Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1892-08-30
THE CARS FOUR HUNDRED.
Doinss of Giided Youth in st. Petersburg.
Railroad Deadheads.

Herr Won Proskowetz, an Austrian no
bleman and traveller, has just published a
bookful of Stories concerning the bad
side of Russian life as he saw it in a two
years trip through the country. The
most striking popularity of Russian rail.
way travel, he thinks, is the large num-
Der of deadheads in the high priced CON-
partments of the coupes. Between Mos
COW and st. Petersburg he shared first
class compartment with a dragon Off
Ger. The guard took Herr Won Prosko-
wetz's ticket, but said nothing to the Off
Ger. For some time after they were
left alone together the military man eyed
the Austrian nobleman curiously, and
finally asked:
did you really buy first class ticket?'
Won Proskowetz confessed that he did.
''And your good money is squandered
beyond recall. You ought to have done
as | did. | gave the guard rouble and
cigar. He is good fellow and doesn't
bother about tickets
Proskowetz suggested that dragoor
officer might do things that foreigner
mightn't.
Eyes, that may be So" answered his
companion, "but just think of the fun
you might have had with the fifteen
| roubles you squandered on ticket"
Herr Won Proskowetz gathered some
| interesting statistics and made notes on
| some queer things while in Russia.
Since 1866 the population of st. Pc
tersburg has fallen from S61 900 to S42 ).
900. This falling off has taken place
among the working people, and may be
| ascribed to the wretchedness of the quar-
tiers in which the workingmen at the cap
ital are obliged to live. One-tenth of the
workingmen's lodgings are in cellars
When higher up. however, the accom-
modations are little better. A working
mans sleeping room has usually only
one window, and is occupied at night by
between ten and fifty other laborers.
| Herr Won Proskowetz's opinion of Rus
sian society is pretty poor. The young
men in Moscow's 400, he thinks, are
about the most reckless and extravagant
in the world, and are always full of de
sire to smash things. A man, therefore
who gives a stag dinner at Moscow res
| t.hui diit vi ilOtNl al ltiOiy CoHbi avs u
pay for the meal ''inclusive of crockery.
AS soon as the last dish has been serve,
his guests begin to slam things about the
room, and before the last bottle of wine
has been served the floor is carpeted witt
small bits of the service, the mirrors anC
the pictures from the wall. In the Win
ter garden the young bloods drive theil
sticks through the fish globes and hew
! down all the flowers and shrubs they
can get at They are not altogether bad
however, for they pay the proprietor
lavishly for everything they destroy.
Another freak of the lively young me1
in Moscow is to hire an elephant for al
evening and get it drunk on champagne
About six months ago a young BLOOD
beat the record for originality by giving
his friends a dinner, at which the only
meat was the pork from trained pig
bought of its trainer by the host for IA,
900 roubles. AT least that was the story
the host told in good faith to his friend
at the beginning of the feast. He Learned
the next day that the owner of the pig
Clown Tanto, had swindled him by sub
shutting a common pig for the educated
animal. A lawsuit followed, but befor
it could be decided Tanto and his pi!
and the $4,000 roubles in question go
out of the country.
The Moscow dudes and officers hav
also an overweening passion for the star
of the cafe chantants and for gyps,
street singers, whom they marry witt
astonishing frequency. Herr Won Pros
kowetz tells all these stories of the car
I 400 with perfect seriousness, and pre-
sents abundant proof of their truth. Hi
opinion is that the half has not been toll
of the unique madness of Russian fash
l ionable life.-New York Sun.