Sechas 



sion, though this rule is generally waived, especially by those 

 possessed to only a limited extent of this world's goods. Portraits 

 of the Czar and Czarina are also to be found in nearly every 

 post-house, for the untutored moujik regards the Autocrat of All 

 the Russias in the light of a being to whom all must bow in 

 absolute submission. 



None of the people are ever in a hurry except where officialdom 

 is concerned, and then all are galvanised into activity, busthng 



A HALT AT A SIBERIAN POST-HOUSE. 



about to an extent that reveals the awe in which the ruling classes 

 are held. To the energetic Britisher, accustomed to promptitude 

 and despatch, the delays often met with and the lack of energy 

 displayed are most exasperating. 



If anything requires to be done the reply is " Sechas." Now 

 the definition of this word as given in the dictionary is " within 

 the hour," its idiomatic rendering being " immediately," but in 

 practice it means " to-day " or " to-morrow," or within a lifetime 

 if one is lucky. It is the first word one learns on entering the 

 Russian Empire and the last heard on leaving it. There arc 



411 



