideration of the charming fountain that plashed on the
+marble, and the little garden filled with rare flowers adjoining the
+saloon.
+
+The hall of the divan is of royal magnificence; the mouldings of the
+ceiling, in particular, are of exquisite delicacy. We passed through
+other rooms adorned with fountains and glowing colours, but that which
+most interested us was the apartment of the beautiful Countess Potocki.
+It was her strange fortune to inspire with a violent passion one of the
+last khans of the Crimea, who carried her off and made her absolute
+mistress of his palace, in which she lived ten years, her heart divided
+between her love for an infidel, and the remorse that brought her
+prematurely to the grave. The thought of her romantic fate gave a magic
+charm to every thing we beheld. The Russian officer who acted as our
+cicerone pointed out to us a cross carved on the chimney of the
+bed-room. The mystic symbol, placed above a crescent, eloquently
+interpreted the emotions of a life of love and grief. What tears, what
+inward struggles, and bitter recollections had it not witnessed!
+
+We passed through I know not how many gardens and inner yards,
+surrounded with high walls, to visit the various pavilions, kiosks, and
+buildings of all sorts comprised within the limits of the palace. The
+part occupied by the harem contains such a profusion of rose-trees and
+fountains as to merit the pleasing name of The Little Valley of Roses.
+Nothing can be more charming than this Tatar building, surrounded by
+blossoming trees. I felt a secret pleasure in pressing the divans on
+which had rested the fair forms of Mussulman beauties, as they breathed
+the fresh air from the fountains in voluptuous repose. No sound from
+without can reach this enchanted retreat, where nothing is heard but the
+rippling of the waters, and the song of the nightingales. We counted
+more than twenty fountains in the courts and gardens; they all derive
+their supply from the mountains, and the water is of extreme coolness.
+
+A tower of considerable height, with a terrace fronted with gratings
+that can be raised or lowered at pleasure, overlooks the principal
+court. It was erected to enable the khan's wives to witness, unseen, the
+martial exercises practised in the court. The prospect from the terrace
+is admirable; immediately below it you have a bird's-eye view of the
+labyrinth of buildings, gardens, and other enclosures. Further on the
+town of Bagtche Serai rises gradually on a sloping amphitheatre of
+hills. The sounds of the whole town, concentrated and reverberated
+within the narrow space, reach you distinctly. The panorama is
+peculiarly pleasing at the close of the day, when the voices of the
+muezzins, calling to prayer from the minarets, mingle with the bleating
+of the flocks returning from pasture, and the cries of the shepherds.
+
+After seeing the palace we repaired to the mosque and to the cemetery in
+which are the tombs of all the khans who have reigned in the Crimea.
+There as at Constantinople, I admired the wonderful art with which the
+Orientals disguise the gloomy idea of death under fresh and gladsome
+images. Who can yield to dismal thoughts as he breathes a perfumed air,
+listens to the waters of a sparkling fountain, and follows the little
+paths, edged with violets, that lead to lilac groves bending their
+flagrant blossoms over tombs adorned with rich carpets and gorgeous
+inscriptions?
+
+The Tatar who has charge of this smiling abode of death, prompted by the
+poetic feeling that is lodged in the bosom of every Oriental, brought
+me a nosegay plucked from the tomb of a Georgian, the beloved wife of
+the last khan. Was it not a touching thing to see this humble guardian
+of the cemetery comprehend instinctively that flowers, associated with
+the memory of a young woman, could not be indifferent to another of her
+sex and age?
+
+Some isolated pavilions contain the tombs of khans of most eminent
+renown. They are much more ornate than the others, and the care with
+which they are kept up testifies the pious veneration of the Tatars.
+Carpets, cashmeres, lamps burning continually, and inscriptions in
+letters of gold, combine to give grandeur to these monuments, which yet
+are intended to commemorate only names almost forgotten.
+
+Such is a brief sketch of this ancient abode of the khans, which was
+carefully repaired by the Emperor Alexander. He found it in such a state
+of disorder and neglect, that it was probable nothing would remain in a
+few years of a dwelling with which is associated almost the whole past
+history of the Crimea. But Alexander, whose temperament was so well
+adapted to appreciate the melancholy beauty of the spot, immediately on
+his return to St. Petersburg sent a very able man to Bagtche Serai, with
+orders to restore the palace to the state in which it had been in the
+time of the khans. Since then the imperial family has sometimes
+exchanged the dreary magnificence of the St. Petersburg palaces for the
+rosy bowers and sunny clime of the Tatar Serai.
+
+In speaking of this Tatar town, I must not forget to mention a man known
+throughout the Crimea for his eccentricity. It is about twelve years
+since a Dutchman of the name of Vanderschbrug, a retired civil engineer
+in the imperial service, arrived in the Tatar capital with the intention
+of settling there. His motive for this act of misanthropy has never been
+ascertained; all that is known is, that his resolution has remained
+unshaken. Since his installation among the Tatars, Major Vanderschbrug
+has never set his foot outside the town, though his family reside in
+Simpheropol. His retiring pension, amounting to some hundred rubles,
+allows him to lead a life, which to many persons would seem very
+uninviting, but which is not devoid of a certain charm. The complete
+independence he has secured for himself, makes up to him, in some sort,
+for the void he must feel in the loss of family affection. He lives like
+a philosopher in his little cottage, with his cow, his poultry, his
+pencils, some books, and an old housekeeper. He speaks the language of
+the Tatars like one of themselves, and his thorough knowledge of the
+country, and the originality of his mind render his conversation very
+agreeable. All over the country he is known only by the name of the
+hermit of Bagtche Serai. The Tatars hold him in great respect, often
+refer their disputes to his decision, and implicitly follow his advice.
+
+We breakfasted with him, and seeing him apparently so contented with his
+lot, we thought how little is sufficient to make a man happy when his
+desires are limited. Major Vanderschbrug beguiles his solitude with
+reading and the arts, for which he has preserved a taste. He showed us
+some fine water-coloured drawings he had made, and an old volume of Jean
+Jacques Rousseau, which he has kept for many years as a precious
+treasure. To all the objections we raised against the strange exile to
+which he condemned himself, he replied that ennui had not yet invaded
+his humble dwelling.
+
+Before bidding farewell to Bagtche Serai, we went in company with our
+recluse to visit the Valley of Jehoshaphat and the famous mountain of
+Tchoufout Kaleh,[68] which has been for several centuries the exclusive
+property of certain Jews, known by the name of Karaimes or Karaites.
+They are a sect who still adhere to the law of Moses, but who separated
+from the general body, as some writers suppose, several centuries before
+the Christian era. According to other authorities, the separation did
+not occur until A.D. 750. There is a marked difference between
+them and the other Jews. The simplicity of their manners, their probity
+and industry give them a strong claim to the traveller's respect.
+
+At six in the morning we mounted our little Tatar horses, and began to
+ascend the steep road that winds through a vast cemetery, covering the
+whole side of the mountain. The melancholy aspect of the tombs, covered
+with Hebrew inscriptions, accords with the desolation of the scene. Of
+the whole population, that during the lapse of ages have lived and died
+on this rock, nothing remains but tombs, and a dozen families that
+persist, from religious motives, in dwelling among ruins.
+
+In the time of the khans, the Karaites of Tchoufout Kaleh were stoutly
+confined to their rock, being only allowed to pass the business hours of
+the day in the Tatar capital, returning every evening to their mountain.
+When one of them arrived opposite the palace on horseback, he was bound
+to alight and proceed on foot until he was out of sight. But since the
+conquest by the Russians, the Karaites are free to reside in Bagtche
+Serai, and they have gradually left the mountain, with the exception, as
+I have stated, of a few families who regard it as a sacred duty to abide
+on the spot where their forefathers dwelt.
+
+Considering the almost inaccessible position of the town, its want of
+water, the sterility of the soil, and the loneliness of the inhabitants,
+we cannot fail to be struck by the thirst for freedom that made the
+Karaites of yore choose such a site, and the constancy of the families
+that still cling to it. Tchoufout Kaleh is built entirely on the bare
+rock, and the mountain is so steep that in the only place where it
+admits of access, it has been necessary to cut flights of steps several
+hundred feet long. As you ascend, huge masses of overhanging rocks seem
+to threaten you with destruction, and when you enter the ruined town,
+the sepulchral silence and desolation of its dilapidated streets make a
+painful impression on the mind. No inhabitant comes forth to greet the
+stranger or direct him on his way. The only living beings we saw abroad
+were famished dogs that howled most dismally.
+
+Besides the interest we felt in this acropolis of the middle ages, we
+had a still stronger motive for our journey to Tchoufout Kaleh; namely,
+to see a poet who has resided from his youth upwards on that dreary
+rock. We had heard a great deal about it from M. Taitbout de Marigny and
+from Major Vanderschbrug; the first point, therefore, towards which we
+bent our steps was the rabbi's dwelling, built like an eagle's nest on
+the point of a rock. Being shown into a small room furnished with books
+and maps, we found ourselves in presence of a little old man with a long
+white beard who received us with the grave and easy dignity of the
+Orientals. His features were of the most purely Jewish cast. With the
+help of the major, who acted as our interpreter, we were enabled to
+carry on a long conversation, and to admire the varied knowledge
+possessed by a man so completely cut off from the world. Is it not
+wonderful that a person in such a position, and so totally deprived of
+all necessary appliances, should undertake the gigantic task of writing
+the history of the Karaites from the time of Moses to our days? Yet thus
+our rabbi has been employed for upward of twenty years, undismayed by
+the difficulties of all kinds that lie in his way. It was not a little
+moving to see a man of great intellect, vast erudition, and poetic
+imagination, wearing out on a desolate rock the remains of a life which
+would have been so fair and so productive if passed in more active
+scenes. He showed us several sacred poems in manuscript written in his
+youth. How much I regretted that I could not read the productions of
+such a poet.
+
+He lives like a patriarch surrounded by ten or a dozen children of all
+ages who enliven and embellish his solitude. Several little rooms
+communicating together by galleries form his dwelling. It is very
+humble, but the rabbi's remarkable physiognomy, and the Oriental costume
+of his wife and daughters, impart a charm even to so rude a tenement. He
+escorted us to the synagogue, a small building, long left to solitude.
+We saw, too, not without a lively interest, the grave of a khan's
+daughter, who, in the time of the Genoese rule, forsook the Koran for
+the law of the Christians, and died at the age of eighteen among those
+who had converted her. Like every thing else about it, it was in a state
+of neglect and decay.
+
+All the lower part of the mountain, and also a deep narrow valley
+stretching eastward of Tchoufout Kaleh are covered with tombs, to which
+circumstance the situation owes its name of Valley of Jehoshaphat.
+Opposite the Karaite town is the celebrated convent of the Assumption,
+which is annually visited in the month of August by more than twenty
+thousand pilgrims. Its cells excavated in the rock have a very curious
+appearance from a distance. Some wooden flights of stairs on the outside
+of the rock lead to the several stages of this singular convent
+inhabited only by a few monks.
+
+On our return to Bagtche Serai we noticed several crypts in the rock
+which are the haunt of a large number of Tsiganes. Nowhere does this
+vagrant people present a more disgusting aspect than in this locality.
+Their horrible infirmities, distorted limbs, and indescribable
+wretchedness make one almost doubt that they can belong to humanity.
+
+We proceeded the next day to Simpheropol where we were to pass some
+days.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[68] Tchoufout Kaleh, formerly called Kirkov, was for a long series of
+years the residence of the khans, until Mengle Gherai quitted it for
+Bagtche Serai, in 1475.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+      SIMPHEROPOL--KAKOLEZ--VISIT TO PRINCESS ADEL BEY--EXCURSION
+      TO MANGOUP KALEH.
+
+
+Under the Tatars Simpheropol was the second town of the Crimea, and the
+residence of the Kalga Sultan, whose functions were nearly equivalent to
+those of vice-khan. He exercised the regency of the country on the death
+of the khan, until his successor was nominated by the Porte. The Kalga's
+court was composed of the same functionaries as that of Bagtche Serai,
+and his authority extended over all the regions north of the Crimea
+mountains. Simpheropol was then adorned with palaces, mosques, and fine
+gardens, few traces of which now remain. The tortuous streets, high
+walls, and rose thickets of the old city, have given place to the cold
+monotony of the Russian towns. It is the capital of the government of
+the Crimea, with a population of about 8000 souls, of whom 1700 are
+Russians, 5000 Tatars, 400 strangers, and 900 gipsies. Its plan is large
+enough to comprise ten times as many houses as it possesses; but, at
+least, it retains its Salghir, the banks of which are covered with the
+finest orchards in the Crimea. But instead of building the new town in
+the valley, it has been set at the top of a great plateau where its few
+houses and its disproportionately wide streets present no kind of
+character. It is with extreme pleasure, therefore, that after wandering
+through the streets in which the sun's rays beat down without any thing
+to break their force, one finds himself under the cool verdant shades
+that fringe the Salghir, with the pretty country houses that peep out
+from the orchards.
+
+We made many excursions in the vicinity, and were above all pleased with
+the beautiful landscapes in the valley of the Alma. In a ride on
+horseback to visit some rocks of an interesting geological character, we
+crossed the river eighteen times in the space of three hours: this may
+afford an idea of the multitude of meanders it makes before continuing
+its course to the Black Sea.
+
+Bagtche Serai being on the road to Karolez, we could not resist the
+pleasure of once more seeing its delightful palace. We passed the
+evening in one of the large galleries, admiring the magic appearance of
+the buildings and gardens by moonlight. The deep stillness of the place;
+the mysterious aspect of the principal edifice, one part of which was
+completely in the shade, whilst the other, with its coloured windows and
+its open balconies, received the full rays of the moon; the masses of
+foliage in the gardens, and the melancholy sounds of the fountain; all
+this accompanied by the imaginative relations of our eccentric friend,
+the major, made an indelible impression on our minds.
+
+At Bagtche Serai we finally exchanged the pereclatnoi for Tatar horses,
+the serviceable qualities of which had commended themselves to us in
+many trials. Our cavalcade made a grotesque appearance as we rode out of
+the palace. For my own part I looked oddly enough, perched on an
+enormously high Tatar saddle in my Caspian costume, with my parasol in
+my hand. Hommaire wore with Oriental gravity the Persian cap, the girdle
+and the weapons, to which he had become accustomed in his long
+wanderings. But the queerest figure of all was our dragoman.
+Half-a-dozen leather bags containing provisions dangled at his horse's
+flanks; my poor straw bonnet, which I had been obliged to abandon for a
+round hat, hung at the pummel of his saddle, and in addition to all this
+accoutrement he carried in his hand a large white canvass umbrella to
+screen him from the sun. Two Tatar horsemen followed us, carrying
+likewise their contingent of baggage.
+
+After some hours' riding through a lovely country, intersected with
+streams, valleys, and numerous orchards, we arrived in the evening at
+Karolez, a Tatar village, lost among mountains, in the valley of the
+same name, which is one of the most delightful spots in the beautiful
+Crimea, so rich in picturesque scenes.
+
+Though it does not belong to the southern coast, and consequently has no
+maritime traffic, Karolez, nevertheless, possesses a romantic
+attraction, which every year brings to it numerous visitors. This is
+owing to its vicinity to Mangoup Kaleh, the abundance of its waters, the
+mountains that encompass the valley with a line of battlemented walls,
+as if Nature had been pleased in a sportive mood to imitate art, whilst
+yet retaining her own more majestic proportions; and, lastly, the merit
+of belonging to the Princess Adel Bey, whose beauty, though invisible
+has inspired many a poet.
+
+I had taken care before leaving Simpheropol to furnish myself with a
+letter from the governor to the princess, in order to obtain an
+interview which might enable me to judge whether the beauty of this
+Tatar lady and her daughters was as great as fame reported. The question
+had been often agitated since our arrival in the Crimea; it may,
+therefore, be imagined how desirous I was to resolve it. But in spite
+of my letter of introduction, my admission to the palace was still very
+problematical. Many Russian ladies had tried in vain to enter it; for
+the princess, while exercising the noblest hospitality, was seldom
+disposed to satisfy the curiosity of her guests. Though the law of
+Mahomet respecting the seclusion of women is less rigidly observed among
+the Tatars of the Crimea than among the Turks of Constantinople, rich
+ladies do not often pass the threshold of their own dwellings, and when
+they do they are always closely veiled.
+
+One of my friends from Simpheropol, who had proceeded the day before to
+the princess's, having giving notice of our coming, we were received in
+the most brilliant style. The guest house was prepared with the
+ostentation which the Orientals are fond of displaying on all occasions.
+A double line of servants of all ages was drawn up in the vestibule when
+we dismounted; and one of the oldest and most richly dressed ushered us
+into a saloon arranged in the fashion of the East, with gaily painted
+walls and red silk divans that reminded us of the delightful rooms in
+the palace of the khans. The princess's son, an engaging boy of twelve
+years of age, who spoke Russian very well, attached himself to us,
+obligingly translated our orders to the domestics, and took care that we
+wanted for nothing. I gave him my letter, which he immediately carried
+to his mother, and soon afterwards he came and told me, to my great
+satisfaction, that she would receive me when she had finished her
+toilette. In the eagerness of my curiosity I now counted every minute,
+until an officer, followed by an old woman in a veil, came to introduce
+me into the mysterious palace of which I had as yet seen only the lofty
+outer wall.
+
+My husband, as arranged between us beforehand, attempted to follow us,
+and seeing that no impediment was offered, he stepped without ceremony
+through the little door into the park, crossed the latter, boldly
+ascended a terrace adjoining the palace, and, at last, found himself,
+not without extreme surprise at his good fortune, in a little room that
+seemed to belong to the princess's private apartments. Until then no
+male stranger except Count Voronzof had ever entered the palace; the
+flattering and unexpected exception which the princess made in favour of
+my husband, might, therefore, lead us to hope that her complaisance
+would not stop there. But we were soon undeceived. The officer who had
+ushered us into the palace, after having treated us to iced water,
+sweetmeats and pipes, took my husband by the hand, and led him out of
+the room with very significant celerity. He had no sooner disappeared
+than a curtain was raised at the end of the room, and a woman of
+striking beauty entered, dressed in a rich costume. She advanced to me
+with an air of remarkable dignity, took both my hands, kissed me on the
+two cheeks, and sat down beside me, making me many demonstrations of
+friendship. She wore a great deal of rouge; her eyelids were painted
+black and met over the nose, giving her countenance a certain sternness,
+that, nevertheless, did not destroy its pleasing effect. A furred velvet
+vest fitted tight to her still elegant figure. Altogether her
+appearance surpassed what I had conceived of her beauty. We spent a
+quarter of an hour closely examining each other, and interchanging as
+well as we could a few Russian words that very insufficiently conveyed
+our thoughts. But in such cases, looks supply the deficiencies of
+speech, and mine must have told the princess with what admiration I
+beheld her. Hers, I must confess, in all humility, seemed to express
+much more surprise than admiration at my travelling costume. What would
+I not have given to know the result of her purely feminine analysis of
+my appearance! I was even crossed in this _tete-a-tete_ by a serious
+scruple of conscience for having presented myself before her in male
+attire, which must have given her a strange notion of the fashions of
+Europe.
+
+Notwithstanding my desire to prolong my visit in hopes of seeing her
+daughters, the fear of appearing intrusive prompted me to take my leave;
+but checking me with a very graceful gesture, she said eagerly "_Pastoy,
+Pastoy_" (stay, stay), and clapped her hands several times. A young girl
+entered at the signal, and by her mistress's orders threw open a folding
+door, and immediately I was struck dumb with surprise and admiration by
+a most brilliant apparition. Imagine, reader, the most exquisite
+sultanas of whom poetry and painting have ever tried to convey an idea,
+and still your conception will fall far short of the enchanting models I
+had then before me. There were three of them, all equally beautiful and
+graceful. Two were clad in tunics of crimson brocade, adorned in front
+with broad gold lace. The tunics were open and disclosed beneath them
+cashmere robes, with very tight sleeves terminating in gold fringes. The
+youngest wore a tunic of azure blue brocade, with silver ornaments: this
+was the only difference between her dress and that of her sisters. All
+three had magnificent black hair escaping in countless tresses from a
+fez of silver filigree, set like a diadem over their ivory foreheads;
+they wore gold embroidered slippers and wide trousers drawn close at the
+ankle.
+
+I had never beheld skins so dazzlingly fair, eyelashes so long, or so
+delicate a bloom of youth. The calm repose that sat on the countenances
+of these lovely creatures, had never been disturbed by any profane
+glance. No look but their mother's had ever told them they were
+beautiful; and this thought gave them an inexpressible charm in my eyes.
+It is not in our Europe, where women, exposed to the gaze of crowds, so
+soon addict themselves to coquetry, that the imagination could conceive
+such a type of beauty. The features of our young girls are too soon
+altered by the vivacity of their impressions, to allow the eye of the
+artist to discover in them that divine charm of purity and ignorance
+with which I was so struck in beholding my Tatar princesses. After
+embracing me they retired to the end of the room where they remained
+standing in those graceful Oriental attitudes which no woman in Europe
+could imitate. A dozen attendants muffled in white muslin, were gathered
+round the door, gazing with respectful curiosity. Their profiles, shown
+in relief on a dark ground, added to the picturesque character of the
+scene. This delightful vision lasted an hour. When the princess saw that
+I was decided on going away, she signified to me by signs that I should
+go and see the garden; but though grateful to her for this further mark
+of attention, I preferred immediately rejoining my husband, being
+impatient to relate to him all the details of this interview, with which
+I was completely dazzled.
+
+Next morning we set out on horseback for Mangoup Kaleh, a mountain
+renowned throughout the country, and of which the inhabitants never
+speak but with veneration. Goths, Turks, and Tatars have been by turns
+its possessors. Owing to its almost impregnable position, it has played
+an important part in all the revolutions of the Crimea. The town of
+Mangoup, which appears to have been the residence of the Gothic princes,
+was formerly a very considerable place. It had a bishop in 754. The
+Turks took it and put a garrison in it in 1745. Twenty years afterwards
+it was entirely burnt down. The khans of the Crimea next took possession
+of it, and let it gradually fall into decay. At the close of the last
+century, the population of this ancient town still consisted of some
+Karaite families; at present there remains no other trace of their
+existence than the tombs spread over the mountain side.
+
+For three hours we ascended the mountain by scarcely marked bridle
+roads, astonished at the confidence with which our horses walked up
+those steep slopes where there seemed hardly any hold for their feet.
+But the horses of the Crimea are wonderfully surefooted, and if they can
+set down their feet anywhere, it is alike to them whether it is on a
+smooth plain or on the verge of a precipice. Here, as at Tchoufout
+Kaleh, the mountain was covered with tombs; but these bore inscriptions
+in Tatar as well as Hebrew, showing that this deserted soil had formerly
+been trodden by more than one people. The ascent ended at a broad
+triangular plateau on the summit of the mountain, where the town once
+stood. It is now a barren spot, strewed all over with ruins. Two sides
+of the plateau are perpendicular; the third was defended by a fortress,
+part of which is still standing.
+
+Every thing on this mountain wears a grand and melancholy character.
+Desolation has long taken it for its domain. Nothing meets the eye but
+ruins, tombs, and a naked soil. And yet, notwithstanding the stern
+aspect of the place, it does not fill the soul with the same feelings of
+painful awe as Tchoufout Kaleh. This is because the ancient town of the
+Karaites, all mutilated as it is by time and events, still retains a
+semblance of existence, and this alliance between life and death
+necessarily impresses the mind with a superstitious dread. At Mangoup
+Kaleh all human traces have been too long effaced to awaken painful
+thoughts. There one thinks not so much of men as of remote epochs, of
+the great events and numerous revolutions of which this rock has been
+the theatre.
+
+The facade of the fortress has withstood the slow attacks of time,
+though full of cracks, and the lofty walls appear still from a distance
+to protect Mangoup Kaleh. Herds of Tatar horses graze in complete
+freedom on the plateau, and drink from a large reservoir supplied by a
+spring that never fails in any season. As we were exploring the interior
+of what must have been the citadel, we came upon a clump of lilacs in
+full bloom among the ruins. I cannot tell the impression made on me by
+those flowers thus unfolding their sweets under the dew of Heaven far
+from every human eye. Besides the fortress we found another edifice
+partly spared by time. Its construction and the graves about it showed
+it to be an old Christian church. The chancel was in tolerably good
+preservation, and even the windows had not suffered much dilapidation.
