54 
MOSCOW. 
chap, peasant, as he passed, to sit down in his 
„ .... khabitka, and then they covered him also with 
the black and stinking mud. At this unex- 
ampled instance of cruelty and insult, some 
of the peasants, more spirited than the rest, 
ventured to murmur. Instantly, blows, with a 
heavy cudgel, on the head and shoulders, 
silenced the poor wretches’ complaints. Before 
this began, the two sentinels at the gate had 
stopped every bhabilka, as it passed, with a 
very different motive. First, a loud and 
menacing tone of voice seemed to indicate some 
order of Government; but it was quickly 
silenced, and became a whisper, in consequence 
of a small piece of money being slipped into 
their hands by the peasants ; when they passed 
on without further notice. If the practice con- 
tinues, the post of sentinel at a Russian barrier 
must be more profitable than that of a staff- 
officer in the service. We were witness to 
upwards of fifty extorted contributions of this 
nature, in the course of half an hour, when the 
plunder ended as has been described. 
A miserable whiskered figure on horseback, 
intended for a dragoon, was now appointed to 
conduct us to the Commandant’s ; and here our 
poderosnoy, together with our other passports, 
underwent a second examination. The snow 
