FOR THE CHILDREN.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2540, 20 October 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

FOR THE CHILDREN.

Known By His Hat. A Russian Peasant's Auventure. When Peter the Great was reigning in Moscow, and St Petersburg was not yet built, a Russian peasant in a tattered sheepskin frock was cutting turf in a lonely spot on one of the great plains of Central Russia. It was a burning summer day, and his work had made him very hot and tired ; but one could see by his downcast face and hanging head that some great trouble was pressing harder upon him than even this fatiguing labor. Looking up, in one of the pauses of his work, the turf-cutter saw a tall young man coming slowly over the plains to meet him. The newcomer wore the

green gold-laced uniform of the Palace 1 Guards, but the lace was so failed, and the coat itself so threadbare, that one would have judged this officer to be either a very careless man or a very poor one. "He looks as if he had lost his way," muttered the peasant, as the stranger halted and glanced doubtfully around him, " I must see if I can put him right it's always a comfort, when one's in trouble one's self, to help somebody else out of it. "The young officer, however, did not look like a man who would need much help from any one. He was immensely tall, taller by far than any one whom the peasant had yet seen, and his broad chest, and long sinewy limbs showed signs of enormous strength. His smooth, handsome face wore a rather sad look, and he walked slowly, as if either tired or in deep thought; but there was an air of unconscious power in his upright bearing in the firm set of his head, as if he felt himself to be a match, and more than a match, for anything that he might meet. Altogether, he seemed to be a sort of man whom one would much rather have for a friend than for an enemy. " Hallo, brother'!" cried the stranger in a deep strong voice, "am I far from the village of Volkhoff? I think I have gone wrong somehow." "Your honour has gone wrong, indeed," answered the peasant, shaking his head ; " It's a long way to Volkhoff from here. You must keep eastward till you come to a big tree standing all by itself, and then you must turn southward as far as a small lake. Then, after that, you'll make a big bend round to the right, and—" " Oh, I shall never be able to remember all that," said the officer laughing. " Suppose you come along with me and show me the way yourself ?" "I'd do it gladly your honor," said the peasant hesitatingly, " but you see if I lose my day's work, then—" " You shall lose nothing by helping me, be assured of that," said the young man, gravely. " How much do you earn in a day !" "Twenty kopecks." (Fifteen cents.) "Twenty kopecks." echoed the stranger, looking down pityingly at the poor, tired man, who worked so hard for such scanty pay. " Well, here's a rouble (thirty-seven cents) for you, and now come along. By the bye," he added, " if we pass near your house, you might carry your turf home at the same time.' 1 " It would require two journeys to do that, your honor." ~

I " Two ? Why these four baskets would surely hold it all." " There's not a man in Russia, your honor, who could carry all four at once, when they're full. The two smallest are enough for me." " Not a man in Russia, eh ?" said the young officer. " We'll try that. Sling those four baskets over my shoulders, and then fill them." The labourer hesitated but the young, man spoke like one accustomed to being obeyed. As he stooped to receive the baskets, the peasant Blung them over his shoulders, two before aud two behind, and then piled in the turf till all four were full to the top. Then it was a sight to see the great towering figure rise slowly to its full height und.er |

that load, and strido away briskly that the amazed peasant had hard work to keep up. A short walk brought them to the wretched hovel that was the pour turf cutter's only home; and while tho latter was emptying his baskets, the stranger's keen eyes were noting the miserable and poverty stricken look of the whole place. A few kind words spoken as they started again went straight to the poor peasant's overburdened heart, and the whole story of his grief came out. Some years before, he had bought at a high price, from a rich neighbour, a small patch of ground that had proved to bo worth hardly anything at all. Moreover, not being able to make up tho full purchase at the time he had got into debt, and the debt kept growing larger and larger, from the high rate of interest charged upon it, till lie was almost driven to despair. ) " It don't seem fair, does it ? "ho concluded ; " but what can I do ? He's rich, and I am poor and friendless." " Can such things be done in Russia ? muttered the officer. "It is, indeed, time for a change ! " His great black eyes lighted up as he spoke, with a flash of such terriblo auger that the peasant shrank in dismay. But the young man asked, as quietly as ever : "Why don't you complain to tha Czar ? " " Tho Czar !" echoed the labc- r. " What does he care for a poor peasant ?" " It's worth trying, though," said tho young mau earnestly; "for yours is really a hard case. Come, I'll tell you what I'll do ; I'm going to Volkhoff to meet the Czar and his officers, who will be there to-day ; and I can get a chance of speaking to him, for I belong to his bodyguard." " Me speak to the Czar ? " " Why not ? He's only a man like you and me. I've spoken to him myself, and I'm none the worse." ' But how shall I know him among 1 all his officers ? " "All the rest will have their hats off, but the Czar will keep his on." Half an hour later, just as they came insight of Volkhoff, a group of richly dressed horsemen rode up, who, the moment they saw the tall officer, sprang from their horses and took off their hats. The peasant's suuburned face turned white as a sheet, and he glanced with a bewildered air from the officers to his tall companion, whose face wore a queer smile. " Well, brother," he added, " have you found out the Czar yet ?" " Well," said the peasant, staring as if his eyes would start from his head, " it must be either you or I, for all the rest have their hats off !" " So it seems," laughed Peter the Great. " Well, my lad, Prince Mentchikoff here will see you righted, and tho rascal who oheated you punished as he deserves ; and I hope you will never again think the Czar unmindful of the troubles of his people,"—The Cosmopolitan.