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FROM AMERICA TO RUSSIA 
 
 IN SUMMER OF 1897 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 A. V. D.HONEYMAN 
 
 PL A INFIELD, N.J.: 
 
 HONEYMAN & COMPANY 
 
 z8 97 
 
 TWO COPIES WtCtlVED 
 
 ■ih- ^ 
 
3454 
 
 Copyright, 1897, by 
 Honeyman & Company 
 
 [the library] 
 1 of c ongr ess 
 
 i WASHINGTON! 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 'THIS is the third volume in what is intended 
 to be a series of annual books of traveh 
 printed for private circulation among members 
 of the H. P. T. parties to Europe and their 
 friends. It will be found not to fall below pre- 
 vious ones in interest. The Tour described in. 
 eludes Norway and Sweden, as well as Russia 
 in its scope. The contributors' names are 
 affixed to each article. 
 
 A. V. D. H. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 T. New York to Antwerp, 
 
 J I. Coaching: Antwerp to Worcester, 
 
 III. Coaching: Worcester to Coventry, 
 
 IV. Coaching: Coventry to Oxford, 
 
 V. England to Norway, 
 
 VI. Along the Norwegian Coast, 
 
 VII. Across Norway, 
 
 VIII. Across Sweden, . 
 
 IX. In Stockholm, . 
 
 X. Fjnland and St Petersburg, 
 
 XI. The Old Russian Capital, 
 
 XII. Our Longest Railway Journey, 
 
 XIII. Berlin and Its Environs, 
 
 XI V. A Day in Amsterdam, 
 
 XV. Homeward Bound, 
 
 Page. 
 
 9 
 
 15 
 
 23 
 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 51 
 
 61 
 
 66 
 
 79 
 
 88 
 
 98 
 
 115 
 
 122 
 
 137 
 
 152 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Facing Page. 
 On the West Gotha Canal, Sweden, 
 
 (frontispiece.) 
 Oscar II, King of Sweden and Norway, . 8 ' 
 
 Coaching in Oxfordshire, . . .20 
 
 The Lodge, . . • • .24 
 
 Starting from the Red Horse Inn, . 26 
 
 Coaching: Between Kenilworth and 
 
 Coventry, . . • .34 
 
 Lincoln Cathedral— West Front, . 42 
 
 A Norway Fjord, . . • .44 
 
 The Steamer " Neptun," . . 48 
 
 A Norwegian Home, . . . ■ 52 
 
 Molde, ....•• 54 
 A Norwegian Stole jaerre, . . 58 
 
 King Oscar's Summer Chateau, . 62 
 
 The Holmenkollen Hotel, Christiania, 04 
 
 Street View in Gothenburg, . . 70 
 
 A Fjord Late in the Afternoon, . .80 
 
 The King's Garden, Stockholm, . 86 
 
 Russian Drosky and Driver, . . 90 
 
 The Singing Deacon of St. Isaac's, . 96 
 
 Cathedral of the Assumption, Moscow, 104 
 
 Cathedral of St. Basil, Moscow, . .108 
 
 The King of Bells, Moscow, . .114 
 
 The Young Holland Queen, . . 150 
 
"The bee, though it finds every rose has a thorn, 
 comes back loaded with honey from its rambles, and 
 why should not other tourists do the same.— "J/a/i- 
 burton. 
 
Oscar II., King of Sweden and Norway. 
 
 Born Jan. 21, 1829 ; ascended the joint throne of Sweden and 
 Norway 1872, succeeding his brother, Charles XV. He is known 
 as a wise and intellectual monarch, endowed with much taste 
 for and accurate knowledge of art, science, poetry and music. 
 
FROM AMERICA TO RUSSIA. 
 
 NEW YORK TO ANTWERP. 
 
 ON the afternoon of Wednesday, June 
 30, 1897, promptly at half past four 
 o'clock, the S. S, "Kensington," of 
 the Red Star line, drew out from her pier with 
 the Honeyman Party, twenty-one in number, 
 among her full quota of passengers. Gradual- 
 ly the group of friends, waving good-bye with 
 their handkerchiefs, faded away in the dis- 
 tance, and the wide separation of two conti- 
 nents and the absence of many days seemed to 
 be crowded into the feelings of a moment. It 
 is a sensation to which even an old traveler 
 never becomes entirely hardened. Slowly the 
 steamer passed down the Bay and through the 
 
io From America to Russia. 
 
 Narrows, and pushed her nose oceanward. 
 And now new thoughts had begun to engross 
 our attention in the direction of prospect and 
 anticipation, for these suggest uncertainties 
 and untried experiences. 
 
 There are three leading factors which enter 
 into a sea voyage, and contribute largely to its 
 comfort or discomfort. These are the steamer, 
 the passenger list and the weather. It is diffi- 
 cult to say which is the most important. Any 
 one of these may do much to ruffle or to 
 smooth one's peace of mind. 
 
 As for the steamer, much may be said in 
 praise. We found her comfortable, the ser- 
 vice courteous and attentive; and a steadier 
 deck in a sea one could scarcely hope to tread. 
 When the "Kensington" reached port there 
 were many who expressed the wish that they 
 might some time cross in her again. 
 
 As for the company on board, a pleasant 
 party of our own made it possible for us to be 
 quite independent. However, among the other 
 passengers there were many agreeable people 
 who added greatly to the pleasure of the voy- 
 age, and it was not long before an unusual de- 
 gree of sociability prevailed throughout the 
 ship. Although many of the "II. Ps." were 
 unknown to one another at the start, there was 
 
New York to Antwerp. 1 1 
 
 an early opportunity for making the begin- 
 ning of an exceedingly pleasant acquaintance. 
 Through the prearrangement of the Manager, 
 places had been so secured that the members 
 of the party were able to sit together at the 
 first table, and we soon met for our first meal. 
 Ah, the first meal on an ocean steamer! 
 What qualities of soul it calls into play! Self- 
 confidence and prudence go hand in hand, and 
 smiling heroism covers up a lurking suspicion 
 with reference to the probabilities of such an- 
 other unanimous meeting, for wind and wave 
 have not yet settled down to work. Joyfully 
 the poet sings, 
 
 "O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea, 
 Our thoughts as boundless and our souls 
 as free;" 
 
 only that depends. It depends upon circum- 
 stances, for there are circumstances at sea that 
 may annihilate all poetry, set a decided limit to 
 thought and make the fettered soul sigh for 
 freedom. As one of our number expressed it, 
 for a time he felt as though he did not know 
 whether he was "comin' or gwine." But this 
 was not so with most of the party, and with him 
 only for a short time, for the voyage was on 
 the whole an easy and pleasant one. Occasion- 
 allv there was a little wind with rain and 
 
I 2 
 
 From America to Riissit 
 
 roughened sea, but not sufficient to make it a 
 stormy passage. 
 
 So the days slipped by, as days will both on 
 sea and land. Time passed rapidly. Hours 
 were restfully spent, as, wrapped' in rugs, 
 we reclined in our steamer chairs, dozing or 
 reading-, as the fancy seized us. Things there 
 always are to interest one— a passing vessel 
 heralded by the toot of the lookout's horn, sig- 
 naling port or starboard; the changing cloud 
 effects, which, with nothing- to interrupt the 
 view, unfold with kaleidoscopic variety and ex- 
 hibit ever new beauty. Time is employed 
 pleasantly and profitably in conversation. The 
 steamer from its "beginning," as one lady 
 styled it, to the stern, offers ample room for 
 restlessness to work itself off in exercise. And 
 the bugle call has almost always an agreeable 
 and inviting sound for the ears of every one. 
 This voyage was especially marked by one 
 event. Independence Day was spent at sea. 
 Falling on a Sunday, it was appropriately ob- 
 served by the officiating clergyman praying for 
 the Queen of England and the Prince of 
 Wales; and by an elaborate dinner in which 
 Independence pudding, Fourth of July pie and 
 firecrackers, furnished by our Manager, fig- 
 ured prominently. And a further celebration 
 
New York to Antwerp. 13 
 
 was held on the following evening, when an 
 excellent concert was given and fireworks were 
 displayed — a novel and beautiful sight at night 
 time in mid-Atlantic. Twice the passengers as- 
 sembled in the saloon for an evening's enter- 
 tainment, and on each occasion an "Honor- 
 able" member of the H. P. T. presided. 
 
 In this delightful manner the days of our 
 voyage passed all too swiftly, until on the 
 evening of Friday, July 9, about ten o'clock, 
 the light on one of the Scilly Islands was sight- 
 ed. Our thoughts now began to anticipate port. 
 Saturday dawned a beautiful day, which was, 
 you may be sure, fully appreciated, as it afford- 
 ed a good opportunity for enjoying the passage 
 through the Channel. Sails and funnels be- 
 came more frequent. The English coast was 
 kept most of the time in sight. We passed 
 very close to the Isle of Wight, and late in the 
 evening* the lights of Folkestone, then of 
 Dover and Calais, became visible. 
 
 On Sunday morning we witnessed a trans- 
 formation scene. While on board, shore 
 clothes almost destroyed personal identity, 
 without the vessel it was no longer open sea, 
 but the banks of the Scheldt hemming us in on 
 both sides. Flushing had been passed early 
 in the morning, and now we were slowly wind- 
 
14 From America to Russia. 
 
 ing our way up the river. Long shall we re- 
 member the quaint and picturesque view that 
 greeted our eyes as we appeared on deck that 
 last morning— the dikes, strong and well built, 
 suggesting that the familiar story of the boy 
 who kept back the flood with his finger needed 
 the attention of the higher criticism; the queer 
 Dutch windmills lazily turning in the gentle 
 wind; the straight rows of trees lining the high- 
 ways; the odd little farm houses, the upper 
 parts of which were alone visible, the re- 
 mainder being hidden by the dikes; and now 
 and again the Dutch peasantry, men and wo- 
 men, in the hayfields, taking advantage of the 
 bright sunny morning to toss and rake the 
 new-mown hay. 
 
 At eleven o'clock the steamer was at her 
 dock in Antwerp. After going through the 
 usual ordeal with the customs officers, we pro- 
 ceeded to the Hotel du Courrier, and so com- 
 pleted the first stage of our journev. 
 
 William Russell Benkett. 
 
II. 
 
 COACHING: ANTWERP TO WOR- 
 CESTER. 
 
 A SHORT drive brought us to the Grand 
 Hotel du Courrier; then followed a 
 few hours' rest in a room which 
 looked out on the pretty court garden. 
 
 The Cathedral chimes at Antwerp ring every 
 quarter of an hour, and so speedily attract to 
 the Notre Dame the stranger who hears their 
 musical notes. At five we went to the organ 
 service. The famous Rubens pictures, alas, 
 were covered, but others had seen them earlier 
 in the day. The side, chapels were filled with 
 devout worshipers. 
 
 We admired Van der Voort's exquisitely 
 carved wood pulpit. The figures which sup- 
 port it stand in an enclosure, which has a 
 stairway on each side. Above are carved 
 medallions. The canopy is raised by cupids. 
 
[() From America to Russia. 
 
 At the top, an angel leans down, 
 blowing a trumpet. A dove hovers in the 
 center. The branches of a tall tree reach as 
 high as the canopy, and cover the sides of the 
 stairways with their foliage. Peacocks and 
 other birds disport themselves, at intervals. 
 
 The wronght-iron well canopy of Quinten 
 Massys, the blacksmith artist, stands near the 
 Cathedral. 
 
 The next morning a visit was made to St. 
 Paul's. The Calvary, which is in a grotto- 
 like garden, was visited first. Figures of the 
 prophets stand on each side, surrounded by 
 lovely flowers. An angel holds a shield, show- 
 ing the heart, pierced hands and feet of our 
 Lord. The Calvary is at the end of the 
 garden. The figure of Christ on the cross is 
 at the top. A skeleton lies below, while two 
 angels, one on each side, point to the Saviour. 
 Below is a "Pieta." There is also a cave which 
 represents the Holy Sepulcher. The beautifully 
 carved confessionals in this church are the 
 work of Ouellyn. 'The Scourging of our 
 Lord," by Rubens, was unveiled by the guide. 
 On the opposite side is the "Council of Popes." 
 The fifty legends of the rosary are on the left 
 side, near the entrance. Above the doorway 
 is the sculptured figure of the Virgin, holding 
 
Coaching: Antwerp to Worcester. 17 
 
 a rosary in her hand. In a side chapel are 
 carvings representing the different stations of 
 the cross. 
 
 We then went to the Musee Royal, which is 
 filled with fine paintings of the Flemish school. 
 There is an exquisite group of angels by Mem- 
 ling, designed for an altar piece. They form 
 a choir and are in a carved wood setting, which 
 fills one whole side of the room. Here one 
 sees Van Dyck's masterpiece, "The Cruci- 
 fixion," Rubens' "Crucifixion of Christ Be- 
 tween Two Thieves;" his "Dead Christ," his 
 "Adoration of the Magi;" exquisite landscapes 
 of the two Ruysdaels, portraits by Hals, true 
 Holland types; "La Dame Hollandaise," a 
 placid gentlewoman in broad white ruff and 
 cap. There are characteristic peasant scenes 
 by Brenghel, Teniers, Steen and Vinckboons, 
 showing 1 the merrymakings of the kermesse.the 
 rustic wedding, and scenes in the village inn. 
 
 Rembrandt has two portraits. Van Eyck's 
 "Saint Catherine" sits in front of a Gothic edi- 
 fice, her voluminous skirts filling the whole 
 foreground. There are fine examples of Mem- 
 ling, Massys, Mostaert, de Vos, Van der Wey- 
 den, Van Ostade, Van de Velde, Wynants, and 
 others, too numerous to mention. 
 
 In the afternoon there was a long drive 
 
1 8 From America to Russia. 
 
 through the city. The arms of Antwerp, as 
 I learned, are two hands. The monument, 
 with the figure throwing- the hand, and the 
 Flemish device "hand werpen," commemo- 
 rates the legend of the giants, Antigonus, 
 who cut off the hands of those who refused to 
 pay the toll that he exacted. 
 
 Another monument commemorates throw- 
 ing off the Spanish yoke in 1706. The base 
 shows the shackles thrown off by the hands 
 sculptured above. In the center is a medal- 
 lion of the first burgomaster, and, above that, 
 a figure of victory with a torch. 
 
 We saw the town hall, and, nearly opposite, 
 the house in which Charles V. was born. At 
 the top is a fine equestrian statue in gilt. 
 
 We passed the Flemish and French theaters. 
 The latter has busts of the French composers 
 and dramatists. 
 
 We went through lovely parks and past 
 many quaint, interesting houses. At seven 
 P. M. we drove to the boat, which was to take 
 us across the Channel to Harwich. 
 
 As we left it Antwerp seemed like a jewel 
 in a lovely setting, framed by the sunset clouds 
 of orange chrome and rose pink. On the op- 
 posite shore the rushes waved high and green. 
 
 The passage to England was a calm one. At 
 
Coaching -On the Road in Oxfordshire. 
 
Coaching: Antwerp to Worcester. 19 
 
 six the next morning we landed, passed 
 through the custom-house at Harwich, and at 
 seven took the train for London. Eight o'clock 
 found us at the Liverpool street station, where 
 we had breakfast; then, taking the under- 
 ground railway to Paddington station, we were 
 soon en route for Oxford. 
 
 After lunching at the King's Arms Hotel 
 we mounted the coaches and began the trip for 
 which so many of us had looked forward with 
 unusual zest — the coaching tour of five 
 days — and it was so satisfying and in- 
 spiring that one regrets that a few pages 
 only must suffice for its description. The 
 day was perfect, cool, clear, invigorating. 
 Mr. Franklin, Jr., whose father formerly man- 
 aged the reins of the leaders, took his seat on 
 the front box, the mourning band on his arm 
 indicating that the soul of the good man who 
 was not with us had gone to its eternal re- 
 ward. To us who had never seen either 
 there was no knowledge of the difference it 
 occasioned, but to our Manager and some of 
 his fellow-travelers it must have been a scene 
 whose pleasure was mingled with profound 
 sorrow. 
 
 The steeds started to the crack of the whip 
 and we bowled along over roads of flint as 
 
20 From America to Russia. 
 
 smooth as a drum-head for miles and miles, 
 and the first stop was at Blenheim, to see if we 
 could enter the Duke of Marlborough's estate. 
 I [appily we could not only enter, but we could 
 do more; we had the unusual delight of join- 
 ing an English party of lady school teachers 
 and being shown through the palace itself. 
 
 The gates of the castle are of massive gilt 
 and bronze, and show the coat of arms on each 
 side. The Duchess, it is said, may wear this, 
 but not the crest. After entering the castle 
 the guide drew our attention to the massive 
 lock of the door, an exact copy of one in War- 
 saw. In the gallery above are portraits of 
 Queen Anne and different members of the 
 Marlborough family. Each room has por- 
 traits of the beautiful Duchesses. The third 
 Duchess is especially lovely. The portrait of 
 the present Duchess shows a piquant face, 
 brunette in type, a slender figure in a flowing 
 white robe, a wand in one hand. The last 
 room shown had a magnificent organ. Here 
 are busts of the present Duke and Duchess. In 
 the chapel is the monument erected by the first 
 Duchess in memory of her husband and two 
 sons. 
 
 Then followed a two hours' beautiful drive to 
 Chipping Norton, where we left the coaches 
 
Coaching: Antwerp to Worcester. 21 
 
 for the day, in order to go by rail to Worcester, 
 a place we reached at half past seven. Eight 
 o'clock found us comfortably settled at the 
 Unicorn Hotel. 
 
 The next morning we visited Worcester 
 Cathedral. The organ was playing and the 
 guide showed its three divisions, which look 
 like three different instruments. The Cathe- 
 dral as a whole was restored in 1857, as it was 
 rapidly going to decay. Its shape is a double 
 cross. Although ravaged by three fires, it al- 
 ways rose, phoenix-like, from its ashes. The 
 Norman and Perpendicular styles of architec- 
 ture are the most marked. A stained glass 
 window in the central tower represents "The 
 Creation." The pulpit of the nave has 
 sculptured scenes from the Bible; and here 
 are also many interesting monuments. The 
 combination of different marbles and alabaster 
 is exquisite. There is a magnificent, richly 
 carved screen; also thirty-seven unique stalls. 
 
 King John is buried at Worcester, and the 
 sculptured effigies of the numerous bishops 
 who rest there are recumbent on stone slabs. 
 They wear the episcopal robes. In the crypt 
 we saw how the carved columns had once 
 been covered with plaster, so that the lovely 
 
22 From America to Russia. 
 
 designs were completely concealed, and, per- 
 haps unsuspected until after the Restoration. 
 
 The Unicorn was a most comfortable hotel, 
 and we voted Worcester a place of sufficient 
 interest to have remained longer. 
 
 Lizzie J. Stoddard. 
 
Nvml 
 
 in. 
 
 COACHING: WORCESTER TO COVEN- 
 TRY. 
 
 WORCESTER was left with consider- 
 able regret because of the intrinsic 
 beauty of its Cathedral, especially the 
 interior. It is thought by some good judges to 
 have as beautiful an interior as any English 
 Cathedral except Canterbury, and with a 
 groined roof which no other can match. Not 
 having seen Canterburv I cannot vouch for 
 the accuracy of the full statement, but the gen- 
 eral effect of the roof, windows, arches and 
 pillars made a more entrancing impression 
 upon me than either the Cathedrals of York, 
 Ely, Lincoln or Peterborough. An hour's 
 meditation every day beneath such a vaulting, 
 where, amid great simplicity, there is the mag- 
 nificence of true art, must be stimulating to 
 any human soul. 
 
2 4 From America to Russia. 
 
 The railway was taken at this point back to 
 Chipping Norton, where the coaches were in 
 readiness for the day's drive to Stratford. 
 
 Some of us felt that this day's drive was in 
 many respects the most delightful of any of the 
 coaching tour. The views of the Malvern 
 Hills in the distance, the unusual atmosphere 
 for July, so clear and bracing-, the constantly 
 changing panorama of views, at times extend- 
 ing to twenty miles in either direction, made 
 the day one long to be remembered. 
 
 The noon-hour was spent at Shipston-on- 
 Stour, at the "George Inn," where we had a 
 royal good time, especially at the dinner. 
 
 In the afternoon we passed what was voted 
 to be "the handsomest lodge in England." It 
 was only a small house, at the gateway lead- 
 ing into a large estate, but it was embowered 
 in vines and roses. Its shape was something 
 like that of a beehive, but everything about it — 
 the garden, the setting of woods, the lodge 
 itself — made us all, as we first viewed it from 
 a distance, almost clap hands with delight. Of 
 course we dismounted and went to see it. 
 There was a charming old lady in charge, who 
 made no objection to the inspection of the 
 premises, nor to our taking away handsfull of 
 the beautiful roses. Each of our amateur 
 
The Lodge. 
 
 The same which was voted by the H. P. T. party as the most beautiful 
 they had seen in Entrland. Ten of the party appear in the picture. 
 
 (Photo, by M. Estil ) 
 
Coaching: Worcester to Coventry. 25 
 
 photographers had a snapshot at the lodge, 
 and we will long carry the picture of it in the 
 gallery of English memories. 
 
 Stratford-on-Avon has been so often de- 
 scribed that it seems only necessary to say 
 that we did the usual things which every vis- 
 itor to the home and haunts of Shakespeare 
 must do. We visited his birthplace, the 
 George W. Child's Fountain, New Place 
 (where the immortal bard had written his plays 
 and where he died), the Grammar School, 
 Trinity Church, the Anne Hathaway cottage, 
 Town Hall, and similar spots of local interest. 
 
 "Here his first infant lays, sweet Shake- 
 speare sung; 
 Here the last accents faltered on his 
 tongue." 
 
 Some of the party boated by moonlight on 
 the Avon, while others had a pleasant converse 
 in the evening with the interesting landlady 
 of the Red Horse Inn, who always [akes the 
 best of care of her guests. The Red Horse 
 dining-room, with its memories of Washing- 
 ton Irving and William Winter, had been that 
 very afternoon the place where Mrs. Mary 
 Anderson de Navarro had lunched, and our 
 Mrs. D. was fortunate enough to be given 
 "William Winter's room" for the night. Prob- 
 
26 From America to Russia. 
 
 ably all of us slept in beds which had been 
 occupied at one time and another by some of 
 the greatest men and women in England, for 
 the Red Horse dates back as a hostelry to a 
 fairly ancient period, and the present proprie- 
 tor, Mr. Shelbourne, seems specially gratified 
 to see his American friends, of whom he has a 
 large and increasing number. I am always 
 fond of this hotel, especially because of its 
 quaint engravings and comfortable rooms. 
 
 Next day we were off for Warwick, not by 
 the direct road, but by way of Hampton Lucy. 
 Here we temporarily lost our way, but had 
 in consequence an interesting experience with 
 some school-children. The fact was we did 
 not want to go to Hampton Lucy village, but 
 to Charlecote Park, in its vicinity. We prob- 
 ably passed on the way the location of the 
 house where Shakespeare's good friends, John 
 and William Combe, resided, and where the 
 poet must have spent many pleasant hours. 
 When we did reach the park, we found it to be 
 an estate which must have been glorious in its 
 day, but was now chiefly beautiful because of 
 its enormous old trees and wide stretches of 
 fields, and it is still, as in olden days, full of 
 domesticated deer. 
 
