Nizhnaya-Kara, where the penal1 settlement was situated2, had an appearance quite peculiar3 to itself. The dwelling-houses were at some minutes’ distance from the prison, on a hill-slope descending4 to the banks of the River Kara, whose bed contains gold-dust and in summer becomes almost completely dry. The place had nothing of the Russian village about it, either in the style of its buildings or its inhabitants. The latter were mostly convicts, both men and women; besides whom there were a few peasants, descendants of former convicts, or of the crown colonists5 who had been settled here as drudges6 in the gold-workings. Then there was an infantry7 battalion8 of Cossacks stationed here for the purpose of keeping guard over the prison; and finally there were numerous prison officials and Cossack officers.
The mixed nature of the population was evidenced by the variety of their dwellings9. Ordinary criminals who were unmarried lived in barracks, where the Cossacks also were housed; the officers and prison officials inhabited neat little houses belonging to the State; and the “politicals” and married criminals lived in wretched tumbledown hovels. Besides the classes already enumerated10, there were three tradesmen in Kara, each of whom kept a small general shop.
THE PENAL SETTLEMENT, KARA
To face page 300
At first we had great difficulty in finding accommodation; for of course it was not possible at once to run up 301habitations for twenty men, all let out of prison at the same time, and we were obliged to put up with lodgings11 where a number of persons were crowded into each single room. In other ways too there was much inconvenience and discomfort12 during those early days of freedom; but on the whole our change was distinctly for the better. Merely to have got rid of the detested13 turnkeys was a joy; we rejoiced also at being free from the barbarous head-shaving, and we might once more wear our own clothes. We were permitted to take up some handicraft, but the exercise of the so-called “liberal professions” was forbidden us. The regulations as to our correspondence were also less severe; we could write letters to our relations, and a number of newspapers that were prohibited in prison were allowed here. But above all, we might now go about freely at all hours, and wander in the neighbourhood of the village to our heart’s content.
On our exit from prison we were placed under the supervision14 of the staff controlling the ordinary convicts, and shortly after the gendarmerie disappeared from Kara for good. Every morning a prison inspector15 made the rounds of the settlement with his book, which we had to sign, so that the authorities might be satisfied that none of us were missing. We were not allowed to go beyond ten versts from the village without a special permission from the superintendent—that same Pohorukov whom Fomitchov had assailed16.
Our material condition was considerably17 more comfortable now than it had been in prison. Besides the means of livelihood18 that had hitherto been available—rations from the State and money sent from home—many of us could now earn something by private exertion19. We still preserved our organisation20 as when in prison, with certain modifications21 rendered necessary by our new circumstances; we still formed an artèl and elected a stàrosta to arrange the details of our common life. Of course, our domestic economy had considerably extended its sphere; 302we had now much to think of that had not entered into our consideration before.
Autumn brought a good deal of heavy labour for all able-bodied men. Trees had to be felled and carted to serve as winter fuel, and then the wood had to be chopped small for use. In the winter the hay needed for our cattle had to be brought in, for we possessed22 six cows and four horses. In the spring we looked after our gardens, and in the summer we made hay in the meadows. Cooking was still managed in common, groups of us carrying it out in turn. There was always plenty for all hands to do, and the work was often very hard. I myself found the labour of the winter season extremely severe. It meant rising at three or four o’clock in the morning to harness the horses—a task difficult and disagreeable enough always in the Siberian cold, and a perfect misery23 in the small hours of the morning—and then driving the sledge24 ten or twelve versts, loading it with hay, and finishing our job so as to return home by nightfall. Two of us at a time had to load and fetch home four great waggon-loads of hay. Naturally we were very clumsy over the unaccustomed labour, and it happened often enough that ropes would break and the hay get scattered25, or that the horses would stray away. In our heavy sheepskins and felt boots we had each as much as we could manage in conducting two heavy waggons26 on the homeward journey; and despite the extreme cold we used often to be bathed in perspiration27.
