236 A SUMMER ON THE YENESEI 



the sandy shores were bright with flowers. Ringed 

 plover, dunlin, and little stints ran through the herbage, 

 and some Siberian river gulls were evidently breeding 

 by the lakes where I had seen them more than a month 

 before. The house was locked, so we sat down to wait 

 for the owners, who were trudging along wearily behind 

 us. Our consciences smote us for asking the poor 

 woman for hospitality ; but unwitting of the circum- 

 stances, we had brought nothing with us except some 

 meat lozenges, which, although their advertisers claimed 

 for them that each contained the essence of two and a 

 half oxen, did not make a satisfactory supper after a 

 fifteen-mile walk. However, the arrival of unexpected 

 visitors makes less difference to the housewife in Siberia 

 than in most other parts of the world ; for there is 

 always an abundance of fish, and as each balagan bakes 

 its own bread in large batches, the larder is never 

 empty. The guests, moreover, are not particular as 

 to beds, and if their own coats are not sufficient for 

 palliasse and blanket, a rug on the floor is all that is 

 needed. 



Nevertheless we could only admire the pluck of the 

 poor little woman, who, when she returned footsore and 

 heartbroken, instead of giving way to her fatigue and 

 trouble, first smoothed her hair and washed her own 

 face and that of the child before preparing the evening 

 meal. She herself had more colour in her cheeks than 

 when we saw her last, for she worked all day in the 

 open air at sorting and packing fish ; but the baby 

 looked more sickly than ever, and was evidently fading 

 fast. Ilachenkoff", who in his weak way was fond of it. 



