Page:Brandes - Poland, a Study of the Land, People, and Literature.djvu/30

18 a rule, do not even know the numbers. You tell them the name of the street, say, as soon as you come into it, "to the left" or "to the right," and signal them when to stop. In the country the ignorance of everything to be learned from books must be extraordinary. Nevertheless, it recently happened that a young lady, who on her own estate was privately teaching four or five peasant children, received an injunction from the highest judicial officer of the district to desist immediately, since he, who had known her parents, was very unwilling to be the cause of her being sent far away, which would inevitably be the result if she, by continuing her efforts, compelled him to make a report thereon.

Whenever prosperous and patriotic people have asked permission to establish Polish country schools they have been refused. When at last several rich Poles, in their despair at the low level of civilisation of their people, gave way, and with the idea that Russian teaching was better than none at all, began to open Russian schools, no one attended; the peasants preferred ignorance to instruction in a foreign tongue.

Now and again the government stretches the bow so tightly that it breaks. For instance, about ten years ago an ukase provided that all domestic letters should be directed in Russian characters. When as a result of this, the number of letters was so greatly reduced that a considerable falling off in the postal receipts was perceptible, they were compelled to allow the decree to lapse.

The arrangements which tend to bring the ownership of the soil into Russian hands correspond to the endeavours of the government to Russianise the language. When the last great revolt was suppressed, an ukase was issued (Dec. 10, 1865) which prohibited the Poles from acquiring any land in the old Polish provinces of Lithuania, Podolia, Wolhynia, and Ukrainia, nay, which prohibited their bequeathing their real estate in these provinces to any other persons than their lineal descendants. Yet according to law, since the revolt there have been no Poles; they are all Russians. Even the Kingdom of Poland is called officially Vistulaland. It was thought, therefore, that by Poles the government