empnu- THE SCRANTON TRTBUNE-SATU11DA.Y MORNING, MAY 8, 180T. 11 A Summer JoMiraey from New York to Moscow., Odessa, the Crimea, and - the Southern Aspects of the Caucasus. Hon. Charles A. Dana, In the Hun. Our ship had Rcnrccly been fastened to the wharf at Odessa when a ttusslan ofllcer came on board and Informed mo that orders had been Riven that our luggage was not to be subjected to Custom House examination, and, upon my Inquiring the source of such politeness, I was told that It was done at ho Instance of Dr. Thomas E. Heenan. an old friend of ours, who for several years has been Consul of the United States at that iort. Dr. Heenan appears to bo a persona grata, not merely with the Americans, Eng Hsli, French, and other foreigners at Odessa, but with the Russian officials and Russian society as well. Ho soon nfterwnrd came on board In person, and was most warmly welcomed. He Informed us also of on amusing occur- . s 'Oft & K r$m NICHOLAS II. rence that had taken place an hour or two before, which we found afterward exploited at length and with a good deal of wit In the Odessa Vaestnlk. The police hud been Informed that when our party arrived It would be their duty not only to receive us with marks of courtesy, but to escort us and our Impedimenta to the hotel where lodgings bad been secured for us. A Russian steamer had arrived pretty early In the morning, nnd the police officers Inquired If there were any Americans among the passengers. Two gentlemen answering the de scription were found, and, without further Inquiry, they were informed that they were expected that their trunks were to be passed unopened, and that the olllcers would at once conduct hem to their lodgings. Sur prised but not displeased by this In telligence, the two gentlemen, both of them met chants of some description hailing from Boston, immediately started for the hotel, but, on arriving there, they declared that the rooms to which they were shown could not be Intended for two persons only, and so the mistake was found out. Thus the Vaestnlk had a chance to laugh at the police, on account of this blunder, and the rare opportunity was well Im proved. ODESSA. Odessa is Indeed a very charming city boasting some tfoO.OOO inhabitants. Spread out over an elevated and rather Irregular surface. It fronts the sea with a bluff perhaps seventy feet In height. Along the outer border of this bluff is n neat little park called a boulevard, much frequented by ladles and chil dren. The streets are wide, the public buildings many of them very hand some, the private houses spacious and elegant. We spent a part of three or four afternoons at the athletic grounds furnished by the city, where, cricket Is played mainly by foreigners and lawn tennis cultivated by clubs of ladies and gentlemen. It was als. our good for tune to nttend a cilebratlnn In the ca thedral on the dny of the new em peror's coronation in Moscow. The singing was magnificent, as I have al most always found It In Russian Or thodox churches, though the choir con sists of male voices alone and no In struments are allowed. A review In the adjoining public square following after tho "Te Deum" In the church.was quite Impressive, both for the martial appearance of the soldiers and the pre cision of their movements. Lieutenant General Zelony. the political governor and military commander of the pro vince, received us with extreme era ciousness, recalling the time when, as a subordinate ofllcer, he had visited New York with the Russian licet to ward the close of the civil war. Leaving Odessa at about three in the afternoon by u Russian shin and we are bound to say that these shins are elegant, comfortable, and satisfactory we went directly to Sevastopol, land ing In that famous seaport of thr Crimea before noon the next day. The entrance Into the Inner harbor Is broad and without any obstacle, and the city which was destroyed in the Crimean war of 1851 now shows no scars of that calamity, but stretches out along its ridges and sunny slopes In a wiiy most attractive and hospitable. Like the hotels of Russia In general, those of Sevastopol are spacious, clean and In every way agreeable, nnd the drives around the town are picturesque o;ul pleaslnr, quite apart from their Inter est as memorable scenes In modern his tory. In this latter respect, however, It is not too much to say that there Is scarcely another pluce in Europe which can vie with this corner of the Crimea. The Malakoff, the Redan, the Maine Ion, the vast Held on the southeast that slopes toward , Balaklava. the monu ments that mark the charge of the Light Brigade, the cemeteries of the English, tho French, the Italians, and the Russian defenders of the lace, perhaps the most gallant of all, and Balaklava Itself, with Its wonderful harbor, whose entrance is so narrow that two ships cannot navigate It to gether, absorb the mind with memories of that tremendous