One year at the Russian court: 1904-1905

LIBRARY

ONE YEAR AT THE
RUSSIAN COURT : 1904-1905

THE EX-EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOKOVNA OF RUSSIA
WITH THE EX-TZAREVITCH ALEXIS

ONE YEAR AT
THE RUSSIAN
COURT: 1904-1905

BY RENEE ELTON MAUD

LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMXVIII

Printed in Great Britain
ly Turntull & Shears, Edinburgh

CONTENTS

PART I

HACK

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM I

PART II

IN THE CAUCASUS .... 79

PART III

AT PETROGRAD . . . . I 05

PART IV

RASPUTIN: HIS INFLUENCE AND HIS WORK . 189

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

THE EX-EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA
OF RUSSIA WITH THE EX-CZAREVITCH
ALEXIS Frontispiece

FACING PAOB

RUSSIAN COACHMAN 6

CAUCASUS — GOURIAN PRINCE .... 6
RUSSIAN EQUIPAGES — Two TROIKAS . . 7

IN THE PARK OF MONREPOS — THE FERRY TO

LUDWINSTEIN 14

MONREPOS — THE CHAR-A-BANCS ... 15
THE CASTLE OF MONREPOS FROM THE PARK . 22
PETERHOF — THE IMPERIAL CHILDREN . . 23

CRONSTADT — Two SURVIVORS OF THE GLORIOUS

KOREITZ 62

THE BARRACKS AT PETERHOF — Two COSSACKS

OF THE ESCORT . . . . 62

THE CROWN PRINCE OF GERMANY WITH PRINCESS

CECILIE AS FIANCES ..... 63

•I

viii ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

FACING PAGE

SCENERY IN THE CAUCASUS .... 90

IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE CAUCASUS . . 91

TIFLIS — A PERSIAN BAKER'S SHOP ... 94

TIFLIS — A PERSIAN SHOEMAKER'S SHOP . . 95

PLOUGHING IN THE CAUCASUS . . . 216

THE IMPERIAL PALACE OF TZARSKOE-CELO . 217

PART I
THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM

CHAPTER 1

AT last, I was on the eve of my departure
for Russia ! The dream of my twenty
summers ! For that great Russia, the
country of my devoted grandmother,
Baroness de Nicolay, who, however, was born
in London, her father, Baron de Nicolay, being
at the time attached to the Russian Embassy
there. He subsequently became Russian
Minister at Copenhagen, where on account of
the many friendships he had formed in society
and his deep attachment to the then King and
Queen of Denmark and all their family — who
held him in the greatest esteem and intimacy-
he remained more than twenty years, refusing
every offer of advancement in consequence.

Queen Louise, Queen Alexandra's mother,
kept up a frequent correspondence with my
grandmother up to the time of the latter's death.
Here, it may be of interest to mention that I
have amongst my most valued possessions a
beautiful diamond bracelet given by the Queen
to my grandmother, who was by birth half
French on her mother's side, nee Princesse
de Broglie-Revel, and until her marriage maid
of honour to the Empress of Russia. That
great Russia, the charms and delights of which
in my innermost self I had longed for and at

4 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

night dreamt of, during the long winter months
passed in the solitude of my ancient and austere
Norman home, listening to the howling of the
wind amongst the pine trees as they groaned
and bent their heads in cadence. How good
it was to dream then !

Years after my Uncle Auguste de Villaine,
my father's brother, was specially requested by
the King and Queen of Denmark, in remem-
brance of the past, to be sent as French Military
Attache to Copenhagen.

The husband of my friend Madame de Saint-
Pair had just been appointed Naval Attache
at St Petersburg (Petrograd), and I obtained my
father's permission to accompany her on her
journey to rejoin her husband. First of all I
was to pay a visit to my aunt, Baroness de
Nicolay, who was waiting to receive me.

On reaching the Russian Frontier, at Wir-
ballen, at 8.30 p.m., we had to change from the
North Express into the Russian train on account
of the gauge being much wider in the land of
the Tzar — as it was then. No sooner had the
train come to a standstill than our compart-
ment was literally invaded by a crowd of porters
—at least one for each of our packages ! The
train which had been so full on leaving Paris
was by this time almost empty — hence the
reason for this invasion, each one fighting as
to which should bear the burden ! Dressed in
those curiously long coats caught up in pleats
at the waist, with their baggy trousers, top
boots, flat caps and white aprons re'aching to

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 5

the knee, as they walked about on the station
platform with their hands behind their backs,
they looked like male hospital nurses.

Thanks to the very special recommendation
of the Russian Ambassador in Paris and, in spite
of the fierce expression worn by the tall, pompous
and bewhiskered Colonel of the Gendarmes, this
very important functionary merely bowed to
our luggage allowing it all to pass the customs
without being examined. Many jealous eyes
must have watched us there, for the Russian
Customs were most severe.

I noticed a large picture of the Sacred Heart
with a huge candle burning in front of it — I
was indeed in Holy Russia.

An amusing incident occurred on the arrival
of the train at Gatchina, where Her Imperial
Majesty the Dowager-Empress had a palace,
which I feel I must relate. From the windows
of our compartment we were able to get a peep
at the Grand Duke Nicholas-Michaelovitch, who
had just left our train for a dressing-room in
the station, and witnessed in silence the trans-
formation of a Grand Duke from civilian clothes
into the uniform of his rank, which is by no means
a small affair — but I must say a quick one !

A few minutes later we saw His Imperial
Highness dashing away in a brilliant Court
equipage, his attendants in Imperial scarlet
liveries. This was certainly my first experience
of a Grand Duke in such complete ntglig'e.

At Petrograd my aunt's brougham was await-
ing me. A Russian turn-out is delightfully

6 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

picturesque. The coachman is dressed in a
long dark blue padded coat, especially thick in
winter ; his vast proportions completely fill
up the whole box-seat and sometimes even over-
lap it. The fatter he looks, the smarter he is.
He wears a very full skirt and, with his face
framed by his long hair, his top hat cut short,
his waist-belt of many colours, his fashion of
driving with both his arms stretched out at full
length in front of him, and instead of using a
whip — which is non-existent — occasionally call-
ing out in guttural tones, he forms a truly pictur-
esque object to the visitors from foreign lands.

There is yet another type of coachman, seen
more seldom, however, who is dressed as a
Russian postilion and who in summer wears
long silk sleeves of varied brilliant hues issuing
from his dark coat. The top of his round toque
is edged with short up-standing peacock feathers.
The big, black, sure-footed, nervous horses,
with their long tails and manes, do not resemble
ours in any way. The reins and the red or blue
tassels brighten up the harness, and how enjoy-
able it is to go for a drive in a sleigh at full tilt,
zigzagging about over the pure white snow as
slippery as glass, specially so in a troika, to the
tinkling sound of its many bells. But, in a
droschki, with its narrow borderless seat, the
only alternative is to seize one's companion's
waist ; it may have its charm also !

My Aunt de Nicolay — Tante Sonine, as I
always called her — nte Baroness de Meyendorff,
had frequented all the most brilliant Courts of

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 7

Europe, being well known both in London and
Berlin. Being married at the age of eighteen
to my uncle, my grandmother's brother, she
had accompanied her husband during his en-
tire diplomatic career — necessarily a somewhat
nomadic existence. My aunt welcomed me with
much warmth, which touched me profoundly.
I had met her for the first time in 1900 on the
occasion of her visit to Paris at the time of the
Great Exhibition, after which she had come to
Normandy, and it was during this visit that I
began to form for her that deep admiration and
affection which her memory will always invoke
in me.

My aunt was altogether charming ; tall and
very distinguished looking, and extraordinarily
refined — in fact a real grande dame to her finger-
tips. She appeared to be much younger than
she was. Her beautiful features had preserved
a wonderfully youthful charm, to be seen at
their full value when she smiled that sweet
smile of hers — so good and so true. I very soon
began positively to adore her.

During her youth my aunt had been very
pretty, with her dazzling fair hair and fresh
pink and white complexion, so much so that at
a great Court ball at the Winter Palace one of
the Grand Dukes remarked : " She is not a
woman, she is a swan ! "

Even at the time of my visit she still gave one
this impression : she was so graceful in all her
movements and as active and supple as any
young woman of twenty-five ; and, to see her

8 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

beautiful little head so proudly borne on her
long flexible neck with its aristocratic lines
attached to those exquisitely moulded shoulders
of hers, one could imagine that she had simply
sailed through life partaking of all its beauties
and avoiding all contact with the horrors and
pettiness of the great world she frequented,
thus conserving intact, both in a moral and a
physical sense, the pure whiteness of the " swan "!

Left a widow at thirty-two, my aunt was always
an ideal mother, giving every proof of entire
devotion to her children — her every thought
was for them and theirs. Her voice, combining
softness with firmness, was one of her most
charming characteristics, with such a perfect
pronunciation in French, English and German
that a stranger would have asked himself which
of the three was her native tongue.

She declared she did not know Russian well
enough, and preferred never to speak in that
language in society.

One of the first instructions I received from
her was — " Always shake hands with a gentle-
man when he is presented." How different from
the English custom, where a slight nod and side
look often suffices ! While in France a young
girl is more demure still ! Where a married
woman is concerned in Russia, a man generally
kisses her hand — which suits the Russian as
much as it renders ridiculous the Frenchman
when he tries to imitate.

Then, another day, she said to me looking
rather upset at having to touch such a delicate

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 9

subject : ' Tu sais — on a beaucoup de cousins
ici." This was said as a warning for me not to
be shocked, as I might perhaps have been, at
the sight of a somewhat too great familiarity
between certain people on frequent occasion.
This warning amused me intensely, as, although
I was very innocent at the time, I was not suffi-
ciently so not to understand the hint ! I was
simply charmed by the thought — more so still
at the explanation and was never quite able to
repress a smile when I came across " happy
cousins " !

She always retained the best impressions of
London life, having spent several years here.
" Jews are very well received there," she once
said to me, " very different from here." In
fact, I think London is their Paradise, I am quite
sure they are in no hurry for the accomplishment
of the Gospel !

She informed me, much to my surprise, that
the German woman was the most light of morals
of any nation. Their heavy, massive appear-
ance had always made me imagine them unable
to see life but through heavily-rimmed spectacles
and that the great majority of them followed
the example of their homely plump Kaiserin
and her three " K " doctrine for women —
" Kinder, Kirche and Kuchen."

On my return to France my aunt accompanied
me as far as Berlin and proved herself an ex-
cellent cicerone, pointing out to me the various
palaces she had so often been received in and
other places of interest. The only thing I could

io ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

truthfully admire in the city was its scrupulous
cleanliness. I beheld with horror these long
rows of white " stucco " rulers of Germany
erected by their descendent and admirer Wilhelm
the Hun ; neither was I impressed by that
fearful crude blue light of the chapel containing
the Imperial tombs — again a result of the
imagination of the " All Highest." Clearly this
decoration simply aimed at showy effect — just
like every action he commits.

Although Petrograd is more primitive than
Paris, yet it impressed me far more, with its
wide arteries, its large quays, its superb Neva,
like an arm of the sea.

Russia is the country of space, of dreams—
the country of all that is magnificent. It gives
one an unforgettable impression.

The Newsky Prospect is said to be the widest
street in Europe ; on one side of it is an ancient
caravanserai of enormous dimensions, now occu-
pied by shops of every description, some of
which are most fascinating.

I was also taken to see the famous fortress of
St Peter and St Paul, the burial place of the
Russian sovereigns and also a prison, returning
by steamer on the Neva, and then to the Hermit-
age— the National Gallery of Petrograd — con-
taining many of Murillo's best works as well as
Rembrandt's and others. Another day I went
to the Alexander III. Museum and to the Church
of Kazan where there is a most venerated statue
of the Virgin. The Cathedral of St Isaac is of
magnificent proportions and possesses immense

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM n

wealth of decoration — the mosaiques being
superb, whilst a number of the sacred images
are inlaid with diamonds and other precious
stones.

During the course of my explorations, nothing
struck me so forcibly in contrast to all this
magnificence as the house of Peter the Great —
which is so minute !

I thoroughly enjoyed going to the restaurants
at The Islands, specially to Ernest's, where one
meets natives, diplomats, foreign visitors, in
fact, every one, while listening to the strains
of a gay Rumanian orchestra.

The Islands are the Bois de Boulogne of,
Petrograd. The place is lovely : very green ;
beautiful trees overshadowing paths which are
well laid out ; and from the end of the park a
view of the sea is obtainable. There are many
beautiful villas there occupied during the
summer.

I never shall forget my impressions of Paris
on my return from Russia, where there seems
to be no limit to space, where everything is on
a huge scale — from the luxury of life in general
to the immense size of all the buildings and the
great width of the noble Neva. Paris appeared
to me a squalid town and the Seine a mere
brook — and not too clean a one either — and
altogether it struck me as being a very dismal
place.

I only spent then a very short time at Petro-
grad as, at that period of the year, every one
begins to flit away to their country places for

12 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

the summer, so, after having become acquainted
with a number of relations and made several
friends, I, like the rest, took my departure from
the capital, and accompanied my aunt to her
beautiful home of Monrepos in Finland.

I

CHAPTER II

country from Petrograd to Viborg
is for the most part like one perpetual
garden, the train passes between what
is literally a long series of villas and
gardens in the midst of silver birch and pine-
trees, broken occasionally by an evident attempt
to create a new place ; then succeeds again a
planted solitude ; and at last, after a journey
of four hours, Viborg — a town of 30,000 in-
habitants— is reached.

That planted solitude has since those days
become very much built over, I expect, as Fin-
land is a very sought-after summer resort.

Finland — the country of the thousand lakes,
or rather one ought to say of the five thousand
lakes ! My grandmother's land won my heart
at once. Monrepos was for me a touching
souvenir of her.

It is a well-known show place, with its lovely
and hilly woodlands reaching down to the Gulf
of Finland, its gorgeous flower-beds and standard
orange-trees, where the coast is indented with
its pink coloured rocks and in the background
are interminable forests of pine and silver beech,
where wolves come in winter. In one of the
kiosks in the park is a marble bust of the Empress
Maria, given by her to my great-grandfather to

14 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

whom she was much attached. In the park
there stands also a column erected to the memory
of two Princes de Broglie who fell, fighting for
the Allies, against Napoleon — these two princes
were brothers of my great-grandmother. Another
column was presented to my great-grandfather
by the town of Viborg in recognition of a gift of
land and other bequests made by him. Every
corner contains some souvenir ; every bench is
named after a member of the family.

My aunt took me to visit the tomb of the
Nicolays situated on one of the prettiest islands
in the park, named the Isle of Ludwinstein, all
formed of pink coloured rocks covered with lovely
trees. To reach this poetic spot where the dear
dead rest so peacefully, one effects the crossing
of a narrow arm of the Gulf on a ferry bridge
worked by ropes fastened at either end, by means
of which one is enabled to pull oneself over the
deeply-shaded waters of the beautiful Gulf of
Finland. Ludwinstein dominates its full im-
mensity interspersed by thickly-wooded islands ;
there the great northern sun bathes itself before
setting in its multi-coloured glory. Then is
the time to steal quietly away to think — and
pray — on the island of Death and Life and
Hope.

Finland is far more Swedish than Russian,
having belonged to the Swedish Crown for so
long, and Viborg was very animated ; we often
went there. The long drives into the country
generally in the char-a-bancs were a great joy
to me. My aunt's coachman, Kousma, besides

IN THE PARK OF MONREPOS, THE FERRY TO LUDWINSTEIN

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 15

being a Tartar was also a Mussulman, and being
a strict observer of the Koran had a bath in his
room in which he performed his numerous
obligatory ablutions. As Mussulmans are not
allowed to drink any strong liquor, this being
contrary to their faith, they are in great request
as servants in Russia.

Another of my great amusements was to go
for a sail in one or the other of my aunt's boats
on the Gulf ; and at times we used to row our-
selves— a form of exercise which has always
appealed to me.

The Catholic Church at Viborg was very
small ; the congregation consisted of about
three to four hundred soldiers and a few peasant
women, picturesque with their bright coloured —
generally red — handkerchiefs on their heads.
Whenever I entered the church these soldiers
lined up on either side of the aisle in my honour.
I almost imagined I was the Empress ! But I
never shall forget the smell of their top boots
caused by the fat used for cleaning them. It
was almost unbearable.

There is always a night watchman round the
house, who chimes the hours all through the
night and keeps a vigilant watch. Monrepos
is entirely built of wood, after the fashion of
so many large houses in Russia, but so strong
and massive in construction that it is difficult
to realize the absence of stone.

The house — the houses, I ought to say, for
there are two — is of enormous dimensions and
to give an illustration of this I may mention

16 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

that the large drawing-room is more than 150 feet
in length and very lofty.

My aunt always lived with her three unmarried
children, Paul and his two sisters, Marie and
Aline ; it has always been my habit to call them
" uncle " and " aunt " on account of their being
so much older than myself and I thought it
more respectful to do so. The first two are
entirely devoted to good works and before the
war my uncle was absolutely absorbed by the
(Euvre des fitudiants, an international business,
and as this body held their annual meetings in
different places each year he was continually
travelling, and thought no more of starting off
to America or Japan than he did of going to
Petrograd.

My young Pahlen cousins, children of the
married daughter of my aunt, came to stay.
I nicknamed them " Les Moustiques " as, all
day long, they clambered on to my knees and
then smothered me with kisses ! Their father,
Count de Pahlen, was then Governor of Vilna
—now, alas, fallen into the hands of the detest-
able Hun ! They played the balalaika — a cross
between the mandoline and the guitar — very
well.

Uncle de Pahlen, although a somewhat pro-
nounced Protestant, was large-minded enough
to rescue the Roman Catholic Bishop of Vilna,
by concealing him in the bottom of his equipage,
from the hands of the revolutionaries the follow-
ing winter. All the Nicolays are very low
church, with the exception of Uncle Paul who

\

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 17

admires and venerates God far more in nature
than beneath the roof of any temple — so I was
told.

The Finns' one idea was and still is to obtain
an autonomy of their own — the Russian Governor
of the Province was usually hated and I am
right in stating that during my visit several
attempts on his life were made.

When women received the right to vote in
Finland, the accomplishment of this achieve-
ment was the cause of a frenzy of delight.

We were always a large party at Monrepos,
a perpetual coming and going of friends. On
the occasion of the visit of my French friends,
Monsieur and Madame de Saint-Pair, we had
arranged together to visit Imatra, the famous
waterfalls of which are known the world over.
The great fall is superb — the foam reaching to
an immense height — but I prefer the smaller
fall, although it is stiller but a good. deal wider
than the great fall.

It happened to be the feast of St John, in
celebration of which huge bonfires are lit all
over the country. We did not actually see the
midnight sun, as we were not quite far enough
north for that, but it was 11.30 p.m. before the
afterglow entirely vanished. Then we went to
see a country dance undertaken amidst pro-
found silence, the Finn takes his pleasures
quietly ! I noticed that all the men of the
dance wore small daggers in their belts, no doubt
to protect their belles, I concluded ; and the
latter certainly were remarkable for the wonder-

ful dazzling brightness of their fair hair plaited
in thick tresses of wonderful richness.

On our return to the inn we were served with
a whole ham cut in the form of a duck, and
radishes to represent flowers, while the butter
took the shape of sea anemones.

The following morning we drove 36 kilometres
in a carriage which looked more like a hearse
than anything else, with no springs, and drawn
by three horses who took the bits between their
mouths and galloped for all they were worth
along a road like a switchback, only worse, on
account of the innumerable deep ruts all over
it, and in some places edged with real precipices.
Naturally the vehicle possessed no brake !

The country is very wild, full of woods and
thick undergrowth on either side of the road ;
then, wooded hills and a few cottages here and
there ; pines and birch-trees everywhere.

Our hearse-shaped conveyance certainly pos-
sessed the semblance of a roof, but the planks of
wood composing it did not fit, with the result that
we were obliged to open our umbrellas inside
to prevent ourselves from being soaked by the
heavy rain occasioned by a severe thunderstorm
which overtook us, on this never-to-be-forgotten
excursion in the wildest and most romantic
parts of the country. The little boys on the
road blew us kisses, while the little girls offered
us fruit, flowers, eggs, and pretty coloured stones.

On arrival at Rattijarvi we took the steamer
down the canal of Lake Saima, thoroughly en-
joying the lovely scenery by which we were

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 19

surrounded, as we passed on our way through
many lakes.

The locks of Juustila are very interesting —
our boat sunk deeper and deeper, so deep indeed
that I thought we would never reach the bottom !
We returned enchanted with our Finnish trip.

At Monrepos, we had some charming neigh-
bours, amongst whom were the Count and
Countess de Stackelberg. The latter was before
her marriage Countess Shouvaloff, a niece of
my aunt and the daughter of a former Russian
Ambassador at Berlin, while her husband,
General Baron de Stackelberg, was attached to
the person of one of the Grand Dukes. I have
often met them in Paris since those days, and
to my great regret I heard lately that at the
outbreak of the late revolution in March 1917
Count Stackelberg was arrested and was actually
being led off to the Bureau Central by a detach-
ment of soldiers to be tried, when, while still on
his own staircase, a shot was fired — presumably
by some ill-advised person, at the top of the
staircase — whereupon the soldiers, who were on
the ground-floor and far from the unfortunate
General who was unarmed, imagining that it
was he who had fired at them, turned on him
with violence and finally shot him in cold blood.

Half an hour after this tragedy my uncle,
Baron Paul de Nicolay, called at the house,
when he also was arrested by a young revolu-
tionary who left him in charge of two soldiers
while he went off to fetch his revolver. The
soldiers' attention being taken away by their

20 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

leader's action, my uncle profited by their
momentary distraction and most fortunately
was thus enabled to make good his escape,
otherwise he would most probably have shared
the same fate as poor Stackelberg.

I have the greatest affection for Uncle Paul,
from whom I often receive long and most inter-
esting letters, which help to remind me of the
happy days I am now attempting to describe—
the golden memory of which will ever remain
impressed upon my heart.

It is to be hoped that Fate will spare Finland
and the cradle of the family from an invasion
by the brutal Hun, and may the Angel of Peace
protect those blessed tombs from his sacrilegious
and infamous hands.

I left Finland to go back to Petrograd with
my aunt for a few days, which I spent most
gaily. Then I went to Peterhof with my aunt,
Princess Cherwachidze, and to Michaelovka with
Aunt de Baranoff, going often from one to the
other.

I

CHAPTER III

Court spent the summer at the
Palace of Peterhof. My aunt, Prin-
cess Cherwachidze, always rented a
villa there on leaving her house at
Petrograd. Most of the Grand Dukes had their
palaces there also. Being only at a distance of
about one hour by train from Petrograd, Peterhof
with its numerous palaces and villas, situated
in their lovely gardens, reminded me of the
Riviera ; by its brilliant society, both military
and civil, Peterhof was indeed a delightful
place to live in. There was a perpetual round
of luncheons and dinners in the Court Circle
which I enjoyed very much, also the concerts
and the theatre.

The place is charmingly pretty ; the park
magnificent, reaching right down to the shores
of the Baltic where many of its fine trees dip
their long branches into the sea. In the park
we used to meet the Imperial Children, Grand
Duchess Olga, the eldest, and lately one of the
leading sister-disciples of Rasputin's religion,
was then a pretty little doll, always very gracious
and well-dressed. She used to say " Bon jour "
aloud when anyone bowed to her ; policemen
and others were delighted with the salutation
of their " little Empress ! " Later on, their

21

22 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

drives and rides had to be discontinued as
attempts on their lives were feared.

The second daughter, Grand Duchess Tatiana,
was said to be the cleverest of the family and her
father's favourite.

The playing of the fountains was a sight worth
seeing, the Russians never ceased asking me
whether they did not outshine the " Grandes
Eaux " of Versailles.

The appearance of the exterior of the Palace
inspired gaiety, whilst the interior was the very
acme of comfort.

The Russian Court was the most luxurious
Court in the world, combining as it did all the
wealth and luxury of the East and the West.
It was a rule that all the numerous palaces of
the Emperor should be kept up during his
absence just as though he were in residence—
always ready to receive him at any moment.

I often accompanied my aunt to the Palace
of Peterhof to see my uncle, Prince Cherwachidze,
who was Grand Master of the Court of Russia,
specially attached to the person of the Empress-
Dowager, being also Grand Master -of her Court ;
and he sometimes came to spend his evenings
with us.

My aunt continually lunched with the Empress-
Dowager, who used to invite her every year to
spend long friendly visits with her at Gatchina ;
she also lunched very often at the Palace. My
aunt might have taken up her abode in the
Palace had she chosen, out always declared she
preferred her liberty to the perpetual glow and

TIIK CASTI.E OK MONRKI'OS KROM THE 1'AKK

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 23

fuss of the Court — in my view a somewhat
injudicious step to have taken considering all
things.

Princess Cherwachidze, nte Baronne de
Nicolay, my father's first cousin, is small and
slender, very refined and fragile, so fragile indeed
that one is almost afraid of breaking her when
embracing her, but possessing in her heart an
unfathomable depth of kindness and devotion.

My dear little aunt — Aunt Maka, as I called her
—seemed to be in love, so much in love with her
husband that morning and night, especially when
at Petrograd, she rushed off as fast as she could
cover the ground to the telephone to converse
with the object of her adoration, who was always
in waiting on his Imperial Mistress wherever
she happened to be — Gatchina, Peterhof ,
Tsarskoe-Celo or Petrograd, at the Anitschkoff
Palace. The conversation was always the same
and in her soft emotional voice she commenced : —

" Comment vas-tu ? ' The reply I never
caught. " Aliens tant mieux." Idem. ' Tu
vas venir aujourd'hui, n'est-ce pas ? ' I guessed
the reply to be in the negative. " Et demain ? '
Again in the negative. " Alors tu me diras.
Au revoir." Then it was over. He was not
often able to respond to these summonses.

She seemed quite satisfied to know that her
spouse was in good health — there was no alter-
native— and then again would rush off across
the drawing-rooms back to her comfortable
study where she always had a vast correspond-
ence to attend to, and to reply to in that beautiful

24 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

caligraphy of hers — everything she undertook
to do was executed to perfection. Every day
she received several begging letters, some from
people desirous of obtaining employment, others
seeking for Imperial audiences for some protege
or other — and these latter simply poured in !

Again at night, she used to ring up my uncle
on the telephone which, alas, more often than
not gave no reply ; then my poor little aunt
became quite thoughtful and sadly consoled
herself by saying, " Comme son service est
fatiguant ! "

She had also a conversation on the telephone
very often with Grand Duke Nicholas Michaelo-
vitch who had been a friend of hers for many
years. His Imperial Highness sometimes came
to see us in the evening and we always knew
when he had entered the apartment by the
tremendous clatter of his scabbard on the
parquet floor of the ante-room and the clinking
of his spurs as he walked. He was of a jovial
disposition and spoke with a very loud voice.
He was besides un gai causeur and extremely
literary, amongst his last publications was La
Famille des Strogonoff.

Every morning, dressed as simply as possible,
and wearing a little black felt hat with a tiny
little ruffled up feather and carrying a small
black leather bag, my aunt used to go out on
missions of charity ; the felt was no longer very
new, neither was the feather, but that mattered
not at all to my dear little aunt.

Ordinary — and extraordinary — confessor to all

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 25

the troubled consciences which chose to make
her house their meeting place, nothing struck
me as being more strangely dissimilar than this
immaculate soul — almost unique beneath the
snow-laden sky of this frozen country — to those
who invaded the blessed atmosphere of that
drawing-room, pouring out all their griefs and
faults into her ever-sympathetic ears.

The Prince was less sentimental. Spoilt by
a great fortune, occupying a high post at Court,
his presence at home became less and less until
there seemed no real reason to bind him to it at
all, and yet, when he did happen to come, he
seemed so happy. But it was extremely diffi-
cult for anyone to read exactly the innermost
thoughts of my dear uncle, who belongs to a
very good old princely family of Georgia ; he
is a Caucasian, and consequently portrays in
his character all the mystery of his race, to a
greater degree even than the Slav. He has a
somewhat striking appearance with his large
dark eyes. He is very gracious, when he chooses,
and unequalled in the art of finesse, morally
speaking.

Although his thoughts were nearly always in
the clouds, they occasionally issued from their
nebulous seclusion, but never for long. This
originality seemed to please his Sovereign Lady
and some people used to conceive this to be
the cause of the high favour in which he stood.

At official ceremonies my uncle, in his mag-
nificent gold uniform all covered with Ribbons
and Orders, appeared to emerge from the midst

26 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

of those yards of shimmering velvet or silk which
formed the train of the Empress-Dowager and
which seemed to take pleasure in rustling all
the more at his touch. He cut a superb figure
as he sat in his Court carriage, wearing his
fine cocked hat surmounted with white plumes,
and on the box seat the men in Royal scarlet
and gold liveries with their gold-gallooned hats
slightly tilted to one side — the whole being
drawn by a pair of high-stepping greys.

At Peterhof we often used to drive in this
fine turn-out, and many were the low obeisances
bestowed on us by respectful functionaries as
we passed.

Tongues were very busy on the subject of my
uncle and I could not but feel a little sad for my
aunt. It was with eyes closed and with her
heart brim-full of him that she used to visit a
certain perfidious beauty enjoying the liberty
of grass widowhood — her husband being at the
war — and I felt sure that the lady knew more
about my uncle during her brief acquaintance
with him than did my dear good credulous aunt
during the whole of her twenty-five years of
legitimate married life. But perhaps my youth-
ful imagination ran riot and judging from what
people whispered you may think jealousy is as
rampant in Russia as it is here.

Queen Alexandra arrived at Peterhof during
my sojourn there to spend a few days with her
sister, the Empress-Dowager, and I remember
so well seeing her. A cordon of sentinels had
been drawn only a few paces apart all round the

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 27

Park interspersed with mounted Cossacks. My
uncle has a profound admiration for the Rose
Queen, who has held him in great esteem for
many years. In the old days, when the world
was normal, he used to meet Her Majesty at
Copenhagen every year, where she always pre-
sented him with the latest photograph, of herself,
signed by her Royal hand — and at Petrograd
he had a regular gallery of these.

