s life, unless he could climb a tree or a rock out of
their way. I dreaded famine more than anything else. Had I been able
to buy food wherever I could find it, I might have carried enough to
enable me to get on from one farm or one village to another without
difficulty, but, as this I was afraid to do, I was obliged to husband my
provisions. I found in the woods an abundance of wild fruit, such as
strawberries and raspberries, which grow plentifully in the woods; also
of many roots, with the nature of which I was well acquainted. Besides
roots, there were many varieties of mushrooms, and I had a small pan
with me in which I could cook them.

"It was a wild sort of life I was leading. Sometimes for days together
I did not speak a word to a fellow-creature. Now and then I fell in
with woodcutters, but they were poor men who knew how to commiserate
those in distress, and seldom asked me questions. The greatest
assistance I received was from men of my own faith. Our tenets have
spread far and wide throughout the whole of the south of Russia, and I
had no difficulty in discovering those who held them. I at first had
little hopes of meeting with any friends, but He who governs by His will
the mighty universe, and without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls to
the ground, directed me to one. I one day had just climbed a tree after
my night-march, and was commending myself to my Maker before going to
sleep, when, as I looked once more around me, I saw coming through the
wood an old man and a young lad. By their dress, and the hatchets in
their belts, I knew that they were woodcutters. I thought, perhaps,
that they might cut down the very tree I had climbed into; however, they
went on a little way, and then, throwing aside their axes at the foot of
a tree, they knelt down together and offered up their morning prayers.
Then they sang a hymn, which our brethren often use when met together
for worship. The sounds cheered my heart; I knew at once that they were
friends. I quickly descended the tree, and went up to them. At first
they were afraid, thinking that I was a spy upon their actions, but a
few words reassured them. I told them at once my story, for I knew that
I was in safe hands. They promised to assist me as far as they had the
power. I by this time much wanted help. My provisions were well-nigh
exhausted, my feet sore, and my boots worn out. I required a day's
rest, and here was an opportunity of enjoy