The Project Gutenberg eBook of Young America Abroad, by William T. Adams

AUTHOR OF "OUTWARD BOUND," "SHAMROCK AND THISTLE," "RED CROSS,"
"DIKES AND DITCHES," "PALACE AND COTTAGE," "DOWN
THE RHINE," "UP THE BALTIC," ETC.

MY EXCELLENT FRIEND

THE

HON. DAVIS DIVINE,

OF SAN JOSÉ, CALIFORNIA,

WHOSE ACQUAINTANCE I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MAKING

IN ST. PETERSBURG, AND WITH WHOM I TRAVELLED

THROUGH RUSSIA, AUSTRIA, TURKEY, ITALY,

SPAIN, AND PORTUGAL,

This Volume

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD.

By OLIVER OPTIC.

A Library of Travel and Adventure in Foreign Lands. First and Second Series; six volumes in each Series. 16mo. Illustrated.

First Series.

I. OUTWARD BOUND; or, Young America Afloat.
II. SHAMROCK AND THISTLE; or, Young America in Ireland and Scotland.
III. RED CROSS; or, Young America in England and Wales.
IV. DIKES AND DITCHES; or, Young America in Holland and Belgium.
V. PALACE AND COTTAGE; or, Young America in France and Switzerland.
VI. DOWN THE RHINE; or, Young America in Germany.

Second Series.

I. UP THE BALTIC; or, Young America in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
II. NORTHERN LANDS; or, Young America in Russia and Prussia.
III. CROSS AND CRESCENT; or, Young America in Turkey and Greece. In preparation.
IV. SUNNY SHORES; or, Young American in Italy and Austria. In preparation.
V. VINE AND OLIVE; or, Young American in Spain and Portugal. In preparation.
VI. ISLES OF THE SEA; or, Young America Homeward Bound. In preparation.

Northern Lands, the second volume of the second series of "Young America Abroad," describes the varied experience of the juvenile tourists of the Academy Squadron in the Baltic, and during their journeys in Russia and Prussia, and their voyages between the different ports in these countries. Compared with most other countries of Europe, but little has been written about Russia, and the greater portion of this volume related to that interesting nation. The author writes from his own notes and recollection, so far as scenery, manners and customs are concerned, but he has made diligent study and use of all the material within his reach, including much that was gathered abroad. Perhaps the young people will vote that this is the dryest book the author has ever presented to them, because it contains the most useful information; but he hopes they will not neglect the historical part, which is sometimes stranger than any fiction.

But the volume is not without its story, which may be regarded as a reflection, on a small scale, of the political experience of the American citizen. Doubtless our young friends will sympathize with Scott the Joker in his devotion to fair play; and well will it be for our country when this spirit shall pervade the caucus and the voting[8] places, and those who are selfishly striving for office are as effectually rebuked and ignored as they were in the Academy Squadron. The next volume of the series, from the nature of the circumstances, rather than from any fixed intention on the part of the writer, will contain much more of stirring incident than the present.

The author, who has so long been before the public as a writer of juvenile books, and who has so often "launched a volume," has felt that his welcome must be nearly worn out, and that he had no right to expect the continued favor of his army of young friends. He was therefore very agreeably surprised at the kind reception given to "Up the Baltic," the sale of which was fully equal to the most fortunate of its predecessors in the first series. The author is very grateful for this new exhibition of kindness on the part of his young friends, and he hopes that the present volume will not only interest, but instruct and benefit them.

CONTENTS.

"I don't believe in it!" exclaimed De Forrest, the third lieutenant of the Young America.

"I can't say I like the idea very much," replied Beckwith, the first master. "Tom Cantwell is a great scholar, without a particle of doubt, but he is no more of a seaman than that English fellow, Clyde Blacklock, and ought not to be captain."

"Then the rule ought to be changed. There are not half a dozen fellows in the squadron who believe that Cantwell ought to be captain."

"He hasn't been three months in the squadron. He served his first month in the steerage, and then jumped up to fourth master. Next month he will be the captain of the ship. He doesn't know enough to set a topsail, and couldn't get the ship under way to save his life."

"I shouldn't care so much about his seamanship, if he were only a decent[12] fellow," continued Beckwith.

"I don't know that we can," replied De Forrest. "Cantwell is a great scholar, and seems to know everything without studying it; but he is mean, conceited, overbearing, and tyrannical. I don't believe the principal likes the idea of his being captain."

"But he can get along better as captain than he could as first lieutenant; for he has only to say, 'Get under way,' 'Come to anchor,' 'Take in the main-topsail,' and the executive officer gives all the orders in detail."

"That's true. Yet the captain is expected to know all these things, and to see that they are properly done. But, after all, we are not sure that Cantwell will be captain," suggested De Forrest.

"He has had a perfect mark in every lesson during the month; and I know that Captain Lincoln slipped up on his geometry two or three times."

"There's the difficulty. We have been in port, or lying at anchor among these islands, nearly all the time, and there has been no chance to make anything in seamanship. We have hardly had an exercise in which marks were given out since we made the coast of Norway."

"If we do, Cantwell won't be captain, but he may be a lieutenant; and[13] that is almost as bad."

"We won't cry till we are hurt, then," said De Forrest; "though I think something ought to be done to keep us out of such a scrape in the future. I have a plan in my head, which, I think, would work first rate, and be a fair thing for all."

"I'll tell you. As the matter now stands, a fellow may jump from the steerage into the captain's cabin without any experience at all in commanding, especially, as during the last month, when we are running about on shore, and we don't do much in seamanship."

"But you know that this struggle for rank puts the fellows on their good behavior; and the principal would lose his sheet anchor if the present system were abandoned."

"I don't propose to abandon it entirely. I would like to have the first five officers made elective."

"You would have the captain and the four lieutenants chosen by ballot?" asked Beckwith, interested in the plan.

"But the fellows in the steerage could have it all their own way under such a plan. They could make Clyde Blacklock, Sandford, or any such fellow captain."

"No, you haven't heard me out. The captain and the four lieutenants shall be chosen from the cabin officers only."

"And who would be candidates for masters, pursers, and lieutenants?"[14] asked Beckwith.

"They must obtain their rank by their merit. By my plan, ten of the fifteen cabin officers of the ship must get their positions by their scholarship, conduct, and seamanship, just as they do now; but the captain or lieutenant must first have served as master, purser, or midshipman. Then a fellow can't be captain till he has served at least one month as a cabin officer."

"The plan pleases me; but of course we can't tell how it would work without a trial."

"It would work first rate. As the matter now stands, no officer has any inducement to please anybody but the principal and the instructors, who give him his marks. By my plan he would have to keep on the right side of his inferiors in rank, or they would throw him over at the next election."

"Well, that would give us a little excitement. Besides, we are all to be American citizens, and we ought to learn how these things are done. Under this plan Cantwell wouldn't behave as he does now in the cabin. He is nothing but a lump of selfishness. He wouldn't take all the breast of the chicken, or drown his coffee with the last gill of milk on board. I have been thinking of this thing for a week, and have talked it over with some of the fellows. All that I have spoken with like it first rate."

"I am going to get up a petition to the principal, asking him to make this change in the system, and I want to get every fellow's name upon it."

"I will sign, for one," replied Beckwith. "But you haven't said a word[15] about the commodore, De Forrest."

"That's only a kind of ornamental office, and I don't care much about it any way; but I think that only the captains should be eligible to the position."

Precisely as men do such things on a larger scale, De Forrest, satisfied that he had added one adherent to the "cause" he was advocating, passed on to "buzz" another officer on the same subject. The students connected with the squadron were enjoying a picnic on one of the uninhabited Aland Islands. It was a lovely spot, for the island was nearly covered by a beautiful grove of pines, and one slope of it had a green carpet of verdure. The sixteen boats of the squadron and of the yachts were moored at the shore, and there was not a ripple on the sea to disturb them. The ship's band had played all the pieces they knew; and a great variety of games had been tried, with but indifferent success. The boys declared that it could be no picnic at all without the ladies. Possibly the attendance of Mrs. Kendall and Mrs. Shuffles suggested this idea to them; and, though these ladies were young, lively, and agreeable, the meagreness of the female representation on the occasion seemed to be only an aggravation. Doubtless all of them had attended picnics and other social gatherings, where the gentler sex is the charm of the occasion, and they could not help feeling the loneliness of the situation. Besides, the locality itself was suggestive of utter isolation from the rest of the world.

All around them was a multitude of islands, but not a habitation of any kind could be seen; not a human being, not a quadruped, not even a[16] bird enlivened the scene. The water was as calm as the repose of a mountain lake, with not a single white sail to relieve the gaze of the beholder. The squadron was anchored behind an island, where it could not be seen. And the boys knew that they were north of the sixtieth parallel of latitude,—nearer to the north pole than any of them had ever been before; and the consciousness of this fact seemed to add to the lonesomeness of the place. The days were very long and the nights very short, and it was quite impossible to feel at home in such a region.

They were not the first to feel in this locality that the great, busy world was far to the south of them, and to be impressed by the silence and quiet of the place under such circumstances. A distinguished lady, in narrating her voyage among these islands, says, "We never lost sight of the shore, and sometimes were so near it that it seemed as though we could leap to it from the boat. Yet I have never seen anything so desolate as the voyage during this first day. On the open sea we should not complain; but here, so near the land, and not a boat upon the water, not a living creature on the shore, not a garden, not a human being, not a dog, not even a fishing net, to show that man had been there,—there was something awful in it."

And yet there is no lack of the beautiful in nature to charm the eye, for the islands present an endless variety of forms, with green slopes, with rocky steeps, and with forest-crowned heights. But one may be lonely even in Paradise; and silence is sometimes more oppressive than[17] the roar of the tempest, or the din of the crowded city.

The students had resorted to all the games in the catalogue of dignified sports available to young men; but the most exhilarating under ordinary circumstances were dull and heavy on the present occasion. In the middle of the afternoon they had abandoned in despair all attempts to have "a good time;" and now they were seated on the rocks, or stretched at full length upon the grass, engaged in discussion and conversation. Possibly De Forrest was forced by the quiet of the scene to agitate reform in the affairs of the squadron, which, to some extent, occupied his thoughts during the stay of the vessels among the islands. With the zeal of youth and inexperience, he believed that he had originated a new idea, that he had discovered a fatal flaw in the working of the system on which the squadron was organized. But his "original idea" had long before engaged the attention of the principal. Years before he had foreseen that the very difficulty which now appeared might arise. It is true that he had provided no remedy, except the general rule that an incompetent officer might be removed when his unfitness was apparent; but he had very carefully considered the question and the consequences which it involved.

The third lieutenant of the Young America was not the only student who had observed and noted the remarkable scholarship of Cantwell. In the midst of such a lively competition for the honors of the squadron, which were not meaningless laurels,—for a state-room in the cabin was a substantial luxury, independent of the desire to command rather than[18] obey,—the students did not fail to notice the character of the recitations, and many kept a record of the value of them; so that the standing of Cantwell was well understood in the cabin and in the steerage. The obnoxious student was a thorough bookworm; but he was cold, stiff, selfish, and haughty. He never did anything or said anything that rendered him liable to discipline; but there was not a boy in the squadron who had so few friends, if he had any at all. His father was a very wealthy man, who supplied him liberally with money. It was said that he had been expelled from an academy where he was fitting for college on account of a difficulty into which his unpopularity had driven him. His fellow-students hated him so cordially that they were unable to conceal their real feelings. He was attacked in such an ingenious way that he seemed to be the aggressor instead of the person assailed, and the whole blame of the riot was cast upon him. When Prince Bismarck decided that German unification required a war with France; he was skilful enough to make the latter take the initiative, and France was foolish enough to accept the issue. In like manner Cantwell, while really the objective force in the quarrel with his fellow-students, was weak enough to assume the subjective attitude; and, as France was almost annihilated for her folly, which deprived her of the sympathy and support of any other respectable power, he was ignominiously expelled for his conduct. Like scores of others under the ban of expulsion on shore, he drifted into the Academy Squadron. He was not a thorough seaman, as Captain Lincoln and most of the officers were, neither was[9] he so utterly ignorant and entirely incompetent as De Forrest and others declared him to be. But he was not qualified for either of the high positions which the officers feared he would obtain.

De Forrest opened his theory to another officer of the squadron. He had already spoken to half a dozen of them, and created as many advocates of his plan, each of whom, interested in the scheme, went to work upon as many more of the unconverted. In another half hour there were a dozen who were entirely satisfied that the Academy Squadron would be utterly ruined if Cantwell was elevated to the rank of captain. This dozen were in turn soon at work upon another dozen, and the converts increased as a continued proportional. This process, so often repeated, soon stirred up a lively agitation among the crowd of students on the island. The principal, the instructors, and the party from the yachts, with Captain Lincoln and two other officers, were seated on a rock apart from the others, engaged in conversation. They did not observe anything unusual among the students, who seemed to be remarkably quiet, considering that they were at liberty to follow their own inclinations. The agitators had an excellent opportunity to carry on their operations without attracting the attention of the principal and his assistants.

The subject under discussion concerned the young officers even more than the seamen, and De Forrest's plan seemed to be so fair and so practical that most of them gave in their adherence without much hesitation. The crew, who were farther removed from the glittering prizes, which were[20] to be limited to the inferior officers of the cabin, were not so readily converted.

"I don't see it," said Scott, the joker, when Beckwith approached him on the subject. "You want to make a little one-horse aristocracy in the cabin, and shut out us fellows in the steerage from any chance at the big things."

"Yes, you do. Take my own case, if you please. I'm a genius of the first water. I got a pile of merit marks for getting tight on finkel, and making an excursion to Stockholm. During all this time, of course I was marked high on all studies. I used to talk Greek when I was a baby, and nobody could understand me. And of course I am marked high in that branch now. In Latin I always could decline faster than any other fellow. French and German I learned of my nurse, who was brought up in an Irish Canadian family, and married a Dutchman. None of these things ever give me any trouble, you see, and I am marked high. In seamanship I got a hundred and fifty for topping up the spanker boom in a seaman-like manner. Now, I expect to be captain on the first of next month, and you cabin nobs are getting up a conspiracy to deprive me of my rights. I won't stand it, Mr. Beckwith. I am an American citizen in embryo. My fathers and mothers all fought, bled, and died for the dearest rights of man. My grandfather was killed in battle six months before he was married; and I should be a degenerate son of a glorious sire if I permitted you to pull wool over my optical members in this horrible manner."

"I am serious. You ask me to sign a petition to change the solid principles on which the eternal order of events is founded; and I respectfully decline to do so, Mr. Beckwith. In other words, not for Joseph."

"You say that the captain of this noble ship must either be selected or be chosen from the cabin officers. Am I right?"

"I am not the captain of the ship this month; neither have I the honor to be one of the cabin officers; ergo I cannot be elected captain for the month of June next ensuing."

"Then I understand the matter perfectly; and this movement is a conspiracy to prevent me from being captain next month. I deserve to be captain, and I respectfully submit that this is my inalienable right, inherent in the contract under which I was sent to school. I object, I protest, I denounce the vile scheme as a compact with infamy. By the way, Beckwith, I didn't think you would treat me in this unhandsome manner. We were always good friends, and I never did anything to injure you. And I was always willing to help you spend your money when I hadn't too much of my own to dispose of."

"That's the very thing I ask of you—be reasonable, and don't try to cut my out of my chance of being Captain next month."

"Of course you haven't any more chance of being captain than you have of being Czar of Russia next month."

"Are you quite sure the Russians won't get up a revolution after they have seen me?"

"If they only knew what a jolly good fellow you were, they would be likely to do so."

"That's sensible; and I may go into the czar business, after all. And I may be captain next month, if you nobs don't cut me out of my rights."

"But it is no worse for you than for any other fellow in the steerage. I may be where you are next month; then it will hit me as hard as it does you."

"You, or any other fellow in the steerage, may become a master, purser, or midshipman, by your merit, and then you may be captain, or a lieutenant, the next month."

"But I shall have to wait a whole month before I can reach the summit of my lofty ambition. That's too long to wait."

"Pro bono publico! There you touch me where I am weak. For the public[3] good I would sacrifice this poor body to gout and dyspepsia. I would eat grand dinners, as the aldermen do, at the public expense; I would accept any fat office in which I had nothing to do but draw my salary; I would be governor or president, and receive the homage of the people, for the public good. There's my weak point."

"Do I know him! Do I not know him? Am I unacquainted with the blooming youth who thinks he must wind up the universe every morning, or something will break before night? Ought not the deck to be carpeted when he walks upon it? Ought we not to have a guard of marines to present arms to him when he appears in the waist? Haven't I worn out three caps in saluting him?"

"Mr. Cantwell is a great man; Mr. Cantwell is a profound scholar; Mr. Cantwell knows what's what. Why, he is so much above us common, humdrum sort of fellows, that we ought to get down on our knees when he condescends to show himself."

"Exactly so, Scott. And, unless we can get this change in the tenure of office—"

"He isn't fit to be captain, and he can't well be, as you say. In one word, are you with us? Yes or no."

"Yes or no. I must have time to think about it. When you attack a fellow's inalienable rights, and all that sort of thing, I'm rather inclined to go in for the bottom dog. The captaincy for next month lies between Cantwell and me. For the public good, I am willing to waive my own right, but I am not quite so clear that I ought to waive the right of Mr. Cantwell, who is, by all odds, the greatest man in the ship."

"You will do the right thing, Scott; I know you will," said Beckwith, moving off.

Beckwith walked away, for he saw Cantwell approaching him. By this time the fourth master was conscious that something which concerned him was in progress among his shipmates, for, as he came near the little groups which were discussing the proposed change in the "tenure of office," he observed that they either separated or suddenly changed the conversation. His approach, wherever he went, invariably produced a sensation. All hands watched him, and avoided him with even more care than usual. Possibly his self-conceit prevented him from knowing that he was very unpopular among his companions; but they did not avoid him[25] generally, as at the present time. He had no suspicion of the nature of the agitation among the students; but his observation of their conduct led him to the conclusion that they intended to play off some practical joke or trick upon him. He was on his guard from that moment; but he was fully resolved to be the victim rather than the assailant on this occasion.

Scott stood just where Beckwith had left him. Instead of walking away, as the others had done, when Cantwell approached, he looked at him, and his expression was remarkably good-natured, and rather inviting for an interview. He was almost the first one he met who did not avoid him. The fourth master walked towards the joker, who, though not required by the regulations to do so when off duty, promptly raised his cap, and manifested a rather extravagant deference towards his superior. Cantwell was a tall, slender young man of seventeen. Like many other great students, he was somewhat near-sighted, and wore eye-glasses. He was an exceedingly well-formed person, and was scrupulously nice in regard to his dress. He had captured one of the new uniforms served out when he was promoted to his present rank, and it was a much better fit than the officers usually obtained.

"Do you happen to know the drift of all these private conferences which I observe, Scott?" asked Cantwell, raising his head so that he could see through the eye-glass, which had slipped down upon his nose.

"Yes, sir, I happen to know; and, as the matter concerns me more nearly than any other fellow in the squadron, I don't object to telling you;[26] and I hope you will give me your sympathy and support," replied Scott, putting on a most lugubrious face.

"Indeed! I don't know that I quite comprehend you. I notice that all the students carefully avoid me this afternoon. If I approach any two or more of them engaged In conversation, they stop talking, or separate, and look very mysterious. I had come to the conclusion that I was to be the subject of some practical joke."

"O, no. It is no joke, I assure you. It is a conspiracy, find I am to be the first victim. Beckwith, the first master, was even impudent enough to invite me to take a part in the amputation of my own nose! Did you ever hear anything so absurd?"

"Perhaps I should be better able to judge if I were informed in regard to the nature of the conspiracy," suggested Cantwell, as he readjusted his eye-glasses.

"I shall be happy to inform you. They intend to apply to the principal to have the tenure of office in the ship changed," replied Scott, in a very impressive manner, as though he were revealing a startling fact.

"Yes. Beckwith was kind enough to explain to me what it meant. I dare say you know, without any explanation, Mr. Cantwell."

"Of course I know the meaning of the phrase, but I don't understand its application to the affairs of the squadron."

"Then you will excuse me for telling you." And Scott explained in full the nature of the proposed changes. "This is a plan, you will[27] perceive, to cut me off."

"I have been a good boy, and learned my lessons this month; and, under the present regulation, I should be the captain of the ship next month. I think that is clear enough."

Cantwell arranged his glasses again, and looked earnestly into the face of the joker; but he was as serious as though he had been at a funeral.

"I was not aware that you stood so high on the record," added the fourth master, more puzzled than before.

"I know that I have not had a single imperfect lesson, or been marked down on any exercise."

"Just so. Then the highest office lies between you and me," replied Scott, rubbing his chin. "The conspiracy is against us. If you should get in ahead of me, I never have any hard feelings. I am willing to abide by the regulations, and take whatever place belongs to me, even if it should be that of captain or first lieutenant. I never complain of my lot when there is fair play."

"And so the students are trying to have the highest officers chosen by ballot," mused Cantwell.

"That's so; and it's a plot against you and me—a conspiracy against our rights; and we must oppose it with all our might."

"You are right; and we must go to work. The conspirators have had it all[28] their own way so far. We can make it lively for them.—Well, Laybold, what is it?" said Scott, as the student addressed approached them.

"I am sent to notify you both of a meeting of all the students of the squadron, at that flat rock on the top of the island," said the messenger. "The fellows are going to appoint a committee to wait on the principal, and ask for a change in the manner of giving out the offices."

"We shall be there to vindicate our rights, and protest against this conspiracy. How do you stand, Laybold?"

"I don't care much about it, any way," replied the messenger, glancing at Cantwell.

"Then go against the change. This thing is got up to keep me from being captain next month."

"You!" shouted Laybold. "You won't even be captain of a top! You won't come within fifty of the cabin."

"That may be; but it's a long way from your side of the house," replied Laybold, as the party moved towards the highest part of the island.

CHAPTER II.

Scott was one of the most popular students in the squadron. And it is a lamentable fact, that mere "jokers" obtain a power and influence in society which is denied to persons of infinitely greater dignity and higher character. As Laybold declared, Scott had no personal interest in the question under agitation, for, though he was a good seaman, his scholarship was not above mediocrity. He lacked industry and application; and it was not probable that he would ever win even the lowest rank on the quarter-deck. But he had initiated what he regarded as a stupendous joke, and he was determined to carry it through. While the students were gathering at the flat rock, he electioneered against the De Forrest plan, as it soon came to be called. He declared over and over again, to the intense amusement of the seamen, that the plan was a conspiracy against his individual rights, and was intended to prevent him from being captain the next month. Before the meeting at the rock was called to order he had rallied quite a respectable party under his banner.

Every officer and every seaman of the fleet was present at the[30] meeting. The captain and the other officers sitting with the principal had been summoned to the gathering; and those who were most interested in the success of the effort were confident that the measure would be adopted with little if any opposition. The meeting was called to order by Lieutenant Ryder, the oldest officer of the squadron.

"The first business of this meeting is the choice of a chairman," said Ryder, taking position on the flat rock, around which the students had collected. "Please to nominate."

As in assemblages of older people, the arrangements had been "cut and dried" beforehand, and Beckwith had been appointed by the "ring" to nominate De Forrest as chairman; but Scott, more intent upon carrying out his joke than anything else, had stationed himself close to the rock, and disturbed the arrangements of the ring.

"Cantwell!" shouted he, at the top of his lungs, before Beckwith, who certainly was not a dexterous representative of the ring, could open his mouth.

"I nominate Lieutenant De Forrest as chairman of this meeting," said the tardy Beckwith.

"Lieutenant De Forrest is nominated," continued the chairman, anxious to only carry out the programme which had been arranged by the officers.

"Mr. Chairman, I respectfully suggest that you are a little deaf in one eye. Mr. Cantwell was nominated first."

Ryder was perplexed. Common fairness required him to put the question first upon the name of Cantwell; but he hesitated to do so. It seemed absurd to make the student whom they desired to throw out of the line of promotion the chairman of a meeting called for that purpose. While he was in doubt, the opposition shouted, indulging in hideous yells, cat-calls, and other demonstrations. It was fun to them.

"Lieutenant De Forrest has been nominated for chairman," repeated Ryder, when there was a lull in the confusion.

"Mr. Chairman, we go in for a fair thing," said Scott, in a loud but good-natured tone. "Mr. Cantwell was nominated first."

"Mr. Chairman, I don't know of any rule which requires the presiding officer to put any name first," interposed Beckwith. "If the meeting is not satisfied with the one named by the chairman, it can be voted down."

"But it looks more like a fair thing if the chairman puts the first name mentioned," replied Scott. "If the meeting don't like it, it can be voted down. If this thing is all cut and dried, I don't want anything to do with it; and I invite all the fellows that are not in the ring to step out and hold another meeting, where we can have fair play."

"Another meeting!" shouted at least twenty seamen, who, with many others, seemed to regard the affair as a capital joke because it was under the leadership of Scott, rather than because they could see the point of it.

"Mr. Cantwell is nominated," said the chairman; and the jokers were delighted when they found they had carried their point; but Ryder paused, and looked uneasily at the members of the ring.

"Vote for him," said Norwood. "Make him chairman, and that will take the wind out of his sails. In the chair he can't oppose the plan, and we can tell the principal, when we go to him, that Cantwell presided over the meeting."

"If it is your pleasure that Mr. Cantwell serve you as chairman of this meeting, you will manifest it by saying,'Ay.'"

"It is a vote," said Ryder, "and Mr. Cantwell is elected chairman of this meeting."

"I move you that a committee of two, consisting of Lieutenant De Forrest and Mr. Beckwith, be appointed to conduct him to the chair," shouted Scott.

"You hear the motion of Mr. Scott; those in favor will say, 'Ay;' those opposed, 'No.' It is a vote," said the temporary chairman, disgusted with the proceedings.

De Forrest and Beckwith conducted the obnoxious fourth master to the chair, which was the flat rock. As Cantwell mounted the natural rostrum, the jokers applauded lustily, and the ring felt that the proceedings[33] were already turned into a farce. Of course Cantwell was more astonished than any one else to find his merits so highly appreciated.

"Gentlemen, I thank you most heartily for the honor, unsought and unexpected on my part, which you have conferred upon me," said he, removing his cap. "I shall endeavor to preside impartially over the deliberations of this meeting. The chair awaits any motion."

"Mr. Chairman," said De Forrest, who, after his defeat, had been delegated by the officers to present the business to the meeting.

The originator of the plan for changing the "tenure of office" made quite a lengthy speech, in which he set forth the advantages to be derived from the adoption of the new method of filling the offices of the highest grade. Of course he carefully abstained from any allusion to the real objection to the present system, and would have done so even if Cantwell had not been chosen chairman. His statement of the plan was certainly a very clear one, and the subject was fully understood by every student.

"And now, Mr. Chairman, having fully explained the plan, which has been approved by a large number of the officers and seamen of the squadron," continued De Forrest, "I move that a committee of three be raised, to wait on the principal, and request him to make this change in the manner of filling the office of commodore of the squadron, and of captain, first, second, third, and fourth lieutenant of each vessel."

"Mr. Chairman," said Beckwith, who had been selected to second the motion, "I rise—"

"You were up before," persisted Scott; and a round of applause followed the interruption.

"Mr. Chairman, I second the motion," said Beckwith, who, however, was unable to make the little speech he had arranged in his mind favoring the proposed change, for the laugh and the applause which followed Scott's sally had sadly disconcerted him.

The chairman stated the motion, and the question upon its adoption was fairly before the meeting. Several of the officers spoke in favor of it, and even the commodore, the captain, and the first lieutenant gave it the weight of their powerful influence. Two of the "short jackets" also briefly addressed the meeting in favor of the plan; and thus far the agitators had it all their own way.

"Mr. Chairman!" shouted Scott, in a tone loud enough to be heard at the farther side of the island, where the adults of the squadron were enjoying the quiet beauty of the scene.

"Question! question!" shouted some of the officers, who were inclined to retaliate upon the joker by using his own tactics.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman; but I'm not to be floored so easily. Every fellow that knows me knows that I go in for fair play."

"And what I give to others I ask for myself," continued Scott. "I'm a modest fellow." (Tumultuous applause.) "I'm a modest fellow, Mr. Chairman, and it gores my soul to feel compelled to speak of my own merit; but this whole thing is a conspiracy against my rights." ("Hear, hear.") "I have belonged to the ship about a year; I haven't the purser's books in my trousers' pocket, and can't say to a day how long, but about a year. I have faithfully discharged every duty, and even done a great many things that were not required of me. I have eaten my grub with untiring fidelity, except when I was seasick at the beginning." (Applause.) "I have slept my eight hours out of the twenty-four with exemplary diligence and punctuality; and even done more than this, when the emergency seemed to require it, without grumbling." (Applause.) "I have kept my watch below without flinching." (Applause.) "I have worn my pea-jacket in cold and heavy weather without deeming it a hardship." (Applause.) "I have never objected to going on shore to see a city, or to take a tramp in the country, or to go 'on a time' of any sort." (Applause.) "Indeed, I have always been willing to make myself as comfortable as the circumstances would permit. And I have tried to use every fellow about right, the officers as well as the seamen. I have helped the fellows spend their money, when they needed my assistance" (applause), "for I don't like to be selfish about these things. When a fellow had any cake, fruit, or other good thing, I have taken hold like a man, and helped him eat it." ("That's so," shouted several.) "I have[36] always been willing to let any fellow get my lessons for me, or do my share in holy-stoning the deck. When any petty officer, having a soft thing in the way of duty, such as coxswain of a boat, on a long pull, was sick, I have always been willing to take his place, and not charge him anything, either." (Applause.) "It's my nature to be unselfish; and I would do as much for the captain, or any other officer, as for a seaman."

"That the gentleman is not speaking to the question," snapped the first master, who was determined, if possible, to get even with Scott.

"The speaker stated in the beginning that the proposed measure, and the action of this meeting in connection therewith, were a conspiracy against his rights; and the chair decides that he is in order," said the chairman, with dignity.

"Mr. Chairman, it is as painful for me to rehearse my own virtues before this large audience as it is for him to hear me; and the sacrifice which I make in doing so ought to be appreciated by the gentleman on the other side." (Applause.)

"First Master Beckwith appeals from the decision of the chair," continued Cantwell, who proceeded to state the point at issue, and,[37] taking advantage of the privilege of his position, gave his reasons at length for ruling that Scott was in order.

Most of the seamen of the ship and of the consorts enjoyed the fun, and wished Scott to go on. When the question of order was put, a large majority sustained the decision of the chair. Cantwell began to feel that he had a host of friends, and that the plot of the officers would be defeated.

"Mr. Scott has the floor, and may proceed with his remarks," said he, when the vote was declared.

"I trust I have shown conclusively that I am a good fellow," continued Scott. (Hearty applause.) "Now, to apply what I had said when I was so ungenerously interrupted, if I am a good fellow, I deserve to be the captain, or at least one of the lieutenants, of the ship" (rapturous applause), "provided I get a greater number of merit marks than any other fellow; of course I don't expect to wink the marks out of sight. Not long since I made a little excursion through Sweden with some friends of mine, without exactly running away. The fact was, we couldn't find the ship, though we searched diligently for her." (Applause, and cries of "Finkel.") "I hear 'Finkel.' Finkel was there, and had a finger in the pie. Now, no one can tell how many merits I got for that excursion, and for my struggles to find the ship; nor how many I got for the glass of finkel I drank, which, I grant, deranged my ideas. Then I was caught asleep on the anchor watch, and neither you nor I know how many merit marks I had for that. We are not permitted to examine the record books of the instructors, and therefore we cannot know how high[38] we are marked for any recitation or exercise; but, Mr. Chairman, I got high this month" (violent applause), "and therefore I ought to have a high office. At any rate, Mr. Chairman, the highest office lies between you and me; and I think all present, who have considered the matter, will agree that it belongs to one of us" ("Hear, hear"), "and my modesty does not permit me to indicate which one. And now, Mr. Chairman, within three days of the end of the month, when the prize of a noble ambition is almost within my grasp, comes this cruel conspiracy to rob me of reward!"

Scott was trying to imitate Forrest, or some other great tragic actor whom he had seen, in the last clause of his speech, and the students were convulsed with laughter at his deep tones and wild gestures. He continued a few moments longer in the same strain, being frequently interrupted by applause and other demonstrations.

"And now, Mr. Chairman, I have done. If my shipmates will thus sting me to death when I am almost at the pinnacle of a noble ambition, I can only yield, as the noble Caesar did when he declared that Brutus ate two slapjacks for his breakfast. I shall fall, not by my own fault, but, like Caesar, by the madness of ambitious office-seekers. But I shall fall free from the taint of dishonor—scot-free."

The orator wiped his brow with his coat sleeve, having left his handkerchief in the pocket of his pea-jacket, while the applause of the seamen rang through the island groves and over the silent sea.

De Forrest was angry when he saw that the proceedings of the meeting[39] were turned into a farce, and he made haste to reply to Scott's effective speech. The only point he made was, that the last speaker had no expectation of obtaining the lowest cabin office, or even of being the coxswain of the fourth cutter, and therefore his argument was simply ridiculous.

"I should like to ask the third lieutenant if I did not say that the highest office lay between the chairman of the meeting and myself," demanded Scott.

"He did; but he spoke of a conspiracy against his own rights," replied De Forrest.

"What is the right of one student, Mr. Chairman, is the right of every one," said Scott—a sentiment which was warmly applauded.

The ring, trusting that the impression produced before the meeting by personal appeal had not been destroyed by the orator of the opposition, permitted the vote to be taken on the main question; and, indeed, Scott's party would not permit anything else to be done. The chairman stated the motion again, which was the appointment of a committee of three to request the principal to adopt the plan of De Forrest.

It was impossible to determine which side had the majority; but as the[40] "noes" made the most noise, the chairman decided that it was not a vote.

"The vote is doubted," said the chairman. "Those in favor of the motion will muster on the right of the chair; those opposed, on the left."

Cantwell then appointed four tellers, two from each side. Two of them, one for, and one against, the measure, were then directed to count the number on each side.

The business was done fairly, for each party was watching the other. The tellers on each side, after comparing their results, and finding that they agreed, were ready to report.

"Eighty-eight having voted in the affirmative, and eighty-one in the negative, the motion is carried," said the chairman. "The next business in order is the appointment of the committee. How shall they be chosen?"

"Mr. Chairman, it does not seem to me to be exactly right that the[41] committee should be nominated by the chairman, who is opposed to the plan," suggested Beckwith.

"The chairman has not yet indicated whether he is in favor or opposed to the plan," said Cantwell, with a contemptuous curl of his lips and nose. "He intends to be entirely impartial in the discharge of his duty."

"The student who spoke against the plan mentioned the chairman in the same category with himself."

"The question is called for, which is, that the chairman nominate the committee."

The vote was taken and doubted. The count, by tellers, as before, resulted in a tie; for several who had voted for the plan, moved by the apparent impartiality of the chairman, broke loose from party discipline, and voted with the other side.

"The chair votes in the affirmative, and the motion is carried," said Cantwell, as soon as the tellers had reported. "The chair nominates Lieutenants Judson and Norwood, and Mr. Scott. The question is upon the confirming of the nomination of the chair."

"Mr. Chairman, Scott is opposed to the plan which this meeting has voted to recommend," interposed De Forrest.

"The chair is aware of the fact, and for that reason nominated him,"[42] replied Cantwell. "The committee stand two in favor to one opposed to the plan."

"How can one opposed to the plan, as Scott is, ask the principal to adopt it?" demanded De Forrest.

"As I understood the matter, this committee is to represent this meeting. Is it right that a committee unanimously in favor of the plan should represent a meeting in which the plan was adopted by a majority of only seven in a vote of one hundred and sixty-nine? Is it intended the committee shall represent to the principal that this meeting is unanimously in favor of the proposed change?"

"I have nominated a committee the majority of whom are in favor of the measure. In my view this is all that parliamentary rule requires of me. The question is upon confirming the nomination."

The question was taken, and the vote doubted again; but the nomination was confirmed by a majority of two.

"Is there any further business to come before this meeting?" asked the chairman.

The motion was put and carried. The students separated into little squads, and of course nothing else was talked about the rest of the day but the meeting. Scott, from a humble joker, found himself suddenly transformed into a hero, and a person of no little influence among the students. The ring were astonished and disconcerted at the result of the meeting; and the victory they had gained was so nearly a defeat that there were no rejoicings over it. De Forrest could hardly tell whether[43] his party was triumphant or not.

"What do you mean, Scott?" demanded Beckwith, when the commodore had ordered all hands to be piped into the boats, and the students were walking down to the shore.

"I told you I would do the right thing, and I've done it. Wasn't it a fair thing—square and aboveboard?"

"If you didn't like him, why didn't you vote him down?" asked Scott. "I think everything has been fairly done."

"Perhaps it was. Allow that it was. Why did you get up an opposition to the plan?" demanded Beckwith, rather warmly.

"What do I care for the plan? You nobs in the cabin got up a ring, and all you wanted of the steerage fellows was to give up their rights. I have just as good a right to be a lieutenant next month as you have, if my marks give me the place. It is only a game of the ring to keep the best places among yourselves; that's all."

"I had just as lief have him captain as fourth master. He is over me just the same. But I am not sure he is half so bad a fellow as you make him out to be."

"I don't say he is bad, only that he is a conceited and disagreeable fellow, and no seaman. We don't want a fellow of that sort over us."

"We in the steerage have him over us now, and shall have him, any way[44] you can fix it. He thinks pretty well of No. 1, I know, and so do some of the rest of the cabin nobs. I'm not clear yet that he is no seaman. I go for giving him the same chance that the rest of the fellows have. Then, if he don't do his duty, and behave like a gentleman, it will be time enough to do something."

"Very likely Cantwell saw me talking with you. What does that prove?" retorted Scott.

"But he's a very unpopular fellow. There isn't a fellow in the ship that likes him."

"And yet you have got up this opposition, and nearly, if not quite, defeated our plan. He ought to be very grateful to you."

"I don't think he ought to be thrown overboard, or deprived of his rights, because he is not popular. When I saw that his brother officers were down upon him, I was rather inclined to stand by him, for, as I told you, I generally go in for the bottom dog. I believe in fair play for every fellow, whether he is popular or not. I wouldn't kick a dog because he didn't belong to anybody."

"I have the honor; and I shall see that Cantwell has fair play before the principal."

"You have done enough, Scott; why can't you keep still now, and let the thing take its course?" added Beckwith, in an insinuating tone.

"What do you care for Cantwell? You don't like him any better than any other fellow. If you will only keep still, the chairman of the committee will simply represent to the principal that a majority of the students desire the change," persisted Beckwith.

"And the next question he will ask will be, how the vote stood. If he don't ask it, he isn't the fair man I have always taken him to be. Besides, the chairman put me on that committee to represent the opinions of the minority; and I'm going to do it."

"The opinions of the minority!" sneered Beckwith. "That is all bosh. They haven't any opinions about it. You made your ridiculous speech as a joke, and the minority took it up as a joke. They don't want Cantwell to be captain any more than we do."

"That may be; but if they cut his nose off now, they may cut off their own next month, just to make a soft thing for you nobs in the cabin. Now, I want to tell you one thing, Becky—"

"I don't ask you to call me mister when off duty, either. You wanted to tell me one thing."

"I'm not anxious to tell you anything; but, if I were Cantwell, I should rather hope that the principal would grant the request, and make the change."

"Perhaps not under ordinary circumstances; but if you cabin nobs will only persecute him a little, only try to keep him out of his rights by De Forrest's plan, he can be elected captain the very next month. You see we fellows throw seventy-two votes in the steerage, and forty-five is a majority of the whole ship's company. If any fourth-rate politician on shore can only get himself persecuted, he can be elected to Congress, for sympathy will do more than merit."

"You needn't tell me that the fellows in the steerage are going to elect Cantwell to any office. He couldn't be chosen fourth lieutenant, to say nothing of captain," protested Beckwith. "I believe you have lost your wits, Scott."

"Perhaps I have; but you haven't found them. If you get the plan adopted, we will try it on a little."

"If De Forrest's plan is adopted, either Cantwell or I will be elected captain."

"It is absurd! There is hardly a fellow in the ship that does not hate him, except you."

"I don't hate him, or any other fellow. But go ahead; there will be fun and a lively time," said Scott, as they separated to take their places in the boats.

The students and others embarked, and, as the instructors were now with them, nothing more was said about the proposed changes. The squadron of sixteen boats pulled out from the island, and, forming in order, rowed to the several vessels which were anchored a couple of miles distant.[47] As soon as the boys were on board, the exciting topic was renewed. After supper Scott was notified of a meeting of the committee in the after cabin: but the regulations of the ship did not permit him to go there, being only a seaman. Scott, of course, did not appear, though, attempting to enter the cabin, he was ordered by the principal to go forward. He obeyed, and was satisfied that the rest of the committee intended to ignore him, or they would not appoint a meeting where he could not attend.

In the cabin, at eight bells, the majority of the committee met. Norwood was not in favor of acting without Scott; but De Forrest and Beckwith advised them to do so. It was not proper for officers to meet in the steerage; and they had accommodated the majority. It was decided to wait upon the principal forthwith, and Scott was duly notified of the intention. The joker, when the messenger gave him the second notice, was engaged at an impromptu indignation meeting, in which he was informing his audience that a meeting of the committee had been called in the cabin, where he could not attend. He considered it an indignity to him, and to the cause of which he was the representative and the champion. After consulting Cantwell, he decided not to wait upon the principal with the rest of the committee. After certain explanations which Scott made, and certain schemes of future action which he suggested, the fourth master was entirely satisfied with the proposition.

The majority of the committee waited upon the principal in the main cabin, and fully stated the proposed changes in the "tenure of office," in the ship and in the two consorts.

"You represent a meeting of all the officers and seamen of the[48] squadron—do you?" asked Mr. Lowington.

"Yes, sir; all the officers and all the seamen of each vessel were present," replied Judson, the chairman of the committee.

"But the minority were really in favor of the plan, as we ascertained before the meeting," explained Judson, who then related the particulars of the gathering, giving the details of Scott's speech, at which the principal was much amused.

"The students voted against the plan just to carry out the joke," added Norwood. "Scott was appointed on this committee, and was notified, but he does not appear."

"I think I understand the matter," replied Mr. Lowington. "I will consider the plan on its own merits, though substantially the same system has occupied my attention several times before, and I am not wholly unprepared for it. I will give you my decision on the first day of the month."

The committee retired, satisfied with the result of the interview, and hopeful that the plan would be adopted.

CHAPTER III.

The day which followed the excited meeting of officers and seamen on the island was Sunday, and the agitation of the subject which disturbed the ship's company in a measure ceased. The religious services were held on shore, in the shade of a pleasant grove, and the Bible classes gathered in favored spots chosen by the teachers. After these exercises were finished in the afternoon, a couple of hours were spent upon the island. Little groups gathered together to walk, or to engage in conversation, while single ones, here and there, enjoyed their own thoughts. Cantwell and Scott seated themselves on a rock near the water, and seemed to be talking together very earnestly. On such occasions the brilliant student usually remained alone, not because he was brilliant, but because his shipmates were inclined to shun his companionship. He was really grateful to Scott for the signal service he had rendered him the day before, not in defeating the new plan, for that had not yet been accomplished, but in preventing him from being wholly ignored, and for making him chairman of the meeting. He had sought the present interview himself.

"Of course these proceedings were all directed against me," said[0] Cantwell, after the subject had been introduced.

"I am sincere; and whatever you say, I shall believe you intend to do me a kindness."

"That's so. The fellows are prejudiced against you because you are selfish, conceited, overbearing, and tyrannical," said Scott, squarely.

"I do repeat what I have heard others say, and I'm bound to add that I believe it myself. When you give an order, you do it just as though you were a superior being; as though you were everybody, and I were nobody—that's so."

"Then you put on airs, even in the cabin, and with your superior. You go in for the breast of the chickens, and drown your coffee with the last gill of milk in the ship."

"Then you think you know everything, and other fellows nothing. You are willing to give your own opinion, but you won't hear that of others," continued Scott, as bluntly as the case seemed to require.

"Go on; but of course you don't expect me to acknowledge all these charges," replied Cantwell, with one of his most savage sneers.

"Do as you like about that; I was only telling you why the fellows are prejudiced against you. You talk and act superciliously to your ship mates, and they don't like that sort of thing. I don't, for one."

"In self-defence, perhaps, they do. I suppose every fellow has his faults, except me. I don't know that I have any," replied Scott, with one of his telling smiles.

"I know I am a better scholar than any other student in the cabin. They all know this, or they would not have raised this breeze."

"Better let others find that out before you discover it yourself. One[52] thing more: the officers say you are no seaman, and they don't want a fellow in command of the ship who don't know his duty. No officer likes to have one above him who knows less than he does about seamanship."

"I don't suppose I know as much about a ship as those students who have been on board two or three years; but I think I am competent to perform my duty, at least with the advice of the principal, in any position."

"And some things that you don't know," added Cantwell, who could not believe that he was such a person as the joker had described.

"But I wish you to understand that I think you have been very fair and candid; and I am very much obliged to you for your plain speech, however disagreeable it may be to me."

"Now, do you think the principal will make the change asked for by the committee?"

"Yes; and if he does, we will show those cabin nobs that 'fair play is a jewel,'" answered Scott, significantly.

The next morning exercises in seamanship were in order throughout the squadron, for the principal was aware that this element of the course[53] had received but little attention during the month. Every officer and seaman in each vessel was required to perform his duty in getting under way, in making and furling sail, and coming to anchor. Evolutions in reefing, tacking, wearing, scudding, laying to, bending sails, and sending down topmasts, were performed, and each student marked according to his merit. In addition to this, each student was separately examined in problems in seamanship; and his knowledge of the standing and running rigging of a ship, bark, brig, hermaphrodite brig, schooner, and sloop, was tested. This examination was very carefully conducted, and the same questions were put to every boy. The crew were all sent below at the beginning, and four were called up at a time, so that no one could know in advance what the questions were to be. Only the simpler problems were required to be answered at this trial.

The principal, the boatswain, carpenter, and sail-maker, all of whom were thorough practical seamen, were the examiners.

Mr. Lowington and Peaks, the boatswain, were on each side of the mainmast, the carpenter at the foremast, and the sail-maker at the mizzenmast, though each was obliged to take his pupil to the different parts of the ship in the course of the examination. The questions were such as these:—

"Point out the main-topmast stay, the main-topmast back-stay, the weather main clew-garnet, the fore-sheet and fore-tack, with the wind on the port beam.

"If two vessels are approaching each other, one by the wind, the other going free, what is the rule for each?

"Make a square knot, a timber hitch, a bowling knot, a clove hitch, a short splice."

For the last requirement two bits of rope were given to each student, who was directed to bring in his work to the examiner, with a card on which his name was written attached to it. The knots and hitches were made with a whale line on a handspike. The other questions were answered orally, or by pointing out the part of the rigging indicated. There were twenty questions in the list, and the promptness, as well as the accuracy, of the answers or the work was to be considered in marking the value of them. If a student was obliged to try two or three times before he could make a square knot, or a clove hitch, he was marked lower. If he did what he was required without hesitation, he had five for each question; if not, he was marked lower, for seamen have no time to deliberate. Though the examination was a very simple and easy one, no student obtained above ninety, and several were below fifty. Most of the officers had over seventy. Captain Lincoln had ninety, and Cantwell only fifty-two, though none of them knew the results till the first of the next month. The addition of these marks to the merit roll for the month made some important changes in the relative standing of the students.

"But the fellows all say that Cantwell can't well be captain or first lieutenant when to-day's marks are added in."

"No matter for that; I still think that it is better to vote for the captain and lieutenants."

The results of the examination were not known to the students; but they were speculated over and guessed at very freely. It was generally admitted that Cantwell's chances for either of the first two offices, were lost for the next month; but it was certain that, if he were not thrown off the track, he would be captain in two or three months, when he had brought up his seamanship to the proper standard. Indeed, the agitation had already roused the obnoxious officer to a realizing sense of his own deficiency, and stimulated him to make an earnest effort to acquire the needed knowledge. From that time he used all his spare hours in studying the nautical books in the library. For hours he pored over the large diagrams of a ship, in which the spars, sails, and rigging were explained. The old boatswain appeared to be his best friend, so much were they together; for Peaks delighted to instruct a willing pupil.

