With the Die-Hards in Siberia

It was reported to me that the reason the carriages could not be secured was that the railway officials of a certain Power had given instructions that no class carriages were to be provided for British officers, as it was necessary that the population along the route should understand that we were not considered representatives of a first-class Power. Englishmen who have not travelled much in the Far East will scarcely understand the working of the Oriental mind in these matters.