The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1884-05-30
Russian Streets and People.

VI NlSlIOES.-LttSuFS HOBFs
Russian Streets and People.
In most Russian towns the houses are
small, and every family has one of its
own. st. Petersburg and Odessa are
exceptions. Here the population live in
flats, within six and seven stored
houses, higher than those of Paris. In
the poorer quarters of Odessa the giant
houses have an odd look owing to the
smallness of the windows and the mum.
Der of absent panes which have been
replaced by layers of CREASED paper on
account of the DEAFNESS OF glass. A
watch glass costs seventy five cents in
Odessa, a foot square window pane
abo 1T sl.51. The streets of Odessa are
picture que, for signboards abound and
stone fronts are painted in staring COZ
ors-lght blue, yellow and apple-green.
There are no posters, for advertising
constitutes a monopoly in the hands OF
q company. who have hitherto confined
themselves to the newspaper bran h OF
putting. and have not mustered enter
prise enough to distigure public thor
oua b ares At the corner of almost
every street YOU come upon a Bryant ne
look ng shrine of the Virgin. with q
number of Russians signing themselves
bareheaded in front. You meet the Viz
gin in various other unexpected places
in railway stations, in fGst-otiices.
with little oil lamp pickering at her
feet. The behavior of the people in the
streets is quiet and civil. If Russian
knocks against you he begs your par
don with sincere show of contrilion;
if he sees your nose turning white
in the cold weather. he picks up a han l.
full of snow and rubs it with brotherly
! officiousness till the circulation is re-
stored. Pigeons infest the Streets W tn
impunity, for they are held sacred: even
| if a russian were starving it would n t
occur to him to knock one o. these birds
! on the b had and cook it. russians are
frant cally fond of music, and all the
tea houses are provided with some kind
OF gan on the musical box system.
These instruments are manufact red at
Moscow. and are accounted better than
| those of Switzerland. the larger ones
such as enlIven the big tea hous S. play
| ing rs many As hundred tunes and
cos ing several thousand dollars. An
organ of this sort makes as much noise
| az = ful orchestra. In the smaller tea
| hous the or. an tunes are frequently
varied of an evening by the perfo M
ance of some strolling minstrel in eau
casian COS ume, who strums on q tri-
angular gu tar to the melodies OF
Litnuan 4 and Little Flu STA. The eau
cas- n minstrel, dressed in black vel
We: ttnic adorned on Their breast with
rows of sill cred cartridge lubes into
which he puts the tobacco in time oil
peace generally begins with the pla n
ii airs which the roussalkas water
fairies) are supposed to sing as they
lure their admirers into deep water; he
goes on by and by to the twanging war
songs which console IN for broken
heads, but as evening advan es he is
always called upon for dance, and
the tea tables being pushed aside, the
natives prepare Tor a hop of the wild st
kind 1t is q VERT able rreuch can-can,
more unbr died if anything than the
uartier Latin. Bells are another of
the Russians delights; and on sunday
mornin-s the riot of chimes, triple
peals, and bob majors that ring from
church domes is enough to gladden. the
most enthusiastic lover Of campan-
olo9y 'i.''
Thieves and policemen are the great
pests of Russian towns, out especially
policemen. A man who has resided
som, time in Russia even grows to
dOu It whether the notions of meum ct
tuu n are comprehended here Is they
are in other countries. II you pay q
visit and leave 3 cloak On the seat OF
YOU carriage that cloak is gone when
you come out. Householders are liable
to have their horses and carriages
stolen if they do not keep sufficient
number of stable servants, and to take
care to see before going to bed that
| one at least of these menialS is s1ber.
1t goes, however, without saying. that
a person in uential enough to make
himself unpleasant to the police gets
back his property in no time; the po-
lice will even restore him the equivalent
if they cannot recover th.. actual ar
ii les A FTsnchman of rAnk who had
Lett an opera glass in box at the
opera, missed it, as matter of course.
and mentioned his loss TO the Civil
Govern nent, who took 10 the matter
forthwith. 1t appeared. however, that
the article had been purloined By free
lance having no connect on with the
police so an otficia waited upon the
frenchman with glass thr times az
I good rs the one he had lost. saying that
the authorities would consider them
selves disgraced if a st-an ger lot any
,hing in their coIntry-a 'eech which
must have given the frenchman a rosy
idea OF Rus ian honesty. Mer- hants
and TT d-smen often pay thief insur-
ance money to the police but, as the
, thieves can generally pay still more lor
the riv lie re of being let alone, the in.
sur nee is only accept, d ,aloren, SC
to saw For instance, u man may IN
sure his watch. his d amohds, his OYER
c. a., bit not his safe If burgisrs can
manage to ri it. Besides. the poll c
do n i play fair. and cont nual y shield
themselves oy pretending that there ara
e o May independent rogues about,
who meanly work on their own sole &C.
count. st. R-ers6tvg Cor. Brooklyn
Eo,A hg IciI -.
1t is told Of quite . number of DIS