Yet the hard physical work had a charm of its own. It gave one a quite peculiar sensation to be driving along in the dark over the smooth, white surface of the snow, on and on into the depths of the forest. The profoundest silence reigned28 everywhere, broken by the crackling of the snow under the horses’ hoofs29 and the runners of the sledge, and sometimes by the distant howling of a wolf. Myriads30 of stars sparkled in the firmament31, and not a trace of man’s existence was anywhere to be seen. But the cruel 303cold, increasing in severity towards dawn, would soon drive away all poetical32 ideas. The frost penetrated33 our sheepskins, and we felt as if we were being pricked34 all over our bodies with sharp needles. Often the brandy in our flasks35 would freeze, and although we took all possible precautions, the glass would split and the spirit be left in a frozen lump.
COTTAGE SHARED BY “POLITICALS” IN THE KARA PENAL SETTLEMENT
To face page 302
These expeditions, fortunately, were not of very frequent occurrence, the turn of each man coming only about three or four times in the course of the winter. The fetching of wood, on the other hand, was continually necessary; but although this, too, entailed36 considerable exertion, it was not nearly so serious an undertaking37.
After a spell of hard work it used to feel luxury indeed to be back in one’s own house. The little peasant hut in which I dwelt seemed a perfect palace, and I thought it most comfortable; though any spoilt child of civilisation38 would have seen much to be improved in it. Nearly a third of its space was taken up by a great Russian stove, which unfortunately often smoked; doors and windows shut very imperfectly; and in both floor and walls there were great cracks, through which the wind whistled everlastingly39, despite my continual efforts to stop them up. But all these were petty details that could not detract from the charm of having a “home” of one’s own. Only those who have themselves undergone the martyrdom of never being alone for an instant, and of feeling always conscious that the eyes of others are upon one’s every action, can properly realise that charm. To have the enjoyment40 of that independent solitude41 it was worth while putting up with a number of small inconveniences that might to a certain extent have been avoided by a ménage-à-deux. It was only an occasional pair of bosom42 friends who chose to live in that fashion. Most of us much preferred to undertake singly the duties of housekeeping—stoking the stove, carrying water, cleaning, etc.
My hut, which, when I took possession of it, was in 304a state of extreme disrepair, was the property of the State. With my own hands I mended it up as well as I could. It stood a little apart from the other dwellings, at the end of the village, on the slope of a hill, and close to the little cemetery43. At first I used to feel some anxiety over the insecurity of the door; a push from without was sufficient to open it, and this was hardly agreeable when one knew that round about dwelt all sorts of criminals—some very queer customers among them. However, I soon found that I had no cause to fear anything from these people; and when I returned home late at night by lonely ways and bypaths, I felt as safe as in the best-policed town.
One of the most notorious criminals in the settlement was a man named Lissenko. It was reported of him that in one of his robberies he had killed a whole family—men, women, and children. He was about sixty when I first knew him, and still had the strength of a giant. He struck me as being crafty44, cunning, and reckless, but not a malicious45 kind of fellow, and he was extremely pious46 withal. No one who knew him personally could easily believe him to have murdered innocent children. I was curious to learn from himself how much truth there was in the reports that were current concerning him, and I found an opportunity one day of questioning him on the subject.
“Yes, of course it’s true,” said he. “What about it?”
“But how could you have the heart to kill a child?” a friend of mine asked him.
“Oh, I cried all the time I was doing it, but still I killed them,” was the answer. “It was just God’s will. If He had not willed it I should not have been able to commit the murder; I should have been struck down myself. So it was really God who made me do it.”
My friend (from whom Lissenko seemed to stand a good deal) then asked—
“Well, and would you murder me, if you met me in a safe place?”
305“If I knew you had a lot of money about you I should certainly wring47 your neck,” said the man, with cheerful frankness. “But there! one doesn’t kill without some good reason!”
Lissenko was at that time carrying on a very risky48 illegal trade: he was a receiver of “stolen gold,” and smuggled49 spirits. I must explain that gold could be found in considerable quantities in the neighbourhood and worked with the greatest ease. Equipped with a shovel50 and a wooden vessel51 for washing, men and women repaired to the River Kara and other neighbouring streams, and could without difficulty get gold-dust to the value of one or two roubles in a single day. Though strictly52 prohibited by the Government, this private search for gold is practised almost openly. Those who do not themselves look for gold yet traffic in it; and practically the entire population, except the political prisoners, is engaged in the illicit53 trade. Nobody—one or two really honest officials perhaps excepted—makes any scruple54 about infringing55 the law; thousands make their livelihood in this way, and many even grow rich. I knew whole families, some members of which went off as regularly every day on the quest as though it were the most lawful56 affair in the world. No one—not even officials—found anything to protest against in this breaking of the law; on the contrary, everyone in the place, except those few persons whose interests were concerned on the other side, looked upon it as quite natural that the gold-seekers should make the most of their labour, and take the treasure that the soil offered. No attention was paid to the arbitrary decree which declared that treasure to be the Tsar’s private property—or, as it was officially expressed, “the property of His Majesty57’s Cabinet”; and notwithstanding the heavy expense incurred58 by the responsible authorities to protect the gold-fields of the district, far more gold is obtained by unlawful than by lawful means. The receivers of the stolen treasure, and other middlemen, can always find a way to convey their merchandise 306over the border into China, where it fetches a far higher price than that given by “the Cabinet of His Majesty.”
