Note 16 — Chapter LI · LAKE KHANKA TO THE COAST.

I did not grasp the full meaning of this till some days after, and then I learned that every child in Russia must have a certificate of baptism, wanting which sundry civil difficulties may arise. It was well, therefore, that I chanced to give certificates on these two occasions, of which I sent notice, 6,000 miles off, to Moscow, to be copied into the register of “the nearest parish church.” The Russian certificate of baptism gives the sponsors’ names, and is signed over a 15d. stamp by the officiating priest and deacon. The certificate is then sent to the bishop’s registry for another stamp of like value, in addition to which, to expedite the matter, it is customary to add a rouble or two for the bishop’s clerk.