A SIX MONTHS' STAY IN ST. PETERSBURG.

Otago Witness, Issue 2085, 8 February 1894, Page 41

A SIX MONTHS' STAY IN ST. PETERSBURG.

By M. de S.

11. People walk little in St. Petersburg. Sleighing is all the fashion, and for a very few kopecks one can be conveyed quite a long way in an isvostchik. These are very small, and it is with the greatest difficulty j that two people can sit in one. It is necessary to pass your arm round your neighbour to prevent yourself from falling out, when turning the street corners especially. It is very enjoyable to go sleighing by moonlight in an iro'ika. There are frequent parties to the islands situated in the Baltic Sea, and it would be difficult to describe the great pleasure it is to glide along almost noiselessly at a terrific speed over the crisp glistening snow. Nets are attached to the front part of the sledge and over the horses to prevent the snow from covering the occupants. This is necessary for comfort, as the snow is of course sent in all directions. The houses I found most comfortable, those of the rich having every luxury. What with double doors and windows, the latter being hermetically sealed with the exception of a small pane in the bedrooms, little of the bitter cold ever penetrates. The houses are generally heated by means of caloric fires or by hot air, and besides this there are open fireplaces in all the sitting rooms in imitation of the English fashion, but only wood is burnt ; no coal whatever. The Eussians are very charming. They are hospitable and kind-hearted, lack all stiffness and reserve, and it is very easy to get on with them. The women are really well educated, speak fluently without any accent whatever four or five languages, and are essentially what the French call spirituelle. They can talk on all subjects withgreat verve and understanding, and altogether present to one's mind the French ladies of the salons of the last century. The gentlemen imitate the English in everything, the great chic being to be dressed a V Anglais. The Russians are great tea drinkers, the , caravan tea being, too, exceptionally good. No Russian travels without his samovar — which differs slightly from our tea urn, and has a place at the top where the teapot in placed. The hotel and restaurant tea is always served in a tumbler, with a thin slice of lemon floating on the top, without any milk of course. Poppy seeds are nearly always sprinkled over the rolls and different sorts of wheaten bread, and one soon becomes tired of the flavour they give, and long for a slice oE plain household bread. They have a curious sort of bread, the dough of which is first boiled in some way and then baked. It is made in the shape of a bag or pocket, and is often eaten hot with caviare. The national drink is called kwus, is made from rye, and has a very peculiar flavour. Throughout holy week pancakes are served at each meal. They are made much smaller than ours, and are very leathery— at least that was my opinion. If I remember rightly I believe they are called Hints. There are a great number of holidays and fete days in Russia, though Sunday does not always happen to be a day of rest. On these days it is hardly safe, <rr at all events agreeable, to go out, as all the lower classes get more or less intoxicated as the day wears on from the effects of over-indulgence in vodkyr. It is the custom for all the shopkeepers to have the wares they sell painted on the ontsids of their shops. This gives them a gay appearance, and in many ways is convenient. I constantly saw prisoners led through the streets, all bound together by chains round their ankles, possibly on the way to Siberia. It was in no way a pleasant sight. The gendarmes mostly speak French. This, needless to say, is a great convenience to strangers, who often have occasion to refer to them, owing to the impossibility of reading the names of the streets, all written ia Russian characters. It is not considered safe for ladies to drive alone in a sledge in the evening. The isvostchik drivers have a bad name, as they constantly rob their customers. I was told a story of a lady who was returning home rather late, and she had her purse and fur cloak stolen from her, whilst she herself was left in the middle of one of the Neva bridges, still far from her destination and with the thermometer standing at 20de? below zero. An experience of this kind is anything but pleasant. There is a French theatre in St. Petersburg, which is largely patronised, and where they sometimes also play German comedies. There are besides two large opera houses. The Russians are musical, and some of their modern compositions are very fine, though a trifle sad and melancholy. All letters, paper?, books, &c. — In fact, everything sent by post — are eximined. The censure is very severe, and frequently papers and books which contain anything detrimental to Rassia are never delivered, while The Times and Punch constantly have larga paragraphs totally effaced by a black mark before they come into your bands. This is naturally on account of the Nihilists, of whom, by the bye, one hears very little. The Russians are, I presume, afraid to discuss politics much, never knowing who may be their friends and who their enemies. There is an English Church in St. Petersburg, which is attended by the different members of the household of the embassy, .the English merchants, and the English governesses and tutors in the great families. These about make up the English colony. Attached to the church is a large room which always has a good blazing fire, and where it is customary to take off one's furs and goloshes before entering the sacred edifice. This always struck me as a very sensible plan. On New Year's Day I witnessed the blessing of the waters cf the Neva by the metropolitan. It is an important function, to which the whole court attend. The Russian peasants think that the waters possess afterwards great efficacy, and that they will care them of any physical complaint'; so many plunge into.the hole that has been made in the iee — many, of course, only to meet their death in the ioily cold water,

When I was in St. Petersburg they were building a cbapel on the spot where the late Ozar was murdered. One was not allowed to pass by on that side of the canal.

My stay in this capital came to an end in M»y, and I saw the iCB break up on the Neva. This is rather an interesting sight. It cracks all over very suddenly with a low roll like the sound of distant thunder. For a few days it is very cold, and it is then that everybody has the "grippe." In fact, St. Petersburg, being built on a marsh, is most unhealthy in the spring, and all who can afford it leave the town for a time.

It is necessary to send your passport to the police authorities when you wish to leave the conntry. A day or two after it is returned to you with another paper, which gives the necessary permission for your departure, and this must be made use of within the next 24 hours, or it is valueless.