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marched in a body to a church, where they take the oaths of allegiance and fidelity before a priest.

To return to the proceedings of the Board: we will suppose the business to begin with the examination of the conscripts furnished from the private estate of a noble.

At the president's order one of the corporals in attendance opens the door into the ante-room, and calls out for the peasants of Ivan Petroitch Pashkoff to be in readiness: the president then reads out A. B., the first name on the list of conscripts sent by Mr. Pashkoff.

“A. B., come in!" shouts the corporal, and in walks A. B. stark naked. He is first placed under the standard, the corporal on either side taking care that he holds himself upright, which he is not very willing to do.

"Five feet four inches," says the corporal. The president enters the man's height opposite to his name in a book; and the conscript is then handed over to the doctor, who pronounces him sound and fit for service. The field-officer then examines him, to ascertain that there is no peculiarity in his person, such as his being very much bandy-legged or knock-kneed, or having an extraordinarily-shaped head, which would interfere with his wearing uniform. He also pronounces his approval of the recruit. The president enters everything in his book, and simply calls out "Lop" (forehead). The corporal instantly shoves A. B. out of the room, shouting "Lop."-Lop, lop, is repeated in the ante-room, and the man is taken straight into another apartment, where his forehead is shaved, and he finds himself an enlisted soldier. In the mean time, C. D. appears before the Board. He is, perhaps, too short; for if a sheet of paper can be passed between the man's head and the measure marking five feet three, he is rejected; or else the doctor or inspecting officer finds that he is physically unfit for the service. The president calls out "Zatillac" (neck); C. D. is shoved out of the room; Zatillac, zatillac" is repeated in the ante-room; the back of the man's neck is shaved, and he is set at liberty. If a man declares himself to be labouring under any defect, or to be subject to any complaint unfitting

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* This is expressed in Russian in a manner which, if literally translated, would be unintelligible in English. Five feet three inches, it will be remembered, is the minimum height for a soldier.

him for a soldier, while the case is such that the truth cannot be ascertained at the moment, he is sent to the hospital for further examination, and a report on his case is sent to the Board the following day. These poor men often counterfeit fits and other infirmities, in order to avoid being enlisted; but if they are discovered, they are liable to severe punishment, and their privilege of claiming a discharge after twenty-five years' service is sometimes taken away from them.

When the turn of the crown peasants comes, three brothers perhaps enter together, one of whom is to be selected. They are accompanied by their father and mother, and their wives and children, if they have any; decency being laid aside, for the three young men, like all the conscripts, present themselves stark naked. The board, after referring to the register, and after hearing all that the men, or that their father and mother have to urge in their behalf, decide that it is justly the turn of this family to furnish a conscript. The three brothers are therefore measured and examined, as in the case which I have already described. The result we will suppose to be that the eldest is tall and healthy, but he has a wife and three or four children; the second measures but five feet two inches; and the third brother is a fine growing lad of eighteen. Of the three, therefore, the youngest is under age, and the second is under size. They, therefore, are legally exempted from the conscription, and the eldest brother must be taken away from his wife and family, and must become a soldier, unless the lad of eighteen will voluntarily consent to serve in his stead.

A scene now ensues, which is at the same time both pathetic and ludicrous. The elder brother and his wife, the father and mother, and the little children, all throw themselves on the ground and prostrate themselves repeatedly at the feet of the young man, beseeching him to have pity on the family of his brother, and to consent to be enlisted in his place. The poor lad looks with a bewildered air from one to another, not exactly knowing what to do; on the one hand, having no fancy to become a soldier, and, on the other hand, wanting resolution positively to refuse. He is pressed on every side, for the members of the Board add their exhortations to the entreaties of his family. Some bid him be a good Christian and sacrifice himself for his relatives, while others encourage him with the promise of

good treatment in the army if he will enter it. At last, completely overpowered, the poor boy musters up courage, crosses himself, and consents to be a soldier.

The conscription frequently gives rise to most pitiable scenes, when it happens that married men, or the sons of widows or aged parents, are torn away from families of which they were the chief prop and stay. The recruits often weep bitterly and lament their hard lot when they come before the Board to be examined; but the moment they are enlisted and their fate decided, they seem to cheer up and recover their spirits, as though they thought it useless to grieve any longer.

