The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-03-28
THE CzAR's BROTHER.
The Most Intelligent Member Of the Ro-
manof Family-Hh Manner Of Life.
fLopdon World.)

The huge mass Of granite building known
as the Marble Palace vt 1t. Petersburg, stand-
Ing on the Palace Quay, IN y line with the I'm
periAl residence and the HeJm JmitH9e, II the
abode Of the Grand Duke Constantine, the
second son Of the Emperor Nicholas, aud q
man Of whom Prince Bismarck ID reported to
have observed that no has the sOundest
brains VI any male descendant Of Peter the
Great. In tastes, habits aid appearance the
Grand Duke is q thorough Engli1hman 0f the
student or scientific IT, pc. He WAS standing
one day on the pier vt Ryde. when an Ameri-
can tourist, lately landed In England, and
observed: Nov, that is . thoro.lgh speci-
men Of your English aristocrat. There ID no
other country whose nobility produces such y
vigorous bnild joined TO the highest standard
Of education"
perial brother, no still towers above an ordi-
nary crowd and his auburn hair, fair healthy
complexion, and light blue near ar-stYhted eyes
with light eyelashes always peepln9 through
spectacies, bear q strong reseInblnnce ~ his
fathers. But his thoughtful, Intellectual ex-
preston has nothing of the absorbing melan-
choly which was allnost NJ visiblein Nicholas
In his later days as It IL In the present EDpe-
|rOr; and one can hardly be surprised that
Nicholas, early recognizing tho superior abil-
with the hereditary tendency to hypochondiia
which had already begun to show Itself In
Alexander, should have ardently hoped that
his eldest son and Queen Victoria might 10 30
mutually attracted In their young unmar-
ried days, when they met ut Windsor, as to
enable him to make d comfortable settlement
In England for his tirst-bOrn IN the position Of
Prince Oonsort, while bequeathing to Constan-
tine the throne Of Russia.
The Grand Duke i0 musician OF some
skill, and his house is the chiet fashionable
resort Of artists, authors and scientific men
at Ut. Petersburg. Although the Emperor is
fond Of conversation, q troublesome affection
In his throat makes articulation difficult and
painful. Consequently the presence Of hts
brother at the dinner table iB no small relief.
The Grand Duke has had q heavy trial In his
eldest son, whose extraordinary folliee have,
on more than one occasion, caused him TO be
placed under restraint as insane, and who has
Tor the last three years only been kept quiet
by being employed on q nominal survey In
Central Asia. His eldeetdanghter is married
to the King Of Greece; and his youngest
daughter Vera, who had been adopted by
her aunt, the Queen OF Wurts mburg, was
married to prince Of that house In 1873, but
has already been left d widow with twin
daughters. His second SOD. a remarkably
fine young man, is Ia the Russian navy, and
excited much admiration In Paris when he
visited the Exhibition III 1873, on his way from
Biarritz. where the Grand Duchess COnstan-
tine, VINO 10 an invalid, chiefly resides. The
Grand Duke at St. Petersburg lives the life Vt
q busy statesman more than OK man OF
pleasure. He has encouraged temperance asD-
ciettee to establish branches in Russia, and In
the cOldeet parts Of the winter has opened q
kitchen In his palace, where hot tea has been
given away to all who chose to come Tor 1t.