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

THE HISTORY OF TIIELENEF.97

Xenie.* The amiability of this young person was an inborn virtue ; for, having early lost her mother, she had received no other education than that which her father could give her. He taught her French, and she learned, as it were by heart, some of the classics of the age of Louis XIV.; which had been left in the castle of Vologda by the father of the Prince. The Bible, the " Thoughts of Pascal," and Telema-chus were her favourite books. When but a small number of authors are read, when those authors are well chosen, and when their works are often re-perused, reading becomes very profitable. One of the causes of the frivolity of modern minds is the number of books badly read, rather than badly written, with which the world is inundated.

It would be rendering a service to the risin«· f>`ene-ration to teach them how to read, an acquirement which has become more rare since every one has learned how to write.

Thanks to her reputation for learning, Xenie, at the age of nineteen, enjoyed a well-merited influence

throughout the whole government of . People

came to consult her from all the neighbouring villages. In sickness, in disputes, in all the grievances of the poor peasants, Xenie was their guide and their support.

Her conciliating temper often brought upon her the rebukes of her father ; but the knowledge of having done some good, or prevented some evil, compensated for every thing. In a country where, in general, women have little influence, she exercised a power

* This pretty name is that of a Russian saintess.

VOL. П.F