Part 5 (2/2)
CHAPTER SEVEN
Journey to Moscow--Russian Railway--Passengers--Mr Evergreen and his Hat-box--Refreshment Rooms--Scenes on the Road--Polite Spy--First View of Moscow--Unro it--Hotel Chollet--The Chinese City--The Kremlin--The Great Bazaar--Cathedral of Saint Basil--The Holy Gate--Great Bell of Moscoer of Ivan Veleki--Wonderful View from the Summit--The Tulip City
”And now, my boys, we may pack up and be off for Moscow,” exclaimed Cousin Giles as they reached the Gostiniza Benson, after settling all the preliminary passport business, without which no one, either of high or low degree, subject or foreigner, can move froreat difficulty in this passport business, and no great annoyance; but still it is apt to ruffle the temper of the most mild and patienttheir stay in each place, in perforht well be dispensed with, not to speak of having to disburse several roubles on each occasion; it is not, therefore, surprising that everybody rites about Russia should gru it
The Moscow railroad station is at the end of the Nevsky Prospect The travellers reached it soon after ten o'clock Only one train started in the day, so that tois a fine one It is entirely under Government superintendence, and the stationuards are all in military uniform; it makes a person very et to the station in good tih One cannot ju out, ”Porter, bring along h or Holyhead without a question being asked;--oh no! People do not go ahead quite so fast in the kingdoot, the passport oes over to another office, where it is exaranted,--all in theto a person who fancies that he is late Then the luggage ht for it, and paid for according to the number of articles; then it must be delivered over the counter at another place; and lastly, the perplexed traveller is allowed to go on the platfor, the entrance, after the A at each end, where there is a platfore, so that people can pass from one end of the train to the other The second-class have seats arranged in rows like those in a church, and are not very co journey; but the first-class are more luxurious: at each end there is a small ante-room, then a saloon with ottoe, luxurious ared e, and of plate glass, which, as Harry observed, would be very convenient if there was anything to look at out of theed themselves in one of the centre compartreen itation, first turning to onein vain to know, as it appeared, what had becoe
”Does any one know the Russian for hat-box?” he exclaimed
”Hatboxichoff! Hatboxichoff!” he cried in piteous accents ”Dear s in it, and loves; and I shall be sent to prison as an impostor, and not be able to appear decent at the coronation, and have noht sight of Cousin Giles' face His countenance brightened up ”Oh, Mr Fairlad to see you!--can you help e ticket, and, finding that the saes which he possessed in all were marked on it, assured him that there could be no doubt his hat-box was safe
Thus assured in hisstrip of paper, with the names of the chief places on the road ers having taken their places, the an toSoe red-brick houses appeared above the low huts in the outskirts, with a large reed-bordered lagoon, and a wide extent of dead level covered with low shrubs or rank dry grass The distance to Moscow is about five hundred versts, nearly four hundred miles, and for the whole of that distance there is very little improvement towards picturesque beauty
Now and then, to be sure, they came to woods of birch or fir, but the trees were small and widely scattered; still the chief feature was a dead flat covered with scrub
Russia, however, is very far froe tracts near its numerous rivers which yield an abundant harvest of all descriptions of corn, and there are forests full of the finest trees, whilst fruits of many descriptions also are produced
This particular road, however, gives a stranger a very unfavourable is to interest our friends About awooden cottages, with a square enclosure in the rear and a platform in front, all so exactly alike that Harry said they looked as if they had been taken out of so the road In front of each hut, as the train passed along, appeared a guard, presenting arms with an iron-headed pike; and so exactly did one look like the other that Harry said he was certain there round which
Therethe line--every hut, reatcoat foruards, also, at all the signal stations Whenever, also, the train stopped, a fierce-looking guard, in the uniforht-blue coats, helmets, and silver ornaments,--stood ies, to prevent people froether there see the line At all the stopping-places there were a nues, apparently newly erected; while the bridges and palings, and flights of steps and banisters, and refreshs were piled up, all looked as if they had been made in Switzerland, and were exactly like the land from that country of mountains and snow
They were very neat, and pretty, and picturesque, but certainly did not look as if they belonged to the place
At every station there are refreshments of some sort Our friends observed fruits, raspberries, strawberries, and peaches, though of an unte appearance and very dear; and also cakes of various forer stations there are large, long, handsoe stations in England,-- there is one for each class At one of these they stopped for three-quarters of an hour, when a good dinner was served at about half-past four They did not note the naested that it must have been _Chudova_, which was one of the principal places on the road
_Chew_!
”Oh, oh, Harry!” exclaimed Fred as he heard his brother's atrocious pun
The tea is excellent at these places; a tuular tea costs thirty, about fifteen-pence; indeed, the charges are land Probably at hoot at the saet all the passengers, and a very e they form as they pace up and down on the platform
Uniforms of all sorts predominate, frouard, to the sombre-dressed rank and file of the line There were Circassians and Georgians, and Cossacks of the Don and Volga, and other remote districts, in blue and silver coats, fur caps with red tops, and wide trousers, and yellow boots, and gauntlets on their hands, and jewelled daggers, and chain ar eyes, and thickly curling glossy beards andof far-off southern regions, which have succumbed before the arms or the diplomacy of Russia Then there were Ar owns, full, dark trousers, and waists belted not to carry swords, but inkhorns; and Tartars with turbans, and rich shawls, and gold-embroidered slippers; and priests with loned, broad-bri light hair, and long green coats, and crosses rather ostentatiously shown at their breasts There were traders, too, fro-gown-looking coats, h boots, and loned hats, and beards of considerable length and thickness; while the huhted in pink shi+rts with their tails worn outside their trousers, and fastened round their waist with a sash or belt These wore caps, and high boots, and long coats, like the rest; indeed, the inhabitants of Russiapopulation There o very peculiar in their appearance The upper classes wore bonnets, and the lower had handkerchiefs tied over their heads, or caps, with thick-padded cloaks They all had brought huge leather pillows, and cloaks, and shawls, to es
No sooner did the train stop than all the an to puff awaya servant bring his entleman, his pipe at every station It was the servant's business not only to light it but to draw it up, and the cunning rogue took good care to get as many whiffs out of it as possible before he reanother's entleman seems to make use of his serf for the same purpose”
Soowns, and others had on broad-brioith dark overcoats; sogling hair being coe, pulled out a coreat assiduity--an operation hbours
There was a fine Abasian officer--Abasia is a province bordering on the Caucasus, conquered by the Russians He wore a black fur cap with a red-and-white top to it,--night-cap fashi+on,--a white coat with cartridge cases in the breast and trimmed and lined with fur, a silver-lace belt round his waist, white gloves with fur backs, and green trousers with a silver stripe down the legs; yellow boots, a curved scier in his belt in front co fellow, and was ood terhed and chatted with all the officers of rank Such were some of the coreen said that he considered it his duty to taste the tea at each stopping-place, to ascertain whether it was really superior to any to be found out of China At some places he took only a tumblerful, but at others the samovar, with the little teapot on the top of it, and a small china cup were placed before him, with a tumbler also Those who have not drunk tea out of a tumblerit to quench thirst The Aainst the nose while the hot tea is being quaffed--also a very agreeable fashi+on The result of all this tea-drinking was, that poor Evergreen could not ht came on, and the rest of his party went to sleep After some hours had passed, he was accosted by an officer in uniform