DEPRESSED CONDITION OF WORKS. 113 



legally paying all dues, &c. But all that he could do was 

 — he secured for all parties in that neighbouroood the 

 privilege to consume 300 cubic fathom of wood a year j 

 and that only as an auxilliary to those works already 

 established possessing water power. But on no account 

 must any new works requiring steam power be erected. 

 And this concession he only received through the kind 

 intercession of the Empress. He was what we may call 

 church warden of her private chapel. 



' Allow me a passing reference to this man not intimately 

 bearing on this subject matter. I think I could write a 

 book about him, and I think you will acknowledge by-aud- 

 by he was worth a better tribute than I can pay him. 

 What I am about to relate I had from his own lips. 

 His grandfather was originally a serf in Rostofif. He 

 bought his own freedom, he then made himself a mer- 

 chant, and left his family 9,000,000 roubles. That's 

 something for a mujik to do, no matter how he has done 

 it ! I have his venerable daguerrotype taken when he was 

 90 years of age. He (the grandson) told me that their 

 house at one time employed 50,O0O hands all round ; that 

 they had passed through their books 135,000,000 I think it 

 was ; that they used to sell 450,000 poods of tallow a year — 

 I am afraid to say how many million sheep they knocked 

 on the head annually ; that they had given away .S50,000 

 roubles for the building of churches, schools, and charitable 

 institutions ; that they had lost 850,000 roubles on bad 

 debts, and yet they never brought a case into court ; that 

 they had been robbed incalculably by stewards, agents, and 

 employes, and never had prosecuted one. When they had 

 several millions in the bank his nephew had gambled it all 

 away. And at last his gay wife deserted him in his adver- 

 sity ; and yet he forgave her and pensioned her off. With 

 tears streaming down his cheeks he said to me in my own 

 house, " If I am a Christian I must imitate my Divine 

 Lord and Master, who expiring on the Cross exclaimed. 

 Father forgive them, they know not what they do." Let 

 his God and our God judge that man what sort of a 



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