struggle, at once one of tho most heroic and most use less wars of modern times; useless be cause It has left no permanent fruits, and the questions they fought about then are essentially the same ns those which still confront tho contending powers, THE CRIMEA. The Immense historical Interest of the Crimea has combined with a cer tain comparative Inaccessibility to pre . vent ho universal recognition of Its extraordinary natural beauty and at tractiveness as a semi-tropical region t quite near to the Caucasus. But It was not until we had finished with tho sights and the memories of Sevastopol and Balaklava that we came to appre ciate the strungo charm of tho Crimea and the delight It ha3 In store for trav cAra woh are not too much In a hurry. $liS& Startlng In the morning from Sevas topol and driving with one or two changes of horses, wo traversed the southern projection of the peninsula, and ut nbout 2 o'clock In the afternoon passed through the Gates Cif Haldar, as the passage through the Inlla Moun tains Is called, and looked down upon one of the noblest spectacles In the world. Immediately before us lay the bounuless sen, the shore rocky nnd broken, with villages, churches, castles nnd little seaports, ull made accessible by the great road cut into the moun tain side here and there, and then built out upon walls over some abyss or val ley below, alone enough to make the name of Prince Worontzoff forever meorable In all southeastern Russln. Tho vegetation on the mountain slopes toward the sea' is wonderfully i wi STEPHEN J. FIELD. varied and Interesting. The prevailing trees arc oak and beeches, with ulnlon pines, cypresses, myrtles, mulberry trees, and occasionally llg trees min gled among them. I was greatly im pressed by a kind of dwarf beech which I had never seen in any other sv'lvu, nnd of which we passed that day hun dreds of specimens. It often lay stretched out almost Hat upon the ground, nnd again where the soil ard the exposure were favorable, It would assume a form of perfect regularity and rise to the height of six or eight feet. The leaves ure exceedingly small and lustrous, making It a very decorative plant. It seems surprising that botan ists have never brought It out to th? knowledge of the world, and made It available for general cultivation. Of the wild azaleas that we saw growing In the Crimea, and the Caucasus too, I am bound to add that they were rather poor and disappointing. Those of Pike county ore ten times finer. YALTA About 5 o'clock we reached Yaltn, an agreeable watering place wit i hotels, bath-houses, and other amusements, and perhaps 1,500 regular inhabitants. We stayed there three or four days, and one of our most Interesting excursions was to Livadln, a country seat of vast extent belonging to the Czar. Getting permission from the commander of the guard, at the entrance, we spent a large part of a day In visiting it. There are several extensive dwellings, all simple and convenient, not furnished with any great magnificence, but suf ficient for every requirement of com fort. In one bedroom of the Imperial chateau we saw insertc-u In the uar quetted floor a small cross of wod, marking the spot where the late em peror Alexander III. hud died sitting In ..Is chair. We went through the greenhouses, finding them large, filled with many Interesting yet not extraordinary plants, especially palms, but not oth erwise remarkable. It was like the col lection of a millionaire, with no un usual taste and no extensive know ledge of botany or of the marvels of modern culture. The collection of orchids seemed peculiarly limited. The roads through the forest, which cov ers much of the estate, are perfectly good, but nothing more. There seemed for Instance, to be a scarcity of vitas taking advantage of the opportunity of looking out upon the adjoining sea. It was a ease of magnitude, but not of high art. There are several other famous es tates In the vicinity, one or two of them belonging to members of the im perial family, but we did not attempt to visit them; and finally, having ex hausted the interest of the shops in Yalta, and that Is saying a good deal, we left tho Crimea and its delightful climate one pelasunt evening on a most excellent Russian ship, whose final destination was Batoum, the last Russian port at he eastern extremity of the Black Sea. On the way we stopped first at Kertch, the ancient Pantlcapoeum at the Straits of Ienlkale and the Sea of Azoff. It Is a very pleasant place, with thirty odd thousand inhabitants and an Important trade, especially In salt. The most Interesting object hero Is the so-called tomb of Mlthrldates VII., or Mlthrldates the Great, next to Han nibal perhaps the most energetic and irreconcilable foe of ancient Rome, His tomb is a rather rococo structure on tho summit of a hill which over looks the city nnd the harbor. Exca vations from the mounds about It, and elsewhere