ARRIVAL AT THE HUNTING GROUNDS 121 



any other religious denomination, which in itself 

 argues originality of a very high order. Marriage with 

 them is not a Sacrament. They have the honesty to 

 call it a glorified toss-up, and those people whom God 

 cannot — obviously — have joined, the Dukhobors do 

 not try and gyve together. Love is the fulfilling of 

 the law — Nature's primitive statute. Well, we are 

 great on that in England. And when it becomes a 

 man's first maxim instead of being, as at present, his 

 last, we shall all, Dukhobors and the rest of us, get 

 the niillennium. 



Every Dukhobor possesses the pioneer turn of 

 mind, unlike the average lower-class Russian, and in 

 their thrifty hands agriculture is raised to an art. Their 

 Orthodox brethren will tell you that the Dukhobors 

 were a finer people when they were perpetually waging 

 moral battles for their beliefs, and have it that the 

 tenets of the sect are considerably slacker than in the 

 days of suspicion and distrust which followed on 

 their banishment. This is as may be. Prosperity, 

 the world over, is very like matrimony ; it doesn't 

 suit everybody. 



Where the world's way joined a lonesome shepherds' 

 track we came on a last o utpost duchan , which suggested 

 mild refreshment. The proprietor gave Ali to under- 

 stand that he was much too ill to be troubled with us, 

 and if we wanted anything we must get it for ourselves. 

 Excellent red wine he had, indicating by a jerk of his 

 thumb in what direction the treasure lay, but it was 

 expensive, everything was expensive, how else should 

 it be? 



