At each end of the table, and at right angles to the sofa, there will be a row of three arm-chairs.

The other chairs will be symmetrically arranged round the room.

In a few minutes the host will appear, in his long double-breasted black coat and well-polished long boots.

His hair is parted in the middle, and his beard shows no trace of scissors or razor.
After the customary greetings have been exchanged, glasses of tea, with slices of lemon and preserves, or perhaps a bottle of champagne, are brought in by way of refreshments.

The female members of the family you must not expect to see, unless you are an intimate friend; for the merchants still retain something of that female seclusion which was in vogue among the upper classes before the time of Peter the Great.