Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-10-10
TILE WINTER PALACE.
Magnificence of the Home Of the Czn,
OfAIi the Russias,

of All the lusbths
A letter to the San Francisco ChroRt-
c7e from st. Petersburg says: Scarce as
money is and polr as are the mass OF
people, there is enough to keep up
certain style, especially in the royal
palaces and public buildings Thanks
to the courtesy Of G. NJ. Hutton, the
United States vice consul general, who |
was in charge of the consulate, we OBJ
tained permission to 60 over the Win
ter palace, favor not always granted
to strangers. 1t is huge building OF
brown stone and covers large area,
each of the sides Git is neatly square,
measuring some 450 feet but it is not
more than ninety feet high, and the
heavy cornice that forms an almost ,ln'
broken line round the top still further
detracts from the height, Placed on
this cornice are a large number OF
statues, which it requires no great
stretch of imagination to conceive to
be persons endeayoring to escape from
destruction by the way of the roof, SO
jumbled up are they with the chimneys'
The genera! effect Of the building,
which only dates from 1889, would be
poor were it not for its size, which, to
some extent, makes up for want OF
ARCHITECTURAL grandeur. The interior Is
also devoid of any special architecture
features, and there is no grand stair
case. 1t is simply huge square box,
divided up into rooms, but some OF
these are truly magnificent, and when
filled with the flower of Russian So
ciety, as they are at state receptions
during the winter season, must look
grand indeed. Peters thrOne.room,
with silver chandeliers, red tinted
walls, and highly decorated dome )
union hall, with gilded columns the
thrOne-room with its massive marble
pillars and gold chandeliers and the
plate-room, with crystal chandeliers and
trophies of gold and silverplate against
the walls and stands sloping up to the
very ceiling, areall imperial apartments
in every sense. The Succession OF re-
ception rooms and corridors is also
most imposing, although the paintings
/ of battlescenes, where carnage and
rapine are depicted in all their horrors
with monotony that becomes almost
nauseating, seems to be hardly adapt
ed to exclusive adornment of rooms IN
tended for gay assemhlages, and they
must form a ghastly contrast to bright
'oilets and glittering jewels, and fair
womanly forms.
The visitor is escorted through hall
after hall decorated with almost barbar-
ic magDifcence, and as each one IS
taken under the charge of fresh at
tendant, attired in gorgeous imperial
livery. The place, which at present is
quite unoccupied-as the emperor re-
sides at another palace some distance
up the Newski prospect-fairly sWarmS
with servants, who are all well dress
ed and courteous and extremely idle
having apparently nothing else on
earth to do except to stand or walk
about in the empty apartments, which
are seldom trodden by any other feet
Here and there is to be seen a
superior officer, in full uniform, evil
IDENTIFY in charge Of some part of the
building, and at one point we sudden
ly came upon two Cossack sentinels
armed to tho teeth and standing
motionless on each side Of doorway
This was the entrance to the room con
tanning the crown Jewels. Our attend
ant inserted key, two heavy iron
doors swung open, and we were usher
ed in. The room was almost bare,
with the exception of some glass-top-
ped cases. 81 ch as are used at museums
for manuscripts and objects of interest
which stood near the walls and two
central stands, but when the cloths
which covered them were removed, the
sirht was dazzling, In the side cases
was a collection of tiaras and algrettes
and pendants, in brilliants and rubies
and pearls. The central stands bore
the crown regalia; the emperors
crown, a huge mass of diamonds of the
purest water, surrounded by an extra.
ordinary uncut ruby the empress
crown, somewhat smaller, if possible
more brilliant, and the sceptre, bearing
on its top the celebrated Lazaroff dia'
mond, of which the story is told that il
was stolen from an Indian temple and
carried off concealed in cut in the lee
of its purloiner, Compared with these
Muscovite gems all others that | have
ever. looked on are dull and small
One thing in the picture-gallery of the
palace was remarkable, and that is the
absence of peculiarly Russian worthie'
whose portraits covered the walls
: There were faces of strictly Englisl
type, Swedish faces in small numbers
and German faces of any quantity
hut Russian faces none, and no ont
could guess that he was surrounded by
the likenesses of men by whom thl
great northern power had been bull
up. 1t is very much the same.to-day
The leading men here are quite differ
ent in appearance than the mass OF th'
e people, so different that they nigh
/ well belong to another race. The,
e have, many of them, fine features ant