Miscellany

The consumption of ta in Russia is enormous, and Von Liltrow says thal the article is so chenp as to be wilhin the means of the poorest classes, and that it is of a much better quality !han that mportedby England or Holland, which has ils fine (lavor iiupaired by the sea voyage. The Russians, he says, procure a1! their tea from Kiaclita, whence it is carried overland ; but we know that, of late years, at least, the English have regular] imported ljrge qunntities into Odessa, where ihey can considerubly undersell the nalive mercliants, partly in consequence of the obstructive commercial policy of the government, ond partly of its neglect to mprove the means of internal communication. Sugarbeing very expensive, the humbler classes use honey instead of il. The Jlussian honey s cheap, and of a delicious flavor, incomparably superior to the produce ofour hives. It is of a green color, and is made by wild bees that inhabit the linnen woods. Raisins are a very favorite appendage to thñ tea-table among the common penple. The beverage is prepared in a lin or copprr vessel cnllrd samovar, which is generally of an um slrpe. Tlie moment a visitnr enters a room he is immedintely followed b' the samovar which theseivant bringsin as a matter o course, without waiting for special orders The mistress of the house always take lier cups wilh her visilor, and ars she re ceives mnny calis, particularly on Sun days and holidays, it is nol al all unsua for her to drink tipwards of twenty cup in the course of ihe day without fteling any inconveniencefi-om it. Thepraclic is carried to still grealer excess by th men, rspecially by the petty traders. - Often have I seen parües of these kupzi, just arrived írom a journey, siltingdown in their bcar-skin cloaks, covered with ice andsnow, before a huge samovar anH a great dish of raisin, ar.d not quitting the table until both were empty. Each might have swallowert two dozen cups during the sitling ; and the perspiratio caused by such a quantity of scalding ho liquid was so great, that the water ran i streams down their shaggy faces, whic they were obliged to wipe and mop with out ceasing. But they must have fe quite crimfortable, for not one of them took off his heavy cloak to Tghten, wha seemed to me, his laborious work. Th samovar is the Russian's constant accom paniment, and is to be found in the pour est hut. How often when on enterin one of these, in which everything beto kenerl great penuiy, I saluted the inmnte with the usual qustion kak xhiviosh? - (How do you live?) I wasanswered with n phiase exprèsiive of cheerful conter.tedness, which has brcme in a manner proverbial, Slava Boga, khelb yest, samovar ytst, nilchcvo ne nadamna, 'Thank God there is brend, there is tho samovar, we want nothing more.' Instead of being prpjudicinl lo heakh, this fcee use of warm bevernge is perhaps necessary lo the prescrvation of üfe in such a cl i mate. It is not unusunl for sitting rooms tobe heated to 30deg. Renumur (Q9deg. Fahrenheit,) whilst the tempprnture out of doors is as many degrePS below Zero. - Now, as the inmates of such rooms must leave them more or less every day, and exposé themselves to the open nir, they thus andergo a sudden change of tempemture of fully 60deg. (135deg. Fahrenheit,y wluch not even a Russian constitution can endure, unless peculiar tions werc laken. The middle-nged fureigner who se t'es in these regions, and chooses to adhere to the customs of his own warmer couPtry, generally succumbs quickly lo ihe seventy of toe climote. - In Perm, for instance, n town that issouth of the latitude of St. Petersburg, I was told by a yonng Germán, wbo had been settled there for six years, tliat not one of his countrymen, wliom he had found there on his arrival, still survived. ' VVithin these Ml yenrs,' he said, 'I have fullowed more than twenty Germán fathers of families to the grave, and I should probably myself have had a like fare, if I had not arrit-ed here in my twenty-third year, at an age when the constilution is sufficient]y plastic to accommodate iiself to ncw ontward circumstanres. The Russinns,' !ie added, 'know this very well, and they look on every foreigner who comes omongstthem in thcir fortieth vear, as certainly destined to die soon. Thus the parents all die oíT premnturely, but their children in general ibrive very well.' - The frequent and sudden exchange of a hot room for ihe cold outer air produce a malady peculiar to those northern regions, and which is the more appalling since it must be remcdied on the instant, otherwise it will be rapidly fatal, or will end in a very distressing chronic malady. The strongpst and heal'hiest man, if he puts one foot out of the room, or if the door or window is open for a moment, is often seized with an uneasy sensalion, which is immediately followed by an extreme disturbauce of his whole system, ie consequence of ihe sudden suppression j f per.piration. A great weariness in the imbs, a feeüng in the extremities as if ïey would drop off, piercing headnche, nd a burning in the eyes, are ihe first ymptoms of the disorder, and f tbey are ot immedintely remedied, the case is soon eyond curing. The grand requisite is o restore the suppressed perspiration. - ?o this end the nvalid is put into bed witliout delay, witli his clothes on, heaps of blankets and furs are laid over him, nd he is made to drink as much very hot ea as he can swnllow. The patiënt has nosooner gulphed this down, and drawn n his head under the clothes. thnn a copious perspiration breaks out over his vvhole ody, and all the alarmingsymptoms vnnsh as rnpidly as they first appeared. The rest of the company,who nave me.ir.while seated themselves again round tlie table, ■we nnt nt all surprised to find the sick man sticking his head out from under h!s mountain of furs in the nejit quarter rif an hour, and chatlering with ihem ns gaily as if nothing had happened ; whereas, to any one not familiar to such cases, he seemed but a few minutes befon; but a lost man. The coverings are gradually taken ofT, and the patiënt is ofien quiie well again the same evening, and as hearty as ever. But the case is very different with those who are not reheved on the instant. If they are not dead by the next day, which most commonly happens, they retmin crippled in every joint, and die a painful, lingering death. These people may at once be recognized, not only by their crippled limbs, but by a peculiar cachetic expression of countenance. Their answer when asked what is the matter wilh them is - Prosdudilsa, ' I have had a chili,' a word that smites with as awful a sound on the Russian ear as ever thanalos did on that of a Greek of old. W hoever is not capable of being ihrown into a copious perspiration by a few drops of hot drink, will, if he takes my a-lvice, keep nway from those regions. But how ia it that there are no such unfortunate persons among the Russians ? I never met wilh any. Justas tmny persons can fall as'.eep whenever thev like, so all Russianscan perspire at will. Give Ihern a cup of tea, a wr.rm cloak, and a thick cap, and the thing is done. They may thank themselves for this precious peculi. arity, for such it reallv s. Their frequent use of hot biths keeps the pores lpen, and their copiouí draughs of warm tea increase the excreting power of the skin, and adapt it to resist ihe influences of the climite, - influences which. hut for these connteracting cnuses, would perhaps be more pernicious to the population of Russia thnn even the plague is to the people of the East.