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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Fred Markham in Russia, by W. H. G. Kingston
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Fred Markham in Russia
+       The Boy Travellers in the Land of the Czar
+
+Author: W. H. G. Kingston
+
+Illustrator: R. T. Landells
+
+Release Date: May 15, 2007 [EBook #21461]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRED MARKHAM IN RUSSIA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England
+
+
+
+
+Fred Markham in Russia; or, The Boy Travellers in the Land of the Czar,
+by W H G Kingston.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+Fred and his brother have an adult friend, Cousin Giles, who is a naval
+officer who had served under the boys' father, before injury had
+compelled his retirement.  One day Cousin Giles asks the boys to come
+with him on a visit to Russia.  This was 1856.  The boys' mother is glad
+they are not going too far, such as to the Antipodes.
+
+The little party arrive in Russia after some problems with their sea
+voyage.  They tour Saint Petersburg, and then travel a little wider.
+Meeting various people with a knowledge of the land and its customs,
+they get some good first-hand information about Russia.  Some of their
+new friends tell long stories about things that have happened to them,
+or to their own friends, and by this device we learn much more about
+Russia and its people, and their lives, often very difficult, under the
+Czars.
+
+And the boys have some thrills of their own, for instance during an
+encounter with wolves.
+
+Eventually it is time to return home, and the last two chapters are
+letters from Fred to his mother, recounting their adventures during the
+last few days of their holiday.  But Fred must have been a remarkably
+well-educated boy to write in such an adult style!
+
+This book was written just after a time when it had become possible to
+travel to Russia.  Many people had availed themselves of this chance,
+and had written of their journeys.  Kingston uses the device of telling
+us about Russia as seen by the two boys, embellished with the adventures
+of some of the friends they make.
+
+________________________________________________________________________
+
+FRED MARKHAM IN RUSSIA; OR, THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE LAND OF THE CZAR,
+BY W H G KINGSTON.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ONE.
+
+  A Trip to Russia proposed--Cousin Giles and his History--Preparations
+  for the Voyage--Journey to Hull--The Steamer described--The Voyage
+  commenced--A Fog at Sea.
+
+"Thank you, thank you; it will be very delightful," said Fred Markham.
+
+"It will be jolly, that it will!" exclaimed his younger brother Harry;
+and home they ran as fast as their legs could carry them to find their
+father and mother.
+
+"Oh, father, father!--mother, mother!--may we go?  May we go?" they
+exclaimed in a breath together.  "Cousin Giles has asked us, and he says
+that he will take very good care of us, and that he is not joking; that
+he is in real earnest, and that, if you will give us leave to go, he
+wishes to set off immediately."
+
+"But you have not told us where you wish to go to," said Captain
+Markham.  "If it should chance to be to Timbuctoo, to the Sandwich
+Islands, or to the antipodes, I fear that I must refuse your request."
+
+"Even should Cousin Giles be answerable for your safe return, I could
+not part with you for so long a time as would be required to go to
+either of those regions of the world," added their mother, smiling.
+
+"But it is not to Timbuctoo, nor to the Sandwich Islands, nor to any
+place near so far off that Cousin Giles wants to take us," replied Fred
+eagerly.  "It is only to Russia, and that is no distance at all, he
+says."
+
+"Only to Russia!" exclaimed Captain Markham, with an emphasis on the
+only.  "That country used to be thought a long way off from England in
+my younger days; but railways and steamers have worked a great change in
+our notions of distances.  We must, however, hear what Cousin Giles has
+to say before we decide on the subject."
+
+The lads had not to endure their uncertainty very long before Cousin
+Giles made his appearance, his somewhat weather-beaten countenance
+beaming with a glow of benevolence and vivacity which seldom forsook it.
+Now it must be understood that Cousin Giles was not really the young
+Markhams' cousin, any more than he was that of several other families in
+the county who called him by the same affectionate name.  He was a
+lieutenant in the navy, but, having received a severe wound in battle,
+which incapacitated him, he considered, from doing his duty properly, he
+retired from the service, though he ultimately recovered sufficiently to
+travel about without inconvenience.  As in the course of his
+professional career he had visited the sea-coasts of nearly every part
+of the world, besides taking journeys inland from them, while he made
+his observations on what he saw, he possessed a large fund of
+information.  What was also of great consequence, he had a considerable
+talent for describing what he had seen.  Besides possessing these
+qualifications, being the life and spirit of every juvenile party, and
+the promoter of all sports and pastimes in-doors and out of doors, he
+was a welcome guest, both, with old and young, at every friend's house
+which he could find time to visit.  More than all this, he was a
+religious, honourable, generous-hearted man.  He could not, therefore,
+fail to be a most desirable travelling companion for his young friends.
+He had been several times to sea with their father, who was himself a
+captain in the navy, and who had the greatest confidence in him.
+
+"What is all this, my dear fellow, the boys are saying about Russia?"
+asked Captain Markham as he entered the room.
+
+"Why, that I have bethought me of paying a visit this summer to the land
+of the Czar; that I want companions; that I like young ones, who will
+follow my ways better than old ones, who won't; that I enjoy fresh ideas
+freshly expressed, and am tired of stale platitudes; in short, if you
+will entrust your youngsters to me, I will take charge of them, and
+point out what is mostly worth seeing and remembering at the places we
+visit."
+
+"I cannot refuse you, Fairman," replied Captain Markham.  "You offer is
+a very kind one, and the boys cannot fail to benefit by the excursion."
+
+"Do not talk about that," said Cousin Giles, interrupting him.  "Fred
+must undertake to keep a log, and note down all our adventures."
+
+Fred, though somewhat diffident of his powers of composition, promised
+to do his best, and Mrs Markham begged that Harry might keep another
+note-book for her especial edification.
+
+"All I bargain for," she added, "is to have descriptions of scenes
+written down as soon as visited, and ideas as soon as they occur."
+
+"By all means, freshness is what we want," said Cousin Giles.  "A short
+sketch made on the spot is worth a volume of after-recollections."
+
+Thus the matter was speedily arranged.  Before he left the house, their
+kind friend gave the young travellers a list of the things they would
+require.  He would allow them only a small portmanteau apiece, which
+they could carry in their hands.  He told them each to take a warm
+greatcoat, and a complete suit of waterproof clothing, including boots
+and hat.  "Thus," said he, "you will be independent of the weather, and
+need never be kept in the house, however hard it may rain."  He told
+them that, although the weather is frequently much hotter during the
+summer in Russia than in England, yet that at times it is as rainy, and
+cold, and variable as at that season of the year at home.  Their Bibles,
+a history of Russia, and a volume of travels in that country were the
+only books he would let them take, advising them thoroughly to master
+the contents of the history and travels before they reached Saint
+Petersburg.  He had got, he said, a good map of Russia, and a chart of
+the Baltic, which they were to study; as also a book called, _What to
+Observe; or, The Traveller's Remembrancer_, which is not only full of
+useful information, but also turns a travellers attention to what is
+most worth remarking abroad.  Fred Markham was about fifteen; his
+brother, a year younger.  Both of them were fine, intelligent lads.
+Cousin Giles was not far removed from fifty, thin and sinewy, though
+strongly built, and not tall, with large hard hands, which gave a warm,
+cordial grasp to a friend and a firm one to a rope; his heart was like
+them as to size, but a great contrast to them in hardness--a more
+thorough-going, honest sailor never existed.
+
+No merrier party ever left London than the three travellers who started
+by the mail train for Hull a few nights after the above conversation.
+They put up at the Railway Hotel, which Cousin Giles said reminded him
+of a Spanish palace.  In the centre is a large court glazed over, with
+an ottoman instead of a fountain in the centre, and broad flights of
+stairs on either side leading to the upper chambers.  The younger
+travellers had never before been in so large and comfortable a hotel.
+Their first care in the morning was to visit the steamer _Ladoga_, in
+which they had taken their passage to Saint Petersburg.  She was a
+gaily-painted, sharp-built, fast-looking screw.
+
+"She'll carry us there quickly enough, if at all," muttered Cousin
+Giles.  "But she's not the craft I should have chosen."
+
+She had only a small part of her cargo on board, and yet the master
+promised to sail on the following morning.  The boys were incredulous.
+
+"Modern cranes, system, and activity will work wonders," said Cousin
+Giles; and he was right.
+
+By nine o'clock the next morning the vessel was ready to sail.  They
+spent the interim in walking about the docks, full of vessels of all
+nations,--sixteen steamers, they heard, ran between Hull and Saint
+Petersburg,--in looking at the quaint old houses of the town, and in
+visiting the monument raised to Wilberforce,--a lofty pillar, the first
+object which greets the mariner as he returns home.  At the base is a
+simple inscription: "Negro Emancipation, 1832."
+
+"How far more worthy was he of the pillar than most people who have
+monuments raised to them; and yet how he would have despised such an
+honour, unless it induces others to labour as he did for the benefit of
+their fellow-creatures," remarked Cousin Giles.  "Remember, my lads,
+this monument, and endeavour to walk in that great man's footsteps."
+
+A lovely morning found the voyagers on board the _Ladoga_, and, after
+much pulling and hauling, clear of the docks, and steaming down the
+Humber.
+
+Cousin Giles face wore an expression of dissatisfaction as he found her
+deck crowded with huge, heavy iron machines and bales of cotton.
+
+"This is nothing; we are often obliged to carry twice as much deck
+cargo," said the master.  "Competition is so great, we must do
+everything to make the vessel pay."
+
+"Were a heavy gale to spring up, it is your underwriters would have to
+pay, I suspect," answered.  Cousin Giles.
+
+"Oh, you don't know what this vessel would go through," replied the
+young master.
+
+"Humph!" remarked the old lieutenant; "I know where she would go to if
+you did not heave all this deck lumber overboard."
+
+"I presume you have been to sea before?" said the master.
+
+"At times," answered Cousin Giles quietly.
+
+England sends large quantities of machinery of all sorts to Russia.  The
+cotton had come from America to Liverpool, had been thence sent across
+the country by railway to Hull, and was going to supply numerous
+manufactories of cotton goods which have been established in Russia, and
+fostered by high protective duties.  They are chiefly managed by
+Englishmen, and the foremen are mostly English or German.  Manual labour
+is cheaper than in England, as is the expense of erecting the buildings;
+but, as all other items cost much more, the Russians have to pay very
+dearly for the cotton goods they use.  Even with the high duties imposed
+on them, they can buy English manufactures cheaper than their own.
+
+In addition to the cargo on deck, there were twelve fine horses which an
+English groom was taking over for a Russian nobleman, who was to figure
+at the approaching coronation of the Emperor.  The Russians set great
+value on English horses, and employ a considerable number of English
+grooms, many of whom raise themselves to respectable situations, as had
+the man who had charge of the horses in question.
+
+There were several other passengers, some of whom were English merchants
+who had resided in Russia for many years, and from them the friends
+gained a considerable amount of valuable information.  This Cousin Giles
+had particularly the art of eliciting from his companions, and Fred and
+Harry had abundance to do in noting it down.  The cabins and saloon were
+both comfortable and handsome.  The latter was lined with mahogany, had
+gilt mouldings, and the sofas which surrounded it were covered with
+cool, clean, antibilious-looking chintz, while in the centre there was a
+sociable table, with a skylight overhead.  Everything, also, was
+provided by the young master to conduce to the comfort of his
+passengers.
+
+On the afternoon of the day they sailed, the sky looked wildish, and the
+master prognosticated either wind or heavy rain.  A thunder-storm played
+at a distance round the ship; the lightning flashed vividly, but
+scarcely a mutter of the clouds' artillery was heard; some heavy showers
+fell, then the weather cleared up.  The stars shone forth brightly from
+the clear sky, and the waning moon arose and shed her silvery light on
+the calm water, over which the breeze played with just sufficient
+strength to crisp it into silvery wavelets.  It was a night for
+meditation and prayer.  Unhappy is the state of man who can look forth
+from the deck of a ship on such a scene and not feel gratitude to the
+Framer of the magnificent firmament above him,--whom it does not make
+more meditative, more prayerful, than his wont,--whom it does not cause
+to think of eternity.
+
+The next day a bright silvery fog hung over the sea, yet so dense that
+no eye could pierce the bowsprit's length through it.  The engines were
+therefore put at half their power, yet even then the vessel went nearly
+seven knots through the water.
+
+The lads were delighted with the smooth, easy way in which the vessel
+glided on.  They remarked it to Cousin Giles.
+
+"You think it is very pleasant, because you see no danger, my dear
+boys," he answered.  "Much the same aspect does vice bear to the young,
+while they shrink with fear from the storm of adversity.  Now, `a wise
+seaman dreads a calm near a coast where there are currents, and a fog
+far more than heavy gales of wind in the open ocean.'  Put that down in
+your log,--it is worth remembering, as the lesson you have learned from
+a calm and a fog."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWO.
+
+  Cousin Giles finds an old Shipmate--Tom Puffing's Account of the Wreck
+  of the _Victoria_--Miraculous Escape of Part of the Crew--God's
+  merciful Providence displayed--Cousin Giles converses with the Crew--
+  First Sight of Denmark, Elsinore, and its Castle--View of Copenhagen--
+  Description of the Battle and its Cause--Sunday Service on board
+  Ship--Voyage up the Baltic--The Gulf of Finland--Cronstadt and its
+  Batteries--Why the British did not take them--The Czar's Mode of
+  Manning a Ship in a Hurry--The Russian Fleet--Leave their Steamer and
+  proceed towards Saint Petersburg.
+
+Cousin Giles soon found his way forward, over the bales of cotton and
+piles of hay, followed by Fred and Harry, and entered into conversation
+with the crew.  He had not been long there when an old weather-beaten
+seaman put his head up the fore hatchway.  "Ah!  Tom Pulling.  I thought
+that I had caught sight of the face of an old shipmate," exclaimed
+Cousin Giles, stretching out his hand.  "How fares it with you?"
+
+The old man's countenance brightened as he returned the grasp warmly.
+
+"Is it you, indeed?  I am glad to see you--that I am," he answered.
+"I've a good berth now, though I've had knocking about enough since I
+sailed with you last in the _Juno_.  I was cast away in these very parts
+some time back, and never had a narrower chance of losing my life, so to
+speak."
+
+Cousin Giles asked old Tom how this had happened.  The other seamen who
+were not on duty drew near to listen to the old man's oft-spun yarn, and
+our young friends stood by, eager to hear what he had got to say.
+
+"Why, you see, sir," he replied, "after I was discharged from the old
+_Melampus_, I thought I'd try if a short-voyage steamer would suit me
+better than a man-of-war, seeing that I'd got a wife and family to look
+after; so I shipped on board the _Victoria_ steamer, running from the
+port of Hull to Saint Petersburg.  It was our last voyage that year.
+About the 6th of November, I think, we left the Humber; but we hoped to
+get to Cronstadt and away again before the ice set in.  The weather was
+as fair as could be wished for, and with smooth water; so we all made up
+our minds that we were going to have a quick run of it.  Howsomever, the
+wind breezed up a little on the second day, and by nightfall it blew
+pretty freshish, with a heavyish sea on.  We had much the same sort of
+weather on the third day, and at night it came on so thick and dark that
+we could not see our hands held out before us.  Still all seemed going
+on well.  We supposed that we were steering a course through the
+Skaggerack, with a good offing from the land, when, just about the
+middle of the first watch, as the passengers were in the cabin, maybe
+thinking of turning in to their warm beds all snug, and talking of what
+they would do next day at Copenhagen, where we were to touch, without an
+instant's warning--bang!  Crash!--loud shrieks and cries of terror were
+heard, the ship quivered from stem to stern as if her last moment was
+come.  It was not far off, either; the sea came roaring up abaft and
+made a clean sweep over her.  She had struck heavily on a rock of some
+sort, that was certain; but where we were, or how it had happened, no
+one could tell.  Every one was running here and there, crying for help,
+when there was no one to help them; some took to praying, some to
+blaspheming; terror seemed to have taken away their senses.  I did think
+that all of us had seen the sun rise for the last time, for it was too
+dark by far to allow us to try and help ourselves; and, from the way the
+sea kept striking the ship, I knew full well she could not long hold
+together.
+
+"Well, Mr Fairman, I'm not ashamed to say I prayed as I never prayed
+before; and, you'll believe me, sir, I felt a comfort and an assurance
+of my Maker's protection which also I had never felt before.  As my ears
+caught the sound of the dreadful oaths of the blasphemers, I thought of
+the Day of Judgment.  When that awful time comes, and the world breaks
+up like the ship, how will such men and many others, amid the clouds and
+thick darkness which will surround them, be able to pray?  No; they'll
+blaspheme on, as they are doing now, to the end.  The captain, to do him
+but justice, behaved nobly.  He did his best to keep order and
+discipline on board.  He told the people that, if they would but remain
+by the ship, they all might be saved.  He could not say, like Saint
+Paul, they would be saved.  Few listened to him; some, however, stayed
+by his side and promised to support him.  They had been on their knees
+asking support for themselves; whence only it can come, you know, sir.
+Others, on the contrary, got hold of one of the boats, and began to
+lower her into the water.  The captain prayed and begged of them to
+desist, but they would not hearken to him.  There were some of the crew
+and some of the passengers, and when he tried to prevent them they
+threatened to heave him overboard.  At last they got the boat into the
+water, and eight of them jumped into her and shoved off from the ship's
+side.  In an instant, as he had told them it would be, the boat was
+capsized, and all hands were thrown into the raging sea.  One poor
+wretch had on a life-preserver--he thought, at all events, that he was
+all safe, and that he could not drown; the rest had nothing to float
+them.  For half a minute their cries were heard, and then they sank
+nearly all together, and his voice alone struck our ears, shrieking out
+for help, but no help could be given him.  He was striking out for the
+ship, I judged; sometimes by his voice he seemed to have got nearer, but
+that might have been my fancy; then a sea came rolling by, and drove him
+farther off again.  It was very dreadful to hear that poor dying wretch,
+and not be able to help him.  He was a strong man, and for long
+struggled on; nearly an hour perhaps passed, but his voice grew fainter
+and fainter, and at last was no longer heard.
+
+"All this time the ship was striking heavily, hammering away on the rock
+as if she was pile-driving.  We burned all the blue lights we had on
+board, in the hopes of drawing the attention of some fishermen or other
+passing craft; but they only enabled those on board to see the horrors
+of our situation.  Nearly four hours had thus passed, when a shout from
+the cook, who said he saw a signal, made us fancy help was coming to us;
+but in another minute we found that it was only the moon rising through
+a gap in the clouds.  We all earnestly longed for morning, for till
+daylight came we could do nothing.  The moon only served to show us more
+clearly the horrors of our situation.  Piece after piece of the vessel
+was washed away, but still all those who remained round the captain were
+safe.  At last there was a faint light in the east; it grew stronger and
+stronger, and there was twilight enough to let us see to the distance of
+a mile or two.  About a mile off appeared a rock high enough out of the
+water to serve us as a refuge.  The captain at once ordered a boat to be
+lowered, and all the women and children to be put into her, with five
+men to pull her to the rock.  It was a work of no little danger to the
+poor creatures, but we at last got them all safe off, and with many a
+prayer watched them till they reached the rock.  We had another boat,
+and there were fourteen of us remaining on the wreck.  We all got into
+her, but we instantly saw that thus crowded she would be swamped before
+she could reach the shore.  `Never mind, my fine fellows, I'll stay by
+the wreck!' exclaimed the captain, jumping on board again.  `Who'll
+follow me?'
+
+"`I'll stay by you, captain,' said I; and five others said the same.
+The rest shoved off, and reached the rock in safety, but the sea was too
+high to allow the boat to return.  Then we seven souls were left on the
+wreck, which was every moment breaking up beneath our feet.  The
+after-part of the vessel was soon completely gone--then we retreated
+forward; then the forecastle--that soon began to break up, and we had to
+hold on amidships.  We tried to keep up each other's spirits by telling
+how seamen had often been preserved in worse situations even than ours,
+and most of us did not cease to pray to God to save us.  The sea, after
+we returned on board the wreck, got up even more than before.
+
+"At last a sea, still heavier than the rest, came rolling towards us.
+`Hold on!  Hold on, my lads, for your lives!' shouted our brave captain;
+but in a minute there was scarcely anything to hold on to.  He himself
+was carried away some fathoms from the wreck.  Our situation was bad
+enough, but it did not make us forget our captain.  We would have done
+anything to help him, but there was not a rope we could lay hold of to
+heave to him.  By God's mercy he had on a life-belt, and he got hold of
+a piece of plank.  Thus he kept afloat, and, working away with his feet,
+he was able once more to reach the wreck.  His return--it seemed almost
+to life--cheered us up not a little.  No long time, however, passed
+before another sea struck the fragments to which we clung, knocking them
+all to pieces, and sending us to float alone on the waves.  One part
+only of the wreck remained above the water--it was the boiler.  We all
+swam back to it, and clung on as well as we could; but we saw that, what
+with the cold and the sea, which kept breaking over us, we should soon
+be washed off again.  `If we could but get inside the boiler, we might
+find some shelter,' said the captain; but, try all we could, we could
+not make a hole big enough to get through.  We were almost in despair.
+A fourth great sea came tumbling in on us.  We all thought that it would
+prove our destruction; so did the captain.  `Good-bye, my lads,
+good-bye!' he exclaimed.  `God have mercy on us all!'  On came the
+breaker, and for a moment we were all under it.  When it cleared away,
+we were still holding on.
+
+"Directly afterwards the engineer gave a shout of joy.  `See what
+Providence has sent us!' he cried out, as he held up a large pair of
+blacksmith's pincers which that very sea we thought would destroy us had
+washed on to the boiler.  `God intends us to save our lives,' he added;
+for he was a pious man, and always acknowledged whence all blessings
+come to us.  We set to work manfully with the pincers, and soon forced
+off enough of the top of the boiler to let us all creep in.  We felt
+that it was firmly fixed on the rock, and here we were much more
+sheltered than before from the sea.  Hunger and cold next began to tell
+on us.  We had not before had time to feel either.  One of our men had
+an apple in his pocket.  He handed it to the captain.  `There, captain,'
+said he, `what is sent to one is sent to all.  Serve it out, if you
+please, among us: if any one has a quid in his pouch, or a bit of
+biscuit, let him do the same!'  We all felt in our pockets, but could
+find nothing to eat; so the captain took the apple, and, cutting it into
+seven bits, each took one, and munched away at it as long as it would
+stay in our mouths.  All the time we were looking out anxiously for a
+sail, but nothing could we see but the dark, tumbling, foaming breakers
+around us.  Not even the rock where our companions had got could we see.
+Noon passed, hour after hour crept by after it, the horrors of another
+night threatened us, and we began to give way to despair.  Some of us
+talked of giving up, and dropping into the sea.  The captain rebuked the
+grumblers sternly.  `You heard what the engineer said, my lads: "God
+intends to save our lives," and I feel now he was right.'  Scarcely had
+he spoken when the engineer shouted out, `A sail!  A sail!'  We all
+looked out eagerly.  There was a fishing-boat standing towards us.  In
+half an hour she had hove-to to leeward of the wreck.  Her brave crew
+lowered their sail and pulled in towards us: but they could not venture
+very near, and it was no easy matter to get on board.  All we could do
+was to wait till the seas washed over us, and then one by one we plunged
+in; and they carried us clear of the rocks, which would otherwise have
+knocked us to pieces.  Thus we all got on board the little craft, and
+were carried safely on shore.  The same fishing-boat had before taken
+off our companions from the rock, and they had then sent her to our
+assistance.
+
+"Now you will like to know how the accident happened without any blame
+to the captain, or any one on board?  The truth was that we had, as part
+of the cargo, a quantity of iron.  This had set all our compasses wrong,
+making us twenty or thirty miles out of our course at least.  I've often
+since thought, Mr Fairman, if we hadn't a true compass to steer by like
+the Bible, which of us would escape the rocks which lie in our course in
+life; and it's my opinion that those who do steer by it never get far
+wrong."
+
+The young travellers thanked old Tom very much for his interesting
+narrative, and Cousin Giles spun a long yarn with him afterwards about
+old times.  Cousin Giles had also a talk with each of the crew, and gave
+them some books and tracts, for which they were very thankful.
+
+All Friday night the lead was kept going, for the master judged that
+they ought to have been in the very centre of the Skaggerack passage,
+which is very deep; but it told him that the ship was still in shallow
+water.  The very same circumstance which caused the loss of the
+_Victoria_ had happened to them.  Their compasses, attracted by some of
+the iron in the ship, were not pointing truly.  They had reason to be
+thankful that the error was discovered in time, or they might have
+suffered the same disasters they had lately heard described.  When the
+fog cleared away, they found that they were off the coast of Jutland,
+twenty miles south of where they should have been.  In the afternoon
+they sighted the Scaw lighthouse, built on a sandy point, with sand
+hills, and a ruined church on them--no very interesting object, except
+as being the first part they saw of Denmark.
+
+Sunday morning, at five o'clock, the steward called to them to say that
+they were close to Elsinore.  They hurried on deck, and found that they
+were passing that far-famed castle, where the ghost of Hamlet's father
+was wont to walk and tell its tale of horrors to any one it might chance
+to meet and had time to stop and listen to it.  Seen in the bright glow
+of the morning sun, the castle had a pleasing, cheerful aspect, with
+nothing of the dark, gloomy, hobgoblin style of architecture about it,
+such as Mrs Radcliffe delighted to describe.  It stands on a narrow
+neck of land a little to the north of the town, and is of a quadrangular
+form, with three Moorish-looking towers and a square one of modern style
+at the four corners.  It is surrounded by a fosse and low ramparts, of a
+modern style of fortification.  The royal family of Denmark came
+occasionally to the castle to enjoy sea-bathing for a few days.  The
+Sound is here very narrow, the shore of Sweden being not more than three
+or foul miles off.  It was crowded with shipping, the place serving as a
+roadstead for Copenhagen, which is about twenty miles distant.  In the
+forenoon they came off Copenhagen, but did not touch there.  The nearest
+point to them was the Trekroner, or Three-crown Battery, as an
+artificially-formed island directly in front of the city is called.
+This is the point which, in the attack under Nelson, gave the British so
+much trouble, and cost so many lives.  Beyond it, within a mole, were
+seen the masts of some shipping, and behind them arose towers and spires
+and public edifices, and trees, and houses of various shapes, springing,
+as it seemed, out of the water.
+
+Cousin Giles gave the lads a description of the battle of Copenhagen,
+which was fought on the 2nd of April 1801.  The destruction of the
+Danish fleet was a sad necessity.  The attack was made on our old allies
+and natural friends, to prevent their fleet from falling into the power
+of Napoleon, who would have employed it against us.  The Danes have not
+yet forgotten that untoward event.
+
+For most of the day they steamed on with the shores both of Sweden and
+Denmark in sight.  The usual morning work of the ship having been got
+through, Cousin Giles asked the captain if he ever had service on board.
+
+"When we have a clergyman," was the answer.
+
+"How often is that?"
+
+"Once I took one over; but, to be sure, he was sick, and had to cut it
+short."
+
+"Then, how often are you in port on a Sunday?"
+
+"Not often in England, and sometimes in foreign parts we are so pressed
+for time that we are obliged to be discharging or taking in cargo on a
+Sunday."
+
+"I am sorry to hear that.  Sailing-vessels used seldom to be so pressed.
+But why do not you hold service for your people at sea, at all events?"
+said Cousin Giles.
+
+"I!--how should such an one as I hold service?" replied the master
+simply.  "The men are accustomed to hear me swear at them and abuse
+them.  They would laugh if I proposed to pray with them."
+
+"Leave off swearing, and take to praying, then, my friend," said Cousin
+Giles solemnly.  "Ask yourself which is the best of the two."
+
+"I am afraid I should make but a bad hand at the prayers," said the
+master carelessly.
+
+"Try," answered Cousin Giles earnestly.  "But, my friend, if you will
+give me leave, I will hold a service on the sacred day of rest, and
+perhaps some of the passengers may join us."
+
+"The passengers may, but I don't think you'll get many of my fellows to
+attend your service," was the reply.
+
+"I will try, at all events, if I have your permission," said Cousin
+Giles.
+
+"Oh, certainly, certainly," replied the master in a somewhat
+supercilious tone; but he was not a little puzzled to make out what sort
+of man Cousin Giles could be.
+
+Cousin Giles on this went forward, and spoke to each of the men
+separately, in his own peculiar, kind way, and told them that he was
+anxious to thank his Maker and theirs for all the mercies they had so
+often received, and invited them to join him in that act of devotion in
+about an hour's time.
+
+They all not only willingly but gladly assented to his proposal, and
+promised to go aft when they were summoned.  Although the master had not
+discovered that Cousin Giles was a seaman, they had, and knew him to be
+a true man.  He then returned aft, and spoke to the passengers in the
+same strain, and but very few refused to join the service.  Two said
+they would think about it; one had an interesting book to finish; and
+another asked him if he was a parson, and said he only attended services
+held by properly ordained ministers.
+
+At the appointed hour, to the surprise of the master, every seaman,
+engineer, and stoker who was not on duty came up to the wide deck over
+the engine, and most of the passengers assembled there likewise.  Never
+was there a more attentive congregation.  Cousin Giles read part of the
+Church of England Liturgy, and then spoke to them from the fifteenth
+chapter of Saint John's Gospel: "I am the true vine."  Those who heard
+him said that he explained the subject well, and that what he said went
+to their hearts.  The reason of this was, that he was deeply in earnest,
+and anxious about the souls of his hearers.  The master began even to
+think that he was a parson in disguise.
+
+The steamer passed several islands, and on Monday was running up the
+Baltic in a perfect calm, the hot sun striking down on her decks, with
+its shining brightness dazzling the eyes of the passengers, the numerous
+vessels they passed having their canvas hanging idly down against their
+masts.
+
+On Tuesday morning they were at the entrance of the Gulf of Finland, and
+in the evening they were passing the island of Nargen, with the town of
+Revel, just rising out of the water, seen through their glasses beyond
+it on the starboard hand.
+
+The morning of Wednesday broke cold and grey, but in the forenoon the
+sun burst forth and shone brightly; and the sea was rippled over by a
+westerly breeze, which increased every hour in strength, and carried
+before it numberless vessels of all nations and rigs, though the
+galliots of Holland undoubtedly predominated.  About noon, in this
+numerous company, they passed the lighthouse on the island of Tolbuken,
+which was held by the English during the late war, and whence the
+British officers with their glasses could discover all that was going on
+behind the batteries of Cronstadt.  At about half-past one, a gun fired
+across the bows of the steamer by the Russian guardship hinted to her
+that she must heave-to; which being done, some officers came on board to
+examine her papers and the passengers' passports, to drink the master's
+wine, or spirits, or bottled ale, and carry away any gunpowder or
+fireworks which might be on board.  Ahead lay a large Russian fleet of
+line-of-battle ships, frigates, steamers, brigs, and schooners, now at
+length able to show their noses out of port; while a little way beyond
+rose those formidable batteries which had so lately, by their very
+appearance, been able to damp the ardour of some of England's naval
+chieftains.  On the left side was the island of Cronstadt, with its
+fortifications, its town with its spires and domes, and its harbour,
+capable of sheltering a large man-of-war fleet; and on the right,
+opposite to it, were two circular batteries, which looked like huge
+white factories rising out of the water; only instead of windows, there
+were ports, while enormous guns in lieu of rainspouts crowned their
+summits, without even a parapet to hide their carriages.  On the
+southern part of the chief island was a similar tower.
+
+Most of the passengers had some favourite plan of their own for taking
+the fortress,--especially some commercial travellers, who were loud in
+their expressions of scorn at the want of success of Napier and Dundas,
+and the sad degeneracy of the British navy.  Cousin Giles was much
+amused, and advised them to lay their plans before the English
+Government, and to offer their services as commanders-in-chief of her
+fleets and armies.
+
+As the vessels steamed on, the travellers had on their left side the
+rocky and wood-covered heights of Finland, between which and the island
+of Cronstadt there is a narrow but tolerably deep passage.  Through this
+passage, which was unknown to the Russians themselves, the English
+admiral proposed to send up a fleet of gun-boats and small steamers had
+the attack on the fortress been resolved on.  On the right hand from
+this entrance into the Gulf of Finland they had had the province of
+Esthonia.  They now had that of Saint Petersburg, the shores of which
+appeared high and well wooded.  They by this time had reached what may
+be considered nearly the end of the Gulf of Finland; for, although above
+Cronstadt there is still a fine expanse of water, it is generally very
+shallow, there being only a narrow and intricate channel, worked by the
+strong current of the Neva.
+
+Among the various craft they passed, they were much amused by the little
+Finnish schooners, which went careering on before the breeze, laden
+chiefly with firewood, or some other not very valuable cargo, for the
+Saint Petersburg markets.  They were built of fir, with very little
+paint, very few ropes, and had very white canvas.  Altogether they had,
+as Cousin Giles observed, an exceedingly fresh-water look about them.
+The Finns who manned them were, however, hardy fellows, and formed by
+far the best seamen on board the Russian men-of-war.  The Russians are
+not good salt-water sailors; they have no taste for the sea, and are not
+likely to obtain it.  Peter the Great tried to form a navy.  He
+succeeded in building ships, but it was quite a different thing when he
+tried to find seamen to man them.  A gentleman on board told the lads a
+story, and they much wished to know if he could vouch for its truth.
+The late Emperor Nicholas on some occasion wanted to send a
+line-of-battle ship in a hurry to sea.  No men were to be found.  The
+Emperor was indignant that anything should oppose his imperial will.  He
+stormed and raged; but even to appease his wrath no men could be made to
+rise out of the earth.  At last his eyes fell on a regiment of dragoons
+who were defiling slowly by.
+
+"Ah!" he exclaimed, as a bright thought struck him, "why should not
+those tall fellows make good seamen?"  He called the colonel to him.
+"Colonel," said he; "order your men to dismount, and do you and your
+officers lead them on board that ship, and get her under weigh
+immediately.  There is no time to be lost.  You'll have something to
+learn, probably; but that does not matter--it is my will--do it."
+
+The poor colonel knew that there was no use expostulating.  The men were
+ordered aloft--cocked hats, jack-boots, and spurs.  Up they went, the
+upper ones with their dreadful spurs catching those following by eyes,
+or noses, or mouths; and the surprising thing was that any got up at
+all.  There is, however, nothing that a Russian cannot do, in a way,
+when put to it.  The topsails were at length loosed, the anchor was got
+up, and the ship was actually under weigh; but where she went to, or if
+she ever went anywhere at all, their friend could not exactly say.
+
+All this time the steamer was passing among the Russian men-of-war.
+Some of them were huge, towering line-of-battle ships, and all of them,
+outwardly at least, were in prime order.  At length the steamer ran in
+past a high white tower between two piers, the screw stopped, she was
+hauled alongside a wharf, and the voyage was ended.  Instantly she was
+filled with men in grey and blue uniforms.  They were custom-house
+officers, who came professedly to prevent smuggling, but in reality to
+collect any fees they could pick up.
+
+The travellers now heard for the first time the incomprehensible sounds
+of the Russian language, while their eyes were amused with the various
+and strange costumes of the wild-looking shouting people who surrounded
+them.  Some of the officers had shaven chins, but most of the people had
+long beards, and straggling hair flowing from beneath their caps; but,
+unattractive as were their countenances generally, they wore an aspect
+of good-nature and simplicity which made amends for their ugliness.
+
+In a short time a little steamer came alongside the _Ladoga_, into which
+the passengers and their luggage were transferred, to be conveyed up to
+Saint Petersburg under charge of a party of the militarily-equipped
+custom-house officers.  The little satellite shoved off from the side of
+the big steamer, the master stood on the taffrail with his hat in his
+hand, the passengers waved theirs; and thus they bade farewell, most of
+them for ever, to the ill-fated _Ladoga_.  After leaving the mole, they
+passed along the wharves of the Imperial Dockyard, within which were
+collected a great number of line-of-battle ships and frigates laid up in
+ordinary, which, as Fred said, looked like idle sulky fellows shut up in
+a poor-house with nothing to do.
+
+"Very fine ships," said Cousin Giles; "but without the men to handle
+them, in spite of their long guns, they are like dogs with broken legs:
+they may bark and howl, and gnash their teeth, but they can do no
+further harm.  We should not despise Russia, but we need not be
+frightened at her."
+
+Their helmsman, who stood with the tiller between his legs, with his
+hands crossed and hid in his "Bosom," was a picture in himself.  A low
+cap covered a head of shaggy reddish hair, while his thick straggly
+beard was of the same hue.  His upper man was clothed in a coarse white
+jersey, beneath which appeared the tail of a red-striped shirt, while
+his widish green cloth trousers were tucked in high leather black boots.
+He was a fine big fellow, and had a seaman's air about him, so that he
+might have served as a model of a Scandinavian rover ten centuries ago.
+There were a number of other, to the young travellers, strange-looking
+figures, helmeted, long-cloaked, thick-bearded and moustached beings,
+who, with piles of luggage, crowded the decks; and in this numerous
+company away they hurried towards the modern capital of the Czars.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THREE.
+
+  Distant View of Saint Petersburg--How it is built--Enter the City of
+  the Czar--Its Appearance at First Sight--Mount a Drosky--The
+  Travellers reach their Hotel--Outline Sketch of Saint Petersburg--A
+  Tour round the City--Its Palaces and Public Buildings.
+
+"There it is!  There it is!  There's the city--Saint Petersburg itself!"
+exclaimed the young travellers, as, directly ahead, appeared rising out
+of the water a line of golden domes, and tall spires and towers,
+glittering brightly in the sun, like some magic city of ancient romance.
+Conspicuous above all was the superb pile of the Isaac Church, the most
+modern sacred edifice in the city, and by far the finest; and near it
+was seen the graceful tower of the Admiralty, tapering up like a golden
+needle into the blue sky.  Soon other buildings--hospitals, and palaces,
+and houses, and towers, either not so lofty or farther off--rose to
+view; but no land could be discovered on which their bases might rest.
+This vast city, they learned, was built by the imperial will of Peter
+the Great on a marsh, he hoping to make it a great maritime port.  Every
+house in it stands on a platform of piles, driven far down into the soft
+ground.  Before a building can be erected, it is necessary thus to
+prepare its foundations, often at an enormous expense.
+
+The shores of the lake-like expanse along which they were steering were
+covered with woods, from among which peeped the gilt domes of the
+Imperial Palace of Peterhoff, and many other golden cupolas and spires,
+and marble-white towers, and walls of churches and monasteries, and
+palaces and villas, and also some stables, larger than any other edifice
+in the neighbourhood, belonging to the Grand Duke Michael.  On a hill
+above them, a little distance to the west, appeared the unpretending
+villa of the late Emperor.  It is exactly like a second-class country
+house.  Here he used to delight to retire with his family from the cares
+of state, and to throw aside completely all imperial grandeur.
+
+"Ah!  Notwithstanding his overpowering ambition, his towering pride and
+haughtiness, that villa alone shows that he was a man after all,"
+observed a fellow-passenger to Cousin Giles.
+
+The head of the gulf narrowed a little, but very little, as they
+advanced.  A few buildings now appeared ahead, and their friend was
+pointing out to the young travellers the walls of some barracks burnt
+long ago, and the ancient galley mole which sheltered the Russian
+galleys in the war with the Swedes, when on a sudden they found
+themselves among vast warehouses and manufactories, and tanneries and
+granaries, and the magnificent foundry and private residence of Baron
+Baird, who is by birth and education an Englishman.  All the buildings
+are on the banks of the Neva, close to its very mouth.  The steamer
+making several sharp turns among crowds of steamers and shipping of all
+sorts, they speedily found themselves in a region of colleges, and
+palaces, and churches, and other public buildings, the houses, which
+anywhere else would be palaces, each vying with the other in size and
+magnificence, and forming a vast street, the clear, rapid Neva flowing
+down the centre, with superb granite quays on each side of it.  Nowhere
+in the world is there a finer street, though the height of the houses is
+lost from its great expanse.  Along the line on either side arise marble
+columns and golden spires and domes innumerable, the two sides being
+connected by one bridge of iron--massive it must be to stand the ice--
+and several bridges of boats, which can be removed at the approach of
+winter; while in the centre of the stream were men-of-war and other
+steamers, and numerous vessels which had brought articles for the Saint
+Petersburg market.  On the right side was the English quay, with a
+handsome building at one end, used as an English hotel.  Farther on was
+the English church; and extending far away beyond it was palace after
+palace, many in the Italian style, the mighty pile of the Winter Palace
+being conspicuous above all, though in the far distance; and yet
+numberless other proud edifices were to be seen reaching to the same
+distance from it on one side as they do on the other.  The travellers
+had little time to observe these wonders before the steamer brought up
+at a floating white and gold temple-looking building mooted at a granite
+quay.  Elegant as it looked, it was only the custom-house examining
+shed.  Under a graceful arch, which united a little office on either
+side, the luggage was arranged, and bearded heroes in military costume
+dipped their hands amid the clean linen and clothes.  Their behaviour,
+however, was civil; and, having taken possession of all the books they
+found, with the exception of Bibles, which they gave back, they made a
+sign that the boxes might be closed.  The luggage was then turned out
+through a gateway into the clean wide road, where there stood, as eager
+and vociferous as any Irish carmen, ready to seize on it, a number of
+drosky drivers.  There are two sorts of hack droskies in Saint
+Petersburg.  One is somewhat like a small phaeton with wide wings; the
+other has what Cousin Giles called a fore-and-aft seat, on which people
+sit with their legs astraddle, the driver sitting perched on the end of
+it.  The horses, which are harnessed with ropes in shafts, are wiry,
+shaggy-looking animals, and have high wooden bows arched over their
+heads, with the idea of keeping them from stumbling.  The drivers are no
+less strange to English eyes than their vehicles.  They are
+long-bearded, shaggy-haired, keen-eyed men, with low-crowned,
+broad-curling brimmed hats, wider at the top than at the head.  They
+wear long blue cloth coats, crossed at the breast, and fastened round
+the waist with a red cotton sash.  Their wide trousers are tucked into
+high boots, and at their back hangs a square brass plate with their
+number on it, serving the purpose of the London cabman's badge.  They
+are, indeed, under very similar regulations.
+
+Cousin Giles chartered three of these vehicles to carry themselves and
+their luggage, and the lads laughed heartily as they found themselves
+seated astride on one of them, rattling along the quays and over the
+bridge to the English hotel, among hundreds of similar vehicles and
+long-coated, bearded people, who looked as if they did not think there
+was anything strange in the matter at all.
+
+The Miss Bensons, the kind-hearted landladies of the hotel, could just
+manage to accommodate the travellers; and they soon found themselves
+lodged in very clean rooms, and as comfortable as at any hotel in
+England.  After the fresh sea air they found the heat very great, and
+the houses felt like stoves; indeed, they heard that the weather had
+been excessively hot for some days.  They, however, had come up with a
+fresh breeze, which increased almost to a gale, and effectually cooled
+the air.
+
+Cousin Giles was not a man to let the grass grow under his feet; so, as
+soon as dinner was over, he and his young companions sauntered out to
+take in, as he said, as much of Saint Petersburg as they could that
+evening.  Just above the city the Neva divides itself into several
+branches, which form a number of marshy islands, on which islands Saint
+Petersburg is built.  The streets have been laid out to accommodate
+themselves somewhat to the turnings of the river; so that they are not
+at right angles to each other, as might have been expected, though as
+much regularity as possible has been observed.  The most central spot is
+the Admiralty Square, a vast, irregular, open space, with the river on
+one side of it; and near the river stands, on a vast block of granite, a
+colossal equestrian statue of Peter the Great, with his arm stretched
+out in an attitude of command.  Forming the different sides of this vast
+open space are some of the finest public buildings in the city: the
+Admiralty with its golden spire, the beautiful Isaac Church with its
+superb granite columns, the Winter Palace with its long rows of richly
+ornamented windows, the War Office, the Senate House, and many others.
+At one end, with a crescent of fine buildings before it, which contain
+the War Office, stands a lofty column of polished granite, consisting
+only of two blocks of stone, it is said.  It is called the Alexander
+Column, and is dedicated to him as "the Restorer of Peace to the World."
+He is so called by the Russians in consequence of the part he took in
+the overthrow of Napoleon.  On its summit stands a green bronze statue
+of the Archangel Michael, holding the cross of peace in his hand.  From
+the space before the Admiralty radiate off the three longest and widest
+streets in that city of wide and long streets.  The centre one and
+longest is called the Nevkoi Prospekt, or the Neva Perspective.  The
+names of other two may be translated Resurrection Perspective and Peas
+Street.  The larger streets in the city are called Perspectives.  Even
+the cross streets in Saint Petersburg are mostly wider than Bond Street,
+and often as wide and long as Regent Street.  Many canals intersect the
+city, and enable bulky goods to be brought to within a short distance of
+all the houses by water; so that heavily-laden waggons are never seen
+ploughing their way through the streets, as in most cities.  There are
+no narrow lanes or blind alleys either, the abode of poverty and
+pestilence, within the precincts of the palaces of the wealthy and
+great.  Here, truly, poverty and rags are removed out of sight; but
+still they do not cease to dwell in the land.  While our young
+travellers were standing looking at the Alexander Column, their
+fellow-voyager, Mr Henshaw, joined them.  As he had been much in all
+parts of Russia, he was able to give them a great deal of interesting
+information.
+
+"I would advise you first to get a general view of the city, and then
+study details," said he.  "Get a knowledge of the plan of the city, and
+the mode in which it is constructed; then examine the outside of the
+more important buildings; and, lastly, visit their interiors when they
+contain anything worth seeing.  The first thing you should do to-morrow
+morning is to ascend the Admiralty tower; the scene from thence, as you
+look down into the streets, teeming with their countless multitudes, is
+very interesting, while you will also obtain a perfect bird's-eye view
+of the whole city and surrounding land and water.  We will now, if you
+please, take a stroll along the quay beyond the Winter Palace.  There
+are many objects in that direction worth remarking."
+
+Cousin Giles gladly assented to the proposal, and, returning to the
+river, they continued eastward along its banks, passing the front of the
+Winter Palace.  Near to it they stopped to look at a magnificent pile,
+called the Hermitage, which is about as unlike the residence of a
+dweller in the wilderness as anything in nature can well be.  Mr
+Henshaw promised them a sight of the interior another day, and told them
+it contained some of the most magnificent rooms in the world, and was
+full of fine pictures, rich articles of _vertu_, and numberless valuable
+curiosities.
+
+"It was called the Hermitage by the Empress Catherine," said he,
+"because she, purposed to retire thither from the cares of state--not,
+however, to live the life of an anchorite, but to revel in that
+indulgence of all the objects of sense to which her inclinations
+prompted her."
+
+"But come along," said Cousin Giles; "we agreed not to spend our time on
+details till we had mastered the geography of the city."
+
+So they continued their walk along the quays.  Next to the Hermitage,
+and joined to it by a passage over an arch which spans a canal,--like
+the Bridge of Sighs at Venice, only smaller,--they passed the Imperial
+Theatre, and then a succession of fine residences of nobles and private
+persons, and lastly the Marble Palace of the Grand Duke Michael.  It is
+so called not because it is built of marble, but because it has marble
+pillars.  Across a street, on the same line, stands a fine pile, which
+looks like another palace, but in reality contains only the stables and
+offices, residences of servants, etcetera, belonging to the Marble
+Palace.  Among the palaces they passed was a huge white one, with a very
+ugly portico.
+
+"That," said Mr Henshaw, "was presented by the Emperor Alexander to the
+Duke of Wellington, when he became a Russian field-marshal, that he
+might have a house to inhabit should he ever visit Russia.  On his death
+it reverted to the Russian Government.  Opposite to this row of palaces
+the Neva is very wide.  A branch of it runs away in a more northerly
+direction, forming an island which has been covered with fortifications,
+and is called the citadel.  In the centre stands a church with a lofty
+golden pinnacle.  Beneath it lie buried the Russian Czars.  Here is also
+a cottage, built by Peter the Great, where he used to reside while
+watching the progress of his navy and the uprearing of the now mighty
+city, called after his patron saint."
+
+"From a history I have been reading, I find that Peter was not nearly so
+great a man as I fancied," observed Fred.
+
+"Hush!  Hush!  That is treason here," answered Cousin Giles.  "To his
+valet he certainly was not great, as Carlyle would say, though he was a
+very uncommon man.  But we should not judge of people by what they
+appear, or even by what they are doing, so much as by the results
+produced by their doings.  Now Peter contrived, certainly by no very
+romantic or refined means, to produce a great number of very wonderful
+results.  He caused this great city to be erected, he built a large
+navy, he taught people to navigate it who had scarcely before seen a
+vessel bigger than a Finnish schooner, and he contributed to imbue a
+population sunk in barbarism with a desire to assimilate to the
+civilised nations of Europe, while he introduced many arts and sciences
+before unknown into his country.  Considering his powers and the little
+support he could obtain from his countrymen, I must say I think he
+worked wonders.  He was, therefore, certainly what the world calls a
+great man, though he had great faults, and many littlenesses and
+contemptibilities.  I acknowledge, also, that many far greater men have
+lived, and are at present alive, and that there will be many more."
+
+"You have defended Peter, and I think on the only grounds on which he
+can be defended," said Mr Henshaw; "his private character will not for
+a moment bear discussion."
+
+"Certainly not," answered Cousin Giles; "remember, Fred, and Harry also,
+that I do not say that he ought properly to be called great, if he is to
+be judged by the law of Scripture, nor do I wish you to consider him so.
+Who is there, indeed, who can be so called?  But he was great according
+to the received maxims of the world, by which maxims other men with as
+little desert have received the same title."
