Eighteen years have passed since I, following the will of destiny, left my native land and found shelter in the land of Uncle Sam. During this period, I have not had much time to contact the Russian colony. In the beginning I tried to be with them, but I found that our colonists do not strive sufficiently towards establishing their own cultural, educational, or economic institutions, but [instead] idle away their time. They are busy with various debates and disputes on questions of which they have very little understanding. Generally, Russians lack co-operation, and lack that friendship which aids in the organization of their own centers and cultural, educational and economic institutions. Therefore, instead of vainly wasting my time, I decided to devote it towards learning some good trade, which would help me to secure a job and would aid me financially. I attained that goal. But 2I met Russians, or was in contact with them on those occasions when our great and well-known representatives of Russian art and literature visited the city of Chicago. I attended the ballet of Anna Pavlova, concerts of Chaliapin, grand opera of Feodorov, and stage presentations of Kuznetsova, and the Moscow Art Theater.

I heard the choirs of the Kuban Cossacks, of S. Sokolov, the Don Cossacks of S. Jarov, Agreneva-Slavianskaia; I have seen the stage productions of Yasha Yuzhnii, and others. I attended the lectures of A.L. Tolstoy, Gusev-Orenburgskii, G. Grebenshchikov, etc. I, as a son of the great Russian land, love all Russians and especially Russian art and literature, but I cannot stand the foolish chatter of the colonists and their noisy debates about things they do not understand.

Recently I have somehow been dragged into the Russian colony and I have again started to attend Russian affairs arranged by Russian clubs and organizations. It is needless to mention everything that I witnessed and 3attended recently, but I will admit that our colony has of late become much younger. At present, you will find at the colony's affairs that three-fourths of the audience are young people, a situation which never existed before. It means that the young generation has come to replace our elders. It is the same young generation about whom so many speeches have been made at our meetings, and about whom articles have been written in the Russian press. However, in reference to the colonists' diversions, my attention was attracted chiefly by the "Sabbatarians" of the Russian-American Citizens Club. I attended several of their meetings, and am glad to say that I came home with pleasant impressions. The club hall impresses you with a very pleasing effect and reminds you of something familiar. The hall is spacious and comfortable, the walls are painted with flowers and various figures. On the walls hang the portraits of our great poets and composers, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Rimsky-Korsakoff and other geniuses. In front of the stage which is not large but is well decorated, stands a radio by which Russian concert programs from other cities and news from all over America are received.

The attitude towards guests is of a very kind and polite nature; everything is in exemplary order. The atmosphere among the people is gay and lively. In other words cheer and comfort are always present. Everything is set in Russian style and taste, and because of this, the club can truly be called a genuine Russian nest.

Now a few words about the program of these "Sabbatarians". The famous Caesar Arrigoni, formerly the well-known owner of a circus in Russia, directs all the performances. For every evening, he has a new program. The programs are very amusing and interesting. For example take the last program. The program consisted of ten numbers; all the artists made successful appearances and the audience rewarded them with loud and prolonged applause. I shall write of them as fellows:

1. Mr. Mikulskii, a young violinist, played some gypsy melodies excellently. His tone is bewitching and it appears that this artist has had good training and is hard-working.

2. A scene was given from the comedy of Gogol, "Zhenitba" (The Matchmaking), which was also performed successfully. The artists Anna Michaylovskaia, A. Pokatilov and P. Pochaznikov, managed their roles excellently.

3. Mlle. Pola gave a waltz from the "Merry Widow" in good style.

4. L. Zemtsov, tenor (former soloist of the Kuban Cossacks Choir), who is popular in the Russian colony, sang "Krasnii Sarafan" (The Red Sarafan), and "Zamelo Tebia Snegom Rossia" (You Are Covered With Snow, Russia) beautifully.

5. A trio, two violinists and a pianist, played "Dve Gitari" (Two Guitars); 6this number did not meet with success, for in some places the harmony was inadequate.

6. A. Pokatilov gave a successful reading of a humorous monologue.

7. Mr. Montelie, from the Palace Theater, a virtuoso on the accordion, played several numbers magnificently well.

8. It is not necessary to talk about our favorite, Caesar Arrigoni. The more you hear him, the more you want to hear him. He always has something new, amusing, and pleasing. He really deserves the name, the "King of Laughter". At this affair he, with his associate Alfred, amused the audience with jokes, tricks, comic songs, and anecdotes.

9. The ninth number, a surprise on the pregram, was the appearance of an Italian tenor who sang, in Italian, several arias from the opera "Sunny Spain" excellently.

10. The hit of the program was a scene called "Life in Naples", arranged by Caesar Arrigoni. Our favorite, L. Zemtsov, again revealed his talent, singing beautifully, in English, the popular Italian song "Funiculi, Funicula", accompanied by the troupe.

In conclusion I wish to state that the "Sabbatarians" of the R.A.G.R., Russko-Amerikanskii Grazhdanskii Club (The Russian-American Citizens Club),deserve attention. My advice to the club and to Caesar Arrigoni is to continue such sabbatarian entertainments, and to our Russian colonists I recommend that they attend such entertainments, and certainly that they support such an organization.

[Translator's note: By Sabbatarians in this article is meant the Saturday evening entertainments held at the Russian-American Citizens Club.]