to Bokhara, did not have them ; but he would give me
letters, open and otherwise, that would help me everywhere
on my route. He said, moreover, that he
should hear about us, and requested that, if we got
into difficulty, we would send to him at once.' On
leaving the vice-regal residence we called at a small
house in the grounds, where General Ivanoff had taken
up his quarters, to whom I am afraid I had not paid
sufficient attention in calling earlier at his private
dwelling, though I had done so at his offices. His
Excellency was not to return to Samarkand for some
time, but promised to write to his servants that we
should be entertained in his palace.
. Our official arrangements being now adjusted, we
had to think of personal affairs, for we were about
to plunge into a region comparatively unknown, and
be lost for a while to European civilization. Even now
I had received no postages since we left Tiumen— that
is, for six weeks— though I had had the satisfaction of
sending many cards and letters. This, aRo, would
have now to stop, or almost so, for a time. So I
wrote to my friends that they should not be alarmed
if they, did not hear from me till I reached the Caspian.
Also thinking to reduce umy luggage as much as
possible, I sent off to Odessa, “ by parcels post,” two
great boxes of curiosities, unitedly weighing 100
Russian pounds, and at a cost of £ 3 &s-> and 2s. more
for insurance, to which I may add that they arrived in
excellent condition before my advice, and scarcely
scratched, doing nothing worse than frighten my
consignee;, who wondered what Nihilistic manoeuvres
might be contained in boxes from such an unexpected
quarter, and spoke thereon to the authorities.
Another thing requiring management was my money.
I had sent a large proportion of it from Petersburg
to the bank in Tashkend by post, and, on calling, found
it there ; but since I was now starting for a region
where robbers abound, it seemed to me a question
whether I had better not take as little as was necessary
with me, and telegraph for the rest when I reached
some place of safety ; and seeing that I could not tell,
until I arrived at Petro-Alexandrovsk, whether I should
cross the Aralo-Caspian desert, or go by the Orenburg
route, I promised to telegraph from Krasnovodsk or
the Syr-daria whether the balance should be sent to
Tiflis or to Orenburg.
It was not quite easy to decide whether or no to
take forward my tarantass, for some were very confident
(and not without reason, as I afterwards learned)
that we should never be able to get the carriage from
Bokhara to the Oxus. We were advised, however,
by Major Bukoff, whom we met at the club, to get to
Khiva if possible on wheels, and I determined accordingly
to attempt it. I had no further use, however,
for the wagonette, since my Russian books were
nearly all disposed of, and those I had remaining in
other languages could all be packed in one box. I
proceeded accordingly to sell the wagonette, and in
so doing met with a piece of unusually generous dealing.
Finding at Moscow, in the office of Kamensky
Brothers, carriers and transport agents, when I was
sending some goods, that they had a branch office
at Tashkend, I had asked for an introduction, which
in due course I presented, and was asked by the
manager what he could do for me. Finding that I wished
to dispose of my telega, he inquired the price. The
wagonette had cost ^5 at Tiumen, where I was told
that by the time we reached Tashkend the vehicle