PLANNING THE RIDE. 49 



The typical Russian horse dealer is a whiskered in- 

 dividual in wrinkled top-boots, loose black trousers, 

 a black frock coat, and a black cap with a patent- 

 leather peak. He is much given to wearing the shiny- 

 peak of his cap well down on the bridge of his nose, 

 in order that he may furtively examine the horse-buy- 

 ing section of humanity from beneath it. If the sub- 

 ject of his scrutiny happens to be a person not given 

 to close observation, the glint of the horse dealer's 

 peering eyes will be confounded with the glint of his 

 patent-leather peak, and he might easily be taken for a 

 man engaged in the pious examination of his own 

 conscience. 



After looking at a dozen horses, I gave it up, and 

 returned home to think up some other plan of getting 

 what I wanted. Though I had not bought a horse, 

 my ideas of the Russian horse dealer had undergone a 

 decided change. As arrant a knave as ever preyed on 

 the ignorance and credulity of others, his roguery is 

 yet of an order so crude and palpable as to seem ridic- 

 ulous in the eyes of one who has had dealings with the 

 same fraternity in America. 



I approached the Moscow horse-market in fear and 

 trembling, and came away horseless, but very much 

 amused. 



There is one method of arriving at the price of any- 

 thing, that seems to be applicable all over Russia. 

 The seller asks twice as much as he is willing to take, 

 and the buyer offers half as much as he is willing to 

 give. Commencing on this basis, the vendor gradu- 

 ally comes down in his prices, and the customer warily 

 advances, until a bargain is made. The Moscow horse 



