able conclusion. At length my interpreter said, "Perhaps, sir,
you had better pay it. The man says you kept him running about for
over two hours; and since you have no proof to the contrary, it would
only give you trouble to have him punished." This view accorded
entirely with my own, and I cheerfully paid the forty kopecks; also
ten kopecks drink-geld, and a small douceur of half a ruble (fifty
kopecks) to the gentleman who had so kindly settled the difficulty for
me. After many years' experience of travel, I am satisfied, as before
stated, that a man may be born naturally honest, but can not long
retain his integrity in the hack business. He must sooner or later
take to swindling, otherwise he can never keep his horses fat, or make
the profession respectable and remunerative. Such, at least, has been
my experience of men in this line of business, not excepting the
istrovoschik of St. Petersburg.

CHAPTER II.

A PLEASANT EXCURSION.

I had the good fortune, during my ramble, to meet with a couple of
fellow-passengers from Stettin. One of them was a rough, weather-beaten
man of middle age, with rather marked features, but not an unkindly
expression. His mysterious conduct during the voyage had frequently
attracted my attention. There was something curious about his motions, as
if an invisible companion, to whom he was bound in some strange way,
continually accompanied him. He drank enormous quantities of beer, and
smoked from morning till night a tremendous meerschaum, which must have
held at least a pint of tobacco. When not engaged in drinking beer and
smoking, he usually walked rapidly up and down the decks, with his hands
behind him and his head bent down, talking in a guttural voice to himself
about "hemp." He slept--or rather lay down, for I don't think he ever
slept--with his head close to mine on a bench in the cabin, and it was a
continued source of trouble to me the way he puffed, and groaned, and
talked about "hemp." Sometimes he was half the night arguing with himself
about the various prices and qualities of this useful article, but I did
not understand enough of his _blat deutsch_ to gather the drift of the
argument. All I could make out was "_Zweimal zwei macht vier_--(a
puff)--_sechs und vierzig_--(a groan)--_acht und sechzig macht ein
hundert_--(a snort)--_sieben tausend_--_acht tausend fuenf und dreissig
thaler_--(a sigh)--_schilling_--_kopeck_--_ruble_--_hemphf! Mein Gott!
Zwei und dreissig