CHAPTER VIII 



LISKI 



A Dissenting Parson Russians as Linguists The Russian Language The Liski 

 Brigade General Hahn " Language " Reserve Officers Russian Re- 

 mounts Horses of the Don How to break in Wild Horses Breaking at 

 Liski Difficult to Shoe How not to do it Russian Methods of Breaking. 



I LEFT St. Petersburg by train on a journey of forty- 

 one hours to my first brigade at Liski. When stopping 

 for an hpur or so at Moscow, which is about a third of the 

 way from Petersburg, a cheery young Briton who was a 

 resident of Moscow and who was an entire stranger to me, 

 confided to my care in a happy-go-lucky sort of a way, an 

 ancient American dissenting parson who was on a missionary 

 inspecting tour round the world, and who did not know a 

 word of any language except his own. He was a strong 

 believer in the good nature of the human race, and I did 

 my best not to undeceive him by helping him along with 

 German and a little Russian as far as I went. How he 

 managed to arrive at his destination, Tiflis, and then to 

 proceed on to India via Teheran, as he intended to do, I 

 have not heard. He was a simple-minded man who appar- 

 ently had no vices. He did not hanker after draw poker, 

 booze or even baccy, and was of an age when nous autres have 

 forsaken our vices, without waiting for our vices to forsake us. 

 Just before saying good-bye at the Liski station where I had 

 to get out, he asked me rather sadly if I were married. On 

 hearing my " Yes," he added : " I am an old bachelor. My 



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