New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-05-10

prying into homes which should be- sacred from tl'
vulgar public" and She pointed to the door. go,
/ SHy.' she continued advancing so that the young
fellow forced to back ont In spite Of himself But
she hurrIcdly whispered In the hall Come back in
half hour and l viii show you everything"
And what do you say abou: tho Russian women
Of society they said at the club 10 the gallant old
Visiting Foreigner, who had been dis ussing the fair
Of many lands.
The strangcst thing about thcm,7 lie answered.
dropping the ash from his cigar, Is tiat 1t isn't
possible 10 discover In them any Of those peculiar
ASa;ic traits and characteristics which forever
cropping forth among the masculine element II society
I'm the capital Of the Great Whit, Car. Nor yet do
thry posses, mu n In common with the women OF
Western EurOlr and America They constitute sol,
Of race apart, utterly unlike the Of other
aatonacs and such are strangely interesting
As a general rule they are devoid Of beauty, both
as regards face and figure The majority Of them are
small In stature. They do not impress one with
Of dignity. majesty or grace and the intignii
cance of their appearance 10 often accumulated by
their astonishing Indifference 10 dress aud their Dis
regard Of the most elementary rules Of femnin,
ccgan q.
And yet don't know Of any woman the face
Of the globe who exercises more potent spell upon
man than the PetcrsAourgctasc. II Is charm less
physical than Intellectual. and her brIancy Is quite
mentally 10 the men. and accustomed TO follow in the
wake OF the latter. But among the upper classes in
Russia, and particularly on n" banks OF the Neva,
quite the contrary IL the case There u u" woman
who leads. TO her Is due most Of the initiative.
She Is orl snator and directing spirit IN every
political intrigue, and the predoninance OF her IN
nucncc Is apparent in everything. rhe I, intensely
ambitious when for herself, then for her husband
her brother her She possesses that peculiarly
feminine git 81 intuition developed In the highest de-
gree and Is ~ clever and p'rSpicacous that she puts
men altogether intO ia" shade.
1T has always seemed to me rs II the great lady
Of S. Petersburg had strain OF Tsigane blood In her
veins. What II l. that attracts, captvaus, nay,
even bcwitches the men who come into contact with
her. / can't say II T. assurrdly not her beauty and
yet. somehow or other. the charm which she cXcr
cisrs seems to go to on,s brain Just like alcohol,
and 10 put one into state OF fever. InvOlunary,
and perhaps uncon-ciou,y. becomes ready to cry
and to laugh at one and the same moment the heart
beats faster. the temptation arises to say FAR more
than Is either prudent discreet. the nerves become
lieh strung like the cords OF VIOLIN and completely
At the mercy II the unlovely slrrn and OF her mys
ieriois and almost uncanny power Of fascination one
feels a, II under the influence OF hashish.
she will laugh with the merry, weep with the sad, De
rs cAtrayasanty kindly and generous To misfortune
and misery when t'cy brought before her eyes
~ ~, is Jelly cold and Indifferent them when they
are at a distance. There IS very eccentric and
,rratc tendency In the character OF the great Rus
sian lady. one would almost be tempted 70 believe
at times that IS afflicted with a tant Of insanity
generally latent but appearing al the surface at all
Kinds Of unexpected moments. one never knows for
certain, therefore. what n Russian woman Is going
10 do what extravaganza she Is about To P"rpcratc
and whether she Is going to pursue To the bitter end
the object which She has In View. There Is always
the possibility that At the very last moment, when on
the very OF attaining her AIM she may turn aside
and entirely abandon her pursuit In favor OF some
thing entirely opposite thereto.
There Is, however, one rcdeeming quality In all
This She 10 never vulgar commonplace, no matter
what She may do. BE her birth high or low, she
always remains the great lady. OF all people know
there j. no ono who boast OF so much knowledge
of the world and ot men aud women Of various clmcs
as the Prince Of Wales, who does not conceal, not
his aversion but his dread OF the Russian woman.
There are several OF the latter conspicuous for the
influence which they have exercised over the greatest
statesmen OF Europe, whom these grounds he has
invariably refused 10 meet one, whose name occurs
10 me at the present moment, Is the Princess Nse
rroubetskoi. She IS without exception the most ngly
woman In Europe. and Is absolutely without IL single
physical point worth boastng Of Her face has al
WAYS been rnonstrously plain the beng just two
holes in the face the eyes Of washedout color and
wanting in fine form. The mouth coarse with yellow tcc
In detached pegs Her neck, always thin, has become
with advancing age Sull more scraggy than IN days
Of yorc bctraying the natncss Of chest, notwstand
ing the fun bosom obtained by padding. Her arms
have ever been mere skewers and her feet fiat
more like those OF frog than any thing else. In
spite of all this, by her wit and the incredible power
Of fascination that she seemed To Weld over men,
She has been one OF the most victorious hrts OF her
day and stu remains grandmother,
bringing men OF every kind. from soveregns and
great statesmen down 10 the mnnows Of the oiicial
and diplomatic world, all within the sphere Of her
wonderful influence. A yeritable demon OF cOquctry,
she stu 0utshincs all the most beautiful women at
at which she Is present, the men all
nocldng around her. In her hands the
,hrcwdcst and most clever of them become as mere
puppets and those whose intellect Is Of such acknowl
ed gcd have led To their being Entrusted
by their fellow citizens with The control oi national
interests have become In her hands soft and ~
easily moulded as wax. II have cited her, IL Is
because she Ii merely type. and very characteristic
one ut that Of PcterbourgcOsc the most perverse
of all the daughters Of Evc.'