Wilmington daily gazette. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1872-1874, 1874-08-18
The couriers If The Gar.


The Russian couriers, or pony expressmen,or
mail-carpiers, az you may choose to call tnem,
travel neither on foot nor on horseback. You
will find that in this matter, a. In almost every
custom and habit ofevery people, nature compeIs
man to sitter his arrangements 10 suit her con-
dtiops. In Tartary they have fine horses, great
wide deserts, and splendid roads, and, naturally,
the eouriers there are mounted; IN England,
where the roads are bad running through hogs
and marshes, the old couriers were iootmen; 10
Russia, where snow lies on the ground nearly
the whole year, sleighs are used by the courleif.
The ''Couriers of the Gar" as the mail-carrieis
are called, travel with great rapidity. Fresh
horses and drivers are ready at stations every
twenty miles apart; but the couriers themselves
sleep in the sleighs, and travel from one end oil
a mail route TO the other. Special messengers
of the Gar, on public business, travel by these
same routes, and with even greater rapidity
than the mail-carrieis. During the Crimean
war there occurred an incident illustrating the
severity of this service. The Russian general,
Prince Mentckikofl, who defended Sebastopol,
had occasion, during the siege OF that city, TO
send an important message to the Gar at SIT
Petersburg; and ordered faithful ofhcer 10 DO
his messenger, giving him direction not TO halt
or delay until he stood before the Car, and
above all, not 10 lose sight Of the precious
message which he bore. Away went the officer
in sleigh belonging to the Cars couriers. AT
the end of each twenty miles, he found fresh
horses awaiting him: these we're quickly harness
sed to his sleigh, in place Of the weary animnls,
and the servants and atable-men would cry
out:
"Your Excellency, the horses are ready"
"Away thenv' the officer would say to the
driver; aad off he would 20 again at The most
rapid pace of which the horses were capable.
- Ii fnra nj anI N No
suffering with cold and pursued by wolves in the
forests, the officer, weary with watching his des-
patches day and night, at length reached
the palace Of the Gar, and was Immediately
ushered into his presence. lie had no sooner
handed The Emperor the letter of the general
than the messenger sank into chair add fell
fast asleep in the royal presence,-an offence
which, 10 some ages, would have been punish
able with instant death. When he had finished
reading the despatch, the Car wished to ask
the officer question, but found he could not
awaken him. The attendants called TO him,
touched and shook him, all in vain; and at last
one declared.the poor fellow.was dead The Car
was much grieved thereat, and went TO the
officer and examined.his pulse, put his ear down
to his side, and declared he could hear his
heart humping. He was only asleep. Bat he
soon found that the exhausted officer could not
be reused by the usual means. AT length the
Car, STOPPING down, cried in his eat:
"Your Excellency, the horses are ready
AT the sound Of these words, which he had
heard every twenty miles of his journey, and
the only ones which be had listened to for days,
the faithful officer sprang TO his feet and cried:
Away then!'
Instead of driver aud horses, he found the
Car before him, laughing heartily at his con-
fusion and dismay. You may be sure his oienca
was forgotten; instead of being punished for
sleeping when his work was done the officer was
| rewarded for his faithfulness.-From The Pom,
| Express" IN ~. Nicholas for September