near the city, have contributed to the Imperial Museum In St. Petersburg and to the British Museum In London a quantity of gold ornaments which compel atten tion even among the manifold treas ures of those rich and most Inslrus tlve collections on antiquities. The shure of the British Museum, was sent there by Major Westmacott of the British army, after the allies had cap tured Kertch In 1853, during tho oper ations of tho Crimean war. BOGUS RELICS. Wo were able to drive nearly to the sumlt of tho hill and to examine close ly tho ancient tomb. We found, how ever, that tho territory surrounding It was still frequented by a number of amateur explorers, who, with long Iron hooks, poke 'in tho gravel to find an tiquities that have escaped previous efforts', From one of these I bought for a few kopecks three or four little terra cott. Imaees, which, the seller assured me h'ad been dug 6ut on tho spot; but, .on careful examination, I found that they had been made In Italy for sale as specimens of prehistoric art, We also visited tho museum In one of the streets near the water, but saw there nothing very Impressive, the real ly valuable articles having long slnco been taken away. But the view from the summit of tho hill was superb, and we greatly enjoyed our afternoon's m wlJtTw'PIl stroll around tho old tomb and down .through th'o streets of tho town. Wo saw plenty of Bhops for the sale of an tiquities, ns well provided with Imlta tltlons of modern manufacture; but it was Impossible to gaze from the sum mit of tho hill over tho vast country to the north and west without longing to break Into some of the many large kourgans, nr burial mounds of regular conical form, which dot tho lnndscauo in almost every direction. I mentioned this to an expert upon our steamer, and ho agreed with' me as to the desire, but added that experi ence shows that where it is gratlllcd the effort almost always results In dis appointment. Most of these mounds, he said, arc merely the graves of noted Individuals of prehistoric times. In the centre of tho large ones Is usually found a skeleton horse standing with a skeleton man on his bock. This was a lavorllo mode of burial for the obi Cimmerian chieftains, and very rarely, almost never in fact, are ornaments of precious metuls found among the relics; while tho remains of pottery are usually of no value and of quite trilling Interest. We left tho roadstead of Kertch bo fore sundown, und tho next morning found ourselves nt Novo Rossllsk, a noble harbor, with every point on tho shores bearing evidence of the lm- MEH AW s a .Mk r ?$ l K ,NV".'I 9J) friKA. .vm? f ,1 n . 'VJH.1 ..MT'.VW a. ,oi.y v i.ww. irwms. J MT.. .Jn. si . irwjo o UtAiil l.l JdBUi .'M1 k' 'IT N.- COLONEL ALFRED S. BUCK. THE HON. mense manufacturing and commercial activity which marks the business towns of modern Russia. A railway leads hence northwardly to Rostoy on the Don. New buildings seem to be going forward everywhere, and the pe troleum trafllc, which has covered tho whole southwestern shore of the Cau casian country with a series of the busiest places In the world, was evi dently In full operation here. But our hope of seeing the great summits of the Caucasus was foiled. Both Elbruz nnd Kasbek were veiled by clouds, and so they remained during th'e whole day. ANCIENT PHASIS. Our next stopping place was at Souk houmkale, and tho next at Potl, at the mouth of the river lllon, likewise a pluce of extreme activity, with a branch of the Trans-Caucasian railway ex tending as. far as Kutals, on the way to TIllls and the Caspian. The Rlon Is (he ancient Phasls, and hither th'o Argonauts came seeking the Golden Fleece, nnd hence they returned after they had got It. . The low lying, malar ious looking shores and the turbulent river, swollen to enormous extent by the spring freshets from the mountains Justified the description of the poet: "Ho passed tho sea, And reached a liver opening Into it, Across the which tho wiilto-wlnged fowl did flit From elite to cliff, ami on the sandy bar The fresh waves and tho salt waves were at war At turnlnu of the tide." Now swift beneath the, oar strokes Argo Hew, While the sun rose behind them, anil they drew I'nto the liver's mouth, nor fulled to see Absyrtus' galley waiting watehlully Betwixt them and the whlte-tlpped turbid bur. Therefore they EOt them ready now for war With Joyful hearts, for sarp they sniffed the sea And saw tho great waves tumbling green and fren Outside the bar upon the way to Greece. Tho rough grcer way to glory anil sweet peace. But Jason, roaring as tho lioness When round her helpless whelps tho hunt. ers press. Whirled round his read his mighty brass bound spear That, flying, smote the Prince beneath the car, As Areas't, arrow sunk Into his side. Then, failles, scare he met the. rushing tldo Ero Argo's mighty prow had thrust apart Tho huddled oars, and through the fair ship's heart