“Will you be kind enough to translate what has been said?”

“Blagodariete,” (he thanks you) said the captain.  The Major proceeded six or eight minutes more and paused again.

“Translate,” was the renewed command of the Governor General.

“He thanks you very much.”

Again another period of speech and the address was finished.

“Translate if you please,” the general suggested once more to his aid.

“He thanks you very much indeed.”

The Major was puzzled, and turning to Captain Martinoff remarked that the Russian language must be very comprehensive when a speech of twenty minutes could be translated in three or four words.

On days when I was disengaged I dined at the Amoorski Gastinitza or Amoor Hotel.  The hotel comprised two buildings, one containing the rooms of lodgers, and the other devoted to restaurant, dining and billiard rooms.  In the dining department there were several rooms, a large one for a restaurant and table d’hote, and the rest for private parties.  Considering the general character of Russian hotels the one at Irkutsk was quite creditable.  In its management, cookery, and service it would compare favorably with the establishments on Courtlandt Street or Park Row.

In the billiard room there were two tables on which I sometimes complied with a request to ‘show the American game.’  The tables had six pockets each, and as the cues had no leather tips, there was an unpleasant clicking whenever they wore used.  The Russian game of billiards is played with five balls, and the science consists in pocketing the balls.  The carom does not count.

The first time I dined at the hotel the two candles burned dimly, and we called for a third.  When it was brought the servant drew a small table near us and placed the extra candle upon it.  I asked the reason for his doing so, and it was thus explained.

There is a superstition in Russia that if three lighted candles are placed upon a table some one in the room will die within a year.  Everybody endeavors to avoid such a calamity.  If you have two candles and order another, the servant will place the third on a side table or he will bring a fourth and make your number an even one.

There was formerly a theatre at Irkutsk, but it was burned a few years ago, and has not been rebuilt.  During my stay there was a musical concert in the large hall of the officers’ club, and a theatrical display was prepared but not concluded before my departure.  At the concert a young officer, Captain Lowbry, executed on the piano several pieces of his own composition, and was heartily applauded by the listeners.  Once a week there was a social party at the club house where dancing, cards, billiards, and small talk continued till after midnight.