At another time he had been at Archangel and Onega, on the shores of the White Sea.

St.Petersburg and Moscow were both well known to him, and he had visited Odessa.
The precise nature of Ivan's occupations during these wanderings I could not ascertain; for, with all his openness of manner, he was extremely reticent regarding his commercial affairs.

To all my inquiries on this topic he was wont to reply vaguely, "Lesnoe dyelo"-- that is to say, "Timber business"; and from this I concluded that his chief occupation had been that of a timber merchant.

Indeed, when I knew him, though he was no longer a regular trader, he was always ready to buy any bit of forest that could be bought in the vicinity for a reasonable price.
During all this nomadic period of his life Ivan had never entirely severed his connection with his native village or with agricultural life.

When about the age of twenty he had spent several months at home, taking part in the field labour, and had married a wife--a strong, healthy young woman, who had been selected for him by his mother, and strongly recommended to him on account of her good character and her physical strength.