Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/162

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156
THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE.

taught in universities there were lecturers upon the Oriental languages. A goodly number of students give their attention to the Asiatic tongues, with a view to qualifying themselves for future usefulness in that direction. The Professor of Chinese was among those to whom our friends were introduced.

"He is an accomplished gentleman," said Frank in his note-book; "he speaks French and Russian as fluently as he does his native language, and


PRIVATE ROOM OF A WEALTHY STUDENT.

his questions about America showed that he was well acquainted with the history of our country. The rest of the Oriental professors were in European dress, but the Chinese one was not. He was in the same garments he would wear at Shanghai or Peking, and his hair was plaited into an irreproachable pigtail.

"The halls were pleasant and spacious," continued Frank, "and the students that we saw had intelligent faces; they appeared much like the students at an English university, but we thought there was an expression of more earnestness in their faces. The professor told us that the young men who attended the university gave very little trouble in the matter of discipline, and the disgraceful pranks of students at Oxford and Cam-