k-racks and attendants are provided
near the door for the privileged ones, who must display their uniforms
and gowns as a matter of state etiquette. The women find the light shawl
--which they wear under their fur to preserve the gown from hairs, to
shield the chest, and for precisely such emergencies--sufficient
protection. On ordinary occasions, people who do not keep a lackey to
hold their cloaks just inside the entrance have an opportunity to
practice Russian endurance, and unless the crowd is very dense, the
large and lofty space renders it quite possible, though the churches are
heated, to retain the fur cloak; but it is not healthy, and not always
comfortable. It would not be possible to provide cloak-rooms and
attendants for the thousands upon thousands who attend church service on
Sundays and holidays. With the foreign churches, whose attendance is
limited comparatively, it is a different matter.

One difficulty about foreigners visiting Russia in winter is, that those
who come for a short visit are rarely willing to go to the expense of
the requisite furs. In general, they are so reckless of their health as
to inspire horror in any one who is acquainted with the treacherous
climate. I remember a couple of Americans, who resisted all
remonstrances because they were on their way to a warmer clime, and went
about when the thermometer was twenty-five to thirty degrees below zero
Reaumur, in light, unwadded mantles, reaching only to the waist line,
and with loose sleeves. A Russian remarked of them: "They might have
shown some respect for the climate, and have put on flannel compresses,
or a mustard plaster at least!" Naturally, an illness was the result. If
such people would try to bargain for the very handsome and stylish
coffins which they would consider in keeping with their dignity, they
would come to the conclusion that furs would prove cheaper and less
troublesome. But furs or coffins, necessaries or luxuries, everything
must be bargained for in Holy Russia, and with the American affection
for the national game of poker, that should not constitute an objection
to the country. Only non-card-players will mind such a trifle as bluff.*

* Reprinted, in part, from _Lippincott's Magazine_.

V.

EXPERIENCES.

So much has been said about the habits of the late Emperor Alexander
III. in his capital, that a brief statement of them will not be out of
place, especially as I had one or two experiences, in ad