Year: 1877

Ao "o EutCOT OJ tHe CUtedOnldn


You will do me kindness, my dear
Sir, to allow me to chat with you a lit
tie while in a familiar way, about trip
l have recently made to Bulgaria By so
doing you will give me an opportunity
of refreshing in my mind an excursion
which do not wish to forget; and as
the talking is likely to be mainly on
my side, you and your readers can claim
the privilege of listening or not as YOU
choose.


1t was the Easter vacation, beginning
the fourth of April, when this part of
the world is as fresh and green as yours
is four weeks later, that, with one of
my associate teachers, Mr.. Webber, 1
set my face towards the Balkans.


RAILROADS.


The last ten years have seen great
wonder introduced into Turkey, to wit,
railroad. From COnstantinople it
pushes off into the interior as far as the
old Turkish capital, Adrianople, and
then throws out two arms as if wishing
to shake hands with European civiliza-
ton away across the Balkans and the
Danube. AS yet the effort has been a
failure, and the eastern branch reaches
only to Yamboli, and the western to
Bellova, little beyond Philippopolis.
The whole distance is only go kilo-
metres, or about 400 miles, and some
estimate of the present stage of civiliza
tion in Turkey may be made from the
fact that in the whole Empire of more
than 900, 900 square miles and 30,000,-
600 of inhabitants, there are less than
1000 miles of railroad, in seven distinct
| lines. But the Turks have found it eX-
| pensive business, this railroad build
| ing, and Il few more such investments
as this Adrianople road would swamp
the government if it were not so already.
The contract was let to a sharp Ger
man, Baron Hirsch, who parcelled it
out to sub-contractors, and made mil
lions of francs by the operation. The
road was to be built at so much the
kilometre, and the contractors evidently
wished to give the travelling public
just us long ride as possible for their
money, and that there might be no ac-
cidents they carefully went around all
bad places instead of through them and
chose the easiest and safest route posi-
ble. 1t was far better in the long run
to go five miles around swamp than
to build bridges and embankments,-
or at least the run would be longer.
Another idea that seemed to possess the
minds of the railroad builders was to
get as far away as possible from all the
large towns, and if by any chance the
line ran near a town the station was
built half a mile or more to one side or
no possible reason unless it be to furnish
occupation to the drivers of carts and
I do not know what to call them in
English, the natives call them talagaS,
but more of these farther on. Even at
Adrianople, the second city in European
Turkey, the station is some two miles
from the town, and this to avoid build
ing two OF three bridges.


The company that runs the road, are,
to say the least, honest. Between the
metropolis and Adrianeple there is
about 200 miles of road, and they give
you whole day, l24 hours, of riding
and then very obligingly wait at the
Adrianople station for you to get good
nights sleep and a breakfast in the
morning. The train stops from five to
thirty minutes ut each station, and
makes as much ado about starting again
as growing boy does in getting up to
breakfast. First the station master
comes out on the platform and rings a
bell. Then you wait while. After a
little, the guard shouts .fertig and you
get into your box,-the guard shuts and
fastens the door, and after some more
waiting the bell rings again. Then
ductor whistles to the engine, and in a
comparatively short space of time the
engine whistles back to the conductor,
and without much more delay you move
slowly off.


There are few men in America who
know enough to run a railway train in
Turkey, and in fact it takes Il linguist
to do any kind of business here. Fol
example, we were at the station in
Adrianople some time before the train
was to start, and thought, very naturally,
that we would find good place in a cal
and sit down. We were just nicely seat
ed, however, when an official came along
and informed us in French that we must
not get into the car until the bell rang
AS we did not seem to understand he
repeated it in Italian, then in German,
then in Turkish. Quite amused at his
display of Iingua, we asked him if he
could not say the same in English, when
he moved off in disgust. The next
language used was of unmistakable
signs, for a cauaSS soon began to take
out our baggage, and we understood.


The third class cars yield much
greater profit than any other, as is true
all over Europe l believe. Very few
people caring to go second class with
the increased expense and comfort, and
, still IaSs first So much for railroads.