waiters were in snowy frocks and trousers, and the establishment was so large that it was said to employ one hundred and fifty waiters in the dining and tea rooms alone.
Many of the patrons of the place were taking nothing but tea, and the samovar was everywhere. Frank and Fred thought they had never seen waiters more attentive than at this traktir. They seemed to understand beforehand what was wanted, and a single glance was sure to bring one of them to the table. They did a great deal more than the waiters do in Western Europe. They offered to cut up the food so that it could be eaten with a fork, and they poured out the tea, instead of leaving the patron to pour for himself. Frank observed that nearly every one who
RUSSIAN BEGGARS.
entered the place said his prayers in front of the holy picture. There is a picture in every room of the establishment, so that the devout worshipper is never at a loss.
Another day they went to the "Moskovski Traktir," a large restaurant similar to the Troitska, and containing an enormous organ which is said to have cost more than fifty thousand dollars. The Russians are very fond of music of the mechanical sort, and their country is one of the best markets of the Swiss makers of organs and music-boxes. In the best houses all through Russia expensive instruments of this kind can be found, and
