April 10th, 1873. Snow fell during the night; cold rain in the morning.

At twelve o'clock we had an audience with Grand Duke Nicholas. He is the emperor's younger brother and a general in the army.

At twenty past two we took carriages to a military clothing factory which supplies uniforms and footwear for all the regular soldiers in Russia. It is under the supervision of army officers and employs poor men and women from the city, although women are few. The uniform worn by Russian soldiers consists of a black tunic with grey breeches; since the country is a cold one, there is also a greatcoat, which is made from a rough kind of woollen cloth. On their feet they wear boots, and everything is made here. The tunic and breeches are changed every two years, the greatcoat every three years and the boots usually twice a year. For the welfare of the soldiers it was essential to establish this factory.

We then went to the Museum of Mining, which is located on the north bank of the Neva. The four leading countries in Europe in terms of mineral resources are Britain, Belgium, Prussia and Russia. Russia has the largest territory in the world, much of it consisting of cold, desolate, barren steppes, but it has substantial mineral resources. On account of transportation difficulties, however, these resources have yet to bring much profit.