FIVE DAYS IN A RUSSIAN PRISON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5634, 6 December 1879, Page 7

FIVE DAYS IN A RUSSIAN PRISON.

! The Standard has been favoured with tho following interesting account of the seizure by the Russian authorities of an English gentleman who inteuded making a short pleasure tour in Russia, and his incarceration in a Russian prison. The narrative is an extract from his journal, and the events oc curred only two or three weeka ago :—To be a "great travelled' was formerly considered a distinction. To bo a State prisoner must surely be considered a greater, even in these days of wonderful feats from climbingmoun* tains to galloping in the dead of night across a hostile country. But to be a State prisoner for no deed of Stats treachery, no awful conspiracy, no savage attempt on anyone's life, most indeed be considered wonderful. I started from the coaly Tyne on a voyage of pleasure—one of those charming annual excursions I have taken for several years to variouscontinental seaports, through the kindness of my friends, the rich steam owners of the North, and I enjoyed the breezy freshness of th« sea, and quiet rest aud new sights—improving my mind by a little amateur seamanship, and watching the frolics of a young bear belonging to the chief engineer. Here and there we had glimpses of tl:e land. Copenhagen, Hogg Island; in the far distance the Prussian coast; then through the Gulf of Finland, past an island coverod with pine forests ; and, at lsist, up the Baltic in sight of the green Russian coast to Cronstadt, were we cast anchor, and were boarded by the customhouse officials, and where for me life took a oew aud rough turn with a plunge. I bad travelled so far to gain, in common with every voyageur, new experiences; so seeing the gay plumage of the officials, I hastened forward to observe them more closely. A military-looking personage seated at tho table iu the saloon observed me as I eutered, and turned to the captain for information. He, poor soul, ignorant of all vocations expect his own, replied vaguely that I was a 41 priest. 7 ' Whereupon, the imposing one interrogated mo as to whether I were really a priest. 44 Not exactly," I replied, 44 lam a student." "Oh, "cried the party in chorus.

