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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter ten of The Boy Travelers in the Russian Empire.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Read by NeDi Prakash. The Boy
Travelers in the Russian Empire by Thomas Wallace Knox, Chapter ten.
(00:26):
While greatly enjoying their summer visit to Saint Petersburg, Frank
and Fred regretted that they did not have the opportunity
of seeing the capital in winter. They heard much about
the gaiety of the winter season and wondered if their
journeying would ever bring them there at time when the
snow covered the ground and Neva was sealed with ice.
(00:48):
For their consolation, Doctor Bronson told them of his winter
experience of the city. His story was about as follows.
I arrived here in the latter part of January, when
the temperature was run very low. The ordinary mercury thermometer,
which freezes a thirty nine degree below zero, was of
no use, as the mercury would be frozen solid almost
(01:10):
every day. Spirit thermometers are the only practicable ones for
northern Russia, and during my stay here they marked minus
fifty three fahrenheit. This is an unusual and extreme figure.
The main winter temperature about eighteen degree above zero. The
average summer temperature is sixty two degree, and the extreme
(01:31):
summer figure ninety nine degree. Everybody wears furs or sheepskins
in winter. They are donned when the frosts come, and
not laid aside till the trees are budding. Furs are
for the rich or those who pretend to be so,
and sheep skins for the lower classes. Both kind of
garments are worn with the fur or rule inside. The
(01:55):
fur coat or cloak has a backing of cloth, while
the sheepskin coat has only the skin of animal without
any cloth. Addition, one of the boy asks what kind
of furs were most in use? Nearly everything that bears
the name of foe, was the reply. But fashion rules
here as everywhere else, and it often happens that a
(02:17):
fur will be a great demand at one time and
quite neglected a few years later. Sable is the most
expensive fur, and a coat or cloak lined with it
is worth all the way from five hundred to five
thousand dollars, depending upon the excellence of the skins. Another
fur that of a black fox is more costly, but
(02:38):
as it is worn only by the imperial family and
the highest nobility, it does not come into our category.
Coats line with estrakin, the soft wool of a very
young lamps, are fashionable and bring high prices. I have
known of coats of this kind selling for six or
eight hundred dollars each. I took to America a cap
(02:59):
of estra wool. It cost me about three dollars, and
with my inexperienced eye, I could not distinguish it from
one that sold for ten times as much. My Russian
friends could readily detect the difference. But I was buying
the cap for American and not for Russian use. I
was quite content with my purchase. Why is this fur
(03:20):
of wool called astrakhin, one of the youths asked. It
comes here from Astrakhan at the mouth of Volga, said
the doctor. Its preparation is one of the industries of
Central Asia, for which Estrakhin is the great market. The
fur is black and remarkably soft and silky. The lamb
is killed immediately after he sees the light, and the
(03:41):
younger he is at the time of his death. The
finer and more valuable is the skin. Persia supplies large
quantities of the s fur, and it varies from black
to gray or white. I mentioned the black fox as
a very costly fur. The Emperor has a cloak which
is valued at ten thousand dollars. Only an emperor or
(04:02):
someone else with plenty of money at his command could
afford such a garment. This fur of black fox is
rarely seen outside of Russia, as only a small quantity
of it comes to market. Plenty of counterfeit fur of
this kind can be found in England. It is made
by dyeing the skin of a common fox, and the
work is done so skillfully as to defy detection by
(04:24):
any one not an expert in the fur trate. Sea, otter, mink, martin,
beaver fur, seal, lynx and rokwun are the furs in
generally use for lining garments Russia. Otters, seal and mink
furs are expensive, and so is that of another animal
I had almost omitted from the list, the ermine. Ermin
(04:47):
fur was formerly the badge of royalty, and in some
countries it could be worn only by the members of
royal or imperial family or by the judges in high
courts in England. You often hear the judges spoken of
as wearers of the ermine. The fur has been used
for lining the robes of the judges, its snowy whiteness
(05:09):
being considered as emblem of purity. The tip of the
tail of the ermine is black, and in making robes
the white surface is dotted at irregular intervals with the
black tips. Where they are not sufficient for the purpose,
the paws of the estrachen lamb are used instead. The
fur you see most frequently in Russia in the winter
(05:31):
season is that of a raccoon. I bought a coat
lined with this fur when I arrived in Saint Petersburg
and paid the equivalent of eighty dollars for it. I
did not recognize a skin as that of a compatriot,
and was only aware of its origin when informed by
a Russian friend. A fur dealer in New York afterwards
(05:52):
told me that half a million raccoon skins are sent
annually to London, and nearly all of them find their
way to Russia. Another animal whose fur comes from America
to Russia is that Odorifera's creature, the skunk. A friend
of mine bought a coat of this kind under the
impression that the fur grew on the back of a
young bear. In cold weather and out of doors, it
(06:16):
was all right, and no one could have known the difference.
But when the weather grew warm and thaw made the
atmosphere moist, my friend's coat was not a pleasant article
of wear. I believe he sold it to the manager
of a glue factory, whose nose had lost his sensitiveness
through his peculiar occupation. So much for the materials, and
now for the garments. A Russian shuba or cloak extends
(06:40):
from the head to the heels of the wearer. The
sleeves cover the finger tips, or very nearly so, and
the collar, when turned up, will completely encircle and conceal
the head. The head covering is a cap of the
pattern you see often in pictures, and once called in
America the poor capie. The coat is excellent for riding purpose,
and one can walk a short distance in such a garment,
(07:02):
but it is really inconvenient for a promenade. But as
everybody who can afford to ride us so the awkwardness
of shuba is of little consequence. The streets abound in sledges,
and you may be wished heard there and everywhere, at
a rapid rate, for a reasonable price. The streets are
far geer in the winter than in summer, for the
reason that there are so many more vehicles in motion.
(07:26):
And I know of no more active spectacle than Nevski.
On a clear day in January. The bells on the
sleighs must make a merry tinkling, said the boys with
a smile. Quite wrong, said the doctor, returning the smile,
as there are no bells at all. No bells on
the sleighs, was a surprised reply. Then the law is
(07:47):
not like ours in America exactly, the rivers, answered the doctor.
In the United States we require them, and in Russia
they forbid them. We argue that unless the bells are
worn on the horses, the approach of a sleigh could
not be perceived. The Russian argued that in confusion caused
by the sound of bells, one could not hear the
(08:07):
warning shout of the driver and would be liable to
run over. Both are right. Sleighs are not sufficiently numerous
with us to cause confusion, while in Russia their great
numbers would certainly bring about the result that Russian read.
