I can hardly say how happy I was when I saw for the first time my dear,
beloved, and deeply respected Russian peasants free at last, and
proprietors of the land they had till then cultivated as serfs! What a
change! The same creatures, serfs yesterday, became men, conscious of
their human dignity; their aspect, their language, are those of free
men. In the mean while, in getting rid of their serfdom, they preserved
their usual good sense, wisdom, and _bonhomie_; no impertinence, no
arrogance whatever can be detected in them; they are full of
self-respect, yet polite. I saw them discussing with the authorities
some business of theirs. They maintained their new rights, and, when
wrong, never hesitated to acknowledge it.
Every district and every _chef-lieu_ had every year an assembly of
deputies who named a permanent committee for three years. This committee
was charged with the municipal administration, under the control of the
assembly. Everyone was called by law to the election of the deputies.
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