me off. This exposition
of weapons he evidently wished to avoid. On the principal street I
found several stores, and, true to the instinct of the American
abroad, stopped to buy something. The stores had the front open to the
street, so that one could stand before the counter and make his
purchases without entering. The first store I saw had six or seven
clerks and very little else, and as I did not wish a Chinese clerk I
moved to another shop.

For the articles purchased I paid only five times their actual value,
as I afterward learned. The merchants and their employees appeared to
talk Russian quite fluently, and were earnest in urging me to buy. One
of them imitated the tactics of Chatham street, and became very
voluble over things I did not want.

Holding up an article he praised its good qualities and named its
price.

"Five roubles; very good; five roubles."

I shook my head.

"Four roubles; yes; good; four roubles."

Again I made a negation.

"Three roubles; very good; yes."

I continued shaking my head as he fell to two and a half, two, and
finally to one rouble. I left him at that figure, or it is possible he
would have gone still lower.

"They are great rascals," said Borasdine as we walked away. "They ask
ten times the real price and hope to cheat you in some way. It is
difficult to buy anything here for its actual value."

We went through more streets and more mud, passing butchers' shops
where savage dogs growled with that amiable tone peculiar to butcher
dogs everywhere. We passed tea shops, shoe shops, drug stores, and
other establishments, each with a liberal number of clerks. Labor must
be cheap, profits large, or business brisk, to enable the merchants to
maintain so many employees.

At the end of a long street we came to the guard-house, near the
entrance of the military quarters. We entered the dirty barrack, but
saw nothing particularly interesting. I attempted to go inside the
room where the instruments of punishment were kept, but the guard
stood in the way and would not move. The soldiers in this
establishment had evidently partaken of a beverage stronger than tea,
as they were inclined to too much familiarity. One patted me on the
shoulder and pressed my hand affectionately, indulging the while in
snatches of Chinese songs.

In the prison were two or three unfortunates with their feet shackled
so as to prevent their stepping more than four inches at a time. While
we stood there