Had thrust her Iron beak, and tho green wave Rushed In, as rush tho waters through a cayo That tunnels half a iea-glrt lonely rock. Then, drawing swiftly backward from tho shock, And heeding not the cries of fear and woe, They left tho waters dealing with their foe; And at the following ship through back a shout And seaward o'er the bar drove Argo out, The gray sky nnd the heavy mists hiding the mountain tops, and even obscuring the mighty forests of their slopes, were all sufllciently In harmony with these classical fancies of the ancient world; but the pervading odor of petroleum and the rush of business around the shores had nothing poetical or beautiful In their suggestions; and we were not sorry when our anchor was pulled up, and the Colchlan hills behind us grew faint and fainter as our ship pushed southward toward Bat oum. BATOUM. Wc arrived there in good season the next morning, and our steamer passed witihn the great Jetty which protects the harbor on the west. The anchor age Is extensive and perfectly safe, with an adequate depth of water, but tls? place is said to be unwholesome, owing to the marshy nature of the country for a conslderabel distance In land. The town Is fortified, and a considerable garrison seems to be kept there. We saw on all sides the same Indication of active business, and smelled the tame vivid odor of petrol cum, which wo had observed at the other, ports looking eastward toward the great mountains and the Caspian. Wo soon had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. James C. Chambers, consul of the United States, to whom, as well aa to Mr. Stevens tho British vice consul, wo were indebted for many acts of- courtesy during our brief sojourn In the town. Batoum Is entirely n modern city In Its appearance and arrangements, but all visitors are taken to visit theZamok or ruined chateau of Queen Thamara, Its remains occupy the summit of n moderat outside the town and about two miles from its centre. This queen appears to have been a lady of con siderable Importance, and Mr, Fresh fleld speaks of her with porno enthus iasm. "Queen Thamara," he says, "the Charlemange of tho Caucasian lath- mus, nt the close of tho twelfth cen tury spread Christianity among the Ossetcs and dotted their heights with churches." However that may have ben, wo found on the beautiful fresh turf which surrounds the fallen towers of her old castle, In the shade of the big trees, a most agreeable place for luncheon, tlut our desire to start for tho Interior prevailed over every other attraction, it was still early In the afternoon when we took our places In the train for TIllls, the mountain rail way over which we were to travel hav ing at last been repaired, so that thera was a prospect of getting through to tho Georgian capital, though there had been no communication with it by train for a month or more. Wo had scarcely got out of sight of Batoum when tho clouds that lvad so long concealed the mountains disap peared, and we saw quite distinctly tho long range extending apparently from west to east, Elbruz, with Its double summits on tho west, and In the cast Kasbek, a marvel of beauty, worthy even to rival tho solemn ap parition of the Juncfrau, as one may behold It at sunrise from Interlachon. Rut Kasbek, If somewhat Inferior In grandeur, is the more beautiful of tho two, rising in a symmetrical though slender pyramid, as wo now saw it at a distance of perhaps seventy-live OF PROMINENCE. MtkM JAMES B. ANGELL, miles; and though I do not like to compare the Caucasus with the Alps, having seen the Alps frequently and from many points of observation, while of the Caucasus I have only had one or two satisfactory visions nnd these rather too distant, yet I will confident ly advise any enterprising person of leslure to pack his trunk at once and start for this wonder of the world in eastern Europe. My sober Judgment Is that, of all the great mountain dis plays, there cannot be any more noble, more beautiful, or more lmprcslve than theae little known groups of tho Cau casus. But on this subject let us pause for a moment, and listen to the great poet of Russia: Caucasus below me! Alone on the height I stand abovo tho snows, on tho brink of these awful steps. An eagle rising from a distant summit Floats Immovably on a level with me. Hero I behold tho birth of rivers And tho first moving of the tc-rlblo ava lanches. Hero tho clouds hover quietly beneath me; Through them I hear the roaring water falls; And seo the naked hugeness of the rocks; Lower dewn the thlri mosbcs, the dry shrubs; And there also tho green shades of tho forests, Whcro tho lirds chatter, where the tlecr leap. There also men build nests In tho moun tains And tho sheep crawl over the grassy declivities, And the shepherd climbs down Into tho pleasant valleys Where tho Aragva rushes against tho shaded shoie. And the poor horseman hides himself In somn crevice. There