SIBERIA
VLADIVOSTOCK
August 17th.—To-day is our last day on board. We pass before the bays of
Ulysses, Diomedes, Patrocles, and Ajax. Sergy came to wake me at dawn;
the coasts of Siberia were in sight, and the lighthouse on the Island
of Askold came to view. After we had seen nothing but waves for so many
days, it was exciting to see land again. We advanced slowly in order not
to arrive before the appointed hour, nine o’clock to Vladivostock. My
husband’s standard is hoisted on the _Mandchour_. The commander comes to
take leave of me and offers me as a souvenir of our voyage, a beautiful
bouquet tied with a broad blue ribbon bearing in big gilded letters:
Kobe, Nagasaki, Vladivostock,—the three ports we had touched on the
_Mandchour_.
My husband went to put on his uniform. When I mounted on the commander’s
bridge I saw him looking at the coast with his field-glasses. The
commander and all his officers were also wearing full uniform.
The town of Vladivostock, built in a semi-circle, is bordered by a chain
of mountains. We are entering the port. Salvoes of artillery are fired
from the men-of-war; military bands played on these cruisers until
we were out of hearing distance. The Japanese men-of-war saluted us,
while a band played our anthem. We stopped the engines to drift by them
slowly. We pass now between the Russian and Japanese fleets, ranged at
the entrance of the port. The citadel furnished with 190 guns, saluted
us with 21 cannon-shots; the _Mandchour_ responded with deafening
discharges. On all the cruisers the men stood in rows along the yards. We
cross the “Bosphorus,” and drop anchor in the “Golden Horn,” recalling
Constantinople’s “Golden Horn.” Admiral Engelm, the chief of the port
arrived on board in a steam-launch, accompanied by a numerous suite. We
saw another canoe approaching, carrying Admiral Tirtoff the chief of
the Russian fleet cruising at Vladivostock, with a Japanese Admiral.
As soon as the welcomes were over, we got into a steam-launch with the
General-Governor’s flag hoisted on it, which took us to the shore.
My husband was received on the pier, carpeted with a red cloth, by all
the military and civil authorities of the town. We were bowing to right
and left as we proceeded between a living hedge of officers and smart
ladies. The soldiers of the garrison saluted Sergy with loud hurrahs.
The Mayor of the town came up and presented my husband, according to the
Russian custom, with “Bread and Salt” on a beautiful silver dish, and
pronounced a long welcoming discourse. Chinese and Corean deputations
also presented “Bread and Salt.” I received a whole lot of bouquets tied
with ribbons bearing welcoming inscriptions.
After my husband had thanked the authorities for their warm welcome,
a “troika” (a carriage with three horses) was brought up. The horses
were rather troublesome and I was quite foolishly terrified to drive
in the carriage; having a nervous dread of horses, after the accident
on the day of our marriage, when our horses took fright and bolted,
and nearly did away with us. I entreated Sergy to proceed on foot to
General Unterberger’s house (the governor of the town). We were escorted
through the streets in triumph. Vladivostock had put itself into
festival array; flags hung from the house-tops, in the town and from
the masts in the harbour. The troops formed a wall from the pier to the
governor’s house. We advanced to the sound of marches between two rows
of soldiers, amidst peals of loud hurrahs. I was somewhat dazzled by all
these manifestations. We marched now between rows of scholars belonging
to different schools of Khabarovsk. The pupils of the young ladies’
gymnasium curtseyed to me as we passed. One of the smallest girls came up
to me and presented me with an enormous bouquet, tied with a pink ribbon,
whilst the head-mistress delivered a little speech to me. I stood there
at a loss what to say and blushed perfectly scarlet, which was very silly
of me. I could not maintain my dignity at all, and felt for the moment
tongue-tied.
On our way we entered the cathedral full of people. The Bishop in a few
hearty words bade us welcome to Vladivostock. Many curious glances were
turned on us and it was a veritable torture to me to be stared at like
that.
At last we arrived at the Governor’s house. Mrs. Unterberger welcomed me
with a bouquet in her hand, and took me to my apartment. Six rooms had
been allotted to the rest of our company at the house of Mr. Langeletti,
a rich merchant from Hamburg.
