court, or large shed open on one side. The country still continues the same monotonous though undulating plain, sometimes marshy, sometimes sandy; a few fields, wide pasture-ranges bounded by forests of fir, now at a distance, now close upon the road, sometimes well grown, more frequently scattered and stunted: sueh is the as- peet of all those vast regions. Here and there is to be seen a country-house, or large and mansion-like farm, to which an avenue of birch-trees forms the approach. These are the manor-houses, or residences of the proprietors of the land; and the traveller welcomes them on the road as he would an oasis in the desert.
In some provinces the cottages are built of elay ; in which case their appearance is more miserable, though still similar in general character: but from one end of the empire to the other, the greater number of the rustic dwellings are constructed of long
оо
and thick beams, earelessly hewn, but carefully eaulked with moss and resin. The Crimea, a country altogether southern, is an exception ; but, as compared to the whole empire, this country is but a point lost in immensity.
Monotony is the divinity of Russia; yet even this f 5
106 PASTOEAL LIFE OF THE PEASANTS.
monotony has a certain charm for minds capable of enjoying solitude : the silence is profound in these unvarying scenes ; and sometimes it becomes sublime on a desert plain, whose only boundaries are those of our power of vision.
The distant forest, it is true, presents no variety ; it is not beautiful: but who can fathom it ? When we remember that its only boundary is the wall of China, we feel a kind of reverence. Nature, like music, draws a part of her potent charm from repetitions. Singular mystery! — by means of uniformity she multiplies impressions. In seeking for too much novelty and variety there is clanger of finding only the insipid and the clumsy, as may be seen in the case of modern musicians devoid of genius ; but on the contrary, when the artist braves the danger of simplicity, art becomes as sublime as nature. The classic style—I use the word in its ancient acceptation
—had little variety.
Pastoral life has always a peculiar charm. Its calm and regular occupations accord with the primitive character of men, and for a long time preserve the youth of races. The herdsmen, who never leave their native districts, are unquestionably the least unhappy of the Russians. Their beauty alone, which becomes more striking as I approach the government of Yarovslaw, speaks well of their mode of life.
I have met — which is a novelty to me in Russia
—several extremely pretty peasant-girls, with golden
hair, excessively delicate and scarcely coloured com
plexions, and eyes, which though of a light blue, are
expressive, owing to their Asiatic form and their lan
guishing glances. If these young virgins, with fea-·
BEAUTY OP THE WOMEN AND OLD MEN. 107
tures similar to those of Greek madonnas, had the
In no country have I seen so many beatitifnl bald heads and silver hairs as in this part of Russia. The heads of Jehovah, those chef-d'?uvres of the first pupil of Leonardo da Vinci, are not such entirely ideal conceptions as I imagined when I admired the frescoes of Luini at Lainate, Lugano, and Milan. These heads may be here recognised, living. Seated in the thresholds of their cabins, I have beheld old men, with fresh complexions, unwrinkled cheeks, blue and sparkling eyes, calm countenances, and silver beards glistening in the sun round mouths the peaceful and benevolent smile of which they heighten, who appear like so many protecting deities placed at the entrance of the villages. The traveller, as he passes, is saluted by these noble figures, majestically seated on the earth which saw them born. Truly antique statues, emblems of hospitality which a Pagan would have worshipped, and which Christians nnist admire with an involuntary respect: for in old age beauty is no longer physical; it is the depicted triumph of the soul after victory.
We must go among the Russian peasants to find the pure image of patriarchal society; and to thank God for the happy existence he has dispensed, notwithstanding the faults of governments, to these in-P 6
108POLICY ATTRIBUTED
offensive beings, whose birth and death are only separated by a long series of years of innocence.
May the angel or demon of industry and of modern enlightened views, pardon me!—but I cannot help finding a great eharm in ignorance, when I see its fruits in the celestial countenances of the old Russian peasants.
The modem patriarchs, labourers whose work is no longer a compulsory task, seat themselves, with dignity, towards the close of the day, in the threshold of the cottage which they themselves have, perhaps, rebuilt several times ; for under this severe climate the house of man does not last so long as his life. Were I to cany back from my Russian journey no other recollection than that of these old men, with quiet consciences legible on their faces, leaning against doors that want no bolt, I should not regret the trouble I had taken to come and gaze upon beings so different from any other peasants in the world. The majesty of the cottage will always inspire me with profound respect.
Every fixed government, however bad it may be in some respects, has its good results; and every governed people have something wherewith to console themselves for the sacrifices they make to social life.
And yet, at the bottom of this calm which I so much admire, and which I feel so contagious, what disorder! what violence ! what false security !
I had written thus much, when an individual of my acquaintance, in whose woi`ds I place confidence, having left Moscow a few hours after me, arrived at Troitza, and, knowing that I was going to pass the
TO THE POLES.
109
night here, asked to see me while his horses were changing: he confirmed to me news that I had already heard, of eighty villages having been just burnt, in the government of Sembirsk, in consec|uence of the revolt of the peasants. The Russians attribute these troubles to the intrigues of the Poles. 'What interest have the Poles in burning Russia ?' I asked the person who related to me the fact. iC None/' he replied, ' unless it be that they hope to draw upon themselves the wrath of the Russian government: their only fear is that they should be left in peace.'
' You call to my recollection,' I observed, ?C the band of ineendiaries who, at the commencement of our first revolution, accused the aristocrats of burning their own chateaux.' ' You will not believe me,' replied the Russian, ' but I know, by close observation and by experience, that every time the Poles observe the emperor inclining towards clemency, they form new plots, send among us disguised emissaries, and even feign conspiracies when they cannot excite real ones ; all of which they do solely with a view of drawing upon their country the hate of Russia, and of provoking new sentences for themselves and their countrymen : in fact, they dread nothing so much as pardon, because the gentleness of the Russian government would change the feelings of their peasants, who