But it is the cities and town only. The doctor
continued that the bell is forbidden on the country roads.
(08:27):
Any One traveling in post carriage carries bells on the
dukah the yoke above the neck of the shaft horse,
but he must remove them before entering a town. Most
of these bells are made at Waldaie, a town on
the road from Saint Petersburg to Moscow, and the place
of their origin is preserved in some of the slaying
songs of the country. Balls, parties, receptions, dances, dinners, theatricals
(08:52):
or operas. Anything in everything belonging to fashionable life can
be found and sent Petersburg in winter. Any One with
the introductions can be as gay as he wishes. And
it is a wonder to a quiet, an easy loving
man that the Russian can survive this sort of thing
year after year. A fashionable Russian rarely gets to bed
before two or three o'clock in the morning. It is
(09:15):
true he may sleep late, but if he has any
official engagements, his hour of slumber will be few. A
winter in Saint Petersburg is a heavy chain of one's
vital forces, and also upon the pocket living is deer
and is well set that the city is the most
costly capital of Europe, with the possible exception of mutrit.
There never freezes near the end of October or early
(09:37):
in November, and remains frozen until May. Nobody is allowed
to venture on ice until it has been officially declared
that the ice is frozen over, and in the spring
when the ice melts. The official declaration is necessary before
a single boat can put out from shore or even
be launched. When the river is open, there is an
elaborate ceremony, and a part of the performance includes taking
(10:01):
a glass of water from the river and presenting it
to the Emperor. His majesty drinks the water and fills
the glass with gold coin. It was observed that the
size of the glass increased annually until it assumed the
proportion of respectable Flowervas the imperial stomach could not hold
so much water at once, and the imperial purse objected
to the price, a compromise was effected by fixing a
(10:23):
certain sum to be paid instead of filling the glass
with gold. Skating and riding on the ice have a
prominent place and amusements of Russia in winter coasting on
artificial ice hills is also a standard spot in which
all classes of people take part. It is especially in
order during but a week and the Easter festivities, and
(10:43):
is one of the winter's sides of all cities in
the Empire. How do they make these ice hills? Fred asked?
A scaffhold is raised to the height of thirty or
forty feet, the post being set in holes drilled in
the frozen earth or payment, and fixed in their places
by pouring water around them. In a few minutes, the
water is converted into ice and the post is immovable.
(11:07):
On one side of the scaffold, there are steps for
sending it and gently. There is a track at the
side for drawing up the sleds. The other side slopes
off very steeply at the start, then it becomes more
gentle and finally extends a considerable distance on a level.
Blocks of eyes are laid on the slope. Water is
poured over them to be converted into ice and make
(11:29):
a smooth surface, and when the slide is completed and opened,
it is thronged by petrons. It takes away one's breath
at first, when he is pitched over the edge of
the slope and find himself rushing with the speed of
surpassing that of a railway train. The impetus gained in
the first part of the descent is sufficient to carry
the sled a long distance on the level. I tried
(11:51):
the slide two or three times, and I think if
I had been ten or twenty years younger, I should
have enjoyed it very much. Where do the put up
these ice hills, Frank inquired. Several are erected in Admiralty Square,
said the doctor, and others in various other squares along
the bank of the river. They are frequently arranged so
(12:12):
that the level part of the slide is over the
eyes of the Neva, and the care is taken that
the track shall be smooth as glass. There are usually
two of these hills side by side, the slides being
in opposite directions. Those I speak of are for the
general public. Smaller slides are in courtyards of the private houses,
and there are imitations of them in many summer houses,
(12:34):
where polished wood takes the place of the ice. One
of the slides in Imperial Palace is of the mahogany,
which has been polished till it shines like a finely
finished bureau or wardrope. The time to see Saint Petersburg
in all its winter glory is during Maslenitza or Butterweek,
which assures in the great fast preceding Easter. The whole
(12:57):
population is engaged in enjoying itself. Billini or pancakes are
the favorite articles of food, and thousands of digestions are
upset by the enormous quantities of these things that are devoured.
They are made of flour in butter, fried in butter,
and eaten with butter. Sauce, Butter and other fatty foods
are in order through the week, and from a sanitary
point of view, this great consumption of grease followed by
(13:20):
seven weeks of fasting leads to frightful results. Statistics show
that the mortality rate is largely increased at the time
of the year, and certainly it is not to be
wondered at. Rich and poor alike give themselves up to butter,
and the only difference is that the rich have the
best qualities of the article, and sometimes a greater quantity.
(13:42):
The rich people sometimes have billini parties during the festive season.
I once attended one of these parties at the invitation
of a Russian friend. When we met in the parlors,
I was surprised that so few were present, as I
had dined there before and knew he could accommodate twice
the number. But I saw the reason when the word
(14:03):
was given that the pancakes were ready, and our house
led the way. We were not taken to the dining room,
but to the kitchen, and then it was explained that
blini parties are given in the kitchen, and no more
people are invited than the place can accommodate. The blini
are eaten on the spot as fast as they are cooked,
and it is prime object to have them hot from
(14:25):
the griddle. We had a very jolly time there, but
for several days my stomach was like in embryo vesuvius.
In consequence of making a whole meal of this rich food.
Think of an entire dinner of buckwheat cakes or fry turnovers,
the stuff the dreams are made of. One of the
boys wished to know about the Easter kissing for which
Russia is famous. Well, it is one of the sides
(14:48):
of Russia with agreeable and disagreeable features. It is not
literally the case that everybody kisses everybody else. But that
statement is not so very far out of the way.
After all, I passed through one Easter, and it was
quite enough for a lifetime. I was kissed by men
and women almost innumerable. If the kissing could have him
(15:09):
confined to the young and pretty woman, or even to
the comely ones of middle or advanced life, I should
have borne the infliction patiently. But when I was obliged
to receive the salutation from men of all ages and
all condition of cleanness or as rivers, it was too
much for comfort. All Russia kisses all the rest of
the Russia at Easter, and any foreigner who may be
(15:31):
there at the time is treated like a subject of
the czar. The old adage that kissing goes by favor
is entirely set aside. Custom makes it a well nigh universal.
