The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-06-12
ADJUSTMENTS IN RUSSIA,
'eE'HlLLINc" IS A FASCINATING
~ SPORT OF THE PEOPLE.

80 SFoHT OF THE PEOPLE.
mo Skating is Not So Good, DIVINE n ,,,.
Ionr lce-iiussians Arc Very Font ,e
| Music--dGmes In the Omen AIr--rbr,,..
ing Thick Wooden Clubs at UnrIglts
The aristocracy amuse thomeol,.oo
Te,fy much in the same way as our own
Iheay shoot, they loaf and play cards in
Their clubs, they butcher pigeons onf
Of traps, they have their race meetinoq
Ihey dance much aud well; some have
yachts OF their own. Many Of them
keep English grooms, and their Enc.
iSh-when they speak it-for this reo.
son smacks somewhat of the stable
though they are not usually aware that
TINS is the case. If n Russian aristo-
crat has succeeded in making himself
look like an Englishman, and behaves
IKE one, he is happy.
oi winter sports-in which. how.
ever, but small minority Of the Rus
sian youth care to take part-there are
skating, ice-yachting, snow-shoeing
md ice-hilling. The skating ought,
naturally, to be very good in Russia.
AS matter of fact the ice is generally
dead and lacking in that elasticity and
spring which are characteristic of our
English ice. 1t is too thick for elastic
lty, though the surface is beautifully
Kept and scientifically treated with a
view to skating wherever q space is
Hooded or an acre or two Of the Nevas
broad bosom is reclaimed to make n
skating ground. Some Of the Russian
amateurs skate marvelously, as also do
many Of the English and other foreign
residents. Ice yachting is confined
almost entirely to these latter, the ma
yves not having as yet awakened to
the merits Of this fine pastime.
lcc-hilling, however, at fair time
that is, during the carnival week pre-
ceding the "long fast" Or Leut-is
much practiced by the people. This is
kind of cross between the switchback
and tobogganing, and is an exceedingly
popular amusement among the English
residents of st. Petersburg, who sup
port an ice Hill Club of their own and
repair to it weekly during the winter in
order to amuse themselves by diving
headlong down the ice slopes, and to
be amused by the attempts of noyices
to follow their example. may assure
my readers that ice-hilling is at once
the most awe-inspiriug to beginners,
and the most charming of all sports to
the expert that the mind Of man can
imagine.
Snow-shoeing, again, is fine and
healthful recreation; it is The "szi'-
running of Norway, and is beloved and
much practiced by all Englishmen who
are fortunate enough to be introduced
to its destinations. 1t is too difficult
and requires too much exeftioa, how
ever, for young Russia, and that in
dolent individual, in consequences,
rarely dons the snowshoo
The Russians are theatre-loying
people, and the acting must be very
good to please their critical taste.
Many Of the theatres are Imperial, "
that is, the State pays the piper" if
the receipts Of the theatre so protected
do not balance the expenditure. In
paying for good artists, whether oper-
attic or dramatic, the Russians are
most lavish
Nearly every Russian is a natural
musician, aud cannot only sing in tune,
but can take n part "by ear" The man
with the balaleika or garmonka is al
ways sure Of an admiring audience,
whether in town or village; and there
is not q tiny hamlet in the Empire but
resolves itself on holidays into pair Of
choral societies-one for male and one
for female voices-which either parade
up and down the village street, sing
ing, without, of course, either conduc-
tor or accompaniment, or sit in rows
upon the benches outside the huts, oc-
cupied in a similar manner.
Occasionally, but very rarely, you
may see a party Of Russian children,
or young men and women, playing in
the open air ut one of two games The
first is a variant of prisoners base"
the other is species of ninepins, or
skittles, played with a group of up
rights, at which short, thick clubs
are thrown. The Russian youth
those who are energetic enough to
practice the game-sometimes attain
profcieiSy with these
grim little weapons, and make wonder
full shots at distance of some thirty
yards or so. But while the Russian
or any other youth is studying the art
of projecting the missiles, which are
quite heavy enough to break head or
a shin if the proprietor happened to be
"lsnocking around" within short
walk, it is well to take up ones abode IN
an adjoining parish and to get behind
a good, substantial building, say a
for the gameplaying Russian
is erratic to fault in the early stages
of his initiation into the mysteries OF
any kind of pastime requiring skill
Journal.