calmness unalterable, even under circumstances in which a man would
be likely to give way or lose his self-command.

Such was the impression which she produced at first sight.
Michael Strogoff, being himself of an energetic temperament,
was naturally struck by the character of her physiognomy, and,
while taking care not to cause her annoyance by a too persistent gaze,
he observed his neighbor with no small interest. The costume
of the young traveler was both extremely simple and appropriate.
She was not rich--that could be easily seen; but not the slightest
mark of negligence was to be discerned in her dress.
All her luggage was contained in the leather bag which,
for want of room, she held on her lap.

She wore a long, dark pelisse, gracefully adjusted at the neck
by a blue tie. Under this pelisse, a short skirt, also dark,
fell over a robe which reached the ankles. Half-boots of leather,
thickly soled, as if chosen in anticipation of a long journey,
covered her small feet.

Michael Strogoff fancied that he recognized, by certain details,
the fashion of the costume of Livonia, and thought his neighbor
a native of the Baltic provinces.

But whither was this young girl going, alone, at an age when the fostering
care of a father, or the protection of a brother, is considered a matter
of necessity? Had she now come, after an already long journey, from the
provinces of Western Russia? Was she merely going to Nijni-Novgorod,
or was the end of her travels beyond the eastern frontiers of the empire?
Would some relation, some friend, await her arrival by the train?