requires a master of ceremonies to look after the affair from
beginning to end. I was told it was the custom in Siberia (but not in
European Russia) for this person to pay all expenses of the wedding,
including the indispensable dinner and its fixtures. Such a position
is not to be desired by a man of limited cash, especially if the
leading characters are inclined to extravagance. Think of being the
conductor of a diamond wedding in New York or Boston, and then paying
the bills!

[Illustration: UNEXPECTED HONORS.]

The steward of the Variag told me he was invited to conduct a wedding
shortly after his arrival at Petropavlovsk. Thinking it an honor of
which he would hereafter be proud, he accepted the invitation. Much to
his surprise on the next day he was required to pay the cost of the
entertainment.

The master of ceremonies of the wedding under consideration was Mr.
Phillipeus, a Russian gentleman engaged in the fur trade. The father
of the brides was his customer, and doubtless the cost of the wedding
was made up in subsequent dealings. As the party emerged from the
house and moved toward the church, I could see that Phillipeus was the
central figure. He had a bride on each arm, and each bride was
clinging to her prospective husband. The women were in white and the
men in holiday dress.

Behind the front rank were a dozen or more groomsmen and bridesmaids.
Behind these were the members of the families and the invited
relatives, so that the cortége stretched to a considerable length.
Each of the groomsmen wore a bow of colored ribbon on his left arm and