The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1889-09-13
A Cay Evening In Moscow.


aloof from any political or even intel
lectual movement, under rude patri-
archial system.
The sons and grandsons Of these
oldfashioned bearded merchants, the
"kupecheskiyesynkp' (merchauts sons),
as they are called, when they abandon
the habits of their ancestors, astonish
the capital by their extravagancies
and absurd display of wealth. These
young Russians shave their chins,
dress in European style, keep horses,
carriages, and actresses, go to the thea
ters, and often push beyond the from
tiers as far as Nice, Monte Carlo, OF Paris,
where they astound walters and chorus
girls by their wild prodigality and fan
tastic ostentation. The Muscovite mer-
chant of the old type is solid Oriental I;
his emancipated sons and grandsons
have thin varnish of apparent Western
civilization, or rather Western corrup-
ton, but they remain, nevertheless,
rank barbarians. This they show in
their amusementa, and even in their
hospitality, as we msy readily conceive
ourselves by spending gay" even
ing in Moscow.
The reader need not be alarmed we
shall not invite him to follow us into
any very terrible places, but simply
to accompany us to the park. 1t was
long ride. The swift drosky ratified
along uphill and down-hll, through
this suburb and that suburb, and then
along an endless street of immense
'dth paved with cobble stones and
powders, and lined with white houses,
mostly only one story high. Finally
we pass beyond the utmost limits of
thA city, past an enigmatic triumphal
arch erected in the middle of a wilder
ness, and so across a stretch of open
country, beyond which is Petrofski
PAX. AT the entrance of the park
are some pretty summer villas built of
wood, and ornamented with fret-work
carvings ia the well known Russian
style. Then after driving along i'm
mense avenues bordered with fine trees,
we reached the restaurants aud con.
certs of which we had heard SO much,
Strelna, M .r"it tluia, Arcadia, Eldorado,
anu Others, where the famous Tysgaues
or Bohemiennes sing. After the lyri.
cal and hyperbolical descriptions Of
Theophile Gautier aud other enthusi.
astic travellers, to say nothing of the
boasts and recommendations of &C
quaintances, we were prepared for mar
vels and splendors, for something fairy.
like and unheard of, or at leass for
some new aud memorable sensations.
The deception was complete. These
establishments consist of piae-wood
halls surrounded by gardens similar to
ordinary German beer-gardens and
the salons and private rooms, instead
of being enriched with gliding and
sun'ptuous divans, are furnished with
economical Brentwood chairs, simple
looking glasses, and paltry tables.
We visited these establishments one
after the other; they were all the same
all enveloped in vail of dismal ma
laria and ennui suggestive of bank
rupcty the pine wood halls were
empty, the walters half asleep in one
corner of the room on a dais was an
orchestra, but the musicians did no,
play. Pacing up and down in couples,
their arms around each others waists
were women, mostly Sweeds and Ger
mans, dressed in bright in door cos
tume--chorus singers who did moi
sing. In out of the way corners
sat ancient matrons of horrible aspect,
painted and powdered, who seemed tc
watch over the promenading of the
chorus-singers. Near the door stood
few gypsy women in shabby Europe
an costume, and fat brigandish gypsy
man dressed in brown corduroy, with
black cloth cap on his head. In
the garden dozen military officers
were sitting at the tables drinking tea
and smoking cigarettes they wore
long oyercoats, although we were sup
posed to be enjoying midsummer heat
so sensitive are the Russians to cold
and damp. Strange, is it not, that in
spite of this sensativeness they should
be SO fond of outdoor places of amuse,
ments?
What was to be done We con.
suited Russian friend, an officer who
had kindly guided us to these distant
wastes.
"Why do not the Bohemiennes singi
Why are there SO few people here?
These questions seemed to strike
him as being rather odd. The Bohem-
ieDnes, he told us, sing only when they
are paid we must hire private room
and make bargain with the fat man
in corduroy.
''How much do they want?"
SAT least twenty-five rubles."
We made the bargain, hired a room,
ordered refreshme Its, and soon half a
dozen men with guitars, and the same
number of women, all of them ugly
beyond exception, and dressed in
ridiculous French costumes, entered
and took their places at the end of the
room. They sang some melancholy
Russian songs, then some passion ate
Tsygane songs, aud then three of them
danced with lascivious Oriental move
ments. while the others howled and
calculated in truly savage fashion.
But 10 order to induce them TO execute
this dance the guerdon had to be rails
ed from twenty-five to hundred
rubles, and still we are looked upon as
very small seigneurs. Certainly the
songs and dances of these Bohe nienne,
have wild and striking character-on
several subsequent occasions we hau
the opportunity of ascertaining this
fact-but from the point of view of
art and intensity of expression, these
famous Moscow gypsys cannot for a
moment be compared with the Span
iards; and as for their yaunted beauty.
it is 1elusion and snare. Not one
in hundred of them can pretend to
good looks. The Tayganes of Moscow W
are one of those colossal ''frauds" in
which the East is no fertile. In any
other country these people would exer-
else the profession of chair-menders
fortune.telIers poultry thieves, and
horse.dealers, for which the gypsies
have natural gifts; in Moscow, thanks
to the naiyete of the new-fangled mer.
chants and of the rich young man in
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