nto a jubilant hymn, to express the
joy of the angels over the Saviour's birth; and amid the discordant
jangling of a chime of bells, which hung in a little log tower at the
door, Dodd and I made our way out of the church, and returned to the
house to drink tea. I had just finished my last cup and lighted a
cigarette, when the door suddenly opened, and half a dozen men, with
grave, impassive countenances, marched in in single file, stopped a
few paces from the holy pictures in the corner, crossed themselves
devoutly in unison, and began to sing a simple but sweet Russian
melody, beginning with the words, "Christ is born." Not expecting to
hear Christmas carols in a little Siberian settlement on the Arctic
Circle, I was taken completely by surprise, and could only stare in
amazement--first at Dodd, to see what he thought about it, and then at
the singers. The latter, in their musical ecstasy, seemed entirely to
ignore our presence, and not until they had finished did they turn to
us, shake hands, and wish us a merry Christmas. Dodd gave each of them
a few kopecks, and with repeated wishes of merry Christmas, long life,
and much happiness to our "High Excellencies," the men withdrew to
visit in turn the other houses of the village. One band of singers
came after another, until at daylight all the younger portion of the
population had visited our house, and received our kopecks. Some of
the smaller boys, more intent upon the acquisition of coppers than
they were upon the solemnity of the ceremony, rather marred its effect
by closing up their hymn with "Christ is born, gim'me some money!"
but most of them behaved with the utmost propriety, and left us
greatly pleased with a custom so beautiful and appropriate. At sunrise
all the tapers were extinguished, the people donned their gayest
apparel, and the whole village gave itself up to the unrestrained
enjoyment of a grand holiday. Bells jangled incessantly from the
church tower; dog-sledges, loaded with girls, went dashing about the
streets, capsising into snow-drifts and rushing furiously down hills
amid shouts of laughter; women in gay flowery calico dresses, with
their hair tied up in crimson silk handkerchiefs, walked from house to
house, paying visits of congratulation and talking over the arrival of
the distinguished American officers; crowds of men played football
on the snow, and the whole settlement presented an animated, lively
appearance.

On the evening of the th