Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

106 PASTOEAL LIFE OF THE PEASANTS.

monotony has a certain charm for minds capable of enjoying solitude : the silence is profound in these unvarying scenes ; and sometimes it becomes sublime on a desert plain, whose only boundaries are those of our power of vision.

The distant forest, it is true, presents no variety ; it is not beautiful: but who can fathom it ? When we remember that its only boundary is the wall of China, we feel a kind of reverence. Nature, like music, draws a part of her potent charm from repetitions. Singular mystery! — by means of uniformity she multiplies impressions. In seeking for too much novelty and variety there is clanger of finding only the insipid and the clumsy, as may be seen in the case of modern musicians devoid of genius ; but on the contrary, when the artist braves the danger of simplicity, art becomes as sublime as nature. The classic style—I use the word in its ancient acceptation

—had little variety.

Pastoral life has always a peculiar charm. Its calm and regular occupations accord with the primitive character of men, and for a long time preserve the youth of races. The herdsmen, who never leave their native districts, are unquestionably the least unhappy of the Russians. Their beauty alone, which becomes more striking as I approach the government of Yaro\vslaw, speaks well of their mode of life.

I have met — which is a novelty to me in Russia

—several extremely pretty peasant-girls, with golden

hair, excessively delicate and scarcely coloured com

plexions, and eyes, which though of a light blue, are

expressive, owing to their Asiatic form and their lan

guishing glances. If these young virgins, with fea-·