+
+The view from Mangoup Kaleh is very extensive and varied. On the one
+side is the sea with its islands and capes, its vessels, and Sevastopol,
+which can be distinctly perceived in clear weather. To the west,
+magnificent orchards, vine-clad hills, and broad meadows, intersected
+with streams, stretch away as far as the eye can reach in the direction
+of Simpheropol; then, at the foot of the mountain, the valley of
+Karolez, its forests, its rocky girdle, its Tatar village, and the
+palace of the princess Adel Bey, disclosing its Moorish architecture
+from behind a screen of poplars.
+
+At the earnest recommendation of our guides, I ventured to explore some
+grottoes hollowed in the rock, the descent to which is rather difficult
+and dangerous. There are about a dozen of them opening one into the
+other, and separated only by shapeless pillars. The Tatars could give us
+no sort of explanation as to these subterraneous chambers. They seem
+like those of Inkermann to belong to very remote antiquity, but their
+origin and history are quite unknown.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+      ROAD TO BAIDAR--THE SOUTHERN COAST; GRAND SCENERY--MISKHOR
+      AND ALOUPKA--PREDILECTION OF THE GREAT RUSSIAN NOBLES FOR
+      THE CRIMEA.
+
+
+The country we passed over, next day, on our way to the southern coast,
+had a wild sylvan appearance strikingly in contrast with what we had
+hitherto seen. Between the valley of Karolez and that of Baidar near the
+coast, lies a chain of mountains with deep gorges filled with forests.
+Sometimes the road passed along the bottom of one of these gorges, where
+we were constantly obstructed by watercourses and thickets; sometimes we
+pursued a track barely discernible along the flank of the mountain, and
+then the summits of the hills that had seemed so high when we looked up
+to them from below, were hidden beneath us in dense vapours. At last,
+by dint of ascending and descending, we reached the wide plain of
+Baidar, with the village in its centre. Early next morning we were again
+on horseback, and breathing with delight the wild odours exhaled by the
+still dewy forest.
+
+Our road ascended gently to the culminating point of the mountain, and
+then we stood rooted for a while to the spot in admiration of the
+magnificent sea view that burst upon us. But our thoughts were suddenly
+called off in another direction by the music of a military band, and
+looking down we were surprised to see several groups of soldiers posted
+some hundred feet below the point where we stood. It was a whole
+regiment employed in making a new road between Sevastopol and Ialta.
+Some were blowing up rocks, and filling the air with something like the
+din and smoke of battle; others were busy round a great fire preparing
+the morning meal; the musicians were waking the mountain echoes with
+their martial strains, and the officers were lounging in front of a tent
+smoking their pipes.
+
+When we had sufficiently indulged our admiration of the scene, we turned
+with some dismay to contemplate the descent before us. The mountain
+which we had found so gently sloping on the western side, here fell so
+precipitously that I could not imagine how our horses were to make their
+way down. For my part I thought it safest to alight and lead my horse.
+The band of the regiment, as if they had guessed we were French, saluted
+us with the overture of the _Fiancee_. After we had already reached the
+seaside, we still heard that charming music, weakened by distance, but
+kindling our recollections of home in the most unexpected manner.
+
+We spent some days at Moukhalatka, the residence of Colonel Olive, a
+Frenchman, formerly page to Louis XVIII., who entered the service of the
+Grand-duke Constantine shortly after the return of the Bourbons to
+France. Beyond Moukhalatka our way lay over mountains, the scenery of
+which partly compensated for the incessant toil of climbing up broken
+rocks, and passing through glens where we could only advance in single
+file. But with the exception of these difficulties, the whole journey to
+Aloupka was a continual enchantment. Talk of the isles of the
+Archipelago with their naked rocks! Here a luxuriant vegetation descends
+to the water's edge, and the coast everywhere presents an amphitheatre
+of forests, gardens, villages, and country houses, over which the eye
+wanders with delight. The almond, the cythesus, the wild chestnut, the
+Judas-tree, the olive, and the cypress, and all the vegetation of a
+southern clime, thrives there with a vigour that attests the potency of
+the sun. On our left we had gigantic masses towering vertically, sombre
+tints, and an inconceivable chaos of rocky fragments; on our right a
+brilliant mosaic bordered by the sea. But the beauty of the scenery
+about Aloupka is even still more striking. The eye takes in at once the
+majestic Tchatir Dagh, Cape Aitodor, with its lighthouse, the Aiou
+Dagh, the brow of which, by a curious freak of nature, seems crowned
+with bastions and half-ruined towers, the Ai Petri, and the Megabi, with
+its gilded dome surmounted by a cross which was erected by the
+celebrated Princess Gallitzin, whose memory is still fresh in the
+Crimea. All these objects are clothed in a rich and varied garb of light
+such as belongs only to the warm atmosphere of southern lands.
+
+Aristocracy has set its seal on this favoured portion of the coast. The
+change in the appearance of the roads indicates the neighbourhood of
+wealthy landowners. They have been made expressly for the dashing
+four-horse equipages that are continually traversing it. We observed
+that the limits of each estate were marked by a post bearing the
+blazonry of the proprietor.
+
+We were most agreeably surprised in the neighbourhood of Aloupka, where
+we fell in on the road with our friend M. Marigny. In consequence of
+this welcome encounter we put off our visit to Aloupka to the next day,
+and proceeded with the consul to Mishkor, the estate of General
+Narishkin, adjoining that of Count Voronzof.
+
+We were greatly pleased with this fine property, on the maintenance of
+which the general annually expends 100,000 francs. It comprises forests,
+a park, a chateau, a church, and a great number of ornamental buildings,
+that bespeak the exquisite taste of the proprietor. Mishkor has this
+great advantage, that its costly artificial arrangements are so well
+disguised under an appearance of rural simplicity, that one is almost
+tempted to attribute its perfections to the hand of nature.
+
+The reverse is the case at Aloupka where art reigns supreme. This almost
+royal residence, which has excited the envy even of the Emperor
+Nicholas, has already cost Count Voronzof between 4,000,000 and
+5,000,000 of francs, although it is not yet finished. All epochs and all
+styles are represented in its architecture and embellishments. Its lofty
+walls, its massive square tower and belfry, its vaulted passages and the
+mysterious aspect of its long galleries, give it a considerable
+resemblance to a feudal manor; but the Oriental style is exhibited in
+its small columns, its chimneys, and its profusion of pinnacles and
+domes. To justify the construction of such a porphyry chateau, the count
+should have been able to retrograde some centuries: in our own times
+such a dwelling is an anachronism. What is the use of such walls when
+there is no fear of being attacked by a neighbour? What is the use of
+those vaulted passages without men-at-arms to fill them? An old castle
+speaks to the imagination, recalling the chronicles, the fortunes and
+events connected with it, but a modern construction like this is a thing
+of no meaning. Its towers, battlements, and threatening walls seem a
+parody on the past. What have they seen? of what combats, feuds, loves,
+and revenges have they been witnesses?
+
+In addition to this total want of fitness of character, the chateau has
+besides the grievous defect of being very disadvantageously situated.
+The coast is so narrow at this spot that there are but a few paces'
+breadth between the facade of the building and the sea, so that, in
+order to have a fair view of the whole, one must take a boat and put out
+from the shore until the proper point of view is found. Now it is not
+every one who will be disposed to take this trouble solely for the
+purpose of appreciating the effect of a facade.
+
+The park displays a charming labyrinth of broken rocks, and a variety of
+natural picturesque and extraordinary features. Art has had nothing to
+do but to make paths and alleys between the accumulated volcanic masses,
+and to adorn the sides of the cascades with flowers. In the hollow of a
+rock there is a deep grotto with a little babbling spring, inviting to
+repose and meditation. At the eastern end of the chateau there is a
+lofty cypress wood, which the countess calls her Scutari.
+
+The general aspect of this magnificent abode is too grave to delight the
+eye; we admire but do not covet it. The gigantic shadow of the Ai Petri,
+which hangs like a veil over the whole domain, adds still more to its
+sternness.
+
+The reputation of the southern coast dates only from the arrival of
+Count Voronzof in the Crimea, previously to which no one thought of
+residing on it, except some speculators who were beginning to try the
+cultivation of the vine there. The count, who is a man of much taste,
+was at once struck with the beauty of the country, and soon became the
+purchaser of several estates in it. His example was followed by numbers
+of wealthy nobles whose eyes were immediately opened to the charms of
+the landscapes when once the count had proclaimed their attractions.
+Numerous villas were erected in the course of a few years along all the
+coast from Balaclava to Theodosia. A fleet of steamers was established,
+with the port of Ialta for their head quarters. The imperial family
+itself gave into the fashion and purchased Oreanda, one of the most
+beautiful sites on the coast; and many foreigners, infected by the
+prevailing fever, turned all they had into money and settled in the
+Crimea to cultivate the vine, a pursuit which Count Voronzof was then
+encouraging to the utmost of his power. But this was the reverse of the
+medal; most of them were ruined, and are now expiating in extreme
+poverty the cupidity with which they plunged into foolish enterprises.
+
+Throughout its whole extent the coast presents only a narrow strip,
+seldom half a league wide, traversed by deep ravines, and backed by a
+range of calcareous cliffs that shelter it from the north wind. It is
+only on this _detritus_ that the handsomest domains are situated. Among
+these are Koutchouk Lampat, belonging to General Borosdine; Parthenit,
+where is still to be seen the great hazel under which the Prince de
+Ligne wrote to Catherine II.; Kisil Tasch, the proprietor of which bears
+a name famous in France, that of Poniatowski; Oudsouf, lying close under
+the forest shades of Aiou Dagh; Arteck the estate of Prince Andrew
+Gallitzin; Ai Daniel, the property of the late Duc de Richelieu;
+Marsanda; Oreanda, an imperial domain; Mishkor and Nikita; Gaspra where
+Madame de Krudener died in the arms of her daughter, Baroness Berckheim;
+and Koreis where Princess Gallitzin, exiled from court, ended her days.
+
+All these properties, adjoining each other, are, in the fine season, the
+rendezvous of a numerous society eagerly intent on pleasure. Aloupka is
+the great centre of amusement. Foreigners of distinction who are for the
+moment at Odessa, are _ex officio_ the guests of Count Voronzof; but
+many of them have on their return complained of paying somewhat too
+dearly for the governor-general's hospitality. As the chateau,
+notwithstanding its imposing appearance, can contain only a small number
+of the select, the majority are compelled to find a lodging at the inn
+of the Two Cypresses near Aloupka, the landlord of which, by way of
+doing honour to his noble patron, practises unsparing extortion on all
+who have need of his apartments.
+
+On our way to Ialta, about a dozen versts from Mishkor we visited the
+country houses best worth seeing, particularly Gaspra, which interested
+us for Madame de Krudener's sake. Perhaps the reader will not be
+unwilling to peruse the details I collected respecting the motives that
+induced that celebrated woman to settle in the peninsula, and which
+connected her name with that of two other women equally remarkable for
+their strange fortunes.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+      THREE CELEBRATED WOMEN.
+
+
+Every one is aware of the mystic influence which Madame de Krudener
+exercised for many years over the enthusiastic temperament of the
+Emperor Alexander. This lady who has so charmingly portrayed her own
+character in _Valerie_, who was pre-eminently distinguished in the
+aristocratic _salons_ of Paris by her beauty, her talents, and her
+position as an ambassadress, who was by turns a woman of the world, a
+heroine of romance, a remarkable writer, and a prophetess, will not soon
+be forgotten in France. The lovers of mystic poetry will read _Valerie_,
+that charming work, the appearance of which made so much noise,
+notwithstanding the bulletins of the grand army (for it appeared in the
+most brilliant period of the empire); those who delight in grace,
+combined with beauty and mental endowments, will recall to mind that
+young woman who won for herself so distinguished a place in French
+society; and those whose glowing imaginations love to dwell on exalted
+sentiments and religious fervour, united to the most lively faith,
+cannot refuse their admiration to her who asked of the mighty of the
+earth only the means of freely exercising charity, that evangelical
+virtue, of which she was always one of the most ardent apostles.
+
+The _Lettres de Mademoiselle Cochelet_ make known to us with what zeal
+Madame de Krudener applied herself to seeking out and comforting the
+afflicted. Her extreme goodness of heart was such that she was called,
+in St. Petersburg, the Mother of the Poor. All the sums she received
+from the emperor were immediately distributed to the wretched, and her
+own fortune was applied in the same way, so that her house was besieged
+from morning till night by mujiks and mothers of families, to whom she
+gave food both for soul and body.
+
+With so much will and power to do good, Madame de Krudener by and by
+acquired so great an influence in St. Petersburg, that the government at
+last became alarmed. She was accused of entertaining tendencies of too
+liberal a cast, religious notions of no orthodox kind, extreme ambition
+cloaked under the guise of charity, and therewith too much compassion
+for those miserable mujiks of whom she was the unfailing friend. But the
+chief cause of the displeasure of the court was the baroness's connexion
+with two other ladies, whose religious sentiments were by all means
+exceedingly questionable. They were the Princess Gallitzin and Countess
+Guacher (we will give the real name of the latter by and by).
+
+The publicity which these ladies affected in all their acts could not
+but be injurious to the meek Christian enterprise of Madame de Krudener.
+The princess was detested at court. Too superior to disguise her
+opinions, and renowned for her beauty, her caustic wit, and her
+philosophic notions, she had excited against her a host of enemies, who
+were sure to take the first opportunity of injuring her with the
+emperor. As for the Countess Guacher, the chief heroine of our tale, her
+rather equivocal position at the court furnished a weapon against her,
+when suddenly issuing from the extreme retirement in which she had
+previously lived, she became one of Madame de Krudener's most
+enthusiastic adepts. But before we proceed further it will be necessary
+to give a brief account of her arrival in Russia.
+
+Two years before the period I am speaking of, a lady of high rank
+arrived in St. Petersburg, accompanied by a numerous retinue, and giving
+herself out for one of the victims of the French revolution. In that
+quality she was received with alacrity in the society of the capital,
+and the Emperor Alexander himself was one of the foremost to notice her.
+It appeared that she came last from England, where she had taken shelter
+during the revolutionary troubles; but the motive which had induced her,
+after so long a residence among the English, to quit their country for
+Russia, remained an impenetrable secret. She always evinced an extreme
+repugnance to meet the French emigrants, who resided in St. Petersburg,
+and they on their part declared that the name she bore was entirely
+unknown to them. It soon began to be whispered about, that the lady was,
+perhaps, a personage of illustrious birth who desired to be _incognita_;
+but what her real name was no one could tell, not even the emperor. The
+wit of the courtiers was baffled by the lofty reserve of the countess,
+who always affected a total silence whenever France was mentioned in
+conversation. Alexander, always prompt to declare himself a champion of
+dames, respected the fair stranger's _incognito_ with chivalric loyalty,
+and declared that any attempt to penetrate the mystery would exceedingly
+displease him. This was enough to cool the fever of curiosity that had
+infected the courtiers since Madame Guacher's first appearance; her name
+was thenceforth mentioned only with a circumspection that would have
+seemed very curious to any one unacquainted with the Russians, and she
+soon became a stranger to the court, where she appeared only on rare
+occasions.
+
+The emperor alone, stimulated no doubt by the mystery she observed
+respecting her past history, and struck by her high-bred demeanour, kept
+up an intercourse with her to which he seemed to attach much value.
+There was nothing of ordinary gallantry in this, at least there never
+was any thing to indicate that their intimacy had led to so commonplace
+a result. The romantic spirit of Alexander, delighted to build all sorts
+of hypotheses on a person whose noble presence and lofty airs exercised
+a peculiar prestige upon his imagination.
+
+When the Princess Gallitzin returned to St. Petersburg after a journey
+to Italy, the emperor, who sincerely admired her, took upon himself to
+make two ladies acquainted whom he thought so fitted to appreciate each
+other. As he had foreseen, a close intimacy grew up between them, but to
+the great mortification of the court, this intimacy was, through Madame
+de Krudener's influence, the basis of an association which aimed at
+nothing less than the conversion of the whole earth to the holy law of
+Christ.
+
+At first the scheme was met with derision, then alarm was felt, and at
+last, by dint of intrigues, the emperor, whom these ladies had half made
+a proselyte, was forced to banish them from court, and confine them for
+the rest of their days to the territory of the Crimea. It is said that
+this decision, so contrary to the kind nature of Alexander, was
+occasioned by an article in an English newspaper, in which the female
+trio and his imperial majesty were made the subjects of most biting
+sarcasms. Enraged at being accused of being held in leading strings by
+three half-crazed women, the emperor signed the warrant for their exile
+to the great joy of the envious courtiers. The victims beheld in the
+event only the manifestation of the divine will, that they should
+propagate the faith among the followers of Mahomet. In a spirit of
+Christian humility they declined receiving any other escort than that of
+a non-commissioned officer, whose duty should be only to see to their
+personal safety, and transmit their orders to the persons employed in
+the journey. Their departure produced a great sensation in St.
+Petersburg; and every one was eager to see the distinguished ladies in
+their monastic costume. The court laughed, but the populace, always
+sensitive where religion is concerned, and who, besides, were losing a
+most generous protectress in Madame de Krudener, accompanied the
+pilgrims with great demonstrations of respect and sorrow to the banks of
+the Neva, where they embarked on the 6th of September, 1822.
+
+Two months after that date, on a cold November morning, when the Sea of
+Azof was already beginning to be covered near shore with a thin coat of
+ice, there arrived in Taganrok one of those large boats called lodkas,
+which ply on all the navigable rivers of the empire, and are used for
+the transport of goods. This one seemed to have been fitted up for the
+temporary accommodation of passengers. The practised eyes of the sailors
+in the port soon noticed the peculiar arrangement of the deck, the care
+with which the bales of merchandise were ranged along the gangways, and
+above all, the great carpet that covered the whole quarter-deck. These
+circumstances excited much curiosity in the port, especially as at that
+advanced season arrivals were very rare; but conjecture was exerted in
+vain, as to who might be the mysterious passengers, for the whole day
+passed without one of them appearing. It was ascertained, indeed, that a
+non-commissioned officer landed from the lodka, and waited on the
+police-master and the English consul, and that those functionaries
+repaired on board the lodka; but that was all, and the public remained
+for ever in ignorance whence the lodka came, whither it was bound, and
+who were the persons on board of it.
+
+The same evening the English consul was waiting with some curiosity for
+the visit of a foreigner, who, as he had been informed by the
+non-commissioned officer of the lodka, would call on him at eight
+o'clock; but her name and her business remained a mystery for him. At
+the appointed time the door opened, and a person entered whose
+appearance at first sight did not seem to justify the curiosity which
+the consul had felt about her. Dressed in a long, loose, grey robe, and
+a white hood with lappets falling on the bosom, she had all the
+appearance of those Russian nuns who go about to rich houses and beg for
+their convents. Taking her for one of these persons, Mr. Y---- was about
+to give her a very expeditious answer, when to his surprise she accosted
+him in excellent English. The appearance and manners of the visitor soon
+convinced him she was a person of superior station. The conversation
+turned at first on England. The unknown told him that having long
+resided in that country, she had felt desirous of seeing its
+representative in Taganrok; she then went on to discuss English society,
+mentioning the most aristocratic names, and talking in such a manner as
+to show that she must have been long familiar with the London world of
+fashion. After this she proceeded to the main object of her visit, which
+was to procure from the consul a podoroshni, to continue her journey by
+land instead of by water as before.
+
+All this while the consul was scrutinising his strange visitor with
+increasing astonishment. She appeared to be about fifty years of age;
+her features, which were still very well preserved, must have been once
+very handsome. She had a Bourbon countenance, large blue eyes, grave
+lineaments, and a somewhat haughty ease in her demeanour, that
+altogether produced a singularly imposing effect. The conversation
+gradually becoming more familiar, the lady confessed that having been
+converted by the Baroness de Krudener and the Princess Gallitzin, she
+had been exiled with those ladies to the Crimea, where she purposed to
+preach the faith.
+
+This unexpected communication of course increased the surprise of Mr.
+Y----, and drew from him some observations on the nature of such a
+project. After lauding the zeal of the fair missionary, he hinted a
+doubt that she would find many proselytes among the Mahometans, and
+asked her had she no family or friends who had a more direct claim on
+her charity than strangers, who were too barbarous to appreciate her
+motives. This question produced an extraordinary effect on the lady. She
+grew pale and confused, and muttered indistinctly that all her earthly
+ties were broken, and that the wrath of Heaven had long rested on her
+head! A silence of some minutes followed that avowal. The consul
+remained with his eyes fixed on the strange being before him, and in
+spite of all his address and knowledge of the world, he was quite at a
+loss how to behave or how to renew the conversation. His visitor,
+however, relieved him by taking her leave, after repeating her request
+that he would supply her with a podoroshni on the following morning.
+
+It may easily be imagined that Mr. Y---- did not wait until the next day
+to satisfy his curiosity respecting the ladies whose invincible spirit
+of proselytism had sent them from the banks of the Neva to the shores of
+the Black Sea, and soon after the departure of his visitor he was on his
+way to the port. He had no difficulty in finding the lodka; the deck was
+deserted, but a light shone through one of the skylights. Looking down
+he saw three phantom-like females standing at a table covered with
+papers, and reading out of large books. When their prayers were ended
+they began to chant hymns in a slow measure. The solemn religious
+harmony, suddenly breaking the deep silence, made so intense an
+impression on the consul, that twenty years afterwards he still spoke of
+it with enthusiasm.
+
+Countess Guacher stood with her back towards him, but he had a full view
+of the faces of the two other ladies. Madame de Krudener was small,
+delicate, and fair haired; her inspired looks and the gentleness of her
+countenance bespoke her boundless beneficence of soul. The Princess
+Gallitzin, on the contrary, had an imposing countenance, the expression
+of which presented a strange mixture of shrewdness, asceticism,
+sternness, and raillery. For a long while the pilgrims continued
+chanting Sclavonic psalms, the mysterious impart of which accorded with
+the enthusiastic disposition of their souls. Before they had ended, the
+sound of footsteps on the deck woke Mr. Y---- from his trance of wonder.
+The new comer was the non-commissioned officer, and Mr. Y---- desired
+the man to announce him, although he hardly expected to be admitted at
+so late an hour. His visit was nevertheless accepted, and the ladies
+received him with as much ease as if they had been doing the honours of
+a drawing-room.
+
+In spite of their religious enthusiasm, and the apostolic vocation which
+they attributed to themselves, it may easily be imagined that these
+three high-bred ladies, accustomed to all the refinements of luxury,
+should now and then have had their tempers a little ruffled by the
+hardships of their journey, and that their mutual harmony should have
+suffered somewhat in consequence. Their wish, therefore, to separate on
+their arrival at Taganrok was natural enough. Countess Guacher
+especially, having made less progress than her companions in the path of
+perfection, had often revolted against the austere habits imposed on
+her; but these ebullitions of carnal temper were always brief and
+transient; and on the day after her visit to the consul, when he
+returned to the port to announce that the podoroshni was ready, the boat
+and its passengers had disappeared, and no one could give any
+information about them.
+
+
+II.
+
+The apparition of these ladies in the Crimea threw the whole peninsula
+into commotion. Eager to make proselytes, they were seen toiling in
+their _beguine_ costume, with the cross and the gospel in their hands,
+over mountains and valleys, exploring Tatar villages, and even carrying
+their enthusiasm to the strange length of preaching in the open air to
+the amazed and puzzled Mussulmans. But as the English consul had
+predicted, in spite of their mystic fervour, their persuasive voices,
+and the originality of their enterprise, our heroines effected few
+conversions. They only succeeded in making themselves thoroughly
+ridiculous not only in the eyes of the Tatars, but in those also of the
+Russian nobles of the vicinity, who instead of seconding their efforts,
+or at least giving them credit for their good intentions, regarded them
+only as feather-witted _illuminatae_, capable at most of catechising
+little children. The police, too, always prompt to take alarm, and
+having besides received special instructions respecting these ladies,
+soon threw impediments in the way of all their efforts, so that two
+months had scarcely elapsed before they were obliged to give up their
+roving ways, their preachings, and all the fine dreams they had indulged
+during their long and painful journey. It was a sore mortification for
+them to renounce the hope of planting a new Thebaid in the mountains of
+the Crimea. Madame de Krudener could not endure the loss of her
+illusions; her health, already impaired by many years of an ascetic
+life, declined rapidly, and within a year from the time of her arrival
+in the peninsula, there remained no hope of saving her life. She died
+in 1823, in the arms of her daughter, the Baroness Berckheim, who had
+been for some years resident on the southern coast, and became possessed
+of many documents on the latter part of a life so rich in romantic
+events: but unfortunately these documents are not destined to see the
+light.