+
+"Before we return, I must take you to the Summer Gardens, where you see
+the trees beyond the Marble Palace," said Mr Henshaw.  "I wish to show
+you the statue of Kryloff, the Russian Aesop, as he is called."
+
+The Summer Gardens are surrounded by an iron railing, and contain long
+rows of fine trees, and gravel walks, and seats, and statues, generally
+of a very antique form and taste, happily now exploded, with heathen
+deities' hideous faces, such as are to be seen in old prints.  In the
+centre of a small open space, surrounded by trees, stands the statue of
+Kryloff, a fine, bronze, Johnsonian-looking, sitting figure, much larger
+than life, with a book and pencil in his hand.  The pedestal on which he
+is placed has on each side figures of animals, in deep relief,
+illustrating his fables.  There is the stork and the wolf, and there are
+bears and apes, and cats and dogs playing violins and violoncellos and
+other musical instruments.  Several mujicks (peasants) were gazing at
+the figures with intense interest, apparently entering fully into the
+spirit of the artist.
+
+On their return along the quays, they stopped to look at the long
+bridges of boats which cross the Neva in the summer.  A portion of each
+can be removed to allow vessels to pass up or down the stream; but by a
+police regulation this can be only done with one bridge at a time, and
+at a certain fixed hour of the day, so that the traffic across the river
+receives no very material interruption.  Near the end of one of them, on
+the opposite side of the river, they observed a handsome edifice with a
+fine portico before it, and two granite columns, ornamented with galleys
+carved in white stone.  This building they found was the Exchange.
+Farther westward of it they observed other magnificent buildings, which
+they learned were the Corps of Cadets,--the name is applied to the
+building itself,--the Academy of Sciences, the University, the Academy
+of Arts, and several others,--all covering a vast extent of ground
+nearer the mouth of the river.  By the time they reached their hotel
+they were tolerably tired, and, to their surprise, they found that it
+was nearly ten o'clock.  Even then there was a bright twilight, though
+it was too dark to enable them to distinguish more than the grand
+outlines of the city.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOUR.
+
+  The Russian Passport System--Baron Verysoft--Mr Tobias Evergreen--His
+  Gratitude for the Baron's Politeness--The Difficulty of reading
+  Russian--The Travellers at a Nonplus--Russian Signboard--Fred and
+  Harry lose themselves--Meet with Tom Pulling--How Tom and his
+  Messmates managed to find their Latitude and Longitude, and to steer a
+  right Course for Port.
+
+The next morning our travellers were reminded that they were not in a
+free country, in which a man may come and go as he lists without let or
+hindrance, but that certain very stringent regulations respecting
+passports must be conformed to before they could attempt to do anything
+else.  Most condescending gentlemen, "commissionaires" they called
+themselves, undertook for certain considerations to get the work done
+for them; but Cousin Giles declined their services.
+
+"I have no doubt that we shall be able to get through the business
+ourselves perfectly well, and we shall see something of the way the
+Russians manage these affairs," said he.
+
+He intended to visit the mercantile house on whom he had a letter of
+credit, and he had also several letters of introduction which he wished
+to deliver as soon as possible.  To his bankers, accordingly, they first
+drove, and they had no difficulty in finding the house.  The merchant
+who acted in that capacity was very kind, and gave them all the
+information they could desire as to what they should do about their
+passports; he also wrote down for them a list of the names of the houses
+at which they had arranged to call.  Their first duty was to visit the
+Alien Office, to take out their permission to reside or travel in
+Russia.  It is in the south-eastern part of the city.  The gentleman who
+presides over it goes by the name of Baron Verysoft among the English,
+from the peculiar suavity of his manners.  Mounting a flight of stairs,
+they found the Baron at one end of a handsome room, more like a
+drawing-room than an office, with a number of persons seated round it,
+all waiting to undergo the ordeal of his friendly inquiries.  Nearly all
+civilised nations were there represented,--English, Germans, French, and
+Spaniards.  Among them they recognised some of their fellow-passengers.
+The simple, round, good-natured face of one of them they were glad to
+see.  His name was Mr Tobias Evergreen.  He was very civil to the lads
+on board, and seemed to take a great interest in them.  Cousin Giles
+said he did not think he was quite the man to benefit by a journey in
+Russia; but one thing was certain, he was not likely to make the police
+very suspicious about his movements.  Besides the strangers, there were
+two or three clerks in uniform, whose sharp, piercing eyes kept glancing
+round on the visitors, and narrowly scrutinising any fresh arrivals.
+They seemed to have little else to do beyond this, but to mend their
+pens, and to make occasional notes in some huge books before them.  A
+number of people had to go up to the table of the Baron, and to reply to
+his questions; so our friends were compelled to exercise their patience
+till their turn came.  Mr Evergreen spoke a few sentences, which he
+said was French.  Cousin Giles also knew a little of that language, but
+Fred was able to understand it, and to speak it tolerably well.  At last
+Mr Evergreen's turn came, and they followed him up to the table.
+
+The Baron, in the blandest and most courteous way, inquired Mr
+Evergreen's name and country; whether he was married or single; what was
+his object in travelling; the name of his banker; how long he purposed
+remaining in the country,--to all of which questions he gave answers
+which seemed perfectly satisfactory to the Baron; and he then
+volunteered several particulars of his private history, at which the
+Baron bowed and smiled, as the lads observed he had bowed and smiled at
+several persons before, while he went on making notes in his book.
+Perhaps he did not understand a word Mr Evergreen said, or, what is
+very probable, he was not listening to what did not concern him, but was
+habitually too polite to let this be discovered.  Mr Evergreen had then
+to sign his name several times in a book, and then the Baron bowed very
+politely, handed him his passport to take it to the passport office and
+various police offices, to be signed and countersigned again and again.
+Mr Evergreen on this bowed to the Baron, and the Baron bowed again.
+Mr Evergreen would have continued bowing before so great and benignant
+a personage had not the Baron summoned our friends to approach, Mr
+Evergreen meantime waiting for them.
+
+They quickly got through the business, and the Baron gave a bow to
+Cousin Giles, which, if not so profound as those he gave to Mr
+Evergreen, was much more cordial, and seemed to say: "We understand each
+other; you are a man I can trust."
+
+When they got outside the door, Mr Evergreen was loud in his praises of
+Baron Verysoft.
+
+"Nice, charming man!" he exclaimed; "so civil, so kind to me.  Don't you
+think I ought to ask him to dinner, now?  It would be but a proper
+attention in return for his civility."
+
+"He would have to fulfil a very large number of dinner engagements if
+all thought as you do; but I suspect few people are so grateful for his
+attentions," answered Cousin Giles.
+
+It was some time before Mr Evergreen could be persuaded to give up his
+idea.
+
+"The credit of our country is at stake," said he.  "Well, well, I
+suppose I must do as you advise, and let the Baron form his own
+conclusions of us."
+
+After all, the terrible passport work was got through with much less
+trouble and expense than Cousin Giles was led to believe would be the
+case.  One of the head clerks at the passport office, a Dane, who spoke
+English perfectly, assured him that if he went himself he would get the
+documents signed at once without bribery.  The Government fees were very
+low, and beyond these he paid nothing.  He was afterwards told that the
+Government wished to produce a good impression on the foreigners who
+were expected in the country to be present at the coronation, and had
+therefore issued directions to expedite the delivery of passports.
+
+About this time, certainly, new regulations were made with regard to the
+passports for natives, and many of the old and most obnoxious ones were
+altered.  Till now, a Russian, if he wished to move from one town to
+another, could not do so without giving several days' notice to the
+police; and if he wished to leave the country he was compelled to beg
+permission to do so three months beforehand.  Now, by getting any
+well-known person to be responsible for any debt he might leave unpaid,
+he was able to travel abroad at the notice of a day or two--indeed, as
+soon as the governor of his district would issue his passport.  Of
+course it was a question how long this improved system was likely to
+last.  Even now, both foreigners and natives could only get passports
+from one city to another; and thus Cousin Giles had taken out one for
+Moscow, but would be obliged then to take another to go farther into the
+interior.  All the passport arrangements having been made, the
+travellers agreed to leave their letters of introduction, as a drizzling
+rain had come on, and would prevent them from enjoying the views
+presented by the city.  When, however, Cousin Giles came to examine the
+paper of directions given by the banker, he found that they were written
+in the Russian character.  Now as the Russian letters, although some of
+the capitals are somewhat alike in shape, have a totally different sound
+to the English, or indeed to any other European language, he could not
+read a word.
+
+"Never mind," said he; "perhaps our drosky drivers, our ishvoshtsticks,
+can read it."
+
+He showed it to the two men, who bent their heads with profound sagacity
+over the paper, letting the drops of rain from their shovel hats fall
+down on the document, nearly obliterating the writing; and then they
+called another of their profession to their council, but the united
+wisdom of all three apparently could make nothing of the inscription;
+for, at last returning it, they shook their heads very gravely, and
+shrugged their shoulders in a most significant manner.
+
+"I daresay we shall fall in with some one or other who can speak English
+before long," said Cousin Giles, who was never long at a loss on an
+emergency.
+
+He accordingly stopped one or two people, whom he addressed with a
+polite bow in English and French, but they shrugged their shoulders and
+passed on.  At last they met a German who spoke English, and he very
+willingly directed the ishvoshtsticks where to drive.
+
+While Cousin Giles was paying one of his visits, and as it was near the
+luncheon hour at the hotel, he advised Fred and Harry to return there,
+promising soon to follow them.
+
+"We can find our way there easily enough!" they both exclaimed; "we know
+exactly what to say to the ishvoshtstick--Angliskoy Nabergenoy--that's
+it--the English Quay.  Oh, we shall get along famously."
+
+Saying this, they jumped up on their fore-and-aft drosky, and, giving
+their directions as well as could any Russian, they thought, away they
+drove.
+
+They were then in the Vasiliefskoi Ostrof quarter, or on Basilius
+Island.  This is the name given to the large island which is to the
+north of the main channel of the Neva.  Here is the Exchange, and many
+public buildings before mentioned, and here most of the English
+merchants reside.  They drove on, remarking a variety of novel and
+curious sights on their way; but, forgetting to take due note of the
+direction in which they were going, they passed along the quay, and over
+one of the floating bridges, and then through some fine wide streets.
+They were amused with the guards stationed at the corners of streets in
+every quarter of the city.  They were mostly thin, tall, lank men, in
+long coats reaching to their heels, with huge battle-axes on long poles
+in their hands, and helmets on their heads.  What use they were of it
+was difficult to say, for they certainly could not have run after a
+thief, much less have knocked one down.  The signs, also, in front of
+the shops appeared very ridiculous.  Instead of the display of articles
+made by an English tradesman in his windows, there were large boards
+over the doors and windows, and their sides, and under the windows,
+painted with gigantic designs representing the chief articles to be
+found within.  Huge gloves and stockings, and cravats and
+pocket-handkerchiefs, and boots and shoes, and coats and trousers, and
+hats and caps, and knives and forks and spoons--indeed, it is impossible
+to enumerate all the articles thus represented.
+
+"Those are what we may call Russian hieroglyphics, Harry," said Fred; "I
+daresay, now, that the Egyptians had something of the sort in their shop
+windows before they knew how to write."
+
+"It is a capital sort of language," replied Harry, "because, you see,
+the mujicks, who do not know how to read, and we, who don't understand
+Russian, both understand it equally well."
+
+"The best universal language," remarked Fred.  "If something of the sort
+were established regularly in the world, it would save a great deal of
+trouble.  But I say, Harry, where have we got to?  I am sure we have
+never been here before."
+
+They had been so amused that they had not remarked the change in the
+style of architecture of the streets through which they were passing.
+They were now in a region of low houses, although of considerable size,
+mostly on one floor, very few having two storeys.
+
+"I am sure this is not the way to the English Quay."
+
+Harry, who sat in front, on this began to pull the ishvoshtstick by his
+badge, and then by his sleeve, to make him stop.  The fellow either
+would not or could not understand that they wanted to stop.  At last he
+pulled up, and looked over his shoulder.
+
+"I say, Harry, do you remember what they call the English Quay?  For, on
+my word, I have forgotten it," exclaimed Fred in some little dismay,
+feeling very like Mustapha in the tale of _The Forty Thieves_, when he
+forgets the talismanic words, "Open sesame."
+
+"I'm sure I don't know exactly, but I'll try and see if I can't make the
+fellow understand," answered Harry.  "I say, you cabdrivowitch, cut away
+to the English Quayoi!"
+
+The man shook his head and sat still, as much as to say, "I don't
+understand you, my masters."
+
+"What's to be done?  He doesn't seem to think my Russian very
+first-rate," said Harry.
+
+"I say, old fellow, we are very hungry, and want to get back to our inn
+to luncheon," cried Fred, imitating the action of eating.
+
+A bright idea seemed to have seized the ishvoshtstick, and, whipping on
+his horse, he drove rapidly onward.  Harry thought that he had fully
+comprehended them.  He pulled up, however, very soon before a door, over
+which were painted pieces of meat and sausages, and rolls, and bottles,
+and glasses.  Evidently it was an eating-house, but the lads would not
+avail themselves of its accommodation, for two reasons--they did not
+know what to ask for, and they had no Russian money in their pockets;
+they therefore shook their heads, and signed to the driver to go on.
+The man evidently thought them very unreasonable and hard to please, but
+obeyed.  It was soon clear to them that they were getting to the
+outskirts of the city, and they were about trying to make the man turn
+back when they saw three figures approaching, whom by their rolling walk
+and dress they recognised even at a distance as English seamen.  When
+the men drew near, the lads were delighted to find that one was their
+shipmate, old Tom.
+
+He hailed them with a cheerful voice, and told them that, having met two
+young friends belonging to a ship at Cronstadt, he had got leave for
+them to accompany him to see Saint Petersburg.
+
+"But I say, Tom, can you tell us where we are?" said Fred.
+
+"That's just what we were going to ask you," replied old Tom.  "We've
+got out of our reckoning somehow, and we know no more where we are than
+if we had got into the Pacific without a chart or compass."
+
+"What is to be done?" exclaimed Fred; "this stupid fellow does not
+understand a word we say, and though we have told him to drive back to
+our hotel he won't go."
+
+For a long time all hands consulted together.  One proposed one thing,
+one the other.  By this time two or three other ishvoshtsticks had
+stopped with their vehicles near the strangers, but could no more than
+the first comprehend where they wanted to go.
+
+"If we could but get back to the large square with the big statue in it
+of Peter on horseback on a rock, we could find our way to the inn easily
+enough," said Fred.
+
+Old Tom thought a moment.  "What, the chap who is holding out his hand?"
+he asked.
+
+"The same," answered Fred.
+
+"Then I have it!" he exclaimed with exultation.  "Jem, just do you go
+down on all fours, and serve me for a horse for a minute, and we'll soon
+see what will happen."
+
+"What!  Do you want me to carry you there, Tom?" asked Jem.  "I'd do it
+willingly if I knew the way, but I think we should get there faster if
+we all walked on our two legs."
+
+"No, no!" answered Tom; "I want you to act the big horse, and I'll do
+the rider."
+
+"Oh, ay, I see it all now, mate," said Jem, going down on all fours,
+while old Tom, who, though serious-minded, was very much of a wag at
+proper seasons, leaped on his back, and stuck out one arm as Peter's
+statue is doing.
+
+"Now, Jem, rear up on your fore legs as the big horse is doing, and we
+shall come the statue to an affigraphy," he cried.
+
+The representation of the statue of Peter was unmistakeable.  In an
+instant the ishvoshtsticks comprehended what was required, and, clapping
+their hands with delight, while they burst into loud laughter, made
+signals to the seamen to jump into a drosky, and away they drove as fast
+as their horses could go, in the very direction from whence Fred and
+Harry had just come.  In about a quarter of an hour they saw the tall
+golden spire of the Admiralty directly ahead of them, and shortly
+afterwards they rattled into the vast open space in which it stands,
+when the ishvoshtsticks pulled up close to the very statue of Peter.
+
+"Now, starboard your helm, my lads, and steer a westerly course," sung
+out old Tom to the drivers.  They did not understand what he said, but
+they saw the direction in which he pointed along the quay, so they all
+drove off again as rapidly as before.  Harry pulled at their driver's
+badge to make him stop in front of the hotel, where they found Cousin
+Giles looking out for them.  He had not been very anxious about their
+safety, for he guessed that they had lost their way, and would probably
+find it again before long, while, as he said, it would teach them to
+keep a better reckoning in future.  Old Tom and his companions could not
+be persuaded to come in, for they said that they must make the best of
+their way back to Cronstadt.  They made Cousin Giles laugh heartily by
+their description of the mode they had hit on for making the
+ishvoshtsticks understand the point to which they wished to be conveyed.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIVE.
+
+  Bird's-eye View of Saint Petersburg from the Tower of the Admiralty--
+  The Isaac Church--Politeness of a Russian Officer--The Hermitage
+  Palace--Portraits of the Czars--Magnificent Hall--Superb View from
+  it--Jewels--Relics of Peter the Great--The Winter and other Palaces--
+  Bridge of Boats--Exchange--Church of Peter Paul--Tombs of the Czars.
+
+Cousin Giles and his young companions had climbed up to the summit of
+the Admiralty tower on a fine bright morning, when they could enjoy the
+strange scene which this aerial position presented to their eyes.
+
+"Let us take it in properly, and map it down in our memory," said Cousin
+Giles after they had looked round and round, then to a distance, and
+down into the open spaces and streets below them, with their moving
+crowd of men, and horses, and carriages, of high and low degree, dashing
+and tearing here and there as if the lives of monarchs and the fate of
+kingdoms depended on their speed.  "First, look to the east; there we
+have the rapid, clear Neva, flowing out of Lake Ladoga, which in our
+mind's eye we can see in the distance, though it is too far off to be
+seen in reality.  Then, in the same direction, near the outskirts of the
+city, the river branches off into several channels, making a delta like
+that of the Nile, and forming a number of islands of various
+dimensions--some so large that a considerable portion of the city to the
+north of us stands on them, others containing only a few gardens and
+villas.  The country surrounding the city seems barren and desolate in
+the extreme, either an arid steppe or a stagnant marsh telling of the
+agues and fevers afflicting those dwelling near it.  To the north,
+however, not many versts from the city, rise the hills and woods, and
+fields and orchards of Finland, inhabited by the finest peasantry of the
+Russian empire.  To the west appear the shining waters of the head of
+the Gulf of Finland, with the fortifications of Cronstadt in the far
+distance, and a fleet of men-of-war before it; while higher up is a
+whole squadron of gun-boats, which were lately built and fitted out in a
+great hurry to meet those England had prepared to send into these
+waters.  Across the head of the gulf, looking down on Cronstadt, peep
+forth amid a mass of green foliage the golden spires and domes, and
+white-walled palaces, and Swiss-looking villas of Peterhoff, beyond
+which, and far away as the eye can reach to the southward, and very,
+very much farther on, one great desolate steppe or plain, bearing for
+miles and miles scarcely a tree higher than a gooseberry bush, or a hill
+boasting a height of greater elevation than a molehill.  Now let us
+bring our eyes nearer to our feet, to the mouth of the river.  We see it
+crowded with steamers and every variety of craft of moderate size of all
+nations, and yet we know that the greater proportion of vessels which
+bade to the city do not come higher than Cronstadt.  The large barges
+and lighters which we see moving up and down the river convey their
+cargoes to and from that place.  High up the river, above the bridges,
+is another collection of vessels, and several are to be seen moving up
+and down the different channels; while the canals, which meander through
+the city in various directions, are literally jammed up with barges,
+chiefly unloading firewood.  The canals pass down the middle of the
+broad streets, many of which are fringed with trees.  At the mouth of
+the river, on the south side, is Mr Baird's iron factory, where
+steam-engines and iron machines of all sorts are made; near it is his
+private residence.  He is now a Russian baron, and is much esteemed by
+the Emperor.  A little higher up is the new naval arsenal, with long
+sheds, where gangs of workmen are employed in chains, and through which
+runs a canal.  Some men-of-war steamers are moored off it.  Others are
+seen in different parts of the river, their guns commanding the quays;
+so that, should an emeute ever take place, the communication between the
+various quarters of the city would speedily be cut off.  Groups of
+shipping are visible at different parts of the quays; but no ugly
+warehouses or stores of any sort are in sight, and their cargoes are
+quickly spirited away to other unaristocratical parts of the city.  Here
+the mansions of the noble and wealthy have taken possession of the whole
+length of the quays.  The first building of importance on the north
+side, opposite Mr Baird's works, is the Corps of Mines.  It is of great
+extent, and contains a museum stored with models, illustrating every
+branch of civil and military engineering, as well as some beautifully
+executed models of various descriptions of mines.  Then come in
+succession, and nearly in the same line, the magnificent edifices
+containing the Academy of Arts, the University, the Academy of Sciences,
+the Corps of Cadets, and, lastly, the Exchange.  Some of these buildings
+cover as much ground as many of the largest squares in London.  Above
+the Exchange is Petersburg Island, which is covered with a strong
+fortification, called the Citadel.  It contains a church called Peter
+Paul, built by Peter the Great, and which has a spire exactly like that
+of the Admiralty.  On the island is also the cottage which Peter the
+Great inhabited while the foundations of his wondrous city were being
+laid.  Beyond it, to the north and west, can be discerned some of the
+smaller channels of the silvery Neva, flowing among gardens and
+orchards, and green waving woods, with villas of every description of
+architecture, more suited apparently to the climate of the sunny south
+than to the cold atmosphere of this bleak region.  Between the base of
+the building on which we stand and the northern portion of the city we
+have described, runs the main channel of the river.  It is crossed by
+several broad bridges, resting on a chain of huge boats or barges, which
+can be removed when the approach of winter gives signs that, by means of
+the quick-forming ice, the inhabitants will be able to cross without
+their aid.
+
+"We will now turn and face to the south.  To the right is the long line
+of the English Quay, with its numerous handsome and substantial
+mansions, which in any other city would be called palaces.  Then comes
+the great square or rather space below us, bordered by huge piles
+containing the chief public offices in the empire.  Standing amid them,
+yet not pressed on too closely, rises the proud structure of the new
+Church of Saint Isaac, with its four granite-columned porticoes.  Then
+radiating off directly before us are the three widest and longest
+streets perhaps in Europe: first in magnificence comes the Neva
+Perspective, and then comes Peas Street, and the Resurrection
+Perspective; but running out of them are also streets of great width,
+composed of houses of numerous storeys and undoubted pretensions to
+grandeur.  The Neva Perspective is the most interesting.  On the right
+side of it stands the Kazan Church, which it was intended should be like
+Saint Peter's at Rome; but, except that it has a wide-spreading portico
+with numerous columns, it is in no way to be compared to that
+magnificent structure.  On the same side is a building, or rather a
+collection of buildings, which at a distance have no very imposing
+appearance.  This is the great market of Saint Petersburg, or the
+Gostinnoi dvor.  It consists of a series of arcades, in front of stores
+of two or more storeys, forming the outside boundary of an extensive
+region of squares, which have likewise arcades running round them, the
+area being filled with garden produce and rough wares not liable to be
+injured by weather.  Here every article, either for use or consumption,
+which the lower orders can possibly require, is to be found, from a hat
+to a cucumber, or a pair of shoes to a leg of mutton; but, as our
+friends were about to visit the place, it need not now be further
+described.
+
+"At the very end of the street could be seen the terminus of the Saint
+Petersburg and Moscow railway, the iron road itself running far, far
+away to the southward across the flat and marshy steppe.  On either side
+of this prince of streets, the Neva Prospect, and in many streets
+branching from it, could be seen a number of lofty and magnificent
+palaces with here and there golden-domed churches, and many public
+buildings, convents, and monasteries, and wide walks fringed with trees,
+and canals carrying produce from far-off countries into the very heart
+of the city.  Let us have one look more before we descend at Peter's
+Statue, not bigger apparently than a child's toy, and the Alexander
+Column, and the golden domes of the Isaac Church, and the huge Winter
+Palace, and the Hermitage, and the Imperial Theatre, and the long line
+of palaces facing the quays of the Neva beyond them; then we have to-day
+witnessed a sight not easily forgotten.
+
+"Saint Petersburg, as it stands on its millions of wooden piles, the
+liquid, rapidly-flowing Neva, the moving, living crowd of uniform-clad
+inhabitants--men, women, and children, coaches, droskies, and horses,
+infantry and cavalry, Cossacks of the Don on their ragged ponies, and
+skeleton-looking guards with their glittering halberds at every corner.
+Those at home may gain a fair notion of the scene from Burford's
+Panorama, but they will soon forget it, while we shall remember it all
+our lives: there is nothing like the reality to impress it on our
+minds."  So said Cousin Giles as our friends began to descend into the
+world below.
+
+"We must now visit some of these places in detail," said Cousin Giles as
+they stood in the square outside the Admiralty gates.  "Where shall we
+go first?"
+
+"To the big new church!" exclaimed Harry.  "I want to see if it is as
+fine inside as it is out."
+
+To the Isaac Church accordingly they steered their course.  On their way
+they encountered a party of British naval officers, whose ship was lying
+at Cronstadt.  Several of them were well-known to Cousin Giles, and they
+gladly accepted his invitation to visit the church.  When, however, they
+got to the gate in the wooden paling which still surrounded it, the
+porter signified to them that without a ticket they could not be
+admitted.  Even a silver rouble could not soften him.  He looked at it
+wistfully, but for some reason was afraid of accepting the bribe.  Just
+as they were going away in despair, a tall, gentleman-like officer
+stepped through the gateway.  He looked at them for an instant, and then
+inquired in French what they wanted.  Cousin Giles explained.
+
+"Oh, I will soon arrange that, I doubt not," he replied, returning into
+the enclosure.  He quickly came back, and begged them to enter.  "After
+you have seen the church, if you will come to the Hermitage, I will be
+there, and shall have great pleasure in showing you over it."
+
+Cousin Giles and the commander of the English ship and the other
+officers bowed and thanked him, and accepted his offer.  He then left
+them, and they mounted the long flight of steps which leads up to the
+southern portico.  It must be understood that there are three similar
+porticoes, with lofty granite columns, constituting the chief beauty of
+the exterior of the building.  The roof is supported by massive columns:
+they, and every part of the walls, are covered with the richest marbles
+of every colour, highly polished.  In the centre is a dome, near the
+summit of which, as if it were watching over the worshippers below, is
+seen a dove, floating apparently in air.  The effect is good, whatever
+may be thought of the taste which would allow so sacred an emblem to be
+thus introduced.  The great attractions of the church are a row of
+malachite pillars on either side of the high altar.  Their appearance is
+very fine; the malachite is, however, only veneered on copper, of which
+the pillars are composed.  There are also numerous pictures of saints,
+which at first sight appeared to be of the richest mosaic, like those of
+Saint Peter's at Rome, but on examination they proved to be only on
+canvas; perhaps they are placed there till the real mosaics are ready.
+The three brass doors of the church, covered with figures in the deepest
+relief, are very fine, as is also a large window of stained glass.
+
+Cousin Giles observed, that the richness of the decorations put him in
+mind of Saint Peter's at Rome; but, both in respect to size and elegance
+of design, it is much inferior.
+
+The party having satisfied their curiosity, set off across the square to
+the Hermitage.  Their new friend the colonel was at the door to receive
+them, and, conducted by a guide in the imperial livery, they mounted a
+superb flight of steps, which led them into a series of magnificent
+rooms, the walls of which were covered with some of the finest pictures
+of the great masters.  In the centre of each of these rooms were
+exquisitely-shaped vases of malachite and other valuable materials.
+
+The colonel, in the politest manner, pointed out to the party the
+pictures most worthy of admiration.  Cousin Giles was particularly
+struck by two holy families, by Raphael, painted at different periods of
+his life, very different from each other, and yet both equally
+beautiful.
+
+There are a number of very large pictures in the halls, the favourite
+subject of which is the retreat of the French from Russia, and the
+burning of Moscow.  This subject is treated in every possible manner.
+There are also a number of large pictures of the battles in which the
+Russians have been victorious.  They are not fond of keeping up a
+remembrance of their defeats.  There was a good picture of the late
+Emperor, with his haughty brow, fierce eyes, and determined lips, the
+very impersonification of self-will and human pride, now brought down to
+the very dust; but, haughty as was that brow, the expression of the
+countenance gave no sign of talent or true genius.  It was indeed
+wanting.  He had the sense to take advantage of the ideas of others, and
+the determination to carry them into execution.  The colonel stopped to
+look at the picture, but there was no smile of affection on his
+countenance.  There were also full-length portraits of many Czars, and
+among others of Paul, which had a rollicking, half-tipsy look about it,
+very characteristic of the man.  The crown was on one side, and the
+buttons of the waistcoat unfastened, if not, indeed, buttoned awry.
+Intoxication or insanity was clearly portrayed by the too faithful
+artist.  It was a way of speaking truth in which courtiers are not apt
+to indulge.
+
+The colonel led the party through a number of halls, each more vast and
+more beautiful than the former.  The walls of one were of white and
+gold, of another blue and silver, and of a third of a pinkish hue; but
+the most beautiful of all was the music hall.  The pillars which
+supported the roof were white twisted with gold--a most aerial flight of
+steps leading to a gallery above, with a second row of pillars.  It was
+more like a scene described in Eastern romance than what one expects to
+meet with in the solid reality of life.  The windows of the hall looked
+out on a fine view of the Neva, with the citadel before it.  The colonel
+caught the eyes of the British officers looking at it.
+
+"Ah!" said he, taking the hands of the commander and pointing to the
+fortress, "that is the place you would have had to take if you had come
+here in the spring; but, believe me, my dear sir, I receive you much
+more willingly in this friendly way than I should have done at the point
+of the bayonet."
+
+The colonel spoke in so frank and cordial a way, and with so much grace
+in his manner, that he completely won the hearts of his guests.  They
+all warmly pressed him to come on board, their ship, promising to show
+him everything about her.  He replied that he would gladly have availed
+himself of their offer, but that he was compelled to go to Moscow to
+make preparations for the coronation.
+
+Two fine old soldiers, tall and upright, with huge moustaches, and
+breasts covered with decorations, stood guard at the entrance of the
+treasury.  It contained jewels of every description, and curious
+productions of rare art, such as a prince in the _Arabian Nights_ might
+have been told to bring from a far distant country before he could hope
+to win the hand of some lovely princess.  Among them was a clock under a
+glass case, consisting of a golden tree, with a peacock, an owl, a cock,
+a mouse, a stream of running water, and many other things.  At each hour
+the peacock unfolds his tail, the cock crows, the owl rolls his goggle
+eyes, and the mouse runs out of its hole.  But far more interesting than
+all the crowns of gold, the robes of silk, and the precious gems, are
+numerous articles manufactured by the great Peter, and the tools with
+which he worked.  Among others is the chair on which he sat--a very
+rough affair, spy-glasses of huge dimensions, and walking-sticks in
+numerable--some thin-made switches, others thick enough to knock down a
+giant, with every variety of handle, ending with the old man's crutch, a
+complete epitome of human life.
+
+It would be impossible in our journal to mention all the magnificent
+pictures collected from every part of Europe, and the vast numbers of
+interesting curiosities.
+
+This beautiful palace, as has been remarked, was built by Catherine,
+that she might retire to it after the cares of state, and endeavour to
+forget them among its varieties and objects of interest.  That she
+attained the ease and happiness she sought, is more than doubtful.
+
+"Depend on it, my lads," observed Cousin Giles, "that powerful but bad
+woman was far from happy amid all the luxury which wealth could give
+her.  Nothing but a good conscience, void of offence towards God and
+man, can bring happiness, and that she had not got."
+
+The Winter Palace is next to the Hermitage.  Though much larger, it is
+far less interesting, as the interior was burnt down in 1837, when many
+fine paintings and articles of value were destroyed.  It is said that in
+the old palace there resided not less than six thousand persons, some
+living in huts constructed on the roof, whence no one thought of
+disturbing them.  Some thousands no doubt reside also in the present
+building.
+
+That moon-stricken monarch, Paul, built a palace for himself, in the
+hope that within its fortified walls he might be safe from the attacks
+of his enemies.  So eager was he to have it finished, that five thousand
+men were employed on it daily.  To dry the walls, iron plates were made
+hot and fastened against them; but what is done in a hurry is generally
+ill done, and such was the case in this instance: the cost was three
+times greater than it need have been.
+
+Scarcely had the unhappy Emperor inhabited his new abode three months,
+when he fell, pierced by the daggers of assassins, in the centre of the
+very fortress he had fancied would prove his security.
+
+The Hermitage having been thoroughly lionised under the auspices of the
+polite colonel, the party steered a course across the bridge of boats to
+the Exchange, a large building with a fine portico and a flight of steps
+facing the river, on the north side, at the eastern end of Vasili
+Ostrof, and with a fine open space before it.  It was presented by the
+late Emperor to the mercantile community of Saint Petersburg, whom he
+wished especially to conciliate.  In front stand two granite columns,
+decorated with the prows of ships cast in metal.  On a close examination
+of the building, our friends discovered that it was covered with stucco,
+which in many places was already crumbling away, as is the case with
+many other edifices of high and low degree in this rapidly constructed
+city.  Cousin Giles and his friends were hesitating about entering when
+they were overtaken by Mr Henshaw.
+
+"Come in," said he.  "The merchants here are happy to see strangers;
+they will not knock your hat over your eyes, as the frequenters of
+Change Alley are wont to do to intruders."
+
+They followed their friend, and found themselves in a vast hall full of
+long blue or green-coated gentry, with flowing beards and low-crowned
+hats, intermingled with others in modern European costume--some looking
+round in expectation of a correspondent, others in earnest conversation
+in knots of twos or threes, busily engaged in buying or selling, a word
+deciding the fate of hundreds of fat oxen now feeding securely in their
+native pastures, or of thousands of tall trees growing in the primeval
+forest thousands of versts away.  They were much struck by observing an
+altar on one side of the entrance, with candles burning on it, and the
+picture of a saint, black, as usual, and in a golden habit, before which
+the native merchants bowed and crossed themselves as they passed onward
+to transact their affairs.  Here were collected representatives of all
+nations, and from every part of Russia--a strange medley of
+physiognomies, tongues, and costumes; but so habitual has become to them
+a modulated tone of voice, that, in spite of the hundreds speaking at
+once, a gentle murmur alone is heard through the hall.
+
+Among the foreigners the Germans probably preponderate, but the English
+hold a very high position: in no community abroad are British merchants
+more deservedly respected than those engaged in the Russian trade.
+Cousin Giles and his young companions made the acquaintance of several,
+and found them most pleasing, gentlemanly men.  Mr Henshaw took them to
+see the portraits of the present and the late Emperor, hanging up in an
+inner room of the building.  The present Czar is a slighter and shorter
+man than his father, and with a far milder expression of countenance.
+The picture of Nicholas speaks of undaunted courage and determination,
+and at the same time of a relentless and almost a ferocious disposition.
+
+"I am glad he was not my master," exclaimed Harry; "how hard he would
+have hit if he had begun to flog one!"
+
+Leaving the Exchange, they returned to the south side, and then crossed
+another long bridge of boats, and afterwards a smaller one, to the
+Citadel.  Here their object was to see the Church of Peter Paul, where
+Peter the Great, and all his successors, including the late Emperor, lie
+buried.  After they had entered within the strongly fortified walls, an
+avenue of birch trees took them up to the church, with its lofty gilt
+spire.  The richly painted roof is supported by massive square pillars,
+covered with pictures of saints, as is the pulpit.  The altar blazes
+with gold and silver, and huge silver candlesticks.  The faces and hands
+of the saints are all black, and peep out of holes cut in sheets of gold
+or silver maiked to represent their robes; thus the artist has very
+little labour in producing a picture.  The tombs of the Czars are
+grouped on either side of the high altar.  They are plain sarcophagi,
+are usually covered with black velvet palls, very simple and
+unostentatious.  On the walls and pillars are suspended various trophies
+taken in war from the enemies of Russia.  Over the windows, as Harry
+observed, were some "huge jolly cherubs--that is to say," he added, "fat
+heads and nothing else to carry behind them; so it is no wonder their
+cheeks get blown out."
+
+"We have seen enough lions for one day," said Cousin Giles as they left
+the fortress.  "Fred will have work enough to write up his notes as it
+is."
+
+After dinner, Fred read out to Cousin Giles and his brother the remarks
+he had made on the various scenes they had witnessed in their walks and
+drives through the city.  They will be found in the following chapter.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIX.
+
+  Remarks from Fred's Note-book about Saint Petersburg, and the Habits
+  and Customs of the Russians.
+
+The streets and places of Saint Petersburg are very badly paved: the
+holes and ruts in them are full of mud when it rains, and of dust in
+summer weather; some parts are covered with blocks of wood, like the
+streets of London.  Did the English learn the system from the Russians,
+or the Russians from the English?  Other streets are paved with little
+round pebbles, very unpleasant to walk on.  The side pavements are often
+narrow and very uneven.  The frosts of winter much unsettle the
+flagstones.
+
+The policemen at the corners of the streets look as if they were all cut
+from one model, like a child's tin regiment of soldiers.  They are all
+tall, thin, lathy fellows, in long greatcoats, with huge moustaches and
+long-handled halberds; their faces as long, solemn, and grave as if the
+weight of the empire rested on their shoulders.
+
+Mr Evergreen, who had joined us near the hotel, had a cigar in his
+mouth; no sooner did the guard see it, than he made furious signs to him
+to put it out.
+
+"Dear me, he'll march me off to prison, and perhaps to Siberia!"
+exclaimed our verdant friend, hastily throwing the cigar on the ground.
+As we passed, I happened to turn round, when I beheld the long guard
+stalking rapidly towards the still burning weed; he seized it, and,
+placing it between his lips, coolly marched back to his sentry-box,
+where he continued smoking as if it were his own lawful property.
+
+These guards are said to be great rogues.  I suspect he would have
+dowsed his glim in no little hurry if one of his officers had hove in
+sight.
+
+Passed a troop of Cossacks of the Don, mounted on the most rugged,
+roughly-caparisoned little steeds, looking as if just caught wild from
+the steppes.  They act as the cavalry police of the city.  They are
+little dark fellows, and wear fur caps with red tops to them, long brown
+caftans or coats, and yellow boots; having in their hands long tapering
+lances, with which they would, doubtless, prick a man in a street
+disturbance, or on any other occasion, with the slightest possible
+compunction.
+
+When we first arrived, the houses, and even the streets, had an oveny
+smell, which showed us how hot it had been and must often be in summer.
+The westerly wind has now cooled the air, and made it very pleasant.
+The Russian wheaten bread is excellent, very light and pure, made up in
+long loaves or oblong rolls.  We were shown a loaf which came from
+Moscow, made in the shape of a basket with a handle.  A housewife
+returning from market hangs half a dozen of them on her arm.  The bread
+of peasants is very different; it is made of rye, very brown--almost
+black, very close, heavy, and sour.  They are, however, very fond of it,
+and so are even the upper classes, who seldom make a meal without taking
+some.
+
+The streets, as one drives about, seem interminable,--long wide avenues
+of trees with gardens and places extending away at right angles in all
+directions.  What dreary, hopeless work for a poor fellow on foot on a
+hot day, who has lost his way, to find it again!
+
+They are here called lines, like the avenues of New York, Cousin Giles
+says.  One is directed to the fifteenth or sixteenth line.  Most of the
+private residences here are in flats--few people have a house to
+themselves.  The entrance is either at the side of an archway, or from a
+quadrangle round which the houses are built.
+
+At the north end of the iron bridge stands a shrine, with the picture of
+the Virgin Mary on it, before which tapers are constantly burning.
+Every one who passes, belonging to the Greek Church, takes off his hat
+and rapidly and energetically crosses himself; drosky drivers, soldiers,
+peasants, rein up their horses, even going at full speed, and perform
+their acts of devotion.  People on foot stop and bow and cross
+themselves,--some scarcely breaking off a conversation, while others
+kneel before the altar and continue some minutes, if not in prayer, at
+all events in the attitude of devotion.  This end of the bridge turns on
+pivots, to allow vessels to pass up and down.
+
+In the streets are seen a number of pigeons, whom no one disturbs.  The
+Russians have a superstitious veneration for them, believing, I fancy,
+that they are inhabited by the souls of their departed relatives.  We,
+however, had a pigeon pie at the hotel.  Fruit is very dear here.  We
+were asked a silver rouble for a basket of strawberries, almost spoilt,
+and two roubles for a melon.
+
+We saw some excellent figures of native costumes.  Three roubles were
+asked for each.  One of the late Emperor cost four roubles, the
+additional rouble being put on in compliment to his Majesty.  It would
+be disrespectful to sell even a dead emperor at as low a price as a
+living subject.
+
+In every quarter of the city, over the police stations, at which the
+thin halberd-armed guards are posted, are watch-towers.  A man is
+stationed at the top, which is fitted with a telegraph, to give notice
+either of a fire or a flood.  Fires may occur any day--floods in the
+spring chiefly, from the rapid melting of the snows of winter.  Red
+flags tell of coming floods; black-striped balls by day, and lamps by
+night, of fire.
+
+An omnibus, probably built in England, passed us with four horses; a
+postilion, dressed in a drosky driver's hat and long coat, rode the
+leaders, while another man in a similar costume sat on the box to steer
+the wheelers.  The omnibuses are painted black or dark red--very
+sombre-looking conveyances, making one think of prison-vans or hearses.
+Some of the little country carts are curious-looking affairs.  They are
+built with ribs, and look like a boat with the stem and stern cut off;
+the hind wheels are kept on by a bow, one end of which comes out from
+the side of the cart, and the other presses the axle.
+
+We remarked the washing stages on the Neva.  In the centre is a long
+opening, at which the women stand and dip in the unfortunate garments to
+be cleansed, and batter them with a mallet.
+
+There are also large stages with buildings on them for swimming baths.
+On one we saw "Swimming School," written in German.  A foot regiment
+passed us with black-and-brass helmets, dark-drab long coats, black
+belts and scabbards.  They had a very sombre appearance, but were
+fine-looking fellows, evidently fit for service.
+
+A number of wood boats are unloading at the quays.  They are huge
+flat-bottomed barges, of white planks slightly fastened together.  They
+are broken up and burnt like their cargo.  The wood they bring is
+chiefly birch, and is cut up in pieces fit for the stove.  The canals
+are crowded in some places with these boats.  A number of vessels,
+chiefly Dutch, were unloading at the quays close to the Winter Palace;
+but not a particle of mercantile dirt or litter was to be seen.  Carts
+came and quickly transported the cargo to less polished regions.  It
+took us just two minutes and a half to walk rapidly from one end of the
+Winter Palace to the other.  That does not seem much, but let any one
+try how much ground he can get over in that time at a walk, and it will
+give him a good idea of the extent of the building.
+
+Droskies can be hired at a very cheap rate.  For less than sixpence one
+may go from one end of the city to the other, and that is no trifling
+distance.
+
+The peasant women whom we have seen in the city are dressed in rough
+greatcoats and boots, with coloured handkerchiefs tied over their heads
+and under their chins.  Their appearance is not attractive.
+
+On Sunday we went to the church of the English Factory, of which Dr Law
+has been minister for many years.  The outside is like a house.  The
+residence of the minister is under it.  There is also a library attached
+to it.  The church itself is a very handsome hall.  The ladies sit on
+one side, the men on the other.  Several persons in Russian uniforms
+were there.  Their parents probably were English, and, though they have
+entered the Russian service, they are allowed to adhere to their own
+form of worship.
+
+We find the Russian language perfectly unpronounceable.  It is said to
+be like Hindustanee; for instance, a stick is _palka_ in Russian, and
+_palkee_ in Hindustanee, and there are numerous words equally alike in
+the two languages.  It is very rich, we are told.  There are but few
+words expressing the same thing.  In English we say a man, a dog, and a
+tree dies; the Russians say a man dies, or rather departs, a dog
+perishes, a tree withers.  This shows that, heathens though they were
+when their language was invented, they must have believed in the
+immortality of the soul.
+
+The late Emperor disliked drinking and smoking.  If either a military or
+civil officer was known by him to have been intoxicated, from that
+moment his promotion was stopped, if even he escaped being dismissed
+immediately from his office.  The Emperor passed an edict prohibiting
+smoking in railway carriages.  On one occasion, the Grand Duke Michael,
+who was going a short distance with a party of friends by the train,
+appeared on the platform with a cigar in his mouth, but threw it away
+before stepping into the carriage.  This he did to show his respect for
+the Emperor's edict, for no one would have ventured to stop him had he
+smoked on.  Even then most of the imperial family smoked, as does the
+present Emperor.
+
+Log-huts, very similar to those used in Canada, are the usual
+habitations of Russian peasants.  They are found close up to that mighty
+city of Saint Petersburg.  A groove is cut in the length of the log,
+into which the log above it is let.  The interstices are filled with
+moss.  They are considered far warmer than any brick or stone houses.
+Sometimes they are boarded over, and when painted gaily have a cheerful
+aspect.  Ordinary plank houses are used in summer, but would scarcely be
+habitable in winter.
+
+When people during the winter are travelling in Russia, they do not use
+hot bricks or water-bottles, as the Canadians do, for their feet, but
+wear very thick fur boots, made of ample size, so as in no way to impede
+the circulation of the blood.  A tight boot is painful and dangerous,
+and many a person in consequence has lost a foot, even his life.  When
+walking, India-rubber goloshes are worn, which are taken off when a
+person enters a house.  A very large thick fur cloak, in which a person
+is completely enveloped, is worn when travelling.  It is thrown down in
+a corner as soon as a person enters a house, where it lies like a heap
+of dirty clothes.
+
+Spitting is as common among all classes as we heat that it is in
+America.  Carpets have only of late years been introduced into the
+houses of the opulent, but people spit over them just as they did over
+their brick floors.  A refined sort of spittoon has been introduced,
+with a high handle.  By touching a spring the lid flies open, and drops
+again when made use of.  Uncle Giles says the inventor would have done
+better to have invented some means of breaking his countrymen off a
+dirty habit; perhaps, however, the hot air in the rooms, and the sharp
+air outside, may have something to do with it.
+
+The English here say that the habits of social life among the Russians
+have very much improved since they mixed with them: I do not know what
+view the Russians take of the case.
+
+Thirty years ago, palaces and public offices were alike dirty in the
+extreme; but the Emperor Alexander, after his visit to England,
+introduced great improvements.  Now the public offices at Saint
+Petersburg, at all events, are kept fairly clean.  I do not think,
+however, that the housemaid has got so far south as Moscow; it is too
+holy a place, in a Russian's idea, to make cleanliness necessary.
+
+An English friend told us that once upon a time he went to pay a visit
+to a great man, who lived in a great house.  The entrance-hall was
+unspeakably dirty; round it, against the walls, were a number of
+ottomans, on which slept numerous shock-headed, sandal-footed,
+long-coated, red-shirted serfs, with their master's fur cloaks rolled up
+as pillows.  The next hall was scarcely cleaner.  The third was
+gorgeously furnished, but no neat-handed housemaid, apparently, ever
+entered to sweep the floors or brush away the cobwebs.  An ante-room was
+a shade better; while the great man's private chamber looked really
+comfortable, as if he had imbibed a sufficient regard for cleanliness to
+keep himself out of the dirt.
+
+Perhaps with the same object the late Emperor introduced foot pavements
+in Saint Petersburg.  Formerly foot passengers had to pick their way
+from stone to stone among rivulets of mud.  English ladies used to be
+much admired for the propriety of their walking dresses; now, on account
+of the undue length of their gowns, they kick up so great a dust that it
+is most unpleasant to walk behind them.  Uncle Giles says, "Perhaps they
+do it to keep off danglers."  Russian ladies never think of walking in
+the city--the streets of Saint Petersburg, in truth, do not tempt them;
+in spring and autumn they are thick with mud, in summer with the finest
+dust.
+
+The ladies of Russia are, like those in other countries, very fond of
+lap-dogs, and give very high prices for them.  The groom who came over
+with us brought two dozen, shut up in hen-coops, and expected to get 20
+pounds at least for each of them.
+
+The wealthy Russians generally give enormous prices for luxuries.  Our
+captain on one voyage brought over some oysters, which sold, he told us,
+at fourpence each.  They are not to be found in the Baltic.  He made
+about nine hundred per cent, by them.  Saint Petersburg is very ill
+supplied with salt-water fish; there are neither lobsters nor flatfish.
+
+It is generally supposed in England that the very finest tea is to be
+found in Russia, brought all the way overland from China.  This an
+English friend assured us is a mistake.  There is certainly very good
+tea in Russia, but what costs there ten shillings is not superior to
+what can be bought in England at from four to five shillings.  Very
+large quantities of very bad tea are smuggled over the German frontier,
+a large proportion probably having come round from China by sea, and not
+considered good enough for the English market.
+
+Our friend on one occasion, being on his way home overland, having
+missed the diligence, had to stop a day at Tilsit, a place celebrated
+for the Articles of Peace signed there between Napoleon and the Allies.
+While wandering round the town, he saw large storehouses with chests
+piled upon chests of tea.  He asked where all the tea was to go.  Some
+people would not answer, but others told him that Russian merchants came
+and bought it, and carried it away over the frontier.  Large quantities
+used to be smuggled through Finland, which has different custom
+regulations to those of Russia.  A light duty only was charged on tea in
+that country, but how to get it into Russia was the question.  To effect
+this, logs of wood were hollowed out, filled with tea, and floated down
+the streams.  Carts loaded with casks of apples entered the country;
+inside the casks were chests of tea.  This sort of smuggling just suited
+the taste and enterprise of a Russian peasant.
