has a bank, two or three schools, a hospital with twenty beds, a library, a museum, a public garden with a fountain, and fifty or sixty shops, and its trade in furs and manufactured goods from European Russia amounts to about $1,000,000 per annum. The most striking feature of the town to a new-comer is the almost palatial residence of the wealthy mining proprietor Bútin, which would compare favorably not only with any house in Siberia, but with most houses in the capital of the Empire. The Bútin brothers were in financial difficulties at the time of our visit to Nérchinsk, and all of their property was in the hands of a receiver; but we had a note of introduction to the latter from the younger member of the firm, and upon presentation of it we were allowed to inspect the deserted but still beautiful mansion. Going into it from Klementóvich's hotel was like going into Aladdin's palace from an East-Siberian étape; and as I entered the splendid ball-room, and caught the full-length reflection of my figure in the largest mirror in the world,[1] I felt like rubbing my eyes to make sure that I was awake, One does not expect to find in the wilds of Eastern Siberia, nearly 5000 miles from St. Petersburg, a superb private residence with hardwood marquetry floors, silken curtains, hangings of delicate tapestry, stained-glass windows, splendid chandeliers, soft Oriental rugs, white-and-gold furniture upholstered with satin, old Flemish paintings, marble statues, family portraits from the skilful brush of Makófski, and an extensive conservatory filled with palms, lemon-trees, and rare orchids from the tropics. Such luxury would excite no remark in a wealthy and populous European city; but in the snowy wilderness of the Trans-Baikál, 3000 miles from the boundary-line of Europe, it comes to the unprepared
- ↑ This huge pier-glass was bought by Mr. Bútin at the Paris Exposition in 1878, and was then said to be the largest mirror in existence. It was taken half around the world by sea to the East-Siberian port of Nikoláievsk, and was thence transported up the rivers Amúr and Shílka to Nérchinsk in a barge made expressly for the purpose. It is now in the ball-room of Mr. Bútin's house, and does not look at all out of place or out of harmony with its surroundings.