+
+Princess Gallitzin, whose religious sentiments were perhaps less
+sincere, thought no more of making conversions after she had installed
+herself in her delightful villa on the coast. Throwing off for ever the
+coarse _beguine_ robe, she adopted a no less eccentric costume which she
+retained until her death. It was an Amazonian petticoat, with a cloth
+vest of a male cut. A Polish cap trimmed with fur completed her attire,
+that accorded well with the original character of the princess. It is in
+this dress she is represented in several portraits still to be seen in
+her villa at Koreis.
+
+The caustic wit that led to her disgrace at the court of St. Petersburg,
+her stately manners, her name, her prodigious memory, and immense
+fortune, quickly attracted round her all the notable persons in Southern
+Russia. Distinguished foreigners eagerly coveted the honour of being
+introduced to her, and she was soon at the head of a little court, over
+which she presided like a real sovereign. But being by nature very
+capricious, the freak sometimes seized her to shut herself up for whole
+months in total solitude. Although she relapsed into philosophical and
+Voltairian notions, the remembrance of Madame de Krudener inspired her
+with occasional fits of devotion that oddly contrasted with her usual
+habits. It was during one of these visitations that she erected a
+colossal cross on one of the heights commanding Koreis. The cross being
+gilded is visible to a great distance.
+
+Her death in 1839 left a void in Russian society which will not easily
+be filled. Reared in the school of the eighteenth century, well versed
+in the literature and the arts of France, speaking the language with an
+entire command of all that light, playful raillery that made it so
+formidable of yore; having been a near observer of all the events and
+all the eminent men of the empire; possessing moreover a power of
+apprehension and discernment that gave equal variety and point to her
+conversation; a man in mind and variety of knowledge, a woman in grace
+and frivolity; the Princess Gallitzin belonged by her brilliant
+qualities and her charming faults to a class that is day by day becoming
+extinct.
+
+Now that conversation is quite dethroned in France, and exists only in
+some few salons of Europe, it is hard to conceive the influence formerly
+exercised by women of talent. Those of our day, more ambitious of
+obtaining celebrity through the press than of reigning over a social
+circle, guard the treasures of their imagination and intellect with an
+anxious reserve that cannot but prove a real detriment to society. To
+write feuilletons, romances, and poetry, is all very well; but to
+preside over a drawing-room, like the women of the eighteenth century,
+has also its merit. But we must not blame the female sex alone for the
+loss of that supremacy which once belonged to French society. The men of
+the present day, more serious than their predecessors, more occupied
+with positive, palpable interests, seem to look with cold disdain on
+what but lately commanded their warmest admiration.
+
+But we have lost sight of the Countess Guacher, who is not for all that
+the least interesting of our heroines. Resigning herself with much more
+equanimity than her companions to the necessity of leaving the Tatars
+alone, she hired for herself, even before their complete separation, a
+small house standing by itself on the sea shore; and there she took up
+her abode with only one female attendant. Following the example of the
+Princess Gallitzin, she threw off the _beguine_ robe and assumed a kind
+of male attire. For some time her existence was almost unknown to her
+neighbours; so retired were her habits. The only occasions when she was
+visible was during her rides on horseback on the beach, and it was
+noticed that she chose the most stormy weather for these excursions.
+
+But her recluse habits did not long conceal her from curious inquiry. A
+certain Colonel Ivanof, who had noticed the strange proceedings of the
+pilgrims from their first arrival in the Crimea, set himself to watch
+the countess, and at last took a house near her retreat; but in order
+that his presence might not scare her, he contented himself for some
+weeks with following her at a distance during her lonely promenades,
+trusting to chance for an opportunity of becoming more intimately
+acquainted with her. His perseverance was at last rewarded with full
+success.
+
+One evening, as the colonel stood at his window observing the tokens of
+an approaching storm, he perceived a person on horseback galloping in
+the direction of his house, evidently with the intention of seeking
+shelter. Before this could be accomplished the storm broke out with
+great fury, and just then the colonel was startled by the discovery that
+the stranger was his mysterious neighbour. The sequel will be best told
+in his own words:
+
+"Full of surprise and curiosity I hastened to meet the countess, who
+entered my doors without honouring me with a single look. She seemed in
+very bad humour, and concentrated her whole attention upon a tortoise
+she carried in her left hand. Without uttering a word or caring for the
+water that streamed from her clothes, she sat down on the divan, and
+remained for some moments apparently lost in thought. For my part, I
+continued standing before her, waiting until she should address me, and
+glad of the opportunity to scrutinise her appearance at my ease. She
+wore an Amazonian petticoat, a green cloth vest, buttoned over the
+bosom, a broad-brimmed felt hat, with a pair of pistols in her girdle,
+and, as I have said, a tortoise in her hand. Her handsome, grave
+countenance excited my admiration. Below her hat appeared some grey
+locks, that seemed whitened not so much by years as by sorrow, of which
+her visage bore the impress.
+
+"Without taking off her hat, the flap of which half concealed her face,
+she began to warm the tortoise with her breath, calling it by the pet
+name _Dushinka_ (little soul), which duty being performed she deigned to
+look up, and perceived me. Her first gesture bespoke extreme surprise.
+Until then, supposing she was in a Tatar house, she had taken no notice
+of the objects around her, but the sight of my drawing-room, my library,
+my piano, and myself, struck her with stupefaction. 'Where am I?' she
+exclaimed, in hurried alarm. 'Madam,' I replied, 'you are in the house
+of a man who has long lived as a hermit--a man who like you loves
+solitude, the sea, and meditation--who has renounced like you the
+society of his kind to live after his own way in this wilderness.' These
+words struck her forcibly. 'You, too,' she ejaculated, 'you, too, have
+divorced yourself from the world, and why? Ay, why?' she repeated, as if
+conversing with her own thoughts, 'why bury yourself alive here, without
+friends, without relations, without a heart to respond to yours? Why die
+this lingering death, when the world is open to you--the world with its
+delights, its balls and spectacles, its passionate adorations, with the
+fascinations of the court, the favour of a queen?' Imagine my
+astonishment to hear her thus in a sort of hallucination, revealing her
+secret thoughts and recollections. In these few words her whole life was
+set forth, the life of a beautiful woman, rich, flattered, habituated to
+the atmosphere of courts.
+
+"After a pause of some duration she entered into conversation with me,
+questioned me at great length on the way in which I passed my time, on
+my tastes, the few resources I enjoyed for cultivating the arts, &c. We
+chatted for more than an hour like old acquaintances, and she seemed
+quite to have forgotten the strange words she had uttered in the
+beginning of the interview. Being very much puzzled to know what
+pleasure she took in carrying the tortoise about with her, I asked her
+some questions on the subject; but with a solemnity that seemed to me
+strangely disproportioned to the subject, she told me she had made a vow
+never to separate from it. 'It is a present from the Emperor Alexander,'
+she said, 'and as long as I have it near me I shall not utterly despair
+of my destiny.' Availing myself of this opening I tried to make her talk
+of the motives that had brought her to the peninsula, but she cut me
+short by saying that since she had become acquainted with the character
+of the Tatars she had given up all thought of making converts among
+them. 'They are men of pure feelings and pure consciences,' she said,
+impressively; 'why insist on their changing their creed, since they live
+in accordance with the principles of morality and religion? After all it
+matters little whether one adores Jesus Christ, Mahomet, or the Grand
+Lama, if one is charitable, humble, and hospitable.'
+
+"I laughed, and said she spoke rank heresy, and that if she preached
+such doctrines, she ran great risk of having a bull of excommunication
+fulminated against her. 'It is since I have given up preaching,' she
+replied, 'that I have begun to think in this way; solitude makes one
+regard things in quite a different aspect from that in which they are
+seen by the world. Only three months ago I set Catholicism above all
+religions, and now I meditate one still more perfect and sublime. Will
+you be my first disciple?' she said, in a tone between jest and earnest,
+that left me very uncertain whether she was serious or not. When she
+left my house I escorted her to her own door, and promised I would call
+on her the next day."
+
+The second interview was not less curious than the first: the colonel
+found his neighbour busily at work with a glass spinner's lamp and a
+blowpipe, making glass beads. She did not allow her visitor's presence
+to interrupt her operations, but finished before him enough to make a
+necklace. She then showed him several boxes filled with beads of all
+sorts, made by her own hands, and said very seriously, "If ever I return
+to the world I will wear no other ornaments than such pearls as these.
+It is a stupid thing to wear true ones. See how bright, clear, and large
+these are! Would any one suppose they were not the produce of the Indian
+Ocean? So it is with every thing else: what matters the substance if the
+form is beautiful and pleasing to the eye?" The colonel was about to
+enter into a grave discussion of this very questionable moral doctrine,
+very common in the eighteenth century, when suddenly changing the
+subject, the countess took down a sword that hung at the head of her bed
+and laid it on his lap. "You see this weapon, colonel: it was given me
+by a Vendean chief in admiration of my courage; for though a woman I
+have fought for the good cause, and many a time smelt powder among the
+bushes and heaths of Bretagne. You need not wonder at my partiality for
+weapons and for male costume; it is a reminiscence of my youth. A
+Vendean at heart, I long made part in the heroic bands that withstood
+the republican armies, and the dangers, hardships, and fiery emotions of
+partisan warfare are no secrets to me." "But," observed the colonel,
+"how is it that thus devoted as you are to the royal cause you do not
+return to your country, where monarchy is again triumphant?" "Hush!" she
+answered, lowering her voice, "hush! let us say no more of the present
+or the past. Would you ask the shrub broken by the storm why the breath
+of spring does not reanimate its mutilated form? Let us leave things as
+they are, and not strive to repair what is irreparable. Man's justice
+has pronounced its decree; let us trust in that of God, merciful and
+infinite, like all that is eternally just and good!"
+
+It was in vain the colonel endeavoured by further questions to become
+acquainted with that mysterious past to which she could not make any
+allusion without extreme perturbation of mind; she remained silent, and
+retired to another room without renewing the conversation.
+
+After these two interviews, Colonel Ivanof had no other opportunity of
+gathering any hints that could lead him towards a definite conclusion
+respecting this extraordinary woman, although he saw her almost daily
+for more than two months. She often talked to him of her residence in
+London, her friendly relations with the Emperor of Russia, her travels,
+and her fortune; but of France not a word. Not an expression of regret,
+not a name or allusion of any sort, afforded the colonel reason to
+suspect that his neighbour had left behind her in her native land any
+objects on which her memory still dwelt. His brain was almost turned at
+last by the romantic acquaintance he had made. His vanity was piqued,
+and his desire to solve so difficult an enigma gave him no rest. He
+diligently perused the history of the French Revolution, in hopes to
+find in it a clue to his inquiry, but it was to no purpose. He felt
+completely astray in such a labyrinth. Many great names successively
+occurred to him as likely to belong to his mysterious neighbour, but
+there were always some circumstances connected with them that refuted
+such a supposition.
+
+Perhaps a more matter-of-fact person would at last have discovered the
+truth; but the colonel's lively imagination led him to embrace the
+oddest hypothesis. It was his belief that the countess was the
+illegitimate offspring of a royal amour. Setting out from this principle
+he put aside all the names proscribed by the revolution, and stuck
+obstinately to a myth. But tired at last of this pursuit of shadows, he
+resolved to trust to that chance which had already been so favourable
+for the clearing up of his uncertainty. Assiduously noting all the
+lady's eccentricities, he knew not whether to pity or admire her, though
+very certain that her wits wandered at times.
+
+She frequently received despatches from St. Petersburg, and seemed,
+notwithstanding her exile, to have retained a certain influence over the
+mind of the tzar. One day she showed her neighbour a letter from a lady
+of the court, who thanked her warmly for having obtained from the
+emperor a regiment which that lady had long been ineffectually
+soliciting for her son.
+
+So absorbed was the Russian officer by the interest he took in the
+countess, that he seemed to have forgotten all the world besides; but an
+unexpected event suddenly put an end to his romantic loiterings, and
+sent him back to the realities of life. A Frenchman, calling himself
+Baron X--, arrived one fine morning from St. Petersburg, and established
+himself without ceremony as the countess's factotum. From that moment
+all intimacy was broken off between the latter and Colonel Ivanof. The
+cold, astute behaviour of the baron, and his continual presence, obliged
+the colonel to retire. It may seem strange that he surrendered the field
+so quickly to an unknown person, but it was time for him to return to
+his military duties, and besides, what could he do with a man whose
+connexion with the countess seemed of old standing, and who watched her
+with a jealous vigilance enough to discourage the most intrepid
+curiosity? His departure was scarcely noticed by Madame Guacher, whose
+habits had undergone an entire change since the arrival of the baron.
+The incoherence of her mind became more and more visible; it was only at
+long and uncertain intervals she rode out on horseback; the rest of her
+time was spent in enduring all sorts of extraordinary mortifications.
+
+Baron X--remained in the Crimea until the death of the countess, which
+took place in 1823. Being fully acquainted with all her affairs he was
+her sole heir, not legally, perhaps, but _de facto_. On leaving the
+peninsula he proceeded to England, where a large part of our heroine's
+property was invested, and he afterwards returned to Russia with a
+considerable fortune.
+
+A curious incident occurred after the death of the countess. As soon as
+the emperor was informed of the event he despatched a courier to the
+Crimea, with orders to bring him a casket, the form, size, and materials
+of which were described with the most minute exactness. The messenger,
+assisted by the chief of the police, at first made a fruitless search;
+but at last, through the information of a waiting woman, the casket was
+found sealed up, under the bed of the deceased lady. The courier took
+possession of it and returned with the utmost speed. In ten days he was
+in St. Petersburg.
+
+The precious casket was delivered to the emperor in his private cabinet,
+in the presence of two or three courtiers. Alexander was so impatient to
+open it that he had the lock forced. But alas! what a sad
+disappointment! The casket contained only--a pair of scissors. It surely
+was not for the sake of a pair of scissors that Alexander had made one
+of his Cossacks gallop 4000 versts in a fortnight. Be that as it may,
+Baron X--was accused of having purloined papers of the highest
+importance, and unfairly possessed himself of Madame Guacher's fortune.
+But as he was then on his road to London, the emperor's anger was of no
+avail.
+
+At a subsequent period, the disclosures made by this man, and the
+discovery of a curious correspondence, at last revealed the real name of
+the countess; but the tardy information arrived when there was no longer
+any one to be interested in it; the emperor was dead, and Colonel
+Ivanhof was fighting in the Caucasus.
+
+Interred in a corner of the garden belonging to her house, that
+mysterious woman who had been the subject of so many contradictory
+rumours, had not even a stone to cover her grave, and to mark to the
+stranger the spot where rest the remains of the _Countess de Lamothe_,
+who had been whipped and branded in the Place de Greve, as an accomplice
+in the scandalous affair of the diamond necklace.[69]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[69] All the facts we have related respecting Madame de Lamothe are
+positive and perfectly authentic: they were reported to us by persons
+who had known that lady particularly, and who moreover possessed
+substantial proofs of her identity. It is chiefly to Mademoiselle
+Jacquemart, mentioned in "Marshal Marmont's Travels," that we are
+indebted for the details we have given respecting the arrival of our
+three heroines in the Crimea. We have ourselves seen in that lady's
+possession the sword which the countess alleged she had used in the wars
+of La Vendee, and sundry letters attesting the great influence she
+exercised over the Emperor Alexander.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+      IALTA--KOUTCHOUK LAMPAT--PARTHENIT--THE PRINCE DE LIGNE'S
+      HAZEL--OULOU OUZEN; A GARDEN CONVERTED INTO AN AVIARY--TATAR
+      YOUNG WOMEN--EXCURSION TO SOUDAGH--MADEMOISELLE JACQUEMART.
+
+
+The proximity of Ialta to the most remarkable places on the coast, its
+harbour, and its delightful situation, make it the rendezvous of all the
+travellers who flock to the Crimea in the fine season. A packet-boat
+from Odessa brings every week a large number of passengers, and the
+harbour is further enlivened by a multitude of small vessels from all
+parts of the coast. Nothing can be more charming than the sight of that
+white Ialta, seated at the head of a bay like a beautiful sultana
+bathing her feet in the sea, and sheltering her fair forehead from the
+sun under rocks festooned with verdure. Elegant buildings, handsome
+hotels, and a comfortable, cheerful population, indicate that opulence
+and pleasure have taken the town under their patronage; its prosperity,
+indeed, depends entirely on the travellers who fill its hotels for
+several months of the year. When it belonged to the Greeks it was
+counted among the most important towns on the coast; but the successive
+revolutions of the Crimea were fatal to it, and for a long while it
+remained only a wretched village. At present a custom-house and a
+garrison complete its pretensions to the style and dignity of a grand
+town. But nature has been so liberal to it, that instead of wondering at
+its rapid rise one is rather disposed to think it much inferior to what
+it might be.
+
+We left Ialta in a tolerably large body, some on horseback, others in
+carriages. Leaving behind us Aloupka, Mishkor, Koreis, and Oreanda, we
+soon forgot their sumptuous displays of art for the inexhaustible
+marvels of nature. Our road lay parallel to the coast, and the continual
+variations of its admirable scenery made us think the way too short. A
+storm of rain overtook us in the fine forest of Koutchouk Lampat, and
+made us all run for shelter. The more advanced of the party easily
+reached the house of General Borosdin the owner of the property; but
+those in the rear, of whom I was one, were obliged to take refuge in a
+pavilion. Whilst we were quietly waiting there until the storm should
+blow over, the people of the house were seeking for us on all sides,
+having been sent out by our companions. Several times we saw them
+passing along at a distance armed with large umbrellas; but as there was
+a billiard-table in the pavilion we never showed ourselves until we had
+finished an interesting game. The chatelain of Koutchouk Lampat,
+delighted to receive so numerous a party, entertained us with an
+excellent collation, in which figured all the wines of France and Spain.
+
+A few leagues from Koutchouk Lampat lies Parthenit, a village where, for
+the first time, I received a mark of civility from Tatar females. As I
+entered the place, keeping in the rear of the others according to my
+usual custom, I passed in front of a house in the large balcony of which
+there were three veiled women. Just as I passed beneath the balcony I
+slackened my horse's pace and made some friendly signals to them,
+whereupon, one of them, and I make no doubt the prettiest, repeatedly
+kissed a large bouquet of lily of the valley she held, and threw it to
+me so adroitly that it fell into my hand. Delighted with the present, I
+hastened up to my companions and showed it to them; but they were all
+malicious enough to assure me that the gift had been addressed not to
+myself but to my clothes. The reader will remember that I travelled in
+male costume.
+
+At Parthenit we failed not to sit under the famous hazel-tree of the
+Prince de Ligne. Its foliage is so thick and spreading that it
+overshadows a whole _place_. The trunk is not less than eight yards in
+circumference, and is surrounded by a large wooden divan, almost always
+occupied by travellers, who use it as a tavern. The inhabitants of
+Parthenit regard this tree with great affection, and beneath its shade
+they discuss all the important affairs of the village. A limpid
+fountain, the waters of which are distributed through several channels,
+adds to the charm of the spot. Our whole cavalcade was completely
+sheltered under the dome of the magnificent hazel. The Tatars brought us
+sweetmeats, coffee, and fresh eggs, and obstinately refused to take
+payment for them. Almost the whole population came to see us, but their
+curiosity was not at all obtrusive. Such of them as had no immediate
+business with us kept a respectful distance.
+
+On leaving Parthenit we passed very close to some old fortifications
+covering a whole hill with their imposing ruins. At evening we arrived
+at the post station of Alouchta,[70] where our party was to break up.
+Some of our companions returned to Ialta, others proceeded towards
+Simpheropol; whilst we ourselves, accompanied by a single Tatar and our
+dragoman, set out by the sea-coast for Oulou Ouzen. The distance was but
+twelve versts, but we spent several hours upon it, in consequence of the
+difficulty of the ground and the steepness of the cliffs which we were
+often obliged to ascend. We met no one on the way; this part of the
+coast is quite deserted and sterile.
+
+Oulou Ouzen, our point of destination, is a narrow valley opening on the
+sea, and belonging to Madame Lang, who has covered it with vineyards and
+orchards. A week passed quickly away in the agreeable society of our
+hostess, whose residence is one of the prettiest in the country. Being
+very fond of birds, she has succeeded by a very simple process in
+converting her garden into a great aviary. On the day we arrived we
+were surprised to see her continually assailed by a flock of pretty
+titmice that pecked at her hair and hands with extraordinary
+familiarity. They were the progeny in the third and fourth generation of
+a pair she had reared two years before, and had liberated in the
+beginning of spring. Next year they returned with a young brood that
+grew used by degrees to feed on the balcony, and at last to eat out of
+her hands. These in their turn brought her their young ones; other birds
+followed their example, and thus she has always a flock of gay dwellers
+of the air perching and fluttering about her balcony, which is covered
+with nets to protect them from birds of prey.
+
+At Madame Lang's we met a very agreeable gentleman and a great admirer
+of the Crimea, M. Montandon, who has written an excellent itinerary of
+the country. We talked a great deal with him about a French lady,
+Mademoiselle Jacquemart, whose acquaintance my husband had made some
+months previously. She has resided for the last fifteen years in
+Soudagh, a valley near Oulou Ouzen. The Duc de Raguse speaks at great
+length of her in his _Excursion en Crimee_, and relates the tragic
+adventure of which she was the heroine some years ago, but he assigns
+for it a romantic cause which Mademoiselle Jacquemart has absolutely
+contradicted.
+
+Few ladies have passed through a more eccentric life than Mademoiselle
+Jacquemart. In her young days, her beauty, her talents, and her wit
+invested her with a celebrity, such as rarely falls to the lot of one in
+the humble position of a governess. After having lived long in the great
+world of St. Petersburg and of Vienna, she suddenly withdrew to the
+Crimea, where, having like many others almost ruined herself by vintage
+speculations, she purchased the little property in which she now
+resides. Her history and her unusual energy of character led to a close
+intimacy between her and the old Princess Gallitzin, who was herself
+enough of an original character to like every thing uncommon, and
+Mademoiselle Jacquemart was an habitual guest at Koreis.
+
+Before we left Oulou Ouzen we went to spend a day with Madame Lang's
+only neighbour, an old bachelor, who lives quite alone, not out of
+misanthropy, but that he may devote himself without interruption to his
+favourite pursuit of botany. A deep ravine between the two properties,
+and a steep descent overlooking the sea, render the road so dangerous
+that ladies can venture to traverse it only in a vehicle drawn by oxen.
+It was in this strange equipage, guided by a Tatar armed with a long
+goad, that we reached the house of M. Faviski, who was quite delighted,
+but greatly puzzled to receive ladies. He did the honours of his
+bachelor's dwelling, nevertheless, like a very well-bred gentleman.
+
+While we were waiting for dinner, Madame Lang conceived the happy
+thought of sending for all the Tatar beauties of the village that I
+might see them. When they arrived, the gentlemen were obliged to leave
+the room, which was immediately entered by a dozen of pretty bashful
+young women, looking like a herd of scared gazelles. But after a few
+words from Madame Lang, who speaks Tatar very well, they soon became
+familiarised with our strange faces, and grew very merry. They took off
+their veils and papouches at our request, and favoured us with an
+Oriental dance. One of them quite astonished me by the magnificent
+lineaments of her face, which reminded me of the head of an empress on
+an ancient medal. They examined all the details of our toilette with
+childlike curiosity, and exacted from us the same attentive notice of
+the embroidery on their bodices and veils. Meanwhile, so amused were we
+by this scene, that we had quite forgotten the gentlemen whom we had
+turned out, and who now began to thump lustily at the door. The Tatar
+women were now thrown into the most picturesque and comical disorder,
+and ran about in all directions looking for their veils. In the midst of
+the confusion I was wicked enough to hide the veil and slippers of the
+young beauty, and then throw the door wide open. It was curious to see
+the dismay of the poor blushing creature who knew not how to escape from
+the bold admiration of several men. She had never in her life been in
+such a situation before; so when I thought the gentlemen had
+sufficiently indulged their curiosity, I hastened to relieve her by
+returning her veil.
+
+Next day, after a fatiguing journey, we reached Soudagh in the evening.
+It was with no little interest I beheld the humble abode of a woman of
+talent, who, through some unaccountable whim, had quitted the world
+while still young, and retired to almost absolute solitude. She was glad
+to receive the visit of compatriots, and talked frankly to us of the
+hardships and discomforts of a life she had not the courage to abandon.
+The extreme loneliness of her dwelling exposed her to frequent attacks
+by night, and obliged her to have a brace of pistols always at the head
+of her bed. People stole her fruit, her poultry, and even her vines; she
+was kept continually on the alert, and had the fear before her of
+repetition of the horrible attempt to which she was once near falling a
+victim.
