342 DRIVING, 



horse is used, and the troika is perhaps more typically Russian 

 than any of the many other forms of conveyance. 



The three horses are harnessed abreast ; the centre one is 

 in the shafts beneath the yoke that in its way does duty for 

 hames and carries the inevitable bell. His business is to trot, 

 no matter at what pace. The outer horses, with their heads 

 turned outwards and far back, must always gallop, and the 

 more their heads are twisted round and the less they can see 

 in front of them the more correct their deportment is supposed 

 to be. Perhaps the original idea was that, by making the 

 horses look outwards, they better avoided the dangerous edges 

 of the road, and passing vehicles. 



At High Mall on the Newski there are always certain equi- 

 pages to be seen that attract the greatest amount of admira- 

 tion and criticism. To whom they belong is not always known 

 of all men, but they vie with one another in the faultlessness of 

 their turn-out. First the splendid trotters attract the eye, then 

 the gorgeous isvostschik in square gold-laced cap, bearded to 

 the eyes and begirt with a smart sash around his furred caftan : 

 both arms well out, a lap of the reins round each wrist, and a 

 ' short Tommy ' depending from the right one. 



Of the fair occupant of the sleigh but little is generally to 

 be seen. Perhaps two bright eyes and a little nose, slightly 

 reddened, it may be, by keen biting air, peep between a sable 

 cap and the collar of a priceless shouba, the rest of the figure 

 being concealed beneath a wealth of furs. There is only time 

 for a glance and then the swift trotters whirl the vision far away. 



No Russian ever thinks of going outside the house even in 

 very moderate weather without the warmest covering, and yet 

 the temperature of the air that must be breathed seems to be 

 a matter of absolute indifference. Ladies will leave the most 

 stifling ball-room and, enveloped in their furs, will drive home 

 in their sleighs with the thermometer standing at any number 

 of degrees below zero, and to men the use of a closed carriage 

 seems to be unknown except for long journeys. 



Amongst the jeunesse doree of St. Petersburg a favourite, 



