the principal cities
of the Continent. It will, therefore, be conceded that there was
something very congenial in the spectacle that greeted me on the very
first day of my arrival in Moscow. A great giant of a Mujik, with a
ferocious beard and the general aspect of a wild beast, came toward me
with a heel and a lurch to port that was very expressive of his
condition. As he staggered up and tried to balance himself, he blurted
out some unmeaning twaddle in his native language which I took to be a
species of greeting. His expression was absolutely inspiring--the
great blear eyes rolling foolishly in his head; his tongue lolling
helplessly from his mouth; his under jaw hanging down; his greasy cap
hung on one side on a tuft of dirty hair--all so familiar, so
characteristic of something I had seen before! Where could it have
been? What potent spell was there about this fellow to attract me? In
what was it that I, an embassador from Washoe, a citizen of
California, a resident of Oakland, could thus be drawn toward this
hideous wretch? A word in your ear, reader. It was all the effect of
association! The unbidden tears flowed to my eyes as I caught a whiff
of the fellow's breath. It was so like the free-lunch breaths of San
Francisco, and even suggested thoughts of the Legislative Assembly in
Sacramento. Only think what a genuine Californian must suffer in being
a whole year without a glass of whisky--nay, without as much as a
smell of it! How delightful it is to see a brother human downright
soggy drunk; drunk all over; drunk in the eyes, in the mouth, in the
small of his back, in his knees, in his boots, clear down to his toes!
How one's heart is drawn toward him by this common bond of human
infirmity! How it recalls the camp, the one-horse mining town, the
social gathering of the "boys" at Dan's, or Jim's, or Jack's; and the
clink of dimes and glasses at the bar; how distances are annihilated
and time set back! Of a verity, when I saw that man, with reason
dethroned and the garb of self-respect thrown aside, I was once again
in my own beloved state!

"What a beauty dwelt in each familiar face,
What music hung on every voice!"

[Illustration: VODKA.]

Since reading is not a very general accomplishment among the lower
classes, a system of signs answers in some degree as a substitute. The
irregularity of the streets would of itself present no very remarkable
feature but for the wonderful variety of small shops