+
+The account she herself gave us of that affair was as follows. Two days
+before it happened, a Greek applied to her for work and food. Not having
+any employment for him, she gave him some provisions, and advised him to
+look elsewhere for work. The next day but one, as she was returning in
+the evening from a geological excursion, carrying in her hand a small
+hatchet she used for breaking pebbles, she perceived the same man
+walking behind her in silence. Feeling some uneasiness, she turned round
+to look in the Greek's face; but at that moment she felt herself grasped
+round the waist, the hatchet was snatched out of her hand, and she
+received several blows with it on the head that deprived her of all
+consciousness. When her senses returned the assassin had disappeared.
+How she reached home with her skull fractured, she never could explain.
+For many months her life was in imminent danger, and her reason was
+impaired. At the time we saw her she still suffered acutely from some
+splinters of a comb that remained in her head. This is a much less
+romantic story than that told by Marmont.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[70] About A.D. 465, the Khersonites invoked the protection of the
+emperors of the East against the Huns. Justinian seized the opportunity
+to erect the two fortresses of Alouchta and Oursouf, by means of which
+he subsequently rendered the republic of Kherson tributary to the
+empire. There still exist at Alouchta three large towers that formed
+part of the imperial castle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+      RUINS OF SOLDAYA--ROAD TO THEODOSIA--CAFFA--MUSCOVITE
+      VANDALISM--PENINSULA OF KERTCH--PANTICAPEA AND ITS TOMBS.
+
+
+Leaving my wife to return with Mademoiselle Jacquemart to Oulou Ouzen, I
+took my way by the lower part of the valley of Soudagh through a
+labyrinth of vineyards and meadows covered with blossoming peach and
+apricot trees. Passing the paltry village that has borrowed one of the
+names of the celebrated Soldaya, we soon arrived at the sea beach at the
+foot of the triple castle erected by the intrepid Genoese, in 1365, on
+the site of a city they had just conquered, and which had flourished
+under the successive dominion of the Greeks, the Komans, and the Tatars.
+
+The origin of Soldaya, or Sougdai, belongs to the most remote periods of
+Crimean history. In the eighth century it was a bishop's see, and though
+then dependent on the Greek empire it boasted not the less of its own
+sovereigns. Four centuries afterwards, in 1204, the Komans, an Asiatic
+people, expelled from their own territories, and driven westward by the
+hordes of Genghis Khan, entered the Crimea, where they were the
+precursors of that terrible Mongol invasion that was soon to overwhelm
+all the east of Europe. The arrivals of these fugitives was fatal to the
+Greek settlements; the princes of Soldaya were exterminated, and the
+victors took possession of their capital. But the Komans did not long
+enjoy their conquests. Overtaken a second time by the rapid current of
+the Mongol invasion, they were obliged to abandon the Crimea after
+thirty years' possession, and seek an asylum in the most western regions
+of Thrace.
+
+Under the Mongol dominion the Greeks returned to Soldaya, which again
+became a Christian town, and the most important port of the peninsula.
+It was tributary, indeed, to the Tatars, but it had a bishop and its own
+administration.
+
+In the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Tatars of the
+Kaptchak adopted the religion of Mahomet, Mussulman fanaticism prevailed
+for a while in the Crimea, the Christians were expelled from Soldaya and
+their numerous churches were converted into mosques. But it is a
+remarkable fact that the word of a pope, John XXII., was of such force
+in 1323, that Ousbeck Khan allowed the exiles to resume possession of
+their city with the enjoyment of their ancient privileges.
+
+But twenty years had elapsed when a fresh revolution, occasioned by
+intestine disorder and dissensions, finally extinguished all trace of
+the Greek sway in Soldaya. The Genoese, who had for nearly a century
+been masters of Caffa, incorporated the ancient capital of the Komans
+with their own territory on the 18th of June, 1365.[71] Then it was that
+in order to secure their possession of the fertile territory of Soudagh
+and defend it against the Tatars, the enterprising merchant princes
+erected, on the most inaccessible rock at the entrance of the valley,
+that formidable fortress of three stories, crowned by the gigantic
+Maiden Tower (_Kize Kouleh_) whence the warders could overlook the fort,
+the sea, and the adjacent regions.
+
+The Genoese remained in quiet possession of their castle for more than a
+century; but after the taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II., and the
+almost immediate destruction of Caffa, the capital of the Crimean
+colonies, Soldaya, shared the same fate. The Turks laid siege to the
+fortress in 1475. It made a long and obstinate resistance, and famine
+alone overcame the valour of the garrison.[72]
+
+With the Genoese sway, fell all that had constituted the glory and
+prosperity of Soldaya during so many centuries; the population of the
+town was driven out and scattered; the once animated harbour was
+deserted, and grass grew in the streets trodden of yore by the elegant
+Greeks of the Lower Empire, the victorious Komans and the proud citizens
+of Genoa. A feeble Turkish garrison became the tenants of the place, and
+for nearly three centuries continued the unmoved spectators of the decay
+and desolation of one of the oldest and most remarkable cities of the
+Pontus Euxinus.
+
+The imperial eagle of the tzars floated over the towers of Soldaya in
+1781, and from that time began for the monuments of the Genoese colony
+that rapid destruction which everywhere characterises the Russian
+conquests. All the beautiful public and private buildings which Pallas
+so much admired in his first journey, disappeared, and out of their
+precious remains, Muscovite vandalism erected great useless barracks,
+the unmeaning ruins of which have, for many years, strewed the ground.
+At present Soldaya, erased from the list of towns and fortresses, has
+not even a watchman to guard its walls and its magnificent towers with
+their proud inscriptions. Every year the sight is saddened by fresh
+mutilations, and ere long there will remain nothing of those marble
+tablets with their elegant arabesques that adorned every tower and
+doorway, and recorded its origin and history. The only thing that could
+save the Genoese castle from total destruction, would be to leave it
+quite alone, and to remove far from it every body of Russian
+authorities. Unfortunately, the government seems willing to take upon
+itself the care of its preservation, and there can be no doubt that
+demolition awaits the remains of Soldaya from the moment an _employe_,
+without salary enough to live on, shall be invested with the right of
+protecting them against the ravages of time and of men.[73]
+
+On leaving Soldaya we proceeded towards Theodosia, the Caffa of the
+Genoese. We will not weary the reader with a monotonous description of
+our route. This part of the country is less diversified, less beautiful
+and picturesque, and the population much more thinly spread than in the
+other mountainous parts of the Crimea. The great calcareous chain
+recedes considerably from the coast, and from its precipitous sides it
+sends off blackish schistous offshoots, scarcely covered by a meagre
+vegetation, enclosing between them in their course to the sea some
+valleys in which the Tatars have established the only villages in the
+country. Completely abandoned by the aristocracy, destitute of roads,
+and unadorned by any of those elegant dwellings with which luxury and
+fashion have embellished the hill sides of Ialta, the whole coast
+between Alouchta and Theodosia is neglected by most tourists, and is
+only visited at rare intervals by scientific travellers. But if the
+Soudagh coasts are disdained by the Russian nobles, and display no
+Italian villas or porphyry gothic manors, the traveller finds there the
+most frank reception and truly Oriental hospitality. Far from all the
+centres of the elegant and partly corrupt civilisation which the
+Russians have imported into the Crimea within the last twenty years, the
+Tatars of these regions retain unaltered their ancient usages, and the
+prominent features of their primitive character. I could not easily
+describe the kindly good-will with which I was received in all the
+villages where I stopped. The fact that I was a Frenchman, who had
+nothing to do with any branch of Russian administration, had a really
+marvellous effect on the mountaineers. Wherever I went the best house,
+the handsomest divan, cushions, and carpets were assigned for my use;
+and in an instant I found myself sipping my coffee and smoking my
+chibouk, surrounded with all those comforts the want of which is so
+sorely felt by those who travel in certain parts of the East.
+
+In Toklouk, Kooz, and Otouz, which we passed through successively, the
+flat-roofed Tatar houses are, as everywhere else, backed against the
+hills that flank the valley. By this means the inhabitants are enabled
+to keep up a communication with each other by the terrace tops of their
+houses, where they regularly carry on their work, and which are formed
+of stout carpentry covered with a thick bed of clay. Nothing can be more
+picturesque than the appearance, at evening, of all these terraces
+rising in gradations one above the other. At that period of the day the
+whole population of each village is on the alert; and quitting the dark
+rooms in which they had sheltered from the heat of the day, men, women,
+and children gather on the roofs; animation, mirth, and the din of
+tongues, takes place of the silence of day, and the observer is never
+weary of watching the picturesque scenes formed by the various groups
+engaged in their household occupations.
+
+At Koktebel, a little village on the sea shore, twenty-nine versts from
+Soudagh, the sombre headland Kara Dagh terminates the bolder scenery of
+the Crimea. Beyond that point the country presents no picturesque
+features; vast plains gradually succeed the hills, and as the traveller
+advances he is forewarned by various tokens of his approach to the
+steppes, which form all the northern part of the peninsula, and extend
+eastward of the old Genoese colony to the shores of the Cimmerian
+Bosphorus. Along the whole line from Soudagh to Theodosia there is not
+one point, not one monument or ruin to interest the historian or the
+antiquarian. Indeed the nature of the coast, now abrupt, now formed of
+great unsheltered flats, does not seem to favour the foundation of a
+town or of a harbour, whether for war or commerce.
+
+We are now arrived at Theodosia or Caffa, formerly the splendid
+metropolis of the Genoese dominion in the Black Sea, now a Russian town,
+stripped of all political and commercial importance. The genius of
+barbarous destruction has wrought still more deplorable effects here
+than at Soldaya or any other spot in the Crimea.
+
+Theodosia was founded by the Milesians in the early times of their
+expedition to the Pontus Euxinus, and long prospered as an independent
+colony. It was afterwards incorporated into the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus, and shared its destinies for many centuries. The Alans, a
+barbarous people from the heart of Asia, appeared in the Crimea about
+the middle of the first century of our era; Theodosia was sacked by
+them, and sixty years afterwards Arrian speaks of it in his _Periplus of
+the Black Sea_ as a town entirely deserted. The Huns subsequently
+completed what the Alans had begun, and left not a vestige to indicate
+the true position of the old Milesian colony.
+
+Ten centuries after the destruction of Theodosia, other navigators not
+less intelligent or enterprising than the Milesians, landed on the
+Crimean coasts; and soon there arose on the site of the Greek city
+another equally remarkable city, the annals of which form unquestionably
+one of the finest chapters in the political and commercial history of
+the Black Sea. It was in the middle of the thirteenth century, after the
+conquest of the Crimea by the Mongols, when three potent republics were
+contending for the empire of the seas, that the Genoese, entering the
+bay of Theodosia, obtained from Prince Oran Timour the grant of a small
+portion of ground on the coast. The colony of Caffa was regularly
+founded in 1280, and so rapid was its rise, that in nine years from that
+date it was able, without impairing its own means of defence, to send
+nine galleys to the succour of Tripoli, then besieged by the
+Saracens.[74]
+
+The foundation of Caffa increased the rancorous strife between Genoa and
+her potent rival of the Adriatic. The Crimean colony was surprised by
+twenty Venetian galleys in the year 1292, and totally destroyed. In the
+following year the Genoese again took possession of their territory;
+Caffa quickly rose from its ruins, and twenty years afterwards Pope John
+XXII. made it a bishop's see. War having broke out with the Tatars in
+1343, Djanibeck Khan, sovereign of Kaptchak, laid siege to Caffa. The
+Genoese came off victorious in this warfare, but the dangers to which
+they were exposed made them feel the need of a strong system of
+fortifications. The earthen ramparts and the palisades of the town were,
+therefore, replaced by thick and lofty walls, flanked by towers, and
+surrounded by a deep, wide ditch, faced with solid masonry. These
+magnificent works, whose excellence and gigantic proportions may still
+be admired by the traveller, were begun in 1353, and finished in 1386.
+The most remarkable tower, that at the southern corner which commands
+the whole town, was dedicated to the memory of Pope Clement VI., in an
+inscription relating to the crusade preached by that pontiff at the time
+when the Tatars were invading the colony.
+
+From that period the prosperity of Caffa augmented incessantly; it
+attracted to itself the trade of the most remote regions of Asia, and
+according to the statement of its historians it soon equalled in extent
+and population the capital of the Greek empire, which it surpassed in
+industry and opulence. The Genoese colony had thus reached the apogee of
+its glory and might in the middle of the fifteenth century, when the
+taking of Constantinople by Mahomet II. cut it off from the metropolis,
+and prepared its entire destruction.
+
+On the 1st of June, 1475, a fleet of 482 vessels, commanded by the high
+admiral Achmet Pacha, appeared before Caffa, which was immediately
+bombarded by the formidable Ottoman artillery. The attack was of short
+duration; large portions of the walls, erected at a period when the use
+of cannons was unknown, were rapidly dismantled; breaches were made in
+all directions, and the besieged were forced to surrender at discretion
+on the 6th of June, 1475, after ineffectually attempting to obtain terms
+of capitulation.
+
+Achmet Pacha entered Caffa as an incensed victor and an enemy of the
+Christian name. After taking possession of the consular palace, he
+disarmed the population, imposed an enormous fine on the town, and then
+seized half the property of the inhabitants, and all the slaves of both
+sexes. The Latin Catholics were shipped on board the Turkish fleet and
+carried to Constantinople, where the sultan, established them by force
+in the suburbs of his new capital, after taking from them 1500 male
+children to be brought up as members of his guard. Thus was annihilated
+in the space of a few days, after 200 years of glorious existence, that
+magnificent establishment which the genius of Europe had erected on
+those remote shores, and which had shed such lustre on the commerce of
+the Black Sea.
+
+Caffa, the destruction of which was immediately followed by that of
+Soldaya and Cembalo, was annexed to the Turkish dominions, and for
+upwards of 550 years had no other importance than what it derived from
+its Turkish garrison and its military position on the shore of a
+Mussulman region, the absolute conquest of which never ceased to be an
+object of the Porte's ambition. In the middle of the seventeenth
+century, the old Genoese city awoke from its long trance, and in
+consequence of the commercial and industrial movement which then took
+place among the Tatars, it again became the great trading port of the
+Black Sea. Chardin, on his journey to Persia in 1663, found more than
+400 vessels in the bay of Caffa. The town, to which the Turks then gave
+the name of Koutchouk Stamboul (Little Constantinople) contained 4000
+houses, with a population exceeding 80,000 souls.
+
+The new prosperity of Caffa was short lived. From the time of Peter the
+Great Russia pursued her threatening advance towards the regions of the
+Black Sea, and in 1783, in the reign of the Empress Catherine II., the
+Crimea was finally incorporated with the Muscovite empire. Caffa now
+accomplished the last stage of its destinies; it lost even officially
+its time-honoured name, and under the pompous appellation of the Greek
+Colony, bestowed on it by the Emperor Alexander, it became a paltry
+district town, to which authentic documents assign at the present day
+scarcely 4500 inhabitants. At Caffa, just as at Soldaya, the
+construction of useless barracks occasioned the demolition of the
+Genoese edifices. The facings of the ditches were first carried off, and
+then, emboldened by the deplorable indifference of the government, the
+destroyers laid hands on the walls themselves. The magnificent towers
+that defended them were pulled down, and there now remain only three
+fragments of walls belonging to the remarkable bastion erected in honour
+of Pope Clement VI. When the Genoese fortifications had been destroyed,
+the civil monuments next fell under the ruthless vandalism of the
+authorities. At the time the Russians took possession, two imposing
+edifices adorned the principal square of Caffa, the great Turkish baths,
+an admirable model of Oriental architecture, and the ancient episcopal
+church of the Genoese, built in the beginning of the fourteenth century,
+and converted into a mosque after the Turkish conquest. It was decided
+in the reign of Catherine II. that the mosque should be restored to the
+Greek church, but unfortunately instead of preserving it unaltered, the
+fatal project of adorning it with wretched doric porticoes was adopted.
+The elegant domes that so gracefully encompassed the main building were,
+therefore, demolished; but scarcely were the bases of the columns laid
+when a trifling deficit occurred in the funds, as M. Dubois relates, and
+thenceforth the government refused to make any further advances.
+
+The beautiful mosque which had been quickly stripped of its lead, to be
+sold, of course, for the benefit of the Russian officials, was thus
+abandoned to the mutilations of time and of the population, and soon
+became a mere ruin. In 1833, the ignorance of a civil governor,
+Kasnatcheief, completed this afflicting work of destruction, which
+extended at the same time to the great baths that still remained
+untouched. A fortnight's work with the pickaxe and gunpowder razed to
+the ground the two admirable monuments with which the Genoese and the
+Turks had adorned the town. When I visited Theodosia in 1840, the great
+square was still obstructed with their precious materials, which the
+local administration was eager to dispose of at a low price to whoever
+would buy them.
+
+Of all the splendid edifices of the Genoese colony two churches alone
+have escaped the destroyer; art owes their preservation to the Catholics
+and the Armenians. For a very long time those two foreign communities
+struggled against the indifference of the government, and strove to
+obtain its aid for the repair of their edifices; but their applications
+were all unsuccessful, and it was by great personal sacrifices that they
+succeeded in recent times in themselves effecting the restoration of
+their temples.
+
+If we turn our attention from the interior of the town to its environs,
+we are still afflicted by the same spectacle of destruction. All the
+thriving fields and orchards that encompassed the town in the time of
+the Tatars have disappeared. Two Muscovite regiments annihilated in a
+single winter all trace of the rich cultivation that formerly clothed
+the hills.
+
+There is a museum in Theodosia, but except some Genoese inscriptions,
+foremost among which is that of the famous tower of Clement VI., it
+contains no remains belonging to the ancient Milesian colony. All the
+antiquities it possesses come exclusively from Kertsch (Panticapea), and
+were brought to Theodosia at a period when that town was still the chief
+seat of the administration of the Crimea. Dr. Grapperon, a Frenchman, is
+the director of the museum. He never fails to mystify the antiquaries
+who pass through his town, by exhibiting to them a pretended female
+torso, found in the heart of the Crimean mountains; but the cunning old
+man knows very well that his chef-d'oeuvre is only a _lusus naturae_.
+
+Notwithstanding all the depredations of the authorities, and the stupid
+ignorance of a governor, Caffa has not been entirely metamorphosed into
+a Russian town. Its chief edifices have been demolished, its walls
+razed, its Tatar population expelled, and solitude has succeeded to its
+former animation, yet the general appearance of the city, its various
+private buildings, and its streets paved with large flags, all bespeak a
+foreign origin and a foreign rule. Long may the town preserve this
+picturesque aspect, which reminds the traveller of that of the little
+Mediterranean seaports.
+
+After three days spent in exploring the ruins of the Genoese colony,
+days rendered doubly agreeable by the varied and instructive
+conversation of my kind cicerone, M. Felix Lagorio,[75] I set out again
+to continue my investigations as far as the most eastern point of the
+Crimea. It is from the point where the last hills of the Crimean chain
+subside at the foot of the walls of Theodosia that the celebrated
+peninsula of Kertch begins, which extends between the Black Sea and the
+Sea of Azof to the shores of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. As I traversed its
+now deserted and arid plains, where nothing seems formed to arrest the
+attention for a single moment, my mind went back with astonishment to
+those glorious times when flourished the numerous opulent towns which
+the colonising genius of the Milesians erected in these regions.
+Theodosia, Nimphea, Mirmikione, and on the other side of the strait
+Phanagoria, crowded the brilliant historic scene called up by my
+recollections; but above them all stood Panticapea, the celebrated
+capital of the kingdom of the Bosphorus, where Greek elegance and
+civilisation reigned for so many ages, and where Mithridates died after
+having for a while menaced the existence of the Roman empire. While my
+imagination was thus reconstructing the splendid panorama which the
+peninsula must have presented when the Bosphorians had covered it with
+their rich establishments, the Russian pereclatnoi was carrying me along
+through vast solitudes, where I sought in vain to discover some traces
+of that ancient Greek dominion, the grandeur and prosperity of which
+were extolled by Herodotus five centuries before the Christian era.
+Towards evening only, as I approached the Bosphorus, my curiosity was
+strongly excited by the singular indentations which the steppe exhibited
+along the line of the horizon, and soon afterwards I found myself in the
+midst of one of the chief necropolises of the ancient Milesian city.
+Huge cones of earth rose around me, and numerous coral crags, mingled
+with the mounds erected by the hands of men, enhanced the grandeur of
+this singular cemetery. On reaching the extremity of the plateau, I
+could overlook the whole extent of the Cimmerian Bosphorus. The last
+rays of the setting sun were colouring the cliffs on the Asiatic side,
+and the triangular sails of some fishing boats; the many tumuli of
+Phanagoria stood in full relief against the blue sky, and whilst the
+melancholy hue of evening was gradually stealing upon the smooth waters
+of the channel, the deeply-marked shadow of Cape Akbouroun was already
+spreading far over them. I had but a few seconds to admire these
+magnificent effects of light and shade: the sun dipped below the
+horizon, and twilight immediately invested the scene with its uniform
+hues. Ten minutes afterwards I entered Kertch, a Russian town of
+yesterday, stretching along the sea at the foot of the celebrated rock
+which popular tradition has decked with the name of Mithridates' Chair.
+It was on the side of this mountain, formerly crowned by an acropolis,
+that the capital of the kingdom of the Bosphorus expanded like an
+amphitheatre. A few mutilated fragments are all that now exist of
+Panticapea; the hill on which it stood is parched, bare, and rent by
+deep ravines, and modern archaeologists have had much difficulty in
+positively determining the site of the most celebrated of the Milesian
+colonies.
+
+Having taken up my quarters in Kertch under the hospitable roof of M.
+Menestrier, one of the most agreeable of my countrymen I have met in my
+travels, I set earnestly about my excursions, and through the obliging
+kindness of Prince Kherkeoulitchev, the governor of the town, I was soon
+in possession of all the data requisite to guide me in my researches. I
+shall not, however, obtrude upon the reader all the archaeological notes
+with which I enriched my journal, while exploring the tombs and
+monuments of Panticapea, since I have been anticipated in this respect
+by others more competent in such matters, especially M. Dubois
+Montperreux.
+
+In roaming about the environs of Kertch, among the innumerable tumuli,
+that served as tombs for the sovereigns and wealthy citizens of
+Panticapea, one is instantly struck by the exceedingly slovenly and
+mischievous manner in which every opening of these mounds has been
+performed during the last twenty years. Instead of seeking to preserve
+these precious monuments bequeathed unaltered to them by so many
+generations, the Russians have been only bent on destroying them, in
+order to arrive the sooner at the discovery of the valuable contents
+thought to be enclosed within them. All the tumuli _against_ which
+official exploratory operations have been directed, have been totally
+demolished, or cut in four by wide trenches from the summit to the base,
+and no one has even thought of effecting the required researches by
+means either of a vertical shaft or by tunnelling.
+
+I have visited all the chief points where the destructive genius of the
+Muscovite archaeologists has been exercised; but it would be impossible
+for me to describe the grief I felt at the sight of such horrible
+devastation. They have not contented themselves with destroying the form
+of the monuments; the inner chambers and the mortal remains within them
+have been no more respected than the earth and stones that had protected
+them for so many ages from all profanation. The bones have everywhere
+been taken out of the tombs, and exposed on the surface of the ground to
+the inclemency of the weather. M. Menestrier, of whom I have spoken
+above, and whose generous indignation has not spared the directors of
+these operations, had one day to bury with his own hands the still
+entire skeleton of a young woman. I have myself seen soldiers warming
+themselves at large fires which they fed with the precious fragments of
+wooden sarcophagi they had just discovered.
+
+Among the various tumuli, that situated near the quarantine
+establishment north of the town, unquestionably deserved especial
+attention on the part of the local administration. Considering the
+gigantic dimensions of its central chamber and gallery, both having
+corbelled ceilings, it was a truly unique monument, which the government
+should have been solicitous to transmit unimpaired to future
+generations. The entrance gallery is 36.25 metres long, 2.80 wide, and
+7.50 high. The five lower courses forming the basement are each 0.45
+thick. Then come twelve other courses, only 0.40 high, and rising in
+corbels so as to form a series of regular projections on the interior of
+0.12. The two upper courses, which have an interval of 0.25 between
+them, instead of being joined by keystones, are merely covered with
+large flags laid flat in mortar. The stability of such ceilings is
+evidently contrary to all the rules of art, and it is probable that in
+erecting them the builders must have used numerous wooden props and
+trusts, until the whole structure was consolidated by a sufficient load
+of earth. A rectangular opening at the end of the gallery three metres
+high and 2.35 wide, gives admission into the interior of the central
+chamber or cupola.
