Part II
Chapter 1
WhydoIsopersistentlypaintthepoverty,theimperfectionsofRussianlife,anddelveintotheremotestdepths,themostretiredholesandcorners,ofourEmpireformysubjects?Theansweristhatthereisnothingelsetobedonewhenanauthor’sidiosyncrasyhappenstoinclinehimthatway.Soagainwefindourselvesinaretiredspot.Butwhataspot!
Imagine,ifyoucan,amountainrangelikeagiganticfortress,withembrasuresandbastionswhichappeartosoarathousandverststowardstheheightsofheaven,and,toweringgrandlyoveraboundlessexpanseofplain,arebrokenupintoprecipitous,overhanginglimestonecliffs.Hereandtherethosecliffsareseamedwithwater-coursesandgullies,whileatotherpointstheyareroundedoffintospursofgreen—spursnowcoatedwithfleece-liketuftsofyoungundergrowth,nowstuddedwiththestumpsoffelledtrees,nowcoveredwithtimberwhichhas,bysomemiracle,escapedthewoodman’saxe.Also,ariverwindsawhilebetweenitsbanks,thenleavesthemeadowland,dividesintorunlets(allflashinginthesunlikefire),plunges,re-united,intothemidstofathicketofelder,birch,andpine,and,lastly,speedstriumphantlypastbridgesandmillsandweirswhichseemtobelyinginwaitforitateveryturn.
