nsk is in the hands of half a dozen
merchants, one French, one German, and the rest Russian. The Amoor
company before its affairs were ended kept there one of its principal
stores, which was bought, with stock and good will, by the company's
clerk. The wants of the officers, soldiers, and civilians in the town
and its vicinity are sufficient to create a good local trade. Prices
are high, nearly double those of Nicolayevsk, and the stocks of goods
on hand are neither large nor well selected. Officers complained to me
of combinations among the merchants to maintain prices at an
exorbitant scale.

I staid four days at Blagoveshchensk, and as the season was growing
late was quite anxious to depart. The days were charming,
corresponding to our Indian Summer, and the nights cool and frosty.
The passenger on our steamer from Igoon said ice would be running in
the river in twenty-five days unless the season should be unusually
mild. Russians and Chinese were preparing for cold weather, and I
wished to do the same farther westward. Borasdine contemplated a land
journey in case we were delayed more than five days. The Korsackoff
was the only steamer to ascend the river, and she was waiting for the
Constantine to bring her a barge. On the evening of the 5th October
the governor informed me the Korsackoff would start on the next day,
barge or no barge. This was cheering, and I celebrated the occasion by
boiling myself in a Russian bath.

I look upon the bath as one of the blessings of Russia. At the end of
a journey, when one is sore and stiff in the joints, it is an
effectual medicine. After it the patient sleeps soundly, and rises in
the morning thoroughly invigorated. Too much bathing deadens the
complexion and enfeebles the body, but a judicious amount is
beneficial. It is the Russian custom, not always observed, to bathe
once a week. The injury from the bath is in consequence of too high
temperature of steam and water, causing a severe shock to the system.
Taken properly the bath has no bad effects, and will cure rheumatism,
some forms of neuralgia, and several other acute diseases.

The bath-house is a building of two, and generally three, rooms. In
the outer room you undress, and your _chelavek_, or servant, does the
same. If there is but another room you are led directly into it, and
find a hot fire in a large stove. There is a cauldron of hot water and
a barrel of cold water close at hand. The tools of the operator are