Chapter III.
The Caspian and Mazanderan.
On Monday, the 21st of April, the steamer Caspic arrived from Astracan, and in her we took passage for the Persian port of Meshed-i-Sar. Our friend, Lieutenant Samozensky, passed us through the Custom House without any difficulty, and after lunching with us on board, took leave. We were really sorry to part with him, as his kindness and hospitality to us had been of no common order, but in truth we were not sorry to leave Russian territory. All our movements, sayings, and doings had been jealously watched and reported upon by officers told off to spy upon us, and, with a few rare exceptions, we had received but scanty kindness and courtesy at the hands of Russian officials; those who formed an exception to the rule we invariably found to be of German, Polish, or Finnish origin, but
