The season in St. Petersburg begins on the Russian New Year's Day,
which is thirteen days late, for they adhere to what the Western
nations now call the Old Style. It lasts till Lent, which the Eastern
Church fixes also by a different calculation from the Western, and
during that time there are Court balls twice a week and dancing at
private houses nearly every other night, Sundays included. Private
balls begin, as in London, very late and end very late. The dancing
is most vigorous and animated. The specially Russian dance is the
Mazurka, of Polish origin, and very pretty and graceful. Like the
Scotch reel, it is a series of different figures with numerous
and varied steps. The music, too, is special and spirited. The
supper, which is always eaten sitting down, is a great feature
of the evening, and there is invariably a cotillon afterwards.
The pleasantest and most sociable entertainments are the little
suppers every evening, where there is no dancing, and where the
menu is most _recherche_ and the conversation brilliant.
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