 It was in this park where it is said Shake- 
 
Starting from the Red Horse Inn. 
 
 This hotel is the one in Stratford on-Avon, long famous through the 
 writings of Washington Irving, William Winter and others. The picture 
 ) (presents the first coach of the H. P. T. party about to start out for 
 Charletote Park, Warwick. Kenilworth and Coventry. 
 
 (Photo, bp M. Estil.) 
 
Coaching: Worcester to Coventry. 27 
 
 speare engaged in stealing deer from its owner, 
 Sir Thomas Lucy. For this he was prose- 
 cuted, and, it is recorded, took his revenge by 
 writing a caustic ballad now lost, probably his 
 first essay in poetry. Be this as it may, 
 Shakespeare knew every nook and corner of 
 these woods, and when he wrote the "Merry- 
 Wives of Windsor," and possibly had Sir 
 Thomas in mind in his character of Justice 
 Shallow, he had at least stored up in memory 
 beautiful images of days gone by when Charle- 
 cote Park was jocund with voices of youth 
 and when England was more "merrie" with 
 revelries and mischief-making than it has ever 
 been since. 
 
 Charlecote House was built in 1558. It 
 forms three sides of a quadrangle; is not par- 
 ticularly handsome nor imposing, though 
 strictly Elizabethan and with various orna- 
 mental features which excite one's attention. 
 If it were more closely shut in amid the old 
 gnarled oaks and beeches, its effect would be 
 finer, but it is rather out in the open and lacks 
 the real picturesqueness of some other 
 English halls. We were charged a fee for the 
 privilege of passing through this place, a re- 
 minder to us that the present lords of England 
 are not so wealthy that they can afford to open 
 
28 From America to Russia. 
 
 their estates to passersby without a contribu- 
 tion box. 
 
 At Warwick the horses were put out at the 
 Warwick Arms, a hotel not at all satisfac- 
 tory in its charges, though attractive within, 
 and then a visit was made to the Beauchamp 
 Chapel, to see the tomb of Dudley, Earl of 
 Leicester, and the Earl of Warwick. Warwick 
 Castle, the finest of its type in England, we 
 discovered, to our regret, could not be visited, 
 because the premiers of the various English 
 colonies, who were on a visit to London to at- 
 tend the Queen's Jubilee, had been invited this 
 day by the Earl of Warwick to a garden party 
 within his grounds. As we drove by the gate 
 of the castle after luncheon, on our way to 
 Kenilworth, we saw the nobility entering, 
 watched by hundreds of English people who 
 lined the way. 
 
 Erom Warwick to Leamington is a short 
 two miles. Leamington looked fresh, hand- 
 some and thoroughly attractive for a summer 
 residence. We passed directly through, 
 stopping only five minutes to taste the mineral 
 waters from one of the springs, and then took 
 that remarkably beautiful road from Leaming- 
 ton to Coventry, by the way of Kenilworth, 
 which has been so often described as "the 
 
Coaching: Worcester to Coventry. 29 
 
 prettiest drive in England." I do not altogether 
 agree with this statement, but as the road is 
 perfectly level, and hard and smooth as a 
 floor, the country on each side fertile, and as 
 almost the entire distance the way is lined with 
 a row of stately limes and elms, I admit it 
 would be very difficult to find other roads 
 more charming. 
 
 Just outside of Warwick is Guy's Cliff, of 
 considerable note, but though I have passed 
 this spot a number of times, have never left 
 the road and driven in to see it. This 
 omission of duty I hope some day to supply. 
 
 At Kenilworth the same quiet ruins, so cov- 
 ered with dense ivy that from any point of 
 view they are entrancing, still rest on the little 
 hill outside of the town. Here the Earl of 
 Leicester so royally entertained Queen Eliza- 
 beth that even Sir Walter Scott's pen paused 
 to take time to irradiate the event with a pro- 
 longed description of its glories. It is one of 
 the most lovely places in England for a picnic, 
 or for a visit on a bright afternoon. Perhaps 
 we spent two hours strolling about the ruins 
 and upon the walls, and reclining about the 
 grass, with our minds turned back to the days 
 of chivalry. It was no difficult task to re- 
 people the place with knights and courtiers 
 
30 From America to Russia. 
 
 and bishops, and all the ladies of the court of 
 Elizabeth, who trooped hither in coaches and 
 on horseback to enjoy the merry dinners of 
 the favorite Earl. 
 
 I see now the incoming- pageant on that me- 
 morable 9th of July, 1575! The Queen came, 
 attended by thirty-one barons, besides all her 
 ladies of court and four hundred servants. Six 
 trumpeters "clad in long garments of sylk," 
 to quote from the chronicler of the time, "who 
 stood upon the wall of the gate, with their 
 silvery trumpets of five foot long, sounded a 
 tune of welcome." There were floating 
 islands, water nymphs and genii, poets to read 
 poetry and players to act plays, tilts, tourna- 
 ments, deer hunts, bear and bull-bating, Italian 
 rope-dancers, bridal ceremonies, merry danc- 
 ing and "tables loaded with sumptuous cheer." 
 I fancy that young Will Shakespeare, with the 
 other boys of the vicinity, was attracted to the 
 spot and at least peered through the gate to see 
 these royal puppets move. 
 
 Seven miles northeast of Kenilworth lies 
 Coventry. When we neared the latter place 
 there was the first appearance of rain since we 
 arrived in England. In the west and north- 
 west the clouds were heavy and there came 
 lightning and thunder. There were gusts of 
 
Coaching: Worcester to Coventry. 31 
 
 wind, with flying dust, and presently over 
 fields the rains descended, and came nearer 
 and nearer. But it kept away from over 
 head. England was in need of rain and we 
 were pleased that at least toward Worcester- 
 shire some farmers were benefited by the 
 shower, but Coventry remained dry as a 
 bone. We were landed at the King's Head 
 Hotel without a drop upon us, and after the 
 evening meal had a ten miles' tramway 
 journey through and out of the city to Bed- 
 worth and return, and then went to bed with 
 the image of Peeping Tom peering from above 
 our windows. 
 
 A. V. D. HONEYMAN. 
 
IV. 
 COACHING: COVENTRY TO OXFORD. 
 
 WE reached the King's Head Hotel, 
 Coventry, at five o'clock, and first 
 saw the bust of "Peeping Tom" 
 peering from an adjoining window. He was 
 a tailor who, according to the legend, was 
 struck blind while looking at Lady Godiva as 
 she rode through the city. Her husband, 
 Leofric, imposed very heavy taxes on the peo- 
 ple, and as there was but one condition on 
 which he would remit them, she rode through 
 the city covered only by her long hair. 
 
 I soon went to St. Michael's, a most inter- 
 esting old church. Two of its windows are 
 five hundred years old. They were shattered 
 by a cannon ball when Cromwell tried to blow 
 up the church, but have been restored. The 
 fragments are leaded together so that the tiny 
 
Coaching: Coventry to Oxford. 33 
 
 pieces look like a veritable mosaic. The ex- 
 terior is beautiful. A fine figure of a crusader 
 stands high up in one of the niches on the 
 left hand side. The carved roses and angels 
 above the lower windows are exquisite. 
 
 Opposite is St. Mary's Guildhall, where 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned for 
 nine months. Her prison is behind the altar, 
 and is reached by a winding flight of worn 
 stone steps. It is lighted by two small win- 
 dows. The adjoining room has a litter of 
 books and a large picture of Bacchus and 
 Ariadne. 
 
 Just before entering the Hall one sees a 
 large, rudely carved statue, a relic of the 
 Queen's crosses. The Hall, which is built of 
 oak, is filled with portraits of Queen Mary, 
 Queen Caroline, and the different Georges. A 
 wonderful piece of tapestry covers one end of 
 the room. 
 
 A small room adjoining contains the statue 
 of Godiva, a lovely nude figure with hair flow- 
 ing below her knees. A painting in a room 
 adjoining the prison represents her on horse- 
 back, according to tradition. An under- 
 ground room contains the charters and seals 
 of the Kings of England. 
 
 Before leaving Coventry a visit was made to 
 
34 From America to Russia. 
 
 the Old Women's Home. We entered a court, 
 and on each side were the carved walls of a 
 quaint building dating back five hundred 
 years. There is a lovely garden at the end of 
 the court. Each old lady has a tiny suite of 
 rooms, nicely furnished, clean and bright, and 
 filled with souvenirs, which they were eager to 
 exhibit. All seemed contented and happy. 
 As we passed out we were each given a few 
 flowers from the garden. 
 
 A few hours later we left the coach to visit 
 Stoneleigh Abbey, the seat of Lord Leigh. We 
 drove through a long, rambling lane, bordered 
 on each side with fine old trees. On entering 
 we had a glimpse of the cloisters, which have 
 been restored. A fine portrait of the present 
 Lord Leigh hangs above the mantel in one 
 room. It represents him as he was in his 
 prime, thirty-five years ago. The portrait of 
 his wife, as a young girl, hangs in the dining- 
 room. There are many interesting portraits 
 in the corridors. The chapel, where the fami- 
 ly have private worship, contains a beautiful 
 altar painting. In the gallery above is a mar- 
 ble medallion of the Virgin, clasping the head 
 of Christ (Canova's). Another room contains 
 a copy of Durer's "Christ/ and an original 
 painting near it. 
 
Coaching: Between Kenilworth and Coventry. 
 
 On the right is an English forest ; on the left, the usual hawthorne 
 hedgerow and the trees of an estate. Between the road proper and the 
 hedge will be seen, first, the bridal path, and, second, a wider foot- 
 path. These are completely-built, model public roads, the like of 
 which we do not yet have in America {Photo, by M. Estil.) 
 
Coaching: Coventry to Oxford. 35 
 
 There is a Van Dyck portrait of Charles I., 
 which has been restored. It was once sent 
 away for repairs, when the discovery was made 
 that the original canvas had been painted over. 
 Another room had an exquisitely carved ceil- 
 ing. All the chairs were delicately embroid- 
 ered or painted. His lordship was absent and 
 therefore we were permitted, through the cour- 
 tesy of his intelligent housekeeper, to see the 
 mansion. 
 
 We then drove to Warwick Castle, the first 
 glimpse being that of its ivy-clad towers. Reach- 
 ing there, after a luncheon at the Woolpack 
 Inn, we passed on foot through a walled 
 path, banked on each side with ivy and ferns. 
 There are noble trees the whole distance. We 
 climbed Guy's Tower, with its two hundred 
 and fifty spiral, stone steps. From the top 
 we could see the winding course of the Avon, 
 which runs beside the Castle, and the three 
 counties of Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and 
 Gloucestershire. Gorgeous peacocks walked 
 on the lawn. The flower beds near the green- 
 house have each a red maltese cross in the 
 center. From the garden there is a fine view 
 of two magnificent Lebanon cedars; none of 
 us saw finer in all our journeying*. 
 
 Hadrian's vase stands on a broad pedestal 
 
36 From America to Russia. 
 
 in the center of the greenhouse. It was 
 found at Hadrian's villa, near Rome. There 
 are acanthus leaves around the base; vine 
 tendrils form the handles; and their branches 
 and fruit twine about the vase. On one side 
 are satyrs with a lion skin spread below them; 
 on the other is a beautiful head in profile be- 
 tween two satyrs. 
 
 On entering the Castle, Cromwell's death 
 mask was one of the first objects seen. The 
 guide remarked that as the Earl of Warwick- 
 had been on good terms with Cromwell, he 
 had kept his castle. A corridor, lined with 
 armour and weapons, also contains portions of 
 Cromwell's armor. 
 
 Raphael's "Assumption" hangs over the 
 mantel in the Red Drawing Room. Here, 
 also, is an exquisite table, inlaid with lapis 
 lazuli, once the property of Marie Antoinette. 
 
 The Gilt Drawing Room has' Rubens' 
 "Loyale" over the mantel. The Cedar Room 
 is filled with Van Dycks. The portraits of 
 the Brignolia family, mother and child, came 
 from Genoa. The portrait of Nell Gwynne, 
 above the doorway, is by Lely. Queen Anne's 
 room has her portrait by Kneller, above the 
 mantel. The massive bed is hung with 
 crimson velvet and e^old, and there is a richly 
 
Coaching: Coventry to Oxford. 37 
 
 embroidered coverlet. Her trunk, a tiny one 
 with brass initials, is in this room. 
 
 A portrait of Henry VII I., by Holbein, 
 hangs over the mantel in the Countess's 
 boudoir. The same room contains his portrait 
 "when a good little boy," as the guide faceti- 
 ously observed. Here are also Holbein's 
 portraits of Anne and Mary Boleyn. 
 
 The walls of the Oak Room are about eight 
 feet thick. This forms wide recesses for the 
 windows, and the arch above each is carved 
 in vines and flowers. The walls of the Ban- 
 queting Hall are hung with magnificent ant- 
 lers. One side is filled with suits of armor. 
 Oliver Cromwell's helmet hangs here, and 
 Richard Neville's mace. 
 
 In Beauchamp Chapel, at Warwick, we saw 
 the tomb of the first Earl of Warwick, a re- 
 cumbent, bronze-gilt figure; also the tomb of 
 the wicked Earl of Leicester and his third 
 wife, Letitia, and that of their child, whom the 
 Earl caused to be murdered, because of his de- 
 formity. Opposite is the tomb of his brother, 
 the Earl of Dudley, called the "Good Earl." 
 
 We went into the little oratory up the stone 
 steps, worn smooth by the feet of penitents, 
 and looked at the exquisite roof carvings, each 
 fan being a separate stone. In the church 
 
38 From America to Russia. 
 
 we also saw the recumbent figures of the first 
 Earl and his wife, he wearing the garb of a 
 crusader. 
 
 Next came the final day's coaching to Ox- 
 ford, and a royal day it was. Every day of 
 the drive had been perfect and the last no less 
 so than the others. And now we were to say 
 farewell to the lovely English meadows, fields 
 of poppies, the fragrant rows of lindens, the 
 oaks, elms and larches, the willows which 
 bordered the Avon, and the quaint, pictur- 
 esque stone cottages covered with ivy. We 
 were to leave the comfortable English inns. 
 The fierce and lobster-like "Red Lion" of 
 Banbury was to be a thing of the past. 
 
 A sign hanging in front of one of the last 
 inns passed showed a buxom young woman 
 in a blue and yellow costume. With shield 
 in one hand, trident in the other, she leaned her 
 head against the English flag, planted her 
 sandaled feet firmly on the sand, and looked 
 on the expanse of indigo blue water as though 
 she defied anyone to dispute the right of 
 Britannia to rule the seas. This was our last 
 stop for the thirsty ones until we entered Ox- 
 ford, when of a sudden came a mild rain, which 
 somewhat, but onlv slightly, interfered with a 
 long ride tnrougn the "city of colleges." 
 
Coaching: Coventry to Oxford. 39 
 
 Here the members of former H. P. T. parties 
 visited the grave and paid their respects to the 
 memory of good William Franklin, the former 
 owner of our coaches and horses; the man who, 
 as our Manager said, " had conducted them 
 over hundreds of miles of rural England, with- 
 out an error of judgment, or a flaw perceptible 
 in his sweet and kindly temper"; and they 
 grieved that he was no more, while remember- 
 ing that "the memory of the just is blessed." 
 Lizzie J. Stoddard. 
 
V. 
 ENGLAND TO NORWAY. 
 
 ON arriving a<t the Liverpool street sta- 
 tion in London bound for Norway, 
 the H. P. T. party was reinforced by 
 the addition of five more members, but we 
 were extremely sorry to lose one, the Rev. Mr. 
 Bennett. Total number now, twenty-five. 
 
 We left London for Lincoln at five-thirty, 
 and rode through a delightful country full of 
 lovely fields of thrifty grain. The landscape 
 in many places is flat, reminding one strongly 
 of Holland. The little stations on the way 
 where the train stopped were exceedingly 
 pretty, and at one we saw a quantity of large 
 baskets filled with delicious looking straw- 
 berries. There was a magnificent sunset, the 
 sun being a brilliant red and just above there 
 was a dark cloud that gradually sank over it 
 and was tinged witli the gorgeous hue. 
 
England to Norway. 41 
 
 Several windmills appeared on onr way to 
 Lincoln, and they always add materially to the 
 beauty of the scenery. 
 
 When we arrived at the White Hart Hotel, 
 in Lincoln, we were dusty, and were glad to 
 reach such a home-like place. Of course we 
 received a warm welcome from Miss Barton, 
 the landlady, who knew many of the party 
 personally and was ready to greet with special 
 smiles those of us who had been there before. 
 It was refreshing to see her bright face again. 
 She served us a delicious dinner, but as we had 
 charming meals when we were here before it 
 was no better than was expected. There was 
 plenty of fruit and the table was beautifully 
 arranged, as it was two years ago. Soon after 
 arrival we heard the rich and measured tones 
 of a bell striking the hour of ten; this was un- 
 doubtedly "Big Tom." Some of us went out 
 to see what we could of the Cathedral in 
 the night, but it was too dark to see it to good 
 advantage. 
 
 A rainy morning next day, but in spite of the 
 rain we all went sight-seeing, and first to the 
 Cathedral. Lincoln Cathedral was built in 
 1074, but what with fire and earthquake it has 
 undergone many changes since. It is by no 
 means rich in monuments, the sepulchral 
 
4 2 l : roui America to R 
 
 ussia. 
 
 brasses, of which it contained a large number, 
 having been taken up by Parliamentary 
 soldiers in 1644. There are, however, several 
 monuments left commemorating the death of 
 noted individuals. The entire length of the 
 Cathedral is 481 feet, the nave being 215 feet 
 long and with the aisle 80 feet wide; the in- 
 terior area of the entire building being 57,200 
 square feet. The height of the central tower 
 is 271 feet and the height of each of the west- 
 ern towers 206 feet. One can get an idea of 
 the size of the Cathedral from these dimen- 
 sions. The bell known as "Great Tom of 
 Lincoln" hangs in the central tower. It was 
 recast in 1835, weighs over five tons, is 6 feet 
 high and 21 feet in circumference at its base. 
 
 Lincoln is a good-sized city having a popu- 
 lation of 40,000, and has many quaint sights 
 described in other volumes of this series, so I 
 will not detain the reader here further. 
 
 On our way from Lincoln to Hull, where we 
 are to take the steamer for Bergen, we passed 
 a great many towns and a large number of 
 cattle grazing. Here again we saw wind- 
 mills, but not as many as we counted later in 
 our journey from Berlin to Amsterdam. Pretty 
 canals and lovely winding rivers diversified the 
 scenery. We stopped at Dorchester, a quaint 
 
Lincoln Cathedral— West Front. 
 
 Lincoln has a population of 40,000, and on a hill in its centre is located 
 tile famous Cathedral, founded in the Eleventh Century; a structure 
 
 crystallized in mid-air by the wand of a magician, dripping- solid 
 splendor on every side." 
 
England to Norzvay. 43 
 
 old town, and had lunch and then rolled on 
 some distance farther to beautiful Hull, a sea- 
 port town on the North Sea. We wished to 
 stay here for at least one day that we might 
 have a better view of it. 
 
 Of the ecclesiastical edifices at Hull the most 
 notable are the Church of the Holy Trinity, a 
 beautiful, ornate, Gothic structure, the transept 
 of which is the oldest English brick building 
 in the country; and St. Mary's Church, Low- 
 gate, one-half of which was removed to make 
 room for the mansion-house of Henry VIII. , 
 who occasionally resided here. The most 
 important educational establishments are the 
 Hull Grammar School, and Trinity House 
 School where 36 boys receive a nautical edu- 
 cation. An equestrian statue of William III. 
 stands in the market place and a statue of Wil- 
 berforce, who was born in 1759. A new west 
 dock which greatly increases the accommoda- 
 tion for shipping was opened in 1869. A town 
 hall and a new exchange were opened in 1866. 
 Hull has a population of 160,000. 
 
 On our arrival in Hull we took 'busses to go 
 to the wharf, where we embarked in a tender 
 for the steamer the "Eldorado." The steamer 
 proved to be well appointed and very com- 
 fortable. 
 
44 From America to Russia. 
 
 That night and next day we were on the 
 North Sea on- our way to Bergen. The sea 
 was a little rough next morning and there were 
 few ladies out to breakfast. On the whole 
 our sail proved a delightful one and I enjoyed 
 it to the full. The sunset at night was of the 
 same gorgeous colors which it was when we 
 were on our way to Hull. Who can ever tire 
 of looking at a grand sunset? Yet let me say 
 here that when I was on the Sound steamer, on 
 my way home to New London, Connecticut, 
 I saw a more beautiful sunset than any I ob- 
 served on the other side, the clouds being the 
 most magnificent shades of red, purple and 
 olive-green. 
 
 To go back to the North Sea, and to watch- 
 ing the sun go down. It would pass under a 
 dark cloud and I would lose sight of it for 
 awhile. Then the clouds would break, the 
 edges being tinged with a gorgeous shade of 
 red, and soon the sun would appear again in 
 another place, looking as though it were burst- 
 ing its way through. 
 
 Some of the party sat up until we reached 
 Stavanger, on the Norwegian coast, and went 
 on shore at 2 o'clock in the morning and took 
 a ride about the city. All of us were up 
 watching the lights along the coast *till nearly 
 
England to Norivay. 45 
 
 midnight. The population of Stavanger is 
 25,000, and it is the oldest town in Norway, 
 dating from the eighth or ninth century. 
 
 Next morning was clear and beautiful. We 
 were passing the fjords and there on the shore 
 here and there were trees and shrubs. Occa- 
 sionally we saw little plateaus near the shore 
 with a few houses on them. Someone said 
 that the scenery reminded him of Alaska. 
 Here were mountains with patches of snow on 
 them, making them look very cold. Now we 
 were passing the fjords and there on the shore 
 were houses, plainly built, and here a pretty 
 church. It was delightful to sit and watch 
 the shore as we passed by, taking note of the 
 queer homes of the people. In the distance 
 were more snow-capped peaks; here was a 
 light-house and a flag-station and there was a 
 swing showing that the children were amused 
 in about the same way all over the world. We 
 saw near us eight little fishing boats, and 
 farther on, not far from shore, pretty houses 
 and trees, and once a manufactory. Here 
 was a little field of grain growing (we had not 
 seen one for some time) and high up on the 
 slope of the mountain were cattle grazing. In 
 a cosy, sheltered nook on the other side of the 
 hill were some fishermen's houses and off there 
 
46 From America to Russia. 
 
 was a vessel anchored in the tiny harbor. 
 Farther on was a light-house. And so the 
 procession of sights passed by. 
 
 Just before reaching Bergen, opposite to the 
 city as though to protect it, is a large fortifica- 
 tion standing on top of a high mountain with 
 mounted guns and men working upon it. As 
 we approached Bergen we saw what appeared 
 to be a little city nestled at the foot of a long 
 chain of hills. It soon grew to be a large one, 
 the most picturesque in its surroundings of any 
 we saw in Norway. 
 
 The "Smeby Hotel" proved comfortable 
 and wholly satisfactory. Mr. Smeby, Sr., had 
 been to the World's Fair and liked to have a 
 party of Americans stay with him. His son 
 was the manager, and a jolly laugh and quick 
 attention to the wants of his guests proved 
 both his good heartedness and his efficiency. 
 
