256 FROM LONDON TO OMSK 



showed great interest in Captain Wiggins's attempt to 

 re-open a trade with Siberia by sea. 



At a dinner-party given in our honour at SiderofFs, 

 the well-known concessionnaire of the Petchora, and on 

 various occasions in our hotel and in the cafes, we had 

 abundant opportunity of informing ourselves of the state 

 of political feeling in St. Petersburg. Russia was by no 

 means on the best of terms with England. The Panslavistic 

 party was in the ascendency. As a stepping-stone to its 

 wild scheme of reversing the policy of Peter the Great, 

 and making Russia a great southern power, embracing 

 all the Slavonic nations, it continually urged the govern- 

 ment to lay violent hands on Turkey and wrest from her 

 her Slavonic provinces. The military party, always on 

 the qui vive for a chance of obtaining promotion and 

 loot, had joined the hue and cry. The wily diplomatists 

 of St. Petersburg partly under the influence of the old 

 tradition of Russian aggrandisement, and possibly far- 

 seeing enough to perceive that the logical outcome of 

 Panslavism would be a United Slavonia, in which Poland 

 would eventually play the part of Prussia encouraged the 

 agitators. They shrewdly calculated that whatever 

 might become of Turkey in Europe, some share of the 

 spoil of Turkey in Asia must fall into Russian hands ; 

 and that if they only gave the Panslavistic party rope 

 enough it would be sure to hang itself. On the peasantry, 

 absolutely ignorant of European politics and anxious for 

 peace to develop their rising commerce and agriculture, 

 religious fanaticism was brought to bear in favour of war. 

 The moment seemed ripe for action, but England, under 

 the vigorous policy of Lord Beaconsfield, stopped the 

 way. We found the feeling against England amongst 

 the merchants very sore. Even the better educated 

 Russian is remarkably ignorant of European politics. He 



