BYSK 259 



melts and the rubbish which has accumulated on its 

 surface sinks into the water, it is very far from pure, 

 and a source of great danger to the health of the 

 populace. The water is taken from the river by 

 public or private watermen. 



After the long and tedious journey of five days, 

 during which time we had met no one to speak to, 

 the change to this elegant town, with access to good 

 food and every other comfort, was truly delightful, 

 and the discomforts and difificulties through which 

 we had lived were soon forgotten. If we remembered 

 our journey at all, it was to recall the magnificent 

 sunsets and glorious after-glow reflected on the still, 

 smooth waters of the flooded steppes, spread out 

 for miles and miles on either side of the route,; or 

 to imagine travellers skating long stretches of many 

 scores of miles over the frozen surface of those 

 pools, pursued by packs of ferocious wolves. As a 

 matter of fact, the skating on these unbroken stretches 

 of smooth ice after a stiff frost should be something 

 magnificent. I am at a loss to describe the impres- 

 sion produced upon us by those endless steppes. 

 The dominant sensation is one of utter loneliness, 

 such as one would expect a traveller to experience 

 who knew himself utterly alone in the heart of a dark 

 and unexplored region. 



On the morning following our arrival we were up 

 betimes and sallied forth to make calls. We hired an 

 isvostchik. The ordinary fare per hour is 30 kopecks 

 (7|d.), but, as it was Easter, which is the principal 

 holiday of the year in Russia, the tariff for Easter 

 Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, the chief holidays, 

 had been raised to three timtes the usual amount. 



There are altogether too many holidays in Siberia, 

 and their variety is wonderful. Not including the 

 feasts of patron saints (name days), of which there is 

 a host, the holidays amount to a total of one month in 

 the year. The following is a list: — 



