Cossack rode beside the carriage as an escort. The drive from the station to the tower is about ten miles, over a shocking road. We passed numbers of Bokhariots of all ages in their brilliant native dress, leading and riding camels and donkeys, and after passing through the crowded bazaars, where our passage was constantly blocked by inquisitive and staring natives, we reached the hospitable doors of the Russian Political Agency. We were received by a native porter in a striped silk dress, who led us across a dreary yard, and showed us into a long room, containing two beds, three or four chairs, a narrow table, and a carpet. This was the guest-chamber, and two small rooms in addition were allotted to us, one for Chivers, and the other for Ali Akbar. Our room, which looked out into a large wilderness of a garden, was swarming with ants, but otherwise it was fairly comfortable. In the course of the morning we received a visit from M. Klemm, a rising and very agreeable young diplomatist of Danish origin. He was dressed in full uniform, as it was Russian Easter Sunday, and he was engaged in giving an Easter breakfast to his