My uncle is entirely devoted to the Empress
and she will never let him out of her sight for
long, giving him her full confidence ; but, as
he is a very bad sailor and dreads the long sea
voyages, he always obtained her Imperial sanction
to travel by way of Germany ; so as to avoid
sea-sickness as much as possible and for this
purpose he wears a pair of red glasses. May
this be a hint in future to all those who suffer
from mat de mer !

He is still attached to the person of his Im-
perial Mistress, in the Crimea, and now sharing
her life in misfortune with as much devotion as
in former days. I feel sure he will never willingly
consent to abandon her as in all probability she
has been forsaken by so many.

On one occasion, while at Copenhagen, a
little scandal was spread about in which the
name of a certain very pretty maid of honour,
who for the fun of the thing mischievous people
wished to compromise, and that of my uncle,
amongst others, were coupled. The papers, of
course, got hold of the story and naturally
exaggerated the whole event.

28 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

The Empress was furious and outraged at
the mere suggestion of such a thing and in a
loud voice protested, saying, ' Le Prince n'y
etait pas, le Prince etait chez moi." Now, the
hour mentioned was one in which Morpheus
makes one forget the sad hours when he no longer
holds sway — and it was good of the Empress to
champion her hero thus. People smiled but
held their peace !

As every one knows, the greatest love and
affection exist between our lovely Queen Alex-
andra and her sister. Since these Russian days
I have often been to see my uncle in London,
both at Buckingham Palace and, since King
Edward's death, at Marlborough. House, during
the Empress's visits to the Queen, which during
King Edward's lifetime usually took place when
he was abroad on his several diplomatic missions,
causing him to be recognized as Edward the
Peacemaker. How richly he deserved that
appellation is to be shown in the great result he
achieved in bringing about the Entente Cordiale
—as though he foresaw the present cataclysm —
thus laying the foundation of the great brother-
hood in arms which now exists between France
and her old antagonist England in their common
determination to crush the loathsome beast—
the abominable Hun — in a life or death struggle.
May time only strengthen this great alliance, is
the heartfelt desire of one amongst thousands
of the daughters of France.

At Buckingham Palace my uncle occupied a
charming apartment just above the Visitors'

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 29

Entrance, though at Marlborough House his
installation was naturally less sumptuous.
There I was greeted at the top of the stairs by
two giant Cossacks, the Cossacks of the Empress.

As my uncle experiences a good deal of diffi-
culty in speaking English, the long sojourn in
our midst used to get rather on his nerves,
especially after King Edward died, as it was so
hard for Queen Alexandra to reconcile herself
to parting with her Imperial sister. Whenever
the Empress thought of departure, the Queen
threw herself into the Empress's arms and
begged her to remain — and remain she did.
Neither did the visits to Sandringham satisfy
my uncle, who was only really happy in one
place and that place was Copenhagen — where he
seemed to become young again ! quite young !
I was told. My uncle took his place in the
funeral procession of the late King Edward as
one of the Russian delegates on that solemn
occasion.

On his last visit to London, soon after my
marriage, my husband and I saw a great deal
of my uncle, with whom we often used to lunch
at Buckingham Palace Hotel where he had a
lovely suite of apartments on the first floor,
because, as he used to say, " I am freer here
than at Marlborough House." And he seemed
to revel in the idea of his own garfonniere, although
he had his room at Marlborough House as well.

That year the Empress remained in England
until the last day of July, and was travelling on
her way back to Russia through Germany on

30 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

the day Russia actually declared war. On her
arrival at Berlin the Imperial bomb-proof train
was not allowed to continue any further east,
but was ordered either to go back whence it
came, namely to Calais, or else proceed to Den-
mark, as German Authorities felt sure she was
conveying important messages from the King
to his cousin the Tzar.

Her Imperial Majesty chose the latter route,
thinking it would be the best way home later on.

My uncle also showed us a very pretty miniature
of the Empress-Dowager given to him lately
by Queen Alexandra, a charming thought for
which he seemed very grateful.

He had sent to Petrograd for an enormous
box of delicious bonbons which he gave us,
they are so luscious there, and to ensure getting
a good cup of tea when he came to see us, I
expect, he presented us with some excellent
green Russian tea.

CHAPTER IV

first great important ceremony
which I attended was the funeral of
General Obroutcheff, a great dignitary
of the Empire.
The ceremony took place at La Laure, which
is the ecclesiastical quarter of Petrograd and is
an enormous monastery surrounded by walls
and ditches full of water, a kind of fortified
place — in fact, a town.

It contains a large cemetery, beautiful gardens
and no less than seven churches. The monks,
of whom there are a great number, wear long
and very wide black cassocks with a sort of high
hat widening toward the top. All of them let
their hair and often their beards grow long ;
with some the hair reaches to the waist and is
an object of great care. At night, the monks
stand one behind the other plaiting each other's
hair, which is generally curled and waved.

The popes are the secular and parish priests,
and are married. Popes are in a certain degree
a race of people apart ; their children inter-
marry, the sons often become popes themselves.
They are not generally much esteemed and the
common saying is : " Pope, son of a dog ! "
As I have said, a pope can enter the married
state, but only once in a life-time.

31

32 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

The police cordon was drawn as tight as
possible. Quite close to us was the officer of
the police with a sullen look and a livid com-
plexion who took note of every one.

Presently the remainder of the guests arrived
and the funeral procession itself appeared, the
uniforms were superb and the coup d'ceil a mag-
nificent one.

All the Grand Dukes were there, amongst
whom I recognized Alexis, George, Oldenburg,
and the Court dignitaries, including my uncle
Prince Cherwachidze, in full uniform, all covered
with gold, the various Ambassadors, wearing
only Russian decorations on this occasion, but
such a profusion of them !

The Emperor and his brother — then the heir
to the throne, for the Tzarevitch was not born—
with the Empress-Dowager entered the church,
after the celebration of Mass, for the committal
service and took up their positions quite close
to me, to the right of the Sanctuary, so close
indeed that stretching out my hand I could
have touched them

On the arrival of the Emperor and Empress at
the Church the whole congregation bowed as
the Imperial pair passed to their seats. There
they were duly incensed, the Tzar's brother
only receiving one incensing and accordingly
only gave one inclination. .

The Emperor appeared very shy and nervous
with a somewhat frightened expression. The
Empress-Dowager is short and dark, she has
nothing of the beauty of her sister, Queen

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 33

Alexandra. The Tzar's brother is tall and fair
with very blue eyes. He is a great sportsman
and so strong that he can lift Prince Cherwachidze
up as easily as a feather. He was very popular
I believe.

The singing was wonderful, although unaccom-
panied by musical instruments as is customary
in the Russian Church. I was carried away by
it. The priests' vestments were incomparably
rich, all white and gold — no trace of black any-
where. It is the custom of the Greek Church
for even funeral hearses to be gilded or silvered,
but never black as with us. It is also a rule that
the corpse should be exposed in an open coffin
during the religious ceremony, but in the case
of the defunct general, who had died at his
wife's home in France — she being French — this
form was dispensed with.

That night, on our return to Peterhof I accom-
panied my Aunt Cherwachidze to a dinner
given at Michaelovka by Grand Duke Michael-
Michaelovitch, uncle of the Tzar. At this dinner
were present Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin, with her daughter Princess Cecilie, now
Crown Princess of Prussia, the Grand Duchess
Xenia, sister of the Emperor, and others.

The previous evening I had dined with my
friends the Saint-Pairs at the famous Ernest
Restaurant on the Islands, the other guests
including Prince and Princess Kotchoubey, the
Prince has a very Turkish appearance and looks
extremely flighty, while the Princess possesses
a most wonderful figure, but is very made up

34 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

with her hair dyed gold ; she has fine eyes but
they lack lustre ; the Swedish Minister and
Countess Gyldenstolpe, who since then they
have been to Paris many years in the same
capacity, where I have seen a good deal of them,
Countess Gyldenstolpe being a Miss Plunkett,
a daughter of a former English Ambassador,
both very distinguished looking and charming.
Monsieur Lefevre-Pontalis, Vicomte et Vicom-
tesse de Guichen and Vicomte de Salignac-
Fenelon, all of the French Embassy, made up
the party, which took place in a huge recess on
the first floor overlooking the restaurant and
just opposite the Rumanian orchestra which
was playing gaily.

The table was beautifully decorated with pink
roses and ilex and lighted by a profusion of
prettily-shaded candles and electric lamps.

This was my first large dinner-party in Petro-
grad, which was to be followed so often by others.
I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I returned to Petrograd a few days later with
Princess Lise Bagration-Moncransky — a great
friend of my Aunt Cherwachidze — then staying
with us. After an excellent lunch at the Hotel
de 1' Europe, then the smartest in Petrograd,
he went off to see a Red Cross train on the
point of leaving for Manchuria, everybody
being interested at that time in the poignant
question of the Russo-Japanese war — especially
so, as we only received news from the war
zone by way of Japan I was told. Princess
Obolensky did the honours of her hospital train,

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 35

showing us all the details, which were very
complete.

The train was entirely painted in white with
huge red crosses at intervals. What a good
target it would have been for the modern German
marksman !

It was immensely long, being able to accom-
modate 300 people, including doctors, sisters
of charity, and hospital attendants, and there
was room for twenty-five officers. The medical
corps were most comfortably installed, their
study being so cosy — the writing-tables covered
with green baize — so suitably furnished ; charm-
ing little holy images with lamps burning in
front of them were in every compartment.

The sisters of charity slept two in each room,
their beds folded up as in ordinary " sleepers "
simplicity was the order of the day in this depart-
ment. But the men were thoroughly spoilt,
having a club room all to themselves, a fact
which often makes me exclaim : " On voit bien
que le Createur etait un homme."

There were four carriages set aside for slightly
wounded cases, and I thought to myself the poor
soldiers would suffer from being overcrowded—
the beds being so close together. On each bed
were a pair of leather slippers, a pair of socks
and a grey woollen shirt. Crutches were placed
at intervals for the use of convalescents.

Then followed the quarters for the serious
cases with very fine mosquito nets in front of
each window. The train was bomb proof, but
I noticed the absence of iron shutters or any

36 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

shutters at all, which struck me as being a great
omission. These cases would enjoy more space
and their beds could be easily removed as they
were only stretchers.

There were two stories to this part of the
train — quite like a house on wheels — icons and
pious books were in great profusion. There
were also a pharmacy and an operating room
well stocked with every modern appliance.

The officers' beds were entirely covered with
white mosquito nets and there were also head
nets. We were shown the place where the
linen was washed and disinfected. No money
seemed to have been spared in the installation
of this luxurious train, and I cannot help wonder-
ing what has been its destiny and how many
poor suffering creatures it helped towards the
alleviation of their pains.

The Hun takes as much pleasure in destroying
the Red Cross as he does in finishing off the
wounded on the battlefield ; and I can only
hope those who fought and died in 1904 did not
encounter the same barbarous treatment at
the hands of their enemies as those brave men
who are in deadly contest now with the disciples
of Kultur.

I was seized with a great desire to accompany
Madame Narischkine, a friend of my Aunt de
Nicolay, to Irkoutz, where she intended to go
in order to nurse convalescents after her cure
at the Eaux-Bonnes in France — Russians are
always taking cures and they go across Europe
as easily as we do from London to Brighton,

37

She was already a middle-aged woman, but very
refined-looking. There was only one thing about
her which rather spoilt her appearance, and that
was that her fingers were very much stained with
tobacco, and her teeth, too, from smoking cigar-
ettes. In this she merely followed the example
of the majority of Russian ladies, amongst whom
smoking often becomes a real passion.

I spent my summer therefore amongst the
great ones of the earth.

One day we went to a big luncheon-party
at the Palace in honour of the birthday of the
Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria. It seems
strange now to think of having celebrated that
event.

Grand Duchess Xenia and the Grand Duke,
her husband, came to see my aunt. I admired
her charming simplicity, she took a snapshot
of my aunt with her son and myself and after-
wards sent us each a copy accompanied by a
charming little note.

The Grand Duchesses were always dressed as
simply as possible, tailor-made dresses and small
sailor-hats ; so much so, that it really seemed
to be a uniform.

These sailor-hats appeared to me as being
rather retrograde for the sensible craze for
these generally becoming hats had been for
some time no longer the fashion in France,
and to wear one would have seemed very
demode.

That summer Plehve, the Minister, was the
victim of a bomb explosion while crossing the

38 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

bridge opposite the Warsaw station in his
carriage, on his way to Peterhof from Petrograd,
where he was going to present his usual report
to the Tzar ; and this, in spite of the tremendous
speed at which the horses were going, for his life
was always in danger, as well as that of every
one in the government and about the Court at
that time. We were to have travelled by the
same train and only changed our mind at the
last minute.

His death made a great impression, although
he was thoroughly detested by all parties, but
the Tzar lost in him a strong pillar of autocratic
rule. The debris of his carriage were blown up
as high as the fourth floor of the neighbouring
houses, and this explosion caused the death of,
at least, twenty other persons — the unfortunate
Minister being literally blown to atoms and the
assassin himself injured.

A young and charming officer whom my aunt
knew very well was killed ; and another friend
of hers whilst driving in his carriage 100 yards
away from the scene of the outrage was dazed
by the explosion, the coachman falling on to
his lap and the horse being thrown down.
Another officer became deaf, so terrific was the
report of the bursting of the infernal machine.

A few minutes later we passed the actual spot
on our way to the station, and saw the remains
of the late Minister's carriage strewn all over the
road.

Witte succeeded Plehve ; he had the reputa-
tion of being clever and strong but also of being

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 39

utterly unscrupulous and untrustworthy. He
was sent to America to discuss the peace terms
of the Russo-Japanese war. Nearly every one
thought he was not a man to fulfil such an
important mission, for he inspired very little
confidence. However, on his return, he was
made a Count. He was a friend of the Kaiser
and demonstrated this feeling too well before
his end.

On Sundays I sometimes went to Mass at
Cronstadt, the great naval fortress which should
protect Petrograd from an attack by sea — may
it now make good its raison d'etre ! is my most
humble prayer, October 26th, 1917 — in a very
fine steamer which only took half an hour to
do the crossing from the mainland, and was
always crowded with people and laden with
horses and carriages.

Cronstadt is by no means a pretty town in
spite of its wide streets, and evidently the City
Fathers were not a very energetic body as the
walls of the theatre which was completely gutted
by fire thirty years previously were still standing
in their ruined state, while some of the actual
panes of glass were still to be seen in their broken
window frames, flapping in the wind.

The Catholic church is very large. I noticed
how many of the shops bore French and German
names, and not merely German names but also
a great number of inscriptions, denoting par-
ticular wares, Cronstadt being a very com-
mercial city and probably seething with German
spies.

'40 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

The place has distinguished itself lately by
establishing itself as a separate Republic with
the notorious Lenin as president — which state
of affairs, however, was short lived.

A somewhat curious feature in certain places
is that the pavements, instead of being com-
posed of flags of stone or brick, are made of
small pierced iron squares. The great solemn
masses of the men-of-war lying at anchor in
the harbour seemed to be sleeping on the still
waters — unconscious as yet of the fearful doom
that awaited so many of them in the Sea of
Japan.

I was interested watching a young naval
officer from a pinnace trying to conceal from
public view beneath his cloak a superb bouquet
of bright red flowers, evidently the symbol of
the very ardent love he bore ashore.

The sentinels apparently considered I was too
long stationary in one place, as they began to
look me up and down with suspicion, which
amused me very much.

A lovely walk bordered by a number of weep-
ing willows inns for a long distance by the sea
into which they dip their branches.

At that time, there was living at Cronstadt
an Orthodox priest, Father John of Cronstadt.
He possessed a great personality, and was very
well known in Russia. People, in some instances,
positively worshipped him, giving him a reputa-
tion for working miracles, also of being a very
holy man and even a prophet.

Once I ran after a war hero and pulled him by

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 41

his sleeve, whereupon he turned round and
gave me such a saucy look ! But, showing my
photographic apparatus, I made him understand
that I only wanted to take his photograph.
He beamed all over and I placed next to him
another hero. They were both survivors of
the glorious Koreitz which not long before
perished in the fatal Sea of Japan.

Then, I was told of a church which was nearer
to us ; so one Sunday I determined to go
there, but, to my horror, I suddenly found myself
in the courtyard of some military barracks
where there was a chapel — but not mine !

There I was, I and my coucouchka or little
cab, surrounded by a double row of soldier
giants, but luckily being able to mutter a few
words in Russian a friendly policeman put me
on the right road.

We flew along, passing woods, bridges, and a
large palace which was used for the Red Cross
work.

I was told that the preceding winter, at The
Hermitage, where the Empress often came to
work, she had a nigger who helped her to pull out
the bastings from her sewing.

At last I arrived at my destination and driving
up to a charming little church saw advancing
towards me a smart-looking officer, a great
friend of Uncle Cherwachidze, Count Becken-
dorff, brother of the late Russian Ambassador
in London, and holding an important post at
Court. He was carrying an enormous prayer-
book, almost as big as himself.

42 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

I went several times to the races at Crasnoe-
Celo, which I will refrain from giving a descrip-
tion of, as Count Tolstoi's account in his marvel-
lous novel, Anna Karenina, gives one the best
idea of this exclusively military meeting.

CHAPTER V

GREAT preparations now began for the
baptism of the Tzarevitch. I shall
never forget with what joy we heard
the appointed number of guns fired
announcing the glad tidings that a son and heir
had been born to the Emperor and Empress.

This happy event — July 30th, 1904 — coincided
with the Silver Wedding day of my uncle and
aunt, my aunt being the recipient of many beauti-
ful and valuable gifts from the Empress-Dowager,
Grand Duchess Xenia and many others. My
Uncle Cherwachidze presented me with a charm-
ing curbed chain Faberge bangle made of the
three golds, as the Russians say, namely of
white gold or platinum, red gold and green gold.
It was a delicate attention on his part and one,
which needless to say, I greatly appreciated.

Since the birth of his son, the Emperor
appeared radiant.

I saw him shortly after the event at Crasnoe-
Celo races distributing the prizes amongst the
winners from the Imperial stand, which resembles
a small villa with a balcony on the first floor —
as is customary in Russian houses.

Then I saw Grand Duke Cyril, just back from
the war in Manchuria where he had fallen into
a hole ; he was recuperating and declared that

43

44 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

the air of Petrograd was the only one that could
improve his health !

He was at this time paying attention to his
divorced cousin, whom he eventually married in
spite of the Tzar's disapproval.

We went also to the Tzaria, the great national
festival, and were invited to the Imperial tent ;
the Empress-Dowager drove up in a carriage
with four horses and postilions. The Court
uniforms were most brilliant. My uncle ap-
peared again all in gold lace. The scene was
most beautiful and impressive.

For the baptism of Grand Duke Alexis, heir
to the throne, we first went to the Countesses
Koutousoff, two sisters, maids of honour to
the Empress-Dowager, where we found Countess
Worontsoff and the others in full Russian Court
Dress, of dark green velvet, as she was mistress
of the Court of the Empress-Dowager, each Grand
Duke's Court having its own particular colour.

There we met a number of friends, amongst
whom were a Princess Troubetzkoy and her
husband, and Princess Yousoupoff, a great friend
of my aunt. The latter was absolutely charm-
ing, I thought, so pretty and so simple. She
possesses the largest fortune in Russia, and jewels
—such as one reads of in fairy tales.

Her second son was there, who notwithstand-
ing a rather effeminate appearance has distin-
guished himself lately by being implicated in
the murder of that arch-fiend and mock monk
Rasputin.

Very soon after the baptism of Grand Duke

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 45

Alexis, the eldest son was killed in a duel ; he
had fallen head over ears in love with a well-
known girl in Russian Society, but his parents
absolutely refused to sanction this alliance.
In consideration of their position and of their
immense fortune, they imagined that the only
suitable wife for their son must be the daughter
of a Grand Duke.

Accordingly, the announcement of the young
lady's engagement to another suitor was made
public and the religious ceremony took place in
Paris, but that very night she gave her husband
the slip and flew to the hotel where her lover
awaited her.

The result of this naturally was a duel in which
the lover was killed by the husband — his dead
body being sent back to his home quite un-
attended in his motor — and some time after his
adversary became mad.

Petrograd society was dumbfounded by this
drama and for many years the young woman
who was the cause of it was looked at askance,
but now, I have heard, she is being readmitted
into the enchanted circle.

Prince and Princess Yousoupoff were quite
overcome with sorrow and could not reconcile
themselves to the fact that they would never
see their adored son again. They had his body
embalmed and laid in a glass coffin, so that they
could gaze upon his features, and made a point
of conveying the coffin with them wherever they
went. This state of things went on for over a
year, until one day a friend broke it quietly to

46 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

them that it was high time to put the coffin out
of sight ; and this they finally agreed to do.

The Yousoupoffs' second and only remaining
son has accomplished the feat of marrying the
beautiful sister of Grand Duke Dmitri, thus
satisfying his parents' ambition, and should be
universally applauded for having helped to rid
Russia and the whole world of that most evil
genius of the age, the mock monk Rasputin,
who through his deplorable influence over the
pro-German Empress Alexandra Feodorovna has
been the cause not only of the fall of the House
of Romanoff and of that supremely brilliant
Court but also, I fear, of the complete downfall
of great Holy Russia — at least for generations
to come.

The Imperial cortege was truly fairy-like :
there were gilt coaches surmounted at the four
corners by white ostrich feathers, drawn by four
or eight white horses with white harness and
white plumes on their heads ; the bridle of each
horse being held by a footman dressed in white
and gold.

In one of the coaches was Princess Galitzine,
Grand Mistress of the Court, and in her arms
the then precious infant, a very fine child, with
blue eyes and dark hair.

The religious ceremony in the Imperial Chapel
was indescribably beautiful. I fancied myself
in Fairyland. My aunt was of course in full
Court dress and looked a real picture in her velvet
dress with a lot of her jewels on her kakochnik
or head-dress.

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 47

About this cradle surrounded as it was by so
much love — and also by so much hate, during
these already troublous times — one could not
help but ask oneself, with anxious feelings at
the bottom of one's heart, as to what the future
held in store for this innocent babe, born in the
purple : the hope of the Romanoffs — the target
of its enemies.

Prince Dolgorouky, who was Gold Stick in
Waiting, drove past in a gilded open state
carriage looking the regular grand seigneur with
his air of supreme distinction as he held his long
wand of office in his right hand. In spite of
his already advanced age and of his silvery
locks, he was still a superb-looking man. One
unwelcome shower having fallen during the
return journey rather damaged the splendour
of his white plumed hat and splendid uniform.

I knew all the members of his family very
well, as they and the Nicolays were on very
intimate terms with one another. His sister,
Madame d'Albedinsky, had been a great friend
of the Emperor Alexander III. She was charm-
ing— most sympathetic.

A few days later we attended the parade of
the Chevaliers-Gardes at Peterhof ; a magnificent
spectacle, the troops wearing white uniforms
with silver helmets surmounted by a golden
eagle with outspread wings.

On one side a carpet had been laid down and
priests were offering up prayer, for there is never
any ceremony in Russia without a religious side
to it.

48 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

I often met Baron Fredericks — since then he
has become Count — who had been Grand Marshal
of the Court for many years. He was to be seen
here, there, and everywhere and must have
proved himself a most useful spy of the Kaiser—
as recent events have indicated.

On the outbreak of the late Revolution he
was found in hiding and promptly imprisoned
in the Fortress of St Peter and St Paul ; from
which, however, in consideration of his great
age and for a big lump sum of money he has
been released.

Princess Lise Bagration-Moucransky, my
aunt's friend, was on intimate terms with all
the crowned heads and even the non-crowned
ones of the Imperial family. One day I went
with her to see Grand Duke Michael-Michaelo-
vitch and his daughter, Grand Duchess of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin — of whom I shall have
more to say later on.

I found the Princess quite charming ; " elle
avait du avoir beaucoup de ' chien/ " as we say
in France, and still had a very merry twinkle
in her eye which caused me great amusement.
Being a Bagration, she was descended from the
Royal House of Georgia, and her husband — who
had been dead some years — had held numerous
high appointments.

One day I went with my aunt to see Grand
Duchess of Oldenburg, sister of the Tzar — who
has since divorced the Grand Duke, to marry
his aide-de-camp — she lived quite near us; also
Grand Duke and Duchess of Leuchtenbergh.

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 49

This corner of the world seemed to be peopled
with nothing but Royalties !

One of our frequent visitors was a very dignified
and decided though kind looking cousin of my
uncle's, also a Princess Cherwachidze, who was
maid of honour to Grand Duchess Eugenie of
Oldenburg.

It pleased my uncle sometimes to be ex-
tremely gay and amusing, and I remember
what fun we had together singing ' Viens,
Poupoule, viens." This was then a favourite
refrain of the Paris Boulevards, which the
Russians adored.

There were at Oranienbaum, near Peterhof,
a great number of soldiers getting ready to start
for the theatre of war, wearing caps covered
with a sort of greenish grey cloth and blouses
of the same shade, with khaki coloured great-
coats, which they always wore. The officers
wore green tunics and dark caps. f

One evening at six o'clock we went to see them
take their departure and I never shall forget the
beauty of the setting for that sad scene — the
Baltic seemed to have borrowed something of
the deep warm tones of the Mediterranean.
Cronstadt stood out, in the distance across the
water, as clear against the radiantly blue sky
as if it had been painted for some stage scenery.

There they were, bands playing and flags
waving in the breeze, all those gallant fellows
having mustered from many different parts of
the Empire, all ready to step into that long
brick-red train with the Imperial Arms em-

50 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

blazoned on it, which would convey them far,
far away to other Steppes, but desert ones these
— and terrible.

How many restrained tears in those dark or
blue eyes, to which pain and suffering had given
an almost terrible expression, and how many
never to be realized dreams were enclosed behind
these broad foreheads. How melancholy — sad,
too — were the expressions on the fresh faces of
the young, as on the wrinkled ones of the old
peasant women with their heads almost entirely
concealed beneath wide gaudy coloured hand-
kerchiefs.

From time to time the stillness of this great
pathetic scene was disturbed by the shrill and
joyous tones of a voice of a child too young as
yet to understand the true and awful significance
of this — for many — the last earthly farewell.
How numerous they were — these poor little
innocents !

When the bell announcing the starting of the
train rang for the third time, one last and long
hurrah was raised by the entire sad-hearted
multitude ; and it was terrible to think of the
hardships those poor fellows would be subjected
to during that long journey to accomplish across
Siberia, forty of them in one truck, an open one
very often !

Ammunition and guns were conveyed by the
same train, which I was told would take six
weeks to reach its destination. Altogether a
most poignant spectacle, which greatly impressed
me ; but nowadays such an event as the one I

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 51

have attempted to describe has become, alas,
a common occurrence in almost every country
of the world which is traversing the most terrible
agony of pain and sorrow of all time.

The Emperor had come and bid them farewell
the night before.

As Oranienbaum is so near Cronstadt, it was
a favourite place for the wives of sailors with
their, usually, large families to live in.

Amongst my aunt's numerous men-servants
there was one called Coucoulsky who was the
head butler — very fat and rotund, with the
usual flat head of the Pole, wearing enormous
whiskers, with a pair of tiny sparkling eyes
always filled with astonishment. The poor man
was no longer young — il sue, il souffle, il est
rendu — and to put him into this state it was
merely sufficient for him to offer to his little
Princess on a huge silver tray some wonderful
piece montee, which he held at such an angle
that one always expected to see the contents
flung into her lap. This he did with a most
beatified expression on his broad smiling face.

He was for ever tripping up over imaginary
obstacles, and always appeared to be running,
but somehow or other he never managed to be
there when required ; this was inexplicable.
And yet, in this fanciful and fantastic being,
there was a soul, an exquisite poetic soul.

In the summer on moonlight nights, afar off
in the garden, alone amongst the shrubs, his
comical profile could be seen detaching itself
against the sky, his huge mouth wide open, his

52 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

whiskers trembling and his little eyes closed ;
while he sang languorously. Three fox terriers
disturbed in their slumbers by these nocturnal
sounds always made a combined attack on him,
threatening to bite his calves to the bone. One
by one the windows of the house were closed,
but all in vain — nothing could distract him from
this reverie of song !

One evening, on one of the rare occasions of
a visit from Prince Cherwachidze, Coucoulsky
appeared with a radiant expression carrying a
plat monte, as my amorous little aunt was deter-
mined to welcome her spouse by setting before
him a regular feast.

Every one's surprise was great on perceiving
the faithful butler with a napkin like a child's
immense bib tied beneath his chin, he in his
anxiety having forgotten to remove it and no
one venturing to remind him of its existence as
neither my aunt, on account of her short sighted-
ness, nor my uncle, owing to his usual state of
oblivion, had noticed the grotesque appearance
of the poor man, as he trotted and scrambled
round the table balancing the huge dish and
threatening everybody with a douche of its
contents.

Later on, I found out that the reason for his
wearing the bib was on account of the desire to
preserve the freshness of his highly-starched
collar when off duty — but on this celebrated
occasion he had forgotten to remove it.

Although the charms of poor Coucoulsky were
many, my aunt failed to see them in their true

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 53

light and, after a few months, he with many
tears of regret was obliged to leave this hospitable
interior where he was considered both too old
and too young. He left but too few regrets,
only the memory of him made many laugh.

He was quite unique, this good Coucoulsky.
He returned to his wife who was somewhat old,
rather ugly and with only one eye, but to him
she appeared always full of charm and grace-
she never was more beautiful nor less blind —
but they were young, both of them. Oh, the
good old time !

CHAPTER VI

LIFE at Michaelovka was very gay and
delightful, in that beautiful palace
belonging to Grand Duke Michael-
Michaelovitch on the shore of the
Baltic, and surrounded by every possible luxury
amidst a gay and numerous suite.

