The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1881-11-16
now TIE RUSSIANS DRESS.

Many Of the illustrations which the srav.
indeed, somewhat rudely dspelled. OF the
g silkei garments of the Kokharian or Per-
sian of the dangling tail of the China
man of the "pearly teeth of the Arabian y
of tho wild looking savages and skin clad
Esquimaux," which writer's of fifty years
since described as ordinary sights in the
streets Of st Petersburg or Moscow, you see
now as little as of the Cyclopes of Ulysses or
the Lestrgons of Sir John Vaudeville. Even
here, on the border of Asia, Tartars, Armeni-
ans and Persiaus are only distinguishable by
their fur caps little higher or a little lower,
turban-shaped or mitre shaped. For the
quantities of old Muscovitic costume or gorge
GUS Eastern finery, man must nowadays be
referred to picture books or museums The
tendency of our ago is to Frenchify the very
gorillas The only article that distinguishes
the Russian from any European and especially
from an English crowd, is head gear for the
cylinder or tall hat seems to be held in abhor-
renee, and is hardly ever seen, even on foreign
heads, in bureaucratic and cosmopolitan st.
Petersburg-not so much, probably, because
the crazy Emperor Paul waged war against
those hats and against shoe strings, in his
ukases, as because winter would forbid their
use under penalty of forfeiture of man s
ears for six months in the year, and the habit
of half-year sets the people here against the
wear of our awkward, irrational and unbecom-
inor oil, In, -,,nt d,,rinr ba othar half
The Russian costume of the lower classes
consists of black or white cap, with the brim
drawn on the brow and shading the eyes a
long, loose, shapeless dark blue or brown
great coat, flowing down to the heels, and
heavy top. boots up to the knee From the
folds of the coat you may here and there catch
the sight of the red blouse or of the broad red
sash and black velvet breeches which were
once popular but as a rule, the black, long
garbedine hides everything and batting the
.color or tissue, the same garment, the same
medley of international rags, seems equally to
suit Russian or Tartar Moslem or Christian,
Gypsy or Jew. Merchants and brokers and
other mddle-class idlers who crowds the steps
of the exchange wear the jacket and wide
awake hat now common to all Europe, gentle
men Of a higher rank are either in military or
civilian uniform, and these also throw over it
their heavy riding cloaks, regardless of the
sitting heat, a Russian apparently never-feel-
ing comfortable unless he is swathed in loose
drapery from head to foot The funny pork
pie hats worn by the droski drivers in St
Petersburg or Moscow disappear as we come
| further east, and here the lsvoshtshik burie
his head and half his face in his ugly blacl
hanging cap like other men. The Russians
are as hirsute race as any Asiatic. Those o
the lower classes, whether out of ancient Mus
covitic pride or to spite the shade of Peter th,
Great, the great shaver are bristling will
such full long boards as might excite the envy
of their ehaggiest Kalmuck or Samojede fell
low subjects some few have name at the
back of the head down to the shoulders, bu
for the most of them the hair is clipped in
straight line by the barber, primitive artist
who claps an earthen pot on them over heat
aud ears when they go to him for shearing
and trims round and round whatever protrudes
| from the pot. Hair and beard are usually un
kempt and tangled, fit frame for the face
where n coating of several weeks dirt, nen
tralizes the color Of the skim London Times
/