. All the Russias; travels and studies in contemporary European Russia, Finland, Siberia, the Caucasus, & Central Asia. four hours beyond lovely glimpse of the town itself is caught after leaving thestation. Built in a valley, it surrounds part of a large artificiallake which was produced by damming up the little river to supplywater-powder to its foundries. This was not a success, and Zlata-oust must for ever look out upon an expensive failure, whichnevertheless constitutes its chief attraction as a town. Almostbefore the train stopped, our passengers were clustering roundthree kiosk
. All the Russias; travels and studies in contemporary European Russia, Finland, Siberia, the Caucasus, & Central Asia. four hours beyond lovely glimpse of the town itself is caught after leaving thestation. Built in a valley, it surrounds part of a large artificiallake which was produced by damming up the little river to supplywater-powder to its foundries. This was not a success, and Zlata-oust must for ever look out upon an expensive failure, whichnevertheless constitutes its chief attraction as a town. Almostbefore the train stopped, our passengers were clustering roundthree kiosks on the platform, where a thousand little objects inblack iron, all of unspeakable ugliness, were for sale as souvenirs. 134 ALL THE RUSSIAS An enthusiastic engineer showed me the walking-stick he hadbought of vraiacier, but,unfortunately, when he bent it doubleon the platform to show the trueness of its metal, the resili-ence of its spring, it remained in a disheartened curve, no betterthan a wilted dahlia-stalk. There is sure to be a bayonet factoryat Zlataoust. At Chelyabinsk, however, four hours later, on the. WHAT YOU SliE FOR DAYS FROM THE SIBERIAN EXlRESS eastern verge of the Urals, the platform output was charming:pink, red, and green jasper, shining rock crystal, lumps of mal-achite that had been suddenly cooled off while boiling (whenthe world was made), of the vivid verdigris-green that is likenothing else. The palaces and galleries of St. Petersburg andMoscow are full of vases and tables and basins of these jaspersand lapis la/Aili, and nothing could be more beautiful if only themakers would follow classic shapes instead of choosing as theirmodels the stucco horrors of the suburban garden, or of inlayingtables with diamond-work in contrasting colours which ape thepatchwork bed-quilt of the cooks aunt. But the little ash-traysin cloudy rose jasper, polished only on one side, are the best pre- SIBERIA FROM THE TRAIN 135 sents to bring hack to friends who have been ve
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