Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

176DRESS OF RUSSIAN WOMEN.

their dress, and the women neglect it: this is perhaps owing to the former being attached by service to the houses of the nobles. The women have a clumsy carriage; they wear heavy boots, which deform the foot: their figures are without elegance; and their complexions, unlike those of the men, lose all freshness and clearness even while they are yet young. Their little Russian coats, short, and open before, are trimmed with fur, which is almost always hanging in rags. This costume would be pretty if it was less shabby, and if the effect was not generally spoilt by deformity or revolting dirtiness of person. The national head-dress of the Russian women is handsome, but it has become rare; being now only worn, I am told, by nurses, and by the ladies of the court on days of ceremony. It is a species of pasteboard tower, gilt, embroidered, and much widened at the top.

The accoutrements of the horses are picturesque, and the horses themselves show speed and blood; but the equipages that I saw this evening at the islands, not excepting those of the highest nobles, were not elegant, nor even clean. This accounts to me for the disorder and carelessness of the servants of the hereditary Grand Duke, and for the clumsiness and wretched varnish of that prince's carriages, which I noticed at Ems. Magnificence on a large scale, a gaudy luxury, gilded trappings, and an air of showy grandeur, are natural to the Russian nobles; but eleganee, carefulness, and cleanliness are things unknown. I have listened this evening to several curious traits, illustrative of what we call the slavery of the Russian peasants.

It is difficult for us to form a just idea of the real