When does the ceremony begin? And how long is it
kept up? Said one of the youths. It begins at
midnight as the clock sounds the hour of twelve, and
ushers in the Easter day. A little before midnight, the
(15:54):
whole Russia goes to church. The Emperor and his all
family assemble in the Imperial Child in every church and
chapel in the empire is filled. As the clock begins
striking the hour, the whole congregation is wrapped in silence.
At the last stroke of the bell, the doors of
the sanctuary of the church are thrown open, and the
waiting priest come forth. Christhos vers chreas christ is Risen
(16:19):
is in tone by the priest, and the song is
taken by the choir, to be followed by the response
christhos vers chreas a more Christ is risen from the dead.
The priest walked through the congregation, repeating the words and
swinging their censors. The beginning of the chant is the
signal for kissing. Friends and acquaintances are generally standing together,
(16:41):
and each kisses every other one of the group. Those
who have the slightest possible aquaintus kiss each other, and
at each and every kiss the two phrases have given
are repeated at the same instant that the signal is given.
By the opening of the doors of the sanctuary, the
churches are eliminated, both inside and out. Every bell is rung,
(17:01):
and the pealing of the cannon and the flashing of
the rockets show how much the festival is a national one.
The kissing is continued through the night and all the
next day, and even for several days. All relatives, friends
and acquaintances salute each other with christhos, vers kreus and
a kiss. Every is worschik, potter, dustman. In fact, every
(17:26):
peasant of every name and kind kisses every other peasant
he has ever known, and a great many whom he
never saw before. Clerks in the public offices kiss each other.
Officers and soldiers of the armies salute in the same way,
the general kissing all his subordinate officers, the colonel of
a regiment kissing all the officers beneath him, and also
(17:48):
a deputation of the soldiers, while the captain and lieutenant
kiss all the soldiers of their companies. The same order
is observed in the navy and in all the official ranks.
And the number of osculations in the Empire in that
one day of the year is quite beyond the power
of calculation. Other Emperor and Empress subject to the same
rule as other people. Was a very natural inquiry which followed,
(18:12):
certainly was a reply. The ceremony is closely connected with
the religion of the country, and as the Emperor is
the head of the Church, he could not possibly secure
exemption from this ancient custom. The Emperor and the Empress
must salute all the members of the Imperial family as
a matter of course, and also all the court officials
and attendants. And after this ceremony is over, the Empress
(18:34):
must give her hand to be kissed by every officer
above the rank of colonel who has the right of
attendance at court. The Emperor kisses all his officers on parade,
and also a delegation of soldiers selected as representatives of
the army. The military parades for the imperial kiss last
several days, as it would be impossible to go through
(18:56):
the ceremonial with all the regiments around Saint Petersburg in
a single revolution of the earth. Easter makes an end
of the long fast of seven weeks, which has been
kept by all faithful member of the Church with great rigor.
The lower class refrain even from fish during the first
and last weeks of the fast, and also on Wednesday
(19:16):
and Fridays of the other five It is no wonder
that they precede it with the festivities of Butterweek. So
the recollection of the good time they have had will
be consolation during the fast. With the kissing of Easter
begins a period of feasting, both in eating and drinking,
which is by no means famous for its moderation. Many
of the Moorsiks are sadly intoxicated before the setting of
(19:40):
the sun at Easter, and they are by no means
the only person who exhibit the effect of two liberal
potations from Easter and its kisses. The conversation wandered to
other subjects. Fred asked how the houses were kept warm
in intense cold of Russian winter some of the more
modern buildings of Saint Petersburg and Moscow, said the doctor
(20:01):
are warmed by furnaces, not unlike those used in America.
But the true Peachca or Russian stove is of brick
and is generally built so as to form the common
center of three or four rooms and warm them all
at once. In the huts of peasants, the top of
the stove is utilized as a bed, and it is
usually large enough for three or four person to lie
(20:23):
there with comparative comfort. Do they keep the fire going
there all the time during the winter? Not exactly, was
the reply, though in a certain sense they do. Every morning,
the fire is kindled in the stove, which resembles an
enormous oven, and is kept burning for several hours. When
it has burned down to a bed of coals, so
(20:44):
that no more carbonic gas can be walled, the chimney
is closed in pot holes near the top of the
stove are opened into the room or rooms. The hot
air comes out and warms the apartment, and there is
enough of it to keep a good heat for twelve
or fifteen hours. The portholes must be carefully closed during
the combustion of the wood in order to prevent the
(21:05):
escape of poisonous gas. Sometimes they are opened when there
is still some flame burning. A Russian will instantly detect
the presence of this gas and open a window or
rush into their open air, but strangers, in their ignorance,
are occasionally overpowered by it. Several instances are on record
of strangers losing their lives by ugor, as the Russian
(21:28):
called this poisonous gas from the stove. Among them, some
twenty years ago, was the son of a Persian embassador
who was smothered in one of the principal hotels of Moscow.
When a person is overpowered by ugur and found insensible,
he is carried out of doors and rolled in the snow,
a severe but efficacious remedy. Then, too, the cold is
(21:51):
excluded by means of double or triple windows, little cones
of paper filled with salt being placed between the windows
to absorb whatever moil collects here. Russian houses are very
poorly ventilated, and frequently, on entering from open air, you
are almost stifled by the foul atmosphere that seemed to
strike you in the face like a pugilist. It is
(22:13):
probably the condition of the air in which they live,
combined with late hours in exactions of fashionable life, that
gives such an aspect of paleness to nearly all the
Russian women above the peasant class. A fresh ruddy complexion,
such as one sees almost universally throughout England and quite
gently in America, is almost unknown among Russian ladies. If
(22:36):
the Emperor would issue a decree requiring the house of
the Empire to be properly ventilated, he would confer a
blessing on his faithful subjects and save or prolong thousands
of lives. The peasants sometimes use their stoves for baths,
said the doctor, to the great surprise of his youth auditors.
How is that possible, one of them asked, do they
(22:56):
fill the stove with water the same as they would
a bath? Not exactly, the doctor answered, smilingly. You know
the character of the Russian bath as we find it
in New York and other American cities. Certainly, was the reply.