+
+Once upon a time, the cart of an unfortunate smuggler broke down in
+front of the Emperor's palace.  Not only did the cart break, but so did
+the casks of apples, and out rolled the chests of tea.  The affrighted
+smugglers fled, and left their property to the police, whose samovars
+did not probably smoke the less merrily in consequence.  At all events,
+the _contretemps_ opened the eyes of the Emperor somewhat to the folly
+of having high restrictive duties with a frontier so enormous as that of
+Russia; but, whatever were his plans of reform, the war and death cut
+them short.  Large quantities of tea are at the present time imported
+into the neighbouring German ports, for the acknowledged object of
+sending them into Russia.
+
+Of course, as is to be expected, there is much bribery and corruption in
+all departments of Government.  An officer of the Guards, Count ---, was
+appointed chief of the Custom-house.  He had not much practical
+knowledge of business, but he resolved to make amends for his deficiency
+in that respect by looking into things with his own eyes.  Once upon a
+time the daughter of one of his subordinates was married, and he was
+invited to the feast.  Now, on so important an occasion, if a man has
+not a house of his own large enough to entertain his guests, he borrows
+one from a friend.  On this occasion the father of the bride borrowed
+one from an official in his own department.  When Count --- entered, he
+admired the furniture and the rooms, and everything in it.
+
+"Of course you have hired this; to whom does it belong?"
+
+"It belongs to my friend So-and-so; he has lent it to me," was the
+answer.
+
+"Ho, ho!" thought the Count.  "So-and-so must have a fine private
+fortune, or else he must have the knack of fingering large bribes."
+
+He consequently watched the unsuspecting So-and-so very narrowly, and
+soon discovered that he had fingers of a most tenacious description,
+which easily accounted for his handsome income.  So-and-so, to his
+surprise, found himself one fine morning dismissed from his office, and
+compelled to retire into well-merited poverty and disgrace.
+
+The Russians are at all times civil to strangers, and even during the
+war none of the English who remained were ever insulted by them.  The
+English merchants, indeed, who have long resided in the country, were
+allowed to move about as they liked, and several even resided at
+Peterhoff, in sight of the British fleet.  The only people who ever said
+a word against them were some Prussians, whose direct trade was injured
+by the war.  Prussia herself, however, benefited by the transit of goods
+across her frontier.
+
+The mode of heating houses has been very much improved of late years.
+The best houses have now fireplaces, as well as stoves, which add much
+to the ventilation of the rooms.  The stoves are made of brick; they are
+peculiar to the country, and may be called air-stoves.  The fresh air is
+introduced by pipes from the outside, and, passing over the stove, is
+conveyed in other pipes through the house.  The air also passes over a
+plate of iron, which is sprinkled sometimes with plain water, or by the
+more luxurious with rose-water.  By depressing or elevating this plate,
+a current of air is sent through the room.
+
+All the rooms have double windows; the inside one is removed in summer--
+not the outside one, as in Canada.  If the air was allowed to get in
+between the two windows, the glass would become permanently covered with
+frost.  To prevent this, a glass panel, which opens at both ends, is
+introduced between the two windows, and through this the room is aired.
+Great care is taken not to begin to heat the rooms till the second
+window is put in, or the glass in this case also would become coated
+with ice, and would remain so all the winter.
+
+The Russian peasants are very economical in their mode of cooking.  They
+are horrified at seeing the broth in which a leg of mutton is boiled
+thrown away, as is too often done in England.  They will make a dish out
+of almost any of the herbs of the field, or of birds, beasts, or
+creeping things.  They make all sorts of fish soups, of which they are
+especially fond; so, indeed, are the rich.  All classes have an especial
+affection for the black rye bread of the country.  We found it very
+sour, though I daresay habit might make one like it.  All classes use
+porridges of every description.  Buck-wheat is used for this purpose, as
+also to make cakes, as in America.  What we call manna croup is also
+used in a variety of ways.  A favourite fish among the higher classes is
+the sterlet, a sort of sturgeon; soup is made of it, but it is very
+expensive.
+
+Good as some of the police regulations are, others are very absurd.  If
+a person is wounded or otherwise injured, no one may go near him; for,
+if the wounded man should die, the person who went to help him would be
+carried off to prison, and certainly be tried for the murder.  An
+acquaintance told us that one day in winter he saw from the window of a
+hotel, where he was standing with a friend, an English lady driving in a
+sledge; at that moment a heavy sledge drove against it, upsetting it,
+and severely injuring her.  A policeman was on the point of seizing her
+sledge, and would have taken it and herself to the police office, where,
+to a certainty, she would have died.  There was not a moment for
+thought.  His friend knocked down the policeman and then ran off, while
+he jumped into the sledge and drove off to a hotel, whence he sent for
+the lady's husband.  The lady was ill for many weeks.  He never heard
+anything more of the knocked-down policeman, who probably, after picking
+himself up, was content with the capture of the heavy sledge which had
+committed the mischief.
+
+We find that by going to Saint Petersburg we have lost two hours of
+time, but, as we hope to return home, we shall get it back again.  The
+Russians, it must be remembered, in their love for Conservatism, keep
+the old style of time, which is about ten days behind the new.  This
+rather puzzled us at first.
+
+Skating is not in vogue in Russia; indeed, the ice so soon becomes
+covered with snow, that there is very little opportunity afforded to
+indulge in the pastime.  The Montagne-Russe is the great out-of-door
+pastime.  Huge hills are formed of ice and snow, and placed in a line,
+one beyond the other.  People climb up to the top of the first with
+little sledges.  A gentleman sits in front and guides the sledge, a lady
+holds on behind, and away they go down one hill, the impetus carrying
+them up the other, or a considerable way up it, and thus the whole line
+is traversed.  So fond are the Russians of the amusement, that they
+have, even in summer, wooden mountains with greased roads, which answer
+the purpose of ice.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVEN.
+
+  Journey to Moscow--Russian Railway--Passengers--Mr Evergreen and his
+  Hat-box--Refreshment Rooms--Scenes on the Road--Polite Spy--First View
+  of Moscow--Unromantic Mode of Entering it--Hotel Chollet--The Chinese
+  City--The Kremlin--The Great Bazaar--Cathedral of Saint Basil--The
+  Holy Gate--Great Bell of Moscow--Tower of Ivan Veleki--Wonderful View
+  from the Summit--The Tulip City.
+
+"And now, my boys, we may pack up and be off for Moscow," exclaimed
+Cousin Giles as they reached the Gostiniza Benson, after settling all
+the preliminary passport business, without which no one, either of high
+or low degree, subject or foreigner, can move from one city to another
+in the empire of the Czar.  There is no great difficulty in this
+passport business, and no great annoyance; but still it is apt to ruffle
+the temper of the most mild and patient men, to have to spend the whole
+of one day, during their stay in each place, in performing a task which
+might well be dispensed with, not to speak of having to disburse several
+roubles on each occasion; it is not, therefore, surprising that
+everybody who writes about Russia should grumble at the system, and
+occupy many pages in abusing it.
+
+The Moscow railroad station is at the end of the Nevsky Prospect.  The
+travellers reached it soon after ten o'clock.  Only one train started in
+the day, so that to miss it was to lose a day.  The building is a fine
+one.  It is entirely under Government superintendence, and the
+stationmaster, and ticket-clerks, and porters, and policemen, and guards
+are all in military uniform; it makes a person very much inclined to
+behave himself.  A passenger must get to the station in good time, for
+there are all sorts of preliminaries to be gone through.  One cannot
+jump out of a cab, rush to the ticket-office, sing out, "Porter, bring
+along my luggage!" jump into a carriage, and away to Edinburgh or
+Holyhead without a question being asked;--oh no!  People do not go ahead
+quite so fast in the kingdom of the Czar.  Before a ticket can be got,
+the passport must be shown at one office, where it is stamped; then one
+goes over to another office, where it is examined and the ticket
+granted,--all in the most deliberate way, rather trying to a person who
+fancies that he is late.  Then the luggage must be taken to another
+place, and a ticket bought for it, and paid for according to the number
+of articles; then it must be delivered over the counter at another
+place; and lastly, the perplexed traveller is allowed to go on the
+platform and select his seat.  The carriages are very long, the
+entrance, after the American model, being at each end, where there is a
+platform, a passage running down the whole length of the carriage, so
+that people can pass from one end of the train to the other.  The
+second-class have seats arranged in rows like those in a church, and are
+not very comfortable for a long journey; but the first-class are more
+luxurious: at each end there is a small ante-room, then a saloon with
+ottomans round it, and the centre compartment is full of large,
+luxurious arm-chairs, far enough apart to allow long-legged men to
+stretch their legs to the full.  The windows are large, and of plate
+glass, which, as Harry observed, would be very convenient if there was
+anything to look at out of them.  Our friends had arranged themselves in
+one of the centre compartments, and the lime of departure was at hand,
+when Mr Evergreen made his appearance on the platform in a state of
+great agitation, first turning to one moustached fierce-looking
+official, then to another, appealing in vain to know, as it appeared,
+what had become of parts of his luggage.
+
+"Does any one know the Russian for hat-box?" he exclaimed.
+"Hatboxichoff!  Hatboxichoff!" he cried in piteous accents.  "Dear me,
+dear me--there are all my writing things in it, and my letters, and my
+money, and my best hat, and my gloves; and I shall be sent to prison as
+an impostor, and not be able to appear decent at the coronation, and
+have no means of paying my bills, and be starved, and--"
+
+At that moment he caught sight of Cousin Giles' face.  His countenance
+brightened up.  "Oh, Mr Fairman, I am so glad to see you!--can you help
+me?" he cried.
+
+Cousin Giles asked to see his luggage ticket, and, finding that the same
+number of packages which he possessed in all were marked on it, assured
+him that there could be no doubt his hat-box was safe.
+
+Thus assured in his mind, Mr Evergreen took his seat.  The ticket is a
+long strip of paper, with the names of the chief places on the road
+marked on it, and the fares to each of them.  The passengers having
+taken their places, the military officials waved their hands, and the
+long train began to move.
+
+The view as they left the city was not interesting.  Some large
+red-brick houses appeared above the low huts in the outskirts, with a
+large reed-bordered lagoon, and a wide extent of dead level covered with
+low shrubs or rank dry grass.  The distance to Moscow is about five
+hundred versts, nearly four hundred miles, and for the whole of that
+distance there is very little improvement towards picturesque beauty.
+Now and then, to be sure, they came to woods of birch or fir, but the
+trees were small and widely scattered; still the chief feature was a
+dead flat covered with scrub.
+
+Russia, however, is very far from being a barren and unfruitful country.
+There are large tracts near its numerous rivers which yield an abundant
+harvest of all descriptions of corn, and there are forests full of the
+finest trees, whilst fruits of many descriptions also are produced.
+This particular road, however, gives a stranger a very unfavourable
+impression of the country; still there were many things to interest our
+friends.  About a mile, it seemed, from each other were little oblong
+wooden cottages, with a square enclosure in the rear and a platform in
+front, all so exactly alike that Harry said they looked as if they had
+been taken out of some Dutch brobdignag toy-box and placed along the
+road.  In front of each hut, as the train passed along, appeared a
+guard, presenting arms with an iron-headed pike; and so exactly did one
+look like the other that Harry said he was certain there must be some
+spring underground which made them all pop up as the train passed along.
+There must be at least five hundred along the line--every hut, man,
+cap, pike, and greatcoat formed after the same model; there were guards,
+also, at all the signal stations.  Whenever, also, the train stopped, a
+fierce-looking guard, in the uniform of the French gendarmes,--
+bright-blue coats, helmets, and silver ornaments,--stood immoveable as
+sentries before each of the carriages, to prevent people from doing
+anything they ought not to do: altogether there seemed to be a very
+wholesome discipline established along the line.  At all the
+stopping-places there were a number of Swiss-looking cottages,
+apparently newly erected; while the bridges and palings, and flights of
+steps and banisters, and refreshment booths, and vast long sheds in
+which heaps of logs were piled up, all looked as if they had been made
+in Switzerland, and were exactly like the models which come in neat
+white wooden boxes to England from that country of mountains and snow.
+They were very neat, and pretty, and picturesque, but certainly did not
+look as if they belonged to the place.
+
+At every station there are refreshments of some sort.  Our friends
+observed fruits, raspberries, strawberries, and peaches, though of an
+untempting appearance and very dear; and also cakes of various forms,
+bread, beer, and of course quass.
+
+At all the larger stations there are large, long, handsome refreshment
+rooms, equal in appearance to those at the large stations in England,--
+there is one for each class.  At one of these they stopped for
+three-quarters of an hour, when a good dinner was served at about
+half-past four.  They did not note the name of the place, but Harry
+suggested that it must have been _Chudova_, which was one of the
+principal places on the road.
+
+_Chew_!
+
+"Oh, oh, Harry!" exclaimed Fred as he heard his brother's atrocious pun.
+
+The tea is excellent at these places; a tumblerful costs ten kopecks,
+but a regular tea costs thirty, about fifteen-pence; indeed, the charges
+are much the same as in England.  Probably at home, more substantial and
+better fare is to be got at the same price.
+
+As soon as the train stops, out get all the passengers, and a very
+motley assemblage they form as they pace up and down on the platform.
+Uniforms of all sorts predominate, from the modern-coated, richly-laced
+officer of the Emperor's guard, to the sombre-dressed rank and file of
+the line.  There were Circassians and Georgians, and Cossacks of the Don
+and Volga, and other remote districts, in blue and silver coats, fur
+caps with red tops, and wide trousers, and yellow boots, and gauntlets
+on their hands, and jewelled daggers, and chain armour, and carved
+scimitars, with black, flashing eyes, and thickly curling glossy beards
+and moustaches, their language as well as their appearance telling of
+far-off southern regions, which have succumbed before the arms or the
+diplomacy of Russia.  Then there were Armenians and Persians, men of
+peace, intent only on making money, with high-pointed fur caps, long
+gowns, full, dark trousers, and waists belted not to carry swords, but
+inkhorns; and Tartars with turbans, and rich shawls, and
+gold-embroidered slippers; and priests with low-crowned, broad-brimmed
+hats, beneath which straggled huge quantities of long light hair, and
+long green coats, and crosses rather ostentatiously shown at their
+breasts.  There were traders, too, from the northern cities of the
+Empire, dressed in long dressing-gown-looking coats, more properly
+described as dirty than clean, and high boots, and low-crowned hats, and
+beards of considerable length and thickness; while the humbler classes,
+the mujicks, evidently delighted in pink shirts with their tails worn
+outside their trousers, and fastened round their waist with a sash or
+belt.  These wore caps, and high boots, and long coats, like the rest;
+indeed, the inhabitants of Russia may be said to be a long-coated,
+boot-wearing population.  There were women passengers, but there was
+nothing very peculiar in their appearance.  The upper classes wore
+bonnets, and the lower had handkerchiefs tied over their heads, or caps,
+with thick-padded cloaks.  They all had brought huge leather pillows,
+and cloaks, and shawls, to make themselves comfortable in the carriages.
+
+No sooner did the train stop than all the men lighted their cigars and
+pipes, and began to puff away most assiduously.  Our friends were much
+amused at seeing a servant bring his master, an old gentleman, his pipe
+at every station.  It was the servant's business not only to light it
+but to draw it up, and the cunning rogue took good care to get as many
+whiffs out of it as possible before he removed it from his own mouth.
+
+"That's what I call smoking made easy," said Harry.  "I've heard of a
+man being another's mouthpiece, and this old gentleman seems to make use
+of his serf for the same purpose."
+
+Some of the priests wore fur caps and dark gowns, and others had on
+broad-brimmed hats and green gowns, with dark overcoats; some had
+several crosses on their breasts, frizzy or straggling hair being common
+to all.  One of them, who was in a first-class carriage, pulled out a
+comb and began combing his beard and hair with great assiduity--an
+operation more pleasant, doubtless, to himself than to his neighbours.
+There was a fine Abasian officer--Abasia is a province bordering on the
+Caucasus, conquered by the Russians.  He wore a black fur cap with a
+red-and-white top to it,--night-cap fashion,--a white coat with
+cartridge cases in the breast and trimmed and lined with fur, a
+silver-lace belt round his waist, white gloves with fur backs, and green
+trousers with a silver stripe down the legs; yellow boots, a curved
+scimitar behind, and a richly-jewelled dagger in his belt in front
+completed his costume.  He was a very fine-looking fellow, and was most
+evidently aware of the fact.  He was on good terms with every one, and
+laughed and chatted with all the officers of rank.  Such were some of
+the companions our friends had on their journey.
+
+Mr Evergreen said that he considered it his duty to taste the tea at
+each stopping-place, to ascertain whether it was really superior to any
+to be found out of China.  At some places he took only a tumblerful, but
+at others the samovar, with the little teapot on the top of it, and a
+small china cup were placed before him, with a tumbler also.  Those who
+have not drunk tea out of a tumbler may be assured that it is by far the
+best way of taking it to quench thirst.  The Americans put a lump of ice
+into it, which keeps bobbing up against the nose while the hot tea is
+being quaffed--also a very agreeable fashion.  The result of all this
+tea-drinking was, that poor Evergreen could not manage to close his eyes
+when night came on, and the rest of his party went to sleep.  After some
+hours had passed, he was accosted by an officer in uniform.
+
+"Ah, sir, I see that sleep has fled your eyelids," said the officer in
+very good English.
+
+"Oh, yes; but I can do very well without it," replied Evergreen,
+delighted to have some one to talk to; "there is always so much to think
+about and interest one in a strange country."
+
+"Your first visit here, I presume?" said the stranger.
+
+"Never out of England before," replied Evergreen.
+
+"What do you think of affairs in general in this country?" asked the
+stranger.
+
+"Very large country--very fine country--inhabitants very polite.  Big
+city Saint Petersburg.  People may not say exactly what they think, I
+hear; but that's nothing to me, you know," observed our friend.
+
+"Oh, that's quite a mistake, my dear sir," replied the stranger; "people
+may say exactly what they think, I assure you: no one interferes with
+them.  Now, for instance, in the friendly way in which we are talking,
+one man might unbosom himself to another of his most secret thoughts,
+and no harm could come to him."
+
+"Very pleasant state of society; exactly what I like," said Evergreen,
+who thereupon, taking the hint, launched forth on several little bits of
+his own family history, with which he was fond of entertaining any
+casual acquaintance.
+
+The strange officer appeared to be listening attentively, and finally
+offered to call upon Evergreen and to show him the lions of Moscow.
+
+Cousin Giles awoke while the conversation was going on, and was
+exceedingly amused at what he overheard, especially with the warm way in
+which Evergreen accepted the stranger's offer.  After the latter had
+made numerous inquiries about Cousin Giles, and Fred, and Harry, he got
+up and went into another carriage.
+
+"Wonderfully polite man that was who came and talked to me last night,"
+observed Evergreen in the morning, after the passengers had rubbed their
+eyes and stretched themselves.  "I wonder who he can be.  A man of some
+consequence, I should think."
+
+Among the passengers were some merchants from the north, who had never
+before been at Moscow.  They had for some time been putting their heads
+out of the windows, and as they caught sight of a few gilt domes and
+gaily-coloured roofs, and some convents scattered about, which was all
+that was visible of the holy city, they began crossing themselves and
+bowing most vigorously.  This ceremony lasted till the train rushed into
+the station.  The luggage was handed out as each person presented his
+ticket, and Mr Evergreen found, to his delight, that his hat-box was
+safe.  A vast number of ishvoshtsticks presented their tickets, and
+offered their droskies for hire, and, two being selected, away the whole
+party rattled through broadish streets, paved with pebbles, up and down
+hill, among gardens, and green-roofed houses, and pink, and yellow, and
+grey, and blue walls, till they reached their hotel.
+
+They had been recommended to go to that of Monsieur Chollet, in the
+Grand Lubianka, and they had no reason to regret their choice.  Nowhere
+could a more civil, active, attentive landlord be found.  Every language
+seemed to flow with the greatest ease from his tongue.  He would be
+talking to three or four customers in German, and English, and Italian,
+addressing his wife in French, and scolding his servants in their native
+Russian, answering fifty questions, giving advice, and receiving
+accounts, all in one breath.  He did all sorts of things better than any
+one else.  He went to market, came back and cooked the dinner, mixed the
+salad, and in another instant appeared dressed as if for a ball, and
+took his place at the head of the table.  His dinners were very good,
+somewhat in the German fashion; and his rooms were very comfortable, and
+excessively clean for Russia.
+
+As soon as our friends had dressed and breakfasted, they sallied forth
+to gain a general view of the city.  Evergreen said he thought he ought
+to wait for his new acquaintance, who had promised to call; but an
+English merchant, who happened to overhear him, assured him that he must
+not be delicate on the subject, as the person in question was simply one
+of the guards of the train, and that he was employed by the police to
+pick up any information he could about passengers.
+
+"Had he thought you a suspicious character, you would certainly have
+been honoured by a visit from him," he added.
+
+"Dear me, if I had said anything treasonable, I should have been whirled
+off to a dungeon to a certainty," exclaimed poor Evergreen, shuddering
+at the thought of the danger he had escaped.
+
+Moscow is one of the most romantic cities in Europe--indeed, there is no
+other to be compared with it; but our friends had entered it in so
+ordinary, every-day a manner that at first they could hardly persuade
+themselves that they had reached a considerable way towards the centre
+of Russia, and were really and truly in that far-famed city.
+
+"Now, my boys, we will steer a course for the Kremlin," cried Cousin
+Giles, having taken the bearings of their hotel as they walked along the
+street called the Grand Lubianka.
+
+Their course was nearly a straight one.  In a little time, crossing an
+open space, they found themselves before a line of fortified walls, and
+a gateway, such as they might have expected to see in a picture of China
+or Tartary, with strange-looking eastern turrets, and domes, and roofs
+rising within them.
+
+"This must be the Chinese city we have heard of," said Cousin Giles.
+
+So it was.  It is a city within a city.  It has three sides, the walls
+of the Kremlin making the fourth.  They passed through the gateway and
+found themselves in a narrow street, the buildings on either side of
+them having a still more Chinese appearance.  On the left was a little
+church, with numerous parti-coloured domes, and minarets, and towers,
+and outside staircases leading nowhere, and railings, and balconies, and
+little excrescences of roofs, altogether forming an edifice much more
+like a Chinese than a Christian temple.  Close to it, on the left, they
+saw a long open space, just inside the walls, crowded with people of the
+lowest order, with booths on either side.  This was what may be called
+the rag fair of Moscow.  The booths or shops contain all the articles
+either for dress or household purposes used by the mujicks.  The sellers
+and purchasers were all talking and laughing, and haggling and
+chattering away as if the affairs of the nation depended on what they
+were about, and yet probably a few kopecks would have paid for any one
+of the articles bought or sold.  At the end of the street the travellers
+came to the entrance of the great bazaar of Moscow, and as they looked
+down its numerous long alleys, glazed over at the top, they saw lines of
+little shops,--jewellers, and silversmiths, and makers of images, and
+hatters, and shoemakers, and tinmen, and trunk-makers, and other workers
+in leather, and head-dress makers, and blacksmiths, and toy sellers,--
+indeed, it would be difficult to enumerate all the various trades and
+handicrafts there represented, each trade being in a row by itself.
+Each shop was little more than a recess, with a counter in front of it,
+before which the shopmen stood, praising in loud voices their wares, and
+inviting passers-by to stop and inspect them.  No time, however, was
+spent at the bazaar, for across a wide open space appeared a high
+pinnacled wall, with a line of curious green-pointed roofed towers, with
+golden crescents surmounted by crosses on their summits, and two
+gateways up a steep slope.  Over the walls appeared a confused mass of
+golden and blue-and-silver domes, and spires, and towers, and green
+roofs, and crescents, and crosses, and gold and silver chains,
+glittering in the sun, altogether forming a scene such as is pictured in
+the _Arabian Nights Entertainments_ or other Oriental romances, but such
+as one scarcely expects to find within eight days' easy journey of
+sober-minded, old, matter-of-fact England.
+
+"That must be the Kremlin," exclaimed Fred.  "Well, it is a curious
+place!"
+
+"There can be no doubt about it," observed Cousin Giles.  "And that gate
+to the left, under the high tower, with the lamp and the picture over
+it, must be the Holy Gate.  Let us go through it.  It leads us at once,
+I see by the map, to the terrace overlooking the river."  As they went
+down the place towards the river, they found themselves before a fine
+bronze group on a high pedestal.
+
+"Oh, those must be the statues of the two patriots, Posharskoi, the
+general who drove away the Tartars, and Minin, the merchant who devoted
+his fortune to the support of the army with which the victory was won.
+We will read about them by and by," said Cousin Giles.
+
+As they stood there, on their right side were the walls of the Kremlin,
+on their left the front of the bazaar, while some way beyond appeared a
+most extraordinary-looking church, the Cathedral of Saint Basil.  It has
+nine domes or cupolas,--one large one in the centre, and eight round it,
+each one painted of a different colour, with various ornaments; some are
+in stripes, some in checks, some red, some blue, some green, while the
+structure on which these domes stand consists of all sorts of ins and
+outs; windows, and stairs, and pillars, and arches--all, too, of
+different colours, green, and yellow, and red predominating.  Harry
+looked at it for a minute, and then burst into a fit of laughter.
+
+"Well, that is the funniest building I ever saw," he exclaimed.  "It
+looks as if it was built up of sentry-boxes, and Hansom's cabs, and
+dovecots, and windmills, and pig-sties, and all sorts of other things.
+It was built, I see, by Ivan the Cruel, and it is said that he was so
+pleased with its strangeness that he put out the eyes of the unfortunate
+architect, to prevent his ever building another like it."
+
+"Pleasant gentleman he must have been," observed Evergreen.  "A new way
+he took to reward merit."
+
+"Rather an old way," said Cousin Giles.  "I do not think that any
+sovereign would venture on such a proceeding now-a-days."
+
+Putting off their visit to the bizarre little cathedral, they turned to
+the right through the Sacred Gate.  Mr Evergreen did not observe that
+every one passing under it took off his hat, and very nearly got a prod
+from the sentry's bayonet for his neglect of that ceremony.  The story
+goes, that the picture over the gateway was unscorched by fire, and that
+the lamp continued burning all the time the French were in occupation of
+the city, untrimmed and unattended.  A newly-recruited regiment of
+soldiers, without arms, were marching through, and it was curious to
+observe each man in succession doff his cap and cross himself as he
+passed the spot.  High and low, rich and poor, all do the same.  The
+only persons who neglected the duty were some wild-looking, dark-eyed
+lads, whose marked features and olive complexions at once proclaimed
+them to be Zingari or gipsies, of whom a great number are found in
+Russia.  Moscow is said, like Rome, to stand on seven hills, of which
+that occupied by the Kremlin is the highest.  It is not, however, as
+much as a hundred feet above the Moscowa, which flows in a horseshoe
+form directly to the south of it.  It is enclosed by four walls of
+irregular length--that at the west end being so short that the space it
+occupies is almost triangular.  Round the walls are about eighteen
+towers, which vary in shape and height, though they all have
+high-pointed roofs covered with green tiles.  Outside the walls are
+gardens with grass, and trees, and gravel walks.  In the interior, on
+the south side, is a magnificent esplanade and terrace overlooking the
+river, and the strange jumble of coloured buildings which compose the
+city.  The rest of the ground is occupied with a collection of churches
+of all shapes and sizes and colours, and towers, and convents, and
+palaces.  One palace, however, surpasses them all in beauty and size,
+though its shining white walls and richly-carved facade and general
+bran-new appearance look sadly out of place among all the venerable,
+grotesque, many-coloured, odd-shaped, Byzantine edifices which are
+dotted about in its neighbourhood.  It looks like some huge intruder
+into the place, which all the old inhabitants are collecting to put
+forth again; or like an emu in a poultry-yard, at which all the
+parti-coloured cocks and hens and ducks are crowing, and cackling, and
+quacking, in a vain endeavour to frighten him out.  It required more
+than one visit to the spot before our friends could learn the geography
+of the place, and distinguish the numerous churches of all sizes, and
+heights, and shapes, and varieties of outside and inside adornment.  The
+chief, called the Cathedral, has its walls painted with subjects taken
+from Scripture, which to the purer taste of Protestants appear shocking
+and blasphemous.  However, our travellers did not then attend to the
+details of the strange occupants of the Kremlin.  Their object was to
+obtain a comprehensive view of the city from the summit of that gaunt
+old monster, the Tower of Ivan Veleki.  They first, however, examined
+the huge bell which stands on a pedestal at its foot.  This bell was
+once suspended on the top of a tower, which was burnt, and the bell in
+its fall had a little piece broken out of it.  When they got up to it,
+they found that this little piece was far too heavy for any ten men to
+lift, and that the gap it left was big enough for a man to walk through.
+
+The door of the old tower was open, and they mounted a well-conditioned
+flight of circular steps towards the summit.  Having climbed to the top
+of the first flight, they passed through a door into another tower,
+where there hung a peal of huge bells,--one more vast than the rest,
+which, on being struck, gave forth a wondrously musical sound.
+
+"I should not like to be near that fellow while he was ringing," cried
+Harry; "he would make noise enough to deafen a rhinoceros."
+
+They did not stop to hear those famous bells, but climbed on till they
+stood high above all the surrounding edifices.  As they gazed forth from
+the narrow stone balcony which ran round the dome, they beheld rising on
+every side a sea of spires, domes, cupolas, minarets, towers, and roofs
+of every conceivable colour, shape, and size, not altogether unlike a
+vast garden filled with brobdignagian tulips, but with more hues than
+any tulip bed ever possessed; and, in addition to the many-coloured
+tints of the rainbow, there appeared numberless balls of burnished gold
+and silver, glittering brightly in the sun.
+
+Cousin Giles first ascertained their position by his compass.  Turning
+to the north, they observed in that direction fewer churches, but
+numerous villas and lines of wood, with the arid steppe beyond them.  To
+the south-west arose the Sparrow Hills, those celebrated heights whence
+Napoleon and his then victorious army first caught sight of that magic
+city which they deemed was soon to be the reward of all their toils, but
+yet which, ere many days had passed, was to prove the cause of their
+destruction.  In the same direction the Moscowa was seen flowing down
+towards the city, to circle round a portion of it under the walls of the
+Kremlin, and then to run off again at an acute angle to the east.  To
+the south, on a plain near the banks of the river, rose high above other
+buildings the red towers and walls of the Donskoy Convent, several other
+convents, carefully painted of different colours, being scattered about.
+
+"The birds which have their nests there can have no fear of mistaking
+their proper abodes on their return from their morning flight," observed
+Harry, who generally formed quaint notions on what he saw.
+
+Directly below them were the numerous and strange gold, and black, and
+blue, and green domes of the churches of the Kremlin,--its dark-green
+pointed towers, its wide gravelled esplanade, the roofs of its vast
+palaces and public buildings, its belt of turreted walls and gardens
+with their green lawns and shade-giving trees; but stranger still was
+the city itself, with its thousands of coloured cupolas, turrets, domes,
+spires, roofs, and walls.  To define this strangeness more clearly,
+there were domes of bright-blue, with golden stars and golden chains
+hanging from the golden crosses which surmounted them.  There were some
+domes of size so vast that they looked like huge mountains of gold; some
+were of dark blue, and others of green and gold; some were black, and
+others shone like burnished steel; some were perfectly white, others
+grey, and others of the lightest blue, scarcely to be distinguished from
+the tint of the azure expanse amid which they reared their heads, except
+by the golden ball and cross and glittering chains above their summits.
+
+Again, some of the domes were of red and green stripes, and some of
+bright yellow, and pale yellow, and red; and some towers were surmounted
+by gigantic crowns, open and outspreading, as well as globe-like.  The
+roofs and walls also exhibited a strange difference in their tints,
+though green, and red, and black, and grey, and brown predominated among
+the first; while the latter were white, and buff, and green, and blue,
+and deep red, and pink.  Truly it was a strange scene, such as they had
+never before beheld, and could scarcely hope to behold elsewhere.
+
+They returned to the top of the tower again in the evening, just as the
+setting sun was throwing his glory giving rays across this
+richly-jewelled expanse, which shone forth in a perfect blaze of light,
+coloured by every hue of which the rainbow can boast.
+
+It is difficult to imagine the vast number of domes and cupolas which
+meet the eye in this strange city.  There are said to be a thousand
+churches, though probably there are not so many.  Few of these churches
+have less than five domes, and some have ten.  Each tower also has a
+dome on its top, surmounted by a golden cross and chains.  A large
+proportion of these domes are covered with gold, and some with sheets of
+silver; the others are either black and white, or of the various hues
+already described.  Moscow may, indeed, most properly be called the
+Golden City.  The only rule which the church architect here appears to
+observe is, to endeavour to make every new church as dissimilar as
+possible to every other existing in the city, in colour, shape, and
+size; yet they all evidently belong to the same style.
+
+Altogether the venerable Kremlin and the buildings it contains, with the
+mass of coloured edifices which surround it, form one of the strangest
+architectural jumbles in the universe.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHT.
+
+  Visit to the Imperial Palace in the Kremlin--The Granovitaya.
+  Palata--The Terema, or Ancient Palace of the Czars--Cathedral of
+  Uspensky Sabor--Rarity of Good Paintings in the Russian Churches--
+  Public Discussions on Religion--Traps for the Unwary--Procession of
+  Russian Monks--New Church of Saint Saviour--Preparations for the
+  Coronation--Cathedral of Saint Basil--Sealing up Doors of Shops at
+  Night--Shopmen bowing to Saints--Bazaar--Chinese City--Russian
+  Vehicles.
+
+Our friends got a good general idea of the city during the first day of
+their residence in it.  The next day they obtained tickets of admission
+to the Imperial Palaces in the Kremlin, through a gentleman to whom
+Cousin Giles had letters.  They were accompanied in their visit by some
+French friends of his.  They were first shown the private rooms of the
+Emperor and Empress, which had just been refurnished for their reception
+after the coronation.  All these rooms were on the ground floor.  In the
+centre of each was a large square pillar, supporting the storey above.
+These pillars, with several screens and curtains in each room, made them
+appear small and positively cosy, such as may be found in the house of
+moderate size belonging to any lady or gentleman of somewhat luxurious
+habits.  English people would probably have chosen a more airy situation
+for their private abode than the ground floor; but from the lowness of
+these rooms they are more easily warmed in winter, and from their being
+vaulted they are cooler in summer.  After visiting the private rooms,
+their guide conducted them up-stairs, when they passed through several
+fine halls, similar in grandeur to those in the Hermitage at Saint
+Petersburg, and along galleries filled with pictures of very doubtful
+merit.
+
+Through an opening in the new palace they walked into one of the old
+palaces called the Granovitaya Palata.  The second floor is occupied
+entirely by the coronation hall of the Emperors.  It is a low, vaulted
+chamber, the arches resting on a huge square pillar in the centre.  Here
+the Emperor, clothed in royal robes, for the first time after his
+coronation, sits in state, surrounded by his nobles, eating his dinner.
+
+"Ah, I see emperors have to eat like other people," observed Harry when
+he was told this.  "I wonder, now, what the new Emperor will have for
+dinner."
+
+By far the most interesting building in the Kremlin is the ancient
+palace of the Czars, called the Terema.  It is complete as a residence
+in itself, but the halls and sleeping-rooms are remarkably small
+compared to those of the huge modern edifice by its side.  The walls
+from top to bottom are covered with the most strange arabesque devices
+which imagination could design--birds, beasts, and fish, interwoven with
+leaves and sea-weed of every description.  In each room a different tint
+predominates, although the same style of ornament is carried throughout,
+and the same colours are to be found in each.  Thus there is the green
+room, the blue room, and the yellow room, and many other coloured rooms.
+The ornaments on the banisters, screens, railings, and cornices are
+great wooden heads of beasts--lions, or tigers, or monsters of some
+sort.  The part of the walls enclosing the stoves are of curiously
+coloured tiles; indeed, the whole building is a most bizarre, strange
+place, a perfect specimen of a Byzantine palace.  In variety of
+colouring it is something like the Alhambra, but, though equally
+wonderful, it is barbarous in the extreme compared to that celebrated
+edifice of Southern Spain.  Our travellers climbed to the top of this
+strange little palace, and went out on the roof, whence they looked down
+on a whole mass of golden and coloured domes and minarets, a
+considerable number of them belonging to the smallest and most ancient
+church in the Kremlin.  In the Granovitaya Palata is a window, at which
+the Emperor shows himself on state occasions to the troops, drawn up on
+the parade.  It is one of the windows of the Hall of Justice, and here
+suppliants used to be drawn up in a basket, to present their petitions
+and to hear judgment pronounced.
+
+"It would have been a convenient way of getting rid of a troublesome
+petitioner to let it and the petitioner come down together by the run,
+as you would say, Cousin Giles," observed Fred, laughing.  "Some such
+idea was probably in the minds of the inventors of the custom."
+
+From the old palaces the party proceeded to the Treasury.  It is
+beautifully arranged, and full of arms and armour of all ages--the
+coats, and boots, and hats, or crowns, or helmets, and swords, or
+battle-axes of all the Czars who ever sat on the throne of Russia.  Some
+of the crowns, or other head-pieces, are literally covered with jewels,
+placed as close together as the setting will allow.  Most of them are
+rather curious than elegant; indeed, they nearly all look as if they
+belonged to a barbarous age and people.
+
+Among other curious things there is a globe, studded with jewels, sent
+by the Greek Emperor to Prince Waldemar, and the crown of the King of
+Georgia, the diamond crown of Peter the Great, and the throne on which
+Peter and his brother, both children at the time, were placed when he
+was crowned.  There is a curtain at the back, behind which their mother
+stood, and, putting her hands through it, held them in, and guided them
+to make the proper signs at the right moment, which movements caused
+much wonder and admiration among the admiring multitude.
+
+In the armoury is the chair of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden.  It is
+like a litter, somewhat rudely constructed, or rather can be used as a
+chair or litter by turns, having poles at the side by which it is
+carried.  There are some battered-looking kettle-drums, one belonging to
+the same monarch.  They were part of the spoils taken by Peter the Great
+at the celebrated battle of Pultova, when the Russians at length gained
+a victory over the Swedes, and Charles himself, hitherto victorious, was
+obliged to seek safety in flight.  The most curious articles in the
+Museum are, however, the carriages, specimens of which are preserved
+from the earliest times in which they were used.  They are, as may be
+supposed, huge, lumbering, gingerbread, lord-mayor-looking affairs.  In
+some the coach-box is several yards from the body, and the hind seat is
+as many from it at the other end.  There is a patriarch's carriage, like
+a huge square trunk, and the travelling carriage of Catherine, which has
+a table in the centre, and is very like a modern saloon railway
+carriage.  It is placed on runners instead of wheels, and could only
+have been used in winter.  Probably in her day the roads would not have
+encouraged summer travelling.
+
+From thence the friends went to the Uspensky Sabor, the cathedral church
+in which the Emperors are crowned.  The lofty roof is supported by four
+round pillars, covered from capital to base with sheets of gold and
+paintings.  There is not a particle of the church which is not thus
+ornamented.  The effect is rich in the extreme, at the same time bizarre
+and barbaric.  There are five cupolas, with the faces of saints looking
+down from each.  An artist was making a drawing of the interior,
+introducing the coronation--as it was to be.  The picture was for the
+Emperor.  The outside of this church is ornamented with subjects totally
+at variance with anything like a pure taste.  There are several other
+churches near it, all of which were being enclosed so as to form a
+spacious court, where the ceremony of the Emperor's coronation was to
+take place.  Every available space was being filled with galleries to
+hold spectators.  Through this court he was to walk from the cathedral
+to the palace.
+
+The party then visited all the churches in the Kremlin in succession.
+The interior walls are mostly covered with gilding and pictures of
+saints, from base to cupola.  In some of them, which are dimly lighted
+with tapers, priests, in their gorgeous vestments, were chanting, with
+fine sonorous voices, the evening service; incense was being waved, and
+people from all sides were rushing in and bowing and crossing
+themselves, and as quickly rushing out again.  The Russians of the Greek
+Church seem to think that much virtue exists in visiting a number of
+churches or shrines in quick succession on the same day; and certainly
+Moscow offers great facilities to the performance of this ceremony, for
+a person cannot go many hundred yards in any direction without meeting
+with a church, or chapel, or shrine of some sort.  The churches in
+Moscow do not generally possess any fine paintings, the pictures of
+their saints showing merely the faces and heads.  But there is one
+church, that of Le Vieux Croyants a la Ragosky, which has a fine
+collection.  The priests of that church, being intelligent men, value it
+properly.
+
+A gentleman who joined our friends gave them several bits of interesting
+information.
+
+The small old church in the Kremlin was being renovated; nothing but the
+whitewashed walls remained.  They found that the gilding and paintings
+which appeared so rich in the churches were merely fastened to wooden or
+canvas panels, and placed against the walls, so that a day was
+sufficient to turn a barn into a magnificent cathedral.  He pointed out
+that the gates were of different sizes.  The largest was for the
+admission of the Patriarch when he came to the church, the smaller for
+that of the ordinary members of the community.
+
+"Exactly," said Harry, "like the Irish peasant who has a big hole in the
+door for the pigs to walk through, and a small one for the chickens.
+All people are much alike."
+
+Religious liberty is very much curbed in the country; but they were told
+that every Sunday, at the Church of the Assumption, an open discussion
+on matters of religion takes place, chiefly, however, among the persons
+who wish to pass for savants.  The priests seldom or never attend.  It
+is suspected that these discussions are encouraged by the Government,
+not from any abstract love it possesses for truth, but for the sake of
+ascertaining the opinions of those who attend them.  If the governing
+powers suspect, from any of the opinions he utters, that a person is
+likely to prove dangerous, his movements and words are ever afterwards
+narrowly watched till he is caught tripping, when he is without further
+ceremony marched out of harm's way into Siberia.
+
+As the party were walking round the Kremlin, they passed, outside the
+Arsenal, a number of guns of all sizes, many of them very beautiful.
+
+"All those guns were taken from us," observed one of their French
+friends to Cousin Giles.  "How curiously things change in this world!
+Now, in early days our two nations were cutting each other's throats,
+and yours was friendly to Russia; then lately we have been fighting side
+by side against the Russians.  Now, behold, here we are walking freely
+and at peace within the walls of this ancient capital."
+
+Thus discoursing, they descended into the gardens on the west side, and
+proceeded towards the Church of Saint Saviour, then in course of
+erection.
+
+Their French friend smiled again: "Ah, this church, now, is building to
+commemorate the retreat of the French from Russia," he observed.  "The
+Russians may well boast of what they did in those days, and we are not
+likely to forget it."
+
+The church is the finest in Moscow; the exterior is of white stone,
+ornamented with groups of figures in the deepest relief.  The
+architecture is of the purest Byzantine order.  The interior presented
+but one vast vault of brick, without pillars or any other support but
+the walls to its vast dome.  Part of the walls were covered with wood
+painted in imitation of marble, to show the effect of the proposed style
+of ornament.  It is in the form of a Greek cross.  The altar is at the
+east end.  The church is warmed by means of several large stoves, whence
+pipes are carried inside the walls all round the building, with vents at
+intervals, out of which the hot air can be allowed to escape.  Broad
+flights of stone steps lead up to the entrances, which are on three
+sides.  Cousin Giles altogether preferred the edifice to that of the
+Isaac Church in Saint Petersburg.
+
+As our friends were returning homeward, a religious procession passed
+by.  It consisted of a long line of priests walking two and three
+abreast, in somewhat irregular order, bearing banners of gold and
+coloured cloths, fringed and bespangled.  They were chanting loudly, but
+not inharmoniously.  Most of them had long straggling locks, which waved
+about in the breeze, and gave them a very wild appearance, which was
+increased by the careless, independent way in which they walked along.
+
+The Russian priests seem to consider that, like the Nazarites among the
+Jews, an especial virtue exists in the length of their hair.  As the
+procession passed through the streets, the people rushed out of their
+houses, or crowded to the turnings, eager to see the sight.  There they
+stood, devoutly bowing and crossing themselves, though it was difficult
+to say what particular object claimed this respect.  Altogether the
+procession, from the wild look of the priests, their loud voices, and
+the gaudy banners waving in the air, had much more of a heathen than a
+Christian character.
+
+Vast preparations were at this time making for the expected coronation.
+The spires and domes and walls of all the churches and public buildings
+were being covered with laths, on which to hang the lamps for the
+illumination of the city.
+
+Magnificent arches were being erected all round the large square
+opposite the Imperial Theatre; but they were of wood, and, though
+painted to look like stone, here and there bits of the pine peeped
+forth, showing the unsubstantial nature of the highly-pretentious
+fabric.  Workmen also crowded the churches, furbishing up gilt
+candlesticks, refreshing the features of saints, adding rubies to their
+faded lips and lustre to their eyes, cleaning and polishing in all
+directions.  Cousin Giles said it put him in mind of being behind the
+scenes of a theatre,--carpenters, painters, and gilders were everywhere
+to be seen; their saws and axes, their trowels and brushes seemed to
+have no rest; nor could they afford it, for they were evidently much
+behindhand with their preparations.  Such furbishing, and painting, and
+washing, Moscow never before enjoyed.  The whole circuit of the walls of
+the Kremlin, and its numerous towers, as well as the buildings in the
+interior, were covered, from pinnacle and parapet to the base, with a
+network of laths; so was the Cathedral of Saint Basil, and, indeed,
+every edifice in the neighbourhood.  When the whole was lighted up, they
+agreed that the spectacle would be very fine, but they began to doubt
+whether it would be worth while to return to the city for the play
+itself after having witnessed all the preparations.
+
+Cousin Giles told his companions that it is said that, when the Empress
+Catherine used to make a progress through her dominions, the peasants
+were driven up from all quarters towards the high road, and that wooden
+houses were run up just before her to represent thriving villages.  As
+soon as she had passed they were pulled down again and carried on ahead
+to do duty a second time, the mujicks, meanwhile, being compelled to
+pace up and down before their pretended abodes, as Swiss peasants do
+before the pasteboard cottages on the stage.
+
+People in Moscow were looking forward with eager expectation to the
+event of the coronation, and it was supposed that half the great people
+of Europe would be there.  It did not appear, however, that the
+inhabitants were so anxious to see them for their own sakes as they were
+to let their houses and lodgings and rooms at hotels at exorbitantly
+high prices, every one expecting to reap a fine harvest out of the
+pockets of the gaping foreigners.
+
+The most curious church, perhaps, in the world--the most outrageously
+strange of all the bizarre churches of Moscow--is the Cathedral of Saint
+Basil, which stands close to the river, at the north end of a broad,
+open space outside the walls of the Kremlin, and which space is bounded
+on the other side by the Bazaar.  It is in the most _outre_ style of
+Byzantine architecture.  There is a large tower somewhere about the
+centre, running up into a spire, and eight other towers round it, with
+cupolas on their summits.  There is also a ninth tower, which looks like
+an excrescence, in the rear.  Each of these cupolas and towers is
+painted in a different way, and of different colours; some are in
+stripes, others in a diamond-shaped pattern, others of a corkscrew
+pattern, and some have excrescences like horse-chestnuts covering them.
+Then there are galleries and steps, and ins and outs of all sorts,
+painted with circles, and arches, and stripes of every possible colour.
+
+"Well, that is a funny church!" exclaimed Harry, as Fred ran off to find
+the keepers to show them the entrance.
+
+"An odd epithet to bestow on a church," observed Cousin Giles; "but I
+cannot find a better."
+
+Underneath the building there is a chapel, which has no connection with
+the upper portion.  A flight of steps led them into the building.  Each
+of the nine domes and the pinnacle covers a separate chapel, which is
+again divided by a screen into two parts--one for the priests, the other
+for the worshippers.  From each of the domes above, a gigantic face of
+the Virgin, or of some saint, looks down on those below.  The huge,
+calm-eyed faces gazing from so great a height have a very curious
+effect.  In the interior of the pinnacle a dove is seen floating, as it
+were, in the air.  Every portion of the interior walls of this strange
+edifice is covered with the same sort of richly and many-coloured
+arabesque designs seen in the old palace, while a sort of gallery runs
+round the building, with an opening into all the chapels.
+
+"A capital hide-and-seek place," exclaimed Harry.  "Why, Fred, I would
+undertake to dodge round here all my life, and you should not catch me
+till I had grown into an old grey-headed man."
+
+"You might find a more profitable way of spending your earthly
+existence," said Cousin Giles; "yet I fear many people come in and go
+out of the world, and yet are of very little more use than you would
+thus be in their generation."
+
+"Oh, I know that, Cousin Giles; I am only joking.  I want to try how
+useful I can be when I grow up, and how much good I can do."
+
+"You can be useful in many ways, even now," observed their friend.  "You
+are useful if you set a good example to those with whom you associate.
+You are doing God service if you show others that you are guided by His
+laws, if you act in obedience to Him, if you confess Him openly before
+men.  All this can be done at every period of life.  The old and young
+can and must do it, if they hope for a happy hereafter, if they love the
+Saviour who died for them; but more especially the young can do it,
+while health and strength and clear unworn intellects are theirs."