" Where is your passport?" Shades of the Imperial Peter ! I had uone ! Whatshould 1 do? "No pass" "A student." He looked at his comrael-'s, "You come wid me," he cried, bringing the oftieial hand forcibly down on my shoulder. "I am English. I have only just arrived. lam beneath tho flat; of my country." " Bib !" said lie, with a gesture and tone of extreme diselam. " Come" —and before I knew what was happening I found myself rapidly rowed to a guard-ship for examination. Here I was questioned minutely as to what I did in ling land, and what I intended doing there A voyage of pleasure was scouted as sl'ghtly an imbecile notion—pleasure in Russia of a'l places on earth ! And so I must " have my ( pockets searched." When thecontents were ' duly turned out, and the miscellaneous heap spread out on the table, there appeared a , sight well calculated to upset the nerves of ' the stoutest loyal Russian heart, and to comict me as a hardened criminal. In this bearded age I confess to being singular—! j shave, fool that J am. 1 use the razor on my own visage, be it reinemb red. Had 1 grown a bcur 1 this chapter of wo s might ' never have been written—l shave. Let all beardle-s idiots take warmingat once, if they 1 meditate a voyage de plaieir to Russia. My luckless raz .r helped nn into mischief. This instrument of demolition wanted sharpening, that I might appear presentable in the eyes of Jhe Russias, aufi to this enel had bt-ea entrust-d to tli.j grinding proce s.s understood to be practised by the ship's carpenter; ami thus, in beautiful condition for all fell deeds, it ha 1 been returned to me, and consigned to my pocket when I hurried to behold my captors. This and a large pocket ki.ife t! en lay dislo.kcd upon the table. Could evidence be more complete ? My bearded captors eyed me v.ith disgust. Thatl was contemptible was evident. Whe ther I conteinpl.it- d the life of the Czar, or onlv that of my whiskers, a razor was de 3. pic'ible. No further proof was needed. I was whisked off in a drosky, and safely lodged in a prisou, in a cell with five Russians and one Swede. I was fortunate in only having six fellow-prisouers, as in the next ce'l there -were a hundred, and the whole place was crowded. Though, for the life of me, I canuot understand why, with such a mob ar.d so little restraint, no entente or disturbance took place. I ir.ay as well describe this cell, as the one a' St. Petersburg!), to which I was afterwards sent, was exactly like it in every particular. It was a small and very dirty room, with a wide windowseat and a heavily barred window. It opened into a long corridor, at each eud of which a soldier was stationed ; to this corririer all the prisoners had free access, and could walk as they chose. In the cell itself a long slanting board stretched from the wall into the middle of the room ; it was about two feet from the flcor, and did duty as a sleeping place. The Russians, however, wero good enough to warn me of unpleasant companions to be found oa the board, which even they could not use, but perferred the Btoue floor. The Swede chose the window-seat, si, imitating the Russians, I rolled up my coat, and, pUcing it under my head for a pillo-.v, tried to imitate the patriarch Jacob hv making a virtue of necessity a-:d sleep the sleep of the just. But sleep refused to om-, though other things, le.-s coy by far, did ; and my nights were more lively than the day, until at la-it I had to give up the prenteuce < f sleep even. Breakfast brought us tea an 1 black bread, which the Russians devoured, but as I found it extremely unpalatable, I was graciously permitted to buy my own provisions and trust t < the generosity of my gaoler not to cheat me too much. Dinner cousisteel of soup in a large woo len bowl, sueh as in English farm-h'U-es is used for feeding poultry, and out of which all eat, d'oping in their little wooden spoons. Fi -a small pieceß of meat floating about in a quantity of greaiy water will give some ido i of this appetising bonne bonclw. I purchasi el lemonade and ginger beer on the spot, ma le by a prisoner, who luckily for us liael tie sense to take his apparatus'with him, and manufactured a quanity of this innocent iluid. He did a lucrative business—far more than he will do in frigid Siberia, should he be ba-.ish-el there. The evening meal was a preparation resembling porrielge. After two days spent here, the chief of the poliee arrived to remove me to St. Petersburgh, where I was interviewed by a number of imposing persons. They cross-examined me, wrote down my age, description, uamp, address in England, &c. At last the chief raiseel his heael, anel asked, ''Now, do yon know no one here?" "Not a. soul, expect yourself," I replied. " Have you a banker here?" "None," I replied again, adding that if banking wire conducted on the Cronitadt prison rate of exchange, I thought it lucky not to bank there. "Well, young man," he siiel, solemnly raising both hands and eyes, "God only knows who you are! You may be Tom, or Dick, »r any one you pl-ase." And very well Fatislied "with this lino sentence in he ordered me back to prison. How Ion" I might have stiyed there I elo not know, for the liu»sian police had evidently settled that I was a dangerous Nihilist; but it happened that an Knglisli sailor, who hail been imprisoned for some trivial fiult, expect'd to be relieveel from prison that day. And to him I told my story, begging him to mention me to the consul, and then run elown to the steamer and let them kt.ow I was in " durance vile." To his credit, let me Buy, ho did both gooel eleeds for me, nnel to his representations I chiefly ov.-o my release. Being shut up for lire days I had full leisure to look about me and observe my feilowprisoners. Tluy seemed chiefly of the student class, all respectable, fice-!ooking men, full of fun, though evidently looking forward to Siberia at the end of their iinp:isonmcnt. They chanteel the grace before rne-at to a fine swinging chant, not unmusically, and performed a series of genuflexions ' and crossings before the little picture in the cell with an ease that would have charmed the ; *ev».tec3 at St. Albans. One night two of them came into the cell, anel after solemnly shaking hands with me, fought Iremenelousy, pummelling one another till tireel out, while all I could do was to look on and cry " stop." At one o'clock on tho fifth day 1 I l.eard a great shouting, every one calling " Tho Eiiglifchman, the Englishman," and my fellow prisoners told me I was wauteel. It wag tlie secretary to Lord who kindly promised to tolegraph for full information to England, so as to procure my release; and on ■Thursday, 25th of August, 1 he returneel with full evidence that 1 was ! neither conspirator nor spy, and that I had ' deiigos on no one's life, iu consequence of 1 which satisfactory news, I was released, ■ anel elismissed to my steamer under escort, can ying with him a certificate command ingmc 1 to remiin ou board my ship, and not to land • on peril of my life, as the papers wero , full of descriptions of this terrible con--1 spirator. In consequence of which I had tho pleasure of npending a week in kicking my 1 heels idly on the deck of tho steamer, and reflecting on the enormity of shaving !"