New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-09-16

| the Grand Duke Alexis, the Czarevitcn' suu o W.
younger sons of the Emperor. Just ociore Tue gun
was fired they moved away from the wi"uo"S' anu
| he saw them no more.
l. otwaon tho Master of Ceremonies and the I'M
perial family there is an array of gaudiy dressed
chamberlains marshals of the household gentlemen
| ~ tho chamber and the like BEHIND them Walk
| 4ba Fu,neror and Empress, the former IN the uni-
| form of a general of the Guard ana wearing Inc
Grand Cross of st. Andrew, and the iat'er III nus
| ion costume with yellow train-silk woven with
| oold-supported by four chamberialns linen
con,es the Minister Of the household OF the Emperor
and an Aide-de- Camp General and then the Care
witch and his graceful wife, then the Grand Duke
| and Grand Duchess Of Mecklenburg Schwerin, and
tben the bridal pair. The bride wore her Grand
Ducal crown. and was dressed like most brides, in
white. with mantle Of pink velvet-or, as
Russian lady called it, relours cranoS double dher-
mine and with train in which silver took the place
of the gold in that Of the Empress. The train was
| supported by four Chamberlans, and borne by the
Master of the Court Of the bridegroom. The bride,
like the Empress and the Czarevna, had profuson
of the finest point lace about her head, and there
was enough lace in the party to make the fortune OF
| an ordinary dealer.
Behind these important personsges came Alexis
and the other sons of the Emperor, then the Grand
Duke Constantine and his sons, then the Grand
Duke Nicholas and his sons and the Grand Duke
Michel and his sons The Grand Duchesses Alexan-
dra, Olga and Anastasie are in their proper
places, and so are tho Grand Duchesses
Marie and Catherine. Next in the column. after the
Russian family. came the relatives of the bride in
their proper order. and then several Russian
princes, whose relation to the Romanoff family
entitled them TO places. Their names are not
widely known TO fame, and therefore / omit
them from this recital. :. Behind these per-
sons came the ladies OF honor OF the
Russian and the Mecklenburg- Schwerin Courts.
While we are gazing about the masters OF ceremo-
MES give warning that the procession is coming and
we settled quietly into our places. The chapel IS
small SO that not more that fifth or sixth of the
persons invited to the Palace are able to witness the
| ceremony. Everybody stands in Russian church,
Emperor and peasant alike. While the ceremony
goes on it would be impote to move. and no matter
how great the fatigue we must endure it as best we
| can
| The Metropolitan of the Holy Orthodox Church of
Russia meets the Emperor in front Of the altar as
the latter separates from the Empress who steps to
the right hand while he steps slightly to the left.
1t is the duty of the Emperor to kiss the hand OF the
Metropolitan he does it gracefully, and as he does
so the high priest of the church kisses the En-
peror's hand in return. Then the Emperor
makes the customary bow before the altar and
the marriage follows after the form of the
Russian Church. The Emperor leads the couple to
the elevated place before the altar and then returns
to his proper place the floor of the chapel. The
service begins at and proceeds solemnly to the
end The prayers are read and intoned, and the
ch chant of the choir fills the chapel and rolls away
through to the halls of the Palace. until lost III
the distance. At the proper moment step for
ward the Grand Duke Alexis and the brother OF the
bride. The former holds the crown over the head
of Marie and the latter the crown over the head OF
Vladimir. 1t is tiresome work, and the Grand Du-
cal arms soon show signs of WEAKNESS and there Is
shifting of hands. But not for q moment do the
crowns get out of position until the time comes for
resting them on the heads of the pair.
During the services the members of the Turkish
Legation removed the fez from their heads, an incl
dent which was observed by all present. According
to the Mohammedan theory the fez is never re-
moved and the action of these gentlemen must be
regarded as a very great concession to Occidental
custom. "Ths Is the second time ever saw them
do it, said Gen. PomutZ; the first occasion was at
the funeral of our Minister Mr.. Orr. All of
them stood with their heads uncovered, and there
was great deal of comment on their doing So"
When the Te Deum is reached the cannon Of the
fortress are again heard and 1Ol shots fred The
man and wife return their thanks to the Emperor
and Empress and, at the end of the services, the
congratulations of the High Clergy and the
Holy Synod are extended to Vladimir and
his bride. Near the end OF the prayers
tho Masters of Ceremonies request the Corps
Dplomatique to proceed to the Alexander Hall,
where the Lutheran service is to be celebrated The
bride has not changed her religion in order to enter
the Russian family; she is not expected to be the
mother of aprnce who can ever inherit the throne
and therefore the same necessity did not exist in
her case as in that of the Princess Dagmar when
about to marry the Czarevitch She remains Luz
theran, and therefore the ceremony of to-day was
double one.
We wait some time in the Alexander Hail. which
contains simple altar placed there during our abb
sence. Our waiting is caused by the congratula-
tons to the married pair, and we enter into
yersation once more, and move about little to the
advantage of our stifened limbs. Then comes the
premonitOry SSH" We become silent and take
our places and the staff of the master of
ceremonies with its bearer, and then the cOrtege
before The Lutheran serviceis performed in German
the Imperial parents kiss bride and bridegroom, and
the stepmother of the bride kisses her. says some
thing to her In low voice and reluctantly leaves
her. As the new wife takes the hand of her young
husband she cannot keep back the tears that fill her
eyes, tears that continue to flow as the procession
reforms in the order as it entered, files out of
the chapel and through the other halls to the I'm
perial apartments where 1t began its march two
| hours before The ceremony is over, and we can
| leave the palace at our leisure
| At five o'clock there was banquet at the pal
ace, strictly ceremonial affair, in honor
| of the wedding. Toasts were drunk to the
| Emperor and Empress to the married couple,
| to the Grand Duke and Duchess of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin, to the Imperial family and their guests
and lastly to the clergy and all the faithful subiects