Michaelovka is situated at Strelna, quite near
Peterhof. I stayed there with my uncle, General
de Baranoff, and my aunt. My uncle was
Grand Marshal of the Court of Grand Duke
Michael-Michaelovitch, who always spent a great
part of each summer there.

The poor Grand Duke Michael-Michaelovitch
was then very old and in failing health and was
not often visible — for years past he had spent
his winters at Cannes, where he owned the
beautiful Villa Kasbeck.

My uncle and aunt made a perfect couple
and ideal parents. It was a genuine pleasure
for one to see their two white heads approach
one another several times a day and join in an
affectionate embrace. I had met my uncle on
the Riviera when at Cannes some years previ-
ously and also General Tolstoi, both forming
part of the suite of the Grand Duke. General
Tolstoi could be really witty at times, and once
I remember he amused us greatly when he came

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 55

to see us with my uncle. Bowing and bending
himself with that grace and suppleness peculiar
to the Russian he pretended to efface himself
while ushering in my uncle and said : " Je
vous presente un grand ravageur." Of this
particular side of my uncle's character I know
nothing, but I can well believe he might have
been the cause of many a heart beat, and I for
one should have heartily congratulated each
one of those hearts for the good taste they
showed.

Very tall and thin, very intelligent beneath
an impassive countenance, kindness itself,
General de Baranoff combines the acme of dis-
tinction with the personification of honesty ;
very fond, like nearly all Russians, of putting
questions to foreigners but making a point of
never answering any — himself a past master in
the art.

Grand Duke Michael-Michaelovitch, however,
paid full justice to my uncle's great integrity
and appreciated the advantage of having at
his side a man of his high character, for they
were often surrounded by sycophants of whom,
however, one might say that they followed the
example of their august masters in that their
needs were insatiable and unsatisfied, certainly
a thorn in the side of the Imperial crown ; so
much so that one day while walking with one
of my aunts in the palace grounds, we were
passed by a big motor-car, salutations were
exchanged and I asked my aunt who was the
gorgeous occupant.

56 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

" C'est le Grand Due, . . ." she said," le ' seul '
qui soit s6rieux ! 'J

Unlike the rest of the suite of Grand Duke
Michael-Michaelovitch, my uncle never took any
advantage of his position and would never even
take at the Grand Duke's expense a single trunk
with him beyond what was strictly necessary,
though he accompanied him on all his journeys-
Cannes, Baden-Baden, etc. This was in vivid
contrast to one of the Grand Duke's retinue, who
never spent a penny except at his master's
charge and even went so far as to get the Grand
Duke to pay the tickets of all his family and
finally persuaded him to rent for them a Villa
at Cannes much to the disgust of my uncle. I
never liked this person with a German sounding
name and a doubtful profile.

I often said to my aunt, " Do you know, I
almost entertain a passion for my uncle," where-
upon she used to smile that beautiful smile of
hers which I liked seeing so much.

My Aunt de Baranoff, nee de Bibikoff, was
charming ; she had beautiful white hair and
very pretty blue eyes, and in her youth must
have been very much admired.

She combined tremendous entrain with much
affability, and in her own set she was what
might be called, in schoolboy language, a jolly
good sort, which pleased me — her reflections
being always to the point, and time spent
with her never lagged. How we used to laugh
over things together ! I shall always retain
much affection for her. I believe her first

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 57

husband — whom she divorced — was a perfect
brute to her.

By her marriage with my uncle she had two
children ; her daughter Olga was married to
Lieutenant de Zinovieff, in the Garde a Cheval
quartered at Petrograd, a late page of the
Empress, but she was for the time being at the
Camp of Crasnoe-Celo, not far from us, and I
spent a few delightful days with her.

Russian soldiers always leave their barracks
during the summer months and camp out of
doors — those of Petrograd going into the neigh-
bourhood. This healthy measure is never
practised in France, which is a great mistake
I think ; and I always admired these huge
camps composed of innumerable white tents,
like parasols, erected in perfect symmetry, look-
ing from a distance like so many small white
mushrooms instead of being the improvised
shelters of these giant-like soldiers. The Camp
of Crasnoe-Celo was, I think, the largest.

Her son Petia, the regular type of a true
Russian, not without charm and dark and good-
looking, was at that time preparing at the Lycee
to enter the regiment of the Chevaliers-Gardes
in which he held a distinguished position before
the war.

My poor aunt, fearing the wars, wanted him to
choose a diplomatic career, but nothing would
induce him to change his mind. He is now in
the trenches — or was lately — and has been badly
wounded once.

During the summer the heat is at times very

58 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

intense^n Russia — a kind of damp heat like the
mild hot vapours of a conservatory — and the
nights on the coast of the Baltic were very damp
and a thick white steam rose spirally from the
ground in patches, like smoke, between the
Palace and the sea, which caused a most curious
effect.

My aunt had one daughter, Lily, by her first
marriage and she and I became great friends.
She also lived with her parents, as she had been
obliged to leave a brute of a husband who was
an officer of the Lancers of the Guard, of which
my uncle was in command at the time of her
marriage at Peterhof. Not long after her
marriage she had gone away for a few days
to visit a relation who was ill, and on her
return she found her own house occupied not
only by her husband's mistress but by the
children of that illicit union as well. The
wretch then proposed to her that she should
remain on in the house and that they should
all live together, which proposition she naturally
scorned and thereupon returned to her old
home.

She divorced the man in consequence, but
not, like most people in Russian society, in order
to try her luck again, having already looked out
for number " two " — not at all, once having
recovered her liberty she took good care to pre-
serve it.

Her library seemed to me to be literally filled
with the works of Anatole France and Pierre
Loti, and my acquaintance with literature owing

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 59

to my strict French upbringing being more than
limited — I had scarcely ever read anything but
fairy tales until then — I consequently found it
extremely difficult to talk to our friends with
any clear knowledge of those popular French
authors about whom I was always being
questioned.

Lily seemed to take me somewhat under her
wing and gave me — at least in words — an insight
into life ; and with the passing of time I have
often thought how very much to the point her
doctrine was.

Colonel Echappard du Breuil was frequently
to be seen at my aunt's house, he claimed to be
of French origin, his ancestors having escaped—
echappe — across the Pyrenees into France at
the time of the Moorish expulsion from Spain,
during the reign of the " Catholic Kings,"
Ferdinand and Isabella — hence the origin of
this somewhat curious name.

The Colonel was attached to the suite of
Grand Duke George, and whenever I asked him
where he was going he always replied ' To
Christophky " —to the grand cafe-concert, on
the island of that name at The Islands — and he
never ceased expatiating on the charms of the
fair and dark beauties of that delectable spot.
He was a jolly fellow with a fat round face
wreathed in smiles — he seemed to render the
very atmosphere sunny.

And Lily behind the wings — dans les coulisses,
as we say in France — used to hum to salute his
departure the following refrain, which she had

60 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

taught me and which we loved, this charming
little refrain about the three cocks :—

Cocorico oooo

Quand je veux, je peux.

(Le jeune coq.)

Cocorico oooo

Quand je peux, je veux.

(Coq d'age moyen.)

Cocorico ooooo

Que vous etes heureux.

(Le vieux coq.)

Oh, how we did pity you, poor old man ! And
we did not allow feathers to grow in this hen
coup, but, willy-nilly, spurs and uniform of some
attache de la suite.

Another character was General Tolstoi, whom
I have already mentioned. He came very often
to see us, especially when we were in Petrograd ;
he frequently spoke Russian and recounted
interminably long stories in that language which
I regret to say used to make me yawn, as I could
not always follow them, and just to tease me,
at the most critical part of the story, he rapidly
changed from Russian into French so that my
ears should receive the full benefit of it all.
Quel toupet I

One evening, he told us of how he had once
climbed up a tree, and from there had had an
uninterrupted view over a high fence, behind
which, apparently believing themselves to be
sheltered from inquisitive eyes, some members

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 61

of the fair sex were in the full enjoyment of
a sun bath cure ! These descendants of Eve
were walking about in their birthday costumes,
so that the marvellous effects of the luminous
rays should have full play. On this occasion
his particular attention was drawn to a certain
Titianesque beauty.

I pictured him in this attitude looking like a
hideous orang-outang squatting on a branch
of a tree — as he, poor fellow, was not endowed
with any personal beauty !

If I am not mistaken, I am afraid he has since
come to a tragic end attributed to debts.

At my Aunt de Baranoff's all the suite of the
Grand Duke came more or less every day and
Prince Orbeliani with them, always shuffling
his feet on the floor and making a terrible noise
in doing so ; this unfortunate peculiarity, apart
from being an illness from which nearly all the
members of his family suffer, was with him to
some extent a pose — oil va-t-elle se nicher — la
pose ! — and a very disturbing one, too, as far as
I was concerned.

As luck would have it, the princely apartments
were situated just over my bedroom, so that
every morning my peaceful slumbers were dis-
turbed by his Excellency's shufflings, which he
admitted he accentuated just to tease me.

He was married to Countess Kleinmichel,
the daughter of old Countess Kleinmichel who
entertained a good deal in Petrograd ; the latter
had the reputation of being a spy for Germany,
and was arrested at the outbreak of the Revolu-

62 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

tion ; she was also it appears a fervent sister
disciple of Rasputin's new religion.

Princess Lobanoff was another frequent guest
at my aunt's, she was maid of honour to Grand
Duchess George, and was so imbued with the
sense of her own importance that she could not
even cross the courtyard of the palace on foot
and always had her carriage ordered for the
transit.

She finally married an American who lives in
California. What must be her impression of
that democratic country, I wonder ? But what
would she feel like being in Russia now ! The
sister of Princess Lobanoff had married an
Englishman, Sir Edwin Egerton, then Minister
at Athens ; he was much older than his wife.

Grand Duchess George is a Greek princess,
sister of the ex-King Tino. She did not look
very pleasant I thought. She was very fond of
riding.

One day my Aunt de Baranoff and I were
invited to tea by a friend, a lieutenant of the
Cossacks of the Guard — Cossacks of the Escort.
This was a very select corps, always in attend-
ance on the Emperor, and a very picked body of
men they were, with their wild expressions and
wasp-like waists.

The Cossacks are extraordinarily active and
supple, with their soft leather boots which pull
on like stockings and have no hard soles. Our
young host was a great favourite of the Grand
Duchesses at Court Balls, as he danced very
well. He ordered his men to sing and dance

CKOXSTADT— TWO SURVIVORS OF THE GLOR

THE BARRACKS AT PETERHOF, TWO COSSACKS OF THE ESCORT

THK CROWN PRINCE OK GERMANY WITH PRINCESS CECII.IK
AS FIANCES

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 63

for us, which performance I greatly enjoyed,
especially the sword dance. Their horses seem
to possess quite a special intelligence and to
have been circus trained. I took photographs
of the company in their Peterhof barracks and
later sent a copy to each member.

Grand Duchess Anastasia of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin, daughter of Grand Duke Michael-
Michaelovitch, was also spending her summer at
Michaelovka. She often invited my aunt to
dinner, but these invitations to help to amuse
" Satanasia " —as she is nicknamed in Germany
—were sometimes a doubtful pleasure even to
my aunt, as the task must have been a difficult
one at times.

Grand Duchess Anastasia was no longer what
is called a "' young " woman, but she had a
beautiful figure and was very striking-looking.
She, too, affected the wearing of sailor-hats —
and thick white veils !

Princess Cecilie, her daughter, was very
attached to my young cousin Olga and often
came to tea with us. The German Crown
Prince and she had met at the same house
previously and had become almost secretly en-
gaged, as there were difficulties in the way of
their union. The Kaiser was against the
marriage, but the young people met again the
following winter at Cannes — this, in spite of
furious messages from the War Lord recalling
his son to Germany, but the Crown Prince paid
no heed to them, so it is related. It is also told
by people who met the fiances on the Riviera

64 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

that their eyes were sometimes swollen by tears
shed because of the Emperor's resistance, which
was caused by his dislike of Grand Duchess
Anastasia, whom he always refused to receive
at Court since the marriage.

Although Princess Cecilie is not as handsome
as her mother, yet she is tall and graceful and
most attractive.

The vision of a throne must have had a great
deal to do with her choice, I fancy ; and she
was reputed to have said that she would only
consent to marry a " throne " !

At the Russian Court it was rather expected
that she might have married the Tzar's brother,
but he never paid her any attention, and she
declared to her lady-in-waiting that there were
too many bombs in Russia and that she no
longer wished to remain there !

One of the favourite games of Grand Duke
Michael-Alexandrovitch, the Tzar's brother and
at that time his heir, was to place a potato in
a pail of water and then get his friends down on
all fours to lean over the pail and with their
mouths try to extract the wretched thing — usually
with such results as might be imagined, some
clumsy jaws sinking so deep into the water as
almost to cause their owner's death by drowning,
while the potato seemed to take pleasure in their
discomfiture by rising and sinking at every touch
to a most alarming degree.

Another visitor staying at the Palace was
Prince Cristopher of Greece, brother of ex-King
Tino and of Grand Duchess George, who always

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 65

came with Princess Cecilie to see my aunt. He
was a fat boy of about fourteen at the time
and full of every conceivable mischief. One
of his greatest jokes was to leap with both
feet into the middle of a mud puddle so as
to splash the Princess and my cousin from head
to foot !

My aunt remarked to him once in front of
me that he seemed to be very fond of his cousin —
Princess Cecilie — upon which he blushed to the
roots of his hair and exclaimed " Moi, je n'aime
personne ! '

The following year Princess Cecilie married
the German Crown Prince and three weeks
after she sent a telegram to my cousin Olga —
they have corresponded for years — saying : " Je
suis tres heureuse." I wonder if she is still of
the same opinion !

Now, she has become the mother of a large
family, and quite " German " I am told.

She had been brought up very severely Toy
her mother, as is so often the way with parents
who are not over-particular concerning their
own mode of living.

Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, seem-
ingly unconscious of the charms of his beautiful
Villa Wenden at Cannes, of the perfume of the
lovely roses and all the other exquisite flowers
of his garden, was perhaps preoccupied in another
direction of life, which must have been full of
heavy storm clouds for him, so heavy indeed
that he felt unable to bear them and one day
threw himself over the parapet of the bridge

£

66 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

in his park which traverses the road — and
there was found the dead body of the Grand
Duke.

Grand Duchess Anastasia, at Cannes as else-
where, led a joyous life, and a supposed attack
of measles, with an unusual and far-reaching
result — not always experienced by those suffer-
ing from that complaint — made the whole Riviera
talk and most of it smile a little maliciously
perhaps.

Her men-servants were chosen for their good
looks — and, if rumour said truly, each one of
those ran a good chance of promotion ; though
her private secretary was always supposed to
be the most favoured one.

Since I left Russia I have often seen her in
Paris.

One day, in far distant Mecklenburg, an
aeronaut fell from the heavens into her park.
Accidentally or not, he made no mistake and
found on terra firma his consolations — good
nursing, for he was wounded on descending,
and care so tender and true that after several
years he was still there. Perhaps he may have
accompanied his benefactress to Russia as since
the outbreak of war the Grand Duchess returned
to her native land, no longer wishing to have
anything more to do with Germany and the
Kaiser — at least she says so — to whom she
owes a great grudge for his harshness.

Lily was again often requested to go to Mecklen-
burg, to resume her previous occupation of lady-
in-waiting to H.I.H. ; but this situation was no

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 67

longer enviable or possible and she politely
begged to be excused.

I have heard that Anastasia is in Cannes, on
the French Riviera, spending her winters there
as before, though not amidst the same gaiety.
Last winter she often went to visit a certain
military hospital, but was asked to come no
more. The Crown Princess actually paid a visit
to her mother there last winter, but not officially
of course !

Numbers of the secret police invaded the Grand
Duke's park, and it seemed to me that one was
to be met with at every few yards ; but as they
knew who I was they did not interfere with me.
With their long coats buttoned up at the neck,
their dark blue ties, and each carrying a walking
stick, their appearance amused me rather in
spite of the grave functions imposed upon them.

CHAPTER VII

WHILE I was at Michaelovka the
Revolution was gaining ground
every day. Russia was going
through a critical period of her
history and one felt as though one was living
on a volcano — yet, in the end, an approximative
degree of order came out of what looked like
being chaos.

An attempt against the Tzar's life was really
to be feared, and during a certain time the rail-
way line from Peterhof to Petrograd by which
he often travelled had a military guard, a close
cordon of troops being placed below the embank-
ment on which the train passed, on both sides
of the track. A bomb there would have done
important work as these trains were always
conveying Ministers and Grand Dukes.

After dinner we often went to listen to "La
Musique Rouge," the Emperor's private band ;
the musicians were dressed in red, each one of
them being an artist. They played in the park
at Peterhof, to which we drove in a large open
landau and took our place in the long line of
carriages there to meet numbers of friends.
These concerts, however, were soon after dis-
continued on account of the growing troubles.
The Empress-Dowager often came over from

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 69

Peterhof driving herself a low carriage with a
pair of black horses and wearing a black sailor-
hat !

Another frequent visitor at Michaelovka was a
young Count Toll, in the Lancers of the Guard,
cousin of my uncle Count Pahlen, and also related
by marriage to the late Russian Ambassador in
Paris, Monsieur Isvoltzky ; and this recalls to
my memory an interesting incident which was
the direct cause of the latter 's advancement.

The father of Madame Isvoltzky, nee Countess
Toll, Russian Minister at Copenhagen, was most
anxious to get his daughter suitably married —
which seemed rather a difficult task — and in-
formed the Emperor of the situation, who
despatched several couriers to Copenhagen with
this idea. At last Isvoltzky — whose chief recom-
mendations perhaps were his intelligence and
the high favour in which he stood at Court-
was sent. On this errand of courtship he was
successful, and the Emperor made a career for
him. All went well with poor Isvoltzky until
the outbreak of the Revolution, when naturally
he was amongst the first to be recalled and
humbled.

I have often been to their receptions at the
Russian Embassy in Paris. He was very clever,
but possessed neither the presence nor the ex-
quisite manners of his predecessor, Count de
Nelidoff.

The celebration of my Aunt de Baranoffs
birthday was a great event : a regular defile of
celebrities both civil and military ; every

;o ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

regiment seemed to have been represented and
the drawing-rooms were more than ever filled
with flowers — a regular avalanche in fact.

The dinner-party in the evening was of the
gayest. I sat between Colonel Echappard and
the Russian Minister at Dresden and was any-
thing but dull.

In Russia birthday anniversaries are always
made a great deal of. The heroine of the occa-
sion is always dressed in white or pearl grey
and no one is allowed to wear black. Even if
one is in mourning, one must discard its out-
ward signs for the day or else keep away from
the fete altogether.

I never shall forget the gaiety of those i a.m.
teas at Michaelovka, the tables being laden
with the choicest fruits, melons, strawberries,
peaches in abundance, all that Nature could be
persuaded to produce. Those mountains of
luscious fruit, set in the most tasteful style
amidst the richest of table decorations imagin-
able, would have made a perfect subject for any
great artist of still life to reproduce on canvas.
These midnight or early morning teas I thought
a delightful custom. In Russia the night is
turned into day, which fascinated me.

People actually call on one another between
ii p.m. and midnight, and I often accompanied
my aunts on such visits ; I wonder what sort
of a reception nocturnal visitors in hum-drum
Western Europe would receive should anyone
venture to ring the front bell at that hour :
a house plunged in darkness and at every door

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 71

a glimpse of pyjama or visions of more diaphanous
raiment and, above, angry, sleepy, maybe
frightened physiognomies, anxiously inquiring
who the intruder was who dared to come at such
an hour ; and Cerberus would either refuse to
answer the door or else give a month's notice
from to-morrow !

Then on retiring to my own room I sat down
in the white light of the white nights and took
up my pen and wrote to far away France ; and
I am sure the reader will understand what my
feelings were on my return to my pacific and
unchangeable Normandy, when I had to rejoin
Morpheus at 10 p.m.

From time to time Petia, whom I always
called " the dear little cousin," used to take his
sister Olga, who was often there, and me out in
a little Canadian canoe, which certainly looked
a most fragile craft ; and one day, whilst con-
templating the two birthday suits of nymphs
who were bathing not far away — this being the
custom it appears in summer time — I had visions
which were almost realized of being upset into
the water and having to save ourselves by hang-
ing on to a bunch of bulrushes. Olga and I
got off safely, however ; but I decided never
more to follow the nymph-lover again on the
still waters of the Gulf.

My attention was often drawn to a certain
monk in the streets of Peterhof, carrying a long
iron staff in his hand. His hair — which he wore
very long — was of reddish colour, his eyes had
a haggard expression and his complexion was

72 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

burnt and bronzed by continual exposure to
the sun and to that " vent de Russie " of which
Pierre Loti always speaks in his books. This
striking and unusual figure was dressed in a
rather short white habit. I am almost certain
I saw him once or twice again, years after, in
the Champs- £lysees in Paris. He belonged to
a Greek orthodox sect who walk from place to
place the whole year round living on charity,
they are called staretz. He must doubtless
have walked there by slow stages right across
Europe as the pilgrims of old were wont to do.

Amongst the many people who came to see
my aunt at Michaelovka I have forgotten to
mention an old Baron Winspear who was charm-
ing ; although he was a Neapolitan, he had
made all his career at the Court of Grand Duke
Michael-Michaelovitch. Many young aides-de-
camp came in relays to do their wait from time
to time, amongst them being one who was extra-
ordinarily good-looking.

My uncle used to tease me about him by saying
" II est beau, tres beau, Renee," from the height
of his impassible face — I use the word height
because he is so tall and so straight — and this
was said not only once but each time he left
the room until it became really a perfect plague !
He certainly was very good-looking, especially
when wearing all his decorations, but I never
lost my heart to Adonis, who is always so im-
pressed by his own importance that he makes
one positively " pant " for plus de laideur ; and,
besides, he could not speak a word of French.

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 73

On this subject I may say that the preceding
generation spoke French much better than my
generation. French which had been for such a
long time the language used at Court, and re-
sorted to in many families, had lost ground and
had of late years been dethroned by Russian ;
consequently many young men spoke it badly.

English since the marriage of Nicholas II. had
been much spoken in Court circles. I really
wonder why it was not German !

In drawing-rooms one frequently heard four
languages spoken at the same time, people
passing from one to the other with the utmost
facility.

The Russian certainly has the gift of languages ;
which is a real gift and possesses great charm.

One day I was taken by my aunt to a large
monastery situated not very far from Michael-
ovka. The monks were very ty piques in their
white habits, but I thought to myself I would not
care to meet one of them in the dark !

The service was extremely beautiful, as is
usually the case in the Greek Church ; these
services always appeal to me, and it was ever
my wont during my travels to attend them as
often as I could. That peculiar Russian chant
seems to carry one away into another world —
a dream world full of mystic ideals. It was
on one of these occasions that I witnessed for
the first time little babies in their mothers' or
nurses' arms having the Blessed Sacrament
administered to them ; and what astonished
me so tremendously was the goodness of these

74 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

little innocent creatures as they unconsciously
went through this great and solemn act. I
found this ceremony both touching and pretty ;
it is a pity the Catholic Church has abandoned
its usage.

The Saint -Pairs and I had then intended
going to spend a week or two at Stockholm and
I was enchanted with the idea ; but at the
eleventh hour Monsieur Pelletan, then the
French Ministre de la Marine — one always
wondered the why and wherefore of that appoint-
ment, as I am sure, with many others, he had
never seen salt water any more than its fresh
substitute — refused to allow Monsieur de Saint-
Pair on account of his official position at the
Embassy to leave his post, owing to the serious
political events that were occurring at that
time. I was therefore obliged to have my
luggage brought back from Petrograd, where it
was all ready to be put on board the steamer,
feeling rather dejected at having to do so, as
we were the bearers of so many charming intro-
ductions to all the accredited Ministers and
different Members of the Court Circle ; and it
would have been a real delight to have seen the
Venice of the North under such agreeable con-
ditions, while the crossing would only have
taken about eighteen hours.

Then I returned to Finland— back again to
that enchanting Monrepos, perhaps even more
dreamlike than before beneath its exquisite
autumn tints. The pretty Isle of Ludwinstein
seemed to me more poetic than ever beneath the

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 75

slow rain of its golden leaves — poignant and
lifelike image of the lives which had been but
were no more, resting there so near in the depths
of the cold sepulchre. The dream of all this
Northern Nature enfolded me more closely now
than before ; in this country where the sun
sinks to rest in all the glory of its opalescent
rays, in all this translucency of nature which
is not shared by us, but belongs entirely to it
and seemingly admits us a little way into the
abstract world of souls who are no more — but
who watch — and everywhere I encountered the
shadow of my adored and adoring grandmother.

One Sunday morning on my return from
Viborg I perceived some pretty flags composed
of bright colours floating in the wind in the
clear atmosphere of a most beautiful day. The
primitive music had just ceased, and an orator
mounted on an upturned barrel was addressing
in a loud voice an audience composed of about
fifty people. Then I clearly understood) on
perceiving the busy bee-like movements of the
little poked bonnets all around, the significance
of this gathering : it was the Salvation Army
to whom my uncle had given permission to hold
the meeting in his park.

The effect of this assemblage was pretty
beneath the thick dome of pine branches, with
long hanging cones through which the rich
indigo sky was accentuated in its depths.

We took up boating trips again on the Gulf,
going thus very often to Viborg. I envied the
faithful Kousma who with my aunt's horses

;6 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

always did the journey to Petrograd from Fin-
land on a ferry-boat, peacefully gliding on the
surface of the waves without a thought or care
—his soul was pure, he never missed any of the
necessary ablutions prescribed by the Prophet ;
he was a good servant, a true and tender husband
—with this enchanting panorama for his eyes
to look upon, where the only missing link to
perfect bliss for him was the absence of his
Mahomet.

At this visit I met my aunt's sister, Countess
Czapska. Her property was in the neighbour-
hood of Cracow, where she also spent a part of
the year.

When that part of the country came into the
war zone, she sought refuge at Monrepos — but
returned to die. She was a charming character,
very well read, and combined good will with a
great sense of humour.

In the household of my Aunt de Nicolay there
was a most important institution whom I ought
to have mentioned before, so long had she been
there. Mademoiselle Stiny was her name. The
usual charms of her sex she lacked entirely.
She was as flat as a pancake, all shrunken and
crooked, with a few spare hairs growing on her
head drawn back with the utmost difficulty on
to the skull where they lay spread out ; on her
cheeks were several beauty spots from which
hairs grew in abundance, so large indeed were
they that they became hideous by force of their
importance ; her small eyes were sharp as
gimlets and took notice of every one and every-

THE FULFILMENT OF MY DREAM 77

thing, letting nothing escape them, as they gave
animation to her most hideous physiognomy
with its livid and earthy complexion and, I
must not forget, rather important whiskers and
beard. Two large square sinewy hands with
enormous knuckles, more like a labourer's than
the hands of a woman, were attached to a pair
of arms far too long for her height and too short
for any ordinarily proportioned person. This
is a true description of this most faithful and
devoted creature of Aline : she performed her
duties of housekeeper to the utmost perfection.

She could be positively ferocious at times
when anyone ventured to criticize or attack
the acts of her mistress ; at others she could
be gentle and kind, and fortunately for me I
only know her in this light, but could not in
spite of this find her beautiful. To be in her
good graces was absolutely necessary for every
one in the house, otherwise she would make
their lives unbearable. Her influence and power
were great, and I often thought she sometimes
usurped her rights in regard to my aunt.

I am indebted to her, however, for my know-
ledge of Russian, as she used to give me a lesson
in that language every evening when I was in
Finland.

One day she announced with great excitement
and most mysteriously her intention of spending
a few days in Petrograd in order to see a friend
of hers — a certain Armenian doctor who was
passing through the capital. Before I had
caught sight of his dark bearded appearance,

;8 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

and he had rather alarmed me. But love is
sometimes blind, isn't it ?

We had much diversion over what we called
" les hearts de Mademoiselle Stirry."

" I am sure she is a man in disguise," my
Aunt de Baranoff always said. " Look how
devotedly attached she is to Aline. Don't you
think she must be ? '

I answered laughing that I knew nothing of
that and would not possibly allow such an in-
famous idea to exist.

Aunt Aline possessed a marvellous gift for
languages and spoke I don't know how many ;
amongst them were Swedish and Finnish, the
latter a very difficult language.

PART II
IN THE CAUCASUS

CHAPTER VIII

!

"^HE following autumn proved a veritable
time of enchantment for me. I spent
it in the Caucasus, at Tiflis, with my
good and kind aunt, Princess Cher-
wachidze, who owns a beautiful palace there. I
specially admired its large white marble stair-
case. She also had a beautiful property near
Soukhoum, called " Bethanie," not very far
from Tiflis, but in consequence of the dis-
turbances at that time we were unable to go
there.

Her father, Baron Alexandre de Nicolay, had
been the most popular Governor of the Caucasus,
where he left behind him a remembrance only
equal to that of a dearly loved sovereign ;
besides this, my aunt is closely allied to all
the chief princely families of Georgia — many
of them of royal blood. Thus my visit
was carried out under the most favourable
conditions.

We again met there old Princess Bagration
Moucransky, a great personality everywhere,
and more especially at Tiflis. She had a
beautiful palace and I thought her drawing-
rooms very French. She was one of our
frequent visitors and we dined at each other's
houses constantly. At my aunt's and also at

v 81

82 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Princess Moucransky's I met — at least four or
five times a week — Prince Louis Napoleon,
brother of Prince Victor Napoleon, heir to the
Imperial throne of France, and a great friend
of my aunt's.

The Prince did not appear often in society,
but made exceptions sometimes. The reason
for this aloofness was caused by the fixed
idea of many Princesses to marry him ; one of
whom had even gone so far as to be on the
point of divorcing her good, thorough-going
husband with a view to accomplishing this
great feat — and the only missing point in the
situation was the consent of Prince Louis
himself. So, to avenge themselves on the
Prince, the embittered females cried out from
the housetops the great news that he was
already much married in Tiflis, in a very
different milieu to theirs and that he was the
father of many little " Bonapartes de la main
gauche."

