e cultivation of the vine was introduced at Astrakhan
in 1613, and a German traveller named Strauss, who visited the
city in 1675, found that it had been attended with great success;
so much so, that, without counting what was sold in the way of
general trade, the province supplied to the Tsar alone every year
two hundred tuns of wine, and fifty tuns of grape brandy. The wines
of Greece were at the same time replaced by those of Hungary, which
were in great demand when Peter came and introduced the vintage
of France. This by many persons will be considered not the least
of his reforms.

The Russians acquired the art of distilling from grain in the Fourteenth
Century from the Genoese established in the Crimea, and seem to
have lost no time in profiting by their knowledge. They soon began
to invent infusions of fruit and berries, which under the name of
"_nalivka_" have long been known to travellers, and which I for
my part found excellent. "_Raki_," about the consumption of which
by the Russian soldiers so much was written during the Crimean
war, is a Turkish spirit, and is unknown in Russia. The Russian
grain-spirit is called "_vodka_." The best qualities are more like
the best whiskey than anything else, only weaker; but it is of various
degrees of excellence as of price. The new common _vodka_, like other
new spirits, is fiery; but when purified, and kept for some time, it
is excellent and particularly mild. Travellers to Moscow who are
curious on the subject of _vodka_ may visit a gigantic distillery
in the neighbourhood, to which it is easy to gain admission, and
where they can obtain information and samples in abundance. _Vodka_
is sometimes made in imitation of brandy, and there are also sweet
and bitter _vodkas_; and, indeed, _vodka_ of all flavours. But
the British spirit which the ordinary _vodka_ chiefly resembles
is whiskey. There is one curious custom connected with drinking in
Russia which, as far as I am aware, has never been noticed. The
Russians drink first and eat afterwards, and never drink without
eating. If wine and biscuits are placed on the table, everyone takes
a glass of wine first, and then a biscuit; and at the _zakouska_
before dinner, those who take the customary glass of _vodka_ take an
atom of caviare or cheese after it, but not before. It may also be
remarked that, as a general rule, the Russians, like the Orientals,
drink only at the beginning of a repast.

A hospitable Englishman ente