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No. 88.
ee nl
on pe ttt a cee RY Yam Fi gir nO
A RIDE TO KHIVA.
traveler’s pleasure—leave nothing to be desired,
the charges being exceedingly moderate.. But,
with all these advantages, there is one great draw-
back and that is the slowness of the pace, which,
when traveling through a vast country
Russia, is a matter of considerable importance.
Extreme cold would seem to have the same effect
upon the human mind as extreme heat; and the
indifference to time ‘which characterizes the
Russian is only equa'ed by. the low estimation in
which it is held by the Spaniard; while the word
zartra and manana, the “to-morrow” in the two
languages, is used as frequently by the Moscovite
as by the inhabitant of the Peninsula. But there
is some thing else which may account for the
slowness of pace of the trains in Russia, and that
@ | given
to the prosperity of Russia. Another influence
which has a deterrent effect on the development
ofthe commercial and agricultural interest
throughout the country is the high importance
i military rank: as a Russian country gen-
tleman once’ bitterly remarked to me, “In my
country a man is nobody unless he eats, the bread
of the state. He must wear a uniform, he must
have a tchin—military rank—or its equivalent,
should he serve in the civil service. He. must
be a consumer instead of a producer; and then,
and then alone, is he a man to be respected and
looked up to.” The result is, that all the energies
re|of the nation are expended in what will never
bring grist to the mill; but, if this system be per-
sisted in, it will eventually cause a national bank-
is the careless way in which the lines have been | ruptcy.
constructed. The Government inspectors, by all
accounts, are easily suborned.- The golden metal
has charms for them greater than the lives of their
countrymen ; and if the engines were to attempt
even a moderate rate of speed, the sleepers and
rails would inevitably give way. Such was the
explanation given me bya fellow-traveler, when
referring to this subject.
St. Petersburg was at last reached, the journey
having, been accomplished’ in three days and a
half from Charing Cross, I had but little delay
in obtaining my luggage, for in this respect things
are well managed in the Russian stations, and I
shortly found myself comfortably ensconced ‘in
Demout’s Hotel. The day was still young; and
determining to take advantage of. the early hour,
took a sleigh and proceeded to call upon
General Milutin, the Minister of War.
The foreigner unaccustomed to St. Petersburg
is at first a little astonished at the way he is beset,
on leaving the portico of his hotel, by the numer-
ous sleigh-drivers who are congregated outside.
“Where to? where to?” they ery: when, hear-
ing the stranger stammer out the name of the
street, and the name of the person to whom the
house belongs—for in Russia, as a rule, houses are
known by the name of their proprietors, and are
not numbered, as elsewhere—a brisk competition
ensues. “ bwill take you for a ruble, sir. . Look
what a beautiful sleigh I have, and what a fine
trotting-horse !”. “He knows nothing about it 1”
shouts another; “I will take the gentleman for
sixty copecks!” and his face assumes an expres-
sion as if by his offer he had conferred on you a
favor unequaled in the annals of sleigh- drivers,
The other fellows then wait a few seconds to see
if the stranger will succumb to the offer ; but if
not, and you walk forward two or three steps, the
drivers change their tone from sixty to forty, and
from that to twenty copecks (about sixpence in
English money), this being about the value of an
average “course” in St. Petersburg, for there is
no established’ tariff; and the. result. is that
foreigners are more robbed by the sleigh-drivers
in that city than even by London cabmen.
General Milutin was not at home, so I was in-| @
formed by a tall Swiss, the hall porter, when, leay-
ing the letter of introduction and my card, I re-
turned to the hotel. There was no Russian piece
going on.in any of the theaters. that evening,
alhough .there were French and German
lays, besides an Italian opera, In St. Peters-
urg there is one capital Russian theater,
the Alexandrensky, and also a’ national opera-
house, the Marinsky ; but the Alexandrensky,
is often used for German_ plays, and thus
it sometimes occurs, as on the day when I arrived,
that there is no performance going on in the na-
tional idiom in any theater in the capital; but,
after all, this can be easily explained by the in-
tense dislike many apparently well-educated Rus-
sians have to their own language. I have often
heard them say, “It does very well for the moujiki
(peasants), but the language for society is French;”
and these remarks have been uttered by Russians
from the provinces of the interior, whose know]l-
edge of F’rench was so imperfect, and theiraccent
so atrocious, that it jarred on the ear when listen-
ing to them. There is no doubt that there is
an intense contempt among the higher circles
throughout the empire for every thing purely Rus-
sian: it must be foreign, to be eagerly sought
. This weakness on the part of the well-to-
do classes has a very discouraging effect on the
industries of the nation. It would rather surprise
people in this country if an Englishman were to
address his wife in a foreign language, and if the
correspondence between mem same
family were never carried on in English; or should
the daughter of the house be unable to write a
letter, save in French, without making the most
outrageous faults in grammar as well as in spell-
ing. “But this surprises no one in Russia, There
is not that love of every thing national amidst the
higher classes; and to study the real Russ you
must not visit St. Petersburg; for there the native
is so veneered over with foreign polish, that it is
impossible to discover what exists below the sur-
face; and a French fencing-master is infinitely
referred to a Russian Socrates, The present |
’mperor, it is said, has done every thing in his
power to check this weakness on the part of his
subjects, for he is a far-seeing man, and the em-
pire owes more to his beneficent rule than to any
of his predecessors; but a deep-rooted custom can
not be ousted in one generation, and it will take
many years to teach the inhabitants of the capital
that this running after every thing foreign,
detriment of national enterprise, will never
As I was reading a Russian newspaper that
evening, I came upon a short paragraph, which so
eminently characterizes the weakness for strong
liquors which prevails throughout the empire that
Iam tempted to reproduce it.
