ees, in which their
pantaloons were thrust, giving them a rakish and ruffianly appearance.
A few sat in their shirt-sleeves; and, judging by the color of their
shirts, as well as their skins, did not reckon soap among the luxuries
of life. Several of these savage-looking Mujiks were smoking some
abominable weed, intended, perhaps, for tobacco, but very much unlike
that delightful narcotic in the foul and tainted odor which it
diffused over the room. They were all filthy and brutish in the
extreme, and talked in some wretched jargon, which, even to my
inexperienced ear, had but little of the gentle flow of the Russian in
it. The tables were dotted with dice, cards, fragments of black bread,
plates of grease, and cabbage soup, and glasses of vodka and tea; and
the business of gambling, eating, and drinking was carried on with
such earnestness that my entrance attracted no farther attention than
a rude stare from the nearest group. No wonder they were a little
puzzled, for I was covered with ashes, and must have presented rather
a singular appearance. The three ruffians who had brought me in closed
the door, and motioned me to a seat at a vacant table. They then
called for tea, vodka, and quass, together with a great dish of raw
cucumbers, which they set to work devouring with amazing voracity.
During a pause in the feast they held a low conversation with the man
who served them, who went out and presently returned with a small
tea-pot full of tea and a glass, which he set before me. They motioned
to me, in rather a friendly way, to drink. I was parched with thirst,
and was not sorry to get a draught of any thing--even the villainous
compound the traktir had set before me; so I drank off a tumblerfull
at once. Soon I began to experience a whirling sensation in the head.
A cold tremor ran through my limbs. Dim and confused visions of the
company rose before me, and a strange and spectral light seemed shed
over the room. The murmur of voices sounded like rushing waters in my
ears. I gradually lost all power of volition, while my consciousness
remained unimpaired, or, if any thing, became more acute than ever.
The guests, if such they were, broke up their carousal about this
time, and began to drop off one by one, each bowing profoundly to the
landlord, and crossing himself devoutly, and bowing three times again
before the shrine of the patron saint as he passed out. It was really
marvelous to see some of these ruffians, so be