On the last day of the month the squadron sailed for Åbo, in Finland.[56] During the week the vessels had remained among the islands; they had been working gradually to the eastward, till it was only a short run to this port. The town is on the Aurajoki River, about three miles from the Gulf of Bothnia. The squadron came to anchor off the mouth of the river, near the village of Boxholm. The steamers and small vessels go up to the town, but large craft are obliged to discharge their cargoes at this place. On a hill which commands the entrance to the river there is a fort, which is also a prison—an ancient structure with the ruins of a watch-tower, which has stood for centuries. Many of the houses on the shore were painted red,—as in the country towns of New England fifty years ago,—and were occupied by fishermen and laborers. The students, who had been in the solitudes of nature for a week, and had hardly seen a living creature, or anything connected with civilized life, were interested in observing every indication of civilization in the vicinity. For the time, even the exciting topic of the change in the "tenure of office" was dropped. Scott, who had been quietly at work ever since the meeting at the picnic, suspended his labors, and made queer comments upon the old castle, the boats, and the people around the ship. Though there was actually a village in sight, it did not entirely remove the impression from the minds of many of the students that they were almost "out of the world," for the oppressive fact that they were in sixty and a half degrees of north latitude was not entirely removed by the fort, the village, and the people.

"All hands, attend lecture!" shouted the boatswain, as his shrill pipe[57] rang through the ship, and was repeated in the two consorts.

"Lecture!" exclaimed Scott. "That's too bad! What does the professor think we are made of? We have been patient and long-suffering in the matter of lectures, and I didn't suppose we were to be dosed with any more till we got to Russia."

"Not much, if my soundings are correct. Finland isn't Russia, any more than the Dominion of Canada is Great Britain. It is subject to Russia, but the people here make their own laws, or at least have a finger in the pie, which they don't under the nose of the Czar. Do you see that big fish, Laybold?"

Scott pointed at a man who had just taken a small boy on his back, and was wading out to a boat, with a man on each side of him.

"I don't see any fish," added Laybold, straining his eyes as he gazed earnestly in the direction indicated by his companion.

"Don't you? Then you are a little blind in one of your ears. There he goes towards the boat."

"I say he is a fish. Don't you see that he has a Finn on his back, and Finns each side of him?" returned Scott.

"You get out!" shouted Jones. "A fellow that will deliberately make a pun isn't fit to live in polite society."

"Then I'm finished for polite society," added Scott; "though I don't see how you know anything about it, for you never were there, or your manners belie you. By the way, did you know that our government had sent over to this country for a fortune-teller, or seer—one of those fellows they used to have in Scotland?"

"Because they need a financier; for the fellow would certainly be one. There, do you see that French conjunction on the shore? Hear him bark."

"What of it? Isn't it afin que? Well, those are strange people," continued Scott, shaking his head.

"Yes, a sea-monster; and if I were monarch of all I surveyed, I should have plenty of Finns. Do you suppose those women have any nephews and nieces?" asked Scott, still gazing at the group of men, women, and[59] children, who had gathered on the beach to see the squadron.

"Because it is eminently proper and right that American young gentlemen should be acquainted with finance. The boats are coming, and I am like that shed on the beach."

"Yes—Finnish shed. Come, tumble down the hatchway," said Scott, as he led the way to the steerage.

Mr. Mapps, the instructor in geography and history, was already at his post, which post was the foremast of the ship, whereon was hung a large map of Finland, drawn by himself on the back side of another map, with black paint and a marking brush; for he had not been able to find a printed one on a large scale. The students from the consorts soon appeared, and a few raps with the professor's pointer procured silence.

"Right; but the little ring which you see over the A in the printed name of the town makes the pronunciation as though it were written O-bo. The proper style of the country is the Grand Duchy of Finland; and in his relations to it, the Czar of Russia has been called the Emperor Grand Duke. The Finnish name of the country is Suomema, which means 'the region of lakes.' You see, by a glance at the map,—which is rather rudely drawn,—that this is the character of the country, even to a greater degree than in Norway and Sweden. It has the Gulf of Bothnia on the west, and the Gulf of Finland on the south, with Finmark, a province of Norway, on the north, and Russia proper on the east."

"Lapland is a region which belongs to Russia and Norway, and part of it is included in Finland. The name is not applied to a political division, but to the country of a particular people. Finland has about one hundred and forty thousand square miles of territory; about the size of Montana Territory, more than half as large as Texas, or eighteen times as large as Massachusetts. Its population is about the same as this last state—in round numbers, one million four hundred thousand. A large portion of the country is a desolate region. In the southern part; the soil is good, and in former times Finland was the granary of Sweden; but its agriculture has since declined. Vast forests cover a considerable portion of its territory, and the lumber from them is the principal source of wealth to the people, who are also largely engaged in the[61] fisheries. There are some extensive cotton and iron manufactures. All the principal towns are on the coast, except Tavastehus; but the largest place, Helsingfor, has only sixteen thousand inhabitants.

"Not much is known of the early history of Finland; but the country was governed in tribes by chiefs, or kings. They took to the water very naturally, and became pirates, harassing the Swedes to such a degree, that Eric, their king, sent an expedition to Finland in the twelfth century, where he established Swedish colonies, and introduced Christianity. One of the colonies was planted here in Åbo, where the first Christian church in the country was built. From this time the Swedes and Finns blended, and the history of Finland was merged in that of Sweden. Birger Jarl built Tavastehus, and confirmed the conquest. But Russia coveted this desolate region, and first conquered Wyborg, its most eastern province, and the Finns fought with Sweden in the various wars with her powerful neighbor. The people suffered terribly from these wars, and from famine. From 1692 to 1696, sixty thousand perished from famine in the province of Åbo alone. In the wars of Charles XII., thousands of Finns were sacrificed, and five regiments of them were killed or captured during the march into the Ukraine, and in the battle of Pultowa. After this battle, in 1709, in which Charles XII. was totally defeated, the Russians invaded the whole of Finland, and held it until 1721, when, with the exception of Wyborg, it was restored to Sweden.

"In 1741 the Swedes made an attempt to recover what they had lost, but utterly failed. Again, in 1788, Gustavus III., commanding the Swedish[62] army in person, tried to regain the ancient province of Wyborg; but a conspiracy at home compelled him to return, and the favorable opportunity was lost. In 1790 the king renewed the attack by sea, and his fleet of thirty-eight vessels was blockaded at Wyborg by a Russian squadron of fifty-one ships. The Swedes cut their way out of the trap, but with the loss of fifteen ships. The fleet, reduced by these heavy losses, was again attacked by the Russians in overwhelming force; but the result was a glorious victory for the Swedes, in which their enemy lost fifty-three vessels and four thousand men. This event ended the war for the time, and a treaty honorable to the Swedes was signed. In 1808 Finland was again invaded by the Russians, without even the formality of a declaration of war. The Swedes were unprepared for the contest, and slowly retired to the north, fighting several battles, and gaining some unimportant victories, but were completely overwhelmed in the battle of Orawais. By the treaty which followed, all of Finland and the Aland Islands were ceded to Russia.

"By a special grant of Alexander I., graciously renewed by his successors, Finland retains her ancient constitution, which provides for a national parliament. The right to legislate and impose taxes upon the people is nominally in this body, but is really exercised by a senate appointed by the Emperor Grand Duke. The executive power is in the hands of a governor general, who represents the sovereign. The people still retain their national customs and language, and when you go on shore this afternoon, you will find very little that is Russian. The money[63] is in marks and pennies, with the decimal system; and Russian paper is not current in Finland. A mark is worth about twenty cents of our money, and four of them make one ruble, the gold value of which is eighty cents. The currency of Russia in actual circulation is all paper, so that the value of the ruble is reduced about twenty per cent. Finland also has a paper currency, which is of depreciated value, as is the case in all countries where gold and silver are not in actual use."

The professor finished his lecture, and the students were about to separate, when the stroke of the bell called them to order again, and Mr. Lowington stepped upon the platform. The officers and seamen were all attention in an instant, for it was expected that he would say something upon the exciting subject which had been so thoroughly discussed in all the vessels of the squadron.

"Young gentlemen," the principal began, "I have something to say to you concerning the application which has been made to me to make certain of the offices of the squadron elective. I have not the slightest objection to the plan, if the elections can be fairly and honorably conducted. I have considered the plan in substance, which has been presented to me several times, and I like it, though in its practical workings I think that grave objections will be developed. By the present plan, one with very little experience and very little seamanship may reach the highest offices, especially, as will sometimes happen, when the nautical branch of the institution receives less attention in any one month than the scholastic. By the plan you propose, you may elect the least worthy of[64] the officers to the rank of captain. Votes may be bought and sold, and electioneering excitements carried to excess. The plan in use has worked very well, and I am not aware that any injustice has ever been worked by it. It has always happened that the best and most reliable students have attained the highest places; though I must acknowledge that it may not always happen so. For a change, I am willing to try your plan."

A demonstration of applause greeted this announcement, but it came mainly from the officers.

"But I wish to say, that though I have considered substantially the same plan several times, I should not now introduce it if you had not asked for it. The present is certainly the fairest plan, for it places all upon an absolute equality, and under it every officer is indebted entirely to his own merit for his position, and not at all to the favor of his instructors or his friends among the ship's company. A change, therefore, is more properly inaugurated by you than by me.

"I am informed by the committee that the vote was not unanimous, and one member of the committee did not choose to appear with the delegation."

"I was notified," replied Scott; "but the meeting of the committee was held in the after cabin, which I am not permitted to enter."

"This does not look exactly like fair play, especially as Scott is[65] supposed to represent the opposition to the change."

"He was notified of the time when the committee would wait upon you, sir, in the main cabin, but he declined to attend," answered De Forrest.

"If there was a preliminary meeting of the committee, he ought not to have been excluded from it," added Mr. Lowington. "Your proceedings must be revised, and the opposition must be heard."

"Mr. Lowington, as a member of the committee, I withdraw all opposition," interposed Scott.

"I do not know that you are authorized to do so," replied the principal; "but I am very glad to see this spirit of accommodation on your part."

"I don't think the new plan is so fair as the old one; but I wish to have a fair trial of it. The new method was got up by the nobs in the cabin—"

"If by an accident, or by any extra exertion on your part, you were elected to an office in the cabin, would you be a nob?"

"Though you do not seem to use the word in an offensive sense, I prefer some other form of expression. You say that the plan was devised by the cabin officers."

"But we consulted the seamen, and they agreed to the plan before the meeting. It would have been a unanimous vote if Scott had not got up an opposition just for the sake of a joke," said De Forrest, rather bitterly.

"I opposed the thing in my own way, and I never agreed to it; but we all[66] consent to it now."

"There being no opposition, with the understanding on my part that unanimous consent is given to the plan, I will adopt it—"

Violent applause on the part of the officers and others interrupted the principal, which was silenced by a stroke of the bell.

"I will adopt it with an amendment," added Mr. Lowington. "I will explain the amendment. By the new plan, the offices of commodore, captain, and lieutenant are made elective within certain limits. The commodore must be elected from the three captains; the captain must be chosen from the cabin officers of the vessel to which he belongs. Now suppose, for example, that one of the lieutenants for next month, relying upon his popularity among his shipmates for his position the following month, neglects his studies; what check have we upon him?"

"Suppose the captain of this ship—but I grant in the beginning that this is not a supposable case—should utterly fail in his duty so far as study is concerned; you elect him captain or commodore, while the present rule would send him back into the steerage. The amendment I propose will correct this defect in your plan. It consists of two[67] sections," continued the principal, as he proceeded to read from a paper in his hand. "1. No captain shall be eligible to the office of commodore whose merit-rank is below No. 6 in the Young America, or below No. 5 in the Josephine, or Tritonia. 2. No officer shall be eligible to the office of captain or lieutenant whose merit-rank is below No. 16 in the ship, or below No. 9 in the other vessels. Are you satisfied with the amendment?"

"Then the merit-roll will be read and the elections take place to-morrow, on the first day of the month," continued the principal. "We will now go up to Åbo."

The students applauded, and left the steerage. The boatswains piped all hands into the boats, and in half an hour the squadron of barges and cutters were pulling in single file up the narrow river.

CHAPTER IV.

In the captain's gig was Dr. Winstock, with whom Captain Lincoln always delighted to walk or ride on shore, and whom he always invited to take a seat in the stern-sheets of his boat. The doctor had inherited a considerable fortune, which placed him above the necessity of practising in his profession, and he had travelled all over Europe. He had not been an idle wanderer abroad, going from place to place in search of mere amusement; but he had been a diligent inquirer into the system of government, the history, the agricultural and manufacturing interest, and the manners and customs of the countries he visited. He was, therefore, as he was often called, a walking encyclopædia of information; and for this reason Lincoln sought his company.

"Of course you have been in Finland before, Dr. Winstock," said Lincoln, as soon as the gig took her place in the line.

"I have," replied the surgeon. "Several years ago I went from Copenhagen to Christiania, rode across the country in a cariole to Bergen, and from there made the trip by steamer to the North Cape, where I saw the sun[69] at midnight. I came by steamer along the coast to Frederiksværn, and from there to Gottenburg, and through Sweden. At Stockholm I embarked in the steamer Aura, which starts at two o'clock in the morning now, as she did then."

"I went on board of a steamer of the same line in Stockholm—I forget her name."

"Perhaps the Grefve Berg, which is the best one. The other two are the Dagmar and the Wyborg. The trip in one of these vessels to St. Petersburg is a very delightful one. She arrives at this place the first day, and spends the night here; the second day she goes to Helsingfors, and the third to Wyborg, arriving at St. Petersburg in the forenoon of the fourth day. Nearly the whole voyage is made among the islands, which, almost without an exception, are as silent and still as those we have visited. She stays long enough at these Finnish towns to enable one to see them. The steamers are Finnish, the captains of them speak English, and the table on board is very good. The fare is twenty rubles—meals extra."

"Yes; I went as far as the group of lakes in the centre of the country, and had some capital fishing there. I rode in a cariole, like those in use in Norway. But some people use a kabitka, which is a cart, very long and narrow, with a leather covering over about one half of its length. In the bottom of the vehicle, which has no springs, there is a quantity of hay or straw, or a feather bed, on which the traveller stretches himself; but it is very hard riding, for the roads are rough, and the hills are full of sharp pitches. All expenses are about six cents a verst."

"Two thirds of a mile; or, more exactly, .6626 of a mile. Three versts are two miles. Travelling in Finland is rather exciting at times, for the horses rush at full gallop down the hills and over sharp pitches. But the roads are pretty good, and an average speed of ten miles an hour may be attained."

"I picked, up a few words, which I have forgotten, and had no trouble at all. I went to Tavastehus, which is on one of the vast chain of lakes in the interior of Finland. Small steamers ply upon them; and a trip by water in this region is very pleasant. There is now a railroad from this town to Helsingfors."

"There seems to be some business even in this out-of-the-way part of the world," said Lincoln, as the squadron of boats passed a series of buildings.

The river rapidly diminished in size, until at the town it was a small stream, over which was a bridge, connecting the two parts of the place. The boats went up to the quay just below this bridge, and the students landed. Dividing into parties, they went where they pleased. Some crossed the bridge, and others went in the direction of the cathedral, which is on the left bank of the river. Dr. Winstock and Lincoln were of the latter.

"Yes; land is cheap, and they can have them as wide as they please. In all modern-built Russian cities you will find broad avenues."

"Nearly all; and the houses are very much scattered, so that the people do not appear to be very neighborly. Large as the town seems to be, it contains only thirteen thousand inhabitants."

"Only a few of them can be very old, for in 1827 nearly the whole city was destroyed by fire, including the university with its library, and many other public edifices. When the town was rebuilt, the people placed the houses at a considerable distance from each other, and built them but one story, because they had not the means to erect larger ones."

Passing along the street next to the river, the tourists reached an extensive square, in which there was a statue of Professor Porthan, a learned Finlander. Just beyond it was the cathedral, which is of brick, and far from elegant or imposing in its external appearance.

"This is the cradle of Christianity in Finland," said the doctor. "As Mr. Mapps told you, this town was founded by Eric of Sweden, who introduced Christianity into this region. The first bishop was located here; and in this church, for centuries, the first families were buried; and you will not only see their tombs, but also some of their bodies, if you desire."

"Nor I; but it is. The great fire burned out the interior of this church, destroying the altar and organ, and even melting the bells. The building was repaired by subscription. A baker, who had accumulated about twelve thousand dollars in his business, having no near relatives, gave his little fortune for the purchase of another organ,[72] and his wishes were carried out after his death."

A man with a bundle of keys presented himself at this time, bowed, and solemnly opened the door of the cathedral. As the visitors ascended the steps, the man pointed to a rusty ring.

"In ancient times offenders used to be fastened to that ring, and were compelled to do penance there," replied the doctor.

"There's nothing very fine about this," said the captain, as they entered the church.

"Certainly not. I hope you did not expect to find a cathedral like St. Peter's, or those at Antwerp and Cologne. This structure has been built upon, increased in size, and improved, several times. There is the organ which the baker gave. It has five thousand pipes—for a dollar would buy more organ pipes years ago than now. Whatever there is here in the way of ornament, including the frescoes, is the work of native artists," continued the doctor, as they walked up to the altar. "In the crypt under this altar lie the remains of Queen Christina of Sweden."

"Mr. Mapps said she was buried in St. Peter's, at Rome," interposed the captain.

"Not the celebrated Queen Christina, but the wife of St. Eric, whose remains are intombed in the cathedral of Upsala. Here is an epitaph to Katrina Mänsdotter," said the doctor, as they passed to the side of the church.

"Eric XIV. He was deposed by the Swedish parliament, kept a prisoner nine years, and then poisoned."

"Good! That is more than I could have told about him. Eric's father proposed to marry him to Queen Elizabeth of England; and Eric, while the negotiations were still pending, proposed to Mary, Queen of Scots, and to two other princesses. He was actually flirting with four ladies of royal blood at the same time. The accepting of either, he felt, would make trouble; and he relieved himself of any difficulty by marrying Miss Mänsdotter. She was a very pretty girl, the daughter of a petty officer of the Guards, who had attracted his attention while she was selling fruit in the market of Stockholm. She was sincerely attached to him, tyrant and oppressor as he was, and clung to him through his misfortunes. After his imprisonment she retired to Finland, and passed the remainder of her days in obscurity."

"Very likely the incidents of the career of Katrina have been used by the Swedish novelists; but I am not as familiar as I intend to be with them. I see that the works of Madame Schwartz, a celebrated Swedish writer, are now in process of translation in the United States. Several volumes have been published, and they are having a large circulation. This lady locates some of her stories, or parts of them, in Finland."

Many of the tombs in which the Finland worthies were buried are half above and half below the pavement of the church. The conductor of the[74] little party opened the door of one of them, and the captain looked into the gloomy space. Within it several coffins were crumbling to decay. The man raised one of them, exhibiting the body of the occupant. The features of the face were well preserved, though the person had been dead three hundred years. They were of a brownish color, not unlike guano. Following the example of the conductor, the visitors touched the face, which was hard and rather spongy.

"No; there is something in the atmosphere which has changed it to adipocere. Sometimes bodies buried in the ground are petrified, or turned into stone. In Italy, and in some other countries, you will see the bodies of saints in the churches, though I remember none as perfect as this, for they are very black, and much shrivelled. In the vaults at Palermo vast numbers of the dead are preserved by the conditions of the vault in which they are buried."

Other monuments were examined, and the party left the church, giving the solemn man—who had not yet spoken a single word—a mark for his services, at which he solemnly bowed as he put the money in his pocket. Crossing the river, Dr. Winstock and Lincoln walked over the rest of the town, which, however, contained nothing worthy of note. There was nothing in the costume of the people to distinguish them, and the shops and houses were hardly different from those in England or America. The streets are paved with cobble stones, and a few droskies may be seen; but the people, who are more intensely Swedish than in the eastern[75] provinces of Finland, do not take kindly to Russian customs and institutions. After the destruction of the university by fire, it was removed to Helsingfors, and the hostility of the province to their new ruler caused the transfer of the seat of government to the same place. The town wears an aspect of desolation in its streets, for very few people are seen in them; and, except on the wharf at the arrival of a steamer there, nothing of the bustle of business is seen. The place has lost much of its former importance.

The students wandered idly through the deserted streets, and it was noticeable that but few of them paid any attention to their surroundings. A group of the seamen sat on the quay above the bridge, apparently engaged in an animated discussion. Though the Finnish women were pulling about in boats on the narrow river, the boys were not interested in their movements. Their conversation did not relate to Finland or the Finns. Scott, the joker, was in the centre of the ring, and did the greater part of the talking, and of course the subject was that which had been introduced at the picnic on the island. Without having any distinct plan in the beginning, Scott had become a leader among the democratic element of the ship. His crude ideas, which had formed themselves into objections to the De Forrest scheme, were now seeking recognition as a plan. He had been laboring very earnestly to defeat the wishes of the cabin "nobs," as he persisted in calling them.

"We can't go for such a fellow as Cantwell," said one of the students. "He is a conceited and overbearing fellow."

"I don't care a fig for Cantwell, personally," replied Scott. "It is the[76] principle of the thing that I'm looking after. I know that Cantwell is unpopular in the steerage as well as in the cabin. But there's a conspiracy against him. Just as soon as he had earned his rank, the fellows in the cabin put their heads together to cheat him out of it. I was appointed on the committee, and they called a meeting in the cabin, where I was not allowed to go, to prevent me from attending. Was that fair?"

"But they came to us before the meeting on the island," suggested one of the group.

"Yes; just so. But what did they come for? To know if we approved the plan? Not a bit of it. The plan was cooked up in the cabin. They came to us just as the politicians go to the dear people—for votes. They argued, talked, and begged for our votes at the meeting. By and by they will get up a plan by which no fellow shall be promoted from the steerage to the cabin. Cantwell and Victory! That's my motto."

"I say, Scott, don't you think it is absurd for us to vote for the most unpopular fellow in the ship?" asked Wainwright.

"No, I don't. He's the only fellow in the cabin that is not in the ring, and therefore the only one we can vote for. Don't you see it?"

"I don't want to vote against Captain Lincoln," another objected. "He is a first-rate fellow, and a good sailor."

"But Lincoln went in for this plan, was present at the meeting, and[77] voted in favor of it," replied Scott. "I like Lincoln as well as any fellow, but I don't like this trying to keep any one out of the place he has fairly earned."

This was only a specimen of the electioneering which was going on in a dozen different places in Åbo at the same time. Only a few of the students entered the cathedral, and not many of them could tell, when they returned to the squadron, whether the streets of the town were broad or narrow, or whether the houses were one or two stories high. While the seamen were at work for Cantwell, the officers were speaking a good word for Captain Lincoln, whom they desired to reëlect to his present position.

At six o'clock most of the students were in the vicinity of the bridge, ready to repair to the boats when the boatswains gave the signal. Dr. Winstock and Lincoln were at the hotel on the quay called the Society's House, which is said to be the most northern one in the world. Students were arriving in the droskies, which many of them had employed for the sake of a ride; and when they came to pay their fare there were many amusing scenes, for neither party understood a word of the language of the other. Most of the students, too, had changed their Swedish money into Russian in Stockholm, and were unprovided with Finnish currency, for they supposed that Russian money was current in Finland. The drivers would not take the rubles and copecks, and some very cheerful rows ensued. But the principal, with Professor Badois—who spoke[78] Swedish—at his elbow, interfered, and paid the fares. The students embarked, the line of boats was formed, and the squadron moved down the river, with half of Åbo on the quay, gazing in solemn silence at the departure of the strange visitors, for as such they certainly regarded them. In less than an hour the boats were alongside the vessels to which they belonged, and were soon hoisted up to the davits.

The signal for sailing was shown on board of the Young America, and a lively scene followed. Anchors were hove short, sails shaken out, and the Finnish pilots were at their stations. As the breeze was fresh and fair, the principal desired to take advantage of it; and, after a stay of only five hours at Åbo, the squadron was under way again, threading its course through the channels among the numerous islands. In the watch on deck, and that below, the business of electioneering was continued with the utmost vigor. Scott and his friends were busy everywhere, and even the stale expedient of a secret society among the "anti-De Forresters" was proposed, and enthusiastically adopted. Scott and Jones were intrusted with the task of furnishing a constitution, and inventing the necessary dark-lantern machinery for the organization.

Boys have a decided taste for secret associations, though, as the experience of the present time shows, not more than adults, male and female. The number of these "orders" among full-grown men is on the increase, and the boys, in all parts of the United States, have manifested a strong desire to keep up with the times, and follow the example of their elders. Secret societies had several times been[79] formed on board of the Young America, but generally for purposes of mischief, such as running away, or capturing one of the vessels. The present association appeared to be for political purposes—to influence the election of officers. Scott was, in the main, a very sensible fellow; and his only idea of a secret society was to make some fun out of it, though he was quite willing to have it used for accomplishing his purpose, which, in its turn, was little more than a gigantic joke, so far as he was concerned.

The wind, which had been fresh all day, diminished in force after the squadron sailed, and at half past eight, while the sun was still above the horizon, there was a dead calm, and the vessels were obliged to anchor for the night, for the pilots declined to run during the darkness in the intricate navigation of these seas. The squadron anchored near a rocky island, the top of which was covered with trees. The same "eternal silence" seemed to pervade the region as among the Aland Islands. When everything was made snug on board, a portion of the students asked permission to go on shore, which was readily granted to all who desired to do so. This number was found to include the entire crew of the ship.

"The Bangwhangers will meet at the farther side of the island," whispered Scott. "Pass it along."

"You don't? Well, your head is thicker than a quart of molasses.[80] Didn't you fellows ask me to get up a secret society?"

"Well, I have done it; but you popsquizzles don't seem to know your own chickens. The new institution is to be called the Bangwhangers, of whom you are which. Now, don't tell any one who isn't a Bangwhanger anything at all about it."

The students tumbled into the boats; and, as most of the officers were busy preparing ballots for the election on the following day, none of them went on shore, the boats being in charge of the several coxswains. Ordinarily the seamen would not have been permitted to visit the shore without at least one officer in each boat; but as it did not seem possible that any mischief could be done on this uninhabited island, the rule was waived. The students landed; and in a few moments several boats from the Josephine and Tritonia brought a majority of the crews of these vessels. Scott and several of his most intimate friends went to the highest part of the island.

"Every Cantwell man may join our society; no one else," said Scott, after he had told them the name.

"The first degree is next to nothing; only to get the fellows together to organize," said Scott, as he leaped upon a rock. "Come up here, Jones; I'll give you the first degree."

"Do you agree to vote for Cantwell, to say nothing to nobody, and never to eat soup with a darning-needle?" asked Scott, in a low tone.

"I can't tell you till you have taken your second degree; only remember the letters. Now, bring the fellows to me, one at a time."

Wainwright was the next one, who was obligated in the same manner, and Jones was instructed to tell the candidates what to say in token of their assent.

In half an hour fifty had joined the association. The third one was appointed I. L. M., and the fourth; O. L. M. Thus far only those who were known to be ready to vote for Cantwell were invited to join; and those who were admitted formed a ring to keep the outsiders at a reasonable distance.

But there were plenty of applicants, and the number increased as those[82] outside of the circle heard the laughter of those on the rock. If Scott was at the bottom of the affair, it was fun. One after another the R. P. F. and the L. P. F. continued to bring in the candidates.

This duty was a very simple one, and consisted only in leading the refractory applicant outside of the ring. A dozen more that followed, and had before refused to commit themselves, promptly agreed to all the conditions. All on the island had joined except about twenty, who had been turned out; but so great was the curiosity of some of these, that they promised to accept the conditions, if admitted.

"Bangwhangers, I congratulate you on your admission to this honorable and most respectable order," said Scott, when all who wished to join had been admitted. "But there may be some black sheep among you, and the obligation will be repeated;" and he repeated again, loud enough for all to hear him, "All that agree will repeat the couplet in due form, and sit down on the ground. Officers, turn out every fellow that don't sit down."

"All down!" shouted the students, and all of them suited the action to the word.

"All good men and true; but you must prove yourselves to be such. Do as I do;" and the joker put the forefinger of his right hand on the end of his nose.

"When I meet a Bangwhanger, I put my finger to my nose, and say, 'Bang.'[83] In reply, he puts his finger to his nose, and answers, 'Whang.' Now I will do it with the R. P. F. Bang!"

While the fraternity were practising this important part of the work, Scott instructed Jones still further in the mysterious art. When the R. P. F. fully understood his part, the joker called the members to order again, and told them to learn the dialogue which he would rehearse with Jones, for it was the form by which a Bangwhanger was to know a brother of the order.

"Eye, nose," answered Jones, drawing his finger over his right eye, and then placing it on the end of his nose, as he mentioned the name of each organ.

"Right, Brother Bangwhanger; come to my arms," added Scott. "But the number is to be modified so as always to show the exact strength of this honorable and most respectable order."

The joker and his companion went through the dialogue several times, till every member was familiar with it, and then they practised it among themselves, amid peals of laughter.

"Now, Brother Bangwhangers, we are to elect officers. The first and[84] highest is the C. B.," continued Scott.

"I can't tell you till you take the second degree," replied the joker. "Please to nominate."

"Eight officers, and they are all chosen. They will constitute the original second degree men, and, after they have been instructed, we shall be ready to admit you all to that enviable distinction. Now, the Q. D. and the Y. D. K. will count the members."

The number reported was eighty-two, which was nearly a majority of the[85] students in the squadron.

"That's enough to put a veto on the De Forresters. Now, remember the solemn pledge you have taken, to vote for Cantwell, to say nothing to nobody, and never to eat soup with a darning-needle."

"Although the last is the most important, the first is not to be neglected; and any member who knows, and don't do, shall be headed up in a mackerel kit and thrown overboard by the R. P. F., before he takes the second degree, in which the sublime mysteries of the order will be fully elucidated. Who knows?"

Scott coined jokes and puns for a few moments, to the intense enjoyment of the members; and by this time four of the outsiders desired to become members. They were immediately admitted.

CHAPTER V.

It was the last day of the month, and the instructors in the three vessels of the squadron were very busy in adding the merit-rolls on the record books. It was necessary that all this work should be very carefully done, for a mistake of a single mark might send a cabin officer into the steerage, or a seaman from the steerage into the cabin. Every addition was verified, therefore, by a second person. The students had abundant opportunities to canvass and electioneer, as all the instructors were at work in the main cabin. While the seamen were on shore, the officers had been using the Novelty presses and the types in printing the ballots for the next day. And they had just as much difficulty in "making up the slate" as a ring of older politicians. While few of the officers were willing to stand as candidates for positions lower in rank than those they held at the time, some desired to go a little higher. There were no little compromising and "log-rolling" but it ought to be said that Commodore Cumberland and Captain Lincoln, while they were willing to place themselves "in the hands of their friends," refrained entirely from pressing their claims. On the other hand, De Forrest and Beckwith had used their influence to[87] better their own condition. The former was afraid his merit-rank would be lower than his present position, and he agreed with the latter to make him second lieutenant, if Beckwith would work to nominate and elect him as first. The nominations were full of difficulty. De Forrest, as the originator of the plan which had been adopted, felt that he had some claims to consideration. Of course, as Judson and Norwood were to be displaced if De Forrest and Beckwith were advanced, it was necessary for the latter aspirants to work privately and carefully. But the secret could not long be kept, and when the first and second lieutenants learned that there was a movement on foot to displace them, they were very angry and indignant, and protested with all their might against the injustice. The De Forrest plan was already at a discount with a considerable portion of the cabin officers.

The discussion in the after cabin was becoming violent and noisy; and at the suggestion of Captain Lincoln, it was voted to appoint a committee, who should retire to a state-room and prepare a ticket. The commodore, the captain, and Sheridan, the first midshipman, constituted this committee; and after an absence of an hour, they reported that the several officers should be nominated in the order of their present rank. This report, if accepted, would defeat the aspirations of Beckwith, and he refused to assent to it. De Forrest, who felt that his claims were not recognized by the report, was not satisfied with it. As each of these aspirants had several friends, the compromise was not agreeable.[88] The name of Cantwell had not been mentioned for any position. He sat in a corner of the cabin, a silent but interested listener, until the vote on the report of the committee was about to be taken.

"Mr. Chairman," said he, addressing Ryder, the fourth lieutenant, who had been chosen to this position, "it strikes me that these proceedings are slightly insular. Who are expected to vote this ticket when it is made up?"

"Then you are selecting candidates for the crew to vote for, as well as the officers?"

"It seems to me, then, that the seamen ought to be represented in a meeting of this kind. They are to cast four fifths of the votes, but are not permitted to say a word in regard to the nominations," continued Cantwell, in a very quiet tone, in strong contrast with the one he had usually adopted, showing that Scott's lesson on Sunday had done him some good.

"I suppose the ticket nominated here is not binding upon any one," suggested Captain Lincoln. "For my part, I quite agree that the crew ought to be consulted. Mr. Chairman, I move that this report be laid upon the table. If my motion prevails, I shall offer another, looking to a caucus of the whole ship's company."

"The motion to lay on the table is not debatable," interposed Ryder. "It is moved and seconded that the report of the committee be laid on the table."

The motion was rejected, only half a dozen of the officers voting in favor of it. The report of the committee was accepted by a bare majority.

"As I said before, I suppose the action of this meeting is not binding upon any one," continued Lincoln, "but is simply an arrangement among ourselves."

"I think it is binding upon all who are present at this meeting," replied the chairman, who was decidedly in favor of the report, for he foresaw that, if De Forrest and Beckwith were advanced, Judson and Norwood would be crowded down, and he would not be a candidate for either of the five highest places in the ship.

But the business was finished, though nothing had really been done. One Novelty press was immediately set at work in printing what Ryder, Judson, and Norwood called the regular ticket, while De Forrest and Beckwith seized upon the other to print their own ticket, in which Ryder was utterly ignored. By the time the seamen returned from the island, three hundred of each of these tickets had been printed.

Scott had carefully instructed the members of the new order to "say nothing to nobody" in regard to the strength of the organization, or[90] anything else relating to it. Of course those who had been to the island, but refused to join the order, knew something about the matter. They were aware that the members were all pledged to vote for Cantwell; but they had not estimated the number who had accepted the obligation.

As soon as the boats had been hoisted up, the friends of the two tickets which had been made up in the cabin went to work upon the seamen. De Forrest and Beckwith had made all sorts of promises to various officers to support them at the election following that of the next day, if they would go for the "independent ticket," as they styled their own, at the present time. When the advocates of the "regular ticket" understood what the "bolters" were doing, they crossed out De Forrest's and Beckwith's names, and substituted that of Ryder for third lieutenant, and that of Murray, the second master, for fourth. The young gentlemen were having a foretaste of the complications of politics, and a great deal of ill feeling was aroused. It was evident enough to the fair-minded, unselfish ones in the cabin, that the new plan was not working well, and they were very much disgusted at the conduct of De Forrest and Beckwith in particular. It was nothing but a scramble for office, without much regard for fitness among the candidates. The only redeeming feature of the business was the fact that Lincoln's name was on both of the cabin tickets; but then he was so popular, and so thoroughly competent for the captaincy, that neither of the factions dared to think of displacing him.

"I say, Longwood, I want you to go for the independent ticket," said De Forrest, addressing one of the students who had declined to join the Bangwhangers.

"The opposition have just formed a secret society, and all its members are pledged to vote for Cantwell," replied Longwood.

"No use; the fellows know him too well. We had a meeting in the cabin, and there will be two tickets. This will be the winning one;" and the third lieutenant handed Longwood one of the printed ballots.

"The present officers; but I have just found out that they are taking my name off the ticket, and putting on Murray's. What do you think of that? Is it fair play?"

"Well, I don't know; but if you are working against the regular ticket, you can't expect its friends to go for you," replied Longwood.

"But they want to shove me down, and I hope my friends won't let them do it. I got up this plan, you know, but the fellows don't seem to give me any credit for it. Vote this ticket—won't you?"

The first lieutenant, Judson, knowing the influence of Scott among the crew, went to him the moment he came on board, to present the claims of the regular ticket.

"Probably it didn't occur to you that the crew had any right to meddle with the matter."

"Yes; we considered the subject; but we hadn't time to call a meeting of the whole ship's company."

"If the fellows in the steerage wish it, perhaps we can put Cantwell on the regular ticket as fourth lieutenant, instead of Murray."

"I am not authorized to speak for our fellows; and I don't know that they would vote your ticket even if you put Cantwell's name on it."

"No; of course I didn't expect them to do it. I told them the crew ought to be consulted, and Captain Lincoln tried to make a motion to that effect, but they wouldn't do it."

"I don't know about that. They have two tickets, and every fellow in the[93] cabin except me, is at work for one or the other of them. Whichever one is elected, I shall be thrown overboard."

"Perhaps not—who knows?" said Scott. "You may be elected captain, after all—who knows?"

"Impossible! I should be satisfied if I were fourth lieutenant, and I am sure my merit-rank would give me that place. But it's no use; I'm counted out."

"Not yet; wait till after election before you give it up. The fellows like fair play; and if you hadn't put on airs before this plan came up, they would make you commodore, just because the cabin nobs are trying to count you out. That's what's the matter. They like your cause a good deal better than they like you. As it is, they mean to see that you have fair play to-morrow. If you should happen to be elected to any office to-morrow, I hope you will try to be a good fellow."

De Forrest was waiting for a chance to speak to Scott, and the C. B. passed on, leaving Cantwell in a very desponding state of mind. The situation had taken the conceit out of him. Conscious of his ability to win even the highest position, he had taken no pains to conciliate his associates, and he was reaping the legitimate harvest of his selfish conduct and his overbearing manner. Certainly the De Forrest plan had already done him a great good. His manners were changed, for he had learned that he was not of half so much consequence as he supposed; and his present depression of spirits did not permit him to put on airs,[94] he had learned that, in all communities, every individual owes something of respect, kindness, and consideration to every other individual, even the superior to the inferior. It was a lesson which he would have been compelled to learn a few years later, if the circumstances had not obliged him to accept it at the present time. It is certainly true that young men are older and wiser at eighteen than at any subsequent period of their lives, and in Cantwell's case this self-importance was considerably exaggerated above the average. Most young men have to be "taken down," and the rough circumstances of life generally do it in the course of a few years, without any earthquake or other violent commotion.

Scott's party did no electioneering. Knowing what the next day was to bring forth, they were particularly jolly, and listened good-naturedly to all the cabin politicians had to say. They were remarkably cautious and prudent, and though the fact of the secret organization was known throughout the ship, the officers did not suspect that it numbered members enough to control the election. The canvass was lively till the anchor watch was stationed on deck, and all hands were compelled to turn in.

The next morning a dense fog hid even the nearest island from view. The Finnish pilots declined to take the vessels through the intricate channels among the islands, except under the most favorable circumstances. After breakfast the principal sent a note to each of the vice-principals. Scott pulled an oar in the boat which delivered them. While the messenger was in the cabin, he went on the deck of the Josephine, and walking about among the crew with the forefinger of his[95] right hand on his nose, he soon discovered half a dozen making the sign.

"Right, Brother Bangwhanger; come to my arms. Vote for Lincoln for commodore," said Scott; "and pass it along to every member."

After repeating this direction in due form to several others, the C. B. returned to the boat, and did the same thing on board of the Tritonia. In each of the two consorts, the members of the order were to nominate a ticket to suit themselves; and so far as they were concerned, the pledge to vote for Cantwell was meaningless. When the boat returned, all hands were piped to muster, and the principal, with the merit-roll in his hand, mounted the rostrum over the main hatch.

"Young gentlemen, in accordance with the change in the method of appointing the officers, announced at Åbo yesterday, the election of commodore of the squadron will take place at ten o'clock to-day," said Mr. Lowington. "The result of the balloting in the consorts will be transmitted without delay to the ship. The election of captain will immediately follow, and then of the four lieutenants, each in the order of rank, and on separate ballots."

"We have printed ballots containing the names of all the candidates," said De Forrest.

"I hope the election will be postponed till eleven o'clock then, in order to give us time to prepare the separate ballots."

"Very well; I consent to the change of time; and the consorts shall be notified at once," replied the principal, who went to the cabin, wrote two notes, and sent them to the vice-principals by the adult forward officers.

"Now, let us understand the method of proceeding thoroughly," continued Mr. Lowington, as he returned to his position on the hatch. "Only a captain is eligible to the office of commodore, or the present incumbent may be reëlected. Only the present cabin officers can be candidates for the five highest offices in the ship; and agreeably to the proviso relating to the ship, no officer who falls below the rank of No. 16 is eligible to any office, but must return to the steerage. Are these rules fully understood?"

"Further, if any student who is now the commodore, the captain, or a lieutenant, should not be elected to one of these positions, what would his rank be for next month?"

"Just the same as it would have been, if the new plan had not been adopted," replied De Forrest.

"I am glad you understand it," added the principal, with a significant look at the third lieutenant. "I will now read the merit-roll, in order that you may know who are, and who are not, eligible to the elective offices. Lincoln is number 1; Cumberland, 2; Norwood, 3; Judson, 4; Murray, 5; Cantwell, 6; Sheridan, 7; Ryder, 8; Vroome, 9; Beckwith,[97] 10; De Forrest, 11; Wainwright, 12; Jones, 13; Orlof, 14; Messenger, 15; Brown, 16. All but three of these may be candidates for the first six offices; and those not elected to higher positions will take their rank by the merit-roll."

Three of the cabin officers had dropped into the steerage, and three in the steerage had risen to the cabin; and when the names of the latter were read, they were greeted with earnest applause. The rest of the names on the roll were read, and the ship's company dismissed. The Novelty printing presses were again in demand. Scott obtained one, and De Forrest the other; and so rapidly was the printing of the ballots accomplished, that by ten o'clock the required number were printed. Promptly at six bells, or eleven o'clock, the ship's company were piped to muster again. The principal made careful arrangements for a fair vote. The box was placed on a water cask, and on each side of it one of the instructors, to see that no one put in more than one ballot. The students were then formed in a single line, on the starboard side, and required to march around the box, deposit their votes, and then to come round upon the port side, the forward officers standing amidships to prevent any from passing over and voting a second time. The principal was aware that the most intense excitement pervaded the crew, and he deemed it proper, even for the appearances' sake, to guard against "repeaters" and "ballot stuffers." One officer and two seamen were appointed to count the votes, and when all had deposited their ballots, the committee, attended by the two instructors, retired to the main cabin to perform their duty. While they were thus engaged, a boat from[98] the Josephine, and another from the Tritonia, brought the result of the voting in these vessels to the ship. The returns were in sealed envelopes, and were sent down to the committee. In a short time the votes were counted, the returns from the consorts added, and the whole verified by the instructors present. Murray, the officer on the committee who had been named first was to make the report.

When he came on deck, the ship's company gathered around the rostrum, from which the result was to be announced, and there was intense anxiety manifested by both parties.

"Whole number of votes, 170," said Murray, reading from the paper in his hand. "Necessary for a choice, 86. Captain Wolff has 5; Captain Langdon has 9; Commodore Cumberland has 64; Captain Lincoln has 92, and is elected."

The De Forresters looked at each other in blank amazement, for this result was wholly unexpected by them. It had never occurred to them that Cumberland could be defeated, and all the anxiety they had in relation to the vote for commodore was to ascertain the strength of the opposition, who were understood to be running another candidate.

"Captain Lincoln, I congratulate you on your election," said Cumberland, as soon as he could in some measure recover from his astonishment.

"I thank you, commodore; but this is none of my doings. I am more astonished than you can be, and don't propose to stand it," replied Lincoln.

"Three cheers for Commodore Lincoln," called one of the opposition, and[99] they were given on the instant; and Cumberland joined heartily in the tribute.

"Mr. Lowington, I wish to decline!" shouted Lincoln. "I was not a candidate for this position; I did not, and do not, desire the position."

"All the captains were candidates," replied the principal. "If you had given notice before the vote that you did not desire the position, and would not accept, it would have been another thing."

"But I had no suspicion, till the ballot was taken, that any one intended to vote for me," pleaded Lincoln. "I do not like to accept the place for several reasons."

"I hope he will accept it, sir," said Commodore Cumberland; "and I wish to say that, if another ballot is taken, I must decline to be a candidate."

The opposition applauded violently. It was understood that Lincoln declined out of regard to his friend and superior; but the noble conduct of the commodore put to the blush some of the smaller aspirants for office.

"I do not think that Captain Lincoln can decline, under the circumstances," said the principal. "Such a step does not seem to be in order. Besides, young gentlemen, you desired to vote, and I shall not interfere with the freedom of the elections. I hope you will have voting enough to-day fully to satisfy you. We will now proceed to the election of the captain of the ship."

The boats from the Josephine and the Tritonia returned with the result of the vote for commodore, and the balloting proceeded as before. This[100] was really the exciting contest of the day, and the De Forresters were somewhat demoralized by the result of the ballot for commodore. Under the arrangement made by the principal, the most perfect order prevailed. Every student on board had been provided with all the ballots in circulation, and the time for electioneering had gone by. But the unexpected election of Lincoln as commodore had deranged the plans of all but the opposition. All others, however, voted for Cumberland for captain, for the ballots had nothing upon them but the name of the candidate, and "Regular," "Independent," or "Equal Rights" ticket, the last being the rallying cry of the opposition. The votes were deposited in silence, and it was a very anxious period for the cabin officers, for the present ballot would effectually prove where the strength lay. The committee retired, and all hands nervously awaited the result. In ten minutes Murray appeared with the paper on which the state of the vote was written. As this ballot decided the great question of all the elective offices, the hearts of the officers were in their mouths, and the agitation of some of them was even ludicrous.

"Give your attention to the report of the committee," said the principal; but this was an unnecessary request, for every student was all attention the moment Murray showed his head above the companionway.

"Whole number of votes, 88," said the chairman "Necessary for a choice, 45; Lieutenant Judson has 1; Commodore Cumberland has 39; Fourth Master Cantwell has 48, and is elected."

The opposition cheered lustily, and laughed their satisfaction, as they[101] beheld the blank dismay of the agitators.

"I'll quit the ship!" cried De Forrest, his face red from the violence of his wrath. "I'll run away the first chance I get."

"Mr. De Forrest," said the principal, in a loud tone, which immediately produced the silence of curiosity.

"I did say so, sir," replied the third lieutenant, who, however, did not intend to be over-heard by the principal. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"I don't think there is. The result is not much different from what I expected," replied the principal, with a pleasant smile on his face. "When I learned that the officers had held a caucus for the nomination of candidates in the after cabin, and refused to consult the seamen on the subject, it seemed quite probable that the regular ticket would be defeated. I heard that Captain Lincoln attempted to have a meeting of[102] all hands to consider the subject, but was overruled. I am not astonished that he is elected commodore. Young gentlemen, you wished to vote, and you have voted."

The opposition cheered and applauded furiously. They cheered Lincoln and the principal, and had begun to give three groans for De Forrest, when they were checked by Mr. Lowington.

"It is weak and foolish now to say there has been cheating, when the result does not please you," continued the principal. "It appears now that Cantwell, who is No. 6 on the merit-roll, has been elected captain by a majority of the votes. Captain Cantwell, I congratulate you on your election, and you shall have every facility for discharging your duty."

"Thank you, sir. I am very much obliged to those who voted for me; and I will endeavor to do my duty faithfully, courteously, and kindly," replied the new captain.

There were two or three attempts to hiss but the demonstration was promptly checked, even before it was drowned out by the vociferous applause of the opposition. Commodores Lincoln and Cumberland manfully congratulated Cantwell, and promised to support him fairly and honorably in the discharge of his duty.

"Young gentlemen, the fog is lifting, and we must proceed with the elections," resumed the principal, "You will now bring in your ballots for first lieutenant."

