This last peculiarity makes him question as well as communicate, and his questions, though sometimes apparently childish, are generally to the point.
Among the passengers are probably also some representatives of the various Finnish tribes inhabiting this part of the country; they may be interesting to the ethnologist who loves to study physiognomy, but they are far less sociable than the Russians.

Nature seems to have made them silent and morose, whilst their conditions of life have made them shy and distrustful.

The Tartar, on the other hand, is almost sure to be a lively and amusing companion.

Most probably he is a peddler or small trader of some kind.

The bundle on which he reclines contains his stock-in-trade, composed, perhaps, of cotton printed goods and especially bright-coloured cotton handkerchiefs.