ians grew in strength Kazan became weaker, and
ultimately fell under the Muscovite control. Ivan the Terrible
determined to drive the Tartars from the banks of the Volga. After
three severe and disastrous campaigns, and a siege in which assailant
and assailed displayed prodigies of valor, Kazan was stormed and
captured. The kingdom was overthrown, and the Russian power extended
to the Urals. The cruelties of Ivan the Terrible were partially
forgiven in return for his breaking the Tartar yoke.

A pyramidal monument marks the burial place of the Russians who fell
at the capture of the city, and the positions of the besiegers are
still pointed out; but I believe no traces of the circumvallation are
visible. The walls of the Tartar fortress form a part of the present
Kremlin, but have been so rebuilt and enlarged that their distinctive
character is gone.

Nicholas called Kazan the third capital of his empire, and the city is
generally admitted first in importance after St. Petersburg and
Moscow. Its position is well chosen on the banks of a small river, the
Kazanka, which joins the Volga six versts away. On a high bluff
stretching into a plateau in the rear of the city and frowning
defiantly toward the west, its position is a commanding one. On the
edge of this bluff is the Kremlin, with its thick and high walls
enclosing the governor's palace and other public buildings, all
overlooked by a lofty bell-tower. Every part of the city gives
evidence of wealth.

The population is about sixty thousand, including, I presume, the
military garrison. There are twelve or fifteen thousand Tartars, who
live in a quarter of the city specially assigned them. They are said
to be industrious and peaceful, and some of them have amassed great
wealth. I saw a Tartar merchant at the ball on New Year's eve, and was
told that his fortune was one of the best in Kazan. I can testify
personally to the energy of Tartar peddlers. On my first morning at
the hotel I was visited by itinerant dealers in hats, boots, dressing
gowns, and other articles of wear. The Tartars at Moscow are no less
active than their brethren of Kazan, and very shrewd in their
dealings. Every one of them appears to believe that strangers visit
Russia for the sole purpose of buying dressing gowns.

I took a drive through the Tartar quarter, or _Katai Gorod_, of Kazan,
and inspected (but did not read) the signs over the shops. The houses
are little different from those in the