+
+The base of the cupola consists of four courses, of 0.40 to 0.45 in
+thickness, forming a total height of 1.85. The ground plan of this part
+is an irregular square, the sides of which are 4.50, 4.40, 4.45 and
+4.30. Above the fifth course the four angles are filled in by stones
+forming a circular projection of 0.30 in the line of the diagonal. The
+same thing is repeated in the succeeding courses. The curved portions
+thus gradually increase in extent, until at the ninth course they form
+together a complete circle, the diameter of which diminishes with each
+succeeding course, until at top there is only a circular opening of 0.70
+diameter, which is closed in the same manner as the upper part of the
+entrance gallery. The total height of the cupola is 9.10. The material
+is tertiary shell limestone, large quarries of which exist in the
+neighbourhood. Of all the tombs recently explored by the Russians, that
+of the quarantine is the only one which had been previously opened. It
+was found completely empty. The first examination appears to have
+occurred at a very early date; perhaps at the time when the Genoese
+possessed the small fort of Cerco, at the foot of the mountain of
+Panticapea.
+
+Of the tombs with semi-circular arches, that discovered in the summer of
+1841 is among the most remarkable. It consists of two distinct chambers
+communicating with each other. In the centre of the inner one was found
+a wooden sarcophagus with a male skeleton having a crown of dead gold on
+the skull. It was from this sarcophagus that the wooden target was taken
+representing a fight between a stag and a griffin, which I have
+presented to the Cabinet of Antiquities of the Bibliotheque du Roi.
+Another coffin found in the centre of the outer chamber contained a
+female skeleton in a wonderful state of preservation. The smallest bones
+of the fingers and toes were perfect, and where the skull lay was seen a
+large quantity of light brown hair. The garments even retained their
+form and colour, but they fell to pieces at the least touch. In this
+chamber, to the right on entering, there was a small niche, in which had
+been deposited the body of a child, with a bronze lamp and two
+lacrymatories, one of them of glass, beside it. I have the last two in
+my possession.
+
+In 1841, when I first explored the remains of Panticapea, this
+remarkable tomb, which excited the admiration of all artists, served as
+a place of shelter for the cattle of the neighbourhood, and its fine
+entrance gallery was falling to ruin. Some months after my departure the
+work of destruction was carried on in the face of day, and the
+magnificent pavement of the chamber was shamelessly carried off. At
+Soudagh and Theodosia, I could in some degree account for the disastrous
+effects of administrative recklessness; the ignorant governors to whom
+was committed the sole custody of the antiquities of those towns, could
+see in the buildings of past ages only a quarry to be worked for their
+own profit. But at Kertch, which possesses a museum, and a committee of
+_savans_ to superintend the processes for exploring its antiquities,
+such destruction appeared to me quite incomprehensible. It is true the
+Russian government cares little about the preservation of monuments,
+even of such as directly concern its own history; it granted only 4000
+paper rubles for the investigations, and seems in reality to be
+interested only about objects of art, such as Etruscan vases, gold
+ornaments, small statues, &c., which may serve to decorate the rooms of
+the Hermitage; but there exists in Southern Russia a numerous society of
+antiquaries, officially constituted, and there cannot be a question,
+that if it would or could fulfil in some small degree the nominal
+purpose of its creation, it would immediately obtain from the emperor
+all the necessary supplies for the conservation of the monuments in the
+peninsula of Kertch. Unhappily, that general indifference to
+intellectual pursuits, which we have dwelt on in a preceding chapter,
+prevails as much with regard to archeology as any thing else. When I
+examined the exploring works, and conversed with the learned gentlemen
+that directed them, I could not help seeing before me, instead of the
+love of knowledge, palpable evidence of private interest and ambition
+employing all means to rise in the nobiliary scale of the empire; and
+whilst the Russian journals trumpeted forth the admirable discoveries
+made in the name of the history of mankind, every man of those who were
+disturbing the ashes of the ancient Panticapea thought only of
+augmenting his own income, or gaining a grade or a decoration.
+
+Another proof how secondary a consideration in these researches is the
+interest of learning and history, is the scandalous neglect of the
+sarcophagi, the bas-reliefs, the architectural fragments, and, in a
+word, all the large sculptures that cannot be sent to St. Petersburg and
+laid before his majesty. When I visited the museum of Kertch, I found
+the approaches to the building filled with antiques, which lay on the
+ground without any shelter. The noses and chins of the principal figures
+on the bas-reliefs had just been broken, perhaps that very morning; yet
+the learned committee had not thought of making the least complaint, so
+little importance did it attach to the matter. In passing through the
+various halls of the museum, I everywhere noticed the same negligence,
+and tokens of incessant pillage. Among other relics the destruction of
+which I had to deplore, I was shown the remains of a magnificent wooden
+sarcophagus, which had been found in perfect condition. It was enriched
+with Greek carvings, the prominent parts of which were gilded, and the
+hollow parts painted red, and it was in my opinion the most interesting
+piece in the museum. Thanks, however, to the obliging disposition shown
+by the keepers towards strangers, I doubt if a fragment or two of it yet
+remain at this moment. We should never have done, if we were to recite
+all the acts of vandalism and depredation of which the museum of Kertch
+has been the theatre. The details which we have given will sufficiently
+indicate the value of the archeological labours carried on upon the site
+of the ancient Panticapea; may the remonstrances we here put forth in
+the name of art, literature, and science, attract the notice of all
+those Russians who take a real interest in the historical monuments of
+their country.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[71] Superbi discordes et desides Graeci a Genuensibus Italis fracti et
+debilitati civitatem eam amiserant (Martini Briniovii Tartaria, 1575).
+
+[72] Cum obsidionem diuturnam ac famem, Genuenses diutius ferre nee
+impetum tam numerosi exercitus Turcorum sustinere amplius possent, in
+maximum tempum illud, quod adhuc ibi integrum est, centeni aliquot vel
+mille fere viri egregii sese receperant, et per dies aliquot in arce
+inferiori in quam Turcae irruperant fortiter et animose sese defendentes,
+insigni et memorabili Turcarum strage edita tandem in templo illo
+universi concidere.--Ibid.
+
+[73] For a more detailed description of the ruins of Soudagh, see the
+remarkable work of M. Dubois de Montperreux. Paris, 1843.
+
+[74] Giust. Ann. di Genova, lib. iii.
+
+[75] Formerly French Consul at Theodosia; deprived of his place for his
+opinions upon the return of the Bourbons, and now filling the humble
+functions of Neapolitan consular agent. He is the author of a valuable
+work on the political revolutions of the Crimea.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL REVOLUTIONS OF THE CRIMEA.
+
+      EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF SURFACE--MILESIAN AND HERACLEAN
+      COLONIES--KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS--EXPORT AND IMPORT TRADE
+      IN THE TIMES OF THE GREEK REPUBLICS--MITHRIDATES--THE
+      KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS UNDER THE ROMANS--THE ALANS AND
+      GOTHS--SITUATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KHERSON--THE HUNS;
+      DESTRUCTION OF THE KINGDOM OF THE BOSPHORUS--THE KHERSONITES
+      PUT THEMSELVES UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
+      --DOMINION OF THE KHAZARS--THE PETCHENEGUES AND KOMANS--THE
+      KINGDOM OF LITTLE TATARY--RISE AND FALL OF THE GENOESE
+      COLONIES--THE CRIMEA UNDER THE TATARS--ITS CONQUEST BY THE
+      RUSSIANS.
+
+
+The Crimea comprises a surface of about 1100 square geographic leagues,
+divided into two distinct regions. The first of these is mountainous,
+and forms a strip of about ninety-five English miles in length along the
+southern coast, with a mean breadth of from twelve to sixteen miles; the
+second, the region of the plains, presents all the characters of the
+steppes of Southern Russia, and extends northward to the isthmus of
+Perecop, which connects the peninsula with the continent. The Crimea now
+forms part of the government called the Taurid, the territory of which
+extends beyond Perecop, between the Dniepr and the Sea of Azof, to the
+47th degree of latitude. Simpheropol is its chief town.
+
+In order to give a clear conception of the political and commercial
+importance of the Crimea, which, by its almost central position in the
+Black Sea, commands at once the coasts of Asia, the mouths of the
+Danube, and the entrance to the Constantinopolitan Bosphorus, it is
+indispensable to present a rapid sketch of the numerous revolutions
+which the march of time and the invasions of peoples have effected in
+that important peninsula. It was in the middle of the seventh century
+before Christ, that the Milesians made their appearance on the northern
+shores of the Euxine. The eastern part of the Tauris, an open country
+and easy of occupation, having attracted their attention, they founded
+their first colonies there, possessing themselves at the same time of
+all the little region which we now call the peninsula of Kertch. The
+agricultural prosperity which they soon attained, was quickly known in
+Greece, whence it occasioned fresh and important emigrations. Theodosia,
+Nymphea, Panticapea, and Mermikion, were erected on the shore of the
+little peninsula, and served as seaports for the thriving colonists.
+
+The success of the Milesians stimulated the Heracleans to follow their
+example. They chose the most western part of the country, landed not far
+from the celebrated Cape Perthenica, and after having beaten the savage
+natives and driven them back into the mountains, they settled in the
+little peninsula of Trachea, known in our day by the name of the ancient
+Khersonesus. Thus were laid the foundations of the celebrated republic
+of Kherson, which subsisted, great and prosperous, for more than 1500
+years, and the capital of which having become the temporary conquest of
+a Grand Duke of Russia, in the tenth century, was the starting point of
+that great religious revolution which completely changed the face and
+the destinies of the Muscovite empire.
+
+Whilst the Heracleans were consolidating their power by improving their
+trade, the Milesian settlements on the Bosphorus were growing up with
+magic rapidity, and were spreading even beyond the strait to the Asiatic
+coast, where the towns of Phanagoria, Hermonassa, and Kepos were
+founded. At first all these Milesian colonies were independent of each
+other, but at last they became united into the kingdom of the Bosphorus,
+B.C. 480.
+
+As agriculture formed the basis of the public wealth of the Milesians,
+it became the object of the new government's peculiar attention. On his
+accession to the throne, Leucon relieved the Athenians of the thirtieth
+imposed on exported corn, in consequence of which liberal measure those
+exports increased prodigiously; the Cimmerian peninsula became the
+granary of Greece, and merchants flocked to Theodosia and Panticapea,
+where they procured at the same time wool, furs, and all those salted
+provisions, which still constitute one of the chief riches of Southern
+Russia. As for the import trade, of which history says little, it is
+easy to conceive the nature of its operations from the important
+archeological discoveries of Panticapea.
+
+The Bosphorians undoubtedly received in exchange for their produce, all
+the manufactured goods which wealth and luxury had brought into vogue in
+Athens, and it was probably Greek artists who executed all those
+magnificent objects of art which are contained in the museum of Kertch,
+and which prove that the agricultural colonists of the Tauris did not
+fall short of the opulence of their brilliant mother city. Building
+materials seem to have formed an important item of importation. There is
+no trace of white marble either in the Crimea or on the northern coasts
+of the Black Sea; nevertheless, large quantities have been found in the
+excavations made at Kertch, and there is every reason to presume that
+the huge masses of cut marble employed in the public and private
+buildings, were imported ready wrought from Greece.
+
+Despite the dangerous vicinity of the Sarmatians, the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus enjoyed perfect tranquillity for above three hundred years,
+and through a steady and rational policy increased in prosperity and
+riches, until the conquest of Greece by the Romans subverted all the
+commercial relations of the East. At that period the Bosphorians,
+attacked by the Scythians, and too weak to resist them, threw themselves
+into the arms of the celebrated Mithridates, who turned their state into
+a province of the Pontus, and bestowed it as an appanage on his son
+Makhares.
+
+After the defeat and death of her implacable enemy, Rome maintained the
+traitor Pharnaces in possession of the crown of the Bosphorus; but the
+new prince's sovereignty was merely nominal, and the successors of the
+son of Mithridates, powerless and despoiled of all the Milesians had
+possessed on the Asiatic shore of the strait, reigned only in accordance
+with the caprice of the Roman emperors.
+
+About the middle of the first century after Christ, the Alans entered
+the Tauris, devastated the greater part of the country, and entirely
+destroyed Theodosia, which had offered them some resistance. They were
+followed by the Goths, who in their turns became masters of the
+peninsula. But far from abusing their victory, they blended their race
+with that of the vanquished, founded numerous colonies on the vast
+plains north of the mountainous region, and followed their natural bent
+for a sedentary life and rural occupations. The Tauric Khersonese now
+entered on a fresh period of tranquillity and agricultural prosperity.
+Unfortunately, Greece was at this period rapidly declining under the
+Roman yoke; Rome having become the capital of the whole world, Egypt,
+Sicily, and Africa had naturally acquired to themselves the monopoly of
+the supply of corn; so that with all its efforts the Tauris could not
+emerge from the depression into which it had been plunged by the
+political events of the first Christian century.
+
+The remote and inaccessible position of the little republic of Kherson,
+preserved its independence during all these early barbarian invasions.
+In Diocletian's time, the Khersonites, whose dominions extended over
+nearly the whole of the elevated country, had concentrated in their own
+hands almost all the commerce that still existed between the Tauris and
+some parts of the shores of the Black Sea.[76] Their republic was the
+most powerful state of the peninsula, when war broke out between them
+and the Sarmatians, who had already seized the kingdom of the Bosphorus,
+and given it a king of their own nation. The struggle between the two
+rival nations lasted nearly a century, and the Sarmatians having been at
+last expelled, the Bosphorians again enjoyed some years of freedom and
+quiet. But the peace was not of long duration. The unfortunate peninsula
+was soon visited by the most violent tempest that had yet desolated it.
+The Huns, from the heart of Asia, came down to the Asiatic side of the
+strait, and soon the terrified Bosphorians beheld those furious hordes
+traversing the Sea of Azof, which had for a while arrested their
+progress. The ancient kingdom of the Milesians was then extinguished for
+ever. (A.D. 375.) The numerous colonies of united Goths and
+Alans shared the same fate, and all the rich agricultural establishments
+of the country were reduced to ashes. Still protected by their isolated
+position, the Khersonites alone escaped the devastation, in consequence
+of the rapidity with which the torrent of the invaders rushed forth
+towards the western regions of Europe.
+
+The Tauris was still suffering under the effects of the frightful
+disasters inflicted on it by the Huns, when it was again ravaged by
+their disbanded hordes, after the death of Attila. The Khersonites were
+now in jeopardy, and in their alarm, they sought the protection of the
+Eastern Empire. Justinian, who then reigned at Constantinople, acceded
+to their request, but he made them pay dear for the imperial protection.
+Under pretence of providing for the defence of the country, he erected
+the two strong fortresses of Alouchta and Gourzoubita, on the southern
+coast, and the republic of Kherson became tributary to the empire.
+
+In the latter part of the seventh century (A.D. 679) the
+Tauris was invaded by the Khazars, hordes that having accompanied the
+Huns, had settled in Bersilia (Lithuania), and had been formed into an
+independent kingdom by Attila himself. The apparition of these new
+conquerors, already masters of a vast territory, made such a sensation
+at Constantinople, that their alliance was courted by the sovereigns of
+the East, and the Emperor Leo even asked for his son the hand of the
+daughter of the kalgan, or chief of the nation. The forebodings of the
+imperial government were soon realised, for in the short space of 150
+years the Khazars, who had given their own name to the peninsula,
+founded a vast monarchy, the limits of which extended in Europe beyond
+the Danube, and in Asia to the foot of the Caucasus.
+
+After the Khazars, whose fall was caused chiefly by the attacks of the
+Russians, and who thenceforth disappeared entirely from the records of
+history, the victorious Petchenegues ruled over the whole land except
+the southern territory of Kherson, which was incorporated with the
+Empire of the East. Under the sway of this other Asiatic people, the
+trade and commerce of the peninsula revived, its intercourse with
+Constantinople resumed activity, and the Tauric ports supplied the
+merchants of the Lower Empire with purple, fine stuffs, embroidered
+cloths, ermines, leopard skins, furs of all kinds, pepper, and spices,
+which the Petchenegues purchased in Eastern Russia, south of the Kouban,
+and in the Transcaucasian regions that extend to the banks of the Cyrus
+and the Araxes. Thus began again for this unfortunate country a new era
+of prosperity, unexampled for many previous centuries.
+
+The dominion of the Petchenegues lasted 150 years, and then they
+themselves endured the fate they had inflicted on the Khazars. Assailed
+by the Comans, whom the growth of the Mongol power had expelled from
+their own territory, they were beaten and forced to return into Asia.
+The Comans, a warlike people, made Soldaya their capital; but they had
+scarcely consolidated their power when they were obliged to give place
+to other conquerors, and seek an abode in regions further west. With the
+expulsion of the Comans ceased all those transient invasions which dyed
+the soil of the Tauris with blood during ten centuries. The various
+hordes that have left nothing but their name in history, were succeeded
+by two remarkable peoples: the one, victorious over Asia, had just
+founded the most gigantic empire of the middle ages; the other, issuing
+from a trading city of Italy, was destined to make Khazaria the nucleus
+of all the commercial relations between Europe and Asia.
+
+With the Mongol invasion of 1226, the empire of the tzars entered on
+that fatal period of servitude and oppression which has left such
+pernicious traces in the national character of the Muscovites. Russia,
+Poland, and Hungary, were successively overrun by the hordes of the
+celebrated grandson of Genghis Khan; Khazaria was added to their
+enormous conquests, and became, under the name of Little Tatary, the
+cradle of a potent state, which maintained its independence down to the
+end of the eighteenth century. Under the yoke of the Mongols the Tauris,
+after being oppressed at first, soon recovered; Soldaya was restored to
+the Christians, and soon proved that the resources of the country were
+not exhausted, and that nothing but peace and quiet were wanted to
+develop the elements of wealth with which nature had so liberally
+endowed it. In a few years Soldaya became the most important port of the
+Black Sea, and one of the great termini of the commercial lines between
+Europe and Asia.
+
+The greatness of Soldaya was, however, of short duration: another
+people, more active, and endowed with a bolder spirit of mercantile
+enterprise than the Greeks, came forward about the same period, and
+concentrated in its own hands the whole heritage of the great epochs
+that had successively shed lustre on the peninsula from the day when the
+Milesians founded their first colonies on the Cimmerian Bosphorus. Being
+already possessed of important factories in Constantinople, the Genoese
+had long been aware of the circumstances of the Black Sea, and the
+immense resources it would place at the disposal of enterprising men who
+should there centralise for their own profit all the commercial
+relations of Europe with Russia, Persia, and the Indies. The rivalry
+which then existed between them and the Venetians, accelerated the
+execution of their projects, and in 1820, after having secured the
+territory of the ancient Theodosia, partly by fraud, partly by force,
+they laid the foundation of the celebrated Caffa, through which they
+became sure masters of the Black Sea, and sole proprietors of its
+commerce. With the arrival of the Genoese the Tauris saw the most
+brilliant epochs of its history revived. Caffa became by its greatness,
+its population, and its opulence, in some degree the rival of
+Constantinople, and its consuls, possessing themselves of Cerco,
+Soldaya, and Cembalo, made themselves masters of all the southern coast
+of the Crimea. Other equally profitable conquests were subsequently made
+beyond the peninsula. The galleys of the republic entered the Palus
+Maeotis; Tana, on the mouth of the Don, was wrested from the Tatars; a
+fortress was erected at the mouth of the Dniestr; several factories were
+established in Colchis, and on the Caucasian coast, and even the
+imperial town of Trebisond was forced to admit one of the most important
+factories of the republic on the Black Sea. The Genoese colonies thus
+became the general emporium of the rich productions of Russia, Asia
+Minor, Persia, and the Indies; they monopolised for more than two
+centuries all the traffic between Europe and Asia, and presented a
+marvellous spectacle of thriving greatness. All this glory had an end.
+Mahomet's standard was planted over the dome of St. Sophia in 1453, and
+the intercourse of the Crimea with the Mediterranean was broken off. The
+destruction of the Genoese settlements was then inevitable; and the
+republic, despairing of their preservation, assigned them over to the
+bank of St. George, on the 15th of November, 1453. The consequences of
+this cession which put an end to the political connexion of the colonies
+with the mother state, were of course disastrous. Despair and loss of
+public spirit fell upon the colonists, individual selfishness
+predominated in all their councils, and the consular government, before
+remarkable for its integrity and its virtues, instead of uniting with
+the Tatars, and rendering its own position with regard to the Porte less
+perilous, completely disgusted them by a total want of honesty, and by
+selling its aid for gold to all the parties that were desolating the
+Crimea. So many faults were followed by the natural catastrophe. Caffa
+was forced to surrender at discretion to the Turks on the 6th of June,
+1473, and some months afterwards all the points occupied by the Genoese
+fell one by one into the hands of the Ottomans.
+
+After the disaster of the Genoese colonies, the great lines of
+communication of the trans-Caucasian regions, the Caspian, the Volga,
+the Don, and the Kouban, were broken, having lost their feeders, and all
+the commercial relations with Central Asia were for a while suspended.
+The Venetians, who had obtained from the Turks the right of navigating
+the Black Sea, in consideration of a yearly tribute of 10,000 ducats,
+strove in vain to take the place their rivals had lost; they were
+expelled in their turn from the Black Sea, the Dardanelles were closed
+against all the nations of the West, and the Turks and their subjects,
+the Greeks of the Archipelago, alone possessed the privilege of passing
+through the strait. In our remarks on the Caspian we have already
+pointed out the new outlets which the Eastern trade procured for itself
+by way of Smyrna, and the great revolution which followed Vasco de
+Gama's discovery.
+
+Under the reign of the first khans, who were tributary to the Porte, the
+Crimea lost all its commercial and agricultural importance. Continual
+wars, and incessant revolts, sometimes favoured, sometimes punished by
+the Porte, added to the still deeply-rooted habits of a nomade and
+vagabond existence, for many years precluded the regeneration of the
+country. But a rich fertile soil, and a country abundantly provided with
+all the resources necessary to man, triumphed over the natural indolence
+of the Tatars, just as they had done before by the savage hordes that
+successively invaded the Tauris. The hill sides and valleys became
+covered with villages, and all branches of native industry increased
+rapidly with the internal tranquillity of the country. The corn, cattle,
+timber, resins, fish, and salt of Little Tatary furnished freights for a
+multitude of vessels. The commerce of Central Asia, it is true, was lost
+for it beyond recovery, but the exportation of its native produce and of
+that which Russia sent to it by the Don and the Sea of Azof, was more
+than sufficient to keep its people in a very thriving, if not an opulent
+condition. Caffa shared in the general improvement; it rose again from
+its ruins, became the commercial centre of the country, as in the time
+of the Genoese, and its advancement was such, that the Turks bestowed on
+it the flattering name of Koutchouk Stamboul (Little Constantinople).
+
+The dominion of the khans extended at this period, in Europe and Asia,
+from the banks of the Danube to the foot of the mountains of the
+Caucasus, and the indomitable mountaineers of Circassia themselves often
+did homage to the sovereigns of the Tauris. The Mussulman population was
+divided in those days into two great classes: the descendants of the
+first conquerors, known by the special designation of Tatars; and the
+Nogais, nomade tribes who, subsequently to the conquest, had come and
+put themselves under the protection of the illustrious Batou khan. The
+former, mixed up with the remains of the ancient possessors, formed the
+civilised part of the nation. Possessing the mountainous regions, and
+residing in towns and villages, they were both agriculturists and
+manufacturers; whilst the Nogais, who lived in a manner independently in
+Southern Russia, applied themselves solely to cattle rearing. They were
+at that time divided into five principal hordes: the Boudjiak occupied
+the plains of Bessarabia from the mouths of the Danube to the Dniestr;
+the Yedisan, the largest, which could bring into the field 80,000
+horsemen, encamped between the Dniestr and the Dniepr; the Djamboiluk
+and Jedickhoul, the remnants of which still inhabit the territory of
+their ancestors, extended from the banks of the Dniepr to the western
+coasts of the Sea of Azof; lastly, the tribes of the Kouban, nomadised
+in the steppes between that river and the Don, which now form the domain
+of the Black Sea Cossacks. All these tribes collectively could, in case
+of urgent necessity, bring into the field upwards of 400,000 men. Such
+was the political condition of Little Tatary, when the Russian conquest
+of the provinces of the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea destroyed all the
+fruits of the great social revolution which had been effected in the
+habits of the Mussulmans by the new development of trade and commerce.