He was in command of several Caucasian
regiments and was quartered at Tiflis. I greatly
admired his military bearing. At that time he
was in despair at not having obtained a
command in Manchuria, but it was said that
the French Government, fearing that he might
gain his laurels there, had petitioned the
Russian Government not to send him as he
was a general in the Russian Army ; Russia,
being desirous of keeping on good terms with
her French Ally, naturally acquiesced in this
request.

IN THE CAUCASUS 83

I quite understood what the bitterness of
his innermost feelings must have been. I
often had long and interesting conversations
with the Prince which helped me on the
banks of the Koura to remember distant
France.

One night I went to a Russian play at the
theatre with my aunt ; and the Prince, who
sat next to me, whispered in my ear its
version in French. Between the acts he
escorted me on his arm to the foyer, when I
asked him :

" Monseigneur, et la France ? N'y songez-
vous done jamais ? "

He looked at me and smiled, then said :

" It would be necessary to change the whole
of the Army and the whole of the Navy."

When I told him of the spark of light, still
visible very often amongst the Norman peasants
of another generation, in the pupils of the old
men's eyes, those who had fought the wars of
the Empire and would have willingly laid down
their lives for their Emperor — whose children
now are fighting for France.

The Prince seemed pleased and surprised.

' En tous les cas," me dit-il, " ce ne serait
pas a moi mais a mon frere."

As every one knows, his brother Prince
Victor Napoleon lived in Brussels and married
Princess Clementine, daughter of the late
King of the Belgians, after the death of
the latter who for years had been opposed
to the marriage. The Prince and Princess

84 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

have now a daughter and a son and, perhaps,
one recalls to memory the touching thought
of Princess Clementine, who when hoping she
was going to have a son had some earth
brought from France so that the infant,
although in exile, might be born on French
soil.

He signed his name in my autograph book
simply ' Louis Napoleon." I should have
liked him to have written more but he declined,
saying : 'It would be commented upon,"
and that was the reason for his refusal. He
told me he would be forty in a few days'
time.

He paid long visits to my aunt lasting often
more than two hours ; she had known him for
a long time and had made many things easier
for him. In Russia he enjoyed the privileges
of a Grand Duke and was treated as such at
Court ; but as he was not really a Grand Duke
many of his brother officers were madly jealous
at seeing him already enjoying such an important
position and rank which would only be accorded
to them when their heads were bald and their
joints stiffened by the service and toil of years—
if ever !

Luckily for us we had arrived in the Caucasus
comparatively fresh after four nights in the
train ; Russian trains are not so fast as ours and
in consequence not so tiring.

My introduction to Princess Orbeliani was, to
say the least of it, original in the extreme. I
found my hostess with all the other ladies in

IN THE CAUCASUS 85

the room lying face downward on the floor, while
the gentlemen of the party stood contemplating
with more or less knowledge the somewhat
uneven surfaces before them ; the rotundity
of the female sex is not rare and is much admired
in the Caucasus.

The beauty of the average Caucasian woman
is by no means a negligible quantity, the
type being usually dark with large black eyes ;
but they grow old prematurely, often becom-
ing very fat. The men are usually tall with
wasp-like waists ; their features are good,
but their expression is very often decidedly
savage.

In the mountain districts there exists a
fair ruddy type amongst some of the tribes ;
the women are very pretty and are much
admired.

It was subsequently explained to me that
these ladies on the floor were really practising
a Russian dance and they were taking the parts
which should have been allotted to their male
partners.

I often met Princess Murat, nee Princess de
Mingrelie, and her daughter Antoinette ; her
eldest son Lucien had married a daughter of
my cousin the late Due de Rohan, to whom the
lovely Castle of Jocelyn in Brittany belongs,
while her second son Napoleon, generally called
Napo, was fighting on the side of the Russians
at the war.

Her daughter Antoinette was looking after
her mother's vast estates with the knowledge

86 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

of a man — and although not dressed in
khaki could have shown some of our present-
day girls on the land what real hard work
means.

Some years previously the Duchesse de Rohan
had, much to every one's surprise, married
her daughter to Prince Murat, whose ancestors
do not date farther back than Napoleon,
while the Rohans' motto for generations has
been : " Roy ne puis, Prince ne daigne, Rohan
suis."

Amongst the three daughters of the Duchess
were Princess Talleyrand -Perigord, whose
marriage was a failure, but who is dead
now. Princess Murat does not get on very
well with her husband, so no one was
surprised when the third daughter, before
selecting a fiance, exclaimed : " My eldest sister
was married to a man who says, ' Vive le
Roi,' my other sister to one who says ' Vive
I'Empereur,' I want a husband who says
' Vive la Raison.' ' She eventually married
a Caraman-Chimay.

The various regiments from the basis of all
social activity and I spent delightful moments
with Princesses Orbeliani, Ratieff, Melikoff,
Heristoff, etc. I saw much of the Princess de
Georgia and the young Troubetzkoy princes,
Nikita and Petia, all more or less related to my
aunt ; they gave delightful evening parties and
I really think I did not spend one evening at
home.

The evening parties at Tiflis were of the

IN THE CAUCASUS 87

gayest, and there was an uninterrupted suc-
cession of them. One ended by knowing each
other well, as one was continually meeting
the same people which I thought was delight-
ful. I saw not a few little glasses of vodka
emptied by the gentlemen, but without traces
of injurious or disastrous results— " Honi soit
qui mal y pense " —with the exception, how-
ever, of an old general whose nose was always
like a lighthouse, and who I saw fall down
three times in the same evening, so tipsy
was he ; but he was set up again on his
legs the same number of times and there was
no more to be said. I always found in that
liquid an awful smell of methylated spirit and
took good care not to get further acquainted
with it.

When short of vodka the moujik easily drinks
methylated spirit, it appears, and gets drunk
on it ; this often happened during the last
Revolution. And to think that the " Little
Father " suppressed the use of it among his
troops since the war ! What a marvellous
result of the so much abused " autocratic "
power.

We often began our evenings at the theatre.
The Opera was very good ; and the house a
very fine one ; my aunt had her box, needless
to say. It was there that I saw performed
" Mademoiselle Fin," that story of Maupassant's,
episode of the war of 1870 and 1871 which
would, alas, be so life-like to-day. Then we
went to visit some of our friends. I must

88 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

mention a charming party given by an attrac-
tive woman a I' air gamin Madame Cheremetieff
— Lise. The drawing-rooms represented a little
country inn and its garden, what the Italians
would describe as an " osteria." It was full
of local colour. Round the tables the women
in full toilette, most of the men officers in
uniform - - which the Russians always wear.
Many among them officers in the Cossacks and
Tcherkesses, wearing on their heads their high
astrakhan caps either white or black. Certainly
in the soft veiled light it was a very pretty
sight, and created a most charming and
picturesque effect.

Madame Z , a rich Armenian, gave charm-
ing fetes, to which my aunt and I often
went : excellent buffet, amidst every possible
luxury. But the story of this lady having
been discovered in her own house a few
days before on the knees of a young officer,
whose moustache she was lovingly pulling, some-
what cooled my aunt's feelings towards her and
she begged me not to go there without her in
the future.

Anyone of importance passing through Tiflis
always found a warm welcome at my aunt's
house.

I remember meeting the Envoy Extraordinary
of the Shah of Persia while on his way to Petro-
grad to present the Empress with a magnificent
necklace of enormous pearls and the Tzarevitch
with a portait of the Shah.

Two days after I met him again at a large

IN THE CAUCASUS 89

dinner-party at the Swetchines' — Mr Swetchine
was governor of Tiflis.

My Uncle de Nicolay had known this
Persian official, with his strangely languorous
brilliant eyes, when he was merely Persian
Consul-General during my uncle's governor-
ship, the cholera epidemic at that period having
brought the two together in their work of
mercy.

This parvenu — he was nothing more nor
less — has since become Highness, Prince, Envoy
and Ambassador-Extraordinary of the Shah,
in spite of his humble past ; enough
success to bring hope to the most despairing
heart.

During the envoy's youth he is reputed to have
sold oranges ; then he became a valet ; and
subsequently married an English governess at
Tiflis whom he exchanged later on for a French
girl.

Amongst the guests were several Turks and
Persians wearing their fezes, which seemed
absolutely a part of themselves. The effect was
extremely picturesque. I must not forget the
Emperor's envoy whom he had sent from
Petrograd to greet this important personage.

Persia and Turkey went so far as to offer me
mounts, but the idea of being accompanied by
fezes made me reflect and decline the offer with
many thanks.

Monsieur Swetchine was the nephew of the
famous Madame Swetchine, well known for her
writings and, also, for her conversion to the

90 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Catholic Faith, her death being mourned by many
friends in Paris.

A well-known big game hunter, Monsieur
Swetchine often took part in the Grand
Duke's boar hunts, hunts which would make
our Western sportsmen's mouths water. Those
boars are real giants ; he had then killed forty
without counting the pheasants, and jackals
galore.

The French Consul, also, and his wife were
most kind to me.

One day I was taken to St Mzchette, to
which we drove in an old tumble - down
vehicle drawn by four horses, returning by
moonlight across those vast plains where cattle
and sheep are bred and the cultivation of
wine carried out more and more every year.
We followed la Route Militaire — the Georgian
Military Road — which winds across the moun-
tains of Caucasia 132 miles away ; at in-
tervals we obtained lovely views over the
plains and church of Didoubee, a place of
pilgrimage, as we followed the course of the
Koura.

The Georgian Military Road was made by order
of the Empress Catherine ; 800 soldiers were
employed on the work, and in 1783 Count Paul
Potiomkin — then in command of the Russian
troops in the Caucasus — drove to Tiflis behind
eight horses, the first man to make a carriage
journey across the range. However, his first
measure had been to build the fort of Vladi-
kavkaz. Till then, nothing but a rough bridle-

IN THE CAUCASUS 91

path was to be found, this in spite of the ancient
race migrations from Asia into Europe and of
the many military powers who had marched
successively against the Caucasus : Egyptian,
Scythian, Greek, Persian, Arab, Mongol, Tartar,
Turk.

St Mzchette is the cradle as well as the burial
place of the Kings of Georgia, and we visited the
tombs of Prince Bagration-Moucransky and of
Prince Grouzinsky of Georgia.

The cathedral is a fine building and contains
splendid frescoes, alas, mostly smothered with
plaster.

We were shown a pulpit carved out of a tree
which is supposed to contain our Lord's tunic.
The passion of our Lord and the deaths of several
of the Apostles are represented by wooden
sculptures dating from A.D. 329. The church
encloses the ancient miniature cathedral which
was the original edifice.

Many monks are Juried there and the whole
is surrounded by a high wall with towers.

The beautiful Queen Thamar, a celebrated
Queen of Georgia, whose palace was within
the precincts, could not have felt very happy
there, one would imagine. But who can
tell!

We lunched at a most filthy inn, and subse-
quently visited a convent, the tiny church of
which contains the remains of the first King of
Georgia and of his wife ; it was built by St Nina
who is so greatly venerated in the Caucasus.
The tower of the church is very ancient and

92 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

possesses many architectural qualities. We were
shown the nuns' dormitory ; their beds consist
of planks of wood merely covered with a carpet,
each has a single pillow but no bolster. I did
pity those poor things !

CHAPTER IX

I

"^IFLIS is a town of 100,000 inhabitants,
built, as it were, at the bottom of a
basin, surrounded by high mountains
which in former days were wooded,
now, however, absolutely bare owing to a terrible
conflagration some years ago.

The view of the snow-capped Mount Kasbeck
is one of the most beautiful to be obtained in
that superb range.

The streets of the town were paved with rough
cobbles placed in upright position making it
almost impossible for pedestrians, so much so
that for their convenience little smooth crossings
are made at intervals. The horses of the country
are as sure-footed as mules, and they go at full tilt
down the streets which to my unaccustomed mind
seemed more like precipices than anything else.
But I never once saw any of these animals stumble.
I could not help remarking the strange get-up
of the police at night ; " night watchmen " as
they are called, posted at various street corners
armed with huge clubs. I took them to be
robbers before their calling was explained to me.
Apart from the European quarter of Tiflis
there is also the Mussulman quarter, which is
most interesting and its aspect most picturesque
with its curious looking cosmopolitan populace.

94 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

It is wiser for a woman not to venture alone
into this quarter, in spite of the amiable smiles
and brilliant and inviting eyes of the Turks and
Persians, who try to attract you into their pretty
little shops so full of cachet. Many make carpets,
some of which are very beautiful. The Persian
bakers' shops are full of originality with their
different loaves, not resembling ours in the least,
and their large and flat pastry cakes which they
hang on cords in their shop fronts, even several
layers of these cakes one on the top of another
where the glass front of the shops would be
with us ; glass does not exist with them.

In the houses of the Caucasians there is always
a vast divan covered with a sumptuous carpet ;
which makes a very comfortable seat on which
often five or six people crowd themselves, some
sitting on the top after the manner of tailors.
In the study or little drawing-room there are
often besides great carpets hung on the wall
which gives to the room a warm, furnished
and comfortable look. The silver-work in the
Caucasus is also very good, somewhat in the style
of what you find in India. The country silks
are of a beautiful colouring and are of a solidity
beyond all question, even the taffeta, which is
not the case with us.

This indeed is the East, the East beneath a
sky perpetually blue and a climate which would
make our Riviera green with envy.

Merchandise in this district was conveyed
for the most part by camels and it was a common
occurrence to see them in the streets of Tiflis.

TIFL1S — A PERSIAN BAKER'S SHOP

TIKLIS— A 1'ERSIAN SHOEMAKER'S SHO1'

IN THE CAUCASUS 95

From the windows of the train I was able to
distinguish a caravan, numbering about eighty
camels all in Indian file, silhouetted against the
sky, on the edge of the Caspian, which the train
skirts before it bends round the end of the
mountains near Bakou and threads the valleys
of Transcaucasia.

I have always admired those fine animals with
their placid expression and their grand, slow,
soft movements, which nothing seems to disturb.

The mineral wealth of the Caucasus is worthy
of The Arabian Nights, but, unfortunately, owing
to the non-existence of railways, it is next to
impossible to utilize the output from but very
few places.

The oil wells at Bakou and other places are,
as every one knows, one of the great sources of
the wealth of the country. Nothing is more
terrible to behold than one of these oil-wells
when it catches fire, which sometimes happens.

The Armenian church is interesting ; the
Armenians are known as the Jews of the Caucasus,
and there is a saying that one Armenian is equal
to five Jews !

There are two Catholic churches, one specially
frequented by the Poles and built in the Polish
quarter ; the other built almost entirely by one
of my grandmother's brothers, and where I used
to go.

This grand-uncle of mine, Baron Louis de
Nicolay, became a celebrated Russian General
and conqueror of Shamyl, the famous Caucasian
Chief held to be invincible till then in his moun-

96 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

tains. This uncle ended his days as a monk
at the Grande-Chartreuse, near Grenoble, in
France, where he was known to the last, even by
the visitors who always asked to see him, as " the
old Russian General." He charmed them all
in spite of himself by his brilliant intelligence and
his charming gift of conversation ; and they
wondered how so much genius, hidden beneath
the humble fustian of his frock, could adapt
itself to the severe life of the cloister after the
rough and free existence of a soldier and the
emotions of the battle-field. The Superior
allowed him a newspaper, a weak and solitary
link to bind him to that world which had awarded
him so many honours, but which he had left to
be worthy of others more glorious.

A Protestant in his youth, he had been con-
verted to the Catholic faith, during one of his
visits to France, after several conversations
, with the well-known Monseigneur Dupanloup.

The monks of the Grande-Chartreuse made
that delicious liqueur known everywhere under
the name of Chartreuse — white and green. Cer-
tainly it is one of the best liqueurs procurable,
and its good qualities are derived from the great
purity of the ingredients used in its manufacture ;
the secret of its fine and strong flavour exists, they
say, in certain plants and flowers collected by
the monks in the mountains. The secret of its
fabrication was only known to the Superior and
in case of his death to one of the Fathers. Since
the separation of Church and State in France
the Carthusians have been expelled — an example

IN THE CAUCASUS 97

of the liberty of republics — and they have taken
refuge in Spain, since when they have made
a liqueur called Tarragone, which is not equal to
the other, as, the flora not being the same, many
of the first elements are missing.

Many princes of the country don the Caucasian
costume, which is similar to the Cossack uniform ;
even the servants sometimes wear it and at first
it was at times hard for me to make a distinction !
One day I accompanied Lise Cheremetieff,
Madame Arapoff, nee Princesse Galitzine, and
several other young women from the Dragoon
and other regiments on a bicycle picnic in the
neighbourhood of Tiflis ; there were also present
a few officers. We lunched gaily in the garden
of a little country inn ; and all went well till our
return, but then our luck changed. Madame
Arapoff fell and had the misfortune to sprain
both her ankles. We had to hoist her into one
of the carriages which followed. Three officers
also found themselves unseated, and, as for me,
I went over my handle bar, right in the middle
of a descent, and picked myself up off a bed of
pointed stones, which I found very hard in the
Caucasus. I had as escort " Romeo " —an
officer so nicknamed — who was also thrown off ;
he sang, danced and said a thousand foolish things.
A little behind us followed a moucha or porter,
a giant who carried my bicycle like a feather on
one of his shoulders. We caught up the others
at the tobacco manufactory. Then I got into
the carriage with Madame Arapoff, when what
was my astonishment to see her take from her
G

98 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

muff two little slippers, most fascinating to behold,
and put them on !

By what mystery were these two little slippers
in her muff ? That is a question that I have
not yet solved — but, after all, a mystery is always
insoluble or it ceases to be one any longer, and
the mysterious has so much charm.

In these smart regiments one found the greatest
diversity of types — a subject for interesting
study — from the most refined from North Russia
to that of the Tartar prince, very powerful but
also very savage, I thought ; the women were
very elegant, many being dressed by Paquin.

We had the bad luck to miss at Tiflis Count
Worontsoff-Dachkoff, the new governor of the
Caucasus, and a friend of my aunt's, who was
expected shortly.

There in the depth of the Caucasus one did not
notice the war as in the north of Russia ; indeed,
one would hardly have realized it except for the
departure of Prince Petia Troubetzkoy and a few
others, and the visits we paid to Madame Chere-
metieff — the Dowager — whom we always found
surrounded by cases for the Red Cross, which
she painted white herself, adding a big red Cross.
She must certainly have flooded the Empire
with them. She was very nice looking, and very
amiable and distinguished.

At the end of December my aunt and I retraced
our steps to Petrograd, in a direct route, having
to renounce once again the Crimea and the Volga,
as on our coming, my aunt's health not per-
mitting the longer journey. I regretted it, for

IN THE CAUSCAUS 99

it would have been delightful and full of
interest.

We bore the journey very well in spite of the
three days and four nights in the train, during
which time I found myself again much admiring
three things : the banks of the Don, the country
of the Cossacks ; the Caucasus range ; and the
shores of the Caspian Sea, especially by moonlight.

The love of liberty, of war, of rapine are the
chief characteristics of the Cossacks. They are
excellent warriors and believe themselves superior
to all other races. The power of Russia only
makes itself felt in their country by troops which
are quartered there. They look upon these
soldiers as so many intruders, and despise the
Russian peasant, whom they consider coarse
and savage.

The Cossack does not work at home ; the
young girl is allowed to do nothing, but may
amuse herself to her heart's content ; a married
woman must work very hard up to even the
most advanced age. She must be submissive
and laborious, like" the woman of the East.

Apparently resigned, the Cossack woman has
nevertheless in her home more real authority
than the woman of the West.

The Cossack would not like to treat her famil-
iarly in the presence of strangers, but tete-a-tite
he acknowledges her supremacy and realizes that
it is to her that he owes all that goes towards
making the home comfortable. Thanks to this
severe regime, the Cossack woman develops
both morally and physically ; she possesses

ioo ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

much good sense, and above all great firmness
of character ; she is very superior to the men
of her race. Her beauty is a mixture of the
women of northern Russia and the Tcherkesse
or mountaineer type. She wears their costume :
Tartar chemisette, with an embroidered jacket,
Tartar shoes, and on the head the coloured hand-
kerchief that the Russian peasant also wears.
She is clean, and is careful about her dress.

The Cossack makes his own wine ; and does
not look upon drunkenness as a vice, but as a
custom to which he should strictly conform.

A terrible snowdrift blocked our progress
during several hours in the Russian Steppes. It
seemed as though it would have been impossible
to advance. In England we have no idea what
these snowstorms are like.

At Rostoff on the Don, as on our outward
journey, we walked a little way, taking this
opportunity for a little air and exercise. At
the station library awaiting a purchaser, I saw
some French novels for sale, a choice which
astonished me on account of their insignificance.
I should never have expected to find them so
far away. Possibly as a last resource !

On the other hand, at the Petrograd libraries
one only sees the lightest French literature well
exposed in the front row in the windows, those
which we should refuse to read in France, the
Russians pretending to believe that all French
books are of that description. This made me
furious ; the falseness of the argument exasperated
me, and I used to answer that they must evidently

IN THE CAUCASUS 101

have been chosen and written specially for the
Russian market, for in France one never heard
them spoken of.

Moscow, the real capital of Russia, which one
feels so well to be the soul of this great people,
and which had enchanted me in October during
the too short hours which I spent there, en-
chanted me again with its Kremlin, its gilded
cupolas, its Chinese town, its Red Square, old
cannons. The old cannon balls heaped around,
which had been taken from Napoleon, made my
heart ache ; but the city enchanted me more
than ever, seen thus beneath its snow mantle.

May Russia become the tomb of the barbarous
Hun — and may that day be not too long delayed.
May the real Russia, the real great invincible
Russia, though dumb at this moment, speak
behind those high walls of the Kremlin, make
herself heard, collect herself and understand her
folly, and refuse to be any more the plaything
and the prey of an enemy as detested as detest-
able, of an enemy who scoffs at her as it scoffed
at her former sovereigns.

The sleeping-carriages in this Caucasus train
were comfortable, but much in them was primi-
tive. Thus each compartment was only lighted
by one solitary smoky candle, of bad quality,
which guttered very much, fixed in a sort of
stand of the simplest kind, placed above the door
leading to the corridor. When it went out,
there was nothing to do but gaze on the darkness
and call the attendant, who was often a long
time in coming. The heating also was of the

102 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

most primitive kind, consisting of a horrible
little cheap stove placed at the end of every
carriage, near the corridor by the exit, and all
stuffed with birch wood. A pipe ran the length
of the carriage, which was thus warmed.

When we arrived at Petrograd the thermometer
was more than ten degrees Reaumur below zero ;
so cold was it that, when opening one's mouth to
speak, it seemed as though one had been stabbed
to the heels by cold steel.

The cold is doubly increased by the wind—
and at Petrograd it nearly always blows hard-
tearing with violence along the canals which
traverse the town in all directions.

As at Tiflis many friends and relations had
come to the station with flowers and bonbons ;
it is a charming custom, I think. Among them
was Uncle Cherwachidze, who in spite of his
wish to join us in the Caucasus, which he adores,
had been unable to do so on account of his im-
portant duties at the Court. Some years before,
the younger brother of the Emperor, Grand
Duke George, had come to the Caucasus on
account of his health, being consumptive, and
one day, on his return from a motor drive with
my uncle, he died in the latter's arms. It is
since that time that the Empress-Dowager has
shown my uncle so great an attachment and
friendship that she cannot bear to be separated
from him for long.

I brought back from the Caucasus a memory
that was sunny and full of gratitude for the charm-
ing welcome that I found there. My aunt often

IN THE CAUCASUS 103

gives me news from there and old friends still
send me their remembrances, and with all my
heart I send them the same.

The Caucasian has the right to be proud of his
beautiful country, with its ever blue sky and
its ever temperate climate which seems to give
him that wonderful joie-de-vivre expression which
appeals so deeply to the stranger, who is always
struck by that warm and unforgettable charm
of welcome which greets him at every turn.

PART III
AT PETROGRAD

CHAPTER X

ON the 6th January 1905 — Old Style —
I made my entry into the most brilliant
and exclusive society of Petrograd, and
the occasion was for the annual blessing
of the Neva on the feast of the Epiphany.

I was invited to witness the ceremony at the
Winter Palace in the quality of " distinguished
foreigner."

A small pavilion shaped like an ancient circular
Greek temple, with pillars, open on all sides,
had been erected on the frozen waters of the river
in front of the Palace. In the centre a hole was
pierced in the ice, until the waters were reached,
when a bucket was lowered and brought up brim-
full ; this water was then blessed by the Archi-
mandrite, some set aside for the blessing of new-
born babes, and some for subsequently blessing
all the colours of the various regiments quartered
at Petrograd ; the rest of the water was poured
back into the hole in the ice, and thenceforth
mingled with the river and then the whole Neva
was blessed !

Formerly it was considered of the utmost
importance that new-born infants should be com-
pletely immersed in the Neva — immersed as the
rite of the Greek Church demands. It has been

asserted on the best authority that the Arch-
ie?

io8 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

bishop, when his hands were petrified with cold,
would sometimes let a child slip in, merely re-
marking indifferently, " Give me another."

I drove up to the Palace in my Uncle de
Baranoffs Court equipage — I was staying with
them at the time — which was drawn by a pair
of prancing black horses, the men wearing scarlet
and gold liveries contrasting vividly with the
dazzling whiteness of the snow.

I was met at the foot of the staircase and
escorted by Vicomte de Salignac-Fenelon, an
attache at the French Embassy, who whispered
in my ear very discreetly :

' We may shortly be reduced to ashes."

" If that is so," said I, "we shall die in good
company."

Every one at that time felt that he was living
on a volcano, the formidable irruption of which
might break out at any moment.

The various members of the Diplomatic Corps
asked to be presented to me in turn, amongst
them Count Berchthold, at that time Councillor
at the Austro-Hungarian Embassy, who, since
then and up to the time the war broke out, has
played such an important role in his country's
affairs, subsequently becoming Austrian Am-
bassador in Petrograd before the war and then
Minister for Foreign Affairs in Vienna at the
beginning of the war.

It is a privilege granted to Hungarian diplomats
to wear their Magyar costumes on all State
occasions, and certainly Count Berchthold was
strikingly distinguished looking in his !

AT PETROGRAD 109

On the arm of the Dutch Minister, Monsieur
de Wedde, I reached the Grand Ball-room and
passed between the brilliant escort of Chevaliers-
Gardes and Gardes-a-Cheval, besides others
decked out in their magnificent uniforms, forming
a cordon round each room.

At last we reached the room reserved for the
corps diplomatique, where every one was assembled
in front of the windows overlooking the Chapel
erected on the Neva.

The clergy were wearing their most superb
sacerdotal robes and ornaments, escorting the
Emperor, the Grand Dukes and all the Court in
procession. The spectacle was most imposing,
rendered all the more so by the white mantle
which was over all !

Presently there entered the drawing-room in
which we were assembled the two Empresses
and Grand Duchesses Xenia, Olga — both sisters
of the Emperor —Marie Pavlovna and others
dressed in their elaborate Russian Court costumes.
This consists of velvet robes with round deep
decolletage and long trains, and wearing on their
heads the kakochnik scintillating with pearls,
diamonds and other precious stones.

Some were in blue, others in pale green, bright
pink, red, etc. ; the ladies-in-waiting and maids-
of-honour dress in the colour of the Grand Duchess,
to whose court they belong.

Their trains were borne by pages from the^well-
known corps des pages.

I noticed again my Uncle Cherwachidze wear-
ing his grand uniform, covered with gold lace

no ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

and orders of every description — he seemed more
than ever to form part of the train of his Empress.

Then came the Court and the clergy, defiling
into the room next to ours, the latter intoning
some wonderful Russian chants, which are so
perfectly rendered that one imagines them to
be instrument ally accompanied.

The anticipated attempt at assassination was
not long delayed : presently some fragments of
shrapnel shells fell into our room and quite close
to the group of people where I was standing,
smashing the panes of glass of one of the windows,
which were strewn all over the floor. These
shells had been fired from the Fortress of St
Peter and St Paul situated on the opposite side
of the Neva.

Ostensibly the guns were fired as a salute with
blank cartridges, but through an oversight of
the commanding officer one had been fired with
live shells, the result being that a perfect hail of
shrapnel fell on .to the Chapel in which the
Emperor had taken up his position, he of course
being the object aimed at.

The Tzar during this terrible ordeal never
moved a muscle except to make the Sign of the
Cross.

I shall never forget the quiet resigned smile
on His Imperial Majesty's countenance when he
returned to the Palace — it seemed almost un-
earthly. In the street an unfortunate mounted
policeman was killed, and on the floor beneath
ours — the ground floor — five people were seriously
wounded.

AT PETROGRAD in

Seeing that the Emperor was safe we con-
gratulated ourselves by saying : " Comme c'est
chic ! Nous avons eu meme un attentat ! "

After having met a number of friends, ladies
and gentlemen in waiting, I was conducted into
the dining-room on the arm of Monsieur Merghe-
lynck, Councillor of the Belgian Legation, where
a copious luncheon at small tables was prepared,
and which we partook of with relish in spite of
the regrettable incident.

Each table was presided over by a maid-of-
honour, ours being a very cosmopolitan one,
made up principally of diplomats, Russians,
Germans, Austrians, and even a Turk.

On my right sat the War Minister, Sakharoff,
who not long afterwards fell a victim to a bomb
outrage.

Fate seemed to decree that poor Merghelynck
should be continually the victim of some tragedy
or other : he was in China during the siege of
Pekin by the Boxers, where for his gallant
behaviour while helping to defend the French
legation he was the proud recipient of the Legion
of Honour ; he was in Serbia when King Alex-
ander and Queen Draga were assassinated ; and
now that he is dead even his ashes are not allowed
to remain in peace, for he was buried at or near
Ypres, which is now, alas, only a heap of ruins.

During the winter 1904-1905 no ball took
place at the Palace, both on account of the war
with Japan and also on account of the internal
troubles, so unfortunately I am unable to give
a description of the supper which under ordinary

H2 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

conditions would have taken place in the Great
Palm Hall which I had hoped to admire so much.