+
+Just after they left the cathedral, the bell of Ivan Veleki tolled forth
+the hour of evening, and numbers of shopkeepers, long-coated and
+long-bearded, rushed forth from their booths, and commenced a series of
+bowings and crossings, looking towards the Holy Gate of the Kremlin,
+which was directly in front of them.  Having performed this ceremony for
+some time, they faced about towards another shrine at the north end of
+the square, and went through the same ceremony.  By advancing a little
+into the open space, they could get a glance at another picture of some
+saint, when they bowed and crossed themselves as before.  When their
+evening's devotions were thus concluded, they went back to close their
+shops.  Having put up the shutters, or closed the folding-doors which
+enclosed the front, one man held a candle, while another, with seal and
+sealing-wax, put his signet, with the likeness of his patron saint, to
+the door.  No padlock or other means of securing it were used.  Some
+Jews and Tartars, not possessing the same confidence in the protecting
+power of the saints, put padlocks on their doors.  Very curious affairs
+these padlocks are.  They have been copied from the Tartars, or rather
+from the Chinese.  The key is a screw: by taking the screw out, the
+padlock shuts; by screwing it in, it opens.  As the shrines which claim
+the poor Russians' devotion exist in every direction,--indeed, they
+cannot walk twenty yards without seeing them,--while they run along on
+their daily avocations they are continually bowing and crossing
+themselves.  The pictures of the saints which adorn these shrines were
+probably intended to remind people of their religious duties; but, like
+other unwise human inventions, which do not take into consideration the
+evil tendencies of the human mind, they have led to a system of
+degrading idolatry, while the simple truths of Christianity have been
+superseded by a flimsy tissue of falsehoods.  Although the members of
+the Greek Church are iconoclasts, or image-breakers, and allow no actual
+images to be set up on their altars, it must be owned that they pay just
+as much adoration to the pictures of their saints as the Roman Catholics
+do to the statues of theirs.
+
+One of the most amusing places our friends visited in Moscow was the
+great bazaar in the Chinese City.  They made frequent trips through it,
+although their purchases were neither very extensive nor expensive.
+They bought some slippers made by the Tartars of Kazan, of gold and silk
+and silver thread, beautifully worked, and some ornaments of silver and
+steel made by the same people, and wooden bowls and spoons used by the
+peasants, as well as their leather purses and cotton sashes of many
+colours, and winter boots of white felt, and the head-dresses worn by
+the women, and a hat such as is worn by ishvoshtsticks, and many other
+things, all helping to illustrate the customs of the people.  Among them
+was a samovar or tea-urn.  It is in shape like an ancient urn.  In the
+centre is a cylinder with a grating at the bottom.  The water is held in
+the space between the cylinder and the sides of the urn.  It is filled
+with water, and then a small piece of ignited charcoal is dropped into
+the cylinder, which is filled with black charcoal.  A chimney is then
+placed above the charcoal, which now ignites and boils the water.  By
+adding fresh charcoal and more water, a supply can be kept up for hours
+together.  A frame fits on above the chimney, on which the teapot can be
+placed, to keep it warm, while a lid, called a damper, is used to put
+out the fire.
+
+These samovars are used on all occasions, and are especially valued by
+the peasants at their picnics or open-air tea-parties, of which they are
+very fond.  They purchased also several prints of the city, and some
+very amusing ones descriptive of the battles between the Russians and
+the Allies, or the Turks or Circassians, by which it appeared that the
+accounts received by the rest of the world must be totally incorrect, as
+in all instances, at the Alma, Inkermann, in the Caucasus, the
+Muscovites were signally victorious, their enemy flying like chaff
+before them.
+
+The Chinese City, or Kitai Gorod, to the east of the Kremlin, was one of
+their favourite resorts.  The name is most appropriate; and certainly it
+is most unlike any place in Europe.  It is enclosed on three sides by a
+thick buttressed and round-towered wall, the upper part of which
+projects considerably; and altogether, from its strange style of
+architecture, it looks as if it had been imported bodily from some city
+of the Celestial Empire.  The fourth side is formed by the east walls of
+the Kremlin, of which the Kitai Gorod appears to have been an outwork.
+The interior contains two long streets, and several smaller ones,
+besides the truly Oriental bazaar, already spoken of, with its numerous
+narrow lanes, running under one vast roof, dirty and mean, and crowded
+with shops of every possible description.  Tea-sellers, with their
+Chinese signboards; paper-sellers, ironmongers, and perfumery and
+spices, silks and cottons, and shoes and hats, and trunk-makers and
+workers in leather,--indeed it is useless to enumerate all the trades
+there carried on.  There is generally a row or half a row of the stalls
+of each trade together.  As visitors pass along, the long-coated dealers
+rush eagerly forward, and with bows and grimaces endeavour to induce
+them to become customers.  Here also the dealers in the holy pictures,
+or images, as they are called, are to be found.  These pictures have the
+faces and hands only shown, the rest being covered with a casing of gold
+or silver.  They are of all sizes, from two feet to one or two inches
+square; but as even for the smallest our friends were asked four
+roubles, they declined buying any of them.  Here, also, are sold cups
+and censers, and all sorts of utensils used in churches.  The
+travellers, however, were little disposed to become purchasers.
+
+Near the bazaar stood, ready to start, three or four diligences--huge
+black machines, having a vast boot behind, a roomy inside, and a large,
+comfortable-looking _coupe_.  They were bound for Nishni-Novogorood,
+where a large fair was taking place.  Several rough-looking carts
+followed them, piled up with goods for the same destination.  The fair
+of Nishni is the largest in Russia, perhaps in the world, at the present
+day.  Here the merchants from the west meet the traders and producers
+from the numerous countries bordering Russia on the east, as well as
+from all the Russian provinces, and exchange their various commodities.
+Here transactions are arranged not only for the present, but for the
+following year, and many a farmer undertakes to deliver timber, and
+flax, and hemp still growing thousands of miles away, or hides and wool
+yet adhering to the backs of his cattle or sheep on the far-off
+prairies, or thousands of sacks of wheat yet ungrown, at Saint
+Petersburg, Riga, or Odessa, with every certainty of being able to
+fulfil his contract.  Our friends were so interested with the account
+they heard of Nishni that they were eager to visit it.  Russian carts
+are curious vehicles, made without a particle of iron.  The wheels are
+kept on by various contrivances; some have bits of wood from the
+projecting edge of the side, into which the ends of the axles fit;
+others have bows of wood from the perch, which fit on over the axle
+where the linch-pin should be.  The carts used for conveying passengers
+are covered with an awning of black canvas, and look as if they were
+water-tight, with a fair possibility of being made comfortable.
+
+The travellers had many other things to see, both in and about Moscow,
+but they resolved not to delay longer than necessary, as they were
+anxious to study more of the manners and customs of the people in the
+interior; and they therefore made preparations for their further
+progress into the country.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINE.
+
+  Departure of Exiles for Siberia--The Russian Howard--Vast Exercise
+  House--Tartar Mosque--The Sparrow Hills--Burning of Moscow--
+  Magnificent View of the City--Ennobling of Merchants--The Schoolmaster
+  in Russia--Decay of the Old Nobility--The Donskoy Convent--Russian
+  Monks--Their Interpreter--Palace of Petrofsky--Encampment near
+  Moscow--Preparations for the Coronation Fete--Public Gardens--Zingari
+  Singers.
+
+Early on Sunday morning our travellers left then hotel to witness a
+painful though interesting sight, the departure of the convicts
+condemned to exile in Siberia from the Ragoshky Gate of the city, where
+they bid farewell to their relatives and friends.  They are first
+collected from all parts of the neighbouring country in a large prison
+near the city, till they amount to a sufficient number to form a
+caravan.  Our friends met the melancholy band; clanking their chains,
+they moved along at a slow pace through the city.  Numbers of people,
+chiefly of the lower orders, rushed out of their houses, and presented
+them with loaves of bread, biscuits, tobacco, sugar, money, and other
+things likely to comfort them on their dreary pilgrimage.  After they
+had been thus exhibited to the public, they stopped at a wooden shed,
+where they were to rest before taking their final departure.  There were
+about fifty of them, old men and youths, and even women, some of them
+young, poor creatures, looking miserable, heart-broken, and forlorn.
+
+The men were dressed in coarse linen shirts and trousers, and the high
+boots generally worn by peasants.  Half the head was shaved, and few
+wore hat or cap to conceal the sign of their disgrace.  Most of them
+were heavily manacled, some few only being free of irons.
+
+In the centre of the building was a platform, on which were piled up the
+prisoners' knapsacks and bags of provisions.  Round it the gang stood
+grouped.  While they were there, many persons entered to bring them
+offerings of money and food.  At one end of the platform was spread out
+a large handkerchief, on which the gifts were placed.  As each person,
+after bowing to the saint which hung in front of the doorway, deposited
+his or her piece of money or loaf of bread on the handkerchief, one of
+the prisoners, who seemed to take the lead, cried out with a loud voice,
+"Unhappy ones, thank the donors!"  The whole party then bent their heads
+at the same time, and replied, "Thanks be to you, kind and benevolent
+sir," or "mother" if a matron was their benefactor.  After this, the
+visitors being requested to leave the shed, the gang was marshalled by
+the man in command, who spoke in a savage voice to the prisoners, and by
+his significant gestures was evidently in the habit of striking them.
+
+The escort consisted of six mounted lancers and about thirty
+foot-soldiers.  At a sign they stepped out together, and, while many a
+sob and groan was heard from the crowd, they commenced their six months'
+dreary march towards Siberia at the rate of about twenty versts a day.
+
+Russia has not been without its Howard; indeed, perhaps that great man
+infused his spirit into the bosom of the benevolent Dr Haaz.  He, like
+Howard, devoted his means, his talents, and energies to ameliorating the
+condition of the unhappy prisoners.  He had frequently urged on the
+authorities that the manacles employed were too heavy for persons of
+ordinary strength, but they would not listen to him.  At length, the
+better to be able to explain the suffering inflicted on the poor
+wretches, he had them put on his own limbs, and trudged the whole of the
+first day's march alongside the party of exiles.  The state to which
+even this one day's march reduced him was so strong an argument in
+favour of his assertion, that he won his cause; and after that the
+chains, except of the greater criminals, were much lightened.
+
+A few carts, containing stores and some prisoners who were unable to
+walk, followed the melancholy cortege.
+
+"In England many guilty ones escape punishment, but in this country many
+innocent ones suffer, I fear," observed Cousin Giles as they returned to
+their hotel, very tired after their morning's walk.
+
+The travellers were told, that persons of rank condemned for political
+offences are carried off secretly by the police in closed carriages,
+without the power of communicating with their friends; that frequently
+they thus disappear, and no one knows whither they are gone.  A small
+dark carriage, with thick blinds, may be seen, strongly guarded by
+horse-soldiers, proceeding towards Siberia, but no one knows whom it
+contains.
+
+The travellers attended the service in the British chapel, where Mr
+Gray officiates, and they were surprised to find it so well filled.
+There were several persons in Russian uniforms--Englishmen, or the sons
+of Englishmen, in either the military or civil service of the Czar, who
+are allowed to worship God after the mode of their fathers.  By the laws
+of Russia no Russian may change his religious profession, but any
+stranger entering the country may worship according to his belief--as
+may his descendants, although they become naturalised Russians.  If,
+however, a stranger marries a Russian woman, the children of the
+marriage must belong to the Greek Church.  Laws, however, cannot change
+the mind; and not only has the Greek Church been split into numerous
+bodies of sectarians, but there are many who totally dissent from it, an
+account of whom our friends afterwards heard.
+
+Sunday they made a day of rest.
+
+Monday morning they again commenced sight-seeing.  The first place they
+visited was the building near the Kremlin having the most extensive roof
+without arches in the world, and in which the Emperor is accustomed to
+manoeuvre several regiments of cavalry and infantry together.  People at
+the farther end look like pigmies.  The ground was now covered with
+lamps, in preparation for the illumination.  Their next excursion was to
+the Tartar quarter of the city, where there is a Tartar mosque.  The
+Tartar dwellings are low cottages in wide courtyards.  The mosque was of
+much the same character, only there was a pigsty at one side of the
+yard.  In their search for the mosque they entered several courtyards,
+where the women, old and young, in striped dressing-gown-looking robes,
+hurried away to hide themselves from the strangers.  At the usual early
+hour the muezzin mounted to the roof of the mosque, and in a loud voice
+summoned the faithful to prayer.
+
+"It is sad," observed Fred, "to find people in the centre of what is
+called a Christian land who are totally ignorant of a Saviour."
+
+"Very sad indeed," replied Cousin Giles; "but if we look at home we
+shall find sights still more sad.  In London itself there exist
+thousands of Englishmen who not only have never heard of the Saviour,
+but do not know of the existence of a God.  Every year is indeed working
+a change, and diminishing their numbers, through the exertions of
+christian and philanthropic men; but when you grow older it will be a
+subject worthy of your attention, and you should not rest till all in
+your native land have the gospel preached to them."
+
+On their way back they bought some of the rush shoes worn by the
+peasants.  They are made of rushes which grow on the banks of the Volga.
+They are more like sandals than shoes, being fastened on with thongs
+round the ankles.  Their cost is about twopence a pair.
+
+After dinner they drove to the Sparrow Hills, about five miles west of
+the city.  The road was execrable, full of ruts and holes.  They passed
+the palace of the Empress-Mother, which has some handsome gardens.  They
+saw also an asylum for the widows and children of decayed merchants.  It
+is a wide, extended building, with a church in the centre.  Russia
+contains numerous charitable asylums, generally well conducted.  They
+are, however, not to be compared to the numberless ostentatious
+charities of which our beloved country, with all her shortcomings, may
+justly boast.  Their carriage took the travellers to the top of the
+Sparrow Hills, which are of no great elevation.  They slope steeply down
+to the Moscowa, which, after passing the city, takes a sharp bend close
+to their base, and then runs back again towards the southern end of it.
+The view was indeed superb.  Below them, on the plain across the river,
+was the Donskoy Convent, with its red walls and lofty towers, several
+other convents being scattered about here and there.  To the right, on
+the wooded and sloping banks of the Moscowa, were the Emperor's villa
+and many other handsome buildings; and before them the Holy City itself,
+its numberless golden and silver domes glittering brightly in the
+sunshine, like a mighty pile of precious jewels from the far-famed mines
+of Gokonda.  On the left, on a wide-extended down, were seen the white
+tents of fifty thousand of the choicest troops of Russia, assembled to
+do honour to the Emperor at his coronation, or to signify to the people
+the power by which he rules.
+
+"I should very much like to go and look through that camp," exclaimed
+Fred; "I want to see if all they say about the Russian troops is true."
+
+"We will make a point of going there to-morrow," replied Cousin Giles.
+"I have no doubt the visit will be an interesting one; but, for my part,
+I do not expect to be so interested as I am at present.  The whole of
+Russia cannot, perhaps, afford a sight more beautiful than the one
+before us.  Here it was that Napoleon, after marching across Europe,
+first beheld the superb city which he hoped in a few hours to make his
+own--the bourn he so eagerly sought--the prize of all his toils!  How
+grievously, yet how righteously, was he disappointed!  As he, swelling
+with pride and elated with triumph, was gazing at the city from the
+west, the Russian army, having already devoted their beloved capital to
+destruction, were marching out on the opposite side.  In a short time
+the city in which he trusted to find shelter for his troops during the
+winter burst forth into flames, and a very few days saw him defeated and
+a fugitive, and his magnificent army a prey to the rigours of the
+climate and the remorseless Cossacks.  History cannot afford a more
+dreadful picture than the retreat of the French from Moscow, or a
+clearer example of the retributive justice of Heaven.  Not many years
+afterwards the Russians, as allies of the English, paid a visit, as
+conquerors, to Paris.  The French, united with the English, were lately
+on the point of returning the compliment, by looking in on Saint
+Petersburg.  Heaven grant that neither of them may ever come to London
+in any guise but that of friends.  To commemorate the retreat from
+Moscow, the Russians are now building the Church of Saint Saviour, whose
+golden domes we see so conspicuous not far from the towers of the
+Kremlin," observed Cousin Giles, pointing it out with his stick.
+
+After gazing on the interesting scene for some time, the travellers
+returned to their carriage.
+
+In the evening a German gentleman, long resident in Russia, to whom they
+had been introduced, gave them several important pieces of information.
+
+"The late Emperor Nicholas was well aware," he told them, "that his
+power rested on very precarious ground, and that, though a despot in
+name, he knew that he was in the power of his own nobles.  To liberate
+himself, he endeavoured to weaken, if not to destroy, the old nobility--
+first by leading them into all sorts of extravagance, and then by
+creating a new order between nobles and peasants, who should feel that
+they owed their elevation entirely to him.
+
+"For this purpose he created what he called the Guild of Honourable
+Merchants.  Every merchant of the first guild who had paid a tax of 150
+per annum for ten years without failure was eligible to belong to it.
+The Honourable Merchants are free from all imposts, conscriptions,
+etcetera, and pay no taxes.  Another mode Nicholas took of ruining the
+old nobility was to establish a pawn bank, where they could at all times
+pledge then property.  By encouraging their extravagance, many were
+unable to redeem it, and, being put up for sale, it was bought up by the
+Honourable Merchants and other members of the trading community.  The
+late Emperor also wished to encourage education.  By an ukase he ordered
+that all children throughout the country should be educated.  To effect
+this object every priest is bound to have a school attached to his
+parish church.  In consequence, a considerable number of children do
+learn to read; but the ukase cannot make them go to school, and in many
+instances the priests are so ignorant and careless that these schools
+are of very little use.  The present Emperor, it is said, wishes to
+encourage liberal institutions.  He has erected municipalities in the
+towns.  In the courts of law three officers are chosen by the Crown, and
+three by the municipality, with a president who acts as judge.  He is
+anxious also to abolish serfdom; but to do so at once, without violence,
+is dangerous.  He is, however, effecting his object, which his father
+also entertained, by slow degrees.  When an estate is sold, all the
+serfs become free, and in this way a considerable number have been
+liberated.  No serfs can now be sold: a person may inherit an estate and
+the serfs on it.  [See Note 1.] Many of the great nobles would willingly
+get rid of their serfs if they could.  On one of their estates, perhaps,
+they are overcrowded, on another they have not a sufficient number to
+till the ground or to work their mines; yet they have no power to remove
+the serfs of one estate to another, while they must find means for their
+support on the spot where they were born.  If the peasants were free,
+they could literally have more power over them, because they could then
+turn them off their estates, and compel them to seek for employment
+where it is to be found.  Nicholas, by several of his enactments, has
+enabled his son to rule with less difficulty than would otherwise have
+been the case.  By the ruin of some of the principal nobles he has saved
+him from the worst enemies of his ancestors, who so frequently proved
+their destroyers; and by the creation of a wealthy middle class, every
+day improving in education and numbers, he has formed a strong body who
+find that it is their interest to support him.  When it is no longer
+their interest so to do, the whole fabric of Russian government will
+crumble to the dust."
+
+The first excursion our friends made the next morning was to the Donskoy
+Convent.  It stands on a flat near the Moscowa, and is surrounded with
+high brick walls, flanked by lofty towers, all of bright red-brick.  It
+has entirely the character of an ancient fortress, erected to withstand
+the rapid incursions of an enemy's cavalry, though unfit to hold out
+against a regular attack.  The church, standing in the centre of a wide,
+open space, is a lofty pile, with the usual gilt dome; but the
+residences of the monks are low, unpretending buildings, on one floor.
+
+A young monk, in a long dark robe, a broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat, and
+dishevelled locks hanging over his shoulders, came forth, and politely
+offered to guide the travellers about the convent.  Cousin Giles had
+engaged a young Englishman to act as their interpreter, and he very much
+increased the interest of the scenes they visited, and their means of
+acquiring information.
+
+The monk led them into the interior of the church, which consisted of a
+vaulted chamber divided into two parts by a large wooden screen.  The
+carpenters and gilders and painters were busily at work, painting and
+furbishing up the ornaments; but the scene brought forcibly to the minds
+of the travellers the preparations for a new play at a theatre.  The
+monk told them that the large church was so cold in winter that it was
+shut up, and that there was a small one, well warmed with stoves, where
+they could at that season worship in comfort.  He then led them through
+the burial-ground, which they found crowded with the tombs of noble
+families, and other inhabitants of Moscow and its neighbourhood.  This
+is the most fashionable burying-place of that part of Russia, and
+consequently people are very anxious to have the remains of their
+friends placed there, so that, though they could not enjoy good company
+when they were alive, they might at all events after their death have
+such satisfaction as it might afford.
+
+The ground was laid out with walks; the tombstones were of every
+possible strange device, and crowded together in a way which would have
+been far from pleasing to some of the more aristocratic inhabitants in
+their lifetime; but the monkish sexton in his own graveyard read the
+lesson to visitors, often uttered before, that death is a leveller of
+all ranks, and no respecter of persons.
+
+When the travellers thanked the young moppy-haired monk for his
+attention, he replied that it was his duty, as it was his pleasure, to
+show his convent, and seemed in no way to expect any remuneration.  The
+Imperial family, it is said, have no affection for the monkish orders;
+indeed, the feeling of dislike is mutual.  They predicted the overthrow
+of the Russian armies in the Crimea, and the death of the Emperor--the
+wish probably being the father of the prophecy.
+
+In their way through the city the travellers entered an Armenian church.
+It was ornamented with pictures of saints, like those of a Roman
+Catholic place of worship; but the pulpit was in a conspicuous place, as
+if preaching was not altogether neglected; and there were chairs inside
+the altar railings for the Patriarch and other ecclesiastical
+functionaries.
+
+The style of ornaments about the church showed that the Armenian
+community were either not wealthy or not disposed to spend much money on
+the edifice.  It, however, spoke of a purer faith than that of the Greek
+Church.
+
+After dining, our friends set out, and drove along the high road to
+Saint Petersburg, towards the Petrofsky Palace.  Every part of the way,
+from the Kremlin to the Gate of Triumph at the entrance of the city, was
+lined with scaffolding and seats, in preparation for the coronation, to
+enable the lieges "to see great Caesar pass that way" from his palace of
+Petrofsky, where he was to reside three days before entering the Holy
+City to undergo the ceremony of his coronation.
+
+The Gate of Triumph, which forms the northern entrance to the city, is
+built of stone, after the model of one at Rome, but with a taste which
+would make a Roman stare.  All the statues and ornaments about it are
+painted of every variety of colour, so that it has the appearance of a
+wooden structure put up by the rustic inhabitants of some country
+village to welcome the lord of the estate.
+
+The Palace of Petrofsky is itself a curious sight.  It is a huge pile,
+of a bright red colour, intermingled with white, and covered with every
+conceivable device in the way of ornament.  It has circular walls
+projecting out in front from the main building, in shape and colour very
+like lobsters' claws, and there are the brightest green roofs, and
+numberless domes, and cupolas, and minarets, and towers, and spires,
+covered with burnished gold, which make one suppose that a very rich man
+must live within.  On a wide, open space in front of the palace,
+wonderfully grand preparations were making for a fete which was to be
+given to the people on the occasion of the coronation.
+
+At a short distance before the palace stood a magnificent pavilion,
+intended to hold the Imperial family.  A little of the woodwork yet
+unpainted showed that it was not a solid structure of stone.  No people
+can equal the Russians in making the false pass for the real.  On either
+side of the pavilion were others, each of a different style of
+architecture, for the use of the chief nobility of the realm.  Before
+them, at some little distance, were two theatres, in comparison with
+which the magnificence of the old fair-going booth of Richardson would
+have grown dim.  They might be called theatres, but they were only the
+semi-part of the theatre; the open common, with the blue sky overhead,
+was the space intended for the audience.  Then there were several
+Montagnes Russe, but, instead of being made of ice and snow, they were
+built of wood.  They consist of high elevations, facing each other, with
+a slope between them; people ascend to the top by steps, where they find
+cars of wood.  They place themselves in the cars, and then are sent
+sliding down one slope with such force that they are propelled up the
+opposite slope.
+
+But this was only a small part of the entertainment prepared for the
+people.  There were fountains which, instead of throwing up jets of
+cold, insipid water, were to spout forth incessantly into huge tanks a
+stream of the much-loved vodka, from which all around might draw forth
+and drink to their hearts' content.
+
+What more perfect idea of a terrestrial paradise would a thirsty mujick
+seek for than did these preparations afford him?  How munificent and
+kind must he have considered the Emperor who could provide such an
+entertainment for him, especially when near to the fountains of vodka
+there were spread out long tables and benches, covering some acres of
+ground, which it was said were to be loaded with provisions, of which
+all-comers of humble rank might partake!
+
+The travellers had to drive in and out among the tables, and they
+pictured to themselves the jovial, happy crowd who would soon be
+assembled around them, enjoying themselves, and drinking long life and
+prosperity to their Czar--a perfect picture of an Arcadian banquet.
+Farther on were large booths, containing the kitchens where the
+provisions for the vast multitudes were to be cooked; and there were
+also other sheds, where the bread, and meat, and grain of all sorts were
+to be stored.  All this feasting and amusement was to last three days,
+and no one seemed to be able to estimate how many thousands of persons
+would attend the rural banquet.
+
+"Alas!" exclaimed Cousin Giles, "this may be a certain way of winning
+the momentary applause of an ignorant mob, but it is a miserable way of
+gaining the love of a people, of improving their character, of
+instructing them in their duties, by thus pandering to their lowest
+tastes.  I suspect that it will not even secure the object desired.
+What a contrast does it afford to the way our own enlightened sovereign
+takes to win the affections of her people!"
+
+"We had the fireworks at the peace," observed Fred; "they were only to
+please the mob."
+
+"Yes, to be sure," said Cousin Giles; "that was an old-fashioned way of
+letting the people know that peace was concluded.  They could in days of
+yore, when newspapers were rare, have scarcely known it without; now
+such a proceeding is quite unnecessary.  A large sum was squandered
+which would have been much better spent in enabling our artisans in the
+dockyards, thrown out of employment by the peace, to emigrate; besides
+which, it was said that numbers of people were kept working on several
+Sundays to get them finished in time.  If such was the case, a national
+sin was added to a national folly."
+
+Cousin Giles' conjectures with regard to the uselessness of the feast
+prepared for the mujicks were realised.  No sooner each day were the
+tables covered, than the mob rushed forward and bore off whatever they
+could lay hands on, so that the later comers had nothing to eat; while
+fountains of vodka refused to supply sufficient liquid to quench the
+thirst of the vast multitudes which thronged round them.  There was,
+therefore, far more complaint and grumbling, than love or gratitude
+exhibited towards the supposed provider of the entertainment--the Czar.
+
+About half a mile farther, in front of this scene of barbaric festivity,
+across the plain, over fields which had been beaten down to supply an
+open space of sufficient extent, was seen a sea of white tents, forming
+an encampment which at that time contained fifty thousand men, to whom
+many more were afterwards added.
+
+Before them was a line of artillery, the muzzles of the guns turned
+towards the spot where the mujicks were expected to assemble--
+significant, as a cynical friend of Cousin Giles observed, of the way in
+which people in the parts there are governed.  He may, however, have
+been wrong in his conjecture.
+
+The travellers drove towards the tents, in front of which they found the
+bands of all the regiments practising together.  They made a great deal
+of noise, but the music was not so good as they expected.
+
+They got out of their carriage, and walked into the encampment without
+let or hindrance.  They felt a curious sensation as they found
+themselves among the troops of those with whom their countrymen had so
+lately been engaged in deadly strife.  Not only were they secure from
+receiving any insult, but they were treated everywhere with the greatest
+courtesy.
+
+One thing is certain, that although a large amount of barbarism remains
+in Russia, the army, in certain respects, has attained a high state of
+civilisation.  The younger officers are invariably well educated, and
+generally polished in their manners.  The material comforts of the men
+are much attended to in many regiments, though not perhaps in all, and
+they have been brought into a good state of discipline.
+
+The tents were arranged in long lines, with broad, well-gravelled roads
+at intervals between them, with a drained footpath on either side.  The
+encampment, it must be confessed, looked very far neater and cleaner
+than that at Aldershot.  Why should we refuse to give our late enemies
+their due, or to acknowledge our own shortcomings?  It is far better
+that the rising generation should know that Englishmen are not perfect,
+and endeavour to correct the national faults, than to go on blindly
+fancying that we are superior in all things to all other nations on
+earth.
+
+Our friends, with their guide, first walked into a sergeant's tent.  He
+and his comrade were very civil, and begged them to take a seat.  His
+regiment had not been in the Crimea, but they had heard what brave
+people the English were.  Even those who had been opposed to them felt
+no enmity towards them; very much the contrary--they had learnt to
+respect them.
+
+The Russian officers who had been in the Crimea, it was said, whenever
+they met with any English officers who had been there also, were more
+than usually kind and attentive to them.  The men's abodes, into which
+the travellers went, contained sixteen persons, and very close packing
+they must have found it in hot weather.  In cold weather they are thus
+kept warmer, and, if called to stand to their arms on a sudden attack, a
+large body of men can be instantly brought together.  The soldiers were
+generally fine-looking, intelligent fellows; many of them as fair, and
+quite as clean-looking, as Englishmen.  Some of the regiments, raised in
+northern latitudes, were composed of fine, dark-bearded men, while the
+officers were generally good-looking and gentlemanly.  These, however,
+were crack troops, and were certainly very different from the slouching,
+loutish-looking recruits to be seen when no public exhibition is
+intended.
+
+Highly pleased with this visit to the camp, they drove back to the city.
+On their way they stopped at some public gardens, where their guide
+told them a celebrated band of gipsies were going to sing.  Harry
+declared that the place was called Waxhauloff.  Certainly the name did
+not sound unlike that word.  There was a garden, brilliantly lighted up
+with coloured lamps, and at one end there were scenic preparations,
+probably for a desperate sea-fight on a pond, for there was a lighthouse
+in the foreground and some ships in the distance; and the bills
+signified that this was to be followed by a superb display of fireworks.
+There was also a large music hall, where a number of people were
+collected, listening to a very good instrumental band.  The object of
+the travellers, however, was to meet with the civilised specimens of the
+race of Zingari or gipsies, whom they would find there.  They were not
+long in discovering them as they moved about among the crowd.  There was
+the same swarthy hue, black, burning eyes, and cunning, quick expression
+of countenance which distinguish them in every part of the world.  The
+women were somewhat fancifully, but not fantastically dressed.  This
+costume varied little from that common in Europe.  It is only on festive
+occasions that they wear the dress of their people.  The men had on
+surtouts, with belts round their waists, and light-coloured trousers.
+They were remarkable for their small well-formed heads and sharp Jewish
+countenances.  Cousin Giles said he should call them Arab Jews.  One of
+the women, who was fairer than the rest, and somewhat picturesquely
+dressed in a red mantle, seemed to attract some attention, though when
+her features were seen near they bore the gipsy characteristics.
+
+After some time the interpreter succeeded in finding the chief of the
+gipsies, and in drawing him aside to where Cousin Giles was standing.
+The interpreter told the gipsy chief that Cousin Giles was an Englishman
+who took great interest in the gipsies of all countries, and that he
+would like to hear about his tribe.  The gipsy replied that he was much
+flattered; that he was the chief only of forty or fifty people, but that
+they were all well off; that they lived in comfortable houses, and had
+conformed to the religion of the country; that he had been offered a sum
+equivalent to a thousand pounds to each of his band to go to Paris to
+sing in public, but that they were well off in Russia, and did not wish
+to move.  Some of his people at times became very wealthy, and some of
+the women, who had fine voices, went on the stage, while others married
+men of rank.  There were many tribes of gipsies in Russia who were
+altogether of an inferior grade.  They still lived in tents, and
+wandered about the country, and were chiefly horse and cattle-dealers.
+A few followed still less creditable occupations.  His tribe, however,
+held no communication whatever with them.
+
+It occurred to Cousin Giles that the life of the wandering gipsy was
+perhaps more creditable than that of his brethren in the city.  The
+conversation was brought to a close by the gipsy and his band being
+summoned to the platform.
+
+The band consisted of fifteen women and eight men.  The women were
+seated in a semicircle; the leader and another man, with guitars in
+their hands, stood in front of them; the rest stood behind.  Some of the
+women had guitars.  One of the girls sang a solo very well, the rest of
+the band joining in an extravagantly wild, fantastic chorus; the leader,
+meantime, skipping and turning and twisting about in the most absurd and
+inelegant manner.  They sang several songs in the same style, some more
+wild and extraordinary than the first, certainly not suited to a refined
+taste.  Yet this place was evidently a fashionable resort; the
+entrance-money was very high,--a silver rouble and a quarter,--and the
+company were all well-dressed, well-behaved people, evidently ladies and
+gentlemen, chiefly the residents of the neighbourhood, a fashionable
+suburb of Moscow.
+
+The houses in the neighbourhood were evidently built only for summer
+use, for they were all, though differing in shape, of a Swiss-cottage
+style.  The travellers had been so busily engaged all day, that, having
+satisfied their curiosity by seeing the gipsies, they had no inclination
+to remain for the pyrotechnic display, and therefore, going in search of
+their carriage, they drove back to Moscow.
+
+They had now seen a good deal of the outside of the city--not all,
+perhaps, that was to be seen, but enough to give them a very fair
+general idea of it.  There were many convents, and churches, and
+colleges, and hospitals, and other public institutions, which they had
+not had time to visit; and then there was the great event which was to
+take place in a few weeks, the coronation of the Emperor, at which it
+was expected that the representatives of all the nations of Europe would
+attend; but our friends preferred seeing somewhat of the interior of the
+country to waiting for it, and they therefore resolved on setting off at
+once, and returning, if possible, in time for the occasion.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Since the period spoken of the serfs have been emancipated, and these
+laws are no longer in force.  The peasantry are, however, subject to the
+fearful conscription, and are liable to be torn from their homes to
+serve in the armies of the Emperor.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TEN.
+
+  Journey in a Tarantasse--Monotony of Scenery--Description of
+  Population in Russia--The Mujicks or Peasants--Their Habitations and
+  Mode of Life--The Religion of Russia--The Priests--The Landed
+  Proprietors and their Habits and Characteristics--Civil Officers of
+  Government--The Army and its Organisation--Russian Officers--A
+  Breakdown--A Russian Inn--The City of Vladimir--Nishni-Novogorood--Its
+  Great Fair--Addressed by a Stranger--His Mysterious Conduct.
+
+Away rattled the tarantasse, with our travellers inside, through the
+gates of the Holy City of Moscow towards the town of Nishni-Novogorood,
+where the great annual fair of Russia was then taking place.  The rough
+vehicle bumped and thumped and jumbled along at a rapid rate over the
+uneven road, in a way to try the nerves and bones and tempers of those
+inside; but none of the tumblifications they endured had the effect of
+disturbing the equanimity of their tempers, or of dislocating their
+joints, each bump of unusual violence only making them laugh more
+heartily than ever.  Once clear of Moscow, the road was tolerably smooth
+in most places, and the body of the carriage moved easily along between
+the two long poles to which it was slung.  Such is the principle of the
+tarantasse.  The body of the carriage may be of any form or size.  It
+may have come out of Long Acre, or it may be a little waggon covered in
+with a tarpaulin.  The important part is formed of the strongest and
+roughest materials, so that it is not likely to break, or, if it does,
+any peasant on the road can mend it.  Cousin Giles had hired one of the
+common sort.  It was, in truth, a little waggon with a tilt over it, and
+made very comfortable with a good supply of straw and leather cushions,
+for which the Russians are famous.  All travellers carry them.  They
+serve for their seats by day and their couches by night.  Our friends
+had brought a supply of provisions with them, so that they were entirely
+independent of inns, which are very bad throughout the country.
+
+The party in the tarantasse consisted of Cousin Giles and his two young
+friends, of Mr Allwick, their interpreter, and of Mr Evergreen, who
+had begged leave to join them.  Cousin Giles would rather have had a
+more sensible companion; but he was so good-natured and so ready to
+sacrifice his own convenience to that of others, while his quaint and
+simple observations afforded so much amusement, that he was more
+desirable than many persons with superior pretensions.
+
+The road was very unpicturesque, running chiefly between forests of
+birch and fir-trees, with few or no hills to vary its monotony.  The
+journey, however, was far from uninteresting.  They passed various
+parties of traders with their waggons going to the fair; also a group of
+exiles on their way to Siberia, already weary and footsore, though they
+had performed but a short portion of their long journey.  There were
+woodcutters in the forests, and peasants in the few patches of
+cultivated ground which here and there appeared.  Mr Allwick, too, had
+travelled over the greater part of Russia, and gave them much
+information about the country.
+
+"I divide the population of Russia into five classes," said he, "with
+the Czar, forming a sixth, at their head.  First come the _mujicks_ or
+peasants, who form the great mass of the population; then come the
+_svestchenniks_ or priests, who are mostly sprung from them, and are
+often looked upon as but slightly their superiors; the third class are
+the _pameshtchiks_, the landed proprietors and serf owners.  In the
+fourth class may be included the _chinovinks_ or civil functionaries;
+and the _grajdanuns_ or citizens; while in the fifth may be reckoned the
+military of all ranks.
+
+"Of the mujicks or peasants, upwards of two-thirds are serfs or slaves.
+The other portion have either purchased their liberty or have been
+liberated by their masters.  They are completely under the control of
+their masters, who can flog them or imprison them, but may not take away
+their lives nor remove them from the land on which they were born.  An
+owner may, however, let his serf out to some other master for hire.  The
+greater number of servants in Saint Petersburg and Moscow are serfs
+belonging to landed proprietors, who receive a part of their wages.
+Many serfs follow trades, and some have become wealthy merchants.  Some
+have purchased their freedom for large sums, but in other instances
+masters have refused to grant their serfs their freedom, who thus,
+though rolling in riches, remain with the chains of slavery round their
+necks, liable at any moment to be called back and compelled to do their
+lord's bidding, even in the most menial capacity.  They have the general
+faults of slaves, being cringing, cunning, and delighting in falsehood;
+but they are intelligent, kind-hearted, and merry, and honest when
+property is entrusted to their charge.  Their dress consists of a cap, a
+long sheepskin coat in winter, and a cotton one in summer, a red-striped
+shirt, worn outside their very full breeches, and high leather boots on
+grand occasions; but usually they wear on their feet willow or
+birch-bark sandals, their legs being swathed in rags of all sorts.  A
+vest and sash of some gay colour is also worn; so that altogether their
+costume is picturesque, though much less so than that of Swiss or
+Spanish peasants.  Their cottages are built of logs of pine, laid one
+above the other, the ends being notched to fit into each other, exactly
+like the log-huts of Canada, and having always a porch in front.  They
+are roofed with straw.  They contain two apartments, with a huge stove
+of brick built into the dividing wall.  In each room there is a very
+small window.  In a conspicuous place is seen the picture of the saint
+worshipped by the family, hung against the wall, sometimes glazed, and
+always having a lamp burning before it.  The first act of each person
+who enters the cottage is to salute the image; indeed, the same
+veneration is paid to it as was paid to the household gods of the
+ancients.  The temperature of these abodes ranges, both in summer and
+winter, from 70 degrees to 80 degrees.  They are lighted at night by a
+pine stick stuck into the wall.  As the interstices between the logs are
+filled up with hemp and other combustible materials, fires are very
+common, and whole villages are frequently burnt down.  In order to
+extinguish these conflagrations, each serf is bound to bring some
+particular implement--a ladder, a pail, or an axe; and, that he may not
+forget his duty, the implement he is charged to bring is painted on the
+board with his name, which is placed in front of his hut.  Thus, as soon
+as the signal is given that a fire has broken out, so many serfs rush
+forth with ladders, so many with pails, and so many with axes, towards
+the scene of conflagration.
+
+"The serfs on an estate are allowed a certain portion of ground and
+materials for building their cottages.  They labour three days in the
+week for their owners, and three days for themselves; so that, when the
+soil is good, they can easily provide themselves with the necessaries of
+life.  But, at the same time, they are entirely in the power of unjust
+stewards or cruel masters, who can make their lives miserable, and
+quickly bring them to ruin.  It must be owned that when serfs are well
+managed they are often contented and happy, and have no wish for
+freedom.
+
+"Some proprietors are anxious to free their serfs, so as to be able to
+move them from one estate to another, or to get rid altogether of the
+charge of keeping them.  The well-known Count Sheremetieff, however, who
+owns some of the richest merchants and shopkeepers in Saint Petersburg,
+will not consent to emancipate any one of them, although some have
+offered him large sums for their freedom.  He is content with a small
+annual payment as tribute.  When he dies, however, if his successor is
+avaricious, their condition may be very much changed.
+
+"The Greek is the Established Church of Russia.  The priests are as a
+class illiterate, and but little removed above the mujicks in their
+habits of life.  A priest is expected to marry, but can only marry one
+wife.  When she dies, he enters the monastic order.  His sons enter the
+clerical seminaries, and his daughters marry priests, while another
+takes his vicarage.  When a priest dies, or becomes a widower, and
+leaves a grown-up daughter, the living is generally given to some
+candidate for holy orders who pleases the young lady, and who is willing
+to marry her.  Thus the clergy have become almost a separate class, the
+office descending from father to son.  The value of livings is very
+small, seldom surpassing 15 pounds per annum.  The priests are in
+general held in very little respect by all classes, even by the
+peasants, who, however, kiss their hands when they meet them, and often
+have a feeling of regard for them.  There are numerous dissenters, who
+are frequently treated with the most bitter persecution by the orthodox
+Church.
+
+"The _Pameshtchiks_ or landed proprietors may be divided into two
+classes,--those who have vast estates, and, honoured by titles, live
+chiefly at courts, while they commit their affairs to the charge of
+stewards; and those who reside on their property and look after it
+themselves.  The former are generally polished in their manners,
+well-informed, and luxurious in their habits, and are courtiers,
+diplomatists, or naval or military commanders.  Though they occasionally
+visit their estates, when they keep up considerable pomp and ceremony,
+they reside chiefly in the capital.
+
+"The landlord who lives entirely on his property is of a very different
+character, and thoroughly unlike an old English gentleman of the same
+social rank.  Supremely indolent and unintellectual, he thinks of
+nothing but how he can most easily kill time.  When he awakes in the
+morning, his attendant slave brings him his pipe, and he smokes till his
+first meal of tea and rusks is prepared; his bailiff then comes and
+makes his daily report, and serves as a vent for his ill-humour.  Then
+he eats a substantial and somewhat greasy meal, which enables him to
+exist while he takes a drive round his estate till dinner-time.  That
+meal is even more coarse and greasy than the former one.  He then sleeps
+for a couple of hours, smokes, plays at cards, sups, and goes to bed,--
+not a satisfactory way for a person with a soul to spend his time.  His
+wife spends her day much in the same way, smoking paper cigarettes
+instead of a pipe, and managing the female domestic serfs instead of the
+men.  All matrimonial affairs come under the cognisance of the
+_Pameshtchik_, as no serf can marry without his permission.  This,
+however, is rarely withheld, as it is his interest to have as large a
+number of people as possible beneath his rule.
+
+"Owners often treat their serfs kindly, and make their lives happy, but
+a capricious or tyrannical master has the power of rendering every
+person on his estate miserable.
+
+"The above description refers to the Russian landowners as a class.
+There are undoubtedly exceptions, and many very excellent, intelligent
+men may be found, who, living entirely on their property, devote
+themselves to its improvement, and to the amelioration of the condition
+of those who have been placed in dependence on them.
+
+"The worst class in Russia are the Tchinovniks, or those employed in the
+civil service of the Government, of all grades, from the highest to the
+lowest.  They are badly paid, and thus indemnify themselves by every
+description of peculation, and by endeavouring to wring bribes out of
+all with whom they come in contact.  The Emperors have at times
+endeavoured to alter the system, but, although they have punished
+delinquents, when discovered, with the greatest severity, they have
+failed to put a stop to the evil.
+
+"The mercantile class are considered generally respectable.  No person
+can trade unless he is a member of one of three guilds.  The privileges
+belonging to the first guild are purchased by an annual tax, calculated
+on the declared capital, but which cannot be less than 150; and those of
+the other guilds by sums in proportion to the smaller facilities for
+trading which they afford.
+
+"The Russians are certainly not a warlike race, though their governors
+have endeavoured to make them so.  The conscription presses most cruelly
+on the peasants, and it is with the most painful reluctance that its
+summons is obeyed.  When they join, the officers may ill-treat them,
+pull their hair, and strike them with impunity.  The officers have
+generally a fair supply of professional knowledge, and some are highly
+educated.  The men have a larger amount of passive courage than of
+dashing bravery; yet they will usually follow where their officers lead
+them.  The private has a possibility of rising to the rank of an officer
+after twelve years' probation, and even sooner by some dashing act of
+bravery; and several even thus have become generals.  There are numerous
+military colleges in which cadets are educated, but a commission may
+also be obtained by a youth of family by his serving two years in the
+ranks.  No officer may appear on any occasion without his uniform, nor
+carry an umbrella.  The cadets are exercised during the summer in camps,
+as, indeed, is the greater part of the army, to prepare them for actual
+warfare."
+
+Mr Allwick had got thus far in his description of the people of Russia,
+when, as the horses were galloping along at a great rate, a crash was
+heard, and over went the carriage on its side;--one of the long poles of
+the tarantasse had broken.  The travellers got out in dismay, not
+knowing how long this accident might delay them.  As they looked out
+they saw some cottages ahead.  A peasant standing at the door of one of
+them had observed the occurrence, and now came running up with his axe
+in his hand to ascertain the amount of the damage.  Two or three other
+men followed.  "Oh, it is nothing," said they; "we will soon put this
+all right."  They were as good as their word.  While the travellers
+stood at the roadside watching what they would do, they disappeared into
+the forest, out of which they speedily issued with a young fir-tree,
+which in an incredibly short space of time they stripped of its bark and
+fitted to the carriage.  A rouble amply satisfied them for their
+trouble.  They were merry fellows, evidently, for they laughed and joked
+or sung all the time they were at work, so that Fred and Harry were
+quite sorry that they could not understand what they were saying.  The
+tarantasse was soon moving on as before.  In the evening they stopped at
+a place with a name too difficult to pronounce, to take tea.  The inn
+was an unclean, straggling-looking mansion, with a long whitewashed
+corridor, and whitewashed rooms, very scantily furnished, opening out of
+it.  The whole place was redolent of an odour which appears to be a
+mixture of vodka, onions, or rather garlic, and stale tobacco smoke.  No
+house in Russia seems to be without it, of high or low degree, its
+intensity only being greater in those of the lower orders.  Evergreen
+complained bitterly of it.  His consumption of _eau-de-Cologne_ was
+doubled, he said, and he declared that it alone would prevent him from
+ever willingly taking up his abode in Russia, irrespective of his
+dislike to the despotic system of government under which it was placed.
+The travellers were ushered by a waiter into a room with a
+straight-backed, leather-covered sofa, chairs with wooden seats, and an
+old card-table; while the walls were ornamented with some coloured
+prints of battles between the Circassians and Russians, in which a host
+of the mountaineers were flying before a handful of their enemies.  The
+waiter would have astonished one of his brethren in England; for he wore
+jack-boots, into which were tucked his full Oriental breeches, a pink
+shirt, showing the tail outside, and a dirty, collarless, long coat,
+like a dressing-gown, fastened round his waist by a sash.  "_Tchai_,
+_tchai_!"  (tea, tea!), exclaimed Cousin Giles with as much dignity as
+if he was thorough master of the Russian language.  "_Si chasse, si
+chasse_," replied the jack-booted waiter, meaning thereby that he would
+bring it as suited his convenience.  Mr Allwick, however, added a few
+persuasive words, and in a short time the hissing _samovar_ made its
+appearance, with a teapot and cups.  The tea, which would anywhere be
+considered excellent, the travellers had brought with them.  The
+principle of the _samovar_ is very simple.  In the centre of a
+common-shaped urn there is a cylinder with a grating at the bottom of
+it.  The urn is filled with water, and the cylinder with charcoal.  A
+brass chimney fits on to the top of the cylinder.  A light is then
+applied to the lower end, which soon ignites the charcoal from the
+bottom to the top, and boils the water in three or four minutes.  A
+frame fixes on to the top of the cylinder, on which the teapot is placed
+to keep it warm.  There is a damper or cap, which can be placed on the
+top of the cylinder when it is required to put out the fire.  There is
+no more convenient machine for travellers, as breakfast can thus be
+prepared in a very few minutes.  A sum amounting to little more than a
+shilling was paid for the accommodation thus afforded.  For a less sum
+they might have slept all night, but then they would have had to wrap
+themselves up in their cloaks and pick out a soft plank on the floor.
+In an hour fresh horses were procured, and once more the tarantasse was
+rattling along the road.  About twenty-four hours after leaving Moscow,
+the travellers reached the ancient city of Vladimir, with the Golden
+Gate.  It was once upon a time the capital of the Empire, and is still a
+city of considerable size.  It is picturesquely situated on a hill, on
+which stand about twenty churches, overlooking a wide extent of wooded
+country, with a magnificent river flowing through it.  The Golden Gate,
+which still rises in dignified solitude, a proud monument of the past,
+is not an ungraceful building.  It is no longer used as a gate.
+
+The temptations held out by the hotel here did not induce our travellers
+to stop, but, ordering fresh horses, they pushed on towards Nishni.
+They were now entering a fertile tract of country; but, fertile as it
+is, the population is not more dense than that of the most barren
+districts of Scotland.  Mile after mile of thick forest was passed
+through, varied occasionally, as they approached the river Okka, by
+large villages.  These villages have a strong similarity to each other,
+the houses being built of logs, and the gable-ends being turned to the
+road, and being inhabited by people with a very great likeness to each
+other.  At length the town of Nishni-Novogorood appeared before them.