I hadn’t time to rest and was called down to the dining-room to be
present at a Te Deum of thanksgiving for the happy termination of our
voyage across the treacherous Japanese sea. There were many people in
the room and no end of presentations and exchanging of greetings, after
which my husband went to pay his official call on the admirals, who
received him with cannon-shots when he stepped on board. At night the
town was beautifully illuminated in our honour.
I awoke in the middle of the night with a heavy heart; feeling myself
expatriated and shut up in a golden cage: I cried bitterly. What would I
have not given to be back at St. Petersburg again!
The next day a grand dinner was given by General Unterberger. About sixty
guests sat at a long table richly decorated with flowers and silver;
a band of the Siberian navy played during the repast. The dinner was
very gay; numerous toasts were drunk. General Unterberger raising his
glass drank to my health and the whole company rose to touch my glass.
The Japanese Admiral addressed in flowery native language a long speech
to me, translated rather badly by his interpreter. I was crimson with
the effort to control my laughter and bit my lips to blood. I did not
venture to look at Mrs. Serebriakoff who was also assailed with a fit of
giggling, and kept my eyes on my plate.
I got an invitation to a ball given on the cruiser _Admiral Nakhimoff_,
but found a plausible pretext not to accept it, preferring to slumber in
my bed, lulled to sleep and wafted into the land of dreams by the soft
music of a military band played on the cruiser, which floated faintly
from afar through the night air; there came to me through the window the
faint strains of a waltz which personified to me just then the sense of
my favourite waltz “Loin du Bal.”
The next day I visited the young ladies’ gymnasium of which I am Honorary
President. I was welcomed at the entrance by Mrs. Unterberger and the
Vice-Governor of Vladivostock. The directress of the gymnasium presented
to me all the members of her administration. After which the pupils
presented me with a beautiful embroidered serviette of their own work.
August 22nd.—To-day Sergy started for Nikolskoe, a large military
settlement above 150 miles away from Vladivostock to review the troops
and be present, at the same time, at the inauguration of the railway-line
which is to join Vladivostock and Khabarovsk. Nikolskoe is inhabited by
Russian colonists, who live well, each family possessing above 100 acres
of land. The troops quartering in the surroundings of Nikolskoe consist
of three batteries of artillery, a brigade of riflemen, five batteries
containing a thousand men each, and a brigade of cavalry. I was also
expected at Nikolskoe and the officers of the garrison begged Sergy to
transmit to me a beautiful bouquet.
All day long streams of visitors came; I felt a stranger among them, and
so lonely without Sergy! One soon grows old here. One of the visitors, a
colonel with a very wrinkled face, was only forty years of age but would
have passed for seventy easily. I do hope we won’t make a long stay here,
not only because of home-sickness but also from coquetry.
We had to pay some calls, driving in a beautiful “troika,” belonging
to General Unterberger. We made a great sensation in the streets. Our
cortège was triumphal; the Prefect of the Police drove before us and a
numerous escort of Cossacks galloped behind our carriage. We were cheered
by the crowd on our way; hats and caps flew in the air. My neck was
nearly dislocated, having to bow right and left all the time.
The town of Vladivostock is scattered about on hillocks; up one street
we went and down another. Half the shops of the town are Chinese; they
are in constant competition with the Russian shops, taking away all their
customers. A Russian tailor came to ask my husband to remove into another
place his Chinese neighbour, who was a dangerous rival to him on account
of his low prices. Certainly Sergy did not accede to his request.
The climate of Vladivostock is extremely damp; the perpetual fogs act
perniciously upon the nerves; the percentage of suicide is high and
cases of madness are very frequent here. I am very happy that my desire
to help the afflicted poor is beginning to be fulfilled. At my request
the mayor of the town has collected five thousand roubles in the space
of a few days to build an asylum for lunatics. One bed has already been
established bearing my name.
