The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-11-24
LAND0F THE CAR.
AN AMERICANS OBSERVATIONS
IN RUSSIA. s-
A Country Whose Frontier is Guard
ed ut Every Point by Sentinels-
Cronstadt's Frowning Guns
Scenes in st. Petersburg.

Russia is sphinx, says Demas Barnes,
in the Brooklyn Eagle. She may not In
sptly be compared to great beehive,
with walls so thick that to outsiders Q
sound is seldom heard, while within Is
An intensely active population, whose oc-
cupation is not merely to gather pollen
from Cossack roses on their own vast
plains, but whose pinions are capable
of flying from the Black Sea on the
south to the Arctic { (cean on the north,
and from the German mpire in the :
West of Europe to Eehring Straits OF
Eastern Asia. Neither is the imperial
stomach gorged by swallowing small
provinces on her own borders, Tut she
gulps down, apparently without discom-
fort, whole nations, like Poland, Turke-
stan, and Finland, and now, judging
from appearances, she is about to establish
her, elf on the Persian Gulf. A Gordon
of sentinels guard her frontier at
every point, and ctnsors control the
press, inspe,t telegra rs, and overhaul
the mails. The gauge o: railroad tracks
is broken at the frontier towns, so that
no car nor its conmo lilies can enter or
leave the territory without scrutiny.
Even her language is bar to inter
course. The Russian alphabet contains
thirty.six characters, partly Roman and
partly compost. SEEING my own name
written in Russian could not read it.
The multiplied vowel' and peculiar con-
sonant sounds effectually lr vent for
eigner from understanding word when
pronounced, and it is impossible for
| foreigner to inquire for person, town,
street or number-a bad place to be lost
in. The Russian dictionary contains
over 10000 words. Po,try in such
diluted language would seem to l ok that
epigrammatic terseness WHICH is essential
to convey force and emphasis. To de.
scribe such people under such condi-
tions and at single sitting is impossi-
BILE. It would require local residence
for years and the entire space OF twenty
newspapers to convey anything like an
adequate idea of the Russian Empire
the country and its people, to say moth:
ing of its history.
I entered Russia from the north. It
would have made no difference had 1t
been from the east, the south or the
west. Russia is fortified on all sides,
not alone by fortres es and big guns, but
| by a secret espionage which, without
being able to locate or describe, IS felt,
and one insensibly proceeds with eau.
ton. One is not permitted to leave a
car or boat or to enter hotel, or again
to leave city, without showing Q pass.
port and having it daily indorsed.
Cronstadt is the seaward sentinel OF
St. Petersburg seven islands In the
middle of a wide, shallow bay, the
islands covered by immense forts, and
the channel to be traversed by vessels
winding between them, create an i'm.
preston that this is not one OF Russla's
weak points. Indeed, one look into the,
throats of those frowning guns conveys
an idea of imprcgnability. The next
impression of strength made upon my
mind was by the extent of Russia's wheat
fields. 1t has so happened that fol-
lowed the harvesting of cereals through
| Bslgium, Denmark, Swed,n, and parts
of Russia. From the English Channel
to the Cral Mountains, and, I under
stand, far beyond them, it seemed to be
q nearly unbroken field Of yellow grain.
America has no longer corner on wheat.
The average crop Of the United States
is about twelve Bushels per acre. II
Russia, by reason of poor farming,
averages eight bushels pr acre, she can,
I think, owing to the cheapness of her
land and labor, undcfscll us: Appar:
emily, she has enough wheat harvested
this year to feed tho entire world.
St. Petersburg m y we'll be styled the
Magnificent City of the >eva. Its streets
are broad, buildings massive, parks nu.
merous, museums interesting, and its
monuments grand. have endeavored
to refrain from giving space for reference
to pictures, statuary, churches, archi-
lecture and art, which most travellers
describe with minutencss But part OF
the charm and bloom OF Eastern coun.
tries would be wanting were the aesthetic
wholly eliminated from what say.
In front of the Hermitage Museum at
St. Petersburg arc ten monolith Siberian
marble statues supporting the portico,
each one of which is fifteen feet high,
fully developing in the most ideal man.
ner Herculean streng h. In this great
depository of national wealth, among
other things, is q solid jasper vase ten
feet broad, sixteen feet long, and about
nine feet high. st. Isaar's Cathedral has
I four equal fronts in the form of cross.
At each of the facades project great por-
ticos supported by double rows OF mon.
olith columns seven feet in diameter and
sixty feet high-sixty four in all. Sub
lime.y beautiful and in effect upon the
mind not unlike that produced by a view
of the Egyptian pyramids.
The River Neva is here about half
mile wide. It is crossed by ten bridges,
lighted by gas or electricity. Seen in
the evening, with miles of similar lights
rejected in the water from the quays
made busy by hu-rying crowds of men,
women, and vehicles, the sight is one OF
exceptional beauty. Driving in the streets
of st. Petersburg is something to be re-
membered. The private carriages are
fine barouches, quite like our own, and
generally drawn by black Tartar'an OF
Bulgarian stallion horses. These anil
mails have long names and tails, and are
driven at rate Of speed that would
make the Commissioners OF Central Park
stare and clear the concourse of people
in short time. The drosky is small
four.wheeled, one-horse carriage, very
low in the body, seating two passengers,
and driver in front. All drivers wear
long surtout coats reaching to their feet,
plated over the hips and hustled behind.
The cap is low, broad on top, with