Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/65

Rh ; but as soon as you have made your selection the rejected ones drop away and leave you undisturbed.

"There is something interesting in the manner of the isvoshchik, especially in the marked contrast before and after he has made a bargain with you. Until the transaction is closed, he is as independent as the hackman of New York or the cabby of London. The moment the bargain is settled and he has accepted your offer, he is your willing slave. Offer



him forty copecks an hour, and he refuses, while demanding fifty or sixty; you walk on, and he pretends to go away, and if your offer is unreasonably low he will not trouble you again. Suddenly he reins up his horse close to the sidewalk, springs from his seat, and with the word Poshowltz (’If you please') he motions you to enter the carriage. He is now at your service, and will drive just as you desire; your slightest wish will be his law.

"Doctor Bronson told us we must learn how to count in Russian, and also acquire a few phrases in common use; the more of them we could learn the better. While on the train from Warsaw to St. Petersburg we learned to count. I think we did it in about two hours, as it was really