CHAPTER X.
A WINTER’S DRIVE IN RUSSIA.
THE summer was not yet over, but the weather had changed; the days were a little shorter, and the children could no longer bathe regularly, for it was often very stormy; and the waves were so very high and rough, that they only went down to the sea-shore to watch the big waves rising up high, and then, bending their white heads over, come dashing high up on the shore—often so high that the two little girls had to run away fast, for fear that the waves should cover their feet.
‘Beatrice!’ said Alice, one day, ‘you ought to learn “Roll on, roll on, you restless waves.”’
‘I do know it, Alice; only I cannot say all of it.’
‘Then I will teach it you,’ said Alice; and she repeated all four verses several times, till little Beatrice could say them nicely.
Grandmamma was very pleased when they came home, to hear little Beatrice say the following pretty verses to her:
‘Roll on, roll on, you restless waves,
That toss about and roar;
Why do you all run back again
When you have reached the shore?
‘Roll on, roll on, you noisy waves,
Roll higher up the strand;
How is it that you cannot pass
That line of yellow sand?’
‘We may not dare,’ the waves reply:
‘That line of yellow sand
Is laid along the shore, to bound
The waters and the land.
‘And all should keep to time and place,
And all should keep to rule—
Both waves upon the sandy shore,
And little boys at school.’
And grandmamma kissed both the little girls, and said that they were good children.
One day it was very stormy; the rain fell fast, the wind howled and whistled, and the children could not go out.
‘I fear that the summer is nearly over; but it is very early,’ said grandmamma, ‘to have such stormy weather. You have both been very good and attentive; will you like to hear something more about Russia and the cold winter there? But, Alice, take that tea-cloth to hem, and, Beatrice, bring your old dress, I will show you where to unpick it; and when you are both of you busy and quiet, I will begin.’
Grandmamma took her work, and began thus:—
‘It was in winter, when your dear mamma and aunt were both little children of about your age; the snow was very deep, and the weather had been very cold; and all the rivers were frozen so hard that every one could drive across them. In Russia there are a great many bogs, which in summer are so wet and soft that no one can go near them; but in winter, people drive on the frozen bogs when they are covered with snow.’
‘But why do not people drive along the roads in winter?’ asked Alice.
‘Because the roads are often filled with snow-drifts, and also because it is often much straighter and nearer to drive across the rivers and the bogs. But it is very difficult, when dark, to find the road on these wide and lonely moors or bogs, especially when it snows, and the fresh falling snow covers the track.’
‘Were you not afraid, grandmamma, to drive in those lonely places?’
‘At first I was, my Alice, but I soon became accustomed to it.’
‘Please, Alice, do not talk,’ said little Beatrice.
‘Well, my dear children, I was telling you what a cold winter we had; but though the weather was very cold and rather stormy, your dear mamma and aunt drove with me one afternoon in a large sledge drawn by two black horses, and my good old coachman drove us, and a man servant was with us. We drove to call on one of our neighbours, and, as is the custom in that part of the country, we stayed to tea there. The tea was late and the servants slow, for after I had given the order that our sledge should come round it was delayed; and I inquired several times, and grew impatient, for I did not like to keep my two little girls up so long, or drive home across the lonely moor so late at night, and we had six or seven miles to drive.
‘At length I was told that my sledge was at the door; and my little girls were soon dressed in their warm winter cloaks and bonnets, and the servants covered us well with our rugs lined with fur, and we had some pillows put in over our feet to keep us warm.
‘When we set off, and I could look about me a little, I found that the weather was very bad; the snow fell fast, and the wind blew hard, and drifted the snow in heaps across the road, so I knew at once that our drive home would be slow and tedious.
‘The horses have bells in winter; and they shook their heads, and the bells sounded cheerfully; and the horses set off briskly homewards until we came to the great bog. At first all went well, and I was glad, till we came to about half-way; the coachman then began driving very slowly, and at last stopped the horses.
‘“What is the matter, Mart?” I asked; “have you lost the road?”
‘“Yes, ma’am, I have; and the horses sink into the snow so deep that they can hardly go on.”
‘The footman jumped down, and said that he would go and look for the road.’
‘Look for the road!’ said Alice, laughing; ‘how funny! How could the footman find the road if it was quite dark?’
‘It is never quite dark in winter in Russia, because the snow gives some light.
‘The man, however, walked about, and went so far off, that the coachman grew impatient, and, thinking that he would find the road quicker himself, jumped off his seat and left us alone with the horses, who pawed up the snow and shook their bells and harness; and your aunt and mamma were sleepy and tired and very cold.
‘I took little mamma on my lap, and wrapped her up in my large fur cloak, and covered dear little aunty with the pillows, and made her comfortable and warm in her corner, so that she might go to sleep. But I myself was very cold, and was very uneasy too; for I did not like my little girls to be out late at night, and in such bad weather; and my feet ached with cold. I tried to wait patiently, and was glad that I could see the figures of the two men in the distance. At length the coachman came back to us, and began to look at the snow close to us; and to our great joy he found that the beaten track was close by, only covered with the fresh fallen snow. He shouted to the footman, and he was soon back and seated next the coachman: and the horses seemed as glad as we were to be going home at last, and set off so briskly, that we were soon safe at home; but it was nearly eleven o’clock, for we had been just three hours on the road, which we usually drove in one hour. We were very glad to be home again, and I thanked God in my prayers that my little girls were safe.’
‘Oh, grandmamma!’ said Beatrice, ‘I should be afraid to drive about in that way. I should not like to live in Russia.’
‘My darling, you would not be afraid if I were with you, and told you that God was watching over us, and that God would take care of us and defend us from all harm there, in cold Russia as in our dear England.’
‘Thank you, dear grandmamma,’ said Alice, ‘I like that story; but still I should not like to drive in the snow across those large moors in winter in Russia.
‘But tell me, please, how can people find such snowy roads if there are no hedges to show them where they are?’
‘The road is easily found by men and horses, because, where the snow has been trodden down and driven on, it is hard and firm, and all around is soft and deep; and, therefore, when the horses sink deep into the snow, the driver knows that they are not on the track or right road.’
