ABUSES CONNECTED WITH EXPLOITATION. 131 



carried out ; but there come in mutual operations of the 

 legally right and morally wrong principle which is so pre- 

 valent in Russia, which I have referred to before. When 

 your petition is presented, if it be unaccompanied by some- 

 thing to make it presentable, it will be a long time before 

 it is answered, and you may long dance attendance before 

 there is time to attend to you. There is such an awful 

 press of business — so many to be attended to before your 

 turn comes ! The proper authorities are not at home, gone 

 to other districts, cannot tell when will be best ; and 

 when it does come your quittance is numbered for the most 

 distant estate in the boundary of your town, perhaps 40 or 

 60 versts off, instead of 8 or 12, and what are you to do ? 

 What can you do? The thing is legally right, and that 

 brings up the price of your firewood a rouble, or 1"50 

 roubles a sajen or more, if you can get it cut at all. But to 

 whom can you complain? And what have you to complain 

 of? But take personally — you cannot send — a good round 

 douceur in proportion to the quantity required, say about 

 a fourth of what it would otherwise cost you, and you will 

 bring back the order with you for the Under Forest Com- 

 missioner to allow you to commence operations at once on 

 the estate under his care — but it does not say where, so 

 you have not done yet. There is more oil to be made use 

 of; it is a long time before the machinery moves, and 

 when it does, the wood is not of the kind and in the place 

 you want, and only the money leverage will remove that 

 obstacle. But you have not done yet. There are all the 

 under strappers, whose eyes have got to be bandaged, and 

 whose mouths have got to be stopped with paper roubles. 

 And you have not done yet ; you have now to give the order 

 into the hands of a wood-cutter, and you make another 

 agreement with him for delivery on your grounds of the 

 quantity specified at so much per sajen, hard money 

 down ; but it is an understood thing by all parties that the 

 operation will not be strictly looked after, that is, when 

 all parties are satisfied, so you get double or triple the 

 quantity of wood you have paid dues for. That is, if your 



