Show KCiUX SOCIAL LIFE SOJ1K OK Tlin MISTAKEN JEWS Ot TOBEiaXEKS Among the many preconceive Ideas of foreigners concerning Bus slan life and customs there are two that fclrllo thu itlucattJ ItuMlau as most Incongruous tavs the St Petersburg correspondent of the New York Tnune The first is the thought that Russians are timid about discussing the actions of their government for fear of being thrown Into a dungeou or transport eU to Siberia the second the belle that tbo nu lan girl b brought up under the same restrictive I regime ito Ich ir the French girl of the welltodo classes Nothing la more preposterous Strange na the thing may Mem in i Russia it is not the Russian that II i Is scared at any open criticism of the government but the foreign visitor who having heard such horrible atones about tho despotic ways oC Ru < eian ofllcial stands aghast at the free and exceedingly uncompli uieutary comments on government oh decrees and men of lofty post lion that ho hears openly emItted on all sides by tho subjects of the ter rlble Czar Ibo tact lto Russians are most Im pulive people and are positIvely unable to restrain their feelings eves had they till ulsli to do s > whirls they have not Any new enactment of tho government is openly discussed in private houses and oven in the fctreeU though or course no comments attempted nor would any be allowed from the rostrum and it must be added that there is I not a single case on rvcon In which any tienon would be prosecuted by the pollcu ou the strength of denunciations coming from house servants Servants and masters peasants and landed proprietor pro-prietor are all Idn always I uuiUi againtt the > olice Nowhere Inset In-set do the lolice bland In Midi bat odor with the imputation as In Ibis Bio Many an educated Russian would scorn the idea of shaking bj 1 the hand an ofllcer of police even oC the highest rauV What entaIls thu severest official peraecutlon Is tile secret dlisemlua lion of sedItIous ideas through tin underground press tho local papers or else the spreading of educatioi and enlightened ideas among the peasant which Is very justly heK to lead them to discontent will their lot but about the most grievous griev-ous oHeuse a man can l > u accu > td of Is the reading itiJ keeping of forbidden literature Mich as the books ot John Stuart Mill Ruckle Herbert Spencer Comte Karl Marx or even Jarpert Jfonttity or copies or lliu Lfinitry containing George ICeunans articles A person per-son suspected of having any ouch terrible books about the hou e Is i liable any night to be aroused rom Ms sleep by a Uewciit of the police and to have the members of his family frightened almost to death Such night descents are extremely extreme-ly popular with the petty otJICtrs of lisa secret jolloo service sinew tlsey allurd them an opjwrlunily to built up a reputatIon fur being zealous and trusty watchdog of the em ijlre an Idea generally backed up t by wholesale I reward and promotions promo-tions In the MTvIce Them nix case of course when out of spit > against > personal enemies Uiosc in power Its the terrible weapon > of liousesvarchiiig and even depurfa tlou by administrative proccw without even a semblance of u trial Since there exists in Russia no free press to denounce Mich abuses of course they remain unpuMihcd and never even reach tIe emperor or Ills minister As to the Imperial family no comments whatever ou its members are allowed to be made In the press even Items referring to the most Insignificant In-significant actions or movements of I royalty have lOt be submitted to the I censorship I of the minister of the court Count VorontzofUashkof before IICIIII allowed to gladden thee the-e of the Ituwian iiet8pa > er readers Vet in private life In general gen-eral conversation the members of Use Rouiauof family and their actions ac-tions are quite freely comments upon and often submitted to the most scorching ridicule and dill no one Is ever molested for it Apart from the Czar hirtrelf t hoe efficiency as the head of the government gov-ernment is generally conceded the members of the imperial family are mostly referred to as highly decorative decorat-ive but most expensive nonentities The emperor is very leniently commented com-mented upon yet tills Li by no means due to any fear of his power Alexander III Is well known to bean be-an honest simple courageous man of frugal tastes by no means avaricious avari-cious and of a ratlur limited intel Jecta man uevolcu to Ills wife anti children and fir from happy in tie lofty position to whirls he was elevated ele-vated by the Hidden death successively succes-sively of hU elder brother and lila father About Use worst traits of Alexander Ills character are re I > rted to be his headstrongneas and his inability ever to forgot treachery or inennneK but that is entirely duo to the frequent slights he had to undergo at the hands of the courtiers cour-tiers when lie was ttllla dull heavyset heavy-set youth and when as yet no one ever dreamed of his ever ascending the throne As it is i Russians gn rally ngrll tint were other thlllgIJ ordained dltretentlj Alex nnlr Alennllro1lIdl JlOIujnof would have made firstclass lauded proprietor well deserving of the lou and respect ot his dependents and his neighbors and that It is l hardly Just > to find fault with him because natirra has not provided 1 111 fI rnh n n n vn U > u un sary for the successful nnnagcment of a vast country having 110000 000 Inhabitants cloaking more limn eighty ditferenl languages and dialects Likewise Use commenU an the empress are generally most friendly She is not co iiopular among her SubjeCts as the Irincess I l of Wales is with the English nor Is IIh080 good looking The Ru < slans besidesre cent the fact of her having brought inch feeble plainlooking children Into the Romanof Cunlly hitherto renowned for the splendid physique of its mcniljors hut then she lots lot a particle of the Illnature so strongly developed in her sister sis-ter since the Ialter increasing ltafnea She has devoted friend In her entourage and the people esteem her for her devotion to Russian Rus-sian cU toms Upon the whole the peculiarities and little foibles of the numerous member of tho Itruatiof family give plenty of food for gossip and lie public delights passingcom meats on them rather spicy than otherwise The trade of moralist 6 not a popular one in Russia though and whatever Is recounted of the escapades of the grand duke amuses more than It chocks society So man Is timid enough tolwafralii to risk a Ion mot coMctvning a grand duke Born to their I positfon I lie members of the Russian ini penal family attach very little im rtauce to their lofty standing and are even reported not to beover proud of their mental attainments I which certainly proves them to be t r 1llinbi far moro intelligent than they gut credit for |