interest in their history. The very act of poring over a map excites the
imagination: I fell into conjectures about the scenery, vegetation, and
inhabitants, and thus, by the time P. arrived, was conscious of a
violent desire to make the cruise with him. To our care was confided an
American youth, whom I shall call R.,--we three being, as we afterwards
discovered, the first of our countrymen to visit the northern portion of
the lake.

The next morning, although it was cloudy and raw, R. and I rose betimes,
and were jolted on a _droshky_ through the long streets to the Valamo's
landing-place. We found a handsome English-built steamer, with tonnage
and power enough for the heaviest squalls, and an after-cabin so
comfortable that all our anticipations of the primitive modes of travel
were banished at once. As men not ashamed of our health, we had decided
to omit the sheets and pillow-cases, and let the tooth-brush answer as
an evidence of our high civilization; but the broad divans and velvet
cushions of the cabin brought us back to luxury in spite of ourselves.
The captain, smoothly shaven and robust, as befitted his
station,--English in all but his eyes, which were thoroughly
Russian,--gave us a cordial welcome in passable French. P. drove up
presently, and the crowd on the floating pier rapidly increased, as the
moment of departure approached. Our fellow-pilgrims were mostly peasants
and deck--passengers: two or three officers, and a score of the
bourgeois, were divided, according to their means, between the first and
second cabins. There were symptoms of crowding, and we hastened to put
in preëmption-claims for the bench on the port--side, distributing our
travelling sacks and pouches along it, as a guard against squatters. The
magic promise of _na chaï_ (something to buy tea with) further inspired
the waiters with a peculiar regard for our interest, so that, leaving
our important possessions in their care, we went on deck to witness the