Page:Notes upon Russia (volume 2, 1851).djvu/156

presented the bread to each of us in rotation, accompanied by the following speech: "O Count Leonhard, the Grand Duke Vasiley, by the grace of God, King and Lord of all Russia, and Grand Duke, extends his favour to thee, and sends thee bread from his own table." These words the interpreter delivered to us in a loud voice. We received this expression of the prince's favour standing. The other guests also, with the exception of the prince's brothers, rose up in compliment to us. For such an expression of honour and favour as this, it is not necessary that any answer should be given, except in so far as that you accept the offered bread, place it upon the table, and express your thanks by an inclination of the head, first to the prince himself, and then to the councillors and the rest of the guests, turning the head round in every direction and bowing. Bread is used by the prince to express his favour towards anybody, but when he sends salt, it is intended to express his affection — indeed it is not possible for him to show greater honour to any one at an entertainment given by himself, than by sending him salt from his own table. I may, moreover, state that the loaves, which are made in the form of a horse's collar, seem in my opinion to serve as emblems of the hard yoke and perpetual servitude of those who eat them. At length the servers going out for food, again without showing any honour to the prince, first brought in brandy, which they always drink at the commencement of the dinner; then they brought in roasted swans, which it is almost always their custom to lay before their guests for the first dish whenever they eat meat. Three of these being placed before the prince, he pierced them with his knife to try which was the best, and which he would choose in preference to the rest, and immediately ordered them to be taken away. The sewers going out in the same order in which they had entered, placed the swans, after they had been cut up and divided into parts, in smaller dishes, laying four pieces of a swan upon each dish. Then