A correspondent at St. Petersburg got the following incident through the
censor:
“A Cossack hero, Kuzma Kriachkoff, who received eleven wounds in an
outpost affair against the Germans and attracted the special attention
of the Emperor while in the hospital at Moscow and petitioned to be
allowed to return to his regiment, has arrived at Vilna, on his way to
the front.
“A Russian who has just returned from the wilds of Novgorod Province,
far from the railways, gives an interesting account of the attitude of
the peasantry toward the war and the action of the Government in
prohibiting the sale of alcoholic drinks. He says:
“‘I stopped at a little inn on the high road and ordered tea and
something to eat. Some mujiks were there discussing their own affairs
over the teapots. “The Lord be thanked, all Russia is happy now,” said
one. I was interested to know why, and was told in a surprised tone,
“Why, they’ve shut the drink shops, and all our men are as rosy-cheeked
as lassies now.”’”