Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1874-01-24
What the Grand Duke Alexis Says
~ ''' about tho Yankees.
From the Cincinnati Gazette

The st. Petersburg correspondent O.
the Baltic Gazette has seen advance
sheets of the first volume of the Crane
Duke Alexiss account of his voyage
around the world. This first volume
} is exclusively devoted to a description
of the Grand Dukes adventures in the
United States Tho above mentioned
correspondent writes as follows about
i it:
This is certainly a very cnrious
work. To judge from what | have
read Of it-whether his Imperial
Highness wrote it himself, or whether
an ADLER pen did it for him-the bool.
is intensely interesting. The Grand
Duke says that his reception in New
York almost stupe6ed him. Up to
the last moment he had not thought
that so brilliant an ovation would be
rendered in republican America to the
son Of monarch. He was very weak
when he landed in New York, and
during his progress up Broadway fire.
quently felt like fainting. But every
body was so kind to him that he tried
to look pleased, as he was in his heart
of hearts. Broadway, he says, in his
opinion, is the finest thoronghfare in
the world, because everything there
houses, shops, and the people--look
not monotonous but gay, lively, and
bright. What amused him perhaps
more than anything else was that the
bands, upon catching sight of him,
struck up, not the Russian anthem,
but the so-called "Dirge Of st. Cath
crime" which was played in Russia
only at the funerals o. a member of
the imperial family! The cheers of
the people were more dcafening than
any ho had heard in Europe, from
which he playfully concludes that
lung diseases cannot be very prevalent
in the New World. AS to the soldi-
cry, the variety of uniforms struck
him as extremely odd. He says he
saw, peacefully, side by side helmcted
Prussians and "kepied" F'renchmen,
red,coated rec! Englishmen and Irish
The Grand Duke cannot praise too
highly American hotels. American
fare he thinks, however, is too rich.
"There is at their tables" he exclailad
naively, "always too much OF a good
thing. l asked for the peculiar dishes
of America, and at the hotel th'y'
could not give me any. Their cooAs
were Italian French. The landlord
shrugge his shoulders when asked
him about it. Out West, however,
nay desire was at once gratllleI. !
dined one day on baked pvrk and
beans, very palatable dish, whici
would certainly bear transplantlng to
Russ'a." "
Amer,.. '..r' '.@ ''.u"' ''.''
thinks, are /. T.. ..:aa.rj 4". ..al-I
lar, but decided. + p'o*Gt.n 'oaHt
of everybody's frankness. tie tells a
number of curious anecdotes Of his OK
periences with the aborigines. In
Washington he was told that the Irish
servant girls at the residence Of NJ.
Catacazy We're dying to see him. He
put on a cap and an old travelling
coat, and went unheralded down into
the kitchen among them. He was
not recognized by tie Biddies, and
chatted with them for half an hour.
He found out that not one Of them had
an idea Of where Russia was situated,
and one of the girls even asked him
if the Cazr always wore a crown on
his head, adding that she knew the
Queen of England always did.
Equally amusing is the account of his
reception at Omaha, Neb., where
member of the Legislature congratu
lated him on the successes of his father
in the war with France! Another
legislator of that State wanted to know
if it was always cold in Russia.
These funny episodes of the West,
however, were amply made up tor by
the extreme kindness and consdear-
ton with which the army officers were
treated by the Grand Duke. For
Gen. Custer and his subordinates the
Grand Duke has words of the warmest
gratitude. Gen. Clusters photograph
| is published in the volume, which is
most sumptuous!y printed and pro-
fusely illustrated. Only a few hun
dred copies of the book will be issued.
ecE- Sanction NEWTON BOOTH. of