Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

engineer, and, finally, to a sub-officer commissioned to accompany me, to officiate as my guide and to answer for my safety during the entire journey: a favour which rather reminds one of the janissary with whom they honoured foreigners in Turkey. This protection appears too much like a mark of distrust to flatter me as much as it irks me, and, while crushing in my hands the minister's letter, I think on the justice of the words of the prince, whom I met on the Travemünde steam boat, and with him am ready to exclaim, that "Kussia is the land of useless formalities ! "

I proceeded to the aide-de-camp general-director, &c. &c. &c. to claim the execution of the supreme command. The director was not at home; I must call to-morrow. Not wishing to lose another day, I persisted, and was told to return in the evening, when I was received with the usual politeness, and after a visit of a quarter of an hour, was dismissed with the necessary orders for the engineer of Schlusselburg, but none for the governor of the castle. In accompanying me to the antechamber, he promised that a sub-officer should be at my door on the morrow, at four o'clock in the morning.

I did not sleep. I became possessed with an idea that will appear sufficiently foolish; the idea that my guard might become my gaoler. If this man, instead of conducting me to Schlusselburg, eighteen leagues from Petersburg, should, when Ave had left the city, exhibit an order to transport me to Siberia, that I might there expiate my inconvenient curiosity, what should I say or do ? It would be necessary, at first, to obey ; and afterwards on arriving at Tobolsk,