Cumberland was the nominee of the opposition for this office, and as[103] the regulars voted for him also, he was elected over the independent ticket of De Forrest, who had put himself in nomination, and who obtained but thirteen votes. Of course he was more disgusted than before. He declared that his friends had deserted him, and served him a mean trick. Judson was chosen second lieutenant, and Norwood third, by about the same vote. Sheridan, who was the candidate of the opposition, received just the number necessary for a choice, which seemed to be the exact strength of the Bangwhangers in the ship, the rest of them being in the consorts. The elective offices being filled, it was necessary to fix the rank of the remaining officers by the merit-roll. Murray was the new first master; Beckwith's rank was the same as before; and De Forrest was first purser—an office of trust, but generally disliked by the students, who did not wish to be mere clerks. By the changes of the month, three of the Bangwhangers became officers.

The students were dismissed from muster, and the new officers ordered to put on the uniform of their rank. Very exciting conversations in the after cabin and steerage followed. Lincoln and Cumberland treated the new captain kindly, for which he was very grateful. Wainwright, Jones, and Brown, who had been promoted from the steerage, congratulated him, but no other officer said a word to him. He was captain, but the position promised to have its thorns as well as its roses. However, his first lieutenant, the late commodore, who was one of the ablest seamen on board, and was above any jealousy or meanness, had treated him handsomely, and promised to support him. At dinner, after he had put[104] on his captain's uniform, Cantwell seated himself at one end of the table, while Lincoln sat at the other, and the first lieutenant at the captain's right. Most of the officers looked ugly, and it was not a cheerful meal.

CHAPTER VI.

Cantwell, since the examination in seamanship, had used every moment of his spare time in studying the books on this subject, and in conversation with Peaks and the other adult forward officers. When his shipmates went on shore, he remained on board, because the veteran boatswain was less engaged at these times. He was thoroughly in earnest, but of course it was not possible for any one to master a profession of so many details in a few days, or even a few weeks. The new captain was conscious of his deficiency in this respect, and even willing to acknowledge his unfitness for the position to which he had been elected. Under the former rule it would have been hardly possible for him to reach either of the first two offices of the ship until he had learned all the details of his business, for even a single examination, such as that which had so greatly changed his relative rank a few days before, would have prevented his improper elevation. Ordinarily, there was such an exercise every week, and every day instruction was given in knotting, splicing, and other work on rigging; in sea-terms and the names and uses of ropes, blocks, spars, sails, and other parts of a ship; while[106] navigation and the practical working of a vessel were a daily lesson conducted by the principal.

Probably there was not a boy in the squadron who had not some taste for nautical matters, and, with hardly an exception, every one had entered the Academy Ship or her consorts at his own request, or at least with his own consent. Though some found their sailor life quite different from what they expected, all were more or less ambitious to learn their duty as seamen. It was always the case that a large majority of the ship's company had been connected with the institution one or more years, and were thoroughly familiar with all the minor details of seamanship; could hand, reef, and steer, set and furl a sail, and knew with more or less certainty what should be done in nearly every emergency liable to occur to a vessel. In other words, a large majority of the officers and seamen were old sailors. These young men were not ignorant, stupid persons, into whose heads it was necessary to hammer an idea; but nearly all of them had a tolerable education when they entered the institution. The fact that a large portion of them were wild and wayward did not detract from their natural ability, for the wildest and the most wayward are often the most brilliant and quick-witted. With such a proportion of well-trained seamen on board, the new comers learned more from them incidentally, than from the set exercises in seamanship. They were interested and anxious to become familiar with the details of their profession, for he was a dull and stupid fellow who did not expect, some time or other, to be an officer. But Cantwell had not been long enough in the ship to master the details; besides, his[107] manner was cold and repulsive, and the veterans were not disposed to make much talk with him. He realized now that he had made a mistake in not cultivating the good will of his shipmates.

Captain Cantwell expected trouble among the officers. He knew that, with half a dozen exceptions, they disliked him exceedingly. Cumberland treated him very handsomely. Sheridan, the fourth lieutenant, had been elected to a position higher than his merit-rank by the opposition, and therefore the captain counted upon his influence and support; and the second purser and first and fourth midshipmen had come into the cabin from the crew by their own merit. But at least nine of the officers were hostile to him; some of them bitterly hostile, as Beckwith and De Forrest. He was confident that a few of them would do all they could to expose his deficiencies, and to make his position uncomfortable. When he appeared in the cabin, in the uniform of his rank, he could not fail to see the sneer which was on the faces of several of the officers. But he maintained his dignity, resolved not to notice any demonstration unless it was an open and palpable insult. After dinner most of the officers went on deck, and in a short time the principal sent for the captain.

"The fog has lifted, and the pilots say they can go to sea now. You will get under way immediately," said the principal.

Captain Cantwell touched his cap, and called to Brown, the fourth midshipman, who approached him with the proper salute.

"On deck, sir," reported Cumberland, touching his cap to the new[108] captain; and it seemed very strange to Cantwell to see the late commodore paying this mark of respect to him.

It is rather doubtful whether Cantwell could have given all the orders in detail which were necessary to execute this manœuvre, and certainly his position as captain was much less trying than it would have been as first lieutenant. If a majority of the officers were surly and dissatisfied, a majority of the crew were delighted when they saw the new captain on the quarter-deck; not that they had any particular respect or regard for him personally, but because he represented their cause, and was the evidence of their triumph. All hands were called, and never were orders more promptly obeyed. In a few moments the Young America was standing off before the wind, followed by the rest of the squadron. The vessels threaded their way through the channels among the islands, and passed out into the broad bay, for it was not deemed prudent to take the steamer's course, nearer the main shore. The usual routine of study was pursued during the afternoon, as the squadron, with a light breeze, rolled lazily along towards her next port.

"Your plan does not seem to work very well, De Forrest," said the principal to the new first purser, whose duties required his presence in the main cabin, when he had finished his recitations.

"No, sir; we didn't have fair play. Scott got up a secret society, and[109] dragged more than half the seamen into it," replied De Forrest, bitterly. "I hope such things will be prevented."

"I am not in favor of such associations for political purposes; but I think the crew had a perfect right to organize for this election."

"But the students who joined the society had to pledge themselves to vote for Cantwell."

"That is virtually done at all caucuses and political conventions. You think such societies ought to be suppressed—do you?"

"Inasmuch as no seaman is allowed to enter the after cabin, your meetings there were, to all intents and purposes, secret. You proposed to keep the offices among yourselves, and you nominated the candidates, without consulting the crew, who were to find most of the votes to elect them, if they were elected. I think Scott was perfectly justified in taking the course he did. The secret society, I suspect, is rather for amusement than for anything else. You knew of its existence, and it is only a fair counterbalance for your meetings in the after cabin."

"We have come to the conclusion, sir, that our plan does not work very well," added De Forrest, rather sheepishly.

"It has not been tried under favorable circumstances. I have a higher[110] opinion of it than you seem to have," replied Mr. Lowington. "It was brought forward, I am told, by yourself and others, to prevent Cantwell from becoming captain or first lieutenant. This was an unworthy purpose, and in the eyes of the crew it amounted to persecution."

"Perhaps he was not; and if your plan had not been adopted, he would only have been fourth lieutenant. As the matter stands now, you have actually made an unpopular officer your captain by your attempt to persecute him. However odd and ridiculous Scott's tactics may have been to defeat your intentions, they were based upon a genuine love of fair play. You have been caught in your own trap."

"I confess that we have, sir; and we would like to get out of the trap," replied De Forrest.

"That is quite impossible. Cantwell has been fairly elected, and he shall serve out his month."

"I adopted the new plan to please you, and I purpose to give it a full and fair trial. It has some very manifest advantages, the principal one of which is, that it makes the officers in some measure responsible to the crew for their conduct. It encourages courtesy and kindness in the superior. But I am aware that it has some disadvantages, not the least of which is this electioneering, though this is inseparable from republican institutions."

"After two or three months' trial of the present plan, if a large[111] majority of the squadron desire it, I shall be willing to make the change; but I hope to see one election which shall be fairly conducted, and in which no false issues shall be introduced. In the last, the main question was whether the officers should deprive Cantwell of his merit-rank; and every other issue was in some manner related to this."

"But Cumberland, whose rank by merit was No. 1, was displaced from his office, though all the students like him very well; perhaps not so well as Lincoln, but very well," suggested De Forrest.

"It was known to the crew that Lincoln wished to have a caucus of the whole ship's company—a spirit of fairness to which he owes his election. If Cumberland desired the same thing, it was not known in the steerage."

"The fellows say that three of the new cabin officers are members of Scott's secret society," added De Forrest.

"Then they will be likely to interfere with the secret proceedings of the after cabin."

"Brown, the fourth midshipman, is one of them. He may be the next captain;" and there was an expression akin to horror on De Forrest's face.

"He may be; and he is a better seaman than Cantwell, for he has been in the ship two years."

"That is one of the difficulties incident to your plan. Even politicians will acknowledge that the ablest and best statesmen in our country are very seldom elected to the highest offices; but in the army and navy,[112] in time of war, the ablest men are almost certain to find their proper sphere."

"I hope the old plan will be restored, sir; for I don't like the idea of a secret society jumping the lowest officer over all our heads, simply because he is a member. It doesn't look right to me."

"It isn't right; but I expect to see the same spirit of fairness at the next election which was displayed at the last one. If the cabin officers give the crew fair play, I have no doubt the seamen will exhibit the same spirit. If you wish to do the business just right, have a fair caucus, and you will nullify all the influence of the secret society."

The principal went on deck then, but in the evening he had a long talk with Scott, who declared that all he wanted was fair play, and that the secret society would not, and could not, be used in the interest of anything but fair play.

The next morning the squadron was approaching Helsingfors. The town is protected by the extensive fortifications of Sveaborg, planted on seven islands, and from its great strength the fortress has been called the "Gibraltar of the North." The scenery in the vicinity, consisting of vast numbers of islands, is quite picturesque. The works were bombarded by the combined English and French squadrons during the Crimean war, in 1855; but though the attack was a very fierce one, it was entirely unsuccessful. It was the last stronghold of the Swedes in Finland, and when it was besieged by the Russians, in 1808, it was surrendered to them by Admiral Cronstedt, while he had still sufficient means of[113] defence; and he is charged with treachery, though it has never been proved, for he did not enter the Russian service, and left no fortune at his death. The Finns were indignant at his conduct, and their patriot poet, Runeberg, has written some indignant verses, which have the ring of Scott's minstrel poem:—

The appearance of Helsingfors, approaching from the sea, is very imposing, for its public buildings are large, elegant structures, the principal ones being on elevated ground. The inner harbor is nearly in the shape of a square, and vessels go up to the wharves on the left.

"What is that large building, Dr. Winstock?" asked Commodore Lincoln, as the ship stood up the harbor.

"It is a magnificent building," added the young officer, as he gazed with admiration upon the lofty building with its gilded dome.

"All the Russian churches are beautiful buildings; and you will find that those in St. Petersburg and Moscow far excel this one. The large structures in front of us are the Lutheran church, the University,—which was moved from Åbo to this place,—and the Senate House."

"I did not expect to find any such place as this away up here. Why, it[114] is one of the finest cities I ever looked upon!" exclaimed the commodore.

The squadron anchored quite near the shore, and after the sails had been furled, the yards carefully squared, and everything hauled taut, the recitations in the steerage proceeded as usual. They were continued without interruption, except for dinner,—though of course all the classes were not occupied at the same time,—till three o'clock in the afternoon, when the boats were manned, and all hands were allowed to go on shore.

"The gig is ready, sir," reported the officer to whom the charge of this boat had been given, to the captain.

"It is not necessary that you should go, but I should think you would desire to see the town."

"I cannot spare the time, Mr. Lowington," answered the captain, with a smile. "As you are aware, sir, I am deficient in seamanship; and Mr. Peaks, who has kindly consented to help me, has more leisure when the ship's company are on shore than at any other time."

"I commend your zeal, and I will not interfere with your purpose," replied the principal, as he went over the side, and took his seat in the professor's barge.

On the shore, the doctor, the commodore, Paul Kendall, Shuffles, and the[115] ladies, made up a party, and went to the Society's House, which is the name of the principal hotel here, as well as in Åbo and Wyborg, where they endeavored to procure a commissionaire who spoke English; but none was to be had. The elegant Greek church was the first object of interest, and they walked over to the hill on which it is located. As if to follow literally with the words of Christ to Peter, this church "is founded upon a rock." It is built of brick, and, like nearly all Russian churches, is in the form of a Greek cross. At a little distance from the main structure, but connected with it, is the bell tower. As the party approached, the bell began to ring for a service. Its tones were quite different from those heard in other countries, but more melodious, and lacking the sharp qualities. Instead of a wheel and rope to ring it, as most bells are rung, two men were stationed in the belfry, and, by a rope attached to the tongue, were swaying it hack and forth, till it struck the metal on each side.

As the tourists entered the building, they were passed by a man with a long, heavy, red beard, clothed in a kind of brown gown, or robe, who, the doctor said, was a priest. The interior of the church was different from any other which most of the party had seen. Opposite the entrance was a screen, or partition, extending to the ceiling, which was covered with pictures of the saints, or other holy persons, of the Greek church. Only the face, and sometimes the hands, of the person represented are shown, the rest of the picture being covered with gold. In the middle of this partition is a lofty archway closed by two doors of gold, or[116] gilt. In front there is a platform, on which the priests stand in performing the service. In various parts of the church are pictures of the Russian saints, before each of which is a candle, or other light. In one corner there was a cenotaph, covered with gold, which represents the tomb of Christ, used at Easter and Christmas in the service. There was no seat, bench, or other convenience for sitting, for no one is allowed to sit in a Russian church. Men were lighting the candles and lamps before the pictures of the holy persons, reverently bowing and crossing themselves as they approached them. The party were deeply interested, but they obtained a better idea of the religion of the Russians in St. Petersburg.

The travellers next obtained admission to the Senate House, in which the hall intended for the meeting of the senate on state occasions is the principal attraction. It contains a magnificent throne for the emperor, who has twice presided in person at the sessions of this body; but whether he is there or not, his gaudy seat seemed to be the representative of his power. This building contains the remains of the library saved from the great fire at Åbo, which has been increased to one hundred thousand volumes. After a walk through the University, founded by Queen Christina, which has usually about five hundred students, and a walk up the long flight of steps leading to the Lutheran church, the party returned to the great square.

"There's a costume!" exclaimed Lincoln, when, in turning a corner, they came suddenly upon a Russian drosky, the driver of which was dressed in the long pelisse and bell-crowned hat of his class.

"Yes; and that's just what you will see in every Russian city," replied[117] the doctor. "All the drivers are dressed just alike, and this garb is worn only by them."

The pelisse was a long green garment, reaching down to the ankles, with bright globular buttons. The hat was similar to a European fashion which had its day at least fifty years ago, and an occasional one was seen even forty years ago. The diameter of the body at the top was about twice that at the brim. The drosky was a narrow vehicle sitting low on four small wheels. The seat for the passengers was narrow, though two persons can crowd into it. In front, and higher up, is a seat for the driver. At the end of the shafts was a wooden bow, or arch, over the horse's shoulders.

"That's a question which is more easily asked than answered," replied the doctor. "I have looked at it a hundred times, but I have never been able to see that it is of the slightest use, though I have seen a check rein attached to it. For this purpose it is worse than useless; and if there is a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals in Russia, I hope it will take hold of the matter, for it is infinitely worse for the poor beast than when the check is hooked at the saddle."

"If it is useless always, and sometimes cruel, I hope all the bows in Russia will be banished," laughed Mrs. Kendall.

"Beaux are very well in their places," added Dr. Winstock; "and[118] marriage seems to be a better remedy than banishment."

The driver of the drosky gathered up his petticoats and jumped off his box, when the party paused before his vehicle. He looked vastly more pleasant and amiable than a New York hackman, touched his hat, bowed, and smiled blandly, as he pointed insinuatingly at the carriage. At the same moment three more droskies rushed to the spot, the drivers intent upon obtaining a job. They talked, but of course none of the Americans could understand a word they said. The party intended to ride, and three of them were taken; but it was no easy matter for either of the ladies and her husband to crowd into the seat. Paul Kendall solved the difficulty in his own case by taking half of the driver's place. Lincoln and the doctor were better accommodated, and led the way, the latter pointing in the direction he wished to go. They went up a very broad street, with a green in the middle, like the Champs Elysées in Paris, in which there were well-kept avenues. On the walks were several neat stands for the sale of soda, which were attended by pretty girls, who seemed to be doing a good business. A ride up this street, and down another, with what they had seen before, nearly exhausted the town, which contains twenty-four thousand inhabitants, but is spread out over a large extent of country. All the streets were wide, some of them disagreeably wide, when any one wishes to cross to the opposite side.

Returning to the square, Dr. Winstock pointed down a street by the steamboat landing, which extended along the west shore of the bay. The driver understood him promptly, for this street led to the Botanical[119] Gardens, which is a popular place of resort for the people. It was about a mile from the town, and on the arrival of the party a band was playing in front of a large building which contained a very handsome restaurant, sometimes used as a ball-room. The tourists entered this place, and seated themselves at one of the tables.

"What's the use of coming in here, when we can't speak a word of the lingo?" laughed Paul.

"I never go hungry for the want of language," replied the doctor, as a very polite waiter presented himself.

"Ya; ein wenig; nicht fiel," replied the man, a gleam of sunshine lighting up his face, when the difficulty seemed to be solved.

But his knowledge of German was exceedingly limited, though after several blunders he brought the lunch and coffee which the surgeon ordered. The feast consisted of the same "snack" which is served in Sweden—little fishes, thin slices of sausage, and of salmon, and the inevitable sandwich of caviar, or fish spawn. As in Sweden, the coffee was excellent; but none of the party had yet conquered their repugnance to the slimy caviar. When they had about finished the lunch, the attentive waiter appeared with half a dozen dishes of veal cutlets.

"No; I said kalt Fleisch," added the doctor; and Paul laughed heartily, though this was only a specimen of the blunders the man made.

The surgeon had called for kalt Fleisch, or cold meat, and the first word is not unlike Kalb.

"Rechnung," said Dr. Winstock, which means, "Bring me the bill;" as the French say, "Addition," for the same thing, and the Austrians, "Bezahlen."

The bill, which doubtless included the veal cutlets, was three marks, or sixty cents, for each person—a foretaste of Russian prices, dearer than in any other part of Europe. It was paid, and the party took a walk through the gardens, extending down to the sea-shore. It is simply a pleasant place, without being very attractive. A hill near the point of the peninsula commands a fine view of Sveaborg and the Gulf. There is an extensive bathing-house near the rocky shore. A trip among the islands in the vicinity is very agreeable, and little steamers may be chartered for such excursions at three rubles an hour. The party returned to the town, and drove to the landing-place, where they were fortunate enough to find Professor Badois, to act as interpreter in paying the drosky fares; for however bland the drivers were in their manners, they were evidently familiar with the tricks of their craft.

The several ship's companies went on board at once. The next morning the squadron sailed for Wyborg, where she arrived after a day and a night[121] at sea, though the steamers make the trip in twelve hours. Twelve versts from the town, the vessels passed into the harbor, which is an extensive bay, through a narrow passage, on both sides of which were vast piles of lumber, from which craft of all sizes and kinds were loading. Off the town the squadron came to anchor, but no one was permitted to go on shore until after the recitations in the afternoon.

CHAPTER VII.

"I should like to know what the name of this place is," said Lincoln to Dr. Winstock, who was seated near him in the commodore's barge, which was leading the line to the shore. "In one book it is Viborg; in another, Wiborg; in a third, Wyborg." "The different spellings of the same word simply indicate the attempts of authors to render the foreign sounds into English," replied the surgeon. "We have the same variety in many other words. On the English maps of Russia, you will find the names of rivers, provinces, and towns given in many different ways; as, Kief, Kiev, and Kiew, the latter being the German rendering of the word; Nyzni, Nysni, Nezhnii, and a dozen other forms. Of course you can take your choice. As for Wyborg, I think it will hardly pay to land, for there is really nothing to be seen here. Like Constantinople, the best view of the town is from the outside."

The students landed at the town, which is built on uneven ground. Most of the streets are narrow and crooked, and the travellers soon realized the truth of the surgeon's view. At the east side of the place is an[123] old castle in ruins. On a rock, rising from an arm of the sea, is a lofty old tower, which has played its part in many a battle and siege, for Wyborg was long a bone of contention between Sweden and Russia, before the latter obtained possession, of it. Looking to the eastward of the town, vast sheets of water may be seen, on which small steamers ply, as at Stockholm, and a few miles distant are a garden and summer resort for the people. A series of rivers and lakes connects Lakes Ladoga and Saima, and a canal at Wyborg joins both of these great sheets of water to the Gulf of Finland. Lakes Onega and Ladoga are united by the River Svir, upon which plies a small steamer. The waters of Lake Onega also mingle with those of the Volga. The Volkof River flows from Lake Ilmen into Ladoga, and is navigable for barges; and Lake Ilmen, by the help of a canal, is also connected with the Volga. A boat may, therefore, start from the upper waters of the Finnish lakes, and go through to the Caspian Sea.

A couple of hours in Wyborg fully satisfied the party, and they returned to the boats for an excursion by water around the town. The scenery in the vicinity is very pleasant, and at seven o'clock the students landed at a green island.

"Now, fellows, we can attend to the second degree," said Scott, when he had gathered some of the Bangwhangers around him, and found a retired place.

The members of the fraternity knew each other so well, that there was no difficulty in separating themselves from the rest of the ship's company. The eight officers assembled near the shore, on a point of land where[124] there was a wooden shanty, that had evidently been used for cleaning and curing fish, for a villainous smell came from it, which was very trying to the olfactories of the members.

"First rate. We shall initiate the candidates into the mysteries of a horrible odor at the same time," replied Scott, as the officers entered the rude building.

"All right; place the O. L. M. outside of the building, the I. L. M. inside, near the door," said Scott, as he turned over a fish-tub for his own throne as C. B., and placed it at one end of the building, while Wainwright, the D. C. B., located himself at the other end.

"Officers, to your stations; proceed to open a lodge of Bangwhangers. Y. D. K., on my right; Q. D., on my left; R. P. F. and L. P. F., on my left. Brother D. C. B., are you a Bangwhanger?"

"Eight; and nothing can be done with a less number," replied the D. C.[125] B., who answered all these questions, and named all the officers.

"Give him a stick of candy, and tell him his grandmother is waiting for him round the corner."

"Make faces at the C. B. when he is present, and take his place when he is absent."

"Because he goes to the head," replied the D. C. B., with a hideous grimace, which made all the officers laugh.

"Right; you have said enough; clap a stopper on your jaw tackle," said[127] Scott. "The ship is under way, and the officers are at their stations."

Scott added that they had no time to spare, and the business must proceed at once.

"Has he been instructed in the Rule of Three?" which meant the three clauses of the obligation.

The R. P. F. and the L. P. F. went out, and soon returned with Clyde Blacklock between them. On his head, and drawn entirely over it, was a white cap. A yard of cotton cloth had been purchased at Helsingfors, which had been sewed up like a meal bag. This was pulled down over the candidate's face, and the square end of it hung down in front of him, having upon it, in letters cut out of black cloth, and sewed upon the cotton, the mysterious device AT-VI., which, however, did not relate to "Plantation Bitters."

"Ay, ay, sir! We captured him outside, and in spite of his frantic struggles, have brought him before you to be examined," replied the R. P. F.

"The bag out of which a faithless Brother of the Most Respectable Order of Bangwhangers let the cat," added the C. B., tragically.

Whereupon the officers, who had silently gathered around the candidate, began to punch him in the ribs, and under the ears, not to hurt, but only to tickle him. As Clyde was sensitive in this direction, as almost anybody would be when taken by surprise, the effect was very decided, and the candidate wriggled, and squirmed, and roared.

Then the R. P. F. and the L. P. F. seized the white cap by the corners, and jerked it violently from Clyde's head, and laid it on the floor before him, with the letters right side up to him. All the officers pointed at the cap, with the most extravagant expressions of surprise and indignation upon their faces.

"And it has our mark upon it," replied Scott, with indignation in his looks and tones. Then suddenly changing his voice and manner, he continued, very gently, "Brother Blacklock, this degree is founded upon the story of a vile Indian in the wilds of America. Some emigrants were travelling over the prairies of the great west, intending to settle in Nevada. One of them had a favorite Maltese cat, of which the whole party were very fond. They were very much afraid of losing the creature, and for greater security they carried her in a bag,—precisely like that just found upon you,—bearing upon it the initials of the owner's name, which was, in full, Andrew Thomas Vincent Iverson. For a guide they had a vile Indian, who, like all vile Indians, was very fond of whiskey. One night this vile Indian was particularly 'dry.' and wanted to 'wet his whistle' with fire-water. After the emigrants had gone to sleep, he searched the camp for some of his favorite beverage. He came across the bag containing the Maltese cat. As the contents thereof seemed to be lively, he thought it contained a bottle of whiskey. He opened the bag, and the cat leaped out, not whiskey; in other words, he let the cat[130] out of the bag—at all times a very grave and terrible offence. When he saw what he had done, he was alarmed, and concealed the bag within his clothes, intending to make the emigrants believe that the cat had run away, carrying the bag with her. But, vile Indian that he was, his employers suspected him, and punching him in the ribs, they discovered the bag. Then they knew that he had let the cat out of the bag, and as the penalty of his crime, they compelled him to eat Bologna sausage until he couldn't help barking. Brother Blacklock, this solemn ceremony is intended to convince you that, should you ever let the cat out of the bag, you will be subjected to the same penalty as the vile Indian, who was A 'Ticklarly Vile Indian. This bag bears our mark,—AT-VI.,—which relates to the hour you were caught—at six. It also means A 'Ticklarly Vile Indian, and alludes, besides, to the rallying number of our order—AT., eighty; VI., six. Brother Blacklock, it is your next move. Take a seat where you find one."

"This will never do," interposed the D. C. B. "Some of the members will die of old age before we can give them the second degree at this rate."

"I was thinking of that myself," replied Scott; "and I have the remedy. We will go through the first part with the candidates singly, and explain the meaning of it to the crowd all together. Then it won't take two minutes apiece."

Another "vile Indian" was easily captured outside of the fish-house,[131] and was passed through the same ceremony. He was duly tickled till he rolled on the ground, pronounced guilty of stealing the bag, allowed to see it; and when the mark upon it was indignantly identified, the candidate was sent to a seat. About twenty went through this part of the performance, and then, when all of them were placed in front of the C. B., he told them the story of "A 'Ticklarly Vile Indian." All of them were solemnly warned not to let the cat out of the bag; and in closing the lodge, those who had just been "elevated" to the second degree, were permitted to learn the meaning of the mysterious initials. All who had participated in the ceremonies, either as active or passive agents, were delighted with the fun, and those who were patiently waiting their turn to be elevated, were very much disappointed when obliged to go on board their respective vessels without their second degree, especially as those who had taken it looked wise and mysterious, and would not even hint at anything which had transpired in the lodge.

"Tip-top," replied Wainwright, the D. C. B., who was now the second purser of the ship; "but we may not get a chance to do anything more for weeks."

"I think we can find some place to do it in the ship. The mess-rooms are rather small, but we can make one of them answer on a pinch," replied Scott. "By the way, Wainwright, I don't know that you want to belong any longer."

"That won't make any difference. The seamen can't go into the cabin; but the officers can go into the steerage. I think the lodge makes rare fun, and I, for one, enjoy it hugely. I would rather go back into the steerage than lose the sport."

"You'll do," laughed Scott. "I was thinking it was about time for you to begin to put on airs."

"You will begin about the time I do. You are my superior officer in the Bangwhangers."

"When we have given all the fellows the second degree, it will be time enough to talk about the third. How does Cantwell get along in the cabin?"

"First rate. What you said to him did him a heap of good, for he don't put on airs, and don't exhibit so much selfishness as the officers say he did. I suppose you know that the De Forresters are sick of their bargain?"

"I concluded that they were. It was a hard nut to have Cantwell elected over them."

"De Forrest has already got up a petition to the principal to restore the old way of electing the officers; but the fellows in the cabin don't like the idea of signing it yet. It looks too much like backing down."

"I rather like the present plan," laughed Scott; "and I want it to have a fair trial."

"What were you fellows up to in that old shanty?" said De Forrest to Wainwright, as they met in the cabin.

"But it's just what you fellows in the cabin did before Cantwell was elected," answered Wainwright.

"We hadn't any secret society: we only met in the cabin to talk over the matter."

"We are going to do away with this thing, anyhow, and go back to the old plan," added De Forrest.

"It don't mean that. It means that a majority of the fellows—all of[134] them in the steerage—voted for a fellow for captain whom they did not like, and who, they knew, was not fit for the place, out of spite to the officers. If they had voted on their own judgment, instead of following Scott's lead—"

"But you have your merit-rank; and it looks now as though your plan was intended to save yourself from a bad fall, rather than to keep Cantwell from being captain."

"If that was what they were driving at, they needn't blame the fellows in the steerage for taking things into their own hands."

"Because you want to be captain, or something of that sort," laughed the second purser. "I don't believe it would do you any good. Are you willing to vote for Cantwell for commodore next month?"

"Cantwell for commodore!" exclaimed De Forrest, in disgust, as he walked away from his companion.

In ten minutes he had told half of the officers that the secret society intended to make Cantwell commodore next month, and when his duties as first purser required him to visit the main cabin soon after, he revealed the momentous secret to Mr. Lowington.

"I have heard a great deal about your secret society, Wainwright," continued the principal. "You have just had a meeting on the island?"

"I do not believe in secret societies for political purposes. Do you intend to make Cantwell commodore next month?"

"Didn't you ask me, when I spoke of joining, if I would vote for[136] Cantwell for commodore?" asked De Forrest.

"If Cantwell is using this society to make himself commodore, it is time to suppress the society."

"Cantwell is not a member of it, sir," replied Wainwright. "It was got up simply to defeat the plan of the officers to control the election. At the meeting on the island to-day, not a word was said about the elections in any way. If the nominations are fairly made next time, I don't believe the society will meddle with them."

"If the officers nominate in the cabin, without consulting the seamen, very likely the society will do something."

"In that case, I should not object; for a secret society in the steerage is no worse than one in the cabin."

"But what is the society for?" asked De Forrest, dissatisfied with the situation.

"We met in that old fish-house on the island. We have no place in the ship. I was going to ask you, sir, if we might fit up a place in the hold," added Wainwright.

"The hold is not a fit place for any meeting. I can do better, if assured that your society is a proper one."

"I think it is, sir. There is nothing in it contrary to the rules of[137] the ship. In all the colleges there are secret societies, such as the Φ. Β. Κ."

"Thank you, sir. We shall be very grateful to you," replied Wainwright, utterly confounded by the generosity of the principal.

De Forrest was disgusted, and went away with "a flea in his ear." Of course the action of the principal was immediately known among all the officers. Cumberland only laughed, while others looked grave, and proposed that they should get up a society among the officers. The proposition was hailed with a shout of satisfaction, and a committee appointed to prepare a plan. Wainwright hastened to Scott with the pleasant news he had to tell, and the main cabin was obtained for that evening. As the instructors spent most of their unoccupied time on deck, this was no hardship to them. The lodge opened again, with those present who had taken the second degree. In older to make the thing more ludicrous than before, the officers enveloped themselves in blankets, sheets, and such other fantastic apparel as they could lay hands upon, and each one placed his small tin wash-bowl on his head, the handle of which stuck out like a queue behind. The curtain over the skylight was drawn so that no one on deck could see into the cabin. The pantry was built out from the bulkhead, which separated it from the main cabin, into the steerage, forming a space, or gangway, four feet wide, between the pantry and the mess-rooms, from winch one of the doors opened into the cabin. A blanket was extended across from the front of the pantry,[138] before the starboard door, making an apartment four feet square, in which the O. L. M. was stationed. The candidate was admitted to this place, and when the bag was drawn over his head, he was conducted into the lodge. The ceremonies were performed with even more spirit than in the old fish-house, and the roars of laughter that went up from the main cabin assured those within hearing that the members were having a good time. All the rest in the ship who had taken their first degree were "elevated" to the second on this occasion. At the close of the initiation, a vote of thanks to the principal was unanimously passed, for his kindness in granting the society the use of the cabin; and after some debate, he was also elected an honorary member of the order, with the privilege of attending any and all its meetings—a privilege of which, however, he magnanimously declined to avail himself.

The next morning the squadron sailed for Cronstadt, and, as the weather was beautiful, the trip was a very pleasant one. The gulf was lively with steamers, and sailing vessels of all kinds, from the smallest Russian fishing shallop up to the largest man-of-war. There were iron-clads and steamers of all sizes belonging to the Russian navy, and the students gazed with interest at half a dozen monitors. These war vessels were all engaged in various manœuvres and evolutions for practice.

"What flag is that, Mr. Lowington?" asked Captain Cantwell, as a vessel passed them.

"The Russian flag," replied the principal, surprised that the captain of the ship should ask such a question.

"I saw this white flag, crossed with a stripe of blue from the corners, on the Russian fleet which came to America several years ago, and I supposed that was the Russian flag."

"It is the Russian man-of-war flag. The Russian merchant flag consists, as you see, of three equal strips of bunting, extending lengthwise—the top one white, the bottom red, and the middle one blue. The Russian royal standard is a yellow flag, with the double eagle in the middle. Most of the European nations have several flags. You will find diagrams of all these flags, standards, and jacks, in several volumes in the library."

In the afternoon, as seven bells struck, the squadron was approaching Cronstadt. The channel was indicated by a light-house on the port side, and a light-ship on the starboard. The water in the vicinity was covered with fishing boats, from which men were engaged with lines, seines, and hoop-nets. Around the town are several islands, all of them fortified, some of them having three-story forts, and others extensive earthworks. In 1854 the Baltic squadron, under Sir Charles Napier, visited this locality, but made no attack, though the British vessels found a channel by which it was possible to pass the fortifications; but it has since been closed. The town, which contains a population of thirty-seven thousand (two thirds of it constituting the garrison), is built on an[140] island, and is cut up by two canals, one leading to the "Merchants Harbor," and the other to the naval repairing dock South of the town is an immense harbor, capable of holding thousands of vessels.

Cronstadt is Russia's principal naval station, and contains vast manufactories and storehouses belonging to the government. Scores of old seventy-four gun ships, built of wood, and now practically useless for modern warfare, are laid up here. The town is the port of St. Petersburg, seventeen miles distant and all large vessels are obliged to discharge and load here, though most of the steamers from foreign countries run up to the city. The bar of the River Neva has only from eight to ten feet of water.

The squadron ran into Merchants' Harbor, and came to anchor there. Within it, vessels were loading and unloading at the very doors of the warehouses. The students were allowed to land at once, but there was little to be seen in the town, which is simply a commercial place, though the government buildings are lofty and substantial structures. A better idea of the fortifications was, however, obtained, and the boys realized that St. Petersburg was safe from capture by sea, until something even more terrible than iron-clads should be invented.

CHAPTER VIII.

On the day after the arrival of the squadron at Cronstadt, when the usual recitations of the day had been completed, all hands were summoned to the steerage of the ship to listen to the preliminary lecture on Russia. As the students knew less of this vast country than of most of the others of Europe, they were more interested in the exercise than usual. Mr. Mapps had a large map of Russia in Europe suspended to the foremast, upon which he had drawn the railroads completed up to that time, and made such other additions as the recent changes in the country demanded.

"Russia is probably the largest empire, territorially, that exists now, or ever has existed," the professor began.

"I do not speak Russian, but Professor Badois does, and I have asked him to give us the name in Russian characters or letters," replied Mr. Mapps, pointing to a large sheet of printing paper, upon which this name and certain statistics were written. "Here it is—РОССІЯ."

"No," interposed the professor of languages; "that letter has the value[142] of ya in English. The first letter is the same as the English R; the C's have the value of S, and the I sounds like long E. In Russian the name is pronounced as though it were spelled Ro-see´-ya."

"You will not be able to read even a word of Russian, the letters are so different from ours," added Mr. Badois.

"Like other countries, it has different names in different languages," continued Mr. Mapps. "In German, it is Russland; in French, Russie; in Italian, Russia, but pronounced Roo´-see-ah; in Spanish, Rusia. The best English authorities pronounce it Rush´ee-a, though it is often given with the u like oo. It was formerly called Muscovy. It has an area, in Europe and Asia, of about seven and one quarter millions of square miles; or one seventh of all the land on the globe. The United States,—including Alaska, has about one half as much territory; but Russia in Europe contains only one third of this vast area. It has a population of seventy-four millions—I give you the figures in round numbers,—of whom four millions only are in Asia. It has about double the population of the United States, which would give the same number of people to the square mile, on the average. Russia consists mostly of two great plains rather indefinitely separated by the water-shed between the rivers that flow south into the Black and Caspian Seas, and those which flow north and west into the Baltic and the Arctic Ocean. The Valdai Hills, in the west-central part, which are not over a thousand feet above the level of the sea, are the only elevations or any consequence,[143] except on or near the frontiers, where we find the Ural and Caucasus ranges. Some portions of the country are uneven, as Russian Poland and the Crimea; but there is very little variety of scenery in the greater part of this vast region. In such a country you would, of course, expect to find large rivers. The largest of these is the Volga, twenty-two hundred miles long, and navigable to within fifty miles of its source. The Don and the Dnieper are about a thousand miles long. The Ural, the Dwina, the Petchora, and the Vistula are important rivers. Russia contains thousands of lakes, most of them in the northern and north-western part. Lake Ladoga, the largest in Europe, is about the size of Lake Ontario; Onega is half as large; Lake Peipus is twice as large as Lake Champlain; and Lake Ilmen is a little larger than Moosehead, in Maine. Nearly all these rivers and lakes are navigable for steamers and barges. You may take a boat,—the commodore's barge, if you please,—go up to St. Petersburg, through the Neva to Lake Ladoga, by the Volkof to Lake Ilmen, by canals, lakes, and rivers, into the Volga, which becomes navigable for steamers at Tver, a town on the railroad from Petersburg to Moscow. Continuing on your voyage down the river to Nijni Novgorod, where the traveller by steamer takes a larger boat, fifty-three miles below Kazan, or eight hundred and fifty from Tver, you will reach the Kama River, the longest tributary of the Volga. Pursuing your voyage up this river, you would arrive at Perm,—if you went by steamer;—in about a week; and this town is within two hundred miles[144] of Asia. This is the usual route to Siberia below Nijni, and the one by which convicts are sent. Instead of going up the Kama, you could continue down the Volga, passing the large towns of Simbirsk, Saratoff, to Tsaritsin, from which there is a railroad to Kalatch, on the River Don, down which steamers descend to the Crimea. From Tsaritsin you may proceed down the river to Astrakhan, on the Caspian Sea, on which steamers ply to ports in Persia and elsewhere. The Volga is the Mississippi of Russia, and of quite as much importance to that country as the Father of Waters to us. The Baltic and the Black Seas are also connected by a canal which unites the Beresina, a branch of the Düna, or Western Dwina, to the Dnieper. There are several other canals which connect the great natural water-ways, so that boats may go from either of the seas on the border of Russia to either of the others.

"A grand system of railroads has also been projected, as you may see on the map. The first important one built was that from St. Petersburg to Moscow, which was constructed by Americans at a vast expense, considering the nature of the country through which it passes. An English gentleman waited upon the Russian minister of finance with a letter of introduction.

"'Hardly the whole of it; I only desire to see what is most curious in the country,' replied the tourist.

"'Ah! I then I will first show you the contract with the Americans to build the railway to Moscow,' added the minister.

"Doubtless it was a very curious document, especially in the price which[145] his imperial majesty agreed to pay for the work. When he was asked where he would have the road located, he took a ruler, and drew a straight line on the map between the two cities; and except one deviation to avoid the erection of an expensive bridge, this line was followed, and consequently very few towns are upon the road. A line extends south from Moscow to Kief, over six hundred miles, and the communication of St. Petersburg with Odessa will soon be completed. Lines from Cracow and Warsaw to Odessa are also in course of construction. One may now go all the way by express train from Paris, Ostend, or Calais, to St. Petersburg, in three days. Russia has now forty-seven hundred miles of railway open for traffic; and nearly ten thousand miles more are to be completed in four years.[A]

"The principal productions of Russia are grain, hemp, flax, linseed, tallow, and lumber. Wheat is by far the most important crop, and is raised in vast quantities on the plains of Central Russia, and the steppes of the south. It exported, in 1867, nearly one hundred millions of rubles' worth of this grain. Next in value is the flax crop, of which the exports amounted in the same year to about twenty million rubles."

"Harper's Hand-book says in one place, a ruble is eighty cents; in another, that it is seventy; in another, eighty-three," suggested one of the students.

"Nearly all the money in circulation is paper, subject to varying discounts, from ten to twenty per cent. Our money is also paper, and at a discount of twelve or fifteen per cent. I have made a careful comparison of the values of a dollar and a ruble, using the weight of pure silver in each as a basis, and I find that a ruble is 74.88+ cents; call it seventy-five cents. When gold bears a premium of twenty per cent, in Russia,—which I understand is the usual rate at the present time,—a ruble is worth sixty-four cents; but with our gold at a premium of twelve and a half per cent., its value would be raised to seventy-two cents."

"Of course these figures are useful only in comparing values as they exist in the two countries," interposed Dr. Winstock.

"With your permission, I will make an actual statement of a case," added the surgeon; and the boys were interested in the discussion. "Being in St. Petersburg, I want money, and go to Asmus, Simonsen, & Co., bankers. My letter of credit is payable in pounds sterling, and the bankers draw on Bowles Brothers & Co., London, for the amount which they pay me,—say twenty pounds,—and Bowles Brothers & Co. draw on New York or Boston. My twenty pounds, with gold at sixteen and two thirds, and exchange at ten per cent., costs me in New York $114.07. With exchange between St. Petersburg and London at twenty-nine and a half pence to the ruble, twenty pounds produces R 162.71 copecks. Deducting one half per cent.[147] commission, 81 copecks, and 40 copecks for postage, my net return is R 161.50 copecks. Now, comparing what I pay in New York with what I receive in St. Petersburg, I find that my paper ruble has cost me seventy and one tenth cents in currency, which reduced to gold; at twenty per cent. premium, is sixty one and two thirds cents."

"And in England, France, North Germany, with the exchange at the same rate, that would be the real value of the money you receive," added Mr. Mapps. "On account of the depreciation of the money in Russia, the prices are higher. I was speaking of the value of the exports, and when I speak of twenty million rubles, it means three fourths as many dollars. Flaxseed, or linseed, brings in almost as much money as the flax itself."

"For making painters' oil. The exports of tallow and lumber are each about twelve million rubles. The chief imports are raw cotton, metals, machinery, tea, and manufactured goods. The soil of Russia varies greatly, and large portions of it consist of sandy plains and vast morasses. The condition of agriculture is improving under the encouragement of the government, but does not yet compare favorably with most of the western countries of Europe. Nearly half the land is unimproved, and one fourth is forest land, which, however, is so badly managed that it produces but a small fraction of what it might yield. Iron, copper, gold, silver, and platinum are mined in the Ural Mountain region and in Siberia. Iron is produced in excess of the wants of the empire, and almost all the platinum in use in the world comes from[148] Russia. Vast quantities of salt are mined, and manufactured from the brine springs. Peter the Great and all his successors have encouraged manufactures, and the empire has made great progress in this direction. Raw cotton, to the value of about forty million rubles, is imported for the use of the mills. Woollen and silk goods are also manufactured in considerable quantities.

"Nearly the whole of Russia is in higher latitude than the United States, the Crimea, or southern portion, being in the latitude of Maine, and St. Petersburg on about the same parallel as the northern point of Labrador and the southern point of Greenland. About the middle of November the Neva freezes, and is not open again till the last of April. In December and January the thermometer sometimes indicates twenty-five degrees below zero; but the average temperature at St. Petersburg in winter is eighteen degrees above zero; in Moscow, fifteen degrees; in Archangel, nine degrees. The average in summer is sixty degrees in St. Petersburg, sixty-five degrees in Moscow, and fifty-eight degrees in Archangel. The climate is generally healthy, though there are various maladies peculiar to different regions, as scrofula and scurvy.

"The government of Russia is an absolute hereditary monarchy; in other words, the Czar or Emperor, is the legislative, executive, and judicial power of the empire, which is the same thing as saying that his will is the law of the land. But it ought to be added, that certain traditions and rules are considered of binding force by the sovereigns; as the[149] law of succession to the crown, established by the Emperor Paul; otherwise the Czar might select the next ruler; every sovereign, his wife and children, must be of the Greek church. The heir apparent is deemed to be of age at sixteen, which proves that a boy of this age may be good for something. The members of the imperial family cannot marry without the consent of the Emperor; and the children of any union without his permission cannot inherit the throne. The present Emperor is Alexander II., son of Nicholas I. and the Princess Charlotte, of Prussia, who was the daughter of King Frederick William III., and sister of the present king of that country. The Empress, his wife, is the daughter of the late Grand Duke Ludwig II., of Hesse Darmstadt. They have six children, of whom the oldest is the Grand Duke Alexander, heir apparent to the throne. He was born in 1845, and is, therefore, twenty-five years old. At the age of twenty-one he was married to Maria Dagmar, daughter of the King of Denmark. The style of the emperor is Autocrat of all the Russias, Czar of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland, &c. His sons are called Grand Dukes. The hereditary Grand Duke is often called the Czarowitz. The term Czar, which evidently comes from Cæsar, is variously spelled. In the Slavonic, which is the church language of Russia, it is Tsar.

"The government of Russia, under the Emperor, is in the hands of four great councils, the principal of which is the council of the empire, consisting of the Ministers, the Grand Dukes, and such other members as the sovereign may appoint. Though this board has a president, the[150] emperor often presides at its sessions. Its general duties are to propose new laws, or alterations in old ones, and to attend to the execution of the laws. The second council is called the Directing Senate, and it is also the high court of justice, controlling all the inferior tribunals. It is resolved into eight committees, five of which sit at St. Petersburg, and three at Moscow, each of which has its peculiar function. Appeals from the lower courts go to this council, either in committee or as a whole, though the former may decide certain cases. This body examines into and reports upon the revenues and expenditures of the empire, appoints many public officers, and advises the sovereign in matters within its jurisdiction. The third council is the Holy Synod, having charge of all matters pertaining to religion. It is composed of the chief dignitaries of the church, of which the emperor is the head, and its decisions have no force without his approval. The fourth board is the Council of Ministers, consisting of eleven members, whose functions are substantially the same as in other countries. Of course the emperor has absolute control over these councils, to the extent he pleases to exercise it.

"You have already noticed that this map is cut up into small divisions. These are governments, corresponding to departments in France, and counties in America. Besides these, the country is divided into vice-royalties, or general governments, at the head of each of which is a viceroy, or general governor, who represents the emperor, commands the troops, and has the supreme control of all affairs, civil and military. In each government, or province, a civil governor is appointed to[151] represent the general governor, who is advised by a council. Governments are divided into districts, which are again subdivided into smaller ones. The officers of these smaller districts are elected by the people. Every five houses in a place may choose one delegate to the assembly of the commune, who elect delegates to the district assembly, one for every ten houses. There are certain village courts, presided over by two members elected by the commune, called 'conscience men,' who try cases relating to property in which no more than five rubles is involved. You see that the Russians vote under their absolute monarchy.

"The Russian nation is composed of more than a hundred different races, speaking forty languages. The Russians—properly so called—are the inhabitants of Great and Little Russia, who are from the Slavic races. Besides these, there are Tartars, Poles, Germans, Jews, Finns, Mongols, Persians, and others, who have been united in one nation. The government has permitted these people, as their territory was conquered and annexed to the empire, to retain their own laws and customs, so far as they were not inconsistent with the general code of Russia.

"The original nobility of the country were the boyars; but Peter the Great established a new order, and there are now in the empire over half a million whose titles are hereditary, and a quarter of a million who have only personal rank. The citizens of towns are ranked in six classes, the first owning real estate; the second, having a certain amount of taxable property; the third, mechanics; the fourth, resident foreigners in business; the fifth, artisans, soldiers, and scholars;[152] and the sixth, all others. There are forty-seven million peasants, of whom twenty-two millions were serfs, emancipated in 1863, though indirectly they are obliged to pay for their freedom, for the government compensated the owners of the land to which they were attached, and collects the amount paid by an annual assessment on the emancipated for the succeeding forty-nine years.

