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THE VOLGA-ITS MERITS,

took compassion on our inexperience, and, finding that our attempts at catering had proved unsuccessful, insisted upon our dining with him every evening during the voyage.

Until passenger-steamboats are established on the Volga, the length of time which the voyage occupies in a tug, and the difficulty of procuring provisions, prove serious obstacles to those who wish to see the river. The traveller would hardly complain of the delays to which he might be subject, in a boat with a light draught, and unhampered by barges. The wood stations afford pleasant walks, with the probability of a sketch; but, from being almost invariably situated on the left bank, it was often necessary to make interest with the captain to be sent to the opposite side. In a good boat, and under ordinary circumstances, the voyage from Nijni to Astrakhan ought not to occupy more than eight days, and the variety and novelty of the scenes through which he passes would suffice to keep the traveller amused for that period; while, at the same time, he would hardly consider that the beauties of the river compensated for a residence of three weeks on its bosom. Still, to those with plenty of time at their disposal, the life on board may be made to pass agreeably; and the personal comfort of the voyager will depend entirely upon the arrangements he makes before startingand in securing a good cook and servants of his own.

Few towns in Russia are better worth a visit than Kazan, while the Jigoulee offers the finest scenery I

AND ATTRACTIONS TO THE TOURIST.

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had as yet seen in the country. Saratov vies with Nijni in beauty-the latter owing, perhaps, all to its lofty position-the former to its gay and handsome churches and buildings; but the cities on its banks, or those banks themselves-rocky or wooded-fail to inspire feelings equal to those suggested by this monarch of European rivers itself.

A sense of its grandeur and magnificence seemed to grow upon one daily; and now, though our experience had extended over more than a thousand miles of its winding course, I gazed with unabated wonder and admiration on its broad, rapid current, which swept away from us the Samson and its barges, and a feeling of desolation was induced, which reminded us that, our recent home having departed from us, it was time to seek another.

CHAPTER VIII.

DUBOVKA-THE TRAM-ROAD-ADVANTAGES OF A CANAL-TRADECALMUCK TARTARS-AN EXODUS.

DUBOVKA, formerly the capital of the country of the Volga Cossacks, is prettily situated on the right bank, but is a place of little importance, consisting chiefly of wooden houses, among which are sprinkled a few built of red brick, and these give a more unfinished look to the streets than if they were composed entirely of wood. The population does not exceed six or eight thousand. Its chief ornament-and one, indeed, of which the inhabitants may be deservedly proud is their beautiful church, near which, unfortunately, we lodged, and found the incessant tolling of the ponderous unmusical bells distracting. Of course there was no inn to be found, but we were very kindly lodged in one of the best houses of the town, belonging to Mr Vodalaken, the agent of the steam company; and had it not been for the hardness of the bed, the heat of the weather, the quantities of vermin, the barking of dogs, and my own indisposition, I might have found our quarters more than ordinarily comfortable. We had some difficulty in

finding a “tarantasse," or travelling-carriage, which it was necessary to buy here before entering on the long steppe journey before us to Taganrog; and this task was not rendered more easy by our utter ignorance of the language. Fortunately, from the proximity of the German colonies, most of the respectable people hereabouts were either Germans or spoke German, and most kindly afforded us every aid in their power.

Our host united in his person the two offices of steam company's agent and manager of the tramroad across to the Don. Unluckily he was absent from home, and I had scarcely any opportunity of gaining information regarding the amount and nature of the traffic which passes through Dubovka on its way from the Volga to the Black Sea. By far the most important item is iron; and Siberian produce generally, timber from the northern provinces, and all manufactured goods intended for consumption throughout the greater part of Southern Russia, are also transported by means of the Don to Rostof and Taganrog; while some of the products from the shores of the Caspian are landed at Tzaritzin, a town fifty versts farther south, from whence they are conveyed to the same river. By the route of Dubovka is brought all the produce of Turkey and the south of Europe, necessary to supply the wants of the inhabitants on the Volga; which, finding its way as far north as the fair at Nijni, circulates from thence throughout the empire.

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THE TRAM-ROAD TO THE DON.

It is inconceivable how the country can rest satisfied with the wretched tram-road which now connects two such important rivers as the Volga and the Don. So far from there being any natural impediment to the formation of a canal across the isthmus which separates them, it is a perfectly simple undertaking, the distance not exceeding sixty versts, and the difference of level being comparatively trifling. The advantages to be gained by the completion of such a work must be apparent. A mere glance at the map will show that a canal forty miles long at this point would connect the Black Sea with the Baltic and the Caspian, and thus perfect a most elaborate system of inland communication. Nature has certainly done all that could be expected of her in this respect, and it seems hard that a government should not enable the inhabitants to avail themselves of the natural advantages which their country so eminently possesses.

If water-carriage excels land-carriage in proportion to the bulk of the produce to be conveyed, surely where iron or timber form the articles of transport, there can be no doubt of the superior merits of the former, even were the additional expenses incurred by the present system out of the question, or supposing that a railway had superseded the tram-road. At this particular juncture, when more wheat is exported from the ports in the south of Russia in one year than formerly left them during ten years, a connection between these rivers becomes of the highest