Another time, in the middle of October, there came on a violent storm of wind and snow, that drove all the people of Lustdorf within doors. It happened, however, that my host, the Schultz, went to liis door, to have a look at the weather, when he perceived two strangers of a mournful aspect, Avhom he recognised for English sailors, and who gave liim to midtrstand by signs that they were shipwrecked, and that their companions had not yet gained the shore. Being mindful of the quarantine laws, he commanded them in pantomime to touch nothing, and led the way to an empty slied, where he locked them in, and his wife provided them througli the windows with whatever they stood in need of. He then proceeiled to rouse tlie iiiliabltauts of tlie village, and on liasitoning to the sliorc thoy found eight poor half-fi-ozcn Englishmen, who were vainly endeavouring to climb up the rugged wall of the steppe, crusted over as it was with icicles and snow. Ropes were thrown down, and some of the crew were drawn up, but otliers were too weak to retain their hold, and fell back again. The ship had been lifted quite out of the water, and lay on the sand with the smf breaking furiously over her. There were still on board the ship's carpenter, the pilot, and the captain, who declared that he could not leave his chest, containing his money and the ship's papers, that he was incapable of lifting it alone, and his two companions were lying exliausted, helpless, and nearly frozen. The colonists did not dare venture on board the ship for fear of the plague, and the destruction of the three seemed inevitable, when at the last moment some of the quarantine soldiers made their appearance, went on board the vessel, and fortunately were not too late to save the remainder of the crew.
Besides these " perils by sea," there were also " perils by land," and the stories of travellers lost in the steppe by night, in the snow or fog, missing the light-house, and falling over the precipice, were as numerous and as terrible as those of sliipwreck.
The fortunes of the village of Lustdorf had greatly improved since the time of its first settlement, about thirty years ago, when it consisted of nothing more than a few poor reed huts, bestowed by the government on the first settlers, in which many of them perished from cold and hardship. After their experience of the sufferings of the first winter, they dug holes in the earth, and made themselves mud hovels in imitation of the Russians; and in the course of time, as their affairs improved, they found means to erect their present comfortable pleasant little houses, with large airy rooms and green blinds, sm-rounded by neat blooming flower-gardens.
The miseries of the early days of the settlement were described to me in lively terms by the aged mother of the Schultz, as I accompanied her to church on the mommg after my anival, which happened to be Sunday. The journey through Russia from their native country had lasted a year and a half, two summers and one winter, and had been attended with very great hardships. Many of the Germans had died before they had taken possession of the promised land. The emigrants had divided themselves into two parties, one going over Vienna, Moravia, and Gallicia, wintering there, and then continuing their journey through Podolia ; the other party going do\vn the Danube. The latter had sutlered most, for by the time they reached the mouth of the river an infectious disease broke out among them, which proved fatal to many. When at last the wanderers arrived at the end of their weary journey, they found land indeed, as they had expected, but the houses were miinhabitable, and the agricultural implements supplied were so bad as to be quite useless. The emigrants were totally ignorant, not only of the character of the country, but even of its latitude and geograpliical position, had no idea when to plough or to sow, or what to sow, and could learn none of these particulars from the Russians, for they knew not a word of their language. The more opulent of the emigrants were obliged to procure Russian servants, and trust entirely to their management, and the poorer to imitate blindly whatever they saw done by their richer neighbours, mitil their own experience had taught them better.
The liman lying nearest to that on which the village of Lustdorf is situated, and marked on our maps as the Siikhoi Liman^ is so thickly sown all round its banks with settlements, that it looks like a lake in