260 FROM LONDON TO OMSK 



the nests of colonies of sand-martins, and occasionally 

 magpies were seen. We did not make any stay in 

 Kasan, but without delay on the evening of our arrival 

 we took a. padarozknaya for Ekaterinburg, 942 versts, or 

 628 miles, paying, as before, 4 kopeks per verst per horse. 



The first night's journey from Kasan was a fearful 

 pull and jolt. The weather was mild, with snow, but the 

 state of the roads was inconceivably bad. We were 

 dashed about to such an extent that in the morning 

 every bone in our bodies ached. No constitution in the 

 world could stand a week of such ill-usage. Before 

 sunrise the thermometer had fallen to zero. This was 

 followed by a magnificent sunshiny morning, and very 

 fair roads. I saw a pair of bullfinches for the first time 

 since leaving Nishni. 



The next morning the weather still continued fine, 

 but the roads were never good for lon^ at a time. We 

 had got into a hilly country, which was very picturesque, 

 but not at all conducive to the maintenance of good 

 roads, especially so late in the season. 



We passed through Perm late in the evening of 

 Thursday the i5th of March, and were glad of an excuse 

 to rest a few hours on Friday at Kongur. At this town 

 we were most hospitably entertained by Mr. Hawkes, 

 who showed us over his iron steamship building yard. 

 The father of Mr. Hawkes was an enterprising Scotch- 

 man, who established a flourishing business in this remote 

 corner of Europe. Shortly after bidding our host a 

 reluctant adieu, we commenced the ascent of the Ural 

 mountains. In this part the range scarcely deserves to 

 be regarded as more than a succession of hills, the 

 loftiest hardly high enough to be dignified with the name 

 of mountain. The country reminded me very much of 

 that in the neighbourhood of the Peak of Derbyshire. 