The Russian peasants are extremely attached to one another in their families, and it rarely happens that there is much difficulty in persuading a young man to devote himself for a relation. On the contrary, they often persist in doing so, for the sake of an elder brother, or an uncle, against the advice of all around them. The other day, a lad under twenty, whose married brother was nominated as a conscript, insisted upon coming here with him, in order, as he said, to see his fate. The man was accepted as a recruit, and the father, coming out, said to his younger son, who was waiting in the street, “They have taken your brother, Gabriel." Gabriel, without answering, rushed into the house, pressed through the crowd in attendance, and hurried, breathless, into the board-room, fearful of being too late to offer himself as a substitute for his married brother. He appeared, however, in ample time, and, being a fine young man, was readily enlisted in the place of the other,

The recruits, after being sworn in, receive at once a greatcoat and cap, a pair of boots, and some other necessaries; and they are then quartered in barracks, detachments being occasionally draughted off to the neighbouring towns. Their beards are immediately removed, the moustaches alone being left; and in this severe weather it is quite pitiable to see the raw chins of these poor fellows, who have just been shaved for the first time in their lives.*

*It will be observed that, in 1837, the average annual drain on the population of Russia, liable to the conscription, was only two and a half per thousand males.

K

LETTER XV.

Effects of charcoal vapour- The Russian stove - Warmth of housesFire-places Death from charcoal vapour Convicts on their way to Siberia - Rural police Punishment of a peasant -- Of a noble · The knout - Martial law - Running the gauntlet-Erroneous penal system-A General degraded to the ranks Prevalence of bribery A lucrative post-Want of public opinion - Inadequacy of legitimate emoluments.

Tamboff, December 23rd, 1837.

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IN my last letter I told you that the Emperor always sent one of his aides-de-camp into each province at the period of the recruitment. The officer * who is at present charged with this duty at Tamboff, and who has the good fortune to have attained the rank of Colonel at the age of thirty-two, nearly lost his life the other day in a most ignoble manner, namely, from the effects of charcoal vapour in his lodgings. Fatal accidents of this kind are not very uncommon in this country, arising either from ill-constructed stoves or from carelessness in those who have the charge of them.

The Russian stove is a sort of oven, with a flue which can be opened or closed at pleasure, and with apertures to admit the warm air into the room. The fire is made entirely with wood, and when it is lighted the flue is opened and the valves are closed. The fuel, as it burns out, is beaten small, and when it is entirely reduced to ashes and the flame and smoke have quite disappeared, the flue is stopped, a handful of salt being first thrown on the remains of the fire. In a couple of hours afterwards the valves may be opened and the hot air allowed

* (Note, second edition.)-The Emperor's aide-de-camp, Colonel Boutourlin, of the regiment of Chevaliers-Gardes, was an admirable specimen of the Russian officer of the best class. He combined the bearing of a soldier with the address and accomplishments of a finished gentleman, and his presence at Tamboff added during his stay a great attraction to the very agreeable society of the place. He died as he had lived-a soldier. General Boutourlin fell in Wallachia, in action, in 1854.

to circulate. If, however, the smallest piece of wood remains smouldering after the chimney has been closed, the poisonous vapour from the charcoal penetrates into the rooms. Its presence is easily detected from its smell, especially by those who enter from the open air; but sometimes the first intimation which those who are in the apartments have of the existence of vapour is given by a sudden and racking headache, which is followed in time by stupor and inability to move. If the vapour has been breathed for some time before it is detected, its effects are often felt for several days afterwards, if not followed by a fatal result.

Colonel Boutourlin, the aide-de-camp, had lain down to sleep on a sofa in the afternoon, and his servant awoke him, according to orders, at five o'clock. He got up and at once fell flat on the floor, feeling a strange confusion in his head, and, as he says, hardly knowing where he was. He managed to get on his legs, but he immediately fell again, and, rising up a second. time and endeavouring to make his way to the door, his servant fortunately heard him and came to his master's assistance; not, however, until he had fallen down a third time and cut his face severely against the sharp corner of the door. A doctor was immediately sent for, who at once discovered the cause of the attack in the presence of charcoal vapour. He bathed his patient's head with spirits of wine and eau de Cologne, and as soon as he was sufficiently recovered, he sent him out in an open carriage and ordered him to drive about for a considerable time for the sake of air. He continued very unwell for some days from the effect of the vapour, and his face is considerably marked by the bruises he sustained in his fall.

As soon as the poisonous vapour is detected, the windows are thrown open, however severe the cold may be, and the rooms are fumigated with burnt vinegar, the flue of the stove being at the same time unclosed.

When the stove, or peech as it is called, is badly constructed, no care can entirely preserve the rooms from vapour; since in this case the hot air, which, for some time after stopping the flue, is always pernicious, will find a way to escape from the stove even before the valves are opened.

If it were not for the danger attending them, which indeed

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