In the villages through which I passed I found numerous members of the sect, but they all showed a decided repugnance to speak about their religious beliefs.

Long accustomed to extortion and persecution at the hands of the Administration, and suspecting me to be a secret agent of the Government, they carefully avoided speaking on any subject beyond the state of the weather and the prospects of the harvest, and replied to my questions on other topics as if they had been standing before a Grand Inquisitor.
A few unsuccessful attempts convinced me that it would be impossible to extract from them their religious beliefs by direct questioning.

I adopted, therefore, a different system of tactics.

From meagre replies already received I had discovered that their doctrine had at least a superficial resemblance to Presbyterianism, and from former experience I was aware that the curiosity of intelligent Russian peasants is easily excited by descriptions of foreign countries.

On these two facts I based my plan of campaign.