The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-05-29

part OF our excursion and this is thS
place to speak of the Russian railways.v
nave travelled upon them at various
seasons and in various directions, and
begin by testifying that they are safe,
comfortable and agreeable. In this
Journey from Vladikackaz to Rostov
the distance is about 430 miles, and It
is made by the postal trains in about
tWenty-four hours, or, including stops,
az the rate of twenty miles an hour.
Inc tracks are always solid and
| smooth, and the cars are excellent.
| lhey are much wider than ours, wide
| enough, in fact, to admit of an inclosed
| corriuor running the whole length OF
the car on one side, with doors open-
ing INTO all the compartments. Theses
are spacious enough, with two rows OF
| broad seats facing each other and ex-
tending across the Compartment at
right angles to the corridor. though
except at night, only the bottom seats
are used. These seats are long enough
ana wide enough for a large person In
lie In comfortably when the beds are
maze up. The traveller takes as manv
places as he DESIRES and, If he wishes
| LOT the exclusive use of q Commandment
ne pays for 1t and has It. Russian
people when travelling take with them
their own sheets and rugs; but sheets
anu pillows can always be procured in
Perlect state of cleanliness and at a.
.eSoiidple charge from the porter in
the car The sleeping seems to be bet
| Ter man in our most luxurious sloenino
cars The lavatory arrangements are
also satisfactory, and the neatness of
the whole establishment leaves Matthias
TO be desired. In fact, 1 have navor
seen any reason to complain of tbis
part of the Russian railway arrange
ments The journey to Rostov ara
the subsequent longer journey from,
there to Moscow, landed us at our des-
| tlnations with less fatigue and less
disturbance OF the nerves than we
| shouId be likely to experience in eoino,
| from New York to Chicago or to Orna.
| ha. oi'ia-
NO DINING CARS. ms
| 1 don't think that dining cars a..
known upon the Russian railwavs.Tat
any rate L have never seen tban, b,,t
| the restaurants in the station bo,fsns
are pleasant. and the stops are long
enough to allow you to get what vnu
| want. You can take a seat at tbe
table or refresh yourself standing.
ana at almost every station you can
procure those Incompatible products
oI the Russian cuisine, Stchy and
| borsh. Ihere is nothing in the cuIin
| dry science or any other land known
| 10 me TO be compared with these two
| kilus or soup. The Stchy has for its
| essential element cabbage, and the
| borsh is based upon beets. What other
materials go in with these / shall NOT
undertake to say, except that beef,plays
d great role in the drama of the Stchy:
and, as Borsh is white when II is
served, | suspect that there NAV he
milk in 1t. Yet l solemnly declare that
| having procured an authoritative Rms.
sion cook book, and having myself
carefully studied the prescriptions for
both these works of art, and aecu-
rately translated the same, l have NOT
yet succeeded in finding any Western
culslnler or cuisiniere who could make
ana serve them in a style that would
please an international expert. But
Whlle L am saying this, it is my duty
10 add that there is also another Rus
sion soup which l have heard much
celebrated in that empire, namely, the
botlVinia. 1t is white and is serted
| colu' ana L detest 1T. But without
| pauslhg TO debate these recondite sub
Jects, let us not forget one article that
Is Always to be found at every railway
restaurant in Russia, as in every pail
ace and every hut, always in trans-
cendent perfection, such as all other
peoples are not able to rival. i mean
tea. An express train sends it's hum
dred passengers into a commonplace
railway station, and steaming on a
vast counter before them stand a hum
| area glasses of tea. Some phaye, thin
slices of lemon for those who hkestfat
condlment; and others are served
simply with as much sugar as yousli1Se.
OF, IL you want drop of cream Won
can get that, too; but the tea sfrself
| is something ecstatic, and YOU NAV
| voyage all around the earth from sIon-
uon TO Formosa, and thenabahlento
| Dover and never find any tea sof ss,ich
beautiful, ineXplicable, delighttula1Ify
| ing eXquisiteness. What is, the .sec,et7
Why it is that other lands aandSpeo-
| pies continue to exist in such gdonIpar-
ative disability? 1 cannot guess,9 ,tut
know that glass of Russian teaslor
a cup of it, if you like thar better. Is
something to enchant an, ascetic and
to reJuvenate an antediluvian. o., 10
Rostov stands on high land at the
head of the Sea of Azov, a curious, ,bodv
OF water, too shallow to be- much nav
! igated by large ships, yeti Of great
| Importance from it's fisheries, and, its
trade in grain, wool, and, cattlearjWe
| saw 1t in the fulness of, the sprinr
freshet, when the Don had flooded an
| immense extent of land between 1.-THE
railway embankment and the, sea. n, A
! great mass of shipping was lying at
the Wharves, and it was evident, that
| the place was full of business Tagan-
fog, which is about twenty miles fur
| ther west, used to be more important.
| but Rostov now seems to be monop-
| olizing the commerce of the region. One
would not describe Rostov as a very
| charming or attractive town, but when
we came to drive through it's streets
and to see what was there, we found il
| far from commonplace or uninterest-
/ ing. It's population is now about 100,-
| 900, 1ainly Russian, of course, but in
cluding large representation of the
business men of other nations. We re-
mained there three days, and went
away with the wish that we could have
explored 1t more completely.