+
+The first Muscovite invasion took place in 1736. A hundred thousand men,
+commanded by Field-marshal Munich forced the Isthmus of Perecop, entered
+the peninsula, and laid waste the whole country, up to the northern
+slope of the Tauric chain. The peace of Belgrade put an end to this
+first inroad, but the political existence of Little Tatary was,
+nevertheless, violently shaken; and from that time forth the khans were
+kept in continual perplexity by the secret or armed interventions of
+Russia, their subjects were stimulated to revolt, and they themselves
+were but puppets moved by the court of St. Petersburg.
+
+In 1783, Sahem Guerai abdicated in favour of the Empress Catherine II.,
+and the kingdom of the Tatars, exhausted by extensive emigrations and
+bloody insurrections, finally ceased to exist; and then perished rapidly
+the last elements of the prosperity of a land that had been so often
+ravaged, and had always emerged victoriously from its disasters.
+Previously to this period, in 1778, the irresistible command of Russia
+had determined the emigration of all the Greek and Armenian families of
+the peninsula, and an agricultural and trading population had been seen
+to quit, voluntarily as Russia pretends, fertile regions, and a
+favouring climate, to settle in the savage steppes of the Don and the
+Sea of Azof. About the same period, and under the same influence, began
+the emigration of the Tatars and Nogais, some of whom retired into
+Turkey, others joined the mountaineers of the Caucasus. The Russian
+occupation accelerated this disastrous movement, and on the day when the
+tzars extended their frontiers to the banks of the Dniestr, the
+celebrated horde of Yedisan disappeared entirely from the soil of the
+empire. The Tatars of the region between the Dniepr and the Sea of Azof
+did not emigrate in such numbers as the others, for the imperial
+government had hemmed them in, even previously to the conquest, by
+formidable military lines on the east and on the west. The heaviest
+calamities fell, of course, on the peninsula, which was covered with
+fixed settlements, and was the centre of the Tatar civilisation and
+power, and there the scenes of carnage and devastation which had marked
+the irruption of the barbarians from Asia were renewed in all their
+horrors. The peninsula lost at least nine-tenths of its population; its
+towns were given up to pillage, its fields laid waste; and in the space
+of a few months that region which had been still so nourishing under its
+last khan, exhibited but one vast spectacle of oppression, misery, and
+devastation.
+
+Since that period there have elapsed sixty years, during which the
+Russian domination has never had any resistance to encounter or revolt
+to quell; and yet, notwithstanding the opening of the Dardanelles, the
+Tauris has been unable, to this day, to rise from the deep depression
+into which it was sunk by the political events of the close of the
+eighteenth century. It is true, no doubt, that very handsome villas have
+been erected on the southern coast, and that luxurious opulence has made
+that region its chosen seat; but the vital and productive forces of the
+peninsula have been smothered, its trade and agriculture have been
+destroyed; and that bootless quietude in which the dwindled population
+of the Tatars now vegetates, results, in fact, only from the destruction
+of all material resources, and the extinction of all moral and
+intellectual energy which have come to pass under the sway of the
+Russian administration.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[76] Const. Porph. de adm. Imp., c. xiii.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+      COMMERCIAL POLITY OF RUSSIA IN THE CRIMEA--CAFFA SACRIFICED
+      IN FAVOUR OF KERTCH--THESE TWO PORTS COMPARED--THE
+      QUARANTINE AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE SEA OF AZOF, AND ITS
+      CONSEQUENCES--COMMERCE OF KERTCH--VINEYARDS OF THE CRIMEA;
+      THE VALLEY OF SOUDAK--AGRICULTURE--CATTLE--HORTICULTURE--
+      MANUFACTURES; MOROCCO LEATHER--DESTRUCTION OF THE GOATS--
+      DECAY OF THE FORESTS--SALT WORKS--GENERAL TABLE OF THE
+      COMMERCE OF THE CRIMEA--PROSPECTS OF THE TATAR POPULATION.
+
+
+When the Russian authority was fully established in the Crimea, and the
+inevitable disasters attending the occupation of a country by Muscovite
+troops had subsided, the imperial government seemed for a while disposed
+to rekindle the embers of the peninsular prosperity. The Emperor
+Alexander was personally acquainted with the intrinsic value of the
+country, and manifested the best and most earnest intentions in its
+favour; but unfortunately he could not overcome the inveterate habits of
+the Russian functionaries, and their utter indifference to the true
+interests of the empire. Half measures, therefore, were all that was
+effected; custom-houses and quarantines were established, Caffa
+exchanged its name for that of the Milesian colony, German villages were
+founded,[77] large grants of land were made to Russians and strangers,
+vines were planted, and the cultivation of the olive was attempted; but
+all capital questions were overlooked or misconceived; no thought was
+given to the matter of markets or to commercial relations; and the
+government persisting in its prohibitive system, assimilated the Crimea
+to the other provinces, in spite of strong remonstrances, and repudiated
+all thoughts of mercantile freedom, the only means by which it could
+have given new life to the Crimea, and created an active and industrious
+population in the place of the Tatar tribes, of whom war and emigration
+had deprived the country.
+
+But in lieu of such privileges Caffa was from the first endowed with a
+tribunal of commerce, a quarantine, and a custom-house of the first
+class; and if it could not recover its old greatness under the new
+domination, it might at least have expected to become one of the chief
+places of export and import in southern Russia, within the bounds
+prescribed by the exigencies of the customs. Situated at the extremity
+of the Tauric chain, not far from the Cimmerian Bosphorus, possessing
+the only trading port open to vessels in all seasons, in easy
+communication with rich and productive regions, this town possessed
+every possible claim to the peculiar attention of the Russian
+government. But the hopes which had been at first conceived, were
+entirely disappointed, and the unfortunate Theodosia was positively
+devoted to abandonment and destruction.
+
+It is not easy to determine the real motives for which the old Genoese
+city was abandoned in favour of its rival on the Cimmerian Bosphorus.
+The ostensible reasons were sanatory measures, the necessity of having a
+general quarantine at the entrance of the Sea of Azof, encouragement of
+coasters and lighters, and the utility of a vast emporium opened to the
+productions of all Russia. We believe, however, that all these arguments
+were in reality of very secondary weight, and that the downfall of
+Theodosia is to be ascribed to nothing else than an absurd vanity. To
+resuscitate the ancient name of _Odessus_; to found a town called
+_Ovidiopol_ in a country where Ovid never resided; to lead our
+geographers into error by giving the name of _Tiraspol_ to a mean
+village on the Dniestr, in the front of Bender; to substitute the name
+of _Theodosia_ for that of Caffa; all these innovations might have
+pleased certain archaeologists, but how was it possible to resist the
+thought of rebuilding the celebrated capital of the kingdom of the
+Bosphorus? How irresistible the temptation to raise a new and great
+city at the foot of Mithridates' rock! The memory of the Milesians had,
+therefore, to fade before that of the illustrious sovereign of Pontus;
+Theodosia was despoiled of its privileges and its revenues, its tribunal
+of commerce was transferred to Kertch, and double arbour dues were
+imposed on vessels touching there before arriving at the latter port.
+Assuredly no stronger testimony could be borne to the superiority of
+Theodosia than that which was embodied in these arbitrary measures, nor
+could there be a more incontestible proof of the caprice to which the
+Genoese town was sacrificed. Caffa was infinitely better fitted than
+Kertch to satisfy those conditions which the official orders announced
+as the grounds for destroying its commercial position. The Kertch roads
+are often closed against vessels for three or four months continuously;
+the anchorage is unsafe, and often disastrous, both from the want of
+shelter and from the shallowness of the water. The port of Theodosia, on
+the contrary, is always open, and shipwrecks are unknown there. During
+the fine season an active service of lighters might have concentrated
+there all the freights brought by the Don and the Sea of Azof. In this
+way the commercial intercourse with Russia by the Black Sea would never
+have suffered the least interruption; and, what is an incalculable
+advantage in those latitudes, foreign vessels, being no longer
+constrained to make the long and difficult passage to Taganrok, or to
+run the risk of wintering in the ice, might, if they failed to obtain
+freight at Theodosia, have proceeded in search of one without loss of
+time to the southern shores of the Black Sea. All these grand
+considerations, which had raised the prosperity of Caffa so high, were
+superseded by the dictates of vanity.
+
+Kertch then was declared, in 1827, a port of the first class, with a
+custom-house of entry and exit. A vast lazaret was immediately
+constructed, and five years afterwards appeared the famous sanatory
+orders which still regulate the navigation of the Sea of Azof. The
+duration of the quarantine was fixed at thirty days, but before that
+time can begin to run, the vessel must be moored within the lazaret, and
+every thing on board, including the effects of the crew, must be
+subjected to a fumigation of twenty-four hours. This operation being
+ended the sailors land, after having first divested themselves of all
+their dress and portable articles; the sails are plunged in water by the
+servants of the establishment, and the hull of the vessel is
+disinfected. After these preliminaries, which often occupy from ten to
+fifteen days, the sailors return to their vessels, and their days of
+quarantine begin to count. All these regulations are in curious contrast
+with those of the lazaret of Odessa, where the quarantine lasts only
+fifteen days.
+
+This new system, which was in fact an interdict upon the Sea of Azof,
+told of course in favour of Kertch. But the factitious prosperity of
+that town appears to us to have already reached its utmost limit, and we
+doubt much that the best devised or most stringent orders can ever give
+to its port those elements of commercial prosperity which nature has
+refused to it. Hence we see, that to avoid the delay and cost of the
+Kertch quarantine, the merchants of Taganrok and the neighbouring towns,
+use lighters almost exclusively to carry their goods to the vessels
+moored in the Cimmerian Bosphorus. On their arrival in the channel,
+these lighters are put into the hands of the crew belonging to the
+vessel to be freighted, and their men remain on shore during the
+trans-shipment. This being accomplished, the lighters are fumigated for
+twenty-four hours, and then taken back by the lightermen to the Sea of
+Azof. All these operations, however, are tedious, costly, and uncertain;
+and the only reason why the merchants have adopted this plan of
+proceeding is, that they all are reluctant to incur the great expenses
+of storing their goods in Kertch, and that the paucity of lighters,
+together with the irregularity of the winds, and the many shoals in the
+Sea of Azof, render shipments extremely expensive, so that no additional
+charge could be easily borne. At the opening of the navigation in 1839,
+freight between Taganrok and Kertch cost as much as four rubles per
+tchetvert of wheat, and 1-1/2 in the course of the summer. M. Taitbout
+de Marigny, who has paid great attention to all these matters, estimates
+the freight charges in question as equivalent on the average to those
+usually paid to Black Sea vessels bound for the Archipelago.[78]
+
+A remarkable result of this whole system of quarantine and customs is as
+follows. Suppose two vessels start simultaneously from the
+Mediterranean, the one for Taganrok, the other for Odessa, and that the
+latter failing to obtain a cargo, shall quit Odessa after its fifteen
+days' quarantine, and sail for the Sea of Azof: there is every
+probability that after remaining at Taganrok long enough to take in its
+cargo, it will on its return still find the first vessel in the Kertch
+roads, waiting to complete the formalities required before it can enter
+the Sea of Azof. Such measures as these, would inevitably keep aloof
+from the ports of the Sea of Azof, and even from that of Kertch, every
+vessel that was sure of its cargo beforehand. It is needless to insist
+afresh in this place on the superiority of Theodosia, considered as a
+general entrepot of the goods arriving in the Sea of Azof, and of those
+which might have flowed directly into its port through the Isthmus of
+Arabat.
+
+As for the commercial resources belonging intrinsically to the town of
+Kertch, it is enough to look at its situation at the extremity of a
+long, depopulated, and sterile peninsula, and its distance from every
+route, whether political or commercial, to be assured that they must be
+quite futile. Seven years after the creation of its port, the annual
+customs' revenue had not risen above 1200 rubles. In 1840, the whole
+quantity of corn that had issued from the town of Kertch since its
+origin, whether directly or through the medium of its entrepots,
+scarcely amounted to 5000 tchetverts, and the receipts of the
+custom-house for the same year were but 695,130. If from this sum we
+deduct 551,108, the amount of the excise on salt destined exclusively
+for Russian consumption, and a further considerable sum produced by
+other imposts, there will remain an exceedingly small amount to
+represent the nett commercial revenue. The port of Kertch has,
+therefore, by no means fulfilled the grand expectations so foolishly
+conceived of it; it has ruined the great city of Theodosia, robbed the
+Crimea of its commercial importance, cut off all chances of prosperity
+from the ports of the Sea of Azof, and crippled navigation; and all this
+without any profit worth speaking of to itself, and without the least
+prospect of ever rising above the low condition in which it is doomed to
+vegetate, both by its geographical situation, and the nature and
+configuration of the adjacent regions.
+
+The results have not been much more satisfactory as regards the growth
+of the Russian mercantile navy. According to official reports, which we
+believe exaggerated, there were, in 1840, in the Sea of Azof, 323
+vessels measuring about 26,000,000 of kilogrammes, and manned by 1517
+individuals. If we recollect that the Sea of Azof is but a marsh, the
+greatest depth of which does not exceed fourteen metres, that the crafts
+which ply in it, pursuing always the same invariable track, hardly
+require the simplest rudiments of nautical skill for their management,
+and that the navigation of the sea is usually interrupted during four or
+five months of the year, it will be easily conceived that the maritime
+advantages which may accrue to Russia, from the closing of the Sea of
+Azof, must be very insignificant, not to say quite illusory.
+
+We have now to examine the manufacturing and agricultural resources of
+the Crimea, and the measures which have been taken by the imperial
+government to further them. The cultivation of the vine may be
+considered as at present the most important, if not the most productive
+branch of industry in the country. When Russia took possession of it,
+the vineyards were concentrated in the southern valleys of Soudak,
+Kobsel, Koze, and Toklouk, and in those of the Katch, the Alma, &c., on
+the northern slope of the Tauric chain. These vineyards which seem to
+have existed from very remote antiquity, were all in the plain, where
+they were subjected to continual irrigations after the system of the
+Greeks and Tatars. The consequence of this mode of culture was that the
+crops were extremely abundant, and the wine of a very poor quality.[79]
+After the Russian occupation, however, the business of vine-growing
+increased considerably in the northern valleys, which were soon
+frequented by the merchants of the interior, who were attracted both by
+the extraordinary cheapness of the produce, and by the facilities of
+transport. Thus the wines of the Crimea found their way into the
+interior of the empire, but they were chiefly used for mixing and
+adulteration; the small quantity that was sold in its original state was
+always of very bad quality, so that the peninsular wines were in very
+bad repute, and for a long while lost all chance of sale. This
+well-merited depreciation was such that even in our own day a merchant
+of eminence in Moscow or St. Petersburg would have thought it a serious
+disgrace to him to admit into his cellars a few bottles of Crimean wine.
+
+Such was the state of the vine cultivation in the Crimea, when Count
+Voronzof was named governor-general of New Russia. Under his active and
+enterprising administration, a bold attempt was made to change the whole
+system of cultivation, so as to produce wines capable of competing
+advantageously with those of foreign countries.[80] The valleys, with
+their method of irrigation, were therefore abandoned, and the preference
+was given to the long strip of schistous and _eboulement_ grounds which
+stretches along the seaside between Balaklava and Alouchta, on the
+southern coast. Count Voronzof set the example with his characteristic
+ardour; his first operations took place in 1826 at Aidaniel,[81] and six
+years afterwards he was the owner of 72,000 vine plants. The example of
+the governor-general was quickly followed, and in 1834, there were
+already 2,000,000 stocks in the country, from cuttings brought chiefly
+from the Rhenish and the French provinces.
+
+When the vines were in full bearing, the next thing to be considered was
+to find a market for their produce; but here arose a great and
+unforeseen difficulty, and the brilliant expectations of the planters
+were soon miserably disappointed. In spite of the difficulties of the
+route, some merchants yielded to the earnest solicitations of the
+governor-general and his imitators, and arrived on the coast to
+purchase; but the demands of the proprietors were exorbitant; their
+first outlay had been very great, and their produce small, yet they were
+bent on realising at once the amount of their investments. They thought,
+too, that by setting a high price on their wines, they would secure
+their reputation; accordingly they fixed it at twenty to twenty-five
+rubles the vedro (0.1229 hectolitres), and immediately they lost all
+chance of sale.
+
+The business prospered better in the valley of the Soudak, where the
+same modifications had been introduced into the culture of the vine. The
+hill wines were sold at the rate of twelve to fifteen rubles the vedro,
+and those of the plain at five and six. But this did not last long; in
+1840 the wine growers of Soudak could no longer dispose of their stock,
+though they had reduced their prices to two and three rubles for the
+best qualities, and to one and one and a half for the lowland wines. As
+to the wine-growers of the southern coasts, they were very glad at that
+time if they could find purchasers at the rate of five or six rubles the
+vedro.
+
+Several causes contributed to these unfortunate results. The southern
+coast, as we have already said, consists of a long narrow strip of
+argillaceous schist and detritus, with a very steep inclination, and
+overtopped throughout its length by high cliffs of jura limestone. In
+consequence of these topographical conditions, the heat is very great in
+summer; the soil, which is quite destitute of watercourses, dries
+rapidly, and the many ravines by which it is intersected, completely
+deprives it of any little moisture that may remain in it. The scarcity
+of rain augments these disadvantages, so that the vine plants procured
+from abroad degenerate rapidly; as the grapes cannot ripen before
+autumn, the wine loses much in quality; and, moreover, the quantity is
+far from abundant, in proportion to the extent of the ground. These
+circumstances, combined with those occasioned by the desire to exalt the
+wines of the Crimea in public opinion, inflame both the pretensions of
+the proprietors and the indifference of the merchants, who could never
+have disposed of the coast wine at the high prices asked for it. These
+were afterwards considerably diminished, but not sufficiently to produce
+any effect. Whatever be said to the contrary, it is certain that the
+wines of the southern Crimea can never sustain any sort of comparison
+with those of France or the Rhine; hence they continued to be held in
+low repute, and the merchants of the interior still found it more to
+their advantage to make their purchases in the northern valleys, which
+were easy of access, and where the wine was incomparably cheaper. In
+spite of all their efforts, therefore, the wine-growers of the southern
+coast could not find a market for their produce, and were obliged to
+consume the chief part of it themselves.
+
+It may, perhaps, excite surprise that no attempt has been made to evade
+the difficulties of land-carriage by seeking outlets by sea, and
+procuring customers in the great maritime towns of Russia. But unluckily
+there exists between Russia and Greece an ancient treaty, which the
+tzars, for political considerations no doubt, persist in religiously
+observing, and by virtue of which Greek wines are received almost free
+of duty in the imperial ports. Whoever is aware of the prodigious
+quantity and incredible cheapness of the wines of the Archipelago, and
+of the great facilities they afford for effecting mixtures and
+adulterations, will easily conceive, that with such a competition to
+encounter, the sale of Crimean wines became absolutely impossible. If
+the culture of the vine in the Crimea was induced by encouragements on
+the part of the government, then the landowners were grossly duped. But,
+as we shall explain by and by, the ministry seem never to have looked
+favourably on this branch of industry, and the vine-growers have only
+their own extreme want of forethought to blame for all the disasters
+that have befallen them.
+
+At Soudak, however, the mischief appears to us attributable solely to
+the misconduct of the authorities. We have already stated that the
+vintage speculations of Soudak were at first much more prosperous than
+those of the southern coast. The situation of the valley, which is of
+very easy access for northern traffic, and the decided preference of the
+German colonists for white wines, for many years kept the fine plain of
+Soldaya in a thriving if not an opulent condition. But unfortunately,
+that western part of the coast not being within the region which the
+governor-general and the great landowners had taken under their special
+protection, Soudak was completely abandoned to her own resources; her
+roads were left without repairs, and the local administration took no
+measures whatever for the preservation of order and the security of
+individuals. When I visited the coast in 1840, the roads of this
+district were in the most deplorable condition;[82] they were strewed
+with fragments of carts and casks; a German waggoner was killed in my
+presence by the breaking down of his waggon; thieving and pillage were
+the order of the day in the valley, and the proprietors could only
+preserve their chattels by keeping a close personal watch upon them day
+and night.
+
+The consequences of this culpable neglect may readily be imagined.
+Purchasers diminished in number year by year, the wines lost their
+value, and the unfortunate proprietors with large stocks on hand were
+reduced to great poverty. All sorts of expedients were adopted under the
+pressure of the calamity; the wines were turned into vinegar, but again
+the speculation failed for want of a market. We heartily desire that our
+reasonable remonstrances in favour of Soudak may reach the imperial
+government, so that effectual measures may be taken to revive the great
+natural wealth of that magnificent valley. We do not know the intentions
+of the present finance minister, but it is to be hoped that he will not
+partake the narrow views of his predecessor. Count Cancrini was a
+fanatic partisan of the consumption of foreign wines, and at the same
+time the declared enemy of the home growth, which he regarded as most
+injurious to the customs' revenue of the empire.
+
+In the present state of things it is not easy to predict the future
+fortunes of the Crimean wine production. For our own part, we are
+thoroughly convinced that France has no sort of competition to fear on
+the part of those regions. Whether the cultivation of the vine be
+concentrated in the valleys or on the hill sides, we do not think that
+the vintage can ever rival ours. It has been very justly remarked that
+wherever the vine and the olive grow together, the wines cannot have
+that delicacy and that _bouquet_ which belong only to our temperate
+climates. We believe, however, that if the wines of the Archipelago were
+subjected to higher duties, if the means of transport were rendered more
+facile, and increased cultivation were given to the more open hill sides
+that extend towards the east of the Tauric chain, the Crimea would soon
+be enabled to supply the demand of the whole empire for the commoner
+sorts of wine, and the result would, perhaps, be extremely advantageous
+in diminishing the mischievous use of ardent spirits. Such a change as
+this would evidently be not at all prejudicial to French commerce, which
+sends only wines of the first quality to the south of Russia.
+
+According to a report printed in the Russian journals of 1834, and cited
+by M. Dubois, the 7,100,000 vine plants, contained in that year on the
+old and new plantations, were distributed as follows:--
+
+  South-west coast of the Crimea       1,600,000
+  Soudak and south-east coast          2,000,000
+  Valley of the Katch                  2,000,000
+       "    the Alma                     500,000
+       "    the Belek                    500,000
+  German colonies                        500,000
+
+The wine yielded by the vintage of 1832, was 32,307 hectolitres, of
+which 1694 were the produce of the south-west coast, 6050 that of
+Soudak, and 7865 that of the valley of the Katch.
+
+The plantations have augmented considerably since that time; we cannot
+venture, however, to accept as authentic, the following statistics of
+the annual production of the Crimea, given us by landowners in 1840:--
+
+  Valley of Soudak    80,000 vedros    9,760 hectolitres
+  Southern coast     120,000  "       14,640  "
+  Northern valleys   750,000  "       91,500  "
+
+We have not much to say of the other branches of agriculture; they are
+all in the most deplorable state. The magnificent forests, yielding such
+quantities of timber, that formerly clothed the mountains, are rapidly
+disappearing. Camel breeding, formerly very productive to the Tatars of
+the plain, has given place to lank flocks of merinos. The most fertile
+valleys are in the same state of desolation in which they were left by
+the great calamities at the close of the last century, and the peninsula
+now produces scarcely corn enough for its own consumption. Horticulture
+alone has made any real progress. Some foreigners practise it with
+profit in the northern valleys, which for many years past have enjoyed
+the privilege of supplying all the fruit used at the tables of Moscow
+and St. Petersburg.
+
+Manufactories are almost in the same state of decay as agriculture.
+Morocco and other leathers formerly constituted an important part of the
+exports from the Crimea; at present the value of these exports is no
+more than 129,646 rubles. It is about five years since this branch of
+industry was ruined. All that time there existed on the mountains of the
+peninsula a great quantity of goats, which being left at liberty,
+caused, it must be confessed, much damage to the forests, by nipping off
+the young shoots. According to the usual Russian practice of attacking
+secondary causes rather than going at once to the root of any evil, the
+local administration could devise nothing better in the case than to
+proclaim a war of extermination, by giving every one the right of
+hunting and killing goats, in all places and at all seasons. The goats
+were almost all destroyed, and with them fell of necessity the greater
+part of the manufactories for morocco leather. It would certainly have
+been easy for authorities, possessed of any practical ability, to
+preserve the forests without exterminating the goats; but as they would
+not, or could not, deal with the real destroyers, the noble landowners,
+they wreaked their spite on the quadrupeds. It is really inconceivable
+with what rapidity the finest forests of the Crimea are disappearing;
+year by year whole hills are totally stripped, and the government, stern
+as it has shown itself against the goats, takes no means to check this
+fatal devastation. Several great landowners are engaged in lawsuits
+gravely affecting their rights, and meanwhile, until their causes shall
+have been decided, they use their opportunity to cut timber as fast as
+possible. Foremost in those proceedings is Admiral Mordvinof, who has
+already destroyed the exceedingly rich forests that clothed the hills
+above the valley of Baidar. The effects of this clearing away of the
+forests are already felt severely; the rivers are diminishing in volume,
+a great number of springs have run dry, and fire wood, now costs as much
+as forty rubles the fathom at Ialta.