the beautiful Torek with fury Plays and roars, like a young wild berst Struggling with hunger to escape his Iron cage ; ' And ho rushes against the banks, with useless ragins. And licks the rocks with hungry wave. In vain! There Is no food for him, no conso!it-on, And tho dtmb crags compress him ter ribly. TIJE MONASTERV ON KASBEK. Hlfih over the family of mountains, Kasbek, thy Imperial tent Gleams with eternal splendors. Thy monastery behind the clouds. Like a shrine descending from heaven, Floats, scarcely visible, abovo tho bura- mlts. Oh, distant, longed-for shore, There, bidding farewell to all below, Let me ilse to supreme freedom! There In a cc-1!, cloud-enveloped llldo me in the neighborhood of God! On our way to TIflls we passed with out much delay over the place where the railway had Just been restored, and arrived at our destination before D o'clock in the evening. Yet the next Tlay the rails were broken again, and during tho week that wo remained in TIllls there wns not a day when n train could be sent to Baku on the Caspian; and thus wo were constrained to s-lve up the Idea of making a Visit to Cen tral Asia and t - the old ci.y of Tamer lane. " ' CIIANOICI) HIS MINI). "I want to get a good suit, of clothes made to order," ho said to tho tailor. "I never had a suit of clothes made to order, and my wife thinks It's time that I put on a little style. "Certainly," was the reply, "you can look over the stock and make'your sclcc tlon. And 'hero is a picture showing the styles. You can make your choice from that, us to how you will have the cult made." Tho visitor gazed at the picture, and laying It down with a sigh turned towarJs. the door, "You're not going, arc you?" said tho tullor. "Ves. I hate to disappoint my wife and to see you loso a customer. But I guess I'm happier ns I nm. I'm not vain, but if this suit of clothes Is going to make me look llko a stiff-kneed, wooden-elbowed graven Imago with glass eyes and a fulse mustache, I'm going to go without It." Washington Stat. NON-COMMITTAL. Jim's a cur'us sort o' feller; Scolds a ter'ble heap; Been u-worryln' 'bout tho tariff TeU ho couldn't sleep. When I ask him how tho taxes Takes effect on him, Then his eloquenco collapses "I dunno," soys Jim, Talks about the war in Europe, And of tyrant foes; Says "Hurrah" fur lots cV poopla Thet nobody knows. When I atk him whut's tho reason Fur his war-like trim: Whut's tho actual cause fur Ilghtln' "I dunno," says Jim, That's tho kind of occupation Seems ter suit him best; Frets 'bout things thet don't concern him; Never takes no ret. When I ask him ef his Income Wouldn't be less slim Ef he'd stick ter his own troubles-. "I dunno," says Jim. Washington Star. SENATOR HOAR. Farewell Glimpses At flodero ilexScOo How Sunday Is Observed at the Mexican Capital--Growth of Evangelical Missions. Some Disappointments General Observations. Thco. Hart, In I'lttston Gazette. As tho last day of our sojourn In the city of Mexico was Sunday, It gave an opportunity to sco how our neighbors over the Rio Grande observe the Sab bath. The appearance of the principal streets of the city was little unlike that of other days. Here und there a place of business was closed, but for the most part, during the afternoon, all lines of trade were proceeding as usual, end not a few stores wire open it II day. The scene nbout tho Zoenlo or Plaza Mayor was unusually busy. The (lower market adjoining tho great Cathedral was a most attractive place, Sunday being always an especially GENERAL NELSON A. good day for business. Here ure found the choicest (lowers grown In the val ley, orchids and roses of nil varieties being abundant and very cheap. Or chids that sell in the American market for a dollar apiece can be bought for a few cents, and two or three Mexican dimes buy nil the flowers that one can conveniently carry. Along a foul smelling ditch on the outskirts of the city I observed calln llllles In bloom on plants growing In a sort of neglected way as we common ly see wild rosea by the wayside at home. And I am here lemlded of an Incident during our stay in Guanajua to, while on a street car excursion through the portion of the city In which the finest re&ldences are located. Flow ers were growing In abundance In many of the front yards and patios. A well dressed young man standing at on of the gates, upon hearing the ladles' remarks or observing their ad miring glances at tho flowers, plucked the lovely magenta blossoms by the armful and distributed them to the ex cursionists in the several cars. The re cipients of the polite young Mexican's favors were as much delighted as they were surprised by the generous act. But I am digressing. MISSION WORK. Many of our excursion party attend ed the Sunday morning services at the Methodist Episcopal mission. They own and occupy a valuable property In the heart of the city which was for merly a portion of the