Russian Life and Society As Seen in 1866-'67

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. Two young American veterans set out across the Atlantic in the aftermath of the Civil War, turning a journey to Russia into both a personal adventure and a meditation on emancipation, memory, and national change. From the rough crossing to Brest and the bright allure of Paris, the narrative delights in shipboard comedy, where businessmen, actresses, clergy, tourists, and talkative eccentrics form a floating society of wit, games, and fleeting friendships. Once ashore, the letters shift into the pleasures of Parisian life—French lessons, theater, carriage rides, the Louvre, Versailles, and the opera—while the traveler weighs plans for a winter journey farther east. The story then moves into Russia, where Moscow and St. Petersburg unfold in scenes of Christmas trees, midnight services, sleighs, skating parties, masquerades, public balls, baths, stables, and glittering high society. With humor and sharp observation, the writer contrasts Russian customs with American habits while remaining captivated by the grandeur of the Kremlin, the bustle of the capital, and the excitement of travel. Throughout, affectionate family correspondence, military and expatriate circles, and warm recollections of figures like General de Trobriand give the memoir its intimate, cosmopolitan heart.