Page:Kennedy, Robert John - A Journey in Khorassan (1890).djvu/74

 aggravated by the scorching desert wind which was blowing, and made the place, as Duffadar Ramazan Ali Khan remarked, 'hotter even than Moultan,the hottest place in India.' Late in the afternoon I paid a visit to the 'Nachalnik,' a Russian of German origin, with a Polish wife, who received me very courteously, and refreshed me with afternoon tea. At 6.30 the 'post' train, consisting only of second and third-class carriages, with a refreshment saloon, and a large van, without seats, reserved for Mussulmans, made its appearance. With difficulty we all four obtained second-class places, as the train was full of military officers, with a few civilians, apparently merchants, going to Merv and Bokhara, and at seven o'clock we steamed out of the station, en route for Samarcand.

It is not our intention to give a lone statistical or historical account of the Transcaspian Railway. Those who desire full information under these two heads cannot do better than consult Mr. Curzon's recent book, Russia in Central Asia, or an admirable paper read by him before the Royal Geographical