 At Bergen the courier whom the Manager 
 had engaged to assislt him upon the Continent 
 appeared, and at once gained our kindly inter- 
 est by his pleasant face and easy manners, and 
 the knowledge he imparted to us that he had 
 been wounded in the War of the Rebellion in 
 America. Captain H. C. Nielson received 
 his title, however, not in the army, but because 
 he subsequently commanded a vessel which is 
 
England to Norway. 47 
 
 at the bottom of the Atlantic. It seems that 
 he came to America when about nineteen years 
 of age to earn a livelihood, and soon after the 
 war broke out enlisted. He was in the Grant 
 campaign. At the close of the war he went to 
 sea and repeatedly visited our country in Nor- 
 wegian vessels. One which he commanded 
 went down in a terrific storm off the coast of 
 South America. He, with a few others, clung 
 to the mast for a few days and were then taken 
 off and saved, since which he has had no de- 
 sire to continue life on the raging deep. He 
 proved to be a competent interpreter and help- 
 ful guide. 
 
 In the afternoon we took a long drive and 
 obtained an excellent idea of what Bergen, 
 which was founded in 1070, is like. It is a 
 beautiful city and a large one and the grand 
 mountain scenery around it reminded me of 
 Switzerland. The houses are built on a side 
 hill, and I wonder they are not blown over in 
 a heavy gale. High up above us one sees 
 horses and carriages and that, too, reminded 
 one of the way we travel in Switzerland. On 
 our drive we went up the steep mountain side 
 to see the old Viking mound and church, both 
 about eight hundred years old, and the latter 
 a curious specimen of architecture, reminding 
 
48 From America to Russia. 
 
 us of the pictures of the Chinese pagodas. Next 
 to the capital, Bergen is the largest and most 
 important town in Norway, having a popula- 
 tion of 50,000. It is the center of the Nor- 
 wegian fishing industry and fish export trade, 
 as well as the principal station of the commer- 
 cial steam fleet, and, owing to its many histor- 
 ical associations, it is generally considered to 
 be one of the most interesting towns of north- 
 ern Europe. It stands in the center of an am- 
 phitheater formed by seven surrounding moun- 
 tains as we could see when we were on this de- 
 lightful drive. 
 
 The dinner at Smeby's the first day was: 
 
 Soup. 
 
 Salmon, potatoes, cauliflower and caper sauce. 
 
 Chicken, potatoes, potato croquettes. 
 
 Cherries, plums and strawberries spiced. 
 
 Princess pudding with raspberry sauce. 
 
 Strawberries with sugar and cream. 
 
 And when we adjourned to the next room 
 all were served with delicious coffee by a Nor- 
 wegian maid in her peasant costume. On the 
 edge of the bread plate at table was printed 
 "Giv os I dag Yost Daglige Brod" (Give us 
 this day our daily bread.) 
 
 After dinner the whole party went by elec- 
 tric tram to the cemetery to see the grave of 
 
England to Norway. 49 
 
 Ole Bull. We found the burial place, and a 
 large urn in bronze marked the spot, with only 
 "Ole Bull" engraved on the body of the urn, 
 and on the standard "Died in 1880." The 
 mound on which the urn stood was overgrown 
 with ivy, roses and forget-me-nots. One of 
 our ladies, who had heard Ole Bull play, laid 
 a bouquet of wild flowers on his grave as a 
 tribute to his memory. 
 
 Ten o'clock in the evening and we found we 
 could write by the window in our room, and 
 we had witnessed another magnificent sunset. 
 
 Next day was warm and delightful. We 
 walked about the city, taking a peep into the 
 stores where were all sorts of beautiful and 
 curious things for sale — the furs and stuffed 
 animals marvelously fine. We visited the 
 markets and were charmed by their novelty. I 
 must give our second day's dinner which con- 
 sisted of: 
 
 Vegetable Soup. 
 
 Salmon trout with baked potatoes. 
 
 Boiled potatoes with chopped parsley and drawn 
 
 butter. 
 Chicken ; veal rolled in tomato and crumbs and 
 fried with brown gravy. 
 Queen's pudding. 
 Strawberries with sugar and whipped cream. 
 
5o 
 
 From America to Russia. 
 
 Clearly Mr. Smeby does not allow his guests 
 to starve. 
 
 On leaving Bergen we had a novel exper- 
 ience. We left the hotel, went down a flight 
 of stone steps, entered a row-boat, crossed the 
 harbor, ascended another flight of stone steps 
 and there took the fine steamer "Neptun" for 
 our trip up the fjords. 
 
 Ellen Co it. 
 
The Stearr.ship " Neptun." 
 
 Lying by the dock at Bergen. This steamer makes various trips dur- 
 iny'the summer to the North Cape, but after August I goes only be- 
 tween Bergen and Trondhjem. It took the H. P. T. party on the latter 
 voyage, a distance of 400 miles. 
 
VI. 
 
 ALONG THE NORWEGIAN COAST. 
 
 WE left Bergen, Friday, July 23, 1897, 
 about 11 P. M., favorably impressed 
 with the city and with Smeby's Hotel, 
 where we had been bountifully enter- 
 tained. Boarding the good ship "Nep- 
 tun" (Neptune) we steamed east of north 
 along the coast of Norway, bound for Trond- 
 hjem, 398 miles. Looking at the map one 
 would suppose our way would be chiefly 
 through the open sea, but such is not the case. 
 The course is principally through fjords and 
 among islands, which for the most part con- 
 stitute the western border of this country. 
 Once during the entire route we were outside 
 for about two hours, and again about an hour. 
 Our accommodations and meals on board 
 were excellent; and these, with fine weather, 
 
5 2 From America to Russia. 
 
 beautiful scenery, stirring incidents and last, 
 but not least, pleasant and congenial company, 
 made the trip most delightful. The fjords 
 and inlets, the islands and mainland present an 
 almost endless variety of beauty and loveliness. 
 Sometimes, too, a mist like a thin veil hung 
 lightly over the valleys and again rose to the 
 hill tops while we gazed in admiration. No 
 description, however, can do justice to such 
 scenery. The eye and heart alone can realize 
 it. 
 
 For purposes of cultivation the contour of 
 the land on either side improved northward; 
 and on both sides, chiefly on the east, were 
 small farm houses with a limited extent of 
 tilled land attached. The crops were rye, 
 barley, oats and potatoes. No wheat is raised 
 so far north in either Norway or Sweden, and 
 only a small quantity in the southern parts; 
 and no maize in the two kingdoms. And just 
 here, too, it may be stated that from the time 
 the writer left New York, June 30, until he 
 boarded the St. Paul at Southampton, Septem- 
 ber 4, he saw no Indian corn or meal in any 
 form whatever, except a few plants grown for 
 ornament in flower beds at railroad stations 
 and elsewhere; and occasionally in Russia 
 and Germany raised broadcast for fodder. On 
 
£1 
 
 •It 
 
 p 
 
 see 
 c-e 
 
 gee 
 
 "2 a 
 e « 
 
 C e8 a 
 
 
 CI M- 
 
Along the Norwegian Coast. 53 
 
 the St. Paul we got both roasting ears and corn 
 muffins. 
 
 The "Neptun" landed at Aalesund (popu- 
 lation 8,000), and Christiansund (population 
 10,000) to put off and receive passengers and 
 freight. Intermediate these cities lies Molde 
 (population 1,800), a summer resort beautifully 
 situated on an extensive and picturesque fjord. 
 Here we arrived on Saturday afternoon and 
 found at anchor the German Emperor's yacht, 
 Hohenzollern, with His Majesty on board. We 
 did not see him, but met officers and seamen of 
 his vessel on the streets, having the name of 
 the ship on their caps. The Hohenzollern is 
 a beautiful model and was painted entirely 
 white. The Emperor was making a pleasure 
 cruise through the fjords with the German 
 war cruiser Gefion acting as consort. The 
 latter had already gone northward preceding 
 the Hohenzollern, and we found her in the 
 harbor at Trondhjem on our arrival there. She 
 was also ' 2 model and painted white. 
 
 We visite 1 pretty church, seated upon an 
 eminence in Mo-lde, to see a celebrated picture, 
 an altar-piece "The Resurrection," represent- 
 ing the angel sitting upon the vacant tomb, 
 pointing heavenv rds, and the women fright- 
 
54 From America to Russia. 
 
 ened and wondering. It is certainly artistic, 
 lovely and touching. 
 
 From here also< are seen the grand peaks of 
 the Alps of the Romsdal and the towering top 
 of the Romsdalhorn, higher than Vesuvius. 
 
 Proceeding on our route we passed fishing 
 stations with moored boats and fishermen's 
 huts, and reached Trondhjem on Sunday morn- 
 ing; and beside the Gefion found also here the 
 American S. S. Ohio on her return from the 
 North Cape with a large party. We gave 
 them as we passed a hearty salute with our 
 stars and stripes (which we carried every- 
 where) and received a similar greeting in re- 
 turn. We drove at once to the Britannia 
 Hotel, and can give it a good name — commo- 
 dious and well kept. 
 
 We attended divine services at the Cathe- 
 dral, and though we did not understand a 
 word of the ritual or sermon — the music, how- 
 ever, was excellent — we were deeply moved 
 in worshipping with these earnest and devout 
 people. The Cathedral is said to be the finest 
 in the three Scandinavian kingdoms — Nor- 
 way, Sweden and Denmark — and contains a 
 replica of Thorwaldsen's great statue of Christ, 
 presented by the artist himself. 
 
 The national church is Episcopal Lutheran, 
 
"2 >>02 ® 
 
 •2" --St: 
 
 §•--3,2 
 S& 
 
 •5a°S 
 >•- 2 
 
 eS 5 4)5 
 
 "JJ «3 x * 
 OS'" O 
 
 3 Si 
 
 « a2e^ 
 
 5 c 
 
 -z. 
 
 22 
 
 So 53^-2 
 
 -u ," £ O 
 HP X fl^ 
 
Along the Norwegian Coast. 55 
 
 and almost the entire population of about 
 2,000,000 are members, a few thousand only 
 being outside the fold. 
 
 Trondhjem is a flourishing city of about 25,- 
 000 inhabitants, in latitude 63 26' N., long. 
 io° 33' E.; is modern in appearance, with wide 
 streets and pavements, though having omnibus 
 lines only — no street railways. It was founded, 
 however, over 900 years ago by King Olaf 
 Tryggvesson and then named Nidaros, being 
 situated on the river Nid at its mouth. Here 
 this king, known as Olaf I., set up and main- 
 tained a splendid court. The nation was then 
 pagan, worshipping Odin and Thor, but Olaf 
 had before his accession to the throne traveled 
 extensively in Europe and England, and had 
 imbibed Christianity, and had, moreover, mar- 
 ried a sturdy and energetic English or Irish 
 Christian woman; and at once with his whole 
 power he set about the overthrow of paganism 
 and the establishment of the Christian re- 
 ligion. He traversed the entire coast person- 
 ally, destroying idols and baptising the prom- 
 inent people. The measures employed were 
 not always faultless as we now view things, 
 but he and his two successors thoroughly ac- 
 complished their purpose, not only in this but 
 also in cementing the divers provinces of Nor- 
 
56 From America to Russia. 
 
 way into a united and homogeneous kingdom 
 with Trondhjem as its capital. 
 
 As all this occurred several centuries prior 
 to the Reformation the new religion was, of 
 course, Roman Catholic, and the Pope subse- 
 quently created here an Archiepiscopal See, 
 making- Trondhjem and its Cathedral the 
 center and seat of power, and invested the 
 Archbishop with authority over all Norway 
 and its colonies, Iceland, the Orkneys and the 
 Faroe islands. These Archbishops (succes- 
 sively) surrounded themselves with able and 
 crafty officials, maintained great pomp and 
 splendor, and gradually encroached not only 
 on the rights of the people but also of the 
 crown, almost ousting from power the Kings 
 themselves. And so harrassing and exasper- 
 ating did these encroachments finally become 
 that the Reformation, when it came about, was 
 gladly received and embraced by both King 
 and people, and (not without struggles with 
 the hierarchy), Lutheranism supplanted 
 Romanism, and became and remains the na- 
 tional religion. 
 
 Both the spoken and written language is the 
 Danish, with which kingdom Norway was 
 connected, though independent, from about 
 1380 to 1814, A. D. 
 
Along the Norwegian Coast. .57 
 
 Norway and Sweden though having the 
 same King, the same representatives at foreign 
 courts and same foreign policy are, in all other 
 respects, wholly separate and independent. 
 Each has its own constitution, legislature, laws, 
 taxes, tariffs, coat of arms, flags, etc.; and all 
 goods, merchandise, baggage, etc., passing from 
 one country into the other are examined by 
 custom officers and must pay the duties im- 
 posed. 
 
 Trondhjem continued for centuries the 
 capital, and the Kings are still crowned in the 
 Cathedral there as Kings of Norway, and the 
 royal palace is maintained. The precise date of 
 the founding of the city is not known, but it was 
 A. D. 996 or 997, and the 900th anniversary of 
 the event was celebrated there July 18, a week 
 before our arrival, because that date happened 
 to be an anniversary (24th) of the crowning- 
 there of the present King, Oscar II., and it also 
 suited him to be present at that time. There 
 is a growing party in Norway which advocates 
 entire separation from Sweden under a new 
 King, and they were preparing to celebrate 
 the founding on July 29, three days after our 
 departure. 
 
 The more we saw of the Norwegians the 
 more we were persuaded that they are from 
 
58. From America to Russia. 
 
 the same stock as ourselves; are more like 
 Americans than any other nation, even the 
 English. Our preconceived impressions re- 
 garding Swedes and Norwegians were wholly 
 reversed, the latter being the superior race. 
 Throughout the country, too, we observed that 
 their farm houses, barns, etc., are much better 
 in every respect than in Sweden. The popu- 
 lation indeed is chiefly rural, a very small per 
 cent living in towns, and for the most part they 
 own their farms and are not mere tenants. 
 Schools are free and attendance, religious 
 teaching and study of the English language 
 obligatory. For generations also many of 
 their young men have attended the German 
 universities. So the diffusion of education has 
 been general, and this with their religious 
 training has implanted an independent intel- 
 ligence and a stability and elevation of char- 
 acter which distinguishes them above the 
 other races of Europe. 
 
 The climate of Trondhjem is good, being 
 tempered and moderated by the sea, the wide 
 and deep fjords and inlets, and the gulf stream 
 on the coast. Its exports are chiefly salmon, 
 cod, herring, oil and timber; and its imports 
 textiles, hardware, groceries and American 
 wheat and flour. 
 

 >; g >? j? 
 
 £ 5' 
 
 
 <n fl £ ^ 
 
 '5ts ® g 
 
 «oo« 
 — ® 5"^ 
 §«8g 
 
 ||If 
 HSgo 
 
Along the Norwegian Coast. 59 
 
 Of course we drove out to the celebrated 
 Lerfos waterfalls — about five miles — and were 
 delighted with their beauty and grandeur; and 
 at the restaurant there we ate wild strawberries 
 on July 26. The road was good, macadamed, 
 and the scenery along the route fine. Some 
 of our party were from Maine and they and 
 others who had seen the Kennebec river united 
 in pronouncing the two valleys exactly similar. 
 On the roadside, at the foot of a small hill, 
 stood a large guide board with this inscription 
 in three languages, Danish, German and Eng- 
 lish, "Travelers are requested to walk up hill 
 to spare the horses." We thought it unnec- 
 essary to comply. In this valley we saw new 
 mown hay cured in a way quite new to us. A 
 high fence of posts and rails or wire is built in 
 the field and the hay is hung on the rails or 
 wires, beginning at the bottom and continued 
 to the top. Where there happens to be a 
 fence along the roadside it is utilized in same 
 manner. 
 
 Summing up some of the results of my ob- 
 servations during this delightful tour I con- 
 clude that Americans are better housed, 
 clothed, fed and educated than any other peo- 
 ple on earth. Nowhere are farm and country 
 homes comparable with ours, nor any- 
 where else such an air of prosperity and hap- 
 
60 From America to Russia. 
 
 piness throughout the laud. It has always 
 seemed unaccountable to me how Europe 
 could withdraw from work those immense 
 armies and maintain and support these idlers 
 and bear enormous burdens of taxation with- 
 out collapse. The solution seems to be the 
 severe and pinching economy everywhere 
 practiced, and the fact that all the women and 
 children are compelled to labor and often even 
 the cows and dogs. In one field in Russia we 
 saw fifteen women harvesting — some using 
 sickles — and not a single man. Of course 
 this was an extreme case. In regard to roads, 
 however, we are greatly behind England and 
 divers European countries, and to improve- 
 ment in this respect our energies should be di- 
 rected, assuring ample returns. In railroad- 
 ing we surpass every other country except 
 only in passenger cars. The much criticized 
 and condemned compartment coaches of Eng- 
 land, Belgium and France are to my mind far 
 more comfortable, separate yet sociable, and 
 pleasant than our day, parlor and sleeping car- 
 avansaries. Neither is one annoyed and im- 
 periled by smoke, cinders, dirt and blizzards 
 inflicted through the raised window in front, 
 or the often wide open doors both front and 
 rear. 
 
 John K. Ewing. 
 
VII. 
 
 ACROSS NORWAY. 
 
 OUR farewell to Tronclhjem was indeed a 
 memorable one, at least for a few of 
 us. Our spirits, always buoyant, had 
 led us to pilfer some signs which we spied 
 hanging - on our cars, and, not knowing the 
 import of "optaget," we straightway begged 
 our companions autographs. But our hilar- 
 ity was soon tamed by the approaching gend- 
 arme, whose severe brusqueness quite took our 
 breath away — likewise one of our cherished 
 souvenirs; though we considered ourselves 
 more than even when we, later, waved him a 
 tantalizing "au revoir" with the remaining 
 cards we had concealed under our jackets. 
 
 Though our journey was to be at night, we 
 had no intention of sleeping, for here was our 
 first and only opportunity of enjoying the in- 
 terior scenery of Norway. 
 
62 From America to Russia. 
 
 As we sped along we caught one last 
 glimpse of the beautiful falls, the Lerfos, and 
 passed on to the wilder country, where our 
 first exclamation was caused by timber houses 
 roofed with turf from which grew dwarf ever- 
 green trees, sometimes to the number of a 
 dozen. Quaint little stone churches were 
 dotted here and there among the hills, and 
 presently we found ourselves following the 
 course of the beautiful Gula river, its waters so 
 clear and green that the smallest pebbles were 
 easily discernible. 
 
 Farther on our attention was attracted to a 
 pretty rustic bridge, on the center of which 
 stood a young peasant girl, perhaps another 
 "Thelma," whose costume of red jacket and 
 blue skirt added a picturesqueness to the 
 scene never to be forgotten. 
 
 The fences were most curiously built of hor- 
 izontal bars, through which were interwoven 
 young saplings tied together with small twigs, 
 and not standing upright, but all leaning to- 
 ward the north, giving the effect of having 
 been blown over by a windstorm. 
 
 At one of the stations were discovered two 
 spears of com planted as ornaments around a 
 fountain, and it was amusing to see with what 
 
King Oscar's Summer Chateau. 
 
 There are various summer residences on the islands and promontor- 
 ies in the Christiania fjords, but none so conspicuous or artistic as that 
 of King Oscar II. It was built in 1849, is adorned with elegant paint- 
 ings and stands in a beautifully wooded park (Photo, by M. Estil.) 
 
Across Norzvay. 63 
 
 interest and joy we crowded around to inspect 
 this little reminder of dear old America. 
 
 After passing through Roros, the highest 
 point of our travels, a town situated on a bleak 
 and dreary plateau where only the dwarf birch 
 can thrive, we drew our curtains and prepared 
 for a little rest before reaching Christiania. 
 
 We were not over-impressed with our intro- 
 duction to Norway's capital, and were inclined 
 to regret staying here two days, but a most 
 charming sail arranged by our good Manager 
 around the Christiania fjord, opened up to us 
 its magnificent situation at the foot of pine- 
 clad hillls; and our delight at seeing along its 
 banks beautiful country homes, among them 
 Oscarshall, the King's summer residence, also 
 that of Nansen, the explorer, brought us back 
 to the city in a more enthusiastic mood than 
 when we started off on the little steam yacht 
 "Turist." 
 
 As we sauntered up from the wharf, we 
 wondered if Old Sol were not conspiring with 
 Neptune to again entice us for a sail, for his 
 rays were indeed unmercifully beating down 
 upon our poor heads, and we gladly accepted 
 an invitation to rest for a time at the House 
 of Parliament or Storthings-Bygning, a hand- 
 some granite building, the facade flanked by 
 
64 From America to Russia. 
 
 two large stone lions. Our efforts in climbing 
 the many flights of steps were rewarded by 
 finding at the top the large room or "sal," 
 where was being discussed by the members 
 the question of narrow or wide-gauge tracks 
 between Bergen and Christiania. 
 
 In the afternoon we visited the Winter 
 Palace, and found it plain and unostentatious, 
 a proof of the tastes and mode of living of King 
 Oscar. Our interest was next divided between 
 the two Viking ships, still in wonderful pres- 
 ervation, and some old church paintings hung 
 on the walls of the sheds, the colors still mar- 
 velously bright, but the figures drawn with lit- 
 tle idea of perspective or action. 
 
 Before returning to our hotel, I was greatly 
 pleased to have pointed out to me the home of 
 Dr. Henrik Ibsen, and later, at the Grand 
 Hotel, I was again favored by having my cafe 
 noir at a table adjoining that of this much 
 talked of writer. 
 
 Great excitement was caused by the an- 
 nouncement on a news bulletin of the finding 
 of Andree's balloon in one of the northern 
 fjords, but later inquiries proved it to be a false 
 rumor. 
 
 Some of our gentlemen took a carriole ride 
 to Holmenkollen, and reported a remarkably 
 
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 .5 .sgts* 
 
 ° «« 3 S/s 
 
 1 °2^* 
 
 o ?•« CDT3 
 a> ■£ u 
 
 _H co z o 
 
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 1 flOOS) 
 
 C <u m e« p 
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 " tr. ° °-> 
 
 SL 
 
 .2 a <c os « 
 gs3 a S 
 
Across Norway. 65 
 
 beautiful hotel and extraordinary views of the 
 fjord. 
 
 I must not leave Christiania without speak- 
 ing of our delightful evening at the Tivoli 
 gardens, of whose attractions we had been told 
 by our kind friends who had visited them the 
 evening before. And I think we all agreed 
 that such dancing, tumbling and acrobatic per- 
 formances could not be excelled even in re- 
 nowned Paris, nor in our opinion could the 
 great Sousa write a more inspiring march than 
 was played for us "by request" that evening. 
 That it was popular and "catchy" was proven 
 by the many times heard refrain: 
 
 
 Mabel Therese Guerin. 
 
 
VIII. 
 
 ACROSS SWEDEN. 
 
