August 17th.—To-day is our last day on board. We pass before the bays of Ulysses, Diomedes, Patrocles, and Ajax. Sergy came to wake me at dawn; the coasts of Siberia were in sight, and the lighthouse on the Island of Askold came to view. After we had seen nothing but waves for so many days, it was exciting to see land again. We advanced slowly in order not to arrive before the appointed hour, nine o’clock to Vladivostock. My husband’s standard is hoisted on the Mandchour. The commander comes to take leave of me and offers me as a souvenir of our voyage, a beautiful bouquet tied with a broad blue ribbon bearing in big gilded letters: Kobe, Nagasaki, Vladivostock,—the three ports we had touched on the Mandchour.
My husband went to put on his uniform. When I mounted on the commander’s bridge I saw him looking at the coast with his field-glasses. The commander and all his officers were also wearing full uniform.
The town of Vladivostock, built in a semi-circle, is bordered by a chain of mountains. We are entering the port. Salvoes of artillery are fired from the men-of-war; military bands played on these cruisers until we were out of hearing distance. The Japanese men-of-war saluted us, while a band played our anthem. We stopped the engines to drift by them slowly. We pass now between the Russian and Japanese fleets, ranged at the entrance of the port. The citadel furnished with 190 guns, saluted us with 21 cannon-shots; the Mandchour responded with deafening discharges. On all the cruisers the men stood in rows along the yards. We cross the “Bosphorus,” and drop anchor in the “Golden Horn,” recalling Constantinople’s “Golden Horn.” Admiral Engelm, the chief of the port arrived on board in a steam-launch, accompanied by a numerous suite. We saw another canoe approaching, carrying Admiral Tirtoff the chief of the Russian fleet cruising at Vladivostock, with a Japanese Admiral. As soon as the welcomes were over, we got into a steam-launch with the General-Governor’s flag hoisted on it, which took us to the shore.
My husband was received on the pier, carpeted with a red cloth, by all the military and civil authorities of the town. We were bowing to right and left as we proceeded between a living hedge of officers and smart ladies. The soldiers of the garrison saluted Sergy with loud hurrahs. The Mayor of the town came up and presented my husband, according to the Russian custom, with “Bread and Salt” on a beautiful silver dish, and pronounced a long welcoming discourse. Chinese and Corean deputations also presented “Bread and Salt.” I received a whole lot of bouquets tied with ribbons bearing welcoming inscriptions.
After my husband had thanked the authorities for their warm welcome, a “troika” (a carriage with three horses) was brought up. The horses were rather troublesome and I was quite foolishly terrified to drive in the carriage; having a nervous dread of horses, after the accident on the day of our marriage, when our horses took fright and bolted, and nearly did away with us. I entreated Sergy to proceed on foot to General Unterberger’s house (the governor of the town). We were escorted through the streets in triumph. Vladivostock had put itself into festival array; flags hung from the house-tops, in the town and from the masts in the harbour. The troops formed a wall from the pier to the governor’s house. We advanced to the sound of marches between two rows of soldiers, amidst peals of loud hurrahs. I was somewhat dazzled by all these manifestations. We marched now between rows of scholars belonging to different schools of Khabarovsk. The pupils of the young ladies’ gymnasium curtseyed to me as we passed. One of the smallest girls came up to me and presented me with an enormous bouquet, tied with a pink ribbon, whilst the head-mistress delivered a little speech to me. I stood there at a loss what to say and blushed perfectly scarlet, which was very silly of me. I could not maintain my dignity at all, and felt for the moment tongue-tied.
On our way we entered the cathedral full of people. The Bishop in a few hearty words bade us welcome to Vladivostock. Many curious glances were turned on us and it was a veritable torture to me to be stared at like that.
At last we arrived at the Governor’s house. Mrs. Unterberger welcomed me with a bouquet in her hand, and took me to my apartment. Six rooms had been allotted to the rest of our company at the house of Mr. Langeletti, a rich merchant from Hamburg.
