The purchases made by our friend Tchichikoff became the gossip of
the day, and created a great sensation in Smolensk. The whole town
conversed freely on the subject, opinions were given, and conclusions
arrived at, whilst questions arose whether it was a good speculation to
purchase serfs in the north, with the object in view of transplanting
or settling them in the south.
Animated, as the majority of persons are by a spirit of contradiction,
many pronounced themselves perfectly capable of enumerating all the
advantages and disadvantages on the great undertaking of the stranger.
"Certainly," said some one of them, "you are perfectly right on several
points, and your argument is as dear as it is obvious, no objection
can be raised against it: the soil in the southern provinces of the
Empire, and especially near the Crimea, is very rich and productive;
but his estate seems to be situated at some considerable distance from
the Dnieper, which flows through our very town, and what is our friend
Tchichikoff, and what especially are his serfs to do without a river?
for you cannot deny it--he has no river."
"Well, my dear Stephan Dmitrievitch, don't excite yourself, for
Heaven's sake don't, to be without a river is, after all, not so bad
as you seem to imagine, allow me to tell you, that the process of
emigrating and settling serfs, is by far the greatest difficulty. Is it
not well-known what our serfs are? to transplant them as it were upon
a fresh soil, and train them again to a foreign system of agriculture,
is, in my humble opinion, a herculean task, besides you must not
forget, that if the serf really arrives alive at his new destination,
he generally finds nothing to shelter his head under, but has to build
his own hut, though the cattle is found for him. Add to all these
disadvantages, and you know it as well as I, the desperate character of
those fellows, and you will come to the conclusion, that if they take
it in their heads to run away, you may but whistle after them, and this
argument you must allow to be as clear and conclusive as that two and
two make four."
"No, no, my dear Alexei Ivanovitch, allow me, pardon me, if I disagree
with you on that point, that the serfs of Tchichikoff should take
it into their heads to run away. The Russian is fit for everything,
and can accustom himself to any climate. Send him even to Siberia or
Kamtchatka if you like, but give him only a pair of leather gloves and
his hatchet, and you may depend upon it that he will clasp his fist,
and build himself another hut in no time."
"Allow me to tell you, Ivan Gregorievitch, that you have lost sight
of a very important fact indeed: you have forgotten to inquire of
what character Tchichikoff's new serfs are? You seem to forget that
a wise owner will never sell a good, industrious, and valuable serf.
I am ready to lay down my head upon the block, if Tchichikoff's
newly-acquired peasants are not one and all confirmed drunkards, and
riotous people, and thieves and murderers in the bargain."
"Just so, exactly, I agree with you on this point; and I will allow
that all Tchichikoff's slaves are confirmed drunkards, but we must also
take into consideration, that in this very fact lies the moral, yes, I
repeat it, in this fact lies the hidden moral, which has escaped your
penetration; as you justly observed, they are all scoundrels now, but
leaving their old abode, and settling in a different country, they
might easily become most valuable subjects. Such instances and examples
have been very frequent within our own country, as well as in other
empires, nay, even history proves them."
"Never, never," said the Inspector of the the Imperial Manufactories,
"believe me, such things can never happen, because Tchichikoff's
serfs are now going to encounter two formidable enemies: their first
antagonist will be the close proximity of the Malo-Russian provinces,
where, as you all well know, spirits of wine are sold duty free. I
can assure you that in less than two weeks they will become like
inner-soles from pure drinking. Their other enemy is their natural
disposition for idling and wandering about, which is sure to develope
itself most powerfully during the progress of their emigration. Unless,
indeed, Tchichikoff was to have them continually under his eyes, and
was to keep them with a strong hand like a Jamtchick his troika, scold
them for the least trifle, not trust to anyone else but himself, be
continually with and after them, and when occasion require it, treat
them like our great Emperor Peter did, even with his generals, namely,
give them a box in the ear, or a blow in the neck."
"But why should Tchichikoff take all the trouble to box their ears and
face himself, he could easily meet with a trustworthy steward to manage
his estate as well as his serfs."
"Oh, oh, find a trustworthy steward; but, my dear man, you forget that
they are generally all scoundrels, and the real blood-suckers of the
peasantry!"
"They are all rogues because of the indolence of the land owners, who
will not take the trouble and look after their own interest."
"You are perfectly right;" re-echoed the majority. "If our proud and
wealthy landowners were only to know a little of their household
interests and understand how to choose their confidants, matters would
stand quite different in our holy Russia, and stewards, would be honest
men."
One of the gentlemen present who happened to be an imperial manager,
hereupon said, that it was quite impossible to find a conscientious and
honest manager for less than five thousand silver roubles a-year. But
the President at once rejoined that such a virtuous man might even be
met with at three thousand a-year.
But the manager boldly rejoined: "where could you find such a person?
hanging about your elbows perhaps?" And the President in turn again
replied: "he is not exactly hanging at my elbow's ends, but at any rate
not far off from here, and if you like to know where, I can tell you
that he lives in my very district, and his name is Peter Petrovitch
Rasgerischin; and that is the very man that would suit our friend
Tchichikoff as a manager for his estates and serfs."
Many entered feelingly into Tchichikoff's position, and the
difficulties that would necessarily arise from the displacement of such
a large number of serfs, began to alarm them very seriously indeed;
in their apprehensions some of them went even so far as to predict the
possible outbreak of a riot, especially as the thought occurred to them
of what description the serfs of Tchichikoff were represented to be.
With reference to this latter contingency, the Commissioner of Police
observed, "that it was foolish to anticipate a riot, because a few
hundred peasants were about to emigrate, and admitting even that some
slight disturbances were to happen, there existed the power of the
Capitän-Ispravnik to stifle it in its very birth, and that if the
Capitän-Ispravnik did not choose to attend to the matter in person,
it would be quite sufficient for him to send his cap, which like the
policeman in England, would be powerful enough to drive the rioters
back to their duty and home in an incredibly short space of time."
Many others again offered their advice how the spirit of revolt--which
in their wise opinion of the serfs of Tchichikoff, was sure to break
out among them--could be repressed or prevented, especially when the
poor fellows, namely the serfs, were to be torn away from their native
soil, and perhaps the bosom of their families.
The opinions and suggestions on this point were numerous and original;
there were some who advised rather stringent measures, all replete
with military rigour, if not barbarity, at any rate of a very severe
nature indeed; however, there were also a few who advised kindness
and compassion. The Postmaster observed, that he was under a sacred
obligation, that it lay in his power to become a father to his slaves,
to use his own expression; introduce even among them the blessing of
moral and physical emancipation and enlightenment, at the same time he
did not forget to mention with great praise the Lancastrian system of
mutual education.
It was in such a manner that the good inhabitants of Smolensk
expressed, themselves on the subject of our hero's enterprise, and many
of them, overpowered by their goodwill towards him, even communicated
their suggestions personally to him, and even went so far as to offer
him the services of an escort, for the safer conveyance of his serfs
to their place of destination.
For their advice, Tchichikoff thanked them most cordially, saying, that
if he should have occasion he would not fail to avail himself of their
kind suggestions, but as for the preferred military escort, he declined
it in the most positive terms, assuring them at the same time, that it
would be perfectly unnecessary, as the peasants which he had bought
were all of an extremely mild character, and that they felt a free
and independent inclination to settle over in another country where
they were sure to feel happy; and that as to the anticipated riot,
which his friends apprehended, he assured them that under such happy
auspices this was a contingency which could impossibly happen among his
newly-acquired serfs.