ounced in
America) is Finnish, and means "new." The lake lies between 60 deg. and 61 deg.
45' north latitude, is 175 versts--about 117 miles--in length, from
north to south, and 100 versts in breadth; receives the great river
Volkhoff on the south, the Svir, which pours into it the waters of Lake
Onega, on the east, and the overflow of nearly half the lakes of
Finland, on the west; and is, in some parts, fourteen hundred feet deep.

Vainly, however, did I ransack my memory for the narrative of any
traveller who had beheld and described this lake. The red hand-book,
beloved of tourists, did not even deign to notice its existence. The
more I meditated on the subject, the more I became convinced that here
was an untrodden corner of the world, lying within easy reach of a great
capital, yet unknown to the eyes of conventional sight-seers. The name
of Valaam suggested that of Barlaam, in Thessaly, likewise a Greek
monastery; and though I had never heard of Sergius and Herrmann, the
fact of their choosing such a spot was the beginning of a curious
interest in their history. The very act of poring over a map excites the
imagination: I fell into conjectures about the scenery, vegetation, and
inhabitants, and thus, by the time P. arrived, was conscious of a
violent desire to make the cruise with him. To our care was confided an
American youth, whom I shall call R.,--we three being, as we afterwards
discovered, the first of our countrymen to visit the northern portion of
the lake.

The next morning, although it was cloudy and raw, R. and I rose betimes,
and were jolted on a _droshky_ through the long streets to the Valamo's
landing-place. We found a handsome English-built steamer, with tonnage
and power enough for the heaviest squalls, and an after-cabin so
comfortable that all our anticipations of the primitive modes of travel
were banished at once. As men not ashamed of our health, we had decided
to omit the sheets and pillow-cases, and let the tooth-brush answer as
an evidence of our high civilization; but the broad divans and velvet
cushions of the cabin brought us back to luxury in spite of ourselves.
The captain, smoothly shaven and robust, as befitted his
station,--English in all but his eyes, which were thoroughly
Russian,--gave us a cordial welcome in passable French. P. drove up
presently, and the crowd on the floating pier rapidly increased, as the
moment of departure approached. Our fellow-pilgrims were mostly peasan