convent of San Francisco, nnd four hundred years ago was the site of Montezuma's summer palace. Here are ample quarters for the various departments of their mis sion work a large auditorium for church meetings, also a chapel, rooms for th'e boys' school, the editorial and publishing work, a book store-, the agents' olllce and three parsonages. Rev. John W. Hutfer, D. D., Is In charge of this district, which extends over a large section adjacent to the city. While several of the other evangelical churches of the United States have had misslonaiies In Mexico during the past quarter of a century, it Is a singular fact that no European has ever been engaged in tho work there. The Bap tists have a church with over 250 mem bers in the city of Mexico, of which Rev. William H. Sloan is pa.itor. They have n fine chapel and the mission Is one of the- most prosperous in the country, havlncr three out stations at suburban points. They publish a semi monthly newspaper, La Luz. The Bap tists also have valunblc properties at SSucateeas and Aguascallentes and nave workers) stationed In a dozen or more other places. There Is an Episcopal church in the city of Mexico, and the English end American colludes main tain regular services at this place of worship. I have heretofore spoken of the successful missions In Guanajuato. There are now Protestant congrega tions In nearly all of the twenty-eight states of the republic, the whole num ber exceeding COO, and new ones are multiplying throughout the country. The number of such communicants is reported to be about 18,000, with ad herents numbering about 50,000. Con nected with these churches ure Sunday schools having an attendance of somo 10,000 nnd day schools with 7,000 pupils, The?e results have been, largely accom plished within a quaiter of a century. SUNDAY AMUSEMENTS. Many things have tended to make the Mexican Sunday much like this continental Sabbath'. Of the varied Sunday attractions In the capital city the bull rings and other sporting re forts, the public band concerts on the plazas, the gaieties of the fashionable ! promenades and the throng of pleasure i seekers to bo seen on the magnificent boulevard, the Pasco do la Reformu, crowded with carriages all tho after noon, I have heretofore written. That our sight seelns; in the city of Mexico would have to be done in a very hasty and unsatisfactory manner, ow Ing to the limited time at our disposal, we understood at the outset, and our experiences in the other places visited were much the same. No ono would think of "doing" a city of fifty to seventy-five thousand nopulution In a few hours, with so many rarities nnd points of interest to be seen ns are presented in the places at which wo halted on th'e outward Journey, and so, even with our brief stops on the way, wo expected little more than tho bird's-eye view afforded from our car windows on eith er side of the railroad tracks, hurriedly traveling a dlstanco of nearly 1,100 lUlleg, as we did, from the Rio Urande. over the elevated table lanijs of the country to tho capital of the republic. There, we were told, we would see all Mexico as In a nutshell, While we saw much there, and enjoyed It to the ut most, wo confess that we shared tho feeling expressed by many after mak ing reasonable allowance for impos slbtlitlcs, and the disadvantages incl- if - wyi) dent to travel In a foreign land with no knowledge of the language of the peo plea feeling of disappointment, as we turned our facei homeward, that we were compelled to make, to super ficial and Incomplete a survey of the wonderful city of Mexico and Its sur roundings. While the city Is very compact, a population of half a million necessarily covers considerable ground, and among the most interesting places to strangers are sorao of the historic points a short distance outside of tho city. Wo felt. Indeed, that ours had been little more than n prospective tour, and that If we could return, and have at least a 5) p.-ThVi si. WMk JLy ?i.v' MILES. ANDREW D. WHITE. month at our disposal, we would know Just how to put In the time delightfully and profitably. Our train made good time on the wny home. Leaving the city of Mexico Sun day night, wo crossed the Rio Grande border Tuesday night and were landed In St. Louis Friday morning. Had It not been for some delay on account of railroad washouts In the vicinity of St. Louis we could have made the homo run nicely withlng six days, the sched ule time between the city ol Mexico and Now York. ' We got through on the reventh day, notwithstanding the delays. It tuoU our mail matter from home- seven days to reach us at tho Mexican apltal. ZACATECASi As wo passed through the city of Zacatecas during the night on the out ward trip, a stop of a few hours was made there on the way northward. This place was founded In 154S. It Is the capital of the state of the same name, and has had a population of nearly