w took to horse exercise, accompanying
their host as he rode round his estate, and visited the various
villages upon it.

The houses in these villages astonished the boys. Built of mud, of one
story only and flat-roofed, they each occupied a large extent of
ground; for here whole families lived together. As the sons grew up
and married, instead of going into separate houses, and setting up
life on their own account, they brought their wives home, as did their
children when their turn came also to marry, so that under one roof
resided as many as four generations, counting some forty or fifty
souls altogether.

Each village had its headman, who settled all disputes, but against
whose decision, if it failed to give satisfaction, there was an appeal
to the master. The serfs worked, the count told the boys, without pay,
but they had so many days in each month when they cultivated the land
which was common to the village. They could, the count said, be sold,
but in point of fact never were sold except with the land.

"It's a bad system, and I wish that they were as free is your laborers
are in England."

"Of course our people cannot be sold," Jack said, "but after all
there's not so much difference in that respect, for if an estate
changes hands, they work for the new owner just as yours do."

"Yes, but your laborers cannot be killed or even flogged by their
masters with impunity."

"No, I should think not," Jack exclaimed. "We should have a revolution
in no time, if masters were to try that sort of thing."

"I fear that we shall have one too, some day," the count said, "unless
the serfs are emancipated. The people are terribly ignorant, but even
among them some sort of enlightenment is going on, and as they know
better they will refuse to live and to work as mere beasts of burden."

"Will they be better off, sir, than before?" Dick Hawtry asked. "I
have heard my father say that the negroes in the West Indian islands
are worse off than they were in the days when they were slaves. They
will not work except just enough to procure themselves means of
living, and they spend the rest of their lives lying about and
smoking."

"It would no doubt be the same thing here," the count said, "for a
time. The Russian peasant is naturally extremely ignorant and
extremely fond of 'vodka.' Probably at first he would be far worse off
than at present. He would be content to earn enough to live and to get
drunk upon, and wide tracts