DOWN THE VOLGA 9 



the rivers. Our steamer, the s.s. Ekaterinburg, 

 of the Lubimoff Company, was awaiting us alongside 

 the pier, and at 1.30 p.m. we began slowly to move 

 down the great river Volga. 



It was a somewhat monotonous journey, the scenery 

 on either side bearing a decided look of uniformity : 

 large rolling plains covered with wheat or grass, woods 

 very scarce, now and then higher banks overshadow- 

 ing the riverside, and a few villages scattered here 

 and there, conspicuous by their churches towering- 

 above the wooden huts and glistening in the sun. The 

 weather, it must be owned, was beautiful, and the air 

 as transparent as possible, such as one only encounters 

 in Russia in spring-time. I have nowhere seen a 

 more striking wakening up of nature than in that 

 country. Every bud, every blade of grass at that 

 season seems to be alive, and birds appear to rejoice 

 more exuberantly than anywhere else. Long strings 

 of swans, geese, and ducks appearing from the south, 

 hundreds of yards high, are then constantly observ- 

 able, and life shows itself in its utmost intensity. 



Our steamer called at several places before we hove 

 in sight of Kasan, the great Tartar town, which we 

 reached at 6 a.m. on the following morning. Here 

 we stopped till 1 1 a.m. Tons of cargo were shipped, 

 and we began to fear that we might miss our train 