It appeared that in a certain large village a
spirit merchant wished to open a drinking estab-
lishment; to do this, he had to obtain the consent
of the inhabitants. It was determined to put up
to auction the right of establishing a house of
that sort, which fetched the sum of 3500 rubles;
and this, divided among the population, made ex-
actly 734 rubles a head. .
The money was paid, and, according to the cor-
respondent, the proprietor must have got back the
amount he had given in the first three days, as un-
usual drunkenness prevailed during all that time,
when, the money being spent, things once more
took their usual course. .
Drunkenness is not looked upon with nearly the
same feeling of abhorrence -in Russia as in Eng-
Jand, among the military class especially; and an
officer’ who can, drink all his comrades under the
table is looked upon as a hero. .The climate un-
doubtedly has a great deal to do with these ova-
tions to Bacchus; and when the thermometer is be-
low zero, the body requires much more caloric, both
externally as well as internally, than in more tem-
perate zones.
The Russian officers, by way of thoroughly kee:
ing out the cold, have invented a singular drink,
They call it jonka. ‘After dinner, when cham-
pagne, claret, and liquors have been drunk to an
extent of which people in this country have no
conception, a huge silver bowl is produced; bran-
dy, rum, spirits, and wines of all kinds are poured
in promiscuously; apples and pears with all the
into the the liquid, which is then set on fre,
and when in this state the flaming mixture is
poured out into large goblets, which are handed
round the table. It is a high trial if the drinking-
bout has been persisted in for several hours, and
it is one calculated to try the stomachs as well as
the heads of the guests; but we are in Russia, e¢
uerre comme a la ¢ é; and until. this ex-
cess of drinking goes somewhat out of fashion
with the upper circles, we can not be surprised if
the lower ones remain equally addicted to it.
That evening I dined at the tadble-@hote, a com-
paratively speaking new institution in Russia,
where to dine @ la carte is generally preferred.
For any one not accustomed to them, Russian
dinners are somewhat remarkable. Previous to
sitting down at table, the guests are taken toa
side buffet; here in profusion are sardines, caviare
pressed and fresh—a delicacy unknown in this
country, where the so-called fresh caviare is inva-
riably a little salted—anchovies, and every conceiy-
able relish; cigarettes are now smoked, a glass or
so of liquor drank, and the party adjourns to the
dinner-table, Here, with the soup, little pates,
made of meat and rice, are eaten in lieu of bread.
The soups, particularly those made of fish, such as
the sterlet, are excellent, and well suited toa Rus-
sian climate, where an enormous quantity of ni-
trogen must be consumed to keep up the animal
eat.
1 found myself seated next to a Russian officer,
a general in the engineers, and had a long con-
yersation with him about India, “You English,”
he said, “are always thinking that we want India;
but you are apt to forget one equally important
point, which is, that some day the natives of that
country may wish to govern themselves, I study
the course of events in India very closely; and
what do I see? why, that you are doing every
thing you possibly can to teach the inhabitants
their own strength, You establish schools; you
educate the people; they read your language—
many of them even your newspapers; and the
leading men know what is going on in Europe
just as well.as you yourselves, But the day will
come when some agitators will set these thinking
masses in motion; and then what force have you
to oppose to them ? If ever there was a nation
determined to commit suicide, it is England. She
holds India, as she herself allows, by the force of
arms; and yet she is doing every thing in her
power to induce the conquered country to throw
off the yoke, .
* But do you not think,” Iobserved, “that when
our frontiers touch, as your statesmen wish, there
will be more agitators than even now in India?”