ino.000, but owing to the dullness In silver mining many have left the city. It has an altitude of over 8,000 feet. The city Is compactly built on n billy eminence, the streets running up and down very Irregular. Altogether It was one of th'e most unique places we visited. There arc veneinblc and richly furnished churches here but the greatest attraction In this line Is the magnltlcccnt church at Guadalupe, a mining suburb, blx miles distant, vyhlch Is reached by street cars.. An orphan asylum at this place, in which' are over a thousand children, was formerly a convent building. Zacatecas has been one of the most Important silver min ing towns In the country, its shafts and tunnels having been operated over 350 years. Tin: value of the precious metal taken from thee mines Is esti mated at $1,000,000,000. The long droughts are a great drawback to this section, no rain's having fallen In some locullties for five years.. The same wretched sights with which wc became familiar on the outvvard run at the stations and towns where stops were made, were again presented to view on our return. Theiv were the poor peons In clusters of little dingy adobe huts, In many cases away out on the barren doscrt feo far from any sign of vegetntion other than sage brush and cactus that one must won der how they exist there. That they burely existed was too apparent. Fre quently In front of the hut, wo saw the woman of the house making tortil las grinding corn on u stone tray with a stono roller, wetting up the meal and baking It over a little wood lire JusL as nor Indian ancestors had done cen Uirlps before. About the lalhvay sta tion and all through the larger places there wore beggars Innumerable, of all ages and conditions, each pleading pit fully for a "centavo." The climate, of course, favord their scanty dress, but often were met boys without shirts and women with' very little covering. The latic-r frequently carried small children, and 1 recall ono with a small babe in his arms who held out Its ti. y hands for alms. Thus It is this class come up, begging from the cradle to the grave. A crowd of Mexicans presents an odd appearance to a stranger there, as otiu looks upon a multitude of their steeple topped hats. The poor class require but little money to piovldo a suit ol clothes. I should say fifty cents would be a good average price, barring the sombrero, which may cost anywhere from fifty cents to two hundred dollars. Nearly all wear tho primitive sandals strapped over the leet or go barefooted. The women usually wear a colored cot ton or black lace garment wrapped about the head, If they do not go bare headed. Muny of them look quite pret ty In handsome black mantillus grace fully worn over the head. The better class In the cities, both men and wo men, quite commonly wear he Ameri can style of dress. Tho typical Mexi can, however, in tislit trousers with rows of silver buttons up the seams of the legs, and a complete outfit to cor respond, Is a decidedly "stagey" ap pearing personage. THE BURRO. The burra Is one of the "Institutions" of Mexico everywhere In evidence, and tho patient, hard-working little beast seems almost indispenslble. They are aa plentiful as cast!, and apparently as, prolific and Irrepressible. Tho loads they carry on their backs are simply astonishing. One sees no wheeled vehicles In use anywhere for carting purposes. The burros even transport the silver ore In sacks from tho mines to the reduction works. It Is equally wonderful to eco what burdens the common laborers will carry on their backs, In the cities ono of these peons muy occasionally bo seen trudging along alone, cairylng a coflln to the gravo on his back. Those who are ablo to hire funeral cars use these, which are provided by the street car com panies, either with or without an extra . WW r' "JH, car for their friends. Tho cargadores In tho cities are men and boys licensed to carry baggage or parcels. They nro ubiquitous fellows, too. On arriving nt Our hotel, in the city of Mexico, as our party of four stepped from the car riage n squad of cargadores took our grips and carried them Into tho hotel olllce. We supposed, of course, th'at they wcro waiters connected with the hostclr, but were soon made awara of our mistake when they demanded fees for the service rendered. They ore alwiiyh on the lookout for a Job, and expect pay for anything done, however trllllnz. Roilroade.ts are the best paid class In Mexico, and these are largely men from the United Stales. Most of the native mechanics woi k very cheap, 5flc to "Co a day In depressed silver worth' only half that amount in American currency being the average wages. An American connected with a print ing house In tho city of Mexico told mo that Job work was done there for leas money In their currency than is paid In our money In America, but much of the work done Is very Inferior. PULQUE. Most visitors to Mexico desire