Nijni-Novgorod occupies both sides of the Volga. On one side there is a steep hill, a Kremlin, and a town covering the hill till it reaches the quays and extending along them; on the other side is a huge plain, and the Fair. The hill part of the town is wooded and green; the Fair is a town in itself, and during the Fair period the whole business of life, shops, including hotels, theatres, banks, baths, post, exchange, restaurants, is transferred thither. The shops are one-storeyed, and occupy square blocks, which they intersect in parallel lines. They are of every description and quality, ranging from the supply of the needs of the extremely rich to those of the extremely poor. I found a room in a hotel. The hotels were crowded just then, although I was told that the Fair had never been so empty. It had not been open long, and merchants were still arriving daily with their goods. The centre of the Fair is a house called the “Glavnii Dom,” the principal house; here the post and the police are concentrated and the most important shops--Fabergé, for instance. There is, of course, a large quantity of dealers in furs and skins; I bought nothing, in spite of great temptation, except a blanket and a clothes brush. The blankets are dear. Star sapphires, on the other hand, seemed to be as cheap as dirt. But perhaps this is always the case everywhere. I never quite understood when the people had their meals here. The restaurants, of which there is a large quantity, seemed to be empty all day; they were certainly full all night. Perhaps the people did not eat during the daytime. In every restaurant there was a theatrical performance, which began at nine o’clock in the evening and went on until four o’clock the next morning, with few interruptions; it consisted mostly of singing and dancing. Politically the place was as quiet as possible, but, contrary to my expectations, it is what is called a “Progressist” place. The newspapers are all Liberal, and Progressist “candidates” were expected to get in at the next elections. I saw a newspaper editor who complained of the new system the Government have adopted of inflicting fines, right and left, on newspapers. His newspaper, which is the chief Nijni daily, was fined 1000 roubles (£100) for having printed a leading article against capital punishment in general. He showed me the article and I read it. It was certainly abstract. He said that he expected Liberal members to be returned for Nijni, although an immense amount of pressure would no doubt be exerted to prevent such a thing happening.