The first step taken by O'Donahue was to obtain a passport for himself
and suit; and here there was a controversy, McShane having made up his
mind that he would sink the officer, and travel as O'Donahue's servant,
in which capacity he declared that he would not only be more useful, but
also swell his friend's dignity. After a long combat on the part of
O'Donahue, this was consented to, and the passport was filled up
accordingly.
"But, by Saint Patrick! I ought to get some letters of introduction,"
said O'Donahue; "and how is that to be managed--at all events to the
English ambassador? Let me see--I'll go to the Horse Guards."
O'Donahue went accordingly, and, as was always the case there, was
admitted immediately to an audience with the Commander of the Forces.
O'Donahue put his case forward, stating that he was about to proceed on
a secret mission to Russia, and requested his Royal Highness to give him
a few letters of introduction. His Royal Highness very properly
observed, that if sent on a secret mission, he would, of course, obtain
all the necessary introductions from the proper quarters, and then
inquired of O'Donahue what his rank was, where he had served, etcetera.
To the latter questions O'Donahue gave a very satisfactory reply, and
convinced the Duke that he was an officer of merit. Then came the
question as to his secret mission, which his Royal Highness had never
heard of. "May it please your Royal Highness, there's a little mistake
about this same secret mission; it's not on account of government that
I'm going, but on my own secret service;" and O'Donahue, finding himself
fairly in for it, confessed that he was after a lady of high rank, and
that if he did not obtain letters of introduction, he should not
probably find the means of entering the society in which she was to be
found, and that as an officer who had served faithfully, he trusted that
he should not be refused.
His Royal Highness laughed at his disclosure, and, as there was no
objection to giving O'Donahue a letter or two, with his usual
good-nature he ordered them to be written, and having given them to him,
wished him every success. O'Donahue bowed to the ground, and quitted
the Horse Guards, delighted with the success of his impudent attempt.
Being thus provided, the party set off in a vessel bound to Hamburg,
where they arrived without any accident, although very sea-sick; from
Hamburg they proceeded to Lubeck, and re-embarked at Travemunde in a
brig, which was bound for Riga; the wind was fair, and their passage was
short. On their arrival they put up at an hotel, and finding themselves
in a country where English was not understood, O'Donahue proceeded to
the house of the English consul, informing him that he was going on a
secret mission to Petersburg, and showing, as evidences of his
respectability and the truth of his assertions, the letters given him by
his Royal Highness. These were quite sufficient for the consul, who
immediately offered his services. Not being able to procure at Riga a
courier who could speak French or English, the consul took a great deal
of trouble to assist them in their long journey to Petersburg. He made
out a list of the posts, the number of versts, and the money that was to
be paid; he changed some of O'Donahue's gold into Russian paper-money,
and gave all the necessary instructions. The great difficulty was to
find any carriage to carry them to the capital, but at last they found
an old cabriolet on four wheels which might answer, and, bidding adieu
to the consul, they obtained horses, and set off.
"Now, McShane, you must take care of the money, and pay the driver,"
said O'Donahue, pulling out several pieces of thick paper, some coloured
red, some blue, and others of a dirty white.
"Is this money?" said McShane, with astonishment.
"Yes, that's roubles."
"Roubles, are they? I wonder what they'd call them in Ireland; they
look like soup-tickets."
"Never mind. And now, McShane, there are two words which the consul has
told me to make use of: one is _Scoro_, and when you say that, it means
`_Go fast_,' and you hold up a small bit of money at the same time."
"_Scoro_! well, that's a word I sha'n't forget."
"But, then, there's another, which is _Scorae_."
"And what may be the English of that?"
"Why, that means `_Go faster_,' and with that you hold up a larger piece
of money."
"Why, then, it's no use remembering _Scoro_ at all, for _Scorae_ will do
much better; so we need not burden ourselves with the first at all.
Suppose we try the effect of that last word upon our bear-skin friend
who is driving!"
McShane held up a rouble, and called out to the driver--"_Scorae_!" The
fellow turned his head, smiled, and lashed his horses until they were at
the full speed, and then looked back at them for approval.
"By the powers, that's no fool of a word! it will take us all the way to
Saint Petersburg as fast as we wish."
"We do not sleep on the road, but travel night and day," said O'Donahue,
"for there is no place worth sleeping at."
"And the 'ating, O'Donahue?"
"We must get that by signs, for we have no other means."
On that point they soon found they had no difficulty; and thus they
proceeded, without speaking a word of the language, day and night, until
they arrived at the capital.
At the entrance their passports were demanded, and the officer at the
guard-house came out and told them that a Cossack would accompany them.
A Cossack, with a spear as long as a fir-tree, and a beard not quite so
long, then took them in charge, and trotted before the carriage, the
driver following him at a slow pace.
"An't we prisoners?" inquired McShane.
"I don't know, but it looks very like it," replied O'Donahue.
This, however, was not the case. The carriage drove to a splendid
street called the Neffsky Perspective, and as soon as it stopped at the
entrance of an hotel, the Cossack, after speaking to the landlord, who
came out, took his departure.
A journey of four hundred miles, day and night, is no joke: our
travellers fell fast asleep in their spacious apartment, and it was not
till the next day that they found themselves clean and comfortable, Joey
being dressed in a rich livery, as a sort of page, and McShane doing
duty as valet when others were present, and when sitting alone with
O'Donahue, taking his fair share of the bottle.
Two days after their arrival, the landlord procured for O'Donahue a
courier who could speak both English and French as well as Russian, and
almost every other language. It was resolved by O'Donahue and McShane,
in council, to dress him up in a splendid uniform; and a carriage having
been hired for the month, O'Donahue felt that he was in a position to
present his credentials to the English ambassador and the other parties
for whom he had received letters of introduction.