"Nicholas did not live to see the end of this war, and was succeeded by his son, Alexander II., in 1856. Sebastopol was captured after a siege of about a year, and a treaty of peace was signed, by which Russia lost her naval superiority in the Black Sea.[B] The war in the Caucasus was continued, and ended by Alexander II., who is still the reigning emperor." [Footnote B: This provision of the treaty was abrogated by Russia in 1870.] The professor closed his lecture, which, though longer than usual, was listened to with interest to the end by the students. "Young gentlemen," said the principal, "I desire to give you an opportunity to see as much as possible of Russia, and for this purpose you will all have an opportunity to visit Moscow; but I do not purpose to go there in a body. There will be no ship's duty done at present. We will divide you into four squads; the ship's companies of the consorts forming two of them, the starboard watch of the ship the third, and the port the fourth squad. A fifth party will make a more extended trip to Nijni Novgorod and Kazan, down the Volga. The captain of each vessel may appoint one to go on this journey, and four more will be elected by ballot to-morrow night, two for the ship, and one for each of the consorts, after your return from St. Petersburg." Mr. Lowington retired amid the applause of the students. CHAPTER IX. SIGHTS IN ST. PETERSBURG. "Appointed by the captain!" sneered De Forrest, as the students left the steerage. "I wonder what that's for," added Beckwith. "I don't know; it's a puzzler to me. But the principal seems to be trying to make Cantwell as big a man as he can." "Well, I don't think you ought to find any fault about it. You worked this thing up, and made him captain," interposed Sheridan, the new fourth lieutenant, who had been raised to his present rank from first midshipman, by the votes of the Bangwhangers. "I made him captain!" exclaimed De Forrest. "Certainly you did; his merit-rank would only have made him fourth lieutenant. We don't always do just what we intend," laughed Sheridan. "It was your idea to make the captain dependent upon the crew for his office." "I think it's a good thing to do so," replied De Forrest. "Then it's a good thing also to make the crew dependent upon the captain. If he can appoint one of the party for the Volga excursion, his favor is worth something," added Sheridan, good-naturedly. "I would give fifty dollars out of my spending money for the privilege of going," said De Forrest. "Suppose you make the captain the offer?" "I! Humph! Do you think I would go down on my knees to Cantwell?" sneered De Forrest. "Don't you do it! There's no law to compel you to do so," laughed Sheridan. "Of course the captain will reward some one of his friends," said Beckwith. "Yes, I suppose he will." "Would you appoint a fellow that had worked against you?" asked Sheridan.