It is a room filled with steam, and with a
series of benches on which you lie and are heated,
the highest bench being hottest of all. The Russian bath
(23:19):
of the best class, here, said the doctor Bronson, is
arranged in the same way. The more primitive bath is
simply a room with benches and a fire on a
pile of hot stones. Water is thrown over the stones
and converted into steam, and the finishing touch is to
mount to the topmost bench, while an attendant deluges the
stones with water and raises a cloud that threatens to
(23:41):
scald you. The most profuse perspiration is a result, and
the bath is no doubt a great sanitary institution. The
Turkish bath is much like the Russian hot drier, taking
the place of steam. Taken properly, the Russian bath has
no bad effects and is beneficial in rheumatism, god certain
forms of neuralgia, and several other diseases. It is a
(24:05):
wonderful restorative when you have been shaken up in carriages
on Russian roads, and an excellent thing after a journey
of any kind. Every good Russian considers it his duty
to bathe once a week, but he does not always
adhere to the rule. In every village there is a
bath house, which is a general property of the villagers
and maintained by a popular contribution. When a peasant has
(24:28):
no bath house, he creeps into his stove, bakes himself
on the hot ashes, and, after perspiring freely, crawls out
and is drenched with water. Nearly every private house has
its bath, which is generally in a small building in
the yard, rather than in the dwelling house. In all
the last cities there are numerous bathing establishments, some of
(24:49):
them fitted up in gorgeous style, while others are of
the plainest and cheapest sort. The Russians are quite gregarious
in their bathing habits, and think no more of taking
a bath in presence of each other then of dining
in a restaurant. Is it true that the Russian finish
a bath by having ice water poured over them, or
by taking a plunge into it. It is accustomed to
(25:11):
close the pores of the skin by means of cold,
but not ice cold water. The attendant begins the work
of bath by throwing water over you, first warm, then hot,
then hotter, and then hottest. The drenching is followed by
the steaming process and a gentle flogging with birchen rods
outwitches to stimulate perspiration. Then you are soaped and scrubbed,
(25:32):
and the scrubbing being performed usually with purchin's shavings, which
are thoroughly and vigorously applied. After this you are again
drenched with buckets of water, beginning with warm, and going
on descending scale to cold, so that there shall be
no shock to the system. Men have rushed from bath
into a snow bank, but this is not the custom.
(25:54):
The peasants frequently leave the bath to take a swim
in the river, but only in mild weather. No doubt,
there have been cases of bathing voluntarily through the eyes
or in ice water, but you must search far and
wide to find them. Frank remarked that he thought one
should exercise great care in going into the open air
(26:14):
in winter after taking a bath. Doctor Bronson explained that
this was the reason of the drenching with cold water,
so that the pores of the skin would be closed
and the chances of taking cold greatly reduced. It is
quite a shock to the system, said the doctor, to
pass from indoors to out or from outdoors to inn.
During the Russian winter, the houses is gently heated to
(26:36):
about seventy degree fahrenheit, with the thermometer at zero or
possibly ten twenty or more degrees below. It is like
stepping from a furnace to a refrigerator, or vice versa.
But the native do not seem to mind it. I
have often seen a music rise from his scouch on
the top of the stove, and, after tightening his belt
(26:57):
and putting on his boots and cap, mount the box
of sleigh and drive for two or three hours in
a temperature far below zero. I have read somewhere, said
fred about the danger of losing one's here and nose
by frost, and that is the custom in Saint Petersburg
and Moscow to warn any one that he is being frozen.
Did you ever see a case of this kind? It
(27:19):
is a strange circumstance, replied the doctor that nearly every
tourist who has been in Russia, even for only a
week or so, claims to have seen a crowd running
after a man or woman calling out nurse nurse when
the victim did not understand, seizing him or heard, and
rubbing the nose violently with snow. One writer tells it
(27:40):
as occurring to a French actress, another to an English ambassador,
another to an American politician, and in each case the
story is varied to give it a semblance of truth.
I was in Moscow and Saint Petersburg during January and February,
and though constantly watching to see someone's nose pulled, was
doomed to disappointment. I asked my Russian friend about it,
(28:02):
and none of them was wiser than I. One said
it might happen once in a great while, but it
was safe to conclude that everybody knew enough to take
care of his own nose. Frank asked how one could
tell when his nose was freezing, or how observe the
freezing of another's. The nose and ears become numb and
turn white, was the reply, and that indicates the beginning
(28:24):
of freezing. When this is a condition, nothing but a
vigorous rubbing to restore the circulation will prevent the loss
of those organs. It is for the protection from the
frost that the Russian keep their faces wrapped in furs.
And if a man has any doubt about the cognition
of his facial attachments, he will touch them occasionally to
make sure. When you pinch your nose and do not
(28:46):
feel the pinch, it is time to rub with snow
promptly and with energy. Severe cold is very inconvenient for
the wearer of a mustache, as he speedily gathers a
great quantity of eyes. There By the congolation of the
moisture of his breath, a man's beard becomes a frozen
mass in a little while. Beard and furs frequently freeze
(29:07):
together and render a sudden turn of the head a
matter of great annoyance. Ladies find their wheels stiffening into
something like wired gauze when thermometer runs low. They disdain
the bonnet of London or Paris, and sensibly enclose their
heads and hoots lined with foe and having caves descending
well into the neck. Horses become white in a short time,
(29:30):
no matter what may be their real color, from the
formation of frost all over their bodies. Their breath suggests
steam more than anything else, and the long hairs around
their nose are turned into icy spikes. In the severest weather,
pigeons have been seen to fall to the ground paralyzed
with the cold, but it is quite likely that their
(29:50):
flights were forced and the birds were half frozen before
taking wing. Frank asked if it has often happened that
the people are frozen to death in these Russian winters.
Occurrences of this kind probably take place every year, was
the reply. But from all I have been able to learn,
I believe the number is exaggerated. In many cases, it
(30:11):
is the fault of the frozen ones themselves. They have
been rendered insensible or careless by stimulants and gone to
sleep in the open air. The tendency to sleep when
one is exposed to see your coal should be resisted,
as it is very likely to be the sleep of death.
There is a story of two travelers who saw a
third in trouble. One of them proposed to go to
(30:32):
the relief of the man in distress, but the other refused,
saying he would not stir out of their sleigh. The
first went and relieve the sufferer. His exertions set the
blood rushing through his veins and saved him from injury
by the cold, while the one who refused to render
aid was frozen to death. It is a curious fact,
(30:53):
said the doctor, inclosing his remarks upon the Russian winter,
that foreigners coming here do not feel the coal at first.
They walk the street in the same clothing as they
would wear in London or Paris, and laugh at the Russians,
wrapping themselves in force. At the same time, the Russians
laugh at them and predict that if they stay in
the country for another season, they will change their ways.
