The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1900-08-24

L. T.
who has been travelling for the past two
months on the coast Of Norway and the Baltic
sea, as physician on the yacht Alcedo. belong
ing TO G. W. Childs Drexel. Of Philadelphia.
I'VE reached st. Petersburg Sunday after
noon. too late when we anchored at last near
the Point Nicholas. on the Nevs. to go ashore.
We had run the gauntlet of Russian ''red tame"
at Cronstadt. the great fortress below the city.
where we cast anchor and for over an hour
the Alcedo was overrup by a swan of officials
fierce looking officials with bushy whisker
and gaudy uniforms. They set up an office In
the yachts reading room and took careful in
ventory of every thing on board. from the
owner to the pig lead ballss st in the hold. They
even wanted to know how many watches there
were, how many feet of anchor chain and how
many pounds of coffee. all of which statistics
were carefully recorded. Our passport, OF
course were most carefully scrutinized by sew
eral different officers. endorsedand stamped,snd
list made of them they had already been visit
ed by the Russian Consul of Copenhagen. All
this time the numerous privates three different
tugs had come out to the yacht each with one
or more officers and retinue of privates) stood
armed on deck and looked dangerous. But
they departed at last and Russia was open to
US.
Cronstadt is fortified place at the beginning
of the dredged channel leading up to the city
1t is evidently heavily fortified, and there was
quite feet of men of war. Peter the Great Is
said to have had a crazy streak. l think he
must have been at his worst when he located
his capitol. The city is built on a marshy fiat
at the mouth of the Neva. There is absolutely
no natural harbor at all. From CrOnstadt to
st. Petersburg-about1 S miles think-a mar
row channel has been dredged, evidently at
enormous expense. For two miles it is actual
ly a canal dug across low swampy land
The heavies classes of ships have to
stop at Croustsdt after all, and the work of
dredging must go on all the time. In winter
the harbor is sealed up by eight or ten feet of
ice inYthe river. All the buildings are on piles,
for there is no solid ground. hundred men
are kept at work the year round repairing st.
Isaacs Cathedral. that enormous pile being too
heavy for its foundations aud ia always sinking.
And yet, is spite of all these disadvantages. it
is, believe, the most imposing city have seen.
The streets are magnificent, wide and well
paved, and the buildings are generally on
splendid scale. have not seen anywhere such
i'm posing palaces and churches. The Russian
officer, as one sees him on the streets, is evident
ly gentleman, man of high type and Ia In
striking contrast to the lower classes, who
seem degraded looking. There are not many.
women TO be seen on the streets an occasional
working woman of as low a type AS the work.
ing men and quite a number of nuns, evidently
Of mendicaut order. for they all beg. Then
there are glimuses of ladies splendidly Rowned
dashing by In their carriages. But OF all the
picturesque sights OF this country give the
drosk y-drivers the first place. They are unique.
To begin with they all look alike-a low Mon
golian type of face-from the generous whisk-
cred veteran to moon. faced boy of sixteen.
All are orientally dirty besides. They wear the
most absurd little low crowned beaver hats
with great deal of bell" to them, and long
blue coats that sweeps the ground when, as
rarely happens, you see one of the tribe of the
seat of his drosky. This garment is girded by
gaudy belt that certainly is never less than
four or Ave feet In circumference. 1t Ia the
drosky drivers figure that is his strong point.
1t seems that it is the style in this country to
have fat conference.-the fatter the coachman.
the smarter" the turnout. So, of course. the
| drivers of the private carriages are even more
spacious than the drosky men. but the latter
do pretty we'll, too,in the way Of obesity They
wear enormously padded coats under the long
blue garment, and no weather ever induces
them to modify the padding. They are pyra-
ders, hips much wider than waist. altogether
| they are a wonderful sight. For the rest-we
| have no hackman any noiser or hungrier.
On Monday morning we all went ashore and
repaired first to the American Embassy, but
| found that the Ambassador was not at home.
His porter called some droskys and directed
them to take us to the residence of the Secre-
| tary of Legation. A drosky holds just two peo-
pie. and as there were sevee of us, happened
| to get the odd drosky all to myself. After
| leaving the Secretary's we determined to go
| next to hotel to engage guide. So we start
| ed of, but soon came to grief. A drosky man
always drives fast as bis horse will go, and my
man who was directed to follow the others, hap
pened TO have a wretched old plug that could
not keep up, so we soon lost the others. 1t was
an uncomfortable situation for did not know
where they were going. and for that matter
| could not have told the driver If / had. and
had not a single copeck of Russian money.
Well thought could find my way back to the
yacht, so when was satisfied the driver did
| not know where he was going, but was simply
| driving on aimlessy, every now and then turn
ing around and asking me a question in Rus
sian, then driving on again to the next corner,
then enquiring again, so signed him to stop
and abused him roundly in English. l told
Tim he was q miserable humbu that he had
| failed to carry out his contract aud that re-
fused to trust him any longer. Then got out
of the drosky in state of great indignation
and took out my pocket book. l found in il
several Norwegian, Danish and American coins
these gave him. He shook his head, shrugged
his shoulders. pointing to the coins and jabber.
ing in Russian. l merely told him he could &c
to the - and walked of. l rather expected
him to have me arrested, but the bluff was sue
cessful. l found the pier without trouble, but
found fresh trouble awaiting me there. The
Gear was expected, it seems at any moment
coming up from Peterhof on his yacht and the
pier was cleared and patrolled by guards
Knowing nothing of that l walked straight
| across to the pier head and waved my handker
| chief to the yacht as a signal for the launch
| They saw me and waved a nag to indicate that
the boat would come. Just then a very large
and formabIe soldier approached. evidently IL
remove me, but pointed to the yacht, inform
ed him was only waiting for my launch and
walked on toward the landing stage. My per.
| feet confidence seemed to bewilder the enemy
= who m de some remark, saluted and withdrew
evidently to consult some higher authority
When got to the landing stairs found a ban
ner drawn across the top, but 1t did not quite
close the way, so ] walked past it. / was al
once confronted with an even more ferociuui
looking guard, but went straight down tht
stairs telling him / was going out to my yacht
which pointed 70. The blum worked agar