CHAPTER XVII.

Nijni-Novgorod. -- Hot Weather. -- The River Volga. -- Hundreds of Steamers. -- Great Annual Fair. -- Peculiar Character of the Trade. -- Motley Collection of Humanity. -- An Army of Beggars. -- Rare and Precious Stones. -- The Famous Brick Tea. -- A Costly Beverage. -- Sanitary Measures. -- Disgraceful Dance Halls. -- Fatal Beauty. -- A Sad History. -- Light-Fingered Gentry. -- Convicts. -- Facts about Siberia. -- Local Customs. -- Russian Punishment 333-352