Miscellany

An old blind beggai used to be led every morning to a certain spot, wiiere lie re.. mained al! day, appealing to the chnrity of passers by. An old hat suspended on his breast, wüs !he rroeptaele for their offerings, and many of the lowest class cas-t ther liltle donatimsinto it, often dropping npiatac (i five kopeck piet-e) into the hal, and taking three or four kopecks out of it, telling the beggar at the same time how much ihey hnd addeJ to the slore. - As my friend's business ohligeil him to pass frequemly every day tluough the street, he had many opportunitiee for remarkitig ihe hourly increase in the contenls of the bat ; but he neer savv that ihe old man thought it nece;sarv to convince himself vvith his fingersthat he was füirly dealt vvith by those who took change Trom him, or ttiat it occuned to him to secure a part of his gains in his pocket. To me it seemed that such an instance of iniegrity nnd benevolencr on the one hand, nnd of unboundedconfidence on the other, speaks more stronglv than words can do for the character of a nation, and that in many another capital of civilized Europe a hpggar who should thus place himselfatthe mercy of unknown thousanda would be very npt to go home at niglit with an empty. hat. I was much struck by two phenomena, which prevalí, almost without exception, nll over Rusia. The first of these is the pity, I might almost say the respect evinced by every individual of the populnce towards all drunken persons. Good-naturd as the Russian generally is, he requires some prompting, at least in the greattowns, to lend a helping hand in casualties occuning in the si reets. If acarriage breaks down, he vvill perhnps stop a moment to gmtify his ouriority, anc then walk off without oflering any assistnnce ; but if a drunken man tumbles down ia Mie street, every one who sees him will hasten to affiird him the most assiduous care, regarding him almost as a sared being, fj-om whom it would be a most heinous crime to witlihold symputhy and protection. It is a comtnon thing to seo even wealdy persons take up such adrunken insensible lout on their shoulders, and to:ter along wi'.h him to tho nearpst house, where lie is sure of being kindly roceived, and nllowed to sleep off his debauch, afler which he is permitted to depart, with full stomach and something in his pocket. The other point, which is certainly more difticult to explain, is the extraoidinary good temper and amiability which the Russian displays in his cups. That which maddens people of other nations, and often hurries thenj into fatal brawls, has quile the contrary effect on the Russians. Even the cnptious nnd lesty become mfldness ilsolf in thirdnu.Á j and, common as intoxlcan'oti is in the countrv, ilie fac-t of Is leading lo brawlsand qtlarrels is alrnost unhenrd of. Even enemies, who are ful! of mutual abuse when sober, I rent each othcr like the mosffectionate friends when they are well soaked with brandv. Tlie progress of intoxicatíon in their drinking biuts, runs generally ihrougb the f.llowing scale :- First, ihey al' silent and reswed ; as their heads rarm, their tor.gues are loosened, nnd Iheir Innguage becomes more and more iflpctionme.and abounding in diminutivos, whmh the Russian always uses to express endearment. Prpna ihe commnn forms of appellation, such as mashcnnik- (rogue,) su.kiasnid-(siov, of a b- ,) and so forth, whidi no one take amiss, and ivhic-h may all be very exactl translated 'good fellow,' they sude giv.dually into the more engaging terms íurtushka- f daddy,) malushka- f mammy,) galovushka-(. Ite dovp,) rlushinka-(Uule soul.) &c - When their henrts have heen sufficiently mollified by those verbal endearmpnt, their fondness begins to manifest itself in more palpable tokens ; thsy throw their arms nround ench olhpr's neoks, nnd hue and kiss; and vvhen their biiss has at last renelied ils culminating point, they liold each other fust, beseeching and imploring mutual forgiveness of any faults they may ever have coinmilted ; then ihey swear eterna! friendship, nnd vow there s no. tliing they will not do for each other.- After this grnnd consummation, their overwrought feelings find relief in tears. They weep like ehüdren, hug anj kiss each other over again, beg pardon in nocents broken by sobs, make all sorts of pronrses to their denr doddies and lidio brothers, aad then dppart their several wavf, a!l hnppy to theiv lieart's content - except, of course, such of thern as are left lying under the table. From the constant hnbit of beggi.ng pardon, to which the commo,, Rus-sinn is addicted in his natural state, thaj is, when he is drunk, he has come to use the same phrase in a singular mnnner in his abnormal condition of bobriety. The only vernacular Rucian expression equivalsnt to our 'ñirewel!' is proslchai- fpardon me.)