RUSSIAN LUXURY.

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 5310, 3 October 1885, Page 2

RUSSIAN LUXURY.

, T.o form an idea of Russian luxury and lavish expense, look at the appointments pf some of the sledges round you. Where would theflashest equipages of the Bois de Boulogne or Hyde Park be beside them? Here is a double-seated sledge, with two ladies in it, dressed for driving. It is one out of many like it. The horses are beautiful greys, with long flowing Iff and names, The. fur rug cover of the isvostchik on his small front seat would be envied by a leader of fashion anywhere to trim her dress. But the splendour of a . Russian isvostchik of a good family m his every day attire almost equals that of an alderman's coachman on Lord i Mayor's Day. He *!££ a great loose coat, reaching to his feet, called a kaftan. Thil m of the richest dark blue velvS VX? tons under the left. arm, so that as he drives it looks asif made of one piece The kaftanis^ometimescovered with gold brocade, and at the waist isaWaya^bound bva patterns, of flowers; or geometric devices stampedon it Theisvoslfcchik'scap isalso of dark blue velvet andfur, and sets off his face, with his long brown beard, very well. With a coronet in place of the i cap, :this Muscovite Jehu's dress would easily make up into an English peer's" festive robes occasions. Theyapron rug*or the ladies on the back seat isi of stUl finer matenaHhan the driver's. It is often of a thicx red' fur, the spikey hair of which is two or three inches long. As for the cloaks of the fair owners' of the, sledge they are simply the nejphis tiWa in that style pf covering; Ladies/fortunate enough to possess such furs musi'pfayihat it mty be always w>nier; A,: striking, feature i°- U £ * he i se J sl < 3d a es is > -long' blue net, which is tied to the horses' necks, covers their backs, and is fastened down to the front of the sledge. The ice on the street is covered with a. powder. of^nbw, and this net prevents flakes .and chips ;of ice wf XT ■?& horse's hoofs. The chams* ana rings ofc theharness are sometiiifes 'of real silver-thfs is \ S Vf 6y "I °?? n S flt - The behead band, bits or buckles are often jewelled. Some of the sledges have little silver Jftr% thev^ eno f dually carried on theNeffsky The money lavished, in.fittlng out a well-appointment sledge in St Petersburg would buy. two or three carnages, and hpres elsewhere. But as 1 have said before, almost everyone drives mSt .Petersburg, s> that : to distinguish opeself from the rest of the horse-drawn public requires an extraordinary Amount of disp ay St. Petersburg is not yet as badas.thafc most upstart of little' capitals, Bucharest-where it is highly infpolite not to drive everywhere; but, ridiculous as that of the London exquisite who sent a quarter of a mile for a hansom ito drive him to a party next door.-Argus' cdrires-