VISITING THE POOR PEASANTS 65 



interested party of peasants, mostly the family 

 of the publican. Hearty thanks came from the 

 head of the family to be sent to America for the 

 money given to buy the Conemaugh's cargo. One 

 of them, gazing at me with wonder at the prodi- 

 gality of our lunch of sandwiches and sardines, 

 said in a tone of great surprise, in Russian, and 

 translated for me by the Count " My! He even 

 wears a hat like our own/ It was evident that 

 one coming so far on such a mission was expected 

 by them to wear at least a red hat and to have 

 some gilt trimming on his coat. 



Early next morning Count Vladimir Bobrinskoy 

 with his sister left for some hospital work in a 

 distant village. With Count Paul, the younger 

 brother, I set out in a tarantass with three stout 

 horses for a drive of a hundred versts through the 

 country. The roads are simply wagon tracks 

 through open fields and, at long intervals, across 

 unbridged streams. We twice crossed the river 

 Don upon bridges of most rickety construction, 

 consisting of logs covered with earth and stone, 

 in one case so narrow that we were obliged to take 

 off one of our three horses before we could get on. 

 The snow had long since disappeared, disclosing 