+
+Another branch of industry, likewise very profitable in former times,
+was the working of the rich salt-pits in the environs of Kozlov
+(Eupatoria). Only a few years ago eighty vessels used to come to the
+port from Anatolia, to take in cargo. The price of the salt was then
+very low, but the trade was nevertheless a source of employment and
+profit for all the surrounding population. The minister of finance was
+jealous of the profits realised by individuals in this trade, and
+therefore laid a considerable export duty on the salt. In the following
+year not a single vessel came from Anatolia, and it was soon ascertained
+that, prompted by necessity, the people of the southern shores of the
+Black Sea had found rich salt-pits in their own territory.
+
+The following table of the commerce of the Crimea in 1838 and 1839, is
+taken from official documents. The figures contained in it are in our
+opinion exaggerated, for they do not by any means agree with those
+resulting from the detailed table we shall give further on.
+
+  ------------+-----------------------+-----------------------
+              |        IMPORTS.       |        EXPORTS.
+              |-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+              |   1838.   |   1839.   |   1838.   |   1839.
+  ------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+              |  rubles.  |  rubles.  |  rubles.  |  rubles.
+              |           |           |           |
+  Kertch      |   175,321 |   250,887 |   226,999 |   123,082
+  Theodosia   |   673,535 |   695,130 | 1,281,244 |   955,108
+  Eupatoria   |   185,480 |   131,222 | 2,299,365 | 2,394,867
+  Balaclava   |     6,605 |           |           |
+              +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+       Total  | 1,040,941 | 1,077,239 | 3,807,608 | 3,473,057
+  ------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+
+Be it remarked that among the exports corn alone figured in 1839 for
+835,486 rubles for Theodosia, and 1,755,052 rubles for Eupatoria; and as
+all this corn came from countries beyond the Crimea, the nullity of the
+peninsular exportation is apparent. Moreover, the gross total of three
+and a half millions is scarcely the fifteenth part of the annual
+exportation of the town of Odessa alone. In order to give a more exact
+idea of the industrial and commercial situation of the Crimea, we set
+down the details of its exports and imports in 1839.
+
+IMPORTS.
+
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
+            ARTICLES.        |  KERTCH.  | THEODOSIA. | EUPATORIA.|
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
+                             |  rubles.  |  rubles.   |  rubles.  |
+  Cotton                     |   49,993  |   33,650   |           |
+  Cotton thread              |    4,080  |    4,986   |           |
+  Turkish cotton cloths      |   14,164  |  532,976   |           |
+  Chairs                     |    5,750  |            |           |
+  Wooden vessels             |    3,645  |    2,441   |           |
+  Woollen caps               |    4,504  |   29,218   |           |
+  Oil                        |   20,636  |    3,589   |   16,997  |
+  Sickles                    |    5,000  |            |           |
+  Wines                      |   12,069  |    2,190   |    2,342  |
+  Porter                     |    4,600  |    2,171   |           |
+  Cassonade                  |   14,354  |            |           |
+  Fresh and dried fruit      |  100,402  |   15,107   |   27,464  |
+  Fine pearls                |           |    4,000   |           |
+  Coffee                     |           |    4,319   |   25,102  |
+  Linen thread               |           |    2,204   |           |
+  Nard juice and grapes      |           |    6,269   |           |
+  Turkish tobacco            |           |    3,345   |    7,823  |
+  Olives                     |           |    3,467   |           |
+  Raw silk                   |           |    9,008   |           |
+  Dyed silk thread           |           |   20,915   |           |
+  Oak galls                  |           |            |   20,387  |
+  Colours                    |           |            |   13,814  |
+  Vegetables                 |           |            |    2,122  |
+  Pepper                     |           |            |    3,063  |
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------+
+
+  EXPORTS.
+
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------
+            ARTICLES.        |  KERTCH.  | THEODOSIA. | EUPATORIA.
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------
+                             |  rubles.  |  rubles.   |  rubles.
+  Raw hides                  |   15,152  |   22,653   |    68,312
+  Fish                       |    7,310  |            |
+  Red caviar                 |   13,113  |            |
+  Linseed                    |    6,100  |            |
+  Rapeseed                   |    6,600  |            |
+  Wheat                      |   31,040  |  745,031   | 1,544,313
+  Wool                       |   41,185  |   19,087   |   344,997
+  Cordage                    |           |    3,275   |
+  Woollen felt               |           |    7,670   |    31,424
+  Tanned leather             |           |   18,375   |     5,150
+  Flax, hemp, and stuffs     |           |   11,323   |    27,065
+  Butter                     |           |    8,133   |    61,445
+  Bar iron                   |           |    2,340   |    14,700
+  Salt                       |           |    8,813   |     5,700
+  Soda                       |           |    4,691   |
+  Rye                        |           |   48,157   |    66,600
+  Barley                     |           |   39,485   | 1,333,640
+  Millet                     |           |    2,870   |     1,910
+  Glue                       |           |            |     3,494
+  Raw Hemp                   |           |            |     3,264
+  Locks                      |           |            |    22,296
+  Copper utensils            |           |            |     3,050
+  Brass, and brass wire      |           |            |     4,650
+  Cutlery                    |           |            |    13,509
+  Swords and epaulettes      |           |            |     3,000
+  Sheep skins                |           |            |     3,650
+  Suet                       |           |            |    11,893
+  Turpentine                 |           |            |     2,100
+  Beans                      |           |            |     8,589
+  Flour                      |           |            |     2,120
+  Raw silk                   |           |            |     3,200
+  ---------------------------+-----------+------------+-----------
+
+We do not at all coincide in opinion with those who attribute the
+decadence we have just described to the general character of the people
+of the East. The Orientals, it is true, have none of that feverish
+activity which characterises the people of our climes; besides which
+their wants are so limited and so easily satisfied, that they can never,
+in their present social condition, become strenuous workers. Yet we have
+seen that the Tatars, when they first occupied the country, were
+distinguished for their agricultural and industrial labours, whether it
+was in consequence of their mixture with the old races, or merely of the
+propitious climate; they also employed themselves with such success in
+gardening and the cultivation of the vine and of corn, that the Crimea
+under the khans was considered one of the chief regions whence
+Constantinople drew its supplies. It was only the steppe tribes, whose
+sole wealth was their cattle, that remained true to their primitive
+habits and their nomade life. In like manner there exists to this day a
+very striking difference, both intellectual and physical, between the
+two fractions of the Mussulman race of the Crimea.
+
+We believe, therefore, that under a better system it would have been
+easy to revive the laborious disposition of the Tatars by facilitating
+and encouraging commercial transactions, and gradually effacing the
+disheartening apprehensions under which the Mussulman population have
+naturally laboured since their great calamities befel them. Assuredly we
+cannot blame Russia for that depopulation of the country which was the
+first cause of its decadence. As victors, the Russians used all the
+rights of the strong hand to consolidate their conquest and extinguish
+all chance of insurrection. The means no doubt were violent, disastrous,
+and often even exceeded all the bounds of humanity; yet it was scarcely
+possible but that excesses should be committed in a war between Russian
+Christians and Mussulman Tatars, who had so often braved, triumphed
+over, and swayed the Muscovite power. In fairness, therefore, we can
+only criticise the measures adopted by the Russian government
+subsequently to the conquest, from the day when the country was
+completely pacified, and the Tatars submitted implicitly to the new
+yoke, and lost all hope of deliverance.
+
+We have already seen how an act of caprice annihilated the commercial
+prosperity of Theodosia, which would naturally have had the greatest
+influence over the industrial development of the peninsula; and we have
+pointed out the mischievous measures that ruined various branches of the
+native trade. To these depressing causes, for which the government with
+its fatal system of prohibition and its half measures is alone
+responsible, we must add others no less active, because they principally
+affect the agricultural population who stand most in need of
+encouragement. We have already repeatedly mentioned the countless
+depredations of the inferior government agents. In the Crimea the
+difference of religion and language, and the difficulty of making any
+kind of appeal for redress, naturally rendered the local administration
+more troublesome and rapacious than in any other province. The
+consequence was that the Tatars led a life of fear and distrust,
+agriculture languished, and every man cultivated yearly only as much as
+was necessary for the subsistence of his family, that he might not
+excite the cupidity of the _employes_.
+
+On his accession to the government, Count Voronzof, with his natural
+kindness, applied himself strenuously to improve the condition of the
+Tatars; he took them under his special protection, and prevented the
+rapacity of his underlings as far as in him lay. Unfortunately, his
+efforts could hardly avail beyond the limits of his own estates, and all
+his generous intentions were baffled or worn out by the incessant
+pettyfogging arts of the _employes_. Nothing could more signally
+exemplify the distrustful feelings of the Tatars, than the events which
+occurred during the famine of 1833, which was so great that whole
+families perished of hunger. Moved by these misfortunes the government
+offered aid to the Tatars, but incredible as it may appear, the
+proffered succours were generally refused, so much did the Mussulmans
+dread the price which would be afterwards exacted for such assistance.
+
+Towards 1840, after the creation of the ministry of the domains of the
+crown under Count Kizilev, the imperial government set about the task in
+which Count Voronzof had failed. Men of the best character for
+intelligence and probity were sent to the Crimea, but their efforts were
+all ineffectual, and they soon retired in disgust from the useless
+struggle. The unfortunate Crimea was again surrendered to the unlimited
+power and endless knaveries of the captain _ispravniks_, and of the
+worthy subaltern agents of the local administration.
+
+What are the destinies ultimately reserved for the Mussulman population
+of the Crimea,[83] now numbering barely 100,000 souls?[84] We are
+strongly inclined to anticipate its total extinction at a more or less
+remote date. The tribes are rapidly degenerating; the moral and physical
+forces of the nation are daily declining; the territorial wealth of the
+Tatars has been destroyed, sold, or divided; the native families
+distinguished for their past history or for their fortunes have
+disappeared; the population, instead of increasing, diminishes. There
+remains, therefore, no element of vitality to revive the effete remains
+of a power that made Russia tremble during so many centuries, and that
+even menaced for a while the political existence of all Europe.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[77] These colonies now consist of nine villages, with a population of
+1800 souls.
+
+[78] _Trade of the Sea of Azof, in 1838 and 1839._
+
+  --------------------+-----------------------+----------------------
+                      |       IMPORTS.        |       EXPORTS.
+                      +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                      |   1838.   |   1839.   |   1838.   |   1839.
+                      |  Rubles.  |  Rubles.  |  Rubles.  |  Rubles.
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Taganrok   {Goods   | 5,887,901 | 5,334,369 | 7,666,943 |13,813,323
+             {Cash    | 1,414,596 | 2,885,279 |           |
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Marcoupol  {Goods   |       300 |       987 | 3,422,107 | 6,276,882
+             {Cash    |   640,660 | 1,515,525 |           |
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Rostof on  {Goods   |           |           | 3,205,406 | 6,078,037
+    the Don  {Cash    |           |           |           |
+                      |           |           |           |
+  Bordiansk  {Goods   |           |           | 2,971,426 | 4,107,638
+             {Cash    |   768,722 |   825,113 |           |
+                      +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                Total | 8,712,179 |10,561,273 |17,265,882 |30,275,880
+  --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+
+[79] De La Mottraye, who visited the Crimea in 1711, speaks of a Soudak
+wine the flavour of which he compares with Burgundy. At that period the
+wines of the northern valleys sold at 2-1/2 centimes the bottle. In
+Peyssonel's time, in 1762, the Soudak wines fetched from 32 to 38
+centimes the bottle; those of Belbek 22 to 25, and those of Katch, of
+which De La Mottraye speaks, 13 to 15. The Ukraine Cossacks and the
+Zaporogues consumed the greatest portion of these wines; about 1210
+hectolitres annually according to Peyssonel. In 1784, at the time of the
+Russian occupation, the price of Soudak wine was 5 to 6 centimes the
+litre; it rose to 65 centimes in 1793, during the war with Turkey.--(See
+Pallas, Voyage dans la Russie Meridionale.)
+
+[80] Previously to Count Voronzof, M. Rouvier, who introduced the breed
+of merino sheep into Russia, had planted vines from Malaga on the hill
+sides of Laspi, at the western extremity of the chain; but his example
+had not many imitators.
+
+[81] Aidaniel is north-east of Ialta, a little town, the chief station
+for steamboats.
+
+[82] Of roads perfectly practicable for wheeled vehicles there exist in
+the Crimea: 1. The road leading from Simpheropol to Sevastopol, skirting
+the northern slope of the Tauric chain; its length is thirty-nine
+English miles; 2. That from Simpheropol to Ialta, crossing the mountains
+at the foot of the Tchatir Dagh, forty-nine miles; 3. That from Ialta to
+Balaclava, proceeding along the southern coast as far as Foros, where it
+passes on to the northern side of the mountains; its length is forty
+miles between Ialta and Foros; the second portion was in course of
+construction in 1840. This line of road seems to us extremely
+ill-contrived. It has been carried along the very foot of the
+jura-limestone cliffs, for the purpose of avoiding expense in crossing
+the ravines; and thus it is completely exterior to the vine-growing and
+cultivable district, and every proprietor who desires to use it must
+make a private road at his own expense, in order to reach the elevated
+level of the highway. We say nothing of the roads in the plains, the
+construction of which, just as in the interior of Russia, consists
+merely in tracing the breadth and direction by a ditch on either side.
+
+[83] Hitherto the Tatars have been exempted from military service; they
+are merely required to furnish one squadron to the imperial guard, to be
+discharged every five years. As for the taxes imposed on them they
+amount to the illusory sum of 8_s._ 4_d._ for every male individual, not
+including duty work on roads, transports, &c.
+
+[84] The total population of the Crimea is about 200,000, including
+Russians, Greeks, Armenians, Karaites, Germans, and other foreigners.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+HISTORICAL SKETCH OF BESSARABIA.
+
+      TOPOLOGY--ANCIENT FORTRESSES--THE RUSSIAN POLICY IN
+      BESSARABIA--EMANCIPATION OF THE SERFS--COLONIES--
+      CATTLE--EXPORTS AND IMPORTS--MIXED POPULATION OF THE
+      PROVINCE.
+
+
+To complete our account of the southern regions of Russia, it remains
+for us to speak of Bessarabia, the most remote province which the tzars
+possess on the shores of the Black Sea, and the country which formed,
+down to the commencement of the present century, one of the most
+valuable possessions of the principality of Moldavia. We will not now
+endeavour to withdraw the veil that covers the history of past ages, or
+discuss the effects produced upon this province by the expeditions of
+Darius and of Alexander, the Roman conquests, the Tatar invasions, and
+the Mussulman dominion: we will confine ourselves to contemporaneous
+facts, the only ones which can have some chance of exciting, if not
+interest, at least curiosity.
+
+Bessarabia is bounded on the south by the Danube, north and east by the
+Dniepr and the Black Sea, and west by the Pruth, which separates it from
+Moldavia, and by Bukovine, a dependency of Austria. It thus forms
+between two rivers which might easily be rendered navigable, a strip of
+more than 375 English miles in length, with an average breadth not
+exceeding fifty. This strip, which expands gradually as it approaches
+the sea, is divided into two regions, totally distinct both in
+population and in topographical character. The southern part, to which
+the Tatars have given the name of Boudjiak, consists of the flat country
+which extends to the sea between the mouths of the Danube and lower part
+of the Dniestr. It has all the characteristics of the Russian steppes,
+possesses but a few insignificant streams, and is chiefly fitted for
+rearing cattle; it yields little to tillage, except in some localities
+along the watercourses, where numerous colonies of Germans and
+Bulgarians are settled. The northern part adjoining Austria is, on the
+contrary, a hill country, beautifully diversified, covered with
+magnificent forests, and rich in all the productions of the most
+favoured temperate climates.
+
+At the period when the Russians appeared on the banks of the Dniestr,
+the Boudjiak steppes were occupied by Nogai Tatars, nomades for the most
+part, who after having been at first tributary to the khans of the
+Crimea, had placed themselves under the protection of the Porte; whilst
+the northern region was possessed by a numerous Moldavian population,
+essentially agricultural, subjected to the laws of serfdom, and
+acknowledging the authority of the hospodars of Jassy. The Ottoman
+power was represented solely by military garrisons holding peaceful
+possession of the two fortresses of Ismael and Kilia on the Danube, and
+those of Khotin, Bender, and Ackerman, on the Dniestr.
+
+The fortress of Ismael is famous for the sieges sustained in it by the
+Turks against Souvarof. Its fortifications have not been much increased
+by Russia; she keeps in it a numerous garrison, and a considerable
+amount of artillery. The little flotilla of the Danube is stationed at
+the foot of the walls. The fort of Kilia is now quite abandoned.
+
+The fortress of Khotin is half of Genoese, half of Turkish construction.
+The citadel or castle is an irregular square, flanked by enormous
+towers. The Turks and the Russians have added new fortifications to the
+old works, without however increasing the strength of the position. In
+the present state of military art, Khotin is of no importance whatever.
+Commanded on all sides by hills, and situated on the very edge of the
+Dniestr, it would not resist a regular siege of a few hours. The walls
+consist of courses of brick and cut stone, and bear numerous Genoese
+inscriptions. Over the principal gate are seen a lion and a leopard,
+chained beside an elephant bearing a tower. These figures are in the
+Eastern style, and date from the time of the Turks. The doors and the
+uprights of the windows are adorned with verses from the Koran. The
+great mosque of the fortress has unfortunately been demolished, and
+nothing remains of it but its minaret, which stands alone in the midst
+of the place, as if to protest against the vandalism of the conquerors.
+On the other side of the Dniestr, at a short distance from the river, is
+Kaminietz, the capital of Podolia.
+
+Bender and Ackerman likewise possess two castles of Genoese and Turkish
+construction: the latter situated on the liman of the Dniestr, has been
+abandoned; the former, which stands on the main road to Turkey, has a
+garrison. Between Bender and Khotin, on the banks of the Dniestr, are
+the ruins of a fourth fortress called Soroka, which merits a special
+description, inasmuch, as it is altogether different from the other
+edifices we have noticed in Southern Russia. It forms a circular
+enclosure of thirty-one metres, interior diameter. At four equidistant
+points of the circumference, stand as many towers, projecting externally
+in a semi-cylindrical form, whilst on the interior they are prismatic.
+Between the two towers on the river side, there is a fifth which
+commands the single gate of the castle. The interior diameter of the
+towers is 5.5 metres; the thickness of the walls is 3.8 metres. They
+have embrasures in the upper parts, and a few openings at various
+heights. All round the walls in the inner court there is a circular
+range of apartments on the ground, in tolerable preservation, and
+consisting of ten casemates seven metres deep, lighted only from within.
+They formed probably, the stables of the fortress. Above this range are
+the remains of an upper story, which, of course, served with the towers
+for lodging the garrison. The whole building exhibits the greatest
+solidity, and the mortar is wonderfully hard. But it is a bitter
+disappointment to the traveller that there are no inscriptions on the
+walls, or sculpture of any kind to fix the date of the edifice. The
+fortress never had ditches; its strength consists only in the height and
+thickness of its walls. The only entrance is towards the Dniestr, four
+or five yards from the scarp that flanks the river. This arrangement was
+probably adopted in order to secure a means of retreat, and of receiving
+provisions by way of the river.--The general appearance of the castle
+reminded me of the Roman fortresses erected against the barbarians,
+remains of which exist in many parts of Europe.
+
+Bessarabia was justly considered, at the period referred to above, as
+one of the most fertile and productive provinces of the Black Sea.
+Ismael and Remy were its two great export markets for corn; Ackerman
+sent numerous cargoes of fruit and provisions of all kinds yearly to
+Constantinople; the magazines of the fortresses were profusely filled
+with wheat and maize; the countless flocks of the Boudjiak steppes
+supplied wool to the East and to Italy; and Austria alone drew from them
+annually upwards of 60,000 heads of cattle. Such were the circumstances
+of Bessarabia at the time when the Russians, in the worst moment of
+their disasters, at the very time when Napoleon was entering their
+ancient capital, had the courageous cleverness to obtain the cession of
+that province, and advance their frontier to the Danube, at the same
+time securing the inestimable advantage of being free to withdraw their
+troops from it, and march them against the invader.
+
+When the Russians took possession, the Nogais, many tribes of whom had
+previously emigrated, completely forsook their old possessions, and
+withdrew beyond the Danube, and thus there remained in Bessarabia only
+the Moldavian population, who were Greek Christians, like the Russians.
+The conduct of the government towards the Bessarabians was at first as
+accommodating and liberal as possible. Official pledges were given them,
+that they should retain their own language, laws, tribunals, and
+administrative forms of all kinds. The governors of the country were
+chosen from among the natives, and the province remained in the full
+enjoyment of its commercial immunities and franchises, which were the
+grand bases of its agricultural prosperity. But these valuable
+privileges soon begot jealousies; the old administration fell into
+discredit through its own injudicious pretensions, and perhaps also in
+consequence of political intrigues against it, and it became exposed to
+the incessant hostility even of the boyars. The outcry was so great,
+that the Emperor Alexander, wishing to satisfy the population,
+determined that a new constitution should be framed, which should be
+more in harmony with the habits, the wants, and the state of
+civilisation of the country.
+
+A committee of twenty-eight was appointed to draw up this constitution,
+conspicuous among whom was M. Pronkoul, one of the most eminent boyars
+of the country. He had the chief hand in framing the constitution, and
+he promoted the adoption of its most liberal articles, with a very
+laudable spirit and much cleverness, no doubt, but with by no means a
+just discernment of the state of things. As soon as the commission had
+completed its task, Alexander visited Bessarabia, in 1818, and was
+welcomed with the most cordial gladness, and the most sumptuous
+rejoicings. He received from the province a national present of 5000
+horses, and was quite amazed at the prosperity and the inexhaustible
+resources of his new conquest. It was naturally desired to take the
+opportunity of his presence for the ratification of the new
+constitution; but that was not to be had so readily, since it brought in
+question the principle of the political unity of the empire. It was
+rightly represented to Alexander that it would be imprudent and
+impolitic to give a final and decisive sanction to a system, the real
+value and fitness of which could only be made known by time. The emperor
+yielded to these considerations, and merely ordered that the
+constitution should be put in force, without prejudice to the future.
+
+The fundamental principles of this constitution were as liberal as
+possible; too liberal, indeed, to have had the slightest chance of
+enduring. Bessarabia retained all its nationality; the governor and the
+vice-governor alone could be Russians, all the other functionaries were
+to be Moldavians; the province continued to enjoy all commercial
+immunities, and the finances, too, were under the immediate inspection
+and control of the natives. To any man of common sense and foresight,
+the maintenance of such a constitution was a chimera. Was it to be
+imagined that Russia would allow the subsistence of a conquered province
+on its extreme frontiers, in contact with Turkey, governing itself by
+its own laws, and possessing an administration diametrically opposed to
+that which controls the other governments of the empire?
+
+The Moldavian boyars nevertheless considered the promulgation of the
+constitution as a victory, and thought in their infatuation they might
+defy all the chances of the future. But events soon undeceived them, and
+the mismanagement of their own institutions provoked the first blow
+against their privileges. In accordance with old customs the government
+continued to sell the taxes by auction, and they were generally farmed
+by the great landowners of the province. This vicious system of finance,
+which had been practised under the Oriental regimen of the hospodars,
+could not fail to have fatal consequences under the new system of
+things. As we have already said, Bessarabia had retained her commercial
+freedom in its full extent after her union with Russia. It rapidly
+degenerated into an abuse, through the improvident prodigality of the
+Moldavians, and the extravagant ideas of civilisation and progress that
+fermented in all their brains; luxury increased beyond measure among the
+nobles, and Kichinev, the capital, became famous through all the
+country for its sumptuous festivities, and the wealth of its ware-rooms.
+The consequence was that the receipts of the treasury proceeded in the
+inverse ratio of the progress of luxury; and the farmers, whose expenses
+swallowed up more than the revenue, were last unable to pay the sums
+they had contracted for. The imperial government was of course indulgent
+during the first years, and had not recourse to any severe measures.
