278 A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 



I never saw a more lamentable parody of Christian 

 ceremonial than at this so-called wedding. The people 

 seemed to have no idea of the meaning of what they 

 did, and in any case they would have been too drunk to 

 understand the rite. The pope, however, was quite 

 pleased, and said to us complacently : 



"Now you have seen a real Russian marriage." 

 All the next day we crawled up the coast against 

 the wind, stopping here and there to take cargo on 

 board. We were anxious about the future of Joseph 

 Gerasimvitch, who seemed to have no idea of what he 

 was going to do after he arrived at Krasnoyarsk. 

 Meanwhile, as the third-class passengers were expected 

 to provide their own food, he had nothing to eat but 

 what his fellow-travellers were charitable enough to 

 allow him. Perhaps it was the strain of knight-errant 

 Polish blood in him which sent him out to open the 

 world-oyster with nothing in his hand nor in his pocket 

 but his Sunday cap and his clasp-knife. It was easy 

 enough to imagine Joseph setting fox-traps or hewing 

 wood at Golchika ; but how would he fare when he 

 reached the towns, and brains as well as muscle were 

 needed ? He did not lack shrewdness of a certain kind, 

 but he was so simple, and so diffident, that it was 

 doubtful whether he would be able to push his way 

 among other men. When urged to tell such and such a 

 possible employer that he was a skilful workman, all he 

 would say was, " But how can I say such a thing of 

 myself, when there are scores who are better than I ? " 



Poor Giant ! As I write these lines I remember 

 his slow good-nature, his handsome face, and his 



