e southern frontier was pushed forward
slowly, the acquired territory was regularly filled up by Russian
peasants from the central provinces who were anxious to obtain more land
and more liberty than they enjoyed in their native villages; but during
"the glorious age of Catherine" the frontier was pushed forward so
rapidly that the old method of spontaneous emigration no longer sufficed
to people the annexed territory. The Empress had recourse, therefore,
to organised emigration from foreign countries. Her diplomatic
representatives in Western Europe tried to induce artisans and peasants
to emigrate to Russia, and special agents were sent to various countries
to supplement the efforts of the diplomatists. Thousands accepted the
invitation, and were for the most part settled on the land which had
been recently the pasture-ground of the nomadic hordes.

This policy was adopted by succeeding sovereigns, and the consequence of
it has been that Southern Russia now contains a variety of races such as
is to be found, perhaps, nowhere else in Europe. The official statistics
of New Russia alone--that is to say, the provinces of Ekaterinoslaf,
Tauride, Kherson, and Bessarabia--enumerate the following nationalities:
Great Russians, Little Russians, Poles, Servians, Montenegrins,
Bulgarians, Moldavians, Germans, English, Swedes, Swiss, French,
Italians, Greeks, Armenians, Tartars, Mordwa, Jews, and Gypsies. The
religions are almost equally numerous. The statistics speak of Greek
Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Gregorians, Lutherans, Calvinists, Anglicans,
Mennonites, Separatists, Pietists, Karaim Jews, Talmudists, Mahometans,
and numerous Russian sects, such as the Molokanye and the Skoptsi or
Eunuchs. America herself could scarcely show a more motley list in her
statistics of population.

It is but fair to state that the above list, though literally correct,
does not give a true idea of the actual population. The great body
of the inhabitants are Russian and Orthodox, whilst several of the
nationalities named are represented by a small number of souls--some of
them, such as the French, being found exclusively in the towns. Still,
the variety even in the rural population is very great. Once, in
the space of three days, and using only the most primitive means of
conveyance, I visited colonies of Greeks, Germans, Servians, Bulgarians,
Montenegrins, and Jews.

Of all the foreign colonists the Germans are by far the most numerous.
The ob