CHAPTER XXII.

KAZAN TO PETERSBURG.

A day lost--The moujik's opportunity--Return to Kazan--Hotel "Ryazin"--Grease and butter--Evening entertainment--Try again--The ferry--A term of endearment--Ferrymen's devotions--A Jew publican--"Pour boire"--Villages and churches--The road to Nijni--Penance--A savage--A miserable night--Reach Nijni--"Sweet is pleasure after pain"--The great fair--Nijni under a cloud--Delights of railway travelling--A contrast--Reach Moscow--Portable gas--Foundling hospital--The Moscow and Petersburg railway--Grandeur of Petersburg--Late season--Current topics--Iron-clads--The currency--Effects of Crimean war-- Russian loyalty--Alexander II. as a reformer--Leave Petersburg 343