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A stranger does not feel the cold the first winter
as sensibly as do the Russians, but in every succeeding
season of the frost, he is fully sensitive to it,
and wise with the natives in constant use of his furs.
End of Chapter ten
Chapter ten of The Boy Travelers in the Russian Empire.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Read by NeDi Prakash. The Boy
Travelers in the Russian Empire by Thomas Wallace Knox, Chapter ten.
(00:26):
While greatly enjoying their summer visit to Saint Petersburg, Frank
and Fred regretted that they did not have the opportunity
of seeing the capital in winter. They heard much about
the gaiety of the winter season and wondered if their
journeying would ever bring them there at time when the
snow covered the ground and Neva was sealed with ice.
(00:48):
For their consolation, Doctor Bronson told them of his winter
experience of the city. His story was about as follows.
I arrived here in the latter part of January, when
the temperature was run very low. The ordinary mercury thermometer,
which freezes a thirty nine degree below zero, was of
no use, as the mercury would be frozen solid almost
(01:10):
every day. Spirit thermometers are the only practicable ones for
northern Russia, and during my stay here they marked minus
fifty three fahrenheit. This is an unusual and extreme figure.
The main winter temperature about eighteen degree above zero. The
average summer temperature is sixty two degree, and the extreme
(01:31):
summer figure ninety nine degree. Everybody wears furs or sheepskins
in winter. They are donned when the frosts come, and
not laid aside till the trees are budding. Furs are
for the rich or those who pretend to be so,
and sheep skins for the lower classes. Both kind of
garments are worn with the fur or rule inside. The
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fur coat or cloak has a backing of cloth, while
the sheepskin coat has only the skin of animal without
any cloth. Addition, one of the boy asks what kind
of furs were most in use? Nearly everything that bears
the name of foe, was the reply. But fashion rules
here as everywhere else, and it often happens that a
(02:17):
fur will be a great demand at one time and
quite neglected a few years later. Sable is the most
expensive fur, and a coat or cloak lined with it
is worth all the way from five hundred to five
thousand dollars, depending upon the excellence of the skins. Another
fur that of a black fox is more costly, but
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as it is worn only by the imperial family and
the highest nobility, it does not come into our category.
Coats line with estrakin, the soft wool of a very
young lamps, are fashionable and bring high prices. I have
known of coats of this kind selling for six or
eight hundred dollars each. I took to America a cap
(02:59):
of estra wool. It cost me about three dollars, and
with my inexperienced eye, I could not distinguish it from
one that sold for ten times as much. My Russian
friends could readily detect the difference. But I was buying
the cap for American and not for Russian use. I
was quite content with my purchase. Why is this fur
(03:20):
of wool called astrakhin, one of the youths asked. It
comes here from Astrakhan at the mouth of Volga, said
the doctor. Its preparation is one of the industries of
Central Asia, for which Estrakhin is the great market. The
fur is black and remarkably soft and silky. The lamb
is killed immediately after he sees the light, and the
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younger he is at the time of his death. The
finer and more valuable is the skin. Persia supplies large
quantities of the s fur, and it varies from black
to gray or white. I mentioned the black fox as
a very costly fur. The Emperor has a cloak which
is valued at ten thousand dollars. Only an emperor or
(04:02):
someone else with plenty of money at his command could
afford such a garment. This fur of black fox is
rarely seen outside of Russia, as only a small quantity
of it comes to market. Plenty of counterfeit fur of
this kind can be found in England. It is made
by dyeing the skin of a common fox, and the
work is done so skillfully as to defy detection by
(04:24):
any one not an expert in the fur trate. Sea, otter, mink, martin,
beaver fur, seal, lynx and rokwun are the furs in
generally use for lining garments Russia. Otters, seal and mink
furs are expensive, and so is that of another animal
I had almost omitted from the list, the ermine. Ermin
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fur was formerly the badge of royalty, and in some
countries it could be worn only by the members of
royal or imperial family or by the judges in high
courts in England. You often hear the judges spoken of
as wearers of the ermine. The fur has been used
for lining the robes of the judges, its snowy whiteness
(05:09):
being considered as emblem of purity. The tip of the
tail of the ermine is black, and in making robes
the white surface is dotted at irregular intervals with the
black tips. Where they are not sufficient for the purpose,
the paws of the estrachen lamb are used instead. The
fur you see most frequently in Russia in the winter
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season is that of a raccoon. I bought a coat
lined with this fur when I arrived in Saint Petersburg
and paid the equivalent of eighty dollars for it. I
did not recognize a skin as that of a compatriot,
and was only aware of its origin when informed by
a Russian friend. A fur dealer in New York afterwards
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told me that half a million raccoon skins are sent
annually to London, and nearly all of them find their
way to Russia. Another animal whose fur comes from America
to Russia is that Odorifera's creature, the skunk. A friend
of mine bought a coat of this kind under the
impression that the fur grew on the back of a
young bear. In cold weather and out of doors, it
(06:16):
was all right, and no one could have known the difference.
But when the weather grew warm and thaw made the
atmosphere moist, my friend's coat was not a pleasant article
of wear. I believe he sold it to the manager
of a glue factory, whose nose had lost his sensitiveness
through his peculiar occupation. So much for the materials, and
now for the garments. A Russian shuba or cloak extends
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from the head to the heels of the wearer. The
sleeves cover the finger tips, or very nearly so, and
the collar, when turned up, will completely encircle and conceal
the head. The head covering is a cap of the
pattern you see often in pictures, and once called in
America the poor capie. The coat is excellent for riding purpose,
and one can walk a short distance in such a garment,
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but it is really inconvenient for a promenade. But as
everybody who can afford to ride us so the awkwardness
of shuba is of little consequence. The streets abound in sledges,
and you may be wished heard there and everywhere, at
a rapid rate, for a reasonable price. The streets are
far geer in the winter than in summer, for the
reason that there are so many more vehicles in motion.
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And I know of no more active spectacle than Nevski.
On a clear day in January. The bells on the
sleighs must make a merry tinkling, said the boys with
a smile. Quite wrong, said the doctor, returning the smile,
as there are no bells at all. No bells on
the sleighs, was a surprised reply. Then the law is
(07:47):
not like ours in America exactly, the rivers, answered the doctor.
