picturesqueness with Tzar Peter's Heart of Holy Russia, to which the
heart of one who loves her must, perforce, often return with longing in
after days,--"white-stoned golden-domed, Holy Mother Moscow."

But a volume of guide-book details, highly colored impressionist
sketches, and dainty miniature painting combined would not do justice to
Moscow. Therefore, I shall confine myself to a few random reminiscences
which may serve to illustrate habits or traits in the character of the
city or the people.

"'Eography," says Mrs. Booby, in one of the famous old Russian comedies
which we were so fortunate as to witness on the Moscow stage: "Ah! good
heavens! And what are cabmen for, then? That's their business. It's not
a genteel branch of learning. A gentleman merely says: 'Take me to such
or such a place,' and the cabman drives him wherever he pleases."

Nowadays, it is advisable to be vulgar and know the geography of Moscow,
if one is really enjoying it independently. It is a trifle less
complicated than the geography of the Balkan Principalities, and, unlike
that of the Balkan Principalities, it has its humorous side, which
affords alleviation. The Moscow cabby has now, as in the time of Mrs.
Booby, the reputation of being a very hard customer to deal with. He is
not often so ingenuous, even in appearance, as the man who drove close
to the sidewalk and entreated our custom by warbling, sweetly: "We must
have work or we can't have bread." He is only to be dreaded, however, if
one be genteelly ignorant, after Mrs. Booby's plan. I cannot say that I
ever had any difficulty in finding any place I wanted, either with the
aid (or hindrance) of an _izvostchik_, or on foot, in Moscow or other
Russian towns. But for this and other similar reasons I acquired a
nickname among the natives,--_molodyetz_, that is to say, a dashing,