The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-24
RUSSIANS AT HOME.
Unnnttering Account of PecuIiari-
ties of Manners, Food and Dress.

Unnnttering Account of PecuIiari-
ties of Manners, Food and Dress.
From The London News.
The Russian, as you find him in ST.
IBERIA. has many good qualities. Above
all. he is hospitable. This propmts him
when giving you glass Of wine to
spill 1t on the table cloth. That indi-
Gates his liberality. To be careful and
watch the pouring so that 1t comes
within an eight of an inch from the
rim of the glass would mean stingi-
ness. and such though it abhorrent.
But commission needs to be sent
the length and breadth of the Russian
Empire to teach the people, officials as
we'll as ordinary folks, what are the
table manners Of Western nations. Said
man to me in a restaurant the other
day: II know at a glance you could not
be Russian, because you were using
your knife and fork in a civilized way"
You know how the player of a kettle
drum holds the sticks--that in the
right hand is sort of grip, that in
the left with the palm turned UP and
held by the two first fingers. A Rus
sian holds his knife and fork irs the
same way. He get piece Of meat on
the end of the fork, and with 1t stick
ing up in the air bites while poking
vegetables into his mouth with his
knife. There are no mustard spoons, so
he dives his knife into the mustard
pot. Personally, am regarded as an
extraordinary being because I won't
use serviette that evidently six
other people have used.
1t takes time for a Britisher to con-
form to the meal hours of the Russian.
There are no bacon and eggs for break
rast. Indeed, there is no breakfast at
all. You have a glass Of tea or two
glasses of tea with slices of lemon in
1t. and that serves till 2, 3. or o'clock,
when you have dinner. Before dinner
II Is usual to have a sekuskl. In case
you should have no appetite, there Is
a side table laden with twenty deinffes.
You have glass of vodlki, and toss 1t
down your throat at one swallow. If
you are an old hand you will have two,
four, or six vodkies. which put you into
the best of good humor, but unfit YOU
for anything but gossip the rest of the
afternoon. Then you pick UP fork ly-
ing about--never washed or wiped
from one days end to the other--stick
u into sardine, or n Biice of onion, or
little bit OF cheese, or some caviare.
and you eat. You have just enough of
these to provoke an appetite, and when
T. Is provoked you sit down to dinner.
IN the AFTERNOON or evening You will
drink many glasses Of tea, which is. I
admit, an enjoyable occupation. Re
tween 10 o'clock and midnight you have
supper, really another dinner. and
about O'Clock in the morning YOU
think of going to bed.
To do things in the proper way and
be correct and Western Is. Of course.
the ambition OF Irkutsk. So there Is
quite social code. The old milllonaires
VINO Tor forty years found Irkutsk
society--such as IL was before the com
Ing OF the railway-quite satisfied with
an old shirt and pair of creased top
boots are now "out of IT," A millionaire
only becomes a gentleman when he
tucks In his shirt and wears his
trousers OUTSIDE and not inside his
boots. IL - etiquette 10 put on a black
coat between the hours of 10 IN the
morning and noon. No matter how
sultry the evening is. II you so for the
usual promenade and do not wear a
black overcoat you proclaim you are
unacquaintcd with the ways OF good
society.
As to wealth. there Is but one stand
ard IN Irkutsis A man Is known By
his fura, and his wife by her furs ana
pearls, A thousand pounds ID cutie 4
common price 70 pay for GOOD FUR
coat Macauley writes somewhere about
Russian erenoees coming 10 Court
dropping pearls and yermin. i would
be sorry 70 say things are exactly Ike
that But certainly the Russian Ia a.
epaffn9 with water ~ though Il were
holy Oh from Jerusalem. When rail-
way travelling q Siberian lady decks
herself ia al Der fnery, light coi0red
gowns, and feafhered hQis. and ioses
~ 3ewelry. The EnGllah woman Who
travels in 4 plain failQf.maae Hafmfnt
enc 3 straw hgf 3 thought sqtaethlna
~ q harbarlaa,