"The state religion, which is professed by a great majority of the people, is the Greco-Russian, officially Styled 'Orthodox-Catholic Faith.' When the Roman empire was divided into two portions, the Eastern, or Byzantine, empire retained the Catholic religion, and the bishop, or patriarch of Constantinople, was officially recognized as second only to the Pope at Rome. But there was a schism in the Eastern division, which resulted in a total separation in 1054. Then the Patriarch of Constantinople became the head of the Eastern church, of which the Russian church was a part. In 1588 a separate patriarchate was established in Russia, and the Greek church is now made up of ten independent organizations. The Russian church is governed by the Holy Synod, at the head of which is the emperor, who has greater power than the Pope of Rome in the external affairs of the church, but cannot render a decision himself on theological questions. In critical doctrinal cases, the patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria are consulted, and when a decision is reached, the emperor is as much bound by it as the prelates; and he does not officially style himself the Head, but the Protector and Defender of the Church.

"The Greco-Russian church differs from the Roman Catholic in denying the[153] supremacy of the Pope, and in not prohibiting the marriage of the clergy. No priest can perform his spiritual functions before he is married, and he is incompetent to do so at the death of his wife. As he is forbidden to marry a second time, his occupation as a priest is gone, though he may go into a monastery, and be eligible to office in the church. There are important differences of doctrine also. Russia has five hundred cathedrals and twenty-nine thousand churches of the established religion, with two hundred and fifty-four thousand clergymen of all ranks. There are four hundred and eighty monasteries for men, and seventy convents for women. Peter the Great and Catharine II. confiscated the immense wealth of the church not required for the actual service, and the salaries of the clergy are very small, hardly sufficient to support them. Jews are not allowed to settle in Russia proper, but there is no other restraint on the non-Russian sects. The Russian cannot renounce his creed. The subject of education among the common people is receiving considerable attention at the present time, and there are over one million pupils in the schools.

"There are in Russia fifteen cities having over fifty thousand inhabitants, four of which have over a hundred thousand—St. Petersburg, five hundred and forty thousand; Moscow, three hundred and fifty-two thousand; Warsaw, one hundred and sixty-three thousand; and Odessa, one hundred and ninety-two thousand.

"The army of Russia is raised by conscription, by the adoption of the sons of soldiers, and by voluntary enlistment. The period of service[154] is from twenty-two to twenty-five years; but of late years the soldiers are sent home after ten or fifteen years' service, to be recalled in case of war. The Cossacks of the Don are not taxed, but do military duty in payment for their exemption; and in case of necessity, every man among them between the ages of fifteen and sixty is obliged to serve. These are all in the cavalry service, and every Cossack is obliged to keep his own horse, and to arm, equip, and clothe himself, except when sent out of the country. The number in the service is fifty-six thousand, and more than double this number are available. On a peace footing the army has eight hundred thousand men, on a war footing over one million.

"The navy of Russia contains two hundred and ninety steamers and twenty-nine sailing vessels, with sixty thousand seamen.

"We are now prepared to sketch very briefly the history of Russia. It contains a great many exciting incidents; but the time does not permit me to give many of them. The Scythians and Sarmatians of the Greek and Roman historians inhabited Russia in classic times. The Slavonians are believed to be the same people, and they founded the towns of Novgorod and Kief, which were the capitals of separate empires. These people were savage and warlike races, and were at war with similar tribes around them. The Varangians of the north attacked them, and were nearly overwhelmed, when they invited the Russian prince Rurik to Novgorod; and he came with his two brothers. From that time the different tribes were united, and called Russians, but the Slavic language and customs were[155] retained. This was the foundation of the Russian empire. Rurik died in 879, and left the regency of the empire to his cousin, Oleg, his son Igor being only four years old. He conquered Kief, and annexed it to his realm. He then got up an expedition against Constantinople, and secured an advantageous treaty. He also subdued all the tribes within reach of his armies. He had a favorite horse, which the soothsayers declared would be the death of him; whereupon he sent the animal away, and heard no more of him for years. Recalling the prediction, he asked what had become of the horse, and was told he had long been dead. Exulting over the defeat of the seers, he wished to see the bones, and was conducted to the place where the skeleton lay. 'So this is the creature that was destined to be my death,' said he, putting his foot on the skull. At that moment, a serpent, coiled up within the skull, darted out and gave Oleg a bite, from the effects of which he died. This is the story.

"The son of Rurik, Igor, came to the throne at the age of forty, and after, much fighting was killed. His son, Sviatoslaf, was too young to reign, and Olga, Igor's widow, was the regent. She was a bold and cruel woman, and her adventures were very curious and romantic. After severely chastising the Drevlians,—who had killed her husband,—they offered her a tribute of honey and fur, which she declined, saying she would be satisfied with a dove and three sparrows from each house, which were promptly supplied. Having tied lighted matches to their tails, she let them all loose in the evening, and flying back to the nests, they set all the houses on fire, and the whole town was consumed. The[156] inhabitants escaped only to fall upon the swords of Olga's army. You need not believe any more of these stories than you please, young gentlemen," said the instructor, with a smile. "Olga went to Constantinople to be baptized and instructed in the Christian religion. When she exhorted her son to follow her example on her return, he wanted to know if she wished him to be the laughing-stock of his friends. Her son was a great warrior, won many victories and was killed in battle. His empire was divided among his three sons, Yaropolk, Oleg, and Vladimir. They soon quarrelled; Oleg was slain, and Vladimir fled, leaving the entire realm to Yaropolk. But Vladimir returned, and with the aid of the Varingians, conquered Novgorod and Kief, and put his brother to death. He was a pagan at first, and gave honors to his heathen deities. The neighboring nations, recognizing his power and rude greatness desired to convert him to their own faith, and he was induced to examine the religion of the Greeks, the Roman Catholics, and the Jews. Olga, his ancestress, had been a Greek Christian, and he was inclined to follow her example. When he had decided to embrace it, his pride would not permit him to be baptized in his own capital in the ordinary way, and he insisted that only bishops from the parent church were worthy of so great a achievement as the conversion of himself and his people. He resorted to a remarkable expedient to accomplish his purpose: he made war upon Greece, marched into the Crimea, and laid siege to Cherson, near Sevastopol, intending to extort the rite of baptism. He demanded its surrender, saying he was prepared to stay[157] before its walls for three years. For six months he made no progress, and was on the point of abandoning the conquest, when a priest sent an arrow to which was tied a letter, informing him that the city was supplied with water from a certain spring outside the walls. Removing the pipes by which the water was conducted to the town, Vladimir subjected the inhabitants to the pangs of thirst, and thus compelled them to surrender. Everything was now favorable for his baptism; but he had other views also. He demanded the sister of the Greek emperors, Basilius and Constantine, in marriage, and threatened to take Constantinople if his demand was refused. He was too powerful to be denied, and the lady was sent to him. Vladimir received his instructions, and was baptized with the name of Basil on the day of his marriage to the princess, in 988. Returning to Kief, he destroyed the wooden gods, and built churches and towns. His nature was changed, and he became gentle and humane. He established seminaries of learning, labored to extend Christianity in his dominions, and is now enrolled among the Russian saints. At Moscow, if you go there, you will see the remarkable cathedral of St. Basil. In history he is called Vladimir the Great.

"This powerful prince divided his empire among his twelve sons, who, as usual in such cases, went to war, and Sviatopolk I., after murdering three of his brothers, obtained the throne. In 1019, Yaroslaf, the brother who had received Novgorod as his portion, procuring the assistance of Henry II. of Germany and of the King of Poland, after a battle on the Alma which lasted three days, wrested the crown from[158] Sviatopolk, who died while fleeing into Poland. Another brother compelled Yaroslaf to divide the empire with him; but at the death of the former it was united again, in 1036. He was a powerful prince, and greatly enlarged his territory. He built many churches, encouraged learning, and caused the first code of Russian laws to be compiled. At his death he gave the empire to his four sons, requiring the three younger to be subject to the eldest; but his will was disregarded, and Russia became a confederacy, instead of an empire, with four rulers. The division and anarchy in the country enabled the Poles, Lithuanians, Danes, and others to wrest large territories in the west from the Russians. The progress in civilization which had continued during the two preceding reigns was barred; famine and pestilence raged in the land, and Genghis Khan, with vast hordes of Asiatics, invaded and conquered the country. From the year 1054, when the civil wars commenced, to 1462, when the Tartar power and influence were finally broken, Russia was torn with dissensions, overrun by her powerful neighbors, often visited by famine and pestilence; yet within this period are recorded many great events. Moscow was founded in 1147; Alexander, Grand Prince of Novgorod, won a great victory over the Swedes and others on the Neva, which gives him the name of Alexander Nevski.

"With Ivan III., or Ivan the Great, in 1462, begins a more glorious period of Russian history. He was the Grand Prince of Moscow, and conquered Novgorod, Kazan, Perm, Tver, and other principalities. He married Sophia, niece of the Greek emperor Constantine XIII., on which[159] occasion he adopted the double-headed black eagle as his standard, and was the first prince who claimed the title of 'Autocrat of all the Russias.' He was succeeded by his son Basil IV., in whose reign the empire was still further united, and the Tartars completely subjugated at Kazan. Basil was followed, in 1533, by his son Ivan IV., only three years old at his accession. During his minority the empire was torn by anarchy and civil war; but when Ivan was only fourteen years old, he seized the reins of power, and commenced the career of cruelty and tyranny, which gave him the name of the 'Terrible.' But he did more for Russia than any of his predecessors. He conquered Kazan again, which had asserted its independence during his minority, added Astrakhan, the Crimea, Siberia, and the country of the Don, to his empire. He encouraged commerce, and established a printing office in Moscow. He was a cruel tyrant, and caused the massacre of sixty thousand people in Novgorod, and thousands in Moscow and Tver. Finally he murdered his eldest son, and the only one who had the capacity to succeed him, with his own hand. His son Fedor, who came to the throne at his death, was weak in body and mind. His brother-in-law, Boris Godunoff, was an ambitious man, and sought to obtain the crown. He put out of the way several rivals and members of the imperial family, and finally accomplished his purpose in 1605; but his cruelty caused great dissatisfaction, and the people were ripe for revolt. At this time appeared in Poland a very remarkable impostor, claiming to be the Czarovitz of Russia, who was more successful than the pretenders that[160] sought the crown of England. In carrying out his ambitious project, Boris Godunoff had procured the assassination of Dimitri, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, a lad only ten years old. A Polish prince, irritated by the negligence of a young man who had been in his employ but a short time, gave him a blow on the side of the head, which was accompanied by a very opprobrious epithet.

"'If you knew who I am, prince,' replied the young man, with tears in his eyes, 'you would not treat me so, nor call me by that name.'

"He then detailed the manner of his escape from Boris's assassin, and exhibited a Russian seal, bearing the names and arms of the Czarovitz, and a gold cross adorned with jewels, which he declared was the baptismal gift of his godfather. The prince believed his story, and rendered him efficient help. He was presented to the Palatine of Sandomir, whose daughter was plighted to him in marriage. He procured the favor of Sigismond, King of Poland, by promising to bring Russia over to the church of Rome. With a considerable army, including many Polish knights, he marched into Russia, and after some discouragements, took the city of Novgorod, and finally, by the treachery of some of Boris's dependants, entered Moscow, and was duly crowned. Though he had renounced the Greek Church, he concealed the fact. The widow of Ivan IV. was brought from a convent to see him, and after a private interview between them, she acknowledged that he was her son. His affianced wife[161] came to him in Moscow, attended by a numerous retinue of Polish knights. The marriage was solemnized according to the rites of the Russian church. But Dimitri was not skilful in concealing his religion, and excited the suspicion of the priests and others. While he was generous even to his foes, his heterodoxy was the ruin of him. A conspiracy was organized, and he was murdered in cold blood, with many of his followers, and his corpse exposed to great indignities.

"After his death the boyar Shuiska was crowned as Czar, under the title Basil VI. Encouraged by the example of the false Dimitri, another appeared, and many Polish knights supported his claim with arms. The Czar appealed to Sweden for aid, which compelled the King of Poland to espouse the cause of the pretender. The Swedes soon went over to the Poles, Moscow was captured, and Basil VI. died in a Polish prison. The Poles compelled the boyars to elect Vladislas, son of Sigismond, their Czar. The new power treated Russia as a subdued province, which caused an insurrection, and the Poles were driven from the country.

"The throne was now vacant, and in 1613 Michael Romanoff, the first sovereign of the present royal family, was chosen emperor. He made peace with the Swedes, and restored the commercial ties which had been broken by the wars. In 1645 he was succeeded by his son Alexis, who won the allegiance of the Cossacks of the Don, and regained the western part of Russia, which had been held by the Poles. In this[162] reign a third false Dimitri appeared; but he obtained few adherents, and was executed by Alexis. This Czar was followed by his son Fedor, in 1676, who lived but six years after his accession, leaving no children; but he had a brother and several sisters, children of his own mother, and a half brother and half sister, children of his father's second wife. The heir apparent was his own brother Ivan, who was weak in body and in mind, while the half brother, Peter, was a brilliant youth of ten. An attempt was made to set Ivan aside; but his sister, the Princess Sophia, frustrated the plan so far as to cause both to be declared sovereigns of Russia, and she was proclaimed the regent, who was practically to rule the country. It is alleged that Sophia and Prince Galitzin, her minister, organized a conspiracy to take the life of Peter, when he was about seventeen, in order that she might continue in the regency during the reign of his imbecile brother. Peter fled to a monastery, followed by a portion of his party, and there organized a counter movement. He managed his case so well that it was entirely successful.

"The conspirators were severely punished; some of them were cruelly tortured. Prince Galitzin escaped with his life, but forfeited his immense property, and was banished to the northern regions of Russia, while Sophia was shut up in a convent during the rest of her life. Ivan declined to take any share in the government, and Peter was the sole ruler in fact, if not in name. He is the Peter the Great of history, and the founder of Russian greatness. In a brief period he made his country one of the most powerful in Europe. In 1703 he founded St. Petersburg,[163] in a very unfortunate location, it must be confessed, for at times the city has hard work to keep itself above water. His ruling passion was to extend his empire, as well as to build it up, by developing its resources. Though he suffered great defeats, he finally carried all his plans. He made war on Sweden, and crushed Charles XII. in the battle of Pultowa. He conquered the Ukraine, and carried his conquests to the Caspian. He was a wonderful man; but he was a drunkard and a brute in his manners. He was a genius in mechanics, and possessed remarkable energy in the execution of his purposes; but he was passionate, cold-blooded, and cruel. It is no wonder that his country venerates his name, for no single man ever did so much for a nation as he for Russia.

"Peter hated his first wife, who was the mother of the Czarovitz Alexis, and he extended his hatred to his son, whom he first disinherited, and afterwards poisoned with his own hands, in the fortress of St. Petersburg. Though the fierce Czar had quarrelled with Catharine, his wife, and had some doubts in regard to her character, she was his successor. She was almost as remarkable a person as he was, and had a powerful influence over him. She was born in Sweden, but spent her earlier years as a servant in Livonia, one of the Baltic provinces of Russia, which formerly belonged to Sweden. At the age of sixteen she was married to a Swedish dragoon, who was ordered away two days after the marriage. The town in which she lived was captured by the Russians, and she was employed as a servant in the family of the Princess Mentchikof, where Peter first saw her. He carried her away with him, and[164] perceiving that she had a large capacity for assisting in the mission of his life, he privately married her in 1707, and repeated the ceremony publicly four years later.

"From a common servant girl of the humblest parentage, she became the empress of a mighty nation. After her husband's death, she endeavored to carry out his progressive measures, during the two years of her reign; but she softened the rule of the Czar by lowering the taxes, and recalling the exiles from Siberia. Mentchikof was perhaps the real ruler, though her gentleness and humanity are apparent in public measures. Peter II., the son of the unfortunate Alexis, succeeded her, according to the will of the empress. He was only twelve years old, and a council of regency was appointed to rule during his minority; but Prince Mentchikof soon seized the supreme control, and the young emperor was betrothed to his daughter. He was so arrogant and brutal, that he finally disgusted his imperial master, and with his whole family, including the affianced of Peter, was banished to Siberia, and his wealth confiscated. He had nine million rubles in notes and securities, one million in cash, one hundred and five pounds of gold utensils, four hundred and twenty pounds of silver plate, and a million rubles' worth of precious stones, besides his palaces, and numerous landed estates, all over Russia. His property was not less than forty millions, or thirty millions of our money, most of which he had stolen from the public treasury. Prince Dolgoruki took his place at the head of the government.

"Peter died of small-pox, three years after his accession. He was the[165] last male member of the Romanoff family. Instead of following the line of succession indicated in the will of Catharine I., who had daughters still living, the nobles elected, as their empress, Anna, Duchess of Courland, daughter of Ivan V., half brother of Peter I., who had nominally reigned with him. It was intended that the boyars should be the real rulers, and they induced Anna, before she was crowned, to sign an instrument which placed all power in their hands; but when she became empress, she repudiated the compact, and retained the absolute power of her predecessors. In a civil war for the throne of Poland, Anna sided with Augustus III., whose success gave Russia a controlling influence in the affairs of this unhappy kingdom. Her favorite, Duke Biren, her prime minister, and the actual ruler, was an arrogant and cruel man, whose influence over the empress was all-powerful. By his advice, she named, as her successor, the son of her niece Anne,—a child in the cradle,—with Biren as the regent. He was Ivan VI.

"The unpopularity of the regent soon caused his overthrow, and Anne was appointed in his place; but in a year after the death of the Empress Anna, Elizabeth Petrovna, the daughter of Peter the Great and Catharine,—a woman of no character,—usurped the throne. In a single night her adherents captured the palace, and completed the revolution. She reigned twenty-one years, and founded several universities, and other literary and scientific institutions. She abolished the death penalty and the rack, but the knout and other tortures took their[166] place, and the exiles to Siberia were numerous. In the Seven Years' War, Russia was on the side of Austria. Elizabeth was a vain and extravagant woman. She impoverished her treasury, and left a bad reputation behind her.

"By her will she made her nephew Peter, late Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, emperor; and from him, the present royal family is called the House of Holstein-Gottorp. He attempted many reforms, and closely allied himself to Frederick the Great, of Prussia; but many of his measures were imprudent and impolitic. His wife Catharine was the daughter of a princess of Holstein-Gottorp. Peter neglected her, and incurred her hatred. She got up a conspiracy against him, which resulted in the dethronement of her husband, only a few months after his accession, and she was proclaimed empress as Catharine II. Peter was thrown into prison, and there strangled. Her reign of thirty-four years was brilliant for Russia, which became one of the Great Powers, without dispute. She greatly enlarged its territory by the infamous partition of Poland, the conquest of the Crimea, and the addition of Courland, on the Baltic. Her most noted ministers and favorites were Orlof and Potemkin.

"Her son Paul I. succeeded her in 1796. His mother had neglected him in early years, and hated him when he became a man, keeping spies near him, compelling him to live away from the court, and depriving him of all power and influence. She had caused the murder of his father, and the hatred was reciprocal. After his accession, he gave funeral honors to his father, disinterred his mother's last favorite, Potemkin, and threw[167] his remains into a ditch. His temper had been soured by his mother's treatment, and he took a malicious pleasure in undoing what she had done. The revolution in France was in progress when he came to the throne, and Paul joined the coalition against her, sending his armies into Switzerland, Italy, and Holland, to fight against the French republic. Suvarof, in these campaigns, proved himself to be one of the greatest generals of his age, and is still held in the highest veneration by the Russians. But the emperor, dissatisfied with his allies, withdrew his armies from the coalition, and, with Denmark and Sweden, joined in the armed neutrality, of which I have spoken to you before.

"Paul was capricious, despotic, and subject to fits of partial insanity, which aggravated his ill temper, and caused him to commit the most atrocious deeds. By his second wife he had ten children, the oldest of whom was Alexander, the Czarovitz; the second, Constantine; and the youngest but one, Nicholas. Paul's humors were unendurable, and Alexander consented to his dethronement, to avoid greater evils to the empire. He signed a proclamation, announcing his assumption of the crown. The conspirators found the emperor in his palace. Breaking into his chamber, they required him to sign his abdication, and his refusal brought on a struggle, in which, after a desperate resistance, he was strangled with a sash. Alexander had not consented to the assassination of his father, and the event filled him with passionate grief. This was in 1801, and the new emperor was twenty-five years old, and a man of[168] decided ability. He was in favor of peace; but it was impossible for him not to take part in the general war against Napoleon, though he first entered into an alliance with him.

"The Russians and Austrians were defeated at Austerlitz in 1805. Alexander joined his army to that of Prussia, and both were disastrously defeated at Friedland in 1807, and the emperor was obliged to conclude a peace with Napoleon at Tilsit, in which he was arrayed against England and Sweden. The French stirred up a war in Turkey, in which the Russians obtained Moldavia and Wallachia. A war with Sweden resulted in the conquest of Finland. In 1810 Alexander, finding that he had nothing more to gain by an alliance with France,—that his commerce was suffering under the provisions of the treaty of Tilsit, and that the marriage of Napoleon with Maria Louise would prevent him from obtaining any more territory from Austria,—broke the treaty, and prepared for war. In 1812 Napoleon marched into Russia late in the season, with half a million soldiers, intending to crush Russia. The Russians lost the terrible battle of Borodino, near Moscow, and even this city fell into the hands of the French; but those who could not defend it burned it. The winter suddenly set in, and the army of Napoleon, robbed of their expected supplies and shelter in Moscow, commenced that disastrous retreat which ended only in the total destruction of the Grand Army. Prussia and Austria joined Russia the next year; in the battle of Leipsic, the power of the French was effectually broken, and in 1814 the allies entered Paris, and Napoleon was sent to Elba. He returned, and was finally[169] defeated in the battle of Waterloo, and sent to St. Helena. The war ended, and Alexander turned his attention to the internal affairs of the nation. He labored earnestly to promote the civilization of his people, and to develop the immense resources of his vast empire. In 1825 he set out on a tour through his dominions, and died at Taganrag, near the mouth of the Don, of the Crimean fever. He had been the champion of absolute power, and had welded more closely the chains of Poland; yet, judged by the Russian standard, he was an amiable and good man.

"At his death his brother Constantine was the Czarovitz; but this prince had voluntarily renounced his right to the throne in favor of his younger and only surviving brother Nicholas, who was proclaimed Czar. A conspiracy, fomented before his accession, was sternly and severely suppressed. Nicholas, like his brother, was despotic in his ideas, and remorselessly crushed the insurrection in Poland in 1830, making the kingdom a province of Russia. He enlarged his dominions, and carried on the war in Circassia, which lasted fifty years. In 1853 Nicholas demanded of the Turkish government certain guarantees of the rights of Greek Christians in Turkey, which the latter could not give without yielding its sovereign rights, and a war ensued, in which England, France, and Sardinia took part with the Turks. It was the evident design of the Czar to conquer Turkey, and extend his dominions to the Mediterranean.

"Nicholas did not live to see the end of this war, and was succeeded by his son, Alexander II., in 1856. Sebastopol was captured after a siege[170] of about a year, and a treaty of peace was signed, by which Russia lost her naval superiority in the Black Sea.[B] The war in the Caucasus was continued, and ended by Alexander II., who is still the reigning emperor."

The professor closed his lecture, which, though longer than usual, was listened to with interest to the end by the students.

"Young gentlemen," said the principal, "I desire to give you an opportunity to see as much as possible of Russia, and for this purpose you will all have an opportunity to visit Moscow; but I do not purpose to go there in a body. There will be no ship's duty done at present. We will divide you into four squads; the ship's companies of the consorts forming two of them, the starboard watch of the ship the third, and the port the fourth squad. A fifth party will make a more extended trip to Nijni Novgorod and Kazan, down the Volga. The captain of each vessel may appoint one to go on this journey, and four more will be elected by ballot to-morrow night, two for the ship, and one for each of the consorts, after your return from St. Petersburg."

CHAPTER IX.

"Appointed by the captain!" sneered De Forrest, as the students left the steerage.

"I don't know; it's a puzzler to me. But the principal seems to be trying to make Cantwell as big a man as he can."

"Well, I don't think you ought to find any fault about it. You worked this thing up, and made him captain," interposed Sheridan, the new fourth lieutenant, who had been raised to his present rank from first midshipman, by the votes of the Bangwhangers.

"Certainly you did; his merit-rank would only have made him fourth lieutenant. We don't always do just what we intend," laughed Sheridan. "It was your idea to make the captain dependent upon the crew for his office."

"Then it's a good thing also to make the crew dependent upon the captain. If he can appoint one of the party for the Volga excursion, his favor is worth something," added Sheridan, good-naturedly.

"I would give fifty dollars out of my spending money for the privilege[172] of going," said De Forrest.

"I! Humph! Do you think I would go down on my knees to Cantwell?" sneered De Forrest.

"I should try to be fair," answered the first purser, with a struggle to look dignified.

"Precisely so! Just as you nominated yourself over the heads of Judson and Norwood, and tried to cut them out."

"You needn't say anything, Sheridan. You went from first middy up to fourth lieutenant by the voting," said De Forrest.

"I went just one place higher than my merit-rank, while you were No. 11, and tried to get into No. 3."

"Never mind that now," interposed Beckwith. "Whom shall we elect? That's the question."

"I don't think we need trouble ourselves much about that matter," replied De Forrest, gloomily. "The fellows in the steerage will attend to all that, and neither of the two will be taken from the cabin."

"I will venture to say that one of the two will be elected from the[173] cabin," said Sheridan.

"That's so. They did; but I never asked them to do it, or electioneered with any of them," responded Sheridan.

"But can't we do something?" suggested Beckwith. "The vote for captain stood forty-eight to forty; and Cantwell's vote was the strength of the opposition. If we can change five votes, we can elect our men."

"Yes; why not?" asked De Forrest, encouraged by this presentation of the subject.

"Who shall the candidates be?" inquired Sheridan, with a twinkle of the eye. "You want the two most popular fellows in the ship."

"Good! He runs well with both parties. You can elect him. Who next?" continued Sheridan.

"And why should you in preference to any other fellow? If you want to carry your ticket, you must nominate the other candidate from the steerage. That's fair."

"I don't believe in it," protested De Forrest. "I won't vote for a[174] fellow in the steerage."

"Precisely so. Then you, and such fellows as you, will throw the election into the hands of the secret society. That's the whole of it. Be fair, and the steerage will go with you."

"No, sir!" exclaimed De Forrest, decidedly. "I would jump overboard before I would vote for him."

"Suppose the captain should select Lincoln," continued Sheridan, his eye still twinkling merrily.

"Then we should have to take some other fellow from the cabin," replied Beckwith.

"Say De Forrest and Scott; and Scott's name on the ticket will carry the other name," chuckled Sheridan, though he spoke as soberly as he could.

"That alters the case," added De Forrest, musing. "If Lincoln is not to be on the ticket, it makes it altogether a different affair."

"But if you are going to scratch Scott's name, and jump overboard, rather than vote for him, it's no use of talking."

"I should like to have all these differences healed up, so that my plan may have a fair trial," said the first purser.

"Well, think of it," continued Sheridan; "and if the fellows conclude[175] to nominate the ticket I suggested, I have no doubt it can be elected."

"Well, that would be a great concession on your part," laughed Sheridan, as he went forward to talk with others about the matter which so deeply interested all hands.

Of course he spoke with Scott first on the subject, and suggested a general caucus of officers and seamen, to which the joker readily assented, and promised, if the business was fairly conducted, to keep it out of the secret society. The matter was talked over till the lights were put out.

The next morning, after the decks had been washed down, and breakfast disposed of, a small steamer, which had been engaged by the principal, came alongside, and all hands went on board of her. All the students from the consorts, with their instructors, joined them, and the steamer started. Though she was Russian, she was not very different from any other of her class. After passing out of the harbor, the boat entered the broad estuary which forms the mouth of the Neva. It was shoal water, and the channel was narrow and very crooked, and the craft twisted about almost as much as on one of our western rivers. As the distance from Cronstadt to the capital is only seventeen miles, the expectant excursionists were soon in sight of St. Petersburg. Though the city is built on low, level ground, the aspect of it, seen from the sea, is very striking. It was different from any other city the students had seen.

"That's St. Isaac's Cathedral," replied Dr. Winstock. "And you see blue, green, and white domes."

"A very common decoration," added the doctor, as the steamer entered the Great Neva.

At the city the river divides into several branches, and forms half a dozen large islands, and some forty smaller ones, on which a portion of the town is built. The southern branch is called the Great Neva, on which are most of the landing-places of the steamers. Another branch is called the Little Neva, and the two on the north are the Great and Little Nevka.

"This is the English Quay," continued the surgeon, pointing to the right as the steamer approached the long iron bridge, which takes the name of Nicholas, in whose reign it was built, and is eleven hundred feet long.

"This seems to be about the end of this cruise," added Lincoln, as he glanced at the bridge.

"The steamer stops at this floating stage on the left; but there is a draw in the bridge, by which vessels may go up into Lake Ladoga."

The boat came up to the stage, on which was a house. Mr. Fluxion, the first vice-principal, was there, for he had been sent up the day before to make the arrangements for the visit. A dozen omnibuses stood in the broad street, in and on which the students bestowed themselves. The surgeon and the commodore took places with a driver. The two horses at the pole were harnessed as in America; but on the nigh side was a third horse attached to the carriage by an extra whiffletree. Some of the[177] omnibuses had four horses, but they were all abreast. The two wheel horses were driven by four reins, while the outsiders had only a single rein. Half a dozen commissionaires, who spoke very indifferent English, had been engaged, and one of them was with the surgeon. The procession started, and crossed the Nicholas Bridge, near which is the English Church. At the north end of it is the Academy of Arts, an immense structure, which conveys a good idea of the general size and splendor of the public buildings of the city.

Turning to the left, after crossing the bridge, passing Nicholas Palace, the Senate, and Synod, the line entered St. Isaac's Square, in the middle of which stands the church, one of the most imposing in the world. Admiralty Square is opposite, in which is the equestrian statue of Peter the Great. The great Czar is represented as reining in his horse at the verge of a precipice. The artist modelled his design from a bold Russian officer, who rode a spirited Arabian steed up an artificial slope. The horse is gracefully poised on his hind feet, beneath which is a serpent, emblematic of the difficulties that Peter overcame. The tail of the animal appears to rest lightly on the serpent, but is in reality part of the support of the figure. The rock upon which the statue is elevated was brought from a Finnish village, four miles from the city, and weighs fifteen hundred tons. It is forty-three feet long, fourteen feet high, and twenty feet wide.

Passing the immense Admiralty building, the procession paused for a few moments in front of the vast edifice called Hôtel de l'Etat Major, which is the headquarters of the army. The front is semicircular, and in the[178] centre of the building is a triumphal arch, over which is the chariot of Victory, the horses of which are headed towards at least half the points of the compass, though the team is only a pardonable exaggeration of those which draw the omnibuses.

In the vast square in front of the structure is the Column Alexander I. Opposite this monument are the Hermitage and the Winter Palace, which are on the river. Looking across the Great Neva, where the Little Neva branches off, the Exchange may be seen on the point of land between the two streams. It is an imposing structure, with lofty columns around it, and flights of steps leading down to the river. On each side of it is a lofty pillar, one hundred feet high, adorned with the prows of ships, which project from the sides, and give it a very singular appearance when seen from a distance.

The omnibuses turned, and went back to the Admiralty, some of whose windows command a view down the Nevski Prospect, which is the principal street of the city. As the procession passed down this avenue, which is wider than Pennsylvania Avenue, at Washington, in places, the students had to keep their eyes wide open, in order that nothing should escape them. The droskies were as thick as snow-flakes at Christmas, and rattled at great speed through the streets. Every driver wore the long pelisse and the bell-crowned hat. A horse railroad extended through this street. There were plenty of omnibuses, drawn by three or four horses abreast, the driver having a whole handful of reins. The wagons, on which merchandise is conveyed from one part of the city to another,[179] were really ludicrous to the students, and seemed to be constructed so as to give the horses the greatest possible amount of work. The wheels were quite small, and ran on wooden axletrees, with at least six inches' "play" between the hub and linchpins, so that, in rough places, the body slid on the wheels from right to left. From the end of each forward axletree, a rope, or a wooden bar, extended to the shafts. The vehicle was very heavy and clumsy, and evidently ran hard. The bow or arch over the ends of the shafts was very large and heavy, adding a useless burden to the labor of the poor horses.

"That is the Cathedral of Kazan," replied the doctor, "or the Church of Our Lady of Kazan. It is a poor imitation, on the outside, of St. Peter's. There is a Don Cossack."

The surgeon pointed to "a solitary horseman," who was riding slowly along the sheet. He wore a short jacket, with stripes across the front, and secured by globular buttons. He had on a Tartar cap, and carried in his hand a lance.

"No; the Cossacks are a well-disciplined body; but perhaps, in their wild condition, they are all you imagine."

A canal crossed the Nevski Prospect, under a stone bridge near the church. At one side of it was moored a vast flat-boat, as it would be called on the Mississippi, loaded with firewood, sawed and split ready[180] for use. Several canals like this one extend quite through the city, so that the merchandise from the Caspian Sea, the White Sea, and almost every part of the interior of Russia, may be delivered at the very doors of the warehouses.

Opposite the Great Market, which is the business centre of the city, the conductor stopped the omnibuses, to enable his charge to see the several objects of interest which were presented at this point. The Gostinnoi Dvor is an institution in every Russian city, but is more like the Bazaar of Constantinople than anything to which other Europeans apply the name of market. In St. Petersburg it is a vast structure, occupying an immense square, in which every article of commerce is exposed for sale. It consists of little shops and stalls, in front of which the merchant stands, ready for a trade. He importunes the passers-by to purchase, and it is not always prudent to stop and examine the goods, unless one wishes to be dragged into the shop. The bazaar itself has outgrown the building, large as it is, and extends into the neighboring streets; indeed, the whole territory in the rear, and to the eastward of it for a considerable distance, is appropriated to its uses. The Nevski Prospect, in front of the great market, is very wide, and a large portion of it is used for booths and stands, at which every conceivable article is offered for sale, such as provisions, fruit, fancy goods, furs, clothing, boots and shoes.

"You can see here the national costume of the Russians, commodore," said the doctor.

"You observe that every man here has his pants stuffed into the tops of his boots. I don't know of anything that is more national than this, though in the interior you will see something more peculiar. Look at that fellow," added the surgeon, pointing to a fruit-seller. "He doesn't indulge in the luxury of a shirt, but has under his coat a calico tunic, which he wears outside of his pants."

"The common people are not; but the higher classes are as neat and refined as any people in Europe."

"That is on the Town Hall, in which the business of the city is transacted. It is a watch-tower, and those poles upon it are for the purpose of hoisting signals, to indicate the location of a fire. Men are on the watch on that tower at all times of day and night. The street opposite is St. Michael Place, in which the Hôtel de Russie, commonly called Klée's Hotel, is situated. Next to the tower is one of the street chapels, which you will see in every Russian city. It is a church in miniature, erected by the contributions of the people in the bazaar. You see within it pictures of the saints, with lights burning before them. There is generally a priest on duty there, and you perceive that many people enter, or pause in front of the door, and salute the representatives of the holy persons."

"Yes, and even on the other side of the street," added Lincoln, who[182] had been observing the devotions of the Russians.

Men paused on the sidewalk of the crowded avenue, knelt, crossed themselves many times, and bowed low, with their faces towards the chapel. The poorer and the more humble the individual, the lower he bowed, and the more earnest were his devotions.

The drive in the omnibuses was continued for a couple of hours longer, until the students had seen the principal streets of the city and the public buildings. Finally, the line stopped at the Taurida Palace, a long, low building, near the Neva, at the eastern extremity of the city. It was built by Catharine II., and presented to her favorite Potemkin, who conquered the Crimea, the Russian name of which is Taurida. The party entered the great ball-room, which is about all that is shown of the palace, for it is occupied by the superannuated ladies of honor of the court. It is an enormous apartment, the ceiling supported by columns covered with plaster. In this hall Potemkin gave balls in honor of his imperial mistress, when it was lighted by twenty thousand wax candles. On the columns were hoops to contain candles, for the room is occasionally used at the present time for balls and feasts. At one end was a full-rigged brig, of miniature proportions, formerly in the water, but now set in the floor, and used for the amusement of the royal children.

The party had entered this room, which certainly had the appearance of "some banquet hall deserted," for a purpose, and the students were collected around the little brig, upon the deck of which, as a rostrum, Mr. Mapps took his place.

"The region in which St. Petersburg is situated was formerly Ingria, and[183] belonged first to Novgorod, and then to Moscow," said the professor. "The Swedes obtained it in 1617; but it was reconquered by Peter the Great, who laid the foundations of this city in 1703, in order, as he expressed it, to have 'a window looking out into Europe;' or, in other words, to obtain a seaport by which he could carry on commerce with other parts of the world. He gathered together a vast number of Russian and Finnish peasants, and went to work, drafting forty thousand men annually, some of them from the most distant parts of his vast empire, to perform the labor. Peter superintended the laying out of the city himself, living in a small cottage, which exists at the present time, and which we shall soon visit.

"As I have said before, the location is most unfortunate. The Neva is the outlet of Lake Ladoga, and when the ice breaks up in the spring, the city is peculiarly liable to an inundation, if a westerly storm forces in this direction the waters of the Gulf of Finland; and at other seasons there is great danger from these storms. It is said that Peter was warned of this peril. After he had laid the foundation of a portion of the city in the marshes, he happened to see a tree with a ring cut around the trunk. He asked a Finn what the mark meant, and was told that it indicated the height to which the water rose in the inundation of 1680. He angrily told the man that he lied, for what he said was quite impossible, and with his own hand he felled the tree. It was practically saying, 'So much the worse for your facts,' when they conflicted with his theory. There have been seven terrific floods in the city, the last[184] of which was in November, 1824. A driving westerly storm heaped up the waters in the Neva till they overflowed the low banks, and swept in floods through the streets. Wooden houses were lifted from their foundations, and floated about still occupied. Carriages had to be abandoned in the streets, and the horses were drowned. The Emperor Alexander I. gathered together a few resolute men in a large boat, and went himself to the relief of the sufferers, exposing his own life, and saving many from destruction.

"After the water subsided, many buildings fell, and much sickness followed from the dampness in the houses. The damage was estimated at a hundred million rubles. A gardener, surprised by the storm, sought a place of safety on the roof of a summer-house, to which also an army of rats was driven, and he was fearful that they would devour him; but a cat and a dog swam to the roof, and neutralized his dangerous enemies, so that all of them passed the night in safety. A Protestant merchant hauled in at his second story window, from a fragment of a bridge, an Orthodox Greek, a Jew, and a Mohammedan Tartar, supplying them with food, raiment, and shelter."

The professor finished his remarks, and the party, after a glance at the handsome gardens of the palace, resumed their places in and on the omnibuses. Looking down the street, the students could see the Smolni Church, on the bank of the river, which here makes a sharp turn to the south. The structure is of white marble, with fine blue domes, spangled with golden stars. At one side of it is a large building, in which the[185] daughters of citizens are educated; at the other, one in which those of the nobles are educated. The procession moved through several streets, and passed between the Michael and the Summer Palace, attached to the latter of which are the gardens of the same name, forming the park most used by the people of the city. The middle one of the three openings at the grand gateway is now occupied by a small chapel, dedicated to St. Alexander Nevski, for on this spot an assassin attempted to take the life of the present emperor in 1866. Over the principal entrance is placed, in gold letters, the text, "Touch not mine anointed." The chapel was built by subscription, as a token of the love of the people for their sovereign.

The omnibuses crossed the river on the Troitsa, or Trinity Bridge, which is built of boats, and removed in winter, when the people cross on the ice, and stopped at the cottage of Peter the Great, where the students alighted. The original house is contained within another, built by Alexander I. to preserve it from decay. It is fifty-five feet long by twenty in breadth, and has three rooms. One of these is now used as a chapel, and contains the miraculous image of the Saviour which Peter carried with him in his battles, and to which he ascribed his victory at Pultowa. In front of it is a circular board, full of holes of all sizes, in which the faithful place their lighted candles, as a votive offering to the picture. Near the door is a stand for the sale of these candles, which are in size from twice the thickness of a pipe stem, up to double the ordinary size. They are sold at from five to twenty-five copecks apiece. Near the picture are some glass cases, in which are a great many[186] small legs and arms of silver, and other valuable articles, presented by people who had recovered from various maladies, in token of their gratitude. These cases were robbed by a soldier in 1863, who murdered the two keepers of the house. The building contains many relics of the great Czar.

A short ride brought the tourists to the fortress and Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. The fortress is separated from Petrofski Island, on which Peter's cottage is situated, by a moat crossed by two bridges. It is completely walled in, and has been used as a state prison. In one of its gloomy dungeons, Alexis, the son of the great Czar, perished by the hand of his father, and the rebels of 1825, who conspired against Nicholas, were confined, tried, and some of them executed in this castle.

In the centre of the enclosure rises the cathedral, the spire of which is tall, slender, and tapering, so that it looks like a needle in the air, and is really one of the curiosities of the city. The spire itself is one hundred and twenty-eight feet high. It is crowned with a globe, five feet in diameter, on which is an angel supporting a cross, twenty-one feet high, though no one would suspect them to be of these dimensions, for they look like toys in the air. The summit of the cross is three hundred and eighty-seven feet from the ground. The spire is covered with copper, and gilded, and twenty-two pounds of pure gold were used upon it. The students gazed with wonder and admiration at the shadowy spire, and listened eagerly to the explanations given by Mr. Mapps.

"What do you think of climbing that spire, as you would go aloft?" asked[187] Mr. Mapps, with a smile.

"It has been done," added the instructor. "In 1830 the angel on the ball was out of repair, and it was found that the stage for the purpose would cost an immense sum of money."

"He might have leaped up, if he could only have taken a spiral spring," said Scott.

"Among those who looked at the spire was a Russian workman, a roofer of houses, by the name of Telouchkine."

"This man offered to make the repairs without staging or assistance, on condition that he should be well paid, and his offer was accepted. Provided with a quantity of strong cord, he went as high as he could go in the interior, and then stepped out at the highest window. He had cut off two lengths of his cord, and made loops in the ends. The heads of the nails which secured the sheets of gilded copper projected enough to enable him to fasten a loop of each cord upon them. In these stirrups he placed his feet. Clinging to the edges of the copper, where the joints were made, with one hand, he raised one of the stirrups with the other hand, until he passed the loop over a nail head higher up. Repeating the process for the other foot, he slowly ascended till he could clasp the[188] spire in his embrace and finally reached the ball, where his troubles seemed to begin. Passing the cord around his waist, he made it fast to the spire, with a considerable spare line between it and his body. Planting his feet against the needle, he dropped back, and straightened out, with nothing but the cord to support him. In this position, his body at right angles with the spire, he threw a coil of line over the ball, and with it hauled himself up to the summit of the globe. Then Telouchkine stood by the side of the angel, and listened to the applause of the vast crowd which had gathered below to witness the feat. Fastening the cord securely above the ball, he descended with comparative ease. The next day he carried up a rope ladder, by the aid of which he was able to make the needed repairs at his leisure."

"Bully for Telouchkine!" said Scott. "I shouldn't think any cord he could carry up that height was strong enough to bear him."

"It must have had some of the Russian bear in it, else it wouldn't have held him."

"I hope your bear will eat up your bully," added the professor. "Now we will go into the church."

Several soldiers offered their services as guides, and conducted the students to the interior. The walls are nearly hidden by the standards, flags, shields, battle-axes, and other trophies taken from the French, Poles, Turks, Persians, and Swedes. All the sovereigns of Russia, since the foundation of the city, with the single exception of Peter II., have been intombed in this church. Their remains are placed in the vaults[189] beneath the pavement, but the situations of their several resting-places are indicated by white marble sarcophagi, with gilded corners, crosses, and other ornaments. The tomb of Peter the Great is near the south door, opposite an image of St. Peter, which is just the size of the Czar at his birth. Next to him is Catharine I. Near the tomb of Paul is an image of St. Paul, of this Czar's size at his birth. The diamond wedding-ring of Alexander I. is affixed to an image by his tomb. On that of the Grand Duke Constantine, who waived his right to the throne in favor of Nicholas, are placed the keys of the Polish fortresses he captured. On the tomb of Nicholas there was a quantity of flowers, and also upon that of his daughter, who died in 1844.

"This is the tomb of the present emperor's oldest son, Nicholas, who died at Nice in 1865," said Dr. Winstock. "It has been erected since my last visit, and you see it is covered with fresh flowers. He was only twenty-two, and had just been betrothed to the Princess Dagmar, of Denmark."

"I thought Mr. Mapps said she was married to the present heir of the throne," added Lincoln.

"That was quite true also. She was only engaged to Nicholas, and was married to his brother two years after the death of the former. It is said that the Czarwitz, on his death-bed, expressed a wish that his brother Alexander might succeed him in all things, including his intended wife."

The party were then conducted to a building where the boat of Peter the Great is kept. As he built it with his own hands, it is a great curiosity, and the students were willing to believe that the Czar had[190] done his work well. The excursionists returned to the omnibuses, and were driven to the Hotel Klée, where dinner had been prepared for them. The meal was not at all Russian, for the people in the hotel are German in their tendencies. It was at this hotel that Mr. Burlingame, of the Chinese mission, died; and several of the students visited the room in which he breathed his last.

CHAPTER X.

The omnibuses had been dismissed for the day, for the afternoon was to be used in visiting two of the principal churches, which were within walking distance of the hotel, and on the way to the English Quay, where the party were to embark at six o'clock for Cronstadt. The students separated into small squads, the more studious and thoughtful ones clinging to the guides and others who knew something about the city, in order to obtain proper explanations of what they saw. All of them walked through the bazaar, and most of them looked into the little chapel near it, and studied the signals on the watch-tower above the Town Hall. Some amused themselves by trying to read the signs; but they could make nothing of them, though there was occasionally one in French. All the educated Russians speak French fluently, and in the larger stores there is generally one or more who converse in this language. A short walk on the Nevski Prospect brought the tourists to the Kazan Cathedral.

This church was founded in 1802, and consecrated in 1811, and cost about three million dollars. The cross above the dome is two hundred and[192] thirty feet from the ground. In the semicircle formed by the colonnade in front are statues of Kutuzoff and Barclay de Tolly, two generals who distinguished themselves in the Moscow campaign against Napoleon. The interior of the church contains fifty-six columns of Finland granite, each being a single stone, thirty-five feet high, which support the dome and roof. The screen, or partition,—in Russian, ikonostas,—that separates the altar from the body of the church, is of silver, the material for which was captured from friend and foe by the Cossacks in the Moscow campaign, and became an offering to the Madonna of this church. In the centre of the middle doors of the screen is inscribed, in precious stones, the name of God. In a conspicuous place in the partition is placed the miraculous picture of the Virgin, found unharmed in the ashes of the convent in which it was kept, after the burning of Kazan carried to Moscow by Ivan the Terrible, and removed to St. Petersburg in 1821. It is loaded with gold and precious stones to the value of seventy-five thousand dollars, enough to build half a dozen churches in the country in America. This is the church of the imperial family, which the emperor attends on special occasions. After his escape from the assassin at the gate of the Summer Garden, he came twice to give thanks; and when the Princess Dagmar was escorted through the streets, as the betrothed of the present Grand Duke Alexander, the procession paused in the street while the royal party entered the church to return thanks for her safe arrival. Opposite the ikonostas is a chair for the Czar, who is the head of the church and the only one to[193] whom the privilege of being seated is allowed. The walls and columns of the interior are hung with flags, banners, keys, and other military trophies. In a glass case is the baton of Davoust, one of Napoleon's generals. A great many keys of towns and fortresses are exhibited, and the church has somewhat the appearance of an arsenal.