 HAS one, unfamiliar with this route, a 
 mental vision of a narrow stream of 
 muddy water, a tow path, a bony horse 
 and a flat canal boat? If so, he must crowd 
 that picture out of mind and become aware of 
 the fact that our journey of two hundred and 
 fifty or more miles and occupying two and 
 one-half days is made through the river Gota 
 Elf, and Sweden's three largest and most beau- 
 tiful lakes as well as over canals of clear water, 
 and upon a handsome steamer. Little lake 
 Wiken, between lakes Wennern and Wettern, 
 should also be mentioned on account of the 
 beautiful effect produced by its tiny tree-cov- 
 ered islands, among which a course is marked 
 out for tlie steamer to follow. 
 
 The canals are West Gotha, connecting 
 lakes Wennern and Wiken; the East Gotha 
 
Across Sweden. 67 
 
 forming a water way between Wettern and 
 Slatbaken, a long and narrow bay on the Bal- 
 tic Sea, through which (the steamer passes, and 
 then sometimes skirting the shore and some- 
 times sailing in open sea it makes its way until 
 at Sodertelge it turns into a short canal con- 
 necting the sea with Lake Malaren. 
 
 The locks through which the steamer passes 
 in going from Gothenburg to Stockholm are 
 seventy-four in number, fifty-six of them being 
 used in the Gotha canals as a means by which 
 the boats are enabled to rise to and descend 
 from its highest point (300 feet) above the sea 
 level. At Akersvass, near Trollhattan, where 
 one may see the famous waterfalls, are the 
 eleven locks constructed by Nils Ericsson, who 
 in the years 1836-44 succeeded in the enterprise 
 which the engineers Svedenborg and Polhem 
 had undertaken in the early part of the eigh- 
 teenth century and which they failed to accom- 
 phsh because floating timber destroyed their 
 work. 
 
 It may be interesting to take a look at the 
 tiny steamer "Venus" which carried the 
 Honeyman party of '97 on a most delightful 
 journey through these canals and lakes. She 
 is one hundred and seven feet long, and in 
 width twenty-three and one-half feet according 
 
68 From America to Russia. 
 
 to Swedish measurement, which differs slightly 
 from the English, a Swedish foot being a trifle 
 the shorter. This little "Venus" is commanded 
 by a Swedish captain who, assisted by one 
 mate, gives orders to the six sailors. She will 
 carry forty-one first-class and thirty-five third- 
 class passengers and also freight. On the 
 saloon deck are the dining-room, the captain's 
 cabin and the "^Conversation Salon." Forward 
 in the stern and separated from the cabin deck 
 by a slender railing, the third-class passengers 
 assemble themselves. 
 
 As first-class travelers we were allowed the 
 freedom of the boat. Such freedom was not 
 to be despised and we all ascended many times 
 the steep ladder-like stairway which led to the 
 upper deck where the young and venturesome 
 might (and did) sit on the covered life-boats 
 and swing their feet, while more cautious 
 pleasure seekers conversed with each other and 
 the genial captain, who was always ready with 
 a word — and more beside, in their own lan- 
 guage, too — for his English-speaking pas- 
 sengers. 
 
 Below the saloon deck and reached by a 
 staircase through the "Konversation" room are 
 the state rooms — tiny ones, with space for two 
 persons in each. One in the very stern of the 
 
Across Sweden. 69 
 
 steamer, called the saloon state room, has ac- 
 commodations for six. 
 
 One member of the party seeing something 
 that looked like an under deck passage to the 
 stern of the steamer, and being curious in the 
 matter of this boat's interior arrangement, fol- 
 lowed the passage to the end and found herself 
 under an open hatchway and close upon a 
 small cargo of boxed cod fish. Her curiosity 
 also turned her to the left and back through 
 another narrow way at the end of which she 
 found the cook and two maids in the kitchen. 
 The visitor tried to open a conversation with 
 the cook, but received only Swedish smiles in 
 reply to questions. So, after satisfying herself 
 that it was nothing unusual in the way of a 
 kitchen, she answered with an American smile 
 and left, ascending to the main deck to take 
 one more look at Gothenburg. 
 
 The brown walled and serious looking 
 building opposite the dock is the prison. After 
 a glance at that the eyes travel back across the 
 open square where the drivers gather with 
 their carriages to the wharf, and there are 
 quaintly dressed Swedish women who eagerly 
 exchange gooseberries, cherries, apples and 
 pears for ore, the small coin of the country, 
 taking always as many as they can get. 
 
yo From America to Russia. 
 
 It was at mid-day, on Friday, July 30, when 
 the "Venus" left Gothenburg, one day later 
 than had been planned because no trip was 
 made on Thursday. 
 
 Perhaps through the endeavor to exchange 
 English and American "coppers" for coin of 
 the realm, a few members of the party had be- 
 come acquainted with a banker of the city 
 and his beautiful Russian greyhound. Anyhow, 
 both dog and master drove to the wharf that 
 Friday morning, just before the steamer's 
 leaving time, to wish their American friends 
 good-bye and a pleasant trip. Our eyes looked 
 backward, as we glided away, at the banker 
 on the wharf waving his most recent acquisi- 
 tion, an American flag. One patriotic young 
 lady answered with her stars and stripes, and 
 who shall say we left our first Swedish city 
 without a farewell from friends? 
 
 So we were fairly started, and before the 
 thorough enjoyment of the scenery began we 
 were summoned to dinner in the little dining 
 salon made to accommodate only twenty- 
 four at one time. Our party, numbering 
 twenty-six, filled the two tables pretty full. 
 We were given the first sitting at all the meals, 
 but even by this arrangement we were not en- 
 abled to breakfast until nine, dine at half-past 
 
- B "*— s * 
 8 If a 
 
 — as te w.cr 
 
 £ B s|r «5 
 
 sr p£ * 
 
 «-- 0D K -v — 
 
 S-P&2.2 CD 
 
 p it (5 s? 3 
 
 ££B & ?t P °" 
 
 
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Across Sweden. 71 
 
 one and have supper served at half-past seven. 
 In so doing, we gave up the dining-room to 
 the native travelers in time for the very late 
 meals customary in their country. 
 
 A slight delay in the service of our first meal 
 was caused by our unfamiliarity with the 
 Smorgasboard, or sandwich table. According 
 to the Swedish custom, each one, as he enters 
 the dining room, helps himself to a plate at the 
 Smorgasboard, taking from there also small 
 portions of the various relishes he may fancy — 
 a sardine, a slice of tongue or cold meat, per- 
 haps a quarter of a hard boiled egg, a taste of 
 potato salad, or a piece of smoked salmon. 
 Butter, if he wishes it, is almost always on the 
 Smorgasboard. Having made his selection, 
 he eats there, standing, and, later, takes his 
 place at table. We, however, took to and ate 
 at table these "appetizers;" after that the reg- 
 ular meal begins. 
 
 A very general stir in small quarters was the 
 result when this custom was made known to 
 us. The two pretty waitresses stood in the 
 doors and watched the initiation of the Ameri- 
 cans with interest. These maids, Pauline and 
 Christine, Pauline especially, deserve more 
 than a passing glance. Both were attired in 
 the native costume, black velvet bodice out- 
 
J 2 From America to Russia. 
 
 lined with gilt braid, worn over a white muslin 
 guimpe and a short black skirt. Christine 
 had a white apron, but it was Pauline who wore 
 the pretty, bright striped one seen so much in 
 Sweden. Pauline served coffee on deck to 
 the Americans and when the native travelers 
 desired refreshments it was she who brought 
 the 61, a light beer, or the Swedish punch, 
 which is a stronger beverage and very good — 
 they so told us. Pauline knew a little English 
 and when she wished us good night said "Sleep 
 sweet." Pauline was — well any one might 
 know it was an American who called Pauline 
 a "peach." 
 
 But that first meal on board the "Venus" we 
 shall not soon forget. There was soup, made 
 very thick with carrots, peas and almost every 
 other seasonable vegetable, which might have 
 been called a vegetable compote quite appro- 
 priately. It was really good, which is more than 
 may be said for the cherry soup, served to us 
 two days later — a thick, oily substance, like a 
 bisque with pitted cherries floating in it, a 
 beautiful red in color and tasting like castor 
 oil. We hoped that cherry soup would be well 
 enjoyed at the second sitting and were quite 
 willing to reserve our share, if thereby the 
 Swedes might have a second portion. After 
 
Across Sweden. 73 
 
 soup we were given turbot, served with Hol- 
 landaise sauce and boiled potatoes; then boiled 
 mutton accompanied by spiced currants and 
 sliced cucumbers. Of bread, there were three 
 varieties, white, rye and the Swedish knokke- 
 brod, which is very coarse and dark and baked 
 in round flat cakes about ten inches in dia- 
 meter, like the Norwegian flad brod, except 
 that in Norway they mix caraway seed with 
 the dough. 
 
 Our dessert, apple pie, had, it is true, an 
 American name, but the similarity to our 
 standby ended there. Well made apple pie is 
 good, but the Swedish pie was worthy of even 
 a better name. It was made with two crusts; 
 between them and on top were layers of stewed 
 apples; crowning this a thick layer of whipped 
 cream dotted with bits of bright red jelly. The 
 whole was cut in orthodox three-cornered 
 pieces and served with a cold custard sauce. 
 This pie found favor with the Americans, but 
 custom did not stale it for us. Some one 
 said there was a man from New Jersey who 
 sought an interview with the cook and who, 
 when he found that canal boat cuisine included 
 such pie only once, wished that he had taken 
 more than two pieces and — a photograph. 
 
 The after dinner coffee was served on deck 
 
74 From America to Russia. 
 
 for twenty-five ore (6} cents) and with the 
 coffee began our enjoyment of the unfolding 
 panorama on each side. 
 
 Gothenburg is on the Gota Elf, and 
 through that river we sailed for some hours, 
 watching the tall grasses along the banks bend 
 at our approach, the farmers mowing this 
 same grass when not under water and the 
 women doing their washing on flat stones 
 or little wooden platforms built at the water's 
 edge. We observed the washers as they spread 
 the garments out and beat them with wooden 
 paddles, and we felt sure that only clothing of 
 the most durable texture could survive such 
 treatment. On each side of the Gota Elf there 
 is much rock of the gneiss formation and quan- 
 tities of heather. 
 
 At Kungelf, a very old town on the left 
 bank of the river, may be seen the ruins of what 
 was once Bohnsfort, built in 1308. This 
 picturesque ruin stands on a rocky elevation 
 and with its round tower and one window has 
 the appearance of a savage Cyclops, always on 
 guard. 
 
 Sailing on to Akerstrom we mounted, at that 
 place, our first step in the staircase of locks. 
 This one, named for Gustavus Adolphus, is the 
 largest lock along the route. It was built in 
 
Across Sweden. 75 
 
 1779 in order that the boats might pass a water- 
 fall to be seen at the right. We watched the 
 steamer's entrance with eager interest; the 
 novelty of seeing the heavy sluice gates close 
 behind us, after which those in front were 
 slowly opened, gradually letting in the water 
 upon which the steamer rose to a new level, 
 never wore away throughout the trip. 
 
 As it required nearly two hours for the 
 "Venus" to ascend the series of locks through 
 which it rises to Trollhattan, there was ample 
 time for those who wished to leave the boat at 
 the first lock in this series, hire carriages and 
 visit the falls, six in number. After a short 
 drive from Akersvass over a good road, we 
 left the carriages and were guided through a 
 pine grove to one of these waterfalls; imposing 
 on account of the great volume of seething and 
 foaming water, rather than the height of the 
 falls, which is not great. From an iron car- 
 riage bridge built across the Trollhattan river, 
 we were able to obtain a fine view of the 
 Toppo fall ; and near one end of this bridge we 
 saw the old lock planned by Polhem nearly 
 two hundred years ago but left unfinished. 
 
 We entered Lake Wennern in the evening, 
 enjoyed a most beautiful sunset and spent all 
 night in crossing that sheet of water. 
 
j6 From America to Russia. 
 
 Four masculine members of the party, de- 
 siring to see a Sunday in Stockholm, left the 
 steamer Saturday morning, and hurried on by 
 train. They missed much of the richest beauty 
 of the canal ; the fairest farm lands were passed 
 that day and at times the canal narrowed to a 
 silver thread, hardly more than the steamer's 
 width, when branches of the trees on either 
 side were within reach of the outstretched 
 hand. Just at evening, near Vassbakken, we 
 passed in a small grove of white birch trees on 
 the right bank the brown stone shaft that 
 marks the highest point on the canal. That 
 four men should deliberately choose a dusty 
 car ride in preference to the rural loveliness of 
 this canal was incomprehensible; we sorrowed 
 for them. And there were those of us who 
 sent our sorrow forth in song, from the top of 
 a life boat on the upper deck. Then was 
 there American music in the Swedish air! And 
 when the steamer halted at a little landing 
 place the natives listened with manifest delight. 
 There was a charm for the singers in the nov- 
 elty of the situation and when a young woman 
 called up from the wharf "Please sing the 
 'Bowery,' " we complied with a right good will 
 and assured those Swedish people that we 
 should "Xever go there any more." The same 
 
Across Sweden. 7 7 
 
 English-speaking admirer then asked for 
 "Sweet Marie," and we sailed away, each one 
 beseeching "Come to me!" 
 
 Sunday on the "Venus" was restful, and we 
 observed that the native people were enjoying 
 their day in a quiet though continental manner. 
 Family groups and picnic parties in Sabbath 
 day attire moved along the banks under the 
 trees, sociably chatting together and eating 
 their lunches they carried in peculiar, box-like 
 baskets made of wood. 
 
 Sunday afternoon the steamer entered the 
 Baltic and passed through a rain storm; the 
 thought of its dreariness lent keener apprecia- 
 tion, a little later, as we began to enjoy the 
 long lingering glory of the setting sun, which 
 sent a radiant, golden pathway out athwart the 
 sea. 
 
 During that short night we steamed close 
 along the coast until the Sodertelge Canal was 
 reached. We passed through that and then 
 across the eastern end of Lake Malaren, arriv- 
 ing at Stockholm about four o'clock in the 
 morning. 
 
 The "Venus" was our morning star and she 
 held us, willing worshipers, until five o'clock, 
 when Pauline served us with coffee and sweet 
 cakes on deck. Then, almost under shadow 
 
78 From America to Russia. 
 
 of the historic Riddarholm Church, we waited 
 for sleeping Stockholm to awake and give us 
 welcome. 
 
 Henrietta F. Williams. 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
A Fjord View, About 9 P. M. 
 
IX. 
 
 IN STOCKHOLM. 
 
 i'F you want to see the entrance to Stock 
 
 I 
 
 holm you must be on deck before four 
 o'clock to-morrow morning," said a 
 friendly voice in my ear on Sunday evening, as 
 I was going to my state room on the "Venus," 
 which had been our home for nearly three days. 
 It is an early start, I said to myself as I went 
 below, but to miss that entrance of which I had 
 heard such glowing accounts all my life was 
 not to be thought of. 
 
 So, a little after three o'clock the next morn- 
 ing, found me on deck, watching the many 
 green islands, more in number than the 
 'Thousand Isles" of the St. Lawrence, with 
 their pretty villas and gardens that make Lake 
 Malar so picturesque. As the "Venus" neared 
 the wharf one after another of our party ap- 
 
So From America to Russia. 
 
 peared on deck ready to welcome the sight of a 
 new city with its picturesque surroundings. On 
 onr right the shores rise high above the water 
 like a rocky parapet, and here, where a new 
 road has lately been built winding in a zig-zag 
 line to, the top, enormous breweries have been 
 erected and the commercial life of the city is 
 evident. Large factories are also situated to 
 the left, but here the shores are low and the 
 impression is less striking. 
 
 It is, however, directly in front of the wharf 
 that our attention is particularly directed, for 
 here on the island called "The City" stand the 
 two most interesting of the many stately build- 
 ings of Stockholm: Riddarholm, "The West- 
 minster Abbey" of Sweden, and the Royal 
 Palace where Oscar II. has his home. The 
 church is finely situated in an open square in 
 which is the figure in bronze of the founder of 
 the city — the stern warrior King, who stands 
 there in his armor of mail well pleased with the 
 success of his creation. Within the church 
 are buried the great and honored of Sweden's 
 kings and warriors, Gustavus Adolphus, the 
 great champion of the Lutheran Church in 
 the North, Charles XL, the warlike but eccen- 
 tric King, and Charles XIV., or Bernadotte,the 
 founder of the present dynasty. Some famous 
 
In Stockholm. 81 
 
 Generals of the Thirty Years' War also rest 
 here, while the armorial bearings of many 
 royal homes draw strongly upon one's his- 
 torical knowledge. Aside from the association 
 thus aroused there is little in the church itself 
 to excite attention, and perhaos the most in- 
 teresting thought that lingers in my mind is 
 that of a faded wreath hung on the outside 
 wall, which on the anniversary of the death of 
 the King is every year renewed. My com- 
 panion, a sweet Swedish woman with whom I 
 took my first walk in Stockholm that Monday 
 morning, while waiting for the hotel to open, 
 pointed to the wreath and told its history, add- 
 ing: "No one knows who the woman is that 
 brings it, but she never fails to hang a fresh 
 one there each year." 
 
 This Swedish lady was ever ready with true 
 northern courtesy to render any aid in her 
 power to us as tourists from the far-away New 
 World, and I am sure many of us will long re- 
 member her slight figure, sweet face and gentle 
 smile as she stood on the deck of the "Venus," 
 quick to translate into English a puzzling 
 sentence or explain some bewildering custom. 
 
 Among the pleasantest of the many pleasant 
 memories of travel are those faces, which, from 
 time to time, recur to us as belonging to some 
 
82 From America to Russia. 
 
 who by word or deed have made a foreign city 
 seem less strange and more like home. I re- 
 call at this moment the voice and face of a 
 young man who in a store in Stockholm 
 stepped forward and in excellent English ar- 
 ranged a desired purchase for me, and on being 
 questioned with regard to his English answered 
 that he had been eight years in a picture store 
 in Providence, R. L; a store, by the way, well 
 known to me in my occasional visits to that 
 city. Truly the world is small, we say, in 
 thinking of these things. 
 
 All I had ever been told of Swedish courtesy 
 was more than realized in Stockholm; for it 
 was here that coming out of the Exposition 
 grounds with one of our party we found our- 
 selves in an unknown part of the city and could 
 see no cab nor tram-car at hand. We ac- 
 costed with all the languages at our command 
 several persons, receiving only anxious, un- 
 comprehending looks, until a lady rose from a 
 seat in a park near by and coming toward us, 
 in exquisite French and an exquisite manner, 
 sent us rejoicing on our way. Her face is as 
 vividly before me now as are many of the fine 
 portraits in the art gallery of the Exposition; 
 for the great attraction of Stockholm this year 
 is the Exposition. 
 
In Stockholm. 83 
 
 The Exposition was held in the new build- 
 ings erected near and in the Djurgarden or 
 Deer Park. The exhibition was most inter- 
 esting, but the collection of pictures by the best 
 artists of Scandinavia chiefly attracted me. To 
 many Americans the exhibit at the World's 
 Fair in Chicago of these northern artists was a 
 revelation of color and technique. Here at 
 Stockholm was an opportunity to see on a 
 larger scale the work of the Swedish, Norwe- 
 gian and Danish artists, Zorn, Oscar Bjorck, 
 Carl Larsson and Prince Eugene were well 
 represented by characteristic works. These all 
 belong to the Impressionist School, but their 
 coloring is more brilliant than that of the more 
 southern schools. But this very brilliancy of 
 coloring, which had perplexed me in America 
 as I studied their paintings, was now easily 
 comprehended after seeing the wonderful sun- 
 rise and sunset effects in these northern lands. 
 These Swedish and Norwegian painters have a 
 right to* their rich colors which are not mixed 
 with imagination but with realism. The bril- 
 liant reds which Zorn so well knows how to 
 use, as, for example, in the portrait in the 
 Stockholm Exposition of a young girl stand- 
 ing ready as it were to spring from the canvas 
 and extend a hand of welcome to the stranger 
 
84 From America to Russia. 
 
 before her, are here subdued but without los- 
 ing their vividness by the rich brown of the fur 
 thrown over one shoulder, while the whole im- 
 pression is as weird as are some of the effects 
 of light and shade in this land of the midnight 
 sun. 
 
 Bjorck is a painter who does not perhaps 
 produce as startling effects as Zorn, for he 
 seems to hold his power in reserve and by this 
 very self-control he attracts and holds the at- 
 tention. A half-length portrait of the young 
 "Fru E," at the Exposition is one of his most 
 fascinating pictures. Amused at something she 
 has heard, or somebody she has seen, perhaps 
 yourself as you stand before her, she looks out 
 from the canvas with a bright smile of recogni- 
 tion on her face, while you stop involuntarily 
 to catch, if possible, the explanation from her 
 parted lips. A fair young woman she is in her 
 light blue dress, with only the delicate lace 
 tracery of a screen behind her and the simplic- 
 ity of the work is as striking as the fiery ardor 
 of Zorn's creation in her red dress and girlish 
 mirth. The pictures seem typical of the two 
 painters, and may account for the preference 
 which the Swedes themselves give to Bjorck 
 over his brother artist. 
 
 The study of these northern pictures on a 
 
In Stockholm. 85 
 
 showery afternoon, when the brilliant sunlight 
 and the dark rain clouds strangely alternated 
 without, left an indelible impression on my 
 mind and a firm conviction that Scandinavian 
 art has a great part yet to play in the artistic 
 life of the world. 
 
 One of the charms of Stockholm is that ex- 
 cursions are easily made by tramway or boat to 
 all the environs of the city. A few of our 
 party had a delightful trip given by the Man- 
 ager on one of the little steamers to Drottning- 
 holm, the summer residence of the King. The 
 pretty villas on the island and mainland as we 
 passed looked invitingly at us, but we were 
 eager to see the Palace, and I think hardly ap- 
 preciated their beauty and simplicity. Yet 
 Drottningholm itself is refreshingly simple; a 
 country home where life can be spent apart 
 from the ceremony that is the usual accom- 
 paniment of royalty. Many interesting pictures 
 by Scandinavian artists of the old school, 
 (which was that of Dusseldorf), and some by 
 foreign painters adorned the walls, and in the 
 large ball room was an interesting gallery of 
 portraits of all the sovereigns of Europe who 
 were cotemporary with Oscar I., the father of 
 the present King. Exquisite models of Greek 
 and Roman statues and architecture were scat- 
 
86 From America to Russia. 
 
 tered through the apartments as if the collec- 
 tor, probably Oscar L, who did much to beau- 
 tify the place, had taken a real pleasure in 
 bringing them together. 
 
 On one side the grounds of Drottningholm 
 reach to the waters of the fjord and on the 
 other side the garden, stretching away into the 
 distance, reminds one, as indeed do all royal 
 gardens, of Versailles. 
 
 Stockholm is well supplied with horse-cars, 
 though the method of taking the fares of the 
 passengers seems to an American very primi- 
 tive. The conductor carries in his hand what 
 seems at first sight to be a small lantern, but 
 further inspection proves to be a receptacle into 
 which, by means of a slit in the top, the pas- 
 sengers can drop his 10 ore, or three cents, the 
 price of his ride. 
 
 If the Swedes in this case still cling to an old 
 custom, they have at least adopted some new 
 ones, as for instance the telephone, which it is 
 said is more freely used in Stockholm than in 
 any other city of the world. 
 
