Bowra again
[Petrograd, 1916]
I made friends with a young Russian who was an ensign in a Guards Regiment...He took me to dine in his mess, and this solved the problem of food shortage...The only danger was that my friend's fellow-officers would in the course of dinner get so excited that they would shoot the electric bulbs in the chandeliers and plunge us into darkness. The solution was to advance early to the zakoushka and eat all you could before the fun begins. My friend had a sister of remarkable beauty, who from the first moment I saw her obsessed my thoughts. She was extremely intelligent, warm-hearted, natural and quick on the uptake. She had much fancy and humour, and unlike some Russians, did not bother to talk about her soul or even about mine.
I made friends with a young Russian who was an ensign in a Guards Regiment...He took me to dine in his mess, and this solved the problem of food shortage...The only danger was that my friend's fellow-officers would in the course of dinner get so excited that they would shoot the electric bulbs in the chandeliers and plunge us into darkness. The solution was to advance early to the zakoushka and eat all you could before the fun begins. My friend had a sister of remarkable beauty, who from the first moment I saw her obsessed my thoughts. She was extremely intelligent, warm-hearted, natural and quick on the uptake. She had much fancy and humour, and unlike some Russians, did not bother to talk about her soul or even about mine.