ON THE WAY TO THE FRONT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 169, 23 December 1914, Page 6

ON THE WAY TO THE FRONT.

WITH THE RUSSIANS. | ] ... j EXPERIENCES OF A NEW ZEALANDER. J (Written for the Christchurch Sun by Lieutenant-Colonel 11. C. Barclay, M.D., Special Correspondent with the Russian Red Cross Service in Galicia) j Petrograd, September 20. Arriving at Petrograd, I took up my headquarters at tlie Hotel d'Angleterre, j in the Square of St. Isaac's. it seems it is called tho English Hotel because it is run by a German and ; there was extremely , little English about it. The German proprietor was promptly seized oil the declaration of war , and his new £BOO motor-car confiscated , for tho use of the Russian forces. His hotel narrowly escaped being wrecked by tho mob that tore down the statues of the Embassy opposite, sacked tho rooms of all their furniture, fine linen, silver, pictures, and grand piano, and burned them joyfully in the square. RUSSIAN HABITS. One of the three grandees who in turn (for a small consideration) swiug open the doors and solemnly salute or raise their liats as you walk in, knows a little English, and the head waiter can : understand with difficulty our Saxon i tongue, bufc with these exceptions tlie I hotel is as un-English as it can be. Though called an hotel, you merely '.take rooms and sleep there, and dine in i the restaurant or not as you choose. In Russia everyone dines out. If you invito guests, you select a restaurant somewhere else, e.g., lunch at the Astoria, dine at the Hotel Europe, and probably even take your cotfeo and roll , in tho morning at the Albert or the Bear. Having ordered dinner, you wait I half-an.hour for the first course, smoke i persistently for ten to 15 minutes between each course, and so the pleasant function lasts from 8 o'clock till 10 p.m. ! After that, under ordinary circumstances (that is, not in war time), you refresh • yourself with beverages and tobacco till j 11 p.m., and then start out to spend j the evening—say tho Bouff Gardens till I 12.30, then to the adjacent cafe chantant till 2 am., then a light little supI per at a fashionable cafe keeps things j pleasant till daylight, when it seetns I about time to go home. GLADNESS AND GOOD NATURE. [ The Russian takes life easily. He I doesn't talk commerce or money or dollars—at least not ostentatiously so; ! though, to give him his due, he spends 1 the latter like water when lie is in an entertaining mood, and nothing is cheap in Petrograd. Some very mild little dinners —the ordinary hotel meal (table d'hote) cost me 10s a head without wines 'or beer, and at Kief four of us officers paid, with the customary tips, lis a head for a three-course meal with coffee. Notwithstanding all we. have read, tho Russian is a democrat through and I through, lie even elects by popular vote his justices of trie peace. His military classes have no vote, and entrance to the. Civil Service of the country is by examination and merit only. As for j tiie people, they are huge (one notes it I after being in Japan), and their hearts 1 are built in proportion to their bodies, j brimful of gladness, and optimism, of good nature, charity, and politeness. | Their mirth seems to come from the mere joy of living; their hands are always in their pockets for something or i someone, and if you need to borrow, your friend never says you nay. If he has no money himself, he borrows from a friend who lias, and then lends you. 'The peasant has a keen sense, of justice and largely governs liini9elf by courts formed ' from his owii class. They arc indulgent to defendants, ' ' CONSIDERABLE JURIES. Lawyers are mere "hirelings," and a jury takes no notice of them. If you [ cannot find an excuse for your conduct, the jury will probably find it for i you; and if it conies to the worst they will find (as actually occurred) a ver- ; | diet, "Not Guilty, with extenuating circumstances." "Judge not that ye be be not judged is a fundamental Christian doctrine 1 which Russian juries daily carry out in practice. Another strange tiling is 1 that they always balance the crime with ; the punishment. "My object all sublime ' X (hall achieYo in time To make the punishment fit the crime, ' The punishment fit tho crime." 1 is not a Gilbertian joke with them. If f three years is the term of imprison- [ ment for arson, you will have no liopo of getting a man gaoled who burns your [ | house down. You will be able to build I a new house, and three, years is a very . I long timo to put a man in gaol; a; II in any case, why should a man's wife and

children be compelled to earn their own living, aye, even starve, while the bread- ■£': winner is in gaol? Well, I have known 'f persons in New Zealand who have been | influenced in their judgments by the same reasoning, though the oracular pro- ,e liouncemcnts from tlie bench recited a ;>■ numbor of other arguments for the a«- j| quittal of tho accused. j| s» THE DOWAGER EMPRESS. Arriving in Petrograd, after a tedious twenty-two days' journey from Japan, 1 was anxious to waste no time, but to get to the front. At that time no re. verses had befallen the French or English troops, and tin: idea of any commission leading to an apopintmeiit in England among the army, that was to be recruited had not occurred to me, and so I promptly offered myself as an army surgeon to the liiissiaus, and was accepted as a:i operating surgeon, though of the language 1 knew nothing. Still, if they were game enough to take me, I was game to go. During the ten days of waiting, I had some interesting, if not exciting personal experiences. I had the honor of being presented to the Empress—thai is, the Dowager-Empress, the mother of the present Czar. It was at one of the summer palaces on the island of the Neva on the borders of Pctrograd. After some formal introduction to a Princess and a lady of title the Empress came in. She was attired in black with a plain white collar and a J pearl necklace, her hair dressed in or. dinary English fashion. There was no difficulty at seeing at once the likeness to Queen Alexandra, whose sister she is, but she was not as tall nor as im- g pressive in appearance as I understand the late Queen of England to be. She was exceedingly gracious in maimer, and in speech, and spoke English like an Eng- a lisli lady would. Among other things she expressed her pleasure at seeing an Englishman with her troops, and when she spoke of the Anglo-Russian alliance, tho emotion behind the words was plainly risible to me. A TALISMAN. When I said that while with her countrymen I hoped to do my duty faithfully and well, she slipped a little present into my hand, saying. "Keep this for my sake, and may it protect you." Then her Majesty looked me very straight ill the face and paused—her eyes were noist—"Thank God for the Hnglisli Alliance," gkj said, and raising her hand to my lips, I ■ kissed it, bowed, and she passed out. It needed no observer to be aware of the feeling at the back of the words in themselves so simple. Needless to say, tho little gift was in the nature of an . amulet, a religious token to be worn • round the neck. Of her interest in my , reasons for being in Russia at the time, and of her questions about New : Zealand and Australia I need not write. The queries wore numerous and to tho • ipoint. I had a heavy morning that morning. Before driving to the palace, it so happened that I had an interesting experience of performing an operation in a private hospital with three Russian doctors as assistants and four Russian nurses, and not one of us being able to speak ten words of the other's lan. guage. It came about very simply. Au Englishman, representing a large Bnglish motor firm had been ill for some three months and lie. could get no satisfaction from liis Russian attendants. Friends of his requested me to see him. This I agreed to, and getting an interpreter I met the Russian doctor in consultation. I thought his attendant had done all lie could up to the present time, bull I advised surgical interference now, and the removal of a growth that would get no better by medical measures. Ihe Russian doctor explained that he was a physician and asked if I would operate. The patient wishing it, I agreed, and the folowing morning, being only spare hours kfore. 1 loft for the front, 1 had to be "up and doing" to leave time for the eventualities of a motor drive of half an hour, the risk of not landing at the right place, besides the risk of delays during an operation under unusual circumstances, and getting to the palace at the time appointed. Everything passed oil' well, and after 1 cigarettes and coffee and many handshakes and bows, I left tlu hospital with even higher opinions of the courtei" and kindness ol' tlie Russian, be lie euetor or peasant. »