made a journey beyond the Ural
Mountains. Among the officials, St. Petersburg was usually the
authority in the matter of life and habit, while the civilians turned
their eyes toward Moscow. Society in Irkutsk was not less polished
than in the capitals, and it possessed the advantage of being somewhat
more open and less rigid than under the shadow of the Imperial palace.
Etiquette is etiquette in any part of the empire, and its forms must
everywhere be observed. But after the social forms were complied, with
there was less stiffness than in European Russia.

Some travelers declare that they found Siberian society more polished
than that of Old Russia. On this point I cannot speak personally, as
my stay in the western part of the empire was too brief to afford much
insight into its life. There may be some truth in the statement.
Siberia has received a great many individuals of high culture in the
persons of its political exiles. Men of liberal education, active
intellects, and refined manners have been in large proportion among
the banished Poles, and the exiles of 1825 included many of Russia's
ablest minds. The influence of these exiles upon the intelligence,
habits, and manners of the Siberians, has left an indelible mark. As a
new civilization is more plastic than an old one, so the society of
Northern Asia may have become more polished than that of Ancient
Russia.

I could learn of only six of my countrymen who had been at Irkutsk
before me. Of these all but two passed through the city with little
delay, and were seen by very few persons. I happened to reach Siberia
when our iron-clad fleet was at Cronstadt, and its officers were being
feasted at St. Petersburg and elsewhere. The Siberians regretted that
Mr. Fox and his companions could not visit them, and experience their
hospitality. So they determined to expend their enthusiasm on the
first American that appeared, and rather unexpectedly I became the
recipient of the will of the Siberians toward the United States. Two
days after my arrival I was visited by Mr. Hamenof, one of the
wealthiest merchants of Irkutsk. As he spoke only Russian, he was
accompanied by my late fellow-traveler who came to interpret between
us, and open the conversation with--

"Mr. Hamenof presents his compliments, and wishes you to dine with him
day after to-morrow."

I accepted the invitation, and the merchant departed. Maack informed
me that the dinner would be a ceremonious one, att