Mr. Kartesheftsoff, the Mayor, or Golovah as he is called, resided in a large house that formerly belonged to Prince Trubetskoi, one of the exiles of 1825.  My host was an extensive owner of gold mines, and had been very successful in working them.  He was greatly interested in the means employed in California for separating gold from earth, and especially in the ‘hydraulic’ process.  On my first visit Madame Kartesheftsoff spoke very little French.  She must have submitted her studies to a thorough revision as I found her a week later able to conduct a conversation with ease.  There were other instances of a vigorous overhauling of disused French and English that furnished additional proof of the Russian adaptability to foreign tongues.

To reach the golovah’s house we crossed, the Ouska-kofka, a small river running through the northern part of Irkutsk; it had been recently frozen, and several rosy-cheeked boys were skating on the ice.  The view from the bridge is quite picturesque, and the little valley forms a favorite resort in certain seasons of the year.  The water of the Ouska-kofka is said to be denser than that of the Angara, and on that account is preferred for culinary purposes.

[Illustration:  TAIL PIECE—­TWIN BOTTLES]

CHAPTER XXXVI.

I have made occasional mention of the exiles of 1825, and it may be well to explain how they went to Siberia.  In the early part of the present century Russia was not altogether happy.  The Emperor Paul, called to the throne by the death of Catherine II., did not display marked ability, but, ‘on the contrary, quite the reverse.’  What his mother had done for the improvement of the country he was inclined to undo.  Under his reign great numbers were banished to Siberia upon absurd charges or mere caprice.  The emperor issued manifestoes of a whimsical character, one of which was directed against round hats, and another against shoe strings.  The glaring colors now used upon bridges, distance posts, watch boxes, and other imperial property, were of his selection, and so numerous were his eccentricities that he was declared of unsound mind.  In March, 1801, he was smothered in his palace, which he had just completed.  It is said that within an hour after the fact of his death was known round hats appeared on the street in great numbers.

Alexander I. endeavored to repair some of the evils of his father’s reign.  He recalled many exiles from Siberia, suppressed the secret inquisition, and restored many rights of which the people had been deprived.  His greatest abilities were displayed during the wars with France.  After the general peace he devoted himself to inspecting and developing the resources of the country, and was the first, and thus far the only, emperor of Russia to cross the Ural Mountains and visit the mines of that region.  His death occurred during a tour through the southern provinces of the empire.  Some of his reforms were based upon the principles of other European governments, which he endeavored to study.  On his return from England he told his council that the best thing he saw there was the opposition in Parliament.  He thought it a part of the government machinery, and regretted it could not be introduced in Russia.