I now they are no longer so, for public places soon degenerate in Russia from the comme il faut to the mauvais genre; there were given balls and masquerades, at which the imperial family were frequently present; the ladies wore dominoes after midnight, but the gentlemen went unmasked. Any lady could intrigue the Emperor (no gentleman was allowed to do so), who frequently was surrounded by a little gay crowd of beaux masques, entertaining him with all the chit-chat and conversations légères peculiar to the style of such amusements. was informed that a great many Frenchwomen, even milliners, were furnished with tickets gratis, their gay badinage and cheerful manners serving so much to enliven the company. Among the tales of scandal which, in the absence of politics, shares with actors and actresses the honour of being made the subject of conversation in Russian society, was one which I make no doubt whatever was a positive fact, and, as it is à propos to these bals masqués, I will relate it. A lady, the daughter of an old general named B- was one evening at the masquerade; she intrigued a personage of very high rank, and while so doing was imprudent enough to touch upon some forbidden subject; shortly after she left the assemblée and returned home, perfectly unconscious that orders had been given not to let her out of sight until her name and place of residence had been ascertained. The next morning she was disagreeably surprised by a visit from an officer of the secret police, who politely requested her to accompany him to Count Orloff's office. Such an invitation was, of course, not to be refused-she went immediately. The gentleman who received her was aimabilité itself; he kindly pointed to a seat that stood near, and blandly proceeded to ask her a few questions concerning the previous evening's amusement, to all of which the terrified lady tremblingly replied "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth," for no equivocation would have availed her in that place. When the interrogation was finished, the chair suddenly sank through the floor, and I am ashamed to say that from the hand of some unseen person below she received a correction such as little boys used formerly to be subjected to from the birch of old-fashioned schoolmasters. I met this lady frequently in company, and knew her sister well. I had the anecdote from an intimate friend of the family, and have not the slightest doubt of its being true. The same misfortune is said to have occurred about four months ago to a certain noble princess from the south, who expressed some sympathy with the cause of the Western Powers. I have often asked Russians, when they were boasting of their great civilization, if this were a proof of it. Once the reply was that "a great many of the Russian ladies deserved to be beaten, and that it would do them a great deal of good." At another time, in speaking of the peasant-women being so treated, a certain Prince A—— replied that "they were not worthy of the title of women, they were no better than cattle!” Once, on complaining of the impertinence of a servant, I was recommended to "box her ears well;" on my remarking that such an action would be a greater disgrace to me than to the girl herself, the lady, whose maid she was, answered, "If you do not do it, I will;" she rang the bell, the footman was told to send Marousha, and the instant she came, notwithstanding my entreaties, the lady administered with her own hand a sound blow on each side of the poor girl's head! When abroad, the Russians invariably deny that such a state of things exists; they will even sometimes attempt to hide it in their own country, which shows that at the least they have the grace to be ashamed of it. A stranger in walking through the streets in St. Petersburg, if he understands anything of the language spoken, cannot fail to remark that the general theme of conversation among the lower classes is money; scarcely one of the men or women passes by without our catching the words tchitvertack, grebinick, roup, &c. In no country is more avidity displayed in the pursuit of gain; only speak of a piece of silver, and a Russian's eyes sparkle at the sound, and he is ready to do anything in order to obtain it. Copecks and whisky are the two greatest temptations of his heart. M. P -ski, a gentleman of education, assured me, only the morning I left St. Petersburg, that they were in much more danger from the pillage of the lower classes than from any exterior enemy; and he expressed the greatest fears for the consequences of bringing so many thousands of wild savages of soldiers into the town, for, if they rose, it would be en masse, and he was fearful that the great temptation offered by the sight of a civilized capital for the first time would shortly prove an irresistible one; if they did have an outbreak, it would sweep the upper classes away like a torrent. In regard to the love of whisky to be remarked at every step, how can we wonder that the Russian boor is addicted to drinking when there is every inducement held out to him to do so? he is more to be pitied than condemned. The government revenues are in great part acquired by the sale of votku; there are people called brandy-farmers, who contract with the authorities for the monopoly; they generally make great fortunes, and the poor people pay for all. The charge of inebriety among those of superior rank is entirely false; a Russian gentleman seldom takes much wine, and the ladies never; they have faults grave enough, but this is not one of them. The society in St. Petersburg is, of course, as varied and as much divided into cliques as that of any other great city, and it entirely depends upon which circle the stranger has the fortune to be introduced into whether he be favourably impressed with what he sees, or the contrary; from my own experience I should say that it is rare to meet with more agreeable people. I do not speak of their knowledge, or what is denominated mind, for there are not many lovers of deep study or profound erudition among the Russians, either gentlemen or ladies; but of their kindness, good-nature, and desire to afford pleasure to others, the foreigner will have no reason to complain. It must, however, be confessed that their feeling towards strangers has much changed since the present state of affairs has commenced. THE winter amusements in St. Petersburg are the same as those of other capitals during the season-the opera, French theatre, balls, concerts, bals masqués, &c. The opera is of course an Italian one, and the same artistes perform there as in London. I was once at the opera when the Emperor thought proper to applaud the cantatrice (Castellan I believe) by clapping his hands; he had no sooner done so than somebody hissed; he again showed his approbation-the unknown hissed a second time; his Majesty stood up and looked round on the assembled multitude, and the third time gave his applause; he was answered in the same manner as before. I soon after heard a terrible scuffle overhead; the police had discovered the hardy offender, and quickly dragged him out of the house: I never learnt what became of him ; doubtless he was made to repent that he had dared to have an opinion different from that of the Czar. A gentleman in our box suggested that it must be a foreigner, for no Russian subject would have dared to act so. The French theatre is extremely good; all the best artistes from Paris are engaged for the season at enormous salaries. We were informed that his Majesty once |