"You can see here the national costume of the Russians, commodore," said the doctor.
"I don't see anything very peculiar," replied Lincoln.
"You observe that every man here has his pants stuffed into the tops of his boots. I don't know of anything that is more national than this, though in the interior you will see something more peculiar. Look at that fellow," added the surgeon, pointing to a fruit-seller. "He doesn't indulge in the luxury of a shirt, but has under his coat a calico tunic, which he wears outside of his pants."
"They don't look particularly clean."
"The common people are not; but the higher classes are as neat and refined as any people in Europe."
"What is this tower?" asked Lincoln.
"That is on the Town Hall, in which the business of the city is transacted. It is a watch-tower, and those poles upon it are for the purpose of hoisting signals, to indicate the location of a fire. Men are on the watch on that tower at all times of day and night. The street opposite is St. Michael Place, in which the Hôtel de Russie, commonly called Klée's Hotel, is situated. Next to the tower is one of the street chapels, which you will see in every Russian city. It is a church in miniature, erected by the contributions of the people in the bazaar. You see within it pictures of the saints, with lights burning before them. There is generally a priest on duty there, and you perceive that many people enter, or pause in front of the door, and salute the representatives of the holy persons."
"Yes, and even on the other side of the street," added Lincoln, who had been observing the devotions of the Russians.
Men paused on the sidewalk of the crowded avenue, knelt, crossed themselves many times, and bowed low, with their faces towards the chapel. The poorer and the more humble the individual, the lower he bowed, and the more earnest were his devotions.