Show I C COLDEST iD ESt WEATHER ATHIR ON RECORD When Railroad Trains Froze to the Tracks Tra ks and Actors Were 4 Frozen to Stage Chicago Tribune The winter lost strayed or stolen from this country for several years has just been located on the other side of the world in Russia Rus Russia Russia sia the land of winter Over there they are having weather that makes our recent feeble attempt at a bliz bUz blizzard bUzzard blizzard zard look like a spring zephyr It has been cold in St j Petersburg colder they say sa than for years Nobody knows how many degrees be below below below low zero It ft has been for apparently he thermometers all were put out of busi business busIness business ness It was so cold over ovet there that the people thought that the end of the th world was coming The earth had been deluged once and now it was to bo be frozen said the ones in instead Instead instead stead of being destroyed by fire It was so cold that the railroad trains froze to the th tracks in Siberia For days at a time care caro were not able to run They were not snowbound as they sometimes are in this country but literally frozen to a standstill It was so cold that the milk froze in the cans and the Finnish women who run the milk carts in St Peters Petersburg Petersburg Petersburg burg found themselves unable to de deliver deliver deliver liver supplies So cold that cannons burst when they the were discharged so cold that the tho actors were frozen away from the theaters and the regular per performances performances performances not given givenA A Chicago man in St SL Petersburg who bought tickets to the Grand theatre for Sunday evening December 29 tells how he lie failed to see steins opera Nero No one he says who was out on that evening is ever likely to forget it so bitter was the th cold There was no snow falling indeed the sky was cloudless and but the tho air was filled with a fine powder like diamond dust sharp and spark sparkling sparkling sparkling ling of which the particles seemed to tobe tobe tobe be now rising now falling Walk as briskly as you might your feet thou cased in woolen socks heavy boots and thick high a unceasingly Through warm furry gloves the frost king tied ones fin fingers fingers fingers gers and turned ones hands to stones Mustaches and beards b ards unless buried burled in ample collars of sable beaver skunk or bear skin were weighted with heavy Icicles The eyelashes e would freeze at times to the skin In fad it was a sacrifice to go out anywhere even to the theatre and especially to see Ru Nero In the Grand theatre still hundreds made it Eight was the hour fixed for forthe forthe forthe the spectacle but at 7 20 already a n large crowd of spectators had assem assembled assembled assembled bled In Russia people are fond of the theatre and hi Iti St Petersburg the supply is far from being equal to lo the demand At 8 ocl ck however the bell which precedes the raising of ot the curtain did not ring For a quarter of an hour the audi audience audience ence possessed its soul In patience Then another fifteen was spent in hissing and stamping And finally a veritable storm of indignation broke loose and nobody knew k ew how it would end perhaps people whispered the theatre might be burned down Then the curtain suddenly rose and the impresario a highly respected member of or the profession came for forward forward forward ward and addressed the spectators soothingly He was not he said to blame and therefore ought not to be punished The fact was that the cold being in intense Intense intense tense and the stage not sufficiently heated the file actors would not could not nota appear pear The theatre director sig significantly y pointed to the boards and behold a layer of snow hard and white slippery snow lay 1 a there and showed no signs of thawing He add added added added ed certain critical remarks about the thrift of the owners of the Temple Temp e of but he failed to conciliate the public When hen his address ended the ruc rue ructions lions began bean A free fight ensued and It was not toll 10 that the police pollee managed to clear cleat the theatre And even this result would not have been attain attained ed If if the money had not been refunded to 10 the wrathful shivering playgoers Whether Wh ther it was mis also the frost that burst St Petersburg thunderous time timekeeper timekeeper timekeeper keeper is a mystery which the authorities authorities ties are endeavoring to fathom It is the custom in the two capitals and in inthe inthe inthe the principal cities of Russia to an announce announce announce noon every day by firing tiring off a cannon It St Petersburg the place chosen is one of the walls of the fortress of SS Peter and Paul whence wh nce the sound usually is carried over the entire city and people set their watches accord accordingly accordIngly accordingly For thirty years the same big gun had been regularly used never missing a aday aday aday day But on one of or the coldest last week together with the ordinary explosion the soldiers heard beard a much louder boom and saw the cannon burst burstin in pieces one of which weighing pounds was hurled violently to one side but happily everyone got off un unscathed unscathed unscathed scathed Now midday is announced by bya a new piece of ordinance 1 If It it was not the frost that killed the cannon It certainly was wag the frost that thai kept the troops of one of the regiments from guarding their rifles with proper care For on one of f the coldest nights when even words seemed to freeze on ones lips a number of revolutionists got g t Into the regimental storehouse and stole sixty magazine rifles Nobody heard them nobody saw row them and no nobody nobody nobody body punished them Many a breakfast table and nursery of St SL Petersburg have been made to re realize realize realize alize in unpleasant ways wa s the th meaning of the Intense frost that held all Russia In Its icy grip All the milk used in n the capital comes from the country and most of or It t from Finland Every morn morning mornIng mornIng ing at 5 the sturdy haply barfly har Iy Fin Finnish FInnIsh Finnish nish women arrive with their carts fill filled filled filled ed with tin cans and begin their rounds among amon their customers The other day they found the milk frozen in the ves vessels vessels es sels and nothing they could do in the streets ts availed to get it out again They hammered and prodded and shook the tins but all to no purpose As the Ute same mishap befell them all they did not run the risk on the follow following followIng followIng ing day but stayed at home When they next came their thelt frozen milk was refused Meanwhile there was quite a run on the permanent milk shops in town where the beverage is much dear dearer er and thinner and bluer though loath to say Russian or even Finnish milk milks is s never thick at the best of times and places But the run on or the flower shops was more serious and more costly Flowers in St Petersburg are in demand main mainly mainly mainly ly for the celebration of names days for funerals and to show appreciation of the art of operatic singers and actors and they are wanted most of all for the purpose Flowers occasionally adorn dinner ta m tables bles always those of members of the diplomatic corps This winter flowers are unusually scarce owing to the frost and possibly possIbly possibly bly for that reason capricious song stresses at the Imperial and other op operas operas operas eras have taken it into their heads to tovie tovIe tovie vie with each other precisely in the number of fresh flower wreaths they can show as presents from their ad admirers admirers admirers And so there is a dearth of flowers Prices went up by leaps and bounds as they may have done d ne during the great tulip boom in Holland many generations back But aut none the less the flower shops were literally cleared out Some divas who were accustomed to receive the nightly baskets bask ts of flowers and bouquets had to do without any anyOne anyOne anyOne One wealthy admirer of ot a prima donna offered for just one basket of or orchids and a basket it was nor were the specimens rare But Buthis ButhIs Buthis his money was not accepted He had been before he even had priced prIc the coveted blossoms |