+At most times of the year it contains but few inhabitants.  It was now
+crowded by persons from all parts of Russia and the provinces to the
+south and east, who had assembled to dispose of the produce of their
+respective districts, or to make purchases for exportation.  Here
+assemble merchants from all parts of Siberia, Tartars, Georgians,
+Persians, and Armenians, to meet Russians and Germans, and even English
+and French, from Saint Petersburg and Moscow, who come to buy their
+produce or exchange them for manufactures from the West.  Nishni stands
+on a high promontory, whose base is washed on one side by the Volga, on
+the other by its tributary the Okka.  The Kremlin, or Citadel, with its
+low, embattled walls, stands on the highest point, and overlooks a vast
+plain, through which, at the base of the hill, the Volga flows proudly
+past.  On this plain, close to the banks of the river, was a whole city
+of booths of various styles of architecture--those for the tea merchants
+being in the shape of pagodas.  Some of the booths are of considerable
+size, being, in fact, storehouses for a large amount of valuable
+merchandise.  One of the most conspicuous buildings in this quarter is a
+mosque, whose tall, pointed spire, surmounted by a glittering crescent,
+towers above all others.  This mosque is said to be the most northern
+Mohammedan temple, with the exception of the humble little structure at
+Moscow.
+
+Our friends found the hotel in the upper part of the town far more
+comfortable than they expected.  The rooms and beds were tolerably
+clean, and the eatables contained no larger amount of grease and garlic
+than might reasonably be expected.  Having refreshed themselves with a
+quantity of fresh-water, which somewhat astonished the Russian
+attendants, and partaken of a substantial meal, they sallied forth to
+visit the fair.  Mr Allwick, who had been there before, acted as their
+guide.  The upper part of the town presented no unusual bustle, but as
+they descended to the plain they found themselves among dense crowds of
+human beings in every variety of costume.  Long-coated, long-bearded,
+and high-booted Russians predominated.  By listening attentively, our
+friends thought they could distinguish very many different languages and
+dialects; and all were speaking in an earnest, energetic way, showing
+that they had met for business, and not for pleasure.  There was, in
+truth, no gaiety either in their manner or their costume; for their
+dresses also were of somewhat grave, sombre colours, though here and
+there gay sashes, or caps, or vests, or turbans were to be seen.  They
+walked up and down the long lanes of booths, in which the traders sat in
+state ready to dispose of their merchandise.  But the more interesting
+part of their employment was the visit they paid to the various
+storehouses.  In some were packages upon packages of tea, done up in
+skins, in which mode it is brought all the way from China by caravans;
+in another were piles of hides, in another heaps of dressed leather, in
+another bales of hemp and wool, brought by the Volga and its tributaries
+from far-off regions.  There were also less bulky manufactured
+articles--leather work and embroidery, slippers and belts, from Kazan,
+shawls and cloths from Persia, and saddles from Tartary; indeed, it
+would be difficult to name one-half of the articles exposed for sale.
+There were no means of amusement, such as are to be seen at an English
+or German fair.  No jugglers, or actors, or roundabouts, or swings,
+though there were eating and drinking booths in abundance, where the
+buyers and sellers and carriers might refresh themselves after the toils
+of the day.  The mighty Volga, even here a fine river, presented an
+interesting scene.  It was covered with a great variety of boats, some
+of considerable size, which had brought to market the produce enumerated
+above, and were ready to carry off what was taken in exchange for it.
+There were steamers also, some going much above Nishni, and others
+navigating from thence its whole length to its mouth.
+
+While the travellers had been moving about the fair, Cousin Giles, who
+had a great facility for remembering countenances, had observed a man in
+the costume of a mujick continually following them.  His dress was dusty
+and travel-stained, but it was neither torn nor patched, nor had he the
+appearance of a poor man.  His countenance was frank, open, and
+pleasant, though grave and somewhat careworn, so that it did not appear
+to Cousin Giles that he had any sinister motive for his conduct.  Our
+friends were so much interested with all they saw, that quick-gathering
+darkness alone reminded them that it was time to return to their hotel.
+They had even then seen but a very small portion of the fair.  Cousin
+Giles had before this lost sight of the mujick.  They were on their way
+to the upper town, and were passing through a street, if so it might be
+called, with high walls on either side, when, coming from under a dark
+archway, the mujick presented himself before them.
+
+He walked up at once to Cousin Giles, and took his hand, which he
+pressed to his lips, and then spoke several sentences in a low, earnest
+tone; but as the language was Russian, Cousin Giles could not understand
+a word.  Mr Allwick, however, came up to interpret.
+
+"He tells you," said he, "that he knows some of our countrymen; that he
+has always found them honourable, kind, and religious, and able to
+sympathise with the afflicted; and that, after watching you, he feels
+that he may put perfect confidence in you and your companions."
+
+"What does he want us to do?" asked Cousin Giles.  "I shall be very
+happy to assist the poor man if a few roubles will be of consequence to
+him; but I do not see how otherwise I can help him."
+
+"He says that, if you will let him call on you at the hotel in a short
+time, he will tell you what he has got to say, but that now he dare not
+remain longer talking to you, lest he should be observed.  He says that
+he will not appear as he now does, and he hopes you will allow whoever
+asks for you to be admitted," replied Mr Allwick.
+
+"Very mysterious," said Cousin Giles.  "It may perhaps be a device of
+the police to entrap us."
+
+"I do not think that, sir," replied Mr Allwick.  "The man is, I
+believe, honest; at the same time I cannot advise you to have anything
+to do with him.  In this country one cannot be too wary.  With the best
+of intentions, we may easily be brought into trouble."
+
+"Very shocking, indeed, to be taken up and sent off to Siberia,"
+observed Mr Evergreen.  "Tell the good man that I will give him ten
+roubles if that will help him, but that I do not want to see his face
+again--in case of accident, you know.  Tell him that."
+
+"It is not pecuniary assistance that he requires," said Mr Allwick, who
+had again been speaking with the stranger.  "He says that he will
+explain everything by and by if he is allowed to visit us.  He throws
+himself on our charity.  He thinks the risk to us will be slight, and
+the gain to him great.  He entreats that you will give him a reply, for
+he dare not remain longer."
+
+Mr Evergreen's curiosity was aroused, and he forgot his fears.  After
+consulting a minute, Cousin Giles replied: "Tell him that I will see him
+if he thinks fit to call, but I cannot promise to help him."
+
+Mr Allwick translated what had been said into Russian, and the
+stranger, bowing low, retired into the retreat from which he had come
+forth, while the travellers returned to their inn.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER ELEVEN.
+
+  The Stranger Merchant commences his Story--The Molokani--Origin of
+  their Faith--Progress among the Villagers--How the Bible was prized by
+  them--Its Distribution--Captain Martineff--His Endurance of
+  Persecution--Sad History--His Christian Fortitude--General Persecution
+  of the Sect--Flight--Transported to a New District--Attempt to convert
+  Captain Martineff.
+
+The hissing _samovar_ was on the table, and the fragrant _tchai_ had
+just been made, when the waiter with the high boots and pink shirt
+entered to say that a merchant had called with some goods for the
+travellers to inspect.  Cousin Giles desired that the man might be
+admitted, and in a minute a person in a long dark coat, with a case
+slung before him, entered the room.  He at once began to display some
+caps and belts of gold and silk embroidery, several articles of silver,
+spoons ornamented with black-lined engraving, little hand-bells, snuff--
+boxes, slippers of leather richly worked, and many similar articles,
+such as English travellers in Russia are accustomed to purchase.  The
+prices he named were very moderate.  While he was displaying his
+merchandise, Cousin Giles was observing him narrowly.
+
+"Why, he is our friend the mujick," he whispered to Mr Allwick.  "The
+man can masquerade well."
+
+The waiter had now left the room.  The merchant went to the door and
+looked out.  He then came back to the table on which he had spread out
+his merchandise, and addressed Mr Allwick in a low, earnest voice.  The
+latter now grew very much interested, apparently, with what he heard.
+The stranger perceived that his cause was making progress, and continued
+his story with increased earnestness.  At length he stopped to allow Mr
+Allwick to translate to his friends what had been said.  Cousin Giles
+looked inquiringly at him for an explanation.
+
+"I will translate, as nearly as I can, what he has told me," said Mr
+Allwick.
+
+"I am, you must know, sirs," said he, "one of that class of dissenters
+from the Established Greek Church whom our countrymen designate as
+_molokani_ or milk-drinkers.  You have not heard of them, perhaps.  I
+will tell you about them.  Many years ago the unadulterated word of
+God--the Holy Bible, translated into our native language--was brought
+into Russia without note or comment.  Some copies of it reached my
+native province, and were received most gladly by many of our peasants.
+Those who could afford it eagerly bought the book of glad tidings; those
+who could not clubbed their money together and became the joyful
+purchasers of a copy.  How the book came, no one could tell.  Some said
+that a stranger from another land brought many volumes of the book with
+him in a large chest, and that he travelled about from village to
+village, instructing certain men in each village, and making them desire
+to possess the book.  Though such might have been the case, I never saw
+the stranger.  All I know is, that a certain very pious man in our
+village had several copies of the book which he had bought at a great
+cost, though not too great for its value, oh no!  And that he sold them
+without profit to all who would buy--rather, I would say, at a loss, for
+to some who could not pay the full cost he remitted part of the amount.
+When we got the book we lost no time in reading it.  In the fields in
+summer, under the shade of trees, we sat and read it, where no one could
+watch us; in our huts, by torch-light in winter, we eagerly studied the
+book.  We knew that we had got the word of God, that we possessed a
+jewel of rich price; we were afraid that thieves might come and steal it
+from us.  We read and read on; most eagerly we met together to talk
+about it, to discuss the meaning of parts which we could not at first
+understand, to pray that our minds might be enlightened to comprehend
+it.  We read it, as the book itself tells us to do, with earnest prayer;
+we read it with faith, and we read it not in vain.  Soon passages which
+seemed at first obscure were made clear to our comprehension.  Every day
+we understood it better and better.  We had no one to whom to go for
+information.  We had no one to instruct us, so we went to God; we asked
+Him to show us the truth, as He in the book told us to do, and His
+promises never fail.  He instructed our minds; He gave us all we asked
+for.  We now discovered, truly, how darkened had been our minds, how
+ignorant we had been, what follies, what fables, what falsehoods we had
+believed.  We saw the gross, the terrible, the wicked errors of the
+Church of our country.  We found that those who should have instructed
+us were generally as ignorant as we had been, and that if not ignorant,
+they had taught us falsehoods, knowing them to be falsehoods.  We found
+in that book how the world was made; how man was first placed in the
+world; how he, by disobedience to God's simple command, fell from his
+happy state, and how sin thus entered into the world, and all men became
+by nature sinful; how God in His mercy promised a Redeemer who should
+bear upon His own shoulders the sin of all the children of Adam who
+believe in Him; how God selected a people to keep His great name, and to
+make it known among men; how He promised to the patriarchs of old, from
+age to age, that the Redeemer of the world should be one of their chosen
+tribe, and that the glad tidings of salvation should first be offered to
+them; how, in process of time, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world,
+from His unbounded love to the human race, appeared in the form of a
+man, and in humble rank, to teach us that He regards not the persons of
+men; how He was despised and rejected of men; how He suffered toil, and
+sorrow, and persecution, though He spent His days on earth in doing good
+to all around Him, to show the humble, and poor, and afflicted that He
+can feel for them; how He was rejected by God's chosen people; how they
+crucified Him, and invoked a curse on their own heads by taking on
+themselves all the terrible guilt of the deed; how He died and was
+buried; how thus He offered Himself a sacrifice for our sins; how He
+remained for three days in the vale of departed spirits; how in His own
+body He rose again to teach men the doctrine of the resurrection; how,
+having fulfilled all the work of the sacrifice, He ascended into heaven,
+and how He there acts as a mediator between God and man; how, too, in
+His abundant mercy, He sent down the Holy Ghost to lead men aright, to
+teach them the truth.  That book tells us nothing of the Virgin Mary,
+except that she was the earthly mother of our Lord.  It tells us nothing
+of the mediation of saints, but it tells us that God accepts but one
+great sacrifice, that offered by our Lord Jesus Christ; that He is our
+only Priest, our only Mediator in heaven; that those who heartily repent
+of their sins, who put their faith in Him, and Him alone, will be saved.
+
+"We find nothing said in the Bible of a Patriarch, or any other head of
+the Church on earth.  The only Patriarch, therefore, we can acknowledge,
+the only Head of our Church, is Christ in heaven.  Yet the Bible has
+taught us to bow to the authority of earthly powers in all temporal
+matters, but in spiritual matters to yield to the authority of no one
+unless it is plainly and undoubtedly in accordance with the word of God
+revealed in that book.  Putting aside all the customs of the country,
+which seemed to us so overloaded with error and abuse that we could not
+distinguish the right from the wrong, we have endeavoured to form a
+system of worship and mutual instruction as nearly similar as possible
+to that instituted by our Lord Himself and His disciples.  We knew that
+we could not preach our doctrines in public without bringing down on our
+heads a severe punishment from the authorities of the Empire; but they,
+nevertheless, made certain though slow progress.  No sooner did one
+receive the truth than he became anxious to impart it to others.  All
+this time, who, think you, had joined our faith?--none but serfs,
+peasants, humble mujicks.  But this did not cast us down, for we asked
+ourselves.  Who were the first disciples of our Lord?--fishermen, humble
+men like ourselves.  Because our faith was different to that of the
+great and mighty in the land, it did not make us less certain that it
+was the true one, or less anxious to impart it to others, to offer our
+brethren the same assurance of pardon and salvation which we had
+ourselves received.  Hitherto the progress of our creed had received no
+interruption from the Government authorities.  We had worked silently
+and quietly; even the priests knew nothing of the movement going on.  We
+were well assured that, should they discover it, they would oppose us
+with all their power.  We were, therefore, allowed to continue on
+without persecution.  By degrees, however, our doctrines began to make
+progress among persons of a higher grade.  An earnest, piously-minded
+land-steward had a Bible lent him by a peasant; he expressed his
+satisfaction at reading it, and was at last invited to attend one of our
+meetings.  He came, and his heart was turned to the right way.  For many
+months he worshipped with us, and at length the owner of the estate he
+managed came to live on his property.  He was an officer in the army,
+who had seen much service in the Caucasus fighting against the
+Circassians.  He had the character of being a brave and a stern man in
+the army.  His serfs always found him a kind though a strict master--not
+indulgent, but just.  To his master the steward was induced, after some
+time, to open the secret of his heart, and he at length persuaded him to
+study the Bible.  The master read and read on.  He became convinced of
+the errors of the Greek Church, and joined our fraternity.  Truly as a
+brother, humble and lowly in his own sight, he moved among us.
+
+"The truth had now spread widely; many thousands believed and worshipped
+with us, and we began to hope that the pure doctrines of Christianity
+might extend over the face of our beloved country.  Alas!  We deceived
+ourselves.  We forgot that times of persecution, trial, and suffering
+must ever be looked for by God's saints on earth.
+
+"At length, as was to be expected, some of the Government officials got
+notice of our meetings.  One night a congregation of us were assembled
+for prayer and instruction in the word in a rude hut constructed by us
+far away in the depths of a forest,--the only temple we dared raise to
+our God,--when we were startled by hearing the trampling of steeds and
+the crashing of boughs.  Before we could rise from our knees, a party of
+police, headed by a priest and two of the neighbouring landowners,
+rushed in upon us.  Some attempted to fly, others stood boldly up to
+confront our persecutors; but neither would it have been right or wise,
+or of any avail, to have used carnal weapons for our defence.  Those who
+thus stood firm felt bolder than they had ever done before.  We demanded
+why we were thus assailed and interrupted in our private devotions.  We
+asserted our right to meet for prayer to God and to our Lord, and
+demanded that we might be left to finish our devotions undisturbed.  In
+return we were jeered and ridiculed, and roughly ordered to marshal
+ourselves and hurry on before our captors.  They told us that we should
+be tried before a proper tribunal; that there could be no doubt we had
+met together for political and treasonable purposes; that also we were
+schismatics and heretics, and that we had merited the severest
+punishment.  We had no help for it, so, praying to God for help and
+support in this our first hour of peril, we did as we were ordered.  How
+we had been discovered we could not learn.  We feared that some one
+among our own body had proved false, but we trusted that such was not
+the case.  Our meetings had probably attracted the attention of some
+priest more acute than his brethren, and he had subtly made inquiries
+till he had discovered the truth.  It was a sad procession as we marched
+forth from our woodland temple, but yet we were not cast down; we
+trusted in God that He would deliver us.  He did not even then forget
+us.  We had marched a verst or more when thick clouds began to gather in
+the sky, and loud rumblings were heard.  Soon the tempest burst over the
+forest, louder and louder grew the thunder, flash upon flash of
+lightning darted from the heavens; first heavy drops, and then torrents
+of rain came down upon our heads; the trees bent, trunks were riven by
+the lightning, boughs were torn from the stems and dashed across our
+path.  The steeds of our captors began to snort and rear and show every
+sign of terror.  Crash succeeded crash--more vivid grew the lightning;
+it played round the tall stems of the trees, it ran hissing like
+serpents of fire along the ground, it almost blinded us by its
+brightness.  At last the horses could no longer stand it; their riders,
+too, were alarmed.  Some of the horses wheeled one way, some another,
+and all set off galloping furiously through the wood in different
+directions.  In vain the priest and the lords called to us to keep
+together, and to meet them at the town; in vain their servants and their
+other attendants endeavoured to keep us together.  Feeling that the
+tempest was sent for our deliverance, with a prayer for each other's
+safety we likewise dispersed in all directions, to seek places of
+shelter and concealment from our enemies.  The large forests, the thin
+population, the rocks and caves of that region afforded us abundance of
+facilities for this object.  Many of us reached such places of safety as
+I have described and the freemen were able to remain concealed, but the
+serfs were hunted up like wild beasts and brought back to their owners.
+Many were put to the torture, to make them betray those who had assumed
+what was called the new faith.  Day after day some of our members were
+seized.  The freemen were cast into prison and put to the torture, to
+compel them to deny their faith or to accuse others of following it.
+Our beloved brother, Captain Martineff, had hitherto escaped, but now he
+was accused of professing the new doctrines.  He was seized and brought
+up before the officers of a commission appointed to try all such
+delinquents.  He, who had ever proved a faithful soldier to his generals
+and the Emperor, was not now to be found false to his faith and his
+heavenly Lord and Master.  He at once boldly confessed that he had taken
+the Bible as his rule and guide, that by that he would stand or fall;
+and he demanded that he might have the right of explaining and defending
+his doctrines in public court.  This liberty was scornfully denied him.
+He was condemned for being guilty of desiring to subvert the Government
+and religion of the country, and thrown into prison.  He would at once
+have been transported to Siberia, but the Government hoped by keeping
+him to discover others who held the same tenets.  They little knew how
+far the true faith had spread, that thousands already held it, and that
+no power of theirs could extinguish the light thus kindled.  They
+dreamed not also of the fortitude and courage of which a true Christian
+is capable.  Captain Martineff would neither betray others nor deny his
+own faith.  It was determined to break his proud spirit, as it was
+called, and now commenced a system of the most cruel persecution against
+him.  His property was confiscated, his wife and children were seized
+and cast into dungeons separate from each other.  They were fed on black
+bread and water.  One by one they were brought to him and cruelly
+flogged before his eyes.  He saw them growing thinner and thinner every
+day, the colour fading from their cheeks, the hue of sickness taking its
+place.  He knew they were sinking into the grave--murdered by his
+persecutors.  Still he would not deny his faith or perform ceremonies
+which he knew to be superstitious and idolatrous.  With a refinement of
+cruelty worthy of demons, they told him that one child was dead.  `It is
+well,' he replied; `of such is the kingdom of heaven.'  A second died, a
+bright little cherub; it had been the joy of his life.  `God be praised!
+He is in Abraham's bosom,' he answered.  Soon a third sank under his
+treatment.  `You have released him from prison to praise God with the
+angels in heaven!' he remarked.
+
+"His wife, a believer with him, mild, pious, and good, became a victim
+to their barbarity.  They told him abruptly, to shock his feelings the
+more.  A serene smile illuminated his countenance, `She has entered into
+her rest, where neither grief, nor pain, nor sickness can come.  She is
+with the spirits of the just made perfect.'
+
+"Still he had more children.  It was known how he had loved them.  One
+after the other died, till one alone remained.  They brought it to him.
+They told him that if he would conform to the rules of the Established
+Church he should be released from prison, his property should be
+restored, and that this child--this darling child--should be sent to a
+place where fresh, pure air and the care of a good physician would
+quickly restore it to health.  `Life and death are in the hands of the
+Almighty; to Him I commit the life of my child.  I have but in faith
+humbly to obey His laws, and to follow the course He has marked out for
+me.'
+
+"One, two, three, four years passed away, and he and his child remained
+in prison.  The little boy grew thin and pale, and pined and pined away.
+They took him occasionally to be seen by his father--not to bring any
+joy to that father's heart, but to tempt his constancy.  The attempt
+availed them not.  The child died; the father shed not a tear, uttered
+not a complaint, but remained firm as ever to the faith.  Another year
+he was kept in prison, and then stripped of his property.  He was
+dismissed from prison, and a certain locality fixed for his abode.  Why
+he was not sent to Siberia was not known.  It was the will of the
+Emperor, it was supposed, who had heard his story.
+
+"While I have been narrating Captain Martineff's history, I have
+neglected to speak of the condition of the poorer brethren.  Numbers
+were seized, knouted, and sent off to labour in the mines of Siberia.
+They little thought that by that means they were taking the surest way
+of propagating the truth.  Others were thrown into prison, and subjected
+daily to cruel tortures to force them to recant.
+
+"A few unhappy men were overcome by the pains and terror, and returned
+to the Greek faith, but the greater number held firm.  I remained in
+concealment, and it was supposed that I had died; but I had relatives
+and friends who were wealthy for our rank of life, and gave me support.
+All my family were free, yet in position we were not much above the poor
+mujick.  I used after a time to venture out of my hiding-place and meet
+our brethren for prayer and praise; but it was at great hazard, and
+oftentimes I had a narrow escape of being captured.  At length, after we
+had suffered years of persecution, a time of rest was awarded us, and we
+fancied that we were to be allowed to worship our God as we judged best.
+Still I dared not be seen in public, for I had refused to appear when
+summoned, and I was looked upon as a political as well as a religious
+offender.
+
+"The mercy we were promised was but little mercy to us.  We were to be
+removed from the land of our birth, from our once happy homes, and to be
+settled down, many hundred versts away, in a district between some
+German colonies and Tartary.  It was believed that our tenets would not
+spread among the people by whom we were surrounded.  Many hundreds of
+families were thus turned out of their homes and compelled to settle in
+this new region.  The choice was given them of renouncing their faith or
+going.  Few hesitated.  I at length came forth from my hiding-place and
+joined my companions.  We set to work assiduously to bring under
+cultivation the wild country in which we were placed, and God prospered
+our labours.
+
+"Among the few of higher rank who belonged to us, Captain Martineff was
+sent here.  Sickness and long confinement had turned his hair
+prematurely grey, and he looked an old man.  He built himself a small
+hut with a single chamber in it, and here he took up his abode, while he
+used to labour with his own hands for his sustenance.  His
+fellow-villagers were all poor enough, but we all sought to assist him
+and to take him food--without it, I believe at times that he would have
+starved.  He received our gifts thankfully, but never would take them
+unless when he was absolutely in want of food.  He had been much
+respected when he was in the army, and the Emperor himself desired much
+to bring him back to the world.  More than one priest had come to effect
+this object.  At length the Emperor sent a general who was celebrated
+for his great powers of argument.  He arrived at our village in great
+state, but set out alone on foot to pay his visit.  The humble captain
+had been apprised of his coming; he sat at his little round table, made
+by his own hands, with his only spare seat placed ready for his guest.
+His Bible lay open before him.  The General struck his head against the
+doorway as he entered.  `We have need of humility when we approach the
+word of God,' observed his host with a gentle smile.
+
+"The General spoke kindly and affectionately to the old man.  They had
+been comrades, brothers-in-arms together.  For months they had slept in
+the same tent, and eaten out of the same dish.  For a short time they
+conversed of old times.
+
+"`But you came to talk to me of matters of more importance, my General,'
+said the Captain, laying his hand on the Bible.  `Out of this book I
+will reply to you.  Of my own words I need speak none.'
+
+"The General then commenced a series of arguments, which he had thought
+incontrovertible.  As each was brought forward, the Captain turned to
+his Bible, and produced a text, which with its context clearly refuted
+it.  Text after text was brought forward.  At first the General had been
+very confident of success; by degrees his confidence decreased, but the
+Captain retained the same composure as at the first.
+
+"`You have a great knowledge of the book, my friend,' said the General.
+
+"`I should have,' answered the Captain humbly; `I study no other; for
+where can another of equal value be found?  This shows us the way of
+eternal life.'
+
+"`Ah, you speak the truth, my old comrade,' exclaimed the General,
+rising.  `I came certain of succeeding to convert you to my way of
+belief, but I own that you have conquered.  You have converted me to
+yours.'
+
+"These were the General's last words.  He rose to take his departure.
+He grasped his old comrade's hand, and went out.  Alas!  Alas!  His
+reason was convinced, but his heart was unchanged.  His own words had
+condemned him.  He went back to the world to laste of its allurements
+and false pleasure, its titles, its wealth, its evanescent honours.  He
+undoubtedly reported favourably of his friend, and obtained for him
+immunity from further persecution; but for himself he sought not the
+Lord where alone He can be found.  He continued his old habits of life,
+seeking the praise of men rather than the praise of God."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWELVE.
+
+  Steffanoff Saveleff's Early History--Resolves to visit his Parents and
+  his Betrothed--Commences his Journey--Meets Woodcutters--Takes Shelter
+  in the Hut of old Sidor--Attacked by Fever--Compelled to fly--Pursued
+  by Enemies--Concealed in a Cave.
+
+"All this time I have been telling you about my people, but I have said
+nothing about myself," continued the stranger.  "When my people were
+ordered to take up their abode in the new districts appointed for them,
+I left my hiding-place, resolved to share their fortunes.  I remained
+unmolested at the new settlement for some months, labouring hard to
+prepare a home for my aged parents, who I trusted might be allowed to
+join me.  With them dwelt a young orphan; she had grown up under their
+roof from infancy to womanhood, and was betrothed to me.  During the
+days of persecution, I could not venture to wed her; but now that they
+were over, and I had the prospect of being able to prepare a home fit
+for her reception, I hoped to make her my wife.  A peasant can love as
+well as a noble.--I could not leave the settlement, that is, openly,
+without permission from the mayor, the chief man of the village.  In
+vain I asked for it.  I told him my object; still he would not listen to
+me.  I determined, therefore, to leave the place without his permission.
+As soon as darkness set in, one night, amid a storm of wind and rain, I
+started on my journey.  The police, or anybody who would stop me, were
+not likely to be out at such a time.  I hurried on all night, and in the
+daytime climbed up into a tree far away in the depths of a forest, where
+it was not probable any one would discover me.  I carried a wallet well
+stored with food; I wished to make it last me as many days as possible,
+as my great fear was of being captured should I enter any village to buy
+bread.  I had scraped together all the money I could collect, so that I
+was well provided with the means of purchasing provisions when I could
+venture to do so.  Night after night I toiled on, sustained with the
+hope that success would crown my efforts.  I feared neither bears nor
+wolves; they seldom in the summer season attack people, and I had often
+contended with them.  In winter the wolves are most to be dreaded; and
+often travellers, even in sledges, have fallen victims to them.  On foot
+a person overtaken by a flock of them would not have a chance of
+escaping with his life, unless he could climb a tree or a rock out of
+their way.  I dreaded famine more than anything else.  Had I been able
+to buy food wherever I could find it, I might have carried enough to
+enable me to get on from one farm or one village to another without
+difficulty, but, as this I was afraid to do, I was obliged to husband my
+provisions.  I found in the woods an abundance of wild fruit, such as
+strawberries and raspberries, which grow plentifully in the woods; also
+of many roots, with the nature of which I was well acquainted.  Besides
+roots, there were many varieties of mushrooms, and I had a small pan
+with me in which I could cook them.
+
+"It was a wild sort of life I was leading.  Sometimes for days together
+I did not speak a word to a fellow-creature.  Now and then I fell in
+with woodcutters, but they were poor men who knew how to commiserate
+those in distress, and seldom asked me questions.  The greatest
+assistance I received was from men of my own faith.  Our tenets have
+spread far and wide throughout the whole of the south of Russia, and I
+had no difficulty in discovering those who held them.  I at first had
+little hopes of meeting with any friends, but He who governs by His will
+the mighty universe, and without whose knowledge not a sparrow falls to
+the ground, directed me to one.  I one day had just climbed a tree after
+my night-march, and was commending myself to my Maker before going to
+sleep, when, as I looked once more around me, I saw coming through the
+wood an old man and a young lad.  By their dress, and the hatchets in
+their belts, I knew that they were woodcutters.  I thought, perhaps,
+that they might cut down the very tree I had climbed into; however, they
+went on a little way, and then, throwing aside their axes at the foot of
+a tree, they knelt down together and offered up their morning prayers.
+Then they sang a hymn, which our brethren often use when met together
+for worship.  The sounds cheered my heart; I knew at once that they were
+friends.  I quickly descended the tree, and went up to them.  At first
+they were afraid, thinking that I was a spy upon their actions, but a
+few words reassured them.  I told them at once my story, for I knew that
+I was in safe hands.  They promised to assist me as far as they had the
+power.  I by this time much wanted help.  My provisions were well-nigh
+exhausted, my feet sore, and my boots worn out.  I required a day's
+rest, and here was an opportunity of enjoying it.  The lad, who was the
+old man's grandson, undertook to get my boots mended by a brother, who
+would ask no questions concerning me, and would gladly do it for
+charity's sake.  The old man promised to bring me next morning an ample
+supply of provisions, and, in the mean time, insisted on my taking rest
+while he and his boy watched near me.  For this purpose they lopped off
+a number of branches from the surrounding trees, and formed an arbour.
+They then strewed the inside of it thickly with dry leaves, so as to
+form a more comfortable couch than I had enjoyed for many a day.  I
+crept in, and was soon asleep.  I had no fears, for I knew that the
+woodcutters were Christian men, and that nothing would induce them to
+betray me.
+
+"They aroused me at noon to partake of their meal, which consisted but
+of black bread and fish taken from the neighbouring river.  The fish,
+however, reminded me that, if I could but provide myself with a rod and
+tackle, I might frequently provide myself with food.  I mentioned my
+idea to my new friends, and they promised to procure me what I wanted.
+I was always a good fisherman, and knew how to catch every sort of fish.
+I was surprised that I had not thought of this before starting from
+home.
+
+"After dinner I again went to sleep, and rested soundly till the
+evening.  I awoke up, and the old man came and sat down by me, giving me
+some more food.  While we sat and ate we conversed earnestly of
+religious matters.  The lad had gone away with my boots to the village,
+which was three versts off.  He did more even than he promised, for soon
+after dark he returned with them thoroughly repaired.
+
+"`Our brother knew the importance of having them ready, in case you
+might be compelled to move away suddenly, so he lost no time in mending
+them,' said the young lad as he gave them to me.
+
+"Blessings on his head!  He gave me also some provisions; but he did
+more than this, he brought out with him a Bible.  It was not his own--he
+had borrowed it.  By the light of a fir-torch, as we sat in the entrance
+of my bower, he read many chapters from its sacred pages.  It was late
+before the old man and his grandson left me, promising to return early
+the next morning.  They told me that I might securely rest there till
+then, sheltered by the bower.  They brought some water and washed my
+feet, and anointed them with some salve, which the lad, most thoughtful
+for his years, had procured for the purpose.  I had been too much
+accustomed to sleep out at night during my long years of hiding from
+persecution to have any fears after the assurance the woodcutters had
+given me, so, commending myself to my Maker, I quickly fell asleep.
+
+"I was awoke by feeling a hand placed on my shoulder.  I started up,
+believing that a police-officer was about to seize me.  I had lived for
+some time in hourly expectation of being captured, and I could not throw
+off the feeling.  I felt, notwithstanding, that to allow it to weigh on
+my mind was a sin, as it arose from want of faith and trust in God's
+providence.  I looked up, and beheld the honest countenance of the young
+woodcutter.
+
+"`You sleep soundly, father,' said he with a smile.  `Few but those who
+have good consciences can thus repose, I have heard.  Well, father, I
+have brought you as much food as you can carry, and enough to last you
+for many days.  Eat, and then we will set off.  I am to go with you some
+of the way; my grandfather will meet us on the road.  He wishes to say
+farewell to you.  It is all settled, so say not a word on the matter.'
+
+"I willingly agreed to the young lad's proposal.  I was too thankful to
+have a guide and companion for part of my dreary journey to desire to
+refuse his offer.  Young Khor (that was the lad's name) insisted on
+carrying my wallet, so I walked lightly along, with a cheerful heart.
+Thus I found, when most in distress, Providence had sent me aid.  After
+walking about two versts through the wood, we saw the old man coming
+towards us.
+
+"He embraced me warmly.  `Heaven protect you, my son,' he said; `all the
+brethren here will earnestly pray for you: may you escape our
+persecutors wherever you go, and may friends be raised up for you
+whenever you require them.'  I thanked him warmly.  `Khor will go with
+you--Khor will guide you till you arrive at the abode of brother Sidor.
+It is but three days' journey from hence.  Khor will then easily find
+his way back, and Sidor will then guide you on your way farther;--
+farewell.'  With these words we parted.  Young Khor was a pleasant,
+cheerful companion, and as he knew the country well, he led me by far
+more direct roads than I could have found myself.  It was truly an
+agreeable change for me to have Khor with me.  Instead of being left to
+my own thoughts, I had pleasant conversation.  He, too, had brought a
+Testament with him, although he had not the whole Bible, and whenever we
+sat down to rest he pulled it out and read to me, or I read to him.  We
+were now also able to travel by day instead of by night, as he was able
+to conduct me by byways where we were not likely to meet any one to
+interrupt us.  At length we reached the abode of brother Sidor.  He was
+a grey-headed old man, and from sad experience had learned caution.  We
+knocked three times at his door before he opened it.  When he had done
+so he did not speak, but stood in the porch, examining us from head to
+foot.  This scrutiny was apparently satisfactory.  `Come in and sit
+down,' said he, at the same time placing fish, and bread, and cheese,
+and milk before us.  `There, eat; when you have satisfied your hunger, I
+will hear what you wish to tell me.'  We gladly did as he desired, and
+when we had satisfied our hunger, I frankly told him all my history, and
+the object of my journey.  `Ah, my son!  I knew your father, Loutich
+Saveleff, very well, in my youth.  We were fellow-servants together at
+Petersburg, in the establishment of Count Paul Illarionovitch.  He kept
+up a great state, and gave great parties, and made us wear magnificent
+liveries, and we thought ourselves very fine fellows.  When he died we
+could not procure other situations, and as we had saved nothing and
+could not pay our masters the tax, we were compelled to return to our
+native villages and to resume our labours in the field.  This at first
+we thought very hard work, and grumbled at it exceedingly, but we could
+not help ourselves, and what at first we fancied a curse proved a
+blessing in the end.  By that means the blessed light of gospel truth
+was made to shine on us.  Your father was the first to receive it, and
+having procured two Bibles he sent me one of them, as the richest gift
+he could bestow.  At first I valued it only as a gift from him, for I
+loved him much; and that he knew, or he would not have ventured to send
+it to me.  I, however, began to read, and as I read on I learned to
+value it for itself, and would not now change it for all the wealth of
+the Czar.  What, I often ask myself, would the world be without it?
+What can for a moment be compared to it?  How dark, how gloomy would our
+life appear!  How unjust, how unmerciful the Creator of the universe!
+No guide for the present; no certainty, no hope for the future.  It
+teaches us all we should wish for, all we should desire to know; how to
+walk in this present life, how to bear affliction, what to expect in the
+future.'  Much more to the same effect the old man said.  I loved the
+word of God, I had suffered much for its sake, but he opened my mind to
+many things; he showed more clearly to me its exceeding brilliancy.
+Thus Christian men always gain advantage by holding converse with each
+other about the volume on which their creed is founded.  Oh! miserable,
+miserable men who have not that foundation!  I spent a whole day under
+Sidor's roof.  Young Khor rested there too.  He then set off with a
+light step to return home; he had no fears.  In the solitude of the
+forest, on the vast steppe at midnight or noonday, he was sustained by a
+belief that One who could humble Himself to become man, and who so loved
+mankind that He could suffer death for their sakes, was ever watching
+over him.  This knowledge had taught him to discredit all the foolish
+superstitions of our country.  The _Domvoi_ (the familiar spirit of the
+house, similar to the Brownie of Scotland) had no terrors for him;
+neither had the _Roussalka_ (the wood fairy), nor the _Leechie_ (the
+demon of the forest).  He knew that there was no such being as the
+_Trichka_, who, it is supposed, will one day visit the country and
+commit incalculable mischief, nor any such thing as a _Vodainoi_, or
+water spirit; in truth, he felt sure that God would allow only one evil
+being to infest the earth, and that merely to try mankind, and the
+better to fit them for the time when he and his angels shall be chained
+for ever and ever.  I was truly sorry to part from Khor, though my new
+friend Sidor was a man I was heartily glad to meet.  He had seen much of
+the world: he had been in France and in England, and he told me that he
+much liked the English.  At the time he was there he said he did not
+know the reason of this liking, but since then he had discovered that it
+arose from the national religion, so free from bigotry, superstition,
+and priestcraft, faults which have completely destroyed all purity in
+the national religion of Russia.
+
+"But I must not stop to describe the conversations I held with old
+Sidor.  He pressed me to spend some days with him to recruit my strength
+thoroughly before I should recommence my journey.  I was glad of a
+little delay; at the same time I warned him that, should it be
+discovered that a stranger was at his cottage without a pass, he might
+be subject to severe penalties.
+
+"`We never calculate the risk when a brother requires our help,' he
+replied, taking my arm.  `He who went about doing good, and died for our
+sakes, taught us that lesson, with many others, which we are too apt to
+forget.  Say, therefore, no more about it, my son, but lay thee down and
+rest till thy strength has returned, and thou canst prosecute thy
+journey with renewed hope and confidence.'
+
+"I could not resist old Sidor's pressing, and, with a satisfaction I can
+scarcely describe, I threw myself on his bed, and in an instant was
+asleep.  My sleep, however, was feverish and troubled.  I had felt ill
+before I reached his cottage, and now, when I awoke, I found a raging
+fever on me.  How long I had slept I know not.  Old Sidor was by my
+side.  There he sat, day after day, and night after night, tending me
+with as much care as a father would an only son.  Several weeks I thus
+lay, hovering between life and death.  Oftentimes my old friend told me
+that he was inclined to summon a leech to see me, but, if he did so, he
+was afraid that I might be betrayed, and delivered into the hands of our
+enemies.  He besought, therefore, with much earnestness and prayer, the
+great Physician of our souls, that He would, in His abundant mercy, heal
+me.  Surely such prayers are not in vain.  In a short time the fever
+left me, and my strength rapidly returned.  I had been out of the hut
+more than once to ramble through the woods, but was yet, I fancied,
+unfit to prosecute my journey.  I lay on the bed while Sidor sat by my
+side reading that book which was seldom out of our hands--the Book of
+Life, when we saw through the open doorway his little grandson running
+in haste towards the hut.  He entered too much out of breath to speak;
+in his hand he bore a feather, which he held out towards me.  I took it
+in my hand; it was from the wing of a bird.  I guessed in a moment what
+it betokened--so did Sidor.
+
+"`Our foes have discovered your retreat, and this is sent by a brother
+to bid you flee.'
+
+"The boy nodded, and waved his hand hurriedly towards the door.  I threw
+my arms for a moment on the neck of my old friend.
+
+"`Keep straight on the way I showed you yesterday, till you come to a
+tree scathed and blasted by lightning.  To the right of it is a thicket;
+on the farther side, midway down it, you will find some dried brambles;
+remove them, and you will perceive a narrow passage.  Half-way down it
+the ground beneath your feet will sound hollow.  On your right hand, by
+bending aside the boughs, you will discover a further pile of brambles,
+which appear to have been thrown there by chance.  Draw them aside, and
+there will be found a cavity; enter without hesitation, drawing the
+brambles over your head.  You will find there provisions for several
+days, and a couch on which to rest your yet unpractised limbs.  Many a
+fugitive brother has there found shelter for weeks together.  Farewell,
+my son; Heaven guard you; you have not a moment to lose.'
+
+"These words he uttered as rapidly as possible, yet it was necessary to
+be precise, to enable me to find the spot capable of concealing me.
+Again embracing him, I darted from the hut in the direction he indicated
+as fast as my legs, long unaccustomed to rapid movement, would carry me.
+Once I looked back on hearing a shout; I could just distinguish between
+the trees several men, some on horseback, approaching the hut.  For an
+instant I gave myself up for lost, yet I continued my flight.  I found
+soon that I was not followed, then I trembled for the fate of my old
+friend.  If he is accused of having harboured a fugitive like me, and
+cannot give an account of me, the knout and Siberia will be his fate.  I
+felt inclined to turn back, but then I remembered that I should only the
+more certainly bring ruin on him, by proving him guilty of the crime.
+
+"`Alas!  Alas!'  I cried, `is it my fate to injure those who benefit
+me?'  I had little time for thought, though.  I must hurry on; my
+pursuers might soon be on my track.  I began to fear that my destination
+was suspected at the settlement, and that notice of my flight had been
+sent along the road before me.  Perhaps even at the very end of my
+journey I might be seized, and sent a prisoner to Siberia.
+
+"Still, as long as I could, I resolved to struggle on, and trust to
+God's mercy.  This thought gave strength to my feet.  On I went in a
+direct line towards the scathed pine of which Sidor had told me.  I was
+too long accustomed to the marks on the trees, imperceptible to ordinary
+eyes, to be led to diverge from my course.  There was an open glade, and
+the tree stood before me on the other side.  I hurried across the glade,
+and had nearly reached the farther side, when I heard a shout, and saw
+several horsemen emerging from the shade of the trees.  The thicket was
+before me.  I darted round it, and at once saw the bramble which marked
+the entrance to the narrow passage.  To creep under the brambles and to
+run along the passage was the work of a moment.  The shouts of the
+horsemen grew louder and louder.  Had I not known of the passage I
+should not have had a chance of escape.  I searched with beating heart
+for the hollow ground.  My foot discovered it by the sound.  I removed
+the branches and the bundle of brambles, and crept into a hole, drawing
+them again over me.  I found there was space before me, so I crept on.
+As I began to move, I judged by the sound of their voices that the
+horsemen had reached the thicket.
+
+"`I saw him near about here, to a certainty,' said one; `he cannot be
+far from this.'
+
+"`We will unearth him, the impious rebel, if he is hid near here,'
+exclaimed another.
+
+"`He ran fast; he may have got away again on the other side of the
+thicket,' said a third.
+
+"`Let us try this place first,' cried the man who had previously spoken,
+and immediately several shots were fired into the thicket.
+
+"`Come out, you rebel!--come out!' exclaimed several together.
+
+"These words gave me courage, for it convinced me that my pursuers knew
+nothing of my place of concealment, and also that they possessed no
+superabundance of bravery or zeal.  Had they been very zealous, they
+would not have cried `come out!' but they would have forced their way
+in, and dragged me out.  So I lay snug, while they expended their powder
+and shot on the harmless bushes.  My only fear was, that they would
+shoot each other.  It would have been wrong, you know, to wish them
+ill--they were only doing what, in their ignorance, they thought their
+duty.
+
+"I lay all the time perfectly quiet, but without alarm, only wishing
+that they would go away, and allow me to continue my journey.  I was
+anxious, also, to discover by anything they said what had become of my
+kind friend Sidor, but they did not mention him.  Still, I knew that his
+chance of escape was very small; all I could do was to pray that he
+might be supported in his affliction.
+
+"My pursuers continued beating about the bush for some minutes; at last
+one exclaimed, `There is no use in looking here, men; he has gone on,
+depend on it.'
+
+"`One hunt more before we go!' shouted another.  `Unearth the miscreant!
+Unearth the heretic!  Drive him out from this--drive him out!--he's
+here, depend on it!'
+
+"Scarcely had these words been uttered, when a number of shots were
+again fired into the thicket--the people apparently loading and firing
+as fast as they could.
+
+"`If he is in there, he must be killed or wounded by this time, so now,
+men, let us try if we can find him!' cried one of the party, apparently
+more eager than his companions.
+
+"On this I heard the crackling of branches, as if the bushes were being
+broken and pushed aside as the people forced their way into the thicket.
+I could not now help feeling some apprehension that my place of retreat
+should be discovered, for I fancied they had got into the very pathway
+which led to it, and I feared that I might have been careless in my
+hurry in drawing the brambles over the entrance to my burrow; or I might
+have broken some of the twigs, which would clearly indicate my
+whereabouts, should any woodman or hunter be among my pursuers.
+Fortunately there was no dog with them, or he would speedily have
+ferreted me out.  I thought the time very long that they were hunting
+about for me.  At last one of them exclaimed--
+
+"`Are you satisfied that he is not here?'
+
+"`I suppose he is not,' was the answer.
+
+"`Well, then, he must thank you for not finding that out sooner,'
+replied the man who disbelieved in my taking shelter in the thicket.
+`We have given him a good start, if he knows how to take advantage of
+it; but let us have no more delay--so after him again, my men!'
+
+"These words were a great relief to me.  My pursuers apparently worked
+their way out of the thicket as best they could, with torn clothes and
+scratched hands, and, mounting their horses, galloped away through the
+wood.
+
+"I would not, however, venture to move out of my place of concealment
+for some time, for I thought it very likely that somebody might be left
+to watch the thicket by those who seemed convinced that I had taken
+shelter within it.  I, however, crawled farther in, and then found
+myself in a chamber, hollowed out in the earth, sufficiently large to
+hold several persons.  It was lighted, though somewhat dimly, by two
+apertures in the roof, grated over, and then covered with bushes, so
+ingeniously placed that no one could suspect what was beneath.
+
+"There was a table and some benches, and several raised places for
+couches.  Besides this, there was a sort of cupboard to hold provisions.
+The place had evidently been formed with great care for the purpose of
+concealment.  Some parts had been hollowed out by art, though I
+concluded from the appearance of the roof and sides that there had been
+originally a cavern there formed by nature.  Whether it had been
+constructed by our brethren the Molokani, or at a period antecedent to
+the persecutions they had suffered, I could not tell to a certainty, but
+I thought it very likely that it was of a much more ancient date.  As
+may be supposed, I was not in a condition to consider the subject.  The
+unusual exertion and excitement I had just gone through made rest very
+requisite, so, commending myself to my Maker, I lay down on the couch,
+and endeavoured to sleep.  Sleep, however, for long refused to visit my
+eyelids.  I listened, but not a sound could I hear.  Thankful was I when
+I felt sleep stealing on me at last."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
+
+  Fears for old Sidor's Safety--Continues Journey--Encounter with young
+  Horse-drovers--Superstitions of Russia--Young Vacia--Sleeps in a Tree.
+
+"I awoke much refreshed.  A glimmer of light still came into the cave,
+so I knew that night had not yet set in.  My chief anxiety was now to
+learn what had become of Sidor.  I arose, and took some of the food I
+found in the cupboard.  It consisted of bread and cheese and dried fish,
+with a pitcher of water.  The food, though very dry, was free from
+mould.  It was sufficient to sustain nature; more could not be required.
+Much strengthened, I resolved before proceeding on my way to go back to
+Sidor's hut as soon as darkness would allow me to approach it without
+risk of being seized by my enemies.  I therefore crawled out of the
+hole, and, placing the brambles over the entrance as before, stood
+upright in the pathway leading to it through the thicket.  I walked
+along cautiously, listening as I went; I heard no sound, so, removing
+the bushes at the entrance, I looked out.  The sun had just set, and
+darkness was rapidly coming on.  I looked around in every direction; I
+could see no one.  It was, however, safer to wait till it was so dark
+that I could not be distinguished at a distance, should any of my
+enemies be prowling about.  I went back, and sat down on the ground.
+When night came on I sallied forth from my hiding-place, and walked
+towards Sidor's hut.  No light gleamed through the window or open
+doorway as I approached.  This foreboded ill, I thought.  I reached the
+hut; all was silent.  I looked in at the window; I could see no one, nor
+could I hear a sound.  I entered the hut; it was empty.  By the glimmer
+of light which yet remained I discovered that even the scanty furniture,
+the old man's only property, had been removed.  There was nothing to
+tell me what had become of my kind friend, but my fears suggested that
+by the cruel hand of the law he had been carried off, and would probably
+ere long be dragging his weary feet over the burning steppes, or the
+wide expanses of snow in Siberia, probably to sink down and die ere half
+the journey was performed.  As I thought of the suffering I had brought
+on the kind old man, I threw myself on the ground, and for the first
+time for many a long year gave way to a bitter flood of tears.  It was
+wrong, I know.  It was mistrusting Providence; but human nature is weak.
+I remembered this, and prayed for strength.  It came.  I arose, and
+sinking on my knees, earnestly prayed that the old man's sufferings
+might be lightened as much as was for his good.  I knew on whom he would
+trust, and had no more fears for him.
+
+"Calling my thoughts to the necessity of taking steps for my own safety,
+I hurried on my way.  It was important that before the morning dawned I
+should have placed many versts between my pursuers and me.  They were
+not men, I guessed, to venture through the forest at night, and I
+calculated that, after having chased me as they supposed for an hour or
+two, and not finding me, they would give up the pursuit and return home.
