d
of others; heir of Norway, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, Stormarn,
Dittmarsen, and Oldenburg." A powerful lord, in truth, is he whose arms
are an eagle with two heads, holding a scepter and a globe, surrounded
by the escutcheons of Novgorod, Wladimir, Kiev, Kasan, Astrakhan, and
of Siberia, and environed by the collar of the order of St. Andrew,
surmounted by a royal crown!

As to Michael Strogoff, his papers were in order, and he was,
consequently, free from all police supervision.

At the station of Wladimir the train stopped for several minutes, which
appeared sufficient to enable the correspondent of the Daily Telegraph
to take a twofold view, physical and moral, and to form a complete
estimate of this ancient capital of Russia.

At the Wladimir station fresh travelers joined the train. Among others,
a young girl entered the compartment occupied by Michael Strogoff. A
vacant place was found opposite the courier. The young girl took it,
after placing by her side a modest traveling-bag of red leather, which
seemed to constitute all her luggage. Then seating herself with downcast
eyes, not even glancing at the fellow-travelers whom chance had given
her, she prepared for a journey which was still to last several hours.

Michael Strogoff could not help looking attentively at his newly-arrived
fellow-traveler. As she was so placed as to travel with her back to the
engine, he even offered her his seat, which he might prefer to her own,
but she thanked him with a slight bend of her graceful neck.

The young girl appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen years of age.
Her head, truly charming, was of the purest Sclavonic type--slightly
severe, and likely in a few summers to unfold into beauty rather than
mere prettiness. From beneath a sort of kerchief which she wore on her
head escaped in profusion light golden hair. Her eyes were brown, soft,
and expressive of much sweetness of temper. The nose was straight,
and attached to her pale and somewhat thin cheeks by delicately mobile
nostrils. The lips were finely cut, but it seemed as if they had long
since forgotten how to smile.

The young traveler was tall and upright, as far as could be judged of
her figure from the very simple and ample pelisse that covered her.
Although she was still a very young girl in the literal sense of the
term, the development of her high forehead and clearly-cut features gave
the idea that she was the possessor of great moral energy--a point