OnoneoccasionIwaswitnesstoasadfauxpasathisdinner—table。ItwasintheearlydaysoftheCrimeanWar，andanAmericangentlemanwhowaspresentwassocarelessastorefertoQueenVictoria’sproclamationagainstallwhoaidedtheenemy，whichwasclearlyleveledatMr。Bairdandhisiron—works。Therewasasceneatonce。Theladiesalmostwentintohystericsindeprecationofthepositioninwhichtheproclamationhadplacedthem。ButMr。Bairdhimselfwasquiteequaltotheoccasion:inaveryup—and—downwayhesaidthatheofcourseregrettedbeingregardedasatraitortohiscountry，butthatinthetimeoftheallianceagainstthefirstNapoleonhisfatherhadbeeninducedbytheRussiangovernmenttoestablishworks，andthisnotmerelywiththeconsent，butwiththewarmapproval，oftheBritishgovernment;inconsequencetheestablishmenthadtakencontractswiththeRussiangovernmentandnowtheymustbeexecuted;sofarashewasconcernedhisconsciencewasentirelyclear;hisdutywasplain，andhewasgoingtodoit。
Onanotheroccasionathistabletherewasaverygoodrepartee。Thesubjectofspiritualismhavingbeenbroughtup，someonetoldastoryofapersonwho，havinggoneintoanunfrequentedgarretofanoldfamilyresidence，foundthatalltheoldclothingwhichhadbeenstoredthereduringmanygenerationshaddescendedfromtheshelvesandhooksandhadassumedkneelingposturesaboutthefloor。Allofusheardthestorywithmuchsolemnity，whengoodoldDr。Law，chaplainoftheBritishchurch，brokethesilencewiththewords，``ThatmusthavebeenafamilyofveryPIOUSHABITS。’’Thisofcoursebrokethespell。
IshouldbesorrytohaveitthoughtthatallmystayintheRussiancapitalwasgivenuptoofficialroutineandsocialfutilities。Fortunatelyforme，thesocialdemandswerenotveryheavy。ThewarintheCrimea，steadilygoingagainstRussia，threwacloudoverthecourtandcityandreducedthenumberofentertainmentstoaminimum。Thissecuredme，duringthelongwinterevenings，muchtimeforreading，andinadditiontoallthevaluabletreatisesIcouldfindonRussia，Iwentwithcarethroughanextensivecourseinmodernhistory。
AstoRussianmatters，itwasmygoodfortunetobecomeintimatelyacquaintedwithAtkinson，theBritishtravelerinSiberia。Hehadbroughtbackmanyportfoliosofsketches，andhischarmingwifehadtreasuredupagreatfundofanecdotesofpeopleandadventure，sothatIseemedforatimetoknowSiberiaasifIhadlivedthere。
ThenitwasthatIlearnedofthebeautiesandcapabilitiesofitssouthernprovinces。TheAtkinsonshadalsobroughtbacktheironlychild，asonbornontheSiberiansteppe，awonderfullybrightyoungster，whomtheydestinedfortheBritishnavy。HeboreanamewhichIfearmayattimeshaveprovedaburdentohim，forhisfatherandmotherweresodelightedwiththeplaceinwhichhewasbornthattheycalledhim，afterit，``Alatow—TamChiboulak。’’[10]