278 THROUGH RUSSIA ON A MUSTANG. 



peddling bunches of Astrakhan lamb-skins so beauti- 

 fully dressed as to tempt almost anybody to buy. 



There is a hide and peltry section, where Tartar fur- 

 riers may be seen currying Siberian sables, bear-skins, 

 and all manner of costly furs. There is a part devoted 

 to the sale of nuts, the trade of which seems to be in 

 the hands of the Persians, who can fill your order from 

 stock in hand, whether it be for ten kopecks' worth 

 of walnuts to crack and eat, or for twenty tons of a 

 dozen varieties. 



There is a quarter occupied by temporary booths 

 and stalls, where crowds of Russian peasants, the men 

 in red shirts and the women in red dresses and red 

 'kerchiefs, are purchasing or cheapening red calico, and 

 all manner of red and other bright colored wearing 

 apparel. 



And close by is the show quarter, where twenty rival 

 showmen and an extremely loud-mouthed crowd of 

 assistants are hooting, whistling, beating gongs, drums, 

 tins, and extracting from all manner of wind instru- 

 ments a very Bedlam of noises. Here may be wit- 

 nessed to the best advantage, perhaps, the childlike 

 innocence and gullibility of the moujik, his wife and 

 daughters. These simple folk are to be seen in the 

 densest throngs, gazing in mute wonder at the cheap 

 paintings on the booth fronts of the showmen who 

 succeed in kicking up the greatest and most unearthly 

 racket. This is very likely their first experience of city 

 and fair life, and the tremendous difference between 

 the outside and inside of these places is as yet un- 

 suspected. A curious feature of this place to the for- 

 eigner is that soldiers in uniform are employed by the 



