One hundred and sixty-five workmen are employed on these eighty works. Out of darkness cometh fight ; for in the whole estabHshment reigns so obscure a twilight, that in stepping into the street we felt as if we were coming out of a mine, a mine whence was afterwards to shine forth the gold of the sacred writings.
Whoever has made a pilgrimage through the churches of Moscow, and afterwards followed the windings of the shops, without tasting any thing better than street dust and Russian church air, cannot be greatly deserving of reproof if his eyes run as eagerly over the signs of the houses as those of a young lady through a romance, till they rest on the wished for word Restaur atio7i^^ not the less welcome for its orthographical corruption into Rastirazie. I was soon fortunate enough to find myself in the first or entrance room of a Russian coffee-house, where all the deUcacies to be enjoyed in the second and third, were in the process of frying, roasting, and boiling. That I might be duly imbued with Russia, inside as well as out, I bespoke a Russian dish, Selennoi Shtshi (green cabbage soup), and must own I did not repent it, for the soup was good and nourishing. Besides, as it is not transparent, one is not aware of the deficacles it may conceal in its depth, and one may enjoy all the pleasure of curiosity in fishing them up with a spoon. This was my first trial of Selennoi Shthshi, so I made a bold plunge. The first prize for me the ' sausage eater " as the Russians call us Germans, was in fact a sausage ; then I landed a piece of beef, then an invitingly-coloured piece of ham, an egg, and a number of other things besides. While waiting for my second dish, I had time to look about me a little. The rooms were very large, painted in gay colours and abundantly furnished with looking-glasses ; a picture of a saint with a lamp before it was in every room, of course. The name of the domestics is legion, in the Russian coffee-house as in tlie house of a nobleman. In this house, though there were only eight rooms, the attendants were sixty in number. In the coffee-houses of Moscow they are all dressed in white cotton ; white pantaloons, white sliirts or jackets, and white girdles to bind all together.
Unless some Russian wag purposely misled me. I cannot now remember whether I saw it myself or not.
t Throujiliout Germany the word rcsfauration is used for what in France is known under the ai)pellation of rcsUturavt, and tlu' Knssiiuis, it seems, have adopted the Geruuui-Freneh designation from tlicir neighbours.
The rest of the company were all Russians, mostly merchants, with only a thin sprinkling" of Tshinnovniks. The long beards sat together and drank tea, the unbearded smoked and were reading newspapers like other Europeans. Peter the Great was right therefore, it would seem, in considering the beard as a great obstacle to civilization, and in seeking to explode it by every possible means. Everyone as he came in saluted the picture, and crossed himself before he sat down.
One of the things most striking to a European in these coffee-liouses is the collection of pipes. They are long earthen tubes with flat Turkish lieads, such as are used by the military, and indeed throughout Russia. The said collection is intended for public use, and the pipes travel from mouth to mouth. The servants fill, light, and carry them round smoking to the guests. It is difficult at first to imagine how it is possible to employ the crowds of attendants, till we note how much service the Russian public require. Not only the pipes nmst be cleaned, filled, lighted, and put in the mouths of the guests, but many will have their tea poured put, and their cutlets and stakes cut in small pieces for them. Whether there are any persons who further require that it should be conveyed to their mouths for them, I do not know. However, even here, one person to attend each guest one would think sufficient ; but four or six hands are generally so employed, half-a-dozen busy themselves with putting on a cloak, and when a guest leaves the room all the servants bow in chorus. Withal they must have abundance of idle time. I saw many in the evening sitting on the benches doing nothing ; one was asleep and snoring with his head on the table, others were playing cards ; one was practising the art of writing, and another that of smoldng. There is no country in the world where men must be driven so much in herds, to accomphsh any work, as in Russia. I have read in history that they always storm a fortress by thousands, and I have seen them every where, ploughing, reaping, and sowing by hundreds ; the same principle is at work I presume in the coffee-houses, for I had four people to put on my cloak.