to taste the pulque, their national bever age, which Is the fermented Juice of th'a maguey plant. Pulque more than ono WJ III GENERAL WILLIAM F, DRAPER. day old Is not considered good. The prime article tastes as one would fansy a combination of buttermilk and yeast might taste. I heard of none of our party who cared to do more than sample It. The natlvps. however, drink It freely, nnd although many aro wretched victims of drinking It to ex cess, for It will Intoxicate, we were told that It Is quite common for persons to drink a quart regularly with a meal. Maguey plantations are cultivated on a large scale, the liber of th'e plant be ing also utilized for many purposes. Tequila and mescal are disinflation from dlffc-ient varieties of the maguey, the- heart of the plant being roasted before it Is distilled. These liquors are heavy and for the meat part vile. It Is said that a very small quantity of mes cal has been known to cause a largo sl7cd revolution in days gone by. Ours was a happy party, with our feet once more on American soil, oven though still 2,000 miles from home In distant Texas. The writer here re called the fact that a little more than twenty-six years ago ho rode Into the State capital of the Lone Star state on the first railroad train tfiat entered the city and for some time afterward there was no rail commun ication between Texas and "tho states," as the North and East were commonly spoken of. At that time there was no railroad to Mexico nor was there one In the country, and In many respects tho land beyond the Rio Grande was as "way back" as the. time of the Pharaohs. Indeed, Mexico was comparatively an unknown coun try to tho outside world. Tho rail roads have done great things for Texas In n quarter of a century, as they have for all of our great West, and to them .also, is mainly due tho wonderful development of Mexico's marvellous resources. Her forty dif ferent railroad lines, with 7,0Wi miles of track, must certainly bo reckoned as a mighty factor in promoting the changed conditions there. That th genius and rare executive ability uf President Diaz, who will have servi-d a period of twenty years when he completes his present term, have also been essentially potent in the ad vancement of our neighboring republic-, Is generally understood, und bis record as a soldier and statesman Justly entitles him to the honor uf being culled the creator of Modern Mexico. The wife of the president Is a lady of raro beauty anil accomplish ments. She was educated in Amerba and speaks English and French as tlu ently ns her native tongue. THE FUTURE. A recent writer has well said that Mexico and her ruler are to be congrat ulated upon having a government which' governs, and contemp.iraneouH ly, a people which has learned to lie luled. The brigand Is an unpleasant memory and one may now travel safely anywhere. There i.s no hamlet of a hunelreil Indians that is without its free public schools, and free night schools are provided for the working classes. These are conducted on a uniform system, being under the direct charge of th'e goneial government. There are normal schools in every state endowed by the government, be sides many industrial and technical schools, also private schools of high standing. Teaching of religion In the free schools Is prohibited, nnd in no country are chuich and state so abso lutely divorced, notwithstanding the president Is a Roman Catholic nnd the, people practically a unit In that faith. In every public school above the prim ary grade, every pilvato school, train ing school and college the study of English Is compulsory. Diaz is said to have remarked, In dlscu.sslnz this feature of their schools, that he expect to give the next generation of Mexicans two Idiomatic languages. The patriots of the American revo lution who led the way In the struggle for government by the people wera doubtless the chief Inspiration of sim ilar movements in Mexico, Central and South America, and although the mix ed races descended from the Spaniards and aborigines have made slow prog ress in working out tho problems of self government, there boa been tome ad vance; and the rapid strides now bclnif made by our Mexican neighbors, with their population of thirteen millions, must liavo a favorable influence upon th'e republics to the south of them, whose population Is peibups tixty mil lions more. Some years before Cortcz made his first conquest of tho land of the Artccs, another bold Spaniard, Bal boa, hud lauded on the Isthmus to tho southward. A he first looked out upon tho waters of the great Pacific, from the green clad hills of Panama, it Is said that tho explorer hurried down to the sr-a, and kneeling in the surf, dedi cated tho American continents, In tho name of God und his king, to Christian ity and civilization forever. Let ua hopo that Balboa's bonodlctlon may be more fully realized In the not dis tant futuic.