The National tribune., 1888-11-08
s.. II z e s
RECENT LITERATURE.

% Gents Number, $500 a Year. For
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RECENT LITERATURE.
A HoOsIER IN RUSSIA By Perry 5. Heath
Washington, ID. G., correspondent OF the INDIAN
apos Journai. Il mo. Published by the Bait
News Co., Baltimore Md Artstcally
and fully illustrated. Price. so cents.
This is one of the rarest books probably ever
written on Russia. The aim of the author has
been to cram into as little space as possible the
maximum of information concerning the most
remarkable country and people on the globe
No effort has been made TO enter into tedious
| and tiresome descriptions of palaces, laws and
customs, while IN racy aud conversational
way the reader is told how the country appears
to the stranger, and the character aud life of
the many peoples Of the only White Tar. There
have been n references to guide-books or his
tories. The writer confines himself to what he
has seen and heard. Every paragraph tells its
story complete, and almost every sentence
gives some full information. The writer has
evinced fascinating style of his own, and the
reader lays down the book with regret that he
cannot pursue the study further. Although
this is not strictly q book Of travel, the iufor-
nation given is cleaned from q Summers seurry
through Russia.
/ Mr.. Heath takes his reader as he took him
/ self across the b0undary-line of the Empire
and the reader feels as though he himself were
subjected to all the inconveniencies aud an
/ noyances and troubles which are heaped upon
/ the unfortunate stranger who enters the terri
l tory of Alexander. The descriptions of the
/ first scenes are graphic and racy. They are as
amusing as they are instructive and give bet
/ ter idea of Just what g frontier means when
! shouted by the Russian official than any other
/ book of the kind that we have yet read. The
| Russian custom officials are clothed with far
more power than their fellows in this country,
fha Of rsrI,, HT1fyr
is to examine into the reading matter contain
ed in the baggage Of the visitor. is shown to be
| gentleman who would not be tolerated long
| in this country. Then the ride from the little
frontier station to st. Petersburg, the strange
and peculiar scenery and surroundings of the
villages and towns, are so plainly and interest
! IngIy set forth that one can almost close bis
eyes and imagine the scene before him.
Every one has heard of the Russian drosky
and the break-neck pace at which it is driven
through the streets of that country, but t re-
mains for Mr. Heath to picture this peculiar
vehicle and its far more peculiar driver 10 the
| American reader who is not able or willing to
visit the Russian Empire himself in order to see
the strange sights there so common In fact
all through /" Hoosier in Russia" one is
brought face to face forcibly ana at once sith
the inner life of the Russian people, and it is
so uniquely done that the journey itself seems
to be experienced, except that all the tedium
That most terrible OF all prisons, The For
tress on the Neva, wherein are confined the
Nihilistic prisoners previous to their pseudo
trials, execution or exile, causes shudder as
Mr. Heaths description of it is read and the
author is materially aided by the artist with
beautiful illustrations of that dreadful place of
confinement st. Petersburg with its squalor,
its magnifcence its ubiquitous police and end
less array of gendarmes its magnificent build
ings and wretched novels, is described in a
style as racy and as fascinating as one might
have expected from this authors well-known
piquant manner of dressing up the news which
he sends to the papers from Washington
Americans who are familiar with the system
! in vogue in our large cities of conducting the
police and detective business will have their
eyes opened TO their utmost extent when they
read in this work of the autocTatic power which
is vested in that prince of detectives, Gen.
Gresser of st. Petersburg. An instance of this
is seen in paragraph from Mr.. Heath's chap
ter devoted TO the Russian police. He tells of
a little gathering III one of the garden theaters
at which he was present when one of the
walters at the table made an iusOlent Obserya-
tion to a lady. The matter was reported to
Gresser, who on the spot closed the theater and
garden, and kept them closed for six weeks,
although the daily and nightly profits exceeded
1000 roubles. There was no appeal from his
verbal order. The description of the visit to
Peterhof, on an island to the east of st. Peters
burg, the home of the Tar surrounded by
thousands of dashing Cossacks, guarded by a
score of men-of-war together with the descrip-
tion of RuSsia's army and navy, composed of
over million and o half of men, and sham
battle in which were 20 regiments of infantry,
10 of artillery and thousands of mounted Cos
sacks and Regular Russian Cavalrymen, are
peculiarly interesting.
The author reserves till he goes to Moscow,
the original Capital of the Empire, to tell of
Nibilsm and the exile system in Siberia The
reader, after plungiug through amusing incl
dents and encounters with the natives, and in
the strange out of-way places about the eoun-
try, is snatched from smiles to hot-blOod indig-
nation as he learns of the unexampled opera
ti0ns and ins0lenCe of the authorities. Ia a
few pages one grasps the methods of the Mill
lists, their modes of operation, and sees them
depart into everlasting exile or TO death in the
prisOn-pen. lie almost hears the cianklng OF
the chains. Then he comes back to a dinner in
Moscow, and is treated to fish caught to order
and cooked to taste. He is introduced to that
peculiar Russian relish known rs caviar, which
turns the stomach of every American the first
time he tastes it, and disgusts him from that
time on every time he smells it. The fabulous
wealth of the kremlin, the swaFms and myri-
ads of jewels stored therein are brought TO his
eyes, aud he in turn is brought to his senses as
he is roughly shaken while gazing at the sights
by the still present gendarmes.
Russian churches and Russian methods of
worship are Interestingly described, and create
some amusement, even in the most devOut
| churchmen. Russian holidays, feasts and fes-
rivals occupy the pages of one chapter, while
the peculiar manner of disposing of the dead
and the ceremonies attending thereon as be-
| tween Russia and other countries are compared
in an engaging manner common to more cheer
full portions of the work. There are incident
ally chapters devoted to the armies and navies
of the countries adjacent to Russia, their retail
markets and funerals and their customs, which
characterize those countries. Altogether the
book tells of those interesting little things in
the life of an interesting people which are
found in no other work, and they are told in a
manner that never grows wearisome. Through
out, too the pencil of the artist has aided the
author so effectually that the reader has
brought before him as he turns page after page
an artistic picture of the scenes and places de-
seribed.
| Magazines.
The November Magazine of Amsricaa History
is of special interest and excellence. The de-
lightful chapter of Texas history, by Lee G.
Hardy, is concluded in this number; and read