Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1867-08-17
Russian Railway Tr Avel-Its Comforts
and Con- senIenees.

Russian Railway Tr Avel-Its Comforts
and Con- 1enIenees.
The COMPLETENESS of the arrange
ments for the comfort of passengers
seems sometb. ing marvellous compared
with our ow n wretched railway accom-
mediation. ssThe train consisted of
half-a-dJzen cars OF immense length.
They We're all mUon of a pattern. En-
tering by the middle, you come first
| into small saloon, with table in the
centre, surrounded by sofas and divans.
From one side of this saloon passage,
broad and high enough for tall man
or a lady In erinoline to walk along
without much difficulty, leads to the
| further end of the carriage, opening by
an iron door on to an iron platform out
side. Out of this passage you pass,
pushing aside the neavy curtains, into
any one of the three private apaI T.
ments-I know of no more appropriate
word-into which the carriage is di-
vided. In the daytime, these apart
meats look like very luxurious first
class carriages, with armchair seats for
six persons. On the other side OF
the saloon have spoken of was a pas
4 ICdulnS W AZ
served for ladies aud on the roof there
was n sleeping -saloon, to which you
assembled by winding staircase. The
view from this upper-foor is excellent,
but in winter-time the lower apartments
are chosen by preference. Everything
in the whole place was admirably ar
ranged, the doors fitted closely and
as in entering the carriage you have to
pass through a succession of doors, one
of which you close before you open the
other, there is no draught from the
cold, bleak air outside. Be-
sides the apartments set apart for trav-
elers, there were washing-places and
dressing-rooms, all handsomely fitted
up, and, what is even more remarkable,
scrupulously clean"
When night arrived, the attendants,
''three of whom--two men and one
woman-are attached to every car, mt
the lamps, the curtains were drawn. a
green baiZe portable table was fixed In
the centre of our compartment, wax
candles were fastened at the corners,
and chess and draughts and cards We're
offered to us, in case we did not wish
to sleep or TO read. Learning that the
duty upon cards was paid over to the
funds of the noble founding hospitals
with which Russia is provided, we thOt
ourselves justified in supporting the
cause of charity, and from dark till 1T
was time to go to bed, we played at
whist as comfortably as if we bad been
seated in a London club-roOm." Every
fifty miles or so was a first class station,
with refreshment rooms, supplied with
every delcacy, duck and geese, and
venison, fishes and plump partridges,
jellies, puddings, tarts and pastries,
all laid out so charmiDgly that 1T SEEM
ed shame to eat them. No wonder
our author blushed to think of ''the
shabby counters. the stale buns, the
| grizzly fy-blown patties, the horse
bean soup, and the scraggy drumsticks
| of similar establishments at home. -
1t must be added, however, per contra,
that at the booking Office of this Elys
| ian line of railway, there is something
still TO be learned even from the Lon
don, Chatham and Dover. 81 was serv-
ed with a ticket-the document looked
so like a writ, that the word served
suggests itself naturally; about foot
| in length, covered with cabalistic char
( acters. Then had to procure anOth-
er document of the same length for
my sleeping berth in the train, and
then / had to obtain a separate ticket
for every article of luggage / did not
take in the carriage with me. One
ticket would have done as well; but it
is the cardinal principal of all Russian
! administration never to use one piece
of writing where two can possibly be
employed. / may mention, as an in
stance of the way in which business is
carried on, that of one bureau in the
station they gave me five-rouble note
in change, so tattered, and torn, and
greasy, that declined taking it until |
was assured of its genuineness; at an
other bureau in the self-same hall ten
dered this note in payment, and had
it positively refused as worthless. Hap
PLY, / had time to insist on its being
changed. 1t was returned to tie rail-
way officials, and will doubtless be
passed off on some other stranger, who
is either more unsuspicious or more
pressed for time than L CHANGED to be
myself.