been translated into English.




CLAUDIUS BOMBARNAC




CHAPTER I.


CLAUDIUS BOMBARNAC,
_Special Correspondent_,
"_Twentieth Century._"
_Tiflis, Transcaucasia._

Such is the address of the telegram I found on the 13th of May when I
arrived at Tiflis.

This is what the telegram said:

"As the matters in hand will terminate on the 15th instant Claudius
Bombarnac will repair to Uzun Ada, a port on the east coast of the
Caspian. There he will take the train by the direct Grand Transasiatic
between the European frontier and the capital of the Celestial Empire.
He will transmit his impressions in the way of news, interviewing
remarkable people on the road, and report the most trivial incidents by
letter or telegram as necessity dictates. The _Twentieth Century_