I hadn’t time to rest and was called down to the dining-room to be present at a Te Deum of thanksgiving for the happy termination of our voyage across the treacherous Japanese sea. There were many people in the room and no end of presentations and exchanging of greetings, after which my husband went to pay his official call on the admirals, who received him with cannon-shots when he stepped on board. At night the town was beautifully illuminated in our honour.
I awoke in the middle of the night with a heavy heart; feeling myself expatriated and shut up in a golden cage: I cried bitterly. What would I have not given to be back at St. Petersburg again!
The next day a grand dinner was given by General Unterberger. About sixty guests sat at a long table richly decorated with flowers and silver; a band of the Siberian navy played during the repast. The dinner was very gay; numerous toasts were drunk. General Unterberger raising his glass drank to my health and the whole company rose to touch my glass. The Japanese Admiral addressed in flowery native language a long speech to me, translated rather badly by his interpreter. I was crimson with the effort to control my laughter and bit my lips to blood. I did not venture to look at Mrs. Serebriakoff who was also assailed with a fit of giggling, and kept my eyes on my plate.
I got an invitation to a ball given on the cruiser Admiral Nakhimoff, but found a plausible pretext not to accept it, preferring to slumber in my bed, lulled to sleep and wafted into the land of dreams by the soft music of a military band played on the cruiser, which floated faintly from afar through the night air; there came to me through the window the faint strains of a waltz which personified to me just then the sense of my favourite waltz “Loin du Bal.”
The next day I visited the young ladies’ gymnasium of which I am Honorary President. I was welcomed at the entrance by Mrs. Unterberger and the Vice-Governor of Vladivostock. The directress of the gymnasium presented to me all the members of her administration. After which the pupils presented me with a beautiful embroidered serviette of their own work.
August 22nd.—To-day Sergy started for Nikolskoe, a large military settlement above 150 miles away from Vladivostock to review the troops and be present, at the same time, at the inauguration of the railway-line which is to join Vladivostock and Khabarovsk. Nikolskoe is inhabited by Russian colonists, who live well, each family possessing above 100 acres of land. The troops quartering in the surroundings of Nikolskoe consist of three batteries of artillery, a brigade of riflemen, five batteries containing a thousand men each, and a brigade of cavalry. I was also expected at Nikolskoe and the officers of the garrison begged Sergy to transmit to me a beautiful bouquet.
All day long streams of visitors came; I felt a stranger among them, and so lonely without Sergy! One soon grows old here. One of the visitors, a colonel with a very wrinkled face, was only forty years of age but would have passed for seventy easily. I do hope we won’t make a long stay here, not only because of home-sickness but also from coquetry.
We had to pay some calls, driving in a beautiful “troika,” belonging to General Unterberger. We made a great sensation in the streets. Our cortège was triumphal; the Prefect of the Police drove before us and a numerous escort of Cossacks galloped behind our carriage. We were cheered by the crowd on our way; hats and caps flew in the air. My neck was nearly dislocated, having to bow right and left all the time.
The town of Vladivostock is scattered about on hillocks; up one street we went and down another. Half the shops of the town are Chinese; they are in constant competition with the Russian shops, taking away all their customers. A Russian tailor came to ask my husband to remove into another place his Chinese neighbour, who was a dangerous rival to him on account of his low prices. Certainly Sergy did not accede to his request.
The climate of Vladivostock is extremely damp; the perpetual fogs act perniciously upon the nerves; the percentage of suicide is high and cases of madness are very frequent here. I am very happy that my desire to help the afflicted poor is beginning to be fulfilled. At my request the mayor of the town has collected five thousand roubles in the space of a few days to build an asylum for lunatics. One bed has already been established bearing my name.
