SOLDIERS OFF DUTY—BUTTER-WEEK.
"The time to see St. Petersburg in all its winter glory is during 'Maslinitza,' or 'Butter-week,' which ushers in the 'Great Fast' preceding Easter. The whole population is engaged in enjoying itself. Blinni, 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 and 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 seven weeks of fasting, leads to frightful results. Statistics show that the mortality rate is largely increased at this 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.
"The rich people sometimes have blinni parties during the festive season. I once attended one of these affairs 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 was given that the pancakes were ready and our host led the way.
"We were not taken to the dining-room but to the kitchen, and then it was explained that blinni parties are given in the kitchen, and no more people are invited than the place can accommodate. The blinni are eaten on the spot, as fast as they are cooked, and it is a prime object to have them hot from the griddle. We had a very jolly time there, but for several days my stomach was like an embryo Vesuvius in consequence of making a whole meal of this rich food. Think of an entire dinner of buckwheat-cakes or fried 'turnovers,' the stuff that dreams are made of."
THE EASTER KISS—AGREEABLE.
One of the boys wished to know about the Easter kissing for which Russia is famous.
