UP THE DON AND VOLGA. 269 



medan religion, and the small minarets of their 

 mosques in Kazan are visible from the deck of the 

 steamer. In the evening they retired to the stern of 

 the boat, and kneeling toward Mecca, performed their 

 devotions. The zigzag course of the river befooled 

 them sorely as to the direction of the holy city. Some- 

 times they commenced their prayers by kneeling and 

 bobbing their heads in the direction of Mecca and 

 ended by addressing themselves, unwittingly, to a well- 

 nigh opposite direction, from the steamer having 

 passed, during their pious meditations, a bend in the 

 river. 



These scenes were varied at times by a diversion of 

 some kind ashore. One night all the people of a vil- 

 lage congregated on the bank near a station. The 

 moonlight, the broad river and the majestic steamer 

 inspired the female part of the crowd to song. For 

 some distance after we had left the vicinity we could 

 hear this vocal tribute to a moonlight night on the 

 Volga, sung by the wives and daughters of an entire 

 village. 



