He pointed to a blue spot in the south. "This is Lake Baikal,[17] the largest body of fresh water in Asia, about four hundred miles long and about forty-five miles wide. It is fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea. It is a place full of mystery. I don't know if any one yet has been able to find how deep it is. On one side are all kinds of caverns and arches. It's pretty but it's mysterious. Now and then the earth in the vicinity trembles and quakes. Irkutsk, the largest and most important city in Siberia, is not very far from it." After a moment's pause, he went on: "Let me tell you something of Blagovestchensk,[18] my own city. But no; I'd talk too long. Why don't you move there?" turning suddenly to my father. My father shook his head. "If I move," he said slowly, "I want to try farming." "Farming offers many inducements," agreed Kuzmin. "I meet many farmers who came here penniless and now have hundreds of acres of land and hundreds of head of cattle and stables filled with grain."[19] "Were you ever in St. Petersburg?" I asked unexpectedly. At this question a queer change came over Kuzmin's face and he looked down without answering. Here Mongalov reached for his balalaika, a sort of Russian mandolin, and began to play some gay Russian airs on it. When we reached home, I asked my father why Kuzmin did not wish to talk about St. Petersburg. "He is a useful and clever man," my father answered, "but, poor fellow, he belongs to the unfortunates." From that I understood that, like Lidia Ivanovna's husband, the former artillery officer was an exile. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 16: Siberia was formerly a penal colony.] [Footnote 17: Lake Baikal's depth has never been measured. It is said to be the deepest lake in the world. There are many very interesting things about this lake. For one thing, everything points to its being very ancient. Water flowing into it is supposed to be ten times that flowing out into the Angara River. What becomes of it? Its waters are fresh, yet gulls, cormorants, and other birds usually found only on the sea, haunt it, and seals actually live in it. The peasants call it the Holy Sea and have many superstitions regarding it.--THE EDITOR.] [Footnote 18: Blagovestchensk is now one of the prettiest cities in Siberia. It has tree-lined avenues, parks, and attractive residences. There are also fine schools, public libraries, theaters, and hospitals free to the poor.--THE EDITOR.] [Footnote 19: Between 1905 and 1914 more than 3,000,000 colonists settled in Siberia. A great deal has been done by the Russian Government to help the new settlers in their new life.--THE EDITOR.] CHAPTER XV LENT AND EASTER Next morning my father took me to an exhibition held to show something of the resources of Siberia. While I studied the many evidences of great mineral wealth,[20] my father devoted his attention to everything that pertained to farming.