B650 <=> B652 (BTG XXXIV Russia, p. 651)

“Now the variety of these specific odors depends upon how long the decomposition of these ‘oily-excretions’ found in the pores of the skin has proceeded.

“These unpleasant odors fortunately for them do not affect them so ‘tormentingly.’

“And they do not affect them because their sense of smell is very slightly developed and besides this, existing always among these odors, they gradually become accustomed to them.

“And so, my boy, just this custom, namely, of washing themselves periodically in special hammams, was taken by the Russians from the Asiatic beings; but when they fell under the influence of the European beings and for the most part, as I have already told you, of the beings of the community France, then in view of the fact that these French beings have not the custom of going to the hammam, they also gradually ceased to use hammams and thus this good custom established for centuries among them, began little by little to disappear.

“Formerly, almost every Russian family had its own hammam, but recently when I was in their chief place of existence, the former St. Petersburg, for the last time, and where at that time more than two millions of these Russian beings existed, there were only seven or eight of such hammams there – and even then, only those beings went to these hammams who were called there ‘house porters’ and ‘workmen,’ that is, beings who happened to come there to the capital from distant villages where the custom of going to the hammam or as they sometimes call it the ‘bath’ had not yet been quite wiped out.

“Now, as regards the main population of this capital who consisted chiefly of the beings of what are called the ruling class, they, these beings, in recent times did not go to the hammam at all, and if any ‘queer fellow’ were still sometimes from old habit to go, he would then try in every way that no one else in his caste should know about it.