In the United States we require them, and in Russia
they forbid them. We argue that unless the bells are
worn on the horses, the approach of a sleigh could
not be perceived. The Russian argued that in confusion caused
by the sound of bells, one could not hear the
(08:07):
warning shout of the driver and would be liable to
run over. Both are right. Sleighs are not sufficiently numerous
with us to cause confusion, while in Russia their great
numbers would certainly bring about the result that Russian read.
But it is the cities and town only. The doctor
continued that the bell is forbidden on the country roads.
(08:27):
Any One traveling in post carriage carries bells on the
dukah the yoke above the neck of the shaft horse,
but he must remove them before entering a town. Most
of these bells are made at Waldaie, a town on
the road from Saint Petersburg to Moscow, and the place
of their origin is preserved in some of the slaying
songs of the country. Balls, parties, receptions, dances, dinners, theatricals
(08:52):
or operas. Anything in everything belonging to fashionable life can
be found and sent Petersburg in winter. Any One with
the introductions can be as gay as he wishes. And
it is a wonder to a quiet, an easy loving
man that the Russian can survive this sort of thing
year after year. A fashionable Russian rarely gets to bed
before two or three o'clock in the morning. It is
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true he may sleep late, but if he has any
official engagements, his hour of slumber will be few. A
winter in Saint Petersburg is a heavy chain of one's
vital forces, and also upon the pocket living is deer
and is well set that the city is the most
costly capital of Europe, with the possible exception of mutrit.
There never freezes near the end of October or early
(09:37):
in November, and remains frozen until May. Nobody is allowed
to venture on ice until it has been officially declared
that the ice is frozen over, and in the spring
when the ice melts. The official declaration is necessary before
a single boat can put out from shore or even
be launched. When the river is open, there is an
elaborate ceremony, and a part of the performance includes taking
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a glass of water from the river and presenting it
to the Emperor. His majesty drinks the water and fills
the glass with gold coin. It was observed that the
size of the glass increased annually until it assumed the
proportion of respectable Flowervas the imperial stomach could not hold
so much water at once, and the imperial purse objected
to the price, a compromise was effected by fixing a
(10:23):
certain sum to be paid instead of filling the glass
with gold. Skating and riding on the ice have a
prominent place and amusements of Russia in winter coasting on
artificial ice hills is also a standard spot in which
all classes of people take part. It is especially in
order during but a week and the Easter festivities, and
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is one of the winter's sides of all cities in
the Empire. How do they make these ice hills? Fred asked?
A scaffhold is raised to the height of thirty or
forty feet, the post being set in holes drilled in
the frozen earth or payment, and fixed in their places
by pouring water around them. In a few minutes, the
water is converted into ice and the post is immovable.
(11:07):
On one side of the scaffold, there are steps for
sending it and gently. There is a track at the
side for drawing up the sleds. The other side slopes
off very steeply at the start, then it becomes more
gentle and finally extends a considerable distance on a level.
Blocks of eyes are laid on the slope. Water is
poured over them to be converted into ice and make
(11:29):
a smooth surface, and when the slide is completed and opened,
it is thronged by petrons. It takes away one's breath
at first, when he is pitched over the edge of
the slope and find himself rushing with the speed of
surpassing that of a railway train. The impetus gained in
the first part of the descent is sufficient to carry
the sled a long distance on the level. I tried
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the slide two or three times, and I think if
I had been ten or twenty years younger, I should
have enjoyed it very much. Where do the put up
these ice hills, Frank inquired. Several are erected in Admiralty Square,
said the doctor, and others in various other squares along
the bank of the river. They are frequently arranged so
(12:12):
that the level part of the slide is over the
eyes of the Neva, and the care is taken that
the track shall be smooth as glass. There are usually
two of these hills side by side, the slides being
in opposite directions. Those I speak of are for the
general public. Smaller slides are in courtyards of the private houses,
and there are imitations of them in many summer houses,
(12:34):
where polished wood takes the place of the ice. One
of the slides in Imperial Palace is of the mahogany,
which has been polished till it shines like a finely
finished bureau or wardrope. The time to see Saint Petersburg
in all its winter glory is during Maslenitza or Butterweek,
which assures in the great fast preceding Easter. The whole
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population is engaged in enjoying itself. Billini or pancakes are
the favorite articles of food, and thousands of digestions are
upset by the enormous quantities of these things that are devoured.
They are made of flour in butter, fried in butter,
and eaten with butter. Sauce, Butter and other fatty foods
are in order through the week, and from a sanitary
point of view, this great consumption of grease followed by
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seven weeks of fasting leads to frightful results. Statistics show
that the mortality rate is largely increased at the time
of the year, and certainly it is not to be
wondered at. Rich and poor alike give themselves up to butter,
and the only difference is that the rich have the
best qualities of the article, and sometimes a greater quantity.
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The rich people sometimes have billini parties during the festive season.
I once attended one of these parties at the invitation
of a Russian friend. When we met in the parlors,
I was surprised that so few were present, as I
had dined there before and knew he could accommodate twice
the number. But I saw the reason when the word
(14:03):
was given that the pancakes were ready, and our house
led the way. We were not taken to the dining room,
but to the kitchen, and then it was explained that
blini parties are given in the kitchen, and no more
people are invited than the place can accommodate. The blini
are eaten on the spot as fast as they are cooked,
and it is prime object to have them hot from
(14:25):
the griddle. We had a very jolly time there, but
for several days my stomach was like in embryo vesuvius.
In consequence of making a whole meal of this rich food.
Think of an entire dinner of buckwheat cakes or fry turnovers,
the stuff the dreams are made of. One of the
boys wished to know about the Easter kissing for which
Russia is famous. Well, it is one of the sides
(14:48):
of Russia with agreeable and disagreeable features. It is not
literally the case that everybody kisses everybody else. But that
statement is not so very far out of the way.
After all, I passed through one Easter, and it was
quite enough for a lifetime. I was kissed by men
and women almost innumerable. If the kissing could have him
(15:09):
confined to the young and pretty woman, or even to
the comely ones of middle or advanced life, I should
have borne the infliction patiently. But when I was obliged
to receive the salutation from men of all ages and
all condition of cleanness or as rivers, it was too
much for comfort. All Russia kisses all the rest of
the Russia at Easter, and any foreigner who may be
(15:31):
there at the time is treated like a subject of
the czar. The old adage that kissing goes by favor
is entirely set aside. Custom makes it a well nigh universal.