 As we entered Stockholm from the west in 
 the early morning, it was fitting that our de- 
 parture should be from the east and just before 
 sunset. We were starting for Russia on one 
 of the fine steamers that ply between Stock- 
 
In Stockholm. 8 7 
 
 holm and St. Petersburg, but even that fascin- 
 ating country could not dampen our ardor for 
 the pleasure we had found in the sister king- 
 dom of Norway and Sweden; and the remem- 
 brance of our delightful visit to Stockholm, 
 with its courteous people, its well-beloved 
 sovereign and its fascinating position, will ever 
 be one of the choicest recollections of our al- 
 most faultless summer wanderings of 1897. 
 
 Charlotte Titcomb. 
 
X. 
 
 FINLAND AND ST. PETERSBURG. 
 
 AS our pretty little steamer, the "Tornea," 
 the best we had found in Northern 
 European waters, drew up gently to the 
 wharf at Helsingfors, the capital of Finland, 
 it found us all eagerly waiting to land, for 
 our intense desire now was to enter one of the 
 funny carriages in waiting and explore the city. 
 At last our wish was gratified; eleven dros- 
 kies, each containing two persons, started. The 
 night came down all too soon and we had seen 
 little; so we finished the remaining few hours 
 of our stay at the Public Garden, where two 
 bands were playing, the one composed of wo- 
 men, who played remarkably well. Of course, 
 owing to our hurried trip, I could hardly write 
 at great length of Helsingfors, but I was im- 
 pressed most favorably with its location and 
 beautiful harbor. 
 
Finland and St. Petersburg. 89 
 
 At 1 A. M. we were en route for St. Peters- 
 burg. For many years my most ardent desire 
 had been to visit Russia. The book of George 
 Kennan, the lectures of John L. Stoddard and 
 the numerous accounts given of that wonderful 
 and mysterious country had only served to in- 
 crease that desire to see all those glories for 
 myself; and so, when the steamer approached 
 the low-lying shores off Cronstadt, I experi- 
 enced that thrill of nervous anticipation only 
 felt when one is about to visit an unknown 
 land; visions of all I had ever read or heard 
 of detentions, imprisonments, police surveil- 
 lance and other like experiences, passed before 
 my mental vision, especially as I saw a dozen 
 or more huge Russian war vessels waiting to 
 receive the Emperor of Germany, due the next 
 day. 
 
 At St. Petersburg I put on a bold front 
 and passed with my fellow-travelers to the 
 wharf. As anticipated, a demand was made 
 for "passports" by an officer stationed at the 
 gangplank. I calmly informed him in plain 
 English that "our courier attended to those 
 matters," and, while he was struggling with as- 
 tonishment, started forward, and, under the 
 guidance of the colored porter of our pros- 
 pective hotel, entered one of the carriages in 
 
9o From America to Russia. 
 
 waiting. After a delay of one hour, we were 
 allowed to depart. 
 
 During a sojourn of several days in St. 
 Petersburg, we found that the great secret of 
 success in surmounting all difficulties was to 
 ignore completely those who spoke Russian to 
 us and follow our own sweet will, for, either 
 tiring of our imperturbability, or else thinking 
 our silence characteristic of Americans, they 
 invariably shrugged their shoulders and re- 
 tired. The city presented a most beautiful ap- 
 pearance, in gala attire, in honor of the visit of 
 Emperor William to the Czar. Flags floated 
 from every building, columns were wound with 
 the imperial colors, red trimmed with ermine, 
 or rather white canton flannel, dotted with 
 small pieces of black cloth. Even with this 
 holiday aspect, I was at once struck with the 
 hopelessness of life in Russia. There was 
 seemingly no mirth. I rarely heard a laugh 
 and in the streets there was such an absence of 
 conversation. Every one moved along in a 
 half-hearted fashion, in marked contrast to the 
 Paris and London which we had so recently 
 left. 
 
 One evening, in the salon, a young officer 
 was seated near one of our party. Entering 
 into conversation with him, the officer pro- 
 
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Finland and St. Petersburg. 91 
 
 posed that the party should visit Peterhof, one 
 of the summer residences of the Imperial 
 family and just then en fete, and said he would 
 take particular pleasure in showing us its 
 beauties. Of course, we availed ourselves of 
 his unlooked-for invitation, and it was owing to 
 his courteousness and excessive kindness that 
 we were enabled to view Peterhof's charming 
 and novel attractions. 
 
 How can I describe the fairy-like scene we 
 witnessed there? Our drive was through the 
 large park, with its innumerable fountains all 
 playing, without limit to their number and 
 variety. Numberless mythological subjects 
 figure in these fountains, and I recall one par- 
 ticularly, the fountain of Samson, where Sam- 
 son is contending with a lion, which throws up 
 a jet of water to the height of eighty feet. We 
 saw an artificial tree, each leaf and twig send- 
 ing forth a stream of water. In one pond are 
 fish that will come to be fed at sound of a 
 bell. As our time was limited, we contented 
 ourselves in gazing where these fish were sup- 
 posed to be. 
 
 I read recently an incident told of Prince 
 Bismarck, when he was the Prussian ambas- 
 sador at the Czar's Court, and which admirably 
 illustrates Russian absolutism. He was stand- 
 
92 From America to Russia. 
 
 ing one day at a window of the Peterhof palace 
 with Alexander II., when he observed a sentinel 
 in the center of a spacious lawn with apparently 
 nothing whatever to guard. Out of curiosity 
 he inquired of the Emperor why the man was 
 stationed there. Alexander turned to an aide- 
 de-camp, "Count Schonfalof, why is that 
 soldier stationed there?" "I do not know, 
 your Imperial Majesty." The Czar frowned 
 and answered curtly: "Send me the officer in 
 command for the day." Presently the officer 
 appeared, pale with apprehension. "Prince 
 Ivanovitch Poniatowsky, why is a sentinel sta- 
 tioned on that lawn?" "Really, your Majesty, 
 I — I do not know," stammered the officer. 
 "Not know?" cried the Czar in surprise. "Re- 
 quest then the general in command of the 
 troops at Peterhof to present himself im- 
 mediately." A few moments later the com- 
 mandant hurried to the spot in a state of great 
 fear and agitation. "General Petrovitch 
 Sscherneschewski Bogoljnbof Nijninovgoro- 
 dinski," asked the Czar, "will you be kind 
 enough to inform us why that soldier is sta- 
 tioned in yonder isolated place?" "I beg to 
 inform your Majesty tihat it is in accordance 
 with an ancient custom," replied the general 
 evasively. "What was the origin of the cus- 
 
Finland and St. Petersburg. 93 
 
 torn?" calmly inquired Bismarck. "I — I do 
 not at present recollect," stammered the officer. 
 "Investigate the subject and report the result," 
 the Czar said. The investigation began and, 
 after three days and nights of labor, it was as- 
 certained that about eighty years before, one 
 morning in spring, Catherine II. observed in 
 the center of this lawn the first mayflower of 
 the season lifting its delicate head above the 
 lately frozen soil. She ordered a soldier to 
 stand there to prevent its being plucked. The 
 order was duly inscribed upon the books; and 
 thus for eighty years, summer and winter, a 
 sentinel had stood upon that spot, no one, until 
 Prince Bismarck's time, caring to question the 
 reason of the custom. 
 
 Leaving Peterhof we returned to St. Peters- 
 burg to prepare for our little trip to Krasnoe- 
 Selo, the great military camp, where the review 
 of troops by the Emperor William was to take 
 place next day. The box and seats the members 
 of our party occupied were in front of the grand- 
 stand, and on the vast plain in front of us was 
 drawn up regiment after regiment, awaiting the 
 arrival of the two Emperors. In the distance 
 we heard a muffled sound, which, becoming 
 more distinct, heralded the approach of those 
 we had been so anxiously awaiting. On horse- 
 
94 I ; rom America to Russia. 
 
 back came the two upon whom all eyes were 
 riveted, the Emperor riding on the right of the 
 Czar; in an open carriage came the two Em- 
 presses, bowing to the shouting multitude. 
 The band of one thousand pieces played, and 
 we saw royalty and its full court in court dress. 
 Later, a few special ones with the crowned 
 heads passed into a tent prepared for them, and, 
 after some feasting, the Emperors and Em- 
 presses entered a carriage and were driven 
 down the road directly in front of us. For the 
 time being we were as patriotic Russians as 
 those about us, and when the Emperors saluted 
 the little American flag which one of our party 
 waved, we felt that our day had been a most 
 successful one. 
 
 It was then nine P. M. and the forty bands 
 struck up the evening prayer; it was responded 
 to in singing by the different regiments, and 
 as the beautiful strains grew fainter and fainter 
 in the distance, we turned our faces homeward, 
 sorry that the brilliant pageant was over. 
 Hurrying to the cars we were literally lifted 
 into a third class compartment, by the strug- 
 gling crowd, but as the occupants were pleas- 
 antly disposed Russians, we concluded to re- 
 main rather than try our luck elsewhere. 
 
 Of the hair-breadth escapes while driving on 
 
Finland and St. Petersburg. 95 
 
 the Nevski Prospect, only those who have had 
 a like experience can testify. In Russia the 
 horse seems to be in full accord with his mas- 
 ter, but during my first drive I clutched the 
 side of the drosky to keep from being precipi- 
 tated on the cobble stones. After a few turns 
 around corners, however, seeing that we kept 
 our equilibrium, it became quite exhilarating. 
 
 The drosky drivers are a stolid set of men, 
 never seemingly moved by anything, except- 
 ing the occasional thumps we gave tliem to 
 indicate that we wished to stop or move on; 
 for after a glance at the Russian alphabet, I 
 did not have the ambition to even learn yes 
 or no. 
 
 One funny experience was, when wishing to 
 go from a certain church to our hotel, we sig- 
 naled a drosky, mentioning the hotel to the 
 driver. He shook his head. With the deter- 
 mination of Americans we jumped into the 
 carriage and motioned him to go on. The 
 first corner we gave him a thump and waved 
 to the right; next corner another thump and a 
 wave to the left; and so on, until we reached 
 the hotel. After paying him his fare, I stood 
 on the carriage step and said three times slow- 
 ly: Hotel d'Angleterre!" making him repeat 
 it after me. That lesson in English was given 
 
96 From America to Russia. 
 
 for the benefit of future visitors to St. Peters- 
 burg-. A smile illumined his features and we 
 parted most amicably, notwithstanding the 
 numerous thumps in his side. I trust he 
 profited by his lesson. 
 
 Sunday morning was devoted to visiting the 
 different churches, chiefly the Kazan Cathe- 
 dral, with its wealth of treasure, and St. Isaac's, 
 with its magnificent dome covered with gold 
 and surrounded by thirty monolithic shafts. 
 Owing to the kindness of a soldier on guard 
 we were allowed to go up nearly to the altar 
 of St. Isaac's during service. The musical, 
 sonorous voice of the priest, who intoned the 
 service; the deep devotion of the kneeling mul- 
 titude; the light on the ornamentations of jas- 
 per, porphyry, and malachite, all made up a 
 whole so exquisite as to seem scarcely real. 
 
 On Monday, our last day in St. Petersburg, 
 we visited the Winter Palace, the most beauti- 
 ful I have ever seen (with the exception of the 
 one at Moscow). It contained room after 
 room of matchless beauty, with polished floors, 
 crystal chandeliers, and exquisite souvenirs, 
 filled with the memories of those who had 
 peopled them at different times and who had 
 so often met with an untimely death. The 
 
The Singing Deacon of St. Isaac's. 
 
 An accurate likeness of the chief intoner of the Greek Church 
 litany in St. Isaac's Cathedral. St. Petersburg ; the man whom all 
 visitors to that cathedral remember as havintr a voice like one of 
 the great bells in the tower ; or, as one writer says, " whose basso 
 profundo, of incredible power, resouuds like the notes of a great 
 organ to the remotest end of the building." 
 
Finland and St. Petersburg. 97 
 
 Romanoffs have been an unfortunate race, 
 rarely living to a serene old age. 
 
 As I left St. Petersburg, on our way to Mos- 
 cow, and saw her disappear in the gathering 
 twilight, I felt that it had been a joy to have 
 seen her. 
 
 Abbie Ranlett Mason. 
 

 
 XL 
 
 THE OLD RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 
 
 MOSCOW, the golden, Moscow, the 
 magnificent, we have seen thee, 
 greeted thee, and are quite willing 
 to bid thee good-bye. 
 
 Our expectations were overweening or our 
 pride would not have had so sudden a fall. 
 We really expected an oriental city of dazzling 
 splendor at the first outlook from our railway 
 window, and we discerned, instead, simply 
 coarsely-painted, low, white buildings, with 
 enough dust in the distance to warrant our be- 
 lief that we were coming to a Sahara. We 
 looked for mosques; we saw only wretched 
 buildings, a plain and poor station, and a 
 motley crowd of disagreeable looking people. 
 
 We had left St. Petersburg at seven P. M. 
 and traveled all night in pretty comfortable 
 
The Old Russian Capital. 99 
 
 sleeping coaches, at a pace of nearly forts 
 miles an hour. That railway we knew to be 
 in almost a straight line, for did not an em- 
 peror lay his ruler upon a map and indicate 
 that it must run that course, regardless of 
 cities, or streams, or desert? So far as we 
 knew, we swung around no curves and climbed 
 no mountains. When morning came we had 
 a good breakfast in a dining car and then 
 looked out upon a rather sterile, flat country, 
 with villages that seemed to be composed only 
 of small, unpainted barns, with zigzag road- 
 paths running hither and yon regardless of a 
 surveyor's draught, and with little else of inter- 
 est. There were white birches, and straggling 
 forests, and occasionally a harvest field. Be- 
 fore we seemed aware of it, when the hour 
 said half-past nine, we arrived at our destina- 
 tion. 
 
 If we could have come at once in view of 
 the kingly Kremlin, entered its antique portals, 
 climbed the Ivan Tower, and looked out upon 
 the magical scene there presented, we should — 
 I am sure I should — have thanked God that 
 we were permitted to gaze even for a moment 
 upon such Byzantine splendors. But it was 
 not to be. We went down through despair to 
 reach the heights later. We bowed low in the 
 
ioo From America to Russia. 
 
 dust and grime, saw wretchedness and want, 
 and then our souls grew faint and some one 
 cried aloud, "Take, oh take us quickly away 
 from this Russia; we hate it, we loathe it; it is 
 intolerable." 
 
 I confess now to a timorous apprehension 
 during some weeks before that our Aioscow 
 days might be those of disappointment. The 
 feeling increased at St. Petersburg, and grew 
 apace as we neared the storied capital. And 
 now that we were there, should we sec only 
 dirt and poverty, and candidates for Siberian 
 emigration? Some would have left the city 
 forthwith, shaking the dust from our feet and 
 departing with speed. But it was too much to 
 agree to leave for Warsaw before we had even 
 tried to hunt up the Kremlin, and so I could 
 not promptly join my fellow-Egyptians in their 
 murmurs. 
 
 Our hotel was not as sweet and clean as the 
 Waldorf, though it was fairly good. It was 
 the "Berlin," kept by a Swiss gentleman, who 
 spoke English well, German perfectly, and 
 Russian perhaps worst of all. He was atten- 
 tive to our wants, enlightened our minds plen- 
 tifully on the subject of the taxes of Russia, 
 and how it was that his hotel was (in his view) 
 economical to travelers above other hotels. I 
 
The Old Russian Capital. m 
 
 think he really meant to make us comfortable 
 and happy, but we were not very willing to 
 be so. 
 
 I might as well jot it down now that in 
 Russia we were not exactly afraid of Siberia 
 or the passport examiner, but we were just a 
 mite uncomfortable from day to day. Those 
 passports had to be vised so frequently. There 
 was such an embargo placed on inter-com- 
 munication because of the outlandish language 
 the people spoke and their stubbornness in no: 
 understanding English. The drosky drivers 
 were such barbarians in conduct and gesture. 
 There was so much of the Tartar in the street 
 walkers and so little of the Christian in the 
 street sights, notwithstanding the shrines of 
 saints at every corner, that some grew afraid. 
 I judge Moscow, like St. Petersburg, to be en- 
 tirely safe to man or woman at any hour of 
 the day and up till the night's zenith, but we 
 lacked faith! 
 
 Moscow was dirty and hot, and altogether 
 disagreeable in its cobblestone pavements — 
 the worst, by the way, I ever saw in any city. 
 If Zion is a hard hill to climb, harder is the 
 path up to and around the Kremlin, the altar 
 of Moscow and the glory of Russia. 
 
 That Kremlin, when we once saw it from 
 
102 
 
 From America to Russia. 
 
 the Ivan height, was simply superb in its 
 splendors. Xo one then thought of hovels or 
 barbarians, but of the magnificent prodigality 
 of brain that devised, and the tremendous 
 strength of will that executed such minarets, 
 domes and cathedrals, such palaces, monas- 
 teries and treasure houses. 
 
 To understand the relation of the Kremlin 
 to present Moscow, you must conceive of a 
 city on a plain, of 850,000 inhabitants, and in 
 its center a slight, square hill, and on that hill 
 pile up all the architecture of Tartar khans and 
 Romanoff princes and Czars, from Dolgoron- 
 ski, in 1 147, to this day; a heterogeneous, but 
 wonderfully rich mass of color and pictur- 
 esqueness, and you have the Kremlin. It is 
 within stone walls, perhaps twenty feet high, 
 pierced with five gates, and to-day contains 
 treasures never exceeded by Solomon's Tem- 
 ple. 
 
 To comprehend why Moscow is what it is 
 one must recollect that in the reign of Ivan L, 
 about five hundred and sixty years ago, Mos- 
 cow was the supreme city of the three com- 
 peting for supremacy within ancient Russian 
 territory. It held that position until 1812, 
 when its inhabitants gave up overmuch of their 
 proud possessions to the devouring element, 
 
The Old Russian Capital. 103 
 
 preferring to burn down their homes and melt 
 up their jewels, and so rob Moscow of all its 
 glory, rather than yield to the ambition of 
 Napoleon. It was one of the grandest sacri- 
 fices ever made upon a national altar of flame 
 and sword. Happily there is enough left to 
 astonish visitors now as did the wonders of the 
 East that famous traveler, Marco Polo. 
 
 The imperial residence was transferred to 
 St. Petersburg in 171 1, in the time of Peter the 
 Great, but the latter city made no pretensions 
 to equal the goodly wealth of decoration of the 
 more ancient city. Petersburg's inhabitants 
 number 1,200,000; Moscow's, 850,000; but, 
 notwithstanding the self-immolation of 1812, 
 the wealth piled up against the columns and 
 upon the altars of the cathedrals and in the 
 other public buildings of Moscow probably 
 outrival that of any city in Europe. 
 
 There are two ways of securing a just im- 
 pression of the magnificence, as to its gold and 
 jewels, of this old Tartar heritage. The first, 
 which is the way in which a stranger 
 should early secure the impression, is to 
 climb by easy steps what is known as 
 the Ivan Tower, and then, at the height 
 of something less than three hundred feet, 
 when beneath the gilded cupola, survey 
 
104 From America to Russia. 
 
 the Kremlin at his feet. Going np this Ivan 
 Tower, by the way, yon will pass by a large 
 number of bells of various sizes and tones, per- 
 haps as many as fifty. The largest weighs 
 sixty-four tons. The smaller are two silver 
 bells, said to be exquisite in tone and of beauti- 
 ful contour. It is the ringing of all these bells 
 on Easter eve which produces a memorable ef- 
 fect upon visitors. 
 
 From this elevation one sees below him, 
 within a stone's throw, gold-crowned cathe- 
 drals, monasteries, the Arsenal, the Royal Pal- 
 ace, and beyond them, walls ; then the Moscow 
 river, great squares, towers and mosques of all 
 colors, and beyond these other cathedrals with 
 domes dipped into the rainbow and burnished 
 by the sunlight into opulent iridescence. 
 
 The next natural method to deepen tne im- 
 pression of the richness of these architectural 
 splendors, is, after descending, to enter each 
 of the more prominent buildings near the 
 tower and within the Kremlin walls. 
 
 There is, for instance, the Cathedral of the 
 Assumption, in which all the Russian Emper- 
 ors are crowned. Its five domes are resplen- 
 dent with gold over copper, and its pavement is 
 of jasper and agate. Within there are jeweled 
 icons, shrines covered with diamonds and em- 
 
Cathedral of the Assumption, Moscow. 
 
 The venerable church in which the emperors have been crowned from 
 Ivan II. (1353) until now. It is a mixture of Byzantine and Lombard 
 types of architecture, dates trom 1326.and contains the tombs of the found- 
 er, St. Peter, first Metropolitan of Moscow, and other Patriarchs. Each 
 of its five domes is covered with gold and its wealth of gold and jewel 
 ornamentations and of sacred pictures in the interior is almost incalcul- 
 able. 
 
The Old Russian Capital. 105 
 
 eralcls, pillars of pure gold, frescoes thoroughly 
 Byzantine, marbles from Sienna, and porphyry 
 from Finland. And to the worshipers it is a 
 place of peculiar veneration, because of the 
 coronation ceremonies which have been held 
 within its walls since the time of the Russian 
 patriarchs. Here are buried all those early 
 metropolitans of Moscow, beginning with St. 
 Peter, who built the first church on the spot in 
 1326 and the primates of the church; and here 
 are single pictures adorned with jewels to the 
 value of more than $200,000 each. One can 
 neither enter nor leave this wonderful sanctu- 
 ary without being surprised at its smallness 
 considering its historical associations, nor 
 without being overwhelmed at a sense of the 
 magnitude of the offerings of those wicked 
 men and pious women, who, in former days, 
 through motives of so-called religion, gave al- 
 most all that they possessed to adorn this 
 temple. 
 
 Then, very near by, is the Cathedral of the 
 Archangel Michael, another building with five 
 gilded domes, over six hundred and fifty years 
 old in some portions, and all of it over four 
 hundred and eighty years of age; the mauso- 
 leum of two of the most ancient dynasties of 
 the Czars, Herein lie Ivan, the Terrible, and 
 
io6 From America to Russia. 
 
 his assassinated son, and about the latter's 
 tomb are various personal relics, including- his 
 own portrait in frame of finest gold. This 
 church contains one of the earliest copies of 
 the Gospels known in Russia, a treasure house, 
 and icons not less remarkable than in the Ca- 
 thedral of the Assumption, and the whole ef- 
 fect of the interior is that of a duplicate of the 
 last named. It constitutes but one more "em- 
 barrassment du richesse." 
 
 The monastery close at hand is almost as 
 wonderful; a temple of gold and silver. But 
 we specially admired the Treasury House in 
 the right wing of the palace. Here are de- 
 posited the venerable historical objects of the 
 reigning house of Russia; the royal plate, the 
 pearls, the diamonds, the rubies; all the thrones 
 of the former and present emperors and em- 
 presses; their coronation robes, the royal car- 
 riages, the crowns. One crown alone, the gift 
 of the Shah of Persia in 1604, contains 2,200 
 rubies and pearls. I saw here an orb which, if 
 it ever had any use, must have been chiefly to 
 prove the reckless prodigality of the old Rom- 
 anoff princes, for it was studded with 58 dia- 
 monds, 89 rubies, 23 sapphires, 50 emeralds, 
 and 37 pearls! And, in another crown, used 
 by the Empress Anne, but originally made for 
 
The Old Russian Capital. 107 
 
 Catherine I., by order of Peter the Great, the 
 diamonds in it numbered 2,536! And vases oi 
 vermeil, tables of silver, placques of other 
 precious metals and similar articles, innumer- 
 able, incalculable in value, of no use save to 
 look at, are in this Treasury House. 
 
