Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-05
THINGS IN GENERAL.
The,Large Number of Visitors Who Attend
Criminal Court - Some Inside Facts
About the Horrors of Russia and ST.
beria-A Lady's Tales of Terror.

good congregation. Good, that is in poin,
of numbers. The listeners in the Criminal
Court have not all of them the countenances
of saints. Nor would they all be willing to
indorse the sentiment of st. Bernard-was
ithot st. Bernardf-who said that he loved
poverty but not dirt. One would hardly like
to invite the congregation of the Criminal
Court to dinner-at least, not all at once, on
the same day.
| Nobody Will deny, however, that there are
a great many people Of all sorts and condi.
| t1ons to be found breathing the unfragrant
| atmosphere of the Criminal Court. Follow
the crowd and you will certainly get in
ut that door. The Criminal Court col
umns in the newspapers, the accounts of
j muroers'and prize fights, the revelations of
scandal, get no end of readers. Even good
christians, who want to see what the devil
| olo yesterday in this bad world, look on
curtously at this disclosure of evil passions.
The Criminal Court counters in the book
| stores, set out with paper backed novels in
| lur1d covers, with sensational titles and SEN
| satlonal contents, murders and scandals
worked over into stories, never lack pur-
| chasers. There is probably the worst lot of
| poisonous fiction in the book market TODAY
that has ever been known In this country
SO much literary garbage rotting on the
book sta1s But there are plenty of readers
VINO appear to relish just that sort of thing.
Enjoying the Troubles of Others.
The truth is that there is something in
us-original sin or brute einheritance-which
| makes us take a certain enjoyment in
| other peoples troubles. We do not
really desire that any great catas-
I trophe shall overtake our fellowmen,
but somehow good many of us secretly
hope that If there is any great catastrophe
mo- haf f,,,,d do, \ 11o1,o
There is a curious strain in human nature
which makes most people interested in see
ing other people fight. Even in drawing
rooms, a certain considerable proportion Of
the conversation deals with the faults and
follfes and i'll fortunes of the neighborhood.
We can all of us understand the small girl
who looked with good deal Of pity in her
lace at the picture of Daniel in the den of
lions, and answered, when her mother told
her that the lions didn't really eat Daniel,
that she wasn't sorry about Daniel, she was
only afraid that when the big lions in the
foreground jumped on Daniel they wouldn't
leave any of him for the poor little lion be-
mind them In the corner.
The Professor read an account of q prize
fight the other day. ENTIRELY, of course,
for the benefit and moral profit of his Mon
day morning congregation; as the fathers
and uncles take the youngsters to the
-circus!l And in it the reporter described
young man who had never seen a fight be-
fore. He took it pretty good for the first
nVe minutes. But, after that, nobody in
the whole ring yelled louder than he did.
Probably the Roman ladies had moments
when the gladiatorial murderings were not
altogether delightful to their souls. But for
the most part they enjoyed that exciting,
bloody and tragic spectacle immensely.
Russia's Regiment Of ExiIes.
The Professor had the privilege of an
extended conversation, the other day, with
lady who lived for several years in Russia,
in the Imperial household. She said that
regiments of exiles used to pass her door
every week, bound tor Siberia, and
that she used to go out and give them
food. She kept store of lint and oil
on hand to ease the ankles of the poor
women, whose heavy fetters ground into the
flesh to the bone. But she said, also that
people got used to that sort of sight. The
tragedy of Russian life does not interfere
with the gaiety of the bathrooms of St.Peters-
burg or Moscow. One at this distance, read
ing of the horrors and scandals which we
instinctively think of nowadays when we
think of Russia, imagines the people, high
and low, ground down under that merciless
despotism and afraid to breathe. But we
might live year in Russia and know no
more about Siberia than most people in
Pittsburg know about the tenement houses
on Second avenue.
Russia is the criminal court of the whole
civilized world Everything bad that comes
out in that division of modern justice and is
reported in the newspapers, and furnishes |
plots for the poisonous novels, has to be |
multiplied by hundred thousand to de- |
scribe Russia.
1t may be partly for that reason that we |
are all so interested in Russia. The cotem- |
porary history of that remarkable coun- |
try ministers to that trait of our uni |
versal human nature which crowds the |
"chamber of horrors" at Madame Tus- |
saud's and replenishes the company of !
gazers who stop on their way along |
Fifth avenue to look at the picture of Fitz- |
simmons room. The descriptions of Russian |
prisons give US creepy feeling. And we
rather enjoy experiencing that "creepy"
feeling.
At all events, we are interested in Russia
Partly from love of sensation, partly from
love of humanity, we listen with attention
to Mr.. George Kennan, or to 'Mr. E. B.
Lanin," or to anybody else who can bring us
news of Russia.
Some News From the Inside.
The Professor, accordingly, welcomed the
opportunity of talking with one who had
seen Russian life from the inside, and knew
it, not as q tourist but as an actual and priv
ileged resident. One who stood at the pres
ent Emperor's elbow, and heard him swear
as he stumbled over his sword at the begin
ming of his wedding journey, could hardly
fail to be an instructive companion in con-
verSation.
The Russians, looked ut from this vantage
point and described by an observer preiu-
diced in their favor by sincere. friendship,
are the most polite, the most religious the
most immoral and the most benighted peo-
pie to be found in all christendom. They are
80 religious that every one of them has a re-
igious picture-an icol-the representation
Of saint, just beside the front door in the
of his house, and never thinks of ad-
three steps from the entrance or of
,aluting his host or hostess, If he is making a
,all, without crossing himself nine times or
1t least, a good many times: it may be less
jhan nine. Anyhow, he crosses himself with
great devotion, both here and at nearly
svery other turn of his way. The Russians
LII go to church and stand up during the
whole length of a long and most elaborate
service: They account it as a great hard
ship, however, if priest in his zeal ventures
to supplement- the service with sermon.
Nevertheless, all this ecclesiastical cor
rectness seems to make but slight impress
zion upon moral character. The lower and
middle classes appear to be q little better on
account of the Church. but the aristooracy
play tennis with all the ten COM
They all lie, and they all steal
md they all mfsbehave themselves in other
yays which are even more unpleasant to
hink about. The chief of police in the CITY
If st. Petersburg gets n salary Of forty
'oubles a month, somewhat less than