+All night I walked on; the fresh cool air revived my strength and
+spirits; when morning came I felt much less fatigue than I expected, for
+the chief portion of the night I had been in the open country.  At dawn
+I again made for a wood for the purpose of concealment, and as day
+advanced, and people were likely to be about, I climbed up as usual into
+a tree to sleep.  I used to fasten myself on to a bough with my sash, so
+that I had no fear of falling off.  In the evening, having surveyed the
+country carefully, to see that there was no one apparently pursuing me,
+I came down and continued my journey.  For several days I met with no
+adventure.  I was daily gaining strength; and as I approached my
+father's village, and expected so soon to meet him and my mother, and
+her I loved, my hopes grew stronger, and my spirits rose.  Yet I had
+still a wide extent of country to traverse.  I went on for days together
+without even seeing a human being.  On the high road I should have met
+them, but the country itself is so thinly inhabited, that often for
+thirty or forty versts together not a hut is to be found.  My provisions
+were now again running short; how to replenish my stock I scarcely knew.
+I had reached the brow of a hill one morning, when I saw below me an
+encampment.  On looking closer I saw that it was composed of young lads
+who were tending a drove of horses feeding in the plain below.  They had
+kindled a large fire, and were busily cooking their morning meal.
+
+"I had no fears of their intentionally betraying me, and the fact of
+their cooking arrangements made me suspect that they were some way from
+home, so that they would not speak of me thoughtlessly, and thus get me
+into trouble.  I was very soon among them.
+
+"`My dear boys,' said I, `I am a wayfarer, hungry and weary; can you
+spare me some of your food?'
+
+"They all looked at me earnestly for a minute before one of them spoke,
+as if they would learn if I was telling the truth.  Then, satisfied
+apparently, they all found their tongues together.
+
+"`Gladly, gladly, stranger, whoever you are.  Come and sit down and
+rest--you are welcome.'
+
+"Ah!  The candour and heartiness of youth before bitter experience has
+taught it to mistrust the world is very delightful.  They were boiling
+potatoes.  They had a large can of milk with them.  The potatoes were
+just cooked.  One of the lads plunged his long knife into the cauldron,
+and drew out a potato at the point.  He presented it to me, with some
+salt, in a dish.  There were eight lads in all, fine intelligent
+fellows, not serfs, but sons of freemen, small farmers and others: The
+occupation in which they were engaged is looked upon as honourable.  It
+is highly exciting and interesting.  Their herds were feeding together
+near them.  The moment one was seen to stray, one or two lads threw
+themselves on their own steeds, which they kept tethered near, and
+galloped off in pursuit of the straggler.  They had, too, to defend
+their cattle from the wolves--often hazardous work.  They offered me
+some milk, and then each lad helped himself to some potatoes; they had
+an abundance cooked, so that I was not depriving them of their food.
+They were all light-hearted and communicative.  They told me how they
+had been startled in the night by unearthly sounds, and whence they
+proceeded they could not tell.
+
+"`Not tell!' said one, looking up from his dish of potatoes.  `We did
+not see what it was, but we can tell well enough.  It was the _Vodainoi_
+calling to us from the neighbouring river, trying to tempt us to come
+near, that she might draw us into the water.  She has drowned many
+people in that way.  Why she does it I do not know.  Perhaps she wants
+their souls to destroy them; perhaps their bodies, to eat them.  She is
+very beautiful, all clothed in green garments, glittering with jewels.
+She is never seen in the daytime--very seldom at night.  No one would
+wish to see her, for she is certain to deceive all she meets.  The only
+chance of escaping is to clasp the cross, and pray to our patron saint;
+even then she will try to tempt the unwary to let go the cross, and
+cease praying.  Oh!  She is very vile, with all her loveliness.'
+
+"`What you say is very true, I doubt not,' said another lad, `but the
+sounds we heard last night were as likely to have come from the wood as
+from the water.  Now, to my mind, it was the _Leechie_ calling to us
+from the forest.  He is as bad as the _Vodainoi_, and ugly instead of
+handsome.  Anybody seeing him is frightened, and runs away; so far he
+can do much less harm.  He is a great brown monster, the colour of the
+bark of a tree; he never appears in the day, and at night always keeps
+out of the moonlight, as if he was afraid of anything bright.  He does
+not shriek out like some other spirits, but goes moaning and groaning
+about the forest as if he was in pain.  So it will be to the end of the
+world; he never sleeps and never dies.  Some time ago little Koulik, the
+cobbler of our village, was returning home at night from his brother's
+cottage, three versts off, where he had been to the wedding of a niece,
+when just as he came to the wood by the side of the hill he saw a
+_Leechie_ looking out at him from among the trees.  He did not cry out,
+for he is a brave fellow, but tried to pass this evil spirit as fast as
+he could.  He did not think of his cross, though, and he did not say his
+prayers, so the _Leechie_ caught hold of him, and kept knocking him
+about, against the trunks of the trees and over the fallen branches and
+roots, till he had scarcely a whole bone left in his body.  The
+_Leechie_ did not say a word, but only went _clack, clack, clack_, and
+chuckled with pleasure.  Poor Koulik was almost dead with terror and
+pain, but still he never thought of his cross.  Had the _Leechie_ once
+got him well inside the forest, I do not know what would have become of
+him.  He would probably never have been seen again by mortal man.  He
+had just sense enough to keep outside, and when he was driven in to run
+out again, till at length the dawn appeared, and the _Leechie_ left him.
+More dead than alive, he had just strength to crawl home and take to
+his bed.  Next day he went to the priest, and the priest asked him if he
+had thought of his cross, and said his prayers.  He confessed that he
+had not.  "Then you only got your deserts," said the priest; "how can
+you expect to be protected from evil spirits if you do not pray to the
+saints, you infidel?  Do you think they would take the trouble of
+looking after you if you do not pray to them and bring them offerings to
+their shrines?"  Frightened out of his wits and deeply penitent, poor
+little Koulik promised to buy two dozen wax-tapers at least, as soon as
+he could scrape together the money, and to bring them to the shrine of
+his patron saint.  The priest told him if he did this the _Leechie_
+would not dare to attack him for a whole year or more.'  The other young
+lads seemed deeply interested with this story of their companion, and to
+believe it implicitly, so I took the opportunity of explaining to them
+the folly, not to say the wickedness, of such a superstition.  I told
+them that in this instance the appearance of the _Leechie_ was easily
+explained.  The cobbler Koulik had, without doubt, taken more vodka than
+his brain could stand, and that in his tipsy state he had fallen against
+the trunks and roots of the trees and hurt himself.  The priest ought to
+have known this.  If not, he was a blind leader of the blind.  If he did
+guess it, and knew better than to believe in such folly, he was worse,
+and designedly imposed on the people.  I told them that a belief in
+ghosts and goblins and omens, and such like things, was a sin, and
+showed a total want of faith in God's guidance and providence.  They
+were all lies and inventions of the Evil One, and were introduced into
+the world by him to deceive and mislead human beings.  The lads listened
+to me attentively.  Much more I said to the same effect.  I urged them
+to think of what I had said, but not to talk about the matter to
+strangers till they were convinced I was right.  How I longed to have a
+Bible to give them, but I could not spare mine.  Some of them could
+read, but they had never even heard of the book, and knew not that the
+religion they professed was drawn from it.  I grieved to part from these
+fine lads.  I wished them farewell.  They did not inquire who I was or
+whence I came, but I won their hearts by speaking to them the truth.
+They were ready to do anything for me, and one of them insisted on
+lending me his horse and accompanying me part of my way.  This was a
+great help to me, because I got over the ground three times as fast as I
+could otherwise have done, and could besides venture to travel during
+the daytime, as a person on horseback with an attendant would be less
+suspected than a poor wayworn traveller on foot.  Thankful for the
+assistance so unexpectedly afforded me, I set off with my young
+companion.  He was one of the most intelligent of the lads, and full of
+life and spirits.  Vacia was his name.  He told me he was an orphan: he
+lived in the house of a neighbouring proprietor, more as a servant than
+as an equal, though his parents were both noble, he believed.  He never
+knew them.  `Ah!  I wish that I had some one like you to live with,' he
+exclaimed; `I would go with you round the world.'  I was pleased with
+the lad's warmth.  `I am but a poor man myself,' I answered, `very poor,
+Vacia; believe me, I could not afford you protection.'--`I care not for
+that; I like you much, very much; not for what you appear, but for what
+you say.  You speak wisdom;--you speak to my heart.'  I told him where I
+got that wisdom; that I spoke not of myself, but that I spoke from the
+Bible, and that all who would go there would get the same.  We rode on
+talking thus for many versts.  I at last reined up my horse and reminded
+him that he must return home, that the horses were not his, and that I
+had no right to tire them.
+
+"`Oh, the Count would not object to my thus using them,' he answered.
+`He is not unkind, understand.  I am grateful to him for many things,
+but I cannot love him.  He has no soul--he cannot talk to me--he never
+reads--he has no thought except as to what he will eat and what he will
+drink.  He esteems his cook more than his wife--more than any one.  Who
+can love such a man?'
+
+"I fully entered into young Vacia's feelings.  `I should much like to
+have your company,' I replied; `you would make my days far more pleasant
+than they now are, and I might instruct you in many things you do not
+now know; but, alas!  My young friend, this cannot be.  My course is
+full of difficulties and dangers, and I must not let any one share it
+with me.'  What I now said only increased the lad's ardour.
+Difficulties and dangers he longed to encounter.  He scarcely knew,
+however, what they signified.  The danger was not death, but a
+protracted march to Siberia, or the knout, and imprisonment--inflictions
+far more trying than wounds or death.  `Come, come, my young friend, we
+must part,' I exclaimed, throwing myself from my horse.  `I am most
+grateful to you for your regard and for your kindness, but farther I
+will not let you go with me.'  I was obliged to be firm.  I gave him the
+reins of my horse.  His was without saddle or bridle.  He had guided it
+with a rough halter.  When he saw that I was firm, he burst into tears.
+
+"`Who shall I have to speak to me?  Where shall I again hear such words
+as you have uttered?' he exclaimed.
+
+"Again I told him I was but a poor peasant, and that I could not help
+him.  All I could do was to advise him not to rest till he had found a
+copy of that book which had given me such wisdom as I possessed.  I knew
+not how further to afford him advice.
+
+"`I will, I will!' he exclaimed.  `I will find that book before I rest
+from the search.  When I have found it, I will not cease from studying
+it, and I will often think of you who told me of it.'
+
+"This thought seemed to console him.  He told me that if I would let him
+ride one verst more with me he would then turn back.  This I could not
+refuse; but he rode very slowly, and made the verst a very long one.  At
+the end of it I dismounted once more, on the skirts of a wood, when,
+embracing my young friend, I charged him to return, while I plunged
+hastily among the trees.  I hurried on that I might get into the depths
+of the forest before I should chance to meet any one who might have
+authority to stop me.  For several more days I travelled on, across
+plains and through forests, till my provisions ran short.  I wanted rest
+also.  A few versts on was a village, but I dared not enter it till the
+evening, and I must then depart privately and speedily, before any
+inquiries might be made concerning me.  I had plenty of money, so that I
+could always purchase provisions.  I, one morning, had just entered a
+forest; I walked on through it till I suddenly found myself on the
+farther edge.  It was on a slight elevation, and, as I looked down on
+the plain surrounding it, I recognised the village I was in search of.
+It was scarcely more than fifty versts from my native hamlet.  In two
+nights more I might be there.  I longed to push on, and for the moment I
+felt that I could reach the place by the following morning; but I
+remembered that by precipitation or carelessness I should make
+unavailing all my long-continued toils and exertions.  Of course every
+day, as I drew nearer home, I ran a greater chance of being recognised.
+I retreated, therefore, a little way into the forest, and climbing up
+into a tree, secured myself as usual, and fell asleep.  Those who have
+not toiled on, day after day, can scarcely understand the suddenness
+with which I could lose all consciousness in sleep, or the ease with
+which I could again awake at the slightest unusual sound.  Those placed
+in the position I so long have been in, can most fully appreciate the
+blessing of sleep."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
+
+  A Russian Village--Danger of being discovered--Providential Warning--
+  Flight--Approach to his Native Village--Horror on discovering his Home
+  deserted--Encounter with old Soukhoroukof--Taken to his House--Account
+  of his Parents--Aneouta carried away--His Agony--Encouraged to rouse
+  himself--Plans for rescuing his Parents and Aneouta--Sets off again--
+  Encounter with Zingari--Old Friends--A bold Exploit--They offer to
+  assist him--Plan arranged.
+
+"I have given a far longer account of myself and my travels than I
+intended, gentlemen, but I wished to interest you," continued the
+stranger.  "I trust that I have done so already.  What I have further to
+tell you will, I hope, excite your sympathy and commiseration, and
+induce you to accede to the request I have to make.  I awoke just before
+sunset, and descending from my tree hastened towards the village, now
+bathed in the calm glow of the evening.  I knew the spot well.  I had
+often been there.  I recognised the little church with its gilt dome and
+blue and pink walls, the pride of all the inhabitants--the whitewashed
+houses of the richer villagers, and the rough log-huts, thatched with
+straw, of the poorer serfs.  A sparkling stream ran by it, and green
+fields and orchards surrounded the place.  It was altogether a
+flourishing little village.  The stream ran from out of the side of the
+very hill from which I was descending.  I stopped by its brink, and
+having enjoyed a draught of the clear, pure, cold water, I took off my
+upper garments, and washed away all signs of travel from my countenance.
+Much refreshed, I proceeded.  I had hopes of finding some one who could
+give me information about my parents.  I walked on with as unconcerned
+an air as possible.  First I went to a baker's shop, where I bought
+bread, but he scarcely knew the name of my village.  I procured also
+some cheese, and salt, and dried fish.  With a beating heart I made
+inquiries of those of whom I bought these articles, but not a particle
+of information could I obtain.  At last I thought that people began to
+look at me suspiciously, and that it would be more prudent to take my
+departure.  Having come to this resolution, I went straight on, neither
+looking to the right hand nor to the left, and endeavouring to appear as
+unconcerned as possible.  I had gone a little way when a person passed
+me as if running to reach some object before me.  He did not look at me,
+but I heard him say, `Hasten on, brother.  Tarry not to-night--you are
+suspected, and may ere long be pursued.'
+
+"`Thanks, thanks; may our brother be rewarded by Heaven,' I replied,
+without looking at him or altering my pace.  To this day I know not the
+countenance of the man who gave me this timely warning.  As soon as he
+had gone on some way, I began to walk quicker than before; and darkness
+having now concealed me from any loungers near the village, I hastened
+on as fast as my feet could carry me.  Young Vacia's horse would have
+been truly welcome, still I dared not rest.  Never had I travelled on so
+rapidly.  I had, indeed, two powerful motives to hurry my steps--fear of
+capture, and a longing desire to see my parents and my betrothed.  I
+escaped the threatened danger.  Suffice it to say that, after another
+night passed on foot, I stood within half a verst of my father's door,
+yet I dared not venture into the village by daylight.  I had hoped to
+reach it before dawn, but my weary feet refused to carry me along
+faster.  I could gain no information of those I loved.  All my friends
+whom I could trust had been removed.  Many new inhabitants had been sent
+to the place, and I was as a stranger on the spot where my childhood and
+youth had been passed.  I lay concealed all day in a sheltered nook on
+the hill-side, which commanded a wide view in every direction, and would
+enable me to retreat should any one approach.  How can I paint the
+anxiety of those hours, as I looked down on my native village, and
+recognised my father's cottage, and every spot I knew so well?  I tried
+to discover any inhabitants moving about the door, but none came out
+whom I could see all day.  Evening drew on; the cows came lowing home to
+be milked, the horses were driven forth to their pastures, and the field
+labourers loitered in weary from their work.  Many a hearth in the
+village sent up its tiny wreath of smoke into the pure blue sky, but I
+could see none ascending from my father's cottage.  Forebodings of evil
+tidings grew upon me.  It was impossible longer to curb my anxiety.  I
+hastened down the hill, regardless of danger.  No one observed me as I
+hurried on.  The cottage stood in a small garden, railed off from a
+field.  I ran across the field, leaped over the railing, and looked in
+at a window at the back of the dwelling.  All was silent; no one was
+there.  Perhaps they may be sitting in the porch in front of the house,
+I thought.  My sudden appearance will alarm them, though; but it cannot
+be helped.  I got over the paling again, and with beating, anxious heart
+went round to the front.  The porch was empty; the door was off its
+hinges.  My heart sank within me.  A villager was passing--an old man--I
+remembered his face well.  He used to be kind to me as a boy, but he
+liked not our new tenets.
+
+"`What has become of Loutich Saveleff and his wife and their adopted
+daughter, my father?'  I asked, with a trembling voice.
+
+"`Do you belong to this place, as your voice informs me, and ask what
+has become of them?' exclaimed old Soukhoroukof.  `I always told my
+friend Saveleff that the same thing would happen to him which has
+happened to his son, if he would persist in adopting the newfangled
+doctrines which have been so rife of late years.  What has become of his
+son I know not.  It is supposed generally that he is dead.  He was a
+good youth, but fanciful and unsteady.  Not content with the
+old-established, well-approved religion of this country, but he must
+needs run after these new inventions, and get himself into trouble.
+Well, I was telling you about friend Saveleff.  He had long been
+suspected of harbouring those doctrines, when lately it was discovered
+that he had given shelter to three or four convicted heretics escaping
+from justice.  None of our old villagers would have informed against
+him, but some of the newcomers brought the matter before the _Starosta_,
+who was obliged to look into it.  He carried the matter, as in duty
+bound, to the steward, who, unfortunately for old Saveleff, owed him a
+spite, and was but too glad to indulge his ill-feeling.  The steward,
+Morgatch (I will not say what I think of him), brought the affair up to
+our Barin, the Count.  Now the Count is a staunch religionist, and
+wonderful orthodox; though between you and me, if his heart was looked
+into, he cares as little for priests and the good of the Church as he
+does for the Grand Sultan of the Turks.  However, whatever that--hum!--
+Morgatch advises him to do he does.  Morgatch brought forward plenty of
+witnesses to prove that the heretics had been seen in Saveleff's house,
+and that he and his wife and daughter had served them with food; and
+what is more, read out of the Bible, and prayed with them.  Such
+atrocious crimes, of course, could not go unpunished; Morgatch, to make
+sure of the condemnation of his victims, brought forward evidence to
+prove that, not content with holding those pernicious doctrines
+themselves, they had endeavoured to instil them into others.  This, too,
+was clearly proved.  Saveleff had not a word to say in his defence, nor
+had his wife, but rather they boldly confessed and gloried in their
+crime.  Had they been serfs, their owners might have claimed them; but
+they were free, and the old couple, without the power of appeal, were
+condemned to be transported to Siberia.  No mercy was shown them on
+account of their grey hairs and their excellent character.  They were
+sent off with felons, murderers, thieves, and traitors, to Moscow.  One
+consolation is, that ere this they have probably sunk down, overcome
+with fatigue and ill usage, and been released from their sufferings by
+death.'
+
+"I groaned as I heard these words; I had no questions to ask concerning
+my parents--the worst was revealed to me.  `And Aneouta, their daughter,
+what became of her?'  I gasped out.  `Ah, poor girl, her fate was a hard
+one.  She would have been transported also, but that--hum!--Morgatch
+proved that she was a serf, the property of a brother of our Barin's,
+the Count; that her father and mother were serfs, and that she had never
+been manumitted, as old Saveleff, who had adopted her, supposed.
+Instead, therefore, of being sent to Siberia, she was packed off without
+ceremony to her native village, to work in the fields, I suppose, or--
+But what is the matter, young man?  You are ill, surely,' continued the
+good-natured Soukhoroukof, extending a hand to me, as he saw me at these
+words about to sink on the ground.
+
+"`Oh, nothing, nothing,' I answered, trying to conceal my agitation, but
+in vain.
+
+"`Young men do not look like that for nothing,' he replied.  `Come
+along--come into my house.  You require food; perhaps a glass of kvass
+will do you good.  Come along,' and seizing my arm he led me, scarcely
+conscious of where I was going, to his own cottage.
+
+"Had I had time for consideration I would not have allowed the good man
+to have run the risk of harbouring me.  He made me sit down at his
+table, and gave me food, and the kvass he promised.  I ate and drank
+mechanically.
+
+"`When did all this happen?'  I asked, with a trembling voice.
+
+"`About a fortnight ago only,' he answered, looking very hard at me.
+`You seem very interested in the people; did you know them?'
+
+"`I did,' I answered, doubly agitated; `but oh, father, do not ask me
+questions; it can do no good.'
+
+"`I must ask you one.  Are you young Steffanos Saveleff, my old friend's
+son?'
+
+"`I am,' I answered, bowing my head.  `And oh, father, I would not have
+entered your house had you given me time to think of the danger I might
+place you in; and you, I am sure, will not betray me.'
+
+"`Speak not of it, my son.  You have eaten of my loaf and my salt, and
+drunk of my cup, and you are safe.  No one saw you enter, and no one
+need see you depart.  Rest a little while, and then go on your way.  I
+must not venture to harbour you longer than a few hours.  Before
+daylight you should be far from this.'
+
+"`Thanks, thanks, father!'  I exclaimed.  `And now you know who I am,
+will you advise me how to proceed?  Have I a chance of rescuing my
+parents, should they be still alive?  You know that I am betrothed to
+Aneouta.  Can I save her from the fate to which she is doomed?'
+
+"Soukhoroukof leaned back in his chair and thought for some time.  `I
+have an idea,' he exclaimed at length.  `The Emperor, our great Czar, is
+about to be crowned shortly.  On such an occasion he will surely grant
+the requests of his loving subjects.  Get a petition drawn up: go to
+Moscow: present it.  Tell the Czar your whole story.  He will be
+interested.  If he grants your petition, as he may, ask him boldly to
+increase the favour by enabling you to marry Aneouta.  Say no more than
+that you are betrothed to a beautiful girl who loves you, and that
+difficulties which the Czar alone can overcome lie in the way of your
+nuptials.'
+
+"`Oh, my kind father, the advice you give is excellent,' I answered;
+`but thousands will be offering similar petitions, and what chance shall
+I have?'
+
+"`You will have as good a chance as others,' he replied.  `Try and be
+one of the first.  But I doubt if many will venture to present
+petitions.  The difficulty of reaching the city is great, and few, even
+if they wish it, will be allowed to go, while those who dwell there are
+not likely to have any petitions to present.  Try your chance, at all
+events.'
+
+"`I will, I will,' I exclaimed, grasping eagerly at the proposal, as a
+sinking man does at a straw, though I had little hope of its success.
+`But how shall I reach Moscow?'  I asked.  `It is a long, long way, I
+fear, from this.'
+
+"`Go to the banks of the Volga; you will there find steamers going up to
+Nishni; get on board one of them, and your way will then be easy.'
+
+"I warmly thanked the kind Soukhoroukof for his advice, and rose to take
+my departure.  I was unwilling to jeopardise him by remaining a moment
+longer under his roof than was necessary.  `One thing more I would wish
+to speak about before I go,' said I, taking his hand.  `Oh, my father,
+if you would but study that book on which we place our faith, how happy,
+how wise it would make you!'
+
+"`Well, well, my son, speak not of it.  Perhaps I do: I think not as I
+used to do.  The times are evil.  It is necessary to be cautious.  I
+will say no more on that point.  But I have another matter to speak to
+you about before you go.  You will want money to prosecute your plans.
+I am a widower; I have no children left to me alive.  The bones of my
+sons whiten many a battle-field.  My daughters died giving birth to
+those who will be dragged off to the same fate;--slaves, slaves all.  I
+have no one to provide for; I am rich--rich in gold, that is to say,
+poor in everything else.  I can well spare what I give.  Take this
+purse; it contains two hundred roubles.  It will help you on your way.
+Heaven prosper you!'
+
+"My heart came into my mouth as the old man uttered these words.  I
+could not reply to him; no words could have expressed my feelings; I
+took his hand, I bathed it with tears.  I fell on his neck and wept.  He
+saw how grateful I was; I would not have had him for a moment think me
+otherwise.  `And a less sum than this would have purchased my Aneouta's
+freedom,' I exclaimed; for I could not help thinking of my betrothed,
+though I did not in any possible way desire to withdraw it from the
+still more important object of saving my parents from worse than
+slavery--a banishment to Siberia, or rather, a cruel death on the road.
+
+"`I think not,' answered my host to my last observation.  `The brother
+of our Barin, the Count, who owns Aneouta, is not likely to give her her
+freedom for any sum a poor man can offer; through the Emperor, alone can
+you hope to succeed with him.  He will not refuse to comply with any
+request made to him by the Czar; depend on that.  If you fail with the
+Emperor then come back to me, and we will try what money will do with
+the Barin.  I will offer to pay the money for the poor girl's freedom,
+to adopt her.  We must let her know, in the meantime, that she has still
+friends in the world, and that she must keep up her spirits.  She must
+also endeavour to make herself of little value in the sight of the
+Barin, her owner.  She must feign sickness or foolishness, and disfigure
+her countenance, or refuse to work; a woman's wit will advise her best,
+though, what to do.'
+
+"`Oh, my father, my father, you overwhelm me!'  I exclaimed.  `I will go
+and see her; I will carry your advice to her.  It cannot be far out of
+the way; I will travel day and night not to cause any delay.'
+
+"`You may pass by the estate on your way,' answered my old friend, `but
+the danger is very great.  Any one seeking to speak to her is certain to
+be watched, and if you are captured, your punishment will be of the
+severest kind.  They will knout you till you are nearly dead, and you
+will then be sent off to work for the rest of your miserable life in the
+mines of Siberia.'  `I know all that, but I will run every risk for
+Aneouta's sake,' I answered; and so it was settled.  In spite of the
+almost desperate state of my prospects, I felt my spirits rise with the
+hope of overcoming the difficulties which lay before me.  Soukhoroukof
+amply stocked my wallet with provisions, and before the end of another
+hour I had left my native village three versts behind my back.  Five
+days' hard walking would, I calculated, bring me to where I expected to
+find Aneouta.  My strength, I felt, would sustain me till I had seen
+her, and to see her I was determined at every risk.  I would entrust to
+no one our friend Soukhoroukof's message and advice.  The idea occurred
+to me that if I could but get a horse I might push on more rapidly than
+I possibly could on foot, but how to secure one was the difficulty.  To
+purchase one would require more money than I could spare, and it would
+be impossible to get one at the postmaster's without a pass.  I should
+instantly have been questioned, and imprisoned till I could give an
+account of myself.  Indeed, the greater portion of my route lay along
+byroads, or no roads at all, across the country.  Morning was
+approaching, and I was getting very weary, for it must be remembered
+that I had taken but little rest the previous day, when I saw in the
+distance, reflected in the sky, a red gleam of light.  It was a wild
+district, and I knew of no village in that direction, but it appeared to
+me to proceed from the burning of some cottage.  `Some woodman's hut,
+perhaps, has caught fire,' I said to myself, as I pushed onward.  As I
+drew still nearer there seemed to be several fires, and I began to fear
+that an entire village, perhaps, was on fire.  I determined, at all
+events, to ascertain the cause of the conflagration before I stopped to
+rest.  I walked on, therefore, as fast as I could, and at length, having
+reached a slightly rising ground, I saw before me a number of tents
+grouped together, at a short distance from each other, and enclosed by a
+circle of waggons.  Outside the waggons were tethered horses, and
+donkeys, and mules, and several head of cattle.  The whole encampment,
+even at that early hour, was astir: some persons were bending round the
+fires which had at first attracted my attention, busily employed in
+cooking; others were lashing up packages, filling panniers with the
+contents of the tents; while young lads were carrying round fodder and
+water to the horses and cattle.  They might have been mistaken for a
+party of merchants going with goods brought from far-off provinces to
+the fair of Nishni, but I recognised them at once as a band of Zingari
+or gipsies, probably bound in the same direction.  I had often met these
+people during the long period of my wanderings, and I was well
+acquainted with their habits.  Under certain restrictions from
+Government they rove about the country, and lead a free and independent
+life of a purely nomadic character.  They are not so wealthy as those
+who live in the towns, and sing on the stage and in public gardens; but
+they are more trustworthy, and have more rude virtues than their
+brethren of the city.  Oftentimes had I spent nights together in their
+tents when they knew that they were running some risk by sheltering me,
+and might, perhaps, have obtained some reward by handing me over to
+Government.  I was in hopes that I might find among them some of my
+former friends, so I resolved at once to go boldly among them.  As I
+drew near the encampment, a number of dogs rushed out from beneath the
+waggons, and began barking at me furiously.  The noise brought out
+several of the men, who came from among the tents, peering at me
+cautiously through the darkness.
+
+"`What do you want here?' asked one of them gruffly, calling back the
+dogs.
+
+"`Shelter and assistance,' said I.
+
+"`You are not likely to find either one or the other here.  We are
+moving from hence, and require no strangers.'
+
+"`Lead me to your chief, then, and I will hear what he has to say,' I
+replied, in a confident voice.
+
+"`He is here,' said a man, stepping out from among the tents.  `Tell me
+what you require.'
+
+"There was nothing in the appearance of the man to distinguish him as
+the chief, except that his voice was particularly clear and firm, and
+there was an air of authority in his manner, as if he was accustomed to
+command.
+
+"`You are known to be kind to the persecuted and to the friendless, and
+I am one of those coming to seek your assistance.'
+
+"`You shall have what you require, my friend, if it is in my power to
+give it you,' he replied; `but come in here, and let me know more
+particularly what it is you require.'
+
+"He took me by the hand, and led me in front of a tent, where he made me
+sit down on a bale, which had just been prepared for loading a horse.
+
+"`We have met before, father,' said I, as soon as I saw his features
+more distinctly by the bright light of the fire.  `It was some time ago,
+though, yet you will remember the circumstance, I know.  The first snows
+of winter had just fallen, and a hard frost had set in, when one of your
+children strayed into the woods.  On, on she went, thinking she was
+approaching your encampment, but was all the time getting farther from
+it.  The evening was setting in, when she saw three huge animals moving
+towards her; they were wolves, ravenous with hunger.  An armed man might
+well have dreaded to encounter them alone.  I was, happily, in the wood,
+a houseless wanderer.  I beheld the scene from the entrance of a rude
+hut I had just constructed to shelter myself from the inclemency of the
+weather.  The sweet child stood petrified with terror--the savage beasts
+approached her--my fowling-piece lay by my side--I levelled it, fired,
+and brought the largest wolf to the ground.  Then loading as I went, I
+rushed forward with a loud shout, which made the animals stop to see
+whence it came.  This gave me time to load and to shoot another through
+the head; the third took to flight, but I killed him also just as he was
+disappearing among the trees.  The little girl stood staring at me with
+amazement, then burst into tears.  I took her up in my arms, and wrapped
+a sheepskin round her.  She was a sweet little creature.  Her features
+and her dress told me the race to which she belonged.  I had seen the
+encampment in the morning; it was more than two versts away, but I was
+strong and active, and I knew I could carry her as far.  She rested
+quietly in my arms, with all the beautiful confidence of childhood.  I
+took my gun with me, and went gaily on over the crisp ground.  In less
+than an hour I reached the encampment.  There was joy and gratitude in
+the hearts of those to whom I delivered her.  They had been searching
+for her in vain, and had already believed her a prey to wolves, which
+much infested that region.'
+
+"`Ah, she was my own, my beautiful little Azeota,' exclaimed, the gipsy
+chief, looking at me earnestly.  `Every circumstance you relate was told
+me then, I remember.  But was it you did that brave act?  Was it you who
+saved my child?  Pardon me that I did not know you; you are much changed
+since then.'
+
+"`So I believe,' said I.  `Toil and anxiety have done their work on my
+features, I doubt not.  I am glad of it in one respect, for though at
+times it may prevent my friends recognising me, it will more effectually
+guard me from being discovered by my enemies.'
+
+"`Ah, my dear friend, my son, my well-beloved, I know you now, though,'
+exclaimed the gipsy, springing up, and throwing his arms round my neck,
+while his countenance exhibited the deepest emotion.  `Ah, my Azeota, my
+sweet flower!  I have lost her; death has taken her from me, but I am
+not the less grateful to you for what you did for her, and I thank the
+fates who have sent you once more to me that we may converse together of
+her.  But tell me, how is it that you come here to seek me?'
+
+"On this I told him such part of my history as I thought would afford
+him interest, and informed him of my purpose of endeavouring to find
+Aneouta, and of going on afterwards to Nishni and Moscow.
+
+"`I will think over the matter as we go along,' he replied; `we shall
+soon be on the move; you will ride along with me.  But stay, you have
+had no food this morning, probably.  Here, Kazan,' he cried, calling to
+a lad who was passing; `bring some provisions here immediately for this,
+my friend; your mother will give them to you--the best she has, tell
+her.  Then saddle my black mare, and bring her along with my horse; he
+will ride her.'
+
+"I thanked the gipsy chief for his arrangements.  Nothing could be more
+opportune than the encounter.  The tribe were proceeding in the very
+direction I wished to go, and though I could have performed the distance
+almost as quickly on foot, I should now be enabled to do it without
+fatigue.  I ate a hearty breakfast, and by the time it was finished, the
+gipsy's mare was brought to me to mount.  Accompanying the chief, I rode
+on to the head of the caravan.  As he passed along the line he issued
+his orders in a tone which showed that he was accustomed to be obeyed,
+and this increased my confidence that he would be enabled to assist me
+effectually.  There were nearly three hundred people, I calculated,
+altogether; quite a little army.  Some of the younger men and boys were
+on foot, lightly clad, with sticks in their hands to drive the horses
+and cattle; others were on horseback, while some of the very old men and
+women and children were carried in the waggons, which were driven by
+some of the men on foot.  The story of my having preserved little Azeota
+from the wolves had already got about, and as I rode by, I was saluted
+with expressions of gratitude, which were very satisfactory.  I felt
+indeed thankful that I had again fallen among friends so well able to
+help me.  At the time to which I allude, I had remained many days in the
+camp.  I had conversed much with the gipsies on religious subjects, and,
+alas!  Had found their minds totally ignorant of the truth.  Though
+living in a land at least called Christian, they knew nothing of that
+pure faith; they were almost destitute of any hope, any fear; this life
+was all they thought of.  The future, eternity, was totally beyond their
+comprehension.  They put their hands before their eyes as if to shut it
+out when I spoke of it.  Gradually I unfolded to them holy things; I
+spoke to them of the Bible and its wonderful history, and by degrees
+they listened and were interested.  Finally, I believe that I made much
+impression on the minds of many of them.  Then I was once more obliged
+to fly for my liberty.  Still I often visited the Zingari whenever I had
+an opportunity, and never was otherwise than kindly received by them.
+But to return to my late adventure with them.
+
+"We had ridden some versts, and the gipsy chief had long been silent,
+when he turned to me, and said:--
+
+"`I have thought of a plan by which you may not only see your Aneouta,
+but you may, if she will consent, carry her away from those who keep her
+from you.  You shall disguise yourself as a gipsy, and, accompanied by
+one of the young women of the tribe, you will easily gain access to her,
+under the pretence of telling fortunes.  If you can persuade her to fly
+from her persecutors, we will protect her.  No one will suspect that you
+have gone to the house for any other purpose than collecting a few
+kopecks, or stealing chickens, perhaps; and who will think of searching
+for her with us?'
+
+"I saw at once the advantages of the plan proposed by the Zingari chief,
+and yet I trembled at the thought of leaving Aneouta so long among his
+people; not that I doubted they would protect her to the utmost of their
+power, but I feared she might suffer from the hardships to which she
+would be inevitably exposed.  Still I felt that I must wait to decide
+till I had seen my betrothed.  For five days we travelled on with far
+greater ease than I had been accustomed to, so that at the end of the
+time I was fresher and stronger than when I fell in with the encampment.
+
+"But I am wearying you, sirs, with my long history, and I am sure that
+this kind gentleman, who has been interpreting for me, is completely out
+of breath."
+
+Mr Allwick smiled as he said this.
+
+"Oh, no, no," exclaimed Cousin Giles, and the boys, and Mr Evergreen,
+in a breath.  "We are very much interested.  Tell him to go on.  We
+would rather hear his adventures than see all the sights in the place."
+
+The stranger bowed, and continued his narrative.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER FIFTEEN.
+
+  Disguised as a Zingari--Start on the Expedition--Minetta's
+  Fortune-telling--Communicative Serfs--A tyrant Land-steward--Outbreak
+  of Peasants--Dreadful Result--Old Scratchichna--Discovery of Aneouta--
+  Their Flight--Stratagem of the Zingari Chief--Aneouta left in the
+  Gipsy Encampment--Reaches the Volga--Voyage to Nishni--Conclusion of
+  History--Cousin Giles promises to assist him.
+
+"The gipsy tents were pitched on a wild moor, surrounded by low, barren
+hills, about three versts distant from the estate of young Barin Peoter
+Petrovitch, the owner of my poor Aneouta.  Although my features are not
+at all of the gipsy cast, and any one examining them narrowly would at
+once have seen that I was no Zingari, yet by dressing carefully in their
+style, and by having my countenance doubly dyed, and my beard shaved
+off, I certainly might hope to be taken for one by the casual passer-by.
+
+"The chief himself attended to the arrangement of my costume.  He was a
+widower, and childless, but he had a niece, the child of a brother, whom
+he adopted.  She was a clever, spirited girl, and gladly undertook to be
+my companion; indeed Minetta--that was her name--fully entered into the
+spirit of the undertaking.  It was arranged, also, that a little lad,
+her brother, should accompany us.  I described Aneouta to them both, so
+that they might know her at once should they meet her.  My countenance
+had been so altered by the dye and paint that I looked quite an old man,
+and no one could possibly recognise me.  Whatever may be the faults of
+the Zingari, they may be safely trusted with the secrets committed to
+their tribe; therefore, though every one in the encampment knew my
+object, I had no fears of being betrayed.
+
+"Many a good wish was uttered as we three set off together on horseback.
+The chief had furnished me with a strong, active steed, which would
+carry Aneouta as well as me, should I be so fortunate as to be able to
+bear her off unperceived.  We rode on till we came to a copse, a quarter
+of a verst or so from the house of the young Barin.
+
+"Minetta and I then dismounting, left the horses under charge of her
+brother, and sauntering along in an unconcerned way, we approached the
+house.  I had agreed to feign to be dumb, lest the tone of my voice
+should betray me.  Thus I knew I should be perfectly safe from
+detection, and even Aneouta would not know me.  Our difficulty was to
+learn where she could be found.  Eagerly I cast my eyes about in every
+direction, expecting to see her among the work-people in the fields, but
+nowhere did she appear.  Minetta had a good excuse to go among them, to
+offer to tell the girls their fortunes.  They were not unaccustomed to
+such visits, apparently, for they smiled and laughed as she talked to
+them, and willingly held out their hands that she might read their fate
+by the marks on their palms.  She cleverly adapted her promises
+according to the age and appearance of each, and seemed to give
+universal satisfaction.  After she had gained their confidence, she
+began to put questions to them, to which they seemed fully willing to
+reply.  First she spoke to one; then to another a little way off; and
+what the first told her she made use of with surprising facility, as if
+she had been long informed of it, to draw information from the second.
+I listened with painful eagerness to all that was said to her, but for a
+long time she could elicit nothing which could give me information about
+Aneouta.  At length she got nearer to the subject.
+
+"`Surely all the girls of the estate are not in the fields to-day?' she
+said.  `Not long ago I heard weeping and moaning, as from one in pain or
+grief.  The sounds came a long, long way through the air, even to where
+I then was standing, many versts away from this.'
+
+"The girls looked at each other.
+
+"`Yes, you are right,' said one.  `It was a maiden who had gone away
+from this when a child, and thought herself free, but she was mistaken;
+and the Barin, our lord, is fond of keeping all his people about him, so
+when he found it out, he had her brought back.  Poor thing, she was very
+unhappy, for she was taken from all her friends; but she will be better
+by and by.  She will marry one of our young men, and then she will make
+new friends, and be reconciled to her fate.'
+
+"`Ah, let any one beware who marries her,' exclaimed Minetta, promptly.
+`I have read his destiny in the stars.  He will speedily die.  Let him
+beware, I say.'
+
+"The girls looked at each other with horror, resolved to warn all the
+young men in the village of the fate they might expect if they wished to
+marry the new-comer.
+
+"`Then she has not yet been sent out into the fields to labour?' she
+continued.  `I thought not.'
+
+"`Oh, no, she is still in the overseer's house,' answered one of the
+girls; `she has plenty of work there, for he is a hard man, and not
+likely to excuse her because she is weak or ill.  For my part, I would
+rather be in the fields, where at least we have freedom to talk, and
+laugh, and sing as much and as loud as we please, at least as long as
+the land-steward keeps away from us.  When he comes all are dumb and
+grave.  If we talk, he thinks we are plotting mischief; if we laugh, he
+fancies we are laughing at him.  He is miserable himself, and he wants
+to make everybody miserable also.'
+
+"`Why is that?' asked Minetta.  `He is well-to-do in the world--a good
+house, and plenty to eat and drink.'
+
+"`Ah, but he is always in terror of his life,' answered the girl.
+`Before he came here he was steward of an estate owned by a Barin and
+his wife, who were the most grinding couple in all the country round.
+They starved their house serfs, and ground every moment of work out of
+the peasants that the law would allow.  No other man but Gavrillo, our
+land-steward, would have lived with such people, I verily believe.  The
+mujicks bore it for many years, not without complaining and grumbling,
+but without trying to right themselves.  At last they could bear it no
+longer.  A bad season came, and they were starving, and when they
+complained, they were only ground more and more; so they rose up with
+arms in their hands, and attacked the Barin's house one morning, just
+before daylight, and the Barin put his head out of the window, and they
+shot him, and he fell down into the road; and when his wife looked out
+to see what had become of her lord, they shot her too.  When they were
+certain that they were both dead they went off to the house of Gavrillo,
+intending to shoot him also.  He, however, hearing the shots, guessed
+that something wrong was happening, and, mounting his horse, galloped
+away as hard as he could go.  The mujicks saw him, and followed.  They
+thirsted for his blood; and as they well knew that no mercy would be
+shown them, they were determined to have it.  They followed him across
+fields, and there they kept up with him.  Then he reached a plain, a
+wild heath, and he distanced them, but at the other side of the heath
+was a wood--he must either skirt it or go through it.  Fear drove him
+through it, and they rapidly gained on him again.  They now were almost
+sure that they should catch him, but as they got to the farther edge of
+the wood they saw him tearing along, his horse all foam, and his clothes
+in shreds, and his hat knocked off, a quarter of a verst or less before
+them.  Shots were fired at him, but the bullets missed.  A broad and
+rapid river was before him.  They thought that they should now certainly
+overtake him, and already they fancied their revenge secure, when he
+reached the bank.  He hesitated not a moment.  He heard the infuriated
+mujicks behind him--their cries of rage and fierce threats--and saw the
+broad rapid stream before him.  Death from behind was certain.  The
+water might float him--he urged in his horse--the animal was strong and
+fearless.  Bravely it swam on, encouraged by its master's voice.  Shot
+after shot was fired at him--still he held on.  He was mounting the one
+bank when his pursuers reached the other, uttering cries of disappointed
+hate.  He shook his clenched fist at them, and galloped on.  He did not
+stop nor think himself safe till he had reached the nearest town.  He
+there gave notice of what had occurred, and the governor sent off for
+troops to punish the rebels.  The mujicks, meantime, with shouts of
+vengeance, went back to his house.  His wife and children were within,
+and a hoard of his ill-gotten gold.  They could not fly.  He had had no
+time to secure his gold.  The mujicks surrounded the dwelling, and
+closed the doors that no one might escape.  There was a shout for
+faggots, dried branches, logs of wood.  They were brought, they were
+piled up round the house, and a fire was kindled on every side.  It
+blazed up fiercely.  It crackled, and hissed, and roared.  There was a
+strong wind: the cries of the inmates were overcome.  Soon the smoke
+stifled them; and Gavrillo, when he returned with the troops many days
+afterwards, found nothing but a heap of ashes where his house had been.
+The mujicks then burnt down the house of their lord and emptied his
+granaries, and then dispersed in every direction.  Not an inhabitant was
+left in the place.  Even the old men and the women and children were
+carried off.  Some of the latter, alas!  Were soon captured and cruelly
+treated, but many of the men escaped to the distant steppe, and there,
+banding themselves together, robbed and plundered all they could venture
+to attack.  That is the reason that Gavrillo is so melancholy and
+morose,' said the girl.
+
+"`Enough to make him so,' answered Minetta.  `But has he not married
+again?  Who takes care of his house?'
+
+"`Oh, no, he has taken no second wife.  I should pity the woman to whom
+should fall such a fate.  He has a blind and deaf old woman who takes
+care of his house, and I suppose he thinks if his house was again burnt
+there would be no great loss if she was burnt too.  She is as sweet
+tempered as he is.  A pretty life poor Aneouta will have with her.'
+
+"`And Gavrillo himself, where is he?' asked Minetta.
+
+"`Oh, he is away from home just now--gone to see after the sale of some
+timber; and the Barin is away on his road to Moscow, and won't be back
+till after the grand doings at the coronation of the Czar, and that
+makes us all so merry, you know.'
+
+"Minetta had now heard all she required--so had I.  The Barin's absence
+would enable me the better to carry off Aneouta; at the same time I
+fancied that he might make out a good story to the Emperor, and persuade
+him to disallow my petition when he found that I was interfering with
+one whom he claimed as his serf.  The Zingari chief, however, who knows
+the world well, afterwards told me that I need have no fears on that
+score, and that if the Czar grants my petition no one is likely to
+interfere with me.  Well, Minetta and I left the field highly satisfied
+with the information we had obtained, and betook ourselves to Gavrillo's
+house.  The old woman, his housekeeper, sat in the porch knitting.  The
+girl we had spoken with had in no way done her injustice; a more
+unattractive female was never seen.  I groaned as I thought that my poor
+Aneouta should have been committed to the charge of such a being.  A
+brown handkerchief was tied over her head: from beneath it escaped a few
+straggling white hairs.  The eyes in her parchment-like countenance were
+scarcely perceptible, while her mouth was garnished with two yellow
+bones, which did the duty of teeth; her feet were encased in straw
+shoes, and her entire dress was of a dark hue, obtained by age and dirt.
+There was not a spot of white about her.
+
+"`What do you want here?' she growled out, as she saw us approach.
+
+"`To tell your fortune, dear mother,' answered Minetta, in the blandest
+voice.
+
+"`My fortune has been settled long ago, and a bad one it has been,'
+answered the old woman.
+
+"`The moon changes, and fine weather comes at last,' replied the gipsy,
+smiling.  `Those who are wise never mourn the past, but look to the
+future.  See what wonderful things this age has produced!  Steamers, and
+railroads, and balloons--all you have heard of, I doubt not.  Even now
+the world is ringing with the latest and grandest discovery, made by our
+people, too.  Those only who come to us can benefit by it.'
+
+"`What is it, girl?' asked the old woman, with more animation than could
+be expected.
+
+"`What is it?  What you, perchance, would like to have, if you could
+afford to pay for it,' answered Minetta archly.
+
+"`How do you know that I cannot afford to pay?  Tell me what your
+discovery is, and I will tell you whether I will pay for it,' croaked
+out the old woman.
+
+"`Oh, no, no; you will not trust to it,' answered Minetta.  `There are
+others who will value the great secret more than you; I must keep it for
+them.  Farewell, mother;' and taking my hand, she began to move away.
+
+"`Stop, stop, girl; let me know what it is,' cried the old woman, her
+curiosity fully excited.
+
+"Still Minetta went on.
+
+"`Stop, stop!' again croaked out the old woman.
+
+"The Zingari maiden pretended to relent, and stopped.
+
+"`Well, mother dear, perhaps you would like to try the effects of this
+great discovery.  Often has the attempt been made, but in vain, to give
+back youth to age, to renovate the beauty which years and sickness have
+destroyed.  The secret has been obtained.  A liquid, distilled from the
+dew found on certain plants at early dawn, has that wondrous power.
+Every day the effect is perceptible; the limbs become strong, the
+muscles vigorous, the cheeks fill out, the roses return, the eyes grow
+bright, the step elastic, the--'
+
+"`Oh, give me some of it!' shrieked the wretched hag, stretching out her
+withered arms.  `I'll try it!--I'll try it!  What do you demand, girl?--
+say quickly!'
+
+"`Try it first, and as you prove its effects, then you shall reward me
+accordingly,' said Minetta, producing a bottle with a colourless liquid
+from under her cloak.  She poured out some of the liquid on a sponge,
+and held it to the mouth of the hag.  In a few moments its effects were
+indeed perceptible; her eyes closed, her arms hung down, and she was in
+a state of stupor.
+
+"`What have you been about?'  I exclaimed, afraid that some injury might
+have been done the old woman.
+
+"`No harm whatever,' she answered, laughing.  `Do you go in, and bring
+out your Aneouta.  I will watch here, and then the sooner we are away
+the better.'
+
+"With a beating heart, I sprang into the house.  There were but five or
+six rooms.  In the last I found a female, sitting with her hands crossed
+on her knees, looking on vacancy.  She started on hearing a person
+enter, and gazed up at my countenance.  I knew her by her figure; but,
+alas!  Grief and anxiety had sadly changed her features.  Still she was
+my Aneouta.  Of that I was certain.  Eagerly, inquiringly, she looked at
+me.  Her eyes ran over my gipsy costume, then she once more gazed into
+my eyes, and springing up, threw herself into my arms.
+
+"`It is you--you, my Steffanoff!' she exclaimed, in a voice that went to
+my heart.  `Tell me not that it is any one else.  It is you--it is you.
+I know you through your disguise.  The dark skin--the Zingari dress--the
+white hair cannot deceive me.  You have come to save me from this--to
+take me away--to carry me to your home.  Tell me that I do not dream.
+Tell me that it is a reality I enjoy.  Tell me that it is you yourself I
+hold in my arms!'