Meanwhile all authorities agree that the illicit gold-finders have conferred immeasurable benefit on the country. They are the true pioneers, who, wandering about the “Taiga” or virgin59 forests in all directions, seeking deposits of precious metals, are to be thanked for the discovery of numberless gold-fields—among them some of the most prolific60 of all. Certainly little enough profit falls to the share of the pirates themselves; most of them remain poor and needy61 all their lives, hardly earning their daily bread; and many of them become slaves of the middlemen. It would take me too long to describe further the lives and doings of these gold pirates; suffice it to say that they inhabit a curiously62 interesting little world of their own—a state within the state—with its own strictly administered laws and peculiar customs.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
penal
|
|
| adj.刑罚的；刑法上的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
peculiar
|
|
| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
descending
|
|
| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
colonists
|
|
| n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
drudges
|
|
| n.做苦工的人，劳碌的人( drudge的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
infantry
|
|
| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
battalion
|
|
| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
dwellings
|
|
| n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
enumerated
|
|
| v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
lodgings
|
|
| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
discomfort
|
|
| n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
detested
|
|
| v.憎恶，嫌恶，痛恨( detest的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
supervision
|
|
| n.监督，管理 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
inspector
|
|
| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
assailed
|
|
| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
considerably
|
|
| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
livelihood
|
|
| n.生计，谋生之道 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
exertion
|
|
| n.尽力，努力 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
organisation
|
|
| n.组织，安排，团体，有机休 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
modifications
|
|
| n.缓和( modification的名词复数 )；限制；更改；改变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
possessed
|
|
| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
misery
|
|
| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
sledge
|
|
| n.雪橇，大锤；v.用雪橇搬运，坐雪橇往 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
scattered
|
|
| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
waggons
|
|
| 四轮的运货马车( waggon的名词复数 )； 铁路货车； 小手推车 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
perspiration
|
|
| n.汗水；出汗 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
reigned
|
|
| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
hoofs
|
|
| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
myriads
|
|
| n.无数，极大数量( myriad的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
firmament
|
|
| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
poetical
|
|
| adj.似诗人的；诗一般的；韵文的；富有诗意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
penetrated
|
|
| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
pricked
|
|
| 刺，扎，戳( prick的过去式和过去分词 )； 刺伤； 刺痛； 使剧痛 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
flasks
|
|
| n.瓶，长颈瓶， 烧瓶( flask的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
entailed
|
|
| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
undertaking
|
|
| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
civilisation
|
|
| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
everlastingly
|
|
| 永久地，持久地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
40
enjoyment
|
|
| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
41
solitude
|
|
| n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
42
bosom
|
|
| n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
43
cemetery
|
|
| n.坟墓，墓地，坟场 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
44
crafty
|
|
| adj.狡猾的，诡诈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
45
malicious
|
|
| adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
46
pious
|
|
| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
47
wring
|
|
| n.扭绞；v.拧，绞出，扭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
48
risky
|
|
| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
49
smuggled
|
|
| 水货 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
50
shovel
|
|
| n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
51
vessel
|
|
| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
52
strictly
|
|
| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
53
illicit
|
|
| adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
54
scruple
|
|
| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
55
infringing
|
|
| v.违反（规章等）( infringe的现在分词 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
56
lawful
|
|
| adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
57
majesty
|
|
| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
58
incurred
|
|
| [医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
59
virgin
|
|
| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
60
prolific
|
|
| adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
61
needy
|
|
| adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
62
curiously
|
|
| adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |