St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-01-06
flor the Children.
The Porter's Iron Collar.

About sixteen miles from St. Peters
burg, in the midst of wide plain,
stands the Cars country palace of
Tsarsk0e Sclo (Czar's Village), the
great park of which is very pretty
place in fine summer weather. All
through June and July, you may see
the Russian children running about un
der the trees by scores, with a shouting
and laughing that would do the Cars
heart good to hear, if he were any
where within reach. In every shady
spot you are pretty sure to find a pic
mic party making merry on the grass,
with two or three we'll filled lunch
baskets beside them and when you
come to the little summer houses near
the lake, you will most likely find at
least half dozen people i'll each, gath
cred around big bowl of prOstokUash,
which is the Russian name for curds
and cream.
This lake is one of the great "sights"
of the park, for it has boat house fill
ed with a model of every kind of boat
in the world, down to Greenland fish
ing boats and POlynesian war canoes /;
and when they are all sent floating
over the lake after dark, hung with
colored lamps, they make very fine
show indeed. But there is something
even better worth seeing little far
ther on, and that is the palace muse
um, filled with strange presents which
have been given to the Russian Cars
by various kings, savage or civilized,
from jeweled sword presented by the
first Napoleon to "A Persian carpet sent
by the Ameer of BOkhara.
On table near the door lies very
curious relic, which every one who
comes in notices at once. 1t is a large
silver dish, rolled up like sheet of
paper, so as to make a kind of funnel ;
and if you ask the old soldier who
shows the museum how it came to be
twisted up like that, he will give a
knowing grin, and ask if you even
heard of Count Gregory OrlOff.
This Gregory OrlOff was a Russian
count who lived about hundred years
ago, and was not only count, but an
admiral as well, though there were peO-
pie who said that if he had hadto man
age the feet himself, instead of having
three or four excellent naval command
/ ers to help him, he would have made a
, poor Job of it. But whatever donbts
, there might be about his seamanship
there could be none about his strength
for he was one of the largest and most
| powerful men in Russia. Like many
other giants, he was, perhaps, just a
little too fond of showing off his great
! strength. Nothing pleased him more
= than to bend horse shoe between his
d. fingers, or pull out of the ground 3
D stake which no one else could move
b and if one of his sailors turned mntin
= Gus, and began to make a noise, Orlof
D would Just take him by the throat, anG
f shake him as cat shakes a mouse, af
= ter which the brawler was usually quie
e enough.
s Now, it happened that one night thii
G strong handed admiral was at an even
: ing party at the palace, and az he wa
g handing a bouquet of flowers 10 one o
: the ladies, the silver paper which wa
e wrapped around it slipped off. Orloi
said nothing, but stepped to the sup
# per table, and taking up silver dish
II rolled it up like a piece of paper, pu
: the bouquet into it, and handed it t.
|, the lady and this is the dish you Sc
Ii in the museum.
j. Not long after this, OrlOff arrived il
II st. Petersburg from journey, and wa
l. met at his own door by a messenge
al from the palace, who told him that tn
Is Empress particularly wished to Sc
d him, and that he must go to her a
once. Some men would have waite
4 to put on their finest clothes, and t
D. make themselves look quite gay an
L. dandified but the admiral was used t
to obey ing orders at once, and of b
Id started for the palace, just as he WAS.
is Now, while the admiral had bee
he journeying, there had come to the pal