286 SIBERIA 



The godfather and the godmother are supposed to 

 be related to one another. The only duty of a god- 

 father and godmother is to see that a child receives 

 its first communion ; after the age of seven it no 

 longer receives communion without confession and 

 absolution. This information was given to me by 

 an English lady, and, although there may be some 

 people to whom these habits and customs appeal, 

 they did not at all satisfy her. Like two other 

 Englishwomen I met there with their families, she 

 had an intense longing for London and London life. 

 To even hear of any one going to London seemed 

 to cause her torment. 



The evening before I left Obi station I went for 

 a stroll along the main promenade. This is the 

 great Siberian railway, the longest promenade in the 

 world, but the train service is not so considerable 

 as on English lines, so the chance of being run over 

 is very remote. 



I noticed that a large barracks was in course of 

 erection, as well as a large factory for the making of 

 rusks and war biscuits for the soldiers. On my 

 returning to my friend's house I noticed that the 

 torrents in the middle of the streets had been con- 

 siderably augmented, which made thpir negotiation 

 a matter of no small difficulty ; in fact, it took us 

 all our time to successfully manage one of the large 

 rivulets near the railway embankment. 



We had a farewell supper and concert, at which the 

 Mite of Novo-Nicolaevsk, including an exiled count, 

 were present. Then I was driven to the station by 

 the Cattley family in a drosky, as by this time the 

 roads were almost clear of snow. 



I joined the Wednesday morning post train at 

 1.25 a.m. with the intention of catching the Siberian 

 express at Kourgan, which would leave two days 

 afterwards, I thought that possibly a rouble 