When does the ceremony begin? And how long is it
kept up? Said one of the youths. It begins at
midnight as the clock sounds the hour of twelve, and
ushers in the Easter day. A little before midnight, the
(15:54):
whole Russia goes to church. The Emperor and his all
family assemble in the Imperial Child in every church and
chapel in the empire is filled. As the clock begins
striking the hour, the whole congregation is wrapped in silence.
At the last stroke of the bell, the doors of
the sanctuary of the church are thrown open, and the
waiting priest come forth. Christhos vers chreas christ is Risen
(16:19):
is in tone by the priest, and the song is
taken by the choir, to be followed by the response
christhos vers chreas a more Christ is risen from the dead.
The priest walked through the congregation, repeating the words and
swinging their censors. The beginning of the chant is the
signal for kissing. Friends and acquaintances are generally standing together,
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and each kisses every other one of the group. Those
who have the slightest possible aquaintus kiss each other, and
at each and every kiss the two phrases have given
are repeated at the same instant that the signal is given.
By the opening of the doors of the sanctuary, the
churches are eliminated, both inside and out. Every bell is rung,
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and the pealing of the cannon and the flashing of
the rockets show how much the festival is a national one.
The kissing is continued through the night and all the
next day, and even for several days. All relatives, friends
and acquaintances salute each other with christhos, vers kreus and
a kiss. Every is worschik, potter, dustman. In fact, every
(17:26):
peasant of every name and kind kisses every other peasant
he has ever known, and a great many whom he
never saw before. Clerks in the public offices kiss each other.
Officers and soldiers of the armies salute in the same way,
the general kissing all his subordinate officers, the colonel of
a regiment kissing all the officers beneath him, and also
(17:48):
a deputation of the soldiers, while the captain and lieutenant
kiss all the soldiers of their companies. The same order
is observed in the navy and in all the official ranks.
And the number of osculations in the Empire in that
one day of the year is quite beyond the power
of calculation. Other Emperor and Empress subject to the same
rule as other people. Was a very natural inquiry which followed,
(18:12):
certainly was a reply. The ceremony is closely connected with
the religion of the country, and as the Emperor is
the head of the Church, he could not possibly secure
exemption from this ancient custom. The Emperor and the Empress
must salute all the members of the Imperial family as
a matter of course, and also all the court officials
and attendants. And after this ceremony is over, the Empress
(18:34):
must give her hand to be kissed by every officer
above the rank of colonel who has the right of
attendance at court. The Emperor kisses all his officers on parade,
and also a delegation of soldiers selected as representatives of
the army. The military parades for the imperial kiss last
several days, as it would be impossible to go through
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the ceremonial with all the regiments around Saint Petersburg in
a single revolution of the earth. Easter makes an end
of the long fast of seven weeks, which has been
kept by all faithful member of the Church with great rigor.
The lower class refrain even from fish during the first
and last weeks of the fast, and also on Wednesday
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and Fridays of the other five It is no wonder
that they precede it with the festivities of Butterweek. So
the recollection of the good time they have had will
be consolation during the fast. With the kissing of Easter
begins a period of feasting, both in eating and drinking,
which is by no means famous for its moderation. Many
of the Moorsiks are sadly intoxicated before the setting of
(19:40):
the sun at Easter, and they are by no means
the only person who exhibit the effect of two liberal
potations from Easter and its kisses. The conversation wandered to
other subjects. Fred asked how the houses were kept warm
in intense cold of Russian winter some of the more
modern buildings of Saint Petersburg and Moscow, said the doctor
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are warmed by furnaces, not unlike those used in America.
But the true Peachca or Russian stove is of brick
and is generally built so as to form the common
center of three or four rooms and warm them all
at once. In the huts of peasants, the top of
the stove is utilized as a bed, and it is
usually large enough for three or four person to lie
(20:23):
there with comparative comfort. Do they keep the fire going
there all the time during the winter? Not exactly, was
the reply, though in a certain sense they do. Every morning,
the fire is kindled in the stove, which resembles an
enormous oven, and is kept burning for several hours. When
it has burned down to a bed of coals, so
(20:44):
that no more carbonic gas can be walled, the chimney
is closed in pot holes near the top of the
stove are opened into the room or rooms. The hot
air comes out and warms the apartment, and there is
enough of it to keep a good heat for twelve
or fifteen hours. The portholes must be carefully closed during
the combustion of the wood in order to prevent the
(21:05):
escape of poisonous gas. Sometimes they are opened when there
is still some flame burning. A Russian will instantly detect
the presence of this gas and open a window or
rush into their open air, but strangers, in their ignorance,
are occasionally overpowered by it. Several instances are on record
of strangers losing their lives by ugor, as the Russian
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called this poisonous gas from the stove. Among them, some
twenty years ago, was the son of a Persian embassador
who was smothered in one of the principal hotels of Moscow.
When a person is overpowered by ugur and found insensible,
he is carried out of doors and rolled in the snow,
a severe but efficacious remedy. Then, too, the cold is
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excluded by means of double or triple windows, little cones
of paper filled with salt being placed between the windows
to absorb whatever moil collects here. Russian houses are very
poorly ventilated, and frequently, on entering from open air, you
are almost stifled by the foul atmosphere that seemed to
strike you in the face like a pugilist. It is
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probably the condition of the air in which they live,
combined with late hours in exactions of fashionable life, that
gives such an aspect of paleness to nearly all the
Russian women above the peasant class. A fresh ruddy complexion,
such as one sees almost universally throughout England and quite
gently in America, is almost unknown among Russian ladies. If
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the Emperor would issue a decree requiring the house of
the Empire to be properly ventilated, he would confer a
blessing on his faithful subjects and save or prolong thousands
of lives. The peasants sometimes use their stoves for baths,
said the doctor, to the great surprise of his youth auditors.
How is that possible, one of them asked, do they
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fill the stove with water the same as they would
a bath? Not exactly, the doctor answered, smilingly. You know
the character of the Russian bath as we find it
in New York and other American cities. Certainly, was the reply.