From this church the students walked to St. Isaac's, in the square of the same name, a large, open space, flanked by some of the finest public buildings and monuments in the city. On this spot Peter the Great built a wooden church, in 1710, which gave place to another, built by Catharine I. The present edifice was commenced in 1819, and consecrated in 1858. The ground is swampy, and the piles which were driven to support the foundation cost a million dollars—enough to build a dozen substantial churches in any city in America. It is in the form of the Greek cross, with four grand fronts, which are similar to that of the Pantheon at Paris, with columns sixty feet high and seven in diameter, of highly-polished Finland granite, of a reddish hue. The dome is nearly like that of the Capitol at Washington, and is gilded, so that it is a "shining mark" for a great distance. On the four corners are smaller bell-towers, each containing several bells, though such a thing as a chime is unknown in Russia. Externally, this church is one of the grandest and most beautiful in the world.

The walls of the interior are covered with marble, and are adorned with pictures of the saints, decked with gold and precious stones, before which are the circular stands for the offerings of candles. Near the door is an official, who is authorized to sell these candles to[194] worshippers. As in all the Russian churches, the ikonostas, or altar-screen, is the most prominent object, which is almost covered with the gilded plates which form the raiment of the holy persons, with spaces cut out to exhibit the faces, hands, and feet of the painting. Before the principal saints elaborate lamps are suspended, which are lighted during service. In the screen are three doors, the double ones, in the middle, being "the royal gates," so called because the emperor passes through them at his coronation. On each side of them is a pillar of lapis lazuli, set on iron columns, the two costing sixty thousand dollars. The doors are of bronze, of very elaborate construction. The space behind the screen, which occupies about one eighth of the interior of the church, is the altar, in which stands a small round temple, with eight columns of malachite, eight feet high, the material for which cost a hundred thousand dollars. This temple is really the altar, the shrine of the church, in which are placed a richly-bound volume, called the "Gospels," a gold cross used in the service, the vessel for the sacred elements, and the silk in which they are placed when consecrated. Behind the altar, on the window, is an immense painting of Christ.

Services are held three times every day in most of the churches; and when the students entered the edifice, the preparations were in progress, and they remained to witness the worship. All who entered crossed themselves, and many purchased candles and made offerings of them to the saints, St. Isaac of Dalmatia being the principal one, and women and children kissed the hands of the Virgin, and other holy[195] persons represented by pictures. The church gives a literal interpretation of the commandment, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image," and no part of the person—only the raiment—of the saints can be sculptured for purposes of worship. The service consisted of intoned readings by the priests and deacons, the former being within the royal doors a portion of the time, and is interspersed with singing, generally in recitative style, by the choir, at the end of the platform in front of the screen. The singers seem to break in upon the priests' prayers at times, often with a short phrase or single word. No female voices are allowed in the choir, and no organ or other musical instrument is permitted.

During the service the worshippers in front frequently cross themselves, the more devoted kneeling and bowing till their foreheads touch the pavement. Only a few, however, bend thus lowly, and it is noticeable that these are of the lower order. Well-dressed ladies and gentlemen are not seen to do anything more than cross themselves, though all appear to be devout and solemnly engaged in the exercises. Outside of the doors there are always a number of beggars, who stand with hand extended, as the people come out of the church. Besides the chance alms-giving of the worshippers, wrung from them by importunity, one is occasionally seen evidently roused by the service to a keener sense of duty, who makes a systematic business of it, bestowing upon each of the beggars a smaller or larger sum, according to his means. After the service some of the students were permitted to enter the altar, which is the Holy of[196] Holies, as in King Solomon's Temple. Paul Kendall and his wife were about to follow them, when the uniformed official interposed, and shook his head earnestly. Paul did not understand him, and one of the guides was called.

"Woman's rights haven't been attended to here," replied Paul, as he retired with Grace.

But there was nothing particular to be seen in the altar space, except the consecrated articles used in the service. Lincoln was on the point of passing between the altar itself and the royal doors, when the church official stopped him, saying that none but the priest and the emperor were allowed to pass in that direction.

"I wish I could understand more of it," said Lincoln, as he walked with his friend, the doctor, towards the quay.

"The language of the Russian church is the ancient Sclavonic," replied the surgeon, "as Latin is of the Roman Catholic; and probably not many of the people understand it. But they are very devout."

"I have seen that about the streets. Did any one ever hear such bass voices as some of these singers have? Why, they sounded like the rumbling of an earthquake."

"That is one of the great peculiarities of the churches in Russia; and these deep, heavy bass voices are considered very desirable. You will find that the wealthier the church, and the more popular the service, the deeper and heavier are the tones of the bass singers. Doubtless those in St. Isaac's are among the most celebrated; but in the Kazan[197] Cathedral, and the Church of St. Alexander Nevski, you will hear those of about the same volume and power. Of course it requires much cultivation to develop such a voice; but these singers are so much in demand that they are amply compensated for their labor."

"Yes, it is quite similar; but there are important differences. The Russian church rejects purgatory, predestination, indulgences, and dispensations. In baptism, the body must be completely submerged, and anointed with consecrated oil. The people have not the same respect for the clergy which you will find in Catholic countries, for though they venerate the office, they often despise the priests, who are a peculiar class; and the office is, in a measure, hereditary among them, though not closed to others. The nobility do not take the priestly office. A clergyman's sons generally follow him in the choice of a profession, and his daughters are oftener than otherwise married to priests. Sometimes the candidate for a position as priest gets his office by marrying the daughter of a deceased incumbent. The consistory, which has the giving of these places, knows the affairs of the whole diocese. If a priest dies, leaving a marriageable daughter, the council often provides for her and the church at the same time, by giving the vacant place to one who will take the maiden. The priests are not very well educated, though in this respect they are improving. An ecclesiastic cannot marry a widow, and when his wife dies he cannot perform the service, but may[198] be a monk, and be eligible to the highest offices in the church. The scriptural injunction that a bishop must be the husband of one wife, does not mean, to the Russian, at least one, as with the Mormon, but only one, not even one at a time, as other Christians interpret it. Any one who marries a second time cannot partake of the communion for one year; and a third time, for four years."

"The priests take good care of their wives, I suppose, since their office depends upon them."

"Yes, such is the fact," added the doctor, as they went on board of the steamer.

The students were on the quay promptly at the hour appointed, and the steamer departed for Cronstadt. Although the sights in St. Petersburg had been unusually interesting, the boys could not entirely forget the subject of the delegates who were to go down the Volga, and some electioneering was done. De Forrest had been at work upon what he called the compromise ticket. He had even made some advances to Scott, but had not found a favorable opportunity to discuss the subject with him. On board of the steamer he made the occasion.

"The ship's company are to vote for two, you know," added the first[199] purser, feeling his way to the question.

"That's so; if you want to say anything about it, speak right out; you needn't beat about the bush any more."

"I think the other one ought to have been elected, instead of being appointed by the captain."

"Of course he will not; and if he did, I could not accept the privilege from him," said De Forrest, stiffly.

"I was opposed to him in the election, and I have no doubt he dislikes me as much as I do him. I neither ask nor will take any favors from him. But there is a chance for me to go by the election."

"It has been suggested that you and I may be voted for on the same ticket. What do you say to that?"

"If any of the fellows want to vote for me, tell them to fire away; I can stand it as long as they can. If they want to vote for you, I have no doubt they will do it."

"No, sir!" replied Scott, decidedly. "I won't nominate myself or any other fellow. Let the crowd do that."

"They will do it, of course; but every fellow has some influence, you know. It will be a fair thing to take one from the cabin, and one from the steerage."

"I made up my mind that I should go for Commodore Lincoln for one," added Scott, to bring the matter to a head, for he did not like to see any student working for himself.

"I think the fellows did enough for him when they made him commodore," growled De Forrest, disgusted at the want of appreciation on the part of the joker.

"Who were talking about it?" asked Scott, who had his doubts whether any one had spoken to De Forrest on the subject.

"Sheridan, for one. If you won't do anything for this ticket, I will say no more about it."

"Don't say any more, then," replied Scott; and De Forrest left him, angry and disgusted.

"The first purser's dander," answered Scott. "I hear that you proposed my name with his for the journey."

"I did mention it, certainly; but he had told me in the beginning that he would not vote for you; he would jump overboard first. I suggested the names, then, by way of jest, and he snapped at the idea as a codfish at a clam."

"I see," laughed Scott. "I couldn't give him any comfort, and declined[201] to vote for the ticket. I won't vote for any fellow that goes around electioneering for himself."

"My sentiment exactly," replied Sheridan. "But we ought to agree on some fellows to vote for."

"I'm with you!" exclaimed the lieutenant. "I am sure that he has not asked anybody to vote for him. Now, we want another real good fellow, from the steerage. Who shall it be?"

"I don't know; we have so many good fellows it is hard to fix upon any one. I will look them over and let you know."

"I don't. I'm not in the way of seeing much of him since he went into the captain's cabin. He don't go on shore at all now, and I suppose he has been studying rigging, and making knots and splices, all day with Peaks."

"I don't see that we can agree on anything till we know whom he chooses. He may pick out the very one we decide to vote for."

"So do I; that is the fairest way," replied Sheridan, as the steamer stopped at the side of the ship, and the students, without waiting for planks and steps, leaped to her deck.

After supper all hands were called, and Captain Cantwell was requested[202] to appoint the student for the journey to the interior. The ship's crew were all silent, curious and anxious to know who the favored one was to be. The captain mounted the rostrum with the principal, and took off his cap.

The announcement was greeted with the most emphatic applause on the part of the seamen, in which a few of the officers joined.

"He did not know it," replied Sheridan; "and if he did, I don't know that it alters anything."

"You made Cantwell captain," retorted Sheridan. "Scott worked for him, and I am glad to see that he remembers his friends."

"You judged him by yourself. I can tell you one thing, De Forrest: these fellows that work for themselves don't accomplish much."

"The ballot for the other two will be taken in half an hour," said the principal, who had been studying the effect of the captain's choice upon the students.

"Thank you. I am sure, and I hope I shall have good fellows to go with me," replied Scott.

"I have talked with some of the fellows forward, and they prefer to have every fellow vote as he likes."

Scott went to the captain, and thanked him heartily for the favor he had bestowed upon him.

"I am glad to serve you," replied Cantwell, "We are not even yet. I owe my position to you, and I am grateful for your interest."

"Not at all; you may thank De Forrest more than me for your election, for if those fellows in the cabin had not got up a conspiracy against you, we could not have carried you in."

"I am trying hard to make myself worthy of the place; and I want to add, that what you said to me that Sunday did me a great deal of good. I shall try to make my shipmates like me," added the captain, as he went aft.

Certainly he had improved wonderfully since his election, for he was gentlemanly and kind to all, and used no offensive condescension to his inferiors, as all were to him now except the commodore. He had found his weak points with the help of Scott, and was doing his best to correct them.

In half an hour the balloting was commenced, and was conducted in the same manner as that for the officers had been. The two persons to be selected were voted for separately. No one had a majority; and a great many had a single vote, leading to the suspicion that a considerable number had voted for themselves. Among the latter was De Forrest, who had done more electioneering on his own account than any other student in the ship. Lincoln had the largest number, and it lacked only a few votes of the required majority. The balloting was repeated, and this[204] time Lincoln was elected by a very handsome majority. De Forrest had one vote again. The indications of the first two ballotings were a guide for the next one. A little fellow, who had been nicknamed Billy Bobstay, had thirty-one votes, which was next to the commodore's vote. His real name was Bradshaw, and he was an orphan. He had lived in Brockway with his uncle, who did not use him well, and the boy had attempted to run away to sea, but had been returned to his guardian, who was a poor man, and perhaps would have been glad to get rid of him, though he gave him an unmerciful flogging. He compelled the boy to work beyond his strength, thus exciting the sympathy of the neighbors. Mr. Lowington was at home at this time, and heard about the case. He examined the matter himself, and having satisfied himself that the little fellow was abused, he offered to take him on board of the ship, feed, clothe, and educate him. The uncle did not object, since he was thus wholly relieved of the support of the boy, whose labor, hard as it was for the youth, was not worth much to him, and Billy went on board of the Young America, delighted both with the idea of going to sea, and of getting away from his cruel and exacting uncle.

Though Billy had a great deal of spirit and energy, he was very kind and obliging to all his shipmates, and soon became a great favorite among them. As his education had been neglected, he could not compete with his fellow-students yet, though he was making rapid progress in his studies. His story was well known in the ship, and it excited the sympathy of all the good-hearted boys on board, and these included many of the[205] wild and rude ones. If any one wanted to "pick" upon Billy, he had a dozen champions always at hand to take his part. He was very active and daring, and seemed to have been born for a sailor. His station in making and furling sail was on the main royal, for though he was nearly sixteen, he was one of the "lightest weights" on board. Though he never had any money, except the small sums given him by the principal, who was not a strong advocate of pocket-money for boys, he shared the luxuries of the steerage as fairly as though he had purchased his portion. Perhaps it was a freak on the part of a few of the boys to vote for him, which had become contagious. At any rate, on the next ballot, Billy Bobstay had a clean majority of all the votes, and the result was hailed with lusty cheers by the crew.

"I haven't any money," replied Billy, frankly and innocently. "Besides, I don't want to take this chance when so many of the others wish to go."

"You shall have the money, my dear Billy," said Scott. "But who pays the bills for this little excursion?"

No one knew; nothing had been said on this subject; and a messenger was sent to the principal to ascertain his purpose in this important particular.

"The expenses of all will be paid to Moscow; beyond that the party will pay their own expenses," replied Mr. Lowington. "If, however, when they return, I think it proper to reimburse them, I shall do so. Of[206] course any one may decline the privilege extended to him. It is not forced upon him."

"Of course I can't go, then," said Billy Bobstay, decidedly. "I haven't a dollar, nor a ruble, nor a copeck."

"But I don't want to take any other fellow's chance. I am much obliged to those that voted for me, but I can't go."

"Steady, now, my darling baby," continued Scott. "I want you to go, so as to help me, for I have a big job on my hands."

"You can do a big thing for me—the greatest kindness that one good fellow ever did for another. You are generally very obliging, William Bobstay."

"What can I do for you?" asked Billy, much troubled at the thought of disobliging any one.

"You can help me spend my money," pleaded Scott. "I have always been willing to help any fellow in this way, even when he didn't have half as much in his trousers pocket as I have."

"Making game of you, my beloved infant! I should like to see the fellow[207] that would do it! I would make him up into Bologna sausages, and then make him eat them. You are going, my child, and I'm going to take care of you. Not another word; if you do it will choke you;" and Scott ran off to execute a little scheme of his own, no less than to take up a collection for the favorite.

The joker explained the situation, and said he was going to get up a subscription.

"Don't do it, Scott. I shall not go on shore this month, and you shall take my allowance for Billy. He shall go, and I will pay all his expenses."

"That's handsome, captain," replied Scott, heartily; "but the fellows that like Billy can give him a small sum each."

"They will all want their money on shore; I shall not. Wait a moment till I go below for my rubles;" and the captain hastened down into the cabin.

"Billy Bobstay, I will give you twenty rubles for your chance," said De Forrest to the little favorite.

"Yes, you can; just go to the principal, and tell him you would like to have me go in your place. Don't say a word about the rubles, and he will let you do it."

"I can't; the students elected me to go, and it wouldn't be right for me to sell my chance," replied Billy, very respectfully, but firmly.

"It doesn't concern you. I didn't speak to you," said the purser, sourly. "I order you to go forward."

Scott touched his cap, and obeyed; but De Forrest dared not say anything more to Billy about the bribe, except to tell him not to mention what he had offered.

"Here, my darling Billy!" exclaimed Scott, as the little fellow went forward. "Here is a hundred rubles to pay your bills on the journey. It is the free gift of Captain Cantwell, who insists upon paying all your expenses, and declares that you must go. You see, my darling, he has so much money he can't possibly get rid of it without your aid, and you must do him the favor you refused me."

Scott repeated the story of the captain's generous gift so that all the students on deck could hear it.

"Three cheers for Captain Cantwell!" roared one of the big fellows; and they were given with a will.

The principal wanted to know what it meant, and Scott told him. He smiled, and approved the act; and Billy Bobstay was actually crying, he was so overcome by the kindness of his friends. Then Scott hugged him, and made him laugh; and with the tears dropping down his cheeks, he went to Cantwell and thanked him for his liberal gift. With but few exceptions, the ship's company were pleased with the result. The growing popularity of the captain troubled De Forrest, Beckwith, and a few others, and they were thinking how they could safely turn the tide against him.

CHAPTER XI.

At half past seven the next morning, breakfast had been disposed of, and the little steamer came alongside the ship to convey the students to St. Petersburg again. At nine o'clock she landed them on the English Quay, near the Nicholas Bridge. A procession was formed, which was but the work of a moment, for every student knew his place in the line. The column moved along the quay to the Winter Palace, under the guidance of an officer of the emperor's household, who had been detailed for the purpose, when Mr. Fluxion applied for permission to see the palace. Every courtesy had been extended to the tourists, and not a word was said about passports.

At the Hotel Klée, Kendall and Shuffles had sent their passports to the police office. They had been visé at the Russian consulate in Stockholm, and permission was indorsed upon them for the owners to abide in the city. The people at the hotel attend to all this business, and ask for the traveller's passport as soon as he arrives, charging the fees, which are quite small, in the bill. In every additional city or town in which the tourist remains over night, his passport must be[210] sent to the police, who indorse upon it the permission to remain. Letters from abroad are delivered to travellers, but newspapers, unless they are on the permitted list, are detained. A few New York papers are on this list, and it is useless to send any others into Russia, for they will not be forwarded to their address. The custom-house officers were formerly very strict in regard to the admission of books, and are so still where there is any suspicion of revolutionary works, or of those directed against the Orthodox Greek church. Such books as ordinary travellers desire to carry, as the Bible, Prayer-books, and Guidebooks, are permitted to pass.

The students had seen the Winter Palace and Hermitage, which are connected by galleries, when they rode through the streets the day before. The grand entrance is on the Neva, but there is another opening into the square in front of the Etat Major. The exterior, except in size, is hardly as imposing as many other European palaces, though the building has the reputation of being one of the most elegant on the continent. It is four hundred and fifty-five feet long by three hundred and fifty wide, and eighty feet high. In winter it accommodates six thousand persons, forming the emperor's household. On the site of the palace was the estate of the high admiral of Peter the Great, who bequeathed it to Peter II. The Empress Anne commenced a palace on the spot, which was completed in the reign of Catharine II., but it was destroyed by fire in 1837. In two years more the present vast structure was completed. The entrance from the Neva side is by a magnificent staircase of marble. The students went in at the entrance on the[211] square, and walked through all the apartments which visitors are permitted to enter, and all of them were magnificent. The White Hall, as its name indicates, is of clear white, adorned with gold, and is the room in which the court balls and other festivities are held. St. George's Hall, which is one hundred and forty feet long by sixty wide, is the apartment in which the ambassadors are received; and there is another throne room, in which the emperor meets the diplomats on New Year's Day. There were hundreds of other rooms, all of them hung with pictures, which are mostly portraits of persons noted in Russian history, and battle-pieces in which the armies of the czars have been victorious. In the Romanoff Gallery are the pictures of all the sovereigns of this line, from Michael down to the present time. In this hall is a tablet, covered with a curtain, on which are inscribed the ten rules that Catharine II. enforced at the meetings of her friends. The visitor was enjoined to leave his rank, and his right of precedence, outside the door; to be gay, and sit, stand, or walk, as he pleased, without regard to any one; to talk gently, and argue without excitement; to eat what was good, and drink moderately, so that each might find his legs when he wanted to use them; that all should join in any innocent game when one proposed it, and tell no tales out of school. The penalty of a violation of these rules was the drinking of a glass of cold water, and the reading of a page of a poet who appears to have been the Martin Farquhar Tupper of Russia. If any one broke three of the rules in the same evening, he was condemned to commit six lines of this poet to[212] memory; and the one who told tales out of school was not again admitted.

The students were conducted to a room on the second floor, which is guarded day and night by officers of the household, where the crown jewels are kept. On the sceptre is the great Orlof diamond, the largest in Europe, presented to Catharine II. by her favorite, whose name it takes. It is said that it once formed the eye of an idol in India, and was stolen by a French soldier. After passing through various hands, it was purchased by Count Orlof, who paid four hundred and fifty thousand rubles for it, besides conferring a patent of nobility, and an annuity of two thousand rubles upon the seller. The crown of the emperor is shaped something like a bishop's mitre, and is covered with diamonds and pearls. On the top is an immense ruby, which supports a cross formed of five beautiful diamonds. The crown of the empress is a mass of diamonds of the most perfect hue and lustre. There are many other treasures, such as the plume of Suvaroff, presented by the Sultan of Turkey; the "Shah," a diamond from Persia; and necklaces, bracelets, brooches, and other articles, glittering with diamonds, and studded with immense pearls. Millions upon millions of rubles in value lie idle and useless in this apartment, which would plant a common school in nearly every town of the vast empire.

On the lower floor is the room in which the Emperor Nicholas died, in 1855, with everything just as it was on the day he breathed his last. It is one of the smallest and plainest apartments of the palace, and a grenadier of the guard is always on duty within it to protect the sacred[213] relics of the czar. It is furnished with a narrow iron camp bedstead, on which he expired. On it lies his military cloak, and his sword and helmet are just as he left them. On the table is a quartermaster's report, given to him on the day he died. Everything in the room is of the simplest manufacture, with nothing of the luxuriousness of the other parts of the palace.

From the palace the students passed into the Hermitage, which is a museum and gallery of paintings, and is hardly equalled in all Europe. It is somewhat larger than the palace, enclosing two large courts. It is a perfect labyrinth of apartments, and all of them filled with paintings, works of art, and historical relics. All the old masters are represented in the picture galleries, and rooms or suits of rooms are devoted to each school of painting. Not many of the students were able to appreciate the treasures of art, and most of them preferred the military and naval pictures in the Winter Palace. In the vast numismatic collection are many very rare Greek coins. In the gem room is a mechanical clock, which a poor woman drew in a lottery, and sold for fifteen thousand dollars. It played overtures with all the effects of the modern orchestrion, and was wound up for the gratification of the visitors. In the gallery of Peter the Great, the party were disposed to linger for a long time. It contains works of art and industry in the time of the Czar whose name it bears, and the turning lathes and carving tools he used himself. His spy-glasses, mathematical instruments, books, canes, and other articles are exhibited. The gilded chariot in which[214] he occasionally rode, his dogs, and his war horse, stuffed, and various casts and portraits of him, taken after death, were examined with interest. A broken clock, with wonderful mechanical movements, excited the attention of the boys. It consists of a peacock, which, at the striking of the hour, expands his tail, while a rooster flaps his wings, an owl rolls his eyes, and a grasshopper feeds on a mushroom. Near it is a collection of snuff-boxes, which belonged to various sovereigns of Europe. In this room, enclosed in cases, was a great variety of curiosities, including articles which had belonged to the members of the royal family.

On the lower floor are the galleries of ancient sculpture. In the Kertch collection are medals and other articles proving the existence of a Greek colony on the northern shores of the Black Sea six hundred years before Christ. In 1820 a tomb was found at Kertch, which is at the entrance to the Sea of Azof, containing a chamber of hewn stone, in which were the remains of a Scythian prince, with his wife, his horse, and his chief groom. His crown, weapons, ornaments, and golden robes, with vases of bronze and other material containing the remains of provisions, were found where they had lain for two thousand years, and were conveyed to this museum. The tomb of a priestess of Ceres, buried with her ornaments, and with four horses, was found in 1866. The Scythian collection is equally rich in the treasures of a former race.

The students wandered during the forenoon through these numerous[215] apartments till most of them were very tired; for there is no harder work for the human frame than that of exploring museums and galleries. The party dined again at the Hotel Klée, and in the afternoon walked to the Arsenal Museum, which contains specimens of arms and accoutrements of many periods, and a vast quantity of historical curiosities. Among the former are some curious guns, pistols, revolvers, and warlike machines; and among the latter are many relics of Peter the Great, as the hat and sword he wore at Pultowa; the leather coat in which he worked at Saardam; the uniforms in which he passed through the several military grades of private, captain, and colonel; and a cabriolet in which he measured distances on the road by means of machinery like that of a clock connected with the wheels. At the head of the staircase is a Russian eagle, the body, neck, and legs made of gun-flints fixed on the wall, the wings of sword blades, and the eyes formed by the muzzles of a pair of pistols, in the same manner as the several objects in the Tower of London are composed.

The Museum of Imperial Carriages was next visited. After passing through several rooms in which some beautiful Gobelin tapestries are exhibited, the students entered the large hall which contains the vehicles. The first was the carriage presented by Frederick the Great, of Prussia, to the Empress Elizabeth, in 1746, and in which the Princess Dagmar rode into St. Petersburg with the empress. It is gilded, with paintings on the panels and doors. There are a dozen of these large, clumsy state carriages, glittering with gold, and rich with silk, satin, and[216] embroidery. Some of them are over a hundred years old, and have been "restored" several times. Those used by the various sovereigns, from Peter I. to the present time, were pointed out. After the party had critically examined one of them, the only interest the others had was the fact that Catharine II. had spread herself in one, and Nicholas had sternly looked out from the windows of another. Besides these state coaches, there were many modern vehicles from different parts of Europe, and a number of sleighs, used by the court in carnival time, some of which are very ingeniously constructed. By all odds, the greatest curiosity in this collection is the sledge of Peter the Great, in which he travelled, in winter, on his long journeys to the distant parts of his vast empire. It is a kind of coach on runners, and was entirely constructed by the Czar's own hands. Behind it is a trunk in which he carried his clothes and provisions. Peter made a journey in this sledge to Archangel, on the White Sea, and there came a thaw which compelled him to return to his capital on wheels. Alexander I. caused the sleigh to be brought to St. Petersburg. It is placed in a large glass case, to protect it from injury. A sleigh in the form of St. George and the Dragon is unique. A mechanical drosky, invented by a Siberian peasant, has an apparatus which records the time and distance travelled, besides playing several tunes. Near Peter's sledge stand two or three diminutive carriages for the use of the royal children.

In another room are kept the harnesses and trappings used for the[217] imperial state carriages, with liveries for eight hundred men. In one set, each horse has to carry about one hundred and twenty pounds. The carriages are all in the second story of the building, and there is a kind of platform elevator, by which they are hoisted up. The state coaches are used at the coronation of the emperors, and this ceremonial always takes place at Moscow, whither they have to be transported, though, since the railroad was completed, this is not so difficult a matter as formerly.

The students walked on the quay to the vast Admiralty building, and went into the Naval Museum, in which there are models of all kinds of boats and vessels, which were full of interest to the nautical young gentlemen. This completed the labors of the day, and the company returned to Cronstadt in the steamer.

At the usual hour on the following morning they embarked again, and were soon landed at Peterhoff, which is sometimes called the Versailles of Russia, on account of the number and variety of the fountains in the palace grounds. The place is on the south side of the broad bay inside of Cronstadt, and about ten miles distant from it. It is a favorite summer resort of the people from the capital, steamers plying frequently between the two places. It has a great many attractions, the principal of which is the palace, erected in 1720, under the direction of Peter the Great, on an elevation of sixty feet,—a considerable hill in Russia,—and the magnificent grounds, laid off in parks, lawns, terraces, groves, and gardens. The buildings are extensive, but not very elegant outside. The apartments contain a great many paintings, including portraits of three hundred and sixty-eight beautiful young[218] girls, from fifty different provinces. The rooms for use contain the usual gilded chairs, sofas, tables, and other furniture, which soon become very tiresome to the traveller in Europe, for they are about the same thing in all the palaces, and, to a republican, would have a cheap look, if it were not for the silks, velvets, and brocade with which they are upholstered.

The palace faces the sea, and the slope of the hill is cut into terraces, which are adorned with fountains, waterfalls, and basins with Neptunes, swans, nymphs, tritons, and other aquatic ornaments. Beneath a fountain, which throws a jet eighty feet high, is a kind of canal, extending five hundred yards down the slope to the bay, in which there is a succession of cataracts. The fountains play at five o'clock every Sunday afternoon in the summer, but on this occasion the water was let on as a special favor, which can perhaps be obtained at any time by paying a ruble or two. The effect was very fine, and compared favorably with the water works at Versailles. On fête days, lamps are placed under the sheets of water in the evening, and the appearance is said to be both unique and brilliant. In the garden below, near the sea-shore, are the small structures called Marly and Montplaisir. In the former Peter used to look out upon his fleet at Cronstadt. In the latter the great Czar died, and his bed is still preserved, as he used it, with his night clothes and dressing gown on the pillow. It is a small, Dutch-built house, and the interior looks very much like that of a country farm-house. Peter's boots, slippers, writing-desk, sedan-chair, and[219] other articles belonging to him, are to be seen in the several apartments. The Hermitage is the cottage of Catharine. A table in the dining-room is provided with a contrivance by which dishes are sent down through the floor, or sent up, without the servants coming into the apartment. The same thing is shown in one of the palaces at Potsdam, where Frederick the Great used to carouse, without any menials to witness his revels. In an oblong pond a vast number of tame fish are kept, and regularly fed. The man in charge of the straw cottage goes to the edge of the water and rings a bell, with some parade, when visitors are present, and the fish are supposed to come at his call; but Scott protested that it was all a humbug, for not a fish was seen until the man had thrown the food into the water. Then they scrambled for the bits of black bread, piling themselves up in stacks, to the intense amusement of the boys. There are several other palaces near Peterhoff, one of which was occupied by Nicholas as his summer residence; and Stretna, the palace of the Grand Duke Constantine, is about half way to St. Petersburg by railroad. At ten the company took the train, and stopped at Krasnoé Sélo, where there is an immense camp, containing forty thousand troops or more, during the summer season. The soldiers were drilling, marching, and manœuvring in large bodies. In every Russian camp there is a quantity of simple gymnastic apparatus, on which the men are required to exercise regularly. Near the end of August the emperor reviews the troops, when sham fights and other kinds of mimic warfare[220] are exhibited. Taking the next train, the party reached St. Petersburg in season for dinner.

In the afternoon, omnibuses were again in demand and the students rode to the Monastery of St. Alexander Nevski, on the river at the end of the Nevski Prospect. This establishment is the seat of the Metropolitan, or Patriarch of St. Petersburg, and is therefore of a higher order than the ordinary monastery. It is called a Lavra, and only ranks below two others in the empire—the one at Moscow, and the other at Kief. It was founded by Peter the Great in honor of the Grand Duke Alexander, who defeated the Swedes on the Neva in 1241, which battle gave him his surname. His remains were brought to this monastery with the most solemn pomp, and he was canonized. He is the patron saint of the present emperor, who takes his name. The shrine of St. Alexander Nevski in the principal church, beneath which his remains repose, is of solid silver, and weighs thirty-two hundred and fifty pounds. Over it hang the keys of Adrianople. The establishment encloses a considerable tract of land, and includes several churches, buildings for the monks, cells, refectories, towers, gardens, and a cemetery. It is endowed with immense wealth, and contains many costly gifts of the Persians, as well as valuable works of art. In one of the chapels is the tomb of Suwaroff—which is only a plain marble tablet—and many other noted men. The cemetery is regarded as peculiarly holy ground, and wealthy families pay large sums for the privilege of burying their dead in its consecrated earth. The party walked through the churches, visited the dining-room of the monks, whose fare is certainly very plain, looked into one of their cells, and[221] inspected some of the curious monuments in the cemetery.

The omnibuses then conveyed the company to some of the public gardens of the city, several of which are situated on the islands. Kamannoi, or Stone Island, situated on the Great Nevka, a drive of three miles from the Nevski Prospect over a broad avenue, is covered with the villas of the nobles and other wealthy people of the city. Upon it there is an extensive public garden, with an immense refreshment establishment and a summer theatre, while the grounds are filled with towers, temples, kiosks, and almost every appliance for the amusement of the visitors. In the theatre the plays and songs are generally in French, and one will observe that a large proportion of the people who frequent this place of resort speak the "polite language" in their conversation, as they walk about the grounds, listening to the concert. Up the Neva, three miles from Trinity Bridge, are the Tivoli Gardens, which may be reached by small steamers that ply on the river. In the winter there is a skating rink at this place, where this amusement may be had under cover. The visit to the gardens finished the excursion for the day, and the tourists returned to the squadron at Cronstadt. The next day was Sunday, and in the forenoon the students attended service at the British Chapel in the town; in the afternoon, in the steerage of the ship. As in most of the countries of Europe, Sunday is a holiday in Russia. The people attend church in the morning, and devote the afternoon to recreation and amusement.

On Monday the company went up to St. Petersburg again, and walked from[222] the English Quay to the station of the Czarskoé Sélo Railroad. On the way they halted in the square upon which the Great Theatre and the Marie Theatre are situated. As in Paris, the government pays large sums for the support of the theatre, and for the Great Theatre, which accommodates three thousand people, the best operatic talent of Europe is engaged. Dancing is an especial attraction to the people, and a school for the training of actresses and dancers is maintained. The finest performances are given on Sunday. Masked balls are also given in this theatre in the winter, which are attended by the emperor and other members of the imperial family. The Marie Theatre is more especially for the representation of Russian dramas and the opera.

There are four railway stations on the south side of St. Petersburg, the Peterhoff, the Warsaw, the Czarskoé Sélo, and the Moscow, though the latter is at the bend of the Nevski Prospect. Czarskoé Sélo, fifteen miles from the city, is the principal summer residence of the emperor. The railway to this place was the first one built in Russia. A ride of forty minutes brought the party to their destination. The grounds of the palace, which are entered by a gateway with two towers, covered with Egyptian figures and hieroglyphics, are eighteen miles in circumference. They are kept in the nicest order by six hundred old soldiers, who are pensioned off in this way. Not a dry leaf, a cigar stump, or any unclean thing is permitted to remain in the walks, for the veterans capture it as an invader, and put it out of sight. The front of the palace is[223] seven hundred and eighty feet long. Peter the Great erected a building here, but the present edifice was built during the reign of Elizabeth, and was embellished by Catharine II. Originally, every statue, pedestal, capital of a column, and all the ornaments, were gilded, the gold for which was worth over two millions of dollars. In a short time the gilding was badly injured by the weather. The contractors employed in repairing the building offered Catharine half a million silver rubles for the gold leaf which remained on the ornaments, to whom she replied, "I am not accustomed to sell my old clothes." The front of the palace is now gaudily painted with white, green, and yellow, the only gilding being on the dome and cupolas of the church. Parts of the interior, however, are very lavishly gilded, as the chapel, the ceiling of which is one sheet of gold. One small apartment has strips of lapis lazuli inlaid upon the walls, and the floor is of ebony, ornamented with mother-of-pearl. In another room the walls are panelled with amber, wrought into a variety of designs. The amber was presented to Catharine by Frederick the Great, and their initials and arms are blended in the panels; that of the Czarina being an E, for her Russian name was Ekaterina. There seems to be enough of this costly material to make mouth-pieces for all the pipes in Christendom. Catharine's sleeping apartment has pillars of purple glass, and the walls are decorated with porcelain. The bed-clothes are those under which she slept the last time she dwelt in the palace. The banqueting-rooms and the ball-rooms are[224] profusely gilded, and, as may be seen in several of the palaces of Europe, especially those of Poland, Russia, and Sweden, there is a Chinese room, in which everything is fitted up in "Celestial" style. The rooms of Alexander I. are kept just as he left them when he started for Taganrog, where he died. In his cabinet is his writing-desk, all in confusion, with blotted paper, and quill pens, stained with ink, as though he had but just used them. Next to this is his bed-room, which is plain enough for an ordinary farmer. In an alcove is a camp bedstead on which the Czar slept. His toilet articles are on the table, and on a chair is his well-worn overcoat under which are his boots.

The party walked through the Alexander Palace built by Catharine for her grandson, and occupied by Nicholas, whose military tastes are apparent in the pictures, models, and other ornaments. From this they went to the Arsenal, in which there is a vast collection of ancient armor, arms, and Oriental trappings. In a glass case are a miniature drum and trumpet of silver, given by Catharine to Paul in his childhood. The grounds were very attractive to the students, for they are filled with towers, kiosks, Chinese pagodas and other odd structures. The mast of a frigate, full rigged, afforded the present High Admiral, the Grand Duke Constantine, the means of obtaining some experience aloft without going to sea. On one of the ponds there is a fleet of miniature vessels, which was used for the amusement of the same young gentleman. A Chinese village, an aerial flower garden, supported on an Ionic pillar, a marble bridge, columns erected by Catharine to her favorites, hermitages, ruins, Roman tombs, grottoes, and waterfalls add to the wonders of the[225] place. On a small lake is a pavilion, in which the daughter of Nicholas, who died in 1844, used to feed her swims. Since her death, black swans have been kept in the pond. In the pavilion are a picture and a marble statue of the youthful Grand Duchess.

"I think I could pass a summer here very comfortably," said Lincoln, as he gazed with admiration upon the beautiful grounds and the many curious structures it contains.

"Perhaps you would alter your mind before the season closed," replied the doctor. "I was in Russia one year in August, and I think I wore an overcoat every day for a fortnight, not at night merely, but in the middle of the day. Still the weather is sometimes very warm here. On the whole, I think I should prefer to be here in the winter. St. Petersburg is very lively then, the court is in town, and there is a variety of amusements."

"I should like to see the fun for a while, and the strange sights which are to be seen only in winter, such as the sleigh-riding, skating, and frolics on the ice," added Lincoln.

"I think the want of ventilation in the houses must be one of the greatest evils of a residence here," continued Dr. Winstock, as the party left the palace gardens.

The company returned to St. Petersburg, and spent the rest of the day in visiting palaces and other places of interest. At the usual hour they embarked on the steamer, and returned to the squadron.

CHAPTER XII.

"I think it is absolutely villanous to let that little pauper go down the Volga, when there are so many of us who pay our bills, that wish to go," said De Forrest, angrily, when it was rumored that the first division of the students, with the Volga party would start that day for Moscow.

"Elected!" sneered De Forrest. "Scott elected him. When he takes snuff, all the fellows in the steerage sneeze."

"I thought you were going to get up a petition to the principal to have the old method of giving out the offices restored, and have this voting business done with."

"I talked with some of the fellows about it, but most of them said they wouldn't sign."

"Some of them said they rather liked the fun and excitement of the election; others said they had gone in for the thing, and didn't like to take the back track. I shouldn't wonder if they had joined the Bangwhangers. Between you and me, Beckwith, I am getting a little[227] tired of the ship."

"Well, I did; but it is about played out. I worked hard to be captain, but never got higher than third lieutenant; now I'm only a purser."

"I didn't think it was any use when I saw such fellows as Cantwell, Sheridan, and Murray getting in ahead of me, in spite of all I could do. No matter for that; Russia is a big country."

"A fellow could easily get lost in it, for none of us speak a word of Russian, and most of us not much French or German," added De Forrest, dropping his voice down to a whisper.

"Those fellows that ran away in Sweden, pretending they couldn't find the ship, got off easy," added the purser.

"Not one of them has been punished, except Stockwell, who was only deprived of his position as coxswain of the second cutter," replied Beckwith, beginning to understand his friend. "All of them have been allowed to go on shore with the rest."

"I should like to take just such an excursion on the same terms," continued De Forrest.

"But those fellows owned up, made a clean breast of it, and promised to be good boys. The penalty hung over them for a week, and only their[228] good behavior saved them."

"Never mind it now. We are both in the first division, and shall go to Moscow with the others. We will talk about it when we get there. I expect to drop into the steerage next month, and I had as lief be hanged for an old sheep as a lamb. Don't say anything."

"I never was so disgusted with anything in my life as I am with this election business. If I say anything, the fellows tell me it is a chicken of my own hatching. Now, Cantwell pretends to be one of the chaplain's lambs, affects a gentlemanly bearing, and studies seamanship when all of us are on shore. Then he gave that Billy Bobstay a hundred rubles, and the fellows all cheered him for it. I am so mad, I can hardly hold in. I would rather be in a slave ship than here. I'm nobody now."

De Forrest's schemes for his personal advancement had been utterly defeated, and this fact was the key to his disgust. Though he had been a wild boy on shore, he had done very well on board of the ship, stimulated by the hope of promotion, and by the enjoyment of his[229] position in the cabin. His fall from the rank of lieutenant had a bad effect upon him, for instead of working to recover his lost position, he permitted evil thoughts to take possession of his mind, and chose to regard himself as an abused individual. Like many men in public life, he had frittered away whatever influence he had by laboring for self, instead of the general good. The students of the Academy "saw through him," and realized that he acted only from selfish considerations, just as the sensible people penetrate the motives of the politicians. If he was "nobody" now, it was clearly his own fault.

"We won't talk about it now, for there will be plenty of time to consider that matter when we get to Moscow. Do you know who will have charge of our party?"

"But Dr. Winstock will go to Moscow with us, and accompany the Volga party to Kazan."

"All right; he will leave us in a day or two," replied the purser, with a significant smile, as though the arrangement just suited him. "How much money have you, Beckwith?"

"I drew twenty pounds in St. Petersburg the other day, and I changed my money in Stockholm into Russian paper. I have nearly two hundred rubles."

"I have a letter of credit for a hundred pounds, upon which I can draw in any city of Europe," added the purser.

"You had better write, then, for you haven't enough left to last you three weeks."

"The squadron is going to Hamburg, I believe, and from there on a long cruise, which may use up five or six weeks."

"Yes; and if I were you, I would have a letter of credit sent to me at Constantinople."

"Don't say a word now. All our chances for a soft thing are gone in this ship, and if you want to enjoy yourself for the rest of the season, keep your weather eye open, and follow my lead—that's all for the present."

At ten o'clock in the forenoon, the first division of the tourists, with the Volga party, embarked in the steamer for St. Petersburg. Each of the students had his pea-jacket and small bag. Mr. Agneau, the chaplain, was in charge of the division, and the surgeon, of the Volga party. On their arrival they took omnibuses for the Moscow station. Tickets for the party were procured, with places in the voiture au lit, or sleeping car. The distance to Moscow is six hundred and four versts, or four hundred miles. The fare is nineteen rubles, first class, and thirteen rubles, second class. The time is twenty hours by the express train,[231] and four or five more by ordinary trains. Twenty miles an hour is rather slow for a fast train, but it is about the usual rate in Russia.

"That's it; this is a Yankee invention," said Scott, as Dr. Winstock handed him his ticket, which was precisely like those of the patented system used on most of the American railroads. "This looks like home. It is stamped with the date, and I suppose they have the machine for doing it. Here, doctor; the date is wrong."

"The 2d in Russia, my boy," laughed the doctor, hastening away to distribute his tickets.

"Well, I have heard of such a thing, but I didn't suppose any nation was insane enough to use it."

"Pope Gregory reformed the calendar, and for this reason the Russians will not adopt the Gregorian system, but use the Julian, or Greek calendar."

"Because it is so full. I couldn't carry so much useful knowledge around with me, unless I had a basket to tote it in."

"I have looked the matter up since I came here. Have you drawn any money in St. Petersburg."

"Unfortunately, I have before me the melancholy duty of spending nearly[232] two hundred of these yellow paper rubles. Sad—isn't it?"

"No, no; I haven't that. I ate it instead of pickled onions for my dinner yesterday," replied Scott, gravely.

"Here is mine," added Lincoln, taking from his pocket the memorandum, which the banker had given him, of the rate of exchange and amount of money paid him. "You see the date is back in May, for I drew on the 10th of June."

"No; instead of caviar. But suppose we look into the cars," added Scott, as they passed into the room from which passengers step upon the trains.

They entered the second-class sleeping-car. It was altogether a different affair from that used in the United States; but only two rubles extra are charged for this accommodation, though that is all it is worth. It was a large, clumsily-built carriage, with a door in the middle of each side, and one at each end opening upon a platform. On the top was a second story, which, however, was only about half the size of the lower part. The side doors open into an apartment in the middle of[233] the car, furnished with one large arm-chair in a corner, and seats on the sides. From this room a flight of steps ascends to the second-story apartment. From this central corridor two long passage-ways, on opposite sides of the car, lead to the ends. From each of these passage-ways three or four compartments are entered, each with two seats facing each other. The passengers lie upon these seats at night, being provided with a pillow, but with no covering of any kind. Each compartment has one or two swinging shelves, or berths, besides, which are placed above the windows. Of course only three or four passengers can be accommodated in each compartment. There is no ventilation except at the windows; and if a Russian cannot sleep, he lights a paper cigar every half hour, while a dozen others may be smoking in their seats. There are conveniences at each end of the car, which are hardly to be found on the trains of any other country in Europe.

The first-class sleeping-car is precisely like the second, except that it is fitted up in a little better style. The train also includes other carriages, some like those in common use on the continent, and one or two quite different. In one first-class there were two apartments, one at each end, with seats at the sides, and containing a table for card-playing. These rooms are sold at one hundred rubles the trip, whether occupied by one or a dozen persons, for they will seat sixteen. Between these apartments is one for general use, fitted up with stuffed arm-chairs. When the private apartments are not taken by parties, a ruble or two, given to the conductor, will procure admission to them[234] after the train has passed a certain station. The conductors generally speak German, and some of them French.

The doctor, Lincoln, Billy Bobstay, and Scott, took one of the compartments in the second-class sleeping-car. They made some comparisons between the vehicle and those in use at home, and wondered why the people of Europe insist upon making night travel by railroad as uncomfortable as possible. At half past two the train started, and the students were fully occupied for a time in observing the suburbs of the city; but in half an hour there was nothing to be seen but the low, level, marshy country, which is the same thing all the way to Moscow, with hardly anything to vary its monotony.

"We haven't seen any of the triumphal arches of St. Petersburg," said Dr. Winstock. "The Moscow Gate is one of them, and is a very elaborate work of art."

"On the road to Moscow, just outside of the city. It was erected in honor of the Russian armies that fought in Persia, Turkey, and Poland. The Triumphal Arch of Narva, on the road to the Baltic provinces, is also a beautiful work, and commemorates the victories of the Russian troops, who returned in 1815."

The houses were of the rudest construction, and looked more like shanties than the abodes of human beings. They are built of logs[235] generally, some hewn and others just as they fell, with roofs of boards, the ends in many instances not squared. There was nothing like order in their location. After running over two hours the train stopped at a station. Like all the others on the road, it was a large and substantial brick structure, with everything about it kept in good condition.

The trains stop from ten minutes to half an hour at these stations, and most of the students got out of the cars, anxious to see what they could of the place and the people. The principal room was a large hall, in which was a table set for meals. At one end was a bar, and in other places were minor stands for other refreshments. One was for dispensing tea, which may be said to be the national beverage of the Russians, though they drink vodka—a strong liquor, not unlike the finkel of the Swedes—to excess. A woman usually serves the tea in the station. In front of her is an array of tumblers, in which the people drink their tea, with a bowl filled with square lumps of sugar. Little pitchers of milk are available, but the Russians seldom use this article. There is also a plate of thinly sliced lemons. The traveller takes one of the glasses, puts about three lumps of sugar in it, and the woman fills it with the beverage, upon which is placed a slice of lemon. The tea is quite yellow, and its flavor is excellent. It is brought from China over land, and without doubt is the best to be had in Europe. The Russians drink their tea very hot, and in enormous quantities. In the course of his journey to Moscow, a passenger often drinks half a dozen glasses of strong tea before he goes to sleep, and then the mystery is, how he[236] can go to sleep at all. The lemon is not squeezed in the beverage, but is simply stirred about with the spoon. One not skilled in the art of tea-drinking would hardly know that the lemon had been added.

Coffee may be obtained at the same stand, but not one in twenty calls for it. The tables are well supplied, and excellent roast beef is served, with a variety of other simple dishes. At another station, similar to the first, the students had their supper, or more properly their dinner.

"Why not? It doesn't seem to be at all different from the diet of other Europeans. Here is roast beef, and there are veal cutlets. The bread, you perceive, is most excellent," replied Dr. Winstock. "Indeed, I think the whitest and best bread in Europe is to be had in Russia."

"There are peculiarly Russian dishes, but you do not find them to any great extent in the restaurants on the railroads. Kvas is a beverage of fermented rye. From this they make an iced soup, into which they put meat, chopped herring, and cucumbers."

"They have cabbage soups and fish soups, which we should call chowder. The finest fish in Russia is the sterlet, which is very expensive. The poor people live on buckwheat and other coarse grains, and among them[237] the common dish is cabbage soup thickened with buckwheat or barley meal, with meat or fish when it can be afforded, which is not often among the poorest."