At Petrograd one is continually coming across
small chapels at unexpected places, erected on
the site of some Nihilist outrage against members
of the Imperial family.

The Russian makes a great show of his religion,
and he places an Icon in every room of his house,
hung in a corner, very high up, just under the
ceiling ; and he causes every room in his house
to be blessed once a year.

At my Aunt de Baranoff s the annual ceremony
is carried out to the letter. Each member of the
family, holding in his right hand a candle, follows
in procession the " Winter Palace " pope, with
his long curly hair carefully arranged, while he
carries out the blessing by sprinkling holy water
on his way.

Three days after — Sunday, January gth, 1905,
henceforth to be remembered as " Le Dimanche
Rouge " —occurred the first sign of the coming
irruption which had been anticipated for so long.

For a whole week previously the police had
posted hand-bills imploring the public not to
venture out of doors that day as trouble was
expected, and that the police could not be held
responsible for what might happen.

The day dawned more gloomily than usual,
it had snowed hard all the previous night and
it was still snowing. I witnessed the extra-
ordinary and terrible sight of the crowd of mal-
contents and revolutionaries from the windows
of 6 Millionne, where I was staying with my

AT PETROGRAD 113

uncle, General de Baranoff. The Winter Palace
was situated on the large square at the end
of our street, quite near, so I could not be better
placed. It was on the direct route to it. They
kept on passing in small groups from early
dawn, until they had become one compact
mass beneath the windows of the Winter Palace,
for Gapon, their leader, had ordered them
to assemble at 2 p.m. in the huge palace
square.

These misguided creatures were carrying all
manner of implements, some even shouldered
scythes, in fact anything they could get hold
of, I expect. All wore a sad look of arrogance
and disorder, even the children. Many of the
women carried heavy bundles as if they in-
tended to leave their homes for ever.

The doors and gates of every house and court-
yard had been closed with heavy chains for fear
of invasion and pillage. One felt more than
ever that one was living on a volcano — and a
very live one too — belching forth the most
formidable elements of destruction.

Several times the Chevaliers-Gardes charged
amongst the crowd ; at first slowly but effec-
tively— under our windows — until the mob was
hurled back.

My poor aunt was terribly frightened, and
forbade me to go out that day, consequently
I did not witness any of the bloody scenes which
occurred, but which the papers grossly ex-
aggerated. The Emperor and Empress showed
themselves to the crowd from one of the bal-

H4 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

conies of the Palace, and their appearance seemed
to have rather a soothing effect.

Many blamed the Emperor, others the army
for the sanguinary role that was played that
day, but what else could they have done under
the circumstances ?

The police organization was nil : Trepoff , its
future head, had not as yet come to the fore.
Three times the mob was summoned to dis-
perse, three times they were warned what
would be the result of their refusing to do so ;
but their only answer was sullen inertia and
threatening.

Had not vigorous measures been taken at
once, it is my firm belief that the Emperor
would have shared the fate of Louis XVI.

Firing went on in the Nevsky Prospect and
the Morskaia. We heard shots whistling past
continually.

The Chevaliers-Gardes were obliged to make
several simultaneous charges along the quays
and other places that night.

The mob was not armed and remained silent.
Their action was decidedly revolutionary, but
it was by no means a general rising of a whole
people in revolt. It was to be regretted that
many quite innocent people who showed them-
selves in the streets out of curiosity were to be
counted amongst the dead and wounded— but
that was, of course, their own look out, as they
should have hearkened to the warning.

Equipages were overturned; the malcontents
stripped a general of all his clothes in spite of

AT PETROGRAD 115

the cold, and then beat him. A young officer
was thrown into a canal ; and we were warned
by a friend on the telephone from the Winter
Palace that it was dangerous even to set foot
in the street.

My poor Aunt de Baranoff was more terrified
than ever, and told me in a trembling voice :
"On no account turn on the electric light
for fear of the revolutionaries firing into the
windows " —in Russia there are no shutters—
" and entering the house and murdering us
all." This in spite of the fact of our house
being part of the Palace of the Grand Duke,
then Crown Property, and our courtyard filled
with soldiers ; so we consequently lived several
days by candlelight, which seemed rather gloomy
after the gorgeous light of the many chandeliers.

Gapon and several other leaders had really
deceived these credulous masses and led them
to believe that they would, by demonstrating,
induce the Tzar to accede to their demands ;
but it was not long before the masses found
out that they were being made the tools of
their leaders' own ambitions to bring about a
great political manifestation. Thus, discontent
and loss of faith soon spread amongst them.

The most sinister news appeared in the papers
on the following day, stating that the populace
would be now supplied with bombs and fire-
arms, that houses would be broken into and
pillaged, but there proved to be no foundation
for these anticipated fears.

However, there was still some disturbance

n6 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

that night, and fighting took place in the Sadovaia ;
but there was no bloodshed.

I dined that evening at the French Embassy
and, as I drove through the streets, Petrograd
seemed to be a changed city : troops bivouack-
ing everywhere, rifles piled together, the soldiers
and horses keeping warm beside huge beacon
fires, the flames from which cast a lurid light
over all the vast stretch of frozen snow.

The only Russians at dinner were Prince
Dolgorouky and Baron de Ramsay — whose wife
is English — the others having at the eleventh
hour sent excuses : they had all contracted
chills !

I had been obliged to keep my horses standing
from an early hour, for the police order had
gone forth that no carriage was to leave the
stable after 7 p.m., as they feared trouble and
as equipages were looked upon askance.

In case of the revolutionaries carrying out
their threat of cutting the electric wires, the
French Ambassadress drew our attention to
a system by which all the candles in the dining-
room could be lighted instantaneously by means
of a connecting resinous tape, thus replacing
the electricity.

The idea of placing the city under martial
law was seriously entertained. The Palace and
town were guarded by the military for many
days ; after that patrols went through the
streets on business bent.

Every anniversary celebration in its turn
made people dread a fresh outburst of disorder.

AT PETROGRAD 117

The failure to arrest Gapon surprised me
very much. It was said in Petrograd that the
authorities dare not make use of their powers.
He played the most ignoble role and worked
on the superstitious masses by dressing himself
up in his sacerdotal robes — he was a pope—
and with his hands aloft holding a crucifix he
urged them on ; then, again, he would make
use of all kinds of disguises and appeared to be
everywhere at the same time.

For a long time past he had rented a house in
Petrograd, where he gave lectures, befriended
by the Empress-Dowager and Grand Duchess
Xenia. He was well informed about every
detail concerning the secret police.

The money for this revolution — of which he
was the life and - soul — came from abroad, as
is always the case where revolutions are con-
cerned ; the revolutionaries themselves were
given three times the amount of their ordinary
pay. Amongst the dead and wounded were
many students disguised as women.

The most terrifying reports were circulated
all over the town : Petrograd was to be set
on fire, the nobles were to be massacred, while
their properties were to be burnt and pillaged ;
this had already occurred in many places, notably
in the Baltic provinces, of which the population
consists of German-speaking people and is for
the most part Lutheran.

Gapon and the other leaders preached to the
peasants that the ground they cultivated was
their own, their very own ; that the nobles

n8 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

and the wealthy classes were robbing them,
attributing to themselves certain rights which
they had no business to possess — all the tenets
which Lenin has preached to-day.

Tempers ran high in those days. Several
stores of arms were pillaged and their contents
stolen.

After his flight from Russia, Gapon, from his
German lair, continued to issue pamphlets in
the hope of creating more disturbance in the
minds of his followers. A few months later
he was most unexpectedly found dead, hanging
from a beam in an uninhabited datcha or villa
at Ozerky, on the line to Finland, near
Petrograd.

As one can readily understand, the results
achieved were not the fruits of the effort of a
day, but rather of an organized labour, planned
with the greatest care and followed with the
greatest perseverance, accompanied by all the
treachery and all the brutality of the Hun.

CHAPTER XI

I MET in society many who were much
imbued with the idea of a constitution,
and even of a Republic, a word which
sounded like magic to them — magic, like
something far off. They reminded me both by
their advanced ideas and by their occasional
indifference of the spirit about which I had
often read : of the spirit that must have reigned
at the Court of France on the eve of the Great
Revolution. The Russian Empire, composed as
it is of a number of races so diversely opposed
to one another — neither sharing the same senti-
ments nor possessing any interest in common,
races between which even a certain animosity
exists always, an enormous population of un-
educated, half savage people — would render,
it seems to me, a Republic out of the question.
I wrote of this twelve years ago !

Many an illusion has already taken wings
at the sight of what is passing now, and of that
which is bound to come. In the future we
may not see the Great Republic dreamt of by
Kerensky and others, but rather the destruc-
tion of Great Russia itself, and a collection of
little republics springing up, small not by the
narrowness of the confines of such, but by the
weakness of their constitutions, which shall be

lie

120 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

either completely independent one from the
other, or else bound together by the most
slackened Federal system. They will probably
be penetrated and dominated by German
influence.

Where will be the dreams of those who thought
to perceive in a republic a special autonomy
for their province and with it complete liberty ?
It is necessary for this great homogeneous
nation to be ruled by one hand, and it is essential
that that hand should be a firm one.

Kerensky himself admitted that when he
was in power. But why it must be so plebeian
a hand is what I cannot understand. Kerensky
has tried and has promptly proved himself to
be a complete failure. He was bound to fail,
all goes from bad to worse, and one must com-
pletely cease to count on the military or the
political support of that Power, even up to quite
recently so great ; and thus it will be till the
end of the war and for long after.

The absolutely powerless government of
Kerensky dared not undertake anything against
the agitators Lenin and Co., for it knew well
that it had no real force behind it. It is this
weakness, both voluntary and compulsory,
that ruined it, and it has after a short period
been overthrown by those terrible Extremists,
with Lenin, that chattel of Germany, at their
head, for he has been bought with their gold.
As one of my uncles wrote to me some time
ago : "If Germany raises a statue to Hinden-
burg she should also raise one to Lenin and to

AT PETROGRAD 121

his Bolshevik companions. It is their doctrine
more than anything else that has caused the
demoralization of our army and the successes
of our enemies.

' The Bolsheviks are the Communards of
France of 1871 who are left unrestrained for the
sake of sane principle until it is perceived too
late that to allow these mad fanatics to speechify
and act leads to ruin."

No really Russian soldier has fired a shot since
the Revolution except against his own officers
—a great number of whom have fallen — or
against his own Allies when these would not
pack off before the Boches without striking
a blow. The victories of July 1917, such as
they were, were brought off by Finns, Letts,
Lithuanians, and Poles, with Czech-Slovak
prisoners who had been set at liberty. All these
were not fighting for Russia, but for their own
liberty and autonomy, which depended on a
German defeat.

One can only affirm one thing to-day, and
that is that without the Revolution the situa-
tion would have been even worse than at present,
for a separate peace would long ago have been
concluded, thanks to the intrigues of the ex-
Empress, perjured to all which should have
been most dear to her, and of the traitors who
surrounded her and conspired with her to baffle,
blind, drug and intimidate that unlucky and
ill-fated puppet, the ex-Emperor, a man with
no will, no force of character ; honest in him-
self but incapable of exacting honesty from those

122 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

around him, and always agreeing with the last
person who had spoken to him.

Her moujiks are the latent force of Russia,
not the agitators of her towns and capitals,
and they will be the first to see the falseness
of the doctrines of the spies with which they are
fed to gain this concurrence. May the moujik
not recognize too late that he is being lured away
—and who lures him ? The ignoble Russian Bolo,
his pockets filled with German gold, recompense
of his treachery. That is the whole story.

The task of the Russian Bolo would not have
been as simple if a Tzar worthy of the moment
were still there. The moujik no longer has his
" Little Father," of whom he made almost a
god. For him he would have died with joy,
with all that fanaticism which can possess the
Russian soul, that fanaticism would have made
of him an invincible soldier — but why should
he die for a Kerensky ? He is not a " Little
Father," he is a man like himself — and at that
he demurs. Can one blame these hardy and
simple workers of the great steppes if they find
themselves adrift, no longer having either him
to adore who was almost their god on earth,
or that to venerate which was the religion of
their izba 1 for centuries ? For the Tzar was
not only the head of the State, but also the head
of the Religion of his State, the Greek Orthodox
Church, as it is called over there. "He is our
pope," Russians often said to me, referring to
my Roman Pope.

1 Izba is the Russian word for peasant hut.

AT PETROGRAD 123

For who was Kerensky ? Kerensky is of the
people and a barrister. His father was or is
still the master of a small school. A student
at the time of the first Revolution in 1905, he
was arrested as a Socialist and Revolutionary.
No one spoke of him then, he was quite un-
known, and he was arrested like many others ;
but the circumstance has been recalled to-day.

He has often been called '" Russia's strong
man " ; after the deposition of the Tzar he
seized the power. He was a Social Democrat,
or Minimalist. His empire over the masses
was enormous ; but it began to diminish
when he developed in statesmanship. The
Extremists were not slow to see this, and
acted on it. The Soviet, which was supposed
to support his Provisional Government, was
only composed of so-called Russians, who were
simply all Germans and for the most part
Jews.

Lenin himself, the chief of the Extremists,
Maximalists, is a notorious Hun agent, and is
known throughout Europe as a dangerous
leader. For some years his activities, though
confined to Russia, have been exercised on behalf
of Germany. His doctrine may be summed
up thus :

1. The immediate conclusion of the war.

2. The handing over of the land to the
peasants.

3. The settlement of the economic crisis.
Trotsky is an Extreme Anarchist, well known

to the police in most European countries. Before

124 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

the declaration of war he was at New York,
where he spent some months. On his way to
Russia, in March 1917, he was detained at Halifax
by the English Authorities, who released him on
an appeal which came to them from the Russian
Government.

The Soviet is the Council of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates ; it is to their influence that
must be ascribed much of the present chaotic
condition of the country.

One of the great faults of the Government
which has succeeded the Empire has been to
allow the return of all these dangerous agitators
who had taken refuge beyond the frontier of
the great empire and who were only worthy
of Siberia. Korniloff was the well-known chief
of the Cossacks and also the ex-commander and
chief of the Armies. He, with true insight,
saw the danger his country was running ; seeing
her drifting to anarchy he did all he could to
make Kerensky act firmly. The latter refusing
to do so, he took the affairs into his own hands,
but failed, and was to have been tried for revolt.
Had Korniloff been lucky he might have saved
his country.

There remains yet one hope in the powerful
chief of the Don Cossacks, Kaledin, under whose
orders is the south of Russia. May he succeed
in restoring a firm Monarchy.

The reform of certain matters necessary to
our century ought to have started from
above.

It is certain that if the Emperor had wished

AT PETROGRAD 125

to listen to the advice that sensible people had
given him, instead of listening to his wife and
the little clique of ignorant and blind reaction-
aries which surrounded her — and from the
heart of which she insisted on recruiting the
ministers, etc. — the goal would have been
reached.

It was in vain that Grand Duke Nicholas
wrote to the Emperor denouncing the plot that
was forming against him and so near him ; it
was in vain that several times he came to see
the Tzar trying to convince him ; but it was
all to no avail.

The task of reform would not have been
easy for anyone ; and was quite beyond the
powers of Nicholas II. The fault was partly
due, it is said, to the fact that the early edu-
cation of the Emperor was never that of a
child who had, in perspective, the heavy task
of governing a great empire, but mainly in the
man himself.

Russia needed an intelligent, energetic ruler,
full of action and decision, and not this victim
of an invincible obstinacy, often a symptom of
crass stupidity. It would have been necessary
that he should have had enough force and courage
to have dismissed the insolent, the incapable,
the Germans at heart if not in race who sur-
rounded and dominated him.

But let us return to 1905. The partisans of
the aristocracy greatly deplored the fact of
Prince Troubetzkoy and his followers being
received by the Emperor.

.

126 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

The Protestants, and even some Russians with
advanced notions, held this to be sublime, a great
step towards liberty and deliverance. The part
played by Troubetzkoy and his friends resembled
that of those nobles who, at the beginning of
the Great French Revolution, abandoned their
king and themselves became the first victims
of the infuriated mob. The mere fact of their
having been received by the Emperor was
sufficient to cause the latter a great loss of
prestige in the eyes of the masses. Nothing
could have had a more disastrous effect on
them, and to think of those malcontents being
well received — the last people who should have
been.

" Us auront ete se faire photographier," ex-
claimed one of my uncles, " mais ils n'obtiendront
rien de ce qu'ils desirent."

The truth of this assertion was to be felt the
next day when all the papers were full of the
account, with illustrations of the reception.

The Revolutionary party was formidably and
admirably organized; one felt that this revolu-
tion which was commencing was the outcome
of long premeditated plans : its fibres had
penetrated everywhere, even where one least
expected to find them, and one can hardly
imagine the perfect accord, the power, and the
methods employed by these disorganizes of
public order, moral tranquillity and love of
country. Every day in Petrograd alone there
were a number of political arrests, plots unveiled,
bombs discovered.

AT PETROGRAD 127

Those miserable Nihilists were prepared to die
without a murmur, as if really inspired, like
regular fanatics, when obliged to give their lives,
never consenting to divulge anything to the
police, not even to give their names, and
that in spite of the most cruel tortures used to
make them speak ; and they often believed
themselves to be martyrs to a good and sacred
cause.

The names of young men and girls of the best
society, whose fathers more often than not held
important positions, were mentioned as being
connected with them.

There was much talk then of an arrest which
had taken place in the heart of the society to
which a certain young girl belonged. She had
hired a little flat in Petrograd, where she had
many relations and friends as well known from
their social position as from the important
appointments they held.

Who could have ever believed that she could
have affiliated herself with these sectaries and
been a party to their conspiracy. Precisely for
this reason she was chosen by the revolu-
tionaries who deposited in her care their papers
and documents, believing them to be thus in
safety.

This girl had been in Switzerland the year
before, and had there made the acquaintance of
a young man who was actually one of the most
active chiefs of the Nihilist party. This man
designedly paid attention to her, and she became
madly in love with him. They met again during

128 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

the winter in Petrograd, and resolved to assas-
sinate Trepoff — the chief of police. In order
to achieve this they decided to station at the
great Morskaia, nearly opposite his house, a man
dressed as a commissionaire. Here I may explain
that, in Petrograd, there were at many of the
cross streets depots of commissionaires wearing
red caps ; they carried letters, etc., for the smallest
emolument. But this man was badly chosen ;
being a very good-looking youth he attracted
the notice of the others, the real commissionaires,
who warned the police. These latter observed
him, arrested him, and found that he carried a
bomb.

Of the large band who had plotted the assas-
sination, the majority were arrested.

Our young heroine was arrested at her hair-
dresser's just as she was going to the Opera.
Her father, governor of a province, was any-
thing but pleased to learn of the conduct of his
daughter, of whose advanced ideas he had no
suspicion.

A few days later two sisters, well-known also
in Petrograd society, attempted suicide. These
were the Princess X ... and Mademoiselle
Trepoff, friends of the aforementioned. The
Princess shot herself with a revolver and her
life was in danger for many days, but she re-
covered at the end of that time. It was the
same with her sister, who threw herself under
a train at the Nicholas station. I had met her
only a few days before. It is said that since
then she has to wear a heel made of metal to

AT PETROGRAD 129

replace the one reduced to a pulp by the wheels
of the train. When recovered they reappeared
in society without exhibiting any shame. In-
credible, is it not ?

Some spoke of an unhappy love affair, others
of politics ; my humble opinion is the general
one, that they found themselves compromised
by the arrest of their friend.

The affair was suppressed, thanks to the
influence of their Uncle Trepoff, the chief of
police, and without any ill-feeling, poor man, on
his part !

Every day some fresh bomb explosion took
place, causing many victims in some part or other
of the Empire.

One day I happened to be walking on the
Champs de Mars - - where so many of the
Revolutionaries who perished last March [1917]
now lie buried in their red coffins— when my
attention was drawn to a certain individual with
a most evil countenance walking a few paces
in front of me ; when all of a sudden an izvo
—diminutive of the word meaning " hackney
carriage " —drew up quite close to me, and two
men jumped out precipitately, throwing them-
selves on this individual and dragging him
along with them into the carriage. One of
them was a member of the military police, and
the other a member of the secret police in plain
clothes.

They had the greatest trouble to secure their
prisoner, who was a most vigorous ruffian and
made use of all his strength to free his

130 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

hands so as to reach his coat pocket, which
contained a bomb no doubt, and which he
evidently intended to throw at one of the
Grand Dukes, who happened to drive past in
his equipage a few minutes later, while the cab
with its struggling trio dashed off in another
direction.

I wrote to one of my friends twelve years
ago : " May Society here [Petrograd], so brilliant
but often so light and so indifferent, not experi-
ence one day the horrors and crimes of our
revolution in France of 1793."

People spoke, it is true, of the great and bloody
contest that was unfolding itself in Manchuria
with airs of deep regret, due, however, much
more to the shame inflicted by successive defeats
and by their notable inferiority than to the
poignant feeling they should have experienced
at seeing their country tried and unhappy. I
thought them really much too philosophical ;
it seemed to me as though they were talk-
ing about a war which did concern their
country — Allied, perhaps, but not their own.
The French war in the Soudan, though on
so small a scale, made much more sensation
in France. And yet how many homes were in
mourning in Petrograd, in that society which
I frequented, and of which alone I was in a
position to judge.

The salons were partly closed and there were
no balls, but the theatres were by no means
empty, and on the evenings of the greatest
reverses were full of uniforms of every branch

AT PETROGRAD 131

of the forces ; even on the evening when the
great naval defeat of Tsussima — May the I4th,
the anniversary of Coronation Day — which
scattered and destroyed the fleet, was known
at Petrograd, the Russian Opera and the
theatres were crowded with naval officers. This
disaster did not occur as a surprise to poor
Admiral Rogestvensko, for he had felt he was
going to his doom. For the rest, this re-
grettable aberration was remarked in high
places, for the " Autocrat " made known by
all the newspapers that these officers should
not show themselves in public for some days at
least.

On the 1 7th of February Grand Duke Sergius-
Alexandrovitch, Governor-General of Moscow,
was blown to atoms in the streets of Moscow,
an event which came as a real shock to me.
I remember my Uncle de Baranoff being at once
informed by telephone of his death.

It was said at the time that the Grand Duchess
had run to the place of assassination and, fling-
ing herself on the remains of her dead husband,
had recovered his brains and wrapped them in
her handkerchief.

The Grand Duke was not a good husband,
and beautiful as she was — an elder sister of
the Empress — their home was not a happy
one.

Ever since her husband's death she has devoted
her life to acts of charity.

All attempts against Trepoff, chief of the
police, failed that year, he having to resort to

132 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

every kind of ruse to escape, even going so
far as to drive about concealed in a post and
telegraph van.

Bombs were to be expected in a crowd ; in
churches ; in fact, everywhere !

CHAPTER XII

f • ^\HE Court left Petrograd for Tsarskoe-
Celo in January 1905, not to return
1 again for two years.

The Empress lived in constant
dread of some misfortune befalling the Emperor
or the Tzarevitch, and had to endure the most
cruel tortures in consequence. Not a day
passed without there being some plot discovered,
and once, even, an infernal machine was found
connected by wires to the infant's bed when
he was but a few months old !

The Empress, tall and still a beautiful woman,
had, however, no longer the delicate beauty
which I believe she possessed at the time of
her marriage. She was very cold in appear-
ance and manner — perhaps due to shyness as
some affirm — and in conversation never seemed
to have the courage to start a subject, possibly
finding nothing to say.

The notion that this limitation is necessary
to a Sovereign-Lady is negatived by the con-
versational powers of the Queen of Italy, for
instance, who expatiates upon the doings of
the King, of herself and her children from the
time of their rising — very early, as I was in-
formed by Her Majesty, and from which I
decided that it is not worth while to be a

133

134 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Queen — till they go to bed : a flowing stream of
information.

In spite of all this sad state of affairs the
winter passed for me like a dream.

My friends Monsieur et Madame de Saint -
Pair, a charming distinguished couple, were
kindness itself to me, and it was not long before
I got to know all the corps diplomatique. I
was invited on their reception days and to
their parties, and of course those of a great
number of Russians.

On Mondays I dined and spent the evening
at the French Embassy. Tuesdays the Ger-
man Embassy received in the evenings. Thurs-
days it was Belgium's turn, and so on ; added
to which there were afternoon receptions and
luncheons and dinners — not a single day passed
without my being engaged from morning till
morning again.

I got dreadfully spoilt.

I was often taken to the Russian Opera at
the Theatre Marie ; the performance was very
good, and Madame Litvinne one of the great
attractions. Even in those days she was very
stout, but less vast than when last I saw her
in Paris. The lady seemed to realize that
she displayed herself to better advantage by
maintaining a front towards the audience than
by exhibiting herself in profile.

She had married a Polish Count.

Those who respected themselves, and there
were many whose desire it was to do so, had
their stall at the ballet.

AT PETROGRAD 135

The Russian ballet, which had become so
popular a feature of the last few pre-war Covent
Garden seasons, has always been one of the
most fashionable meeting-places of Petrograd
society. I often went to the ballet and
thoroughly enjoyed those evenings, being
extremely amused always in contemplating the
varied expressions on the physiognomies of
both my young and old bachelor friends, with
their eyes lost in rapt admiration — absolutely
embedded in their opera-glasses. Certainly,
the dancing was marvellous and the luxurious
setting beyond description, exhibiting the most
perfect and artistic taste imaginable.

The school of the ballet was an Imperial
institution, entirely financed by the Crown.
The stars were in receipt of enormous salaries,
and those who were destined to make their
career in the ballet started to learn their steps
at the early age of three years.

All the very smartest and best-known people
in society made a point of going to the ballet
once or twice a week. Afterwards we went
to supper at a restaurant — my weakness was
for " 1'Ours," then very much the fashion.
The Theatre Michel, where French plays were
given, was also a great rendezvous, and during,
the intervals our box was always packed with
visitors.

In summer, after an evening party or the
theatre, we sometimes drove to the Islands —
the Hyde Park of Petrograd. It was a delight-
ful thing to do by the light of those white nights,

136 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

and it filled one with joy. The streets and
the bridges were sometimes so animated that
the night seemed like day.

La Baletta — a pretty actress and a Jewess-
was then in great favour and had attracted
the attention of the Grand Duke Alexis.

Tongues were soon busy with this affair,
and the Grand Duke was accused of having
spent on her the funds intended for the fleet
to buy her splendid jewels. To contradict this
report she appeared on the stage without a
single jewel.

The Grand Duke Alexis Alexandrovitch,
brother of the late Emperor Alexander III.,
and son of Alexander II., the Tzar Liberator,
had never ceased to mourn the death of his
morganatic wife to whom he had been deeply
attached. So greatly did he feel his loss that
he was gradually pining away, and this sad
state perturbed the whole of the Imperial family,
who were in despair concerning the fate of
poor Alexis, until one of their members, seeing
La Baletta acting at the theatre, and being
struck by her resemblance to the late " Grand
Duchess," had the brilliant inspiration of
bringing about a meeting between the discon-
solate Grand Duke and the actress, with the
result that " Xesis " fell head over ears in love
with the lady, and immediately forgot all about
his late wife.

They lived together for many years in
Paris, after the disgrace into which the Grand
Duke had fallen following on his scandalous

AT PETROGRAD 137

sequestration of funds intended for naval
purposes during his tenure of the post of
Grand Admiral of the Fleet when the war
with Japan was on, spending their winters in
Pau and Biarritz, where they were always
to be seen at the gambling tables of the
Casino.

The Grand Duke died in exile in Paris about
nine years ago, remaining faithful to La Baletta
to the end ; but rumour has it, that she was
left no money and, consequently, she was
obliged to sell one by one her many beautiful
jewels, until she was reduced to penury, dying
a few years ago neglected and forgotten.

Many amusing tales were told about this
couple and the people they met, but one of
the drollest was that of a very vulgar rich
American woman, who spent her time running
after royalties during the latter 's villeggiatura
at Biarritz, where she entertained them
lavishly.

Mrs X ... had often met the Grand Duke
Alexis at the tables, but not being satisfied
merely with a bowing acquaintance, one day
approached H.I.H. and in a most drawling
voice said : " Monseigneur, je vous prie de me
presenter a Madame la grande-duchesse." To
this remark Alexis at first paid no attention,
but, on the request being repeated, he acceded
to her wish ; and she, all smiles and bows before
La Baletta, drawled out again, " Tres honoree,
madame la grande-duchesse."

On another occasion my husband was standing

138 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

beside the Grand Duke and his companion at
the tables when he overheard the Grand Duke
remonstrate with La Baletta for not staking
a certain winning horse, to which she replied :
" Je 1'aurais bien fait, monseigneur, si je pos-
sedais les coff res-forts de Votre Altesse."

Before the season for the Isles commenced,
the quays at Petrograd were the favourite
rendezvous, where one was sure to meet a
number of friends, carriages being occupied
for the most part by ladies wearing magnificent
furs.

A party of about twenty of us used to meet
every morning out skating — a very cosmo-
politan lot composed of diplomats from all
over Europe.

The daughters of Monsieur Mouravieff, then
Minister for Foreign Affairs, and afterwards
Russian Ambassador in Rome, where he died,
used to join our party every day ; Countess
Berchthold came very often ; also Mrs Napier,
with her husband Colonel Napier, then Mili-
tary Attache to the British Embassy ; and many
others.

The skating rinks in Russia are very safe,
as notwithstanding the great thickness of the
ice they submerge large flat boats placed side
by side up to a few inches below the water
before it has frozen, so that if the ice breaks
there is no danger of disappearing under the
floes.

Nothing was more amusing once one had
on one's skates than to let oneself be pushed

AT PETROGRAD 139

by the wind, at a pace which sometimes reached
a giddy speed.

My trembling steps made their debut between

' Belgium " and " Holland," whose patience I

admired, while little wooden seats — very heavy,

too heavy to be upset — gave a precious help to

the beginner.