The service of the post leaves very much to be desired. We have received
a letter from Russia dated six months ago; the missive had arrived first
at Khabarovsk, but as at that time there was no communication between
these two towns, on account of the bad state of the roads, this letter
had returned to Russia to be sent back again to Vladivostock via Japan.
The admirals and the commander of the _Nakhimoff_ came to ask me to fix
a day for the ball that they wanted to give at the marine club in my
honour. In order to make it more attractive to me the marine officers
have decided to open it by a concert. I was received like a queen at the
ball. Admiral Engelm gave me his arm, leading me across the brilliantly
illuminated ball-room. I was loaded with two enormous bouquets, rather
heavy to carry. When I entered the crowded hall all eyes were turned on
me, and I struggled with an overwhelming inclination towards instant
flight. As soon as we got to our places in the first row, the concert
began. It lasted about two hours, after which I mounted on an estrade,
and glued to my chair, decided to remain as looker-on at the ball, when
I saw Admiral Engelm coming up to me as a spokesman from the marine
officers, to ask if I might accord them a dance, but I declined the
invitation, with thanks, and passed my time in looking at the dancers,
eating bonbons. It was near daylight when we returned home.
Bad news has been received regarding the ship _Nijni-Novgorod_. A
telegram came from Mascat from the captain of the ship saying that they
had encountered a terrible storm which had driven them out of their
course. They had been forced to take refuge in an Arabian port, and thus
the ship can’t be due at Vladivostock before October, when the roads are
blocked for weeks, and all communication stopped between Vladivostock and
Khabarovsk.
Mrs. Unterberger is awfully nice to me, and full of kind attentions.
She proposes drives and boat-parties, but it was only Mme. Beurgier who
profited by them. She went one day to lay a wreath of flowers on the tomb
of a young officer of the French navy, who had been murdered recently in
the outskirts of Vladivostock by a convict, who profited by his uniform
to run away.
Sergy went in a steam-launch along the Gulf to visit the villages
inhabited by Russian colonists. I had made myself quite ill by this time
with the thought that we could not expect our household and things before
Christmas. I felt awfully discouraged thinking of all the privations
we should have to endure. The path of a General Governor’s wife is not
always strewn with roses. How many thorns there are for a few flowers!
I can never reconcile myself with the life in this wretched land. I
suffered miseries of home-sickness, and had the desire of a caged bird to
fly. I dream only of going back to St. Petersburg, but it is foolish of
me, I may as well ask for the moon. I, who from my very infancy had only
to stretch my hand to gather all the joys of life, was I going to doubt
my lucky star now?
A doctor who had the reputation of making a good diagnosis had to be
summoned to me. After having tapped me here and there, he said I was a
bundle of nerves and prescribed a gayer mode of life for me, nothing more.
The day after Sergy’s departure there was a tremendous storm at sea,
destroying innumerable fishing-boats. I passed an anxious night listening
to the roar of the wind outside, threatening to overturn the house. The
windows rattled in their frames, and doors were burst open. Mme. Beurgier
came in the morning with terrible stories of damage done by the storm.
Boats were torn from their moorings and blown on to the land, and a great
number of Chinese junks were tossed on the shore. A score of soldiers,
who were crossing the bay on a raft to bring hay from the opposite shore,
were obliged to drop anchor not far from the coast, in order to await
for the tempest to abate. They were caught by the storm and their raft
was torn away and shattered to pieces against the rocks. At dawn, eight
soldiers only succeeded in landing, after having swum on the wrecks for
many miles; all the rest had perished. And my husband was out at sea at
that moment! I was beside myself with anxiety.
I didn’t expect Sergy before three days, and taking up a piece of
needlework, sat in a restless mood talking with Mrs. Unterberger, when
suddenly I heard the report of a gun, followed by a second report. It was
my husband who was returning to Vladivostock sooner than we expected.
On the 30th August, our Emperor’s namesday, my husband reviewed the
troops on the Square, surrounded by a crowd of officers of all ranks. The
soldiers passed before our windows with an even step. After the review
Sergy gave a lunch to all the military and civil authorities of the town.
In the evening we went to a garden-party given in the Admiralty Grounds,
with all sorts of games, and so on.