It is a room filled with steam, and with a
series of benches on which you lie and are heated,
the highest bench being hottest of all. The Russian bath
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of the best class, here, said the doctor Bronson, is
arranged in the same way. The more primitive bath is
simply a room with benches and a fire on a
pile of hot stones. Water is thrown over the stones
and converted into steam, and the finishing touch is to
mount to the topmost bench, while an attendant deluges the
stones with water and raises a cloud that threatens to
(23:41):
scald you. The most profuse perspiration is a result, and
the bath is no doubt a great sanitary institution. The
Turkish bath is much like the Russian hot drier, taking
the place of steam. Taken properly, the Russian bath has
no bad effects and is beneficial in rheumatism, god certain
forms of neuralgia, and several other diseases. It is a
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wonderful restorative when you have been shaken up in carriages
on Russian roads, and an excellent thing after a journey
of any kind. Every good Russian considers it his duty
to bathe once a week, but he does not always
adhere to the rule. In every village there is a
bath house, which is a general property of the villagers
and maintained by a popular contribution. When a peasant has
(24:28):
no bath house, he creeps into his stove, bakes himself
on the hot ashes, and, after perspiring freely, crawls out
and is drenched with water. Nearly every private house has
its bath, which is generally in a small building in
the yard, rather than in the dwelling house. In all
the last cities there are numerous bathing establishments, some of
(24:49):
them fitted up in gorgeous style, while others are of
the plainest and cheapest sort. The Russians are quite gregarious
in their bathing habits, and think no more of taking
a bath in presence of each other then of dining
in a restaurant. Is it true that the Russian finish
a bath by having ice water poured over them, or
by taking a plunge into it. It is accustomed to
(25:11):
close the pores of the skin by means of cold,
but not ice cold water. The attendant begins the work
of bath by throwing water over you, first warm, then hot,
then hotter, and then hottest. The drenching is followed by
the steaming process and a gentle flogging with birchen rods
outwitches to stimulate perspiration. Then you are soaped and scrubbed,
(25:32):
and the scrubbing being performed usually with purchin's shavings, which
are thoroughly and vigorously applied. After this you are again
drenched with buckets of water, beginning with warm, and going
on descending scale to cold, so that there shall be
no shock to the system. Men have rushed from bath
into a snow bank, but this is not the custom.
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The peasants frequently leave the bath to take a swim
in the river, but only in mild weather. No doubt,
there have been cases of bathing voluntarily through the eyes
or in ice water, but you must search far and
wide to find them. Frank remarked that he thought one
should exercise great care in going into the open air
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in winter after taking a bath. Doctor Bronson explained that
this was the reason of the drenching with cold water,
so that the pores of the skin would be closed
and the chances of taking cold greatly reduced. It is
quite a shock to the system, said the doctor, to
pass from indoors to out or from outdoors to inn.
During the Russian winter, the houses is gently heated to
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about seventy degree fahrenheit, with the thermometer at zero or
possibly ten twenty or more degrees below. It is like
stepping from a furnace to a refrigerator, or vice versa.
But the native do not seem to mind it. I
have often seen a music rise from his scouch on
the top of the stove, and, after tightening his belt
(26:57):
and putting on his boots and cap, mount the box
of sleigh and drive for two or three hours in
a temperature far below zero. I have read somewhere, said
fred about the danger of losing one's here and nose
by frost, and that is the custom in Saint Petersburg
and Moscow to warn any one that he is being frozen.
Did you ever see a case of this kind? It
(27:19):
is a strange circumstance, replied the doctor that nearly every
tourist who has been in Russia, even for only a
week or so, claims to have seen a crowd running
after a man or woman calling out nurse nurse when
the victim did not understand, seizing him or heard, and
rubbing the nose violently with snow. One writer tells it
(27:40):
as occurring to a French actress, another to an English ambassador,
another to an American politician, and in each case the
story is varied to give it a semblance of truth.
I was in Moscow and Saint Petersburg during January and February,
and though constantly watching to see someone's nose pulled, was
doomed to disappointment. I asked my Russian friend about it,
(28:02):
and none of them was wiser than I. One said
it might happen once in a great while, but it
was safe to conclude that everybody knew enough to take
care of his own nose. Frank asked how one could
tell when his nose was freezing, or how observe the
freezing of another's. The nose and ears become numb and
turn white, was the reply, and that indicates the beginning
(28:24):
of freezing. When this is a condition, nothing but a
vigorous rubbing to restore the circulation will prevent the loss
of those organs. It is for the protection from the
frost that the Russian keep their faces wrapped in furs.
And if a man has any doubt about the cognition
of his facial attachments, he will touch them occasionally to
make sure. When you pinch your nose and do not
(28:46):
feel the pinch, it is time to rub with snow
promptly and with energy. Severe cold is very inconvenient for
the wearer of a mustache, as he speedily gathers a
great quantity of eyes. There By the congolation of the
moisture of his breath, a man's beard becomes a frozen
mass in a little while. Beard and furs frequently freeze
(29:07):
together and render a sudden turn of the head a
matter of great annoyance. Ladies find their wheels stiffening into
something like wired gauze when thermometer runs low. They disdain
the bonnet of London or Paris, and sensibly enclose their
heads and hoots lined with foe and having caves descending
well into the neck. Horses become white in a short time,
(29:30):
no matter what may be their real color, from the
formation of frost all over their bodies. Their breath suggests
steam more than anything else, and the long hairs around
their nose are turned into icy spikes. In the severest weather,
pigeons have been seen to fall to the ground paralyzed
with the cold, but it is quite likely that their
(29:50):
flights were forced and the birds were half frozen before
taking wing. Frank asked if it has often happened that
the people are frozen to death in these Russian winters.
Occurrences of this kind probably take place every year, was
the reply. But from all I have been able to learn,
I believe the number is exaggerated. In many cases, it
(30:11):
is the fault of the frozen ones themselves. They have
been rendered insensible or careless by stimulants and gone to
sleep in the open air. The tendency to sleep when
one is exposed to see your coal should be resisted,
as it is very likely to be the sleep of death.
There is a story of two travelers who saw a
third in trouble. One of them proposed to go to
(30:32):
the relief of the man in distress, but the other refused,
saying he would not stir out of their sleigh. The
first went and relieve the sufferer. His exertions set the
blood rushing through his veins and saved him from injury
by the cold, while the one who refused to render
aid was frozen to death. It is a curious fact,
(30:53):
said the doctor, inclosing his remarks upon the Russian winter,
that foreigners coming here do not feel the coal at first.
They walk the street in the same clothing as they
would wear in London or Paris, and laugh at the Russians,
wrapping themselves in force. At the same time, the Russians
laugh at them and predict that if they stay in
the country for another season, they will change their ways.
(31:15):
A stranger does not feel the cold the first winter
as sensibly as do the Russians, but in every succeeding
season of the frost, he is fully sensitive to it,
and wise with the natives in constant use of his furs.
End of Chapter ten
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