CHAPTER 63 (1912—Continued)

CHAPTER 63 (1912—continued) Homeward Bound—From Denmark to Stockholm, Sweden—Visit Finland En Route—Travel by Rail through European Russia and Siberia to Vladivostok—Brief Sojourn in Japan—In Crossing the Pacific We Call at Hawaii—From California to Utah. In the evening of Wednesday, May 15, 1912, the little steamer “Sverige,” which was taking Elder Peter C. Rasmussen and me away from Copenhagen, sailed for Malmö, Swe- den, where we were met by Elder John J. Cederlund, who conducted us to the conference headquarters at Kornettsgatan No. 9, where a special meeting was in session. This meeting had been appointed and prolonged to give Elder Rasmussen and me an opportunity to speak. We addressed the assembly for about half an hour. Then followed handshaking and expressions of good will. The night was spent at the conference house in Malmö. The following is a day by day account of the travels through Finland, Russia, Manchu- ria, Japan, Hawaii and California to Salt Lake City, Utah, culled from my private journal: Thursday, May 16. Arising early Elder Peter C. Rasmussen and I proceeded to the railroad station in Malmö, Sweden, accompanied by Elders Bengt Johnson, jun., and John J. Cederlund and a few others. We bade adieu to these friends and left Malmö for Stock- holm, where President Andreas Peterson met us at the railway station and took us in an automobile to the mission headquarters in Svartensgatan 3, where we found a meeting in session. I addressed the assembly about twenty minutes, followed by Bro. Rasmussen. At mission headquarters we met Elders Carl A. Carlquist, Geo. C. Mitchell, Sven Svenson, Arthur Nielsen and others. Fri., May 17. I was busy in Stockholm changing Danish money for Russian money and buying a ticket for St. Petersburg. Together with Bro. Rasmussen and Elder Mitchell I visited the new building to be used in July next for the International Olympic, and next spent a few hours at the Royal Library, getting titles of anti-Mormon publications for the Historian’s Office. Sat., May 18. Bro. F. F. Samuelsen arrived in Stockholm from Aarhus to accompany Elder Rasmussen and me to St. Petersburg. I spent most of the day writing letters and postal cards to family and friends. In the evening Elders Rasmussen and Samuelsen and I left Stockholm as first-class passengers on board the Finnish steamer “Döbeln” and sailed out towards the Baltic among the numerous islands known as the Swedish Archipelago. The evening was beautiful, though a little cold, and we enjoyed the voyage immensely. Sun., May 19. When we got on deck we saw nothing but sky and the blue waters of the beautiful Baltic. About 11:00 o’clock a. m. land was visible on our left and about 492 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ANDREW JENSON 12:30 p. m. the ship entered the harbor of Hango. Here we stopped 1½ hours, during which time Brothers Rasmussen and Samuelsen and I went on shore, taking a walk in the little railway town containing about 3,000 inhabitants. It was the first time in my life that I stood upon Finland’s soil. Finland at one time belonged to Sweden, but the Russians had taken possession of the country by force, like the Germans in 1864 took Schlesvig away from Denmark; and the right of self or local government which the Finns to some extent had enjoyed under Russian rule was gradually being taken away from them by the Russians. Continuing the voyage from Hango, we soon found ourselves in the bay of Finland, and the steamer stood out eastward till we were opposite Helsingfors, the capital of Fin- land; thence the steamer headed eastward and after passing in between a number of fortified islands, we entered the Helsingfors harbor. Here we landed, hired a carriage and drove around the city for an hour. Helsingfors is a beautiful city containing about 140,000 inhabitants. Mon., May 20. As we arose at 8:00 o’clock a. m. we beheld a beautiful morning in the open sea, we having sailed from Helsingfors at 3:00 o’clock in the night. As we sailed eastward, vessels became more numerous and we passed several islands. At 5:00 o’clock p. m. we passed the city and fortifications of Kronstadt, where numerous Russian battleships were anchored. The strongly fortified islands drew our special attention. The afternoon was warm and pleasant, and the sun shining from a cloudless sky did much towards giv- ing us a cheerful first impression of Russia. There were only a few passengers on board, among them two young Americans. We approached St. Petersburg through a beautiful and unique canal and sailed up the river Neva, anchoring near the Nicolai bridge. We