The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-16
over here and refused to ask the znak-

over here and refused TO ask the znak>
har-
Before I had time to put any more
questions the priest stood in the smoky
room near the door with the icon in his
hand, and the newly married pair,
kneeling down on the Threshold.
receive his blessing. A moment later
the room was crowded with the kith
and kin OF the two families. who kept
bowling and making the sign of the
cross. ogling each ether, while the priest
and sacristan were chanting the Mo
leben" or TIE ''Deum.
During this short service I scrutin-
lied the features and the bearing ef tho
bride and bridegroom with eager cu-
riosity, owing 10 what l had heard OF
them from my loquacious friend during
our colfa bula tion in the kaback. Tho
lady might have been a statue, so stih
and lifeless she looked as she stood
there, dressed in white muslin, long
veil reaching down To her instcps, and
wreath OF artificial orange blossoms
crowning her head. She was tall.
1.-THE, comely lass of twenty, with q
broad forehead, large blue eyes, a
somewhat wandering, far-away look.
and slow, tentative movements.
Her husband was thick-set. muscu.
lar man OF thirsy-five or thereabouts.
whose russet hair, red beard, fiery eyes
and furtive, cunning glances combines
to render him an undesirable compan
ion for anyone. He occasionally mad,
remarks TO his bride in iuaudible whis-
pers, and the look which on one ot
these occasions accompanied his re-
mark seemed to me to reveal something
indescribabiy antipathetic in the mans
character, so that I ccald readily un-
derstand the girls reluctance 10 throw
in her lot with his
1t appears that previous affection
or natural instinct inspired her with All
aversion for the husband selected by
her father, which neither coaxing noe
threats enabled her To overcome. and
she never wodld have become his
welded wife had il not been for the ex-
press and peremptory commands of the
local authorities, won over by the vodka
of her ambitious father.
The hut consisted Of two dark. smoky
rooms, the larger of which was Tilted
up as dining and bail room for the oc-
casion. A long deal table in the mid
die was covered with huge disks of
coarse rye bread. ss sour as IL vcnegar
had been employed instead of water.
for in Russia all black bread is bitter
ness; masses of gray studen or jelly
made of cows feet filled with almost all
kinds of meats. including fish. game.
etc; iunks of corned beef. smoked fish,
platters of sausage and black puddings.
meat pastries, sweet cakes and apples.
the whole agreeably diversified with
bottles of watery beer, jars of fiery
vodka. long-neclSed dccanters of red
colored sweet liquor made of alcohol,
sugar. and the juice of currants cher
ries, hucI<leberries and raspberries.
The ''Te Deum'' over congrat ulatioua
and good wishes were freely expressed,
and, that hay might be made while the
sun still shone, white plate with .
little triangle Clipped off the edges
was placed on the rickety LITTLE table
under the icon, on which guests were
privileged or expected to deposit their
money offerings for the bride. put -
FIVE ruble note on the plate and saluted
the bride, according 10 custom, with =
kiss such as are as common as hard
boiled eggs 1T Eastertide among ortho-
dox Christians in Russia. and then We
sat down 10 dinner
There was no regular courses. no
handing round of dishes: everyone
stretched forth his hand and ate what
lay handy with that catholicity OF tasts
which the angel recommended to St
Peter, washing it down with -opious
potatious of the most various aed mys-
terious drinks ever dreamed of 10y the
gifted inventors of cocktail and golden
tizz. Every minute or oftener a drinker
would shout out. 'It's bitter. hitter,
on which the newly married pair. as in
duty bound, would ssveeten his draught
by kissing each other-an operation
which they conscientiously repeated
till felt convinced that the brides
lips mus. be covered with biistcrs or
stripped of the skin \. Y.
Telegraph.