Ski-ing was also much in favour, and one of
my friends used to ski from Petrograd to
Cronstadt in two hours. It must have been
delightful to carve out a road for oneself
through that immense, glittering whiteness ;
an excursion full of poetry and dreams, it
seemed to me, -in all the sadness of Nature
at this season, which sleeps for many months
under its thick white shroud — sleeps "as in
a death."

The troika charmed me, especially for making
long excursions, enveloped in warm furs, to
the sound of pretty bells ; one felt quite Russi-
fied. On one's veil the breath froze in the
icy air and formed real stalactites.

The Russians recommend veils of white wool,
made like light shawls, for this sort of ex-
pedition. I thought them dreadful, so un-
becoming, a quite barbarous invention, but the
only efficacious one against the cold.

As for the Montagnes-russes, or toboggan
runs, and really " ice mountains " in Russian
practice, nothing could be more heating, the
descent being more than swift, so swift and
so narrow that on each side there are planks
forming walls to prevent a serious fall ; but

140 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

the emotion warms one up, and that is exactly
what one needs in that country of ice and snow.
This Montagnes-russe Club was charming and
is situated on the island of Christophky, on the
Islands.

These " mountains " consist, in fact, of a very
high block of ice, as high as a house. One gains
the summit by climbing a staircase of wood,
which is behind. Arrived at the top, the
cavalier places himself flat on his chest on a
little flat steel sleigh ; this steel is so slippery
on the ice, and the beginning of the descent
so near and so sudden, that it seems as if one
would disappear into the abyss before the ap-
pointed time.

At the start of the sleigh the cavalier's head
is over the abyss, and therefore much lower
than his feet, and he guides the sleigh with his
arms, which he stretches more or less on one
side or another as he feels it necessary. I
mounted behind him on another little sleigh
of the same kind, but I knelt on it and sat on
my heels, and there was only just room, the
sleigh being very narrow ; then I had to seize
my cavalier's two legs, placing his two feet,
shod with thick boots, one under each of my
arms, holding tight and not letting go whatever
happened. These two legs were one's only
chance of ensuring a safe descent.

Once I felt my sleigh leave me and made the
descent on my knees. The descent is so abrupt
that, for the rest, one only has a very feeble
notion of what is going on. One sees the light

AT PETROGRAD 141

of "36 chandelles," which are certainly not
really there !

This slope is succeeded by a flat stretch of
ground where the sleigh slackens its pace little
by little, losing the acquired speed and so on
until it comes to a complete stop. Then one
starts all over again.

Once we all — six of us — seated ourselves on
a straw mat at the top of the slope. It
seemed to whirl round several times on itself
during the descent, shedding us to right and
left, and finally deposited us lower down pell-
mell in the soft white snow.

My cavalier had a costume designed ad hoc —
a la Nansen tout-a-fait. This party ended
up by a tea at the Club ; and I truly believe
that no more warming sport exists.

Every afternoon I spent several hours at
the Winter Palace or at the French Embassy,
where we worked with energy for the Red Cross,
for those unfortunate soldiers who were fighting
so far away and also for their families and all
they held dear — so far away indeed that one
was apt to forget that they were fighting in
the same country at all — on the borders of
Manchuria. My aunt had presented me at
Court, and I was given the privilege — this
being a very special favour — of attending, with
a number of young girls in society, the daily
work parties which were held at the Palace,
in the pharmaceutical section, for dispatching
parcels to the front. ,

On my way to the room where we worked

142 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

I always encountered Princess Orbeliani — Prince
Orbeliani's sister — in her invalid chair ; she had
entirely lost the use of her feet. She was the
favourite maid-of-honour of the Empress, and
guarded this favour jealously — as maybe a
faithful dog would — but, nevertheless, she was
a great nuisance, always watching and scanning
the comings and goings of others.

In all the churches on Easter Eve, Midnight
Mass is celebrated ; and the ceremony is
especially beautiful. I was to have attended
the service at St Isaac's Cathedral, and had
a seat given me amongst those reserved for
the Diplomatic Corps, but it was expected
that a bomb outrage would be committed,
so instead of going there I was persuaded to
accompany my aunt to the chapel of the Winter
Palace.

The services of the Greek Church are ex-
tremely fatiguing, as there are no chairs except
for invalids ; and the heat on this occasion
was so great that the small candles we held
melted and bent themselves double.

It is a custom at this Mass to kiss one's
neighbour.

In the street, on Easter Sunday, I noticed
all the moujiks, country people, and the popu-
lace salute one another in the most solemn
manner and embracing each other, while
uttering the words " Christ is Risen."

There is in Russia a custom which I think
quite charming ; it consists in the ladies shaking
hands with their hostess, while the men and

AT PETROGRAD 143

children kiss her hand after luncheon and
dinner. A lady does not require much en-
couragement to kiss the forehead of a gentleman
who happens to be on friendly terms with
her.

The Catholic churches at Petrograd are always
fearfully overcrowded, but soon I gave up
going to them, as once at St Catherine's, on
the Newsky Prospect, I was literally carried
off my feet by the crowd swaying backwards
and forwards ; and there were very few benches.
So in future I preferred going to the Chapel
of the Corps des Pages, a college reserved
entirely for the young men of the best families
destined for a military career, where there
was also a Catholic chapel, in which I had been
offered a seat, by my Ambassadress, on the
benches reserved for the corps diplomatique,
which was very comfortable

But, before this, I went there once and settled
myself in one of the benches belonging to the
general public. I knelt devoutly for an instant,
but on resuming my seat I realized that I was
doing so on some one's knees and not on the
hard plank of wood that I expected to find.
I turned round to explore the horizon, and what
did I find ? A stout Polish woman had slipped
in behind me while I was at my orisons, and
had altogether possessed herself of my seat.
I can still see her fat, round face, her heavy,
massive figure. One could not dream of using
force to dispossess her, and her big victorious
eyes gazed at me above their spectacles and

144 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

the old prayer book, with its pages yellowed
by age and its enormous print.

I felt like choking with fury at the sight of
all my poor plans for comfort destroyed, and
I gave vent to a formidable " Dourak," the
only abusive expression in my repertory ; a
great insult in Russian, and not a very appro-
priate one, as it means ' Imbecile " or even
more, and she had not been in the least
" imbecile." I ought at any rate to have said
' Doura," which is the feminine, but my know-
ledge of the Russian language was not yet so
advanced. It seemed to me that the intruder
looked horrified, but sank more than ever into
her seat with the air of saying, " J'y suis : j'y
reste." It only remained for me to yield her
the ground. It was a real defeat.

One of the most interesting ceremonies of
Holy Week in this chapel was the procession
on Maundy Thursday of the Blessed Sacrament
being carried to the tomb, when the four Catholic
Ambassadors — France, Italy, Spain and Austria
—in full-dress uniform, hold the dais, followed
by the Catholic personnel of the various
Embassies, also in full dress.

The Austrian Ambassador was the late Count
Aerenthal, who has since played such an im-
portant political role in Austria, and specially
during the last few years of his life ; it was
he who united Bosnia and Herzegovina to the
Austrian Crown.

The Italian Ambassador was Count Tornielli,
a small man with a good-looking, amiable face ;

AT PETROGRAD 145

the French Ambassador was Monsieur M.
Bompard, who played a role on this occasion
that he would not have dared to play in France !

I often met Prince Hohenlohe, at that time
Military Attache to the German Embassy in
Petrograd, and a cousin of the Kaiser's, as well
as the chief of His Majesty's spy bureau in
Switzerland. It has since been proved that
he was a very dangerous one, and had received
enormous sums at Paris — where he had also
subsequently become Military Attache — which
he distributed to numerous " Bolos " ; as for
so many people " L'argent n'a pas d'odeur " !
He was also present that day, wearing a green
plume in the style of a feather brush in his
officer's shako.

The works of Leon Tolstoy enchanted me ;
but for all that I did not like the man who had
traced those talented lines. A humbug of the
first water, a great Socialist for every one but
himself — like most people of his class — Tolstoy
had managed to instil his false doctrines into
the minds of the students, those thousands
of " fish out of water " who are a thorn in the
side of Russia, doctrines which caused them
to take so energetic a part in the first Revolu-
tion also.

May his ashes be agitated in his tomb and
suffer at the sight of all the blood spilt, for it
is not to be denied that his writings are greatly
responsible for the Revolutions which have
succeeded each other in Russia ; but I fear
they rejoice at it !

146 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Possessor of a great fortune, he lived in the
greatest luxury, though he posed for poverty
and simple tastes, having himself photographed
writing his works in a poor cottage for pro-
paganda on post cards, or working himself
behind a plough in a field.

Even his death was a final pose. To leave
his home to go and die in a railway station,
so that he should be talked about to the last !
flying from his family and his devoted wife
who had helped him so much in his work, and
had copied, it is said, eight times the whole
of War and Peace ; which act certainly denotes
the greatest devotion !

CHAPTER XIII

AT that time motors were very rarely
seen in Russia, the reason for this
being, I suppose, that there were
so few good roads ; and when one
did appear in the streets it immediately became
an object of the utmost curiosity.

Another striking feature in Petrograd was
that there was not a closed cab to be seen,
nothing but little open vehicles, which struck
me as being an almost barbarous custom con-
sidering the extreme cold of the place. I asked
my aunt the reason of this ; she told me that
the authorities had once tried the experiment
of " Voitures fermees — mais il s'y passait tant
d'horreurs que Ton avait du y renoncer."

The tziganes had an enormous success at
Petrograd. I went to hear them play one
night ; their music was quite diabolical and
so was the flashing of their eyes. They were
the terrors of the mothers, and were responsible
for many scandals — and even suicides. They
played and sang with so much go and rhythm
—it was quite bewildering ; the hall was, need-
less to say, packed to overflowing.

At the time of my arrival in Russia the
Dreyfus affair had been and still was the topic
of general conversation, people's opinions over

147

148 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

there being very diverse ; the Protestant ele-
ment— in England, too, I know — made him
a hero and treated him as a martyr, whereas
the Orthodox Church considered him a traitor
and a renegade, which latter opinion as a loyal
Frenchwoman I naturally shared, the opposite
sides taking so much to heart their deductions
that it was best to avoid touching on the subject
altogether.

The Russian woman is, as a rule, very in-
telligent and well read, a charmer, even if she
has no claims to any particular beauty ; she
is often the man's superior ; and in spite of
being sometimes a successful butterfly, she is
at the same time capable of the greatest attach-
ment and of the most profound devotion.

The Russian man, in spite of his fascination-
being very often delightful to meet in society
— never inspired me with sufficient confidence
for permanence, and I was never able quite to
overcome this sentiment.

My Aunt de Baranoff received on Wednesdays,
my friends also came to see me that day, and
round the welcoming samovar we made our
cheerful plans.

Aunt Olga — as I always called her — received
in the largest of the drawing-rooms, the ball-
room, where there had often been much dancing
before her daughter's marriage. In every fine
suite of rooms in Russia there is always a ball-
room. Round this very large salon, lighted
during the day by numerous large windows,
at night by great chandeliers, were ranged

AT PETROGRAD 149

gilded chairs ; and great mirrors in panels
gave a final note of cheerfulness. The prettiest
flowers were always to be found there in pro-
fusion, the Court florist coming to change them
twice a week, and it was always a real pleasure
to see their pretty petals in such bright hues,
reminding one of spring and the warm sun,
and contrasting so deliciously with the big
snowflakes, which in their soft and silent fall,
gently drifting against the panes, reminded
one of the cold and of the ice from which that
frail barrier of glass alone protected one.

Among my aunt's servants there was an
old Court man-servant, with a face as cunning
as that of an old fox. He was called Grakoff,
and moved about without truce or respite in
his gold braided gaiters. Unluckily one even-
ing he took it into his head to drink certain
pharmaceutical " drops " which my Uncle Peter
used to take. Finding them no doubt to his
taste, he administered to himself the whole
contents of the bottle, so that poor Grakoff
was found on the ground more dead than
alive, and there was much difficulty in setting
him again on his thin old legs — always rather
shaky.

On another occasion, I do not exactly know
what had passed between him and my dear
young cousin, Petia, but the fact remains that
Petia came to announce to me with a triumphant
smile that he had thrown that old fox of a
Grakoff in full dress, with all his gold lace, into
his bath, from whence the poor old thing escaped

150 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

with his head hanging down like a wet poodle.
I found this proceeding very Russian — I must
admit that it enchanted me — and at the end
of the corridor I saw a form dripping from all
parts disappearing with all possible speed.

Petia was not entirely without mischief.
Mon Dieu, he was young and I absolve him.
He liked to come home at the latest possible
hours, a matter more desired than easy of
accomplishment, as my aunt before going to
bed used to go and see if the doors were safely
bolted. Upon this he asked me to reopen them
— later. I refused to do such a thing, and said :
u Do what you like ; that is not my business.
I promise you I will be discreet, but I will not
be your accomplice. Why not ask your old
dme damnee of a Grakoff ? " But since the un-
seasonable bath the old dme damnee may well
have had a pressing desire for vengeance.
Petia invited me sometimes to come into his
study to smoke one of those delicious scented
Russian cigarettes. There were generally some
of his friends there, and all set themselves to
talk French, with sometimes amusing results.

My aunt continued often to amuse me. One
day, having noticed that a certain friend of the
family's and I had talked much together, she
teased me on the subject. " Oh, aunt," I
replied, " that doesn't count, you know quite
well he is married." " But, my dear," she
said to me, with her kind smile — ce sourire
qui savait la vie — " they are the easiest to catch."
And she seemed to say, "How naive you are

AT PETROGRAD 151

my poor child ! " This answer, in fact, upset
all my ideas of life, all the pious doctrines upon
which I had been nourished till then.

I thought this power of reasoning quite
delightful and typically Russian, disclosing the
quantum of moral sense existing out there.

It must be said that divorce is of frequent
occurrence in Russia. It is, however, practised
by the wealthier classes ; as, although the Holy
Synod is easy to approach, it knows how to
charge !

Couples often so easily disunited, after meet-
ing one another continually in society — for
Russian society being very exclusive, is in
consequence limited — reconsider their first step
and decide to resume their former matrimonial
state ; therefore, if one has lost touch with
one's Russian friends during any length of
time, one is obliged to be extremely circum-
spect on returning to their midst when informing
oneself from one member of a family of the
rest of his belongings ; and it is best to be on
the safe side by seeking outside information
in the first instance.

Apart from this, however, the other extreme
is often to be found, which might be termed
of Slavic origin, at least in its outward
demonstrations .

I knew a certain Gentleman of the Chamber
who lived at the Monastery of La Laure so
as to be close to his wife, who had died eight
years before and whose remains lay in the
cemetery there, going twice every day to pray

152 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

by the grave — and he was by no means an
old man !

Russia being, above all things, a country
of contrasts, a country of great extremes, one
should not be astonished by any apparent
diversity. There, as in the rest of the world,
divorce is badly viewed by the serious Protestant
community, and, naturally, by the Catholics,
but, as the Greek Church authorizes it, one
must not judge its votaries too harshly !

The Greek Church is the State religion. If
one of the parents is Orthodox, all the children
born of that union must belong to that religion,
which renders a marriage between an Orthodox
and a Catholic practically impossible, since this
latter religion also now exacts Catholicism for
all the children if one of the parents is Catholic.

It was not so at the time when my grand-
mother was born, she and her sisters were
Catholics like their mother, the brothers Pro-
testant like their father.

In Russia, there is no middle-class as in the
West. Society is, in other words, the nobility ;
and then comes what is known there as the
" Merchants," who are absolutely ignored and
very much despised by the former, although
they are often very rich.

In Russia there were two kinds of caviare,
the kind for the zakomki and that of the
newspapers.

The first is delicious. The zakouski is an
assortment of hors-d'oeuvres arranged like a buffet
on a table in a corner of the room in which

AT PETROGRAD 153

the lunch or dinner is served. It is partaken
of standing up, off a small plate, and amounts,
in fact, to a real meal as a preparation to give
one an appetite instead of satisfying it.

There is generally fresh caviare and also
preserved caviare, and delicious pickled herrings
with quantities of other good little dishes, which
the men wash down with vodka.

I was extremely fond of this caviare, but
did not feel the same affection for that of
the newspapers, especially during the Revolu-
tion. One of them reached us showing nothing
after its title but five lines, and the five last
ones ! This variety of caviare is a thick black
substance ; if one tries to scratch it off, it
spreads more and more and seems to become
more and more opaque.

The liberty of the Press certainly did not
exist then.

The Jesuits were not tolerated in Russia,
their influence, intelligence, savoir-faire and
cunning were feared. The Dominicans were
looked upon kindly, as well as a few other Orders,
and I consider that the exception was really
flattering to their Order.

As for^he Jews, they were looked at askance.
There were no Jews admitted into the army,
only a percentage of them were educated in
the public schools, and that percentage was
very small.

In Russia Jews are not known in society
at all ; besides, out there, they had not " de-
palestined " themselves as with us. Poland

154 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

was full of them ; at Vilna, for instance, two-thirds
of the population were Jewish !

As in England, even more than in England,
tea is the drink of the Palace as well as of the
izba. In this cold country one often needs a
hot drink, and the samovar, that really national
object with its gentle, warm murmur of boiling
water, is the first friend to greet you in a Russian
house.

Russian tea is very good ; the green tea is
excellent, very scented and very strong. It
comes from China on the backs of camels ;
therefore, the salt air has not robbed it of any
of its first delicacy and strength. A slice of lemon
generally replaces the milk and cream custom-
ary with us.

Women drink it in a cup, men from a glass
in a gold or silver mount with a handle.

CHAPTER XIV

f • ^HE French Embassy welcomed me
r in the most charming way, and I
retain the best remembrances of the
moments spent in its salons. The
Russians considered the Bompards bourgeois
after the Montebellos, who had lived there en
grands seigneurs, spending their large fortune,
and dipping into it also a little. The Russians
would have liked France to send them a
marquis, a duke, a prince — considering that
more flattering — but at least a " handle." And,
as the people who made this remark to me
were considered to have advanced ideas, I
answered : ' But that is democracy ; what else
do you make of it ? " Upon which there was
silence.

One evening Madame Bompard told us as
a great secret that we must all say how we
liked the quality of the tea served that even-
ing, for it had been sent her by the Chinese
Minister, who would be there. We therefore
all exclaimed on the merits of the liquid-
very pale, very scentless, very insipid — which
was served to us ; the most perfect mixture
possible, as it appears, and into which is intro-
duced a great quantity of rose leaves. And the
little yellow man was all smiles, swinging more

155

156 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

than ever his long pigtail, the antics of which
testified to his gratitude.

All the winter that same pigtail, a sort of bell-
rope, inspired me with a wild desire to pull it ;
a desire that I repressed, as one of the secre-
taries, to whom I had confided my temptation,
exclaimed breathlessly : " On no account do
that, it would be a casus belli \ "

This same little Minister always arrived
dressed in the most beautifully embroidered
robes imaginable. I have never considered the
yellow race outwardly beautiful, but I grant
one point of beauty to the Chinese soul, since
this same little man told me that the Chinese
always wore embroidered on their garments
a flower of the season. A pretty idea, and I
congratulate them on having retained the custom ;
it seems to belong to another age.

Among the Russians who attended assidu-
ously at the Mondays of our Ambassadress
was Princess X ... She would never have
discovered gunpowder, and her husband even
less ; but he at least was only to be seen when
he dined there, and then he took his departure
very early, to go no doubt to more amusing-
resorts. She, dark, tall and stout in propor-
tion, immensely amused the men by her heavy
stupidity, which caused her to say the silliest
things. One evening, speaking in a mincing
voice, and assuming the air ingenu which she
particularly affected, she asked them in a foolish
way what it meant to say to some one : ' Vous
etes une tourte." The little circle began to laugh

AT PETROGRAD 157

and wink at each other. She particularly ad-
dressed herself at the moment to a certain tall,
young secretary of the Embassy, M. de C . . .,
who confessed, laughing a trifle nervously,
though really delighted, the unflattering sugges-
tion concealed in this word — stupid — for no
one doubted that she herself had been thus
described ; and she was rather sensitive, the
dear Princess. He sauntered along gracefully
to tell me what had passed, and we chuckled
mischievously about it.

This evening, like all others, came at length to
an end. Towards midnight every one dispersed
like a long and elegant chaplet on the wide red-
carpeted steps of the Embassy grand staircase.

At the foot of the last flight C . . ., all muffled
up in his thick fur coat, his face half concealed
behind his high turned-up collar, his eyes almost
buried under his fur cap, found himself face
to face with our Princess, still displaying her
shoulders, which were always exposed to the
fullest advantage.

" What are you carrying, C . . . ? What
a bundle ! " she said in her loud drawling voice,
displaying her pretty teeth and at the same time
pointing to a voluminous parcel which the bearer
was trying in vain to hide from the general gaze ;
and, so saying, she wriggled her back caressingly.

" C'est la tourte, c'est la tourte," he said
with a feeble smile, and casting a significant
glance at us as he disappeared.

In her subsequent conversations she never
again referred to " tourtes."

158 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

That evening, in the privacy of her sanctum,
she must have reflected that there were really
too many " tourtes " in this world.

I had a feeling of well-being when from the
great salons of the French Embassy, and from
beneath their gilded panelling, I threw a glance
from the great bay windows with double panes
on the Quai Frangais and on that wide and
beautiful Neva, so calm, so silent under its
double mantle of snow and ice.

The soft warm temperature and the pretty
rosy light, the cold whiteness down below formed
the most delicious contrast.

Having read Jules Verne's descriptions of
floating icebergs in the Arctic regions, for some
reason or other one imagines that all very frozen
water in very cold countries must convey ice-
bergs, but I was cruelly disappointed at not
having my expectations realized to the full on
that point at the time of the debacle in Russia
and by seeing only huge agglomerations of ice
being carried along, all as flat as vulgar pan-
cakes. It seemed an interminable flow as it
passed, as not only the Neva freed itself thus
of its winter coat, but also the great lake
Ladoga ; and, watching, one could not help
associating all this apparently aimless rush of
the ice towards the great salt sea with the
passage of life, with all its hurry and scurry-
here to-day, gone to-morrow !

At Petrograd the water is — or rather was

— undrinkable, and my aunts recommended me

never to touch a drop ; consequently one is

AT PETROGRAD 159

obliged to buy the drinking water at the chemists,
who get it at a certain special place.

A most virulent form of typhoid fever is
rampant there, especially during the spring
at the time of the melting of the ice, when
all this frozen mass of winter snow has to be
broken up by axes in many places, and on the
removal of which many microbes are set in
motion. Russia then becomes a veritable sea
of mud, which state, however, is almost im-
mediately succeeded by the sudden bursting
forth of spring with all that season's richness
and loveliness. I felt I actually saw the grass
growing, so forcibly does Nature revenge her-
self. Very few diplomats really liked Petro-
grad, the cold climate, the expensive life, the
absence of light in winter, the light nights in
summer, were so many subjects of complaint.
It is no doubt plus chic to show oneself dis-
satisfied ; but I who found all delightful, thought
this attitude of mind very tiresome.

Among the discontented ones was one of
my friends, Marquis de M . . ., Secretary
at the Embassy. His father had been in the
army under the command of my grandfather.
He had brought from France an old family
dagger which had formerly been the weapon
of a not less valiant ancestor, a Crusader, who
had reddened it with the blood of infidels, and
his dream was to hunt bears with it, being
anxious himself to plunge it into the heart of
so stout and dangerous an adversary ; almost
a profanation, it seemed to me. I tried, but

i6o ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

in vain, to curb this dangerous ardour, being
without confidence that my little Marquis, with
his small stature and his somewhat flabby air,
would emerge victorious from a hand-to-hand
struggle with a majestic bear as ferocious as
hungry. He stamped with rage and anxiety
when explaining that he might, perhaps, not
have the luck to find one even if he went to
the enchanted spots from which others returned
crowned with laurels.

I informed him then that there was a very
flourishing industry where a victim was supplied
you at the indicated time and place, out there in
le pays des ours, and he could very easily acquire
a skin for a rug ; but my Marquis listened with
horror to the suggestion of this subterfuge,
asking only for the simple glory which he could
honourably accept. How many there are less
honest who supply themselves with the white
skins so easy to achieve.

Nevertheless he dreamt delightful dreams, of
hunting Bruin throughout the winter, which
were never realized, for very soon he packed
up his ancestral dagger and returned to his
beautiful country. I saw him again a last
time on the eve of his departure, dapper and
spruce. " My servants have started, my horses
also," he said, laughing, for he possessed neither.
' To-morrow it is my turn."

I often teased him about his political opinions,
and it was a real joy to see him pose as a re-
publican fanatic.

At one of Madame Bompard's Wednesdays

AT PETROGRAD 161

some of the ladies took it into their heads to
ask the Marquis his Christian name, and each
of us played at guessing it. The one who teased
him the most was a young and pretty Rumanian
—Madame Z . . . Impossible to obtain an
answer ; very strange, it must have been that
name ! The most extravagant names of saints
flew about. " I know, I know," suddenly cried
the young Rumanian lady in her fresh, gay
voice. " His name is Joseph." And of course
we all yelled out in unison, calling him Joseph.
The more he protested, the more we insisted.
It seemed to pain him singularly, when suddenly
a defender arose. " Joseph, and why ? " pro-
tested the Dutch Minister from behind his
eyeglass. ' He has nothing in common with
him." None of the ladies dared to continue
the subject.

Lord Hardinge, afterwards Viceroy of India,
was then British Ambassador at Petrograd. I
very much admired Lady Hardinge, who is now
no more. His counsellor was Sir Cecil Spring
Rice, now our Ambassador at Washington.1

The Dutch Minister was a shrewd, distin-
guished man ; he always teased me very much.
He had a biting wit and did not lack brains.
One day when two of the gentlemen were telling
in my hearing a story to which I preferred not
to listen, he said to me : ' ' You play the ingenue's
part charmingly, you ought to be in the Comedie
fran£aise. I shall remember that in thirty years'

1 Since this was written Sir Cecil Spring Rice has died while on a
visit to the Duke of Devonshire at Government House, Ottawa.

162 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

time. The conclusion one comes to is that
one may tell you a little more," he said to me
mischievously. And another time when I was
going to skate, and his secretary had instituted
himself my professor, he said : ' You are on
slippery ground, very slippery, Mademoiselle."
This with a glance which he launched above
his eyeglass, of which he seemed to have no
need, as nothing ever escaped him even without
its aid.

He was a good raconteur and I enjoyed
talking with him. His wife, also, was
charming.

An agreeable couple were Count and Countess
Ruggieri-Laderchi, the Italian Military Attache
and his wife. They often entertained and were
very pleasant. She was a Russian, nee Stae'l-
Holstein. She told complacently how a fortune
teller had predicted that she would be an
Ambassadress. May that happen to her if
it is still her wish, as then she would be quite
in her role ; but on leaving Russia she settled
down in a provincial town in Italy.

The evenings at General Gelinsky's were also
charming ; he was a friend of my aunt's, and
one met at his house many officers of the Guards
and some diplomats.

During nearly the whole of that winter, the
German Ambassadress used to display on her
head, and nearly as big as it, planted well in
the middle of her coiffure, a yellow flower
resembling an immense dandelion, the flower
commonly called by us in France pissenlit.

AT PETROGRAD 163

I told myself that this conception of the fashions
must have originated on the banks of the Spree ;
but yet this headgear did not seem to clash
with the rest of her tasteless get-up, for all bore
the stamp of Berlin. The Embassy was not
beautiful and not well arranged, .a succession
of .little drawing-rooms, which I thought

ugly-

My friend Mademoiselle Thecla de Grelle did
the honours for her father at the Belgian
Legation, and in a very charming manner too.
I had some very good times there. She still
sends me news of herself from Copenhagen,
where she lives now with her brother, Secretary
to the Legation.

At Petrograd the corps diplomatique formed
one large family who met constantly, which
was quite delightful.

A charming couple were the Count and
Countess Wr angel, who succeeded the Gylden-
stolpes at the Swedish Legation. The Count
was the Minister ; she was French by birth
and very amiable. I have met them since in
London, where they are still, and where I have
always been touched by their kind welcome.

A great meeting place for our set was on the
opposite side of the Neva, at the house of a
certain lady of foreign nationality, who was
very rich and who used to receive a great deal ;
but I heard lately that she had left her husband
and her home for Germany in company with
a young Hun who might easily be her son, as
she was by no means a young woman twelve

164 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

years ago, although a very well preserved one
and always beautifully dressed. She could have
easily been a grandmother even in those days.
As in the fable, the deserted husband mounts
to the tower to see if there is a cloud of
dust on the road ; but in vain ! If there is
any dust, the wind of the Neva is the only
cause of it.

The Bulgarian Minister was then Monsieur
Standoff ; his wife, French by birth, had been
Maid of Honour of the Princess Clementine,
mother of King Ferdinand of Bulgaria, and a
daughter of Louis-Philippe, King of the French,
who had been married to the Prince of Saxe-
Coburg-Gotha as far back as 1843. Ferdinand
of Bulgaria, thus being partly French and partly
German, had always been considered to have
adopted his mother's nationality in preference
to his father's, but owing to his second marriage
with a German Princess — Eleonora de Reuss—
and the promise of great things from the Kaiser,
the head of this mushroom Tzar was completely
turned in the wrong direction.

Madame Standoff was a very intelligent
woman and certainly without any prejuges.
One had heard that the Prince had taken a
great fancy to her, and after her marriage with
a cavalry officer he put him into the Diplomatic
service, and so settled him in life. After
Petrograd they came to Paris, where the Lega-
tion was maintained on a great scale by
Ferdinand, who evidently remained faithful to
his friends. About the beginning of the war

AT PETROGRAD 165

they were appointed to Rome, and I saw in
the papers that, being suspected of Francophile
tendencies, the Kaiser had asked the renegade
Ferdinand not to let them occupy that post
any longer. At their house I also received a
charming welcome.

CHAPTER XV

RUSSIANS are very superstitious : for
instance, they would never tell you
that you are looking well, without
tapping wood several times with the
forefinger for fear that what they said should
bring you bad luck. My Uncle de Baranoff,
an intelligent and staid man, was a victim to
this weakness, and I have sometimes seen him
rise from his armchair and cross a large room
to go and tap on a piece of wood which he con-
sidered suitable when having made a statement
of this sort.

