START FOR THE SNIPE MARSHES. 19 



sportsmen had dinned into our ears before 

 starting. 



A drive of fifty miles or more over wastes 

 of land more arid and more devoid of game 

 than a London brickfield, is wearisome work, 

 though for a new comer, like my friend, a 

 good deal of amusement may be derived from 

 the driver's shifts to make ends meet in the 

 oft repaired, always breaking rope-harness, 

 and some excitement from the knowledge 

 that the ofi'-wheeler is galloping on the 

 pavement, his heels about on a level with 

 the driver's head, while the rest of the team 

 is going freely in the road below. But these 

 are things you get used to in Russia, as you 

 do to the subsequent admission of your driver 

 that he has not the famtest notion of the 

 way, and that there is a good chance of your 

 having to spend the night on the steppe. 



' How often, oh, how often ! ' as the song 

 says, have I got mto a droschky in Odessa, 



c 2 



