The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-09-23

were going to get through this severe
trial with credit, suddenly found them
selves entirely at home and comforta-
BILE. ..-.
The 15.minutes audience pleasantly
augmented itself to half an hour, and
then, instead OF dismissing the guests,
the Autocrat of all the Russias and his
family transformed themselves into
ushers, and led our tribe into the pal
ace diuing-roOm, into the library, the
private chapel, the sitting-rooms, pri-
yate writing-room-all over the estab-
lishment, in fact: cannot recollect
half the places. There was no hurry;
there were plenty of attia BILE Dukes and
Princes, and Admirals to answer ques-
tions, and this part of the programme
iusensibly wore out another hah hour,
and something over. When there was
nothing more to see, the Imperial famt-
ly bade the guests good-by "till to-
morrow" and we departed for the pal
ace of the Grand Duke Michael. The
young Grand Duchess, however, went
10 another door and bowed at the party
in detail as they passed by. II you
have ever called on an Emperor you
will remember that little attentions not
strictly in the bill were the very ones
that went furthest toward making you
feel com Portable. That young girls
pleasant face, its expression of friendly
interest, and her timid bow, were not
calculated to make any one feel like Il
tiresome nuisance. In my own case 1
know this was so. II struck me forci-
bly, at the time that had seldom felt so
little like a nuisance before.
1t is singular, but for the moment
forgot that before all this leaVe-taking
occurred we were invited to the palace
of the crown-prinCe of Russia (aged
twenty, and shown all through it with
the same absence of hurry as was the
case Rt his fathers mansion.
A drive of twenty miles brought us
to the beautiful park and gardens and
the elegant palace OF the Grand-Duke
Michael. The first persons we saw
there werethe Empress and her daugh-
ter. They had come by IL nearer road,
l suppose. Whether justly or not, we
chose to consider this as mark that
they were not altogether tired ofus yet.
The introduction 10 the Grand Duke
and the Duchess were hardly over
when the Emperor arrived himself
This was about as cheerful as it could
be. He caught up his brothers. little
children and kissed them afiectionate-
ly. I could not help noticing that, be-
cause 1t wns so little like what we had
reason TO expect from the stern Russian
Bear we read about so much.
The Grand Duchess was as simply
dressed as the Empress-was gentle
and unreserved, and as ready to talk
with everybody. Her husband was
Just like her in these respects-a splen-
did looking man, over six feet high,
well formed, and endowed with as
kingly presence as one could wish 10
see. He wore handsome Cossack uni
form, and looked the military COM
mander to charm. He 1t was VINO
who crushed out, in a two months cam
pnign, the Caucasian war, that had
lasted sixty years, and won the covot-
L Al T,EN lao NrrF 4
George-the only man who has been su
decorated in two hundred years. 1t is
a distinction that can be achieved, but
the terms are not easy-dauntless Cour-
age, exalted military genins, and-suc-
cess. ....
There was but little ceremony here.
We were shown through the paiace in
the free-and-easy way we had already
got accustomed to, and then our friends,
the Princes, and Generals, and Baron
esSes, conducted the gang all about the
lawns and groves OF the park. l en-
joyed it. l had reached my level at
last. If there is one thing that l am
naturally fitted for, 1t Is to converse
with Dukes. l got along well. They
could not understand the subtletles of
an American joke, it is true, and SO
they generally laughed in the wrong
place. However, it wasn't any mat
ter-they were inferior JOKES anyhow,
and some of them very old.
Some of us fingered in the groands n
good while, and when we got back we
found the balance of the mob scattered
about the reception room and verHn-
dahs, sitting at little tables, and drink
ing tea and wine and eating bread and
cheese and cold meats with the Grand
Duke, who ate at one table awhile and
then at another, and kept the conversa-
ton and the destruction OF provisions
going with Il zeal which was perfectly
astonishing in the brother of an Em-
peror. I did not suppose that the
brothers of autccrats were SO much like
other people. Some people have curl
Gus ways about item. This sort OF
thing may have suited His Imperial
Highness, but il were II Grand Duke
wouldn't eat with those vArletS. As
the circumstances stood, however, L
took hand. They give you n lemon
to squeeze into your tea there, or iced
milk if you prefer it. The former is
best. The Grand Dukes tea was deli
cious. 1t is brought overland from
China. 1t Injuries the article to trans
bort it by sea.
Well, to cnt a long story short, 1t
was chatty, sociabIe tea-party, and
free from restraint. Whoever chose
got up and walked about and talked,
and in all human probability would
have been allowed to whistle II he had
mic all through, from the time we left
the ship till we got back again. We
had spent nearly half a day with tine
beads of the Russian Empire, and it
had seemed as If we were merely visit
ing u party of ordinary friends.-
There was not one of them but had
said the kindest things about America,
and said them with an earnestness that
proved their sincerity-not one but had
done everything he could TO make us
feel contented and at home. / fear for
our less liberal hospitality. II they
visit the ships they will find sign up i:
I "So smoking abaft the wheep'-but
the Grand Duke passed around his box
of cigars in his own reception room.
And there was another incident that
shows how little he was inclined 10 put
on airs, and how genuine the seeming
cordiality of our reception was. This
Iordly brother of an Emperor, AMI
himself sub-chief of half au empire,
came down on his horse to Yalta, three
miles, when we first came ashore, and
escorted our procession all the way 10
the palace, keeping sharp look -out.
and dispatching his aids hither aud
thither to furnish assistance whenever
IL was needed; and, being dressed in
an unpretentious uniform m, nobody ever
suspected who he was until we recog-
nized him in his own palace. doubt
IL he goes about escortIng rabble of
plain civilians every day.
By invitation we visited the the En-
press's yacht this morning, and after
ward brought back the captains of that
vessel and one of the Emperor's yachts
to breakf fast with US. We have visitors
on board all the time, and If we only
had the boundless politeness these
Russians are naturally gifted with we
could entertain them we'll They are
IL n, MI