The Portland daily press., 1884-03-18

A large ard fashionable audience gathered
at the First Parish Church last evehing at
O'Clock to hear Mrs. Leosowen's lecture on
Russia. She is very entertaining lady and
held the audience with interesting stories OF
her travels for an hour and half. The follow
ing is an abstract:
The moment Mrs. Leonowens arrived at
WelTzouiow, a half-Russian and Prussan
town on the frontier of Russia, Russian gem
oafnes entered the cars and subjected each
occupant TO the most embarrassing scrutiny
IL they were hunting up some escaped Mini
lis's or looking for some notorious crimiAsl
tney could not have been more severe, and
awe-ihsplring in their demeanor, and it was
only aItsr the most searching examination OF
her passport and trunks that she was allowed
To enter tue Russian empire. From the time
she entered Russia 20 the time she lett it she
could not help feeling the force of Horace
Walpoles remark, "What O country to live
lul Where Siberia joins the palace, the cot
tage and the howell" at the Hotel d'Angle
terra, tall, stalwart officer. armed with
sword and PISTOLS entered the sneakers room
and demanded her passport, and when she re-
quested him 10 leave her room until she had
dressed, he replied that as she had chosen to
visit Russia at the worst period of White Ter
Tor sne must submit to the new laws or quit
the country She found ST. PETERSBURG in a
state OF siege, mounted police, gendarmes, and
Cossacks paraded the streets. She had to pro-
cure permit from the secret police to visit
Lift 9 Sadowah street where the mine was
laid and the dynamites prepared which So
. fatally terminated the life of the Unhappy
Alexander III. Through tie polteness of
General lilo she and Mr.. Pierce we're the
only persons allo ven to be in the streets Of
81 Petersburg during the landing OF Alex
snder | III aud his Empress on their visit TO
the Cathedral of st. Peter aud St Paul, and
10 was noticeable that they fled surrounded by
their guards through the city as if pnrsued by
some unknown enemy.
Her exlerience ana adventures in ST. Pet
erScurg and Moscow We're many and ludierous
as the fact OF a lady travelling alone vt that
moment in Russia seemed to have brought
upou her the suspicious of the secret police
From Moscow she proceeded to Vologda, the
terminus OF The railroad from which place up
TO Archangel "a journey made in a pilgrim
boat with 100 pilgrims up the Lukhona river,
thence into the North Dwinsl she was accom-
panied by police officer who though
most polite, never lost sight of her.
At Vologda she saw several wagon loads of
prisoners who passed through that town on
their way to Siberia. The wagons were ia
iact IRON Cages divided into compartments for
men and women. Some of the prisoners no
doubt we're criminals and merited their punish
mehi, ens many young faces were among
them, and one fair face of a yoang woman
ABOUT sixteen made great impression upon
her.
The city of Archsugel, the most northern
city III Russia, presented to her the greatest
variety OF different people and costumes; in
the streets she saw FiDbS, Swedeg, Norwegians
Laps, Ksrelians, Semosedes, Kalmucks,
Russians aud German and English Sailors and
she describes he condition of the Samoyedes.
their drunkenness, filth and immortality, as the
most appalling, aud SURPRISING ANYTHING she
has ever witnessed in her life
The Island of Solom bola which is the real
harbor OF Archangel andsbuit by Peter, the
Great, himself, is joined to Archangel BY
MAGNIFICENT portable bridge spanning the
norlhera Dwina and is taken down every
winter and put mp every spring.
She was received by Prince Youchtoomsky,
commodore of the port of Archangel and Cover
nor DeConies. She describes their hospitality
as prodlgal and dazzling, no less than sixty
dinners.
Leaving Arcbangel she proceeded accom-
panied by Princess Helen Youchtomsky aud
her suite to visit Soloretsk or the holy isl8s in
the White Sea. fhe embarking of the Pill
grim boat Vera, was q religious ceremony.
The archimandrte with six priests appeared
on the scene. The pilgrims on the deck knelt
and crossed themselves, prayers were iDtoned,
lighted candles and holy bread were cast as
propitatory offerings into the Dwina then the
cords were loosed and they steamed away for
the White Sea. On the third day they reach
cd the holy isles On the Island of Soloretsk
NJ bird or animal life is permitted to exist
save the itrd sea gull and the blue pigeon as
symbolic of the Holy Ghost. The Island is
sworn TO celibacy aud inhabited by thousand
monks. No female is allowed to remain on
the island more than a week, and nature ip
her tenderest mood is banished from the spot
but wonderous bridges join this island to two
others, Zaet aud Moksaima, where cattle and
poultry are bred. for the use of the monks.
Mrs. Leonowen's ride back from Arch
angel, of five hundred aud forty-fve
miles OF bog, morass and marsh to Vologda,
her visit to the great fair at Nijinorgrot, to
Kazan and Kiei, were all toucned upon,
With regard to the government of Russia,
as far az she could see, it is embroIed in finan-
cial difficulties, distracted by intestine pots,
and infested by a corruption so deep that its
effects are felt among all classes, spreading
deep dlstrust of every Ting aud of every body.
Ihus. in the eyes of the NIhilists, the Gar is
at the root OF al lnis avif; aud ms Destruction
Is the irst step towards national life Infiamed
with these ideas, reformers issue from every
school and college in Russia, demanding for
the people every possible freedom. The late
unhappy Gear, Alexander III, tried to reform
every branch of tue government, but none of
his reforms achieved much owing to the cor
ruption of the officials.
Since his tragic end, the Russian government
has bad recourse to extreme measures OF re.
preston, aud Russia has become police State.
The prisons are full, thousands have been ex-
lied, hundreds have been executed; still the
Nihlists believe themselves invncble From
ardent reformers they are grad ualy trans
formed into terrorists of the deepest dye.
What will be the end of il none can tell.