Besides the emperor and many Russian nobles, there were several German princes present, and accident brought about, in the course of the evening, some curious conjunctions. For example, the heir of a German kingdom joined in the same group with the presumptive heir to a grocer's shop on the Prospekt ; the emperor of all the Russias with a French governess ; the finance minister of an empire of sixty millions of inhabitants with a merchant's clerk disguised as a frog. And again, in the same corner might be seen a throng of ambassadors and generals, natives of the evergreen isles of Albion, of southern Scythia, and of the summits of the Caucasus ; well-dressed mechanics, and Turkish merchants. It is only the common people, however, in Russia who play their parts well in masks. I have often seen Russian peasants or servants improvise a masquerade with great humour, but the great do not get through the thing so well. The greater part of the latter were in ordinaiy black coats, ar.d oven dominoes were rare among them. It is not considered genteel to assume a character. Those who wished to enter into the spirit of the thing seemed to feel constrained among the rational unmasked gentry, and the unmasked seemed to look down with much scorn on the harlequin j^ickets of the others. Tlie emperor comes to please the public, and the ministei-s, generals, 8cc. come on the emperor's account ; but otherwise the great world do not honour the place with tlieii' presence. Only in the boxes some of the first families appear for a short time, to have something new to sav at the private balls to Avhich they are going at a later hour.
"When a Russian noble wishes to give eclat to his fete, his first step is to secure the presence of the emperor and empress as his guests. Every noble is at hberty to invite the emperor, who makes much less difficulty of visiting his subjects than would be exacted by the etiquette of most other courts. The fete-giver puts on his dress of ceremony and drives to court, where he signifies to the grand-master of the ceremonies that he wishes to give a ball, if it be the pleasure of the emperor and empress to honour it by their presence ; and at the same time presents the list of the company invited, which is generally returned unaltered. Now and then a name is struck out, or the desire intimated that no foreigners be present, the emperor desiring for that night to be alone with his subjects.
A cliief article of luxury on such an occasion is the display of a numerous retinue. At one given by Count Br , a hundred servants in livery were stationed on the stairs alone. The servants of the house of course are not enough, and ten rubles an evening are paid on such occasions for a good-looking figure for the part. The Hveries of course must be all new for the occasion ; and at the count's fete fifty wore violet-coloured velvet trimmed with silver, and fifty purple velvet with gold, the colours of the lord and lady of the house. On every stair stood alternately an orange or lemon tree, and a veivet-clad domestic, from the house-door to that of the saloon. The present empress is a great lover of flowers, consequently evei"' ball in St. Petersburg presents a profusion of them. One room is generally arranged as a winter-garden, and rose-bushes and arbours of roses of every shade form inviting nooks for refreshment.