In business matters Russians are so slow
as to be very trying. I knew many important
industrial people, constructors of ships and guns,
who were in despair ; belonging as they did
to an allied but foreign Power, they were nearly
distracted.

During the winter one is fed almost entirely
on frozen food — which does not suit every
one — meat, venison, poultry, eggs, etc. Also
every country house possesses an icehouse, a
regular little house, where provisions are stored
for the winter, when Nature slumbers in that
heavy lethargy from which the sudden arrival
of spring alone can rouse her. Gelinotte is very
frequently served, and it is eaten with a sort of

166

AT PETROGRAD 167

jelly made from wild berries picked in the woods,
which blend very well with the strong flavour
that the little birds contract from the juniper
berries with which they are fed, and of which
they are very fond. These little birds make
an unpretentious dish out there, but one which
is generally appreciated.

The cooking is very good in Russia, at least
in the houses which I frequented ; it is also
very cosmopolitan, much resembling our own,
when our own is good — which is not always the
case ! It is very substantial, for in that cold
country one has to eat a good deal. There are
nevertheless some very Russian dishes which
one finds nowhere else. Among these I mention
blinki, a sort of pancake made with sour cream,
which is eaten especially at Eastertide, and
then pasca, a cream cake, eaten at the reveillon,
which succeeds the midnight mass on Easter
Eve. Also there is a beetroot soup, called
borche, quite red since it is made of the juice
of the beetroot and to which cream is added ;
this is always very well served at the Carlton
Hotel in London. There is also a cabbage soup
with which a piece of beef is placed on your
plate. •

x Caviare is an almost daily dish, either fresh
or preserved ; there is often a choice of both.

Minced meats — poultry, etc. — are often eaten,
arranged in the shape of cutlets, into each of
which is inserted a handle made of bone, decor-
ated with a little bit of ornamental paper, as
is often done in France also.

168 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

There is one thing which you will never eat
at a Russian house, and that is a pigeon ! In
the snow-covered streets and courtyards, every-
where in fact, flocks of big fat pigeons used
to swoop down in great numbers. Pigeons in
Russia are considered sacred, and the people
place much faith in them, venerating but never
eating them. Happy Russian pigeon — how your
brethren of the West would envy you if they
knew of your good luck !

Champagne seems to flow in rivers in Russia,
and all the wine there is very good ; French
wines are drunk and others coming from the
Crimea and the Caucasus, which produces very
good vintages.

Cucumbers are also very much eaten, during
their season, a specially small kind of cucumber.
Every one has his own, and they are passed
round the table whole in a great salad bowl,
in which there is a little salt water ; one cuts
it as if it were a pear.

It is usual to find in one's place for lunch
and dinner two sorts of bread, one white and
one black. I liked the black bread, which was
very thick and substantial, for one has a good
appetite in Russia.

If life is of the most comfortable and of the
most luxurious among rich people, the Russian
moujik lives the most primitive existence in
his izba. In winter, to keep himself warm, he
sleeps on the tile-covered stove. The Russian
peasant woman has a child every year, but
terrible epidemics decimate these numerous

AT PETROGRAD 169

families ; scarlatina and diphtheria make awful
ravages. In the villages there is a public bath
where the moujik goes, but as on coming out
he dresses again in his dirty sheepskin, his object
seems but half attained. This bath has not
the luxury of the sulphur baths at Tiflis ; all
of white marble, not only the piscina, but the
walls and the floor of the room also. I went
one day to see the public bath for women. For
all clothing they had only their hair spread out,
and reminded me of the story of Genevieve of
Brabant.

I remember one young woman whose long
black hair fell below her knees. In one hand
she held a child of about three, and all the
bathers gave me the impression of real Naiades,
with their bodies half out of the water, and
one wondered whether the rest of them was
not fish-like. The masseurs, it appears, are
excellent.

I was much struck in Russia by the number
of people in the streets who were pitted with
smallpox marks to an extent that is quite
appalling.

The peasant is well versed in the properties
of herbs, the virtue of which he knows, and
which he uses with success.

It appears that a certain peasant has dis-
covered an infallible cure for hydrophobia, which
is kept as a family secret and which is as regards
results quite equal, it is said, to that of Pasteur.
Patients come to him from the uttermost corners
of Russia, for a mad dog is not as with us an

170 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

unknown quantity, but on the contrary is rather
common. The cure consists in eating a sort
of omelet — the ingredients of which contain a
certain purifying herb.

It was very necessary in Russia never to be
separated from one's passport, which was cer-
tainly one's most precious possession. They
ask you for it wherever you may be spending
the night, the dvornik, or porter, comes to fetch
it and shows it to the police, and brings it back
to you with one more signature on it, for which
you have to pay the infinitesimal sum of a
few kopecks, or pennies.

During the day a man-servant, more or less
covered with gold braid, does the honours of
the house when you enter or leave it. He is
known as the Suisse. The dvornik, a primitive
person whose name is derived from dvor or
door, fills the role of concierge, and is on duty
all night.

One day we left the Hotel de France in the
most brilliant style. We should have felt
enchanted had it not been for the disorderly
gait of the horses which drew us, and the want
of stability of our fat coachman who really
seemed to oscillate on his wide, his very wide
base all inflated and wadded even there, as it
is the custom for them to be during the cold
winter months.

My friend, Madame de Saint-Pair, was taking
me with her to pay some calls. It was one of
those disagreeable days of thaw when the roads
are nothing but pools of brackish water, and the

AT PETROGRAD 171

remains of half-melted snow. After having
narrowly escaped getting hung up with other
vehicles, or upsetting into the heaps of snow
which 'encumbered the road, we arrived at
our destination. My friend was going to visit
a friend who was ill, and I decided to remain
in the carriage, thinking the coachman would
keep still — but not at all.

In vain I called to him out of the window
—sacrificing thereby my hat — " Stop, stop ! "
The footman who had got down gave him the
same order, but in vain. He had taken it into
his head to drive as fast as possible, like the
humming-top he seemed to have become, round
and round the circular grass plot in front of
the house. This narrow space, surrounded by
rather high iron railings, inspired me with some
fear, as we kept knocking up against this
barrier, placed there for the protection of the
lawn from incautious pedestrians, and this was
the cause of my receiving many unpleasant
bumps.

Tired at last of this mad race, he pulled up
suddenly, and I enjoyed a period of relative
calm, mitigated by the fear of seeing him pos-
sessed by some fresh whim, when all of a sudden
to my terror I perceived all this wadded mass
oscillating once more, seeming more inflated
than ever — as I have already explained, the
wider it is the more chic it is considered. It
shook again and then finally quitted the cushioned
seat to fall on one side, into a most strange and
comical position, almost suspended. Puzzled,

i;2 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

I ended by hazarding once more my big hat
through the window, and, mon Dieu, what did
I see ? My fat, wadded coachman suspended,
his arms swaying in the air, his head thrown
back, his face convulsed, red almost purple ;
his lips black with the cold and the vodka, mur-
muring in a beatifically amiable manner words
that I could not catch, as his mouth seemed
full of a thick glue. In this cold, and in such
a condition, what a predicament to be in !

I seemed to see him already dying " d'un
coup " as the Russians say when they want
to say " of a stroke." I lea^pt out, summoned
the Suisse, and with the help of the footman
we re-established our intoxicated Jehu on his
wide base. I had hardly settled myself again
in the carriage, when the same scene took place
all over again and the base began to oscillate
as though agitated by an earthquake or some
invisible spring, and this time it fell so low, so
much off the seat, that I asked myself by what
miracle it adhered thereto.

At last my friend reappeared. In propor-
tion as he became more torpid from the fumes
of that terrible vodka, our fat coachman seemed
to swell all the more. In Petrograd there was
not to be found I am sure a more ample caftan
enclosing a larger individual, and how proud
he was of his gold lace, which told every one
that he was an Embassy coachman. Well—
we did not swell with pride at all in spite of his
brilliant accoutrements.

Then it was the turn of our poor footman to

AT PETROGRAD 173

distinguish himself. Earth, snow and water
desired him at all costs. On returning to the
carriage after leaving some cards, we saw him
seat himself, not on the little corner of the seat
regretfully conceded to him by his obstructive
neighbour, but fair and square into space. We
nearly fainted. It seemed to us that the wheels,
as they went over him, must have crushed
some bones of his frail body. Our driver, more
unconscious than ever, his quarters bulging,
his head between his shoulders, his great arms
' stretched out, exciting the two black horses
with that guttural. cry so typical of the Russian
coachman, drove on his course unheedingly .

However, the footman caught us up, but,
mon Dieu, in what a lamentable state he ap-
peared— paler even than we were and literally
covered from head to foot in mud and filth. So
ended that memorable drive ; how gladly we
should have greeted a ukase from the " Little
Father " forbidding alcohol.

In winter a little railway is constructed on
the ice of the Neva, in a certain place not far
from the fortress of St Peter and St Paul, to
connect the two sides. I often used to drive
on the frozen waters of the river, covered with
dazzling snow, in my aunt's carriages. I en-
joyed it immensely, and I liked sometimes going
to see the ice being sawn into huge blocks, great
cartloads of it being taken away.

As the snow freezes as it falls, there is never
any necessity to encumber oneself with an
umbrella.

174 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

One of my diplomatic friends never adhered
to this rule and consequently one day he was
pursued in the street by urchins yelling out
" Sale Anglais." It is here necessary to explain
that during the Russo-Japanese war the English
did not altogether lie on a bed of roses over
there.

He felt doubly innocent of these accusations
and could not lay claim to belonging in any
way to Albion. He consequently disappeared
into the first friendly door he passed, and the
umbrella never went out again.

The great secret of being able to support
the climate of Petrograd is to wear the same
greatcoat every day throughout the winter,
whatever the temperature may be, until after
what is known there as the debacle of the
Neva.

To leave off one's winter clothes before this
moment is pure madness. Your winter coat
must necessarily be very warm, lined with fur
and very thick, with a very high fur collar,
which when raised— and it must always be
raised — must entirely cover the ears ; a fur
toque is the most practical head-dress, with one's
hair done low on the forehead, as the cold is
so intense that it seems to wish to penetrate
like a chisel just where the nose begins, between
the eyes.

A pair of snow-boots, or a pair of velinki
—dainty, little fur-lined boots — is indispensable
unless one wishes to contract congestion of
the lungs — a thing very easily accomplished

AT PETROGRAD 175

in that country. When skating, these par-
ticular shoes must be warmly lined.

Russians never take much exercise, and they
nearly all wear what is known there as the
chouba, a kind of pelisse lined very thickly and
often with the most valuable furs ; but I did
not adopt this mode, for the good reason that
I could not bear the idea of being always
smothered up, and I hated its feather-bed
appearance.

In winter, every window is hermetically
sealed with the exception of one small case-
ment, which is opened for a few minutes
only each day, just sufficient to allow a
little fresh air to penetrate — so intense is the
cold.

It is usual even to fill with sand the space
between the double windows — on account of
the cold there are always double -windows — up
to the height of the bottom of the first pane of
glass.

One takes off and puts on one's heavy furs
in a specially arranged place just inside the
front door of the houses, as it would not be
possible to bear the weight of them in the warm
atmosphere indoors and it would be sudden
death to venture outside without them. Con-
sequently, with these arrangements for one's
comfort and with reasonable precautions, there
is no country in the world where one need
suffer less from the cold than in Russia ; not
that dreadful penetrating damp cold one
continually experiences in French and English

176 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

houses only fit for snipes and snipers to exist
in.

Many martyrs to rheumatism in our countries
would not be troubled by that painful com-
plaint in Russia, a fact which must be entirely
due to the dry atmosphere of the houses.

Contrary to the general opinion which one
hears so often expressed, that the atmosphere
of Russian houses during the winter is oppres-
sive, I must say I only once experienced this
uncomfortable sensation, and then only on a
staircase. I own I was there again spoilt, as
my aunts lived in the luxury of spacious and
lofty apartments, and all the people I knew
did likewise. The doors connecting the different
rooms were always left open as much as pos-
sible, thus equalizing the warmth of each, which
was delicious. Every room had its own large
tiled stove ; the stoves are closed so that the
fire cannot be seen, and they are of the same
height as the room, seeming to form part
of the wall, which has not an ugly effect, as
it is concealed as much as possible. Birch
wood was burnt and only required stoking once
a day.

To the amazement of my aunts I bore the
climate without the least hitch, the secret of
which was, I think, the delight I felt at being
there — realizing a dream which I had always
had, which I had nursed in silence, and cherished
as a vision, and which I enjoyed, even more
than I had dreamt, as a reality. It seemed
as though I had always lived this life that I

AT PETROGRAD 177

loved, surrounded by the warm friendly affection
which had welcomed me, and as in the song, it
was mine to say :—

" Et le grand soleil qui me brule
Est dans mon coeur."

CHAPTER XVI

ON her return to Petrograd for the
winter, my Aunt Cherwachidze took
up again her charitable role of con-
fidante to her proteges, who over-
whelmed her with visits, disputed for her favours
or her kind looks, paid court to her, were jealous
of each other, even hated each other. One of
them, Baroness K . . ., a very pronounced
type of the real Tartar, with waved black hair,
great round black eyes, and lips outrageously
reddened, came to see her very often. Her
showy toilettes, red and yellow, a relic of bar-
barous times, made one's eyes ache. A big
hat, a real lampshade, generally scarlet, com-
pleted a toilette of the most doubtful taste.

Her gait was slow, her feet were much turned
out ; and as she walked, balancing herself on
her heels, slowly and deliberately, the chest
out and the head thrown back, she looked rather
alarming. Her cousins, real, savage Tartars
living in their own country, were always threaten-
ing to kill her, in order to possess themselves of
her fortune which they believed to be immense.
Divorced and redivorced, it really was beyond
one's comprehension.'

She was the terror of my Aunt de Nicolay
—to whose charge especially I had been en-

178

AT PETROGRAD 179

trusted — this on my account only, but without
any reason for being so as far as I was concerned,
for I was frightened of her and always kept at
a distance.

Her case seemed to me a bad one, almost
desperate !

The next in assiduity was small and plump ;
she used to arrive dressed as often as not in a
tight black voile dress, in the old-fashioned
style. Her sleeves of transparent gauze eternally
displayed the white skin of her plump little arms,
of which she was very proud.

She used to sink into a vast arm-chair, take
breath, confer in low tones with my aunt, and
then they would both disappear into the com-
fortable study, the usual scene of confidences.
Her confession made, she would reappear, more
smiling and plump than ever, and seizing the
parchments from which she was never parted
began to declaim verses, certainly doomed to
perish with her. In vain had she tried to flood
the editorial pastures, for the editors proved
to be an impenetrable barrier to her literary
attempts.

One day she arrived for lunch much too early
—my aunt, the little feather of her hat blowing
in the wind, not having yet returned — with the
added attraction of her son, a young puppy
with a fascinating and conquering air. His
hair was fair, his face was pink with fairly good
features but — I could hardly repress a smile
when, looking down, I saw his little form clothed
in a frock coat, tightly moulding his figure.

r8o ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

And what a figure, so Lilliputian. Choked by
his high collar, he clasped a shiny tall hat in
his hands ; a pair of gloves of delicate tint and
patent-leather shoes completed the accoutrement
of this ridiculous little fop.

The lady was dressed that day in canary
yellow up to the waist, a bodice very transparent
on all sides, the marble of her little arms delicious
under the tissue, and her neck ! and her throat !
and — luckily my aunt was short-sighted !

It fell to my lot to entertain the little dandy,
her son, during the whole of lunch. He em-
barked on every subject with the same self-
possession, and when I asked him how he spent
his time, and he had answered me over his high
collar in a voice necessarily rather choky, " I
occupy myself with sport," I felt myself suffo-
cating with laughter. He had lately been doing
a little motoring and was consumed with pride,
the little puppet !

She, poor woman, had in the Caucasus a
husband who had deserted her for another
fair temptress, and wished to divorce her—
hence these whisperings, this mystery, these
tears when she spoke of him. Was there no
virtue then in these round and shapely arms ?

I do not at all know how my aunt managed
it, but the fact remains that when I left Petro-
grad, the ex-unfaithful one, too, was always
there, and husband and wife seemed like two
turtle doves. And more than ever the fine,
white gauzes fluttered round the white arms
and the short neck, and all her plump little

AT PETROGRAD 181

being seemed to revel at the restoration of her
conjugal rights.

Prince Lucien Murat spent part of the winter
at Petrograd. He sometimes took us to see
the wrestlers. He had a box there and this
entertainment was also a very smart rendezvous.
Many officers were there and smart young women.
These wrestlers were real colossal masses of
human flesh, and most of them bore animal
countenances. They began by parading one
behind the other in a long file in the arena,
then in pairs they wrestled together, he whose
back first touched the ground being the van-
quished one, and the others in succession.
They were of all nationalities. They did not
appear to make any real effort, at any rate their
movements were calm and slow, but they must
have made some, for by degrees one saw their
skins begin to shine with heat.

Their costume was of the simplest, a little
pair of bathing drawers.

It was forbidden to walk on the quays with
a camera, for fear of its containing a bomb.
That did not prevent my doing so all the winter
without being troubled. Was I then in the
good books of the police ?

The Russian custom of not addressing others
by their family names, but only joining to their
Christian names the name of their father, is
at first very perplexing for strangers. Thus,
supposing your name to be Olga, if your father's
for instance is Peter, you will be spoken of _as
" Olga Petrovna," and so on, really enough

i8a ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

to make one's head ache. In the masculine
the termination is altered to ' vitch," as for
example " Petro Petro vitch."

In Russia all luxuries are very dear, but the
first necessaries of life are not more so than
elsewhere, and my aunts asserted that flats were
cheaper than in Paris, where they become very
dear when they are of any size. At Easter it
is the custom to give delightful little trinkets
in the shape of eggs, decorated with a little
coloured stone, often real ones. I brought back
many of these. That day the dish consisted
of boiled eggs, painted red, blue, etc., and all
the household ate them too.

I terminated my winter at my Aunt de
Nicolay's, continuing with her my social life
and met a good many of her relations who were
charming.

Sometimes there came to lunch some austere
Protestant missionaries, returned from far-off
countries where they might have been eaten,
had they been more delectable morsels, but
where they had escaped from cannibal jaws.
Some of them were good and interesting talkers

Every Monday evening great commotion in
the salons ; the furniture was removed and
replaced by benches, and a minister began to
speak to an audience composed of male and
female students and young girls. This was
the favourite work of my Uncle Paul and my
Aunt Marie. I, for my part, took myself off
to my Embassy that evening, and in front
of the open folding-doors, past which I had

AT PETROGRAD 183

to go, a screen was set up, behind which I used
to slip out, feeling terribly frivolous. The rustle
of my dress caused many heads to be turned,
and how guilty I felt thus to distract them from
the solemn words — all the more guilty as I
did not feel much remorse, and one evening
in the shadow of this same screen I seemed to
see a happy couple there unconscious of all
else.

I was urged to go <to the celebrated fair of
Nijni-Novgorod. Splendid furs were to be found
there and at a very reasonable price, it appeared.
Several of my friends went ; I should especially
have liked to see so unique a sight ; so much
local colour, so picturesque a diversity of types,
costumes and customs would have enchanted
me.

In Russia the bureaucracy had a very bad
reputation, it was said to be very corrupt, but —
was it more so than anything else ? That was
the only question !

The Russian is a fatalist, a little dose of fatal-
ism is perhaps indispensable in life, but it must
not be too great. Perhaps that is why they
are the victims of the famous "Nichevo" "It
is nothing," " It does not matter " —a word
which the Russian constantly employs, and
which contains all the laisser alter of characters
there. This indifference is in part responsible
for the development of actual events.

Russian is a beautiful language for singing.
I have always liked the Russian accent, so
melodious, so musical, and liked it to such a

184 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

degree that I more or less caught it ; and, on
my return to France, employed it so much
when speaking my native tongue that it was
said by some, doubtless jealous of this brilliant
venture, that I made a pose of it. A happy
thought ; what would I not now give thus to
catch the accent of my adopted country, but
alas, it eludes me ; perhaps I have lost the
art of posing, or perhaps this also is a pose — a
long one !

Naturally the name of General Kouropatkin,
Commander-in-Chief of the Armies, was on
everybody's tongue. The prolonged resistance
of Port Arthur engrossed much of the conversa-
tion, as was natural. People began by making
a hero of its defender, General Stoessel, and
a heroine of his wife. We subscribed at the
French Embassy to present him with a sword
of honour. In later days he seemed to be
looked upon as no better than a common traitor.
I met the Stoessels once or twice at Petrograd ;
they both looked very well fed, and I began
to doubt their many privations, but of course
it may have been a question of temperament,
for with some people stoutness is a sign of
illness and not of health and good living.

My first experience of a " little corner of
English life " occurred at a dinner party at
the Napiers', the English Military Attache and
his wife. For the first time I saw wine-glasses
placed at the side and not in front of the plate,
and I recall my first emotion, not knowing
which were mine, fearing a mistake. I hope

AT PETROGRAD 185

I did not drink from my neighbour's glass, but
I can hardly be sure that I did not commit
myself.

One day before my departure, my Aunt de
Nicolay said to me, " I acknowledge that you
have two great qualities : punctuality and
discretion."

Mon Dieu, punctuality — yes ! I had always
been trained to it at school and at home, and I
still remember the call to order of my father if we
had the misfortune to keep the horses waiting a
moment at the front door, those precious animals
at whose orders, I maintained, one had always
to be.

As for discretion ? Perhaps it may be thought
that it has been a trifle torn on the brambles
along the road of life. Oh, very little, not so
much as it might have been — not so much as
you think perhaps ! If there is a need of pardon ?
Well, give it or do not give it. Give it at least
to the child of twenty with her eyes hardly yet
opened on life.

I went again to lovely Michaelovka for a
little ; and it was with a heart as heavy as lead
that I turned my back on this country to which
I belong in part, on this country which I had
learnt to adore, where the sun is so loath to set
or to rise, this country of dreams, beneath its
glorious spring verdure, again of dreams beneath
its snowy white mantle, to this glorious Neva
on which I had so often watched the huge barges
silently gliding on the still waters, bearing to
Petrograd their great loads of silver-birch wood

186 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

from distant Finland, manned by bargemen
in scarlet shirts which gave such a touch of
colour and brightness to the landscape.

I felt almost envious of these poetic barges,
and longed to float away on one of them ; but,
alas, one must not indulge in too much romance
in this prosaic age ! ' The West " was calling
—so, with a broken heart, I turned my back
on dear Holy Russia.

And there a last time on the platform of
that Berlin Station, beside that train which was
going to take me away no doubt for ever, I
embraced for a last time my good and dear
Aunt de Nicolay, whom I was not to see again.

My heart swelled with gratitude, but I felt
too choked to express my feelings :—

" Partir c'est mourir un peu."

Never have I felt this so much as on that day.

Did my aunt understand the tumult in my
heart ? I do not know, I do not think so, and
in her pretty voice of which I shall never forget
the pure, warm accents so full of real affection
she said to me, " Renee, you have not consented
to recognize the qualities of — and I fear
you will regret it." These were her last words,
once more she pressed me to her heart, the
next moment I was far away.

And when I felt the woods and fields of the
Kaiser unroll themselves through the dark night
in the contrary direction in which thirteen
months before, my heart full of joy, I had seen
them flit by — oh, how different it all was.

AT PETROGRAD 187

No I had not been able to — the want of fore-
sight of twenty summers perhaps, but also its
frankness ! That tall Russian with the pale
face, with the blue eyes, of the Grand Duke
type — but what was the good of dreaming,
and even in that moment I did not regret. It
was not, I expect, what Paradise had in store
for me.

PART IV

RASPUTIN : HIS INFLUENCE AND
HIS WORK

CHAPTER XVII

FIVE or six years ago some Russian
cousins of mine came for a short stay
to Paris, and for the first time they
pronounced before me the name of
" Rasputin," telling me of his disastrous influ-
ence at Court and particularly over the Empress.
" He has persuaded her " —they told me— " that
the Tzarevitch will die if she continues to live
with the Emperor as his wife, his object being
to assure to the enemies of the Romanoffs that
their hope will be accomplished and that no
other heir will be born to the Emperor, which
is their great fear." Besides, at that period
the Empress was ill and nervous, and at times
could not walk, having to be wheeled about
in an invalid's chair ; to-day, I am told, she
has returned to that chair, in Siberia, whither
her unqualifiable conduct has led her.

The Emperor certainly had an heir, and for
once rumour was right as to what had indeed
happened to the poor child, and he had been
made to forfeit the hope of posterity to the
line of which he might well be the last member.
" Therefore he will not reign," said my cousins.
The Emperor had even chosen his successor,
a son of one of the Grand Dukes.1

1 The Tzar's brother had at this time been excluded from the
succession on account of having contracted a morganatic marriage.

191

192 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Grand Duke Alexis in addition has very
feeble health, and the doctors had doubts
whether he would live beyond the age of six-
teen, which he has not yet reached. They said
that also he was attacked by that infirmity
which consists in having a skin too few, and
consequently a liability to severe haemorrhages.

My cousin told me that one day on getting
into his bath, the Tzarevitch slipped a little
and immediately a great " pocket " of blood
formed itself ; the same thing occurred one
day in stepping out of a boat in which he had
been for a sail. In fact the poor boy suffered
from a strange and disconcerting illness, which is
partly explained to-day, as will be seen later on.

Then I asked who Rasputin was. I was told that
he called himself a pope, but in reality he was only
a coarse and ignorant adventurer from Siberia;
and they spoke with disgust of this intruder and
the position he had contrived to acquire.

Rasputin, a name for ever detestable and
detested by all who have a grain of feeling of
straightforwardness and honesty, is perhaps the
most diabolical figure of our century. Some
hundreds of years ago he would have been looked
upon as a sorcerer.

A native of Pokrovskoe, a little village situ-
ated in the province of Tobolsk in Siberia ; a
mixture of charlatan and satyr ; neither monk
nor priest, but simply an illiterate peasant ; a
poor village driver ; father of three children
left behind in their izba, but who later on came
to school in Petrograd.

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 193

To the most depraved morals he joined a
great love of vodka.

After having tried theft several times, and
been sentenced to two or three terms of im-
prisonment, the luminous idea dawned on him
one fine day to pose as a saint, thinking the
occupation would be more lucrative. He there-
fore embarked on the life of one of those wander-
ing monks living on alms and of whom I have
already spoken.

From the depths of those strange steel-grey
eyes came a light endowed with an enormous
magnetism, amounting to hypnotism, it seems,
and he practised this power on nearly all the
women whom he met irrespective of age, sur-
roundings, disposition, bent of mind — whether
light or austere.

Naturally he employed this power to surround
himself principally with women in the best
society, and also with those endowed with large
fortunes, this being at the same time more
flattering and more practical.

The new religion, if one may so describe the
lax and too easy doctrine that he preached,
was, I am told, a mixture of those " religions "
that flourished in the Middle Ages, and appealed
to that milieu enormously. He went so far
as to preach that a laxity of morals should be
regarded as the sin most easily pardoned by the
Almighty . . . and women of the best-known
families and those placed in the highest position
were present incognita at these " religious "
services.

194 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

During each of his so-called " pilgrimages "
he continually made new disciples ; sister-
disciples thronged his progress.

It was at one of these meetings at Petrograd
that Madame Vyruboff, of unlucky memory,
who is to-day imprisoned in the fortress of
St Peter and St Paul but who was then the
favourite lady-in-waiting to the Empress — in
fact the most intimate confidante of both the
Tzar and the Tzarina — met him for the first
time. This intriguer, like so many others, fell
so much under his influence that she became
one of his most zealous and devoted followers
— later she became his mistress — and formed
the project to present him at Court.

All the same, this was not brought about
without a certain amount of trouble and delay,
for the scoundrel, who at the bottom of his
heart trembled with joy at the mere notion
of this presentation, required pressing, and even
gave the impression of rejecting the idea, refus-
ing to accede to it on the pretext that he made
no difference between the lowest of the moujiks
and the great ones of the earth.

He had then arrived at accomplishing
" miracles " ; his reputation of " miracle worker "
had already been established, and was spreading
each day, gaining ground like a spot of oil.
Thanks to his ingenuity and to that of an accom-
plice, he had continued to create the appearance
of effecting some.

Madame Vyruboff, knowing how vital to the
Empress was the question of the health of the

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 195

Tzarevitch — to whom she wished at all costs
to assure the throne of the Romanoffs, in spite
of the early death which the doctors had
foretold for him — had the " brilliant " idea of
first presenting Rasputin, the intriguer, believing
that by so doing she would make herself useful
and important, conjecturing also that he might
perhaps do something to ameliorate the health
of that frail being.

The rascal pretended to hesitate, but con-
sented at last, on receiving a message from the
Empress asking him to come and visit the little
patient. He was received with all the eager-
ness, all the ardour that can be felt by a maternal
heart which has borne a long agony of pain
and anxiety, and when she saw him stretch
his hands over the frail little body of her child
in the act of blessing, and thus perhaps produced
a healing influence, she, too, while weeping
grateful tears felt herself fall under the influ-
ence of the strange fascination which he exer-
cised, above all, when turning to her, with that
particular manner which made a victim of
nearly every woman he met, he promised her a
complete cure.

And the Tzarevitch, as though to lend more
weight to his words, seemed to show an improve-
ment after the visits. The Empress, full of hope,
only saw in this charlatan a saint, a messenger
from Heaven sent to cure her child !

From that time Rasputin took root in the
palace and began to " instruct " the ladies of
the Court ; the practical side was not forgotten

196 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

by him, and if he had made dupes he had also
reaped a great harvest of money. He pretended
to collect for the monastery built by him in his
native village, where the monks lived an austere
and most ascetic life of prayer among the most
luxurious surroundings, the fruit of the offerings
collected by him.

From time to time he would threaten his
" sister disciples " to leave the capital and
return to the monastery, at hearing which they
became desolate, and one and all implored him
to remain.

