twenty minutes to seven in the
morning
It might have been supposed that he was asleep . He was not asleep , however , and did not even think of sleeping . He was reflecting , not without a lively apprehension : `` Who is it knows of my departure , and who can have any interest in knowing it ? '' THE next day , the 18th of July , at twenty minutes to seven in the morning , the Caucasus reached the Kasan quay , seven versts from the town . Kasan is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Kasanka . It is an important chief town of the government , and a Greek archbishopric , as well as the seat of a university . The varied population preserves an Asiatic character .