Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-06-06
RUSSIAN COUNTRY LIFE.
Race Customs Best Seen in the Rural
Districts.


The Russians do not take the pride ami
interest in their country homes that the
English. and latterly the Americans. have
taken in theirs.
The Russians prefer 10 know you and
TO lie known from th,ir life in the town.
and they seldom extend invitations to
foreigners to visit them in the country
But it is only in the country that one
ilniS them Russians; in the town they arc
cosmopolitan, with the language. the So
cIal arts and graces especially of tho
French.
Il was upon an early autumn morning
1T > cock that a party of three for
eigners found themselves 1T Il small sta
ton in the Russian steppcs after a nights
railroad journey. y drive Of nearly five
hours lay before Us to the home Of cur
hostess, and the trUika stood ready hay
lag been sent over night. At the station
ihere was plenty OF hot tea-tea such d.
one gets only in RuSsia-and soon the
horses dashed across the steppes. follow
ing some cartracks in the grass and
with nothing hut grass in front, around.
behind, grass calpeting the land for miles
and miles, encroaching even upon tn"
path itself
Soon we came to a small stream, and
the horses plunged in without 4 moment
driver laughed. as he looked with pride at
his splendid Orlolf horses. and said My
horses DO not need n bridge" Then we
passed through a villa where the cottages
stood upon the grass. no paths betWccR
them, nothing but grass. grass. The cur
tans were drawn at che windows. and APP
pareutly all the Gotta gers were asleep.
Bat suddenly there ~ IS n terrific din
and we seemed surrounded by an army OF
Withholding dogs of every size, which
sprang yelling at the horses noses, trying
to bite them. There were a dozen or
more of them, and they looked fierce
enough to terrlfy anyone, hut the driver
was as cool and collected as though he
had only some playful puppies gamh0ling
about him. He turned 70 the one mani
in our party. said that he himself must
hold the plunginG horses. and directed
him to take the knOut, with its lash tf-
teen feet long, to stand on the step Of
the trOika and drive off the dogs. They
fell away, bowling with pain, and aS
much frightened as the two women VII"
crouched in the troika, clnging To one an
other and to the man. He by this time
sat calmly triumphant, like true Brit
ish sportsman. and smiled condeScendmG-
Nv upon MS, although we both declared
we saw his hands tremble when he flung
out that long lash of the knout.
We raced through another village like
down TO about ; feet from the ground.
but the dogs did not modest us there.
and then across a river too wide TO ford.
The horses galloped over the bridge. cY-
cry plank shaking beneath us. They
galoped through the gate of the park,
so that we had but a glimpse of the
stone lions which guarded it. They gal
loped faster than ever, up and down
hill, fairly flying over the ground, and
then came TO a stop, sudden and eNcit-
ing, before the broad steps of the house.
Russian country houses are not OLD.
because, as rule, they are built of
wood but this one dated from the time
of the great Catherine. She gave 1t 70
one of her brave-and Acknowledgements
ais and his descendants. Its present
owners have fitted it up entirely in the
style of the period, with a few rooms in
keeping with the Italian architecture.
Marble steps led up TO the terrace. where
we entered through long glass doors into
an immense hall with countless small Ia
bles and settees. Each guest room was
corresp0ndingly large: you could have
danced cotillon in it, even with the
quantity of furniture which one finds al
ways in Russian homes.
4 guest is not supposed TO be visible
in Russia before l. o'clock, so we had
our breakfast in our rooms, 4 substantial
meal, such as a traveller would need aft
err long drive and so thrilling III cN-
perience; bur at II O'Clock we were
ready for the family breakfast. It was
such a one as you would get in France
ef many courses, with niimeFous sweet
dishes and served with ceremony, a
servant for each person at table.
The library was the rendezvous for
the afternoon, and there we lounged or
read in the midst of books in many Ian
guages-Russian. Italian, French. Eng
fish, German wonderful old manu-
scripts on the shelves. and bronze figures
of Catherine and her friend, the general
Of Russian warriors, poets, musicians.
looking coldly down upon lis. We had
tea in the library at , o'clock-Englsh
afternoon tea, with the difference of a
samovar. instead of the steamng kettle:
lemon for the tea. and sweets again,
candied peaches and pears, Strawberries.
every fruit almost: preserves 50 rich and
withal so pretty that they seemed too
good to eat.
To the left of the library lay the pic
ture gallery; where Catherine figured
again, respondent in her imperial robes.
and generations of family portraits hung
quite rs in an English ancestral hall.
Glass doors opened out from the library
upon a portico supported by marble col
umns; the step took one down TO the
terrace. and beyond there was tiny
path along the river, and q romantic lit
tie moving bridge pulled across by a
rope-a French 'bac," in fact.-London
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