"Probably not; but you need not starve while you can get roast beef as good as this, though it is a little tough."

"No, sir; but I should starve on another article I see here; that is, caviar—the abominable fish spawn. I tried it in Sweden, and didn't get the taste of it out of my mouth for three weeks."

"Yet it is esteemed a great delicacy in this country, and many foreigners so regard it."

The party returned to the train, and the journey was continued. The country was still level, with hardly anything like a hill to be seen. Much of it was covered with pine and birch wood. A village of shanties was occasionally passed, and around it were fields of grain, but there were no fences. The view from the windows of the cars was ever the same, and the travellers were soon weary of it. Scott wandered through the carriage to see the passengers, for a few Russians had taken places in it. He made a study of the conductor, who was certainly a fine-looking fellow. He wore a Cossack cap, a short frock coat with a belt, and large trousers stuffed into the top of his boots. At dark, which was late in the evening in this high latitude, nearly ten, the students tried to go to sleep, and most of them succeeded.

At five o'clock in the morning, nearly all of them were awake when the[238] train stopped at Tver, which is the head of steamboat navigation on the Volga. Those who had their eyes open went into the station for a cup of coffee and a roll.

"Now's our time," said De Forrest, in a low tone, as he finished his coffee, and paid for it.

"What do you mean?" asked Beckwith, as he followed the purser to the rear of the station, where no one observed them.

"No, it isn't. We can have a good time, and not be under the nose of any one. While the rest of them go to Moscow, we will go down to Nijni and Kazan."

"We will see that by and by. We will go down the river, and keep out of the way till all hands have returned to the ship. Then we will go it to Berlin or Warsaw."

De Forrest argued the matter until Beckwith yielded the point, but rather reluctantly. They wore their pea-jackets, and had their bags in their hands, for the purser said they would change their seats when they returned to the train. Retreating from the station, they kept out of[239] sight till the cars had started, and then hastened to find the steamer on the river. The captain was a Finn, and spoke a little English, so that they had no difficulty in obtaining tickets and places. As De Forrest had declared that they intended to change their places, the two students with whom they had occupied a compartment in the car, did not suspect that they had been left behind when the train moved off, and they were not missed till the party arrived at Moscow, at ten o'clock.

The students piled into the droskies,—two on the seat, and one with the driver,—and were driven to the Hôtel d'Hambourg, which is kept by Madame Billet, an English lady, in the Rue Lubianka, near the centre of the city. The lady proprietor is a most excellent woman, very attentive to her guests, able and willing to give all needed information in regard to the city. Either she or her charming sister presides at the table, and to an American or an Englishman there is no more home-like establishment on the continent. When the roll of the first division was called, in assigning rooms to the party, the absence of De Forrest and Beckwith was discovered; but it was not supposed that they had absconded, and a servant was sent back to the station to find them. The chaplain was very much troubled; but the surgeon assured him that no possible harm could have come to the absentees.

Lincoln, Scott, and Billy Bobstay were assigned to one room. It was in no respect different from a chamber in an English hotel, except that a large stove or furnace was set in the wall, the fire-door opening into the hall. Every room was provided with this heating apparatus. Having[240] arranged their toilets, the party gathered again in the coffee-room for breakfast. The meal was in English style, consisting of cold tongue, cold chicken, and capital coffee. When it was finished, Dr. Winstock gave a brief description and historical account of Moscow.

"Moscow was until 1720 the capital of the Russian empire," said he. "This part of it was called Muscovy, and came to include Novgorod and Tver, the two provinces, or governments, through which we passed in coming from St. Petersburg. What is called Great Russia comprises sixteen governments, among which are nearly all the ancient grand dukedoms. It was founded in the middle of the twelfth century, and was taken and plundered by Tamerlane in the fourteenth century; nearly consumed by fire in 1536, and again in 1572, when it was fired by the Tartars, and one hundred thousand people perished in the flames and by the sword; the Poles fired it in 1611, and in 1812 it was burned by the Russians to prevent the French from wintering in it. Moscow is the Holy City of the Russians. It is a place of great commercial importance, having a vast trade, extending into Asia, and it is also a large manufacturing place. The emperors are crowned here, and on account of its holy character and sacred associations, no Czar would dare to neglect at least a semiannual visit; and custom requires that he should present his oldest son and heir in this city soon after he becomes of age.

"Moscow is one of the most irregularly built cities in the world. The Kremlin is in the centre. Half a mile from it there is a series of streets nearly encircling it, on the site of which was formerly the[241] moat of the castle. A mile and a half distant there is another series of avenues, which form a complete circle. Within this line the map of the city looks very much like a well-constructed cobweb; but the town extends far beyond this line, and has a circumference of twenty miles. The Moscow river, a branch of the Oka, runs through the city, with a great bend extending up to the Kremlin."

"It was originally the citadel or fortress of the city. It was first enclosed with oak walls, and afterwards with stone. It is in the form of a triangle, with a perimeter of about a mile, and contains the palace, the holiest churches, and many other public buildings. Moscow has between three and four hundred churches, the number being variously estimated, for some writers include several in one establishment, while others count all as one. A monastery may have two or three churches within its walls. Now we will walk to the Kremlin, and ascend the Tower of Ivan Veliki, or John the Great, from which you will obtain a fine view of the whole city."

In Moscow it is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain a guide who speaks English; but a German was procured, and the students left the hotel under his direction. The walk through the streets was full of interest, and there was no lack of variety. There is not a straight avenue in the city, and there seems to be no fixed line upon which the houses are erected. Now the street is narrow, and then it suddenly doubles its width for a short distance, and some of them are nearly in the shape of a wedge. They twist about even worse than in Boston, where[242] the tradition is that the early fathers followed the cow-paths when they laid out the streets. They are paved with irregular stones, and there seem to be no particular localities in which the wealthier class erect their elegant residences, for next to a lofty and beautiful mansion may be the humble low house of the poor man. The buildings are painted or colored in nearly all the hues of the rainbow.

One cannot walk far without coming to a church, either small or large, and at least a dozen domes are always in sight—gold, green, and blue. The signs in the streets, too, are peculiar, and more intelligible than in most Russian cities, for pictorial effects seem to be the fashion, and the butcher, baker, grocer, and other merchants cover all the available space in front of their shops with representations of their various wares.

In many of the open spaces there are drosky stands and several new varieties of carriages were presented to the students. Most of the droskies have hoods, or covers, like a chaise, and are wider than those of St. Petersburg. One kind of vehicle consists of a board, covered and stuffed, extending from the forward to the hind axletree. The drivers are dressed as in other Russian cities, and carry their white gloves, while waiting for a job, in their belt. These men are very polite, and take off their hats when they solicit employment.

"There is the Kremlin," said the doctor, as he pointed to the high walls, upon which, at intervals are several elaborate towers. "You will enter by the 'Sacred Gate,' or 'Porta Triumphalis.' Be sure and take off your caps, and do not put them on till you have passed entirely[243] through the archway."

This opening was under a Gothic tower, and is sometimes called the "Redeemer's Gate," from the picture of the Redeemer, of Smolensk, which is placed above it. It is held in the highest reverence by the Russians, who believe that the Tartars were driven back by it, and that miraculous clouds concealed the defenders of the fortress, who sought its protection from the eyes of the enemy. It is in a glass case, and a huge lamp, raised and lowered by a large chain over a pulley, is always burning before it. It is said that the French, supposing the frame to be of gold, wished to plunder it, but every ladder planted beneath instantly broke in twain. The invaders then loaded a cannon to batter down the wall, but the powder would not burn till they made a great fire of coals over the vent, and then it went off the wrong way, blowing out the breech of the gun, and killing some of the artillerists. The Frenchmen then acknowledged the miraculous character of the picture, and retired, leaving it unharmed. It was borne in the battle-field by the armies of Pojarski, and the Poles fled before it. On account of the signal service it has thus rendered, every one must bare his head as he passes through the gate, be he Czar or peasant, Greek or Christian. At the entrance stood a soldier with a drawn sabre in his hand, who enforced this behest of custom. Umbrellas must be closed, and care is taken to prevent dogs from entering the enclosure by this gate. The students uncovered, and passed through. The Russians bowed, knelt, and crossed themselves repeatedly, as they did so.

CHAPTER XIII.

The guide led his party directly to the Tower of Ivan Veliki, though the students saw the great bell and a dozen other objects which challenged their attention at the same moment. The curious spires, domes, and cupolas, so different from anything they had seen before, were full of interest. They were covered with gold, and glittered in the sunshine. These domes are not such as are seen in the United States, but are purely Oriental. They are somewhat in the shape of an inverted onion. But there are also cupolas of almost every other shape—round, square, and octagonal, and even all three in the same one. The doctor hurried the boys into the tower, wishing them to obtain a general view before they attended to the details.

This tower is a very singular structure. It was built in 1600, by Boris Godunoff. It is three hundred and twenty-five feet from the ground to the top of the cross, and contains five stories, the first four of which are square, and the last circular, with a dome. In the lower story is a chapel, and the next three contain thirty-four bells of all sizes, the largest of which weighs sixty-four tons. Though it is a pygmy compared[245] with the great bell at the foot of the tower, it is a monster beside those in ordinary use, for our church bells rarely exceed one sixth of its weight. There are forty or fifty bells in the entire tower, all of which are rung at Easter, to proclaim anew that "Christ is risen." The great bell thunders forth the glad tidings, which are also gently chanted in the sweet tones of the small silver bells.

From each story of the tower a view of the city is obtained, but in the highest beneath the dome, the most sublime panorama is presented. There is no such city as Moscow in the world, and the sight is therefore as unique as it is beautiful. For half an hour the students gazed with wonder and admiration upon the beautiful picture.

The party descended, and hastened to the Great Bell, called the Czar Kolokol, or Czar of Bells. Some say that it was never hung, though a Polish traveller, in 1611, speaks of a bell he saw that required twenty-four men to swing the clapper in ringing it. The present bell was recast by order of the Empress Anne, in 1733, its predecessors having fallen in the several fires, and been broken. This one also had a fall in a fire in 1737, which knocked a piece out of the side. It lay buried in the ground where it fell till Nicholas caused it to be placed on a stone platform in 1836. The bell weighs about two hundred and twenty tons. The piece broken out weighs eleven tons. The interior is twenty feet high, with a diameter of twenty-one feet. It is two feet thick, and has figures in relief of Alexis and Anne, and of some sacred subjects, with an inscription relating to its origin and size. On the summit is[246] a cross, and the interior has been consecrated as a chapel. The bell is regarded as holy by the people. At five cents a pound, the material would be worth over twenty thousand dollars. As the thing is utterly useless either for service or as a work of art, and perpetuates no historical event, this dead capital would be better employed in planting school-houses in the villages, the influence of which would soon transform the shanties into houses, and add wealth to the nation by the more intelligent and rapid development of its vast resources.

The party next visited the palace occupied by the members of the royal family when they visit Moscow. On this locality stood the palaces of the ancient sovereigns, which were partially destroyed by fire, and rebuilt. The present structure was built in the reign of Nicholas, and all that was left of the old palaces was incorporated in it. A porter was detailed to accompany the students, and they passed through the private apartments of the emperor and empress, which are very elegant, and the boys looked with no little curiosity into bed-rooms, cabinets, bath-rooms, where royalty slept, wrote, and took its bath in marble tubs. The guide was very particular to show an elevator in which the empress is raised to her apartments above; but it was hardly a curiosity to the young Americans, who had seen vastly superior machines of this kind in the hotels of their own country.

In the palace are three magnificent halls, which are not surpassed by anything in Europe. The one devoted to the order of St. George is two hundred feet long. The old parts of the palace, which have been restored in the ancient style are as curious as they are interesting.[247] Connected with the main building are the throne-room and banqueting-hall, where the emperor, after his coronation in the church, sits in state, wearing for the first time the imperial insignia; and here also he dines with the nobles. Near this is the Terema, a most singular edifice, four stories high, but each of them diminishing in size till the upper one contains but a single room. In ancient times it was occupied by the Czarina and her children. Above the first, each story opens upon a balcony on which the inmates could walk. The affair looks more like a pyramid than a house. It contains many relics of the ancient sovereigns.

Near the palace is the treasury, in which are kept the venerable relics of Russian history. It contains vast quantities of armor, weapons, banners, and other military trophies. In one room are original portraits of the Romanoff family, and the coronation chairs of several sovereigns. In the next room is the throne of Poland, brought from Warsaw; an ivory throne brought by Sophia from Constantinople on her marriage with Ivan III. Another throne came from Persia, and is studded with diamonds and rubies, nearly a thousand of the former. An orb sent by the Greek emperor to Vladimir is covered with precious stones. In a wardrobe are the masquerade dress of Catharine I., her coronation robes, and articles of dress which belonged to Peter the Great, Peter II., and Paul I. There are also in this room the crown of the Kingdom of Kazan, and several others, all of them glittering with jewels; that of Anne, containing over twenty-five hundred diamonds; with more thrones and coronation[248] robes. Millions upon millions of dead capital lie here, which, however, would make diamonds and rubies a drug, if thrown upon the market. The walking-stick of Ivan the Terrible, having a sharp point, with which the fiery Czar used to punch the feet of those who vexed him, may be seen. Another room, up stairs, is filled with curious plate, cups, jugs, jars, candlesticks, and other articles of silver—most of it presented to the Czars. But the students were tired of curiosities, and hardly glanced at the old carriages of the court in the last apartment.

Opposite the great bell is the little palace, in which Nicholas sometimes lived, and in which the present emperor was born. One of the rooms contains a number of loaves of bread presented to the emperor on his visits to the city. When the sovereign arrives at Moscow, it is the custom for the chief magistrate to present to him a silver salver, on which are a gold vessel filled with salt, and a loaf of bread, requesting him to taste the bread of Moscow. The emperor nibbles the loaf, and invites the official to dine with him in the palace. By this time the Cathedral of the Assumption was open, and the party entered. It does not conform to the idea of a cathedral in other countries, for it is rather contracted in its dimensions. It is crowded with pictures and shrines. On the screen is a picture of the Holy Virgin of Vladimir, which the visitor is informed was painted by St. Luke, adorned with jewels to the value of over two hundred thousand dollars. On the other side is the shrine of St. Philip, the patriarch of the church, who had the courage to say to Ivan the Terrible, "As the image of the Divinity, I reverence thee; as a man, thou art but dust and ashes," and who was[249] finally murdered at a monastery in Tver by Ivan's order. His tomb is in this church, which also contains the remains of other holy men. Behind the altar-screen there is a gold model of Mount Sinai, in which is a gold coffer to contain the Host, the whole worth about a quarter of a million dollars. Under it are deposited some of the most important state papers, including the Act of Succession, decreed by Paul I., the abdication of Constantine, and similar documents. Belonging to the cathedral is a Bible, presented by the mother of Peter the Great, weighing a hundred and twenty pounds, the cover of which is studded with precious stones, worth nearly a million dollars.

In front of the platform is a throne for the empress, another for the Patriarch, and a third is the ancient throne of Vladimir. Behind the screen are several chapels, one of which contains tombs of the patriarchs; in another are some sacred relics, as a nail of the true cross, a robe of the Saviour, and part of one worn by the Blessed Virgin, with a picture of the latter, said to have been painted by one of the apostles. The Assumption is the holiest and most highly venerated church in Russia. The coronation of the emperor, which takes place here, is a most solemn ceremonial, for it is the consecration of the sovereign. It is preceded by fasting and seclusion for preparation. The Czar recites aloud the confession of faith, and on his knees offers the prayer for the empire. He places the crown upon his own head, and walking through the royal gates, takes the bread and wine from the[250] altar without the aid of the priest, as in ordinary cases, the recipient is not permitted to touch the elements himself.

Close by the Assumption is the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael, which is the mausoleum of the sovereigns of the Rurik and Romanoff families from an early period down to the time of Peter the Great, and of Peter II. since that time. The cenotaphs are covered with faded crimson palls, badly spotted with grease from the candles above them. The tomb of young Dimitri, son of Ivan the Terrible, murdered by Boris Godunoff, is venerated by the faithful, because, after the anarchy and bloodshed produced by the false Dimitris, the coffin and body of the true one were discovered by a miracle. The tomb of Ivan the Terrible is next to the altar, though he often broke the canons of the church. His cross, set with very large pearls and an emerald a third of an inch in diameter, is preserved here.

The churches of the Annunciation and of the Redeemer are close by; but the students declared that they had seen churches enough for one day, and they entered the House of the Holy Synod, containing the wardrobe and treasury of the church, where robes, mitres, and crosiers, decked with precious stones, are exhibited. In this house is prepared the holy oil used in baptism, in consecrating churches, and in anointing the emperor at his coronation. The vessels used in compounding it are of solid silver, weighing thirteen hundred pounds. It is composed of thirty different ingredients, the principal of which is pure Florence oil,[251] with wine, fragrant gums, balsam, and spices. It is made according to the ancient rule, and a few drops of the chrism brought from Constantinople is mingled with it. Some say this is a part of the ointment used by Mary Magdalen in anointing the feet of the Saviour; and a portion of the new chrism is returned to the "Alabaster," which contains it, each time any is used. All the children of Orthodox parents are anointed with this oil at their baptism.

The baptism of the child consists of four ceremonials. By its sponsors it first makes the confession of faith. The priest, after crossing the child and saying prayers, blows upon it, to drive away evil and unclean spirits. After the prayer the parents leave the room, thereby symbolizing the entire giving up of the child to the sponsors; and this custom is followed even in the imperial family. The second step is the immersion; and the priest, in full canonicals, blesses the water, and anoints the infant, for the first time, on the breast for "the healing of body and soul;" on the ears for "the hearing of the Word;" on the hands, because "Thy hands have made and fashioned me;" on the feet, that they "may walk in the way of thy commandments." He then rolls up his sleeves, takes the child in his hands, stopping the ears with his thumb and little finger, the eyes with two other fingers, and the mouth and nose with the palm of his right hand, and holding up its body with the left, he skilfully plunges it into a font three times, in the name of the three persons of the Trinity.

The next step is the sacrament of unction, in which the child is again anointed with the holy oil, the brow, eyes, nose, ears, lips, breast,[252] hands, and feet being touched with the chrism, by means of a pencil or feather: it is "the seal of the gift of the Holy Ghost." The last step is the washing of the child, and the cutting off its hair in four places, forming a cross, which is regarded as a sacrifice, its hair being the only gift the infant has to offer to its Maker. As it is cut, the priest says, "The servant of God, Nicholas, is shorn in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." The service is accompanied by prayers and litanies.

Near the Redeemer Gate of the Kremlin are the Miracle Monastery and the Ascension Convent, in which are the tombs of many Czarinas, including the mother of Ivan the Terrible, and four of his six wives, the wife of Michael, the first wife of Peter the Great, and others. The arsenal contains the cannon lost by the French in the disastrous campaign of 1812, represented by three hundred and sixty-five guns.

The huge piece at the corner of the building weighs forty tons. Outside of the original Kremlin, in the part added by Helena, the mother of Ivan the Terrible, and the regent during his minority, and called the Kitai Gorod, or Chinese Town, is the most remarkable building in Moscow, the Cathedral of St. Basil. It has no less than eleven domes, each different in shape and color from the others, over as many chapels, with other spires and cupolas. It looks like a little forest of grotesque temples. One dome is gilded; another is checkered with green over a ground of yellow; another is bright red, with white stripes; another looks like a honeycomb, and another like a coat of mail. Some forty years ago a mechanical diorama was exhibited in the United States, called[253] "Maelzel's Burning of Moscow," in which the French troops marched into the place, the Russians fired the city, the show ending with the "terrific explosion of the Kremlin." The prominent object was a building like the church of St. Basil, which was popularly understood to be the Kremlin, and which was blown sky high at the conclusion. Happily it is still safe, though other buildings in the Kremlin fared worse. The visitor winds about in the little circular chapels inside, open to the roof of the domes, and perhaps thinks he has fallen into a nest of chimneys. They are dedicated to different saints, and are half filled with relics and holy vessels. On the site of it stood an ancient church and cemetery, where St. Basil, a prophet and miracle-worker, was buried in the middle of the sixteenth century. He was said to be "idiotic for Christ's sake." Ivan the Terrible ordered a church to be built over him, and this was erected by an Italian architect. The cruel tyrant was so delighted with the curious edifice, that he ordered the eyes of the architect to be put out, so that he could not see to build another to equal or surpass it.

The view of St. Basil closed the labors of the day, and the tired party walked back to the hotel, where dinner was served. Mr. Agneau's first inquiry was for De Forrest and Beckwith, but nothing had been seen or heard of them.

"I think not," replied the surgeon. "Probably they have done as others have—run away for a time."

"Impossible!" exclaimed Mr. Agneau. "They were officers, and well-behaved young gentlemen."

"Very likely; but they have been much dissatisfied since the election. I[254] have feared that De Forrest would make trouble."

"But in a strange land, like Russia, unable to speak a word of the language, they would not be likely to run away."

"They were in the compartment with me," said Vroome, the third master. "Early this morning, when we crossed the river,—I forget the name of the place—"

"Yes, sir; that was it. They took their bags and said they were going to change their seats," added Vroome.

"That makes it all plain. They have taken the steamer down to Nijni Novgorod, and very likely we shall find them there. Give yourself no uneasiness about them, Mr. Agneau. I will warrant that they are safe enough, and will return when their money is gone, if not before. I will look out for them."

Dr. Winstock, who had been in the ship since she was launched, understood the boys better than the meek, gentle-hearted clergyman, and had seen too much running away to be alarmed for the safety of the absentees. The party were somewhat rested in the evening, and, taking carriages, drove to the Petrofski Park and Gardens, where a band played, and where the people of the city in large numbers were to be seen. On the return they visited an immense restaurant, in order to see more of[255] the people. In this place there was a large orchestrion, a musical instrument, which, being wound up, plays a variety of airs with all the effects of a full orchestra, with drums, cymbals, and trumpets. It executed the Russian National Hymn nearly as effectively as a band could do it. The waiters in this establishment were all Tartars, dressed in loose white pants and tunics. The visitors were drinking tea generally, but a few indulged in beer and stronger drinks.

The students slept soundly that night, for they were generally very tired, and even Scott's jokes were of the most sickly character. But at eight o'clock in the morning they were on their feet again, exploring the city on their own hook, in the vicinity of the hotel. Lincoln find Scott ventured to enter a shop to purchase some photographs. One of the salesmen spoke French very well, and the business was made easy to them. After breakfast, the party started together again, and their first point was the Romanoff House, the birthplace of Michael, the first sovereign of the present dynasty. The original was built in the sixteenth century, but it has been carefully restored after suffering much from fire and the sack of the invading French. It is filled with relics of the ancient time, and in the nursery are a cradle, and the toys and playthings of the Czar. The furniture of the bed-room is rather curious, and in a box are the slippers of the monarch, and the night-dress of his wife. The walls are covered with stamped leather.

From this house the party went to the Bazaar in the Kitai Gorod. Its stalls contain everything that can possibly be wanted by a Russian or[256] anybody else, from old clothes up to paintings and statuary. Second-hand articles of every description form a considerable portion of the trade. Siberian and Circassian wares, and specialities from other remote regions of the empire, are on view and sale here. The Bazaar is a perfect labyrinth of stalls, and the scene is sometimes quite exciting. Opposite the principal entrance are the statues of Minin and Pojarski; the former, a peasant, urging the latter, a boyar, to deliver Moscow from the dominion of the Poles, which was accomplished by their inspiration and labor. Outside of the walls of the Kitai Gorod is the Winter Market. As soon as the cold weather comes, the farmers slaughter their live stock in vast numbers, and the carcasses are immediately exposed till they are frozen, and then sent to market. Housekeepers then lay in a large supply of frozen provision, which is always ready for use, the quantity required for cooking at any time being first thawed in cold water. Frozen oxen, sheep, calves, and other animals stand up in the market, ready to be chopped and sawed into pieces. Fish from the White Sea, the northern lakes, and the great rivers, are brought to the market in this condition. Sometimes, but very rarely, a sudden thaw produces sad havoc among the frozen provisions.

Between the two gateways which form the principal entrance to the Chinese Tower is the chapel of the "Iberian Mother of God." It Is a picture brought from Mount Athos, a holy mount of the Greeks, where four thousand monks dwelt, during the reign of Alexis, who is said to have invited the saint to take up her abode in Moscow. The picture, placed[257] in a sanctuary at the end of the chapel, is believed to have the power of working miracles, and is regarded with the deepest veneration by the Russians. All who pass bow and cross themselves, and many kneel and prostrate themselves on the ground. On a holiday several hundred may be seen at their devotions. Elegantly dressed ladies leave their carriages, and bow down with the beggars. The emperors frequently visit it, and Nicholas, when he could not sleep at night, is said to have roused the monks at midnight to enable him to attend to his devotions in this chapel. The religious zeal of the people in Moscow even exceeds that of St. Petersburg. Donations for the church are received at this chapel to the amount of about fifty thousand dollars a year, of which thirty-five thousand is appropriated to the salary of the Metropolitan of Moscow, who need not starve on this sum, though it is not the whole of his income.

The party next walked to the Manège, or Great Riding School, which is believed to be the largest apartment in the world with the roof unsupported by columns. It is five hundred and sixty feet long, one hundred and fifty-eight feet wide, and forty-two feet high. Two regiments of cavalry can go through their evolutions at the same time in this vast space. It is heated by twenty immense stoves, so that it can be used in the coldest weather. At this point carriages were taken for a ride to Sparrow Hills. On the way, not far from the Kremlin, the tourists stopped at the new Temple of the Saviour, in process of erection. It is the noblest church in Russia, and was built to commemorate the expulsion of the French. It was to have been erected at Sparrow Hills, from which Napoleon had his first view of the city,[258] and doubtless his last; but a good foundation could not be obtained, and it was commenced on the present site, more than fifty years ago. Like other Russian churches, it is in the form of a Greek cross. Though sculpture is not often seen on Greek churches, this one is ornamented on the outside with scenes from Scripture and the national history in high relief, the figures being of colossal size. As these "human and divine forms" are not for purposes of worship, they do not seem to be inconsistent even with the Russian belief. The stone is of a light color, and the structure is crowned with a magnificent golden dome, which surpasses everything else in beauty in the country. The interior was filled with stagings, though a glimpse of the rich and beautiful paintings on the inside of the dome could be obtained. The walls are covered with variegated marble. The building has already cost ten million rubles, and it is said that the entire cost will be fifteen millions.

Crossing the Moskva River, the carriages proceeded by a very broad, straight avenue, through a gate, into the suburbs. The ascent of the hill is by a soft, oozy road, so trying for the horses that most of the students preferred to walk. The summit was gained. On it is a villa of the empress, and an estate of Prince Galitzin; but the party went to a cottage, where tea, coffee, and other refreshments are furnished. In the rear of it is a spacious veranda, with tables, where the students seated themselves, and from which a splendid view of Moscow is obtained. Beneath them flowed the Moskva, which could be seen for miles, winding through the level plain. The party drank coffee, enjoyed the view for an[259] hour, and then returned to the city, visiting one of the monasteries on the way. Near the Kremlin they encountered a funeral on a grand scale, and the drivers of the carriages stopped at once. The aspect of the street was suddenly changed, for all business was suspended, all heads uncovered, and every passer-by halted. The procession was headed by a body of priests, clothed in black robes, and bearing lighted tapers and various religious emblems in their hands. The hearse was drawn by four horses, caparisoned in black, which covered their legs, with plumes on their heads. The vehicle was an open platform on wheels, upon which lay the coffin, covered with a pall. It had steps at the sides, on which stood priests, holding images over the body, while others followed it. The bells were tolling, and a strange chant rose from the procession. The spectators uttered prayers for the repose of the dead, which they always do on meeting a funeral, though the deceased be an entire stranger to them. The students took off their caps, and this custom, not entirely unknown in our own country, is worthy of respect.

"In Russia, it is believed that a person cannot die easily, if at all, when there is a pigeon feather in his pillow," said Dr. Winstock, as the carriages continued on their way. "When the sufferer seems to die hard, they think there must be a pigeon feather in the pillow under his head, and they often change it, so as to be sure on this point."

"The dove, or pigeon, is the emblem of the Holy Ghost, and the bird is[260] never eaten by the most rigid believers; and on no account would they use its feathers to make a pillow, for the bird is held in the highest respect."

The party arrived at the hotel, where an early dinner was ready for them, after which the Volga partook droskies for the Nijni Novgorod Railroad. The first division, visited the Troitsad Monastery, forty miles distant, the next day. It was founded by St. Sergius, in the fourteenth century. He was the most holy of all the monks, and the monastery is the most sacred shrine. Russian tradition says that he was visited in his cell by the Virgin, attended by the apostles Peter and John. It is a fortress, in fact, and has withstood many sieges. Neither plague nor cholera has ever entered its walls. It includes ten churches, is endowed with immense riches, and at one time held over a hundred thousand serfs. The monks in Russia are called the Black Clergy, to distinguish them from the White Clergy, who are the priests that officiate in the churches. When the wife of one of the latter dies, he must either secularize himself or enter a monastery. The highest officers in the church and the members of the Holy Synod, however, are taken from the monks.

The division returned to Moscow in the afternoon and on the following day took the train for St. Petersburg. The second division arrived on the forenoon of the same day, and proceeded to see the sights already described.

CHAPTER XIV.

A difference of three rubles in the fare does not compensate the traveller for the discomforts of the second-class cars from Moscow to Nijni Novgorod, and Dr. Winstock took first-class tickets for his little party; indeed, it does not pay to go there at all, except during the great fair. The cars were very good, in one of which was the innovation of a door connecting two compartments, and our party took possession of it, though one gentleman had already seated himself there. He was very polite, and spoke French, so that the doctor was not at all anxious to get rid of him. The train started. The landscape was about the same as on the road from St. Petersburg; consequently there was little to be seen from the windows.

The train was late, and did not arrive at its destination till nine o'clock in the morning. Most of the students, by doubling up on the seats, had slept very well, and were tolerably fresh. They entered the fine brick station, and seated themselves in the restaurant. The Tartar waiters were all attention.

"Breakfast—Déjeûner—Frühstück," said Lincoln who had seated[262] himself with Scott and Bill Bobstay.

"No; I think not. Please to ask him for mutton chops, boiled eggs, and fried potatoes," replied Scott.

"I don't speak any Russian. I'm afraid to learn it; think it would knock my teeth out."

"I don't see that I can get anything else. Where is Mr. Blownynozeoff?" continued Scott.

This gentleman now appeared with the doctor, whom he had been assisting to procure tickets for the steamer, and he was kind enough to order breakfast for the whole party. It was good, and well served, with nothing peculiar about it, except that the butter was in glass jars, the inside of metal, and very dirty and cheesy. There were plenty of droskies at the door, and three of them were taken for the ride to the steamer.

The Russian gentleman directed the drivers where to go, and they[263] started. Descending a gentle slope, the party came to the fair grounds; but they were not to examine these till their return from Kazan. The road was very dusty, and in wet weather the mud is very deep. Crossing the Oka River on a bridge of boats, the travellers entered what is properly the town, and soon reached the point on the river where the steamers lay. There were several of them at the quay, and it was difficult to determine which was the right one, since neither the doctor nor the students could read her name on the ticket or on the boat. But the card was shown to a man, who pointed to the right steamer, and they went on board of her. As in other parts of Europe, porters always stand ready—too ready, sometimes—to carry the travellers' baggage, and one who cannot speak the language has only to show his ticket to one of them, and he will be conducted to the right place.

The party, having first-class tickets, hastened aft to where the best cabin is usually located, and went below. The accommodations were not elegant, certainly. There were no berths, only divans around the apartment, which the students made haste to secure, by placing their bags upon them. Having performed this necessary duty, they returned to the deck to examine the steamer, and see the strange sights. The craft was rather odd in shape, her bow and stern being depressed more than the part amidships, so that the deck sloped down, going forward or aft. The "bridge" is a platform between the paddle-boxes, of considerable size, which only first-class passengers are permitted to occupy. Upon it is the steering-wheel, which is about six feet high.

"See here! How's this?" said Scott, as he led the way forward. "What is[264] this coop for?"

It was a house on deck, containing a stairway, and a small room with a table in it. The apartment was handsomely furnished, and was even luxurious compared with the after cabin.

Descending the stairs, they came to a cabin in the forward part of the vessel, with a broad divan around it, like the other, but covered with drab cloth. It was very neatly furnished, and provided with every convenience except berths.

At this moment a short man, wearing a very long black frock coat, entered. When he saw the passengers, he promptly removed his cap, and bowed, so that the students concluded he was one of the stewards.

"He don't speak English," said Lincoln, producing his ticket, and showing it to the steward.

The man glanced at it, bowed, smiled, and swung his hands about to indicate that it was all right.

"What's the matter?" said a short, stout man, entering the cabin at this[265] moment.

"Have you? Give me your hand!" shouted the joker. "I am glad to see a man who has been in the United States."

"Salt as the inside of a pickle barrel. Allow me to introduce you to Commodore Lincoln, in command of our squadron at Cronstadt."

The captain took off his cap to Lincoln, and accepted his offered hand; but he seemed to be a little puzzled at his title.

The conversation was continued for some time. The steward was sent for the bags in the other cabin, and orders given to make the Americans as comfortable as possible. The captain was very zealous to serve his passengers, and they all went on deck together.

"Can you tell me, captain, when a steamer, which left Tver on[266] Wednesday, arrives at this place?" asked the doctor, who had joined the students below.

"She should be here now, sir," replied the captain; "but I think she has not come yet."

"Two of our young men ran away from us at Tver, and must have taken this steamer."

"Ran away—did they?" laughed the captain. "This is a bad country for them, then, for we don't have any habeas corpus, or anything of that sort. The police will stop them, if you wish it."

The obliging commander of the steamer went on shore with the doctor to the police office, attended by Vroome, the third master. A description of the fugitives was given through the captain, and the police officer made a note of Vroome's uniform, as like those worn by De Forrest and Beckwith. The party returned to the steamer, and as the hour for starting had arrived, the fasts were cast off, and the Stafet was soon making her way down the mighty Volga. Her deck was crowded with third-class passengers, who were the peasants and laboring men of the country. They were abominably dirty and miserably dressed, several of them wearing the long sheep-skin coats, the wool inside. Others wore long, light-colored coats, very ragged. Not a few of them, instead of boots, had coarse cloths wound around their feet and ankles, bound on with strings nearly as large as a bed-cord. Some of them were eating their dinners, which they carried with them, consisting of the blackest of bread and dried fish. These men were the serfs who had been liberated by the noble policy of the present emperor.

The Volga, at Nijni, is about two thirds of a mile wide, and is covered[267] with boats of all sorts and sizes. The depth of water between this point and Kazan does not admit of the passage of the largest passenger steamers. The voyager from Tver to the Caspian would change steamers for larger ones at Nijni and at Kazan. Merchandise is transported on the river in boats, the largest of which are about a hundred and fifty feet long, with a single mast, well forward, and appear to be very substantially built. In the middle there is a house on deck, generally with an Oriental dome, painted green, which is possibly a chapel. There are other smaller boats, and a tug steamer tows from four to eight of the different sizes. These boats are owned by corporations, such as the Volga Transportation Company. Vast quantities of wheat are conveyed from Saratoff, and other places, to the head of navigation.

The students gathered on the bridge, or hurricane deck would be a more proper name for it. Two Russian pilots were at the tall wheel, and they looked as little like sailors as it is possible to conceive. They wore the long sheep-skin pelisse, with pants stuffed into their boots, and Cossack or Tartar caps. They looked particularly solemn; but they are said to know their business perfectly.

The navigation of the river is very difficult in some places, and it requires not a little skill and experience to keep the boat in the channel. In shoal places, dikes have been built to turn the course of the current, or to keep it within certain limits. Large sums of money have been spent by the government in dredging and otherwise improving[268] the navigation. In August the river is generally low, and there is an extensive prospect of sand-bars between the banks of the stream. The Volga flows through a flat country, but there is a ridge on the right bank, which, in places, causes the formation of a considerable bluff.

The regulations for steamers passing each other appear to be excellent, and collisions to be impossible. The boat going down stream has the right of way. She whistles, and the officer of the deck waves a flag in the daytime, a lantern at night, on the side which the other boat is to pass him. The steamer going up stream whistles in reply, and a flag is waved in the direction the down boat is to take. If they are to pass on the starboard hand, both officers go to the starboard side, on the paddle-boxes, raise the flag, and drop it over on this side, repeating the movement several times; if on the port side, the signals are made accordingly.

There is nothing like variety of scenery on the river, and in a short time the view becomes very monotonous. There are occasional villages to be seen on the shore, but they are composed only of log-houses. The larger towns have one or more fine churches. Late in the afternoon the Stafet made a landing at one of these places, and the greater part of the deck passengers left the boat. On the bluff was a church with a green dome, and the Russian cross at the summit. As soon as they landed, all the peasants turned their faces towards the church, crossed themselves, and bowed reverently. A few dropped upon their knees, and bent to the ground. In this manner they thank God for bringing them in[269] safety to their journey's end. No one seems to notice them, or to regard their conduct as at all singular.

The boat stopped long enough at this place to "wood up," the work of which was done by women, while scores of stout men stood by, looking on. These women were of all ages; but none of them were handsome enough to excite the sympathy of cold-blooded foreigners. They wore calico dresses, with the belt or waist directly under the arms. The wood was carried on two poles, forming a hand-barrow, and the women bore loads which would have strained the backs of ordinary men.

"That's mean," said Scott. "I don't see how those men can stand by, and not lend a helping hand."

"See that little one. She is not more than sixteen. She isn't bad looking, either; at least, not so bad looking as the rest of them."

"I will," said the joker, as the girl passed him, laughing merrily, with the pole in her hand. "Let me carry it for you;" and Scott attempted to take the pole.

She stoutly resented this interference, till Captain Ekovetz spoke to her, for he had heard the conversation. The girl laughed, and so did the old woman who worked with her. The poles were laid down and loaded,[270] and Scott picked up his end. His share of the weight was all he could stagger under, and the solemn Russians laughed heartily at his gallantry.

"That's enough for me," said the joker, when he had dumped the load. "Here, Miss Maidenoff, I'm off."

The girl tittered, and Scott gave her a twenty-copeck piece, which she accepted with surprise and pleasure.

"I thought I would back out while I had a back to back out with. The idea of that girl carrying such a load is cruel. It is enough for a pack mule."

"She evidently understands the mechanical powers in practice, if not in theory, for she loaded the poles so that you carried two thirds of the weight. Probably she takes the other end with the girl."

"These women claim this work as their privilege," said the captain. "If the men should attempt to bring the wood on board, the women would think it was mean in them."

"Their education has been neglected," replied Scott. "This is going in for women's rights with a vengeance."

"At every railroad station where I have bought tickets, they were sold by ladies, and all of them spoke French," added the doctor. "Women have a sphere in Russia, and some of them are well educated. You will find the women at work in the fields in every country of Europe, and in[271] some of them they do all the worst drudgery. In Holland we saw women dragging boats on the canals, while a man stood at the tiller, with a pipe in his mouth, smoking."

The steamer started again, and the party went into the cabin to order their dinner; but with the Russian steward this was no easy matter, though he knew half a dozen words of German. He set the table, and brought on the dinner, which, however, was anything but what was ordered. The first dish after the soup was meat, chopped fine, made into cutlets, breaded, and fried. It was followed by a course of small birds with jelly, and ended with a dessert of dried fruit. It was a very good dinner, and the party were well satisfied with it.

On the bridge Scott got acquainted with the mate, a short man, and about as thick as he was long. Though he could not speak a word of English, and the joker not a word of Russian, they had some long talks, to the great amusement of the other students. The mate laughed prodigiously when he spoke, and permitted Scott to make his speeches, the joker being equally indulgent to him.

"I say, Mr. Fatmanoffsky, don't you think that wheel is twice as big as it need be?" said Scott.

The mate laughed, and talked Russian, but, as he pointed at the wheel, he was evidently talking about it. Even the solemn pilots were amused, either at what the Russian said, or at the absurdity of two persons talking together when neither could understand the other.

The party retired early. There was a pillow to each divan, but no[272] bed-clothes—none are furnished on any of the Volga steamers, and travellers usually carry a robe or two. They slept very well, for all of them were accustomed to "turning in" with their clothes on. In the morning the country appeared to be about the same, though the bluff on the right was higher, and a range of hills was seen in the distance, on the same side. At eleven o'clock, the steamer arrived at Kazan, in just twenty-four hours from Nijni. The city is seven versts from the river, though there is a small village on the bluff. The shore is lined with steamers and boats, loading and unloading. There was nothing attractive in the locality, and nothing interesting except the Tartar teamsters, on shore, who wore white felt hats, and sheep-skin coats; some of them with their feet and legs tied up in rags, others in boots or straw sandals. Four droskies were hired at three rubles apiece for the day, to go up to the city and return. Dr. Winstock wished to find the Professor of English of the University of Kazan, to whom he had a letter of introduction. It would be impossible for the party to speak a word to anybody, and the captain kindly sent the steward with them to the university.

The ride is a dreary one, over a region which is covered with water when the Volga floods its banks. On the left of the road is a curious pyramidal monument to the memory of the Russians who fell in the capture of the city from the Tartars. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Kazan, founded in the thirteenth century by the Golden Horde, a tribe of Tartars who invaded Russia. They were continually at war with the[273] people of Muscovy, and after repeated expeditions on the part of the Russians against the city, it was finally subdued by Ivan the Terrible, and the kingdom incorporated in his dominions.

"I suppose we shall not go any farther east than we are now," said Lincoln, who was riding with the doctor.

"No; we are within three hundred and twenty miles of Asia now, the nearest part of which lies a little east of south of us."

"What do you suppose the people of New York and Boston are doing just now, doctor?"

"It is quarter past twelve now," added Lincoln, looking at his watch, which he had set by Kazan time. "In Boston it is two minutes of four o'clock in the morning, and in New York fourteen minutes of four. It seems very odd."

"My father and mother haven't begun to think of getting out of bed yet!" laughed Lincoln. "I shall remember this place as the farthest easting I have made."

After a ride of an hour the vehicles entered the city, and turned into a wide street, with fine buildings. Presently they stopped at the university, which is a very large establishment, with four hundred and fifty students. The steward led the way into the vestibule, and spoke to the porter. Then there was a difficulty which the man could not explain. He talked, made signs, and gesticulated; and it was clear that the professor was not in. The doctor spoke English, French, and German to the porter, who could not comprehend a word of either. But suddenly his[274] face lighted up with a smile, and beckoning to the party to follow him, he led them up three flights of stairs, unlocked a door, and entered. Conducting the surgeon to a glass case, he triumphantly pointed to a small Egyptian mummy! The visitors courteously examined it, and other curiosities in the room, which was the museum of the university. While the party were thus engaged, an elderly Russian entered the apartment, and looked curiously at the strangers. The doctor attacked him in all the languages he could speak, but without avail.

"Da!" replied the old man, at last, his face beaming with smiles, as though he had solved the problem.

Making a gesture to indicate that the party were to follow him, he led them down one flight of stairs, through a hall a hundred feet long, up another flight, through another long hall, and opened a door. The travellers entered, and he led them to a case of minerals, to which he pointed with an expression of the utmost satisfaction on his wrinkled face.

"No, no, no!" exclaimed the doctor, impatiently; and the party retreated, without taking a second look at the case.

The porter led them back to the entrance hall, where Lincoln and the surgeon began to ask the people who passed if they could speak English, French, or German. No one could; but at last the puzzled steward[275] seemed to have obtained an idea, and made signs for the party to return to the droskies. They did so, and were driven away again; but the doctor expected to be taken to a church or a cemetery. He was mistaken, for the steward's idea was really a brilliant one, and he set his party down at the residence of the professor. He rang the bell, and sent in a message by the servant, who in a moment returned and conducted the tourists to the second floor, where Professor Beresford received them. The letter was delivered, and the professor extended a cordial welcome to the party. For an hour he entertained them with his accounts of the Russians, and then volunteered to show them some of the sights of the city. They went to the Kremlin, which contains a cathedral; a tower in the form of a pyramid, nearly two hundred and fifty feet high; the convent built for the miraculous picture of Our Lady of Kazan, now in St. Petersburg, though it has a copy of the original, on which glitters a crown of diamonds, presented by Catharine II.

The city of Kazan has a population of sixty thousand, of whom more than half are Tartars. They live by themselves, in their own quarter of the town, and retain their own manners and customs. They are Mohammedans, and have twelve mosques. Under the guidance of the professor the party drove to this section. The houses were generally of two stories, but the lower one among the poorer classes is devoted to the horses and other stock, or used as a store-room, while the family occupy the second story. The Tartars were easily distinguished from the Russians by[276] their Asiatic faces and their costume. The men of the better class wear a calico tunic, and trousers of the same material. Over these they wear a long coat. The trousers are stuffed into the boots, which are generally of colored morocco, fancifully ornamented; and most of them wear overshoes, doubtless for convenience in entering the mosque. The head is close shaved, and they wear a skull-cap, often richly embroidered, but on the street they have a fur cap over it.

"High O! What's that? A Tartar carriage, with two ladies! That's the kind we read of."

It was an odd vehicle. The fore and hind wheels were at least twelve feet apart, and connected by two strips of board, on which rested the body of an ordinary wagon. Seated in this carriage were two Tartar ladies, in the full costume of Mohammedan countries, including the robes, and the bandages over the face, which concealed all but the nose and the eyes. Both of them were young, and they looked mischievous, as they glanced at the Americans; but they were not pretty. Scott had the presumption to touch his cap and bow as they passed. The droskies stopped at this moment.

"You will catch a Tartar if you do that, young gentleman," laughed the professor. "You mustn't take any notice of the ladies here."

"They smiled, and looked roguish," persisted Scott. "Their faces are[277] painted, too."

"All the Tartar women paint. Here is a mosque; we will go in, if you please. But you must scrape your feet, and use the mat vigorously. The Tartar gentlemen take off their overshoes before they enter, and in most Mohammedan countries they compel strangers to remove their shoes; but they are not so particular here."

The party complied with these directions, and a man admitted them. The interior of the mosque was very plain, with a gallery on one side. On the floor were dirty and ragged carpets for the faithful to kneel upon. There were no seats, and the only furniture was a stand some eight feet high, on which the Koran is read and expounded. This was one of the plainest and simplest mosques, and a few months later the students had an opportunity of seeing them in all their glory in Constantinople. The party now drove to Commonens's restaurant for dinner; after which they took another drive through the streets. Most of the students were again astonished, as they had been before, to find that a city in the eastern part of Russia is so much like one in America, though they did not cherish this view when they stood before such a quaint structure as the Cathedral Nicolski. Thanking Professor Beresford for his kindness, the party started for the steamer again, which was to leave at eight o'clock the next morning, and they had decided to sleep on board.

At an early hour they were awaked by the advent of a number of passengers coming into the cabin. Several of them were Tartars of the[278] highest class, and Scott called them "Cream Tartars," for they were very richly dressed. The boat started, and the students in the cabin continued to gaze at their singular companions. They called for tea, and produced their own provisions, consisting of bread and caviar, upon which they made their breakfast. It would be considered rather shabby for first-class passengers in America to carry their own provisions, but it is all right on the Volga. At noon these Tartars attended to their devotions on the bridge without any regard to the bystanders. They spread a robe on the top of the paddle-box, and taking off their overshoes, knelt upon it. Then they put their hands behind their ears, and over their eyes, bowing their heads to the floor, and repeating their prayers.

In the afternoon the steamer passed a large boat going down the river, towed by a steamer. It had a cabin, extending nearly the whole length of it, with small, grated windows. The captain said this was a convict boat, in which prisoners were conveyed down the Volga, and up the Kama to Perm, from which they have to march to Siberia. When they reach their destination, they are compelled to work in the mines. The captain said that many of them returned, and made good citizens. At three o'clock on the afternoon of the next day, the Stafet arrived at Nijni Novgorod.

CHAPTER XV.

While the voyagers were taking leave of Captain Ekovetz, who had been so attentive to them, an officer spoke to him in Russian.

