ON THE CZAR'S HIGHWAY. 87 



It was bad for the moujiks to ruin themselves, 

 but for the sake of the Czar all things must be en- 

 dured ! 



On Thursday we arrived at Tula. Tula is a city of 

 about 90,000 inhabitants, two hundred versts south 

 of Moscow. It is the capital of the province of the 

 same name, and has been famous since the time of 

 Peter the Great for the manufacture of small arms. 

 Its chief reputation, however, rests on the manufacture 

 of samovars and accordions. In every house and 

 palace, and in every peasant's hut throughout the vast 

 extent of the Russian Empire, is found a brass 

 samovar, or tea-urn. These are largely made at Tula. 



Like caviare and vodka, the samovar is peculiarly 

 Russian. So excellent a household god, however, will 

 not always be confined to one country and people, 

 however large the one or numerous the other. Its use 

 is spreading to all tea-drinking countries. To every 

 post-station, and to the house of every well-to-do Khan 

 in Persia, the Russian samovar has already made its 

 way, and not a few of the readers of these pages have 

 become familiar with its appearance. 



But Tula and its output of samovars, accordions, 

 swords, rifles, and revolvers was interesting to the 

 writer chiefly as the first stage of the equestrian 

 journey from Moscow to the Crimea. After a five day 

 ride we arrived here, men and horses in good trim. I 

 had no intention of riding against time, but to jog 

 along twenty-five to thirty miles a day, keeping well 

 within the capacity of our horses. 



As before stated, while the ride would be interest- 

 ing as a performance on horseback, the principal mo- 



