came on shore with me went to the club rooms to pass the evening. I
sought the residence of Mr. H.G.O. Chase, the Commercial Agent of the
United States, and representative of the house of Boardman. I found
him living very comfortably in bachelor quarters that contained a
library and other luxuries of civilization. In his sitting-room there
was a map of the Russian empire and one of Boston, and there were
lithographs and steel engravings, exhibiting the good taste of the
owner.

Rising early the next morning, I began a study of the town.
Nicolayevsk was founded in 1853 in the interest of the Russian
government, but nominally as a trading post of the Russian American
Company. Very soon it became a military post, and its importance
increased with the commencement of hostilities between Russia and the
Western powers in 1854. Foundries were established, fortifications
built, warehouses erected, and docks laid out from time to time, until
the place has attained a respectable size. Its population in 1866 was
about five thousand, with plenty of houses for all residents.

Nicolayevsk is emphatically a government town, five-sixths of the
inhabitants being directly or indirectly in the emperor's employ.
"What is this building?" I asked, pointing to a neat house on the
principal street. "The residence of the Admiral," was the reply.

"And this?"

"That is the Chancellerie."

"And this?"