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From Orel there was no malle-poste in which they could continue their journey, and they were obliged to hire a tarantas, or posting-carriage, a very inferior kind of conveyance. In consequence, besides, of the fair at Pultowa, every vehicle of this description had been taken up except one, which was of course the worst in the town.
At last, near nine o'clock, we were able to pack ourselves and our luggage. The body of our tarantas, made, for the sake of lightness, of woven elm withes, and varnished dark brown, was shaped not unlike a baby carriage. Such a wagon body costs about eight dollars in Kazan, where great numbers of them are made.
The carriages supplied were tarantas, or large post-chaises, drawn by six horses, and telagas, or four-wheeled waggons. They speedily made their way to Kiakhta, where they met with a most hospitable reception, and were splendidly fêted. Dinner, concert, ball were given in their honour; "nothing was wanting, not even the polka."
By Landesen's recommendation they took him as their companion, and he was very useful to them on the road. The bauer-wagen was much more uncomfortable than the tarantas had been; travelling in it was like gallopping over a bad road in an English farmer's waggon; and, as the vehicle had no cover, the travellers were exposed without protection to the full power of the sun.
In this new kind of conveyance they experienced great discomfort: they could neither sit nor lie with ease, as the space was much too small for three passengers. The country they passed, through was very rich; it may be called the granary of Russia; they found the harvest more advanced the farther they penetrated into the south. At Koursk they hired a fresh tarantas.
The tarantas were hauled up on their decks, and after a night of peril, when a sudden hurricane put to the test their solidity and staying qualities, they effected the transit of the lake in safety. The "Holy Sea," as the natives call it, is the third largest lake in Asia about 400 miles in length, and varying in breadth from nineteen miles to seventy.
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