The service of the post leaves very much to be desired. We have received a letter from Russia dated six months ago; the missive had arrived first at Khabarovsk, but as at that time there was no communication between these two towns, on account of the bad state of the roads, this letter had returned to Russia to be sent back again to Vladivostock via Japan.
The admirals and the commander of the Nakhimoff came to ask me to fix a day for the ball that they wanted to give at the marine club in my honour. In order to make it more attractive to me the marine officers have decided to open it by a concert. I was received like a queen at the ball. Admiral Engelm gave me his arm, leading me across the brilliantly illuminated ball-room. I was loaded with two enormous bouquets, rather heavy to carry. When I entered the crowded hall all eyes were turned on me, and I struggled with an overwhelming inclination towards instant flight. As soon as we got to our places in the first row, the concert began. It lasted about two hours, after which I mounted on an estrade, and glued to my chair, decided to remain as looker-on at the ball, when I saw Admiral Engelm coming up to me as a spokesman from the marine officers, to ask if I might accord them a dance, but I declined the invitation, with thanks, and passed my time in looking at the dancers, eating bonbons. It was near daylight when we returned home.
Bad news has been received regarding the ship Nijni-Novgorod. A telegram came from Mascat from the captain of the ship saying that they had encountered a terrible storm which had driven them out of their course. They had been forced to take refuge in an Arabian port, and thus the ship can’t be due at Vladivostock before October, when the roads are blocked for weeks, and all communication stopped between Vladivostock and Khabarovsk.
Mrs. Unterberger is awfully nice to me, and full of kind attentions. She proposes drives and boat-parties, but it was only Mme. Beurgier who profited by them. She went one day to lay a wreath of flowers on the tomb of a young officer of the French navy, who had been murdered recently in the outskirts of Vladivostock by a convict, who profited by his uniform to run away.
Sergy went in a steam-launch along the Gulf to visit the villages inhabited by Russian colonists. I had made myself quite ill by this time with the thought that we could not expect our household and things before Christmas. I felt awfully discouraged thinking of all the privations we should have to endure. The path of a General Governor’s wife is not always strewn with roses. How many thorns there are for a few flowers! I can never reconcile myself with the life in this wretched land. I suffered miseries of home-sickness, and had the desire of a caged bird to fly. I dream only of going back to St. Petersburg, but it is foolish of me, I may as well ask for the moon. I, who from my very infancy had only to stretch my hand to gather all the joys of life, was I going to doubt my lucky star now?
A doctor who had the reputation of making a good diagnosis had to be summoned to me. After having tapped me here and there, he said I was a bundle of nerves and prescribed a gayer mode of life for me, nothing more.
The day after Sergy’s departure there was a tremendous storm at sea, destroying innumerable fishing-boats. I passed an anxious night listening to the roar of the wind outside, threatening to overturn the house. The windows rattled in their frames, and doors were burst open. Mme. Beurgier came in the morning with terrible stories of damage done by the storm. Boats were torn from their moorings and blown on to the land, and a great number of Chinese junks were tossed on the shore. A score of soldiers, who were crossing the bay on a raft to bring hay from the opposite shore, were obliged to drop anchor not far from the coast, in order to await for the tempest to abate. They were caught by the storm and their raft was torn away and shattered to pieces against the rocks. At dawn, eight soldiers only succeeded in landing, after having swum on the wrecks for many miles; all the rest had perished. And my husband was out at sea at that moment! I was beside myself with anxiety.
I didn’t expect Sergy before three days, and taking up a piece of needlework, sat in a restless mood talking with Mrs. Unterberger, when suddenly I heard the report of a gun, followed by a second report. It was my husband who was returning to Vladivostock sooner than we expected.
On the 30th August, our Emperor’s namesday, my husband reviewed the troops on the Square, surrounded by a crowd of officers of all ranks. The soldiers passed before our windows with an even step. After the review Sergy gave a lunch to all the military and civil authorities of the town. In the evening we went to a garden-party given in the Admiralty Grounds, with all sorts of games, and so on.