+This conduct encouraged the defaulters, and the disorder of the finances
+at last reached such a pass as called indispensably for the strenuous
+intervention of the imperial government. The commercial franchises of
+the province were suppressed therefore in 1822, the prohibitive system
+of the imperial customs was introduced, and the payment of all arrears
+was rigorously exacted. This last measure of course gave occasion to
+endless suits and executions, and so the ruin of the principal families
+was accomplished at the same time as the destruction of all their
+political influence, and the government had then only to fix the day
+when its principles of political unity should have complete force in its
+new conquest.
+
+The constitution thus impaired, subsisted, however, until the death of
+Alexander; but on the accession of Nicholas it was completely
+suppressed; Bessarabia was deprived of all its privileges, and even of
+its language, and was assimilated in all points of administration to the
+other provinces of the empire; with the exception, however, that the
+government, in order to ensure the ulterior success of its measures,
+took from the inhabitants the right of electing their captain
+ispravniks, or officers of rural police.[85]
+
+So radical a revolution could not be effected without bringing with it
+serious perturbations. It is enough to recollect what we have said of
+the venality of the public functionaries, in order to guess what the
+Bessarabians must have had to endure at the hands of that multitude of
+Russian _employes_ who took up their quarters in the towns and villages.
+The intrigues and pettyfogging artifices of these men complicated more
+and more the already numerous lawsuits; and the daily increasing
+perplexities in the relations between the landowners, the freedmen, and
+the serfs, overthrew all the elements of the national wealth. To all
+these causes of disorganisation were added the military occupation of
+the country in the time of the Turkish war, and this was the more
+onerous because the rich procured themselves exemption for money, and
+the whole burden fell on the petty proprietors and the peasants.
+
+When the country fell into this state of exhaustion, the boyars were
+not slow to remonstrate: and they did so with such vehemence, on the
+occasion of the journey of the Emperor Nicholas, in 1827, that he
+resolved to have a commission appointed, to report to him at St.
+Petersburg, on the grievances of the province. The election of the
+commissioners took place immediately; but as the boyars revived their
+old pretensions, whilst the government strenuously adhered to its system
+of political unity, it was not possible to come to an understanding
+respecting the ameliorations to be introduced into the administrative
+regimen. The elections, after being frequently annulled and recommenced,
+produced no result, and the last commission named was finally dissolved
+without having been able to repair to St. Petersburg.
+
+All these long altercations necessarily produced asperity in the
+relations of Bessarabia with the superior administration, and at last
+the imperial government, weary of these discussions, was ready to take
+any measure to reduce the Moldavians to the most absolute political and
+administrative nullity, even to the prejudice of the national
+prosperity. To this end it was determined to cut off the last means of
+influence which serfdom afforded to the boyars, by issuing an ukase, by
+virtue of which all serfs were declared free, with the right of residing
+where they pleased. The consequences of this abrupt emancipation were,
+of course, disastrous to agriculture. Urged by intrigues, or by the
+chimerical hope of bettering their physical condition, the serfs
+abandoned their old abodes to settle elsewhere, and chiefly on the lands
+recently acquired by the Russians. In this way many villages were left
+deserted, the lands remained untilled, and the landowners found
+themselves suddenly deprived of the hands necessary for their work.
+
+Putting aside all political considerations, this measure of the
+government was unquestionably premature. Nothing in the moral or
+physical condition of the Bessarabians could as yet justify so radical a
+destruction of all that belonged to the old system. The state of the
+serfs was in fact very tolerable, and quite in harmony with the
+civilisation of the country. The peasants were no further bound to the
+soil, than inasmuch as a certain portion of it was placed at their
+disposal. Their duties to their lords were defined by rule, and
+consisted generally of eighteen days' labour in the year, some haulages,
+and the tithes of their produce. The landowners, no doubt, occasionally
+abused their power in a cruel manner; but these abuses were not without
+remedy. A resolute and conscientious administration might easily have
+put an end to them. Under the present system, the peasants possessing no
+lands appeared to us in reality much more enslaved, and in a far less
+satisfactory physical condition. Formerly, the interests of the lords
+and the serfs were closely united, the prosperity of either necessarily
+inferred that of the others; but now that the emancipated serfs,
+possessing no means of subsistence of their own, cultivate the land only
+in virtue of a contract, the landowners think only how to get as much
+profit out of them as possible, during the time the engagement lasts,
+and care nothing what becomes of them afterwards. The peasants, it is
+true, have a right of appealing to the tribunals; but in consequence of
+the venality of the latter, their complaints generally serve only to put
+them to expense, and make their condition worse. A rich boyar said very
+naively to me on this subject, "How do you suppose the husbandman can
+obtain justice, when for every egg he gives we give a silver ruble?"
+Again, the frequent changes of abode are very pernicious, from the loss
+of time and the expense they occasion. Other dwellings must be built,
+new habits must be contracted; the peasant is soon reduced to
+destitution, and finds himself obliged to accept whatever terms are
+offered him. In this way the dependence of the rural population is but
+the more grievous for being limited, and their situation towards the
+landlords is without security for the present, or guarantee for the
+future. Nor have their duty labours undergone any modification, and the
+abuses are exactly the same as under the old regime. Without exceeding
+the limits of the regulations, a peasant pays his master tithes of all
+agricultural produce, besides 1^r.20 for every head of large cattle,
+0.16 for each sheep, and one hive of honey out of every fifty he
+possesses. He takes upon himself, moreover, all repairs of buildings,
+enclosures, &c., supplies night watchers, executes annually at least
+three haulages over thirty-eight miles of ground, and seldom works less
+than twenty-eight or thirty days for his landlord, often as much as
+fifty or even sixty. In point of physical welfare, therefore, the
+results of emancipation are quite illusory, and the more so as the
+peasants enjoy no political rights, and support all the burdens and
+_corvees_. In fine, the new system has as yet produced only loss,
+trouble, and embarrassment, both to large and small fortunes. As to
+hopes for the future, none can be seriously conceived, except for very
+distant times. It will require many years even for a wise and
+enlightened administration to rectify the state of a country whose
+population consists of a scanty body of landowners, and a mass of
+peasants without fixed domicile, possessing no other resources than the
+chance of a limited engagement, and the labour of their hands.
+
+We will not go into details of all the measures adopted by the Russian
+government with reference to the agricultural and commercial affairs of
+Bessarabia: they were as contradictory and as irrational as those we
+have noticed in our account of the Crimea. The immigrations of the
+Bulgarians[86] and Germans,[87] it is true, were favoured, and they
+were granted the most fertile lands of the Boudjiak; several villages of
+Cossacks[88] and of Great Russians[89] were settled in the same regions;
+and attempts were even made with some success to colonise a few nomade
+tribes of gipsies.[90] But all these excellent creations, the first idea
+of which belongs to the head of the state, were largely counterbalanced
+by the mischievous measures of the local boards. Thus, for instance, in
+consequence of the division among the great landlords of all the immense
+meadows formerly possessed by the hospodars, and which they used to rent
+out in pasture, the national business of rearing zigai sheep was
+destroyed, and gave place to some ruinous attempts to introduce the
+merino breed. Extreme injury was done at the same time to the breeding
+of horses and horned cattle, a business which the government had already
+seriously damaged by forcing the proprietors of such stock to become
+Russian subjects or give up their employment, and by impeding by
+countless vexatious formalities the entrance of foreign merchants into
+the province, and their sojourn in it. In 1839, Bessarabia sold only
+2365 horses, whereas formerly Austria alone drew from it from 12,000 to
+15,000 every year for her cavalry.[91]
+
+The following general table of the exports and imports of Bessarabia by
+the Danube and by land is drawn up from official documents. It cannot,
+however, indicate precisely the commercial situation of Bessarabia,
+since a considerable portion of the goods declared in five places named
+belongs only to the transit trade through the province, which, moreover,
+receives a quantity of manufactured and other goods from Southern Russia
+that are not mentioned at all in the table. Our figures would require a
+certain reduction to make them accurately represent the true state of
+the case.
+
+                                BY THE DANUBE.--IMPORTS.
+  -----------------------+-----------------------+----------------------
+                         |         1838.         |          1839.
+      NAMES OF PLACES.   +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                         |   Goods.  |    Cash.  |    Goods. |    Cash.
+  -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                         |   rubles. |   rubles. |   rubles. |   rubles.
+  Ismael                 |   253,697 | 1,632,996 |   238,996 |   820,035
+  Reny                   |    50,193 |   797,497 |    85,429 |   553,174
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                  Total  |   303,890 | 2,430,493 |   324,425 | 1,373,209
+
+                                          EXPORTS.
+
+  Ismael                 | 3,913,494 |     9,915 | 2,793,244 |
+  Reny                   |   718,040 |    50,773 |   609,541 |    77,745
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                  Total  | 4,631,534 |    60,688 | 3,402,785 |    77,745
+
+                                     BY LAND.--IMPORTS.
+
+  Novo Selitza, Austrian |           |           |           |
+  frontier               |   221,324 | 1,939,604 |   245,198 | 3,048,064
+  Skouleni on the Pruth  |   222,507 |   497,209 |   195,088 |   721,015
+  Leovo on the Pruth     |    52,336 |    29,932 |    55,664 |    26,291
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                  Total  |   496,167 | 2,466,745 |   495,950 | 3,795,370
+
+                                          EXPORTS.
+
+  Novo Selitza           | 1,978,172 |   163,868 | 3,277,660 |    81,868
+  Skouleni               |   829,692 |   525,638 |   737,462 |   540,618
+  Leovo                  |    96,832 |    60,537 |    59,906 |    36,709
+                         +-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+                  Total  | 2,904,696 |   750,043 | 4,075,028 |   659,195
+  -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------
+
+Total of the customs and other duties realised in 1838, in the five
+localities above-named, 360,332 rubles, and in 1839, 319,134 rubles.
+
+From some scattered details we have already given, the reader may
+conjecture that the population of Bessarabia is exceedingly mixed. The
+Boudjiak numbers among its inhabitants, Great Russians, Cossacks,
+Germans, Bulgarians, Swiss vine-dressers, gipsies, and Greek and
+Armenian merchants. The northern part of the province, on the contrary,
+is occupied almost exclusively by the Moldavian race, whose villages
+extend even along the Dniestr to the vicinity of Ackerman. Jews abound
+in the northern part; there are very few in the towns of the Boudjiak;
+leaving them out of the account the Bessarabian population may be
+divided into four great classes: the nobles, the free peasants who
+possess lands, the newly emancipated peasants, and the gipsies. The
+nobles consist of the ancient Moldavian aristocracy, the public
+functionaries, retired officers, and a great number of Russians, who
+have become landowners in the province. To this class we must join the
+Mazils, who are descendants of the ancient boyars, but whom war and the
+numerous revolutions that have desolated the land have reduced to
+penury. They form at present an intermediate class between the new
+nobles and the peasantry, and differ from the aristocracy only in not
+taking part in the elections of the judges and marshals of the nobles.
+The free peasants are those, who, having been emancipated in times more
+or less remote, possess lands, and depend neither on the great landlords
+nor on the crown, though subject to ordinary imposts and _corvees_. The
+newly liberated peasants consist of those who are settled, by virtue of
+a contract or agreement, on lands belonging to individuals or to the
+crown; they form the majority of the population. The Bohemians are still
+subjected to the laws of slavery. Some of them, to the number of 900
+families, belong to the crown, and the rest to Moldavian landowners, who
+usually employ them as servants, workmen, and musicians.
+
+In Bessarabia, as throughout Russia and the principalities of the
+Danube, the new generation of nobles have completely renounced the
+habits of former days. They have of course adopted the straight coat,
+trousers, cravat, and all the rest of our Western costume; there is
+nothing striking in their outward appearance. The old boyars alone
+adhere to their ancestral customs; a broad divan, pipes, coffee, dolces,
+and the kieff after dinner, are indispensable for them; and to some of
+them shampooing is a delicious necessity. I know a certain nobleman who
+cannot fall asleep without having his feet rubbed by his Bohemian. But
+what above all strikes and delights every stranger, especially a
+Frenchman, is the eager and cordial hospitality and kindness he
+encounters in every Moldavian house. One is sure of meeting everywhere
+with men who sympathise heartily with every thing great and useful to
+mankind which our civilisation and our efforts have produced in these
+latter times. It is only to be regretted that these brilliant qualities
+are often tarnished by the corruption which administrative venality and
+rapacity, supervening upon long military occupations, have insensibly
+diffused through all classes of the population.
+
+The Bessarabian of the lower class is by nature a husbandman; he very
+rarely plies a trade. To know his real worth he must be seen in the
+interior of the country, far from the towns. The Moldavian peasant is
+brave, gay, and hospitable; he delights to welcome the stranger, and
+generally would be ashamed to receive the slightest present from him.
+The Russians accuse him of excessive sloth, but the charge appears
+unfounded. The Moldavian peasant seldom, indeed, thinks of accumulating
+money, but he always works with zeal until he has attained the position
+he had aspired to, the amount of comfort he had set his heart on; and,
+in reality, it is not until after the fulfilment of his desires that he
+becomes lazy, and that his efforts are generally limited to procuring
+his family the few sacks of maize necessary for its subsistence. But
+increase his wants, make him understand that there are other enjoyments
+than those in which he indulges so cheaply, and you will infallibly see
+him shake off his natural apathy, and rise to the level of the new ideas
+he has adopted.
+
+The most charming thing in the Moldavian villages is the extreme
+cleanliness of the houses, which are generally surrounded by gardens and
+thriving orchards. Enter the forest dwelling, and you will almost always
+find a small room perfectly clean, furnished with a bed, and broad
+wooden divans covered with thick woollen stuffs. Bright parti-coloured
+carpets, piles of cushions, with open work embroideries, long red and
+blue napkins, often interwoven with gold and silver thread, are
+essential requisites in every household, and form a principal portion of
+the dowery of young women.
+
+In general, the women take little part in field labours, but they are
+exceedingly industrious housewives. They are all clever weavers, and
+display great art and taste in making carpets, articles of dress, and
+linen. The great object of emulation among the women of every village,
+is to have the neatest and most comfortable house, and the best supplied
+with linen and household utensils.
+
+Such was Bessarabia, when I visited it in detail, on my return from my
+long journeys in the steppes of the Caspian. I visited it a second time
+when about to quit Russia for the principalities of the Danube; and when
+I crossed the Pruth, I could not help reiterating my earnest prayers
+that the inexhaustible resources of this province may at last be duly
+appreciated, and that effectual measures may be taken to put an end to
+that languor and depression in which it has been sunk for so many years.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[85] Bessarabia now includes nine districts, the capitals of which,
+beginning from the south, are Ismael, Ackerman, Kahoul, Bender,
+Kichinev, Orgeiev, Beltz, Soroka, and Khotin. Kichinev is the capital of
+the government; it was formerly a poor borough on the Bouik, a little
+river that falls into the Dniestr; the preference was given it on
+account of its central position. Its population is now 42,636, of whom
+from 15,000 to 18,000 are Jews. It is to the administration of
+Lieutenant-general Foederof that the town owes the numerous
+embellishments, and the principal public edifices it presents to the
+traveller's view.
+
+[86] The Bulgarian colonies, the most prosperous of all those that have
+been established in the Boudjiak, numbered in 1840, 10,153 families,
+comprising 32,916 males, and 29,314 females. The surface of their lands
+has been estimated at 585,463 hectares, of which 527,590 are fit for
+tillage and hay crops, and 57,873 are waste. The Bulgarian colonists pay
+the crown 50 rubles per family. The corn harvest amounted, in 1839, to
+211,337 tchetverts. They have contrived to preserve among them the breed
+of zigai sheep, the long strong wool of which is in demand in the East,
+and formed, previously to the Russian occupation, the chief wealth of
+the Bessarabians: they now possess about 343,479.
+
+[87] The German colonies include nineteen villages and 1736 families.
+They are in a very backward condition.
+
+[88] After the destruction of the celebrated Setcha of Dniepr, the
+Zaporogue Cossacks withdrew in great numbers beyond the Danube, and
+settled with the permission of the Turks on that secondary branch of the
+Balkan which runs between Isaktchy and Toultcha. During the wars of 1828
+and 1829, the Russian government contrived to gain the allegiance of
+many of the descendants of these Zaporogues who served it as spies.
+Their number was so considerable that after the campaign Russia formed
+them into military colonies in the Boudjiak. These colonies increased
+greatly in consequence of the asylum they afforded to all the refugees
+and vagabonds of Russia, and presented, in 1840, an effective of two
+regiments of cavalry of 600 men each, with a total population of 3000
+families, having eight villages and 50,000 hectares of land.
+
+[89] We have no exact data respecting these villages, the situation of
+which is wretched enough. Their population consists entirely of
+fugitives, to whom the government had for many years granted an asylum
+in Bessarabia to the detriment of the neighbouring government.
+
+[90] The gipsies have three villages containing 900 families. The
+establishment of these colonies was not effected without difficulty, and
+it required all the severity of a military administration to make them
+sow their grounds.
+
+[91] Since our departure, the Russian government seems disposed to
+interest itself on behalf of Bessarabia. We are informed that it is at
+present turning its attention to the navigation of the Dniestr, a matter
+of the more importance since the Dniestr washes Bessarabia throughout
+its whole length, and there is not yet in that province any means of
+communication practicable at all seasons.
+
+
+
+
+NOTE.
+
+
+To complete our author's account of Sevastopol, we subjoin an abstract
+of a paper by Mr. Shears, C.E., which was read at the meeting of the
+Institution of Civil Engineers, January 12, 1847.
+
+      "Sevastopol is very peculiarly situated, amidst rocky
+      ground, rising so abruptly from the shore, that there was
+      not space for the buildings necessary for a dockyard. On
+      account of the depth of water close in shore, and other
+      natural advantages, the emperor determined to make it the
+      site of an extensive establishment, and as there is not any
+      rise of tide in the Black Sea, and the construction of
+      cofferdams would have been very expensive and difficult in
+      such a rocky position, it was decided to build three locks,
+      each having a rise of ten feet, and at this level of thirty
+      feet above the sea to place a main dock with lateral docks,
+      into which vessels of war could be introduced, and the gates
+      being closed, the water could be discharged by subterranean
+      conducts to the sea, and the vessel, being left dry, could
+      be examined and repaired, even beneath the keel. A stream
+      was conducted from a distance of twelve miles to supply the
+      locks, and to keep the docks full; this, however, has been
+      found insufficient, and a pumping-engine has since been
+      erected by Messrs. Maudsley and Field, for assisting.
+
+      "The original intention was to have made the gates for the
+      docks of timber, but on account of the ravages of a worm,
+      which it appears does not, as in the case of the Teredo
+      navalis or the Tenebranes, confine itself to the salt water,
+      it was resolved to make them with cast iron frames covered
+      with wrought iron plates.
+
+      "There are nine pairs of gates, whose openings vary from 64
+      feet in width and 34 feet 4 inches in height for ships of
+      120 guns, to 46 feet 7 inches in width, and 21 feet in
+      height, for frigates.
+
+      "The manipulation of such masses of metal as composed these
+      gates demanded peculiar machines; accordingly, Messrs.
+      Rennie fitted up a building expressly, with machines
+      constructed by Mr. Whitworth, by which all the bearing
+      surfaces could be planed, and the holes bored in the ribs,
+      and all the other parts, whether their surfaces were curved
+      or plane. The planing was effected by tools which travelled
+      over the surface, backward and forward, cutting each way;
+      the piece of metal being either held in blocks, if the
+      surface was plane, or turned on centres, if the surface was
+      curved. The drilling was performed by machines, so fixed,
+      that the pieces could be brought beneath or against the
+      drills, in the required direction, and guided so as to
+      insure perfect uniformity and accordance between them.
+
+      "Travelling cranes were so arranged, as to take the largest
+      pieces from the wharf, and place them in the various
+      machines, by the agency of a very few men, notwithstanding
+      their formidable dimensions; the heelposts in some cases
+      being upwards of 34 feet long. Each endless screw, for
+      giving progressive motion to the cutting tools, was 45 feet
+      long. Some idea may be formed of the manual labour avoided
+      by the machines, when it is stated, that the surface planed
+      or turned in the nine pairs of gates equals 717,464 square
+      inches; and in some cases a thickness of three-quarters of
+      an inch was cut off. The surface in the drilled bolt holes
+      equals 120,000 square inches."
+
+      The paper gave all the details of the construction of the
+      gates, and the machinery for making them; and was
+      illustrated by a series of detailed drawings.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+C. WHITING, BEAUFORT HOUSE, STRAND.
+
+
+
+
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+    |                                                     |
+    | Typographical errors corrected in the text:         |
+    |                                                     |
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+    | Page    v  Debats changed to Debats                 |
+    | Page    6  accomodation changed to accommodation    |
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+    | Page   26  bord changed to board                    |
+    | Page   27  that changed to than                     |
+    | Page   55  DEBATS changed to DEBATS                 |
+    | Page   59  orgie changed to orgy                    |
+    | Page   70  porticos changed to porticoes            |
+    | Page   71  satify changed to satisfy                |
+    | Page   77  party changed to parti                   |
+    | Page   78  Alsacian changed to Alsatian             |
+    | Page   84  Azor changed to Azov                     |
+    | Page   87  guerillero changed to guerrillero        |
+    | Page   93  "Every thing is matter of surprise"      |
+    |            changed to "Every thing is a matter      |
+    |            of surprise"                             |
+    | Page   93  cassino changed to casino                |
+    | Page  113  choses changed to chooses                |
+    | Page  114  subsistance changed to subsistence       |
+    | Page  117  bead changed to head                     |
+    | Page  120  acording changed to according            |
+    | Page  141  Gengis changed to Genghis                |
+    | Page  153  Gengis changed to Genghis                |
+    | Page  157  Alsacean changed to Alsacian             |
+    | Page  159  it changed to its                        |
+    | Page  173  stupified changed to stupefied           |
+    | Paqe  174  vieing changed to vying                  |
+    | Page  176  rareties changed to rarities             |
+    | Page  180  Tibetian changed to Tibetan              |
+    | Page  185  Tondoutof changed to Tondoudof           |
+    | Page  194  Samarcand changed to Samarkand           |
+    | Page  196  hectrolitres changed to hectolitres      |
+    | Page  207  semovar changed to samovar               |
+    | Page  214  gaolors changed to gaolers               |
+    | Page  217  wo-begone changed to woe-begone          |
+    | Page  218  semovar changed to samovar               |
+    | Page  223  downfal changed to downfall              |
+    | Page  224  predecesssors chaned to  predecessors    |
+    | Page  235  Tourgouth changed to Torgouth            |
+    | Page  237  latitiude changed to latitude            |
+    | Page  257  batallions changed to battalions         |
+    | Page  267  Ghenghis changed to Genghis              |
+    | Page  269  Boudjak changed to Boudjiak              |
+    | Page  270  earthern changed to earthen              |
+    | Page  282  fistycuffs changed to fisticuffs         |
+    | Page  282  suprise changed to surprise              |
+    | Page  297  Bukharest changed to Bucharest           |
+    | Page  307  Caucausus changed to Caucasus            |
+    | Page  322  Emmaneul changed to Emmanuel             |
+    | Page  325  Manghislak changed to Manghishlak        |
+    | Page  326  incontestibly changed to incontestably   |
+    | Page  349  Taibout changed to Taitbout              |
+    | Page  351  formalties changed to formalities        |
+    | Page  363  cashmires changed to cashmeres           |
+    | Page  364  Bagtchte changed to Bagtche              |
+    | Page  367  moolight changed to moonlight            |
+    | Page  369  filagree changed to filigree             |
+    | Page  373  belfrey changed to belfry                |
+    | Page  380  ebulitions changed to ebullitions        |
+    | Page  384  thngs changed to things                  |
+    | Page  388  fhe changed to the                       |
+    | Page  388  sweatmeats changed to sweetmeats         |
+    | Page  391  Ghenghis changed to Genghis              |
+    | Page  392  Soudah changed to Soudagh                |
+    | Page  400  griffen changed to griffin               |
+    | Page  409  Guerei changed to Guerai                 |
+    | Page  411  recuscitate changed to resuscitate       |
+    | Page  423  Cossaks changed to Cossacks              |
+    | Page  430  ^ indicates a superscript letter         |
+    |              following the symbol                   |
+    | Page  432  Skoulein changed to Skouleni             |
+    +-----------------------------------------------------+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian
+Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c., by Xavier Hommaire de Hell
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