Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-05-03
A FoRTY-DAY TOUR.
From London to London via vladivos.
tok and Vancouver.

tok and Vancouver.
The earth contracts. A generation
ago Jules Verne described the SEEM
ingly impossible feat Of circling the
globe in eighty days. Today 1t Is pos
sible to go around the world in forty
days at cost, II economy is an object,
Of considerably less than 9100. For
this we have to thank the reopened ST.
berian railway and the improved SER
vice Of the Canadian Pacific EN-
press" line.
The journey Is made in four stages
London to Moscow, two and half
days; Moscow to Vladivostok, thir-
teen days; Vladivostok via Tsuruga to
Yokohama, two days; Yokohama ID
London via Vancouver, twenty-one
and a half days; connections one day.
Travelling first-class the expenses are:
London, via Moscow, to Vladivostok,
with food, ESQ; Vladivostok to Yoko-
hama, about sS, and Yokohama to
London, G65. Those who wish to do
the journey more cheaply could, by go
ing second-class and by living in SIM
pier fashion, cut the cost from London
to Vladivostok to G25, and from Yo-
kohama to London to f37. The whole
trip could thus be done, with incident
al expenses, for ESQ.
From London to Berlin is a night
and days journey, and the Queensbor-
ough route is the best. You have an
hour in Berlin, just time enough to
peep out Of the Friedrichstrasse sta
ton to the busy life of the German
capital, and then you are on again to
Russia in a fresh train from the same
central station. I suppose that no
Englishman visits Russia for the first
time without feeling Of anxiety. You
recall the old stories of police spies,
secret agents, Cossacks with knouts,
and the like. AS the train slowly en-
ters the magnificent station at Alex
androvo, and the many uniformed and
sabred officers come to you, the very
splendofs of the buildings seem to
speak of oppressive bureaucracy.
Within twenty-four hours the feel
ing has gone. You find that the Rus
slams, despite their uniforms and their
sabres and the revolvers of the gen.
darmes, are charming and delightful
people. The travellers in your COM
partment make friends with you, and
there are certain to be some among
them who speak French or German
fiuently, if not English. The great
broad-gauge trains, with their i'm
mense carriages, their comfortable
sleeping accommodations and roomy
corridors amaze you. The day and a
half from Berlin to Moscow is time
Of delightful discovery. The Russian
railway buffet is a revelation in the
possibilities Of railway catering. The
counter, with its zakouskas, its endless
trifles of caviare, smoked salmon, may
onnaise and the like, wins your heart.
Before arriving at Moscow you will
have come to the right conclusion
that the Russians along among the ma
tions know the art of making railway
travelling comfortable.
The regrettable feature of this forty
day journey is that you cannot linger
on the way. But the man who Is not
bound to time will certainly throw
railway schedules to one side when he
reaches Moscow, and will remain In
the old Russian capital for some days,
enjoying the bizarre beauties Of its ar
chitecture. The piety Of the people,
their endless genufiections In public
places, the costly churches, the superb
opera house, and the luxurious shops,
show another side Of Russian life. You
drive across Moscow from one station
to the other, to catch the Trans Sibe-
rian express at half-past ten on Wed
nesday evening This express is world
famous. There Is a splendid and mex
pensive restaurant car, with library
attached. The berths are fitted up as
compartments for either two or four
persons, with every convenience. Ar
rived at your berth, you unpack and
make yourself comfortable as when
entering your cabin on an ocean liner
for long sea trip. The corridors are
the promenade decks, and the dining
car Is the common meeting hail. On
many trains there Is a music room,
and some carry bathrooms and barber
shops.
Before the end of the second day you
are on familiar terms with many Of
your fellow passengers. By the fourth
day half dozen Of you-Russian, Ger
man and English-will have sworn
eternal friendship. In the dining car
at meal times five or six languages
will be heard at once. The conductor
of the train will certainly talk French,
If not English, and French menus will
be obtainable. The man who under
stands nothing but his own language
will find it somewhat awkward, al
though the good temper and kindly as
sistance of others will pull him
through.
Thirteen days in one train sounds
very formidable. Really 1t is quite the
reverse. The Siberian train travels so
slowly that there is practically no vi
bration. have rested glass Of wa
ter on the window sill as a train was
going along and it did not spill drop
There are long stops at all the stations
and the crowds Of Russian peasants
who flock around are objects Of per-
petual interest. AS you cross the Vol
ga you taste the delights Of the ster-
let. fresh and smoked, and the man
who has never eaten sterlet fresh from
the river does not know what fish real
ly can be like. Once out of the pow
erty-s stricken districts Of Central Rus
sia, across the Urals and into Siberia,
you find yourself in pastoral country
ever growing richer. At one spot you
traverse the great plains where the
patriarchs led their fiocks. Then you
are in the new Siberian farming belt.
Here you find distinct type Of Rus
sian peasant, prosperous, independent,
caring little for officers, and a sturdy