as he had many relatives and friends to
visit. So I sent the letter to his house, and accompanied Schmidt on a
call upon Dr. Freeze, a prominent physician of Kazan. Madam Freeze was
a native of Heidelburg, and evidently loved the Rhine better than the
Volga. She gave me a letter to her brother in Moscow, where she
promised me an introduction to a niece of the poet Goethe.

In the evening Colonel Molostoff called at the hotel and took me to
the New Year's ball of the nobility of Kazan. There was a maze of
apartments belonging to the nobility club,--the dancing room being
quite as elegant and as spacious as the large hall of the Fifth Avenue
Hotel. I found files of English, French, and German papers in the
reading-room, and spent a little while over the latest news from
America. The male portion of the assemblage consisted of officers and
civilians, the former in the majority. There was a perfect blaze of
stars and gay uniforms, that quite outshone the evening dress of the
civilians. As Kazan is old, populous, and wealthy, it is needless to
add that the ladies were dressed just like those of St. Petersburg or
Paris.

I was introduced to several officials, among them the governor, who
had recently assumed command. Colonel Molostoff introduced me to three
ladies who spoke English, but hardly had I opened conversation with
the first before she was whisked away into the dance. The second and
the third followed the same fate, and I began to look upon ball-room
acquaintance as an uncertainty.

"Now," said the colonel, "I will introduce you to one who is not
young, but she is charming, and does not dance." We went to seek her,
but she was in the midst of a gay party just preparing for a visit to
the lunch room.

I was so utterly wearied after my long ride that conversation was a
great effort, and I could hardly keep my eyes from closing. I had
promised to join a supper party at three o'clock, but midnight found
me just able to stand. Fearful that I might bring discredit upon
America by going to sleep during the festivities, I begged an excuse
and returned to my hotel. Five minutes after entering my room I was in
the land of dreams.

In the treasury of the Kremlin of Moscow the royal crown of Kazan is
preserved. The descendants of Genghis Khan founded the city and made
it the seat of their European power. For three centuries it remained a
menace to Russia, and held the princes of Muscovy in fear and dread.
But as the Russ