The Project Gutenberg EBook of International Weekly Miscellany, Vol. 1,
No. 5, July 29, 1850, by Various

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Title: International Weekly Miscellany, Vol. 1, No. 5, July 29, 1850

Author: Various

Release Date: August 21, 2004 [EBook #13241]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY ***

Produced by Cornell University, Joshua Hutchinson, William Flis, and
the Online Distributed Proofreading Team.

INTERNATIONAL WEEKLY MISCELLANY

Of Literature, Art, and Science.

* * * * *

Vol. I. NEW YORK, JULY 29, 1850. No. 5.

* * * * *

TEA-SMUGGLING IN RUSSIA.

The history of smuggling in all countries abounds in curiosities of
which but few ever reach the eye of the public, the parties generally
preferring to keep their adventures to themselves. There often exist,
however, along frontier lines the traditions of thrilling exploits or
amusing tricks, recounted by old smugglers from the recollections
of their own youthful days or the narratives of their predecessors.
Perhaps no frontier is so rich in these tales as that between Spain
and France, where the mountainous recesses of the Pyrenees offer
secure retreats to the half-robber who drives the contraband trade, as
well as safe routes for the transportation of his merchandise. On the
line between the Russian Empire and Germany the trade is greater in
amount than elsewhere, but is devoid of the romantic features which it
possesses in other countries. There, owing to the universal corruption
of the servants of the Russian government, the smuggler and the
custom-house officer are on the best terms with each Other and often
are partners in business. We find in a late number of the _Deutsche
Reform_, a journal of Berlin, an interesting illustration of the
extent and manner in which these frauds on the Russian revenue are
carried on, and translate it for the _International_:

"The great annual tea-burning has just taken place at Suwalki:
25,000 pounds were destroyed at it. This curious proceeding is thus
explained. Of all contraband articles that on the exclusion of which