492 HOME THROUGH RUSSIA. 



tonous. The towns and villages are situated in depressions, 

 watered by small streams. Elizavetgrad, planted in one 

 of these wrinkles of the steppe, is a large but unremarkable 

 place, the headquarters of the cavalry in Southern Russia. 

 We found a man at the railway-station who talked German, 

 and who undertook to procure a carriage to take us to 

 Krementchuk, eighty miles distant, where we hoped to 

 catch the Dnieper steamboat on the following morning. 

 A springless waggon, covered with a tilt, and drawn by 

 four horses, was made ready, and after a tedious drive of 

 twenty hours, we reached Krementchuk at 8 a.m. on the 

 23rd, an hour after the time fixed for the steamboat's 

 departure. Fortune, however, befriended us for once, and 

 as we drove over the long bridge of boats, we saw the 

 little steamer still lying beside the wharf, and, urging our 

 driver to quicken his pace, we made our way through the 

 loose soft sand which covers the banks, and got on board 

 ten minutes before she started. The steward and waiter 

 spoke German ; the cabin, though very small, was clean, 

 and the fare good. 



The voyage up the Dniej^er from Krementchuk to Kieff 

 occupied two days, for we lay -to at night, owing to the ab- 

 sence of moon, and the difficulty of the navigation. There 

 is little or no scenery on the river, which for many miles 

 runs through a level country between low sandy shores ; 

 nearer Kieff, the right bank rises into bold bluffs, crowned 

 here and there by the pagoda-like churches of Russian 

 villages. The river-boats are very picturesque objects, 

 with a tall tapering mast bearing a huge sail, and a long 

 pennant (generally crimson) flying from the top. Although 

 on the evening of the second day we caught sight of the 

 burnished cupola of the Lavra, reflecting the last rays of 

 the setting sun, it was long after dark before we passed 

 under the central span of the great suspension-bridge, and 



