Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1916-03-03
ALgj fekf FROM rERsIA.

LeYFkMs NUT LN2ln-
FROM a FORMER WOODSTOCK LADY
Tabriz, Persia, Dec. Is 1915.
DEAR Mr.. McMURRAY
! was so pleased when the post
man brought me your letter at
dinner time today. You did not
expect to hear that we have mail
delivery by a uniformed carrier,
did you )! But as the letter had
been oyer two months getting to
me, l want to answer it at once.
/ haye not yet had an answer to
any letters written from here SO
| do not know how letters are
getting through going in that
direction. Coming this way
they come in from one month to
three, l am beginning now to
get American mail, and it GER
tainly is a pleasure.
l fully intended to write you
from Petrograd, aud indeed did
write page or two, but in the
course of our movings about. 1t
got lost, and l never had another
chance to write. We did indeed
have a delightful trip, and l en-
joyed every bit of it. If it was
perilous, we did not feel it so.
True we sailed in waters that
might have mines in them, but
we knew we could not know of
them unless we struck one, SO
we did not bother. We did not
go to Copenhagen at all, but
landed at Christiania, where we
spent a night and day. 1t is a
most interesting, clean, home
like city, built around its pretty
harbor, and over the hills back
lof it. Then we had a beautiful
evening ride in the comfortable
Swedish train, across Sweden
and Norway, to Stockholm. We
got in, in the early morning, ant
! had fine view Of the very hand
some city, built partly on islands
connected by fine bridges. WI
were there only d day, but WE
visited the U. S. Consulate, hat
lunch in a nice restaurant and al
interesting visit to some fin'
museums, where we saw a won
derful collection of things con
uected with the history and lift
lof the Scandinavian people. i
was not thought wise to attemp
to cross to Petrograd by boat
indeed passenger boats were no
running. so we had to go up by
rail around the head of the gul
and down through Finland.
was not sorry, for l was glad t.
see the country, and l like lane
ltravel better than water. 1t il
la thrifty country, every bit o
lcleared land under cultivation
rocks and all, almost At TIL
farthest point north we wer
within thirty miles of the Arcti
ICircle. When we got to Petro
lgrad we began to realize that W,
were in a war" country. TIL
lefty was full of refugees from
| further south, of all kinds. TIL
Hotels were full and if it had no
lbeen for tlir X Kindness cf some 0
the Y. NJ. c. y. people in help
ling us to find hotel, we nigh
have had to spend one night,
lleast, in the station. Petrograt
lgreatly interested me. | found
had never had any real idea o
what Russia and Russians ar,
like. We saw some wonderful
pictures, both Russian and othe
lpainters, some of them old mas
tiers | have long wished to see
I'VE went to many of the splendi'
Icathedra's. The Greek CatLo
llic service is wonderful, an,
beautiful, and pifyM. The Peep
lcrowding up to kiss a great cop,
lof the Bible, bound in gold
adorned with wonderful jewels
land they do not know how t,
Tread it :! Ikons every where, OF
1.-THE street, in stores, in specia
ls'rines, in railroad stations, ant
the people praying to them, az
|parently with the deepest sin
Icerity and earnestness.
| Moscow was less Europea n
more Oriental, with its dirt, il.