ee
days of his journey, throws him into what is very properly designated
the road fever. His pulse is quick, his blood warm, his head aches,
his whole frame becomes sore and stiff, and his mind is far from being
serene and amiable. In the first part of my land journey I had the
satisfaction of ascertaining by practical experience the exact
character of the road-fever. My brain seemed ready to burst, and
appeared to my excited imagination about as large as a barrel; every
fresh jolt and thump of the vehicle gave me a sensation as if somebody
were driving a tenpenny nail into my skull; as for good-nature under
such circumstances that was out of the question, and I am free to
confess that my temper was not unlike that of a bear with a sore head.

Where the roads are good, or if the speed is not great, one can sleep
very well in a Russian sleigh; I succeeded in extracting a great deal
of slumber from my vehicle, and sometimes did not wake for three or
four hours. Sometimes the roads are in such wretched condition that
one is tossed to the height of discomfort, and can be very well
likened to a lump of butter in a revolving churn. In such cases sleep
is almost if not wholly, impossible, and the traveler, proceeding at
courier speed, must take advantage of the few moments' halt at the
stations while the horses are being changed. As he has but ten or
fifteen minutes for the change he makes good use of his time and
sleeps very soundly until his team is ready. During the Crimean war,
while the Emperor Nicholas was temporarily sojourning at Moscow, a
courier arrived one day with important dispatches from Sebastopol. He
was commissioned to deliver them to no one but His Majesty, and waited
in the ante-room of the palace while his name and business were
announced. Overcome by fatigue he fell asleep; when the chamberlains
came to take him to the Imperial presence they were quite unable to
rouse him. The attendants shook him and shouted, but to no purpose
beyond making so much disturbance as to bring the Emperor to the
ante-room. Nicholas ordered them to desist, and then, standing near
the officer, said, in an ordinary voice, "_Vashe prevoschoditelstvo,
loshadi gotovey_" (Your horses are ready, your Excellency). The
officer sprang to his feet in an instant, greatly to the delight of
the Emperor and to his own confusion when he discovered where he was.

The Russians have several popular songs that celebrate the glories of
sleigh-rid