I went after breakfast to the dear Pastor Dietrich.  His heart was filled with love for me, and I felt the sweetness of his spirit to encourage me; preciously was the divine unction spread over us.  He gave me some information of the religious state of things here.  There seems to be about 800 of the evangelical party in Moscow, including the French and English Protestants, and the different classes of Lutherans; a small number out of 350,000 souls which the city contains; the rest are Roman Catholics and of the Greek church, mostly the latter.  God knows the hearts of all.

22_nd_ [?].  “In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed:  deliver me in thy righteousness.  Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily:  be thou my strong rock, for a house of defence to save me.”—­(Ps. xxxi. 1, 2.) “Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry; give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.”—­(Ps. xvii. 1.) The above sweet words were brought home to my heart with power this morning after a time of conflict in spirit.  Lord, grant me faith and patience to the end of the race, when I shall have to say, Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace.  Amen.

Providing themselves with food, and with small change of money for the journey—­two things indispensable to Russian travel—­John Yeardley and William Rasche left Moscow on the 23rd, by malle-poste for Orel.  They stopped some hours at Toula:  the land south of this town they found to be well-cultivated, and the harvest had begun; it consisted mostly of rye.  The journey to Orel occupied forty-four hours.  Among their fellow-travellers was a resident of Moscow, Charles Uyttenhoven, who spoke English, German, French and Russ, and who, like themselves, was going to Kharkov.  He was a pleasant and gentlemanly companion, and was of great service to them in acting as spokesman on the road.

From Orel there was no malle-poste in which they could continue their journey, and they were obliged to hire a tarantas, or posting-carriage, a very inferior kind of conveyance.  In consequence, besides, of the fair at Pultowa, every vehicle of this description had been taken up except one, which was of course the worst in the town.  When they had loaded their luggage and spread hay to lie upon, they started; but before they were out of sight of the stable the crazy vehicle broke down, and they were detained till nearly eleven o’clock at night, whilst it was being repaired.  In this new kind of conveyance they experienced great discomfort:  they could neither sit nor lie with ease, as the space was much too small for three passengers.  The country they passed, through was very rich; it may be called the granary of Russia; they found the harvest more advanced the farther they penetrated into the south.

At Koursk they hired a fresh tarantas.  The roads were inferior to those along which they had travelled, but the country was more picturesque, still fertile, and producing much wheat; the weather was very hot, as it had been all the way from Petersburg.  On the 27th, at midnight, they reached Kharkov.