Note 6 — Chapter III · THE URALS TO TIUMEN.

The new first-class carriages running between Petersburg and Moscow have fauteuils, which form couches at night; and one I saw was so fixed on springs as to furnish almost the softness of a feather-bed. They have also writing tables, and are more luxurious than anything I have seen elsewhere in Europe, or even America. The lavatory arrangements “on board” in all three classes are exceedingly good. There only lacks the receptacle for iced water provided in Norway, and, perhaps, the dining cars run in America, to make Russian railway accommodation perfect. The guards, it is true, are somewhat pompous as compared with the English, and the speed of the trains is slower; but, on the other hand, the refreshments are very much better, and the prices more reasonable. There is time allowed, moreover, to eat them, though I am thinking more especially of the line between the capital and Moscow, which is naturally one of the best.