A Russian wedding 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.