Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-27
RUSSIAN HOSPITALITY

There is no hospitality in the world like
that OF the Russians" said an American
civil engineer who has spent several years
in the land Of the tsar in connection with
the construction of the great TRANSIT
berian railroad. Once the Russian man OF
family takes you into his home-and am
bound to say that this does not happen
until. through methods of his own and un-
known to you. he has come pretty near to
finding out all about you-he can't do
enough for you. lie heaps attentions upon
you. Nothing is too much trouble for him
or for his wife-to the end that you be
made comfortable and happy.
Let me tell you, for example, what you
go up against as the saying is, when
Russian head Of a family invites you to
spend the evening with him and his fam
lily:
You arrive at his home in your evening
clothes at 8 o'clock in the afternoon. and
by that time, probably. most Of the other
two dozen and odd guests have arrived.
having been similarly invited to spend the
evening"
You no sooner make your appearance
than the host drags you to his den and
makes you take a drink You find all OF
the other men there, taking their pick OF
the bottles ranged along the hosts private
sfdeboaad. and taking stiff one every few
minutes. If they are Russians, they are
drinking vodka-'wodka,' they call it-a
fluid that comes just about as near being
straight alcohol as anything drinkable ever
was.
1.-THE Russian men drink Incredible guam
titles OF this stuff without ever in the least
appearing to show it, and have even seen
them slipping 1t with their meals. Now,
you take one Of those cold Russian soups
composed of vegetables spices. several diff
ferent kinds Of meats, cucumbers in guam
tity, sliced. and. great heaven! the whole
Io<1 md CT md hu,ft
fact!-and when you see a Russian taking
alternate mouthfuls of this cold soup and
mouthfuls Of vodka and water-well, If
you're not pretty well conferred you're go
way, have to partake Of those Russian
dishes II you're not a Russian, for their
dinner menus are extremely elaborate, and
include the daintiest Of French dishes, as
Well as the native viands
But l digreSS. You drink any number
of drinks with the Russian host in his den
and in the meantime the women are with
the hostess in her den. taking sip or so of
something, and having an ante-prandial
cigarette. If you are wise and diplomatic
you will dodge as many of the ante-prandial
drinks with the host in his den as possible,
with view to your comfort later on, but
You have got to be very skilful about this,
for most Russian hosts have a way Of re-
garding it as sort Of reflection upon their
stock Of liquors. If not, indeed, a kind of
reflection upon their own drinking habits. if
their guests, non Russians, make an effort
to waive the drinkables at any period OF
the evening.
You sit down to the dinner at o'clock,
and it lasts until 8. Such cheerful and
amiable and talkative suffers the Rus
SLAMS are, to be sure! In this country tine
man who takes good many drinks before
dinner doesn't feel very much like eating
when he does sit down to that meal, bur
the more the Russian drinks the more he
wants to eat That, 1 suppose, Is the actual
i0,, - -. Irt,,
they neutralize their drinking with their
eating. The array Of courses that are
spread out before you at a Russian dinner
In well-to-do Russian home is staggering
and there's wine, 1t would seem. for
every different DISH let alone every course.
There Is more champagne, you find yourself
imagining, than You ever saw before IL al.
your lfe-the Russians are the grea-a5t
consumers Of champagne in the world.
You observe that the women drink cham
payne II 1t were water, and you wonder
how. in view of this, they contrive to pre-
serve their velvety skins, their svelte fig
ures, their clear, beautiful eyes. But there
Is something in the air Of Russia, believe,
that permits Of any amount Of drinking
without injurious results Between every
two or three courses the cigarettes are
passed around. to the women as well as to
the men. and everybody smokes and chat
ters. Russian table conversation is pecu-
liarly agreeable and delightful. The Rus
SLAMS are an artistic people, and there Is
an excellent reason for this. They cannot
talk politics. 1t Is not safe. So they adj
dress themselves to such subjects as lit
erature, art, travels, the stage, eminent
personages in realms other than the sphere
Of politics The women are even better
takers than the men, and there is a sort
of oriental. half-barbaric enthusiasm about
Russian women that Is peculiarly piquant
and interesting. Moreover, they have
mighty firtatious eyes, not to say f1irta-
tious ways. The foreigner who unwisely or
tactlpSSly int rOdnceS nOlitical SlIbiPcf nf
any sort at a Russian dinner table feels
a GOODNESS creeping over him that very
soon warns him to desist.
1.-The dinner and the cigars and cigarettes
finished, all hands Of the guests accom-
pany the host and his wife to the theater,
where boxes for the party have been en-
gagged. That's part of spending the even
ing The performance begins q bit after
nine. You may smoke all you want in the
boxes, and, by 10 o'clock, before your huge
dinner has well settled, you are supposed
to take up the drinking business again with
your host and his guests in the box. His
cabinet OF liquors-a portable affair, de-
signed for theater use-has preceded him to
the box. and it is provided with everything.
including Ice, siphons and so on. The wo-
men guests take champagne in the boxes,
but the men choose the liquors. Thus,
smoking and drinking pretty necessarily,
you watch the performance, walking about
the boxes and chattering between acts, I'M
til after midnight, when the show comes to
an end.
us the evening over with them? Not by
any means! You are expected to return
with the host and hostess to their home,
where you find an elaborate supper already
served and waiting. You do your best to
do justice to that. Possibly, then, this is
the wind-up of your spending the EVENING"
Not at all! You finish the supper along
toward o'clock, and then the guests ad-
journ to the drawing room, where there Is
| music. The Russian women play and sing
magnifcen Drinks served IN the
drawing room during the hour or so Of
music If you not a Russian, by this
time you are pretty willing to go home and
retire. But that would be discourteous.
Spending the evening is by no means over
yet. The music finished, the card tables
| are brought out and everybody plays cards
French games for the most part, n couple
Of Russian games the names Of which
would convey no Information to Englisll-
| speaking people, and, once in while, poker
and everybody CANDLES, women as well
as men, You drink necessarily while you
play cards, and munich on the caviare sand
witches which are served during the card
playing. The card games go untn 9
o'clock in the morning. as often as not
and then the evening Is spent! You may
go home IL you wish. II you don't wish
you merely signify your desire to sleep at
| your hosts house. and you find your room
| all Drepared He Is honOred if Won prefar