I have a cabin for three all to myself, there are very few people on
board. It is as comfortable as a yacht. The only fellow traveller with
whom we have spoken is an American, calling himself Comrade Costello. He
reports for the Federated Press. A very keen journalist, typically
American, and one who does not allow the grass to grew under his feet.
For an hour this afternoon I acted as interpreter between him and
Kameneff. I had to ask about strange people and strange things, that I
knew nothing about. I had not even heard of Debs before.
I expect that I shall have a pretty good knowledge of all the
Revolutionary Leaders in all countries before long.
Kameneff had a cigarette in my cabin this evening, and we discussed
Philosophy, Religion, and Revolution. It surprised me very much that he
does not believe in God. He says that the idea of God is a domination
and that he resents it, as he resents all other dominations. He talked
nevertheless with great admiration of the teachings of Christ, Who
demanded poverty and equality among men, and Who said that the rich man
had no more chance of the Kingdom of Heaven than a camel of passing
through a needle’s eye.
SEPTEMBER 13TH. _Grand Hotel, Kristiania, Norway._
To-day might have been many days, and we might have been crossing the
world.
The train left Bergen at 8.15 a.m. We had a compartment to ourselves
with big windows.
Slowly from Voss the train climbed higher and higher. The higher we went
the less vegetation there was. Big trees became smaller trees, and then
dwarf trees, and then shrubs, until finally there was only the little
low creeping juniper.
There were rocks and boulders, falling torrents and cold, still lakes,
and in the shadow of the mountain great patches of eternal snow that
never melt.
This morning in the breakfast car we eagerly asked for news, being
unable to read Norwegian. The man who was reading the paper informed us,
in broken English, that the coal situation was exactly the same, and the
Lord Mayor of Cork not dead yet, and with that summary we had to rest
content.
Later in the morning, the dining-car attendant sought us out, and armed
with a newspaper said: “Have you heard the news?” he then made a bow and
asked: “Mr. Kameneff--yes?” and showed him a photograph of K. in the
morning’s paper, and the information that he had left England, and was
on his way to Russia. That settled it, Kameneff was recognised, and the
car attendant spread the information. After that, whenever we walked the
platform of a station we were the cynosure of all eyes.
At luncheon Kameneff asked the car attendant, who spoke Russian so well,
where he had learnt it. The answer was that fifteen years ago he had
spent two years as a waiter in Petrograd. Kameneff told him that Russia
had changed considerably since then, and that he ought to go and see it.
The attendant with a deferential smile said that he would be afraid to.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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