+
+"`Oh, my Aneouta, it is indeed your Steffanoff who has found you out--
+who has come to carry you from this place,' I exclaimed, pressing her to
+my heart.  `But there is no time to delay--I will tell you all by and
+by.  We must be away at once, or we may be pursued.'
+
+"`Yes, yes, I come.  Take me with you at once, my beloved,' she cried,
+pressing closer to me.  `But ah!--old Scratchichna, where is she?  She
+will give the alarm, and clutch us with her claws, till some one comes
+to stop us!'
+
+"`Fear not about her,' I answered, as I led her out of the room and into
+the porch.  `See, she will not stop us.'
+
+"The old woman was sitting as I had left her, perfectly unconscious.
+Certainly she did not appear as if her youth was returning; she looked
+far more as if death had overtaken her.  Minetta stood over her, and as
+we were going, applied the sponge once more to her nostrils.
+
+"`She is not dying, I trust?' said I.
+
+"`Oh, no, no!' answered Minetta, laughing.  `She will come very soon to
+herself, and then sit quiet, indulging in the fancy that she is growing
+young again, forgetting all about her charge and us.  When she finds
+that this bird has flown, she will give such a confused account of the
+matter, that no one will know what has occurred.  Good-bye, old mother--
+you do look very young, certainly!'  Minetta laughed in a peculiar
+self-satisfied way as she said this.
+
+"Minetta having thrown her own cloak over Aneouta, which much assisted
+in disguising her, we hurried towards the copse where we had left the
+horses.  Anxiously we looked around on every side to notice if any one
+was watching us, but the peasants were in the fields, and we carefully
+avoided the high road and the main street of the village.  We found the
+lad with the horses all safe--no one had come near him.  Things may be
+done in a thinly-peopled country which could not occur in the denser
+population of a town.  Taking up Aneouta on the horse before me, away we
+galloped--my heart lighter than it had been for many a year.  Still I
+knew that the time might be far distant when I might hope to live with
+her in peace and security.
+
+"We were cordially welcomed by the Zingari chief and his people, who
+seemed to take an especial interest in the achievement we had
+accomplished.  Its success was, I confess, entirely owing to the tact
+and adroitness of Minetta.  The means she took were, however, not such
+as in my calmer moments I could in my conscience approve of.
+
+"The Zingari chief received Aneouta as a daughter.  `You shall eat of my
+bread and dwell in my tent, and occupy the place of one who is lost to
+me, till your betrothed comes to claim you,' said he, taking her hand.
+`Minetta will be your companion, and she will tell you many things to
+make the hours pass lightly away.'
+
+"Soon after we reached the encampment the orders were given to strike
+the tents, that we might remove to some distance before nightfall.  Of
+course we knew that directly Gavrillo, the steward, returned, he would
+make every effort to discover what had become of Aneouta.  The chief had
+placed her carefully in a covered waggon, when he asked her for her
+mantle and the handkerchief she had worn over her head.  He took them,
+and rolling them up, gave them to the young lad who had been with us.  I
+asked him as we rode along why he had done this.
+
+"`The river which passes near the village is deep and rapid; I have told
+him to go there as soon as it is dark, and throw them on the bank.
+Their being found there will effectually mislead the steward, who will
+believe that Aneouta has drowned herself, and will make no further
+search for her.'
+
+"In the hopes that this stratagem would succeed, my mind was relieved of
+a very great anxiety; for I was certain that if it was known that
+Aneouta had taken refuge among the gipsies, and she was demanded from
+them, they would not venture to retain her.  I expressed my fears to the
+chief.
+
+"`We will see to that,' he answered, laughing confidently.  `They cannot
+prove that she is among us, and they may come and search through every
+tent, and not discover her if she desires to remain concealed.'
+
+"`How can that be?'  I asked.
+
+"`By disguising her, so that she will become like one of ourselves,' he
+answered.
+
+"`You could not disguise me,' I answered; `she knew me at once.'
+
+"`Ah, the eyes of love pierce deeper than any other eyes,' he answered;
+`besides, Aneouta's features are much of the Zingari cast, and her eyes
+are dark like ours.  Depend on it, we will disguise her so that no one
+will know her.  If any come to look for her, we will tell them to come
+and search, and take her if they can find her.  Depend on it they will
+fix on the wrong person rather than on her.'
+
+"The perfect confidence of the Zingari chief very much assured me, if it
+did not do so completely.  When we encamped at night, I gave Aneouta a
+rapid account of all that I had gone through, and all I proposed doing.
+The watch-fire, by which we sat, had almost burnt out before we had
+ceased talking, and I had not then told her half I had to say.  When I
+informed her that my great object, the sacred duty I had imposed on
+myself, was to try and rescue my parents from the cruel fate to which
+they were condemned, she at first eagerly besought me to let her
+accompany me, and endeavour to aid in the object.  However, this I soon
+showed her would be impossible, and she then willingly consented to
+remain with the Zingari till I had accomplished it or found the effort
+hopeless.
+
+"`If you fail entirely, my beloved, then we will fly together to the far
+east,' exclaimed Aneouta warmly; `for rather would I live among the wild
+tribes of the Tartars in their rude tents than exposed to the fate from
+which you have rescued me in this country.'
+
+"I applauded her resolution--the same thought had been running in my own
+mind.  To escape, however, from the confines of Russia is a work not
+easy of accomplishment.  I will not detain you longer with an account of
+our progress towards the Volga.  We were not pursued, and we had reason
+to fancy even that the Zingari were not suspected of carrying off
+Aneouta.  Probably the chief's trick succeeded, and she was supposed, in
+a fit of despair, to have thrown herself into the river.  At last the
+time came that I must part from Aneouta.  Sad as it may seem, I with
+more confidence left her under charge of those wild, untutored children
+of the desert, than I would with many who profess the tenets of
+Christianity.  I neither exacted nor received any oaths from the chief
+and his people.
+
+"`Your betrothed will be safe, as far as we have power to protect her,
+while she remains under our tents; and I hope, my brother and my friend,
+when you return, to deliver her to you with renewed strength and
+spirits,' he said, taking my hand.
+
+"All the tribe assembled to wish me farewell.  I will not describe my
+parting with Aneouta.  Our mutual grief can better be imagined.  While
+journeying with the Zingari, I had retained their dress.  I had now
+again taken the stains from my face, and habited myself as a mujick.  I
+stood at length on the banks of the mighty Volga among a crowd of
+travellers, waiting for the appearance of a steamer which was to touch
+at that village.  I had been travelling lately with so much ease and
+freedom from care, that I forgot my present position.  I was again in
+danger.  I might be asked for my pass.  Not having one to show, I might
+be stopped, and sent to prison.  I had fastened my money about my body,
+but I kept a few roubles ready at hand in case of necessity.  There is
+nothing like a bribe in Russia to alter a person's vision--black is made
+white, and white black.  I had never before seen a steamer.  I was
+struck with amazement when I beheld the astonishing sight.  On it came,
+gliding over the surface of the river, like a huge swan, without
+apparent effort.  When it drew nearer I saw that it had huge wheels
+driving it along.  I could scarcely contain my admiration; yet it would
+not do to exhibit it, lest I should appear a novice in the world.  When
+the vessel stopped, people rushed on board; I followed them.  They were
+all too busy about their own affairs to think of me.  I passed on with a
+number of mujicks into the fore part of the vessel, where we stood
+huddled together like a flock of sheep in a pen.  Everybody was talking,
+or laughing, or making a noise of some sort.  Several had swallowed more
+vodka than their heads could stand, and were still more vociferous; but
+the confusion added to my security.  I talked away as fast as anybody
+else, and tried to learn who people were, and struck up acquaintances
+with them, and I was so busy in asking them questions, that no one
+thought of asking me any.  For several days we steamed on, living, and
+eating, and sleeping on deck; but the weather was fine, and it mattered
+not.  I always have been happy in making friends wherever I have been,
+and on this occasion I fell in with a merchant, whom, from his remarks,
+I recognised as one of the Molokani.  Although he took me by my dress
+only for a humble mujick, he had at first addressed me kindly, and I
+soon got into intimate conversation with him.  He invited me to attend
+on him at Nishni, where I might assist him in selling his goods.  He
+told me, also, that he thought he could succeed in procuring me a pass,
+which would enable me to proceed on to Moscow.  He had been often to
+Nishni, also more than once to Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and through
+many other parts of Russia.  As he knew somewhat of the world,
+therefore, his advice was of much value.  By degrees I learned to place
+confidence in him, and told him part of my history.  He much applauded
+my plan of petitioning the Emperor, but he advised me, if possible, to
+gain the friendship of some Englishmen who were going to Moscow, and
+would allow me to accompany them.  In that way the pass he could procure
+me would be unquestioned, and they would afterwards probably assist me
+in gaining access to the Emperor.  He, too, would undoubtedly be willing
+to appear magnanimous in the sight of foreigners, and be more ready to
+grant my request.
+
+"There, gentlemen, I have told you my history; far more of it, I own,
+than I at first purposed.  My object in so doing, you have, I doubt not,
+divined.  I earnestly beseech you to allow me to accompany you to
+Moscow, to remain with you while you are there, and to assist me in
+getting access to the Emperor.  Every word I have told you is true.  You
+will run none of the risks of offending against the laws of the country
+which Russians in your position might do, while you will be conferring a
+great blessing, not only on me, but on my aged parents, and on my
+betrothed, and you may be the means of bringing, happiness to a whole
+family."
+
+"Tell him that we are all deeply interested in his history, and that we
+believe it to be perfectly true," said Cousin Giles, as soon as Mr
+Allwick had ceased translating; "but that I do not see how we can assist
+him, as he proposes, while I certainly cannot suppose that we can in any
+way enable him to get access to the Emperor."
+
+"I hope that you will allow me to plead for him myself," returned Mr
+Allwick.  "I knew his parents.  I have been to their village, and he
+himself is not a stranger to me.  He recognised me this morning in the
+crowd, and that induced him to pay us this visit.  The truth is, I have
+seen much of the Molokani.  A more inoffensive, earnest, religious
+people do not exist.  When travelling in the south of Russia with a
+gentleman, to whom I was attached as secretary, we have had thirty of
+them dining with us at once, and, though peasants of the humblest class,
+they have invariably behaved like gentlemen.  Their Christianity has
+taught them not only to be kind and courteous to each other, but to put
+aside all dirty habits and customs, and I am certain that no persons in
+the most polished society would have acted in a more refined manner than
+they did."
+
+"If that is the case, and you are willing to be responsible for your
+friend, I, for my part, shall be happy to run any risk which may arise
+from our connection with him, and will most gladly give him every
+assistance in my power.  He is a fine fellow, of whom any nation might
+be proud.  Tell him that we wish him every success, and will help him as
+far as we can.  What say you, Mr Evergreen; do you agree with me?"
+asked Cousin Giles.
+
+"Oh, certainly, certainly," answered Mr Evergreen, with his usual bland
+smile, "whatever you think right I think right also; so, Mr Allwick,
+tell him from me, that I will give him a helping hand whenever I can;
+and if we can get back his old father and mother from Siberia, or rather
+from their way there, we will see what can be done for them."
+
+The stranger, as soon as Mr Allwick had told him what had been said,
+warmly pressed the hands of the Englishmen, and placed them on his
+heart, to show the depth of his gratitude.  Mr Allwick assured them
+that he was sure they were acting generously and rightly in thus
+affording the stranger their protection.  So it was arranged that he was
+to return in the morning in his mujick costume, and be regularly engaged
+publicly to act as their servant.
+
+They proposed remaining another day in Nishni, and then making a tour
+through the country, before returning to Moscow for the coronation.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
+
+  Cousin Giles meets an old Friend--Excursion into the Interior--Fine
+  View on the Volga--Scenes on the Road--The Count's Estate--Welcomed
+  with Bread and Salt--The Count's old-fashioned Mansion--A Fishing
+  Excursion--Winter in Russia--Russian Stoves--Modes of keeping out
+  Cold--Mode of Dressing in Winter--Result of a Snowless Winter.
+
+"I know that man, I am certain," exclaimed Cousin Giles, as the
+travellers were on their way from their hotel to the busy part of the
+fair.  Just before them was a tall, gentlemanly-looking man, dressed in
+a shooting-jacket, with a stout stick in his hand, and walking along
+with that free and independent air which generally distinguishes a
+seaman.  "Hallo, old ship!  Where are you bound to?  Heave-to till I can
+come up with you, will you?" sung out Cousin Giles, in a loud, jovial
+voice, which instantly made the person who has been described turn his
+head.  His countenance brightened as he did so, and with extended hands
+he came back, and heartily shook those of our friend.
+
+"Well, Fairman, I am delighted to see you," he exclaimed heartily, "I am
+indeed; but what has brought you to this part of the world?"
+
+"The love of travel, and the pleasure of showing a small portion of the
+globe we inhabit to these young lads," answered Cousin Giles.  "But I
+assure you, Ivanovitch, I am equally delighted to meet you, though I
+should little have expected to find you acting the part of a country
+gentleman when last we parted on the deck of the _Asia_."
+
+"I have been through a good deal since then, but we will talk of that
+another time," answered the Russian in English, without the slightest
+foreign accent.  "Well, we have met most opportunely.  I stopped a day
+at this place to see the humours of the fair, on my way to take
+possession of an estate which has lately been left me, and if I can
+induce you to accompany me, it will indeed be a satisfaction."
+
+"The very thing I should like; and as I know you are sincere, I will
+accept your invitation; but I have several companions, and I fear we
+shall crowd you," said Cousin Giles.
+
+The Russian laughed heartily.
+
+"A dozen people, more or less, makes no difference in on?  Of our
+houses," he answered; "I shall be delighted to see them, and any more
+you may like to ask."
+
+"My present party, with a servant we engaged yesterday, are all I will
+bring," said Cousin Giles.  "When are we to set off?"
+
+"To-morrow morning, at daybreak, to enjoy as much cool air as can be
+obtained.  We shall get there in two days without fatigue."
+
+So it was all arranged.  Nothing could be more pleasant or convenient.
+The travellers would thus see country life in Russia to great advantage,
+and be able to get back to Moscow in time for the coronation.
+
+Alexis Ivanovitch, Cousin Giles' old friend, had been educated in
+England, and afterwards served for several years on board a British
+man-of-war, for the purpose of learning seamanship and navigation.
+Several Russians have been allowed by the British Government to study on
+board their ships; and they have, with perfect impartiality, allowed
+Turks, in the same way, to learn the art of naval warfare.  It was while
+serving together afloat that Cousin Giles and Alexis Ivanovitch, now a
+Count, had formed their friendship.
+
+Towards evening of the second day the carriages of the travellers
+reached a village standing on a height overlooking that father of
+European rivers, the Volga.  The scene was a lovely one.  The cloudless
+sky had a faint pinkish tint, while a rich mellow glow was cast over the
+landscape.  Far in the east, across the river, were boundless steppes,
+their verdant hue depending entirely on the dews of heaven, there not
+being a well or water-spring throughout their whole extent.  To make
+amends for the want, Nature has planted on them the juicy water-melon,
+which those only who have luxuriated on it, in a hot country, can
+appreciate.  Here and there might be seen the camp-fires of troops of
+Cossacks, bivouacking for the night, or of herdsmen preparing to watch
+their cattle, or of haymakers, who go out there to prepare fodder for
+the winter food of their beasts; while in the west the eye wandered over
+ranges of hills, cultivated fields, and populous villages, with their
+grey wooden houses peeping out from among the trees.
+
+The village before them contained several neat houses; the gable-ends of
+all, formed of wood, and often tastefully decorated with carved work,
+being turned towards the road.
+
+On the river below them, gangs of bargemen, or _boorlaks_, were towing
+against the sluggish stream vast barges deeply laden with corn; the
+voices of the men, modulated by distance, rising in a pleasing chorus.
+Others, again, were dragging along immense rafts of timber, cut from far
+distant forests, destined to construct navies in widely scattered lands;
+while craft of all sorts were steering their course up the stream, laden
+with produce for the extensive market then taking place.  No sooner had
+the carriages stopped than a troop of villagers were seen approaching
+along the street, some with garlands, others with banners, those leading
+bearing in their hands large dishes.  In one dish was a large black
+loaf, in another a pile of salt, on a third a jug of water.  The men had
+flowing beards of patriarchal length and thickness, and were habited in
+long sheepskin garments, which gave them a comfortable, substantial
+look.  They all bowed low as they approached the Count, but he entreated
+them in a kind voice to rise and stand upright before him.
+
+"We come, most noble _Goshod_, to offer you the congratulations of our
+village on your coming among us for the first time, and we beg to
+present you such poor food as we can supply, according to the ancient
+custom of our country," said the chief man of the party.
+
+The Count having thanked them in a few kind words, cut some of the brown
+bread, which he dipped in the salt, and then drank a draught of the
+water, which was of delicious coolness.  It was drawn, they told him,
+from a well celebrated for its purity, and which, even in the height of
+summer, had always ice on the shaft.  This ceremony over, the Count and
+his friends drove on to his mansion, about a verst farther within the
+estate.  A long avenue of lime-trees conducted them up to the house,
+which was of considerable size, and surrounded by all descriptions of
+out-houses, in anything but a flourishing condition.  The mansion was
+built partly of brick and partly of wood, with verandahs and galleries,
+and steps running round outside it, and odd little projections, and bits
+of roofs apparently covering nothing, and for no other object than to
+serve as ornaments.  The land-steward came down the steps, making many
+low bows, and followed by a troop of servants in faded blue liveries,
+all of them endeavouring to imitate his movements with very ridiculous
+ill success.  The Count could scarcely restrain his laughter.
+
+"I shall have plenty of work here to get things shipshape," said he,
+turning to Cousin Giles.  "My uncle, from whom I inherited this
+property, was a noble of the old school.  State with him was of the
+greatest importance.  He loved to make a show--not that he really cared
+about it himself, or had any large amount of vanity, but that he
+considered it necessary to maintain the dignity of his order.  Thus he
+kept up this useless troop of lazy varlets in faded liveries, when a
+good house-steward and two active footmen would have served him much
+better.  I shall turn some of those fellows to the right-about very
+soon, and try to employ them in productive labour."
+
+While the Count was talking they entered the house.  Everything within
+betokened the old-fashioned taste of the former owner.  Large sofas,
+numberless card-tables, high-backed chairs, huge, badly gilt
+picture-frames, enclosing daubs of most incomprehensible subjects,
+mirrors of all shapes and sizes, not one condescending to give a correct
+reflection of the human face.  There was a large hall with a table down
+the centre, on which an ample meal was spread.  At the upper end was a
+profusion of silver and glass, and two huge salt-cellars.  Below the
+salt-cellars were plates and knives and forks of a far more humble
+description.  The house-steward came forward with many a bow, and
+inquired when his lord would condescend to dine.  "As soon as dinner can
+be ready," was the answer; "but come, gentlemen, we will go up to our
+rooms and shake off the dust of our journey."
+
+The guests were shown by the house-steward to their bedrooms.  They were
+very humbly furnished.  All the grandeur had evidently been reserved for
+the public apartments.  They came down to the dining-hall, when the
+Count took his seat at the head of the board, and his guests arranged
+themselves on either side.  A number of other persons then came in,
+retainers of some sort,--persons of an inferior order, at all events:
+among them was a man in a long green gown, yellow boots, a dark vest,
+and light hair straggling over his shoulders.  He bowed low, as did the
+others, to the Barin, the lord, and took his seat humbly below the salt.
+
+They all ate with the gravity of judges about to condemn a fellow-mortal
+to death.
+
+"I am glad that you have had an opportunity of seeing how Russians of
+the old school lived," observed the Count, turning to Cousin Giles.  "I
+could not endure this sort of thing long, but it would not be wise to
+make too sudden changes.  I shall in future only dine in state on great
+occasions, when it is politic to exhibit myself in public.  We cannot
+all of a sudden introduce the freedom of the English.  Ah!  You should
+indeed value your institutions, both public and domestic."
+
+The Count was busy all the next morning in seeing his overseers, and
+receiving deputations from the inhabitants of the various villages on
+his estate, who came to welcome him, and bring the accustomed offering
+of bread and salt.  He arranged, however, ample amusement for his guests
+during the day, by supplying them with horses to ride, and boats on a
+lake a couple of versts away from the house, where they caught a large
+supply of fish in a very short time.  In the afternoon several visitors,
+who had been invited to meet them, arrived.  They were proprietors,
+large and small, of estates ten, twenty, and thirty versts away.  The
+Count's own estate extended thirty versts in one direction, so that he
+had not many near neighbours.  Some of these gentlemen spoke English
+fluently, and had seen the world.  Fred and Harry were delighted with
+them, and so especially was Mr Evergreen, they were so polite and
+polished, and so full of information.  Mr Evergreen declared that he
+should be proud to be a Russian, to be like them.
+
+"Ah, my dear sirs, you should see Russia during the winter," exclaimed
+Baron Shakertoskey.  "It is then we are most full of life and vivacity.
+Then nature kindly forms us roads, over which we are borne, gliding
+smoothly, at a rapid pace by quick-footed steeds; bridges are thrown
+across streams, by means which far surpass the art of man; and fresh
+fish, and flesh, and fowl are brought to market in the forms which they
+held when alive.  Fish stand up on their tails, as if about to leap out
+of the baskets where they are placed.  Sheep, oxen, and calves, rabbits
+and hares, look as if they could still run about, and fowls rear up
+their heads as if still denizens of the poultry-yard.  A true Russian
+winter is only to be found at Moscow or in the interior.  At Saint
+Petersburg, owing to the neighbourhood of the Baltic, the wind which
+blows over it frequently produces a thaw or a partial thaw, even in the
+middle of winter.  Thus, as the wind shifts, so does the temperature
+rise and fall.  With a west wind comes rain, and with a north-east a
+bitter cold; other winds bring fogs, and some, cheerful, bright frosty
+days, so that the inhabitants of that great city are liable to wind and
+rain in January, and frost and snow in April.  Still the thermometer of
+Fahrenheit often falls to 55 degrees below zero, which it seldom reaches
+in Moscow.  As in summer it often rises to 99 degrees, we may calculate
+a range of temperature of 150 degrees.  This is a difference of
+temperature which would dreadfully try the constitution, did not people
+take very great precautions against it by the mode in which they warm
+their houses and clothe themselves.  In Moscow, when the winter begins,
+it commences to freeze in right earnest, and does not leave off at the
+beck of any wind which may blow.  We consider it to begin in October,
+and to end in May--a period of six months--long enough to please the
+greatest admirer of ice and snow.  We then, once for all, don our fur
+cloaks, caps, and boots, without which we never show our noses out of
+doors till the beginning of spring.  We then also light our stoves and
+paste up our windows.  You have seen a Russian stove?  It is worth
+examination.  It is a vast mass of stone, which, though it takes a long
+time to warm, will keep warm for a much longer period without any
+additional fuel.  The interior is like an oven, with a chimney, a long
+snake-like passage leading to it.  As long as the wood continues to
+blaze the chimney is kept open, but as soon as it is reduced to ashes,
+the passage to it is closed, and the hot air is allowed to pass by
+numerous channels into the room.  Sometimes the outer air is allowed to
+pass through pipes over hot plates in the stove, and in this way fresh
+air, properly charged with oxygen, is supplied to the inhabitants.  In
+large houses the mouth of the stove is in an outer passage or in an
+ante-room, while the front is a mere mass of china, or concealed
+altogether by looking-glasses or other furniture.  One or more servants
+in large houses have the entire charge of the stoves.  They fill them
+with wood the last thing at night, and light them some hours before the
+family rise in the morning.  In the sleeping-rooms they are kept in all
+night.  In the houses of the poor, one stove of huge proportions serves
+for every purpose.  It serves not only to heat the hut, but to bake
+their bread, and for all sorts of cookery, and to dry their clothes,
+articles of which are generally seen hung up round it.  Benches are
+placed before it, where the inmates sit to warm themselves, while on a
+platform above it are placed beds, where, wrapped up in sheepskins, they
+indulge in idleness and heat--the greatest luxuries they are able to
+enjoy.  To all our houses we have double windows: we paste paper over
+every crevice by which air may enter, and we fill up the lower part of
+the interval between the two windows with sand, into which we stick
+artificial flowers, to remind us that summer, with its varied-tinted
+beauties, will once again return.  Two or three doors also must
+generally be passed before the inside of the house is reached.  Thus,
+you see, in spite of the bitter cold in the outer world, we contrive to
+construct an inner one where we can make ourselves tolerably
+comfortable.  We never venture out without being well wrapped up in
+furs, and then we move from house to house as fast as we can, so as to
+avoid being exposed any length of time to the cold.  We have also large
+fires lighted in front of the places of amusement and the palaces of the
+Emperor and nobility, where the drivers and servants may warm themselves
+while waiting for their masters.  Generally with great cold there is
+little wind; and people, as long as they are warmly clad and in motion,
+have no reason to fear its effects, but unhappy is the wretch who is
+overtaken by sleep while exposed to it.  His death is certain.  Death
+thus produced is said to be accompanied by no disagreeable sensations,
+at least so say those who have been partially frozen and recovered, but
+I would rather not try the experiment.  When the thermometer falls to 50
+or 55 degrees below zero, it is time to be cautious.  No one shows his
+nose out of doors unless compelled by urgent necessity, and when he
+does, he moves along as fast as he can--keeping a watchful look-out
+after that prominent and important feature of the human countenance.  As
+no unusual sensation accompanies the first attack of frost on the nose,
+it is difficult to guard against it.  A warning is, however, given by
+the peculiar white hue which it assumes, and immediately this sign is
+observed by a passer-by, he gives notice to the person attacked.  `Oh,
+father!  Father!  Thy nose, thy nose!' he will cry, rushing up to him
+with a handful of snow, with which he will rub the feature attacked, if,
+on a nearer inspection, he sees that it is in danger.  Of course people
+generally take the best possible care of their noses, so that the
+dreaded catastrophe does not often occur.  We wrap up warmly, and leave
+only the eyes and mouth and nose exposed, so that nearly all the heat
+which escapes from the body has to pass through that channel, and thus
+effectually keeps it warm.
+
+"We Russians are not so fond of violent exercise as are you English, and
+therefore we depend on the heat of our stoves and the thickness of our
+clothing to keep ourselves warm.  We sometimes forget that our servants
+are not so substantially clad as ourselves, and while we are
+entertaining ourselves in-doors, they, foolish fellows, fall asleep, and
+get frozen to death outside the palace or theatre, or wherever we may
+happen to be.  Every year, also, people lose their lives by getting
+drunk and falling asleep out of doors.  They may try the experiment
+several times, but some night the thermometer sinks to zero, and they
+never wake again.  In summer, travelling is all very well, but in winter
+it is enjoyable; no dust, no dirt, no scorching heat.  Well covered up
+with warm skins, and with fur boots on our feet, away we glide, dragged
+rapidly on by our prancing steeds over the hard snow, fleet almost as
+the bird on the wing, and like the bird directly across the country,
+where in summer no road can be found.  Mighty streams also are bridged
+over, and we journey along the bed of water-courses; which in spring are
+swept by foaming torrents.  The thick mantle of ice and snow which
+clothes our country forms a superb highway, which the inhabitants of
+other lands may in vain desire.  The snow, which seems so cold and
+inhospitable to the stranger, is our greatest and most valued friend.
+It is like a fur cloak; it keeps in the warmth generated in the bosom of
+the earth, and shelters the bulbs and roots and seeds from the biting
+cold, which would otherwise destroy them.  More than anything else we
+have to dread a snowless winter; then truly the earth is shut up by an
+iron grasp, and tall trees, and shrubs, and plants wither and die under
+its malign influence.  The earth, deprived of its usual covering, the
+ruthless cold deeply penetrates it, and man and beast and creeping
+things suffer from its effects.  Oh, yes, we have reason to pray
+earnestly to be delivered from a snowless winter?"
+
+
+
+CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
+
+  Sports in Winter--Bear and Wolf Hunting--Story of the Miller and the
+  Wolves--Other Tales about Wolves--Shooting Wolves from Sledges--Narrow
+  Escape from a Wolf--Breaking up of the Ice on the Volga--Dreadful
+  Sight of a Boat's Crew carried away with the Ice--Loss of an old Man
+  on the Ice--The Russian Bath--Trial of Vocal Powers of Two Musicians.
+
+"But have you no sports in the winter season?" asked Fred.  "I thought
+that the country abounded in bears and wolves, and deer and game of all
+sorts.  They are the sort of animals I should like to look after."
+
+"We have an abundance of bears and wolves, and of smaller animals too,
+but we are not very fond of leaving our comfortable homes to shoot them.
+Sometimes, when a bear becomes troublesome in a neighbourhood by his
+depredations, the villagers turn out in a body to destroy him; and
+wolves are the enemies of all.  In winter, when hard pressed by hunger,
+a flock of these are very dangerous, and numberless persons have fallen
+victims to their voracity.  A dreadful circumstance relating to wolves
+occurred near this a few winters ago.
+
+"A miller, Nicholas Eremeitch by name, was, with his wife and children,
+returning from the neighbouring town to his own village, a distance of
+some twenty versts or so.  He and his wife sat in the front part of the
+sledge; their children, well covered with skins, were behind, except
+one, which was in its mother's arms, another at their feet.  Their road
+lay partly through a forest, and partly across an open plain, now
+exhibiting one unbroken sheet of snow.  The children were laughing
+cheerily, for though the frost was excessive, there was no wind, and the
+cold was scarcely felt.  They had accomplished more than half their
+distance at a good rate.
+
+"Nicholas Eremeitch was well-to-do in the world, and he had a pair of
+good horses, which knew how to go over the ground.  A common peasant
+would have driven but one, but he required them for his trade.  He and
+his wife were conversing together on what they had seen in the town,
+when they were startled by a sharp yelp at no great distance off.
+
+"`Is that a dog who has lost his master?' asked the miller's wife.
+
+"`No, wife, no,' answered the miller.  `Heaven protect us!'
+
+"As he spoke there was a rushing sound heard from far off in the forest.
+At first it was very faint; then it grew louder and louder.  Their
+sagacious steeds knew too well what caused the sound, and, snorting with
+fear, they started off at full gallop.  There was no necessity for
+Nicholas to urge them on.  He, also, too well knew the cause of the
+sound.  Anxiously he looked over his shoulder.  Another yelp was heard,
+louder and sharper than before.  They were just entering on the plain.
+Another and another yelp rang in their ears, and at the same moment a
+pack of wolves, in a dense mass, were seen emerging from the forest.
+The affrighted steeds tore on.  It was with difficulty the miller could
+keep them together.  His wife clasped her infant closer to her bosom.
+The children looked from under their fur covering, and then shrunk down
+again shivering with fear, for they had an instinctive dread of the
+danger which threatened them.  The stout miller, who scarcely before had
+ever known what fear was, turned pale, as the sharp, eager yelps of the
+infernal pack sounded nearer and nearer behind him.  He had no weapons
+but his long whip and a thick stick.  He clenched his teeth, and his
+breath came fast and thick, as the danger grew more imminent.  With
+voice, and rein, and whip, he urged on his steeds, yet they wanted, as I
+said, no inducement to proceed.  They felt the danger as well as their
+master.  The miller's wife sat still, an icy coldness gathering round
+her heart.  All they had to trust to was speed.  The nearest _isba_
+where they could hope for aid was yet a long way off; yet rapidly as
+they dashed onward, the hungry pack were fleeter still.  A miracle alone
+could save them--from man they could expect no help.
+
+"`On!--on!  My trusty steeds,' shouted the miller.  `Courage, wife!--
+courage!  We may distance them yet.  Trust in the good saints; they may
+preserve us.  Oh that I had my gun in my hand, I would give an account
+of some of these brutes!'
+
+"In vain, in vain the horses stretched their sinews to the utmost.  Fast
+though they flew through the air, the savage brutes were faster still.
+The miller's shouts and cries seemed for a short time to keep the
+animals at bay, but still they were gathering thickly around the sledge,
+singling out its inmates for their prey.
+
+"The poor children shrieked with terror as they beheld the fiery eyes,
+the open mouths, and hanging tongues of the fierce brutes close to the
+sledge.  They fancied that they could feel their hot breath on their
+cheeks--the terrible fangs of the animals seemed every instant about to
+seize them.  Again and again they piteously shrieked out--
+
+"`Oh, father!--oh, mother, mother!  Save us!'
+
+"The miller frantically lashed and lashed, and shouted to his steeds,
+till his voice almost failed him.  They could go no faster.  Already,
+indeed, their strength began to flag.  `If they fail me at this juncture
+all will be lost,' thought the miller; `still I'll not give up hope.'
+
+"Again he lashed his horses, and then he lashed and lashed around him,
+in the hopes of keeping off the infuriated animals, which now came
+thronging up on either side.  As yet they had not dared to seize the
+horses; should they do so, all, he knew, would be lost.  His wife, pale
+as death, sat by his side.  She could do nothing but cry for mercy.  She
+dared not look round, lest altogether she should lose her senses at the
+sight she dreaded to see.  She longs to draw her elder children to the
+front of the sledge, but there is no room for them there; so, as before,
+she sits still, clasping her infant to her bosom.  On fly the horses.
+The wolves pursue, growing bolder and bolder.  There is a fearful
+shriek.
+
+"`Oh, mother!  Mother!  Save--'
+
+"The cry is drowned by the sharp yelping of the wolves.  On a sudden the
+pack give up the chase.  The miller looks round to learn the cause.  His
+eldest child--his favourite, Titiana, is no longer in her place.  The
+other children point with fearful gaze to the spot where the wolves are
+circling round, snorting, and gnashing, and tearing, and leaping over
+each other's shoulders.  To rescue her is hopeless; to attempt it would
+be the certain destruction of the rest.  Flight, rapid and continuous,
+offers the only prospect of safety.  Faint, alas!  Is that.  On--on he
+drives; but, oh horror!--once more the wolves are in hot pursuit.  The
+sledge is again soon overtaken.  Fiercely the miller defends his
+remaining children with loud shouts and lashings of his whip; but what
+can a weapon such as that effect against a whole host of wild beasts?
+Some of the fiercest leapt on the sledge.
+
+"`Oh, mercy, mercy!'--Another child--their darling boy, poor little
+Peoter, is torn away.  Can they rescue him?  No, no; it is impossible.
+They must drive on--on--on--for their own lives.  Even if they drive
+fast as the wind, will they preserve the rest?  For a few short moments
+the wolves stop to revel in their dreadful banquet.  The miller lashes
+on his steeds furiously as before.  He is maddened with horror.  On, on
+he drives.  The poor mother sits like a statue.  All faculties are
+benumbed.  She has no power to shriek.  Scarcely does she know what has
+occurred.  Again the wolves are in full chase.  Two children remain
+alive, but they are exposed to the cold; their sheepskin mantle has been
+torn away.  They are weeping piteously.  With a frantic grasp the miller
+drags one up between him and his wife; but, alas!  The other he cannot
+save.  He tries, but ere he can grasp it by the shoulder, the savage
+brutes have dragged it down among them.  A faint shriek escapes it, and
+its miseries are at an end.  With whetted appetites the wolves again
+follow the sledge.  The miller looks at the savage pack now almost
+surrounding him, and his courage begins to give way.  But his wife is
+still by his side, and three children are unhurt.  He may yet keep the
+wolves off; but if they once venture on the sledge, if once his arm is
+seized, he knows that all, all he holds dearest in life, must be lost
+also.  Still, therefore, he drives on, but he almost despairs of
+escaping.  He has too much reason for his worst fears.  Impatient for
+their expected banquet, the wolves begin to leap up round the sledge,
+just as the waves of a breaking sea rise tumultuously round the
+labouring bark.  In a few minutes all will be over.  The miller knows
+full well that his horses will soon be seized, and then that hope must
+indeed depart.  Ah!  The fatal moment has come.  Already a wolf, more
+famished than his companions, has flown at the neck of one of his
+horses.  The animal plunges and rears in a frantic attempt to free
+himself from his foe.  Ah!  At that instant the miller shouts louder
+than before--his courage returns--he lashes furiously at the wolf--The
+noble horse frees himself and dashes onward.
+
+"`We are saved--we are saved!' shouts the miller.  `Wife, wife, arouse
+yourself!'
+
+"Far off he sees advancing over the snow a large sledge; it glides
+nearer and nearer.  Those in it see what is occurring.  Shot after shot
+is fired, and the wolves fall thickly around.  Dashing up at full speed,
+a sledge approaches.  The miller almost shrieks with joy.  For an
+instant he forgets those he has lost; yet only for an instant.  He has
+the fond heart of a father.  The sportsmen load and fire again.  They
+have come in search of this very pack.  The miller and the rest of his
+family were saved; but it was many a long week before he or his poor
+bereaved wife recovered from the effects of that day's adventure."
+
+"A very dreadful story indeed; very dreadful," observed Mr Evergreen.
+"Do people generally get attacked by wolves when they travel by sledges
+in winter."
+
+"I think we may safely say not generally," answered one of the Russian
+guests, laughing.  "If such were the case, people would be inclined to
+stay at home.  A story is current still more dreadful than the one you
+have heard.
+
+"A peasant woman was driving a sledge with several of her children in it
+from one village to another, when she was pursued by a pack of wolves.
+As the brutes overtook her, she threw them one of her children, to
+induce them to stop and eat it up, while she drove on.  Child after
+child was treated in the same way, till she reached a village, when the
+villagers came out and drove the wolves back.  When the mother told her
+story, one of the villagers, in his rage at her inhumanity, struck her
+dead on the spot with his axe."
+
+"A very dreadful story, but I do not believe a word about it," said
+their host.  "I do not believe that any woman would act so barbarous a
+part."
+
+"Nor do I," observed Cousin Giles.  "The slavers on the coast of Africa
+are wont to play a similar trick when pursued by our cruisers.  They
+will throw a live slave overboard at a time, in the hopes that the
+cruiser will heave-to or lower a boat to pick the poor black up, and
+thus allow them more time to escape."
+
+"We often go out on sledges expressly to shoot the wolves," observed an
+old country gentleman of the party.  "We use large sledges, capable of
+containing several persons, and we provide ourselves with plenty of guns
+and ammunition.  In one of the sledges a pig is carried, in charge of a
+servant, and there is also a rope with a bag of hay, which is dragged
+after the sledge.  When we arrive on the ground where we expect to find
+the wolves, the bag of hay is thrown out, and the servant gives the pig
+a twitch of the tail, which makes it squeak lustily.  Now, wolves are
+especially fond of pork, and, hearing the well-known sounds, they hurry
+out of their fastnesses from all quarters, in expectation of a feast.
+As the brutes happily hunt by sight and sound, and not by scent, and
+being, moreover, foolish brutes, as the more savage animals often are,
+when they see the bag of hay they fancy that the pig must be inside it,
+and eagerly give chase.  Now the sport begins, and as the wolves draw
+near, one after the other they get knocked over by the guns of the
+sportsmen.  We often kill numbers in that way, and thus get rid of most
+noxious animals.  Although their flesh is of no use, their skins are of
+considerable value, mantles and cloaks being lined with them.  A wolf is
+a dangerous animal to meddle with when wounded.  On one occasion I was
+out hunting, when we had killed some fifty or more wolves.  On our
+return, we passed a remarkably large wolf, which lay apparently dead on
+the snow.  One of our party took it into his head that he would like to
+possess himself of the skin, and, leaving the sledge, he approached the
+brute with the intention of flaying it.  He was about to take hold of
+its muzzle, when the animal, resenting the indignity of having his nose
+pulled, reared itself up on its forepaws, snarling furiously.  Ere my
+friend could spring back, the brute had seized him by the arm, and was
+dragging him to the earth.  In another instant his fangs would have been
+at his throat, when the sportsman plunged his knife into its breast.
+Still the wolf struggled with his antagonist.  We were afraid to fire,
+lest we should kill the man as well as the brute.  It was a moment of
+fearful suspense.  The life-blood of the wolf was flowing freely, but
+before he died he might have destroyed our friend.  We drove to the spot
+as fast as we could, in the hopes of being in time to rescue our
+companion.  As we were leaping from the sledge, the combatants rolled
+over.  Happily the man was uppermost.  He drew a deep breath as we
+released him.
+
+"`I never wish to have such a fight as that again,' he exclaimed,
+shaking himself.  `It must have lasted a quarter of an hour at least.
+How was it you did not sooner come to my assistance?'
+
+"In reality, not two minutes had elapsed from the time he reached the
+wolf till he finally killed it.  His arm was somewhat lacerated, but his
+thick coat had saved him.  It was a lesson to me ever after, not to go
+near a wild beast till I am certain he is put _hors de combat_."
+
+"The breaking up of the ice on the various rivers of Russia is a time of
+great excitement," observed the Count.  "In an instant the natural
+bridges which the winter has formed are destroyed, often with little or
+no warning, and people are hurried down the stream on the floating
+masses of ice, frequently unable to reach the shore, till, one mass
+driven under the other by the fierce rush of waters, they are engulfed
+beneath them.  I was one year at Jaroslaf, on the Volga, at that period.
+You, my friends, who were there at the time, will not have forgotten
+the circumstance.  I was on horseback, riding along the banks of the
+river, to watch the huge masses of ice which came floating down the
+stream.  Sometimes they would glide calmly by, in almost unbroken
+sheets; then they would meet with some obstruction--either a narrow part
+of the stream, or a promontory, or a rock--and then they would leap and
+rush over each other, as if imbued with life, and eager to escape from
+the pursuit of an enemy.  The rushing and crushing and grinding of the
+ice, and roar of the waters was almost deafening.  The masses would
+assume, too, all sorts of fantastic shapes, which one, with a slight
+exertion of fancy, might imagine bears, and lions, and castles, and
+ships under sail--indeed all sorts of things, animate and inanimate.  As
+I looked up the stream, my attention was drawn to a large black object,
+which I soon made out to be a vessel of the largest size which navigates
+those waters.  She came gliding rapidly down--now stem, now stern
+foremost; now whirling round and round, and evidently beyond all
+control.  To my horror, I perceived as she drew near there were several
+men on board.  The current brought her close to the bank where I was.
+By the gaunt looks and gestures of the crew, I perceived that they were
+suffering from hunger.  This notion was confirmed when the vessel drew
+still nearer.
+
+"`Oh, give us bread!--oh, give us bread!' they shouted, in piteous
+tones.  `We have had no food for these three days.  We have been seven
+days thus driving on, and unable to reach the shore.'
+
+"On hearing this, I galloped along the bank, so as to get before the
+vessel, and succeeded in finding some bread at some cottages a little
+way on.  The peasants willingly brought it out, and by my directions
+endeavoured to heave it on board the vessel.  Oh, it was sad to see the
+eager way in which the starving wretches held out their hands for the
+food, but in vain.  Loaf after loaf was thrown by the strongest men
+present; but the bread, which would have preserved their lives, fell
+into the water, or on to the masses of ice which surrounded the vessel,
+some few yards only short of her.  I and others galloped on, in the
+hopes that she might be driven still nearer; but, as we thought she was
+approaching, the current swept her away again into the middle of the
+stream.  It was a melancholy exemplification of the story of Tantalus.
+There were those poor famished men floating down a river in the midst
+truly of plenty--for where can be found more fertile regions!--and yet
+they were unable to procure a mouthful of food to appease the pangs of
+hunger.
+
+"I endeavoured to devise some plan to send them help; but all the plans
+I could think of seemed hopeless.  No boat could approach them, could
+one have been procured, or people to man her.  A stone might have
+carried a thin line on board, but no thin line could be found.  I asked
+for one at every cottage I passed, but in vain.  At length, with a sad
+heart, I saw the vessel with her hapless crew drive by me.  On she was
+whirled by the rapid current till I lost sight of her.  I had but faint
+hopes of the people being saved.  If, before starvation deprived them of
+all strength to move, the vessel struck on one of the banks, they might
+be saved.  If not, they would be carried onward, down the stream, till
+she reached the Caspian Sea, where, perhaps, leaky from the crushing she
+had received from the masses of ice, she might go to the bottom; or,
+after knocking about for a long time, she might be picked up, the bones
+of her crew telling plainly their melancholy fate.
+
+"That very day, as I rode back, I witnessed another scene, which I shall
+never forget.  High up the stream I descried an object on a large slab
+of ice which came floating down towards me.  As it came nearer, I
+perceived a telega, a country cart, with a horse harnessed to it.  Near
+it I saw a human figure kneeling.  By his side was a dog, which, from
+its attitude, even at that distance, I guessed was looking up into his
+master's face.  So still were all the figures, that I might have fancied
+them a group chiselled out of marble.  Nearer drew the sheet of ice.  I
+then saw that the figure was that of an old man; his cap had fallen off,
+and his long white locks were streaming in the wind.  His hands were
+lifted up in prayer, and his lips moved, as if imploring aid from above.
+His faithful dog looked up wistfully and inquiringly, as if to say,
+`Master dear, what is the matter?--how can I help you?'  The old man
+seemed resigned fully to his fate, and not inclined to make an effort to
+save himself.  He turned his head, and then saw farther down the stream
+a number of people, who were beckoning to him, and showing their anxiety
+to save him.  At first when he saw them, he shook his head, and once
+more addressed himself to prayer.  He had evidently given up all hope of
+being saved.  But when the cheering voices of his fellow-creatures
+reached his ears, and he saw their friendly gestures, the desire to live
+returned, and he rose from his knees.  In his cart were a number of long
+poles.  He seized one of them, and stood balancing it in his hand, while
+he looked eagerly towards the shore.  He called to his dog, `Now, my
+faithful one, you and I have a dangerous work to perform.  Life or death
+depends on the course we take.'  He approached the edge of the floe,
+which was now driven close to another large mass, and then whirled round
+again, a wide gulf being left between them.  The poor dog whined, and
+drew back with dismay as he watched the eddying waters close before him.
+
+"`Courage, courage, friend!' shouted the people on the shore, as the
+floe on which the old man stood approached another sheet of ice at that
+moment attached to the shore.  `Leap, leap, friend!'  His tall sinewy
+figure showed me that he might justly in his youth have trusted to his
+athletic powers to save him from a similar predicament, but age, alas!
+Had unstrung his nerves and weakened his muscles.  He hesitated.  Again
+the people shouted, `Courage, courage!--leap, leap!'  He looked up to
+Heaven for a moment, and then sprang forward.  His dog followed.  There
+was a shriek of horror; the treacherous ice, worn at the edges by the
+constant abrasion of the other pieces, was rotten and unable to bear the
+weight suddenly placed on it.  It gave way ere he could take a second
+leap, and sank beneath him.  One cry escaped him, and the wild foaming
+waters closed over his head.  His dog, lighter of foot, reached the
+shore in safety, and was till his death in my possession."
+
+The guests gave a shudder at the recital.
+
+"We have had enough of tales of horror for one day," said the Count.
+"Have you ever tried our Russian bath, Fairman?"
+
+"No; I must confess to having neglected that duty of a traveller, who
+ought to taste every dish, go through every operation, and see every
+ceremony characteristic of the country," answered Cousin Giles,
+laughing.  "I cannot fancy a roll in the snow after a hot bath."
+
+"Whether it is injurious or not depends on the effect which the hot bath
+produces on the frame," answered the Count.  "Every country mansion has
+a bath, placed near a stream, if possible.  It is a very simple affair.
+The bath-house is divided into two portions.  In the inner half is a
+large oven, and high up round the walls are rows of seats.  In the oven
+are placed large stones which are completely heated through.  In the
+room stand ready some buckets of water.  The people who are to bathe
+then come in and take their seats on the benches, having left their
+clothes in the outer room; the door is closed, and the water is thrown
+over the hot stones.  This fills the whole room with hot vapour, which
+thoroughly penetrates the pores of the skin.  The bathers are then
+rubbed over with towels and brushes, and a profuse perspiration ensues,
+which continues till all superfluous moisture has exuded from the body.
+There is then, it must be understood, no lassitude, no weakness, such as
+is produced by physical exertion, while also perspiration has in reality
+ceased.  The frame, therefore, is not liable to receive a chill, but is,
+on the contrary, strengthened to resist it.  Consequently, a person may
+either rush out into the freezing air and roll in the snow, or may
+plunge into a bath of pure cold water with impunity.  For this purpose
+the bath-houses are, as I said, built near a stream or pond; and most
+refreshing and invigorating it is, after taking the steam-bath, to leap
+into the bright, sparkling stream.  One comes out again like a new
+being, feeling capable of any exertion."
+
+Cousin Giles and his companions declared, after the description they had
+heard, that they should be anxious to take a true Russian bath before
+they left the country.
+
+The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of some musicians and
+singers, who came expressly to amuse the company.  The instrumental
+music was very good, and received, as it merited, an abundance of
+applause; but the great amusement of the evening was a contest between
+two rival singers.  On their introduction they bowed to the company,
+which was composed evidently of persons much superior to them in rank.
+
+"Come, friend Nedopeouski, do you begin," said the Count, addressing a
+tall man with a very quiet, almost sheepish expression of countenance.
+Thus summoned, the singer, who had been standing for some time alone
+without uttering a word, began an air, which it was evident could only
+be accomplished by a person capable of reaching the highest notes.  He
+soon showed that he was equal to what he had undertaken.  It was
+wonderful the mode in which he played with his voice: it rose and fell,
+and swelled again, now seeming to come through the roof from the clouds,
+now scarcely audible; sweet and strong notes succeeded each other with
+rapid transition.  Then others present joined in chorus, and this
+seeming to encourage him to still further exertions, he quickly
+surpassed all his first efforts, till, utterly overcome, he could sing
+no longer, and would have sunk on the ground had not some of the guests,
+enraptured by the music, sprung up and caught him in their arms.  Loud
+acclamations of delight broke from every one present, and it appeared as
+if there was no use in his rival attempting to compete with him.  On the
+speedy recovery of the first singer, the Count, however, beckoned to him
+to begin.  He rose and stood forward.  At first his voice was weak, but
+his notes seemed to rivet the attention of his audience.  As he
+proceeded, it became more and more animated, firmer, and fuller,
+exhibiting a wonderful combination of freshness, sweetness, and power;
+so exquisitely plaintive, so overflowing with poignant grief--for it was
+of a melancholy character--that tears, sobs, and groans broke from the
+breasts of most of his audience.  It was truly the triumph of song over
+human feelings, and the palm of victory was unanimously awarded to the
+last singer.