"At the police office. They came down in the boat from Tver, and were about to take the steamer for Kazan," said the captain, after some further conversation with the officer. "This man will conduct you to the police office."

The party followed him, and in a short time came to the place where De Forrest and Beckwith were held, not exactly "in durance vile," but in the office of the police. The runaways looked decidedly crestfallen.

"This is rather unexpected. I thought you were going only to Moscow; but it appears that you have not even been there at all," said Dr. Winstock.

"No, sir, we have not," replied De Forrest. "I suppose you will think we ran away; but we did not."

"I must acknowledge that the course you have taken is open to that interpretation," added the doctor.

"I knew you would think so," said Beckwith, trying to look honest and[280] innocent.

"Nothing of the sort, sir," continued De Forrest. "We took a cup of coffee at Tver, and then stepped out in the rear of the station to get a sight of the town and the river. The conductor told me the train would not start for fifteen minutes, or I didn't understand him. I don't know which."

"You asked him how long he remained at the station, after he had been there ten minutes?"

"You had no right to suppose so, if you did suppose any such thing. However, it is not for me to decide on this case."

"The train went off in less than five minutes. We ran after it, and yelled with all our might. Didn't you hear us, sir?"

"I confess that I did not," replied the doctor, with a smile; "but that doesn't prove that I am hard of hearing. You came down the Volga?"

"Yes, sir. I thought Moscow was on the Volga, but Beckwith said it was not," replied De Forrest.

"The captain spoke English a little, and told us we could take the train to Moscow. We didn't like to wait in that station till five o'clock the next morning."

"A train left Tver at about eleven that forenoon, and I supposed, if you were left, that you would come down in that."

At this moment Captain Ekovetz came into the office, and through him it was ascertained that the runaways were captured while they were going on board of a steamer about to start for Kazan, and had their tickets, for which the police compelled the seller to refund the money. De Forrest attempted to explain, but his statement was rather improbable—quite as much so as the rest of his story.

"We staid at the Hotel Odessa, but the police and the servants watched us all the time."

"Getting left is about the same thing. But we will move on, for we have not much time to spare."

Droskies were taken, and the captain directed them to drive to Minin's Tower. It is on a bluff, where the old town stood, including a part of the Kremlin, and commands a fine view of the river and the fairgrounds, on the tongue of land between the Volga and the Oka. The party entered[282] the Cathedral of the Transformation, where Minin is buried.

"Who was Minin?" asked Lincoln, as they stood by the obelisk erected to his memory.

"You remember Mr. Mapps told you about the false Dimitris, and that, in the confusion and anarchy brought about by them, the crown was offered to Vladislas, son of the King of Poland, for the Poles were really the masters of the country. The Russians had been beaten by them in many battles, for the former had no suitable leader. When everything seemed to be lost, Kosma Minin, a butcher of this town, obscure and uneducated, but possessed of good judgment, brave, honest, and unselfish, roused his fellow-citizens to a sense of their peril. His words and his example induced the people to take up arms, and appropriate all their fortunes for the deliverance of the nation from its oppressors. This spirit of patriotic devotion extended to other places, and Prince Pojarski, was soon able to take the field at the head of a large force. Minin seconded all the efforts of the prince, and by this sudden uprising the Poles were driven from the country. The movement was followed by the election to the throne of Michael Romanoff. The bronze statues which you saw in Moscow, opposite the bazaar, represents Minin urging Pojarski to deliver Moscow from the Poles."

The tourists returned to the droskies, and the doctor directed his driver by pointing in the direction of the fair grounds.

"This does not look much as it does during the fair," said the surgeon, as they drove across the bridge of boats. "The rivers are crowded with[283] boats of every description, from all parts of the vast empire. The Oka here is literally filled with them, so that there is hardly a channel for the passage of others. These craft are quite a study, for they comprise an immense variety, and it is said that the floating population of this vicinity during the fair is about fifty thousand. This bridge is quite as crowded as London Bridge during business hours, and mounted Cossacks are stationed upon it to keep it from being obstructed. These soldiers are also on duty in the crowded streets, to preserve order. The mud here is sometimes a foot deep—at least it was when I visited the fair several years ago. Even the paved streets are ploughed and furrowed by the wheels of heavily-loaded vehicles."

"It is a hard road to travel now," added Lincoln; for the vehicle jolted so that it was not easy for the passengers to keep their seats.

"Most of the goods for the fair come in boats, and have to be hauled to the shops in wagons, making bad work of the roads. When not muddy, it is very dusty."

The party entered the grounds of the fair, the doctor instructing his driver by signs. The entire space between the Volga and the Oka is laid out in streets and squares. There are ten miles of wharf on the two rivers. There are about four hundred steamers on the Volga, many of which were built in England, Belgium, and other countries, and have been brought to the river through the various canals, or in pieces, and put together again; but Russia can build her own steamers now. The streets are lined with shops, most of the buildings being of brick, a few of stone. Some of the open spaces are covered with booths and tents. The[284] stores are generally quite small, not more than twenty by fifteen feet. In the rear of them are living-apartments for the merchants and their employees. In the centre of the fair are the headquarters of the governor; but the ground floor of the building is devoted to a bazaar for the sale of fancy articles and manufactured goods, and a band of music usually plays here. Concerts are also given in the square by a military band. Near the official residence are theatres and exhibitions of every description.

The Great Fair is the harvest time of beggars, and thousands of them visit it, some of them coming from great distances. The lame, the halt, and the blind come, and very many of them are impostors, who pretend to have bodily ailments, or who have produced sores on their persons by artificial means, to excite the sympathies of the benevolent.

The number of persons in attendance on the fair is estimated by the amount of bread consumed, and the bakers are required to make daily returns to the governor of the quantity sold. By this means it is ascertained that the fair is visited, during the season of eight weeks, by from one hundred and fifty thousand to three hundred thousand persons. The amount of business transacted by sale and purchase, is about one hundred million dollars.

There is as much variety in the shops as in different parts of a large city. Certain sections are devoted to the wholesale trade, and others to the retail. Many of the shops are filled with large bundles and bales, while others glisten with ornamental articles. Some of the avenues[285] hardly differ in appearance from Broadway in New York, except in the uniformity of the buildings. The windows are filled with displays of jewelry, fancy goods, toys, dry goods, clocks, and watches, furs, silks, and, indeed, everything that one would see in a great city. Some shops are devoted exclusively to furs, and the assortment is large and fine. Dried fish is a great article of commerce here. The value of the sturgeon fisheries on the Volga is estimated at two and a half million rubles, while thirty thousand casks of caviar have been sent up from Astrakhan in one year. The productions of Asia are largely represented at the fair, the most important of which is the tea of China. The Chinese quarter is fitted up in Celestial style, with verandas and pagodas; but very few Chinese attend the fair of late years. Fifteen million pounds of the finest tea are brought into Russia, most of it to this bazaar. It is transported to Perm by boats, sledges, and camels, and thence by the Kama and Volga to Nijni.

Along the rivers are the coarser articles of merchandise—iron in bars and sheets, and manufactured into kettles and household utensils, millstones, vast quantities of wheat, rolls of leather from Kazan, boxes of candles from Asia, copper and platinum from the Ural Mountains, and bells of all sizes, hung so that their tone can be tested.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the fair to an American or Englishman is the people that gather there, especially the Asiatics. But the variety is by no means as great as the visitor will expect to find after reading the descriptions of them which have been published. There are plenty of Persians and Tartars in full costume, the former with[286] knives and pistols in their belts, placed there for ornament rather than use. A few grave Chinamen may also be seen; but the great majority of the people are Russians. Unless one wishes to make it study of it, a few hours are enough to enable the stranger to see the fair.

A canal extends through the ground, as a protection against fire, and no smoking is allowed in the streets, on penalty of twenty-five rubles, and the rule is enforced by the Cossacks on duty. Under the streets there is a system of sewers for the draining of the land and the carrying off of refuse matter. A stream of water is made to flow through them several times a day, to remove the deposits there. In the streets there are, at regular intervals, small white towers over staircases to descend into the sewers, where are small apartments for men, in which alone they are allowed to smoke. These improvements have cost large sums of money, and the merchants are taxed to the amount of forty thousand dollars a year to pay the expenses.

The tourists drove through the principal avenues of the deserted grounds, and the doctor told them what he had seen there during his former visit when the fair was held. During the ride De Forrest and Beckwith were not much interested in the sights to be seen, or in the descriptions of the surgeon. They realized that the explanation of their absence was not accepted by the surgeon, and probably would not be better received by the principal.

"We have made a mess of it," said Beckwith. "I didn't believe in the scrape at all."

"We haven't been to Kazan, or down the Volga, and we haven't even seen[287] Moscow, as the rest of the fellows have."

"Yes; but we leave in two or three hours after we arrive. We shall go on board at Cronstadt, and not be allowed any liberty again. That's all we shall make by running away."

"Perhaps not. You may go back to the ship, but I shall not," replied De Forrest, doggedly.

"I told you what I wouldn't do, and that is just the same as telling you what I will do. As you seem to be dissatisfied with what you have done, you can do as you please," growled the purser.

"I don't think we have made anything so far by the course we have taken," added Beckwith.

"We may be tripped up again. These Russian policemen don't make anything of stopping a fellow."

"We ran right into a trap here in Nijni. The doctor and his party got here before we did, and were looking for us. We shall do well enough if we take another track."

"All right. That sounds like something. We will go right through from Moscow to Warsaw. You know that German Cours-Buch we found at the hotel yesterday?"

"But how will you get away? The doctor will keep watch of us all the time now," suggested Beckwith. "Besides, the other divisions of the squadron are coming to Moscow, and the principal may be there by the time we arrive."

"No matter if he is; we can easily manage it. You follow my lead, and I will bring you out all right."

By this time the droskies arrived at the railroad station, where the travellers dined, and obtained their tickets for Moscow. As the students paid their own fare, they were permitted to take first or second class cars, as they preferred. Following the example of the surgeon, most of them went first class, and when they came to take their seats it was found that only Scott and Beckwith had elected to go by the second class. There were very few passengers, and as the doctor gave the conductor a ruble, he disposed of the party so that there were only two or three in a compartment, which afforded them plenty of room to lie down and sleep. As a specimen of the Russian letter, we give a copy of the surgeon's ticket:—

The train arrived at Moscow at nine the next morning, and the tourists went to the Hotel de Hambourg. The third division of the squadron had come, and the second was to leave that day. Mr. Lowington and Mr. Fluxion were both at the hotel, and as soon as De Forrest saw the doctor shaking hands with the principal, he decided that he would not wait to be introduced to him. Nodding to Beckwith, he led the way through one of the long halls of the hotel, and found a staircase which led down to an arch under the house. On the other side of it was the dining room, which they entered. This room was on the ground floor, and the windows were open. No one was in sight, and they stepped out through one of them into the street.

"I thought we had better keep out of the principal's sight," replied the purser, as he led the way up the Rue Lubianka. "Here is another hotel," he added, as they came to the corner on which is the house kept by Mr. Billot.

"That suits our case," said De Forrest; and a servant was sent up stairs with them.

The apartment to which they were shown was on the second floor, with windows opening into the Rue Lubianka, so that the runaways could observe the movements of the party. Presently the landlord called to see them, and asked if the room suited them. Then he inquired who and what all the young men in uniform were whom he had seen during the past week, and De Forrest explained the whole matter to his satisfaction.

"We preferred to come here, but very likely the principal will blame us for it; so, if you please, don't mention to any one that we are here."

The landlord was vexed to have his house passed by, and, afraid that he should lose his two customers if he mentioned them, he was content to keep still. Breakfast was sent up to the runaways, at an extra charge. They staid in their room all day, not daring to leave it lest they[291] should be seen by some of their shipmates. If they had been condemned to such an imprisonment on board of the ship, even for running away, they would have called it tyranny. They looked through the apertures at the sides of the curtains, and saw the second division depart for St. Petersburg, and the third starting for the Kremlin. They dined in their room at five, and at half past eight in the evening, when the party at the other hotel had gone to the Petrofski Gardens, they paid their bill, and took a drosky for the Kief Railway station. The lady who sold the tickets spoke French, so that they had no difficulty there. At noon the next day they arrived at Orel, from which they departed at half past one for Dunaburg, on the line from St. Petersburg to Warsaw. They reached this town at six o'clock on the evening of the next day, and were obliged to wait till two o'clock the next morning for a train, by which they proceeded to Warsaw. They had been three days on the road, and had slept three nights on the train, travelling eleven hundred miles, and paying fifty rubles each for the fares, besides six more for meals. They were tired out, and utterly disgusted with railroad travelling. Taking a carriage at Praga, a suburb of Warsaw, where the station is located, they crossed the high bridge over the Vistula, and were left at the Hotel de l'Europe. They were shown to a room twenty feet square, for which the charge was two rubles a day.

In the restaurant on the lower floor, where the waiters spoke German as well as Polish, they found themselves seated near a party who were conversing in English. It consisted of a gentleman and two ladies, one[292] of the latter being but about seventeen years old. They were dressed in black, and the younger was very pretty,—so pretty that De Forrest could not help looking at her, as opportunity favored him. But the young lady seemed as much inclined to look at the runaways, and their eyes often met. The party spoke in a low tone, and were evidently talking about the young officers. Presently the gentleman rose from his chair and approached them.

"Indeed! I was not aware of it; though I am very glad to see any one who speaks the English language," replied De Forrest.

"You belong to the school ship, if I mistake not. We went on board of her at Christiansand; you had just arrived from America, and we had come in the Orlando from Hull."

"I am happy to see you, Mr. Kinnaird. My name is De Forrest, and my friend is Mr. Beckwith."

"Now permit me to present you to the ladies, who were much interested in your ship, and especially in her young officers," added the polite gentleman, as he conducted them to the table his party had taken. "Mrs. Kinnaird, my wife."

"I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss Gurney," answered De[293] Forrest, as he bowed to the pretty young lady.

"I was so pleased with the ship in which you sail, and the nice-looking young officers, that I have been wishing I might meet them again," said Miss Gurney.

For half an hour they talked about the ship and the other vessels, and each party told where they had been.

"And you are one of those fine young officers," said the young lady, suddenly, laughing her satisfaction as she spoke.

"At Cronstadt. The squadron will go to Königsberg or Danzig next; then to Stettin or Swinemünde. The students will make a trip to Berlin and Dresden."

"O, then I shall see them again," exclaimed Miss Gurney. "But don't you sail with the others?"

"Yes, yes; but you see we make journeys on shore. We all went to Moscow, and some of us down the Volga to Kazan."

"How delightful! I wish I was a boy! If I were I would be a sailor, and join your ship. It must be elegant?"

"O yes—yes; very," replied De Forrest, glancing at his shipmate, who could hardly keep from laughing.

"I think I should like it so well, that I wouldn't go on shore. It is so stupid to be dragged through all these old palaces, and churches, and tombs, though I like to look at the pictures."

De Forrest was fascinated by the beauty and sprightliness of Miss [294] Gurney. Her innocence and simplicity imparted a candor to her speech which pleased him, and, fatigued as he was, he was sorry to lose sight of her when the party retired to their rooms. Then her image went with him, and followed him into his dreams. He met her again in the morning, and the runaways were invited to accompany the party to Villenoy, and to see the sights of the capital of Poland. In a few days they left for Bromberg, and though Beckwith protested, De Forrest insisted upon accompanying them. Then he could not resist his inclination to go with the party to Königsberg, where Mr. Kinnaird desired to see a friend; but he hoped the squadron would not come there. It did not go to Königsberg, because the water was not deep enough, but it anchored at Pillau, the port of the city, twenty-six miles distant. While the runaways were dining with their new friends at the Hôtel de Prusse, feeling perfectly secure because they had heard nothing of the squadron, the officers and students marched through the room to another, where dinner had been prepared for them.

"O, I am so delighted to see them!" exclaimed Julia. "How glad you must be, Mr. De Forrest!"

"Yes—yes—very glad," stammered the purser. "Will you excuse us for a few moments? I want to speak to some of them."

Before they had time to retire, the principal confronted them, and prevented their escape.

CHAPTER XVI.

Dr. Winstock grasped the hand of the principal when they met in Moscow, and briefly reported the incidents of his trip down the Volga, with the little party.

"Of course you knew that De Forrest and Beckwith left us at Tver?" added the doctor.

"Yes; Mr. Agneau informed me, and, poor man, he was very much worried about the absentees," replied Mr. Lowington.

"I concluded they had gone down the Volga to Nijni. I asked the police to detain them, and they did so. On my return from Kazan, I found them in custody, and not at all satisfied with the results of their runaway excursion. I brought them up with me, so that they are all right now. They claimed to have been left by the train at Tver by accident."

"I suppose they tried that plan because they thought it succeeded in Norway and Sweden; but I did not punish those because they made a full confession, and seemed to be sorry for what they had done. Where are the runaways?"

The word was passed along for De Forrest and Beckwith, but they were not[296] there to answer. A dozen had seen them come into the house, and a party who were standing at the door were sure they had not gone out. They could not be found, and the doctor was even more chagrined than the chaplain had been.

"Never mind, doctor; I shall not run after them. Running away has been so common that I have ceased to worry about it," said the principal. "They will come back when their money is all gone, if not before."

"Probably they intend to see Moscow," added the surgeon; "and they may appear before the fourth division returns."

The Volga party returned to St. Petersburg with the second division, and the next afternoon were on board of their vessel, attending to their studies, for the students on board were kept at work, because it is easier to be busy than to be idle.

On the 25th day of June, all hands had returned, having seen all of Russia it was practicable to see, and the squadron went seaward, bound for Königsberg. The officers below Beckwith and De Forrest were moved up two grades, to fill the vacancies caused by the absence of the runaways, and the two highest in rank in the steerage were sent into the cabin. On the passage there were two examinations in seamanship, in which Cantwell obtained very high marks. On the voyage, which lasted four days,—for there was very little wind,—the captain performed his duty to the entire satisfaction of the principal, and without being obliged to ask for instructions.

On Tuesday afternoon the squadron anchored off Pillau, a town of four[297] thousand inhabitants, having a strong fortress at the entrance of the Haff, a nearly landlocked bay, at the head of which Königsberg is situated.

"All hands, attend lecture," called the boatswain, after breakfast the next morning, and while the signal was flying on the ship.

The students gathered in the steerage, where the professor of geography and history had hung up a map of Prussia on the foremast, which he had colored to suit the occasion, so as to show the rapid enlargement of the country by annexation.

"Young gentlemen," Mr. Mapps began, "Prussia is now one of the most powerful states of Europe. We may say of her as of the United States, 'Westward the course of empire takes its way,' for Prussia had a small beginning in the eastern part of its present territory, and now extends westward beyond the Rhine. Contrary to my usual custom, I shall commence with the history of the country. At the present time, Prussia is divided into eleven provinces, the most eastern of which is Prussia Proper—the part in which we now are. The region was originally inhabited by the Lithuanians, who were conquered by the Goths. They were compelled to embrace Christianity by the Poles in the eleventh century; but the conquerors were soon repelled, and in their turn defeated, the barbarians holding a part of Poland for a time. In the thirteenth century they were the terror of the adjoining countries, and repelled an army sent against them by Germany. The Teutonic Knights finally conquered Prussia."

"They were a powerful military order, formed during the crusades, who fought for the Holy Sepulchre in Palestine. After the siege of Acre, a charitable society for the care of the wounded and sick was organized by the people of Lübec and Bremen, which was made into an order of knighthood similar to the Templars. Only nobles were admitted to its membership, and the Grand Master lived in Jerusalem at first, then in Venice, and afterwards in Germany. After the crusades, they regarded themselves as called to convert the heathen, which benignant work they did, by first conquering the pagan territory. The order became immensely rich and powerful, holding the territory from the Oder to the Gulf of Finland, and deriving from it an immense revenue. They were constantly at war with Poland, which, with their extravagant demands upon the people, turned the nobility and the people against them. The oppressed called upon the King of Poland for assistance, and a war of twelve years followed, in which the order lost West Prussia, holding the rest by paying tribute to the conquerors. The knights were deprived of much of their power and wealth, though they still retained vast possessions. The Grand Master became a kind of spiritual potentate in Germany, and collected his revenues till 1805, when they went to the Emperor of Austria. In 1809 Napoleon abolished the order, and its territories reverted to the sovereigns in whose dominions they were located.

"The nucleus of the present kingdom of Prussia was the margraviate of Brandenburg, of which Berlin is near the centre. By the extinction of[299] the family of its ruler, it was inherited by Sigismond, Emperor of Germany, who sold it to Frederick VI., Burgrave of Nuremburg, in 1417. He was of the house of Hohenzollern, from which the present King of Prussia is descended, and with the territory the electoral dignity was conferred upon him. His successors ruled the electorate for over two hundred years, one of whom signed the protest at Spires, from which the Protestants obtained their name.

"Poland held Prussia after it had conquered the Teutonic Knights, and in 1525 gave the sovereignty of the country to Albert of Brandenburg; but it was not till 1656 that Prussia was declared independent by treaty. In 1618 John Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, acquired the Duchy of Prussia, in the right of his wife, who was the daughter of Duke Albert II. By the Thirty Years' War the united country was reduced to misery and desolation, when, in 1640, Frederick William, commonly called the Great Elector, succeeded to the government. He annexed considerable territory to his dominion, and added greatly to its power and influence. His son Frederick, the third elector of that name, by the consent of Leopold, Emperor of Germany, obtained by a bribe, tendered through the imperial confessor, raised his domain into a kingdom, and placed the crown upon his own head at Königsberg, in 1701, taking the title of Frederick I. This was the origin of the kingdom of Prussia. Frederick I. extended his domain, which has been the policy of all his successors. He was succeeded by his son, Frederick William I., who reigned twenty-seven years, and left a well-disciplined army, and six millions[300] of dollars in cash in the treasury, to enable his son Frederick II. to commence business. This son was the renowned Frederick the Great. He used his capital stock to the best advantage for himself, wrested Silesia from Austria, and took part in the partition of Poland. He reigned forty-six years, and at his death had increased his territory from forty-eight thousand to seventy-seven thousand square miles.

"Prussia now ranked as one of the great powers of Europe. Frederick the Great left for his successor an army of two hundred and twenty thousand men, and treasure to the value of fifty million dollars. He was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II., in 1786, who added forty thousand square miles to his kingdom by engaging in the second and third partitions of Poland. In 1797 he was followed by his son Frederick William III., who was the father of the present King of Prussia. He lacked the decision necessary to carry his kingdom safely through the troubles of his time. His armies were defeated by Napoleon, and for six years the conqueror held him in subjection, and deprived him of half his domain. The Prussian soldiers under Blucher, however, took an important part in the overthrow of the Emperor of the French, and in the Congress of Vienna, when the affairs of Europe were readjusted, his territory was restored, and even increased, so that the kingdom, at his death, consisted of one hundred and seven thousand square miles. In 1840 he was followed by his son Frederick William IV. In 1848 an insurrection broke out in Berlin, the result of which was a considerable modification of the absolutism of the government. A constitution was adopted, and[301] repeatedly altered and amended. But the king had the best of it in the end, and Prussia was finally pacified. In 1857 the king was attacked by disease of the mind, and his brother William became regent, and in 1861 succeeded him as king, under the title of William I. He is decidedly absolute in his tendencies, and claims to hold his crown by the grace of God, and not by the will of the people.

"In speaking of Denmark, I told you in what manner the war of 1866, between Prussia and Austria, was produced. In the terrible battle of Sadowa, Austria was completely humiliated. Prussia dictated her own terms of peace, and annexed a territory nearly equal in size to the state of Maine, including Hanover, Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse Cassel, Nassau, and other German states. The population of Prussia, with these additions, is nearly twenty-three millions. The real engineer of Prussia's magnificent fortunes is not the king, but Bismarck—Count Otto von Bismarck-Shönhausen. He was born in 1814, was liberally educated, and elected a member of the Constituent Assembly in 1848. He served as minister or ambassador to Russia, France, and the Diet at Frankfort, and was appointed minister of foreign affairs and chief of the ministers in 1862.

"Prussia is a constitutional monarchy, and the crown is hereditary in the male line, in the Hohenzollern family. The executive and part of the legislative power are vested in the king, who is of age at eighteen. The legislature is composed of a House of Lords and a Chamber of Deputies. A bill passing both branches and being approved by the king becomes a[302] law. Bills may originate with the king or either of the chambers. A bill vetoed by the king, or rejected by either house, cannot be moved again during the same session. The upper house is composed of the princes of the royal family who are of age, and a few other princes; the heads of certain noble families, life peers chosen by the king from rich land-owners, great manufacturers, and celebrated men, eight noblemen chosen by the eight former provinces of Prussia; representatives of universities, the burgomasters of towns having over fifty thousand inhabitants; and any number of members nominated by the king for life, or for a limited period. The lower house consists of four hundred and thirty-two members, chosen indirectly by the people.

"The royal family of Prussia are Protestants, but all denominations of Christians have equal rights and privileges. Nearly two thirds of the people are Protestants, and about one third Catholics. Education is universal, and compulsory. Every town must maintain schools, and all parents are obliged to send their children to them. A small tuition fee is charged,—about two or three cents a week,—but this is not exacted when the parents are too poor to pay it. The compulsion applies only to the elementary schools; but the higher schools are open to the poor at a very small charge. There are eleven grades of schools, from the elementary up to the university, including normal, industrial, and veterinary, schools for agriculture, mining, and architecture.

"The military system under which Prussia has obtained such tremendous[303] successes in war was established in 1814, on the principle that every man capable of bearing arms should be instructed in military tactics, and actually serve in the army for a specified period. No substitutes are allowed, and there are very few exemptions, and these only of the most obvious character. Every man is enrolled as soon as he is twenty, and must serve seven years, the first three in the regular army, and the other four in the reserve. At the end of this term he belongs to the Landwehr, or militia, for nine years, during which time he is liable to be put into the regular army in case of war. At the expiration of this period he is thirty-six years of age, and then he is enrolled in the Landsturm, until he is fifty; but this body are not sent out of the country, and are called into service only in case of invasion. For thirty years of his life, therefore, the Prussian is a soldier. The military organizations, such as companies, regiments, brigades, divisions, corps d'armée, are always kept up; the officers are ever ready, and in case of war it is only necessary to call in the men. It requires only two weeks to organize the reserves and Landwehr. On a peace footing, the army consists of about four hundred thousand; on a war footing, double this number.

"Nearly the whole of Prussia is in the great plain of Northern Europe. It contains no high mountains, the most important range being the Harz, the highest elevation of which is thirty-five hundred feet. The acquisition of Schleswig-Holstein and Hanover has added largely to the extent of Prussian sea-coast. There are but few good harbors on the Baltic, for the water is shoal, and full of sand-banks. There are many[304] haffs, or lagoons, like the one on which Königsberg is situated. Prussia has an immense number of lakes, especially in the eastern part, the largest of which is the Spirding See, with an area of thirty-seven square miles; but all these lakes are too shoal for navigation. The rivers of Prussia flow into the Baltic and North Seas. The principal are the Niemen or Memel, the Weichsel, or Vistula, the Oder, the Elbe, the Weser, and the Rhine, all of which are navigable. These river systems are connected by canals.

"The climate of Prussia is healthy, the average temperature varying in different parts from forty-three degrees to fifty degrees. The soil is generally fertile, though there are some sandy plains, and desolate, hilly regions. The agriculture, fostered by the government, is of the highest efficiency. All kinds of grain are produced in abundance, and largely exported. Two hundred million pounds of sugar were made from beets ten years ago. Thirty million tons of coal were mined last year, and the country is rich in minerals. In its agriculture, commerce, and manufactures, Prussia is remarkably prosperous. The country has a complete network of railroads, about seven thousand miles in all.

"Berlin has a population of seven hundred and two thousand, and is the fifth city of Europe. Next to it is Breslau, with one hundred and seventy-two thousand. Cologne has one hundred and twenty-five thousand; Königsberg, one hundred and six thousand. All the others have less than a hundred thousand. New York has a larger German population than any German city except Berlin.

"The money of Prussia is in thalers, silver, or new grosschen and[305] pfennings. A thaler is about seventy cents of our money. Thirty new grosschen, of two and one third cents each, make a thaler, and twelve pfennings make a new grosschen.

"And now, young gentleman, I will close with a brief statement in regard to the Germanic Confederation, which is a union of states for certain purposes, similar to that of the United States. In modern times the two most powerful members have been Austria and Prussia; but the events of 1866 broke up the confederation, and caused the expulsion of Austria, leaving Prussia as the ruling power. The North German Confederation, consisting of twenty states, was then formed under the leadership of Prussia. The six remaining states, the principal of which are Bavaria, Baden, and Würtemberg, cannot be said to be united. Prussia had ratified treaties with the three states mentioned, by which each of the contracting powers guarantees the integrity of the others' territory. In other words, in case of war, each is to assist the others; but it is stipulated that Prussia is to have the command of the armies.

"A German Parliament, elected by the people, at the rate of one member for every hundred thousand inhabitants, met at Berlin in 1867, and adopted a charter, or constitution, drawn up by the Prussian government, which means Bismarck."

Mr. Mapps proceeded to explain the nature of the constitution, which has again been changed by the events of 1870. After the humiliation of Austria in 1866, and Prussia's consequent increase of power and influence, France, which has always held a commanding place among the[306] powers of Europe, felt that her position was threatened. Prussia had attained a degree of power and influence which overshadowed France. A war in the future was certain, and it came in 1870. The desire on the part of France to check the ambition of Prussia, to cripple her power, and diminish her influence, was the real cause of the war, and the immediate events which led to the conflict are now of little consequence. The attempt to place Leopold of Hohenzollern on the throne of Spain was undoubtedly a real grievance to France. The French and their supporters say he was brought forward to provoke a quarrel; that Bismarck desired a war, in order to complete the unification of Germany. The prince was withdrawn from the candidacy for the Spanish throne, but France was not satisfied without a guaranty, which Prussia would not give. France seemed to be determined to fight, and declared war. Probably Louis Napoleon depended upon the coöperation of Austria and Italy in humiliating a power whose rapid growth threatened the integrity of all her neighbors' territory. But Italy had practically received Venetia from the hands of Prussia, after the struggle of 1866, and Austria was not in condition to carry on another war with her powerful opponent. The emperor counted, too, upon the disaffection of Bavaria, Baden, and Würtemberg, if not Saxony and Hanover, all of which had been hardly used by Prussia in the war of 1866; but the South German states promptly placed themselves on the side of Fatherland, led by Prussia. France was obliged to fight her battles all alone. She was thoroughly[307] beaten, and absolutely crushed, by the vast legions of Germany. France, which had been demanding the Rhine provinces, so that the river should be her boundary line, was deprived of the greater portion of Alsace and Lorraine, lying next to Germany, and on the Rhine.

Bismarck's plan to unite all Germany under one emperor was fully realized, for, while the army of King William was still laying siege to Paris, the King of Bavaria proposed to the sovereign princes of Germany to urge William to assume the title of Emperor of Germany. A bill passed the German Parliament at Berlin, almost unanimously, by which all the states were united into an empire. The king was elected emperor by the Diet, and accepted the honor; Bismarck was appointed chancellor of the empire.

The members of the Diet, or Parliament, are elected for three years by the people. As in the United States, each of the sovereignties is independent in its local government, and exercises all powers which are not expressly delegated to the Diet. All legislation relating to trade, commerce, emigration, colonization, and insurance companies, belongs to the Parliament. The empire also regulates the tariff, coinage, weights and measures, banking, patents and copyrights, navigation, both internal and external, post office and telegraphs, the army and navy, and laws relating to the press.

The legislature consists of two branches, the Federal Council and the Diet, or Parliament, the latter of which has nearly four hundred members. The Federal Council is composed of the representatives of the several governments. Prussia has seventeen votes in this body;[308] Bavaria, six; Würtemberg and Saxony, four each; Baden and Hesse, three each; Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Brunswick, two each; and all the others, one each, making fifty-eight in all. Each state may send as many members as it has votes, but all from one state must vote together, representing but one opinion.

The emperor represents the empire, concludes treaties, sends ambassadors, and receives the ministers of other powers. He declares war in the name of the Confederacy, but unless its territory is invaded or menaced, he must have the consent of the Federal Council. The executive power is practically delegated to the King of Prussia, whose navy now belongs to Germany, and the army is under his command. To all intents and purposes Prussia is Germany.

The Zollverein, or Customs Union, controls all matters relating to the trade and commerce of the German states. It has a council and parliament, like those of the empire. Its object is to levy uniform duties on imported merchandise, to superintend the collection of the revenues, and to regulate trade. All the receipts of the Zollverein are paid into a common treasury, and distributed according to the population among the several states.

As soon as the professor finished his lecture, a steamer came alongside, and took off the students who were to make an excursion to Königsberg.

CHAPTER XVII.

"Do you remember that amber chamber we saw in the palace of Czarskoé Sélo?" asked Dr. Winstock, as the steamer left the ship.

"Probably he obtained it from this vicinity, where it is largely gathered on the sea-shore, after a storm. It is also dug out of the ground in the interior of the country."

"It is a resin, or gum, of vegetable origin, supposed to come from a kind of tree now extinct, hardened into a mineral. It is noted for its electrical properties. About one hundred and fifty hogsheads of it are annually collected on this coast. A piece weighing a pound is worth fifty dollars; but like diamonds, its value increases in a much greater ratio than its size. The Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights took possession of the trade, and derived large revenues from it. At the present time the King of Prussia receives an income of sixteen or seventeen thousand dollars from its collection. Amber is exported in[310] large quantities to Mohammedan countries, where it is used for mouth-pieces of pipes and for ornaments. In the city you will find many amber-workers, and a large assortment of goods made from it."

The steamer ran up into the Pregel River, and the company landed. Königsberg was once the capital of Prussia Proper, and for a long time the residence of the Electors of Brandenburg. The old palace was the residence of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights, and of the Dukes of Prussia. In the church connected with it, Frederick I. placed the crown upon his own head; and here, also, the present king followed his example. The Cathedral is a Gothic building, five hundred years old, which contains the tombs of many Teutonic Knights, and that of Kant the philosopher, whose house is also pointed out in the city.

"There isn't much here to be seen," said Lincoln, as he walked about the parade-ground.

"No, not much; but it has been a royal residence, and visiting it makes the facts of history more real to us," replied Dr. Winstock. "Great events have transpired here and in this vicinity. Twenty-two miles south of this city is Eylau, where Napoleon defeated the Russians in 1807, and a dozen miles from there is Friedland, where he again routed them in the same year. These events led to the treaty of Tilsit, which is some ninety miles north-east of this city, on the Niemen, near the frontier of Russia. The treaty was signed on a raft, moored in the middle of the river, on which was a pavilion magnificently fitted up. The three sovereigns of France, Russia, and Prussia met upon it. By this treaty[311] Prussia lost nearly half her territory, as Mr. Mapps told you, though she regained it in the treaty of Vienna."

"It was evidently a whim of Napoleon, and in our time the idea would be considered rather sensational," laughed the doctor.

Having exhausted the sights of the city, the party walked to the Hôtel de Prusse, where dinner had been ordered for them. They passed through the restaurant, in which De Forrest and Beckwith were dining with the Kinnairds. If the runaways had been prudent they would have removed the gold lace from their coats and caps; but as Miss Julia Gurney liked the appearance of it, and it seemed to obtain consideration for them in hotels and other places, they did not lay it aside. Beckwith suggested the idea of doing so, but De Forrest thought it would cause the pretty English girl to ask hard questions, and he declined to adopt the suggestion. When the students entered the restaurant, De Forrest asked to be excused, and they tried to get out of sight; but the quick eye of Mr. Lowington was upon them, and he placed himself in their way.

"Ah, young gentlemen, I'm glad to see you," said the principal. "It was unfortunate that you missed the train at Moscow, or took the wrong one."

"Perhaps you had better dine with us," suggested the principal, as he pointed to the adjoining room.

"We have been with a party of English people for some time," stammered[312] the late purser. "Will you allow me to speak to them before I leave?"

"It is unnecessary. You were not so particular when you left our party at Moscow. If any explanations are required, I will make them for you;" and the principal pointed to the door again.

Seats were assigned to them at table d'hôte, but somehow their appetites were not very sharp.

The Kinnairds hardly missed the runaways, for Miss Gurney began to recognize the young officers who had been so attentive to her on board the ship, when she visited her at Christiansand. As Lincoln, Cumberland, and others were only human, probably they had been more polite to her because she was very pretty, than they otherwise would have been. Lincoln promptly recognized her, and so did Cumberland.

"We must go to Pillau, Mr. Kinnaird," laughed the pretty maiden. "We have been travelling with two of your officers for more than a week, and my interest in your ship is greater than ever. You are one of the lieutenants, if I remember rightly."

"I was third lieutenant at the time I met you, but I am not now," replied Lincoln.

"He is commodore of the squadron—the highest office," interposed[313] Cumberland.

"What a great man you must be!" exclaimed Julia. "And you were captain when I saw you," she added to Cumberland.

"Will you allow us to go on board of the ship if we go to Pillau?" asked the young lady.

"Then we shall certainly see your ship. But I wonder where Mr. De Forrest and Mr. Beckwith are," added Julia.

"They are in the next room, with the rest of our people," answered Lincoln, who had seen the principal pointing the way for them.

Lincoln thought not, but he did not say so. The two officers entered the dining-room, and joined their companions. After dinner, the principal had an interview with the Kinnairds, and as Miss Gurney manifested so much interest in the ship, Mr. Lowington invited them to go to Danzig in her, and the pretty maiden leaped with rapture at the idea. The invitation was accepted, and at seven o'clock in the evening all hands were on board. De Forrest and Beckwith had looked about them for a[314] chance to escape; but none was offered, and they were compelled to go to the ship. They were required to take off their uniform, and clothe themselves in seamen's dress at once. They were stationed without delay by Cumberland, the first officer. Of course they were heartily disgusted, for both of them had occupied places in the cabin for several months, and it was not pleasant to return to the steerage, and do duty before the mast. The fact that Miss Julia Gurney was on board added a hundred fold to their mortification. De Forrest determined not to appear on deck till he was obliged to do so; and then, unhappily, he was stationed on the mizzen topsail-yard in furling and setting sail, and at the spanker sheet in tacking and wearing.

Two spare state-rooms in the after cabin of the Young America were appropriated to the guests. The principal was always glad to have ladies come on board of the vessels of the squadron, because he believed that female society had a refining influence upon the students. During the preceding winter he had remodelled the interior of the ship, so as to have more state-rooms for the accommodation of occasional passengers. Miss Gurney was delighted with her room and the cabin, and perhaps more than anything else with the gentlemanly young officers, who were, of course, put on their good behavior. At supper she was placed on the right of the commodore, while Mr. and Mrs. Kinnaird were on the right of the captain. Lincoln was very much pleased with the fair girl, and, after the meal, escorted her to the deck.

There was not a breath of wind, and the German pilot on board was[315] unwilling to sail without a good breeze, so that the ship would work lively. The runaways, therefore, were not obliged to show themselves that evening. The commodore conducted his charge to every part of the ship which it was proper for a lady to visit. The students gazed at her with admiration, and some of them doubtless wished they were the commodore, in order to be in a situation to perform such agreeable duty. The breeze did not come during the night, and at seven bells the next morning the squadron was still at anchor.

"If you are tired of waiting, Miss Gurney, we will send you ashore," said Commodore Lincoln.

"Indeed, I'm not tired. I enjoy every moment of the time. I think it is delicious."

"I am glad you like it; but I am sure if you were not here, I should think it was very dull indeed," added Lincoln, laughing.

"Thank you, Mr. Commodore. You are very kind," continued Miss Gurney, blushing just a little.

"We have to go to work in a few moments; but I hope you will find some way to amuse yourself."

"Yes; we have to study and recite our lessons; but there are plenty of books in the library."

"Certainly, if you please. You may come into our class. It is Greek, navigation, and French to-day."

"I will join the class, for I have studied Greek and French, but I don't know anything about navigation."

"The lesson to-day in navigation is, 'To regulate a chronometer by[316] means of a transit instrument;' and I have no doubt you will find it very interesting," laughed the commodore.

"I have no doubt I shall, but I'm afraid my interest will centre in your perplexity."

"Thank you; but I have learned my lesson, and don't intend to be perplexed. Just as soon as a breeze comes, we shall get under way."

"'Only this, and nothing more;' but if I should say start, my shipmates would laugh at me, and declare that I was not fit to be an officer."

The recitations commenced, and the guests were as much interested in them as they had been in other proceedings on board. But at ten in the forenoon, there was a good sailing breeze, and the students were dismissed from the steerage.

"We are," replied the commodore, as he gave the order to run up the signal for sailing at once. "Captain Cantwell."

The first lieutenant reported himself, and received his orders from the captain. The boatswain's whistle rang through the ship, and the call was heard from the consorts.

"All hands, up anchor!" shouted the executive officer, when the crew had[317] mustered; and the anchor was heaved up to a short stay.

"Stations for loosing sail," continued Cumberland; and the order was repeated by the officers forward, "Lay aloft, sail-loosers!"

The seamen scrambled up the rigging like cats, and Miss Gurney expressed her delight in many exclamations. In a few moments the white sails dropped down, and all hands aloft, except a few whose duty it was to remain and overhaul the rigging, descended to the deck.

"Sheet home and hoist away!" said the first lieutenant; and up went the yards. "Top up the spanker boom."

At this last order the sheet men were obliged to take their stations, and De Forrest cast off the sheet.

"Why, that is Mr. De Forrest," said Julia, as she recognized her late travelling companion.

"That's De Forrest, certainly; but we don't call anyone mister, unless he is an officer," replied Lincoln.

"Good morning, Mr. De Forrest," said the fair girl, seeing that he was disengaged, while the other hands were walking away with the lift.

"Good morning, Miss Gurney," replied the runaway, sheepishly, as he counted the seams in the quarter-deck.

"But I thought you were an officer," added the astonished maiden. "Where are your gold lace and gold-banded cap?"

"Man the bars!" shouted the executive officer; and De Forrest had a chance to escape.

As the jib and flying-jib were run up, the ship began to move through the water, and De Forrest was called aft again to help set the spanker. In a few moments everything was drawing, and the ship went off on the port tack. The starboard watch had the deck, and the port watch went below to attend to their lessons again. The commodore was obliged to leave his pretty friend, who preferred to remain on deck. De Forrest was one of the two hands at the wheel, in charge of a quartermaster, and his mortification was as long continued as it was deep.

"I didn't see you again after you left us yesterday, Mr. De Forrest," said Julia.

"You will excuse me, but I am not allowed to talk with any one while at the wheel," stammered he.

"His conduct was such that I declined to permit him to return, and I promised to explain the matter to you," interposed the principal.

And he did explain the matter in full, and in the culprit's hearing. De Forrest could not help seeing that he had sunk to zero in the[319] estimation of the fair girl, who, after this, hardly looked at him. At eight bells the commodore came on deck again, and entertained Miss Gurney, till the squadron anchored off Neufahrwasser, the port of Danzig, at an early hour in the afternoon.

"Then I hope you will stay with us longer. We are going to look at Danzig, and then sail for Swinemünde."

"Certainly; we shall be very glad to have you remain on board as long as you will."

"You will see something new on board to-morrow, if you stay," added Lincoln. "To-morrow will be the first day of the month, and we have an election of officers."

"Thank you, Miss Gurney; my position is certainly a very comfortable one, for I have but little to do, except to entertain the ship's guests, which in this instance is an exceedingly pleasant duty."

"You are very kind, Commodore Lincoln. I wish I was a young man," added[320] Miss Gurney.

"But if I were I should be a sailor, and would study till I became a commodore," replied the young lady, blushing.

"Nothing could be more delightful than to live in the cabin, and go from place to place in this beautiful ship."

"If you were on board in a gale of wind, perhaps you would not think her so very beautiful."

The conversation was interrupted by the call for all hands to go on shore. The boats were lowered, and the ship's guests were invited to take passage in the commodore's barge. De Forrest pulled the stroke oar in this boat, and his disgust was intolerable. The fair Miss Gurney sat directly in front of him, chatting with the commodore. He had flattered himself that this young lady had some regard for him, and he had accompanied her party from city to city, solely for the sake of being with her—she was so fascinating. He had permitted her to lead him to the shores of the Baltic, where he had been captured by the principal. And this was the reward of all his devotion! Thus she gave him the cold shoulder, and bestowed her smiles upon the commodore! It was real agony to him, and the coxswain was obliged to call out to him more than once to mind his stroke.

The company landed, except De Forrest and Beckwith, whose liberty had[321] been stopped, and they were handed over to the care of Peaks, the boatswain, who put them both into the fourth cutter, and pulled back to the ship, leaving the other forward officers in charge of the rest of the boats. The party took the train at Neufahrwasser, and in a quarter of an hour were in Danzig.

"Large vessels used to go up to the city," said Dr. Winstock, who was in the compartment with Lincoln and the Kinnairds; "but on the breaking away of the ice in the Vistula in 1840, a new passage to the sea was opened, and the water was diverted from the deep channel."

"Yes; immense quantities of wheat come down the Vistula from the grain regions of Prussia, Poland, and other countries. It was formerly the greatest grain port in the world, but is now far surpassed by Chicago. It is five miles from the Baltic. The granaries are on an island in the river, where no dwelling-house can be built, and no fires or lights are allowed."

The company left the train in the city, and went to the cathedral, commenced by one of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic order in the fourteenth century, and finished in the sixteenth. It is a fine church, and has fifty chapels, founded by the chief citizens as burial-places for their families. The principal curiosity in the church is a picture of the Last Judgment, painted for the pope, but captured by pirates on its way from Bruges to Rome. It was retaken by a Danzig vessel, and placed in this cathedral, but in 1807 was carried to Paris by the[322] French. It was reclaimed after the war by the King of Prussia, who offered forty thousand thalers for the privilege of retaining it in Berlin; but when the owners declined the offer, he returned it to them.

Danzig is one of the oldest cities in Germany, and resembles Nuremburg in the quaint old structures which it contains, and the walk through the Langgasse, the principal street, and the Long Market, was full of interest to the students. At half past seven all hands had collected at the railroad station, and before nine were on board the vessels. As the breeze was both fresh and fair, the squadron got under way, and the next day it was far out in the Baltic.

CHAPTER XVIII.

On the morning of the first day of July, at nine o'clock, the squadron had accomplished half the distance from Danzig to the mouth of the Oder, or rather to Swinemünde, on the outlet of the Haff to the Baltic. This Haff is the estuary of the Oder, and forms a considerable lake inside of the two islands which separate it from the sea.

All hands were called, and the merit-roll for the preceding month was read by the principal, so that the students might know who were eligible to the elective offices. There was hardly a change in the relative rank, for very little had been done upon the lessons during the month. The most remarkable event was, that Scott came out No. 16, which gave him the rank of fourth midshipman. The joker was a first-class seaman, and probably he owed his good fortune largely to the several examinations in nautical matters, though he had exerted himself more than ever before in the scholastic department. The reading of his name in this connection called forth a shout of applause. As usual, Lincoln and Cumberland had the highest number of marks, and Cantwell was the third. De Forrest and Beckwith stood at the foot of the list, for they had been absent[324] from most of the recitations during the month. Cumberland was not eligible to the office of commodore. Lincoln, Cantwell, and the two captains of the consorts were the only candidates for this position.

"Of course Cantwell will be chosen," sneered De Forrest. "This thing is played out, and all I want is a chance to get off."

"I don't believe you will find any such chance," replied Beckwith. "I don't think we have made anything by running away."

"I didn't. You tagged after that girl, and made me follow you. Now she has cut you."

"I don't believe you will. It isn't his fault. When the girl found out that you had run away from the ship, she wouldn't look at you again. That's the whole of it," replied Beckwith.

While they were talking, the word was passed for all hands to assemble in the waist to hold a caucus for the nomination of officers.

"Scott has got into the cabin, and I don't believe he will lead all the fellows in the steerage by the nose now," said De Forrest. "I suppose he will try to make Cantwell commodore."

The meeting was organized by the choice of Ryder, the second master, as chairman, and Vroome as secretary.