 From here one passes around to and enters 
 the Palace proper, to describe which in the 
 space allotted me would be impossible. There 
 are three halls in the Palace, either one of 
 which would seem to put to blush even that ex- 
 ceedingly beautiful hall in the Winter Palace 
 at St. Petersburg, known as the Nicholas ball- 
 room. They are, first, the Hall of St. George, 
 two hundred feet long and of proportionate 
 width, the rooms all in gold and white, with ex- 
 quisite hardwood floors and walls inscribed in 
 gold with the thousands of names of the mem- 
 bers of the order. It has crystal chandeliers 
 holding 3,200 candles. The next is the Alex- 
 ander Hall, only half as long, but lignted by 
 4,500 candles; a room in pink and gold, filled 
 with gorgeous paintings. The third is the Hall 
 of St. Andrew, fluted like a Gothic cathedral, 
 whose walls are gold and pale blue, and at 
 whose end are two thrones of the Emperor and 
 Empress, the steps to which are covered with 
 a carpet of cloth of gold. This Palace is onlv 
 
108 From America to Russia. 
 
 fifty years old and its present use may be 
 guessed at rather than understood. 
 
 At the foot of the Ivan Tower lies what is 
 known as the Great Bell of Moscow, otherwise 
 called the "King- of Bells," which was cast 
 in 1733 from an older bell of 1654, which itself 
 was cast from a bell of 1633, which was per- 
 haps itself a child of the bell of 1553, the first 
 large Russian bell of which we have any 
 record. Its weight is about 400,000 tons. It 
 stands more than twenty-six feet high, and 
 is over twenty-two feet in diameter, with a 
 broken piece, seven feet high and weighing 
 eleven tons, along its side. The tradition is 
 that the ladies of Moscow threw into the liquid 
 metal so many jewels and other treasures that 
 there was an imperfection in the last casting, 
 but whether from this reason or from the fall- 
 ing of heavy rafters in a fire in 1737, it is cer- 
 tain that soon after it was cast it fell to the 
 ground and was quite buried out of sight for 
 almost a century. In 1836 Nicholas I. lifted it 
 upon a pedestal, and there it stands as one of 
 the wonders of the world. 
 
 I can but allude to some of the 450 other 
 churches outside the Kremlin. There is the 
 cathedral of St. Basil, whose exterior is half bar- 
 baric, like a Hindoo pagoda, full of cupolas 
 
Cathedral of St. Basil, Moscow. 
 
 Built to commemorate the " prophet and worker c.f miracles," St. Basil, 
 (also known as the " patron of idiots''*, who was buried on this spot, A.D. 
 15.52. Three years later this edifice was begun, the architect being an 
 Italian, who. tradition says, had his eyes put out bv order of Ivan IV., 
 " in order that he should not build another edifice like it."' In both ex- 
 terior and interior architecture it is one of the most curious structures 
 in Russia. The colors of its domes are as numerous as those of the 
 rainbow. 
 
The Old Russian Capital. 109 
 
 carved to the resemblance of pineapples, 
 melons, artichokes and other odd designs, and 
 colored with the several colors of the rainbow. 
 It is as beautiful as a dream and as crazy as its 
 patron saint. Directly in front of the St. Basil, 
 as if to give plenty of space to a spot whose as- 
 sociations must be forever hideous, is the Red 
 Square, once a veritable field of blood. Here 
 is the circular stone from which the iron edicts 
 of the Czars were proclaimed and here were the 
 eighteen gibbets erected by Ivan when he kept 
 his instruments of torture at deadly work. 
 Here Peter the Great beheaded the Streltsi 
 conspirators. The square has two redeeming 
 features aside from the cathedral — the New 
 Bazaar, to be spoken of hereafter, and the Re- 
 deemer Gate to the Kremlin, architecturally 
 graceful, and upon which is the picture of 
 Christ, known as the "Redeemer of Smolensk," 
 before which every head, even that of the Czar 
 himself, must uncover, if its possessor is to 
 pass beneath the portal. The "pious" Russians 
 kiss the pavement beneath it; we honored their 
 custom by removing our hats. 
 
 Probably the most wonderful object archi- 
 tecturally, at least as viewed from a distance, is 
 the Church of the Saviour, built to commemo- 
 rate the deliverance of Moscow from the 
 
no From America to Russia. 
 
 French invasion. It is of white stone, with 
 four belfrys, each surmounted by a golden cu- 
 pola, and over the whole rises an immense gilt 
 dome. The building is large enough to hold 
 7,000 persons and up to the highest parts it at- 
 tains the height of three hundred and fifty feet. 
 I did not get to it nor enter it, an omission I 
 now regret. Nor did any of us, I think, enter 
 the picture galleries or museums of the city, 
 all of which were modern, but immense in size, 
 and of most interesting architecture. 
 
 A still greater loss than these, however, was 
 our inability to visit and to study the battle- 
 mented walls and the interior, six-domed 
 churches of the Novo Devitchi Convent, whose 
 perspective was so attractive when viewed from 
 Sparrow Hill. As a mere harmony of archi- 
 tectural colors, it was bewitching, and I am 
 told the red bell-towers and green roofs, yel- 
 low crosses, and light blue frescoes were not 
 mere colors, but actual artistic achievements. 
 Perhaps it was as well we did not get nearer, 
 for, beside the beautiful buildings, we should 
 have had pointed out to us the house of sad 
 Sophia, Peter the Great's sister, who, while 
 imprisoned there, looked out from her window 
 upon the hanging in cold blood of the two 
 hundred conspirators, who were first tortured 
 
The Old Russian Capital. in 
 
 and then swung up, because they had the bad 
 judgment to oppose tyranny and sigh for 
 liberty. Surely all the marvelous gorgeous- 
 ness of the Novo Devitchi cannot save its as- 
 sociations with the history of unjudicial 
 murders. 
 
 We saw in Moscow some of the dirtiest and 
 most repulsive of the Russians, who, were they 
 Tartars or otherwise, deepened our conviction 
 that to keep such in repression required a 
 strong government ; an ordinary form of mon- 
 archy would scarcely subserve the interests of 
 public order in Russia. And, strange to say, 
 we saw some of the same greasy-looking beg- 
 gars, whose feet were in burlap, with unkempt 
 head and dress, and packs upon their backs, 
 shown through the Treasury House in the pal- 
 ace with almost the same courtesy that was ex- 
 tended to visitors of intelligence and culture. 
 They had simply to leave their packs at the 
 door and were ushered by officials before the 
 elegant thrones and through the sumptuous 
 halls as if they had been millionaires. 
 
 Moscow shops had enormous signs, none of 
 -them containing a word which we had ever 
 seen before. There was the big New Bazaar, 
 the finest externally and the largest in dimen- 
 sions within I ever remember to have seen 
 
ii-' From America to Russia. 
 
 covering, perhaps, four ordinary American 
 city blocks; a white building of stone, 
 three stories high, where everything (but 
 what you desire) is sold. The markets 
 contained provisions not at all dear; but 
 living is high in Russia because of the 
 enormous taxes and correspondingly enor- 
 mous rents. The Tartar drivers of droskies 
 seemed to be distinguishable by feathers in 
 their hats, but I judge the majority of that wild 
 clan were to be found among the commoner 
 laborers who drove the brick wagons, which 
 usually line the streets and which come in from 
 the country. On one of the streets we saw 
 scores, if not hundreds, of sucii wagons, prov- 
 ing that building operations in Moscow are a^ 
 extensive as elsewhere. 
 
 And now, lastly, as to the one trip we took 
 away from the Kremlin. We shall always re- 
 member it in connection with this city — the 
 drive out to Sparrow Hill. That is an emi- 
 nence some two miles or more beyond the 
 tower-crested rim of the city, to the west, and 
 is the spot from which Napoleon first had 
 sisdit of the fevered mirage of his soul — Mos- 
 cow. It was from that hill he attained, or 
 within twenty-four hours afterward, the sum- 
 mit of his ambition, and from it, on his retreat, 
 
, The King of Bells, Moscow. 
 
 Cast in 1733, under Empress Anne, but fell do*vn in four years' tinie, 
 and, ninety-nine years later, (1816) Nicholas I had it erected on a pedes- 
 tal beside* the Ivan Tower, where it now stands. Total weight about 
 400,000 pounds ; weight of the broken piece about 22,000 pounds _ 
 
 (Photo, by M. Estil.) 
 
The Old Russian Capital. 1 1 3 
 
 heard the echoes of his downfall. To reach 
 this spot, we drove over about four miles of 
 the cobblestone pavement, which, let me again 
 repeat it, is the worst on earth. Succeeding it, 
 while in a totally exhausted condition from the 
 noise and shake-up, we encountered a stretch 
 of dust three inches deep. As our carriages 
 followed each other closely, we simply "choked 
 to death," and only had resurrection when 
 Sparrow Hill was announced. That ride was 
 something so dreadful upon nerves and lungs 
 that it required superhuman courage to resolve 
 to return at all to the capital, or to our hotel. 
 We felt it in our bones, spine, hips, feet, head, 
 and I cannot wonder that no person of our 
 brave twenty-five had courage enough later to 
 visit Novo Devitchi. 
 
 Nevertheless, the beauteous outburst of the 
 unrivalled view repaid us. We should never 
 take it again— by drosky— just as we should 
 never go to Moscow again, unless invited to 
 do so after an inexorable law put in force 
 had sweetened its unsavoriness. But here 
 we did see, once, Moscow as a panorama of 
 superlative beauty. As we watched it from 
 the side of the setting sun, it was like an Arab- 
 ian Night's dream; like the heavenly Jerusalem 
 let down from above, set with starry thrones, 
 
1 14 From America to Russia. 
 
 having gates of jasper and temples of gold. 
 Everything of the disagreeable for the moment 
 dropped out of mind, and here was the revered 
 Mecca, one sight of which compels the Russian 
 peasant, when approaching it, to drop quickly 
 down upon his knees, and, with hat off, to cross 
 himself with the most holy emotions! 
 
 A. V. D. Honeyman. 
 
XII. 
 OUR LONGEST RAILWAY JOURNEY. 
 
 THE architectural ornaments of Moscow 
 were too aerial for us; something on 
 our own level would have been ac- 
 cepted with greater pleasure. If the streets 
 had been gilded, instead of the churches, we 
 might have felt more at ease. Nevertheless, 
 many were the regrets expressed, when, on the 
 evening of August n, we took our departure 
 from this portion of the Czar's dominion. 
 
 The hurry of seeing that the baggage was 
 in the proper position, and the numerous en- 
 deavors to find our individual compartments 
 in the railway coaches, prevented us from real- 
 izing that this was the last stopping place on 
 strictly Russian territory, but as the train sped 
 westward we turned to take a farewell glance 
 at the city we had just left. Our gaze was riv- 
 
n6 From America to Russia. 
 
 eted on one stupendous structure, whose mas- 
 sive domes rose from the gathering twilight, 
 and cut their silhouettes against the golden 
 light of declining day. This monument, stand- 
 ing as if to guard Moscow from all future in- 
 truders, was the 'Temple of the Saviour," the 
 "House of God," whose marble columns were 
 carved in blood, and whose walls were reared 
 to commemorate the sacrifice of human lives. 
 
 In three or four hours' time, between the 
 long- lines of berths and the odor of carbolic, 
 the car reminded us of a "hospital on wheels," 
 but our jovial porter (whose Russian blarney 
 would shame an Irishman), succeeded in mak- 
 ing our quarters as comfortable as possible, and 
 we retired early, some to dream, maybe, of 
 Pullman sleepers; others perhaps of our desti- 
 nation, which seemed so far in the distance. 
 There was no dreaming and very little sleep- 
 ing done that night, for at different scations 
 along the route no less than nine Russians 
 walked in and deposited themselves and bag- 
 gage in that private car. Numerous demon- 
 strations had no effect, neither would authori- 
 tative sentences hurled in plain English move 
 them, and we were obliged to eject them by 
 force. Whether they came to the conclusion 
 that the Czar was traveling "incog.," or a party 
 
Our Longest Railway Journey. 1 1 7 
 
 of anarchical strangers were speeding chrongh 
 the country, they finally gave the American 
 part of the train a wide berth and retired to 
 the rear. 
 
 The next morning, to our surprise and as- 
 tonishment, every one was found literally 
 buried beneath a layer of dust an inch in thick- 
 ness, which had blown in through open doors 
 and windows. If we had been 011 the Empire 
 State express, running at seventy-five miles in- 
 stead of one at the rate of thirty an hour, no 
 one could have foretold what a tragedy might 
 have occurred. The couches, which had 
 looked so white and clean the previous even- 
 ing, were now of a brownish hue, while the 
 members of the party — well! they also had 
 taken on the appearance of Russian pilgrims 
 to Tartar shrines. 
 
 Astonishment is not a lasting numbness, and 
 soon cries of "Dust my coat off," or "Send 
 me a brush," were heard from all sides. Ten, 
 twenty and even thirty kopeks were offered to 
 those who would consent. Hereafter when we 
 journey over the steppes of Russia it will be 
 during a snowy winter, when the experience of 
 being buried in furs, instead of dust, and 
 warmly ensconced in a sleigh instead of a 
 
n8 From America to Russia. 
 
 night train, will appeal more strongly to the 
 American taste. 
 
 Reading and sleeping, alternately, with an 
 occasional whisk broom accompaniment, 
 passed the hours by, pleasantly for some. 
 The more active members amused themselves 
 by running to the doors at every town, and 
 shouting in rapid and forcible German the 
 usual question: 
 
 "Wie viel minuten bleiben, wie hier?" and 
 whether they were answered or not, rushing 
 pell-mell into the boufTet for soda-water and 
 fruit cakes. "First come, first served," is the 
 motto of those restaurants, and often the good 
 and appetizing dainties would have disappeared 
 before the less energetic ones had reached the 
 scene of eating, and, at the third stroke of a 
 bell, go off, with perhaps only a cheese sand- 
 wich. 
 
 These labored efforts soon ended, for at half- 
 past ten P. M., nearly thirty hours after leav- 
 ing Moscow, we entered the Polish city which 
 was to be our home for a full day, and were 
 driven rapidly from the station to the 
 "Waldorf of Warsaw." 
 
 It was not long before the voice of the pro- 
 prietor, calling out in loud and guttural ac- 
 cents, "Mrs. M. and the Misses M., Rooms 54 
 
Our Longest Railway Journey. 119 
 
 and 55," brought us to the overpowering reali- 
 zation that our railroad journey was ended. 
 If we had remained another night aboard that 
 sleeper those rusty sheets might have been 
 again in evidence. There is no accounting for 
 national peculiarities; all the gesticulating one 
 might do would never make a Moscovite do 
 otherwise than what he first intended. A 
 bland smile is his only acquiescence; a shake 
 of the head his only reply. 
 
 Our removal to the Hotel de l'Europe was 
 a timely proceeding. The utter bewilderment 
 of a hotel retinue when we chanced upon it 
 was remarkable. It may have been the late- 
 ness of the hour, or the dazzling brilliancy of 
 the red seals emblazoned on trunks, bags, and 
 canvas rolls; in any event, this night, in par- 
 ticular, the employes seemed to lose their 
 heads so entirely that an essayed pursuit of 
 these unsuspecting natives was the only way 
 that the owner of any hand luggage could get 
 his share taken to his respective suite. 
 
 In regard to "Warszawa" itself, I cannot 
 begin to extol its beauties. Those who have 
 been there can judge for themselves of its at- 
 tractiveness; those who have not could never 
 appreciate what I might here relate. Suffice 
 
120 From America to Russia. 
 
 it to say, that this former capital, which was for 
 generations the contesting ground of antag- 
 onistic countries, now compares favorably with 
 any modernized city in the northern section of 
 the continent. Though under the Czar's rule, 
 the Poles abhor, and will not even mention, 
 anything that is Russian. It seems raiher 
 sad to the representatives of a free land to see 
 Poland subjugated by a foreign emperor, and 
 the independence of its people forever crushed. 
 We left Warsaw with the anticipation that 
 ere the morning of another day had dawned, 
 we would have reached the German frontier. 
 All hieroglyphical scrawls would have disap- 
 peared, and our passports, the bones not of 
 contention, but of detention, would be scat- 
 tered to the four winds, to fly as a sign to all 
 those who there entered, that passports are a 
 necessary means of admission. Still we lin- 
 gered on the threshold of the Russian Empire 
 to think that although it stands foremost 
 among the nations of Europe, against the 
 stoicism of whose defenders the forces of no 
 united kingdoms can prevail, whose naval and 
 maritime strongholds command the world, yet 
 there was one event in its history which stirred 
 the cities of the Czar and the inhabitants 
 
Our Longest Railway Journey. 121 
 
 thereof into intense excitement. It was the ar- 
 rival of a party of twenty-five American 
 visitors. 
 
 Evelyn Ranlett Mason. 
 
XIII. 
 
 BERLIN AND ITS ENVIRONS. 
 
 IN the early dawn of a dull gray morning, 
 Saturday, August 14, 1897, the train from 
 Warsaw reached the Friedrich Strasse 
 station in the city of Berlin, and from it alighted 
 the large majority of the Honeyman party. 
 What had become of the others? In their anx- 
 iety to speedily terminate a long, tiresome ride, 
 and a sleepless night, three had jumped off with 
 bag and baggage at a suburban station, and 
 the rest of us were now concerned as to when 
 and how the manager would regain possession 
 of them. 
 
 To retrace a little. When leaving Warsaw the 
 previous afternoon it was believed that we 
 would obtain a sleeping-car at Alexandrovo. 
 But, alas, for human hopes! The sleeper was 
 not to be obtained, and, worse than all, those 
 
Berlin and Its Environs. 123 
 
 of us who, by the paid favor of a train guard, 
 had been assigned comfortable first-class com- 
 partments with the understanding that we 
 should occupy them to Berlin if a sleeper were 
 not secured, were ignominiously and with dis- 
 patch ushered out at this same Alexandrovo, 
 to find second-class compartments as best we 
 could. It was bad enough to fail in securing 
 sleeping accommodations; it was adding insult 
 to injury to be ejected from the quarters we 
 had fairly secured to meet hiat emergency. 
 
 It was in this shuffle that our friends became 
 separated from the rest of the party, and it 
 was their anxiety to terminate so uncomfort- 
 able a journey, and their lack of familiarity 
 with the German tongue and the city of Ber- 
 lin, which occasioned their premature disem- 
 barkation. 
 
 But "all's well that ends well." We learned 
 at the station that a train from the point at 
 which they had alighted would soon follow u& 
 in; and so, with anxious expectancy, we sum- 
 moned our Job-like qualities and stood guard 
 about our ever-present luggage and awaited 
 on the platform the coming of that train. A 
 train did soon arrive, but our friends were not 
 on it. A second one speedily followed, and 
 then we found and welcomed them. 
 
124 From America to Russia. 
 
 Once fairly started toward the hotel, Ameri- 
 can inquisitiveness began to forge to the front, 
 and we began to look about us to see where we 
 were and to learn what we could. Down the 
 Friedrich Strasse we drove, and the large and 
 substantial and fine buildings on either side 
 drew our attention. One, who had seen Ber- 
 lin before, remarked: "There is something 
 about the appearance of this city which always 
 reminds me of New York." To this a lady 
 quickly responded: "Well, if Berlin is like 
 New York, then I like it; but the dark atmos- 
 phere now rather reminds me of Chicago." 
 That carriage load unanimously concluded, 
 however, that, whether like New York or Chi- 
 cago, or both, Berlin was entitled to and should 
 receive hearty approval. And, as if to toast us 
 for that sentiment, our attention was just then 
 drawn to a large corner saloon, with a win- 
 dow conspicuously advertising "American 
 Drinks." 
 
 Emerging into Unter den Linden, with its 
 broader vista and brighter air, our spirits rose 
 still higher, and we reached the Hotel du Nord 
 in good humor, prepared to accept any reason- 
 able disposition of us that might be made. 
 But even an angelic mood is hardly proof 
 against being assigned to the rear end of the 
 
Berlin and Its Environs. 125 
 
 top floor in a house where no "ascenseur" is 
 to be found; and so there were some demands 
 and firm protestations until desired changes 
 were made. The accommodating spirit of the 
 affable portier was then gratefully acknowl- 
 edged and all was again serene. 
 
 Just here, why is it that landlords so gener- 
 ally assign the incoming guests to the most 
 undesirable rooms? Are they so constituted 
 that they must first gauge American travelers 
 by such an ordeal? Or is it a part of their 
 business to endeavor first to dispose of the 
 rooms one would not seek? It would seem 
 that a contrary course would be the wiser, 
 would please the guests better, would save the 
 landlord annoyance and trouble, and would 
 preserve the amiability of both. It would then 
 be as it should be, first come, best served; and 
 late comers could have no good ground for 
 complaint. 
 
 A hasty toilet followed by a good breakfast 
 put all in fair condition, mentally and physi- 
 cally, for the day. A necessary preliminary 
 to active work yet demanded attention — a visit 
 to the Dresdner Bank, or to the office 
 of a representative of Messrs. Henry Gaze & 
 Sons, for cash. At the latter place we were 
 charged a commission for cashing trav- 
 
126 From America to Russia. 
 
 clers checks — an unwarranted commission. 
 And it was done in such a deceptive 
 way as to convince us that it was a deliberately 
 planned imposition. 
 
 When one comes to record the doings of but 
 a single day, how many little incidents are 
 noted, trivial in themselves, perhaps, but in- 
 volving important principles and influencing 
 the habits and lives of people. 
 
 Now, however, we were at last ready for 
 action, and it was thought advisable, particu- 
 larly since the threatening early hours had 
 now brought the dampening rain, to visit the 
 palaces so conveniently near. A few of us 
 took a guide, the only one the hotel could give 
 us at the moment, whose employment no one 
 would subsequently admit, and we paraded 
 first (and last as it proved) to the residence of 
 the late Emperor William. This building, so full 
 of warm interest by reason of the personality 
 of that admirable man, is now little more than 
 a storehouse for the bric-a-brac, and photo- 
 graphs, and furniture, and presents of that 
 household. A peculiar interest attaches to 
 that window made historical by the Emperor's 
 habit of there appearing to the view of his ad- 
 miring subjects; and the again and again re- 
 peated echoes, to more than a score of times, 
 
Berlin and Its Environs. 127 
 
 of the concert or music hall were wonderful 
 and interesting. Apart from these two items 
 little of interest was found. It may be that the 
 slowness, age, weak voice and listless man- 
 ner of our guide were largely responsible for 
 this. At all events when we emerged from 
 that palace, all by common consent, and with- 
 out a word, demurely retraced steps to the 
 hotel, and palace-seeing was abandoned. 
 
