Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1903-01-08
SHORT STORY FOR
EVENING HOURS
A RUSSIAN tVENING

like that of the Russians" said an
American civil engineer who has spent
several years in the land of the Car
in connection with the construction of
the great Trans-Siberian railroad.
"Once the Russian man of family takes
you into his homeland | 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. He heaps atten.
tions 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 in.
vites you to 'supend the evening with
him and his family.
You arrive at his home in your eve.
ming clothes at 8 o'clock in the after.
noon. and by that time, probably. most
of the other two dozen and odd guests
have arrived having been similarly in.
vited to spend the evening
you no sooner make your appear.
ance than the host drags you to his
den and makes you take drink. You
find all of the other men there, taking
their pick of the bottles ranged along
the hosts private sideboard. and TAX.
ing stiff one every few minutes. II
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.
THE Russian men drink incredible
quantities of this stun without ever in
the least appearing to show II, and I
have even seen them slipping 1t with
their meals. Now, you take one of
those cold Russian soups, composed Of
vegetables, spices, several different
kinds of meats, cucumbers in quantity,
sliced, and, great heaven! the whole
filed up and stiffened with buttermilli
--fact!-and when you see a Russian
taking alternate mouthfuls of this cold
soup and mouthfuls of VODKA and wa.
ter-well, II you're not pretty well cen.
tered you're going to become faint.
You don't by the way, have to partake
OF those Russian dishes II you're not a
Russian, for their dinner menus are ex.
tremely elaborate, and include the
daintiest of French dishes, as well as
the native viands.
But digress. You drink any num-
Der Of drinks with the Russian host in
women are with the hostes in her den,
taking a sip or so of something, and
having an apte-prandial cigarette. II
you are wise and diplomatic you will
dodge as many of the ante-prandial
drinks with the host'in his den as pos.
sible, with a view TO your comfort la
ter on, but you have got to be very
skillful about this, for most Russian
hosts have way of regarding II as a
sort of reflection upon their stock of
liquors, II not, indeed, kind of reflec.
ton upon their own drinking habits. If
their guests, non-Russians, make an eff,
fort to waive the drinkables at any pc.
Rod of the evening.
you sit down to the dinner at 6
o'clock, and 1t lasts until 8. Such
cheerful and amiable and talkative
suffers as the Russians are, to be
sure! In this country the man who
takes good many drinks before din.
ner doesn't feel very much like eating
when he docs sit down to that meal,
but the more the Russian drinks the
more he wants to eat. That, suppose,
Is the actual salvation of that nation of
heavy drinkers-they neutrallze their
drinking with their eating. The array
OF courses that are spread out before
you at Russian dinner in a well.to-do
Russian home is staggering - and
there's a wine, 1t would seem, for ev.
cry different dish, let alone every
course. There is more champagne, you
find yourself imagining, than you ever
saw before in all your life-the Rus.
slams are the greatest consumers Of
champagne In the world.
| You observe that the women drink
champagne as II 1t were water, and
you wonder how, in view of this, they
contrive to preserve their yelyety
skins, their svelte figures, their clear,
beautiful eyes. But there is something
In the air OF Russia, believe, that per.
mits Of any amount OF drinking with
out injurious result. Between every
two or three courses the cigarettes are
passed around, to the women as well
as to the men, and everybody smokes
and chatters. Russian table converse.
ton is peculiarly agreeable and de.
lightful. The Russians are an artistic
people, and there is an excellent rea.
son for this, They cannot talk politics.
II Is not safe. So they address them.
selves to such subjects as literature,
art, travels, the stage, eminent per-
sonages in realms other than the
sphere of politics, The women are
even better takers than the men, and