two brothers, the Kiersnowskis, still remained with us, and accompanied us to the vessel.

The little bark was bound to the Oby Sea, whence it was to fetch back a cargo of fish. It was one of the largest among those which annually go to the Frozen Sea for that purpose, and was of ten thousand to eleven thousand puds. We were shown to a cabin, the only one in the vessel; it was narrow and dark, and was packed up with a quantity of fur and wodka (whisky), which rendered it anything but odorous. However, we had many reasons for valuing it, as it afforded us a convenient retreat, and we could claim it as a corner of our own. It at least separated us from a motley crowd of passengers of whom we knew nothing, and whom we could not possibly make confidants of our thoughts, feelings, or actions.

Before the signal for departure was given, our kind compatriots were busily engaged in stowing, within the narrow confines of our temporary abode, all our luggage, and arranging as comfortably as could be our small household. Meanwhile, we enjoyed the sorrowful sweetness of confidential discourse,

*The Russian pud is thirty-six pounds English.

perhaps never to be renewed, and a last exchange of thoughts and sympathies, which was to suffice us for years of long seclusion.

Several hours still elapsed ere all the sailors could be assembled. They were dispersed on shore, some bidding farewell to their families, others transacting business, and some getting tipsy in the company of their friends. But we were not impatient to sail; we ourselves were beguiling the few moments that remained to us in a friendly circle.

At last, to our great distress, the signal gun was fired thrice. This admitted of no further delay. The anchor was weighed. The ship moved northward, and the boat carried our friends back to the shore. As long as we could see each other, our white handkerchiefs waved in the air, wafting our last adieus. God alone could tell whether those sweet accents of my native language were not the last that I should ever hear.

CHAPTER VI.

Journey to Berezov · Mournful train of thoughts Kutchum Khan and Yermak-Steward-Passengers -Samovar-Boating-Perilous adventure-Gale of wind Demiansk - Increase of cold- Expanse of the desert-Grandeur of primitive nature.

It was ten o'clock at night. The green and fresh foliage of birches, just then breaking from their buds, was blended with the darkness of the grey twilight. The splashing of the oars, and, at times, the voices of the mariners interrupted the deep silence of night. The hills along the banks of the Irtish were disappearing, one after another, from our sight. Absorbed in my thoughts. I experienced an agony of spirit, and felt very ill. At each movement of the oar,

ness.

I was carried farther and farther from my home and my family, into a region desolate and wild. We stood, Josephine and myself, silent on the deck; our eyes involuntarily turning back, as though we were still chasing after the pasts. Each was following her own train of thoughts. All around us was night, silence, and wilderDarkness was gradually growing deeper, and more impenetrable. Still we experienced no wish to retire, or to separate ourselves from the thoughts which engrossed us. At length, the trees and other objects lost their visible shapes; and all around was obscurity. In our passage onward, however, we occasionally perceived twinkling of lights along the shore, and, in some places minarets dimly looming in the dark. These were Tartar villages, and faintly as they appeared, they happily brought me some relief, exciting a different train of associations, and leading my memory to the times of Kutchum Khan and Yermak.*

*Kutchum Khan and Yermak are historical characters of this region-one being the defender, the other the invader of Siberia. Kutchum Khan was a lineal descendant of the great Ghenghis Khan, and in the sixteenth century, the most powerful chief of all the inde

Both these men were valiant in the field, both conquerors. They both fought courageously, but not with equal success. The former being vanquished and banished from his dominions, became, in his advanced age, an exile; bereft of his country, his family, his riches, and his sight, and died an unknown death, leaving nothing for posterity but a bright record of the greatness of his soul in adversity. The latter, after a career of wild adventures and bold exploits, being taken by surprise, by those whom he had vanquished, perished on the banks of the Irtish, without the least sign of a tomb to mark the spot where he fell.

pendent tribes in Western Siberia. A fort in the vicinity of Tobolsk, of which some ruins still remain, was his usual place of residence. In the year 1578, that portion of Siberia was invaded by a Cossack of the Don, Timofief Yermak, a freebooter, who, on that account, incurred the ire of the Grand-Duke of Muscovy. Compelled with his followers to seek refuge in Siberia, he defeated the Khan, and extended his conquests; but, being in turn defeated, he sued pardon of his former enemy the Czar, and to obtain protection, subjected to him, nominally, Siberia-a country which at that period was so little known, that he was considered its dis

coverer.

VOL. I.

H