rlier until May. People who come from Southern
climes, with the memory of the warm sun still lingering in their veins,
endure their first Russian winter better than the winters which follow,
provided their rashness, especially during the treacherous spring or
autumn, does not kill them off promptly. Therefore, the wise foreigner
who arrives in autumn sallies forth at once in quest of furs. He will
get plenty of bargaining and experience thrown in.

First of all, he finds that he must reconstruct his ideas about furs. If
he be an American, his first discovery is that his favorite sealskin is
out of the race entirely. No Russian would pay the price which is given
for sealskin in return for such a "cold fur," nor would he wear it on
the outside for display, while it would be too tender to use as a
lining. Sealskin is good only for a short jacket between seasons for
walking, and if one sets out on foot in that garb she must return on
foot; she would be running a serious risk if she took a carriage or
sledge. All furs are used for linings; in short, by thus reversing
nature's arrangement, one obtains the natural effect, and wears the fur
next his skin, as the original owner of the pelt did. Squirrel is a
"cold," cheap fur, used by laundresses and the like, while mink, also
reckoned as a "cold" fur, though more expensive, is used by men only, as
is the pretty mottled skin obtained by piecing together sable paws. The
cheapest of the "downy" furs, which are the proper sort for the climate,
is the brown goat, that constantly reminds its owner of the economy
practiced, by its weight and characteristic strong smell, though it has
the merit of being very warm. Next come the various grades of red fox
fur,--those abundantly furnished with hair,--where the red is pale
and small in area, and the gray patches are large and dark, being the
best. The _kuni_, which was the unit of currency in olden days, and was
used by royalty, is the next in value, and is costly if dark, and with a
tough, light-weight skin, which is an essential item of consideration
for the necessary large cloaks. Sables, rich and dark, are worn, like
the _kuni_, by any one who can afford them,--court dames, cavaliers,
archbishops, and merchants, or their wives and daughters,--while the
climax of beauty and luxury is attained in the black fox fur, soft and
delicate as feathers, warm as a July day. The silky, curly white Tibetan
goat, and the thick, straight white fur of