onless, soft
strains of music arose from its curtained recesses, swelling up
gradually till the air was filled with the floods of rich, wild
harmony, and the senses were ravished with their sweetness.

Was it a wild Oriental dream? Could it all be real--the glittering
fires, the gayly-costumed crowds, the illuminated barge, the
voluptuous strains of music? Might it not be some gorgeous freak of
the emperor, such as the sultan in the Arabian Nights enjoyed at the
expense of the poor traveler? Surely there could be nothing real like
it since the days of the califs of Bagdad!

A single night's entertainment such as this must cost many thousand
rubles. When it is considered that there are but few months in the
year when such things can be enjoyed, some idea may be formed of the
characteristic passion of the Russians for luxurious amusements. It is
worthy of mention, too, that the decorations, the lamps, the actors
and operators, the material of nearly every description, are imported
from various parts of the world, and very little is contributed in any
way by the native Russians, save the means by which these costly
luxuries are obtained.

CHAPTER VII.

THE "LITTLE WATER."

On the fundamental principles of association the intelligent reader
will at once comprehend how it came to pass that, of all the traits I
discovered in the Russian people, none impressed me so favorably as
their love of vodka, or native brandy, signifying the "little water."
I admired their long and filthy beards and matted heads of hair,
because there was much in them to remind me of my beloved Washoe; but
in nothing did I experience a greater fellowship with them than in
their constitutional thirst for intoxicating liquors. It was
absolutely refreshing, after a year's travel over the Continent of
Europe, to come across a genuine lover of the "tarantula"--to meet at
every corner of the street a great bearded fellow staggering along
blind drunk, or attempting to steady the town by hugging a post.
Rarely had I enjoyed such a sight since my arrival in the Old World.
In Germany I had seen a few cases of stupefaction arising from
overdoses of beer; in France the red nose of the _bon vivant_ is not
uncommon; in England some muddled heads are to be found; and in
Scotland there are temperance societies enough to give rise to the
suspicion that there is a cause for them; but, generally speaking, the
sight of an intoxicated man is somewhat rare in