l whisper that General Korsackoff is of about
medium height, has a fair complexion, blue eyes, and Saxon hair, and a
face which the most crabbed misanthrope could not refuse to call
handsome. He is unmarried, and if rumor tells the truth, not under
engagement.

[Illustration: GOV. GEN'L KORSACKOFF.]

The Governor General lives in a spacious and elegant house on the bank
of the Angara, built by a merchant who amassed an immense fortune in
the Chinese trade. On retiring from business he devoted his time and
energies to constructing the finest mansion in Eastern Siberia. It is
a stone building of three stories, and its halls and parlors are of
liberal extent. Furniture was brought from St. Petersburg at enormous
cost, and the whole establishment was completed without regard to
expense. At the death of its builder the house was purchased by
government, and underwent a few changes to adapt it to its official
occupants. On the opposite bank of the river there is a country seat,
the private property of General Korsackoff, and his dwelling place in
the hot months.

It was my good fortune that Mr. Maack was obliged by etiquette to
visit his friends on returning from his journey. I arranged to
accompany him, and during that day and the next we called upon many
persons of official and social position. These included the Governor
and Vice Governor of Irkutsk, the chief of staff and heads of
departments, the mayor of the city, and the leading merchants.
Succeeding days were occupied in receiving return visits, and when
these were ended I was fairly a member of the society of the Siberian
capital.

The evening after my arrival I returned early to my lodgings to
indulge in a Russian bath. Captain Paul was absent, but his servant
managed to inform me by words and pantomime that all was ready. On the
captain's return the man said he had told me in German that the bath
was waiting.

"How did you speak German?" asked the captain, aware that his man knew
nothing but Russian.

"Oh," said the servant, "I rubbed my hands over my face and arms and
pointed toward the bath-room."

On the morning after my arrival the proprietor of the house asked for
my passport; when it returned it bore the visa of the chief of police.
There is a regulation throughout Russia that every hotel keeper or
other householder shall register his patrons with the police. By this
means the authorities can trace the movements of '_suspects_' and
prevent unlicens