"Only over the river," the Doctor replied. "You cross the Neva to its opposite bank, and you are in what was once the independent duchy of Finland, but has long been incorporated with Russia. When Peter the Great came here he did not like to be so near a foreign country, and so made up his mind to convert Finland into Russian territory. The independence of the duchy was maintained for some time, but in the early part of the present century Russia defeated the armies of Finland, and the country was permanently occupied. Finland has its constitution, which is based on that of Sweden, and when it was united with Russia the constitutional rights of the people were guaranteed. The country is ruled by a governor-general, who is appointed by Russia; it has a parliament for presenting the grievances and wishes of the people, but all acts must receive the approval of the Imperial Government before they can become the law of the land."
DVORNIK AND POSTMAN.
"What are those men standing in front of a building?" said Fred, as he pointed to a fellow with a broom talking with another in uniform.
"The one in uniform is a postman," was the reply, "and the other is a dvornik, or house guardian. The dvornik sweeps the sidewalk in front of a house and looks after the entrance; he corresponds to the porter, or portier, of other countries, and is supposed to know the names of all the tenants of the building. The postman is reading an address on a letter, and the dvornik is probably pointing in the direction of the room occupied by the person to whom the missive belongs."
"I have read that letters in Russia are examined by the police before they are delivered," said one of the boys. "Is that really the case?"
"Formerly it was, or at least they were liable to examination, and it probably happens often enough at the present time. If a man is suspected of treasonable practices his correspondence is liable to be seized; unless there is a serious charge against him, it is not detained after examination, provided it contains nothing objectionable. The Post-office, like everything else in Russia, is a part of the military system, and if the Government wishes to do anything with the letters of its subjects it generally does it. The correspondence of foreigners is rarely meddled with. Writers for the foreign newspapers sometimes complain that their letters are lost in the mails, or show signs of having been opened, but I fancy that these cases are rare. For one, I haven't the least fear that our letters will be troubled, as we have no designs upon Russia other than to see it. If we were plotting treason, or had communications with Russian and Polish revolutionists in France or Switzerland, it is probable that the Government would not be long in finding it out."
"What would happen to us, supposing that to be the case?" Frank inquired.
"Supposing it to be so for the sake of argument," the Doctor answered, "our treatment would depend much upon the circumstances. If we were Russians, we should probably be arrested and imprisoned; but as we are foreigners, we should be asked to leave the country. Unless the matter is very serious, the authorities do not like to meddle with foreigners in any way that will lead to a dispute with another government, and their quickest way out of the difficulty is to expel the obnoxious visitor."