The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

232 RUSSIA IN EUROPE.The Ehstes arc kinsmen of the Finns dwelling on the northern side of theGulf of Finland. The name occurs in numbers of old records, from Tacitus andPtolemy to Jordanes and the Scandinavian sagas, under the various forms ofOstiones, Aesthieri, Istes, Aistones. The Letts call them Igaunas, or " Expelled,"but the national name is Tallopoeg, or " Earth-born," or else Marahvas," Landsmen." Their domain extends far beyond Esthonia itself, comprisingmost of North Livonia, besides numerous tracts beyond Lake Peipus in the governmentsof St. Petersburg, Pskov, and Vitebsk. In 1870 they numbered altogethernearly 800,000, including several isolated communities, such as those south of the" Devil's Mountain," grouped in villages or scattered in solitary farmsteads.The speech of these southern Ehstes differs considerably from that of theirnorthern brethren, having been largely modified by Lett influences.Apart from local differences, the Ehstes, on the whole, closely resemble theTavastian Finns, and it is generally admitted that they belong to the samebranch of the great Finnish family. Many have flat features, oblique eyelids,a somewhat Mongolian cast of countenance, blue eyes, light blonde and oftenyellowish hair. Those of the interior, long subject to great hardships and oppression,are described as of smaller stature and feebler frames than those of the coast.In their incessant struggles with the Danes and Germans they displayed greatendurance and courage. But, in return for the loss of freedom, they at leastreceived from their conquerors the germs of a higher culture. When first broughtinto contact with the Teutons they seem to have been still little better thansavages, with no knowledge of the horse or dog, and no grain except barley.Their dwellings were tents of skins, like those of the Samoyeds, but after theeleventh century they began to build wooden forts and houses, and becameformidable pirates on the high seas. Even still they retain several of theirprimitive customs, especially those associated with marriage. The bride stillhides on the arrival of the wedding procession, and must be carried off withseeming violence. On entering her new home she is saluted by the brotherin-lawwith a slap in the face, as a token of what awaits her in her weddedlife.Until recently, when raised by superior intelligence or fortune to the rank ofcitizens or nobles, the Ehstes became ipso facto Germans, changing theirnationality with the change in their social position, so generally accepted was theidea that all Ehstes, as such, were doomed to serfdom. There was a time whenDeutsch was synonymous with lord or freeman, and when the serfs of whateverrace were called Un-Deutsche. But this has ceased to be the case since Esthonian hasbecome a literary language, and may be spoken without a sense of shame.Notwithstanding their physical resemblance to the Tavastians, the Ehstes differremarkably from them in their love of poetry, extempore rhyming, and constantflow of song even while at work. Their musical speech, rich in harmoniousvocalisation, but poor in consonants, is well suited for poetic composition, and inmany remote hamlets the heroic songs in praise of their forefathers are stillheard. Kreutzwald was thus enabled to collect the fragments of which he