At Kreitzburg there is a country-house belonging to General Korfe, Baron Stendal. The gentlemen understanding there was much game, sent to ask permission to take a few hours' diversion, which was granted, and the General sent a servant with dogs, to attend them. They hunt the hares here with greyhounds, taking out from ten or twelve to twenty dogs, which are all let loose at once, so that poor puss has of course small chance of escape. Indeed there was cause to suppose they had by this means extirpated the breed, or else the game-keeper did not think it requisite to show where the game was ; for the gentlemen soon returned, seeing no chance of finding what they sought.
At a few stations farther on, they told us there had been no hares seen for two years ; but previous to that time they were in great profusion.
We staid at Kreitzburg until Wednesday morning, not having been able to procure horses the preceding day: there was nothing to be seen in this place worthy a remark, except the house which I have already mentioned : our delay however served to refresh us, and we started better prepared to continue ourjourney. From Kreitzburg, we proceeded with little interruption (though very slowly, on account of bad roads), to the next station ; the following stage was still more tedious ; having verybad horses, one of the carriages was continually stuck fast, and all obliged to assist in getting it out of the mud again. The horses here are extremely small, about the size of our ponies, and the largest not bigger than those we call galloways, excepting some few of a superior description kept by private gentlemen, in the large towns. They have universally long manes and tails, which are kept on to protect them from the flies, c 2 which in the hot summer of these climates, are more particularly troublesome. The harness, as it belongs to the owners of the horses, and not to the carriage, is never very splendid.
The traces are usually ofrope; and a single rein of the same material serves the driver to guide the horses ; which are driven four a-breast, and by a short rein fastened to each other. To heavy carriages five or six horses are required, and the two additional ones, having a postilion upon one ofthem, are affixed by extremely long traces, and go before : the drivers are called yemtcheks.
The costume of the Russian peasant is very different to the English, and consequently very striking to English eyes. Whatever it may want in appearance it is substantially good, and well adapted to the severity of the climate.
The man's dress consists ofa shirt ofvery coarse linen, made with only a binding, or very narrow collar, round the top ; large full breeches of the same material ; a large pair of boots, or sometimes very coarse stockings, with shoes of the bark of the linden-tree ; a sheep skin with the wool inside, in the form ofa loose coat, and over this, when the weather is very cold, another coat of extremely coarse woollen cloth, often made with a hood : a cap of coarse cloth with a broad fur of some common kind, or more frequently sheep, or lamb skin, of about a hand's breadth in depth, around it. Thus equipped, they travel at all hours and in all kindts of weather, and might, but for their own imprudence, travel with impunity, and without fear of the cold; but they are extremely addicted to drunkenness, and in this state, it is said, many hundreds of them perish in a year. When the frosts are severe, and they are travelling in the night, the incautious useofthecommon spirit they call vatki, or brandy, overpowers their faculties, and they fall asleep while driving, and are frozen to death. The brandy in common use here is distilled from corn, and is something like English gin, but a more fiery spirit, and less agreeable to the taste; it is drunk in immense quantities, and a large share of the revenue derived from the duties upon it. This revenue continues to increase ; it has produced 68,000 rubles, and now probably brings a much larger sum. It is let to different contractors for a term of three years only; these contractors have a comptoir in each town for the sale ofthe brandy, and the retailer must have his license and his brandy from thence*.
They have but little knowledge in brewing, except at Petersburgh and Moscow, and few breweries elsewhere ; at these places they brew both ale and porter, but neither are at all equal to what is brewed in England. The common drink of the Russian is kvass^, which is not so good as our small beer ; it is sometimes made with flour and water, flavoured by herbs ; sometimes with different sorts of fruit, and this latter * Of brandy distilled from corn there is a consumption of five millions of vcdros, for which about one and a half million of tchetverts of corn, or ten millions of poods, are necessary.
The sale is a monopoly of the crown, and the right to distill it is confined (with the exception of a few privileged provinces), to the nobility who possess landed estates. See Tooke's Survey of Russia.
i Small ware, and water-like, but somewhat tart in taste. Turbfrville.
kind is a much pleasanter drink, though it is all sour; the method of making it is very simple; a large barrel is filled with fruit, sometimes plums, sometimes apples, crabs, wine sours, or in fact any fruit of which you have a sufficient abundance to make it from ; there is then put into the cask as much water as it will hold, and in fifteen days it is fit to drink. After a few gallons are drawn off, it, is filled up again with water, to make it last until the time of year when it can be made again. This sort ofkvass is however only made in South Russia, and where fruit is abundant and cheap.