New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-01-31
Whnt Alexis Thinks of Us.

The St. Petersburg correspondent of the
Baltic Gasettc has seen advanced sheets OF
the first volume of the Grand Duke Alexis
account of his voyage around the world
This first volume is exclusively devoted to
a description OF the Grand Dukes adven
lures in the United States. The above
mentioned correspondent writes as follows
about it:
This is certainly very curious work.
To Judge from what l have read of it
whether his imperial highness wrote it, or
whether an able pen did 1t for him-the
book is intensely interesting. The Grand
Duke says his reception in New York al
gnost stupefied him. Up TO the last moment
he had not thought 50 brilliant reception
would be rendered in republican America
to the son of a monarch. He was very
weak when he landed in New York, and,
during his progress up Broadway, frequent
Iy felt like fainting. But everybody was
so kind to him that he tried hard to look
pleased, as he was in his hear of hearts.
Broadway, he says, in his opinion, is the
finest thoroughfare 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 regular Russian anthem,
but the sO-called "Dirge of st. Catharine,"
which is played in Russia only at the fu-
neral of member of the Imperial family.
The cheers of the people were more deaftn-
ing than any he had head in Europe, from
which he playful concludes that lung dis
ease can not be prevalent in the New
World AS to the soldiery, tho variety of
uniforms struck him as extremely odd. He
says he saw, peacefully side by side, hel
meted Prussians and "kapied' Frenchmen,
relocated Englishmen, and Irish troops
bearing the banner Of the Green Isle.
The Grand Duke can not praise too highly
American hotels, American fare, he thinks,
however, is too rich. There is at their
tables" he exclaims, naiveiy, "always too
much of a good thing. | asked for the
hotel they could not give me any. Their
cooks were Italian and French. The land
lord shrugged his shoulders when | asked
him about it. Out West, however. my de-
sire was at once gratitied. | dined one day
on baked pork and beans, a very palatable
dish which would certainly bear trans
planting to Russia"
American manners, The Grand Duke
thinks, are little awk ward and angular,
but decidedly pleasant on account Of every
body's fraBkness. He tells a number of
curious anecdotes on his experiences with
the aborigines. In Washington he was
told that the Irish servant girls at the resi-
dehce of M. Catacazy were dying to see
him. He put on a cap and an old travelling
cloak and went unheraded down into the |
kitchen among them. He was not recog- |
nized by the Biddies, and chatted with |
them for half an hour He found out that
one of them had an idea of where Russia
was situated, and one of the girls even
asked him if the Gar always wore
a crown on his head, adding that
she knew the Queen of England al
ways did. Equally amusing is the
account of his reception at Omaha. in Ne
braska, where a member of the Legislature
congratulated him on the successes OF his
ather in the war with France. Another
legislator of that State wanted to know if
{ was always cold in Russia.
These funny episodes in the West, how
'ver, were amply made up for by the ex-
RENE kindness and consideration with
which the army officers there treated The
Srand Duke. For General Custer and HE
subordinate officers the Grand Duke has
words of the warmest graf tude. General
listers photograph is published IN the
olume, which is most sumptuously printed
nd profusely illustrated. Only few hun
red copies of the book will be issued