He did not reply to this question, but lighted a
cigarette and turned the conversation, There was
a great deal of reason undoubtedly in what he had
to the | urged. However, there is one argument in favor
add! of further education in India, which is, that the
fruits on the dessert-table, are cut up and tossed | al
better educated the natives of India become, the
greater probability of their seeing that their own
interests are far more likely to be eared for under
a British than a Russian rule. But this still leaves
open the question of whether they might not pre-
fer to govern themselves, which undoubtedly will
some day be the case, ,
I remember once meeting a highly educated
Hindoo on board a Peninsular and Oriental steam-
er, and having a long conversation with him. He
had traveled in England, where he-had been ex-
tremely well received; and on my asking how the
English were liked in India, he simply replied,
“You are a great nation, and no people are more
devoted to their own institutions than the English.
How should you like a foreign ruler to establish
imself in your country ?”
The following day | called atthe British Embas-
sy, but there was no one at home save the military
attache, and he was so engaged in having a lesson
that he had no time to see me. Later onin the day
Imet some old friends, and conversed with them
about my proposed journey. They all took a pessi-
mist view of the case “Get to Khiva!” said one
man. “You might as well try to get to the moon.
The Rusaians will not only stop you, but they
will put the screw upon our own. Foreign Office,
and force the latter to do it. Why, the Rus-
sians are as suspicious as Orientals, and they will
imagine they are sent by your government to stir
up the Khivans. They will never believe that an
officer, for the mere sake of travel, and at his own
expense, would go to Khiva.”” “Why,” observed
another, only a short time ago an officer who was
about to start for Turkistan wanted to take an
English servant with him. The man, I believe,
had been a private in the Second Life-guards:
somehow or other, this got to the ears of a’ Rus-
sian general. He sent for the servant, and said,
‘Did you ever correspond for the Times?’ The
man, who looked upon the question as one put to
rove his capabilities, answered, ‘Never did, sir;
Bat have no doubt 1 could, if you wish it? ‘1 tell
you what it is” said the eatch you
writing a line to England about what you ‘see
when you are with us, 1 will have you hanged’
The man became alarmed. He could clean a
horse, and his ideas did not soar above that call-
ing; but to be told that he was to be hanged if he
wrote a letter! Why,he might want to write
home to his friends! And he went to some au-
thorities at St. Petersburg, and asked them their
advice. The result was he started with his mas-
ter, but only got as faras Kazan; for, on arriving
{that point,an order was sent to have him
turned back.”
The Russian soldiers, it seems, are not very par-
ticular what they do in Central Asia, and General
Kauffmann greatly dislikes publicity. Judging
from accounts subsequently given me by eye-wit-
nesses of what had taken place, I cannot help
thinking that the general is. wise in his genera-
ion. '
Inthe afternoon I called upon Mr. Schuyler, the
United States Secretary of Legation at St. Peters-
burg. “He had been to Tashkent and Bokhara,
having traveled as faras Fort Number One with
Mr. MacGahan, the energetic correspondent of the
New York Herald. Mr. Schuyler had been able to
gather a great deal of most valuable information
n the course of his travels. He isthe only diplo-
mat the Russians have ever permitted to visit
their Eastern possessions, and is a very keen ob-
server, besides being a thorough master of the
Russian language. He has been able to dive con-
siderably below the surface,in his endeavors to
master the state of affairs in Turkistan is re-
port was forwarded to Washington, and subse-
quently published ina blue-book; the authorities
n Turkistan not being very well pleased at the
way he exposed their administration. Mr. Schuy-
ler gave me some very valuable hints as to what I
should require, and was himself engaged in writ-
ing a book on his travels. From the first day of
his arrival at St. Petersburg he had studied hard
to master the Russian language, probably feelin:
that adiplomat ina land where he cannot reai
the newspapers, or converse with all classes of
society, if necessary, is rather like a fish out of
water, and receiving a salary which he has not
fairly earned.
The German Chancellor showed what he thought
of this matter; for the first thing he did, many
pears ago, when at the Russian Embassy in St.
etersburg, was to study the Russian language,
which he eventually mastered. Bismarck’s ex-
ample is not a bad one to follow; but until the
language be made a compulsory one at the exami-
nation of candidates for our Foreign Office, I fear
that the business of the British Embassy at St.
Petersburg will continue to be transacted through
an interpreter,
Later on I called upon Count Schouvaloff’s
brother, to whom the Count had so kindly given
me a letter of introduction; but he was abroad, so
Iwas informed by the servant, and consequently
the fetter was ot no se. xi
began to bealittle anxious about the let
whieh Thad left at the house of General Milmtee
the Minister of War, particularly as I had. omitted
to fee his hall porter—a great omission on m part,
as I was informed by an Englishman, an ond resi.
dent in St. Petersburg; and, he added, “Nothin;
whatever can be done in Russia without a judi-
cious disposal of presents, from the hall
to the mistress of the minister, who gives out the
Se en