14

VILLAGE OF ZAÏLSOVA.

passed, it being diversified with hill and dale, and with meandering streams, while the beauty of the landscape was set off to the utmost advantage by a glorious sun gilding every part of the prospect around; in short, the view we now enjoyed was quite cheering, after the dull and uninteresting flat we had traversed from the capital.

We now reached the poor village of Zaïlsova; but as no accommodation was to be found for the night, we were forced to push forward, and the only refreshment we could obtain, was that beverage which "cheers but not inebriates," but without even so much as a slice of bread and butter. We here observed a rather singular way of nursing children: cradles in the form of a pair of scales were suspended in front of the houses from a pole, fixed in and projecting from the wall; and in these machines infants might be seen swinging in the open air. The loquacity of our postilion was altogether extraordinary, and we more than once thought he was soliloquising, but found he was engaged in a conversation with, or rather addressing a long harangue to, his horses, as if they could understand every word he uttered, promising them, by way of urging them to exertion, that they should be bountifully fed at the end of their journey.

The road now struck through a wood, and the shades of night having fallen, we stop, ped till the next day at Kretsi, a village si

VILLAGE OF KRETSI.

15

milar to the former, and the only place since we left Novgorod where we could find any accommodation. The inn-door was completely surrounded with a most extraordinary group of men, women, and children, all wrapped up in sheep-skins. Some were barefooted, while others had only shoes made of slips of wood. The beds here were laid upon a thick matting, such as is used for packing up goods; where, however, after the fatigues of the day, we welcomed repose, exclaiming with Sancho, "Blessed be he who first invented sleep - it covers a man all over like a cloak!"* A stove of brick, plastered; some daubs of pictures; a book-case, with a display of miserable crockery; old ricketty chairs, and a jumbling table; with a clock that would not go, constituted the whole furniture; while, to add to our further comfort, two of the panes of the window were broken, so as to admit more fresh air than was desirable. We certainly enjoyed also the beauties of wood and water; for the place itself was piled up with wood, the lower part of the building was laid under water; and by way of climax to the luxuries, the apartment next to us was literally crammed with persons enveloped in smoke, and drinking and singing.

* It is recommended to travellers to carry with them, as we did, leather sheets; which will be found comfortable, and prevent all danger from damp beds.

16

RAKHINO.

PEASANTRY.

We set out next morning at five o'clock, in a complete deluge of rain, and travelled along a woody and sandy country to Rakhino, which is situated near an extensive lake abounding in cray-fish. Beyond this we crossed a hilly tract of red sand, and after travelling six versts descended to a pretty sheet of water, with a village on its banks, along which the road now ran. This led to Zimogore and Edravo, which were rather better villages than those we had passed; and here we were detained some time in consequence of one of the wheels of our carriage having been injured by the furious rate at which we had been driving. The weather was cold, and the thermometer stood four degrees lower than it had been at any period since we entered Russia. The dress of the females in this district was rather peculiar; for their hair was divided into two parts, platted, and hanging down their backs, with a riband attached at the extremity of each tail, as I observed among the females at Athens. They wore no stays, their shifts were drawn up to their collar bones, and had large hanging sleeves to the elbows. The rest of their apparel consisted of a short petticoat brought up under the arm, and suspended on the back by a broad top.

From what we observed of their husbandry, the peasantry appeared to have made no great proficiency in agriculture; for instead of rooting up

stumps of trees in the fields, they contented themselves with ploughing between them. The plough itself is very low, and of singular shape: some idea may be formed of it from a hay-fork, with a cross at top, to represent the handle, and shafts inside. Droves of white and grey oxen were to be seen in many places by the side of the road, with some of the herdsmen sleeping on the ground, and others lighting fires and boiling pots, so that they appear, like their animals, to live without shelter. In several villages the streets were not paved, but floored with planks of wood. From the great number of horses belonging to carts, that we saw unyoked, and straggling about on the sides of the road, it seems that it is not the custom for drivers to put up in the villages, but to turn them loose, and let them ramble where they choose. The owners, therefore, must have not a little confidence in the honesty of those who may pass by, for they leave their horses and goods quite unprotected, while they themselves indulge in sound sleep.

Beyond Khotilovo were beautiful views of two lakes, edged with wood, and scattered over with islands. Notwithstanding there is so much boggy land, the turf is not cut by the peasantry for fuel. In many parts the fields are inclosed with neat palings, and females were busy at the plough.

Volochok, in the government of Tver, where we next stopped, is pleasantly situated on high ground, with a river winding round it; and the interest of the scene is increased by a church in front of the road, which forms a picturesque object. In the great square in this town are three churches: the shops are under arcades, and the houses are of brick covered with plaster, painted yellow or white; and they looked doubly cheerful, after the gloomy and sombre aspect of the dark rude hovels of wood in the villages we had passed. Crowds of labourers were in waiting to be hired, and there were some hundred boats. We had not passed any tollgates, nor fortifications, castles, ruins, gentlemen's seats, or even windmills; neither did we observe a single gibbet; the absence of which forms an agreeable contrast to some countries, especially the Italian states, where the legs and arms of criminals are so very often to be beheld suspended from the top of poles. A stranger might, at first, feel himself under some apprehension on entering the long dark woods, as they seem well adapted to serve as haunts for banditti, yet we found no kind of danger even in the most gloomy, dreary, and solitary spots. A terrible sandy road leads from hence to Vonidropusk, which lies on the side of a navigable river, where a good inn was building. A great uproar took place here also among the peasantry,