The miners brought the blacklead to the surface in large blocks and the material thus obtained proclaimed at once, by its external purity and a beautiful silvery lustre, its excellent value and composition. The transport was attended with immense difficulties. The blocks of blacklead, carefully packed in wooden cases, had to traverse enormous tracts of country, across which not the least vestige of a road is to be found, upon the backs of reindeer to reach the nearest seaport, whence they were shipped to Europe, while other consignments of the blacklead were forwarded to the manufactory exclusively by land. It may be conceived that _Alibert_ by this discovery drew even the attention of the Russian Government upon himself and was gratified by the kindest encouragement both on part of the Czar and the Governor of the province of Irkutsk, Count _Murawiew Amursky_. In the report concerning explorations in Siberia issued by the imperial Academy of Sciences the discoverer is mentioned particularly (page 33) and at the same time _Faber’s_ manufactory, the capital of which has facilitated and advanced this enterprise, is honorably spoken of. The manufactory, thus in possession of so extensive a store of blacklead, the excellence of which both theory and practice place on a level with the Borrowdale lead, has produced pencils made with the Siberian lead ever since the year 1856. It was now no longer a question of attaining to the standard of the Cumberland pencils but rather of surpassing it. The new material was worked partly in a natural state so as to enable connoisseurs to convince themselves of its excellent quality and partly artificially manufactured, which yielded as a result such a degree of evenness, purity and unchanging hardness as had never before been obtained, not even in the best Cumberland pencils. After the exertions of six years the manufactory is just now intending to enter the World’s market with its new productions. * * * * * Before we conclude our sketch we must stop to contemplate a bright spot in the internal history of the factory and remember the day on which it celebrated the completion of the hundredth year of its existence with a festival, to which the joyful feelings of a happy and contented population and the not less hearty than general participation therein from far and near, lent a peculiar solemnity. The festival was celebrated by the proprietor of the manufactory =Johann Lothar Faber= and his brother =Johann Faber= together with their families and in the midst of the assembled factory hands male and female, as also of all masterworkmen employed for the manufactory and a large number of invited guests.