"I move that Captain Langdon, of the Josephine, be nominated for[325] commodore," shouted De Forrest.

De Forrest tried again with the name of Captain Wolff, of the Tritonia, in order to throw out Lincoln and Cantwell, and Beckwith seconded his motion.

"I don't think this is a fair thing, Mr. Chairman," said De Forrest. "A great deal has been said about fair play; but now the ship's company of the Young America want to nominate for commodore, without giving the students in the consorts any voice in the matter."

"I desire to say, for the information of the last speaker, that an arrangement has been made by which the ship is to have the office of commodore for two months out of four, while the consorts are to have it the other two months," interposed Cumberland.

This remark was greeted with a shout of laughter, for the runaway spoke as though he had the control of the whole matter.

"If the speaker had been on board at Cronstadt when the agreement was made, he would understand it better," said the chairman. "The question is upon the nomination of Captain Wolff."

"I move that Captain Cantwell be nominated," said Billy Bobstay, who was filled with gratitude at the generous conduct of the captain towards him.

"Mr. Chairman, I wish to decline being considered a candidate. I cannot accept the nomination on any conditions," said Cantwell, in a loud, clear, and decided voice.

His remark was hailed with the most emphatic applause; and Cantwell hastened to Billy Bobstay, and begged him to withdraw his motion, which he did.

"Then I hope the ship's company will vote it down, as a favor to me, if for no other reason," added Cantwell.

It was voted down, but in a mild and gentle manner, which indicated that the students did not do so from any ill will to Cantwell.

"Now, Mr. Chairman, I nominate Commodore Lincoln for reëlection," continued the captain.

The motion was seconded, and carried with only a single voice against it, and that was De Forrest's, his "no" being uttered in the most malignant tone.

"Mr. Chairman," shouted Scott, as soon as this question was settled, "I made a speech somewhere up north of here, among the eternal solitudes of nature, and all that sort of thing, you know. I went in for fair play then, as I do now. Some of us didn't vote the regular nominations at the election, and the consequence was, that Captain Cantwell was chosen. I think he has made a very good captain, and been very courteous and gentlemanly to all hands. I shall therefore move that he be nominated again."

"Mr. Chairman," said Cantwell, interrupting the applause which followed[327] the joker's speech. "I am very much obliged to those who have supported me, and for this kind response to the motion of the last speaker; but I have already made up my mind not to accept the nomination of captain. In the excitement of the last election, I was chosen to a position for which I was not as competent as many others. I have done my best to improve in seamanship, but I will no longer occupy a place for which others are better fitted than I am."

Scott persisted, and Cantwell was nominated; but he positively declined to accept the nomination, though most of the students supposed he was declining for effect, at first. Finally, the principal interposed, for there could be no doubt that the captain was fully in earnest. Cumberland was then nominated for captain, and Cantwell for first lieutenant. Judson, Norwood, and Sheridan were selected for the other three elective places. The balloting was commenced, and all the nominees of the caucus were chosen. The result of the vote for commodore was signalled from each of the consorts, and Lincoln was reëlected.

"Yes, it is; but those same fellows will be chosen as long as they remain in the ship," replied Wainwright, who was now the fourth master.

"Well, they don't remain much longer," replied Scott. "Nearly all of the fellows in the highest offices will be graduated this summer, and I suppose they will leave. That will open the way for others. I wonder how I shall feel in a frock coat."

"Probably you will feel good, as all the others do," answered[328] Wainwright, as he led the way into the cabin, where he was presented by the commodore to Miss Gurney and the Kinnairds.

Lincoln had been most heartily congratulated by the ship's guests on his reëlection, and Miss Gurney could not help expressing to Cantwell her admiration of his unselfish conduct. Everybody seemed to be satisfied with the result of the election, except De Forrest. The new plan, of which he claimed the authorship, worked very well, and the students were obtaining some experience in the machinery of politics. Clyde Blacklock, who, when he found it was useless to attempt to run away, or to resist the authority of the ship, had exerted himself to learn and to do his duty, was particularly pleased with the result of his struggles during the month. He was a young man of good parts, and had the English love of invigorating sports. He had taken kindly to his duty, and had made great proficiency during the two months he had been on board. He was the coxswain of the second cutter, and he was prouder of the position than many who had won places in the cabin. Some of the crew of the boat were inclined to sneer at him, but he took especial pains to conciliate them.

On the afternoon of the election day it rained, and the guests were compelled to remain in the cabin; but the young officers who were not on duty did their best to entertain them. At night a dense fog set in;[329] but the wind was fair, and the squadron held on its course, and having the starboard tacks aboard, the fog-horns were blown every two minutes. The next morning, at seven bells, pilots were taken, just as the fog began to lift, though it still lay over the land on the port bow. Repeated whistles, as of a steamer, were heard from this direction, and the pilot of the ship declared that some vessel was in distress, probably a steamer, which had run ashore in the fog.

"Steamer aground on the port bow," shouted the lookout forward, half an hour later.

"I see her!" exclaimed Captain Cumberland, who had placed himself in the lee mizzen-shrouds. "She is on a sand-bank."

The ship was within half a mile of the steamer, but the pilot declared that it was not prudent to go any nearer. Two guns from the grounded vessel announced that she needed assistance.

"All hands, on deck; second cutters, clear away your boat!" piped the boatswain, when the first officer had given the order.

"Man the main clew-garnets and buntlines!" shouted Cantwell; and his orders were repeated by the other officers at their stations. "Let go the lee braces! Down with the helm, quartermaster!"

The ship rounded up into the wind, the main topsail swung round, and in[330] a few moments the headway of the vessel was checked.

"Lower away!" said Cantwell, as soon as it was prudent to drop the boat into the water.

"Up oars!" shouted Clyde Blacklock, the new coxswain, proud and happy to have a real duty to perform. "Let fall! Give way together!" And away went the second cutter over the waves towards the stranded steamer.

Mr. Lowington thought it best to send another boat, and the first cutter, pulling twelve oars, was despatched, in charge of Sheridan. The second cutter was far ahead of her, and was the first to reach the unfortunate vessel, which proved to be one of the mail steamers from Stockholm. She had run her bow hard on a sand-bank, and then toppled over on her starboard side, her stern nearly submerged in the deep water.

Scott stood behind the bowman, ready to step on board as soon as the boat was secured.

"Don't be alarmed, madam. You are perfectly safe," said the fourth midshipman, as he approached the captain, whom he easily recognized by his dress and appearance. "You seem to be in a tight place."

The captain, who was a German, did not seem to understand this remark, though he spoke English. [331]

"You can send a steamer, if you are going on to Swinemünde. My passengers are very much frightened, though there is no danger, unless we have a storm."

The second cutter was swung round, and the officers of the steamer assisted the passengers into the boat. As the first cutter soon arrived, a part of them were placed on board of her.

"O Clyde, Clyde!" exclaimed Mrs. Blacklock, as she hugged her boy. "I thought I should never see you again."

"Come, mother, don't be too demonstrative. You will make all the fellows laugh at me."

Clyde kissed them both, and then begged them to allow him to attend to his duty.

"I am so glad to get out of that steamer!" added Mrs. Blacklock. "I thought we should all be drowned."

"Let fall!" said Clyde, too much interested in his new duties even to [332] heed his mother. "Stern, all! Give way!"

"Oars! Now give way together!" and Clyde gathered up his tiller-ropes, and for the first time had an opportunity to attend to his mother, whom he had not seen for nearly three months.

The young Englishman was an only son, and his mother a widow, who had been utterly unable to manage him, after she had spoiled him by early indulgence. The youth had a freak, when he saw the Academy Ship, that he should like to join her, but soon changed his mind. As the institution seemed to be the only means of saving him from his own folly and wilfulness, Mrs. Blacklock had reluctantly permitted Mr. Lowington to take the control of him. Though he had run away, and had been subjected to sharp but excellent discipline, he had done very well as soon as he found it was no longer possible for him to have his own way.

"I have been looking for you these two months, Clyde," said his mother. "Where have you been?"

"I went to St. Petersburg, but the ship had not been there, and I returned to Stockholm, and have spent the last month in Sweden."

"We were rusticating among the islands in the Gulf of Bothnia while you were looking for me."

Scott turned away, and laughed, as did the stroke oarsman, who also heard the remark.

"I want you to go with me now. I am very, very lonely without you," added Mrs. Blacklock.

"I don't want to leave the ship. I have done very well, and I am going to be the captain of her one of these days. I have been studying geometry, and algebra, and navigation, and French, and German; and a fellow can learn something in that ship. It's the best school I ever went to.—Way enough!" said the new coxswain, as the cutter approached the gangway of the Young America, the steps of which had been rigged out as soon as it was seen that ladies were coming on board.

The passengers of the stranded steamer were assisted to the deck, the boats hoisted up, and the ship filled away. Mrs. Blacklock and her daughter, as well as the others, were cordially welcomed on board by the principal. Breakfast was immediately served for them, and they were made as happy as possible by the young officers, though only a few of the new guests spoke English.

"I want to take Clyde away now, Mr. Lowington," said Mrs. Blacklock, as[334] the ship was entering the harbor of Swinemünde.

"I would not, madam. He is doing exceedingly well on board," replied the principal. "He was surly and dissatisfied for a time, but now he takes an interest in his studies, and is making rapid progress. He is a good sailor, too."

"I dare say you do; but you ought to think of the boy's good. I never had a more hopeful case in the ship than he is just now. I am confident we shall make a man of him if you allow us to do so."

Clyde was called up to speak for himself, and he begged that his mother would not think of such a thing as removing him. He would write to her every week. The weak lady finally consented, when the youth declared that he would be captain of the ship in due time.

The squadron came to anchor at Swinemünde, and a boat was immediately sent on shore, with the passengers who wished to land, and with an officer to inform the agents of the steamer of her condition.

Arrangements had already been made for sight-seeing in this part of Germany, and the whole ship's company were to make an excursion to Berlin and other places. The Kinnairds and the Blacklocks were to go with them. The party, after remaining on board over Sunday, embarked in the regular steamer for Stettin, which is a four-hours' trip, on Monday and arrived at two o'clock in the afternoon. Having an hour or more to spare before taking the train for Berlin, they had an opportunity to[335] see the principal street of the town, and to visit the old castle, but there was nothing of special interest in the place.

The train left Stettin at half past three, and arrived in Berlin at six. The officers and seamen had again been arranged in four divisions, so as not to overwhelm any hotel, and to enable those in charge of them to exercise a proper supervision. Dr. Winstock had gone up to the city to make arrangements for their accommodation, and was at the station on the arrival of the tourists with omnibuses and droschkes enough to convey them to the hotels. The Kinnairds, with the surgeon and the commodore, went to the Hotel de Rome, Unter den Linden, as the principal street of the city is called.

CHAPTER XIX.

Berlin is built on a plain, and there is nothing in the site to recommend it. Like a drunken man, it is on the Spree, which wanders through the centre of the city, with a branch that forms an island, and a canal that winds around the city, and through the adjacent country, so that the Oder on the east and the Elbe on the west are united. The streets are generally broad, with plenty of squares and other open spaces. The houses are of brick, covered with stucco, upon which the Baltic fogs that prevail here have a bad effect, injuring the appearance of the buildings. The principal street, on which the palaces, museum, and hotels are situated, a very wide avenue, in imitation of the Champs Elysée in Paris, but not at all to be compared with it, is Unter den Linden. The middle of it is a broad gravelled walk, with double rows of lime and other trees to shade it for pedestrians. On each side of this is a narrow roadway for equestrians. Outside of these roads, and separated from them by a fence and a line of trees, are two streets for general use.

The weather was warm and pleasant, and Dr. Winstock proposed a ride[337] through Unter den Linden, which is about a mile in length, terminating in the palace at one end, and the Brandenburg Gate at the other. Two droschkes—four-wheeled carriages, with one or two seats, similar to the voitures de place of Paris—were procured. Lincoln and Miss Gurney, with the doctor, occupied one of them. The great avenue was full of people, and the scene was very lively. The party drove towards the palace first, near which the hotel is located. In a moment the doctor stopped the carriage at the colossal statue of Frederick the Great, one of the most magnificent monuments in Europe. The Statue itself is seventeen feet high, resting on a granite pedestal twenty-five feet high, on the sides of which are bronze figures in high relief, life size, of thirty-one persons, including the heroes of the Seven Years' War, and the eminent men of the great monarch's reign.

"The king lives in that house," said Dr. Winstock, pointing to a very plain edifice nearly opposite the statue. "He may often be seen sitting at the corner window. There is the queen now, at the second story window."

Of course this was a genuine sensation, and the party gazed at her majesty, who stood before the window. She wore a white dress, and though she was nearly sixty, she looked much younger.

"Certainly she does. If you met her in the street you could not[338] distinguish her from any other lady."

"I have seen her several times; and she isn't a bit different from any other woman; but I suppose on state occasions, when she wears the crown and her robes, she looks like a queen."

"Did you think, Lincoln, that kings and queens went about with crowns on their heads and sceptres in their hands?"

"Well, no, sir; but I had an idea that they must appear different from other people."

After a drive to the garden opposite the Royal Palace, the party proceeded through Unter den Linden, pausing a moment at the Brandenburg Gate, an immense triumphal arch, on which is a car of Victory, carried to Paris by Napoleon, but returned, after much negotiation, in 1814. Beyond this is the Thiergarten, or "garden of animals," a vast tract of land, covered with trees, with roads and paths through it. Very little has been done to make a park of this territory, so that it does not compare with the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, or with Central Park in New York, which is, without doubt, the finest in the world. It was well filled with people at this hour; but generally it is dull and monotonous, like a drive through the woods in the country. Half an hour's ride brought the party to the Zoölogical Gardens, which contains a very large collection of animals, and a fine park. Part of the latter is used as a beer garden, in which there is a large, semicircular, covered stage for the music. There are also several[339] buildings for restaurants, though most of the people were seated at little tables under the trees. A band of about one hundred pieces was playing German airs when the tourists entered, and two or three thousand people were present in the grounds. Ladies and gentlemen, in groups of three or four, were seated at the tables. Nearly all the men were smoking and drinking wine or beer. A few of the ladies drank beer, but most of them were partaking of chocolate, ice-creams, tea, and coffee. The scene was peculiarly German, and everybody seemed to be happy. From this place the party went to Kroll's Garden, where the same scene appeared, though it contains a large hall, with a stage where opera is given at twenty-five cents a ticket, with a good seat. The excursionists returned to the hotel, and the next morning the business of sight-seeing was commenced in earnest by the entire company.

They walked to the Lustgarten, an open space at the end of Unter den Linden, on the three sides of which are the Royal Palace, the Cathedral, and the Museum. The first is a vast structure, owing more of its grandeur to its size than to its beauty. At the gate are some bronze horses, held by grooms, like those on Monte Cavallo, at Rome, presented by Nicholas of Russia. The ascent to the second story is by a winding inclined plane, up which a carriage can be driven. In the guard-room the visitors were provided with felt slippers, worn over the boots or shoes, to avoid scratching the polished floors. The apartments are magnificently furnished, but they need not be described, for every[340] palace contains substantially the same series of rooms. The White Hall is the most elegant, containing the statues of the Brandenburg Electors, and allegorical figures of the eight Prussian Provinces before the recent wholesale annexation. In one room there is a silver gilt mantel, representing one of pure metal which Frederick the Great melted down to obtain the money to build the new palace at Potsdam, in order to show the princes of Europe that his funds were not exhausted. The new chapel is very rich, and has a lofty dome, from which it is lighted. The floor is of the most beautiful marble, and the walls and ceiling are elegantly frescoed. The palace formerly had the reputation of being haunted by a "White Lady" who appeared only to announce the death of a member of the royal family.

The company passed through the Cathedral, and entered the Museum, which is a very handsome edifice. Its art collections are hardly excelled in Europe. Besides vast galleries of painting and sculpture, it contains antiquities from the north, and from Egypt, and curiosities from distant lands, which are among the finest in the world; but the students were more interested in the historical collection than in anything else, particularly the relics of Frederick the Great. Among the latter are the cast of him taken after death, the bullet with which he was wounded at Rossbach, a wax figure of him, clothed in the uniform he wore on the day of his death, his books, cane, and a flute. A dress of the Great Elector, his pipes, and a glass case containing the stars, orders, and decorations of Napoleon, taken at Waterloo by the Prussians, in the carriage now at Madame Tussaud's exhibition in London, are also to be[341] seen in this Museum. The beautiful frescoes in the grand hall were carefully examined, and their allegorical meaning explained.

The party went through the Arsenal, and then visited the Aquarium, a private exhibition. The various apartments were in the shape of grottoes of artificial rocks, in which the tanks were ingeniously arranged. The animals were fishes, reptiles, and birds, of which there was an endless variety; and the students generally were more pleased with this exhibition than with anything else they saw in Berlin.

After dinner, a portion of the party went out to Charlottenberg in the horse car. The town contains a palace built by Frederick I. The gardens are prettily laid out, but almost the only attraction of the place is the monument of Queen Louisa, the most beautiful and amiable princess of her day. She was the wife of Frederick William III., and the mother of the present king. The monument is the reclining form of the queen in marble, on a sarcophagus. It is the work of Rauch, the great sculptor, and is universally appreciated. By its side is a similar monument to the king, her husband. They are contained within a Doric temple.

Some of the party who did not visit Charlottenberg went to the Town Hall, under which is a vast beer hall and restaurant, where they had an opportunity to see the manners of the Germans. The same students went to the Jewish synagogue, a large building in Oriental style, holding four thousand people, which cost a million dollars. It contains a gallery for the women, and has a lofty dome. On the backs of the settees were the[342] names of persons who had purchased seats at a thousand thalers each. It is said that those who built this synagogue realize a handsome percentage on their investment from the letting of seats. The Bourse is a handsome building, the interior of which is seventy feet high, with a gallery for visitors extending across the middle, over a partition which divides the grain and the stock exchanges.

The next day the entire company went to Potsdam, which may be called the city of palaces, for there are not less than five royal residences in the town. It is eighteen miles from Berlin, and was the favorite summer-home of Frederick the Great, as it is of the present king. Carriages of all sorts and kinds were gathered for the use of the party, and they drove to Babelsberg, which is several miles from the railroad station. As they approached their destination, they crossed the River Havel, which here widens in a broad lake. The carriages were left at the entrance of the grounds, and a walk through a pleasant grove brought the tourists to a lovely lawn, bordering on the river, and presenting one of the most beautiful landscapes to be found in any country. This region is diversified by gentle elevations, on one of which stands the castle or chateau of the present king. The estate is his private property, and he pays all the expenses of keeping it, even to the soldiers who are sometimes on duty there. The castle is built on the side of a hill, with an entrance from the lawn, though the principal one is on the other side, one story higher. The party entered at the rear, and came into small apartments, cosily furnished. The skins and heads of several[343] deer, killed by the king, are displayed here. Up one flight the rooms are larger, but they are entirely different from those usually found in palaces. They are elegantly but simply furnished, and contain a great variety of objects of art, with small paintings of the best artists: indeed, everything about them indicates the highest taste and refinement. The queen's rooms are very cosy and home-like. Up stairs are the apartments of the Grand Duchess of Baden, the king's daughter, and of the crown prince. His majesty's bed-room is exceedingly plain, having a narrow bed with chintz curtains. On the wall over the bed hangs a water-color picture, given him by the queen at their silver wedding. Near this chamber is the king's working room; and the students gazed curiously at the books open on the table, the pens with which his majesty wrote, and various other articles he used. In the room are chairs for the ministers when he holds a council here. The view from the windows of the lawn, the lake, and the grove is very fine. Babelsberg, for quiet beauty and taste, cannot be surpassed.

The students did not enter the Marble Palace on the banks of the lake. In the water are several miniature vessels and a little steamer, all of them for the amusement and instruction of the little folks. Passing the Russian village, which contains eleven houses like those to be found in Russia, belonging to the better class in the country, built by a party sent here by Nicholas, the sight-seers arrived at the gardens of Sans Souci. They are rather stiffly laid out, with plenty of fountains, statues, fish-ponds, and other ornaments. On a hill, with a very long flight of steps leading down to the principal avenue of the garden, is[344] the Palace of Sans Souci,—"without care,"—built by Frederick the Great in 1745. At the end of the terrace are the graves of his favorite dogs, and of the horse he rode in many of his battles. In his will he directed that he should be buried among them, but his request was not heeded. In the palace the room where he breathed his last is shown. A clock, which he always wound up himself, stopped at the instant of his death, and still indicates the time—twenty minutes past two.

On the hill near the palace is the historic windmill of Sans Souci, separated from it only by a road. Frederick the Great wished to extend his grounds in the direction of the mill, but the miller refused to sell it. In a lawsuit with the owner the king was defeated, and submitted to the decision. He was so well pleased with Prussian justice, that he pulled down the original mill, which was a very small one, and erected for the miller the present one, on a much larger scale. In the reign of Frederick William IV., the miller who owned it, doubtless a descendant of the one who defeated the monarch at law, became embarrassed, and offered to sell it; but the king settled on him a sum sufficient to extricate him from his difficulties, declaring that the mill was a national monument, and belonged to Prussian history.

Not far from the mill is the orangery of the palace, and the Raphael Saloon. The New Palace is the one built by Frederick the Great at the close of the Seven Years' War, to prove that his funds were not exhausted. It contains seventy-two apartments, many of them very gaudy. Some have walls and floors of fantastic marble mosaics. There is a[345] hall whose walls are all composed of shells, and in one various kinds of minerals are inlaid on the sides. Some relics of the great monarch are shown. In the library is a copy of his works, with notes and criticisms by Voltaire, whom Frederick admired and invited to his palace. The New Palace is now one of the residences of the crown prince, Frederick, who married the Princess Royal of England. In the Antique Temple, near it, is a statue of Queen Louisa, the work of Rauch, who labored fifteen years upon it, and it is regarded as even superior to the one on her tomb.

From this palace the company went to the Garrison Church, where, under the marble pulpit, above ground, is the tomb of Frederick the Great and Frederick William I. The sexton opens the tomb, and visitors are permitted to gaze upon the coffins of the two monarchs. That of the great king is a large and perfectly plain metallic coffin. His sword formerly lay upon it, but was stolen by Napoleon, who visited the tomb. On each side of the pulpit hang the eagles and standards taken from the French by the Prussians, and their presence seems to be a just retaliation for the theft.

The old Royal Palace, or Residenz, commenced in 1660, is a very large building, with interminable suites of rooms, some of them occasionally used at the present time. Within it are shown several articles belonging to Frederick the Great, as one of his flutes, some music composed by him, and his old boots. His little dining-room contains a table, in which is a slide, to enable him to dispense with the attendance of a servant. The apartment is provided with double doors, so that he could entertain a friend without being over-heard.

The party then returned to Berlin before five in the afternoon. At quarter of eight in the evening, they took places in the schnellzug, or fast train and arrived at Dresden about half past twelve. In half an hour more, most of them were asleep at the Hotels de Bellevue, Victoria, Saxe, and Stadt. The Bellevue, on the bank of the Elbe, is one of the pleasantest and best kept hotels in Europe.

Dresden is the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony, whose territory is a thousand square miles smaller than the State of Massachusetts, but has a population of two million four hundred thousand. It is an independent state, except that its army is under the control of the King of Prussia in time of war. Its royal house is one of the oldest in Europe, and in the tenth century gave an Emperor to Germany. The population of Dresden is one hundred and fifty-six thousand. It is in a healthy and pleasant region, and has many attractions, so that it has long been regarded as a desirable residence by Americans. Hundreds of families from the United States live there, not only because it is cheap and pleasant, but because the place affords the best advantages for education, while its art collections and curiosities are not excelled by many of the capitals of Europe.

Not many of the students appeared the next morning before nine o'clock, though most of them had slept all the way from Berlin to Dresden. Palaces and museums with waxed floors are very tiresome. One needs a week properly to digest the sights of the capital of Saxony; but our[347] party were to do what they could in a single long day. Mr. Ferdinand Spott, one of the most honest, faithful, and reliable commissionaires to be found in Europe, was engaged to engineer the sight-seeing, and to make arrangements for a visit to the Saxon Switzerland the next day.

Dresden is on both sides of the Elbe, the old city being on the left bank, and the new on the right. They are joined by a noble stone bridge, fourteen hundred feet long, originally built with funds procured by the sale of dispensations from the pope of indulgences to eat eggs and butter during Lent. One of its arches was blown up by Davoust, to favor the retreat of the French army after the battle of Dresden, but was promptly restored by the Emperor of Russia. Near the bridge, in the old city, is a large square, part of it beautifully laid out in groves, gardens, and winding walks, with a pond and island in it. On or near this square are most of the attractions to strangers. The Hotel de Bellevue is on the river, in one corner. Next to it, on the river, is an extensive restaurant and beer garden. The theatre which stood in the centre of the square has been destroyed by fire, a temporary structure of wood taking its place. On one side stands the Zwinger, originally intended as the vestibule of a vast palace, the rest of which was never erected, contains the Armory and Museum of Natural History. Opposite the bridge is the Catholic Church, a very odd and profusely ornamented structure. The royal family are Catholics, though the great majority of the people are Lutherans. Next to this is the Schloss, or palace, and connected with it is the picture gallery.

The principal attraction of the palace is the Green Vaults, a series of[348] eight apartments, taking their name from the former color of the furnishings, in which are kept the treasures of the kingdom, and an immense variety of curious, rare, and costly articles. Only six persons can be admitted at one time, and the fee for this or any less number is two thalers, or a dollar and a half. An arrangement was made by which the entire party could see them in the course of the day. A portion of the students went to the picture gallery first, another to the Green Vaults, and a third to the Armory in the Zwinger, so as to avoid uncomfortable crowds.

One room in the Green Vaults is said to contain jewels to the value of fifteen million dollars, which is only a portion of the riches of the palace. The Saxon princes were formerly the wealthiest monarchs in Europe, the silver mine of Freiberg yielding them an immense revenue. They used much of their riches in accumulating valuable and costly works of art, jewels, trinkets, and curiosities. The first room contains articles in bronze; the second, carvings in ivory, of the most elaborate description; the third, Florentine mosaics; the fourth, gold and silver plate, used at the banquets of the kings; the fifth, vessels and articles cut from various minerals; the sixth, figures in ivory and wood, and jewels and trinkets; the seventh, the regalia worn by Augustus II., who was elected King of Poland, at his coronation. The eighth contains a collection of jewels and other costly articles, calculated to astonish and bewilder a simple republican—rubies, diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds, chains, collars, crosses, rings, swords. The court of[349] the Great Mogul is composed of one hundred and thirty-two figures, of pure gold enamelled, which cost nearly fifty thousand dollars.

The Armory contains one of the finest collections of armor and historical relics in Europe. In one room is a cabinet given by the Elector of Saxony to Martin Luther, which contains several articles that belonged to the reformer. In another are the coronation robes of Augustus the Strong, the horseshoe he broke with his fingers, and his iron cap, weighing nineteen pounds. The saddle of Napoleon, the boots he wore at Dresden, and the shoes he wore at his coronation, are to be seen. One room contains a tent taken from the Turks at the siege of Vienna, with various memorials of John Sobieski, who saved the city. The rooms were all full of interest, but the students were obliged to hasten through them.

The picture gallery contains twenty-seven hundred original paintings, including some of the best works of the old and of modern masters. The most celebrated picture is the Madonna di San Sisto, of Raphael. The Madonna is rising to heaven with the infant Jesus in her arms, while Pope Sixtus, from whom the picture takes its name, is gazing at them with reverential awe. Below are two cherubs looking upward. Opposite the pope is the kneeling form of St. Barbara, while the background of the picture is made up of "the innumerable company of angels," whose faces cover the canvas, but are hardly noticeable at first. This painting cost forty thousand dollars, and occupies an apartment by itself at one corner of the building. At the opposite end, another room is[350] appropriated solely to the Madonna of Holbein, which is his masterpiece. It represents the burgomaster of Basle, with his family, praying the Virgin to save his dying child. She is laying down the infant Jesus, to take up the sick child. The gallery contains many other remarkable works by Correggio, Titian, Paul Veronese, Van Dyck, Rubens, Rembrandt, Albert Dürer, and, indeed, pictures by nearly all the old masters.

In the afternoon some of the party rode to the Great Garden, where there is a palace of Augustus II., with eight pavilions for his favorites, and then to the Japanese Palace, so called from the style of some of its rooms, in the new city. It is near the bank of the Elbe, with extensive gardens on the river. It contains antiquities, statuary, mostly ancient, bronzes, collections of porcelain and Dresden china, and some Roman tombs, with urns filled with the ashes and burned bones of the dead.

In the evening at six o'clock many attended the opera, which was, "The Master Singer of Nuremberg," by Wagner, introducing Hans Sachs, the author of so many German ballads. The music seemed like a general crash, and the students were unable to appreciate it. The next morning the whole company took the train for Pötzscha.

Most of the students got out of the cars. The king had no attendants[351] whatever, a single policeman clearing the way for them. He wore a dark coat, with striped pants, and the queen was dressed with equal simplicity. There was no mark by which they could be distinguished from other people, and the king might easily have been mistaken for a merchant or farmer. Mr. Lowington thought that he looked like General Anderson, of Fort Sumter fame. Their majesties were attending their daughter, the Duchess of Genoa, who was on her way to Italy, simply coming to see her off. The queen wept like other people, and the king looked very sad.

The party arrived at their destination, crossed the river, and walked through a wild region, abounding in narrow passes, deep glens, and headlong steeps. Near the end of the walk they came to a remarkable chasm, which looks like an immense dry dock. It is nearly a thousand feet deep, with perpendicular sides of basaltic rock, like the Giant's Causeway. The students cried out with wonder and admiration as they gazed into the deep abyss, in which they looked far down upon the tops of the tall trees. The party wandered about over rocks, peeping over cliffs, till they came to the hotel on the highest hill. Near it is an observatory, which commands a fine view of the winding Elbe, of Königstein, a fortress on a rock twelve hundred feet high. Crossing a bridge, they stood upon the Bastei, which is a flat rock, surrounded by an iron railing. It rises nearly a thousand feet perpendicularly from the bank of the river, and commands a splendid view of the valley beneath. A precipice extends for miles along the right bank of the Elbe; and nowhere in Europe is so much picturesque scenery crowded into so[352] small a space as in the Saxon Switzerland. The party returned to Dresden by steamer from Schandau, the descent to which from the Bastei is, in part, by a deep ravine over bridges, and through clefts in the rocks, wild and full of interest. The boat passes Pillnitz, the summer residence of the king, and the students saw the palace and grounds.

On the following morning the students and the instructors returned to the squadron, arriving at a late hour in the evening. As the vessels were to remain a few days at Swinemünde, Paul Kendall and Shuffles decided to visit Leipzig, Magdeburg, and Hamburg. Lincoln was about to be graduated, and was allowed to remain with them and the Kinnairds, Miss Gurney being the principal attraction to him.

CHAPTER XX.

The party that remained in Dresden went to Leipzig in the afternoon, and found very comfortable quarters in the Hôtel de Pologne. They visited the usual round of sights; but it must be acknowledged that they did so rather from a sense of duty, than because they were interested in most of them. Doubtless they were troubled by that bugbear of travellers—the fear of missing a sight about which some one in the future might inquire. If they failed to see it, tourists more fortunate in their own estimation would assure them they had lost the most interesting object in the city. Lincoln missed his good friend, the doctor, very much, though, as far as company was concerned, Miss Julia Gurney was an excellent substitute. But Mr. Kinnaird was exceedingly well informed, and was able to impart all needed information.

The population of Leipzig is nearly a hundred thousand. The productions of the printing press form one of the most important branches of commerce. Three fairs are held here every year, the principal of which is just after Easter; and the commercial transactions at all of them amount to nearly fifty millions of dollars. Like the fair at Nijni,[354] they attract visitors from the most distant parts of Europe, and even from Asia, and formerly, during the Easter Fair, the population of the city was doubled. On this occasion the booksellers from all parts of Germany, with many from adjoining countries, assemble to make sales and exchanges of books, and to settle their accounts. The booksellers of Leipzig have an exchange, or bourse, of their own.

The party took carriages and rode through the streets. There are many quaint old structures to be seen in the Great Market-place, for the town is very old. The allied monarchs met in this square after the battle of Leipzig, in 1813, which the Germans call the Völkerschlact, or Battle of the Nations, because the affairs of Europe were settled for the time by it. Nearly five hundred thousand men were engaged in the battle, with sixteen hundred cannon. It lasted three days; but as the troops of Napoleon were outnumbered by those of the allies nearly two to one, the emperor was disastrously defeated in the end, and came very near being captured himself. The bridge over the Elster was prematurely blown up, and twenty-five thousand of the French had to ford the stream. Poniatowski, the brave Polish prince, who commanded a corps of his countrymen in the Grand Army, was drowned in crossing.

"I suppose you have read Göthe, commodore," said Mr. Kinnaird, as he ordered the driver to stop in a street near the market-place.

"Of course you have seen the opera of Faust. This is Auerbach's[355] cellar, where some of the scenes in the poet's tragedy are laid," added Mr. Kinnaird, as he pointed to the lower part of an old building. "It is still a wine and beer shop. It is said that Göthe used to drink deep in this place himself."

The party drove to the University, which is one of the oldest and most extensive in Germany, and has eight hundred students. An excursion to the Castle of Pleissenburg, and to the suburbs, where a view of the battle-field was obtained, completed the day, though in the evening the tourists went to the Schützenhaus, which is a beer garden, with the most elaborate decorations. The place is illuminated with lights of all colors, and contains castles, grottoes, waterfalls with crimson lights under them, and a great variety of other attractions.

The next day the travellers went to Wittenberg to see the memorials of Luther, and thence to Magdeburg, to examine the grand old cathedral. Spending the night here, the party went to Hamburg the next day. Lincoln was particularly interested in the little steamers which ply on the Alster, a large sheet of water in the rear of the city. The Jungfernsteig, the principal street, borders on this lake, which opens by a narrow passage, under a bridge, into the Great Alster, on which are the summer residences of the principal merchants and other wealthy men. The tourists remained but a day in Hamburg, and then proceeded to Lübec, where, after a ride through the streets, and a visit to its old church, they embarked in a steamer for Swinemünde. The trip down the river from Lübec to the Baltic is very interesting, for the river is so narrow, that the boat seems to be making its way through the back yards and[356] gardens of the farm-houses on its banks.

During the last days of this journey, the country had been greatly excited by the prospect of a war with France. When they arrived at Swinemünde, on Saturday morning, they learned that war had actually been declared, and that direct communication with France, whither the Kinnairds intended to go, had ceased. They decided, therefore, to return to England immediately.

The tourists were warmly welcomed on board of the ship, and the unexpected intelligence of war was anxiously discussed. But the disturbed condition of France and Germany did not affect the plans which the principal had already matured. About thirty of the students were to be graduated, and as some of them intended to enter college, it was necessary that they should be sent home. The principal had arranged that the graduates should proceed to the United States in the Josephine, under the charge of Mr. Fluxion, who was to return in the vessel with an equal number to be admitted to the Academy. A dozen "old salts" were to remain in the Josephine and return in her, so that the schooner should have some besides green hands to work her. Among the graduates were Lincoln, Cumberland, Judson, Norwood, and several of the officers of each of the consorts.

The Josephine had already been prepared for her voyage, and her new crew were sent on board of her. The ship's company elected their own officers from the highest in rank, and Cumberland was chosen captain, and Lincoln first lieutenant.

"Then you are to leave us, commodore," said Miss Gurney, when Lincoln[357] came on board of the ship, after the arrangements were all completed.

"I hope we shall meet at no distant day. I haven't completed my tour in Europe yet, and I intend to return soon, to travel in England and on the Continent."

"But we will not part to-day, unless Mr. Kinnaird insists upon doing so. As you are going to England, I am permitted to invite you to take passage in the Josephine to Christiansand, where you can take the steamer to Hull."

"O, thank you! I shall be delighted to go; and I hope the passage will be a real long one. I will ask Mr. Kinnaird at once."

This gentleman consented, and in the middle of the afternoon the Josephine sailed. Unhappily, she made a quick passage to Christiansand, and landed the Kinnairds much sooner than Julia desired. They were just in season for the Orlando, and the parting was very hasty between the young friends, each of whom promised to write early and often to the other. Lincoln had to take a great deal of pleasant badinage from his shipmates on account of the young lady, and the probability is, that at some future time they will be more intimately associated in the relations of life.

The sending away of over forty of the students from the three vessels, and the departure of the Josephine, entirely broke up the[358] organizations of the Young America and Tritonia. But the prospect was entirely satisfactory to those who remained, for most of those who had held the highest offices were removed, and the way to promotion was open to others. It was the beginning of a new school year, and this was the only time when changes from one vessel to another could be made, though the squadron could not be fully organized till the return of the Josephine with the new students.

Scott had taken a fancy that he should like to sail in one of the consorts, and had requested the principal to transfer him to the Tritonia. Wainwright, in order to be with his friend, had made the same request, which was granted in both instances. A whole day was spent in making transfers from one vessel to the other, for not all who desired to change could be accommodated. At the close of the day the two ships' companies had been detailed. The officers were next to be chosen for the rest of July, and for August. As but little school work had been done during the current month, the merit-marks were added to those of the preceding month, and it was soon ascertained who were eligible to office in the cabins.

De Forrest and Beckwith were not candidates. Both of them had applied for a transfer to the Tritonia, but for obvious reasons their request was not complied with. They had been constantly on the lookout for a chance to run away, but the eye of Peaks, the boatswain, seemed to be always upon them.

The principal decided that the office of commodore should be suspended until the return of the Josephine. The next day, after a great deal of[359] electioneering, the officers were chosen. In the ship, Cantwell was elected captain, Sheridan first and Murray second lieutenant. In the Tritonia, Scott and Wainwright, as well as several of the former officers, were eligible, and the canvassing was particularly lively in this vessel. Morley and Greenwood had been respectively first and third lieutenant, but the voters were now brought together for the first time in one organization, and they were not disposed to recognize former distinctions. Scott worked for Wainwright, and to the intense disgust of Morley, he was elected. The joker's popularity was sufficient to have elected him to the highest position, if he had not worked for his friend; but to the added disgust of the former first lieutenant of the Tritonia, Scott was elected to this place. Morley and Greenwood were chosen second and third lieutenants; but they were intensely dissatisfied with the result. Allyn, who had been third master before, became the fourth lieutenant.

The elections were completed, and the new officers put on their uniforms. In the ship, Clyde Blacklock's merit-marks gave him the position of first midshipman, with a place in the cabin; and probably he was the happiest student in the squadron. The vessels had been provisioned and otherwise prepared for their long voyage to Constantinople, and after a few days' practice to enable the officers and seamen to feel at home in their new stations, they sailed from Swinemünde.

The Bangwhangers continued to afford much amusement to the members of the order. A lodge had been organized in each vessel, and Scott was made Grand Chief Bangwhanger. The joker was at work on a new degree, for[360] which the members are impatiently waiting, and which will be fully exposed in the future.

Paul Kendall desired to see more of the western part of Europe, and he and his lady decided to make a journey by land through Warsaw, Cracow, and Vienna, down the Danube, and to Constantinople by the Black Sea. Shuffles and his wife concluded to go with them, and the two yachts, in charge of the sailing-master, departed with the squadron. The voyage was a pleasant and a prosperous one, though there was a great deal of trouble in the cabin of the Tritonia, until the vessels reached the English Channel, where they put into Cowes to obtain fresh provisions. The exciting events which occurred in the Tritonia, during the voyage, and what the students saw and did among the Greeks and the Turks, will be related in Cross and Crescent, or Young America in Turkey and Greece.

The Three Great Writers for the Young,

OLIVER OPTIC,

Author of Sixty Juvenile Books,

SOPHIE MAY,

Author of "Little Prudy," "Dotty Dimple," and "Flyaway Stories,"

ELIJAH KELLOGG,

Author of "Elm Island" and "Pleasant Cove Stories,"

HAVE CONTINUED STORIES IN

"The Best Juvenile Publication in the World,"

OLIVER OPTIC'S MAGAZINE,

PUBLISHED ONCE A MONTH,

$2.50 per Annum, 25 cts. per Number.

Illustrated Games, Illustrated Natural Science, Illustrated Mechanics,
and Household Science for Boys, Illustrated Fancy Work for
Girls, Stories in Ancient and Modern History, Frontier
Sketches, Hunting Adventures, Fishing Sketches,
Proverb Poems, Dialogues, Declamations, Letter
Bag, Puzzle Department, Full-page Pictures
and Illustrations in great variety, all
handsomely printed, makes it

"Pleasant to the Eye, the Hand, and the Mind."

—>Specimens prepaid by mail, Free, on application to

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston.

LEE, SHEPARD & DILLINGHAM,

47 & 49 Greene St., New York.

YOUNG AMERICA, AHOY!

100,000 Boys and Girls,

WHO ACCOMPANIED THE ACADEMY SHIP

"YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD,"

As recorded in the first series of Log Books, under the titles of "Outward Bound," "Shamrock and Thistle," "Red Cross," "Dikes and Ditches," "Palace and Cottage," and "Up the Rhine," are hereby notified that the "Young America," refitted and provisioned by her old commander, is again afloat, and continuing her voyages abroad. The account of her trip, and the adventures of her crew, will be given to our Boys and Girls under the title of

UP THE BALTIC;

—OR,—

Young America in Norway, Sweden,

and Denmark.

WRITTEN BY OLIVER OPTIC.

A handsome 16mo volume. Illustrated. Price $1.50.

TO BE FOLLOWED BY

Northern Lands,
Cross and Crescent,
Sunny Shores,
Vine and Olive,
Isles of the Sea.

Sold by all Booksellers and Newsdealers.

WONDERLAND STORIES.

To be completed in six vols. Illustrated. Cloth, $1.25; cloth, gilt edges, $1.50; cloth, full gilt, $1.75.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The House on Wheels.
Letters Everywhere.
The Inn of the Guardian Angel.

(In Press.)

The Russian General.

Through the Looking Glass, and what Alice saw there.

These books are all healthy in tone, and written in a sprightly, attractive manner, which makes them very agreeable reading for young people.

Sold by all Booksellers and Newsdealers.

By the Author of "Spartacus to the Gladiators."

ELM ISLAND STORIES.

To be completed in six vols. Ill. Per vol., $1.25.

LION BEN OF ELM ISLAND. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.

"Elm Island lays off the coast of Eastern Maine, a wild and romantic region, and the incidents of the story are recorded as happening when this country was just emerging from its struggle for independence. It is a capital story of the rough-and-tumble life of the early settlers."—Chicago Journal of Commerce.

CHARLIE BELL, THE WAIF OF ELM ISLAND. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.

"This volume tells the story of Charlie Bell, who was thrown upon Elm Island like a waif from the ocean, and adopted by Lion Ben. With Yankee boys he shares the exciting adventures of a new country and a rude state of society."

THE ARK OF ELM ISLAND. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.

This volume of the series is by no means inferior in interest to its predecessors, dealing principally with adventures at sea, which are always delightful to boys.

THE BOY FARMERS OF ELM ISLAND. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.

The forth volume of the series gives, in graphic and earnest style, the efforts of the three lads to transform Elm Island from a wilderness to a fruitful and productive land. It is full of life, adventure, and fun.

THE YOUNG SHIPBUILDERS OF ELM ISLAND. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25

"Mr Kellogg is winning laurels as a writer for and educator of youth. Health and vigor are in his writings, and the lad has more of the first-class man in him after the perusal."—Providence Press.

Sold by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, and sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price.

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston.

TALES OF ADVENTURE.

THE FRONTIER SERIES.

Four volumes. 16mo. Ill. Price, per set, $5.00.

THE CABIN ON THE PRAIRIE.By Rev. Charles H. Pearson. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.

"The Cabin on the Prairie is an earnest, healthy book, full of the hardships, trials, and triumphs of life in our new settlements."

PLANTING THE WILDERNESS; or, The Pioneer Boys. By James D. McCabe, Jr. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.

"Planting the Wilderness tells of the strange adventures of real life, which, more than the fancies of the novel writer, are of absorbing interest."

TWELVE NIGHTS IN THE HUNTERS' CAMP. By Rev. W. Barrows. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.25.

"Twelve Nights in the Hunters' Campis a pleasant, stirring, sensible book, full of life and incident, and all aglow with the breezy freshness of woods and prairies, lakes and rivers."

A THOUSAND MILES' WALK across the Pampas and Andes of South America. By Nathaniel H. Bishop. 16mo. Illustrated. $1.50.

"A Thousand Miles' Walk across South America is a record of the experiences of a Yankee boy, full of enthusiasm to see and learn by actual experience the wonders of that almost terra incognita."

This series of books are of sterling merit, and while they closely follow real experiences, are full of those thrilling incidents which charm both youth and age.

Sold by all Booksellers and Newsdealers, and sent by mail,

postpaid, on receipt of price.

LEE & SHEPARD, Publishers, Boston.

Transcriber's Notes:

Punctuation has been standardized; spelling has been preserved as in the original publication except as follows:

Page 64
the vote was not unamimous was changed to
the vote was not unanimous

Page 145
is by far the most improtant crop was changed to
is by far the most important crop

Page 158
wrested the crown from Sviotopolk was changed to
wrested the crown from Sviatopolk

Page 161
In 1845 he was succeeded was changed to
In 1645 he was succeeded

Page 164
member of the Romanof family was changed to
member of the Romanoff family

Page 167
disintered his mother's last favorite, was changed to
disinterred his mother's last favorite,

Page 176
by which vesvels may go up was _changed to_
by which vessels may go up

Page 226
it is absolutely villanous was changed to
it is absolutely villainous

Page 261
eonsequently there was little to be seen was changed to
consequently there was little to be seen

Page 280
doesen't prove that I am hard of hearing was changed to
doesn't prove that I am hard of hearing

Page 294
De Forest and Julia was changed to
De Forrest and Julia

Page 323
a shout of appause was changed to
a shout of applause

Page 345
with interminable suits of rooms was changed to
with interminable suites of rooms

Page 358
the beiginning of a new school year, was changed to
the beginning of a new school year,

*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NORTHERN LANDS; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN RUSSIA AND PRUSSIA ***

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Northern Lands; Or, Young America in Russia and Prussia

PREFACE.

CONTENTS.

NORTHERN LANDS;
OR,
YOUNG AMERICA IN RUSSIA AND PRUSSIA.

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER IX.

CHAPTER X.

CHAPTER XI.

CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XIII.

CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XV.

CHAPTER XVI.

CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CHAPTER XIX.

CHAPTER XX.

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

CHAPTER		PAGE
I.	At the Picnic in the Island.	11
II.	An excited Meeting of Officers and Seamen.	29
III.	Finland and the Agitators.	49
IV.	Two Hours in Åbo, and the Bangwhangers.	68
V.	An exciting Election.	86
VI.	A Call at Helsingfors.	105
VII.	Wyborg and the Second Degree.	122
VIII.	The Lecture on Russia.	141
IX.	Sights in St. Petersburg.	171
X.	Billy Bobstay and Friends.	191
XI.	Palaces and Gardens.	209
XII.	The Journey to Moscow.	226
XIII.	In the Kremlin of Moscow.	244
XIV.	Down the Volga.	261
[10]XV.	The Movements of the Runaways.	279
XVI.	Something About Prussia and Germany.	295
XVII.	From Königsberg to Danzig.	309
XVIII.	The Stranded Steamer in the Baltic.	323
XIX.	Berlin, Potsdam, and Dresden.	336
XX.	Great Changes in the Squadron.	353

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Northern Lands; Or, Young America in Russia and Prussia

PREFACE.

CONTENTS.

NORTHERN LANDS; OR, YOUNG AMERICA IN RUSSIA AND PRUSSIA.

CHAPTER I.

CHAPTER II.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER V.

CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER IX.

CHAPTER X.

CHAPTER XI.

CHAPTER XII.

CHAPTER XIII.

CHAPTER XIV.

CHAPTER XV.

CHAPTER XVI.

CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVIII.

CHAPTER XIX.

CHAPTER XX.

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

NORTHERN LANDS;
OR,
YOUNG AMERICA IN RUSSIA AND PRUSSIA.