Washington sentinel., 1898-01-08


like humming top, or drink the
health OF the British nation and
iraternize with you in the widest,
merriest fashion. When President
Faure brought his convoy Of iron
clads to St. Petersburg, immaIu-
lately dressed Russian ladies
sprang from their carriages In their
enthusiasm and embraced the
French sailors as they wandered
down the street, to the no small
surprise Of the honest tars. 1t is
said that the servants Of a certain
despot OF the South Seas ''lost their
heads" on the slightest provocatiOn.
~4'his was literally speaking; RAeiaphor.
icaIly the Russians do the same.
Come with me for tour of the city
on an afternoon in late spring, after the
snow has disappeared and before the
court and richer classes have deserted
this town of marshes. Our first step
will be to hire cab or drosky, an
affair OF no small difficulty; our secoNd
step will be to drive IN it. a matter Of
considerable personal danger. The
drivers, TO begin with, are the most
ignorant men II is possible to conceive.
they have none OF the London cabbS.
They can neither read nor write, Their
uniform Qor they are all dressed aliSe)
consists of cloth hat. caught in at the
brim, and a long blue cotton ulster
thicklY padded with wool, which would
be all the better for a thorough soaking
in some form of sheep dip They are
drawn from the peasant or mouiic class.
Of the ignorance of whichso many stories
are told. One OF them was asked the
other day why he cheered so heartily for
President Faure. For some time he
pondered in = ace at last he replied.
81 though Us wise, he seemed such
a irienC ~. ooliceP Another story
relates b - a willy police man came upon
a mowik staring up at the crows perched
on the Winter Palace. "AhP said the
policeman. ''what are you doing9"
Counting the crows, sir" "How dare
you count the crows OF the Czar" said
the policeman. Don't you know that
there is a fine of ten kopecs for every
crow you COUNT How manV have you
counted2" The moujik hesltated, and
al last admitted he had counted ten.
"Iust hand over a rouble, them" said
the dishonest bobby, and he departed
chuckling, while the mOulik went of to
tell his trouble to a friend "But l
cheated him in the end" he concluded
his story by saying, 81 really had
counted a hundred crows, but l only
paid bIm for temp
But to return to our drosky drive. We
commence operations by naming the
place to which we wish to go and a
price equal to about two-thirds OF what
we intend to pay. The first driver will
reply by fixing price equal to about
four times what he is ready to accept.
We don't argue. but pass down the line,
receiving tenders tor the contract.
Having reached the end RAths line we
return to the first driver, and mention
the lowest sum which has been
offered. At this he comes down a
little, and in the course Of FIVE minutes
or so we may, if we are lucky, have
struck bargain. No tariff is fixed by
the municipal authorities; nor does
there seem to be any attempt on the
part of the drivers to combine in raising
the fares. Such place of call against
alp would turn the hair OF member Of
our Cab Drivers Union grav. We mount
the queer little vehicle and start. 1t is
then thar man thanks his stars if be
possesses a good nerve. Taking rein
in either hand, and bending forward,
the driver startles his wild little pony
with veil and off we 60 down the street
at full speed well remember the first
occasion 1 drove in droskY. My pony,
as entered the vehicle, put down its
head and charged a tramcar. From this
it recoiled IN some confusion, and for a
moment thought il intended to bite the
conductor. However, il relinquished
the idea--the man certainly did not look
an appetizing morsel-and, shaving a
lsmppost, rushed off down the street.
My driver sat an unmoved and critical
spectator throughout the entire incident.
Evidently 1t had no novelty for him.