showed our passports and after landing took a “drosky” to Hotel du Nord. Finding the prices there too high for our purse we drove to 51 Newsky Prospective, where we secured rooms more reasonable. Tues., May 21. (Russian time May 8.) We were busy in St. Petersburg, buying tickets for Tokyo, Japan, visiting places of interest such as the renowned Isaac Church, the beautiful church built over the place where Alexander II was killed, and Peter Pauls fortifications. We crossed the river Neva on the Troiski bridge. I also assisted Brother Samuelsen to get his return ticket. Bro. Samuelsen left us in the evening to return to Denmark. Elder Rasmussen and I paid 137 rubles each for our tickets from St. Petersburg to Tokyo, Japan. Wed., May 22. (Russian time May 9.) We arose early, walked to the railroad station, and managed to find the right train and got on board without much trouble. My limited knowledge of German helped me wonderfully during our travels through Russia. We left St. Petersburg at 10:00 a. m. and traveled in a comfortable second-class car to Moscow (610 versts or about 400 miles from St. Petersburg), where we arrived at 8:00 p. m. On the road we entertained ourselves with an Armenian and his young Russian wife, who could talk a little German. On our arrival at Moscow we found no one who could talk English or German, so we hailed a “drosky” driver who took us to the Hotel Metropole, where we at once made satisfactory arrangements for our stay, getting a room on the fourth story of a very large building for 5 rubles a day. While Bro. Rasmussen wrote, I took a long walk out into the city to orient myself in the old historic town of Moscow. Between St. Petersburg and Moscow we saw many small towns where nearly all the houses were small wooden structures and the whole appearance of the country indicated poverty. We also crossed several rivers which nearly everywhere had overflown their banks, and placed many towns more or less under water. Thurs., May 23. (Russian time May 10.) We attended to business for our further transportation and visited the renowned Kremlin. Our visit there became so much more CHAPTER 63 493 interesting by our meeting a polite young lawyer (Alexander Wilenkine) who could talk English. He took pains to explain many things to us about the Kremlin and conditions in Russia. As we met him in the great court building within the walls of the Kremlin, he took us into a large court room where judge and jury entered to render an important deci- sion, and then he took pains to tell us something about Russian jurisprudence which he in some respects thought superior to our American system. After leaving him, we visited the royal palace, the cathedrals, and the grand Alexander II monument. We entered one of the gates where custom compels all men to uncover their heads as they pass through. We of course followed suit. Leaving the Kremlin, we crossed the Moskva River on the bridge immediately above the Kremlin and on the opposite bank we had a most beautiful view of the Kremlin. We recrossed the river on the Moscovretzky bridge. Fri., May 24. (Russian time May 11.) We again visited the Kremlin, and then went by street car out into the suburbs of the city, where we visited the so-called Novo-Dyevichy Monastir (convent or nunnery), a most beautiful place enclosed by high walls. We hap- pened to arrive just in time to attend a funeral and to hear and witness the orthodox Greek Church priests chant and pray, clad in their rather handsome white robes. A chorus of nuns sang and chanted after the priests. The graveyard and church buildings as well as the dwellings containing the cells of the nuns and the houses of the priests were very attractive. On our rambles in Moscow we also visited the “Church of the Redeemer” (Chram Christa Spassitelja), which is one of the most beautiful and costly buildings in the world. Hiring a drosky we went to the Kurski Railway Station, boarded the Siberian train and left Moscow or “Moskva” toward evening. It was most interesting to watch from the car windows the disappearance of Moscow as we were carried away from it; at last, looking back over the immense plain upon which Moscow is situated we could see nothing but the towers of the Kremlin and the domes and spires of the many other churches. We soon crossed the Moskva River, passed through a well cultivated country dotted with towns and villages, crossed the river Oka on a fine bridge and arrived in the city of Tula, a great manufacturing town. From Tula the train took an easterly course through the heart of Russia.

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