 The Berlin stores pioved unusually attrac- 
 tive, and great were the planning and hunting 
 and bargaining for those numerous little things 
 which would as gifts to friends at home prove 
 that they were not forgotten by us, although 
 so far away. And in this pleasant occupation 
 our friend from "way down in Maine" here 
 discovered the greatest novelty of all, one in 
 which the ladies took an interest and even in- 
 vested some funds, to wit, a patent cork-screw, 
 which is not a screw at all, although it effectu- 
 ally does the work of one, but which looks 
 like, what one of our home friends insisted it 
 must be, a whistle, or mouth-organ, or some 
 kind of a musical instrument. Its mysteries 
 explained and a trial of its utility made, it was 
 discovered that the only music it can produce 
 is that of the suddenly released cork. 
 
 "Unter den Linden" was a disappointment. 
 
128 From America to Russia. 
 
 Not that it is not a fine city street, but that it 
 is no finer than many others, and not nearly 
 so attractive and pretty as some. Wilhelm 
 Strasse, where several of the princes and for- 
 eign ambassadors reside, and Friedrich Strasse 
 and Leipziger Strasse are prettier streets. The 
 lindens are not choice specimens, the roadways 
 are not the best paved— one side is but cob- 
 bled; the walks under the trees are neither 
 smooth nor clean, and the buildings generally 
 are of no special merit. There are points of 
 beauty and interest along the street, but taken 
 as a whole it is disappointing. 
 
 The palaces present no specially attractive 
 features. This is particularly the case with the 
 one used by the present Emperor. It looks as 
 though a good New England house-cleaning, 
 inside and out, were greatly needed. This is 
 due in part to its age, partly to the dark stone 
 employed in its construction, and partly to the 
 dirt and smoke of that great city. In front of 
 this palace are a very fine monument and semi- 
 circular peristyle, not yet entirely completed, 
 erected by the nation in memory of Emperor 
 William the Great. At the side of the palace 
 is the Palace Spring Fountain, a large, unique, 
 and attractive work. The Monument of Vic- 
 tory and the Brandenburg gate are also beauti- 
 
Berlin and Its Environs. 129 
 
 ful works of art, and the new Parliament build- 
 ing is large and handsome. Many fine monu- 
 ments are scattered throughout the city, and 
 parks and gardens and squares are numerous 
 and attractive. 
 
 The Thiergarten is particularly so. It is a 
 very large forest, as dense as in some mountain 
 wild, almost in the heart of the city, with broad 
 avenues cut out and lakes scattered here and 
 there. By stepping only a few feet off from a 
 busy street one can there find the shade and 
 seclusion of a virgin forest. 
 
 Schools, academies and colleges abound, 
 and galleries and museums for every art and 
 treasure are on every hand. The education of 
 the people in all useful, elevating, historical, 
 and technical branches is amply provided for 
 and encouraged. It is, therefore, no wonder 
 that German mentality and cultivation are so 
 high. 
 
 But what should be said about the beer gar- 
 dens, so numerous and so extensive? They 
 form part of the life and business, and of the 
 education also, of the city, and are rendered as 
 attractive and bright as lights and music and 
 flowers can make them. And not gardens 
 only, but halls also, large and airy, and brilliant 
 in colors and illumination. And yet, with them 
 
130 From America to Russia. 
 
 all, one sees less intemperance than can be wit- 
 nessed nearly every day in almost any one ot 
 onr numerous American barrooms. Why is 
 this? 
 
 Poverty is not in evidence in Berlin. If it 
 docs exist — and it is hardly possible that it does 
 not — it is well hidden. Not a single mendicant 
 was seen. A comprehensive drive in both the 
 old and new parts of the city, and extending 
 into the suburbs, and walks around by day and 
 night, disclosed no poor quarter. The people 
 dress nicely, look clean and tidy, appear indus- 
 trious, and deport themselves in a most re- 
 spectable manner. The city is altogether beau- 
 tiful, and apparently prosperous and pro- 
 gressive. 
 
 A drive to Charlottenburg is inviting, and a 
 visit to the mausoleum in the garden of the 
 Royal Palace should not be omitted. The 
 sculptured figures upon the sarcophagi of the 
 illustrious dead are wonderful masterpieces, 
 and the marble drapery is simply a marvel ot 
 the sculptor's art. While waiting for the ap- 
 pearance of the official who issues the tickets of 
 admission to the mausoleum, we were con- 
 siderably entertained by the maneuvers of the 
 soldiers on duty at that point. The guards 
 were about being changed, and the relief was 
 
Berlin and Its Environs. 13 r 
 
 marshaled in front of the barracks. When the 
 order to march was given the men started off 
 with such a quick, high, jerky step that it was 
 for all the world as if they had been prodded 
 unexpectedly in the rear with a sharp bayonet, 
 or were endeavoring to kick a receding foe in 
 front of them. The spectator was unable at 
 the moment to tell whether the movement 
 would develop into a run or subside into a 
 recognized march. The latter proved to be 
 the case, but the reason for such a movement 
 at all is obscure. 
 
 A visit to Berlin must always include a trip 
 to Potsdam. That busy town with its royal 
 castle, extensive barracks, historical lime tree, 
 the Friedens-Kirche, and the park and palace 
 of Sans Souci and the new palace is both at- 
 tractive and instructive. No one can look 
 upon the old lime tree, so carefully preserved 
 and protected, without an accompanying men- 
 tal vision of the suppliants who there from 
 time to time made known to Frederick the 
 Great their various wants and grievances, and 
 implored his aid and intervention. And then 
 going to the old wind mill, another picture of a 
 totally different type is presented, and we view 
 the sturdy old owner persisting in and insisting 
 upon his individual rights against the 
 
132 From America to Russia. 
 
 desire and the temptation of the prof- 
 fered gold of the same famous potentate, 
 and thereby retaining the ownership and 
 possession of his chosen property. Can 
 it be doubted that the sovereign, not- 
 withstanding his disappointment, really en- 
 tertained in consequence more consideration 
 and greater respect for that subject? It was 
 but a notable exhibition of that manly inde- 
 pendence which must be the basis of all good 
 and stable government. 
 
 The great fountain in the park is fine, but 
 the view from it up the six great terraces to the 
 palace of Sans Souci is a prettier sight. The 
 flowers and fruit and shrubbery on these ter- 
 races are so abundant as to completely hide 
 the soil upon and against which they stand, and 
 are so carefully tended and trained, and so 
 bright and various in colors as to form a beau- 
 tiful foundation of great height upon which 
 the palace appears to rest. And a view from 
 the palace over the park discloses a pretty 
 landscape. The palace itself is not beautiful, 
 and in character reminds one rather of the 
 long, low, rambling buildings of the negro 
 quarters of a southern plantation "befo' de 
 wah." It is quite near to this palace that the 
 old wind mill stands, and then the Orangery, 
 
Berlin and Its Environs. 133 
 
 Paradise Garden, Japanese House, Italian 
 Villa and the Mausoleum follow. At the rear 
 of the palace, up the steep ascent, leading di- 
 rectly to the center of the building, is the road 
 by which Napoleon entered, and he occupied 
 rooms in the Royal Castle in the town. 
 
 Not far from Sans Souci is the New Palace, 
 now occupied by the royal family. It is very 
 large, decidedly Dutch in its architecture and 
 wholly unattractive in appearance. The in- 
 terior is in no respect equal to the Russian 
 palaces at St. Petersburg and Moscow. The 
 only apartment worthy of special note is the 
 shell room, which is large and unique in style, 
 and built entirely of shells and small pieces of 
 valuable stones arranged in odd and quaint de- 
 signs. It is here, we are told, that the family 
 hold their Christmas and other similar festivi- 
 ties. 
 
 It was a surprise to us all to see in Berlin 
 the exceedingly large grounds of the Grecian 
 Embassy, and we could but wonder how so 
 small a country came to have so extensive a 
 foothold there, and what effect, if any, such 
 exhibition of that foreign power had on the 
 action of Germany with reference to the Cretan 
 troubles. 
 
 In Moscow we had marveled when we found 
 
134 From America to Russia. 
 
 the edges of the under sheets on our beds well 
 filled with buttonholes, and the edges of the 
 quilts above us well supplied with buttons; but 
 one of our ladies solved the enigma by declar- 
 ing the purpose to be to button the occupant 
 in at night. At Warsaw we found the upper 
 sheet nicely buttoned some six or eight inches 
 over the edges of the quilts. And in Berlin 
 we failed at first to find any quilt at all on the 
 beds, but finally discovered it completely cov- 
 ered and buttoned in the upper sheet, as is a 
 pillow in its case. We thought if this pro- 
 gressive habit should follow us to Amsterdam 
 that we would there find bed and all 
 encased securely in some novel garment. 
 But we left the custom at Berlin, for- 
 tunately, where the difficulty of extract- 
 ing a heavy quilt from its case, in order 
 to leave only sufficient covering for a summer 
 night, was so great after the fatigue of a day's 
 sight-seeing or shopping that we had no long- 
 ing for further similar experiences. 
 
 Of the exactions of the Custom House offi- 
 cials and their aversion to paper and predilec- 
 tion for cotton and linen goods others can 
 speak (if not permitted to write) with more 
 knowledge and feeling. Likewise regarding 
 the attractions of the Apollo Theatre and the 
 
Berlin and Its Environs. 135 
 
 Panopticum. The Raths-Keller, noted as one 
 of the sights of Berlin, is not to be compared, 
 except in extent, with that in the Betz building 
 in Philadelphia. And here it was that the Teu- 
 ton of our party sought to use his knowledge 
 of the German tongue for the benefit of him- 
 self and friends, called a waiter, and, with 
 great deliberation and distinctness, so that 
 even we almost understood his words, gave an 
 order for some refreshments. The waiter 
 smiled and, with great politeness and in the 
 best English, replied, "If you would like to 
 learn to speak German, come to my house to- 
 morrow morning and I will give you a lesson." 
 It proved that he had no ear for "Pennsylvania 
 Dutch;" and we discovered that he had spent 
 several years in America. And this was not 
 the only incident of such a character during 
 our trip. 
 
 The cab drivers are numerous, capable, and 
 accommodating. They are so anxious to 
 please, that one, I am told, with a lady and a 
 gentleman for a fare, who positively declined 
 all the attractions of theater and museum and 
 garden he tendered them, finally concluded 
 that they must be seeking only the society 
 and peculiar attractions of each other, 
 and he thereupon drove them slowly and 
 
136 From America to Russia. 
 
 carefully in side streets and shaded lanes, 
 and the dark roads of the parks, without 
 a word from them, or a glance back at them, 
 until they at last woke to the fact that cabby 
 was "on to their little game." Then, by using 
 a mixture of English and French, and Penn- 
 sylvania Dutch, in all which no word of grati- 
 tude was found, they eventually succeeded in 
 being driven to their hotel. Ungrateful 
 wretches. Wonder who they were! 
 
 We were delighted to reach Berlin and en- 
 joyed every moment of our sojourn there. 
 We left it early Tuesday morning, August 17, 
 with considerable regret. It is altogether an 
 interesting city. We found the Hotel du Nord 
 to be conveniently located and well managed, 
 with an excellent table and accommodating 
 officials. Our hope is that we may be able to 
 visit Berlin again under equally pleasant cir- 
 cumstances and for a longer stay. 
 
 Nathaniel Ewing. 
 
XIV. 
 A DAY IN AMSTERDAM. 
 
 AFTER a pleasant trip of almost 400 
 miles from Berlin through the ever- 
 changing stretches of delightful coun- 
 try, we arrived, August 17, at the Central Rail- 
 way station on the "Y" in Amsterdam, on the 
 north side of the city, at 8:27 P. M., and were 
 soon comfortably quartered in the large and 
 commodious "Victoria Hotel," near by, at the 
 corner of the Damrak and Prins Hendrikkade. 
 Here we did full justice to an elegant dinnei 
 that had been prepared and was waiting for 
 us, and for which our long trip had most suc- 
 cessfully prepared our party, except a few of 
 us with delicate appetites. * The next day it 
 rained— the first rainy day of our experience 
 abroad. 
 
 Amsterdam, the commercial capital of Hoi- 
 
13^ From America to Russia. 
 
 land, is said to be as good as Venice, with a 
 super-added humor which gives the sightseer 
 the most singular zest and pleasure. You can 
 scarcely fancy a run through Pekin to be more 
 odd, strange and yet familiar. There were 
 perceptible a rush and prodigious vitality; an 
 immense swarm of life, busy waters crowded 
 with barges, spacious markets teeming with 
 people, the ever-wonderful Jew's quarter, a 
 "dear old world of painting and of the past," 
 yet alive and throbbing and palpable, actual 
 and yet passing before you swiftly and strange- 
 ly as a dream. 
 
 This wonderful city lies at the influx of the 
 Amstel into the "Y" or "IJ," which is an arm 
 of the Zuiderzee, which has been form-d into 
 an excellent harbor. The town was founded 
 at the beginning of the Thirteenth Century, 
 when Gysbrecht II. built a castle here in 1204 
 and constructed the dam, which gave the town 
 its name. In 1275 Count Florens V. granted 
 the town exemption from the imposts of Hol- 
 land and Zeeland, and in 131 1 it was finally 
 united with Holland. In the Fourteenth Cen- 
 tury the town began to assume greater im- 
 portance, and at the beginning of the Spanish 
 troubles it had become a very important city. 
 In 1490 the Emperor Maximilian I. gave the 
 
A Day in Amsterdam. 139 
 
 city the privilege of using the imperial crown 
 as the crest in its armorial bearings. 
 
 The real importance and prosperity of Ams- 
 terdam date from the close of the Sixteenth 
 Century, when the Spanish war had mined 
 Antwerp, and the horrors of the inquisition 
 had compelled numbers of enterprising mer- 
 chants and skillful manufacturers to seek a 
 new home in Holland. Between 1585 and 
 1595 the town was nearly doubled in extent 
 and was greatly favored by Prince Maurice 
 of Orange. The conclusion of peace shortly 
 afterward and the establishment of the East 
 India Company combined to raise Amsterdam 
 within a very short period to the rank of the 
 greatest mercantile city on the continent. 
 After the dissolution of the Dutch Republic, 
 Amsterdam became the residence of King 
 Louis Napoleon, in 1808. The population 
 now is about 500,000. The commercial trade 
 of Amsterdam is very important, though the 
 number of ships that enter and clear the har- 
 bor is scarcely a third of that at Antwerp. 
 
 Its industries are also considerable, includ- 
 ing sugar and camphor refineries, tobacco and 
 cobalt-blue manufactories, and diamond pol- 
 ishing mills. The principal attractions of 
 Amsterdam are Rijks Museum, Fodor Mu- 
 
140 From America to Russia. 
 
 seum, Zoological Gardens, walks on the De 
 Ruyterkade, Oosterdok, and Westerdok; the 
 Delft depot and Kalverstraat, the principal 
 shopping- street, which leads southward from 
 "The Dam" and is one of the chief thorough- 
 fares of the city, notwithstanding its entire 
 width is little, if any more than just the side- 
 walks of some of the streets in New York and 
 other of our American cities. After nine P. M. 
 this street becomes the scene of a kind of Corso 
 or promenade, occupied and used almost ex- 
 clusively by pedestrians. 
 
 By reason of canals running through the 
 business streets of the city, it is divided into 
 ninety islands, which are connected by nearly 
 300 bridges. The depth of the water in these 
 canals is about five feet, below which is said 
 to be a layer of mud of about equal thickness. 
 To prevent malarial exhalations the water is 
 renewed by an arm of the North Sea Canal, 
 while the mud is removed by dredges. Some 
 of the canals are lined with avenues of elms 
 and present a pleasant, and in places a hand- 
 some and picturesque appearance. The houses 
 are all constructed on foundations of piles, a 
 fact which gave rise to the jest of Erasmus of 
 Rotterdam, that he knew a city whose inhabit- 
 ants dwelt in the tops of trees like rooks. The 
 
A Day in Amsterdam. 141 
 
 upper stratum of the natural soil is loose sand 
 upon which no permanent building can be. 
 erected, unless a solid substructure be first 
 formed by driving piles about twenty feet long 
 into the firmer sand beneath. The operations 
 of the builder below the surface of the ground 
 are frequently as expensive as those above it. 
 
 The focus of the business life of the city is 
 a large square called "The Dam." It owes its 
 name to its position on the west side of the 
 old embankment with which the foundation 
 and name of the city are traditionally con- 
 nected. It is surrounded by the Exchange, 
 the Royal Palace, the New Church, and several 
 private homes, and is the center from which 
 the principal tramways and streets diverge. 
 Of the buildings surrounding the square the 
 Royal Palace (Het Paleis) is the most impos- 
 ing and important. It was begun in 1648 as 
 a town hall and substantially finished in 1655 
 at a cost of 8,000,000 florins. 
 
 It rests on a foundation of 13,659 piles, aboui 
 twenty feet long. It was presented by the city 
 to King Louis Napoleon as a residence in 
 1808. It was by reason of its location well 
 adapted for a town hall, but, having no princi- 
 pal entrance and being situated in the open 
 market place, it is unsuitable for a palace. All 
 
142 I ; rom America to Russia. 
 
 the apartments are richly adorned with sculp- 
 tures in white marble, which produce an im- 
 posing effect. It is one of the grand homes 
 of Wilhelmina, the popular Queen of Holland. 
 
 We were fortunate on all sides in our oppor- 
 tunities of seeing nobility and royalty; how- 
 ever, but a few of our party were so happily 
 favored as to have a view of Queen Wilhel- 
 mina, than whom no royal princess of the 
 present age has been discussed with more in- 
 terest, nor has been more of a puzzle to the 
 diplomats of Europe. She is young, talented, 
 accomplished, beautiful, of unequaled lineage, 
 and the sovereign of 35,000,000 of people. 
 All the crowned heads of Europe consider her 
 a prize well worth striving for; and no wonder 
 that every princeling desires to become a con- 
 sort to such a queen. And with such accom- 
 plishments we are not certain, but that, with 
 sufficient encouragement, other than prince- 
 lings might be induced to turn their heads and 
 hearts in that direction. 
 
 This young princess is not yet Queen. She 
 will assume that dignity upon attaining her 
 eighteenth year, which will be August 31, 
 1898. The name of Queen Wilhelmina is 
 everywhere spoken with enthusiasm. Three 
 centuries of tradition; three hundred years of 
 
A Day in Amsterdam. 143 
 
 all that is grand and glorious in the history of 
 this proud Empire center in their Virgin 
 Queen. Her picture is seen everywhere, and it 
 is said that half of the girl babies in the coun- 
 try are called Wilhelmina. 
 
 It is not commonly known that Holland 
 claims to be the second colonial power in the 
 world. This is the secret of her present pros- 
 perity. The average wealth of each citizen is 
 three times as much as that of England. To 
 the Queen of this Empire is given an annual 
 salary of two .hundred thousand dollars, every 
 cent of which is spent by the young princess 
 in the cause of charity. Of course, she can 
 well afford to do without this salary, as she is 
 said to be one of the richest sovereigns in the 
 world, being sole heir to the entire wealth of 
 the Empire and the estate of all the Nassaus. 
 
 Rijks Museum is an important building cov- 
 ering nearly three acres of ground, erected in 
 i877~'85, in the early Dutch Renaissance style. 
 The exterior is adorned and ornamented with 
 mosaic decorations representing the figures 
 and events in the history of Dutch art. To 
 the artist the interior arrangement is perfect 
 and is a veritable paradise. We cannot go 
 into details to any extent more than to say 
 that the collections include not only the paint- 
 
144 From America to Russia. 
 
 ings, drawings and engravings formerly in the 
 Royal Museum at the Trippenhuis, and in the 
 Museum van der Hoop, but also various pic- 
 tures and other works of art collected from the 
 Stadhuis, the Huiszittenhuis and elsewhere, 
 and the art industrial collections of the old 
 Dutch Museum alt the Hague and of the Anti- 
 quarium Society at Amsterdam. The 
 Museum is surrounded with pleasure grounds 
 and enclosed by a tastefully wrought iron rail- 
 ing. 
 
 The Zoological Garden is one of the finest 
 in Europe and little inferior to that of London. 
 It covers 28 acres and is well worth the two to 
 three hours' time it requires to make a visit 
 through it. The diamond polishing establish- 
 ments, the many quaint and neatly kept shops 
 lining the narrow streets and ways along the 
 canals, exhibiting fine collections of freshly 
 polished diamonds and many other precious 
 stones and wares, disturbing the peace and 
 quiet of our already overburdened trunks and 
 bags and depleted purses, were attractive and 
 interesting to the extent of maintaining our 
 usual enthusiasm to see the sights, regardless 
 of the gloom and moisture attending that 
 morning's Dutch downpour. None of our 
 party visited all of the interesting places of this 
 
A Day in Amsterdam. 145 
 
 quaint old city, yet some one or more spent 
 considerable time in the above named and 
 other places with pleasure and profit, not, how- 
 ever, of a financial character. 
 
 The principal environ of Amsterdam is 
 Zaandam, a town of about 20,000 inhabitants, 
 situated about six miles from Amsterdam at 
 the influx of the Zaan in the "Y." It is a 
 thriving little city, thoroughly Dutch in ap- 
 pearance. Our trip down to this place in the 
 afternoon was a very pleasant and delightful 
 one. It certainly was through the land of the 
 wind-mills, as it is said there are about 400 on 
 the banks of the Zaan, between these two 
 cities; being used for many different purposes, 
 comprising oil, saw, corn, paint, cement and 
 papermills, as well as, also, to pump water from 
 the lowlands over dykes back into the Zaan. 
 The surface of the Zaan is several feet above 
 the level of the surrounding country, which is 
 protected from overflow 7 only by means of 
 these embankments. 
 
 The Zaandam Dutch were holding high car- 
 nival this day. It was the two-hundredth an- 
 niversary of the arrival of Peter the Great of 
 Russia. He came hither in the dress of a 
 common workman, under the name Peter 
 Michaelof, and worked as a ship carpenter, 
 
146 From America to Russia. 
 
 with a view of acquiring a practical knowledge 
 of the art, in order to impart it to his country- 
 men. 
 
 The hut of Peter the Great, situated on 
 Krimpstraat, is the principal attraction at 
 Zaandam. It is a rude wooden structure, now 
 protected and preserved by a substantial brick 
 building surrounding it and belonging to the 
 Czar of Russia. On the front of this brick 
 building, over the entrance, is a tablet bearing 
 the inscription: "Het Czaarpeter huisje is 
 hedur voor het publick gesloten. Het.Con- 
 sulaat-Generaal van Rusland," which, in con- 
 sequence of the many recent gymnastic 
 linguistic performances of the H. P. T's was 
 easily understood and translated. The in- 
 terior of this hut consists of two small rooms 
 and a bed closet. A marble slab over the 
 chimney place, bearing the inscription 'Tetro 
 Magno Alexander," was placed there by Em- 
 peror Alexander, on the occasion of his visit, in 
 1 8 14. Another is the one connected with the 
 visit of the Czarewitch, in 1839. In conse- 
 quence of the nautical phraseology of Russia 
 being mainly of Dutch origin, these people 
 look upon their city and this little hut as the 
 fountain head of the great and powerful Rus- 
 sian navy of to-day. 
 
