In this latter respect they have totally failed to fulfil their mission.
A Russian village, situated in the midst of German colonies, shows generally, so far as I could observe, no signs of German influence.

Each nationality lives more majorum, and holds as little communication as possible with the other.

The muzhik observes carefully--for he is very curious--the mode of life of his more advanced neighbours, but he never thinks of adopting it.

He looks upon Germans almost as beings of a different world--as a wonderfully cunning and ingenious people, who have been endowed by Providence with peculiar qualities not possessed by ordinary Orthodox humanity.

To him it seems in the nature of things that Germans should live in large, clean, well-built houses, in the same way as it is in the nature of things that birds should build nests; and as it has probably never occurred to a human being to build a nest for himself and his family, so it never occurs to a Russian peasant to build a house on the German model.