+
+"I am glad you heard these singers," observed the Count, as his guests
+were retiring for the night.  "We Russians are celebrated, I believe,
+for our musical talents, and I think you have heard a fair specimen of
+them this evening."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.
+
+  Preparations for a Hunt--Ride to Cover--Account of an Insurrection of
+  Peasants--Game breaks Cover--Fred and Harry lose their Way--Chase a
+  Stag--Desperate Encounter with a She-wolf--Harry's Bravery--Saved by
+  Saveleff the Molokani--The Count promises to assist Saveleff--Return
+  to Moscow.
+
+A fine bright morning, which ushered in the day appointed for the hunt,
+gave promise of much amusement.  Breakfast being over at an early hour,
+the Count and his guests mounted the horses, which were led forth in
+front of the house by high-booted, long pink-shirted, wide-trousered
+peasants, looking as unlike English grooms as a polar bear does to an
+opera-dancer.  Cousin Giles was not a bad horseman for a sailor, and the
+lads were delighted with the steeds provided for them; but Mr Evergreen
+had great doubts whether he should risk his neck on the back of an
+animal with which he was unacquainted.  The Count, however, assured him
+that the horse selected for him bore a very good character for
+quietness, so at last he persuaded himself to mount.  People of all
+ranks came from far and near to join the hunt.  They were dressed in all
+sorts of costumes, partaking much of a military character, and the
+steeds which they rode were as varied in character as their masters.
+Some were more like chargers and cart-horses than hunters of the English
+stamp; the greater number were little Cossack horses not bigger than
+ponies, with long tails and shaggy coats.
+
+"Don't laugh, my friend," said the Count to Cousin Giles, as five or six
+tall picqueurs, in splendid green-and-gold liveries, rode forth on the
+above-described style of little steeds, driving before them a number of
+dogs of a most mongrel appearance, at whom a pack of aristocratic
+English hounds would most certainly have turned up their noses.  "You
+see, my predecessor was of the old school, and I do not wish to make any
+sudden changes in matters of small importance, lest I should be
+considered to hold his memory in slight esteem.  By degrees I hope to
+make improvements, but sudden changes do not suit this country."
+
+A large number of persons, very picturesque in appearance, had now
+collected in front of the mansion.  The huntsmen blew their horns and
+cracked their whips, the dogs barked and yelped and gave tongue in a
+variety of ways, the horses pranced and kicked, the peasants shouted,
+and the whole party set off towards the spot appointed for the meet.  A
+ride of three or four versts brought them in front of a dilapidated
+building on the borders of a wood.
+
+"That house was erected as a hunting-box by one of my predecessors many
+years ago," observed the Count.  Many hundreds of people used to
+assemble here in the olden days, to hunt in a style of magnificence
+which has now become obsolete.  Open house was kept, and all comers were
+welcome.  Intimates of the family, or those of rank, were accommodated
+inside, some in beds and some on the floor, while others bivouacked
+outside as best they could under arbours of boughs or beneath the vault
+of heaven.  They used to hunt all day and feast all night for a whole
+week or longer, without intermission.  From the secluded position of the
+place, it was for many months of the year totally unvisited.  There
+existed at that time three or four landlords, owners of large numbers of
+serfs, whom they treated with great harshness, if I may not, indeed, say
+with much barbarity.  For long the unhappy people groaned helplessly
+under their tyranny, which was made yet more severe by the cruel and
+grasping dispositions of their overseers.  The laws existing for the
+protection of the serfs were in every way evaded, and every kopeck which
+could be wrung from them was exacted without mercy.  A worm will turn on
+the foot which treads on it.  The man who had charge of this house was
+educated above his fellows.  He had read in history of peasants, poor
+and simple men, revolting against their rulers when tyrannised over to
+excess, and thought and meditated on what he had read.  At length he
+persuaded himself that he could emancipate his fellow-serfs from
+tharldom, and enable them to avenge themselves on their tyrants.  He
+opened his plans at first to a few, and by degrees to others.  They used
+to assemble at this house, where there was no fear of their being
+disturbed.  Often they met, and much they planned, till they believed,
+their plans were ripe for execution.  At first they drew up a
+remonstrance, which in the humblest manner they presented to their
+masters.  It was treated with the bitterest scorn.  They resolved on
+wreaking a dreadful vengeance on their oppressors; they supplied
+themselves with fire-arms--how procured the authorities could not
+discover--others armed themselves with scythes, reaping-hooks, hatchets,
+pikes, and weapons of every description.  With these in their hands they
+rushed through the district, calling their fellow-serfs to arms.  The
+call was answered by many; others hung back, dreading the consequences
+should the outbreak prove unsuccessful, as the more sagacious knew it
+must be.  Still many hundreds, I might say thousands, rose to wreak a
+fearful vengeance on the heads of their lords; but they had no one
+capable of commanding them.  They murdered all the inmates of the first
+house they attacked, and burned it to the ground.  They rushed from
+house to house, burning, murdering, and destroying all that came in
+their way.  For many days they set all authority at defiance, and there
+appeared no power capable of stemming the torrent of their fury.
+
+"In the meantime, Government, having notice of what was taking place,
+was sending down troops at once to crush the insurrection.  The largest
+body of the insurgents were met by the troops, and quickly breaking,
+were driven before them like a flock of sheep, the greater number being
+slaughtered without mercy; the remainder threw themselves into this
+house, resolving to defend themselves to the last.  It is said they made
+a brave resistance, but the building was stormed, and not one of its
+defenders was left alive to tell the tale.  The house has ever since
+remained in ruins, and shunned by all the peasants in the neighbourhood.
+Several similar outbreaks have occurred at different times among the
+serfs, with similar consequences.  The people of Russia are not fit to
+govern themselves.  They may at some time become so, but at present,
+were they to attempt it, they would bring certain destruction on
+themselves and the country at large.  I speak to you as a friend, and
+perhaps in an unpatriotic way tell you of occurrences which ought to be
+kept secret; but I trust that you have seen many things in Russia to
+admire, and will not judge us over harshly when you hear of some of our
+weak points.  But, tally ho!  The huntsmen's horns give notice that the
+pack have found some game.  It will soon break cover, and then away
+after it!"
+
+Besides the gaily-coated picqueurs on horseback, a number of peasants
+habited in the usual pink shirt, wide green breeches, and willow-woven
+sandals, were engaged with long sticks in beating the bushes and
+underwood which grew in thick clumps in the forest.  The green-and-gold
+coated huntsmen galloped about outside, sounding their horns, shouting
+to the peasants, and watching eagerly the movements of the dogs.  On a
+sudden the huntsmen sounded their horns more gaily than before, the
+people shouted, and a large fox broke from the cover, and darted away
+along the skirts of the wood.  Away went the hounds, and away went the
+horsemen after him, the Count and his English friends shouting "Tally
+ho!  Tally ho!" in right honest British fashion, while the peasants gave
+utterance to the wildest cries, which sounded wonderfully strange in the
+travellers' ears.
+
+It was not very hard riding, although Mr Evergreen seemed to think it
+so; but as he was mounted on a fast horse, he, in spite of himself, kept
+well ahead of most of the field.  Cousin Giles and the Count rode
+alongside each other, and the two Markhams kept together.
+
+They had not gone far when another fox showed his nose out of the wood,
+apparently to learn what was going forward, and a few of the dogs
+instantly made chase after him, while the huntsmen followed the main
+body.
+
+"Tally ho!" shouted Fred Markham.  "Harry, let us have a hunt of our
+own.  It will be fine fun to bring home a brush which we have got all by
+ourselves."
+
+"Capital fun," answered Harry; and boy-like, thought less of the
+consequences, away they galloped after the four or five dogs which had
+separated themselves from the chase.  No one followed.  The fox led them
+directly into the wood.  He was a knowing old fellow, and was aware that
+they would thus have the greatest difficulty in overtaking him.  Deeper
+and deeper they got into the forest, but the dogs had still the scent of
+the old fox.
+
+"I wish that we could kill a deer now," exclaimed Harry.  "That would be
+something to boast of."
+
+"Or a wolf, rather," cried Fred.  "That is nobler game, for he shows
+more fight."
+
+"Yes, I should like to fall in with a wolf," responded his brother.
+"But I say, Fred, how are we to kill him if we find him?"
+
+"Knock him on the head with the butt end of our whip!  That is what he
+deserves, at all events."
+
+"Easier said than done," observed Harry.  "However, I'll stick by you,
+don't fear, if we should find one of the rascals.  I shall ever hate a
+wolf after the story we heard the other night."
+
+Thus talking, the lads galloped on.  Suddenly a deer started up from an
+open glade which lay before them.  They looked round for the old fox--he
+was nowhere to be seen, and the dogs appeared to have lost the scent.
+However, as soon as the deer began to run they followed, evidently not
+at all particular as to what they had to pursue.
+
+"Rare fun this is," shouted Fred and Harry, as they galloped after the
+deer.  But the dogs, already tired, had not the slightest chance of
+overtaking the nimble-footed animal, though, had the young hunters been
+provided with rifles, they could quickly have brought her to the ground.
+
+"Hallo!  Where is she?" exclaimed Fred, as the deer darted among a thick
+clump of trees.
+
+"I am sure I saw her but a moment ago," answered Harry.  "Let us get
+round to the other side of the clump, she will have gone through it."
+
+If she had gone through the clump, she had gone a long way beyond it,
+for she was nowhere to be seen on the other side.  The dogs also were
+equally at fault, and began to stray about, as if each one was resolved
+to have a hunt by himself.  Where our friends had got to by this time,
+they could not tell.  They proposed returning to the ruined house where
+the hunt had met, but in what direction to find it was the puzzle.
+
+"This is worse than losing ourselves in the streets of Saint
+Petersburg," cried Harry, who was in no ways daunted.  "The fox and the
+deer have brought us all this way--I wish we could find a wolf or a bear
+to show us the road home again."
+
+"Not much chance of that," answered Fred, as they rode on in the
+direction they fancied would lead them whence they had come.  "But, I
+say, hallo, what is that shaggy-looking brute showing his head out of
+the hollow stump of that old tree there?"  As he spoke, a loud snarling
+growl saluted their ears.
+
+"A big she-wolf and her cubs," shouted Harry.  "Let's knock her over,
+the brute."
+
+"For mercy's sake, don't attempt anything so rash," cried Fred.  "She
+will prove an ugly customer to deal with, depend on it."
+
+The white, grinning teeth and ferocious aspect of the wolf fully
+corroborated Fred's assertion.  Still the lads did not like to decline
+the combat, but without fire-arms or spears they were hard pressed to
+know what to do.  They rode round and round the tree at a respectful
+distance, the wolf following them with her eyes, though she would not
+leave her cubs either to escape or to attack them.  Still the lads,
+thoughtless of the risk they ran, could not bring themselves to leave
+the beast alone.
+
+"Hang it, I must give her a lick over the chops, just to remind her that
+she must not eat up little children in future," cried Harry, riding up
+towards the beast.  The wolf looked at Harry, as much as to say, "You
+had better not, master, for if you do, I'll give you a taste of my
+fangs."  Harry rode on.  The wolf stood up, and advanced a step or two
+beyond her lair, grinning horribly.
+
+"Stay, stay, Harry!" shouted Fred, dashing on before him.  "The wolf
+will fly at you."
+
+The wolf took the movement as the signal of attack, and with a terrible
+snarl, which sounded far more ferocious than the bark or growl of a dog,
+flew at Fred's horse, evidently intending to pull the rider to the
+ground.  Never had Fred been in peril so terrific.  A cry of horror
+escaped him; he could not restrain it, but, speedily recovering his
+presence of mind, he began to belabour the head of the wolf.  Harry,
+true to his promise, nothing daunted, came to his assistance, but their
+blows, though given with a hearty good-will, had not the slightest
+effect on the head of the wolf.  On the contrary, they only seemed to
+increase her fury.  She let go, but it was only to spring again with
+surer aim.  The poor horse, torn by her fangs, reared with pain and
+fright, as the savage brute again sprang towards him.  In another moment
+its fangs would have been fixed in Fred's thigh.  Alas!  Poor fellow!
+His life was in dreadful jeopardy.
+
+"Oh!  What can I do?  What can I do?" cried poor Harry.
+
+The wolf and her cubs seemed to say, "Gallop away while you can, or we
+will eat you up as well as your brother."
+
+At that critical moment a rifle-shot was heard, and the wolf, with a
+yelp of pain and rage, let go her hold.  Directly afterwards a man was
+seen, with a rifle in his hand, running through the forest towards them.
+
+"Oh, you are saved!--you are saved, my brother," cried Harry, giving way
+to his feelings of affection.
+
+"In mercy I am," answered Fred, looking down at the wounded wolf, whom
+he seemed inclined to strike with his whip.
+
+The stranger shouted to them as he advanced.  They could not understand
+what he said, but they thought it was probably telling them not to
+meddle with the wolf.  As soon as he came up to the spot he drew a long
+knife from a sheath at his side, and in the most deliberate way,
+evidently the result of long practice, approaching the brute from
+behind, plunged it into her neck.
+
+"Bravo!  Bravo!" shouted Fred and Harry.  "Thanks--thanks!  Oh, how we
+wish we could thank you in your own language."
+
+The stranger looked up with a smile on his countenance, and the lads
+then recognised him as their new attendant, the Molokani, Steffanoff
+Saveleff.  They put out their hands to shake his.  He smiled again, and
+pointed westward through the forest.
+
+"Oh, but we want the skin of the beast," said Fred; "I'll keep it as a
+memorial of what you have done for me."
+
+"And we may as well kill the cubs, or they will be growing up, and will
+soon become as unamiable as their mother," added Harry, pointing to the
+tree.
+
+Steffanoff understood the action which accompanied the remark, and very
+soon put an end to the young wolves.  Thus, in hunter guise, they took
+their way through the forest.  The lads chatted freely to their guide,
+and though he could not understand a word they said, he looked up every
+now and then with one of those pleasant smiles which showed that he
+would gladly have talked to them if he could.  His step was so elastic
+and rapid, that he kept their horses at a short trot the whole way.
+
+The Count and his friends got home soon after they arrived, and Cousin
+Giles expressed no small satisfaction at seeing them.  This was very
+much increased when he heard the risk they had run; and Steffanoff came
+in most deservedly for his share of praise for the way in which he had
+rescued the lads.
+
+"Tell him," said Cousin Giles to Mr Allwick, "that I was inclined to
+serve him before, but that now I am doubly anxious to be of use to him.
+Had any accident happened to the two lads, I should never have forgiven
+myself."
+
+Cousin Giles being certain that he could depend on the Count, gave him a
+sketch of Saveleff's life, for the purpose of gaining his advice and
+assistance.
+
+The Count shook his head.  "I am afraid that he has very little chance
+of success," said he; "still I will gladly assist and protect him to the
+utmost of my power."
+
+When Saveleff heard, through Mr Allwick, the promise which had been
+made him, he also shook his head.  "I am deeply grateful to the Count,"
+said he; "but I have no faith in what my countrymen can do for me."
+
+A few days after this occurrence the whole party set off for Moscow, to
+be present at the coronation of the Emperor.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER NINETEEN.
+
+  Letter from Fred Markham to his Mother--Entrance of the Czar into
+  Moscow--Saveleff presents his Petition--Grand Review of Troops--
+  Coronation of the Emperor--Fete at the Opera--State Balls--The
+  Illumination--The People's Feast--The People's Ball--Fireworks--
+  Character of Russians--Thieving Propensities--Russian's Aptitude for
+  Commerce--Cucumber-water--Aqueduct of Moscow--Cursing Heretics--
+  Blessing the Waters--Blessing Fruits--Christening Ceremony--Story of a
+  Post-office for the Saints--High Mass in a Greek Church--Preparations
+  for Leaving Moscow--Last News of Saveleff.
+
+"Moscow, _30th September_, 1856.
+
+"Dearest Mother,--We are delighted that we came back to Moscow, for we
+have seen some magnificent sights, such as we are not likely to see
+again; and, thanks to the Count's kindness, we saw everything to the
+best advantage, which I will now try and describe to you as briefly as I
+can.  The very day we came here the Emperor arrived at his
+boiled-crab-like palace of Petrofsky, in front of which his camp of
+sixty thousand men is pitched.  The 29th of August was fixed for his
+entrance into the city.  A long, somewhat winding street, with houses of
+all heights and sizes, leads from the city gate to the Kremlin.  Rows
+above rows of benches were placed at every interval between the houses,
+as also on their roofs, and in front of them, every bench being covered
+with people in their best attire, while the sides of the street were
+densely crowded with mujicks, both men and women, in their holiday
+suits, the centre part being kept clear by lines of cavalry; gay
+carpets, cloths, flags, and banners of every description hung out of all
+the windows, adding to the brilliancy of the scene.  We got first-rate
+seats near the entrance to the Kremlin.  The morning was rainy, but in
+the forenoon the weather cleared, and ringing of bells and firing of big
+guns, and talking and laughing, and hurrying of people to and fro to
+their posts, and marching of infantry and cavalry, occupied the time
+till four o'clock, when the Emperor entered the city gate; troops of
+many Asiatic tribes, in various gorgeous costumes, and imperial guards,
+and nobles of the realm, in magnificent uniforms, preceding him, while
+he was followed by the members of his family and their wives in five
+carriages--fine enough to make the Lord Mayor of London and all the
+Sheriffs jealous.
+
+"All the great people were accompanied by running footmen, lacqueys, and
+others, and the whole procession was wound up with some fine squadrons
+of cuirassiers.  Priests in their robes, with their crosses and pictures
+of saints, stood at all the churches, and at the doors of some the
+Emperor dismounted and kissed them--not the priests, but the crosses and
+pictures--as he and his Empress did also the relics and pictures of
+saints of peculiar sanctity in the various cathedrals.  And lastly, in
+the cathedral of Saint Michael, they prostrated themselves before the
+tombs of those of their ancestors who are there buried.  Cousin Giles
+said it struck him as setting somewhat of an example of idolatry to his
+subjects; but I do not suppose that he troubled himself about any such
+consideration.  The universal custom of presenting bread and salt was
+performed by the Archbishop of Moscow to the Emperor as he entered the
+palace of the Kremlin, and here the ceremony of the day concluded.  We
+eagerly watched to see if our friend Saveleff could find an opportunity
+of presenting his petition to the Emperor.  Whenever the Czar stopped,
+the crowd pressed forward, and, amid shouts and cries, took his hand,
+and pressed it to their lips.
+
+"`I see him!  I see him!' cried Harry, as nodding plumes, and glittering
+helmets, and rich turbans, and tall spears, and shining swords, and gay
+banners were defiling through the gate of the Kremlin.
+
+"We looked eagerly among the crowd, and then we saw a mujick working his
+way to the front rank, with a paper held out in one hand above his head.
+We could not hear, of course, what he said, but whatever was his
+appeal, his brethren made way for him.  We were certain he could be no
+other than Saveleff.  He had just reached the position he sought, when
+the Emperor himself approached.  The Emperor bowed and smiled, and held
+out his hand to a number of mujicks, who were pressing forward to kiss
+it.  At that moment, Saveleff, with a few hurried words, thrust his
+paper between the Emperor's fingers.  We understand that he exclaimed,
+`Oh, your Majesty, look at my document--life and death depends on it.
+Grant my petition!'  The Czar cast a look of surprise at the audacious
+mujick, and, without saying a word, handed the paper to an officer near
+him.  But the result of all his toils, his sufferings, his anxieties--
+ah, you will ask, what is that?--we cannot tell.  The Count has done his
+utmost to forward his object.  His parents are still on their way to
+Siberia, if they have survived the hardships they have endured.  His
+betrothed is still among the gipsies, and may any day be dragged back to
+slavery.  The poor fellow remains with us, and is unmolested, but he is
+in low spirits, and hopeless of success.  Still, he says that he would
+gladly go through far greater hardships and troubles than he has endured
+for the sake of the faith to which he holds.  Cousin Giles would have
+taken him with us to England, but he will not quit the country which
+holds his betrothed, nor give up all prospects of rescuing his parents.
+
+"I must, however, try to give you an idea of what took place during the
+coronation festival.  The next thing which took place was a grand parade
+of all the troops in the camp, now increased to one hundred and twenty
+thousand men.  Some of the cavalry had a fine appearance, dressed in
+Oriental costume.  There were Circassians, or rather Lesghians, and
+other tribes bordering on the Caucasus--some in chain armour, others in
+white robes.  There were Greeks and Albanians in their national costume,
+ferocious Koords, and terrier-looking Cossacks, with long lances, on
+shaggy little ponies, looking as if they would bite any one who came in
+their way.  All the great people were there.  The finest thing was a
+charge of twelve thousand dragoons, who literally made the ground
+tremble under them.  They afterwards galloped up to the Emperor, and,
+drawing their swords simultaneously, with loud shouts, exclaimed--`We
+wish your health, Czar!' and then, wheeling round, dashed off at full
+speed.
+
+"I must next tell you about the coronation itself.  It took place in the
+Church of the Assumption, before which a large court had been formed by
+railing in several other churches, and covering them with galleries.
+These were filled with all the great people of the nation and their
+visitors.  The arched roof of the church is supported by four massive
+pillars, covered with gold; under them sat the Emperor and Empress,
+surrounded by their Court.  The Emperor took the crown, an immense one,
+blazing with jewels, from the Metropolitan who held it, and with his own
+hands placed it on his head.  This he did to intimate that from no
+earthly power, clerical or lay, did he receive his sovereignty.  The
+Empress then advanced, and kneeling before him, he touched her forehead
+with the crown, and then replaced it on his own head.  The
+Empress-mother, who was the first to advance to congratulate her son,
+burst into tears, it is said, while her children, forgetful of all rules
+of etiquette, clung affectionately round him.  The whole congregation
+wept, overcome at the sight.
+
+"That same night all Moscow was illuminated, and a truly fairy-like
+spectacle it was.  Every tower, minaret, cupola, dome, the front of its
+vast palace, and all the walls of the Kremlin were a blaze of light; so
+was the vast square with the arches which temporarily surround it, and
+the superb opera-house at one end, all the palaces of the great people,
+and the public buildings.  You remember our description of the Cathedral
+of Saint Basil, with its wondrous towers and domes, and its various
+ins-and-outs?  Every part of that bizarre building was clearly traced
+with bright lamps, and the effect was curiously beautiful.  We walked
+about, and gazed and gazed with wonder and delight, till our eyes were
+so dazzled that we could scarcely see our way home.
+
+"After this there were grand galas at the opera, and balls at the
+palace, and one at the English Ambassador's, where McAllister, Lord
+Stafford's piper, figured as a very important personage.  The people
+also had their feast, the preparations for which we had seen; but they
+rushed up to the tables, and made away with the food, either down their
+throats or into their pockets, before the arrival of the Emperor and the
+greater part of the intended spectators.  They, however, behaved much
+better at a ball which the Emperor gave them at the palace in the
+Kremlin.  Dance they could not, but the mujicks and their wives and
+daughters walked about the vast halls, admiring the wonders they beheld,
+and eating and drinking as much of the delicate viands prepared for them
+as they could procure.
+
+"Last night there was a grand display of fireworks, but somehow or other
+they did not go off at the right time and place; however, I daresay that
+the crowd were equally astonished and delighted as if each squib and
+cracker had played its part properly.  One thing I must say for the
+Russians, that they are a very orderly, well-behaved people; and in all
+the vast crowds we saw, the people appeared kind and good-natured to
+each other in the extreme.  There was no unnecessary pushing and
+shoving, and none of that abusive language which is so disgusting in an
+English crowd; on the contrary, every one appeared good-tempered and
+happy.
+
+"I really like the Russians in many respects.  Their faults are rather
+the consequence of bad government and a faulty religion, than such as
+are inherent in their race.  If a pure religion were introduced among
+them generally, and their government were to become more and more
+liberal, till they are capable of governing themselves, another century
+would see a very great change in them for the better.  At present a
+large number of them are semi-barbarians, with the ignorance and vices
+of barbarism; and although they may be easily governed under the present
+despotic system, they are equally liable to be led into revolt by any
+designing man who is bold enough to risk his life on the chance of
+success.  I give you Cousin Giles' opinion on the subject, which is of
+more value than mine.
+
+"I am sorry to say that in the capitals a number of people are found not
+a little addicted to picking and stealing.  Not that housebreakers or
+footpads are to be found, but it is not safe to leave things about in
+one's room.  One day, while we were at dinner, I found that I had left
+my pocket-handkerchief up-stairs, so I ran to get it.  What was my
+surprise to find the door open, which I felt certain I had locked, and
+on looking in to observe a gentleman very composedly stowing away in a
+towel some shirts and other clothes which had just come home from the
+laundress.
+
+"`Hollo, old fellow, what are you about?'
+
+"`_Si chasse_--_si chasse_,' (presently--presently), he answered, with
+the greatest coolness, as if he was employed in something he had been
+ordered to do.  They were some of the very few words of Russian I knew.
+
+"`I'll not trouble you, my man.  Just put those things down, and get out
+of this as fast as you can,' I exclaimed, walking up to him.  He tried
+to grasp the things, and to make a bolt with them, but I was too quick
+for him; and while I sung out at the top of my voice, he let the things
+fall, and made a dart out of the room.  I followed him as fast as I
+could run, and had I not unfortunately slipped, I should have caught
+him, and held him fast till my shouts brought the people from the
+dining-room to my assistance.  As it was, the fellow escaped, to my
+great disappointment, though he took nothing with him.  The Russian
+thieves are also very expert at picking pockets, and at the time of the
+coronation they had plenty of opportunities in exercising their
+vocation.  Harry and I lost our pocket-handkerchiefs one day, but after
+that we followed Cousin Giles' advice, and fastened them into our
+pockets.  The Russians are great traders; they begin their mercantile
+pursuits at a very early age.  Little fellows, who would be playing at
+marbles or hoop in England, if they were not at school, here manage
+shops or stalls in the streets.  They are as sharp, too, as any grown-up
+men, and if they do not cheat others, they take very good care that they
+are not cheated themselves.  We have seen small urchins not more than
+seven or eight years old with a store of wax-tapers or picture-books, or
+quass, of which they pressed all passers-by with the greatest
+pertinacity to become purchasers.  We stopped several times with Mr
+Allwick to talk to them, and we found that they knew not only all about
+their own trade, but had already a good knowledge about trade in
+general.  Many of the richest shopkeepers in Moscow and Saint Petersburg
+have sprung from this humble class of dealers.
+
+"Many of the shopkeepers have a very Jewish look, and employ the very
+mode which the Jews in London, in some of the back streets, do to induce
+passers-by to purchase their wares.  They stand in front of their shops,
+and as soon as they see any one approaching, they step forward, uttering
+praises of their goods, and, with hands stretched out, look as if they
+would forcibly detain the stranger, and as if they would consider
+themselves very ill-used should he not become a purchaser.
+
+"The Russians are great eaters of raw vegetables, especially of onions
+and cucumbers.  They eat them pickled in salt, and most thoroughly
+unwholesome they appeared.  They drink also the juice of the cucumber,
+mixed with water, which is called cucumber-water.  It is said to form a
+very cooling beverage in summer!  But I suspect the water forms the best
+part of the potation.  They are very fond of all sorts of sour
+vegetables.  They have a species of apple, which they allow to freeze in
+winter, in which state it is preserved, and though it has a very
+withered appearance, it is really full of juice.
+
+"Moscow is supplied with water by an aqueduct which reaches to about
+three versts from the city.  It is there forced by a steam-engine into a
+basin at the top of a lofty tower in Garden Street, where pipes carry it
+to the various reservoirs in different directions for the supply of the
+houses.  Over every spring in Russia, preserved for the use of man, is
+placed the picture of a saint, who is supposed to have the special
+charge of the water.  Over this reservoir there is one of particular
+sanctity, but I am not acquainted with his name.  This tower, which is
+called the Sukhareva Bashnia, is the most lofty in the city, and a view
+is to be obtained from it still more interesting than that from Ivan
+Veleki, because one sees, not only the surrounding city, but the
+wonderful Kremlin itself.  At the top of the tower the Russian eagle,
+made of silver, expands its wings over a silver basin, and from this
+silver basin radiate fifty pipes, each an inch in diameter, which carry
+fifty streams for the supply of the inhabitants.
+
+"One of the most curious ceremonies of which we heard in the Greek
+Church is that of cursing the heretics.  First, there is a grand mass,
+and much singing and lighting of tapers, and then the chief priest, who
+has always a powerful, deep voice, pronounces an awful curse on the
+false Demetrius, Mazeppa, and several other noted worthies, long
+departed from all terrestrial influence.  Many people, and heretics of
+all descriptions, are also cursed, and then the choir chants forth in
+melodious tones the words _anafema, anafema_, repeated sometimes by all
+the congregation with most startling effect.  The Russians are, however,
+more given to blessing than to cursing.  The priests, at the same time,
+consider themselves entitled to payment for their blessings.  No true
+believer is content unless all his possessions are especially blessed:
+his house, his cattle, his horses, flocks; the fruits growing in his
+garden; his corn-fields, his children; the well which supplies him with
+water; indeed, all he possesses.  He believes that nothing he undertakes
+will prosper unless the priest has first blessed the implements he uses,
+and his religious instructor takes no pains to undeceive him.  One of
+the most curious ceremonies is that of blessing the waters.  It is
+performed three times in the year; once in spring, once in midsummer,
+and once on the ice in winter.  The latter is the most curious.  The
+nearest large piece of water is selected--either a river, a lake, or a
+pond.  On the ice a large arbour, composed of birch trees, is formed to
+represent a church, with a gallery in the form of an amphitheatre.  In
+the centre a square hole is broken, so that the water can be reached.
+From the neighbouring church a procession of priests approaches with
+pictures, and crosses, and flags, and tapers, and with loud chanting
+enters the arbour.  Here a service is performed, and as soon as it is
+over they march forth again with very picturesque effect, and the cross
+is dipped several times in the water.  By this ceremony it is believed
+the water is especially blessed, and made wholesome for man, beast,
+bird, and fish.  No sooner has it been performed than the multitude who
+have been surrounding the spot rush eagerly forward with bottles, jugs,
+pots, and pans, and fill their vessels, and also drink as much as they
+can.  Not only is the water itself blessed, but all the streams, and
+wells, and fountains in the neighbourhood are equally benefited.  It is
+curious to see the way in which the people dabble in the water, throw it
+over their persons, though it freezes as it falls, and drink of it till
+they can drink no more; all this being done in the belief that the water
+is holy, and that they will be especially benefited thereby.  The
+ceremony in summer is very similar, only the arbours are formed on the
+banks of the river or lake, and people manage to drink still more
+abundantly, with fewer ill effects.  A still more interesting festival
+is that of blessing the fruit, which takes place on the 6th of August.
+It is held in the country, in front of one of the principal churches or
+convents.  People of all classes, rich and poor, high and low, assemble
+from all quarters, far and near, in vehicles of every description.  In
+front of the church are long rows of fruit-sellers' booths to supply
+those who have brought no fruit with them.  High Mass is then performed
+in the church, and as soon as it is concluded the priests come forth
+with bowls of holy water, with which they march up and down among the
+lines of people, drawn up in all directions, with fruits in their hands,
+sprinkling the consecrated liquid on either side as they go.  As soon as
+this has been done, the people set to work and eat greedily of the
+various fruits which have been sprinkled, which they have not before
+ventured to touch, under the belief that till then they are unwholesome.
+In the more northern districts the fruit is very often far from ripe,
+but yet they eat away, under the belief that it can do them no harm.
+They will even give small infants in arms large green apples to suck,
+fancying that they cannot hurt them, poor little things.  As, however, I
+have seen nursemaids in England equally foolish, I will not blame the
+ignorant Russian peasant.  Cousin Giles says that the same sort of
+ceremonies are performed in Roman Catholic countries, where horses and
+cattle are blessed in due form by a plentiful sprinkling of holy water.
+It would all appear very ridiculous to us, were it not sadly
+blasphemous.  To a stranger, one of the most curious ceremonies in the
+Greek Church is that of baptism.  The infant, soon after it is born, is
+brought by its godfathers and godmothers to the church--neither of its
+parents being present.  The priest first asks if it will renounce the
+devil and all his works; the sponsors answer for it, that it will.  The
+priest thereon commands the devil, who is supposed to have hitherto had
+possession of it, to take his departure.  The order is believed to be
+instantly obeyed, and the priest consequently spits over his shoulder at
+the devil, who is beating a hasty retreat.  His example is followed by
+all present, who spit with unfeigned satisfaction at the discomfited
+Evil One.  The whole party then walk in procession three times round the
+font.  At its conclusion the priest consecrates the water by putting it
+into a metal cross, and then immerses in it the infant three times,
+pronouncing at the end its baptismal name.  As a visible sign that the
+child is now a Christian, the priest suspends round its neck, by a black
+string, a small metal cross, which it ever afterwards wears as an
+amulet.  I remember well hearing of such crosses being found on the
+slain at the Alma and other battle-fields in the Crimea, but did not at
+the time know their signification.  Next the child is dressed, and
+carried once more round the font with a procession of burning tapers,
+which, symbolising the Holy Spirit, signify that the child has now
+received that Spirit within it, of which it was before destitute.
+Lastly, the infant's eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and feet are anointed
+with holy oil, and pieces of hair are cut from its head, and rolled up
+with wax into a ball, and thrown into the font.  No Russian has more
+than one Christian name.  This custom arises from the belief that every
+name has its representative among the angels in heaven, who have the
+especial charge of all persons bearing that name; in return, it is
+expected that the prayers of mortals should especially be addressed to
+their guardian angels.  Only one name is given, because it is said that
+a person can have only one guardian angel; if he had two, it might be
+doubtful which was to watch over him, and to which he should address his
+prayers.  Cousin Giles observes that, when once people depart from the
+simple truths of Christianity, it is impossible to say what absurdities
+they may believe, or of what follies they may be guilty.  As the people
+become enlightened, the priests of a false faith are compelled to refine
+their system; at present, in Russia, nothing is too gross for the
+credulity of the people to swallow.
+
+"We attended mass the other day at the Uspensky Sabor (the Cathedral of
+the Resurrection).  It was a very gorgeous ceremony, although, as it
+lasted three hours, it was very fatiguing; but we determined to stand it
+out, and afterwards never to go to another.  I can only attempt to give
+an outline of the ceremonies.  The church being crowded with people, a
+priest came through one of the side doors of the screen, and in a
+stentorian voice, with hand uplifted, announced that service was
+beginning.  Some ceremony then took place behind the screen.  Soon
+afterwards another priest entered, with two attendants, bearing over his
+head a huge Bible with a richly ornamented cover.  It was allowed just
+to touch his forehead.  Being placed on a desk in front of the chief
+door in the screen, another priest in a very irreverential and hurried
+manner read some chapters from it, the choir constantly repeating the
+words, `_Gospodi poluomini_,' (the Lord have mercy on us).  The effect
+of these words, in a rich chant, soft, full, and swelling, is very
+beautiful.  They continually occur throughout the service.  We could see
+the high priest all the time through the open work of the chief door
+moving about before the altar.  At length a fine psalm was sung, the
+chief door was thrown open, the high altar and its splendid decorations
+were displayed, and from the side doors issued forth the whole troop of
+officiating priests bearing the bread and wine for the sacrament,
+preceded by one man with a lighted taper, and the high priest coming in
+the rear with a silver chalice; the procession is closed by a priest
+with a salver on his head.  Again they all entered the sanctuary, the
+bread and wine were placed on the altar, and the priest kneeling, what
+is called transubstantiation is supposed to take place.  While this act
+is performing, all Turks, heretics, and infidels are commanded to leave
+the church.  Numerous prayers are then offered up for the Emperor, the
+Imperial family, and for a variety of objects.  The most impressive part
+is when the high priest prays for a blessing on the bread and wine, and
+shakes the bread into the chalice.  Afterwards those who intend to
+partake of the sacrament are invited to come forward, and the bread and
+wine together are administered in a small silver spoon, the communicants
+holding their hands on their breasts, and kneeling three times.  We were
+very much struck with the little the congregation had to do with the
+service.  They had no book, they did not join in the singing, and they
+could scarcely have understood what the priest said who read from the
+Bible.  Their only business seemed to be to cross themselves and to bow,
+touching the ground with their foreheads, during the whole three hours
+the affair lasted.  Still the churches fill, and the people fancy, I
+suppose, that they derive some benefit from what takes place.  The music
+is certainly very fine; it is all vocal; there are no instruments, and
+no organ; and as women are not allowed to sing in churches, boys are
+trained to perform their parts.
+
+"`Altogether,' Cousin Giles says, `there is very little difference in
+the main features between the ceremonies of the Greek and Romish
+Churches.  Both are intended to attract the senses, to please the
+vulgar, and to deceive the credulous, and neither can have any effect in
+changing the heart.'
+
+"But it is time that I should bring my long letter to a conclusion.
+Much of the above information was given me by a German gentleman
+speaking English whom we met at Chollet's table-d'hote.  I have before
+said that we like the Russians; I mean the peasantry.  When I spoke of
+the existence of thieves in Saint Petersburg or Moscow, I do not suppose
+that there are more thieves in Saint Petersburg or Moscow than in any
+other of the capitals of Europe.  Many of the peasants are fine-looking
+men, though generally, from bad feeding, they have not the stamina of
+Englishmen.  Of one thing I am certain, that if one Spaniard can lick
+two Portuguese, and one Englishman can lick all three, one Englishman
+can lick three Russians with a big boy to help them.  Still I hope that
+we shall not have to go to war with them again.  Poor fellows!  The
+Russian soldiers had not a grain of spite or ill-feeling against us.
+They were driven on to the attack, and worked up by all sorts of
+falsehoods, and a plentiful administration of vodka, to commit the
+atrocities of which some of them were guilty.
+
+"We are preparing to leave Moscow.  Cousin Giles and Harry have gone to
+get the tiresome passport business arranged with Mr Allwick, and as I
+have sprained my ankle, I remained to write to you.  We shall be very
+sorry to part with our interpreter; he has contributed very much to the
+pleasure of our visit to this city.  Through his means we have seen and
+understood much more than we could otherwise possibly have done about
+the place and the people.  We have no satisfactory news about poor
+Saveleffs affairs.  The Count has promised to allow him to remain among
+his people as long as he wishes, and to protect him to the utmost of his
+power; but he owns that that power is likely to extend a very little
+way.  He says that he will spare no expense, if bribery is likely to
+effect the object.  He thinks, however, that if the true state of the
+case could be laid before the Emperor, the poor fellow's cause might be
+gained, but the difficulty is to let the Emperor know the truth.  We
+cannot help fancying that we saw poor Saveleffs old father and mother
+among the exiles starting for Siberia.  Poor fellow!  It is very sad.
+He does not despair, and yet he has very little hope of happiness in
+this world.  Even now, if the police find him out, he will not be
+allowed to remain very long in quiet.
+
+"To-morrow we are off by the railway for Saint Petersburg.
+
+"Your affectionate son--
+
+"Fred Markham."
+
+
+
+CHAPTER TWENTY.
+
+  Last Letter from Fred Markham to his Mother--Return to Saint
+  Petersburg--Ceremony at the Kazan Church--Picnic into Finland--Visit
+  to Peteroff--The Palace of the Czar--Villas of Peter the Great and
+  Catherine--Beautiful Fountain--Leave Saint Petersburg--Cronstadt--
+  Voyage down the Baltic--Copenhagen--Journey from Copenhagen to
+  Hamburg--Conclusion.
+
+"Hamburg, 20th October, 1856.
+
+"My own dear mother,--Here we are within two days' paddling of England,
+and we hope within a week to be with you.  In the meantime I will give
+you an idea of what we have done since I last wrote from Moscow.  We
+journeyed back from that wondrous city with hundreds of other mortals
+returning from the coronation fetes, and took up our old quarters at the
+Gostiniza Benson.  We looked in the next morning at the Kazan church,
+which we had not before seen.  The columns which support the roof are of
+grey and red granite, and their bases and capitals are gilt; there are
+long rows of them in each cross.  Banners, tattered, blackened, and
+pierced by many a bullet, taken from the enemies of Russia, hang from
+the walls.  Some ceremony was going forward.  A fat, cunning Shylock, in
+spectacles, sat at a counter just inside the entrance, and sold
+wax-tapers to men and women, old and young, bearded officers and thin
+striplings.  The votaries then advanced and bowed and crossed
+themselves.  Some were so devout as to kneel down and kiss the horribly
+dirty floor, on which beggars were spitting.  Harry and I felt much
+inclined to kick over one young fellow so employed close to us, and who
+looked as if he ought to have known better.  Having genuflected to their
+heart's content, they advanced to the altar, and stuck their tapers into
+a frame on a huge candlestick placed before some saint or other.  One
+saintship, who appeared to be a great favourite, had got his candlestick
+inconveniently full, but an old soldier--evidently in charge of the
+altar, and to whom some votaries presented their tapers--while
+pretending to stick in one took the opportunity to slip out four or five
+others, so that there was always room for more.  I suspect the old
+soldier and Shylock were in league with each other, and that the same
+tapers did duty many times.  I am grateful that I was not brought up in
+the Greek Church.  Cousin Giles says we ought to be thankful that we are
+Englishmen and Protestants.
+
+"The Monday before we left, some friends invited us to a picnic in
+Finland, the borders of which are distant only a fair drive from Saint
+Petersburg.  We started early and drove in a northerly direction past a
+number of wooden villas of every conceivable Swiss-cottage style, very
+picturesque and very damp, of trees and canals and ponds, to the village
+of Mourina, fifteen versts off, where our friends have a villa.  The
+property belongs to Prince Woronzoff, who was brought up in England; but
+instead of following the example of our good landlords, he imitates the
+bad ones, and allows his cottages to get into a very tumble-down
+condition.  They are built of wood, so the lower part becomes rotten,
+and the rest sinks.  Were they placed on foundations of stone, they
+would last far longer.  They now offer no unfit epitome of the state of
+Russia.  Our friend's villa was very pretty, with all sorts of
+Chinese-looking ins-and-outs, verandahs, and passages.  There was a
+gauze covering to the verandah, which effectually kept out the flies and
+moths, and other teasing things.  A stream of water ran at the foot of
+the garden, and close to it was built a vapour-bath, and a
+dressing-house for a plunge-bath.  After breakfast, a carriage and
+several little country carts--telegas they are called--came to the door
+to take us to our destination.  The carts were drawn by one horse in the
+shafts and another in the left side, with traces secured partly to the
+wheels and partly to a rough bar of birchwood fastened across the cart.
+They are in shape like boats with stem and stern cut off, and the ribs
+outside instead of in.  Each holds two persons seated on horse-cloths
+and sheepskins, with their feet in straw.  Cousin Giles called the bar
+to which the traces were fastened, a sprit-sail yard.  The drivers were
+boys, who sat in front of the carts.  Off we rattled down a steep hill,
+and through a bog, and were quickly in Finland.  The boys tried to keep
+ahead of each other, and galloped down hills and up hills, and along the
+road at a tremendous pace;--it was rare fun.  The road was sometimes
+sandy, sometimes gravelly, and always undulating.  After a little time
+we had some pretty views, with a chain of lakes on either side of us.
+Then we reached the village of Toxova, with its Lutheran church and
+parsonage, situated on a wooded hill above the lakes.  We stopped at the
+village, and went to a cottage with a large room with a table and
+benches, and a verandah looking down on the lakes.  Here we hired a
+samovar, and spread our eatables.  The chief dish was a salmon-pie, and
+a capital dish it is.  A whole salmon (or another fish may be used) is
+rolled up in a coat of chopped eggs, and rice or other grain, first well
+boiled, and then covered with a coating of bread-dough, which is next
+baked like a loaf of bread.  It is eaten cold.  After dinner we walked
+through woods of birch and elder to a hill with a cross on it, above a
+lake, whence we got a view of Saint Petersburg.
+
+"We altogether had one of the pleasantest days we passed in Russia, for
+though cities and fine sights are very interesting, there is nothing
+like the country after all, in my opinion.  Another day we received an
+invitation from some friends to visit them at Peteroff, a village formed
+by a collection of villas and palaces on the south side of the Gulf of
+Finland.  It can be reached by land, but we preferred going there by
+water.  Steamers run between it and Saint Petersburg several times in
+the day.  Crossing the bridge, we embarked in a boat, built in the
+far-off Clyde, and now called by a Russian name.  The passage between
+the shallows all the way is very narrow, and the bar at the mouth of the
+Neva has often not more than ten feet of water on it.  I have already in
+our journal described Peteroff, with its golden domes and spires peeping
+out among the trees just overlooking Cronstadt, so I will say no more
+about it.  At the end of a good landing-pier we found our friend's
+carriage waiting, and in it, over a good road, among groves of birch and
+lime-trees, we were driven to his very picturesque summer residence.  It
+was built of logs, and weather-boarded, with a verandah running all
+round it, and at each angle is a wide space roofed over, so that shade
+and air can at all times of the day be procured.  After an early dinner,
+we drove to the chateau of the Emperor, built by Peter the Great.  It is
+a curious, long, half Oriental, half Italian-looking edifice, with a
+gilt roof, and white and yellow walls.  On one side are gardens, laid
+out with long gravel walks, grass-plats, and trees; on the other the
+high road.  Between the road and the sea are the smaller and still more
+ancient royal villas of Marly and Montplaisir, in the midst of gardens
+full of the strangest collection of gilt statues and urns, and
+flowerpots and marble fountains, and water-spouts and tanks, and seats
+and rows of trees, and flower-beds all of one colour, the whole having a
+very glittering, dazzling effect.  From one of the fountains the water
+comes down an inclined plane, and we were told that the Emperor Nicholas
+used to amuse himself by making a party of the cadets of the military
+schools defend the top of the waterfall, while others had to storm it,
+climbing up the inclined plane, over which the water was rushing down.
+It might be very good fun on a hot day, with the thermometer at 90
+degrees, but very disagreeable when a sharp north-easter was blowing.
+
+"The villa of Marly was built by Peter, and here he used to go to watch
+the manoeuvres of his newly-formed fleet in the gulf below him.  Here,
+also, he died; his bed and his night-cap are shown.  Indeed, nothing has
+been altered in the cottage since he passed away from the scene where
+his wonderfully active mind had done so much.  The cottage of
+Montplaisir was built by the Empress Catherine, and in it was a
+kitchen-range, where she used to amuse herself by cooking dinners for
+herself and any of her more honoured guests.  In the dining-room was a
+table, the centre of which could be lowered and raised, so as to remove
+and replace the dishes without the presence of waiters.  In the gardens
+is also a large bathing-house, of truly imperial dimensions.  These
+cottages are interesting for their historical recollections; but by far
+the most beautiful object in the gardens is a fountain, which throws up
+water exactly in the shape of a Gothic cathedral.  As the sun shone on
+the sparkling jets, the effect was excellent.
+
+"We spent a most pleasant evening at our friend's house, and returned
+the next day to Saint Petersburg.  We saw many other things in Saint
+Petersburg which I will tell you about when we meet.  We went down to
+Cronstadt, to get on board the steamer which was to take us to
+Copenhagen.  The town consists of several very broad streets and places,
+but not many houses within the fortifications, and quays, and a harbour
+full of shipping.
+
+"We were not sorry to get out of Russia.  Cousin Giles says that he felt
+as if there was something in the air which prevented him breathing
+freely.  We liked the Russians very well.  They do not live exclusively
+on train-oil, ill-smelling fish, and black bread, as we fancied before
+we went there; but their greatest admirers cannot call them a thoroughly
+civilised people.
+
+"I wish that I could tell you something about their language.  It sounds
+very soft and musical, but is very difficult to speak, and the
+characters make all one's previous knowledge of an alphabet utterly
+useless.  We left Cronstadt on the afternoon of Wednesday, where neither
+was our baggage nor were we examined; indeed, half-a-dozen people might
+have smuggled themselves on board, and got away without difficulty.  We
+had fine weather all the way down the Baltic, and came off a neat little
+village five miles from Copenhagen, on the afternoon of Sunday.  Here we
+landed in a pilot-boat, with some Danish gentlemen, who were very civil
+to us, and by their aid we engaged a char-a-banc, and drove to
+Copenhagen the same evening.  We spent five very pleasant days there,
+seeing numerous objects of interest.  I will not attempt to describe
+them now.  Cousin Giles says I must write a book about Denmark another
+year.  It is a very interesting country, to Englishmen especially.  We
+left Copenhagen in the afternoon, and the same evening reached by
+railway the town of Kirsoor, about sixty miles to the south of it.  Here
+we embarked on board a steamer, which carried us to Kiel, where the
+English fleet were stationed last winter.  Here another railway conveyed
+us, in a little more than three hours, to Hamburg.  And now our foreign
+travels are almost over for this year.  We have enjoyed them very much,
+as we hope you have our letters, and that you will allow us to accept
+Cousin Giles' invitation to accompany him next summer to some other
+country.
+
+"Your affectionate son--
+
+"Frederick Markham."
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Fred Markham in Russia, by W. H. G. Kingston
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