SIDELIGHTS IN EUROPE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 10580, 8 October 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

SIDELIGHTS IN EUROPE.

ST. PETERSBURG:;

A ioieigner cannot gain admittance to Russia without having a passport or without that passport being vised by a Russian Consul. In .this ceremony at the Consulate m London I asked "TTill I have any .trouble m ?" Right there -the Deputy-Consul replied, "You will if you mi xup in poll- I tics." I assured him that nothing could bo fmther from my intention and that my few wo'rds~were but the beginning of the question, ""Will I have any trouble m finding a, good hotel in St. Petersburg?"' He said there was one very good hotel usually patronised by foreigners, and that it would., be wise -to telegraph from the frontier for acI commodation , - At the tounst office m Berlin 1 remarked it was my understanding that the Russian railways were of a different gauge and supposed that a change ot cais would bo necessarj. - The man behind the counter assured me tha't the tram de luxe runs thiough, and his statement is confirmed by the porter of.the hotel, who says that the wheels are .automatically adjustable upon the axles, and adapt themselves to either the Geiman gauge of 4ft. B+in. or the Russian gauge ot oft This appeals to me as a. bit of ingeiiuitj not i known in the United States and awakens'a. lively cunositj At the fioiitier, howevei. it develops that the onlj adjustment for passage fiom the Geimar> to the Russian rails is by adapting mj own feet to the walk of thnty yards or so fiom the German to the Russian train, m which a conesponding commitment has been reseived for me. Latei I learn that the Russian gauge was established at sft in accoidance with the piactice of tko United States, wheie the gauge of many ot _ 71 the cailv lailroads was oft When our "country adopted 4ft. BVin. as its standaid Russia did not change. It is well she did not, foi masters of tianspoitation in the United States ioiesee the time when our lailioads must be lebudt with a wider gauge It is not practicable to use either locomotives oi cais that aie higher, wider, or longer than the largest now in service, and thereloie sooner or later radical measuies w ill have to "be taken to move the it" ci easing tiaffic ot the futuie It is not difficult to get into Russia JGkcn piece of baggage has to be opened, and it is examined thoiouglUy but without mussing of the contents The officers speak English and aie politeness itself On registering at the hotel my passpoit is surrendered to be tiled m the office of the Inspectoi of Police until the time of depaitme, ot which forty-eight lioins'_ notice must bt given. ' , The hotel is of modern construction, the looms well furnished, clean, and comf oi table At halt-past 2 on this 17th day oi Decembei it is twilight, and at 4 o'clock quite daik. Outside the window is a mounted policeman,, a swoid hangs at his side and a line rests o\er his shouldei It would seem non. ,i walk thiough the streets that the pble-bcditd mop aie mostlj m soldieis unifoims. In the countnes of Western iMiiope the signs above the shops aie in Roman letteis, so that although the language may be u'ltamill.'i thej do not seem altogethei strange In Holland thcie is a diffeieuce, the pioxiiriity ot the 1 and J hawng a peculi.u effect, which passes as you leain that the combination is pionouncod as Y, and amye.it the deduction that the genesis of the lettei Y i s the slanting of the 1 mlo the J , but the Russian signs m the Russian characters have a pionouneed foieign fhuoi Theie aie the droshkvs just as in the pictures, With higharched -soke over the hoise's neck, the driver clad in fm cap and a coat with skirt girdled aicund his waist and ieach'mg quite to his ankles. Somcwheio I have lead that these drneis are extiaordmaiily polite to each othei, lifting their hat's as the-s pass This is another illusion. They tij to outdo each other to secuie a passengei, just as other cabmen do, and as the> bowl along keep up an incessant -selling to clear the wa> At night then pations aie laigely officeis in resplendent uniforms, I finally surmised, majbe wionglj, tliat the% weie making lounds of inspection of the citj Although in this week befoie Chusdtmas it is not veil cold, ceitamlj not below 20 dogiees Fain c-nheit, the wearing bv the men ot fui caps and fur coats is quite geneial. This makes the lobby of the hotel look something like a bear den The dinmg-i oom of the hotel is a gieat white arch The floor is covered I with a blazing red caipet; on the tables 1 are large lamps with gi eat shades that are alternately of flaming red and flaming yellow The two or thiee head waiters are in e\enmg diess that is conventional for waiteis and gentlemen; the side waiteis and.the omnibus bojs wear blight red coats At the tables aie heav\ black-ejed women and officers m gorgeous unifoims. all smoking cigaiettes and drinking coffee fiom the glass braziers in w Inch It boils in front oi them. A veiy good orchestia is placing Tschaikowskvlike things with baibane rlnthm and gypsi tang. Many of the under waiteis have large faces of a dark copper tinge, with laige appealing eyes, and they are very deliberate in movement. I asked a head waiter, who says they are "Ta tas," which he pronounces just as the Americanisms that mean "good-bj for a little while," and he tells me that thev aie sought as waiteis because although usually somewhat stupid thev are thoi oughly honest. "What a revelation' My idea of a Tartar was of a wiry and ferocious individual better suited for slaughtering cattle than serving their filets, but these "Ta tas" are plump ana mild. Maybe they aie a domesticated variety. I ask for a cigar Now at a hotel in America a waiter ma\ bung the exact liumbci of cigars of the biand requested, he may bring a tiay of many compartments hlled with different kinds of cigars, fiom which selection maj be made; or, as at one or two of the sw agger hotels in New York, an jbommably big glass case filled with different varieties, each leceptacle bearing a price la-bel,-is wheeled to jour chair. In Germany a waiter brings an armful of cigars m the original boxes, which he flaps open on the table with marvellous dextentj. At this liotel m St. Peteisburg the manager of -the dming room, a hardsome man with lustrous brown eyes and neatly, pointed &oft blown beard in immaculate evening attire, appioacbes with, an engaging blending of cordiality and deference He opens, a large mbrocco case m which are two oithree cigars each of choice brands and extends it with the air of one gentleman offeiing a cigar to another, but the weed turns up in the bill. The "Fancy Talcs" -that retail at 40 cents each on New York are charged' to your account at 75 cents each in this hotel m St. Petersburg." 'A day or two later i this charming manager confides to me that the'cigar trade of the hoteL is his "benefice."

When I buy cigars at a tobacconist's there comes a glimmer of understanding of the procedure of the courteous majordomo of the dining room. The Russian Government exacts- a tax'upon each sale, no matter how trifling. , Open boxes are not kept in a case from which one or tn.o cigars can be purchased. Cigars are done up in boxes of 100, of fifty, of twenty-five, of ten, of five, of three, of two, each bearing the proper excise stamp The smaller packages are of pasteboard with an isinglass top, to permit the inspection of the contents. I knew no French and the tobacconist

no English, but it soon developed that .most"of them knew German. Speaking generally, English and German, are the business languages of the Continent. The reflection that I was under no compulsion to leant the Russian language was a frequent source of satisfaction.