The Empress, more than anyone, was petrified
at the thought of what might happen, and all
the more that, each time that Rasputin went
away, a change for the worse was noticed in
the health of the precious child.

This may be explained thus : Rasputin was
well versed in the composition and effects of
certain drugs known in the East, which he
obtained from a great friend of his, an Oriental
quack doctor, who gave to his patients infusions
of herbs brought from Tibet, and he took care
to have one of them administered to the Imperial
child by Madame Vryuboff when he was absent.
This, while making him ill, assured Rasputin's
recall, and as may be imagined he was not
anxious to cut short his brilliant career. Some-
times it happened that the drug brought the
child apparently too near the gates of death.
Hence the short despairing and heart-rending
notes, of which so much has been said, addressed
by a poor distracted mother to the " Saint " !

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 197

He made himself even more needed, and did
not even reply to the Imperial missives. Then,
tiring of the charms of his so-called beautiful
and austere monastery, which had never existed,
and was in reality but a poor house where his
family lived, and, in addition, twelve of his
admiring and fanatic " sisters " and where he
had, as one may imagine, a lively time, he would
reappear, and be greeted as a saviour.

The Tzar did not like Rasputin, but he toler-
ated him. His Majesty generally possessed a
clear judgment, but never had quite the courage
of his opinions ; and unluckily his courage
stopped short of sending the rascal away.

Among the friends of Rasputin must be men-
tioned Protopopoff, Minister of the Interior,
and Boris Sturmer, who thanks to the former's
intrigues had been appointed Prime Minister
of Russia. Both were known to be pro-German.

The " monk's " empire at the Court became
so great that through the intermediary of the
Empress those who had been remiss to him in
any particular lost important posts, and he
also caused his unworthy " proteges " to be
given the highest appointments. This grew to
such an extent that he really came to out-
Emperor the Emperor himself, and he knew
it — that shameless rascal who endeavoured to
make himself look like the picture of Christ.

He had also powerful enemies, among whom
was Stolypin, an honest man, and then one of
the most powerful men in the Empire. When
in 1906 the New Russian Imperial Duma

ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

assembled for its first session, the question of
the redistribution of land became at once the
chief topic of the debates. The second Duma
took it up also, and after the dismissal of the
second Duma the Government considered the
same question again. Monsieur Stolypin, who
was Prime Minister at the time, introduced his
very much discussed Land Reform Bill, which
provided to a great extent for the distribution
of State and Crown land to the peasantry ;
but this land reserve was big and would not
have been exhausted for a long time. The
chief object of Monsieur Stolypin's land reform
was to break up the communal ownership.
There was no appropriation of private owner's
land and no private owner was forced to sell
his property. As a result, 2,000,000 new farms
sprang up in different parts of Russia. Later
on, he also paid for his honesty, like so many
others, by perishing from a bomb explosion at
Kief.

But the enemy Rasputin feared most of all
others was Grand Duke Nicholas, who had learnt
a great deal about the so-called " Saint " and
esteemed him accordingly ; Rasputin knew this
and was consequently not free from anxiety.
I have been assured that at a ball given at the
Palace since the War, the Grand Duke Nicholas,
assisted by young Grand Duke Dmitri Paulo-
vitch, seized the mock monk, who naturally
was there, the pupils of his eyes more charged
with magnetism than ever, and tearing off the
pious emblems with which he was covered —

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 199

one more fascination — administered the most
severe chastisement after having thrown him
outside.

Soon after the commencement of hostilities
Grand Duke Nicholas was appointed by the
Tzar Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Armies
on the German frontier. Later on, he was
appointed Viceroy of the Caucasus and the
Tzar took the full command of the Western
front upon himself. It was an established fact
that the Grand Duke's transference — which
became a burning question — was brought about
entirely by the influence of the pro-German
group by which the Emperor was surrounded,
these intriguers finding the presence of the
Grand Duke a great obstacle to the realization
of their dark plans.

A great sportsman, the Grand Duke had
the best pack of hounds in the Empire ; his
borzois were unrivalled in beauty, strength and
speed, and he possessed wonderful shooting
preserves in the Caucasus and elsewhere.

Following on the Tzar's abdication, it was
decided by the existing Government to reinstate
the Grand Duke Nicholas as Commander-in-
Chief of the army, in which post he had so greatly
distinguished himself at the beginning of the
war ; and he was actually on the point of leaving
for head-quarters when the Committee of the
Workers' Delegates and the Committee of the
Soldiers' Deputies, egged on by the Socialists,
protested against the measure. The Labour
Party were alarmed that the great popularity

200 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

of the Grand Duke with the army might be the
cause of their proclaiming him Tzar of Russia ;
therefore they insisted on the revocation of
his appointment, and Kerensky upheld them,
threatening to resign from the Cabinet should
the Grand Duke assume the Chief Command.

From the appearance of Rasputin, Germany
was on the watch, realizing what an easy prey
Russia might become, and soon the pockets
of the " Saint " were bulging over with German
gold. Surrounded by pro-German friends, they
began to plot for Germany to such an extent,
and so successfully, that Rasputin was sent for
to Berlin by the Kaiser, who it may be imagined
did not waste his time. Rasputin, installed
in a fine house near the Moika, saw his religion
develop every day ; then it was that Grand
Duchess Olga, the eldest daughter of the
Emperor, became one of his most fervent " sister
disciples," and on his return from his clandestine
journey to Germany, in 1916, he began cleverly
to insinuate to his admiring female listeners
that a separate peace would be very profitable
to the great Russian Empire.

It was in vain that Grand Duke Nicholas
and others informed the Empress what Rasputin
really was, and told her of his depraved life
and his false miracles, it was in vain that they
told her that he and his friends would destroy
Russia — all these efforts of persuasion were of
no avail.

In vain, also, Grand Duke Nicholas implored
the Emperor to banish from the Court all those

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 201

Germans by whom he was surrounded, telling
him bluntly, " If you do not do so, the House
of Romanoff is doomed."

As for Rasputin, feeling himself tracked down
like a wild beast, he continued to terrorize the
Empress on the subject of the Tzarevitch, saying :
' If any misfortune happens to me, the Tzare-
vitch will die too, and that exactly forty days,
hour for hour, after me." Many people dis-
appeared and died in a mysterious manner,
many dramas took place even in the " Saint's "
house — and some of these, it was said, were
by his own hand — but he always succeeded in
suppressing the scandal.

A young woman returned from Petrograd,
who had the good sense not to become his victim,
has told me how she was invited not very long
before his tragic end to a tea-party at which
the scoundrel was to be present. He entered
the room not only with a most self-satisfied air,
but one which tried to be also mystical, and
began to speak to each of the young women in
his hideous jargon, staring with that hypnotic
look, which made each one of them his own,
at the same time kissing each on the lips, with
an incredible and repulsive audacity, as if it
were due to him. The witness in question
avoided the same fate but with difficulty, upon
which the " Saint " took on a puzzled anxious
expression, and began to turn round, saying
that he felt a current of antipathy in the room
and came to a stop in front of her.

From the moment she entered the room

202 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Rasputin did not appear to be at ease, no doubt
because of that contrary current.

He seemed to this young woman to be a coarse
creature, not even knowing how to express
himself ; naturally with no manners, and repul-
sive in his fatuousness ; less than well cared
for in his appearance, in fact — abject. Only
one thing about him was right — of very fine
quality — his linen. The Empress, it is said,
gave him these very fine shirts ; and, when
her children were ill, it is said that she insisted
that they should wear the " holy tunics " of the
" Saint " so that they should not get worse.

It was in 1916 that the power of the mock-
monk attained its zenith.

Naturally on the occasion of his visit to England
some years ago, the German Emperor and his
suite — cunningly chosen with a view to such
functions — were there as spies, and not, as so
many nai've people believed, as friends.

Prince Henry of Prussia repeated one of his
spying tours and many other Germans avowed
their love for England publicly — and that with
good reason. Those journeys must have been
very profitable for them, and I myself have
no confidence in those who are alway reiterating
the small amount of interest they take in our
country, while living in it all the time — what
then are they doing in it ?

Among the number of those spies one must
evidently also count the Queen pf Greece, sister
of the Kaiser, who at Eastbourne on the eve
of the declaration of war, pretended to know

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 203

nothing about it, notwithstanding which she
managed to escape just in time. She must
therefore have been informed beforehand, or
at any rate at the last moment. Since then
she has but too much proved herself a fond
sister for it to be possible for us to be credulous ;
it is true that her affection has cost her her
throne, much it is said to her fury. In gratitude
the Kaiser, directly on her arrival in Switzerland,
opened an account at a Swiss Bank for her to
the amount of £50,000.

Naturally, as the secret agent of the Kaiser
in Russia, Rasputin was in constant communica-
tion with Berlin. They wished to get rid of
Brusiloff, then of Korniloff, but failed in the
two attempts at assassination, which annoyed
Berlin very much. What they desired was
the cessation of the great and victorious
offensive.

Monsieur Goutchkoff, director of the Committee
of War Industries, denounced the " Holy Father "
Rasputin to the Duma, but again he managed
to escape the consequences, and informed the
Emperor that Heaven would certainly take
revenge on him and on his heir for what he
himself had to endure.

And the poor deceived Emperor did not in
the least suspect that Protopopoff was a traitor
—that Protopopoff, who had come to England,
announcing himself as a friend, and then had
gone to France, being received everywhere with
a warm welcome — refusing to believe the man
to be so double-faced.

204 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Then the " Holy Father," as he was called,
told the Emperor that he would do well to mis-
trust Brusiloff, whom he knew to be a traitor
to his country, and insisted on this to such
an extent that the brave general was on the
point of being arrested a few days later.

He also poisoned the Emperor's mind against
Nebrasoff, the Minister of Communications, who
was dismissed, being a powerful obstacle to the
pro-German clique, and hindering their projects
of internal disorganization ; for they dreamed
not only of bringing about famine in different
parts of Russia, but also of sowing there, as well
as at the front, the most severe epidemics, the
dangerous germs of which were sent with great
care from Berlin, and distributed in the food
in the more populous districts, so that the result
should cause greater ravages. No excuses can
be found for the Empress, for I am assured that
Rasputin showed her every line of the corre-
spondence sent and received in exchange between
Berlin and her many agents. Not only did
she acquiesce in their intrigues, but she incited
them to more, encouraging them to make a
separate peace, and also to sow epidemics
and to create famine ; and all the while
German gold flowed into the hands of this
clique.

Nevertheless, Brusiloff had recommenced his
offensive, his successes being followed with
anguish at Berlin. Sturmer forced Rumania
to enter the war, knowing that she was not
ready. It was easy to invade her in spite of

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 205

the valour of her brave troops, and Russia
forgot one by one the promises made to her
new Allies, and did not come to her help. Then
came the great retreat, fruit of the intrigues of
traitors. Certain Russian generals had also joined
the side of the traitors. Mackensen won easy
laurels, and Sturmer, Protopopoff, Rasputin and
Co. hoped that the great retreat and the invasion
of Rumania would decide Nicholas II. to make
that famous " separate peace." These tools of
Germany, these creatures of the Kaiser's, hoping
for its accomplishment, were delirious with

Sturmer deceived his allies, talking loudly
of "no separate peace," while, as is known,
he was using all his energies in a contrary
direction.

But if the Court and so many of the great
ones of the earth knelt before Rasputin, they
did not all do so, and the masses had no belief
in him. They laughed at him, and this rascal,
who knew more than anyone the blackness of
his own soul, went about protected by a coat
of mail, for he was not without anxiety as to
what Fate had in store for him. If his days
sometimes gave the illusion of a veneer of piety,
his evenings were those of a libertine ; and,
if the women had gone mad about him, the
fathers, husbands and brothers had a mortal
grudge against him.

In Kerensky, a lawyer and a member of the
Duma, all this vermin scented danger ; they
wished to be rid of him, aware that he knew

206 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

rather too much about their secret acts and
their profits. An attempt was made to assas-
sinate him in the street, but this fresh scheme
of murder failed.

Then followed the accusations, but too well
justified, against General Sukhomlinoff. Grand
Dukes Nicholas, Dmitri and Serge got to work,
and wished to make the allegations public,
for matters would have been revealed, strangely
deplorable, strangely compromising, for the
clique of the " Saint " and his creatures, so
much so that it would have meant without
doubt the end of their reign, and their anxiety
was therefore great. This trial, again by their
intrigues, was deferred by the Emperor, and
was only opened up again since the fall of the
latter ; the General has been condemned to
imprisonment for life, on the grave charges made
against him when Minister for War.

The respite of the traitors was, however, not
of long duration, for Monsieur Miliukoff, sup-
ported by the same Grand Dukes, conceived the
project of unmasking the " Saint " before the
whole Duma. In vain was it tried to prevent
him, to arrest him, to kill him ; he was able to
escape from the nets spread for him and all
attempts failed against this new subject of their
apprehension, who, in a packed hall, before
most of the Ambassadors, and under the Presi-
dency of Monsieur Radzianko, made that
memorable interpellation unveiling what Ras-
putin and Co. really were, and gaining the
applause of the house — November 14, 1916 —

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 207

and the expression of a unanimous desire, as
it seemed, for the continuance of the war.

All Petrograd was stirred. There was a rush
for newspapers, but these, being censored, told
nothing ; private propaganda were organized
to make known the truth, and the speech was
distributed in a complete form.

CHAPTER XVIII

MONSIEUR RADZIANKO, as is
known, was elected President of
the third Duma, and again of the
fourth, that is to say, he was
President at the moment of the Revolution.
He married a Princess Galitzine, and was for-
merly in the Chevaliers-Gardes, considered the
first Russian regiment. Adored by the peasants
on his great estates, he was much in touch with
the Zemstvo Party, the friend of the peasants.
A great friend of Sir George Buchanan, our
late Ambassador, his dream for his country
was to have a ministry appointed by the Tzar,
though outside the Duma, responsible to and
dependent upon possessing and retaining its
confidence.

The Empress, in the Palace, breathlessly
awaited the result, devoured with anxiety as
to the issue which none of them had known
how to prevent.

The " Saint," seriously alarmed by the revela-
tions of Miliukoff — the only topic of conversation
in the capital — thought it prudent to make
himself scarce again, and departed on a so-called
' pilgrimage."

The Empress was in a terrible state, not only
on account of the interpellation, but because

208

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 209

since the departure of the scoundrel the con-
dition of her precious child seemed to have
become worse every day ; hence a desperate
summons to return. Madame Vyruboff had
evidently received orders to drug the poor boy
to such an extent that his condition should be
sufficiently serious to madden the poor anxious
mother.

The result of the denunciation was the fall
of Sturmer ; but he received a post at the Palace.
He was replaced by Trepoff, an honest man,
who at once announced his plan of action :
' No separate peace, and war on German
influence."

Nicholas II. had not the least idea that
Rasputin was the creature of the Kaiser, and
though his instinct did not allow him to regard
him with any favour, he bore with him, as I
have already said, for the sake of the Empress
and to avoid family scenes ; as he admitted
on one occasion : ' I would rather put up with
this man than have to endure five attacks of
hysterics a day."

It is certain that Alexandra Feodorovna was
ill, and that her nerves were more than shaken ;
action should have been taken and on this
pretext she should have been sent away. One
must admit that there was enough to make her
ill. Almost ever since her marriage, in any
case since the year before the first Revolution,
she lived in constant anguish, asking herself
continually what was going to happen to her
husband and children ; as regards that one

cannot blame her — on the contrary. It is said
that the Empress has sent her magnificent
jewels to Darmstadt, her native country, to
help the Germans continue the war.

Another dangerous spy of the Kaiser's at
Petrograd was Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-
Strelitz, on the best of terms naturally with
Rasputin, and also exercising a great influence
at the Palace and over the Empress. He had
naturalized himself Russian in 1914 ; but who
is more to be mistrusted than one who has been
" naturalized " ?

It was then — at the end of November 1916—
that Rasputin was more especially warned that
a plot had been made against him. The Grand
Duke Nicholas tried again to instil sense into
the Emperor, but in vain. And the scoundrel
paraded the so-called visions which he had never
had, alarming the Empress more and more on
the subject of her son, and continuing his work
of threatening his approaching death if the
famous separate peace were not signed. The
Empress had come to believe that if this peace
did not immediately become an accomplished
fact the Romanoffs were doomed ; and this
she wished to prevent.

Germany naturally wished much for this
peace ; but to-day has to use the greatest cir-
cumspection before accepting the proposals of
Lenin, whose government is recognized neither
by the Ambassadors of the Allied powers
nor by the Russian Ambassadors in Allied
countries.

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 211

The dark forces did their best to spread cholera
amongst the troops at the front, an epidemic
that was luckily stamped out almost at once,
to the great disappointment of those who had
instigated it. They then tried to poison the
Grand Duke Dmitri ; but that also failed.

On the i6th of December 1916, Rasputin was
invited by Prince Felix Yousoupoff to spend the
evening in his father's mansion, under the pre-
text of meeting a young woman who ardently
desired to become a " sister disciple." What
I do not understand is, why he should have
accepted the invitation, for he had been so
often warned against his would-be host. He
therefore arrived at the Prince's luxurious house,
and was received by him, but after a gay supper
was left tite-a-ttte with one of the Prince's friends
on the pretext of inspecting some objets d'art
which had attracted his notice previously.

The friend in question did the honours of the
princely house with affability, and offered
Rasputin wine — into which a strong admixture
of poison had been introduced !

The mock-monk sipped a few drops in the
manner of a connoisseur, which indeed he had
become, having accustomed himself to the taste
of the famous vintages of the Winter Palace,
and then addressing himself to his interlocutor
he appeared to be interested in some special
work of art on one of the tables in the room,
which the latter felt obliged to show him for
closer inspection. On returning to Rasputin's
side he noticed the monk had become paler

as he passed his hand across his face as if desirous
of concealing a strong pang of pain.

The Prince's friend positively held his breath,
keeping his eyes fixed on his prey as he noticed
the glass standing empty beside him ; he imagined
the inevitable was bound to follow quickly, as
the dose was a very strong one.

Upstairs, anxiety grew apace, many hearts
were palpitating, every one counting the seconds
which seemed eternal. Prince Felix Yousoupoff
was there with a few friends who had all sworn
to purge Russia, once and for all, of her evil
genius.

But, as it happened, at the end of a few minutes
the momentary sensation of discomfort seemed
to disappear and the rascal became quite him-
self again to the Prince's friend's amazement,
who began to wonder whether after all this
extraordinary man opposite him was in reality
entirely like other men, and not, as some
people affirmed, a demon or a sorcerer, gifted
with some wonderful and unknown power of
resistance. This man who had the power to
heal had also the facility to kill, so it was generally
believed. And there, in that room, the silent
witness of so many festivities of the past, was
about to be enacted the last scene of one of the
greatest dramas which had ever taken place in
the world's history.

Driven at last almost to despair, the hero
of the plot, anxious to conclude his task, drew
out his revolver and shot the " Saint " as he
gloated over the beautiful antiques ; but,

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 213

although wounded, Rasputin still had sufficient
strength to stagger into the hall and was on the
point of making his way to the street door as,
pale with pain and foaming with rage, he yelled
out : ' For you have tried to kill me, I will
revenge myself." Upon which the hearer re-
newed his attack, emptying the contents of his
revolver into the " Saint's " head — and breathed
again freely once more, as this time the " monk "
was indeed dead. Then was uttered one general
shout of joy from the little group of the Prince's
friends assembled not far off, although in con-
cealment during the tragedy. Rasputin had
fired several times, but, as he was very drunk,
I was told he only killed a dog.

Prince Felix Yousoupoff, on hearing the first
shot, had rushed down the stairs and discharged
his revolver ; but it is said that owing to ner-
vousness his hand shook and missed proper
aim, and it was his friend who gave the coup
de grdce.

It was afterwards discovered that Rasputin,
profiting by his companion's momentary absence,
had emptied the contents of his glass into a
vase on one of the pieces of furniture which
stood close by ; this, either from distrust or
because he had already indulged in too numerous
libations.

It has been said that Rasputin was only killed
in order to make clear whether it was really
he who was guilty of all that had happened,
or whether things would go on the same after
his death. But it seems to me that his death

214 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

came too late, and his evil work had been so
well started that with or without him matters
could no longer move up against the stream—
they could only follow the current on which
they had been started.

And there, in the great Neva, all black in the
dark night, they threw beneath the ice the body,
at last reduced to impotence, of him who had
been the bane of the great Empire, cold in death
as the deep icy water that engulfed it.

During a whole week every one wondered
what could have become of Rasputin and why
he had disappeared so suddenly and mysteriously ;
the Court camarilla, his friends and the pro-
German coterie were at their wits' ends con-
cerning him.

When the body at last was found, the Empress
came to prostrate herself before the remains,
showing the most violent sorrow, going after-
wards each day to pray at his tomb and invoking
the most terrible vengeance on his murderers.

These had been traced ; and Nicholas II.
left her free to inflict on them whatever punish-
ment she chose.

The Grand Duke Dmitri was sent to the
Persian front, and Prince Yousoupoff and his
son were exiled to their estates, for it was not
at that time easy to inflict a heavier sentence
on such important people as the Grand Duke
and his accomplices.

The Empress could not indeed by punishment
slake the thirst of her soul for vengeance, and
the unhappy mother was maddened by dread,

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 215

only increased with the passing hours, of the
realization of the sinister words of the dead
man : "If disaster happens to me and I die,
the Tzarevitch will die forty days, hour for
hour, after me ! "

The hour of the Revolution of March 10, 1917,
struck ; the Emperor being at the time at the
Front, the moment had been well chosen, or
rather arranged. The red rag of revolt was
carried in triumph above the heads of a delirious
crowd ; ensigns on monuments and everything
that could recall an Empire were burned in the
great fires lighted in the streets. The Emperor
started to return precipitately to the Empress
and his children at the Palace of Tsarkoe-Celo,
where all the Imperial children were suffering
from measles. His first thought was of resist-
ance, and to send his troops against the rebels
of Petrograd.

The Grand Duke Nicholas, then Commander-
in-Chief in the Caucasus, and General Alexieff,
Chief of the General Staff, siding with the Duma,
insisted on the abdication of Nicholas II.,
seeing in that act the only chance of salvation
for Russia, and accordingly telegraphed their
decision to Miliukoff who had just been appointed
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The nation knew little or nothing of the course
that events had taken, and the abdication was
only the desire of a few scores of men ; now,
many deem it a great mistake.

Generals Russky and Brusiloff also telegraphed
to Miliukoff, stating the adhesion of the armies

216 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

to the new regime, and declaring that all was
well.

Grand Duke Michael-Alexandrovitch, brpther
of Nicholas II., was nominated Regent, but
without delay made it known that he would
only accept the Regency with the approval
of the people. This never came ; of course
the people did not have a chance of expressing
an opinion ; Kerensky seized the reins of govern-
ment and what followed is only too well known.

At first every one was contented with the
Revolution ; it was hailed as a saviour by those
who thought themselves free from the pro-
German clique. Matters went well, everything
seemed new-born, but when once anarchy broke
through its bounds faces began to lengthen,
-and a feeling of despair arose — which feeling
has gone on increasing ever since.

To-day in the depths of her exile, and in her
invalid's chair, Alexandra Feodorovna wears
mourning for happier days, in the depths of
that Siberia to which she never dreamt she
herself would be deported one day, that Siberia
that she at least has so well deserved by her
ignoble treachery, and where she has been sent
as a precautionary measure in case of a reac-
tionary movement. And there near the birth-
place of her hero now dead, she still mourns
more than all else the disappearance of the
" Saint." " All this was bound to happen,"
she says. " It is the just vengeance for the
' Holy Father,' the Romanoffs must end and
perish." The Russian people accused the

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V •>,<•-

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 217

Empress of bringing bad luck to everyone;
but even at Darmstadt she was considered a
bird of ill-omen.

As for Nicholas II. he has become com-
pletely imbecile, if rumour is correct, and will
never recover his reason ; the best thing that
could have happened, perhaps, as far as he is
concerned.

During his imprisonment at Tsarkoe-Celo,
the revolutionary party was obliged often to
change the soldiers who guarded him in order
to be sure of their fidelity to the new regime,
so great was known to be the ascendancy of
the " Little Father " over his soldiers.

When he left the Palace for exile, many people
knelt and piously crossed themselves as he
passed, just as they would had they been shown
a holy picture with miraculous powers. That
which had been the religion of these humble
people, they retained still for their Emperor
who was losing his throne through his family
affections, obstinacy and weakness.

The outcome of the first Revolution had for
result the creation of the Duma, which was
intended to be the Saviour and Regenerator
of the Empire — it has witnessed its end. Gapon,
the idol of the masses, the precursor of Rasputin,
appears no more but as a shadow pale, and
fugitive.

The outcome of the second Revolution has
been the fall of the- Romanoffs and the institu-
tion of a self-styled Republic, which it was said
would bring glory in the field of battle and

218 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

happy liberty to a great people. I never
believed it.

May the damaged walls of the Kremlin express
to this great people — whose passions were being
let loose at the same time that they were being
deceived — the shame felt by them at the sight
of the blood spilt around them, blood shed among
brothers by a Revolution which has brought
them only a civil war and mortal struggles,
and will soon have produced more victims than
all the Romanoffs together have done with
their sentences of exile to Siberia — many but
too well deserved, though accounted to them
as a crime.

May a Romanoff worthy of the name that
he bears rally the real Russia — she who endures
and is silent, not being able to do more for the
moment — and so make of her again a great
power worthy of respect and gaining it, the
terror of her ignoble neighbour, Germany — and
not her vassal.

That is my most heart-felt wish, and also
my most sincere prayer for that great country
which is a little mine, and which from the bottom
of my heart I love as my second country.

Inquire of an anti-Semite the meaning of the
Russian Revolution, and he will expose to you
the whole of the Jewish drama which unfolds
itself in all its force before you. It is a fact
that ever since the Revolution of March all
the various Governments which have succeeded
each other so rapidly have in every instance
been profitable to the Jews only and have done

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 219

their utmost to upset all the opposing barriers
which the ancien regime had deemed good for
Russia — by setting these up as a rampart
against their invading greed. Now that General
Allenby has accomplished what Richard Coeur
de Lion and the whole of Christendom failed to
do — namely, the conquest of Jerusalem from the
Turk — it makes one hope that the time has
come about for them all to s'en alter caravaner
back whence they came so many centuries ago.

' Lorsque la grande guerre ou le grand soir
revolutionnaire auront passe sur le monde, il
ne restera plus dominant toutes ces ruines que
la Banque juive."

The above is a quotation from the great
Russian author Dostoievsky, which my father,
Monsieur Gaudin de Villaine, Senateur de la
Manche, and one of the most valiant leaders of
the Right in the French Senate, has made use
of on more than one occasion in his interpella-
tions when addressing that body and in an article
which was of course boycotted by the Press.
It seems to justify itself more forcibly every
day.

With the exception of Lenin, who is not a
Jew and whose real name is Ullianoff — others
say Lehrann and that he is a German — all
the members of the Direction of the Soviets
are Jews sailing under assumed Russian names.
Thus, Trotsky's real name is Braunstein and
that of the miserable wretch Zenovieff, who is
one of the most active German agents, is really
Apfelbaum — and so on !

220 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

Lenin comes from a revolutionary stock, his
brother having been hung in 1887 for conspiring
against the Tzar Alexander III.

I have some Russian cousins living in Italy,
where they have been for a great many years,
and I hear that according to Lenin's laws they
are considered as emigrants, consequently their
property in Russia has been confiscated, and
should they return they would be imprisoned.

Krylenko, appointed by Lenin as generalissimo
of the Russian Army, is a man of very mediocre
intelligence ; he was up to a few months ago
residing near Montreux in Switzerland and
was merely a lieutenant of the reserve of the
Russian Army. He is not a Jew, but he is
known by his friends as Father Abraham, a
sobriquet of which he is very proud.

The great Russian people appear to me like
a huge ball sent helter-skelter, rolling down a
slide from an eminence — the slide is the
Revolution.

One Government will continue to replace
another until the abyss of anarchy is reached.
Germany's plan and interest are therefore to
help all the smaller separatist non-Russian people,
Finland, etc., to stand on their own feet as free
political entities and autonomies.

May this revolutionary night not delay much
longer to envelop the country of the German
Kaiser, whose greatest pleasure seems to be
in shaking and overturning the various thrones
of the earth in order to consolidate on their
ruins his own — a dangerous game to play, for

RASPUTIN : INFLUENCE AND WORK 221

the revolutionary mirage develops into a very
virulent germ once spread amongst a discon-
tented populace.

This Emperor of whom a German diplomat
before the war once said jokingly : " If he goes
to a christening he wants to be the child ; if
to a marriage he wants to be the bridegroom ;
and if to a funeral he wants to be the corpse ! "

To-day this Emperor has been nick-named
the " Red Kaiser," the War Kaiser, the Kaiser
of the Ruins, the Kaiser of the Massacres, and
of all the horrors which have been committed.

But, vengeance will come, and justice will
make itself felt. Sooner or later, vengeance
must come.

That which is not generally known, but what
I know authoritatively, is that France might
have obtained for herself and her Allies a separate
peace with Austria. The brothers of the Empress
of Austria were educated in France and are very
French at heart, they had gone so far as to open
peace negotiations through the intermediary of
the Vatican, and all would have gone well had
it not been for the regrettable pride of the Italians
and the Masonic Lodges !

And to-day, December 1917, before closing
these pages, I look back once more in the direc-
tion of the dear great Russia and I salute her ;
there, towards the great Steppe beneath its
almost perpetual whiteness, where the silence
makes itself felt ; towards the luminous and
pure atmosphere of the beautiful country of
the Don Cossacks, where there seems still to be

222 ONE YEAR AT THE RUSSIAN COURT

a ray of hope, perhaps, if only it could assert
itself and render back to the moujik his religion
venerated in his izba during centuries past,
not only his sacred pictures, but afar, in a dream
of purple and gold his God, his All — a Tzar !

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