 
A Day in Amsterdam . 147 
 
 It was surely a gala occasion, comparing 
 with the American circus or country fair day. 
 The fathers and mothers, beaux and belles and 
 the thousands of school children of this city, 
 as well as others from Amsterdam, thronged 
 and flooded the principal streets of the place. 
 They were dressed in the most weird, unique 
 and fantastic costumes, to be described only by 
 an expert. The prevailing headdress among 
 the women was a sort of helmet, of brass, 
 fitting close over the head, decorated with lace 
 and ribbons draped and looped in all sorts of 
 weird, decorative styles. The balance of their 
 outfit, ending in the regulation wooden shoe, 
 cut from a block of elm or linden, was equally 
 and strangely novel. 
 
 And the costumes worn by some of the men 
 will be called to the minds of the party by com- 
 paring them with the worst fitting suit of 
 bloomers they ever saw on an amateur bicycle 
 rider. 
 
 This little side excursion will long be re- 
 membered by the members of our party as 
 one of the most interesting and instructive of 
 the many little trips of this kind suggested and 
 provided by our genial and wide-awake Man- 
 ager. Amusing incidents of one kind or an- 
 other happened almost every day and August 
 
148 From America to Russia. 
 
 18 was no exception. It loomed up with one 
 that, doubtless, would be classed under the list 
 of "Another"; and will be called to mind to 
 those who were unfortunate enough to witness 
 it, by the exclamation of the gentleman who 
 was acting in the capacity of guide or escort to 
 the crowd on our return from Zaandam, from 
 the steamer to the hotel, when, after attract- 
 ing and directing the attention of the party, he 
 said "O, my Heavens! Isn't that awful!! 
 What will they think of me!!!" 
 
 As the day and evening drew to a close and 
 the time for our departure came near, feeling 
 that we had spent a very pleasant and profit- 
 able time in this quaint old city, there still re- 
 mained for those of us who were fortunate 
 enough to be in the parlors of our hotel the 
 most interesting and entertaining feature of 
 our stay in Amsterdam, when the accom- 
 plished and talented Miss Evelyn R. Mason 
 recited for us, among other selections, the 
 charming and very appropriate poem of 
 Eugene Field, entitled, "In Amsterdam," in a 
 manner so pleasing and effective as to leave 
 no question in our minds as to her ability as 
 an artist, nor of the fact that Eugene Field 
 certainly had been in Amsterdam and on the 
 Kalverstraat in the capacity of a tourist. 
 
 
A Day in Amsterdam. 149 
 
 So ended our stay in this city and we left 
 it the night of August 18 with a consciousness 
 of regret bordering on delight, feeling that "it 
 had been good for us to be here," and that 
 our Manager had made no mistake in includ- 
 ing it in our itinerary. The day will always 
 stand out as a bright one in our many memory 
 gems of the H. P. T. of 1897, for we can as- 
 sure our friends that in touring Europe their 
 recollections will necessarily have to be tinged 
 with a shadow of regret, unless they shall 
 spend at least "A Day in Amsterdam." 
 
 R. E. Umbel and W. J. Johnson. 
 
 
XV. 
 AT THE HAGUE. 
 
 THE Holland capital has always seemed 
 to me to be one of the most restful and 
 delightful of the smaller cities of Eu- 
 rope. The people there are not quite so 
 Dutchy as at Amsterdam or Rotterdam — one 
 should not dislike it if they were, because 
 when you are in Holland you expect the in- 
 habitants to do what only the Dutch will do, 
 and they are a most interesting people with it 
 all — and there is an air of refinement about the 
 place and its surroundings. There is no jar- 
 ring upon your sense of the fitness of things, 
 as you walk through its broad squares or shop 
 in its tidy stores. A prettiness and tidiness 
 and a real solid comfort are to be found every- 
 where. If I were not a resident of America, I 
 should like to live at The Hasrue. 
 
 
At The Hague. 151 
 
 And you have plenty of history and plenty 
 of poetry in this home of William of Orange; 
 while out on the sea-beach near by is the 
 cleanest, neatest, and, in many respects, most 
 attractive bathing- place on the Continent. 
 
 We stopped at the Hotel Paulez, just op- 
 posite in a diagonal line from the older Vieux 
 Doelen. The Vieux Doelen is a more 
 fashionable hotel, where many of the aristo- 
 cratic people of Europe board for a month or 
 two at a time in the summer season. We ob- 
 served that our new American Ambassador was 
 wise enough to go there, for we happened to 
 notice on the afternoon succeeding our arrival 
 that the Royal carriage of the Queen came for 
 him, in real court style, with postilions in liv- 
 ery, to take him to an audience with Her 
 Majesty. The Paulez, however, was quiet, 
 and had few other guests, and we enjoyed its 
 comfortable rooms, though not the tardiness 
 of its meals. The electric tramcar passes the 
 door, and furnishes an example of the perfec- 
 tion of street travel by electric power. What 
 is said to be impracticable in America is here 
 demonstrated to be entirely feasible, for there 
 are no trolley wires, but simply a noiseless 
 carriage running over steel rails at a pace fast 
 or slow, at the will of the motorman. Each 
 
i5 2 From America to Russia. 
 
 car has a first and a second-class compartment, 
 at very cheap fares, and either one is more 
 cosy and comfortable than our American elec- 
 tric cars. 
 
 There are just four attractions at The 
 Hague which I always want to see when 
 visiting this city. The one, least important, of 
 course, but not least interesting, is the old 
 Pickle Woman's Stand, in the market place. 
 She is the same smart, good-natured lady who 
 was there in 1874, when I first made her ac- 
 quaintance, though possibly it is her daughter 
 who now serves the patrons. She has no 
 business by day to speak of, and, therefore, I 
 would not then walk around the corner to see 
 her, if, indeed, she is there at all when the sun 
 is shining. But when nine o'clock in the 
 evening arrives, and the young Dutch myn- 
 heers and dames are on promenade, then her 
 booth becomes the center of a scene of earnest 
 work which is delightful to observe. She has 
 a goodly lot of jars of small pickles and 
 several heaped-up baskets of hard-boiled eggs. 
 These are all she sells, but an array of white 
 shells upon the ground, like fallen blossoms 
 of cherry orchards in May, gleam under the 
 electric lights, as the scores of her customers 
 stand around eating, first a pickle, then an 
 
At The Hague. 153 
 
 egg, and so alternating until six, seven, or a 
 dozen of each are duly swallowed. It goes to 
 prove that the true Dutchman's stomach is as 
 enduring as leather, and I learn that, because 
 of his irreproachable conscience, these small 
 things in no wise disturb his night's rest. This 
 one woman, with her eggs and pickles, would 
 kill off all the younger population of an Amer- 
 ican settlement, but at The Hague, where 
 everybody has been brought up on them, they 
 are simply appetizers, and the young men rise 
 up next morning fresh and hearty to push the 
 trekschuits, and the young dames still earlier 
 to scrub anew the front doorsills. 
 
 The second and more pathetic sight is the 
 Binnenhof; the seat of the Dutch Parliament, 
 with its ancient hall of the States of the time 
 of the Republic. Here, in front of it, on that 
 bright May morning in 1649, brave John of 
 Barneveld, the great advocate of Holland, 
 "whose errors were so few and whose virtues 
 were so great," laid down his head upon the 
 block, though past seventy years of age, 
 simply because he did not belong to the men 
 of that generation. Here in this square and 
 around it were born so much of Holland 
 liberty and so much of princely valor that we 
 Americans, who have patterned our patriotism 
 
154 From America to R 
 
 ussia. 
 
 after these splendid old Netherlanders, should 
 never leave this interesting city without rever- 
 ently standing before this sacred spot. 
 
 A third attractive place is the Picture Gal- 
 lery, or the Royal Museum, in the Maurits 
 Huis, where are a half dozen or more really 
 great Dutch paintings; one of them known 
 the world over as Paul Potter's Bull (though 
 I don't care one snap for that bull, while I do 
 admire the gentle, patient, perfectly-presented 
 cow by his side), and another the chef 
 dceuvre of Paul Rembrandt, usually spoken of 
 as 'The Lesson in Anatomy." There is here 
 some of the best work of Jan Steen, and I do 
 not know where else he can be studied to better 
 advantage. 
 
 The fourth interesting spot to me is the 
 Royal Palace. Not that it contains anything 
 worth looking at to one who has seen real 
 palaces at St. Petersburg, or Versailles, or 
 Potsdam, or even Drottningholm; but rather 
 because it is so simple and unroyal. It even 
 adjoins the shops of the street on which it 
 stands, without so much as an alley between. 
 It is the plainest abode of royalty in civilized 
 lands. But it is homelike within and has an 
 air of business-like comfort without. 
 
 We did not enter the Palace; and, in fact, 
 
The Young Holland Queen. 
 
 Wilhelmina, born August 31, 1880, will ascend tbe throne in her 
 own right August 31, 1898. Her mother, Princess Emma, has been 
 Queen Regent since the death of William III. in 1890. She is much 
 beloved by her people, who are looking forward with great interest 
 to her taking the crown. 
 
At The Hague. 155 
 
 could not, for the full-flown flag overhead 
 showed that the Queen was in residence. But 
 I have heretofore wandered over its hard 
 floors and enjoyed its inelegant comeliness, and 
 this time I had the good fortune, while in- 
 quiring concerning the movements of its oc- 
 cupants, to see the youthful and pretty Queen 
 Wilhelmina herself come up to its large front 
 doors in a plain, though red-lined, landau, with 
 two attractive horses, and saw the sweet and 
 dignified bow with which she always greets 
 her subjects when they tinlift hats in her pres- 
 ence. She was full of grace and as beautiful 
 as fair. The Queen Dowager was at her side, 
 a woman of no marked features, dressed in 
 black. Others of the party also saw, later, at 
 the railway station, this first-named little lady, 
 who, next year, in August, when eighteen 
 years of age, will take the crown, and, it is to 
 be hoped, win to herself more than ever the 
 love of all her people. We voted her a hand- 
 some, happy, sensible, womanly girl, and may 
 her reign be long and her pathway strewed 
 with flowers! She has some of the best blood 
 of the Kingdom in her veins, and while hers is 
 a nation small in numbers, how rich it is in the 
 world's best virtues! 
 
 As you walk about this city, so new and yet 
 
156 From America to Russia. 
 
 a full century older than New York, the 
 bright, new arcade of shops, the smooth pave- 
 ments, the quiet fish-pond, the picturesque 
 Town Hall, the well-shaded streets continue 
 to speak of peace, prosperity and plenty, and 
 one need not wonder that the rich merchants 
 of the little kingdom like to come to The 
 Hague and end their days on the Lange Voor- 
 hout, when they are tired of poring over their 
 East India ledgers. 
 
 The surroundings of The Hague are quite 
 as attractive as the city's interior; perhaps 
 more so. One has but to drive to the Palace 
 in the Wood, so long inhabited by the former 
 Queen, who could not live in peace with her 
 husband, with its shady avenues, intersected 
 by canals; or drive to Scheveningen, to see 
 that art and nature have combined to give 
 beauty to this "largest village of Europe," 
 where, as said an old Dutch author, there is "a 
 tree, a flower and a bird for each of 
 its 160,000 inhabitants." At the Palace 
 in the Wood there are walls adorned 
 with satin needlework; hangings and floors 
 with costly needlework carpets; paintings 
 by Van Dyck and Jordaens and the 
 school of Rubens; splendid Japanese fur- 
 nishings and plenty of romantic stories 
 
 
At The Hague. 157 
 
 connected with each of its two-and-a-half cen- 
 tury possessors. The umbrageous trees cover 
 fish ponds and larger lakes and pleasant walks. 
 The carriages of the wealthy and the feet of 
 the poor go to and fro without supervision of 
 police or, worse, of newspaper reporters. For 
 it must be understood that The Hague, and, in 
 fact, nearly all Holland, is so law-abiding, the 
 inhabitants are so peaceable, that the jails are 
 empty ! 
 
 At Scheveningen our ladies enjoyed 
 thoroughly an hour or two in the sun chairs 
 upon the beach, watching the bathing wagons 
 and bathers, and the rippling waves and far- 
 away sails. There was a strong wind blowing 
 from the east, but the sun shone brightly, and 
 within these covered chairs came quiet and 
 rest and a sense of genuine pleasure. There 
 is not in Europe a cleaner, wholesomer, more 
 restful place than on this brick-paved beach, in 
 sight of the spot where occurred one of the 
 finest Dutch naval victories that history 
 records. When De Ruyter whipped both the 
 English and French navies, Holland was at its 
 zenith of glory. 
 
 Did you ever read garrulous Sam. Pepy's 
 "Diary"? If you did, you remember how he 
 danced attendance upon Charles the Second, 
 
158 From America to Russia. 
 
 when that historic character, of handsome 
 figure but graceless morals, embarked at 
 Scheveningen to take possession of the Eng- 
 lish throne. And here it was that Englishmen 
 flocked to beg Prince William of Orange to 
 accept the crown of their misgoverned island. 
 I doubt not that, when Chesterfield was Am- 
 bassador to Holland, and when Louis Bona- 
 parte held swav under the great Napoleon's 
 tenure, this beach, as sandy and solid as now, 
 the waives before it just as yellow-green and 
 the air above it just as brisk and penetrating, 
 captivated and charmed as it does to-day. It 
 is a spot for rest, for meditation and for holy 
 resolves. 
 
 Once upon a time the writer left The Hague 
 on the canal aboard a trekschuit and went to 
 Delft. It was in a day when Delft ware was not 
 so much sought after in America as now, and 
 was comparatively little known. The journey 
 was taken simply to have the restful feeling of 
 being towed along the canal by man-power 
 (for some of the distance by a horse) and to 
 observe how the Dutch passed their time in 
 garden, back-yard and field, for we skimmed 
 slowly along by each in turn. Then, as now, 
 the country meadows were dotted with my- 
 riads of the choicest cattle. The sights were 
 
At The Hague. 159 
 
 numerous, novel, humorous, instructive. It 
 was an experience never to be forgotten. 
 
 And so my one regret now is that the short- 
 ness of the time prevented the party of 1897 
 from going upon just such a journey over to 
 Delft, or to Leyden. It is one of the easiest 
 things to do in Holland, the most natural and 
 most interesting, but something few travelers 
 endeavor to accomplish. When next we come 
 to this land of Queen Wilhelmina, let us, first, 
 in the evening, all visit the old woman in the 
 market square, and, next day, take the 
 trekschuit for a six-mile pull, as our Holland 
 forefathers formerly did for at least ten genera- 
 tions. 
 
 A. V. D. Hone ym an. 
 
XVI. 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND. 
 
 DARK and dreary dawned the morning of 
 August 21, the day we were to turn 
 our faces toward our native land and 
 leave behind the places where two very delight- 
 ful months had been spent. 
 
 As we left the wharf at Antwerp and be- 
 gan the passage down the treacherous river 
 Scheldt, we saw anchored the American man- 
 of-war "San Francisco," whose band on deck 
 was playing "Auld Lang Syne," but, as their 
 gaze traveled over to the "Friesland" and they 
 saw the numerous American flags being fran- 
 tically waved over the railing, the tune 
 changed to one of Sousa's most charming two- 
 steps, the "Washington Post." 
 
 Every one rose with alacrity when the bugle 
 call sounded for luncheon, and I am sure not 
 
Homeward Bound. 161 
 
 a few upon leaving the saloon wondered 
 whether dinner would seem equally inviting. 
 
 That morning we remained on deck to 
 watch the funny little Dutch towns, as they 
 came in view, with the 'unique aspect of the 
 dykes enclosing them. Some hours later we 
 saw our river pilot depart in his row boat, and 
 then we passed into the North Sea and 
 through the Dover Straits. 
 
 Dinner was well attended, with the excep- 
 tion of those who concluded the air was more 
 refreshing on deck. 
 
 Sunday morning we were passing the chalk 
 cliffs of England, well on our way toward the 
 ocean. We were much disappointed when on 
 entering the saloon to find there was to be 
 no service. We had one or two ministers on 
 board, but possibly the effects of mal-de-mer 
 prevented their making any attempt to get 
 farther than the deck. At all events, so we 
 thought, but when the next Sunday the same 
 neglect was repeated, we thought — otherwise. 
 
 In the afternoon the Lizard was passed and 
 shortly after we saw the Lily light, our last 
 glimpse of land. 
 
 Monday the good ship was making labored 
 efforts to ride the gigantic waves, which rose 
 about her and, in consequence, forcing many 
 
1 62 From America to Russia. 
 
 of her passengers to remain below. Meals 
 were poorly attended and even books held no 
 attraction. 
 
 In the afternoon a terrific gale came on, and 
 by night the rain was falling in torrents. A 
 few of 'the more courageous ones remained on 
 deck with rugs wrapped tightly about them 
 and umbrellas as shields from the rain and 
 waves. 
 
 Just here let me say the ginger snaps and 
 soda crackers now gave out, and those whose 
 appetites had withstood the pitching and roll- 
 ing were forced to content themselves with 
 lemons and an occasional orange. 
 
 Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 
 passed by with rapidity. There were good 
 times; some high seas, but not to kick up 
 much of a frolic with the passengers. Occa- 
 sional games of "shuffle board" and "ring 
 toss" were tried and a few regularly gathered 
 in the saloon when evening came on to play 
 "whist" and wait till lemonade and sandwiches 
 were passed around at nine o'clock. 
 
 Few and far between were the sunsets, as fog 
 reigned supreme, and, I think, when the time 
 came for clearing the decks, there was noth- 
 ing to clear but chairs. 
 
 Saturday was spent in the usual quiet way 
 
Homeward Bound. 163 
 
 until evening", when preparations began for a 
 dance on the port deck. Benches and chairs 
 were removed and the sides were first enclosed 
 with large sheets of canvas and then covered 
 with the different national flags. Electric 
 lights were arranged artistically and the piano 
 held an important place. All this was due to 
 the captain's thoughtfulness and generosity. 
 At eight the dancing began, and everything 
 was entirely satisfactory — except the music. 
 A man was finally discovered who played the 
 violin, but after one or two efforts he retired 
 highly disgusted with his own performance. 
 After that a few desultory attempts were made 
 and then two men made their appearance from 
 the steerage with accordions. Dancing pro- 
 gressed finely until half-past ten, when it was 
 interrupted by the serving of refreshments. A 
 little more dancing — and people retired from 
 the scene of action to claim a much needed rest 
 after their undue exertions. 
 
 Sunday numerous remarks were flying 
 about that we would not get in until Tuesday 
 morning, as the run for the past three days had 
 been "very poor," and anxiously did everyone 
 await the coming of the chart. By noon the 
 crowd was almost impenetrable, and as the 
 first cue caught a glimpse of "390 miles," our 
 
164 From America to Russia. 
 
 longest run, a wild halloo of joy went up, and 
 we knew the morrow would see us safely 
 landed. 
 
 Many of the ocean-lovers who had made 
 bets concerning the run were highly disap- 
 pointed, but they were in the minority. 
 
 Sunday afternoon the bell tolled for a fire 
 drill and the jolly tars put to with a will. One 
 poor fellow, miscalculating his distance (and 
 when once in place he could not stir), received 
 for ten minutes the full volume of water from 
 the largest hose. 
 
 Monday, at eleven o'clock, we saw the most 
 welcome sight to Americans homeward bound, 
 Fire Island, with its spiral lighthouse and long 
 stretch of sandy beach just visible through the 
 mist; it looked, indeed, its welcome. 
 
 Then confusion reigned throughout the 
 ship, trunks were hauled up out of the hold, 
 lusty shouts were heard from the sailors fore 
 and aft, steamer trunks were busily packed, 
 umbrellas, rugs and cushions strapped, while 
 constant calling after the different stewards 
 made a good accompaniment. 
 
 Soon Sandy Hook came in sight and the 
 "Friesland" stopped to take on the pilot, who 
 was to steer us through the intricacies of the 
 bay. As he came on board a grand rush was 
 
Homeward Bound. 165 
 
 made to secure the New York papers he 
 brought with him. 
 
 Luncheon was served at 1.30, instead of 12, 
 and I am going to add a word in favor of our 
 table steward. All future passengers, who 
 have the good fortune of sitting at the cap- 
 tain's table on the "Friesland" and who are 
 waited upon by the assistant steward, will 
 scarcely find a more polite, obliging and well 
 educated man. So, in fact, are all the stew- 
 ards, but he was an exception in some partic- 
 ulars. 
 
 After luncheon we bade adieu to those 
 whom we had been associated with so long-. 
 It seemed rather sad, now that we had reached 
 home, to say "good-bye" to those friends who 
 had shared our comforts and discomforts on 
 the other side of the Atlantic. Leaning over 
 the rail of the vessel, as she slowly wended her 
 way up the bay, were those who were coming 
 to America for the first time; others who had 
 been visiting their own country and were re- 
 turning; and still others,Mike ourselves, who 
 gazed toward the coast of Long Island and 
 realized that, 
 
 " Though on foreign shores we may roam, 
 Be it ever so far away, 
 There's no place like ' Home.' " 
 
1 66 From America to Russia. 
 
 The remembrances of the eternal cities of 
 the Czar, the Empire of Kaiser Wilhelm, 
 even the realms of Queen Victoria, all faded 
 from our minds when, we beheld the high and 
 lofty buildings of New York city. The 
 sovereign colors of the mighty nations of 
 Europe blended in one more glorious emblem, 
 the Stars and Stripes. 
 
 At three P. M., as the "Friesland" lowered 
 her gangplank and we stepped upon an 
 American pier, did we not think of the oft re- 
 peated verse: 
 
 "Breathes there a man with soul so dead, 
 That never to himself hath said 
 This is my own, my native land?" 
 
 Ad^le S. Mason. 
 
& & & & & & «&. aj£ aji i>. ^ji 5jj£ & & jgt 5jt 3jj£ 
 
 ~i "1 "I "('""<[' "i "j "1 "( "J "J "( v ( ' 
 
 MEMBERS OF PARTY. 
 
 Barry, Mrs. Frances H., Wilmington, Del. 
 Bennett, Rev. William R., Madison, N. J. 
 Chase, Mr. Louis A., Plainfield, N. J. 
 Coit, Mrs. Alfred, New London, Conn. 
 Donnell, Capt. E. P., Bath, Me. 
 Donnell, Mrs. E. P., Bath, Me. 
 Donnell, Mrs. Jennie C, Bath, Me. 
 Estil, Mr. Mulford, Plainfield, N. J. 
 Ewing, Hon. John K., Uniontown, Pa. 
 Ewing, Hon. Nathaniel, Uniontown, Pa. 
 Guerin, Mrs. Leonora D., Morristown, N. J. 
 Guerin, Miss Mabel T., Morristown, N. J. 
 Honeyman, A. V. D. (Manager), Plainfield, N. J. 
 Hundley, Hon. Oscar R., Huntsville, Ala. 
 Hundley, Mrs. Oscar R., Huntsville, Ala. 
 Johnson, Mr. W. J., Uniontown, Pa. 
 Knipe, Jacob O., M. D., Norristown, Pa. 
 Knipe, Mrs. Clara P., Norristown, Pa. 
 Mason, Mrs. E. S., New York City. 
 Mason, Miss Evelyn R., New York City. 
 Mason, Miss Adele, New York City. 
 Stoddard, Miss Elizabeth J., New Brunswick, N.J. 
 Titcomb, Miss Charlotte, Burlington, N. J. 
 Umbel, Mr. R. E., Uniontown, Pa. 
 Williams, Mrs. W. L., Paterson, N. J. 
 Williams, Miss Henrietta F., Paterson, N. J.